Out with a bang!

The restaurant has been busy. I have been working 60+ hour weeks and everything is going along as well as can be expected.
Kel's folks came to visit for Thanksgiving and we returned the favor by going to New Bern for Christmas.
On the way we re-routed to see the Meadow Lights. Although not overly impressive, it was good to visit the general store, were you could get all sorts of candy goodness and old-fashioned sodas in bottles (RC and Squirt anyone?).
We then carried our tired masses to New Bern where we ate. And ate some more, most of Monday we slept and ate. During Sunday's eating festivities, we met JAG (from Next Food Network Star) who is the Chef at one of the New Bern restaurants. We got to hear some of the behind the scenes info from the show and jibber-jab for a couple of minutes.
But most unlike me, who was going to wait until January, we broke the Amy-is-preggers news to both sets of grandparents-to-be, Kel's on Christmas Eve and mine on Christmas day.
Kel's mom always always always starts bugging the rest of the family to open a present on Christmas Eve. Always. Every year it gets earlier and earlier in the day - at one point it was 8 or 10 at night - this go round we somehow made it to 4 in the afternoon. Kel and I gave them a present alright - a Merry Christmas Grandma and Grandpa card with Ultrasound pics taped inside. It took them a minute, but when they figured it out there was an outpouring of OHHHH's.
It was tougher for the folks from Philly, because after gentle prodding to open up their frickin' email for 20 minutes, the stupid e-card didn't pop right up on screen. Thank you Hallmark.

Just as I thought, I never could've handled this whole pregnancy without them. Mind you I'm 11+ weeks along and the first thing from Kel's mom is - "you know you can't have alcohol now."
And from my very own flesh and blood after claiming she knew something was up - Mommacita Mel - "you know you should be eating healthy."
Good thing I've been throwing back the booze and eating crap food for the last couple of months 'cuz now I have to lead a life on the straight and narrow.

I have to say, out of the whole thing, the best two responses were:
1) from my dad who was still on the phone with me and started emailing everyone he knows. (dads are so cool when you least expect it) and 2) my mom saying that my dad could go completely gray to fit the part now - I thought the wedding was enough to do that.

Festive greetings y'all!

November?!?! Seriously.

Whew - one day you wake up and it is No-frickin'-vember.
Since I've been averaging about a blog a month, I guess I should make it a good one.

We have been training a new dessert person at the restaurant. I feel like she is getting it, but she is changing and adapting the station to her own ways (which gives me a weird feeling as a "trainer"). She has picked up some of the things that have been harder for others to pick up, but still gets flustered when the tickets hit hard. Between the pastry chef and I, we have been getting her on track, pulling 1 1/2 shift days and helping her with her speed. The toughest part for me is not taking over when I see something that can be done more efficiently. This week, she is on vacation, going to see her parents in California. I'll be working Thurs, Fri and Sat nights. Altough I'm not happy about that, I guess there are worse things. At least I get to go on vacation Sunday through Tuesday with my dad on the annual fishing/not fishing trip.
The pastry chef said she would help the new dessert girl last Saturday night (since her boyfriend was working Saturday night too) which gave me a Saturday night off for once. We had been planning on going west with friends who have newly acquired a mountain love shack and hightailed it to Sparta, NC for an overnight (not really a whole weekend). We relaxed, yet accomplished too, while we were there. We tasted bad North Carolina Wine. We went canoeing. We visited their neighbors' pottery shop. The weather was just how mountain weather should be this time of year - dipping into the 30s and 40s overnight and just being sunny but refreshing during the day.
Other than that - it has been work work work. I put in 108 hours over the last two weeks.
Also during the last two weeks, a little bit of salary depression. Gone are the days of dinners out on a whim, buying things without thinking. In are crazy hours and paying the bills. American dream, right? At least I'm not as stressed.
Last night we met friends for dinner that we hadn't seen in a while. A good couples group where everyone pitched in for a good meal. Kel came back for dinner from Wilson, where he is working all week.
One of these days the tires are going to come in for the car and I can stop driving on the donut. Won't that be peachy!

Part 2 of 2?

So Blogger wasn't letting me log in for a while there. Hate that!

Day 2 in San Fran we had brunch at a delicious French Cafe/Bakery and then headed to Monterey to meet my parents at the Airport when the picked up my sister. They didn't "really" know we were coming until the restaurant called to confirm the reservation for 5. After having Sarah stall for a bit, we made it and then went to Big Sur for a stroll through the woods.

After that we went back to the hotel, got ready for dinner and had a wonderful meal at http://www.pacificsedge.com/ in Carmel.

We stayed over in Monterey and walked around town with Mom and Sarah in the morning while Dad was in his conference. Mid-morning, Kel and I headed back to San Fran via California Rte1, stopping here and there to take in the sites. Including several hikes from roadside to beachside.

The next day we were tourists. Take all of the post cards you have ever seen from along the piers of San Fran and line then up. We went from Pier one and walked around, took in pier 39 -

ourt! ourt! ourt!
Went to Boudin to take a self guided tour of Sourdough breadmaking and then to Fisherman's Wharf so Kel could get his seafood on. After that we took the Cable Car back to the train to make our way to the Japanese Tea Gardens.



For dinner we went to a great French restaurant and hated that we had an early flight to come back to the Suck....

Where I have been working. Last week it was 11 straight work related days with a little head cold in the middle. But hey! I can run a four diamond restaurant's bake shop by myself for over a week (mind you, it wasn't the busiest it has ever been, but still - over a week!).
We are back to a suck schedule. This week it is two nights - including Saturday night. I worked yesterday too, and am kind of hatin' that. It just kind of screws over your whole weekend. But I have to end on a good note, The restaurant served close to 300 last night. And I was on top of it.

Pics, As promised (part 1 of ?)

First, Baby blankets are finito...

The blue.gold.green one has been given to a sweet young one named Nikko and the others are wrapped and ready for gifting. The most pastel looking one was completed on the San Fran Trip.

Without further delay - the San Fran Trip, day one.

The plane landed, we got the rental car, we went and we chocolated. Scharffen Berger Chocolate to be exact, their plant is in Berkeley California, and I recommed the tour/chocolate tasting to anyone who appreciates European style (not sweet and waxy) chocolate. Kel and I were early for our tour so we participated in one of the quintessential Californian activities - Cafe going.

