It was another shitty day in a string of shitty days. There are going to be a lot of those in my immediate future. I'm ok with that, really. Its one of those things that I really cant do much about without making some ridiculously impulsive and stupid move that won't be at all helpful, just stupid. I'm know to be many things, but I'm pretty damn sure stupid isn't one of them...or at least if it is I'm blissfully unaware of it and that's good enough for me.
Work just sucks. And I'm not going to launch into some diatribe about it...there's really no point, so I'll just sum it up. We are wicked short staffed management wise, both me & the Mister are having to do a fuck ton of shift cover just to make sure we have openers and closers and whatnot while training a couple of new managers. None of those shifts will make our regular work go away, it's just going to postpone it to a much later, amazingly overwhelming & messy date. Add to that an ever increasing list of things The Wizard (apt new nickname for the Boss courtesy of a friend) wants taken care of, the things I really do have to do, and the other restaurants that also require attention and you've got what I like to call a KLUSTERFUCK! And honestly that little list over there is nothing compared to the REAL one that I haven't yet had the time to compile that will actually give me a well defined look at exactly how fucked I am. I think the list's lack of creation is equal parts no fucking time and I really don't want to know. Right now I know I've got myself, albeit with some assistance from various parties, so far in the weeds I don't even know if I know which way is out...but I'll figure it out. It quite frankly just blows goats. And it'll be over soon enough, but you can sure as shit bet that as soon as this quagmire is all cleaned up it'll be some other bog I wander into, nature of the restaurant beast I'm afraid. But like I said, it is what it is, no point wallowing in it, so I find my silver linings. Its the closest one to my house so quick ass commute...WIN! The staffing woes are due to a not so tragic loss we shall nickname Bitchface~ so thats done and that was best for every single party involved...WIN! I genuinely like the staff and the restaurant so its not painful, just irritating...WIN! So its not so totally awful I can't stand doing the shift cover, the point of ~ tension shall we say, is that I am not doing any of my work, and that stack just keeps growing, but all my office time is spent catching up on what I HAVE to do...and that is rarely what The Wizard wants me doing.
So I got a few annoying emails from our not so pleasant bookkeeper about invoicing some bullshit to somewhere and I had to do it RIGHT NOW because we had never done it in 5 years but it was all of a sudden, and for no obvious reasons, suddenly very important that we start doing it IMMEDIATELY....and then began a flurry of emails these need to be transferred at $XX each, stupid shit and I got annoyed and may have kind of sort of yelled at The Wizard. Long story much shorter I told him I was not even getting what I had to do done and if it was that fucking important for this to be done she could take care of it her damn self but if I got one more terse email about some stupid fucking garbage can I was going to blow my stack. I think I also may have told him that it was epic bullshit and that if he or she thought I could just extract a fucking invoicing system for about 150 different items from my ass, have it implemented and working at the drop of a hat he was high. Oh, yeah, and a buncha other shit about a myriad of other things that have pissed me off in the last couple weeks. I'll give him this...he stood there and took it. I was swearing, I was pissed, I was completely for real and mostly outta line. He stood there, decided that the invoicing thing could be done over the course of this year, we would plan to implement by the beginning of next year so we did it for the full year, agreed with all my other issues (not that that means much, he usually agrees, he doesn't do anything about it), talked about some things he had planned to do tomorrow and then went home.
I left shortly thereafter, annoyed and all sorts of irritated & frustrated. Just MEH! Honestly not shocking, about par for the course really. I was a bitch, and maybe for a good reason, but mostly because I wanted to be. I don't function well when I'm spread this thin, no one does really, and he is not helping or even just shutting the hell up. It would be helpful if he did, I always take care of my shit one way or another and he knows that so leave me the fuck alone. I'm on it...mostly. It's not like we are reinventing the wheel or saving lives. The bare minimum will get done, we will scrape by and he will make his money. So yeah, KLUSTERUCK!
Oh, yeah, and Mister's car went into the shop yesterday with some brake issues as yet to be diagnosed so we are with my car so that's fun. Going to be AWESOME!!! when I have to go out at 1am and go pick him up tonight...he's closing. YAY! <--- insert dripping sarcasm here
So I get home finally, find a box for Mister on the porch and am greeted by my ever so happy to see me and always makes your heart feel better puppies. I text Mister that he got a present from Amazon. He tells me that HE didn't, I did. I don't remember ordering anything, and was informed that it was ordered for me. That means present. I LOOOVE presents - fuck, who doesnt?!? So I ask if I can open it and yes I can! Mister said I CAN open it. I really found that kind of surprising. Usually I think he tells me I can't just because he knows I will listen and NOT open it, but that it will taunt me until I can and that amuses him. So I walked the dogs & then opened my box.
On top was a book I had heard about & mentioned I wanted, Mister had assessed it wasn't published yet (he's part google, ya know) and I had honestly mostly forgotten about it. Well apparently he didnt and he'd gotten it for me. I was wicked happy...and yet another reason Mister rocks~he remembers things like that!! So I pull the book out and notice this odd box thing, take it out, look at it quickly and figure out I don't know what it is therefor it must not be mine and put it on the table. Puppy makes a grab for the pillow plastic doohickythingies in the box and in the process I see ANOTHER thing in the box. So I look to see what this thing might be, it was just a small white box. I look at it and take off the paper and inside is an iTouch, I was confuzzled, he has an iTouch. So I grab the other box and its the rubber thingy that the iTouch lives in and its purple. Purple=MINE! I think i said Holy FUCK! to the dogs and texted Mister a wow...wtf?!?!? He says its just a present for v-day, just cuz & as a congrats for getting started on my business....and THAT'S why my hubby is the #1 ever!
Not to mention impeccable by accident timing for delivery of presents on really shitty days. Its really cool that he got me an iTouch, I really dug his and its just cool. It's even better he got the book, that's some pretty damn good paying attention skills there Mister. The very bestest part? He just did it because he knew I would love both & wanted to. He didn't do anything that warranted an expensive I'm sorry nor does he want anything that I'm aware of...he's just awesome.
So thats how my day went from dumb dumb stoopid dumb dumb to HAPPY GIRL DANCE!!!
And for the record I've been using my time with Mister closing to work on my business plan. I've made some pretty good headway so yes, I may be tired, but I'm tired from staying up too late working on that. I think I can live with that kind of tired...it's a productive for ME tired.
And totally off track ~ but I think Olympic Cross Country Skiing could sincerely be one of the most BORING things I've ever had the misfortune to watch. It's on as I'm finishing this, it is just boring.
