Closing a chapter

Yesterday was the last day of my internship at General Mills working on The Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest. I worked there for 11 weeks, so it was hard to say goodbye. On Wednesday we cleaned the kitchens and organized all the leftover food. At the end of the day we got to take home some of the left over food. I took home some basil pesto, half a red onion, a few green onions, a yellow bell pepper, and some brownie mixes.

When I was filling a bag with the leftover food I was trying to come up with something I could use most of the ingredients in. I came up with this pasta salad-

Here I am making my final meal at my summer parents' home. Sandwiches and pasta salad.

Mix in a big bowl:
1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup prepared basil pesto

1 cup shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend)

Add:

1/2 box pasta, cooked, drained and cooled

1 large yellow pepper, chopped

5 green onions, sliced

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 a red onion, diced

Mix. Store in the fridge.

We took the sandwiches and pasta salad to Baker Park and sat at a picnic table near Lake Independence. It was about 75 degrees with a cool breeze, so it was an almost perfect evening.

Yesterday morning I moved out of my summer parents' home before heading to my last day of work. Before I said goodbye they prayed over me, I left with tears in my eyes. This couple's kindness and generosity never ceases to amaze me. It was an utter joy to live with them this summer.

At work we finished cleaning and then helped reshelve the cookbooks, that had been used for searching the originality of the recipes, in the library. The whole Pillsbury Bake-Off team went out to lunch and had great time. When we got back to the kitchens we looked over the pictures of all the recipes and picked our the ones we hope will win. Each of the interns got a bag full of Pillsbury items, including a Doughboy doll that laughs when you poke its tummy.

We all hugged and said goodbye. It really was a splendid summer. I got to work with some incredible people and learn a lot about how a test kitchen works. I feel so blessed to have had this internship.

I honestly applied for this internship thinking it would just be good experience to apply for it. Then when I got a phone interview I thought that would just be good experience. Then I got an on site interview and thought that would just be good experience. I never thought they would actually hire me. When they did I had a lot of anxiety about living and working in and traveling to and from Minneapolis. I spent a lot of time praying. Praying that God would open my heart to this opportunity, that I would feel at peace about the internship, that God would provide a church family and host family for me. God provided in so many ways this summer. I have not felt alone or homesick, I have enjoyed my work environment and got along well with all my coworkers. I can now merge onto a busy freeway without breaking a sweat. I am more capable than I thought.