Mini Restaurant Review

I really liked the assignment for today in my Food Writing class. I think I did a pretty good job describing one of my all time favorite foods at a restaurant near my college.

The most amazing pieces of meat on the planet reside in Wings over Ithaca. I don't eat much meat to begin with so when I decide that today is going to be my meat day, I order from Wings Over Ithaca. It's funny, growing up I was never into eating chicken wings. Then my whole world changed in a blink of an eye. I can't get enough of them.
When you pick one up it looks golden brown like an awesome wing should and the smell....oh.....my....lands. You can just imagine your tounge gracing itself over the smooth/ rough surface of the wing. The glaze of the honey bbq is just divine. You take a bite and bursts of sweetness and hotness enters your mouth and into your nostrils. When you pull away to chew and swallow already your tongue is begging for more. It tastes so good. You honestly can't leave Ithaca without trying a wing from Wings over Ithaca.

I'm really glad this restaurant isn't just native to Ithaca but all over :D

Half way through the semester of senior year!

Should I be scared or worried or excited? How about all three! I'm still writing furiously trying to get my novel to be somewhat finished by the end of the semester. I will probably end up writing more during the summer just to please my inner writer. I have decided to turn my book into two parts. One will be the growing up part called Learning Process. The second will be about the meet. Meaning at some point my characters will meet I just haven't figured out when or how.
Here is another section of my book. Still in part one.

Spokane, Washington

“Now what?!” Sharon’s tears haven’t subsided during the couple’s hour long conversation. It took Luke awhile to get Sharon to even look at him at the beginning of the conversation but now she was huddled in his lap. Luke’s throat closes at a loss for words. Again and again his mouth opens but no words escape his tight esophagus.

“How did this happen? Did I do something that caused this!”

“No, honey, don’t think like that. Dr. Burns told us that sometimes things like this happen with no explanation”. He rubbed his hands up and down her back. She curled up against his chest sobbing. Luke tenderly held both his wife and little Jamie. He let a tear fall down his face but then wiped it away before it hits the sleeping child. “We love you” he whispers to her. After a few minutes, Sharon pulls away, fixes her hair and wipes her tear stains.

“Ok”, she says taking in a long breath. “We can do this, right?” she turns to Luke for comforting words. “Oh course, baby. We can do anything as long as we are together”.

Sharon takes a deep long look into her husband’s sparkling green eyes that she loves so much. She can’t believe she ever doubted him, the love of her life. Jason had proven himself to her a million times even through the many miscarriages.

“Did I tell you how much I love you?” she asks not bothering to hide her smile.

“Ummm, not really”.

She punches him slightly hard in the shoulder. “You know I’m kidding”. With a huff, she shakes her head. “So… who should we talk to about this?”

“Well, Dr. Burns gave me these” he shows her the pamphlets about cochlear implants. “They talk about putting a metal disk inside the child’s skull in order to provide hearing and…”  “Surgery!? No one is going to stick a metal disk into my child’s head!” Sharon yells out causing Jamie to stir in her arms. Sharon stops moving and waits until Jamie is still.

“We are not giving her a cochlear implant. We can’t” she whispers urgently.

“I’m not a fan either. What if…what if we learn American Sign Language?” Luke suggests.

“It’s probably hard”.

“We won’t know if it’s hard until we try it but I think we should do whatever it takes to make Jamie happy” says Luke watching her reaction. Sharon sighs quite loudly. Sharon’s mind races with doubts. She looks at her daughter and gives a smaller sigh.

 “I hate it when you’re right…but yea, we should be thinking about her needs before ours”.

“Why are you agitated with me?” Luke asks confused by his wife’s apparent attitude.

“Our child is Deaf! Do you really understand that?” she asks throwing her hands up in the air.

“Yes, I understand that but it’s not the end of the world. We just need to work together and not get too emotional about it”. Luke says trying his best to stay calm. “It says here in this that they suggest seeing an audiologist. Maybe he will give us better insight”.

Sharon looks at him twitching her lips in thought. She begins to realize he does have a point. Sharon was never good at admitting someone else was right.

