One Section Down…Many More To Go

So this blog is a few days past over due…but it’s been a little busy over on this side of town. Last week I got done with my sugar candies class, can I just tell you how much I loved it! We made so many different things, it just go exciting and exciting each and everyday. We made lollipops, marshmallows (2 different flavors, nougat (2 different flavors), pralines, pate de fruit (3 different flavors), Caramels, also Chocolate ones, and hard candies that we actually got to pull and make. I think everyone knows what they want to do, well kind of knows, but when you’re in the atmosphere of doing what you want to do it all changes. I mean I have been in the kitchen for 3 weeks now and it hasn’t hit me, maybe it’s because I know this is what I have always wanted to do.

This weekend I decided to spend about two hours taking pictures of all my products, I plated them and everything. And took a few things and tried to make them a little more artsy.

School I love so much, this week is the Ice Cream and Sorbet unit, I know totally awesome! I am learning so much and totally understanding everything, which usually never happens. The Chefs, Interns, and Classmates are the best things in the world!

Chicago is amazing; I love it here walking down the street I just see more and more things going on. There is so much going on everyday, it gets better and better…not kidding at all. Riding the train not as bad as I thought it would be, walking around…not bad at all. Everything I was so worried about is not bad. I got use to everything so quickly. The only thing that took a little longer to get use to was actually having to walk around in bad weather. Back home you just drive everywhere and never really think much of walking around, while here even when its snowing I still need to walk 5 blocks to train, and then to the school. But honestly I have gotten use to it pretty quickly.

My friends are so awesome!!! I have gotten to know so many people in my stream, and we hang out every weekend. We have been doing Friday Night Dinners after class, and then on the weekend we have been getting together.

This past weekend a bunch of us went to this Chocolate Show Case at Whole Foods, they had some really nice things, and so many yummy chocolates that we got to taste. Chocolate is my favorite thing to do, so I always love seeing Chocolate Sculptures, and all the little pieces of chocolate, it makes me giddy.

Then we all got together later that night to Celebrate Katie’s 21^st Birthday! We just had so much fun, hung out at Danielle’s house, ordered Chinese food, dances and played wii. How much better could it get? It is just awesome, Katie and I clicked right away, and then we pretty much got everyone to join in. The first week we were like we need to break all these people, we need to get everyone to have some fun. Now I can totally be myself and not think anything of it. Its just great we all get each other, we got to school and do our thing, but the minute we leave ands it down to have some dinner we all just get each other and we can just have a good time. I just love these people so much, Im pretty sure we have the best stream!

Well I will be writing another blog this weekend, I have to tell everyone about Ice Cream, its just so exciting.

I am having the best time of my life, hope everyone else is too!

First Week…In the Kitchen

Being in the Kitchen is exciting; it’s just this whole new experience that I am going through. I mean I have been in tons of kitchens before but this is the one I am learning everything in. Everything I didn’t know before I am learning in this amazing kitchen, with the best ingredients possible. It is great to be able to do something you love everyday, when I was attending college it just wasn’t what I wanted. The classes were just nothing I really wanted, when I started studying entrepreneurship things got better for me, but it still wasn’t everything for me. I guess I always knew this is what I wanted, which is awesome for me, there are people everyday trying to figure out what they want to do. But hey guess what, I know what I want to do…at least for the most part.

School has been cool…haha…I’m sad it is Monday and there is no school today, I mean for once I actually like going to class. But this first week has been exciting, we did a bunch of stuff, we started with learning our basic knife skills, and learning some basic techniques that we will always need to know. My stream is starting with Sugar Candies, and we have already made so many things; Meringues, Caramel, Nougat, Marshmallows, Pralines, and that is just a little taste of what we are doing. I have another week of sugar candies, and then we go into ICE CREAM…Yum Yum!

Besides school not much has been happening, Annie and I have just been hanging around the neighborhood trying to find jobs. Job hunting is going alright…I have a few applications just have to finish them up and turn them in. I just hate applications; it’s the one thing I hated about finding a college. The application process is always the worst.

