Safeway

Sometimes I think that I am kinda rude at the grocery store. For instance this evening I am at Safeway buying the ingredients I need for a lemon meringue pie. It's my Dad's birthday and I said I would make one for his birthday dinner. So, I am walking through Safeway getting lemons and such and go to check out right behind a normal looking woman about my age maybe a little older. Now, I really don't mean to be rude but I am not there to make friends. In fact I probably won't talk to you unless you are a decent looking guy about my age, even then I may not talk to you. So this woman is looking at magazines and turns to me and says "I Can NOT believe that is Dakota Fanning!" and shows me the cover of the magazine and says " that's Dakota Fanning!" and I say "yep". Shockingly enough Dakota Fanning grew up and is no longer 5 years old. So, then it's this woman's turn to check out and she stops the man half way through her stuff and says "oh, I'm sorry I should have separated my stuff it need to be on two transactions." So, now we all have to wait while they go get someone who can authorize some voids. She looks at me and apologizes and then looks into my basket and says "Are you making a pie?" and I say "yep." and then she says "yum" and licks her lips. Not two seconds later she looks in my basket again and says "a cheesecake?" and I say "um, no". In my basket is a pie plate, 4 lemons, sugar, pie dough and a Odwalla C Monster, yep I would say I am making a cheesecake! At that point I turned to face somewhat away from her so that maybe she would stop talking to me.

Baby Shower Cake

This last weekend I made a baby shower cake for my Friend Jamie. She is having a boy I believe in early december or late november. It was fun to see her and our friend Heather, who I never see! We were all highschool friends, Heather and I have known each other since we were kids when my Mom babysat her and her little sister Shannon.

I have been sick for the past 2 weeks! I feel better now but still have a cough...no worries it's not Swine Flu!

Yesterday I decided that I would stay in bed all day and watch movies, so that I would get better. Yeah, that lasted all of 5 hours and I was bored! So, I went and rented some movies, got some food, nearly killed people in the Trader Joes parking lot. Got home stayed there till 7 pm and then went out to Joann's Fabric and bought some fleece and made a no sew fleece baby blanket. That was fun but only took about 2 hours.

I did blog about the Ballroom Glitz 4, for those of you who don't use Google Reader. Check it out, it's pretty fun!

Ballroom Glitz 4

A few weeks back my parents were in a ballroom dancing competition and took 3rd place! The whole evening started with me meeting up with Aunt Mel and Uncle Jack at the Oregon City McMenimans, where I had some delicious butternut squash soup and some not so good fish and chips. It's really hit and miss with the food at most McMenimans. After catching up with each other and eating our dinners we headed over to the Milwaukie Elks Club. First of all, they really should light up there parking lot more or make it easier to see the sign cause we flew past it and had to turn around. Second, I don't think they have redecorated since 1963, Really guys you could use some new wall paper in the ladies bathroom it's coming off the walls!
When we found Mom and Dad, Dad started pointing out the "competition". I am proud to say that my parents didn't wear his and hers outfits, Feathers (of any sort), pimp hats, leopard print or ruffled dresses. Dad wore a red shirt and black pants and Mom wore a fancy black dress and both looked great! There were 8 couples/teams which I nicknamed of course! Here they are listed out with nicknames placement and how I felt about their dance if I felt anything about it.

T1: Team Feather head, They were wearing black out fits and she wore a headband with a big black feather on it. Fancy! According to Bob and Nancy they were doing a 3 step to a 4 step song...I am not sure what that means but sadly Team Feather head did not place. They did take home a participation metal that I was sure Mr. Feather head was going to throw on the ground because he was so upset with not placing.

T2: Team Mom and Dad....They looked great, better then all the other couples! As I said before they took 3rd place and got a pretty fancy trophy.

T3: Team Mini me, They were both really short and her dress was a little weird but over all nothing to weird about the outfits. They took 1st place, even though their dancing was little choppy. Their trophy was almost as tall as they were!

T4: Team Purple People Eater, They were probably my second favorite couple. She was wearing this long ruffly purple and black dress that would have been suitable for any 1988 prom. Their dance was fun and cute but they didn't place.

T5: Team Plane Jane, They were very plain, she wore this nice gray dress but it was kinda like Meg Ryan in the last scene in You've Got Mail. Cute dress Meg, but really that's the dress you chose to meet up with the love of you life? I think I would have chosen a fancier dress. They took home 2ND place and really all she did was kick her legs up.