How convenient that Scharffen Berger also has a chocolate laced cafe experience. Here you'll notice husband Kelly with a piece of lush chocolate cake that was quickly scarfed down. He enjoyed an iced chocolate while I had the cacao coke. Everything was ridiculously yummy.

After the gastronomically pleasing visit to the cafe we perused the store and bought copious amounts of chocolate even before we had the tour/tasting - where we all got to sport hairnets and look like uber-goobers...

Let me tell you something though - the tasting was worth it!

After the tour, we made our way to Rach and Douglas's, Kel's cousins, to pop in, unload, relax and see their house and say hi. Kel and Rach are the cousins that are closest in age. And they were more than welcoming, their house was our house, and they let us treat it like a home base. They have recently aquired a new family member - Chewie - and we fell in love with this little bundle of energy....Douglas took us to a fun place for dinner, a bar and restaurant where we walked right in amid a busy Saturday crowd for another great meal.

There you have it - day 1.

2 days does not a gymrat make...

But I felt better when I went to the gym today. I kind of hit a three oclock wall today. I am starting off slowly so I don't hurt myself and/or get discouraged. Very slowly. Like today for example, I walked 1.7 miles and then got off the treadmill and came home. And ate a bag of cheetos - hahahahah - just kidding, I had some carrots with a little bit of dip to make it "not as healthy". You see, the gym near me isn't open yet - so I'm going to a smaller version of the gym - at least from what I can tell it is smaller - mostly treadmills, bikes, ellipticals and such, then free-weights for the not-amy types.

Yesterday was great in Raleigh - the weather has gone from 90-100s to whooo-hooo 70s and 80s and comfortable. Kel and I played tennis for the first time in probably 2 years (he says it hasn't been that long, I think it has been longer). I was slow. My backhand must have slowly degraded over that time too because it was comical at best.

Here's to more good weather.

For the rest of the weekend - Kel and I went to Greek fest - where Kel got to meet one of my ex's. JOY. At least the food was decent. I love me some spanikopita. Kel's folks came into town on Saturday for the day (bad weather on the coast again the weekend - we will never go sailing).

While I worked, they went to Bug Fest and then we went to a favorite nearby joint for outdoor mexican - Dos Taquitos.

And the slackassedness continues...

Almost a month since my last post - must have been busy. or lazy. or something.

Kind of busy -
Went to San Fran/Monterey and had a bunch of fun with Kel's cuz and my family.
Saw Bill and Heidi's new kiddo - Nikko. He is adorable, cute and heathy, and completely changing his parents world.
Went to racing club meeting even though I have missed a couple of events (joys of working on Saturdays).
Visited with Margaret today to say hi, her father passed away shortly before the California trip. It was so good to see her and talk. She is my walking buddy from long ago and I just miss the opportunities to vent.
I finished the fourth in a series of baby blankets. Shortly thereafter I finished a mitten. I might even have enough yarn to make another mitten. They match the earflap hat I made when I needed a quickie project that wasn't a baby blanket.

Kind of lazy -
Although I have had a couple of days off here and there, I keep meaning to blog. Oh! If my well-meaning-ed-ness would actually convert itself into blog entries.

Kind of something -
I joined a gym. You can't beat the rate and we'll see, maybe I'll actually get off my lazy butt and go.
I think the dessert plating guy is going to give notice at the end of September. Will it be back to Nights for the Aim-ster? (I hope not, but, someone has got to train the newcomer, and it might as well be done correctly).
Dance is on hiatus for me - Vacation, then working at night has caused me to miss the last three weeks or so. That sucks. Plummeting far behind is always a good thing.

Pictures later, really.

Booties, Blankets and Caterpillars

Whoo Hooo - Thursday - my day off. So far I have iced two cakes and worked on baby blanket #4. Here are the first three... sorry about the lighting, this is what seemed to work.

I finished #3 last Sunday, also finishing an ear flap hat the same day. Must have been some virtuous knitting going on.

I was wondering why our parsley plant was kind of looking "eh".

I knelt to take a closer look - turns out something likes parsley faster than we have been using it. It was a lush and beautiful plant. Oh well, Kel keeps planting, forgetting that I have an ability to make plants die. I guess this time is isn't my fault.

ps - since I can't let anything just go, I had to see what these buggers were going to turn in to. Thanks to a couple different sites - they are "parsleyworms" eventually they will be black swallowtails. Pretty!

My Arch Enemy - The German Chocolate Cake

Now most people would have a living human being for their arch enemy - but my nemisis comes in Cake form. Not eating it silly reader, but assembling one. There is nothing that ends my day in more of a hissy than having to assemble a German Chocolate Cake. You see, cutting the blasted thing is not my favorite, and every time I have to make the icing - I have to do it twice. Lately, just to mess with me, combing out the sides provides difficultly. When this item is taken off the menu, I will gladly chuck the last one out the window and you won't be able to wipe the smile off my face.
Wednesday off! It will involve sleeping in, a Doctor's appointment, maybe a pedi and then Car Club meeting. It will not involve assembling a German Chocolate Cake :)

The Sites You Aren't Going To....

Do you ever feel because you like something, it is doomed to fail?
Two of my favorite websites are on hiatus. Raleighing and Stiffs.com (you might better know that one as the Dead Pool - where people guess what celebs are going to die during the year and win money for guessing correctly).
I hate that. It's like the TV series that doesn't come back the next season even though it has a fan base. Soon enough they'll take away Smoking Gun and How I Met Your Mother just to screw with me.
I'm already kind of ranty so watch out...
Elections are more than a year away. I appreciate the debates and all, but I'm not so keen on advertising (campaigning) more than a couple of weeks out. We watched the debates, why would you get snarky for not getting air time dark horse/loose cannon candidates?

And by the way, the worst way to end an evening is to drop a container of Souffle. Breaking half of the Ramekins in front of the entire kitchen.

No Dance for You!

Well, I'm glad I went last week, because this week at dance class will be a no-go.
What was an "okay I can deal with it schedule" has turned worse.
Now I'm working Wed and Sat night and two half days for thurs/fri?
Anyway - what was supposed to be a Dentist appt, lunch, pedicure and dance class Wednesday has turned into a Dentist appointment, lunch and work kind of day.
Grrrr.
Who lets these new people take vacation right off the bat?

Saturday Night!

