Cool Honor

Lobby of library
Farewell Fatso! poster

Tomorrow, Saturday, February 25 I will have the privilege of speaking at a place I've long admired. A place that promotes literacy, books, and community activities -- the public library.

As a girl I loved going to the library and checking out tons of books. Story time was the highlight of many days. Libraries have come a long way. The architecture and design, the buzz, the technology, the various groups and story times, folks gathered in rooms to hear speakers such as myself, and the constant -- books, the abundance of books. What a cool place. Not only do I have the honor of having my cookbook on the shelves, but in about 24 hours I'll speak at the Cascade Park Community Library.

I was talking with my girlfriend about how excited I was about speaking at the library. I mentioned that maybe I am making to big a deal out of it. Maybe I should tone it down.  But, nah she agrees I have every right to be excited. Sharing my story with the community, in hopes to motivate, inspire, promote change -- in a cool place that I've always loved. This is a great honor. I'm going to shine, shine, shine.

New Seasons Market & Farewell Fatso! Bringing Cooking Back

Partners - LeeAnn and me

I can honestly say, New Seasons Market is "The friendliest store in town."  My first encounter was by phone with LeeAnn, (Community Coordinator - Fishers Landing) in December. I told her about the launching of  Bringing Cooking Back, my involvement with the community, and of course of my weight loss. She was interested in having me in the store in some capacity, but admitted she was new to her position, the store was new, and it was the holiday season. She asked if we could connect sometime after the first of the year. Although I wanted things to happen right then, as I often do, I agreed to wait. They made it worth my wait. LeeAnn worked her magic -- had my books purchased for sale at the store in early January and then started waving her wand to have me in store for a book-signing.

Last night, the Fishers Landing store embraced me and the community with open arms.  I was there serving up samples of my tomato soup, signing books, conversing with great people, in a beautiful well-lit store surrounded by the friendliest staff and my loved ones. Oh, boy, I had a cheering section: My mother, my uncle, a high-school chum (arguably one of my biggest fans) and her aunt, a few of my other close friends dropped in, and to round it all out-- some of my loyal cooking class attendees joined me. A night I'll cherish forever.

New Seasons Market is not only the friendliest store in town, but they want to promote local authors, artists, and local stuff. They are willing to give folks like me a chance.  They are happy to give folks like me a chance.  New Seasons Market is a local store who hasn't gotten to big, still remembers where it came from.

And, this morning as I was still basking in last night's glory, I received this email from LeeAnn: "... I can’t thank YOU enough for finding me here at New Seasons Market and being so persistent from the start on being here with us. Last night was ‘a feather in my cap’ here at the store! I knew people would LOVE you and you came through like a rainbow - it was a great event and I hope we can do it again sometime soon! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Huh? They're thanking me? I'm the one who benefits most in my eyes. I'm the little fish in the pond. It took me a minute to wrap my head around it, but that's exactly the point. They want to help me Bring Cooking Back. They want to help me fulfill my dream. I'm proud to have found a partner in New Seasons Market.

Calm before storm

The last few months I've been all systems go. I love what I do so it doesn't feel like work, but it can get hectic. Classes ended last Wednesday so that freed up a bulk of my day. It's been nice to sleep in, enjoy my morning coffee, and have a little flexibility in my schedule. For the rest of the month, I have no community activities or commitments. I'm just enjoying the down time because my January calendar is already slammed with dates -- booked into March 2012. It's the calm before the storm.