Houston, We Have a Contract

There have been no posts for a while. This is partly because I have only 3 readers, one of whom is my mom. Hi Mom! The other reason though is that I have been busy making plans and taking steps towards the future.

First, I gave my first GourmetGoddess cooking lesson - an Italian spring vegetarian meal. I think it went fairly well, although I did bouil the pasta water over on the stove. Just not used to working with electric anymore.

Second, I have been searching for a new place to live.

Now, don't get me wrong. My plavce on campus is ok. It could be worse, but when I started doing my taxes this year and realized how badly the subsidy was screwing me up, I decided, if I am going to pay close to $1000 in rent and extra taxes due to the subsidy, I am damn well going to just pay close to that in order to own my own place and build up some equity and get to garden as well (yes, I like mowing the lawn). So I found a fantastic place in Zion situated next to a forest preserve and a rive and made an offer. A reasonable offer. And the sellers refused to negotiate. So I took my money back. This turned out to be a good thing because the river flooded and therefore the house flooded. Mwahahahahahahaha!

So I was pretty resigned to being in my housing for another year when a house that had previously been out of my price range was reduced. it's gorgeous, in a decent part of Waukegan, and has excellent potential. I made an offer. They countered. I countered their counter and they countered my counter of their counter. And a deal was made. I got the signed contract last night. Now all that needs to be done is getting the mortage, which shouldn't be a problem as I am pre-approved.

So, the journey begins. Here are pictures. Over time, as I change things, I will post new ones!

I start moving on April 16.

I had to be discounted

Well, the auction is over. And when it came time to put the money on the bidding sheet, my pre-auction interestees were not interested in paying for my cooking adventures. In fact, my starting bid was discounted by 50% just to get people interested. The romantic dinner for two and the vegeterian family style meal each went for $10 and the garden party - valued at $200 - went for $20.

The winners are cool folks with whom I will enjoy cooking! I will let you know what we end up making...

I am going to be the hit of the auction!


So, this week is the week of getting nothing done, of basically going from party to party and pressing the flesh. Which is really hard for me because I am a bit shy at parties and really only go to see if someone will drink too much and dance on a table, especially someone who is terribly shy and awkward in real life.

It could happen.

Nevertheless, I have - at all the staff and faculty parties I have been going to - been talking up my donations to the upcoming silent auction. And really, I think these certificates are going to bring in some cashola. There was a minor almost-loud-voice shoving match between two people last night who each want a particular certificate, and one person has already asked if he can get lessons without having to bid on an adventure.

There is something here. This could really end up being a new career path if I decide to make a radical change. Maybe I should start writing a business plan.

Silent Auction

Well, I finally decided what to donate for the silent auction at my College's staff holiday party - three gifts certificates for Gourmet Goddess Adventures! I even made up little certificates and everything. They are totally cute and professional.

The first is helping to plan, shop for, and prepare a romantic dinner for two. The second is helping to plan, shop for, and prepare a family style vegetarian meal. The third is helping to plan, shop for, and prepare a summer garden party. I hope the three will bring in at least $200!

The auction is the middle of December. I will report back with results!

The Silent Auction

So, I didn't get as many suggestions for cooking lessons I could donate to the silent auction as I had hoped, but here they are:

From Donna - I like them both – and since you do so well with seafood, how about something along those lines? Seafood is tricky to cook – who couldn’t use some tips? That rabbit dish you made was soooooooo good. Do you have to buy the food? What about some of the great stuff you made for Thanksgiving? Not everyone wants to eat a big greasy thanksgiving or Christmas meal, and you have some really yummy healthy dishes. Do a special healthy Christmas dinner for 2 maybe? I want to win that.

Yeah, the three other friends who replied liked the original suggestions, except that everyone did suggest offering lessons on healthy cooking. I wonder if this is a major need and a trend I will see more often. A coworker and her husband with whom I shared my pumpkin curry has suggested that if I decide I want to make a major career shift and become a personal chef for time-starved Lake Forest families, I could probably make a killing. Thinking about going for that degree in holistic nutrition is looking more and more viable.

Help!

My workplace is having a silent auction as part of its faculty-staff holiday lunch. All the money raised through the auction goes to the Northern Illinois Food Bank (way cool!). Employees can donate items and services, and several of my coworkers are suggesting that I donate either cooking or cooking lessons. If you have any suggestions on theme cooking lessons I could offer, let me know asap!

I am thinking of donating lessons along the line of "Romantic Vegetarian Dinner" or "Having your cake and eating it too." Send suggestions my way!