Summer Conflicts

I sat on the couch sifting through websites with bulk recipes and Pinterest ideas for breakfasts for a crowd. Some much needed planning for a possible activity this summer. How crazy am I? It's only February and already I have conflicting summer camps. I'm in another pickle. It seems to happen semi-frequently, this fight to decide which activity and sibling to support. Or do I pick the one that seems most fun for me... The dilemma of choosing - I don't get to wait and choose closer to the time, no, they want responses now.

I'm torn. Between being the director of food services in a field kitchen for a week or being a training officer. I've done both. One's close to home, the other's not. Both are physically taxing and I'm guaranteed to get very little sleep and have sore feet but a lot of satisfaction.  Ah, the next few days will be lists of pros vs. cons for both activities as I try to decide which one to support. I find it irksome that these two camps hosted by the same program are in the same week. Had they been back to back, I would have been exhausted, but participated in both.

Ordinary

Yesterday, I made myself a cup of coffee. I turned on my Thumbprint station on Pandora and got to cleaning. It felt good to clean. Sometimes I feel overly lazy. It was one of those days however, that I stayed in my pajamas until the evening... Can't have it all. :-P

I went out last night to play volleyball. Driving through the snow/rain that had been falling for a few hours and was starting to accumulate. Turns out they only do volleyball on Tuesdays and hadn't updated their Facebook. Fine by me. I needed to stop off and get watercolor paper anyway. Still a bit of socializing and being in the busyness of Walmart made my cabin fever cease up a bit.

Today was a half day, strange, but nice after the week. I'm working a minimum of 11 hour days in combination with staying up way to late because of the time change and that's the only way to really get to chat with people. So no wonder I'm a bit tired.

Anyway, glad it's the weekend. It should be fun. It's been fun already, drawing with Elsa, painting the afternoon away while watching a movie. Looking at retro style clothes and wishing I could buy them. Writing and reading... Fabric shopping and then dinner with Lisa and the girls. Leadership, training and personality type conversation with Lisa, which was fascinating. Strangely, it made me want to take leadership classes...

A Month of Work

So I entered the "real" work world last month. Part-time team member at JoAnn Fabrics. I love it.

Some things I've learned or moments I've had this month:

- I learned there are MANY brands of fabrics. I knew there were types, but never clued in that there were name-brand fabrics.

-I really do remember ever face from anyone who used my name.

-Learned dull scissors are from the devil. ;-)

-Never believe what you're told... There is a funny story involving a woman, a little girl and a bathroom...

-Regalia shawls are a thing and tons of people make them.

-I found a particular fabric for a woman who was near tears because she made a mistake and needed more fabric. She couldn't find it and needed to get the dress done by THAT afternoon.

-Watched 3 crazy ladies laughing their butts off while picking out fleece. Turns out they were making fleece blankets for foster kids.

-Learned that not all kids are on electronic devices... A girl confidently came up, asked for a yard of fabric

-The two ladies who had me measure out SO MANY FABRICS and then decided to purchase different ones.

-The gentleman who was snarky because he had to use the restroom. Slammed his hand down on the bell as I was literally running to grab the key for him.

-The one who asked how long it took to braid my hair (it was in a French side braid) and looked incredulous when I told him it only took 3-4 minutes.

-The older gentleman on a mission for his wife who had to call to confirm and told his wife that the lady (me) helping him was a "cute gal"

-Same gentleman who said sending a man to Joanns was like my (hypothetical) husband asking me to pick up some (insert some long words describing ammunition), to which I promptly replied that I would be fine with that as long as my "husband" took me along to shoot. He looked surprised that I knew what he was talking about....

-The couple buying material for shower scrubbies who were impressed that I had so many siblings, that so many of my siblings are in the Army and who asked if I was married or had a boyfriend. I told them I didn't. We continued to talk and just as they were leaving the woman said "I know why you don't have a boyfriend.... It's because no one is good enough for you." That was a compliment indeed!

-The lady who asked me what I thought of my job and it made her happy that I love it.

-The young man who had just as hard a time as I did in converting 60 inches to feet *facepalm* I really do know basic math....

-Tearing velvet is super satisfying, but terrifying all at once.

-The ladies who ordered yards upon yards of tulle to decorate a gazebo for a wedding in 28 days...

-The man who had so many question I practically did the shopping for him.

-I never thought I would work so much with glitter. #glitterhater It was everywhere.

-Faux fur is disgusting, makes me sneeze and feels pretty gross. Personal opinion.

-I can't count and give directions at the same time. Had to restart so many pieces of fabric because people will just talk to you and expect you to give answers immediately. -_-

-Went to purchase my first piece of fabric to make a circle skirt, couldn't find anything wide enough or that I liked in the right material. Ended up buying a sheet...

-The people who ask for opinions and actually do what you suggest.

-I get to be OCD. I spent like 20 minutes in the ribbon isle putting every single ribbon away correctly.

-Cut a boatload of fabric for my best friend's aunt. My mind was blown when she asked if I had a friend named Gracie and even more blown when she told me who she was.

-A lady I had never met a church before came up to me... I had cut fabric for her the past week...

