When I Grow Up

When I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian. Nothing else mattered. I loved when we had to take our pets to the vet because then I could see everything that went on in a vet's clinic. I borrowed every book our little library had about being a vet. I was really proud of myself when I learned how to spell "veterinarian" correctly. And I was always trying to get my parents to let me have just one more pet. Never got that ferret that I begged for for many years. My parents even recruited our vet in hopes to get me to give that dream up.

Even today when we take our own pets to the vet I feel a tiny twinge of envy when I talk to our vets. I kinda wonder if I could have every pulled it off. I have decided though that as much as I love animals that if it came down to me having to start a new job, totally different from the one that I do now, not art related, that I wouldn't want to be a vet anymore. Nope.

If I could start all over again I would want to be a chef.

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Ok maybe not that one but you get the idea :)

Now if I would have made this announcement about 5+ years ago my mom would have fallen on the floor laughing hysterically. And my mom is one laid back lady. She did her best for years and years and years to try and get me interested in cooking. I just didn't care about it. I grew up on home made foods prepared by my mom every day. Very little junk food and going out to restaurants. And lots and lots of reminders that "Someday you are going to need to know how to cook". And then I went to college and my mom's reminders seemed to be a little more urgent. Maybe she imagined me in a macaroni and cheese coma some day, since that little blue box was all the I knew how to cook at that point.

So what was the turning point?

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Rachael Ray and Top Chef.

Yep, so not kidding.

I'll start off by saying right now that I'm not a HUGE Rachael Ray fan. But she did make me want to learn how to cook because she made it look easy and because she made it look fun. Top Chef basically did the same thing. They made me want to learn to cook. I saw the art and the creativity in it all and heck, in this case you got to EAT your creation.

I think cooking is kinda scary to a lot of people. When people give me compliments on my illustrations a lot of them point out that they can't draw. I'm sure that they can, you just have to want to draw and believe that you can. Anyone can draw. Just like anyone can cook.

Just ask Remy.

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Some of us will be better at it then others but believing that cooking is possible and even FUN was a big door opening for me. And now I really love it. I just hate the dishes part.


So if you got a "do-over" card what would you do? Do you enjoy cooking?