T6: Team SVU, This couple was a little strange, they had only been dancing for a year or something and apparently met at the gym! The guy at first glance looked like a small version of Christopher Meloni from Law and Order SVU. She was a typical looking soccer mom. They according to Bob did very well for only dancing for a year. They didn't place.

T7: Team Red and Black, She was wearing a black dress with a red flower in her hair and a red feather boa. He was dressed a little like Wayne Newton with hair just like Wayne Newton, a red shirt and black vest and a big red pimp hat with leopard print around it. They fell at the end of their dance and were good sports about. They also didn't place but took home the participation metal.

T8: Team Taylor Swift, the woman looked like a older Taylor Swift, She was crazy tall and had this huge smile! There dance was cute but it didn't seem like they danced a lot. They also didn't place. She actually knew my Aunt Mel and Uncle Jack way back when I was a baby or not even born and hasn't seen them since! She was a little emotional when she saw them.

We had a great night cheering on Mom and Dad! Congratulations Mom and Dad on your big win, you did great!

Here is a picture of them and there trophy. If you have a facebook page you can go to the this link and watch the video of them dancing. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1243533897166

Operation: National Guard base tour

Yesterday was the best day ever! My Starbucks manager Amy and I got to take a tour of the National Guard base where all our Ait Force buddies work. The day started out with Buzz coming and picking us up at Starbucks and taking us to watch the jets take off. He and Mike drove us down to the end of the runway to watch. After that they took us over to there shop, I believe they are called the Life Support guys. They put together all the survival kits and stuff. While we were there we got to get in the pretend F-15 training jet, where we took a bunch of pictures. I got to hang in the pretend parachute, we ran out of time so Amy didn't get to do that part. We were then escorted to a presentation by Chris and Neil, explaining what the flight gear was used for. We learned all about the fancy $140,000 helmets, poopy suits, night vision googles. Neil even took our picture through the nigh vision goggles! No one else thought it was as cool as we did.
Mike stayed with us almost the whole time, They kept telling us we were VIP! We got a tour of the hush house, I didn't really get what it was for, but it was cool to watch the engine start up. I think it was for trouble shooting engine problems...but once again not too sure.
After Lunch was when we got to go up in the fuel tanker to refuel jets in the air. Only the coolest thing ever! We all loaded into the giant plane and Amy and I volunteered to sit in the cockpit for take off. The chair I was sitting in was basically a folding chair that was half bolted to the ground. The seat belt was hard to explain but I would have felt just as safe if they had told me to just hold onto the seat. I have a picture of the seat belt....it was sketchy! The pilots were super cool, they chatted with us and answered all our questions. Once we were in the air we were allowed to walk around the plane. One guy somehow cracked his head open, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. When you went into the back of the plane there was a area where you could lay down and look our a window and watch the jets fly up. You could actually see the pilot in the jet! All that was between you was some plexi glass! After we landed the pilots let us take their pictures and sit in the pilot seats. Pat and Mike came back to get us and took us to another area of their shop and we were able to put on flight gear! It was super cool! Right before we left they took us to there bar where we all had a beer and then we went home! It was by far one of the coolest things ever! If you know me even a little bit you probably know how much I love beening VIP, I just love being more important then someone else and that is how we were treated the whole time. It was so much fun to walk around with an escort and then we had this creepy photographer around. Amy and I said he was like paparazzi. At first I thought I was imagining it, but Amy said later that it felt like he was taking pictures of only us. Seriously We had so much fun!

Here is the link to my pictures from the tour!

Untitled Album

Idaho

I was finally able to take some time off from work last week to go visit my sister and her family in Idaho. I was really nervous that my car was going to explode or breakdown or something. So, Friday I took off and managed to get to her house in just over 6 hours. Not one car problem! When I got there both the boys were pretty excited to see me, we had lunch and then they napped. The rest of my time there was spent just hanging out with Brooke, Eric and the Boys, One of the days Brooke and I left all the guys at home and drove to Moscow to have lunch and shop a little. Jack and I played MarioKart on there Wii, which was fun but I was jsut as good as Jack and he is almost 5 years old. For being as young as he is, he did pretty good. As for me, I am 29 and was trying to beat him for 11th place! I am much better with MarioKart at my house on the Game cube. The last day I was there we went to the water park and spent a couple of hours playing.
My ride home took about 7 hours but I did stop more. I really had a lot fun playing with the boys and talking with Brooke. I never get to see them unless they come out here but even then I have to share them with everyone else.
Here are some pictures from the weekend, we didn't take a very many!