After a minute of silence she nods and says, “Yea, alright we can ask Dr. Burns when he comes back to see if he has a recommendation”. She gives a tight smile. “I’m sorry I’m so…” She struggles to come up with the right words, “So annoying. It’s just that…I’m scared. What if I’m not a good mother? What if we can’t learn ASL? What if…” Her tears start to fall faster than before. “Sweetie” Luke says tenderly as he gathers her into his lap. “We need to focus on the silver lining of this situation. After years of trying, we have finally been blessed with a child. That alone should make you the happiest woman on Earth”. Sharon looks up and smiles and gives her husband a passionate kiss. All three of the Leighton’s are curled up inside one another. “I love you” Luke says. “I love you too and you” Sharon says turning toward Jamie. Luke inhales Sharon’s scent and asks, “You feeling better now?”

“Yea, I’m so glad I married you”

“Me too” They both huddle around little Jamie until a knock came at the door.

“Come in!” says Luke getting up from the bed and settling into a chair. Dr. Burns walks in and greets them all.

“How is little Jamie doing?”

“Good, thank you so much. We did have a question for you Dr. Burns”.

“Sure, what can I help you with?”

“Who should we see about helping Jamie? This suggests seeing an audiologist. You know what you could recommend to us?” Dr. Burns nods then takes out a pad of paper and a shiny pen from his coat breast pocket. “Go see Dr. Loiseau at the Spokane Audiology Clinic. I’m writing down his phone number too. We actually went to high school together. Amazing we are still in touch”. He hands the paper to Luke. “Thank you so much” Luke says giving Dr. Burns a firm handshake. “Good bye Sharon, Luke and Jamie” he smiles as he starts for the door but before he leaves he turns and says, “A nurse will be by shortly to escort you to your car. You’re officially released. Have a safe drive home”. He closes the door firmly behind him. 

This is a really emotional time for Sharon and Luke. I'm hoping the tension comes out in this well enough.

Scared out of my mind!!

As graduation approaches I am more and more intimated by the amount of computer and writing skills I don't know. I love learning new things I am just worried I there will be something an employer is looking for and it's the one skill I don't have or am not proficient as they would like.
Writing is something I enjoy immensely and I dont want to stop writing just because I'm afraid I might not be good enough. I need to stand strong and be confident that I was prepared well at Ithaca College and throughout my schooling as a growing writer. My dream is to have a book I write on the New York Times Bestseller list. Maybe even have a book turn into a movie. I have been told that my stories are cinematic. Passion is what I have that is what I can bring to the company I eventually end up working for where ever that may be.

Senior Project

I am writing my senior project on deaf culture. I have been involved with American Sign Language since high school and recently decided to pursue an interest in becoming a tutor or teacher of English to Deaf high school students.
This is the first chapter of my story,