I'm going to play with my iTouch some more and see what I can figure out before I hand it over to Mister to get it all set up with whatever it is I need on there ;-)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday Funday & the Perfect Brownie
I was off today. That's weird. I'm generally not ever off on Mondays. I used to be off every Monday, and that was pretty damn awesome...but I digress. So this Monday started off with a 10am appointment with my attorney in the South Side to discuss a partnership agreement for me & the woman who would like to partner & partially finance my little cafe venture~I'm going to have to give her a nickname. It was buncha questions and then a buncha answers and background info that ended in me knowing I'm having the first draft of that document in hand within a week. Then it gets signed, then I get a check and then I push this big ass ball down the cliff and hang on for dear life!! Woo Hoo!!
This is it. This is the beginning. This is the part that I quit TALKING about doing something and I actually do it. This is the best part. Ive never been a big on worrying on things. I have thought this out every which way I can and I see no option for anything but success so its just a matter of leaping. So ive found the proverbial cliff...and off I am going to leap. Once I have formed my LLC there is no changing of my mind, there is just mission accomplished. I am hoping that with the investment capitol I will have and my business plan I should be able to secure the rest of the money I need with relative quickness...and the rest of the money makes the rest details. I can handle details.
Me & the Mister are also on weird schedules for the next couple weeks. Hes closing one of the stores, Im opening them...short staffed and shift coverage necessary. This will suck balls. On the plus side we got to go to Primanti's in the Strip for lunch (delicious!), got some coffee from Prestogeorge & got some new spices at Penzeys...Vietnamese Cinnamon & Herbes de Provence~ HIGHLY recommend the Vietnamese Cinnamon. Its spicier, you can smell the difference and the flavor is more hot for lack of a better word. So it was a great Monday. And those are ridiculously rare. Most Mondays suck.
Im also testing recipes. Most of them are for baked goods at the moment. Ive been on a search for my Great White Whale - a good brownie recipe. I like them a certain texture, in my opinion a good brownie is a very rare thing to find. They shouldnt be cakey, they should be chewy; they shouldnt be gooey or raw, they should be dense & rich. I will rarely order a brownie from anywhere...they are almost always not good. I also happen to think a good brownie should have walnuts...this is necessary! Mister will totally disagree - he is anti-nut in almost every baked good because, well...hes wrong. So ive tested at least 4 recipes, probably closer to 6. All of them had their redeeming qualities, all of them had their meh qualities...but none have been perfect. So I've studied the brownie. I know what I like to get the almost bitter richness of the chocolate, I know that butter is important to get the texture & deepness of flavor, I know what I do to the eggs makes a huge difference in the texture...its been a learning experience. My test batch last night was ooooh soooo close....but not perfect. And it was loaded with chocolate chips & walnuts, so I have to make a recipe without as well...more brownies!!!!
I think I know what needs to happen though to fix it. Im almost certain that with a couple tweaks I can get rid of the crumbly texture and make it chewier & denser. So Ill try again...as soon as I find some poor souls to pawn these off on. I dont think RK & the Mister are going to want to eat this entire pan or brownies...and Im going to need to use them as testers for the hopefully perfect batch that I make next.
Once the brownies are done Im going to have to test a couple other recipes...croissants, cinnamon raisin rolls, muffins.....pierogies.
Anyone interested in signing up for care packages let me know ;-)
This is it. This is the beginning. This is the part that I quit TALKING about doing something and I actually do it. This is the best part. Ive never been a big on worrying on things. I have thought this out every which way I can and I see no option for anything but success so its just a matter of leaping. So ive found the proverbial cliff...and off I am going to leap. Once I have formed my LLC there is no changing of my mind, there is just mission accomplished. I am hoping that with the investment capitol I will have and my business plan I should be able to secure the rest of the money I need with relative quickness...and the rest of the money makes the rest details. I can handle details.
Me & the Mister are also on weird schedules for the next couple weeks. Hes closing one of the stores, Im opening them...short staffed and shift coverage necessary. This will suck balls. On the plus side we got to go to Primanti's in the Strip for lunch (delicious!), got some coffee from Prestogeorge & got some new spices at Penzeys...Vietnamese Cinnamon & Herbes de Provence~ HIGHLY recommend the Vietnamese Cinnamon. Its spicier, you can smell the difference and the flavor is more hot for lack of a better word. So it was a great Monday. And those are ridiculously rare. Most Mondays suck.
Im also testing recipes. Most of them are for baked goods at the moment. Ive been on a search for my Great White Whale - a good brownie recipe. I like them a certain texture, in my opinion a good brownie is a very rare thing to find. They shouldnt be cakey, they should be chewy; they shouldnt be gooey or raw, they should be dense & rich. I will rarely order a brownie from anywhere...they are almost always not good. I also happen to think a good brownie should have walnuts...this is necessary! Mister will totally disagree - he is anti-nut in almost every baked good because, well...hes wrong. So ive tested at least 4 recipes, probably closer to 6. All of them had their redeeming qualities, all of them had their meh qualities...but none have been perfect. So I've studied the brownie. I know what I like to get the almost bitter richness of the chocolate, I know that butter is important to get the texture & deepness of flavor, I know what I do to the eggs makes a huge difference in the texture...its been a learning experience. My test batch last night was ooooh soooo close....but not perfect. And it was loaded with chocolate chips & walnuts, so I have to make a recipe without as well...more brownies!!!!
I think I know what needs to happen though to fix it. Im almost certain that with a couple tweaks I can get rid of the crumbly texture and make it chewier & denser. So Ill try again...as soon as I find some poor souls to pawn these off on. I dont think RK & the Mister are going to want to eat this entire pan or brownies...and Im going to need to use them as testers for the hopefully perfect batch that I make next.
Once the brownies are done Im going to have to test a couple other recipes...croissants, cinnamon raisin rolls, muffins.....pierogies.
Anyone interested in signing up for care packages let me know ;-)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Aaaaaahhh...a break!
A few posts back I was whining about Baltimore ruining my life by having like 30 some inches of snow and *pout* postponing the beer fest we were supposed to go to...and yeah well me & the Mister did get to go - restoring balance to our lives and order to my kingdom. Oh and it was AWESOME.
We took off early afternoon Friday for the 4 hour drive that courtesy of the PA Turnpike & weather aftermath ended up being 6+ hours instead, but the sun happened to be shining and that in and of itself was enough to make it not all that awful. With all the BLAH & MEH of the last couple weeks even cold cant ruin a few hours of sunshine & I love to go on drives so traffic was a minor annoyance. The roads were still far from fabulous coupled with people who were all terrified & driving stupid and you'll have traffic. We did see a semi that had gone off into a ditch in Maryland that caused the longest of our delays. But the truck was full of potatoes and watching them try to offload these poor spuds was kinda of amusing...it was like a potato Pearl Harbor....