Could it be any hotter?

This weekend was Katee Gaskills wedding, the only wedding cake I had this year. My Mom and I went to pick up the cake from Lewis and Clark (cause they let me use the kitchen), we packed up the cake and headed off to Lebanon. Before we even got to I-5 problems started. When we turned from Terwilliger to Barbur the middle cake slide right into the side of the car. I stopped when we were on I-5 to fix the problem only to notice the next problem of the silver beads melting. It seriously looked like mercury! All I could think was that we weren't even to Lake Oswego yet and we still had an hour and half of driving, by the time I got there the silver would have run all the way down the cake! Silver stripes! So, my Mom and I decided we were going to have to stop and get some toothpicks and napkins to help absorb the silver and toothpicks to help with the bead part. So, the drive was pretty uneventful, Mom and I kept turning around to see if the cakes were getting worse. We had the air on high, the whole way. By the time we got to the wedding I was shaking I was so cold! When we got there everything was gorgeous! Katee looked great, Sandra looked great! So, now we have to stack the cake, usually not hard and even this time wasn't hard. Most cakes I stack are still really cold, this cake was room temp by the time we got there. When I put the dowels in the cake was kinda soft. We noticed that in all the trees were Yellow Jacket catcher things, so we were a little concerned about the yellow jackets. So, I get the cake all stacked and the ribbon on, the cake looks great! We didn't even need to worry about the silver, some of the beads were drippy but I decided that had I tried to fix it, it would have made matters worse. So, now it came time to put the topper on, from the begining I told Katee that if the topper was too big or heavy I wasn't going to put it on the cake because it could fall off and ruin the cake or something. This topper as you can see in the picture isn't too big and doesn't weigh very much. So, I decide because of the softness of the cake to put dowels in under it to hold it up. I do this and then when I put the topper on I realize it's front heavy. Since the bride is jumping on the grooms back it is front heavy, so when I stuck it on the cake I felt like it was going to
roll down the front. So, I went and found Sandra (Maid of Honor) told her of the problems and we went back took pictures had the photographer take pictures and then removed the topper and put it back in it's box. Also there were bugs trying to get on the table, but no worries they were under the Orange over lay. Man the problems of having a wedding outside in 90 + degree weather! Turns out everything was fine, the cake didn't melt and fall apart, everyone loved it!

Here's the picture!

Guess Who?

I don't know if you recognized this handsome gentleman...It's Murphy! He got a bit of a hair cut the other day, I didn't want them to go so short but according to the girl on the phone his face was matted and they had to shave it. I told her that would be fine but make the rest of him match so he didn't look goofy. I was happy they plucked the hair out if his ears, hopefully this will help with his ear infections. Even though he looks a little bit like a deer in headlights Tori and I still love Mr. Man. We also still think he's the cutest dog ever!

Jimmy who? part 3

So, here is what happened....

When Tori was leaving for work yesterday the creepy mailman stopped her and asked what had happened to her car. She told him that back in December a snow plow hit it. He told her that a friend of his could fix it for really cheap and wouldn't leave her alone about it. So, she finally told him to write down the guys number and put it in her mailbox. So, he did....I then came home and checked the mail only to find a weird note written down on a Sorry we missed you package slip. Turns out Creepy Mailman's friend who could fix the car was Jimmy and Jimmy was the one with a weird phone call last night not me. :)
Tori laughed when I told her about it because she didn't even think that I would have called or thought twice about the note. So, in the end no package, that kinda makes me a little sad but glad some creepy guy didn't have to come over to my house.

On a different note, I worked out with my personal trainer today. He is great! I think I am going to start paying for him, When I do that he will come up with an eating plan and another work out routine. I think it will be good! He had me on the rowing machine and wanted me to do 200 meters in 30 seconds....it felt like a race against time! I loved it!
Anyway, you can stop worrying that some crazy man is going to come and get me....I am sure Jimmy was just as confused as me!

Jimmy who? part 2

He didn't show! So, I went to the gym. Maybe tomorrow I will call again or Tori will....I am sure more is to come!

Jimmy who?