Is for movie watchin' this week. We just finished shooter with Marky Mark and are getting ready for Casino Royale (somehow we both missed it last year). I am in a bang bang shoot em up movie kind of mood so these seem to fit the bill. As for the rest of the weekend - how about some bill paying and knitting - sounds good to me too. Happy almost August people - where does the summer go?!?!

You can dance if you want to

The only reason Jackie, Jason and I went to dance last night is because we all guilted each other into it. That's good though - I hadn't seen the group in a while and well, I kind of missed it. And it seems that I have been missing a bunch of other stuff too. Our class is going to merge with the "boring" Tuesday night class that doesn't switch partners. Luckily we are going to move them to our time slot, later in the evening. In my dreams, this will be well past their bedtime and they won't sign up. If they do though, I guess that'll mean less dance space. We are picking up the Bolero and Viennese Waltz. Two more that I can forget if I don't go for weeks on end.

2 Blankets Down.... 2 to go

I finished the second baby blanket! They are both the same pattern (oversized washcloth worked on the diagonal) but the colors are definitely different! Luckily for this one I didn't run out of yarn with 30 some odd rows left.

Today is my day off (whooo hooo!) and tomorrow I work at night. I feel like this week I have been social (gasp!) and am regaining my life back. For example, if there is dance class tonight, I'll probably go. Kel and I had dinner at the restaurant on Monday to check out the new menu, which is crazy good, then we stopped by Meredith's to see her new house. She mentioned that the girls were going to see a movie on Tuesday night at the $1.50 theater - so I tagged along to see Blades of Glory last night after working during the day. Yesterday was a good day as the pastry chef went home early and I got to finish out kitchen time on my own. I worked on bread (baguette and honey cornmeal), made creme brulee, souffles, pastry cream, measured out flour for today's bread, baked off chess pie tartlets, and did a bunch of little stuff. Talk about your stupid comedy - this one qualifies. I particularly loved the costuming:

I'll be having lunch with Leigh today - a promise made about a year and a half ago to actually see each other after working at Martin Marietta. She has the best scoop and keeps up with Everybody. Tomorrow it will be lunch with some of the current (for now) Martin folks to see what is up in their world. For the weekend, we'll see how that goes - but Thursday night will be the only night of work this week.

Crazy Schedule Again!

I'm back to having a crazy schedule. There was a flicker of hope that faded last night. A girl came in to trail and then was offered the dessert plating job, she came in for training, felt that she wasn't going to do well with it and left on her own volition.
The job isn't the easiest thing in the world to pick up, just like anything else, it takes time to learn the intricacies but that is why you train and don't just get thrown into it.
I just don't understand why people can't hack it. Part of me wonders what other kitchens are like if people seem to do okay there, but aren't doing well here.
Who knows.

I finished it!

Went to Jackie's on Sunday to knit. I would have finished the baby blanket I started weeks ago if I hadn't run out of yarn! I started the next blanket to make up for not being able to finish the first one.

So on Monday night, I finally finished the baby blanket I started weeks ago - I think it was in May after I mailed in the squares for Hokie Healing. Whooo Hoooo! The first one is in this color:

The next one is in this color: - the swatch doesn't do it justice - it is pretty blues and golds. And the one after that might be this color (I don't know if it will be a boy or a girl):But this will work well for a girl I think -

Kel and I went to see Ratatouille, Pixar's latest. The story line was cute, but the animation was the reason to go. There was a scene where Remy breaks into a loaf of bread - it looked so much like a crusty baguette it was amazing. And the hair on the characters. So flowy and lush - You just have to see it. My favorite character, the food critic, Ego:

My grandmothers birthday was yesterday and I sent her a big basket of goodness from Edible Arrangements. Hopefully it looked like this without having a weird cutout shadow:

I spoke with G-ma today too - she spent her birthday with my Cousin Marshall and his wife and Aunt and Uncle. The youngest cousin is engaged, and that is about all of the news from Easton.
Happy Thursday that feels like a Monday!

Stalled

You know when I wrote that last post, it said it was Wednesday. And I thought to myself - after the week I've been having, it is only Wednesday?!?! I could have sworn I was further along than that.
And although it is technically Friday - I'm still living Thursday. I have been getting fewer hours of sleep and I'm dragging. I have no days off this week. 6 nights. Friday and Saturday to go.
I will be happy when Sunday rolls around. The kid has been working the last couple of nights with me. He is less annoying than last week, but still chimes in every once in a while when he need not. I wouldn't trust him to set up the station, or close it down, and he conveniently has to leave when clean up starts every night. I guess this comes with the territory. I found out that it isn't Chef's decision to have him along at all. Turns out wunderkind is the son of the restaurant owner's OBGYN. *a definite WTF moment there*
This past Sunday, I continued to knit a baby blanket. It is on the downhill, but for some reason it isn't getting done fast enough (probably because I have two more after this one and all I see are skeins of yarn that isn't for me). Hopefully this Sunday I'll be able to knock some more out - I have been getting a row or two here and there during the day too, but in 15 minute increments versus the whole day.

I am a goddess!

Okay, I'm not really a goddess, but after promising for a week, I finally switched the louvres on the HVAC system so upstairs isn't so blazingly frickin' hot while downstairs is an icebox. At least my husband will love me for it.
This week at work is crazy - last night there were three big parties all of them sat at the same time and went through enough Key Lime to keep me crazy. 4 Whole Key Lime Pies! And I have been behind both nights in closing up the station - to the point where the floors are being done while I'm still serving desserts. I hate that.
Anyway - I'm going to knit for a minute and hope my throat feels like getting better so I don't sound froggy for the Chef's Table. Happy whatever day this is.

What have you been up to?

I haven't blogged in about a week? Things have been kind of crazy I guess with the work schedule (a morning shift, a day off, and then three nights and a morning shift). The night shifts were awful. I came home on Friday night and was glad to go to work the next morning. Chef is letting a 14 year old (nepotism is grand - he is a nephew of someone) work the dessert station. He is slow, he is slow, did I mention - he is slow. On Thursday, chef had him take the station - good thing there were no more than 2 things on each ticket and the tickets were well spaced out. On Friday, the kid screwed up royally - to the point where it was I was screwing up and digging in deeper - burnt a chef's table dessert that was already late going into the oven. The worst part - somehow Chef is eating up this 14 year old's story. The kid thinks he knows everything because he has made a few things at home - the weirdest part - he is the size of an 8 year old and has to ask someone to reach anything up high for him. He can't even reach the back of the station. Caffeine stunts your growth kiddo, lay off the coffee. The toughest part for me is not talking down to him - that and four letter bombing him to Timbuktu after each annoying story he tells. Did I mention he is rude, unable to follow direction and grates on my nerves - or did that have to be said?
Knitting calls - have a good Sunday.

