The Dancing Chef

Distracting Thoughts -- You Can't Save Them All

2011-10-31T16:04:00.001-04:00

Remember when the internet was a place where we weren't fearful in posting our personal stories for friends, extended family, and friends of friends to read-- without categorizing all those people all on a social media site first and locking the site so "THEY" (the great unknown scary strangers reading the sites) couldn't see it? When we 'found' our long lost whomever, joyfully caught up, and

Director of the Year

2011-07-22T15:10:00.000-04:00

Director of the Year for Southwest Foodservice Excellence, LLC That's me, Director of the Year! Posing with my assistant director for posterity.Love the job, and feel blessed and grateful for the opportunity its given me to excel. Company is wonderful to work for by the way. I highly recommend it to any other foodies out there looking to make a difference in the world via child nutrition. I

9 months later

2011-03-14T20:46:00.000-04:00

If you ever wondered what a 9 month pregnant yoga instructor would look like, this was me back in December, about a week before X was due. My weight went all the way up to 190 pounds (from 133/5) on the highest day, and while I wasn't someone miserable with the side effects of pregnancy most the time, there were definitely some days: "I’m exhausted today. It’s been a rough couple of days,

United Farm Workers: Take Our Jobs!

2010-07-12T14:17:00.003-04:00

Looking for work? --- United Farm Workers is hiring.My father and his cousin, as well as my husband, have all worked these type of farm jobs as teenagers. When people get fired up about immigrants crossing without documents to take jobs, and then using other resources while they are here, they rarely take a moment to think about what those jobs entail. Not just physical, back-breaking labor, but

Child Nutrition ACT!!!

2010-03-18T12:42:00.002-04:00

Happy news, and heads up!The Senate heading up the Ag Committee unveiled a draft of the Child Nutrition Act.http://lincoln.senate.gov/newsroom/2010-3-17-1.cfm"Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 Proposed Bipartisan Framework**all estimates are 10-year figuresTOTAL NEW CHILD NUTRITION FUNDING: $4.5 BILLION Guiding Principles:• Expand program access to reduce childhood hunger• Improve nutritional

February into March

2010-02-28T22:05:00.003-05:00

I've never been fond of spring. I wish I were, because there's beautiful symbolism in the earth waking up from winter, and new beginnings, and rebirth and resurrection. Despite this, I do not like spring, and have a personal history of March frustrations yielding drastic April changes. Maybe it's the loud colors in the clothing shops--too bright and forced. Maybe it's the tulips everywhere, and

Missed Month

2010-02-16T01:28:00.003-05:00

I didn't write in January.Oddly enough, it was a month with plenty to write about, as it began with a marriage proposal.While my professional life is still pretty much changing weekly, my personal life is shifting towards permanency. By that, it means the answer I gave was yes, and I'm engaged. As to when or how we'll marry, that is still being decided, as families are far yet close to our hearts

Sifting Through Trash

2009-12-23T14:06:00.003-05:00

Last Tuesday, while I was at job 1 for the day (the assistant director gig), the house was robbed.I found the open door and empty rooms 15 minutes before I was due to head to job 2, teaching a yoga class. I called out to see if Ramon was home, but he wasn't, and it was pretty obvious things were not as they should be, since almost everything in the front room was missing.Seeming proof of my ever

Phoenix Update

2009-09-05T13:05:00.002-04:00

Labor Day Weekend, Phoenix AZ 2009It's been three months since Boston.This morning in Phoenix it's raining, but really raining doesn't seem to be the right word. Phoenix is sputtering angrily, a few drops, frustrated by it's own heat, and then BOOM a giant crack, flashes of light, smothering hot wet nothing happening but something is coming. Hours like that then suddenly BOOM again and lightning

Graduation Feasting & Related Ceremony

2009-05-03T19:23:00.007-04:00

A sea bass with fennel endive saute...Balsamic glazed chicken, really more of a citrus marinade though, great flavors.Maine Lobster Saltimboca with Marsala cream sauce, lobster was wrapped in prosciutto, lined with the creamed potatoes, on a bit of sauce, watercress served on side.Olive Tapenade with Warm Bread. EVOO is a gift from the Gods. Mom & Dad.Phoenix & JimmyWe made Mom walk way too much

Terra Madre Newsletter

2009-04-22T23:07:00.003-04:00

I'm an international cover model : )Click on the link to see the story.Voices fromTerra Madre Time to Stop Falling Short I moved to Boston in 2003 to work as a chef for an international contract food service provider. Mostly I ran small cafés, or catered events – from huge to intimate in scale. I saw a lot of food, a lot of facilities, and fed a lot of people, and I realized that we

Rock & Roll Yoga

2009-03-31T15:47:00.004-04:00

My next yoga class on the schedule at the Boston Center for Adult Education just got a shout-out in the Improper Bostonian!(Click on picture to read it in bigger type).Class Description for Rock & Roll YogaPower vinyasa and rock music meet in this fun class. Gather your angst, bring it to the mat and exhale and move it out of heart and body as you move in flow to cathartic classic, indie, alt,

