One Month Later......

So it's been just over a month since my last post and almost 6 weeks since I was laid off from my job. I felt the need to cocoon for a little while. To run and hide. To get angry. To stamp my feet and have a tantrum or two. To cry a few tears. And then, the final phase--to lick my wounds and move on. That is easier said than done. I haven't not worked in 28 years, so re-adjusting to a schedule that is not revolving around my going off to work in the morning is weird and it's been hard for me not to go somewhere and do something.

I was hoping my baking would go full-time, but without my full-time job to fund the baking, that was not to be either. I had to officially close my bakery to outside clients, who were not thrilled. I guess that is suppose to make me happy! But it just makes my heart ache. I still bake for my friends and for the church whenever they need it, but it's just not enough to fulfill this need I have to bake and create in the kitchen alllll day.

But what all this has allowed me to do is sit with my daughter the whole entire time she's eating breakfast in the morning instead of getting up in the middle of it to go off to work. I drive her school now and we sing or chat or just listen to the local morning show do their antics. It's the hours after that when I am home kickin' around the house the rest of the day with nothing to do that gets me. So....I've been doing some volunteer work at my church and some volunteer work at our new N.C. Museum of Art is starting up next week. And I have been applying to many, many radio stations. There has been some courting by a couple of stations, but even that process has slowwwwwwed waaaaay dowwwwwwnnnnnn since the last time I applied for a job. We'll see where all that leads......

God sure has base-lined my life. My full-time job is gone and my part-time job is gone. I have this visual in my head where I'm standing at a starting line. There is lots behind me that I can see but in front of me? Nothing....at least nothing that I can see. It's just.....white. I know there is stuff out there and I have extreme faith that God is in charge of it all, so I know whatever I cannot see right now, it's gonna be awesome. But waiting for the starting gun, is not one of my better qualities. I keep wanting to jump the gun and I keep getting yanked back to that starting line. I just know God is up there saying "All in good time, woman!". Any day now......any day, God.

Hockey and Being Put On Ice.....

I've been watching the Winter Olympics with much love over this past week. The downhill, luge, bobsled, skeleton and snowboarding.....those are my favorites to watch. The ice dancing is ok. I'm in awe at their talent, it's just that ice skating is not my thing. I do love their outfits though. They are gorgeous. But watching the USA Men's Hockey Team play Canada last night was the BEST! Watching the best of the best players in hockey from the US and Canada on one ice playing their hardest? WOW! Now THAT was some awesome hockey. It was soooo fast and considering that these guys don't play on the same team year round, they played with such fluidity like they had been playing together for years. And our goalie!!!! I must say that I DO NOT like the Buffalo Sabres at all....I mean there is much dis-like for that team, but I am liking me some Ryan Miller right now. He is an amazing goalie and just worked his a** off last night. Miller-time indeed! Add to alllll this that Team USA beat Canada at their game? NICE! I can't wait to watch some more. Go, boys, go!!!

Speaking of ice...specifically being iced, I was laid off from my job last week. I have written before on here about my suspicions that this would happen and it did. I work full-time in radio and over the past two years, thousands of us have been laid off as the industry has suffered massively through the economic downturn. My company held off as long as they could and when they made their first layoff right after the new year, I knew 2010 in my building was not going to be kind. Soooooo....what to do? I've been on the air in radio for over 25 years and the business has changed so much from what it was that drew me to it back in the early days. I've learned to 'never say never' when it comes to this business, but I don't think I'm going to actively pursue another job in radio. If something amazing finds me--I'll certainly consider it, but I believe that this is my crossroads. My baking and my dreams of world domination as far as my baked goods go, is definitely the most attractive option. It is what I have dreamed about and prayed for and there certainly is no better time to go for it......

My company is paying out my contract for another few weeks, so I'm taking my slow, sweet time over the next few days to enjoy a little time off, get a clear head and take that next big step in the right direction. But my heart says....that Heavenly Scents Bakery is about to go global.

A Different Winter Wonderland.....

Wow time is just whippin' by. I did not realize how much time had gone by since my last update. A few more snowflakes have fallen since the last storm, but it melted the same day so it was kinda the perfect snow. Gorgeous falling and quick to clean itself up!

I've enjoyed the first full weekend of the Winter Olympics. I'm sure Vancouver had no idea that they would have a stretch of really warm weather when they needed some of their coldest temperatures. Funny that there have been some spots further south here in the US that have been colder than Vancouver lately! Hopefully Mother Nature will blow some frigid air their way. The old-school Bobsledding, Luge and Downhill are my favorites as is Snowboarding. I have found though that after I watch the Winter X-Games, all the winter events at the Olympics seem sooooo tame! Maybe the Olympics could have an Extreme division added to the games. As of this morning, the USA has 8 gold medals. YAY, us!

Shawn White doin' what he does best.....catchin' air!