So we arrive in Baltimore, head to our hotel which was right outside the city, settle in a bit and then program the GPS for a bar named Max's Taphouse for their 72 hours of Belgians beer fest that thanks to the Clipper City postponement we were able to go to as well *SCORE*. This place was epic. It was packed, a bazillion taps, smelled like bars we went to in Belgium, dull roar of a crowd, music strains filtering through every now & again...it was a very welcoming atmosphere in all honesty, but odd to be on that side of it. So we snatch a menu up & are both just WOWED by this line up. There was shit on this list that I hadnt heard of, shit we last had IN Belgium, beers we didnt even know were in the US. Color us fucking impressed...no small fete. AND (yes it really does get better) we discover they offer "samples" of their draught for $3 each. Their "sample" is a 5oz white wine-style glass filled with delicious beer. This is awesome news for me, I dont have to commit to a big beer, I can drink a buncha small ones! I love this concept and take full advantage of it. I think I had 6 or 7 different beers, all delicious, and Im not certain which ones I had, but I bet if you ask Mister he could probably tell ya....hes awesome like that. So we stayed there for a good bit, had a buncha beers & reveled in all that was Belgian...and for the record there is nothing as sweet as a warm Belgian beer buzz...delicious!
Well me managed seats when we bumped into some of the regulars from one of our bars here that were down for Max's festival right before they were leaving & made friends with our table mates. Dinner. We hadn't eaten outside some snacks on the way down and we were both hungry. So we asked for a recommendation from a local...something good, something local, something close enough to walk to preferably. He gave us a couple options and we decided on a tapas place around the corner and go for a walk toward the harbor and hit a small warm simple place, go in & take a look at a menu where like 10 things jumped off at me. Tapas rules...kinda like the beer did...I can order a buncha little things and share so I really dont have to make a big fat entree commitment. We ended up with 4 divine dishes ~Tuna Carpaccio with arugula, shallot & balsamic vinaigrette ~Roasted Duck Confit with potato puree and demi glace reduction ~Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with aioli ~Spanikopita homemade & perfect. It was an amazing meal, washed down with a pitcher of sangria made with a nice dry Spanish red wine and finished with a decadent bittersweet chocolate torte & homemade baklava both of which were sinfully rich. We wandered back to our car, drove it out of the snowbank we had parked in & headed off to bed...have to rest up for the Clipper City fest at noon tomorrow :-)
Got up in the morning, sent Mister to Starbucks to get some big coffees & then headed off to Clipper City for the beerfest. It was fantabulous. They had all of their Heavy Seas line on draught with unlimited samples and a shit ton of oysters, all the raw ones were fresh shucked (my personal fave of the 8 or so varieties was the Blue Points for sure!) by these men that were obvious pros & they had a 4 different cooked ones too (Garlic butter parm - meh, Coke, BBQ & Chevre - pretty good, Coconut milk, bacon & thai hot sauce - DIVINE!) that were all good. I tasted my first raw oyster that day at 12:05pm. Ive shucked more than my fair share while coming up & working hotel raw bars, Mister loves them so when weve gotten them Ive shucked for him, too...but I have a weird texture issue with food and their look always turned me off for fear of them just being one of those squashy textures that would induce the gag reflex. But I figured if I was driving 4 hours to go to a beer & oyster fest that I HAD to give hem a shot. Delicious, briney, taste like the ocean...i will so totally be eating them more often, Ive been missing out! They also had it beef sandwiches there were awesome! So 4 hours of beer & food & beer & food and we were both ready for a nap...so back to the hotel and we napped for a couple hours. Then to another local joint for dinner....Ale Marys.
Ale Marys is a beery-kinda bar. It reminded me alot of Piper's Pub in the South Side but they specialize in tater tots!!! So we got Crabby Tots - tater tots covered in crab dip & melted cheese with ranch ~ oh yeah they were as good as they sounded! I got a crabcake sandwich - all jumbo lump crab, barely any fillers, just simple garlic butter sauce & some herbs on a grilled bun that was perfect. Mister got a fried catfish po'boy that he assured me was just as awesome as my crabcake. We were stuffed to the gills after that so we decided to go for a snowy hike back up to the harbor. Just as we started to feel human again we just HAD to stop for gelato (hazelnut & bourbon vanilla for me, bittersweet chocolate & espresso for Mister - both decadent & delicious!), then back to Max's for another beer then back to the hotel to pass into a food/beer coma.....
We decided to find a good diner for breakfast before we went to the National Aquarium. Found a Greek diner that seemed to be a local-y kind of feel to it that was very well reviewed on the intarwebs...so we sought & we found. Had killer challah french toast & ham and Mister got a crab omlette that looked awesome. Great breakfast! Sat with near a table that provided infinite amusement, too. They were a group of Jersey Housewives with a gay couple. The gay couple had an adorable son, infant, they were just so cute fussing over...the Jersey Housewives were such a riot. One of them had probably been told over 10 years ago she looked like Marissa Tomei, and she did with much thinner lips, so to fix it she did the I'll line my lips waaaaaay outside my natural lip line and fill it in and no one would notice. FAIL! She just looked like someone who didnt know how to apply make up. And they were chatting about how ridiculous that dumb show The Real Housewives of NJ women were & absurd, etc....ironic :-) Oh and yeah, THIS restaurant was just down from the diner...it amused me so Mister took a pic....
Breakfast complete we head to the National Aquarium. Its unbelievable huge, it was incredibly packed, yet well organized as far as entry. I was impressed, but I still kind of liked the aquarium at our zoo better. Granted, we dont have a dolphin show, but I feel like its better laid out & designed for ease of movement & flow for larger crowds than this one was...or perhaps I'm just biased because its our aquarium and its newer. Either way we had a very nice afternoon wandering around the ships in the harbor while we waited to go in...
We saw a 4D nature movie & saw the dolphin show & they had a jellyfish display that was pretty wicked cool. Overall worth the afternoon. Their admission prices werent terrible, but the $22 to park at a nearby garage was a tad recockulous. I get its in the city & its a touristy area, but that seems like highway robbery. Everywhere else wed been we managed to find on-street parking for free, even with 3 feet of snow, but since wed checked out of the hotel & had all our stuff in the car we figured the garage was safer...and it damn well better have been for $22 for 5 hours.
Some pics that came out pretty cool from the aquarium...
So when we were done with the aquarium we headed back home. Turnpike sucked then too, but whatcha gonna do. As nice as it was to be away for a bit....I was sure happy to be home.
I really missed this face...
We took off early afternoon Friday for the 4 hour drive that courtesy of the PA Turnpike & weather aftermath ended up being 6+ hours instead, but the sun happened to be shining and that in and of itself was enough to make it not all that awful. With all the BLAH & MEH of the last couple weeks even cold cant ruin a few hours of sunshine & I love to go on drives so traffic was a minor annoyance. The roads were still far from fabulous coupled with people who were all terrified & driving stupid and you'll have traffic. We did see a semi that had gone off into a ditch in Maryland that caused the longest of our delays. But the truck was full of potatoes and watching them try to offload these poor spuds was kinda of amusing...it was like a potato Pearl Harbor....