I did get to go bowling with some FPS friends last night, it was a good time, and it is great to have a group of friends who get you. The group of classmates I am with are awesome, we all get each other and I think we all for the most part click. We have all been there for each other just in these past two weeks and it is very helpful. We all have totally different backgrounds but in the end we all come together in the kitchen and make some awesome creations.

Everyday I can tell more and more that this is the best choice I have ever made!!
I am so glad that I can go through all this, and share it with everyone!
I will keep you all posted, more sugar candies this week…and who knows what else could happen.

The Next 23 Weeks

Tomorrow I step into the kitchen and my whole life changes, this is a big step to everything I have wanted for a long time. These next 23 weeks will be the best/hardest time in my life. I am so ready for everything that is in store, but I also know this will be the hardest thing I do.

Lets be honest the first week we are starting some basics and one of those basis is knife skills, which lets be honest I am the worst! If I know anything I know how to cut myself more than to cut the item I am trying to cut. But you do need to learn from your mistakes; I just need some actual teaching of how to really use things properly. I am also deathly afraid of graters because I always feel like I am going to cut myself and that is never fun. I mean I am scared of watching someone uses one, it just freaks me out. But once I learn from it all everything will be better, well at least I hope so.

What I am trying to say is these next 23 weeks mean everything to me and means everything for my life. This is the start of my new life and I am giving everything I have to this. This is the greatest opportunity I can ever have and I don’t want to ruin any of it. I also do not want to miss any of it, I want to soak it all in and learn from everything I can. And I need to take in every opportunity I have, because most things only come once.

This means I will not have much free time, most of my time is going to be used for school. Between class times, stages, volunteering, and trying to find a job, my free time is very limited. So I do want to say sorry if I am not available all the time, or can not get back to you right away. I just have to really concentrate on everything I am doing. I need to make sure I do not miss out on anything.

But I do want to say at the same time, if you don’t give any effort of trying to talk to me or staying my friend there will be no effort back. I need supportive friends right now, I know all my family is supportive and I will always have them, but my friends I am not always sure of. There are those people you know you will always be good with, and they will stay in touch with you, but then there are those friends that the minute you leave it’s over. So if you are one of those friends, then just remember you don’t put any effort then I don’t either, I don’t have the time to be friends with people who don’t care.

I am not trying to be harsh…but after this first week of orientation I realized how much work I really need to put in school. This is a lot of work and I can’t worry about dumb little drama that won’t matter down the road. The friends that I can keep through all this will be the friends I will keep forever.

I will try and post on here once a week to let everyone know what is going on with me. But please feel free to message me anytime and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

I want all my friends and family to know everything I am doing, because I want you all to be apart of what I am doing. This journey is for me, but I want to share it with the people I really care about.

This is the first week in the kitchen and I am more excited than ever!!

I am just ready for this journey to really begin!

My First Week of PASTRY SCHOOL!!!

Its Friday, I got through my first week of school and I am so happy, happier then I have been in awhile. It feels so good to know that this is my dream and it’s something I’m actually accomplishing. Dreams do come true…and I’ve made the first step.

This week was pretty exciting to meet all the chefs and get to know them and also getting to know everyone in my stream. I can already tell I am making some really good friends that could last a lifetime.

Getting to meet everyone was so nice; it’s a great feeling to be around so many people who love what you love. But lets just say if we could of met everyone and did a little tour that would have been good enough ha ha. I guess I have never been good at sitting in classroom and paying attention, so doing that all week was pretty hard.

Monday we did a whole orientation and got to meet all the staff, finish up paper work, and we got our uniforms!!! Our uniforms are so sweet, I guess when everyone has to wear them no one can make fun of you. My pants are so baggy on me its ridiculous but at least I was able to exchange my pants for a smaller size so now another person can’t fit in my pants with me.

Well then the next two days we had our sanitation class which was a BLAST ha ha!! I did learn some stuff I didn’t know but it was a long time just to sit in there and listen. But our instructor was way funny and nice, and gave us so much extra information.

The final two days this week had been long and tiring, we were just in lectures all day long. Yesterday we got our textbooks they are so big! But looking through them you just get more and more excited for it all. But today we got our tool kits…its so exciting like everything is getting real each day…one day at a time and soon one day I will be graduating and then everything will be change.