Winter Wonderland....

Some blogs ago, I complained that every time a snow fall is predicted for my area, we never get it. Well last night, we did get it! It started snowing last night around 8pm. I knew it did because my security light on the back of the house kept flicking on and off as snowflakes triggered the sensor. It snowed through the night and this morning we have about 4-5 inches. Sleet is falling now, so the icy crust on to top of the snow is forming. The roads will be very dangerous over the next couple of days. Everything around is closed. I had 2 catering events this weekend that got cancelled. Church is cancelled and we will not be able to get out to see the Canes play tonight. So we are 'cabin-bound' for the rest of the weekend. I am ok with that.

....the moon last night...

...eating alone...

....puffing up....

pictures courtesy of my neighbors
who posted on wunderground.com

Framing George.....

Six months ago I started up my bakery here in NC. The re-building of my business after moving here from California has moved along pretty fast. The holidays worked in my favor, as lots of folks were going to parties and giving gifts, so lots of bread, cookie, dessert platter orders poured in in December. But from the get go, it's been all word-of-mouth and the words have been great! One of those dessert platters I hand delivered (I don't normally do delivery) to the owner of a local coffee shop. The platter was ordered by a customer who wanted to say thanks to their favorite coffee shop and its' baristas. I knew this was an introduction I couldn't pass up. I'm glad I didn't...that dessert platter ended up being a great investment into my future.

Last week I made my first delivery of scones and biscotti to this same coffee shop and they are now selling my baked goods! To eventually supply my baked goods to eateries or coffee shops nationwide is the eventual goal. This is the start. This is an independent coffee bar, not a chain, so the owner started cautiously--only 1 dozen to start with. After the first day of having my scones in the store, she ordered another dozen and said the clients went crazy for them. Yay! Today, one week later, she is now ordering 2 dozen scones and a dozen of my gourmet pretzels twice a week. We're getting there!

So last week I deposited my first check as a wholesale bakery.....for $31.00! It may not sound like a lot, but it represents a lot to me. I know that that day will come when I will reminisce about my baking empire and will say "Hey, it all started by supplying a couple dozen scones to that little coffee bar in NC....and I still deliver to them to this day." Yep, I see it!

Oh yeah....I only deposited $30 and got 1 dollar back in cash. Can't launch your business without that symbolic framed 1 dollar bill. George may not be smiling much, but I sure am!

Hope for Haiti...

The earthquake in Haiti happened this past Tuesday and since then I have just been mesmerized by the pictures and stories that are coming out of that wreckage. The pictures of a city flattened, thousands missing, bodies in the street. The first amazing story I read was of the lady found in what was left of a grocery store. She spent 50 hours in the dark buried up to her neck in rubble. I imagine if that were me and wonder what I would be thinking during those 50 hours. I know I would be having some seriously long conversations with God. What else are you gonna do? And what about those promises that I'm sure she made to God, while begging for her life. "God if you save me from this, I will......." We've all done that, right? No food, no water, no light, not knowing if you would ever see the sun again, or your family and if that was the way you were going to die. The things that must go through your mind in that type of extreme crisis situation. Then I wonder, how will her life will be different after her rescue? Will she ever be able to go inside another building or ever be able to go grocery shopping or buy that particular item she was reaching for when the shaking started? Will she even stay in Haiti? Does she even have the means to leave if she wanted......

My church does lots of mission work in Haiti and had purchased a few buildings there to turn one into a hospital and one into a school. The hospital was going to reside in an old abandoned Catholic Church that is now a pile of rubble and the school? Don't know....but as our pastor said Saturday Night, it doesn't matter. Buildings can be rebuilt and replaced, lives cannot. So the mission work through our church has just become ten times as important and basically starts over.

I know I spent a lot of time this week thanking God for my safety and the safety of my family. I wish and pray for lots more rescues and fewer recoveries and that we all remember just how blessed we truly are.

The Big Tease.....

If you are one of those sections of the country that has been buried under snow and ice the past 4-6 weeks, you are not going to like this entry today. I want some snow! Several times in the past few weeks, my TV meteorologist has teased me with the statement "snow is coming" and every time, it has passed us by. The system migrates to the west or skips over us and goes north. I want some snow! I will say I have been enjoying the pictures that my friends around the world have shared of their snow fall. Thanks for them.....I'm living through you!

snow in NY...

snow in Boise, Idaho....

snow at Martha Stewarts' place...
(check out her great pics on her blog!)

even Albequerque, New Mexico got covered....

Soft as the fall of a beautiful thought,
Or a leaf on the stream,
White as the robe by purity wrought,
Bright as the flow of a dream.
Calm as a sleeping infant's breath,
Cold as the brow just touched by death,
Falleth in many a graceful wreath
Gently, the beautiful snow....

~Mary T. Lathrap~