So we arrive in Baltimore, head to our hotel which was right outside the city, settle in a bit and then program the GPS for a bar named Max's Taphouse for their 72 hours of Belgians beer fest that thanks to the Clipper City postponement we were able to go to as well *SCORE*. This place was epic. It was packed, a bazillion taps, smelled like bars we went to in Belgium, dull roar of a crowd, music strains filtering through every now & again...it was a very welcoming atmosphere in all honesty, but odd to be on that side of it. So we snatch a menu up & are both just WOWED by this line up. There was shit on this list that I hadnt heard of, shit we last had IN Belgium, beers we didnt even know were in the US. Color us fucking impressed...no small fete. AND (yes it really does get better) we discover they offer "samples" of their draught for $3 each. Their "sample" is a 5oz white wine-style glass filled with delicious beer. This is awesome news for me, I dont have to commit to a big beer, I can drink a buncha small ones! I love this concept and take full advantage of it. I think I had 6 or 7 different beers, all delicious, and Im not certain which ones I had, but I bet if you ask Mister he could probably tell ya....hes awesome like that. So we stayed there for a good bit, had a buncha beers & reveled in all that was Belgian...and for the record there is nothing as sweet as a warm Belgian beer buzz...delicious!
Well me managed seats when we bumped into some of the regulars from one of our bars here that were down for Max's festival right before they were leaving & made friends with our table mates. Dinner. We hadn't eaten outside some snacks on the way down and we were both hungry. So we asked for a recommendation from a local...something good, something local, something close enough to walk to preferably. He gave us a couple options and we decided on a tapas place around the corner and go for a walk toward the harbor and hit a small warm simple place, go in & take a look at a menu where like 10 things jumped off at me. Tapas rules...kinda like the beer did...I can order a buncha little things and share so I really dont have to make a big fat entree commitment. We ended up with 4 divine dishes ~Tuna Carpaccio with arugula, shallot & balsamic vinaigrette ~Roasted Duck Confit with potato puree and demi glace reduction ~Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with aioli ~Spanikopita homemade & perfect. It was an amazing meal, washed down with a pitcher of sangria made with a nice dry Spanish red wine and finished with a decadent bittersweet chocolate torte & homemade baklava both of which were sinfully rich. We wandered back to our car, drove it out of the snowbank we had parked in & headed off to bed...have to rest up for the Clipper City fest at noon tomorrow :-)
Got up in the morning, sent Mister to Starbucks to get some big coffees & then headed off to Clipper City for the beerfest. It was fantabulous. They had all of their Heavy Seas line on draught with unlimited samples and a shit ton of oysters, all the raw ones were fresh shucked (my personal fave of the 8 or so varieties was the Blue Points for sure!) by these men that were obvious pros & they had a 4 different cooked ones too (Garlic butter parm - meh, Coke, BBQ & Chevre - pretty good, Coconut milk, bacon & thai hot sauce - DIVINE!) that were all good. I tasted my first raw oyster that day at 12:05pm. Ive shucked more than my fair share while coming up & working hotel raw bars, Mister loves them so when weve gotten them Ive shucked for him, too...but I have a weird texture issue with food and their look always turned me off for fear of them just being one of those squashy textures that would induce the gag reflex. But I figured if I was driving 4 hours to go to a beer & oyster fest that I HAD to give hem a shot. Delicious, briney, taste like the ocean...i will so totally be eating them more often, Ive been missing out! They also had it beef sandwiches there were awesome! So 4 hours of beer & food & beer & food and we were both ready for a nap...so back to the hotel and we napped for a couple hours. Then to another local joint for dinner....Ale Marys.
Ale Marys is a beery-kinda bar. It reminded me alot of Piper's Pub in the South Side but they specialize in tater tots!!! So we got Crabby Tots - tater tots covered in crab dip & melted cheese with ranch ~ oh yeah they were as good as they sounded! I got a crabcake sandwich - all jumbo lump crab, barely any fillers, just simple garlic butter sauce & some herbs on a grilled bun that was perfect. Mister got a fried catfish po'boy that he assured me was just as awesome as my crabcake. We were stuffed to the gills after that so we decided to go for a snowy hike back up to the harbor. Just as we started to feel human again we just HAD to stop for gelato (hazelnut & bourbon vanilla for me, bittersweet chocolate & espresso for Mister - both decadent & delicious!), then back to Max's for another beer then back to the hotel to pass into a food/beer coma.....
We decided to find a good diner for breakfast before we went to the National Aquarium. Found a Greek diner that seemed to be a local-y kind of feel to it that was very well reviewed on the intarwebs...so we sought & we found. Had killer challah french toast & ham and Mister got a crab omlette that looked awesome. Great breakfast! Sat with near a table that provided infinite amusement, too. They were a group of Jersey Housewives with a gay couple. The gay couple had an adorable son, infant, they were just so cute fussing over...the Jersey Housewives were such a riot. One of them had probably been told over 10 years ago she looked like Marissa Tomei, and she did with much thinner lips, so to fix it she did the I'll line my lips waaaaaay outside my natural lip line and fill it in and no one would notice. FAIL! She just looked like someone who didnt know how to apply make up. And they were chatting about how ridiculous that dumb show The Real Housewives of NJ women were & absurd, etc....ironic :-) Oh and yeah, THIS restaurant was just down from the diner...it amused me so Mister took a pic....
Breakfast complete we head to the National Aquarium. Its unbelievable huge, it was incredibly packed, yet well organized as far as entry. I was impressed, but I still kind of liked the aquarium at our zoo better. Granted, we dont have a dolphin show, but I feel like its better laid out & designed for ease of movement & flow for larger crowds than this one was...or perhaps I'm just biased because its our aquarium and its newer. Either way we had a very nice afternoon wandering around the ships in the harbor while we waited to go in...
We saw a 4D nature movie & saw the dolphin show & they had a jellyfish display that was pretty wicked cool. Overall worth the afternoon. Their admission prices werent terrible, but the $22 to park at a nearby garage was a tad recockulous. I get its in the city & its a touristy area, but that seems like highway robbery. Everywhere else wed been we managed to find on-street parking for free, even with 3 feet of snow, but since wed checked out of the hotel & had all our stuff in the car we figured the garage was safer...and it damn well better have been for $22 for 5 hours.
Some pics that came out pretty cool from the aquarium...
So when we were done with the aquarium we headed back home. Turnpike sucked then too, but whatcha gonna do. As nice as it was to be away for a bit....I was sure happy to be home.
I really missed this face...
Monday, February 8, 2010
Not really feeling this work thing...
