I definitely consider you to be a writer.

Ummmm questions...

If you could visit anywhere in the world and money was not an option, where would you go?

My top three choices:
1) Hawaii
2) England
3) Australia

Well...hmm. How about...

A while back you mentioned you were trying to improve your fitness. How's that been going? I'm interested in hearing about people's progress (or lack of, struggles etc), as someone who's been trying to do the same thing for several months!

Well, even though we can't really afford it, I signed up for 8 personal training sessions because I felt it was really important for my health and well being. Plus, with all of my physical limitations I needed someone to show me what I should and should not be doing. I've had 4 of them and when my trainer comes back from vacation in the begining of august I'll have the other 4.
I've been going to the gym 4 times a week for the past three weeks. I try to do 2 days with the trainer (I also do cardio on those days) and 2 days of just cardio.
The personal training sessions have been AWESOME. They've taught me that I can accomplish a lot more than I thought I could. Between my back and my shoulder problems I've been feeling very fragile, and I've now learned that if I work at it I can be strong and do things that I thought I'd never be able to do (such as play tennis or go on a rafting trip).
I feel empowered and proud of myself.
I've only lost a couple of pounds and a few inches, but I've gained strength, muscle, and confidence.

You're a rock star!!!!!

Fantastic job with the trainer. I've been toying with the idea, too.

Tell me your thoughts about Bush's veto on gov't funding of stem cell research today.

He'll eat a cow, or a pig- something that has feelings- but stem cells, which have no nervous system or brain, and have the potential to save thousands of lives, THAT would be cruel!?
He'll sacrifice so many soldiers lives by sending them to an unnecessary war, but he will fight tooth and nail to protect a bunch of cells. Cells, who I might add, don't have families and friends back home who miss them.
He's forcing his radical, scary religion on me when he does things like that.
His priorities are WAY out of whack.

He, like Britney Spears, is proof that money can't buy class or brains.

I might also add that the stell cells that we are talking about are the ones that are left over and would be THROWN OUT anyway.
My dad is dying of cancer right now, and the research being done with stem cells might one day be used to cure someone in his situation.
If I had the chance to kick Gearge W. in the nuts, I would SO take it.

Hey Torrie, glad it was just empty brain and not something real bad that had held you back from posting. Loved your story re: the vomit, too. My worst vomit story was when I was a surgical resident (I used to want to be a burns/reconstructive surgeon before I saw the light and changed to gassing) and I went down to the ER to see this guy with a bowel blockage. Just to set the scene, he was a street person, so he smelled pretty bad at the best of times. Anyway, I had just introduced myself and he had this almighty chunder, mostly into the small milkshake container they gave out for vomit, but also all over the sheets. So powerful was the force of this emesis, his false teeth shot out and into the milkshake cup. He calmly finished vomiting, reached into the container and shoved them straight back into his mouth. Ewwwwwww!!! Oh yes, he wiped his face on the (already stained) sheets, too.

AAAAANYWAY... enough chuck stories, I think you should write that list of things you want to do before you are 40.

How's the hair, btw?

I've decided to let my hair go natural and see what happens.
I think it will end up being light brown with blonde highlights.

Give me a schedule of what you do in a typical day. I am talking all the mundane stuff that people don't generally talk about.

I love your creativity in the cakes that you make- how did you get started with that and where did you learn all of the techniques to do it? I find them awesome!

