I feel as though you must feel some pain and hurt, in order to start feeling and appreciating all the joy, beauty, and happiness that is within life. Picture when you were a kid. You would run, fall down, scrape your knees, and possibly begin to cry if you hurt them bad enough. Then your mom, a loved one, or someone taking care of you, would come and either give you a band aid, maybe kiss you on your forehead, or do something that would instantly make you feel so much better. Than you would be so happy, you would just go out and run around all over again. Life is such a precious thing. Something I know that we all hear often, is that the life we have we may be taking for granted sometimes. This may or may not be a true a statement for all, but sometimes in order for us to really appreciate it is when an event or situation has happened, forcing you to re examine what amazing blessings have been bestowed within your life.
This past week, a very dear friend had passed away. During the week of Thanksgiving, it was a very hard thing to believe and come to terms with the fact that anything, such as awful as a friends passing, could happen at any moment.. even during the holdiay season. My friends name is Sean Kelly. He was only 44 years old, and was returning home from an annual surf trip with some buddies from Mexico, when his plane had taken a dive into Newports waters. It was a shock, and a feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of me upon hearing the news. I cried. I cried for his family, I cried for his friends, and I cried mostly for his beautiful wife Laura. They were just starting their amazing journey together, and were in the middle of writing thier love story. I pain for her, and wish there were words of comfort at a time like this, so all I can continue to show and give for now is my love and friendship.
Sean was a mentor of mine, along side a group of many at my church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Hermosa Beach. The best way I can think to describe Sean, was like the cool older brother. He would joke with you, make you laugh, give some awesome advice, while telling it like it is. Although the past few years we didn't speak as often, he was still an awesome support along with his wife Laura. They were always at graduation parties, birthdays, weddings, and always down to go listen to a friends band, grab a drink, and have a good time. His love for the ocean was a great one, and he loved sharing that love with whomever was willing to embrace it along with him. Sean was a true example of what the phrase "living life to the fullest" meant. His love for his wife, his family, his friends, his church community, the ocean, and God was a true testament to the man he was and represented.
I would say a final common known quote, for living your life and living it well, but instead, I'll leave you with this...
You have a life, now go LIVE IT. Live it with integrity, with love, with hope, with faith, and much much more in which it may offer.
"Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand..."
The saying goes, for men anyways, "The way to a man's heart, is through his stomach." True, very true. However, I also believe that men are not the only one's that are affected by the "love spell" of food. In fact, I am found to be caught under food's "love spell" every single day. I LOVE food! I love everything about it. The smells, the sights, the textures, the taste, I just love food; especially eating it. I also love to cook it. Thankfully, I have been blessed with a creative knack for cooking and am always looking for new ways to create scrumptious new dishes. Anything from savory to sweet, I find cooking to be a very wonderful creative outlet that I am slowly perfecting every time I enter the kitchen.
I would have to say my love and inspiration for cooking food, as well as eating it, has come from my mother. She is one of the best cooks that I know, and she is always willing to share her many cooking secrets with me. She treats the kitchen as a painter would with a blank canvas. Hardly uses a recipe, and cooks straight from the heart. You can definitely taste the love that was made with it in every bite that you take. I have learned from her that food comes out the best when you love to cook it, when you are being creative with it (but not going crazy now!), and are willing to practice. Practice does make perfect, or as perfect as it can get in an imperfect world. I always tell my boyfriend, "with me, you will never go hungry", and that is another reason I wanted to make sure I knew my way around the kitchen. I want to give my family the same wonderful tasting food that my mom had always given us.
If you're new to cooking, or are delving into it a little more, my advice would be to have fun with it! Let those creative juices just flow. I know I still have a ton of practice ahead of me, but I love it! Food Network and The Cooking Channel are awesome by the way if your looking for new ideas and such:)