Well, to give you a little back story Tori and I have this creepy mailman. I guess he isn't so much creepy as he is weird. We think this because a couple of months back Tori and her friend Amanda (not me) were leaving the house when the mailman was walking up to the door. When he passed by he said "hi, Amanda" , her friend didn't know who he was and so we assume he was talking to Tori. The weird part is that Tori lived in this house a good 3-4 months before I moved in and had the same mailman who she had talked with. He always stops her and chats it up or whatever, he also stomps all the way up the porch and wakes up Murphy who practically breaks the window to get to him. He's just all around different!
Well today I came home from work to find a note in our mailbox. This note is a, Sorry we missed you notice that on the back says Jimmy a phone number and a message that says Tell him you're friends with Ray mailman. My first question was Ray mailman? wouldn't that be ironic if our mailman's last name was actually Mailman! I looked around to see if any boxes were checked, but then realized I was suppose to call Jimmy. I almost left the note for Tori but then thought well I suppose it could be for me. So, I call Jimmy and this how the conversation went:

Jimmy: Hello

Me: Hi is this Jimmy?

J: Yes

Me: Hi, my name is Amanda and I received a note in my mailbox today with this number on it and a message that said to tell you that I am friends with Ray the Mailman.

J: OK....(silence)

Me: That's all I got Man, I don't know anything else.

J: you got the note in your mailbox?

Me: Yeah

J: Um, your kind of mailbox was too small for your package, Just give me sometime to go get it. OK?

Me: sure

I am pretty sure that is what he said, he spoke with a thick accent that lead me to believe he is Asian of some sort and I couldn't really understand him. So, now I am sitting at home waiting for Jimmy. I am not too sure what is going on, I didn't think it was customary for the Mailman to take home your package or leave it with someone other then your neighbor but maybe this Jimmy guy is also a mailman. But it is almost 6pm and I thought they would be done with work by now. Not sure about the whole situation.
No worries, I will post what happens.

Happy 4th of July!

Not too much has gone on lately. My friend Hannah N. came down from Yakima for my other friend Hannah B's daughter Grace's birthday (did you follow that?). So, I went out to Hannah B's house where she was staying and hung out all weekend. They were having a party for Grace and we made vegan chocolate cupcakes since Grace can't have eggs. They turned out good, I make them all the time at work so I knew they would turn out. I even got to spend some one on one time with Hannah N. and her son Emmett, which I never get to do! We are all really excited when Hannah N. comes to visit since we don't get to see her too often.
Here is a picture of Grace and her cupcakes!



I got to drive around a fun SUV for about a week when they were fixing my car. That was fun until I ran out of money putting gas in it! They did a really good job putting my car back together, although I had to give up the fun SUV I was happy to get my car back.
Last weekend I made a sheet cake for my Aunt Pat. She was having her highschool reunion at her house and wanted a cake. She was happy with the cake. I was too, but I always hate my handwriting. Here is a picture of that.



This last week, I took Tori to the Airport, so it's been just me and The Man (The Man being Murphy). I needed to take murphy to the vet again. His ears are still infected, we may have even stumped the vet. He took a good 5 mins trying to decide what to give him that he hasn't already had. So we came home from the vet with 2 different ear drops and one Antibiotic for him to take.

For the 4th I just stayed home. I walked down to our Farmer's Market which is about 10 blocks away and bought some basil, tomatoes and squash. I came home and made 12 mini pizzas. My friend Hannah B. makes mini pizzas and they are always so good! so I decided to make some and freeze my extras. So, yesterday I made some pesto, and put together a couple of different kinds of pizza. I used the Trader Joe's pizza crust , the whole wheat and garlic herb crusts. I ended up going back to Trader Joe's to get more crust because I had extra toppings. They are really good and now Tori and I will have pizza when ever we want! After the pizza was made I went to the gym, the 4th of July is the best day to go there were maybe 20 people there. Which was nice! I was really proud of myself because I showered at the gym! They have individual stalls, but they are just a shower. I think they should be set up like camping showers, where you have a little changing room and then the shower area. I am not the person that walks around the locker room naked, I would prefer that there was room to set my stuff. Since Tori and I have been trying to cut back on water I thought I would try showering there, just so I don't take 2 showers at home.

The most exciting news of the week was when my sister called me on Thursday. She and my brother in law have been trying to adopt from Ethiopia and have been waiting to find out if there is a baby for them. On Thursday she got the call that a 2 1/2 month old baby girl is waiting for them. She has to be the cutest baby girl ever! I am not allowed to post a picture of her but no worries when I can, I will. Congratulations Brooke and Eric, we are all very excited about her!

real quick...