Addition to the Pet Peeve list

I love my husband (sometimes I have to remind myself). I especially have to remind myself at 6:45, 6:52, and 6:59 in the morning. Because as much as I love my Husband, he loves the Snoozebar.
I am all for a snuggle snoozebar - (7 minutes of cuddling with your sweetie before you start your day can't be all bad) BUT come on now - when my alarm goes off, and I wake up and get in an out of the shower before he gets out of bed (and doesn't make it), and his alarm is set 15 minutes before mine (16 really, I have a weird thing about getting my day started on an even number). I believe this one is ready for the list.

I got off of work at 3 today - we have been busting our butts to get stuff done this and last week and we hit it today. Whooo Hoo!

Tonight I'm in for some interesting music - Rebecca (from my old job and drinking after work group) invited me to Incredibles. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into and then tomorrow night I'll be snooty tailgating (and hopefully staying dry).

Happy weekend (okay, I have to work during the day tomorrow - but still - it feels like the weekend).

Mission Accomplished

Pedicure - Check
Farmers Mkt - Check
Bank - Check
Arts and Crafts Store - Check
Knitting - Check
Heading to Car Club Meeting - Check

The pedi is light shimmery peach.
Currently I'm knitting a baby blanket with this for Bill and Heidi's kid #1. Was going to do a second one with this for kid #2 - but found that adoptions from Vietnam are normally boys (who knew) when the sex of the kid is left open to the agency. So I'm went and got something a little more boy friendly - this. These colors aren't as dark as they seem on the web, but I'm not really into that whole pastel thing for kids.
At the farmer's market the beets (I don't like them, but Kelly does) looked good. Also got 'maters, a cucumber, daikon radish, spring onions, and stopped by Nahunta. Had been craving a biscuit (any biscuit) for a while now, so had lunch at the farmer's market restaurant and had a cheese biscuit with tomato and a side of cucumber salad. The only drawback to the restaurant is that they don't have sausage gravy. But the cheesy biscuit is just what I needed.
Off to car club!

I need a day off - how convenient!

Tomorrow is my day off - I can't wait to sleep in a little, grab some lunch and maybe get a pedi and go to the farmer's market - we'll see what is in season to incorporate into baking! Business must be accomplished though - deposit at the bank and then finding someone to replace Kel's windshield. Merging on the beltline, a guy in a truck hauling a boat flicked a rock at me whilst driving Kel's car. Just another expense that goes to nothing really. I hate that. Wonder what they do with the inspection sticker.
Good news at work though - they are interviewing for dessert plater and getting a couple of leads for the position. Hopefully sooner than later, someone will take the job.

I Heart Laundry

I went to that baby shower on Saturday. Of all the good books the family received, only one was duplicated - someone else brought Green Eggs and Ham too!
We worked it out though - they didn't have a copy in their library, so they were going to keep the copy and get another book by Dr. Suess for the kids collections. Mom to be looks great and like all of us, deals with daily challenges. She and Dad to be were in a car accident recently - everyone is okay, but a little bit shaken up. You never know what is going to happen out of the blue.
Speaking about out of the blue - I found out who the random dropper by was!
So a couple of weeks ago, someone stopped by and said hi at the restaurant - only I had just left. That someone was daddy to be - Bill!
The shower was an interesting event to me. A little over two years ago, Bill and Heidi got married. At that time, the parties (showers, wedding, bachelorette, etc.) were attended by young adults, mostly couples, and maybe two kids. This party was a shift. All of those couples now have kids. And they all have different styles of parenting. And the focus of the entire day was on the wee ones. The average age in the room must have been in the teens.
I'm not sure what to think about that. I'm fairly certain that eventually I will want kids. I'm also giving license to others to smack me if my kids dictate the words that come out of my mouth or if I talk in baby talk or if I can't have a conversation that involves something other than kids.
Enough of that - Off to do laundry!

Waffle - not the kind with syrup

Edit for last post: Turns out, as a 17yo you are allowed to waffle - she isn't quitting, just part-timing it for the summer as of today. Which means chef gets to look for someone reliable, while keeping me towards the daytime hours (who hooo!)
Today was all fun in the bakery - bread, souffles, chess pies, shortdough tarts and ice cream bases!
Joy!
Came home and closed out the event for Tarheel Sports Car club - so if you want to register online for Laurinburg, you're too late peeps!
Kel is somewhere in Raleigh/Cary from what I understand. He was home last night to work on his house - which sounds like it is coming along. Something about staining and painting and a fence.
I'm excited for the shower this weekend and for the event on Sunday.
Not so excited about looking for health insurance. Cobra sucks.

Pick your title....I hate Turnover or Turns out a 17yo can't do my job

Just when I thought I was going to be in the bakeshop, doing work during the day for most of the time, the High Schooler turns in her notice. Grrrr. This means I could be making some overtime doing some extra daytime work, and plating at night, but it also means that I lose the cush daytime hours and will probably lose most of my social life on the weekends again.
Back to what has been happening. The restaurant had a wine dinner last night and everyone pitched in for the hot line to get 80 plates out to where they needed to go. I helped lay out plates for the first round, and then place haricot verts for the second round. They sure as hell let you know when you are the weakest link, that is for sure.
I'm getting kind of excited - this weekend, I'm going to a baby shower for Heidi and Bill. They are an absolutely fun couple and the latest cool thing about them is that they are going through the adoption process and are also pregnant. For their shower they requested a children's library and boy did I go nuts. I picked favorites from different stages of my childhood - the poky little puppy (a golden book - they still make 'em), green eggs and ham, the very hungry caterpillar, where the wild things are, miss nelson is missing, and where the sidewalk ends.
Now onto wrapping them up! Fun!

You want to watch what?

