My Kids

These are the three little kids that I teach for Sunday school! I took a few candid shots while they were playing and talking...they are SO sweet and funny!

Analisse is the pastor's daughter. She was coloring the dog's ears pink, on the sheet. (to say the least, she is VERY girly!) ;o)

Here is a brain, named "John," that Sam made out of play-dough. The brain's tongue is sticking out! :o) Ah, the joys of play-dough and the minds of little boys!

This is Philip. He's very much into the play kitchen...a kid after my own heart! His parents homeschool their 4 boys. (They are Americans.)

And here's Sam. He's the creator of "John." Although he kept sticking things into poor John (rather close to Voodoo, hunh?) he's a great kid! (He'll be moving soon, which is sad.)

It is so much fun to teach these kids and hang out with them weekly! We have a blast!

---

By the way, I am satisfied with the numbers I got for my written exams! Praise God! I will have the "final practicals" next Monday and Tuesday. (Then I'm done 'till January!)

"Happily Ever After"

I wanted to share some fabulous pictures and quotations from Cinderella...why? Because this would be something random to do, AND Cinderella is my favorite Disney Princess and one of my fav fairy tales of all time! :o)

I adore the first line (narrorated by a woman with a voice of melting quality): "Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a tiny kingdom --peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition...." :o) If you haven't seen this movie before, that line should have hooked you!

Then Cinderella sings "A dream is a wish your heart makes.... No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true." :o)

The mice add so much to the film! Dad's favorite animated Disney movie was Cinderella, too, and he loved the mice, especially "Gus." (who doesn't love Gus?!)


Here is Cinderella singing as she works. (hmmm, who does that sound like?) I'll spare you from reading these lyrics....

*Sighs* Prince Charming, or in French, Prince Charmont! I have a copy of this (just larger) on my wall here in Paris...it's classic! "So this is love.... My heart has wings...and I can fly...I've touched every star in the sky.... So, this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of.... So, this is love!" Didn't spare you of those lyrics!!!

I have a journal shaped like the Cinderella pumpkin, but this one is blue, with her on the cover. (I bought it at Disneyland Paris.) And my practical chef asked me today, "ou est Prince Charmont?" ("where is Prince Charming?") ;o) I think he thinks I'm a little childish! I just smiled. (I should have replied with something sappy like "dans mon coeur!" "in my heart!" But I didn't!)

Hope you enjoyed this! :o)

Accomplishments of the Day

This was a LONG day! I had two practicals back-to-back, a demo, then my written Pastry Exam. (The exam was a BREEZE! I finished in 20 minutes. We'll make our final dishes and will be graded for those, later this month.)

This is my Beef Stroganoff with rice, TINY green beans, carrots, and zucchini.



This cake is a Chocolate Mousse with raspberry filling. For some strange reason, my cake was a "third time's the charm" situation! I had to do many stages over 3 times before I got it! :o) It isn't that difficult to create, but I was making it so! We'll probably have this same recipe to make for the final practical, so now I really know what to do...hopefully!

Yee-haw!

This is my kind of meal! (well, a beef steak would be better!) From left to right: turned potatoes (blanched then sauteed), caramelized Pearl Onions, sauteed bacon and tiny mushrooms with a little parsley, and tender veal rib meat! :o) It's the bomb, as some would say!

Voila!

I'm happy to announce that I have officially made Pain au Chocolat (on the top) and Croissants! :o) Ever since I knew what these were, I always wanted to make them! (They would be even better if the "oven people" didn't over-bake them, but that's not a big deal, right?) It was a good experience!

FYI, I didn't go to Mont Saint Michel on Sunday, but will probably go in two weeks.

The most difficult anniversary

Dad died 2 years ago...this is still a little unreal to me. God continues to work in me and encourage me, so I'm getting along okay.

I started a tradition last year to remember/honor Dad by each year. (The tradition is to eat meat and listen to Oldies.) I listened to The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel on my MP3 Player (to and from school) and ate a hamburger for lunch! :o)


"I'm movin' on," slowly but surely.

Fun night and story!

I went out with my two good girlfriends, Amber and Janie, this afternoon/evening and we had such a great time together! We went to the Champs Elysees and shopped, watched "Little Miss Sunshine" (a fabulous film for those who can look over the "grodiness," as I would say), and ate dessert (with coffee, of course) at Laduree (aka, my favorite dessert place that I've been to in the world!) I got 4 small macaroons: one dark chocolate (let's hope so, right?!), coconut, orange blossom, and blackberry-violet! They are tremendously yummy!!! :o) (These following photos are dark 'cause the restaurant is dark and I didn't want to attract attention with using the flash.)