I forgot to mention this in the last post but...My friend Marc from Culinary school will be on the show chopped airing on the Food Network on June 30th! I am not sure what time but you should definitely watch he's super talented and really tall!

She's not Totaled!

I was a little concerned that when I dropped off my car to get fixed that the repair would be more expensive then the car. No worries we came in at $1200, about $1000 less then what my car is worth. So, until next Monday I will be driving around a Chevy equinox.

Today I decided to cancel farmer's market. I really thought it would work out, but when work called me up to say I would be going back full time next week it kinda cut my time away. I feel that if I am going to do a farmers market then I need to take the time to do it right. So, maybe next summer! Thanks though to everyone who offered help or was going to let me borrow coolers and such!

On a happier note I was super excited to see Bob Laughland at my Starbucks this morning! Although I am sorry to say that I may have made his drink wrong. I actually can't promise that the shots were decaf and I may have even shorted him a shot! Can you believe it! How long have I worked at the BUX??
Well, he was talking to me while I was making the drink and I have been known to forget shots or how many are already in the cup, I have even left shots out completely all while someone was talking to me. One time I gave Colin (a regular) 5 shots in his triple grande mocha....I offered to remake it but he said it was fine! So, Sorry Bob and if your ever out in the Cascade Station area while I am working again I will buy you your drink! :)

It was a Vespa!

Last night Tori and I were watching a movie when our neighbor Lisa came over to tell me that someone hit my car. They had been driving a Vespa, I thought really how bad could the damage be? Turns out a Vespa can do some damage! She broke out my passenger side tail lights and bent my antenna. When I got outside the woman who was driving was sitting in the grass talking on the phone. She was bleeding from the knee and had scratches all over her. I ran back into the house to get my trusty nurse AKA Tori, between Tori and Lisa they got her all bandaged up. Although she was still in need of a hospital, the cut on her knee was pretty deep, Tori was a little concerned. I guess what happened was, she took the corner by our house a little fast and lost control. She then hit my car and she flew forward bending my antenna, thankfully she was wearing a helmet cause the accident could have been a lot worse!

Grillin!

The weekend before last I finally got my grill up and running, with the help of our friend Ray. We ended up having to replace the burner and filling the propane tank but for only about $60 I have a grill. We had some steak and veggies, it was delicious! That morning Tori and I walked down to our neighborhood farmers market and bought veggies to grill and Ray provided the steaks and beer. About and hour and a half after Ray arrived we were finally grillin. Tori constructed a tent of sorts with a blanket in the back yard so we could sit in the shade. Murphy really enjoyed being outside all day long.
Later that night I got together with some of the girls at Starbucks. We met up at Carolyn's house and then went out for dinner and drinks. It was fun to hang out with the girls!
Here are some pics from the weekend.

Farmer's Market!

Well, clear your calendars for July Fourth...Cause you're all going to the Farmer's Market in Sherwood Oregon to see me. Turns out that they had an opening for the 4Th so I am now booth 3 and will be selling chocolates. It will be just for the one time and who knows if I will make any money but I think it will be fun and will be a chance to get my name out there. So, if you're not out of town...you should come by! The hours are 9 am to 1 pm.

I am still in need of a licensed kitchen but I think I could probably find one and I need to get my Health Department papers and such done. I will also need a tent to stand over my spot (keep the sun out) a table or two and probably a couple ice chests. So if anyone can help me out with any of this, I would greatly appreciate it! Might even pay you in some chocolate!

Grillin Out!

This weekend was the end of my super busy work schedule! Sunday is graduation at Lewis and Clark and now all that is left is the Law School graduation! After that is random catering events and cookies for their cafe downstairs. So, today (Sunday) I got up made some breakfast and then went to church with Tori and her friend Ray. We went to Lunch at the New Deal Cafe that is just around the corner from our house and on the way we saw that someone was getting rid of their grill for FREE! Just this morning I was telling Tori that I wished we had a grill of some sort so that we could grill veggies, burgers, meat....all sorts of yummy things! I said all I needed was a small tiny one or even one that sits on the stove top. So after our delicious lunch Ray offered to help me drag it back to the house, so Tori dropped us off and we were looking at it and the owners son said that it works great but the piece in the middle that helps cook everything evenly had been corroded but you could get one at Home Depot for like $10. So, Ray and I decided to take a chance and clean her up! So, she still needs the inside part and a propane tank but I think that the $50-$75 that he thinks we will spend is a good deal for a grill! Tori was alright with me bringing it home as long as I take it with me if I move out! Maybe next weekend we will have a cook out!

