Sun rays through a cloudy sky

I have a fun day ahead of me...I am a Principle Judge at a local Apple Festival (we are talking pie tasting- yes, poor me) AND I also get to give a cooking demonstration! I really enjoy giving cooking demonstrations because it is a great opportunity for me to learn. Me to learn? YES! ME to learn. A good cooking demonstrator needs to be able to go with the flow. I for one treat all my appearances the same whether it is a live television appearance or a cooking demonstration in front of a crowd. Whether I am teaching a hands on cooking class in a professional kitchen or a private lesson in someone's home... I have fun, laugh a lot, and encourage attendees to ask questions and to participate. In this way, I learn. I learn about what cooking techniques the average home cook may need to learn more or what ingredients they are interested in using. I learn about how I react in impromptu situations and improve my communication skills. See? I learn a lot. Anyway, a demonstration or class or appearance is a party. Parties are supposed to be fun. So by extension, a demonstration should be too. It is my responsibility to show the attendees a good time.
Today I awoke to a very quiet house with only our dog Lollipop for company; our daughter stayed the night at a friend's house. My usually morning routine is, regretfully, to wake up. (Morning comes way too soon people!) Next I groan and roll over. Groaning is involved because my mind wakes up before my body and my body is not usually very happy about the whole "waking up" thing. While groaning, I fumble about in the half light of dawn for my phone to check the holy trinity. The holy trinity is: email, Facebook and Instagram. After I have wasted a sufficient amount of time on this activity, I push this as long as possible, I groan some more and stumble to the bathroom, arguing with my body the entire distance. After brushing my teeth and such, I head to the living room to put Lolly outside. Lolly groans and stretches herself and immediately begins dancing about telling me to 'Hurry up MOM! I have things to do!'
Now, I mentioned earlier I was in a good mood. Most days I am. I have a morning workout and coffee to look forward to after all . I have a day to look forward to... Today, I was in a good mood but sad too, I miss our daughter...Family really brings life to a home... So, when I opened the door for Lollipop, I was a touch down, then I looked up. WOW! What a sky today! I saw a sunrise through a cloudy sky- the kinds of clouds whose shear beauty make you suck in your breath! The type of sunrise that makes you just stand in its glory with your eyes closed... I breathed the sky in and marveled at the play of light behind the clouds. I even spotted a touch of a rainbow! I said a silent "thank you" for getting to be part of such a day. A day that is truly a gift. (I know inspirational mumbo-jumbo can be just that, 'mumbo-jumbo' but it's true. A person gets to greet a day. A person gets to workout and have coffee and kiss a loved one and go to work.)
​ Yes. The last part too!

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​Today, I get to give a cooking demonstration of my Apple and Celery Salad. I offer the recipe on my Recipes page. It is a salad I made up, like most of my recipes. It is a happy and fun salad to eat because it is crunchy and tart and just plain yummy. Because I wanted to offer the recipe, I also got one more recipe completed for the cookbook I am writing so I am doubly productive today! Yay! I hope you give the recipe a try but mostly I hope this little ditty has brought a smile to your lips and brought you a bit of happy. Enjoy!

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