Where The Heck Have I Been? ~or~ Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Whew!  A lot has happened in the last couple of months.  The Ohio State Buckeyes earned yet another National Championship, I had to replace my home Wi-Fi router, and planted my garden on time this year so maybe something will actually grow.  

But first and foremost, I want to wish you all a very happy St. Patrick's Day!

Yes, I have been away for a while, but I hope you will forgive my absence as I have been a very busy girl as of late...more so than usual.  I've been thinking about re-vamping this site to encompass all of my creative endeavors, and that is still something that I am working on, but I can't wait anymore and I felt like I really needed to post here now instead of waiting until I finish mapping out my all-encompassing future blog.

What have I been doing?  Well, I have been teaching college first-year English composition this semester on top of doing my 40 hour per week IT job.  I've been slowly chipping away at some other writing projects in my "spare" time and still cranking out articles for Boyd Street Magazine.  Even though I've had my hands full, I am certainly NOT complaining.  I have learned so much in my adventures as of late.  For instance, I've learned that I love teaching, (especially on the college level) almost as much as I love writing.  I'd never thought about being a professor before or teaching anything for that matter, but after getting a taste of it, I can't imagine not doing it.

Don't worry, as busy as my life has been lately, I still find time to cook at least 3-4 times a week.  Not just because I have to eat, but because cooking is a creative outlet for me.  When I don't carve out some time to do that, I get a little grumpy...okay, a lot grumpy.  I've also baked and made sweets and completely stopped working out, so all is well.  I also discovered that apparently I have cookie cutters for every holiday.  So I made Valentine's gingerbread cookies and shamrock gingerbread cookies in the last couple of months.  Basically I just feel like I need to have a reason/excuse to make gingerbread cookies because I love them.

I've also been running a bed & breakfast for the last few weeks.  Okay, well not really an actual B&B, but I have been entertaining different friends from different states at different times who have "made reservations" to stay at my house.  This makes me very happy because I feel like people are comfortable in my home.  I've hosted many gatherings, cookouts, watch parties, game nights, etc. by invitation, but to have those I care about contact me and ask to stay over and have me cook for them makes me feel very warm and fuzzy inside.  A dream of mine is to be a full-time writer who owns a cozy bed & breakfast somewhere in New England where I live and write and cook and care for others who flow in and out of my home on their personal journeys.  Seriously, I wouldn't want for anything if that was the rest of my life.

This is not the epic post that I wanted to do after such a long hiatus, however, I did not want to wait any longer.  I have also decided that I can't stay away, so I will be posting my usual restaurant/product reviews and recipes, as well as current project updates, and some personal tidbits here while I'm deciding on the details about rebuilding this site.  Thank you so much for checking in regularly, and know that I will be posting regularly once again.

So, toast this day with your green beers and shamrock gingerbread cookies, because they are tradition...apparently and have yourself a fantastic St. Patrick's Day!