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and all the other Mothers I know!!

Happy Birthday to ME!

I had a lot of fun this last weekend celebrating my birthday. On Friday I met up with Sandra to have lunch downtown. We had some yummy Thai food and then on our way back to the car I got stopped by a motorcycle cop. We were right on the corner of 6Th and Main (or somewhere close to that) crossing the street. We had just walked into the street when we noticed the crosswalk sign was blinking stop. So, I decided to just walk across and Sandra decided to wait. While I was waiting for Sandra to cross the street a cop pulled up next to me to tell me that he could have ticketed me for $140. The blinking light means you need to return to the closest curb. At that light the cars are not permitted to turn on a red so if they can't turn because I am in the street then traffic gets all jammed up. He proceeded to lecture me for like 3 mins.! I tried to explain that I was already in the street so, to go back I would have wasted more of the cars time! Turns out he didn't care....
Later on Friday evening my friend Nikole took me to Kennedy school for dinner. I work with Nikole at Starbucks and recently haven't been able to work very much with her so, it was fun to hang out for the evening. When I got home I finished making the truffles that someone had ordered from me. I had been working on them since Thursday night. It usually doesn't take very long but I was being kinda lazy about it. Although they were some of the best ones I have done!
Saturday, I got up delivered truffles and then headed downtown to Saturday Market. While there I bought a ring from Spoonman and some tiny hoop earrings. I was then going to drive down to Hawthorne but it started raining and I didn't want to get all wet! So, I went home watched a movie and then headed over to Aunt Pat's house for family game night. We got to make our own pizzas and we played games and then had some cake from Beaverton Bakery. Sadly I had to leave early so that I could go to bed and work the next morning. It was nice to have 2 whole days off!

This week is the final week for Lewis and Clark until late August when the kids come back. It' s kinda busy with graduation, it will be nice to have a break!

R.I.P Montgomery Mouse

This last week Tori and I finally decided to get serious about catching our 4th roommate Monty Mouse. He has been living with us since Thanksgiving/christmas. He really wasn't too much of a problem until he started eating my clothes and leaving little mouse poops around the house. So, we had bought a mouse friendly trap and thought maybe he would want to investigate that, but he didn't. Tori then bought some unfriendly mouse traps and she put those out. The trap said that you don't need bait, that the plastic peice of cheese was suppose to fool him into stepping on the trap. It didn't, in fact he just ran around them. We kinda knew they wouldn't work but we were a little worried about Murphy getting into the traps if we put peanutbutter on them. So, this last week we put some peanut buttter on one trap and by the evening we had caught him. Although, the trap only caught his leg and when I came home I found him in a different part of the house then where we had set the trap. He was dead but murphy was standing over him and Monty appeared to be wet. I am sure you can put together what may have happened. We are going to set more traps and see if maybe he had some friends that lived here too!

At work we have been going through dishwashers like crazy! For awhile there was this girl who was pregnant and was kinda stocking me at work. But, she ended up getting fired because one day our Executive Chef Aaron caught her just standing around. He asked her what she was doing and she replied "nothing". Not the brightest bulb! I mean come on, he's your boss....make up something! Then there was this really skinny guy from the south somewhere, who rumor had it was the baby daddy for the girl who just got fired. He was a little weird, he got fired for creeping out the college girls! So, now we have this new guy who is the spitting image of Edward Scissor hands! Aside from the fact that he doesn't have spiky hair and is not Johnny Depp and well he is also missing the scissors for hands, he looks just like him. He is painfully thin, pale and greasy black hair and is a little bug eyed. When my friend Dale came into the bakery to discuss the craziness of the dish room, we both thought he looked like Edward Scissor hands! So, now as a little nick name that only dale, P.V. and I refer to him as Edward Scrubby hands! P.V. thought Edward sponge hands but I thought scrubby hands rolled of the tongue better. He is actually a really nice guy who is really good at his job. I was outside the other day and was talking with him. He has a tattoo on the side of his head, and he complimented me on staying so lean while working in the bakery. Oh, Edward Scrubby Hands...it's not going to work out between us, go ahead and save the sweet talk for someone else. Maybe someone pale and painfully thin just like him!

