Cookaholics Bulletin Board

And that is a very good thing...

Hi All,

Thank you to Frank for pointing me in the direction of this board. I am so thrilled for you on the upcoming adoptions! I always knew you were a warm-hearted soul.

I still partake on the CI BB but not as voraciously as before, partly b/c I don't have nearly as much time for it and partly b/c it is not **quite** as welcoming as it used to be. The fact that CI has seemed to abandon it on the one hand (do they even care that features are broken?) while censoring it more actively on the other does not make it any more inviting.

Some of you may know that I have gone through some very significant changes in the past year. My husband and I have separated and I am finding myself in a mad dash to "get myself a life" with my 40th birthday a mere month away. Gone are my carefree days as a stay at home mom, I'm afraid. I have been substitute teaching the past few months and have been surprisingly enjoying the work. I just landed a long term Spanish sub position that begins next month. The teacher is taking off 3 months for maternity leave and I will be taking over. This is an excellent opportunity for me, as I am currently working on getting myself certified as a Spanish teacher, and it will give me valuable experience. All this leaves very little time for cooking and baking anymore and b/c my daughter is so picky and I no longer have a husband to worry about feeding, I find myself in the kitchen less and less. It's a sad reality that I cannot feed this passion of mine so freely anymore, but I know that there are other things more pressing in my life right now. Luckily Spanish is something that I am also passionate about, so these transitions are not quite as painful as I had anticipated. It's also exhilarating to focus on my own life for a change! I feel like I am sending my daughter some very positive messages.

I have enjoyed reading up on so many of you whose presence I have missed on the other board. Thanks again to Fuzzy for hosting this fabulous forum!

Renee

I'm Janet, thought I posted already, but it's not here, so shall do so again.

I am an educator in the San Francisco Bay Area (San Jose). I started enjoying cooking when we had our teensy-tiny galley kitchen remodeled about 8 years ago. it's still teensy tiny, but pretty and I love being in it! Glad to see so many of you here, Rhonda, I missed you!

I have started making beard a couple yeas ago. I am enrolled in a two-day SLT class this February which I am looking forward to... my bread always busts open on me. Hoping to be able to correct this. BTW, my fav is Dave's (aka Pepperhead) rye. It is majorly yummy!

You just did!



I find that exceedingly hard to believe...not the first part, but the second...

Amy

Hi there,
I am Mary... same screen name as on the CI board. I have been using the CI board for a couple years now and still post there. Nancy very kindly pointed me to this board and I am so happy she did, looks like more fun. I am glad we can say "shit" on it. I probably won't but like to have that option.

I am an American who has been living in Switzerland for the past 20 years. I am married and have 2 daughters (12 and 16) and a dog (9). I started working last year after not having a "real" job for the past 16 years (although I did do gift baskets, taught English, did some translating). I am now teaching at an English-speaking preschool part time which does eat into my cooking time. I am much more into fast and easy these days. I love to make spicy foods esp. Indian and SE Asian. Baking stresses me but will do it when required.

Glad to see you all here. Amy, I pm'd on CI board as we are planning to go CO next Christmas and I wanted to pick your brain.
Fuzzy, sorry I missed talking to you when I was in SF this past summer. We did have a great time and had some fantastic food.
Frank, good luck on the adoption and CONGRATULATIONS. Good friends adopted a little boy from Russia 3 years ago (he is my husband's godson) and everything went very smoothly. How old are the girls?

Mary

They are 5 & 6, and are in Arhangelsk...very close to the Arctic Circle.

God is toying with me...sending my Southern butt to the Arctic Circle in Feb...I looked today...-4 F

I'm gonna die!!

Mary
Fell free to email me as well regarding Colorado visit. I am in Denver, but just retired after 22 years as president of the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Assoc. Between Amy and me, we can give you lots of information
ilene

Frank,

You're adopting a 5 and a 6 year-old? Wow, it's surprising at that age you couldn't adopt in the US.

My cousin adopted from Kazakstan, but Nick was 1 year old at the time.

Frank, just remember there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. My friends picked up their son in a town called Vladimer (?). They said it is a center for adoptions and mail order brides.

Ilene, thanks I will certainly be getting in touch with you. I am thinking we probably have to book pretty far in advance to get something decent and affordable around X.-mas. (and thanks to Amy too for her PM).

Mary

Fuzzy,

We could have adopted Domestically...but 90% + of Domestic adoptions ar "open" adoptions, we wanted to be parents...not baby sitters...We had no desire to invite momma, daddy, granny, etc. to birthday parties.

Mary,

Send me that info in case this deal I have with Melinda doesn't work out...