It seems strange to say the end of 2022 is only a few days away. For whatever reason, the last few months have flown by in the blink of an eye. I’ve wrapped up the first semester of an Honors program, submitted a research proposal for approval, and (mostly) managed to keep up with Meatloaf. He’s a silly dog that is continuing to grow at 14 months; he’s around 110 lbs and getting bigger. Thank goodness he’s a happy boy, though he loves driving Bella a little crazy.

Most recently, we had to make a quick scramble to find tickets to Alton Brown’s Beyond The Eats show when the Fresno performance was cancelled a week before the event. Luckily, I was able to find good tickets for the Northridge show, although I was bummed that all of the VIP tickets were gone. It worked out fortuitously though; Jet and Ali Tila happened to be sitting directly in back of us, so I was able to say hi and take a picture with them. Another chef and baker checked on my food groupie list to meet. They were very nice, and I hope I get a chance to run into them again. I didn’t get picked for Alton’s game show this time (he chose people that were in the VIP section). At least I can say that I’ve probably seen his live show (five times), and been onstage with him (three times) more than anyone. It was really cool to see his wife, Elizabeth, play bass during the show. She has gotten a lot more comfortable performing over the last year.

The new year brings in a few fun things right off the bat. Food Groupie Cinema will start in January, and I’ll post more information ahead of time. The other big thing is a new season of Worst Cooks in America! The new recruits are social media personalities, but being tech savvy does not mean they can find their way around the kitchen. Tune in to Food Network starting January 1st for the new season, and don’t forget to get your bingo cards! New cards will be posted the week before each new show.