So, Tori and I got internet! We are both pretty excited about it, so maybe I will blog more when I can blog from the privacy of my own house!

Creepy Candyland House

Last weekend Tori and I were headed to this fun bar called the Blitz for her brother Adam's birthday. We got there early so we decided to keep driving down Milwaukee Avenue. While driving we saw this creepy house covered in fake candy and cookies with candy canes and a giant Christmas stocking with all sorts of candy coming out the top. There was an OPEN sign out front so we thought we should stop and see the madness. When we got to the front walk, and there were painted jelly beans all the way up to the house. Back at the car I suggested we leave a trail of crumbs to find our way back in case the wicked witch was planing on cooking us....just as in Hansel and Gretel. The inside was by far the worst part, the walls were covered with half naked fairies and woodland scenes. They sold several different kinds of candy, they also sold cookies and doughnuts that looked really fake. While Tori and I were in the other room we over heard the owners talk about the church down the way and how they were helping bring the neighbor hood kids to the church. Tori and my first thought were Really, they are Christians... cause that's what we need more crazies! We walked into the next room and the owners who were surprisingly normal looking (it would have been like if my parents just decided one day to cover there house with fake cookies and candy) asked us if it was our first time. Then they told us how the room around the corner with the trees was featured in the movie "the Hunted". Those of you not familiar with that movie it is about how this man is being hunted by the FBI for shooting men in the woods and quartering them like deer! That doesn't seem weird at all!
As we are walking around the house we notice that every inch of this house is painted or has a fake cookie glued to it. In the back yard there are some velvet robes leading to a Jesus statue. Now I am not opposed to being out there with your faith. But, I don't think I would ever allow my children to go to this house alone! Finally Tori and I are creeped out enough that we decide to leave. As Tori and I walk out the owner says "hey it's your first time right?" Tori is on the front porch and I am just walking out the door when I turn around and say Excuse me? He says "you get a free cookie your first time in" So, being nice we say "oh OK" so he takes us into the room with the "real" cookies to chose which one we want. While we decide he leans in close to Tori and says "you know, they are all good!" So we chose Chocolate chip and practically run out.
Here is a picture of the house that I took with my Cell phone. Now you can't really see just how creepy it is, but if you are ever headed into SE Portland and coming over the Ross Island bridge, just take a right at Milwaukee (by the Aladdin theater) and just keep driving it's on the left side of the road.


Last week was the last week that I had my Chinese helper Maozhu in the bakery. On her very last day she wanted me to decorate this cake for the Japanese student. On top of the cake she wanted Japanese Characters that said Friend to stand up. So, I told her I would do my best. Here is what I ended decorating for her. She basically came up with the design and I decorated it.

Creme Brulee Fiasco!

My chefs from school probably felt stabbing pains in there hearts this last week, due to how terribly I messed up Creme Brulee! On Monday I made some Creme Brulee that didn't turn out, it was all creamy and yummy but had a thick skin on top. It was good, but not usable. So, Tuesday I went in and made it again only I used Michele's recipe because it always turns out when she makes it. Yeah. When I made this recipe...it Curdled! It was all broken and watery...it was awful! The worst part was we had to use it! My chef and I tried to have a sense of Humor about it...it didn't really work! Luckily the group eating them probably wouldn't care, but still!


You might not be able to tell, but this is not how Creme Brulee should look!

Murphy got a new coat!

This week Tori and I went to Goodwill. She was looking for jeans and I was making fun of all the tacky clothes that people donate! We found a dog coat that was just his size and for three bucks I thought it was a steal!
He doesn't seem to mind it...I personally think he looks pretty handsome!

Starbucks!

This morning at the Bux, This woman came in and ordered a venti vanilla breve chai. For those of you who aren't familiar with coffee language Breve means Half and half. This woman ordered her drink and then asked if that drink was made with non fat milk. I said no, breve means half and half. She then asked for an extra shot of vanilla. So, I told her that we would usually put 5 pumps of vanilla in that sized drink and asked if she wanted 6. She responded with oh no, 5 pumps is enough. I really wanted to ask her if she had ever had this drink before, being that she questioned all the custom changes to her drink!

This man and his wife came in and asked me about our Internet. I told him it was a AT&T hot spot and you have to pay for it or have a registered starbucks card to get it for free. He then tells his wife how frustrating it is because in Eugene it's free. I also really wish I could tell people when they state something so matter of fact like and it's wrong! Starbucks never has free Internet, you may be able to pick up someone else's wireless but it's not Starbucks. It wasn't free in Memphis or NY and it's not free here OR in Eugene. So, you are wrong sir, very wrong!

