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!