This is Janie and me hold up our macaroons:


Here's Amber with her lovely spongy-ish cake and acting very herself! ;o)

I'm so grateful to have good friends here!

--I had a break-through/adventure speaking French a few days ago with a school-mate from Greece! I have never talked to this 23-year-old Greek guy before, but he and I were talking with one of my friends and soon the Greek guy turned to me and asked me (this was all in French because he speaks only a very few words in English) "what do you think about two people from different religions, or countries, getting together?" (my first reaction was, "oh Lord, please let him not be hitting on me," so I acted calmly and answered his question.) I, basically, said that I thought every person needed to make that decision for themselves, and that I, being a Christian, would choose to not "be with someone" from a different religion, because I didn't think that right for myself. He seemed okay with that response. Then he turned to another of my friends and he asked her the same question...she doesn't speak French, so, you guessed it, I was the translator! :o) It was both enjoyable and rewarding! (a little tiring, though, for the hour-long conversation!) :o) Thank You, God!

Party time!

I attended our Student Party (for the basic students from LCB) last night. It was at a nice restaurant close to Saint Germain (a pretty swanky road/area). Here's a picture of the group that sat at my table.

The girl on the far right is Janie from Texas who's a Christian! (she visited our church a few weeks ago!) The two girls in the front-left, the one in the middle, and the one on Janie's right are in my practical group.

It was fun to analyze our delicious dinner together! The appetizer was un-cooked salmon (with yummy sliced vegetables on top in a sour sauce); the main dish was a slice of pork, a chicken leg, and a small rack of ribs with a fried mashed potato brick (kind of thing) on the side! :o) Dessert was a huge raspberry macaroon with Chantilly cream in the center with fresh raspberries, raspberry sorbet, and raspberry sauce on the side! (All of that made me very happy! I love raspberries!!!) ;o) (We had the best espresso, that I've ever had, along with dessert.) Everyone looked so great all dressed up, and the experience was delightful!

A Quick Funny...

I have to say that I laughed a lot during demo today when the cuisine chef took out his next culprit (a large fish) and opened it's mouth to find a smaller fish inside!! :o)

I'm doing the big fish tomorrow for practical.

Poor Bugs Bunny!

Yesterday I did one of the worst things I've ever had to do in my life! (The "fish episode" was bad, but maybe not as bad as this!)

I had to cut up a dead rabbit. Most of you know that 1) I don't like hacking at dead things, and 2) I had a pet bunny for over 7 years, growing up!! :o)

A few things made this saga even worse: I (accidentally) stationed myself between the only two guys in our cuisine practical class (a guy from Chicago and the other from the Dominican Republic)...why was this a bad move? The one from the DR talked about HIS pet rabbit and naming everyone's around him, and the Chicago dude kept discussing the grossest things we were doing (chopping off the head, taking the kidneys out of their surrounding fat, cutting the liver from the carcass,etc.)

The things that made this bearable were me taking breaks to breathe, an angel of mercy (one of the chefs) chopping the head off for me, another chef taking out the HEART, and the girl across the marble work space from me covering the bloody heads and innards with a paper towel in the bowl so I wouldn't have to look at the glazed eyes, hairy chins, and front teeth!! :o) I have to laugh about it now, but it was NOT pleasant then! I sang songs to myself and made exasperated, overwhelmed sighs periodically, too...I think I've ruled out butchering AND restaurant work for future plans!! (I'll stick with safer things like pastry and wedding planning.) Oy! "Nothing lasts forever!" :o)

The Fontainebleau Chateau

On Saturday we all went to Fontainebleau to visit the chateau there! Isn't it lovely? (The weather was perfect!)


This is a statue at the back of the chateau.

Those fish, as you can see, are way bigger than the ducks...they made cool, loud sucking noises when they were being fed by tourists.

Isn't she the cutest?? She was enraptured with her ice cream and I had to take a picture of it (although I don't know her)!

Aunt Christie insisted that I get a picture of me and put it on here. ;o)

It was a neat place to tour! I enjoy being in old homes which were owned by rich, famous people. Napoleon lived there and Marie Antoinette! :o)

FYI, I'm feeling a lot better!

It happened...

