My Daughter the Chef!

 I'm a little late in posting this wonderful news about my daughter but the trip to Miami, Fl was so traumatic for me it has taken a week for me to recover! 

That will be another post ;)

Thursday we all arrived at the airport at 3 different times from 3 different places. Us, coming from Ohio, Liz, our oldest daughter coming from Chicago and Miranda flying in from her internship in Jamaica. 
Yeah, what a hardship!

She has spent the last 3 months at the Couples Resort in Ocho Rios Jamaica
http://couples.com/tower-isle/index.php?a=00626522&b=DML%20Vacations&c=866-360-5119&d=http://www.dmlvacations.com/
This was a wonderful experience for her. One of her other instructors recommend her for this internship and it was truly a great learning experience. She made several friends there and would have stayed if they had offered her a job. She really enjoyed the island lifestyle of the people there.

 Sat. Miranda graduated Magna Cume Laude  from Johnson & Wales University with her asassociates degree as a chef.  She has made us so proud with her dedication to all her classes, projects and cross country endeavors.  She tends to be a perfectionist so her accomplishments do not surprise us.

On Friday we attended an awards ceremony.  Miranda received the award for high achievement in Garde Manger from one of her chef instructors.

This award is for one of the hardest courses and one of the hardest instructors at the university. 

I am adding a link for those of you who are not familiar with what Garde Manger is, like myself, LOL http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Art+of+Garde+Manger&qpvt=Art+of+Garde+Manger&FORM=IGRE

 I remember when she started this course, she was very nervious about being able to do a good job. 
I think she pulled it off very well!

Here we are with the proud graduate!

Things just seem to happen in great ways for Miranda.  God has truly blessed her and one thing she has learned from all of our difficulties over the last few years is to just sit back and wait for God to act.

(Don't worry, be happy!)

We were leaving Fl. on Monday to fly home. At this point Miranda did not have a place to live or a job but she has a car and it is warm in Fl so we weren't worried.

Tuesday she took her stuff and crashed in on her old friends and roommates from last summer, did her laundry and just bummed around.  Wed. a guy from the school called to see if she wanted to try out for a job at a new resturant in downtown Miami? 

She went in to do the 2 hour trial and was asked to stay till 5:00 at which time she was asked if she would like a job!

This new resturant ended up being Cipriani

a highly successful Itialian family owned line of resturants all over the world!
http://www.cipriani.com/

I think she has a bright future ahead of her and I can't wait to see what God has instore for her now!

My 2 beautiful daughters.  They make me so proud!

Congratulations Miranda!

Prayers for Moore, OK

My heart goes out to the people of Moore, OK.  I have experienced 4 tornado's in our town here in Xenia, Ohio.  Same story, they just keep following the same paths.  I am so glad there were not more deaths with such a powerful storm. It will take years for some to get over the emotional damage storms like this cause but people are strong and the town will come back stronger! I hope you all will keep this community in your prayers for the long hard months to come.

My latest book review for Library Thing

Perfect for fans of romantic women’s fiction, this tender and heartwarming novel explores the trials of losing what matters most—and how there’s always more than we can imagine left to find.


The letter comes out of the blue, and just in time for Libby Moran, who—after the sudden death of her husband, Danny—went to stay with her hypercritical mother. Now her crazy Aunt Jean has offered Libby an escape: a job and a place to live on her farm in the Texas Hill Country. Before she can talk herself out of it, Libby is packing the minivan, grabbing the kids, and hitting the road.

I requested this book from The Library Things early review program because of the very cute cover and the story line of the family moving to a goat farm! I follow several bloggers who have made lifestyle changes like this book and I was just really drawn to it and was so excited when I received it! Because of personal losses we have found ourselves on a farm in the country and with a life style change that has been very positive for us. I knew I would have a lot to relate to in this story and there would be enough to keep me in the story. I was not disappointed. I was able to read this on a recent trip so I read it in 3 days. I enjoyed this book as a light read which is usually not my normal genre. I did find some parts to be predictable but the outcomes do not disappoint and there are several surprises to keep you going. Great summer beach read!