Chapter 1 – It’s time
Spokane, Washington
“Honey, it’s time!” Sharon’s gasping voice cries out into the dark bedroom. The man next to her, the husband, doesn’t move. Sharon breathes in and out several times before trying to raise him again. Oh, why does pregnancy have to hurt so much?! “HONEY!” Louder this time and she tries to shake him but can barely muster the strength to move his muscled arm. Her eyes start to mist because of the pain. He shifts his body away from her. She starts to feel the pain more intensely now and growing desperate. Breathing slowly and evenly, she tries to get out of bed on her own. She can do this. She just has to breathe.
She rocks herself to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. One leg is hanging over the side and the other is still on the bed. She lays back down again, exhausted. Sweat is starting to form on her already pale forehead. Sharon turns her head toward her still sleeping husband and tries yet again to wake him up. She wasn’t going to let him miss the birth of his first child.
She takes in a huge breath and pushes him hard as she could. He not only moves but rolls completely off the bed. He springs up and looks at his wife franticly trying to figure out what was going on. Sharon’s face is ashen. A whimper like a lost puppy dog in the rain makes. He knew exactly what was happening. His eyes widen just before he leaps over the bed to his wife’s side to help her up. They start to walk slowly to the door. Luke leans his wife onto the wall and disappears into the bathroom. He comes back in a couple seconds with a wet warm wash cloth and put it over her forehead. “Feeling better, Sharon?” She turns her head up to meet his eyes and grits her teeth to prevent herself from screaming at him. She can’t believe he just asked her that question.
 He swallowed hard in guilt. Not looking at her face, they continue out of the house to go to the hospital. “Thanks” she offers him a weak smile as he puts the car in drive. They hold hands as he maneuvers the Honda out onto the road.
New York City
A brightly lit apartment building looks quiet as everyone is soundly sleeping all except the fairly young doorman and a young couple who are really pregnant. The doorman sees the couple rushing from the elevators through the lobby and holds the door open for them. I hurriedly sign, “James, get us a cab quick!” James, the doorman, pulls out his taxi whistle and gives it a long blow. Almost immediately a cab stops at the curb. The couple rush in all the while the wife, Christina, is breathing in and out rapidly. “Slowly!” Mr. Akron sign trying to be gentle. He loves her so much and knows deep down she can do this. He silently cheers her on. With a wave from James, the taxi pulls away toward the New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Spokane, Washington
Sharon and her husband make it to the Valley Hospital emergency room in a state of mass confusion. There were signs everywhere, nurses running around while reading folders and patients on gurneys being pushed every which way. Every muscle in her body, those she knows she has those she doesn’t know about, hurt so very painfully. When her mother told her about giving birth, she must have downplayed it because this was way worse than anything Sharon had experienced.
The couple was unsure which direction to turn until the husband saw a desk down a short hallway with a nurse stationed there. They galloped to the desk out of breath, beads of sweat coming down both their foreheads. “My wife’s pain is about five minutes apart”, he spews out to the red headed nurse. He looks to her for confirmation and she nods holding the wash cloth in place. Sharon wanted to scream, “Hurry up for crying out loud!” but held her tongue. She was sure her vocal cords weren’t working anyways.
“Alright, then I will put your information into the computer and a doctor will be with you momentarily. What is your name?” The nurse motions for another nurse to get a wheelchair for the wife. “Luke and Sharon Leighton” While Luke talks with the nurse a doctor comes over and briefly examines Sharon asking questions about her pain.
Within a few minutes the doctor comes and ushers them into a birthing room. Sharon’s face is slowly becoming pink and her hands clammy. Luke kisses her forehead and cheek gently trying desperately not to look as scared as he felt. She knows that her loving husband will become just as good a father as he is a husband to her. Sharon only hopes she has the strength to give him the child he has longed for.
To take their minds off the moment and the pain, Luke says, “So we never agreed on a name for the baby you know” he smiled at her.
“True” she gave a little breathy laugh. “I really want Jamie for a girl but I could settle for Kelly…”
“No, I don’t want you to settle. She or he will be our kid. I like the name Jamie”. He rubbed her hand. “And for a boy?” she asks trying not to show her pain. “Well, you hated all my ideas from the moment we started trying” Luke says trying not to let his anxiety get the best of him. They both go silent for a while. He really had to bring that up? Luke sighs and says, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say it like that. I’m really happy that we finally are going to have a child”. Does he blame me? “I just want to give you the child you’ve always wanted!” tears escaped her eyes down her cheeks. She sniffles a little. Luke grabs the box of tissues and hands them to her. She blows her nose while Luke wipes her face with the back of his hand.
The tender moment brakes when Sharon lets out a half scream. Luke scrambled to get to his feet causing the chair to fall to the floor with a bang. Luke presses the red button to summon a nurse. A second later a nurse runs into the room. Before she could open her mouth, Luke says frantically, “The baby is coming! Where’s the doctor?”
“I’ll get him. Your doctor just arrived”.
She scampers out the door and within a few seconds their doctor, Dr. Burns came in. He checks her over then told the nurse to get some things then turns to Sharon, “Ok, all you need to do is push”.
“I’ll be right here for you, Sharon”. Luke’s breathing starts to get heavier and faster as Sharon’s breathing escalates. Sharon watches Luke’s face to get a glimpse of what was running through him mind. The nurse sees the exchange and says to Mr. Leighton, “You can wait outside if you would like to, sir”. Part of him wanted to run but the other part told him to stay put. “No, no. My wife needs me” he says finally. Sharon’s face relaxes as she focuses her energy on getting the baby out.
Fifteen gruelling hours later, a spotted pink baby popped out from under the crimson sheets. Both Luck and Sharon eyes were misty as their eyes took in their first born child. The nurse picks up the baby and takes her away to be tested. Sharon wants to grab her child from the nurse but steadies herself knowing full well that her baby was in careful hands.
“We will be back in a jiffy” she says with a smile.
 “Our first child is so beautiful and so precious”, Luke says squeezing her hand. Sharon nodded her eyes filled with tears. “Our Jamie”.

There will be more soon. Always a work in progress. Most likely this will end up being a novel. Haven't really figured out how I want to end it but it should be exciting.