So I decided to blog instead....I'm very lucky in that my computer in my office doesnt allow for surprise walk ups, so I will write.
Have a couple things on my mind today.....
First a general note to all the folks that I have encountered driving in the last 2 days -
I think tonight is the night I go for it and spend the money on Quickbooks so I can get my financials going for my coffee shop. I need to quit being so lazy and just get this done. I seem to have myself deluded into believing that I cant do anything until I help Capt Chaos get this next place together...or maybe I guess more realistically I find this job so draining at times that I have a hard time mustering the motivation to do it once Im home from here. Bottom line is I cant let that get me down and have to make this happen for myself or it isnt going to happen. I always seem to find the time to do frivolous & entertaining things, but sitting down and actually getting my business on paper is really frustrating. I think part of it is that Ive never done this before so its a daunting task and the other part is that Im all about the DOING and not so much about the PLANNING. I know what i want to do, I know what needs to be done to do it...but I dont think Ill be able to walk into a bank and say " I swear to god I totally know what im doing here, Im just really busy. So why dont you just go ahead and give me $300G to get this off the ground and I promise, cross my heart & hope to die, that Ill pay you back". Something tells me that no matter how much cleavage I show thats not going to happen so my best bet is to just do the work and get it done. Unless, of course, any of you happen to know someone who's willing to give me $300G and who will give it to me based on my expertise in the art of bullshitting, an excellent resume and a great boob shirt...
Have a couple things on my mind today.....
First a general note to all the folks that I have encountered driving in the last 2 days -
- FUCK YOU! Learn to drive or stay home - those of us that arent complete idiots when it snows in the Burgh would rather not die because you have no idea what the fuck you are doing.
- HEADLIGHTS! Seems simple enough, right? The weather is shit & its horrid out so you should have them on so others can see you. Apparently half the population of the city didnt get that memo.
- There are these magical blinking lights controlled by a stem that comes off your steering column. You make them work by pushing up or down on said stem. These are called "turn signals" and they let the other people on the road know what you are planning to do.
- Slamming on your breaks on ice or snow is a BAD idea. This is how you skid, slide, spin & just loose control of your car. Again-dont know what the fuck youre doing stay home!!!
- And to all the toolbags that have a 4x4 and think that this makes them invincible - YOU ARE WRONG. I drive a 4x4 and ya know it doesnt help for shit when you are trying to stop or slow down. Quit driving like dick bags - it makes us all look bad & I would revoke your membership card for the "We Drive Cool Trucks & Stuff" Club if I could - you all suck.
- Last but far from least...a sincere note to every asshole I saw out driving yesterday afternoon & today who was chatting away & texting on their cell phones while negotiating treacherous roads at best - a) you are not that fucking important-if you were you wouldnt be driving yourself around & you could chat on the phone all day. b) I swear to all thats holy that if one of you wrecks into or causes me to wreck due to your complete inability to pay attention to the road I will ram that phone so far up your ass you'll be answering it with your tongue. and c) if some one in a red Jeep all of a sudden rams you like its a Demolition Derby outta nowhere - thats probably me and thats my subtle way of telling your self important ass to HANG UP THE FUCKING PHONE YOU TOOLBAG!
I think tonight is the night I go for it and spend the money on Quickbooks so I can get my financials going for my coffee shop. I need to quit being so lazy and just get this done. I seem to have myself deluded into believing that I cant do anything until I help Capt Chaos get this next place together...or maybe I guess more realistically I find this job so draining at times that I have a hard time mustering the motivation to do it once Im home from here. Bottom line is I cant let that get me down and have to make this happen for myself or it isnt going to happen. I always seem to find the time to do frivolous & entertaining things, but sitting down and actually getting my business on paper is really frustrating. I think part of it is that Ive never done this before so its a daunting task and the other part is that Im all about the DOING and not so much about the PLANNING. I know what i want to do, I know what needs to be done to do it...but I dont think Ill be able to walk into a bank and say " I swear to god I totally know what im doing here, Im just really busy. So why dont you just go ahead and give me $300G to get this off the ground and I promise, cross my heart & hope to die, that Ill pay you back". Something tells me that no matter how much cleavage I show thats not going to happen so my best bet is to just do the work and get it done. Unless, of course, any of you happen to know someone who's willing to give me $300G and who will give it to me based on my expertise in the art of bullshitting, an excellent resume and a great boob shirt...
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Snowpocolypse/Snowmagedden/Snowly Shit! 2010
The weather peoples said it was going to happen. 12" of snow starting Friday afternoon ending Saturday afternoon and it was going to be bad. I was like, yeah...whatever. Fear mongering tv weathermen!!! I swear sometimes they work for the grocery union or some shit. Sales get low PREDICT A BLIZZARD!!! So they did. And it began....
Old ladies beating each other with canes as they wrestled over the last loaf of Wonderbread in the decimated bread aisle...grocery store mangers with tread marks running right up their back because they chose the exact wrong time to restock the toilet paper display....all the dairy cows in the tri-state area were hooked up to milking machines while being force fed food non-stop in order to keep up with the milk demand....an utter break down in the fabric of our existence.....snow. And I was totally kidding about the cows...at least as far as I know personally.
So it started with Wednesday when the rumor began the beerfest me & Mr were supposed to go to Baltimore for this weekend was going to be postponed. We scoffed. Why would this happen? We are east coasters, we know how to handle our weather. Bring it bitches - were going to eat oysters and drink beer!! And then on Thursday morning the email came ~ Sorry! We would rather not have people coming out & drinking in this kinda weather, we rescheduled for next weekend, sorry we ruined your life, blah blah blah....so then a buncha talking and a buncha what do you want to do? I dunno what do you want to do? We finally decided with Capt Chaos' blessing that we would just stay home this weekend & go to Baltimore next weekend when we wouldnt die en route in a gigantor snowbank. For the record, at this point I still thought it was all a buncha crap & we were having to stay home because some guy whos job it is to guess about the weather said so and I was annoyed. Not to mention that meant that I went from being off on Friday to having to work on Friday and that kinda really sucked ass. So long story short I pouted, stomped my feet & whined and we still stayed home.
Thank great fictional deities we did.
After an epic FAIL night at one of my restaurants wrestling with a piece of shit POS system that refused to boot then when it did hijacked the entire network, knocking out credit cards and generally making everyones life more difficult, irritating and frustrating all night I go to leave Sewickley around 7pm. I had been in the south hills around noon when the snow had innocently enough started...this was no longer innocent. It seems that while I was in the restaurant slamming my head in the office door, being yelled at by bartenders (which for the record is the LAST time that asshat will ever think THAT was acceptable behavior again, i assure you) while talking to a tech guy for said POS POS and trying to make the mother fucking computers work before I have to kill myself Snowpocolypse 2010 begun. But I drive a Jeep. A real Jeep. A Wrangler. So I actually really enjoyed my treacherous drive home because...well thats why I drive a Jeep.
