what i did this summer, part one

It really was a busy summer. Germany, house guests, seventeen days of the State Fair, working three jobs and writing and an occasional day at the pool made the last three months fly by.

One thing I did this summer was get my name/photo in the paper an embarrassing number of times. It started with this:

My recipe for "cheaters" salsa was in the Indianapolis Star. The article is too old for the free link, so here is a picture of me showing the piece to my family while were in Baden Baden.

I didn't realize that I would be photographed, I thought they were just going to shoot photos of the salsa. I always hate the way I look in pictures so I asked my friend Joni, who used to teach modeling classes for tips. She she had me practice standing with my weight on my back leg and doing some complicated shoulder roll for good posture. Once I realized that I was being photographed holding the salsa I tried to remember my modeling moves. I'm not coordinated on a good day, so you can imagine my awkwardness in trying to hold a bowl of salsa in one hand and a basket of chips in the other as I tried to pose. I must not have had the swanky look I was going for, because the photographer said, "great, look like you're walking in the door." I do like the way it turned out.

A few weeks later I was in the social column...wearing an apron!

The link for this is expired too, so here is a photo of the article on my fridge (if I wasn't so damn lazy I'd scan it). I love it that Cathy talked about Second Helpings Culinary Job Training program and my friends Linda and Kristi and her daughters. And you might also note that Fuzzy Zoeller is wearing an apron in the same article - I think we're starting a trend!

NUVO did a great cover story about Second Helpings: Serving Second Chances and a video about line cooking: Line Cooking at Second Helpings (you get to hear me being bossy, see my sister Beth training the servers, Ann Mitchell, Mrs. Herr and Kristi and her daughters).

I made the social page one more time with our Harvest event - here I am with the chairman of our board of directors. Click!

My favorite thing was that I got to fulfill a long time dream and write about my Top Ten favorite things about the Indiana State Fair. Click! NUVO also used several of my photographs, including the one of the corn and the Ferris Wheel.

Thats enough for tonight - I have dishes to do....