So I'm okay with a lot of movie choices. But I am a big scardy cat when it comes to thriller, horror type flicks. I get nightmares. Ugly, Bad Nightmares.
So guess what movie Kel brought home tonight?
Hannibal Rising.
He pawned it off as just a thriller - but when I read the box the first comment I saw was "If you can keep your eyes open, you will be scared". I imagined that was for normal people (not wusses like me who should have no business having the box even in the house).
Anywho - lets move on to happier passages.
Kel apologized after being prompted and we are now speaking post-Mulchgate.
I saw the dress rehearsal for the Hollywood Showcase at that Dance Studio (they wanted $50 for appetizers and these dance displays - Um, No! Girl on a budget) and then hung out with the dance crew on Friday night - which was so much fun (it is easier to spend $50 on Cosmojitos! when you have the right company). Then on Saturday, Samantha and I went out for Indian dinner - and totally indulged in a Royal-Super-Duper-Dinner for two (Yummy!) at Royal India. It had like three types of chicken, two types of lamb, shrimp, lentils, rice and naan - not to mention dessert and tea. (Sam ate the shrimp.)
Today was a day off and I took it as such - knitting, baking and general lounging.
It rained for most of the morning, and then the sun came out for a little.
Last but not least, my sister finished her first marathon today - a goal for her - to do a marathon before turning thirty. She competed in the Rock N Roll Marathon in San Diego. And when I called to say hi and congrats - she actually sounded alive! Go Sars!

My husband is a jerky, and other reasons why I stress eat.

There are days when my husband is wonderful.
There are days when he is a dunderheaded ignoramus.

When I got home from dinner with Jackie and Jason (I was actually able to make dance class today - Whooo hoooo Tango!) there was a note on the door from our neighbor. Kindly asking Kelly to remove the mulch piles he had placed in his (the neighbor's) side yard.

When I called Kel to tell him that we had received the note and that I had worked to spread it out so it looked okay, instead of leaving piles*, he HUNG UP on me.

If you are wondering how to make someone go from level one of semi-pissed-offed-ness to full on OH-NO-YOU-DI-DUNTed-ness, hang up on them when they are trying to drive a point home. Good thing that he will be out of the house until Friday. I might be able to let him apologize by then and more importantly for him, I might put down the "locksmith" section of the yellow pages.

*these exact words we not used. The actual language involved words and voice deflections of a more colorful nature.

Whew - what a weekend

Can you have a laid back - busy weekend?
If you can, we did.
Kel and I hung out on Saturday night, went to Laurie and Paul's on Sunday and then to Drew and Brooke's on Monday night.
I made stuff - Summer Sangria - the drink that defines summer to me, recipe below, Key Lime Pie - Kel's favorite, Lemon meringue pie - my favorite and German 'Tater Salad - because that screams picnic to me.

Summer Sangria -
White wine instead of red makes this an easy summer sippin' drink -
Makes a bunch - I'd day at least 12 glasses -
1/2 c Brandy
1/2 c Orange Liquor (I used grand mariner - but a lot of stuff would work)
2.5 (2 quarts) bottles dry white wine
1/2 c sugar
Mix this stuff and put in fridge for an hour.

Then add this stuff just before serving -
lime, lemon and orange slices
honeydew and cantaloupe balls
strawberries
club soda, 1 liter
ice

Day two, when the fruit is marinated in all of that alcoholic goodness was even better.

The move is coming! I can feel it!
I am starting to work more daytime hours in the bakery! Not there all the time yet - I'm there more than upstairs more this week.

Let me tell you - I had for the first time ever today a complete indulgence - a couple of
Snoopy's hot dogs. Yum- they were just what I needed after a day of work in the bakery. The staff was really friendly and full of smiles. Always had heard about this Raleigh institution. Finally partook.

The Week in Review

Crazy week since Friday. Woke up early on Saturday to make stuff for a picnic on Sunday. I had the best batch of choc chip cookies I have ever made using this recipe - I don't know if it was the humidity, the recipe, the baker or what - but these babies were perfect (used bittersweet choc from Ghiradelli - available at Food Lion of all places). If you use that recipe, don't let the two cups of each chip fool you - you only need two cups total. Also made the worlds easiest fruit dip - 1:1 ratio of marshmallow fluff and cream cheese to go with Strawberries. Saturday night at work was constant - just couldn't get ahead, but not unbearable. There have been plenty worse. The highschooler that has been coming in part time to work had graduation, so there was no tag-teaming the dessert and cheese stations. The only thing that I needed help with is the cheese station -most everything was precut, but man, nobody really takes care of the stuff like they have to clean it up at the end of the night when they cut cheese. What a mess.
On Sunday, Kel and I woke up early and drove to Sanford for autocrossing. Where, fanfare please, I beat Kelly in his own car. Yes, I have been doing this longer, and yes, it is his like third event. But, we both drove his car that I don't drive every day. The event was the third annual charity event to benefit Jimmy V Foundation. We missed out on the bracket races and headed home early, but overall I finished third in Ladies class. Not bad on street tires.
So we came home and after cleaning up a little, we went to Chef's picnic. We ate too much, but everything was good. We came home empty handed - the choc chips and strawberries and dip were GONE so I guess I got the numbers right. Red made corn dogs, Rodney made mac and cheese (homemade, with bacon!), Will made a veggie salad that was great - and there was an orzo salad that was good too.
Monday was a blur - I worked in the bakery during the day - but was tired. I ended up going to bed at some ungodly early hour.
Tuesday was the same - worked nighttime and came home and watched dancing with the stars. Go Apolo - he was great and worthy of the trophy - fun to watch! Even if his cha cha was too sexy and not really a cha cha, he was fun to watch.
Brings us to today -have to get motivated to do something. But I'm not quite there yet. Feel the need to drink lots and lots of water. Let me get on that.

Project

You know those projects that you allot 15 minutes for total and they turn into something much bigger than that?

I present to you the window screen:
The frame was there, only missing the cross bar and ready for new screening material.
I had the parts from when I made the screen: the screening material, the spline tool, the spline.