This is the view off my front porch last night around 10pm. The snow started around noon....
It was recockulous. Utterly. It snowed. No. It FUCKING snowed. It snowed all night. It just cape coming down, even as we slept! We went to bed with power, I was awoke at 6:30am by Capt Chaos (oh yeah I was UNHAPPY about that) and we had power. Finally went out around 9am. This is wicked heavy snow, so trees falling (including some of my neighbors) hitting power lines = no power for me. This is a real bummer. I like my electric and all the nice things it provides. Like warmth.
So me, Mr & RK had a delicious breakfast cooked by RK, a game of Monopoly I got my ass wupped at, shoveled a fuck ton of snow and had a pretty awesome snow day!!
Old ladies beating each other with canes as they wrestled over the last loaf of Wonderbread in the decimated bread aisle...grocery store mangers with tread marks running right up their back because they chose the exact wrong time to restock the toilet paper display....all the dairy cows in the tri-state area were hooked up to milking machines while being force fed food non-stop in order to keep up with the milk demand....an utter break down in the fabric of our existence.....snow. And I was totally kidding about the cows...at least as far as I know personally.
So it started with Wednesday when the rumor began the beerfest me & Mr were supposed to go to Baltimore for this weekend was going to be postponed. We scoffed. Why would this happen? We are east coasters, we know how to handle our weather. Bring it bitches - were going to eat oysters and drink beer!! And then on Thursday morning the email came ~ Sorry! We would rather not have people coming out & drinking in this kinda weather, we rescheduled for next weekend, sorry we ruined your life, blah blah blah....so then a buncha talking and a buncha what do you want to do? I dunno what do you want to do? We finally decided with Capt Chaos' blessing that we would just stay home this weekend & go to Baltimore next weekend when we wouldnt die en route in a gigantor snowbank. For the record, at this point I still thought it was all a buncha crap & we were having to stay home because some guy whos job it is to guess about the weather said so and I was annoyed. Not to mention that meant that I went from being off on Friday to having to work on Friday and that kinda really sucked ass. So long story short I pouted, stomped my feet & whined and we still stayed home.
Thank great fictional deities we did.
After an epic FAIL night at one of my restaurants wrestling with a piece of shit POS system that refused to boot then when it did hijacked the entire network, knocking out credit cards and generally making everyones life more difficult, irritating and frustrating all night I go to leave Sewickley around 7pm. I had been in the south hills around noon when the snow had innocently enough started...this was no longer innocent. It seems that while I was in the restaurant slamming my head in the office door, being yelled at by bartenders (which for the record is the LAST time that asshat will ever think THAT was acceptable behavior again, i assure you) while talking to a tech guy for said POS POS and trying to make the mother fucking computers work before I have to kill myself Snowpocolypse 2010 begun. But I drive a Jeep. A real Jeep. A Wrangler. So I actually really enjoyed my treacherous drive home because...well thats why I drive a Jeep.
This is the view off my front porch last night around 10pm. The snow started around noon....
And this is RK's car that had been parked outside since 4ish...
Appreciating how much better the neighbors house looks when covered in a blanket of snow
So me, Mr & RK had a delicious breakfast cooked by RK, a game of Monopoly I got my ass wupped at, shoveled a fuck ton of snow and had a pretty awesome snow day!!
^ Mr felled in a snow bank ^
^ RK did too...^
^ Yes...it is up to his knees, for real, that was a clean spot ^
So it was a snowpocoplyse. Definitively. 18 inches in about 24 hours, the bulk of it falling in 12. Its pretty awesome. The world looks bright & beautiful coated in snow! All the people who bitch about winter...you have NO idea. Its awesome. Yeah its cold, it snows, its gray blah blah blah... yes, it is all those things. But every once in awhile you get a day like today. Look at that blue sky...it was gorgeous. So bright it hurt your eyes, the sun was actually warm. Shoveling snow does suck balls, but its still worth it. I live in a beautiful city, even in the middle of winter!
so by the time we came in and were considering finding a bar for some hockey the power comes back on. More importantly the heat comes back on. We dont have to pack up the dogs and go sleep at my moms tonight. Thank Jeebus!
Side Note: We totally did not have more than a quart of milk & 3 slices of bread at the time of the Snowpocolypse - yinzer snow prep FAIL.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A Pretty Big Deal for a Tuesday
Alright so yeah, I have a job. Its not a job that I particularly like, but its one Ive had for a pretty long time~a smidgen under 10 years, and its one that I used to love...about 4 years ago. I do not love said job any more. For obvious reasons I dont intend to go into specifics, but generally speaking I spend most of my days trying to appear busy while I extinguish fires that my ever so adoring employees set and trying to stay out of the line of fire of my boss, who I will call Capt Chaos. Capt Chaos is a very successful business man in spite of himself, has a really bad penny smart/dollar stupid philosophy that I dont really get and that seems to be getting worse as he ages and has a major micromanagement issue that seems to grow exponentially with each place we open. Toss those 3 biggies in the proverbial pot with a slew of other bullshit, my complete lack of desire to be running all of the HR crap for this business and a general dislike for his "Corporate Philosophy" of fuck the people who have made you what you are and I guess I am what you would call a disgruntled employee. But dont worry folks....I, for very good reasons, do not own a firearm so the world will be safe for another day. Well at least from me, anyway. I could probably go on for pages here about the dumb shit Capt Chaos has done and will be doing, but Ill be honest- Im not really interested in it anymore and cant imagine you would be either. Suffice it to say that hes a big giant douche - and his general douchebaggery will more than likely be his demise.
So its taken me a long time to get here. I naively believed that eventually he would see the light of logic, that the things that seem to be such common sense to me and my coworkers would eventually become common sense to him as well...that I, being the mouthy & opinionated bitch that I am, could show him that my way is better, for his employees & his bottom line. Yeah, then the dream ended and I woke up and realized a few things 1) He's male (strike one). I love men, but have come to realize they are mostly blockheads and that silly male ego is a definite hindrance to logic and common sense in alot of areas. 2) He is successful in spite of his idiotic business practices (strike 2) hence he will see no reason to change anything. Until someone takes an ax to his wallet he isnt going to hear shit from me or anyone else. 3) His ego has reached such epic levels he really feels that he cant be hurt by anyone or anything, has no competition and is just the shit (a big fat strike 3). and 4) I dont really care either way. Yes I was a major factor in building this little mini-empire we have going on here, but its still not MINE and I dont care enough about him to loose any more sleep over his stupidity (and im OUT!). These were all little epiphanies ive had over the last year...the most freeing one was that I DONT CARE. Even saying it now makes me feel good.