I’m just waiting for Monday when we all go into the locker room change to our chef outfits and get to go in the kitchen. It will feel so surreal but its going to be so much fun.

I am just excited for Monday!! My stream is starting off with sugar candies!

Post tomorrow about my apartment...and anything else going on...and some more pictures.

Sanitation

Man oh Man taking Sanitation class is so much fun....like I don't want to kill myself at all. But I guess the back of the class has been having fun, it’s just a group of us girls in Stream 4 and we are having a blast. We just know how to make things fun. Who knows maybe I will bust out Party in the U.S.A for them tomorrow, but I guess I have enough videos of me doing it I could just show them haha.

So I think for the most part I did well on the test, there were a few tricky questions but hopefully I got it all. This week has been slow but it’s nice to get to know everyone, and have some time to just sit back. I’m not sure what the next two days have in store for us but I’m excited.

Well sorry this one is short…we are having some problems with the internet but everything will be fixed this weekend. I’ll be posting again this weekend and will get some pics up of my new digs and my awesome uniform I got!! Oh and I think I get my tool kit on Friday!! I am way excited…I wonder how long it will take me before I cut myself, who knows I better bring some band aids.

Well that is all for now the city is waiting for me so hopefully this weekend I will get to explore and also need to find a job I have a few leads just need to get some applications in.

Hope everyone is doing well! Keep you all updated!

Just Getting Settled In

So I’m finally in Chicago, its kind of crazy nothing has really hit me yet. It took awhile for my Dad and Brother to figure out how to get all our stuff in the car, we had to leave a few things behind but we will be ok. Our little road trip was fun, didn’t have much time to do anything but we made the best out of it. Annie told me about car games she plays with her family so we did those and made many of our own, we are thinking about publishing a book so watch out!
Friday night was fun we stayed at a Motel and got really hungry, there was nothing open around where we were so we ate a turkey log my dad gave us and cut it with a knife that I took somewhere. It was good times. Then in the morning I went to see what they had for breakfast, there chocolate muffin smelled like a scratch and sniff. It was horrible.

Driving in Chicago was different a little overwhelming but I think I did great, well I got us to our destination so I must of done GREAT! I only took two wrong exits, ha ha but that is what a GPS is for. When we finally got to our place and parked we looked to the right and realized there is a synagogue on the same block as us, so I was way excited!

Unloading my car was interesting, we thought it was going to take us forever but it only took us 8 trips. It was pretty tiring and some of our loads were really bulky, plus we had to keep using the key to open every door so it was a little of a challenge, but we got it done! Let’s also just say the weather here is very cold so every trip we made pretty much got colder and colder. Well we are pretty much all settled in still unpacking a few last bags but besides that we got it all pretty much done!

We already took our first adventure out to the supermarket we got some dinner which was frozen pizza and a little cake to celebrate our new adventure together! Also we got all our items to make egg-in-a-hole this morning!

Everything else is great, just finishing up all the unpacking and going out to do a test run to my school, don’t want to be late for the first day or get lost.

I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes! First Day of School!! I can not wait!!

2010...What do you got on me?!?!?

It is 2010 and what does that mean…it means this will be the best year for me! I can’t believe this is actually happening, in a few hours I leave to go to Chicago with my Best Friend Annie. I am starting an adventure of a lifetime and I am so excited but so nervous inside. This past day was so emotional for me, it’s just hard to know I’m leaving and know I’ll probably not come back. I guess it is hard leaving your family but I know at some point I do need to do my own thing. But I have some of the greatest friends who support me so much, and the best family in the world.

In 2010 I have been told…

Happy New Year its going to rock for you at Chef School.
Happy New Years to you…May you find all the happiness in Chicago you ever wanted!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you too! And I know this will be your best year  or at least the most exciting and most adventurous 

I am so excited for this new adventure but scared to death at the same time. But I know this will be the best thing in the world. I am going to become a PASTRY CHEF!! WHAT DO YOU GOT ON MY NOW?!?!?! THAT IS WHAT I THOUGHT!

2010 is going to be one of the best years ever!!