The only thing I was missing - the only part they don't sell on it's own - the connectors for the cross bar. So I went to Lowe's. Now, I don't think that one is any better than the other, but Lowe's is right around three corners and awefully convenient for us (good thing). But, those connectors are the only stinking thing in the kit that they don't sell on its own, and I had to buy like an 8 foot piece of aluminum side part to get the cross bar (bad, I thought at the time, a lot of waste for a 2 foot section). So I went home and cut down the cross bar. Whooo Hoooo 3 minutes into the 15 ... on the home stretch ... until, I look at the top part of the frame. Being outside didn't treat it right. It was bent to all heck - No spline tool was getting through that. So, I carefully tried to slide the end off the frame. Funny how the corner connector went Snap! and the only thing I could think to say is Oh Snap! (or Chasquido! if you have been watching My Name is Earl.) So good thing I had all of this extra frame material, because well, the ends were stuck in the old stuff and I had to cut two new pieces. And of course I didn't have those connectors. Those are sold separately from the kit.

So back to Lowes.

Good thing I know where all this stuff is, otherwise it would have been a debacle.
No lines on the first trip - but on the second I got stuck in idiotland. Must have been because I was trying to get into work.
So I picked those up and came back after work to assemble.

Okay - so I watched Grey's Anatomy in there first, dang - good season ender and then finished up the screen. But at least it is all done.

Today I meet up with the girls from old work for Lunch. At Heregehty - yum! Happy Friday!

An unscheduled day off

Yesterday, one of the girls from work called, asking if I would like an extra day off. I had just stepped out of the shower and was getting ready to go in, but since that super long weekend, I could definitely use an extra day.

I hadn't seen Jackie in about forever due to Anniversary weekend and mother's day weekend, so I called and said come over for dinner before your dance classes (their Wednesdays are like marathons, jive formation and normal dance class - 2 hours of on the go dancing!). We had Epicurious' Soy-Lime-Ginger Chicken, Rice, Marinated Cucumbers (recipe below) and Angel Food Cake (joy of cooking) with Whipped Cream and Strawberries. Yum!

Even though the Kel is out of town, my grilling turned out okay (whoooo hoooooo!)

Jackie and the Hippie convinced me that I hadn't missed too much at dance class, so I decided to tag along. We reviewed the swing, foxtrot and cha cha. And I miss these classes due to the crazy night time schedule I've been leading - hopefully soon we'll be able to get into the daytime part of the job and not miss out too much more!

Today I'll be going in for work at normal time. Before that, I'm going to redo the screen that the cat decided was in his way and mail off these babies for Hokie Healing:

The Cucumber Recipe

You know how some things remind you of certain people/places/things?

When I was growing up, my mom, sister and I would summer with my grandparents at "the shore". "The shore" to anyone growing up in the Philadelphia Area, were the beaches from Atlantic City to Cape May, in Southern New Jersey. My grandparents had a second home, double wide trailer on route 9, inbetween Sea Isle and Ocean City. We would go to the beach every day from about 8 until dinner. I would actually tan instead of burn (no really!) and my dad would high tail it from the city after work on Friday to be with us on the weekends.

This dish reminds me of summer, my grandmother and the shore. At night we would explore the trailer park, and hang out with the old men who played bocce on the hardened sand near one of the intersections and ride bikes and meet other kids our age. We would stop at tomato stands with a can on the table for payment. If it were a good night we would play mini-golf and stop for custard or eat carmel corn on the boardwalk after rides at "funland" on the boardwalk. Occassionally we would day trip to Cold Springs village or to see Lucy the Elephant in Margate.

My grandma would make this salad during the summer, and I asked her for the recipe, which was a heck of a lot easier than I ever thought it would be.

3 Cukes

1 onion, sliced

1 T Salt

1/2 c Sugar

1/2 c Lemon Juice

1 T Celery Seed

Peel and Slice Cukes.

Sprinkle with salt and put in fridge for an hour (sweat the cukes).

Drain Cukes and mix with the remainder of ingredients.

See, easy. These are better on day two, but you can eat them on day one.

There it is - my reminder for the Jersey shore. Now I just have to figure out the recipe grandma uses for spiral noodles and red sauce - I know it involves bacon. Everything is better with bacon.

On a side note:

My Mom and Dad took Grandma to see her sister in upstate New York, see the Falls, and bed and breakfast to make a good trip of it over Mother's Day weekend plus a couple of days.

Aunt Blanche isn't doing all that well, can't travel and isn't lucid. So when these three show up Grandma turns to her sister and says - do you know who I am?

Blanche doesn't, but says her face looks familiar.

My Mom has her turn - of course I know who you are - you're Millicent. (Another sister, not my mom).

And before my Dad can get "do you know who... - Hi Bill!

There are no other Bills on that side of the family.

For some reason, everyone remembers Bill. The first time this happened, it was my grandfather. About a month before he passed away, he told vivid stories about visiting Nicaragua last week (never had been to Nicaragua, let alone in the last weeks of his life). He sent my mother to tears by not recognizing her, but when my Dad came in said - Hi Bill!

He isn't even related by blood to these people. Crazy.

Pet Peeves and the Anti-Food List

Driving around Raleigh on my day off, I came upon a situation that made my blood curdle.
I was in the left hand turn lane, and the first car in line didn't notice that the light had changed. I mean, come on, you are driving a hunk of metal and plastic that weighs over 10 tons. Pay frickin' attention to go when it is your turn.
Since blogging should be therapeutic I am adding two things that will surely make people laugh or commiserate. The first I will call the pet peeve list (I have plenty and will add as they cross my path). The second will be this picky eater's notebook - a list of things that I don't like to eat )same as the first list, will add to it as I think of it).

...and boy are my arms tired.

I don't think I could knit if I tried.
I'm not sure how I'm awake right now - but I'm certain that if I don't sleep well tonight, I will never sleep well ever.
I'm not sure why I worked a double yesterday - but whew - Fri, Sat and a brunch on Sunday is an exhausting proposition.
We had over 300 people on Saturday night for graduation weekend and then 400 on Sunday for Mother's Day.
If I see another Strawberry Shortcake I will turn in horror.
Anyway - hopefully there were some happy moms out there, enjoying dessert. I'm going to go sleep it off.

Get It Done Day!

Welcome to get it done day!

Yesterday and the day before I worked on a needle holder. All I have to do is sew in elastic to keep it closed and it will be DONE!

Today's list -

Mail cookies to mom and g-ma - need newspaper as buffer and then off to the post office.

Shop for new dress (if I can find one) for dinner tonight.

Clean up a little and finish laundry.

Find a b-day present for Kelly.

