On Clutter...and art

I like having a house that looks like a home. For that, I need to do a number of things (including tackling the last of the boxes that are hiding in corners) but I think one of the biggest things I need to do is to TREAT it like a home. 

I am no longer in that "college student living with roommates" era. I should start acting like it.

As I sat pondering this, I realized:  I have nothing hanging on my wall, except for two metal signs hanging in my kitchen. I have nothing in my living room, and nothing in the office, and nothing in my bedroom. 

Even I don't plan on staying hear forever, there is no reason not to make it a very nice, well-put-together place. Decorations help me keep things orderly and clean. (Analogy: it's easier to live a good life when you fill it with good things instead of just focusing on not doing bad things. It is easier for me to keep my house de-cluttered when it looks cute and tastefully decorated, rather than just focusing on not having stacks of books and paper everywhere). 

I am a cluttered person not because I enjoy having STUFF everywhere. Honestly, it is usually because I am so focused on doing/getting/being somewhere else, and thinking of a thousand things nearly at once, that I just kind of blow through my life like a whirlwind. I just never make time, and I am so brain-busy that I usually don't take time to put things away right after I use them.  I frequently misplace my glasses, car keys, phone, etc. because after I am done using them, my brain is so absolutely "on to the next thing" before I even register that I've set them down. 

Working on that. 

So, first step: clean and de-clutter my house. Reward: purchase and or create nice art with which to decorate my home. 

Excuse me....I need to go put my books away. :-)

Photographers Are Awesome

Working on my photo portfolio for school is kiiiiiiind of kicking my trash. Pausing to take pictures TOTALLY throws off my groove, and how on earth am I supposed to get a photo of both of my hands in proper cutting position if I have to take a picture of it?? I couldn't figure out how to get the timer to function properly, and the focus was usually wrong, and the balance and flow of the picture always seemed to be "off" somehow. 

Moral of the story: 

People make comments like "Wow, you take really good photos. You must have a really nice camera!"  

I've decided that's kind of like saying "Wow!  You make really good food!  You must have an awesome set of pans!"

>.<  Facepalm. 

REAL moral of the story:  Marry a photographer, who happens to be really good at shots of edible, inanimate objects. 

Culinary School

I started culinary school eight days ago.

I love it. 

SURPRISE!


haha, yeah, I definitely feel like I belong here. The Academy, like most culinary schools, offers bakery/pastry or "hot side" (culinary arts).  Both programs are fantastic, but it's separate tuition so I had to pick just one.  I decided to go hot side. Boyperson picked me up some MTC-style flashcards from the BYU bookstore, and I hit the ground running. (I know that me being enthusiastic about something is hard to imagine. Try really hard.)  I actually got pretty far ahead of where my adviser expected I would be; she seemed kind of surprised at my action-oriented enthusiasm. All-the-things culminated in me getting a call from the main office today.  They expressed their surprise at my progress, and offered me a deal:  I could go ahead and join the bakery classes, as well, for significantly reduced tuition because I was dual-enrolled. The basics classes would count for both, so I wouldn't have to take them twice. 

<.< . . . >.>   

.....so, my afternoon plans got cancelled.  I finished my first bakery chapter today. 

My life.  Is SO. AWESOME.


...I may have to pace the bakery along with culinary. Bakery is not my passion. But I am stoked for the training. And I have friends who are stoked about the idea of my kitchen filling up with sweets. ;-)