What I Made For Breakfast & Other Ways I've Been Procrastinating

2009-03-30T14:17:00.007-04:00

After running to the gym this morning to teach a 6:30 a.m. Sports Conditioning class-----(BTW, if you're a Boston Sports Club member consider this a personal invitation to drag yourself out of bed and join me for class in Central Square.)----I came home after some cardio and yoga and cooked myself 2 eggs over easy with extra sharp cheddar and crushed red pepper, and sat them on top of an herb

Not a Train I Wouldn't Take

2009-03-06T15:59:00.004-05:00

There's something about riding on trainsTraveling in cars, walking across windy bridgesSomething about movementIn the middle of cold Boston winters, or rain, in any mood the city has to offer, always in transit.Something about on the go, going, goneDaddy, its here I think of you.Eyes tear up at the idea of losing youYou're meant to be unbreakable and infinitely strongGetting patched up for years

Flyaway

2009-02-07T19:09:00.002-05:00

There's no desire to hold on.Oh.But to be held,Dreams in savasanaAnd well, raise this half-filled cup....Here's to hoping hit hands fit better than yours did, and countrymen share chemicals--Whatever it was that tasted irresistible whenever you touched your lips to mine.Meanwhile I walk past people and places and swear they smell of you,Look away from a nearby street when I am near, wanting not

2008-12-02T01:23:00.002-05:00

The cooking has slowed somewhat.It seems softer, a bit wistful and almost sad.Slow cooked and French with bacon and shallotsThings with Sauvignon blanc and dark chocolate chipotleEmotions guide me to cook, or drive me to cookIn angst or celebration, in hope or despairAsk the women I live with.News from home and I filled the fridgeNonstop cooking for days on endUntil there was no room, and no one

A Matter of Public Record

2008-11-19T20:29:00.004-05:00

I look through my e-musings and in my reckless mood lately am tempted to let it all go public.I will not, not all, but it is enough to say, you may recognize yourself in my thoughts my friends.Life is short.I received devastating news recently that left me intermittently sobbing, cooking, dancing, and performing acrobatic and yogic feats of catharsis and distraction.I am reminded how quickly it

3am Epiphany

2008-11-10T11:06:00.002-05:00

3am this morning what comes into my mind as I readied for my two.five hour night sleep/nap:"What if we spent all the time and energy we spend protecting ourselves from other people on building righteous relationships?"Thanks for the reading during Savasana on Thursday Jane.Vinyasa Flow rocks my world and that class hit just what I needed, and is still giving, days later. Sweat pouring from me,

Aged Thought for a Friend

2008-11-05T01:48:00.003-05:00

Sometimes thoughts need to age before they go public, so the danger of exposing a friend is gone. Now, aged, sufficiently vague... here's what I was feeling when you told me... .....................................I wanted to reach across airwaves and with soft touch soothe.You too are walking wounded, but I have had time to heal.This knowledge of you has reached a soul string deeper than heartI

Terra Madre

2008-10-31T02:35:00.000-04:00

A Certain Monday in October

2008-10-07T01:40:00.002-04:00

I walked this morning out the door and into the morning chill. Fall is here.There's no doubting now. October crept up on me this year.I am awash in color. Red yellow orange gold but set against street light and darkness.It was still blue morning not quite light, and the sun rose as I rose and fell forward uttanasana but the sun did not fall. In asana but with grace on breath. Into thoughts of you

What Comes Up When You Google

2008-10-01T04:00:00.004-04:00

Late at night catching up on email, I gave into the distraction of the internet and searched a few friends. I was highly impressed with what came up. I mean, I knew these people were amazing on many levels and incredibly talented, but it was still surprising to see ads, writings, newspaper stories, interviews, class advertisements with powerful marketing and design teams behind them... So,

In Case You Missed It

2008-09-29T09:52:00.005-04:00

You might be feeling it's just another rainy day in Cambridge (or wherever you are, as you sit reading this). There's all sorts of wet, muddy, slightly chilly but yet muggy swampy stuff going on inside and outside. A lot of sensation. A lot of thoughts. A lot of rain. We're talking it is wet and gray in Boston no doubt. The tomatoes are not ripening, the basements are leaking, the shoes and

Prasarita A

2008-08-22T03:02:00.002-04:00

Some days the only way to get yourself to do something is to do it publicly.That said, here's my writing how to do Prasarita A, a standing forward bend.From Trikonasa (Triangle Pose) on the right side, on the next inhale, let your upraised arm pull you upright and toward the left (toward the door side wall), arriving in a posture with arms extended shoulder level. From here we'll be moving into

Relationships: The Decision to Dance

2008-08-07T13:46:00.003-04:00

On a dance floor it is more simple.People scan the room for partners, if they are not dancing they tend to be looking. After all, they are there to dance. To be sure, there are exceptions even there, as some decide to watch or talk, take a break... But as I said, these are exceptions, and body language clearly communicate I am not dancing right now I am a sweaty clueless mess to the room.Scanning