Ok, so there isn't too much - but I'll find a bunch of other stuff to do along the way.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us! Kel and I have been married a year - and the weather is quite like that day a year ago - Sunny and bright and fun. This year, although there is a breeze in the air, it is still pleasant.

What have I been up to?

Yesterday I planted. It was neighborhood planting day at the townhomes where I live.

What does this mean? Free plants to plant in the common areas. This is the first year that I have been home to collect on the deal - the toughest part? Carolina Red Clay - if you dig more than 2", there is this obnoxiously difficult to work with red clay. But I managed: Here is the smattering of plants that I added to the first island of the neighborhood. Imagine coming into a neighborhood with only a tree there. That's how it was! So, what is wrong with this trellis?

Yeah - I don't know either - other than someone in the neighborhood complained to the landscaping and architechural board. Luckily, the guy on the landscaping board agrees that it very cool, and agrees that the shrubs that used to be there were ugly, so we are going to get it pushed through - Take that! - nosy neighbor who got a nasty gram for their Christmas lights and wants to bitch about everybody else's stuff.

Then I went to work. VIP at 1030pm last night - Joan Collins.

This morning Kel gave me a present. The whole time he prefaced the gift saying, "First Anniversary is Paper". He got a print framed for me. A beautiful Mondrian that he gave to me for a birthday. I am a big Mondrian fan.

Normally we don't get stuff for each other - we go out for dinner and call it a day.

I'll be taking us out to dinner later this week at the restaurant where he proposed. Ok, so I work there now, but still it is the restuarant to go for a great meal. The lamb looks excellent too.

Friday!

Happy Friday People,

Yesterday was my day off - and I made cookies and chicken parm - not that they relate to one another - just trying to get on the ball for Mothers Day with the cookies and well, the Kel and I needed to eat.

Here's the leftover of the parm after a night in the fridge:

And the cookies, Clockwise from top left - chocolate chip (from the Ghiredelli bag), bourbon pecan balls, snickerdoodles and benne wafers (sesame seed) everything but the choc chips are from the Joy of Cooking.

Have a good one!

Marker Fight! and Weird Dreams

Although Kel started the marker fight, I won. He had this fierce concentration on my leg:

But I clobbered his arms and even got his face a little:

I dreamt that I got a dessert order of something that we don't serve at the restaurant and I couldn't find the waitstaff person who entered the order. Weird.

Pictures of the square I knitted for Hokie Healing on Sunday:

What kind of music do YOU like?

For some reason, in a kitchen one of the first things you get asked by everyone is "What kind of music do you like?"
I'm not fond of this question.
The reason being??
I like most music, everything but country, and don't spend too much time on it. I am a radio flipper. And I'm okay with that.
Yesterday was knitting day! I made an orange and maroon striped square for the Hokie Healing project (see link at right).

Happy Sunday!

I'm home from work, ready to sleep and just passing a couple of minutes before I hit the hay.
Tonight was a really good night at work - almost 300 people coming to the restaurant - a bunch of them having dessert! Two parties of over 30 people, a couple of 8 tops and a couple of 6 tops were highlights.
Luckily it was steady the whole night, and not sporadic. Tonight was definitely better than last night.
The schedule is up - mostly working at night next week, starting off Monday morning with prep and having off on Thursday. Chef is interviewing for the position, and hopefully someone good will come through. The girl that was in tonight definitely has part-timer mentality and Chef was not into that at all!
I put some hours in this week, so time to sleep tight!

No Day Off?

It has been a crazy week over here.

Wednesday was especially busy.
I made two cakes, I worked a part day, and I met Doug and Anna's newest addition, Georgia.

You know how there are people who hold back and don't tell you anything about their experience in childbirth? (for the most part I think it is so you get suckered in)

Not Doug and Anna, I feel like I could ask them anything about her delivery and they would tell me. The girl either had one of the toughest deliveries, or I just haven't heard about too many of them. I'll spare some of the details - but let's just say from start to finish, the family was in the hospital for just about a week. Luckily, everyone is doing okay now and they have a new kiddo in the house:

Doug, Anna and I had a great lunch together - Chicken Limonata, Salad and Roasted Potatoes, Strawberry Shortcakes for dessert and all the labor and delivery gory details.

During the morning I baked a couple of cakes, one for a bachelorette party and one for a 40th b-day party. I iced them after getting back from work and early Thursday morning.

This one I got an email about on the Monday - he wanted a picture frame with an old style Laverne and shirley L on it in pink. I think this qualifies:

I worked that night on my "day off" the other dessert plating girl is flaking out, there was one other girl on Garde Manager and Chef was on the line. (Normally, there are two people on Garde Manager and Chef is a floater for bigger nights.) So I said I would come in to help out.

Have I mentioned that I get to wear zooba-like pants to work ?!? this is totally a perk in my book here are the ones that I just got in:

Love Love Love it!

Happy Monday

I got an email I wasn't expecting today. Basically, back in Feb or so, I made a topsy turvy cake for a 13 year old's birthday party.

Today, I got pics of said cake. Looks like there was a little damage in transit, but the cake seemed to be in the shape it was supposed to be in.

Today was also the first day in the bakery of the restaurant where I work. I made bread and desserts. Very cool! Hopefully I'll be transitioning into the bakery over the next couple of weeks. The hours will be more "normal" 8-4, and the work will be scheduled instead of ruled by a little printer with orders on it.

Meal Planning - What not to do

Today was a good crazy day - I guess it all started very early this morning, midnight thirty or so, after work, I went to Jackie and Jason's to celebrate their new house. I got there when things were winding down, but luckily the Hippie had a stogie left for me, and although the pineapple vodka was long gone, there is always a sip or two of whiskey left.
I hung out too late to go home so I stayed the night and came home mid-morning ditching the weekly knitting session for the volunteer/south dakota contingent. A long time ago in a land far far away - I met Heather through volunteering. Her husband, Paul, always wanted to take an Indian cooking class, so we did. That is how I met Paul. Heather grew up in South Dakota. If you move to North Carolina from South Dakota, there is a group here for you - but you knew that, because you already know them - the South Dakota Contingent. I met Dave and Bill that way - and through them learned the proper pronounciation of Pierre (hint, only one syllable). Since, I have met their beautiful significant others - Heidi and Sandra. In the past 9 or so years I've known this group, we have been marrying off and adding to the brood - Heather and Paul (already married when I met them) have Nora and Auden, Dave and Sandra married about 4 or 5 years now just had Dylan (this is the first wedding that Kel and I went to when we were dating). Heidi and Bill married a couple of years now, are adding two to the group too, but we have to wait until August to meet the first lil' guy - the other isn't on a definite timeline, but we'll welcome that kiddo when the adoption papers go through.
Anyway - the Volunteer/South Dakota contingent came over at about 1. I scooted from Jackie and Jasons at about 1030 - stopped to pick up food and then chopped my little head off - marinated the vittles and prepped a bunch of food for the crew. Kel and I fixed guacamole, fajitas (steak, chicken and fish), and pineapple with rum for dessert. We picked up a few things around the house and a good time was had. Heather made wonderful Chocolate Ice Cream and Olive Tapenade (yum), Heidi brought the beans and rice.
It was all she wanted to do all day and finally at the end, Nora held Dylan:

Dylan was laid back. SOOOOO laid back during the time he was here. Dave was making him giggle using Daddy tactics - this kid is loved and happy.

And Kel played with Auden:

Auden and Kel are crazy together - they play legos, they goof off, they are rambunctious people and it is hard to tell who is 3 and who is 37 when they are together. Kel brings Auden out of the "shy around adults" shell and Auden's eyes light up when he sees Mr. Kelly.

Heidi is preggers - and actually looking preggers - last time I saw her, she was her svelte self. I feel like I haven't see her in a while and the baby bump is in full effect - she is handsome playing the role of a pregnant woman.

And then Kel and I recovered - Sunday nap time, in full effect. What a great day off.

Stupid A$$ Handyman

Rant: In the neighborhood that I live, there is a handyman. He is not handy - and if I were snarky, I'd mention something about the man part here.
He is so "not handy" that at the last homeowners meeting (we are a self run organization) they basically said he is what we could afford. But he is good, and if you have a problem after he has completed a task, you should contact the hoa to get it resolved. Now, after that statement, there were 4 people who spoke on his behalf. All of the stories went like this: I had [handyman] fix my [insert item to be fixed here], although it wasn't right the first time, he fixed [item] when he was called back.
Um, why isn't he fixing it right the first time. How about this - instead of paying someone a low sum twice to do a job (because he isn't going to repair stuff for free) - pay someone 1.5 times that to do it right the first time - I'm a genius.
They do the same thing with the painting crew too - paint doesn't last worth a crap - they didn't sand, recaulk, any of it. Anyway - I was on the handyman, not the painting crew.

Now, here is my experience with the dolt.
Our front door needed to be replaced. After arguing with the HOA - I emailed the part of the bylaw that was online that said they should do it. And boy did they.
He didn't stain or paint or seal the door while it was off hinge. I bought new hinges because the old ones were looking ratty and he didn't take the stickers off and put them in upside down. When he sunk the holes for the locks, he tore about an inch and a half splinter (it looks totally unprofessional - all you need to do is apply like 3 pieces of masking tape to stop it from doing this). Somehow in the whole mess, he cut himself, and bled on our carpet - AND THEN TRIED TO COVER IT UP.
All in all, it took Kel over two hours to fix the door to a point where it was functional and clean the rug.
There were other things, but this is just off the top of my head ranting.

Anyway, back to today - I worked until midnight last night and was wired until 2.
I don't need to be awakened by the sounds of power tools and metal bits hitting each other. Especially because I was actually sleeping. That comes at a minimum around here.

Almost the weekend?

I work tonight and tomorrow night. This working at a restaurant thing has its ups and downs, but come 5 o'clock on a friday, it isn't freedom. Then again, having a off mid-week is kind of cool.

Wednesday - Day off!

I have to say that a lot of people are worried about me.
The emails and phone calls that I have gotten because I went to school at VT is comforting.
I have been somewhat stoic (or in shock, you choose) about the whole thing until I saw a flag at half mast yesterday on the way into work.
That just did me in.

Shutting off the news

I've been emailing Amy C, the last of my friends still at VaTech, last night and this morning.
She knows 5 (edit: was five, is now nine) of the 33 and is waiting to hear about three others that are not on the confirmed list. I wouldn't even know how to cope.

Thoughts for my fellow Hokies

I have been working in a kitchen all day.
Somehow I got home without hearing the news, and then I listened to a very interesting voice mail from Meredith - she heard how I got the pastry job after all, and was asking if I knew anyone up at Tech, with the events of the day and all, even though I graduated almost 10 years ago.
Then I flipped on the TV.
Massacre at Virginia Tech.
I had classes in Norris, mostly Engineering Science and Mechanics classes - statics, dynamics, mechanics of deformable bodies. And was an R.A. in the C-Shaped building next to West A.J. - Cochrane Hall.
Last year I took Kelly to his first football game at Tech. Actually, my bud Amy C. had extra tickets and was gracious enough to let us use them. We started together at Tech as buds in the same class in the corps of cadets. She is still studying. A couple of years ago she decided to follow her dreams and go back for her doctorate. While we were there, the three of us walked around campus. It has grown in the last couple of years, but I could still recognize some of the buildings.
Amy C. is the last of my friends at VT.
I zapped her an email and hope to hear back soon.
In the mean time, my thoughts to everyone on Campus.

The power of suggestion....

Last Sunday, Easter Sunday, Jackie, Gray, Hippie and I were sitting around the dining room table at Jackie and the Hippie's house.
On Sundays, anywhere from 2 to 4 people gather at Jackie's for knitting. and drinking. and eating. and talking. In general a good time is had by all.
After a few rounds of bloody marys, Jackie and Gray suggested that I start a blog.
So I came home later, and asked Kelly, my dear darling devoted husband if I should start a blog. He said sure, it would be a good outlet.
What should I let out?
Well, let us start with changing professions. With a nice little severence shove from my job of nine years, I recently changed professions. Not a gradual change, mind you, not like one branch of Engineering to Another Branch of Engineering. No, not me, I left the nice cushy engineering/purchasing related desk job and decided to follow a dream. You know how people say things like, if you enjoy what you are doing, it doesn't matter what the pay is? It's true. Every single word of that sentence is the absolute truth.
Even if your mother doesn't understand that you are taking 4 years of college and a professional designation (P.E./Supergenius) and working as a prep chef in a restaurant kitchen. It's okay.
More on that later.
I think I'm going to like this blogging thing.