Now all of this is a huge double edge sword. I helped build this, I sincerely did. I have bled, cried, sweat, screamed, almost lost my marriage to, laughed & lived these places for almost a decade. My team is hand picked by me and keep showing up because I do, I have busted my ass to keep his shit going....and I can honestly say that even after all that - I really dont see a reason to keep pounding away at it. I wish Capt Chaos nothing but success, but I have reached my limit with compromising what I believe to be important and killing myself to make him more successful. My final straw comes in the form of a new location to be opening soon while my current staff is in month 16 of a wage freeze. Apparently he needs me to be a heartless corporate bitch...i just dont have it in me. Im a bitch because I feel things strongly, I have passion and believe in what I say - not because i have no heart and can coldly tell people i consider to be family to bend over and take it up the ass just a little further... Money has never been a huge motivator for me, I do what I do because I love it. If money was my main motivator I definitely wouldnt be a chef, Id be something less fun & more tedious im sure, but money seems to be his ONLY priority, and that just not what Im all about. When the bottom line is more important than the people who help achieve it I firmly believe you are in need of a serious priority adjustment, and after years of trying I realize that some people are just plain stupid --->Capt Chaos.
All that being said, and Im certain bits & pieces of more bullshit will be dragged out eventually, Im pretty proud of me for figuring it all out and STILL having a brain to move forward. As I see it I have a multitude of options- I just need to figure out what they are. The very idea of having to go run someone elses kitchen again just makes me sick to my stomach. Capt Chaos is a known idiot. I have no desire to hop from this moron into the kitchen of a potentially bigger idiot - and the likelihood of that happening is pretty damn good ~ this industry is FULL of amazingly stupid owners with no common sense or soul. Im qualified to do just about any job in a restaurant or bar - but I dont really want to do that either - again known idiot as opposed to unknown moron. Then it hit me...I DONT HAVE TO WORK FOR ANY OTHER MORON BUT ME!!!! As long as I can find the money....
Enter in my pretty big deal for a Tuesday (see i got there eventually :-).... I just emailed my attorney the answers to the questions she needs so she can draft up a partnership agreement for me & this fabulous woman I recently met who wants to give me some cash to do my own thang in exchange for being allowed to hop on the for the ride. Its not ALL the money I need to open up Mindy's (yes, its named after me cuz well...a vote was taken & that was the decidedly the best idea even if the concept made me blush - which is HARD to make happen), but its enough to give me a major leg up with the banks when I go to get the rest of it with my business plan in hand.
I feel about a gazillion things right now....
FANFUCKINGTASTIC is at the very very very top of that list ;-)
So its taken me a long time to get here. I naively believed that eventually he would see the light of logic, that the things that seem to be such common sense to me and my coworkers would eventually become common sense to him as well...that I, being the mouthy & opinionated bitch that I am, could show him that my way is better, for his employees & his bottom line. Yeah, then the dream ended and I woke up and realized a few things 1) He's male (strike one). I love men, but have come to realize they are mostly blockheads and that silly male ego is a definite hindrance to logic and common sense in alot of areas. 2) He is successful in spite of his idiotic business practices (strike 2) hence he will see no reason to change anything. Until someone takes an ax to his wallet he isnt going to hear shit from me or anyone else. 3) His ego has reached such epic levels he really feels that he cant be hurt by anyone or anything, has no competition and is just the shit (a big fat strike 3). and 4) I dont really care either way. Yes I was a major factor in building this little mini-empire we have going on here, but its still not MINE and I dont care enough about him to loose any more sleep over his stupidity (and im OUT!). These were all little epiphanies ive had over the last year...the most freeing one was that I DONT CARE. Even saying it now makes me feel good.
Now all of this is a huge double edge sword. I helped build this, I sincerely did. I have bled, cried, sweat, screamed, almost lost my marriage to, laughed & lived these places for almost a decade. My team is hand picked by me and keep showing up because I do, I have busted my ass to keep his shit going....and I can honestly say that even after all that - I really dont see a reason to keep pounding away at it. I wish Capt Chaos nothing but success, but I have reached my limit with compromising what I believe to be important and killing myself to make him more successful. My final straw comes in the form of a new location to be opening soon while my current staff is in month 16 of a wage freeze. Apparently he needs me to be a heartless corporate bitch...i just dont have it in me. Im a bitch because I feel things strongly, I have passion and believe in what I say - not because i have no heart and can coldly tell people i consider to be family to bend over and take it up the ass just a little further... Money has never been a huge motivator for me, I do what I do because I love it. If money was my main motivator I definitely wouldnt be a chef, Id be something less fun & more tedious im sure, but money seems to be his ONLY priority, and that just not what Im all about. When the bottom line is more important than the people who help achieve it I firmly believe you are in need of a serious priority adjustment, and after years of trying I realize that some people are just plain stupid --->Capt Chaos.
All that being said, and Im certain bits & pieces of more bullshit will be dragged out eventually, Im pretty proud of me for figuring it all out and STILL having a brain to move forward. As I see it I have a multitude of options- I just need to figure out what they are. The very idea of having to go run someone elses kitchen again just makes me sick to my stomach. Capt Chaos is a known idiot. I have no desire to hop from this moron into the kitchen of a potentially bigger idiot - and the likelihood of that happening is pretty damn good ~ this industry is FULL of amazingly stupid owners with no common sense or soul. Im qualified to do just about any job in a restaurant or bar - but I dont really want to do that either - again known idiot as opposed to unknown moron. Then it hit me...I DONT HAVE TO WORK FOR ANY OTHER MORON BUT ME!!!! As long as I can find the money....
Enter in my pretty big deal for a Tuesday (see i got there eventually :-).... I just emailed my attorney the answers to the questions she needs so she can draft up a partnership agreement for me & this fabulous woman I recently met who wants to give me some cash to do my own thang in exchange for being allowed to hop on the for the ride. Its not ALL the money I need to open up Mindy's (yes, its named after me cuz well...a vote was taken & that was the decidedly the best idea even if the concept made me blush - which is HARD to make happen), but its enough to give me a major leg up with the banks when I go to get the rest of it with my business plan in hand.
I feel about a gazillion things right now....
FANFUCKINGTASTIC is at the very very very top of that list ;-)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Well Hello!
So I've spent a good amount of time reading the blogs of others and decided after much internal debate that I, too, wanted a place to organize my thoughts & such so I've created one. I have always enjoyed reading the blogs of others but always thought to myself "who wants to read my mindless drivel?" Well I've decided that I do, and therefore others might as well. I know that my tiny little blip of an existence is going to be changing alot over the next year or so and think it would be very helpful to get some of the stuff rambling around in there out of my head and let it live elsewhere....and this is where I have chosen. Perspective and whatnot I guess.