Turkey lurkey!

So, this weekend was the beginning of spring break for me at Bon Appetite. Even though I will probably work about 10 hours for them I still had a ton of time on my hands. I decided to finally cook up the turkey I got for Thanksgiving and make a bunch of food to freeze so that maybe Tori and I would stop eating out. I have made in the last 2 days Turkey pot pie, Mac and cheese, turkey tetrazzini, and lasagna. today I am suppose to make Shepard's pie, banana bread and turkey soup. This should give Tori and I like 40 meals! I am only making banana bread so that we use the frozen bananas.
It has been nice having a break but I am a little concerned that it will be hard to get back in the swing of work. I basically had Friday thru Monday off (I did work about 3-4 hours on Saturday), when I went into Starbucks on Monday morning all my regulars asked if I still worked there. I went in to Bon Appetite today and will go in on Friday just to bake off some pastries. It's been pretty fun to sleep in!

Hey Mama!

This Morning at Starbucks T-Mobile girl (who I like to call Shaniqua Bonita) came in and ordered her ridiculous drink, which is a Venti 5 pump Sugar free Caramel, 5 pump sugar free vanilla, Breve, 5 splenda with whipped cream Americano. I don't like this woman because she tries to get her syrups and breve for free which makes her drink about $1 cheaper ,and she calls me "honey" or "Sweetie". She hates me, because I have made it my personal life at Starbucks mission to make sure she pays for her syrup and breve. Today she came in and asked for her drink and then told me she was short on cash and would add her own breve at the condiment bar. She then walks down to the hand off station where she starts yelling "hey, Mama!" "Mama!" as she is yelling this I realize she is yelling at me. So, being me, I just ignore her because my name is not "mama". Finally she goes "hey you!" and I look over to her and say "oh, were you talking to me? I am sorry, I figured you were talking to someone else because my name is not mama and being that I am not a Mama, I don't respond to that!" Really? who calls the Starbucks barista or anyone other then there Mama, that???

When I got to Bon Appetite, they had this nice college age Chinese girl come in to the bakery, because she wanted to use the mixer. I showed her how to use it and then she looked at me and asked "how much water do I need? and I asked what she was making and she said "dumplings". I asked what was in the dumplings and she told me flour and water. So, I tell her I am not sure but to just add water till the dough is the right consistency. So, she is adding water and looks over at me and says "is this OK?" and I ask what kind of dumplings are you making and she says "Chinese dumpling"...do I look Chinese? She had also called in her friend Ben for help, he was the Chinese club president and not Chinese. He then looks at the dough and then at me and says "um, the doughs kind of dry?" All I wanted to say to these people was....it is not my project and I am not Chinese!

Since my absence from blogging...

I have....
Continue to work....a lot.

visited Hannah, Brent and Emmett in Yakima Washington.

Hung out with Hannah and Gracie.

figured out Murphy's ear infection.

tried a bible food diet and realized that sugar is good and it's not going to leave my life anytime soon.

fell in love with Lentils!

bought a new Alternator.

figured out public transportation.

made some delicious Irish car bomb cupcakes.

Spent a lot of money.

got my Ipod working...not that it was broken...it was just new.

Went and saw Marley and Me...which messed me up for about a week and a half!

Drove all over the Tigard area with my sister while she was visiting.

Tried to start reading twilight.

starting reading the Shack and haven't finished it due to lack of time.

brought my Brother in laws game cube home.

played a lot of Mario Kart with Tori.

gone to a least one family game night.

saw twilight at Kennedy school with Tori.

Sold my snowboard to Nicole at work.

went shopping...a lot.

changed managers at Starbucks...again!

Learned more names and drinks at Starbucks.

quit Netflix...due to lack of time.

started eating Baby Belle cheese....It's delicious!

had a tooth filled....with pain killers NOT working!

Ate 4 different kinds of Red Robin burgers in one day! beat that!

Went to the new JCrew outlet in Woodburn with Hannah and Gracie.

got free hockey tickets from a regular at Starbucks who couldn't use them...Thanks Matt!

Decafed T-Mobile girl's drink....because she is annoying! p.s. I have never done that to anyone except her!



Really friends....you haven't missed much!