SFG,
-I wake up betwen 9-10AM (I need LOTS of sleep).
-Check email.
-Poop.
-Get dressed, brush teeth, feed Dexter,take Dexter out. Depending how hot or cold it is, Dexter's walk takes between 15 minutes-hour.
-I come back and do stuff on the computer (read blogs, Flickr, VeggiePregnancy, etc) while eating lunch (I usually don't eat breakfast).
-After lunch I do various chores; load/unload dishwasher, wash/fold laudry, vaccuum (There's LOTS of hair),dust, clean the bathroom, feed cats lunch, food shopping, etc. There's also very often vet appointments and doctor's appointments for me or my dad.
- I go to the gym or do some form of excercise 4 times a week. I usually go in the afternoon.
- Then I come home walk Dexter,and take a shower.
-Then I make dinner (I make lunch and dinner from scratch at least 5 times a week).
- I try not to watch any TV during the day, so I usually turn the TV on at 7PM to watch Jeopardy.
-We eat dinner.
-Then the husband (if he's home) reads medical journals and I read pregnancy or women's health magazines or books (research for veggiepregnancy.com) while we watch TV.
-Durning the summer we very often have something happening on a weeknight
(for example-Monday night we saw a concert), or we'll take a walk after dinner.
-During the rest of the year we usually are attached to the TV most weeknights (sad, I know).
-The husband feeds the cats and walks Dexter before bed (If he's not home then obviously, I do it)while I check my email and then shut down the computer.
- I either do Sudoku or read a book while lying in bed.
-I brush my teeth, pee, take my vitamins, and then go to sleep at around midnight.
Descriptive enough for ya?

Laurie,
I graduated from culinary school with a degree in Pastry Arts when I was 20. As part of the curriculum I had to comlete an unpaid internship.
I did mine at a small business on Long Island that specailized in wedding cakes and special occassion cakes.
It was a husband and wife. The wife did the cakes and the husband ran the business, and they had a couple of guys working in the kitchen for them. we hit it off right away and I had this almost magical talent for cakes, so after my internship they hired me on and I became their apprentice.
I moved up quickly, and eventually became the Executive Pastry Chef.
I loved being so creative, but I worked a TON of hours during the busy seasons, and while all of my friends were going to college and having fun, I spent my early 20's working my ass off. I remember one weekend in particular where the wife and I did 26 wedding cakes. That doesn't even include the birthday, or other special occasssion cakes we did.
When I was 23 they sold the business to someone who I didn't like. I stayed for a little while, but eventually I got fed up and I moved to Boston to be with the husband (I was 23). I stopped doing wedding cakes for a living.
I still do all of my friends and family's wedding and special occassion cakes.
It's a lot more enjoyable when I don't have to do it on a daily basis.

oooh. so based on your last answer, why did you choose to stop doing cakes completely? not a good living or just not what you felt was your thing?

also, what are you wearing today?

Sarcomical, I originally stopped doing cakes when I moved to Boston because I felt like there wasn't anything left for me to learn.
I did pies and tarts for a while, then I managed a chocolate shop/cafe,then I was a nanny,then I was a manager of a high end kitchen supply store, then I was a nanny again, then I moved back to NY, started my own baking business (mostly cookies and pies- I don't have the space to do cakes).
THEN, I blew out my shoulder and had to have surgery and the rest is history.

I am currently wearing a grey T-shirt and blue and yellow stripped pyjama pants. when I took the pooper out I wore jeans and pumas.
Sorry-not very interesting. I'm a jeans and T-shirt kind of gal.

me too. ;) i'm in a tshirt and sweats. talk about being george.

"sweats" sounds so much grander than the aussie equivalent- 'tracky dacks'- (rhymes with slacky tacks). 'Tracky' being short for 'tracksuit' and 'dacks' being 'pants' or 'trousers'. So here I am in tracky dacks, two t-shirts and a jumper- sorry, "sweater". Oh and mini ugg boots (the REAL australian variety). It is cool here, 16*C (about 62).

Enough Aussie-isms; you may have covered this before, but how did you meet the husband? Where and how were you married?

Wierd family always works for me.

I wish to read your thoughts on body hair control, but written in iambic pentameter.

Because EVERYTHING should be expressed in iambic pentameter.

I enjoy your writing... don't stop! I don't know you, but I stumbled upon your blog months ago, and continue to come back now and then.
I wish I had your drive to get in shape. When I'm done work, I just want to GO HOME, and DO NOTHING, lol.