A little about me. Im 33 years old and totally ok with that. Im married to a pretty awesome guy for the last 5 years but have been with him for a crap ton longer than that- almost 15 years at this point - and where it has not always been peaches, cream, sunshine & roses he is still now the love of my life, best friend & most amusing man I have ever known. We do not have children, we do not want children and we will not ever have children - something else that I am totally ok with, I swear! I work alot, I am a chef by training & passion but a Dir of Ops for a restaurant group by paycheck - this is where the major upheaval in my existence will be coming from as this year progresses. I own a house that needs alot of money & love to make it the epic home it could be- but find that its just not a priority for me or my husband - its still standing and we have alot of toys in it and im sure we will make it gorgeous eventually, just isnt a priority of the moment. I own dogs. 3 of them up until about 3 weeks ago when one of my bestest friends on this planet very peacefully and quietly left this earth. My heart broke a little that day, and I still cry about it now. We have 2 other furry beasts - and they have done an admirable job giving extra love to make up for loosing the Big Guy. I like cats, but doubt I will ever own one again - too persnickety & that litter box - no damn way.
I like to swear...like alot. So if you are offended by vulgar language Id recommend moving on from here, I have a serious potty mouth issue. I love food and all things to do with food. Its a vice, a blessing, a curse and a passion. I love to cook for people, for myself, to bake, to create, to play in my kitchen. Fresh veggies make me smile and a nice cut of meat will make me quiver. I like horrible movies, terrible music and crap TV. I like my me time and tend to prefer spending time alone to time with most people-there are those that I adore and can be with all the time, and others that I would ban from our planet if I was permitted to do so. It isnt anything personal, I just find people, especially in large groups, to be overwhelming and mostly irritating.
Im a present focused person, I live right now and make decisions accordingly. I dont believe in regrets - I only have ONE for all of my 33 years and that is WHY I EVER STARTED SMOKING EVER - which i feel is a pretty good regret. I am not a worrier. I dont believe in it. Why worry? It serves no purpose. I think on things and contemplate options, but the stressful & frantic worrying about things that are out of my control just seems a waste of time & energy. Im a problem solver, bring me an issue and ill give you a solution. Im a bitch. Im not always nice, I rarely take the feelings of others into as much consideration as I should and therefore can say & do hurtful things on purpose and by accident. I am honest - I dont lie to anyone but myself and Im working on that. I babble alot, I say stupid things, I have a few vices I really should learn to control and have found that the voices in my head give better advice than most people. I also have big boobs and LOVE it!
So the purpose of this blog is multifaceted. I want a place to track the insanity that is going to become my life in the next year plus. In my current job position we are going to be opening a new store & in MY life I am trying to find the funding to open a place of my own. Both of these things will be happening simultaneously and there is def alot more specifics that need to be told but this is not the time for that story. I am going to try (fucking AGAIN) to quit smoking - only this time I have come to the conclusion that I cannot do this alone & will enlist the help of Chantix to do the job. I have also joined a gym and need to find my grown up motivation to actually go there so that I can get in better shape - undo some of the damage I have done to this body and loose some weight. Im also trying to relearn how to eat - apparently I got this fat ass from 1) sitting on it too much and 2) eating too much crap - all of which I hope to document. More or less im reinventing me. There are some amazing parts of me I want to keep, but some not so amazing parts that need to be dealt with and this is going to be me dealing with them.
Welcome to my ramblings...may you find some value in them...even if that value is laughing at this silly woman doing her thing....
A little about me. Im 33 years old and totally ok with that. Im married to a pretty awesome guy for the last 5 years but have been with him for a crap ton longer than that- almost 15 years at this point - and where it has not always been peaches, cream, sunshine & roses he is still now the love of my life, best friend & most amusing man I have ever known. We do not have children, we do not want children and we will not ever have children - something else that I am totally ok with, I swear! I work alot, I am a chef by training & passion but a Dir of Ops for a restaurant group by paycheck - this is where the major upheaval in my existence will be coming from as this year progresses. I own a house that needs alot of money & love to make it the epic home it could be- but find that its just not a priority for me or my husband - its still standing and we have alot of toys in it and im sure we will make it gorgeous eventually, just isnt a priority of the moment. I own dogs. 3 of them up until about 3 weeks ago when one of my bestest friends on this planet very peacefully and quietly left this earth. My heart broke a little that day, and I still cry about it now. We have 2 other furry beasts - and they have done an admirable job giving extra love to make up for loosing the Big Guy. I like cats, but doubt I will ever own one again - too persnickety & that litter box - no damn way.
I like to swear...like alot. So if you are offended by vulgar language Id recommend moving on from here, I have a serious potty mouth issue. I love food and all things to do with food. Its a vice, a blessing, a curse and a passion. I love to cook for people, for myself, to bake, to create, to play in my kitchen. Fresh veggies make me smile and a nice cut of meat will make me quiver. I like horrible movies, terrible music and crap TV. I like my me time and tend to prefer spending time alone to time with most people-there are those that I adore and can be with all the time, and others that I would ban from our planet if I was permitted to do so. It isnt anything personal, I just find people, especially in large groups, to be overwhelming and mostly irritating.
Im a present focused person, I live right now and make decisions accordingly. I dont believe in regrets - I only have ONE for all of my 33 years and that is WHY I EVER STARTED SMOKING EVER - which i feel is a pretty good regret. I am not a worrier. I dont believe in it. Why worry? It serves no purpose. I think on things and contemplate options, but the stressful & frantic worrying about things that are out of my control just seems a waste of time & energy. Im a problem solver, bring me an issue and ill give you a solution. Im a bitch. Im not always nice, I rarely take the feelings of others into as much consideration as I should and therefore can say & do hurtful things on purpose and by accident. I am honest - I dont lie to anyone but myself and Im working on that. I babble alot, I say stupid things, I have a few vices I really should learn to control and have found that the voices in my head give better advice than most people. I also have big boobs and LOVE it!
So the purpose of this blog is multifaceted. I want a place to track the insanity that is going to become my life in the next year plus. In my current job position we are going to be opening a new store & in MY life I am trying to find the funding to open a place of my own. Both of these things will be happening simultaneously and there is def alot more specifics that need to be told but this is not the time for that story. I am going to try (fucking AGAIN) to quit smoking - only this time I have come to the conclusion that I cannot do this alone & will enlist the help of Chantix to do the job. I have also joined a gym and need to find my grown up motivation to actually go there so that I can get in better shape - undo some of the damage I have done to this body and loose some weight. Im also trying to relearn how to eat - apparently I got this fat ass from 1) sitting on it too much and 2) eating too much crap - all of which I hope to document. More or less im reinventing me. There are some amazing parts of me I want to keep, but some not so amazing parts that need to be dealt with and this is going to be me dealing with them.
Welcome to my ramblings...may you find some value in them...even if that value is laughing at this silly woman doing her thing....
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