I'm sick! I have Strep throat. "There's nothing worse than a sore throat, it's effects are exceedingly bleak." (Mr. Elton, Emma...I adore that movie!) I actually went to the doctor and got medicine. (I NEVER go to doctors!) I missed school today but have to go tomorrow. Aunt Christie is taking great care of me, AND I got to talk to Mom on the phone!

Yesterday I made salmon steaks, potatoes, and spinach at school. It was good! This is the picture I took at school after the chef tried the food (hence the bite out of the potato). (it's foggy 'cause my camera was in the refrigerator; yeah, I know that's not a good idea, I won't be doing it again.) :o)

More chicks!

We made delicious roasted chicken with uniformed vegetables and artichoke bases today! I was at school for 10 hours: pastry demo, cuisine practical, cuisine demo (with two very short breaks in between.) It was a good day!

I'm making new friends at school almost daily and enjoying everyone.

Preview

I got to talk to a very special person back home, for over an hour today after school, so now I'm in a very positive frame of mind! :o)

I have told many of you (or you already knew) about "Eragon" and "Eldest" the first two books of "The Inheritance Trilogy," written by a homeschooled guy. I really enjoy those books. The first book has been made into a movie and will be coming out in America on the 15th of December! For a preview, go to one of the main websites: http://www.eragonmovie.com/ It looks okay, but we'll have to see! (I'm always hesitant when seeing a movie of a favorite book! LOTR was good, but Eragon is not directed by Peter Jackson!) :o) I get home on the 14th, so whoever is interested in seeing it with me on the opening day, let me know! (This IS a little early to be planning that...it's not bad to think ahead, right?!) ;o)

Yuck

This morning was the WORST!! I couldn't do almost anything right! I dumped my sauce, I took forever to make the potatoes, the meat splattered my neighbor (which made her mad!), I made a pretty thorough mess of my space, etc, etc, etc.... :o) Ohhhhh bother! (I'm so dramatic 'cause I didn't know whether to scream or laugh, so I did "mental screaming" and laughed a little, when the chef wasn't looking.)

I need to remember that: "His faithfulness is new every morning," and "the sun will come out tomorrow!" ;o)

Needless to say, I'll be taking a nap before returning to school for a new cuisine demo.

Ah, this is the life!

It's a around 10:40pm and I have been sitting on our couch listening to my favorite singer, Nat King Cole, and now to Miles Davis (a jazz musician), eating a piece of perfect dark chocolate, critiquing a friend's senior recital manuscript, and waiting for the phone to be available to make a call! :o) It's nice to rest like this!

Tomorrow is "back to the drawing board," at school. (6 hours of class.)

Today's Creations!

Apple turnovers and Palmiers! Sorry I placed these delectable goodies at such weird angles on our dining room table!! Ha ha! It looks goofy! :o) I'll be making something like these for you all, during Christmas time....

Not again!

I locked my keys in my locker, at school, for the 2nd TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't do things like this normally, but I've now done it twice! It's a drag 'cause I have to pay 15 Euros (18 or 20 U.S. dollars) for a new lock and keys! (Abby gave me a cute ribbon to tie one of my keys to, to use as a necklace!)

Sunrises and Praises

Although I haven't seen many sunrises (owing to the fact that I don't like being up early), I'd love to be somewhere gorgeous to experience one like this one from The Little White Horse. (Maybe when I'm in England?!) Here it is:

"...Maria and Wrolf rode swiftly homewards in a wonderful dawn that changed from grey to silver, and from silver to gold, and blossomed as they come out of the pine-woods into one of those rosy dawns edged with saffron and amethyst that usher in the blue of a happy day."

This is from the same book but a part of a song that is sung:

"Praised be our Lord for the wind and the rain,
For clouds, for dew and the air;
For the rainbow set in the sky above
Most precious and kind and fair.
For all these things tell the love of our Lord,
The love that is everywhere."

I've almost finished reading The Little White Horse for about the 12th time since receiving it for my 13th birthday over 6 years ago. I love it more and more every time! I wanted to post these snippits because they're so well written and apart of the story.

*Sigh*

This is another member of our family, Pepper. Well, he is a great and cute dog, but if you notice, he is eating a pastry...you guessed it! It's MINE! :o) The quiche lorraine (see the following picture) was sitting on our couch, where I had placed it to go in the kitchen to get some water, and when I got back, he had pulled it to the floor and was devouring it! At least he liked it and I had more to eat for my supper!

Here's the quiche...it was superb.


This last pic is the cake I also made on Monday. It's a buttercream cake with pastry cream in the center with dried apricots and prunes. (Think: butter.) It also was great! :o)