-A lady who was making a reenacting cloak and needed it to be waterproof

-The heart-stopping moment when fabric I was just about to go and grab to put on hold for my aunt-ish, is on the cutting counter... Good thing it was her picking it up!

-Jaye told me I was doing so well and was happy I loved the work so much. She said I've picked it up way faster than the others.

-Literally walking around the store tucking fabrics cause there was NOTHING else to do.

-Asking people if I could help them find anything cause there was NOTHING else to do.

-The couple asking for stretchy denim to make rabbit guards.

So there's a bit of my work life right now. I look forward to every shift and the time seems to pass super quickly. I'm basically around beautiful things, around people who are passionate about their hobbies or creative in the way they fix things and that is super cool!

A Freezing Weekend

Weekend, freakend, weakend, freezend, pleasend. Those where my thoughts on this past weekend.

Thursday proved to be ridiculously busy with back to back scheduling that went something like this:

7:45- Wake up
8:15- Drive Ev to School
8:50- Breakfast and make dinner (we had crockpot fajitas)
9:00- Grocery lists
9:30- Tidy house
9:45- Groom
10:00- Shop (Winco, Walmart, Dollar Store and Cash and Carry)
1:00- Put food away
2:15- Jane to Choir
4:00- Prep for CAP
4:45- CAP
9:30- Home (we ended up staying an hour late to run through ceremony processes for next week)

I kept perfectly with my schedule, fitting in a three minute shower and getting a 45 minute break in the afternoon... It was a crazy day, but kinda fun.

Friday: we cooked all day for the weekend. I got signed up to cook for Field Emergency Services Training (FEST) at CAP. The "kitchen" was a stove (partially working), oven (only got to 160-170 degrees) and a microwave (which we didn't use). There was no running water, no flushing toilets and the building was a balmy 45 degrees. Colder inside than outside.

I was super thankful for my brand new Cambro, which Mom and Dad got me for a gift over a year ago and I just now got to use it. It basically keeps food whatever temperature is it when you put it in. I made breakfasts from home and transported them in the Cambro. It kept it hot until service which was key since the building was practically the temperature of a fridge.

Anyway, Saturday was freezing cold, but all the food cooking went well. Sunday I switched out siblings. Jane came with me to help and Ian and Ev stayed behind to work on homework with the agreement to help me get all the dishes washed when I got home.

Hours later (and a good long nap) and I'm still trying to get my hands and feet to warm up all the way. It was so cold that for part of the day I was wearing two hoodies, with hand warmers (which I kept calling hot pockets, which is funny cause I've never had one before) in the pockets of the inner one.

I won't be doing that kind of thing anytime soon...

Catering

I love catering. I don't have all the legal stuff worked out to make it my own official business, but to my friends and family, Gracie's Tasties is more more than a culinary blog or a place for my recipes and pictures, it is the starts to a business.

I have catered two wedding receptions (one was out of state), helped out with countless other ones. As of now, I have never been to a wedding without helping out in some shape or form. I've cut and served cakes, helped reheat and lay out potluck style receptions, made and served beverages... I've done appetizer parties for retirement and anniversary, served at dinner parties, and even a formal Civil Air Patrol banquet. 

I have been hired as an extra pair of hands for many events, but when I cater the bigger jobs, I hire my siblings, best friend and some fellow culinary students to help me out.  I have had years of learning through Sno-Isle Tech's Culinary Class and through Civil Air Patrol. Chef Becky from Sno-Isle taught me how to price accurately, how to work with a team and helped me learn to clean kitchens better. Civil Air Patrol gave me the experience of working weekend and week long activities in the kitchen. I was responsible for planning, buying and executing meals for as few as 50 and as many as 200 people. I learned a good deal of leadership skills through them, learning how to get a team to work efficiently together and how to instruct teens on food preparation and service through classes and becoming more comfortable with myself. Believe it or not, I am introverted and instructing classes and public speaking don't come anywhere near naturally. My team and I do a fantastic job cleaning up after the event and our food tables always look professional and pretty. My staff always look sharp and have good customer service skills.

Gracie's Tasties Catering can do: 
Plated meals for under 30 people
Buffet style meals for 200 people or fewer (would need kitchen)
Appetizers buffet for 200+ people (no kitchen)
Served appetizers for 50-100 people (no kitchen)
Camp cooking (would need kitchen provided) for 50-200 (budget of $2.50-3.00 per person per meal)
Mini dessert buffet for 200+ people (no kitchen)
Dessert buffet for 200+ people (no kitchen)
Fill in appetizers or desserts (additional items to go with your food)
Other? Just ask, I'm open to pretty much anything!

So if anyone (I know) is looking for someone to cater, set up or just for an extra set of hands, please let me know! My pricing is based on your needs and what type of food I would be provided.

Like my Facebook page to see pictures of recipes I make or events I do and check out my other blog, Gracie's Tasties, for recipes and stories.

Adventures with Mom

Thursday:

Elsa and I spent the majority of the day cleaning and tidying up the house. Not just for Mom's visit, but because an appraiser was supposed to come the next day. I did three loads of laundry and dishes as well as watching Elsa. Mom came in the evening and we talked for several hours on the floor of between our two bedrooms. It was awesome. 

Friday: 

More cleaning. The appraiser came and then we had lunch and a game of Carcassonne. We pretty much just hung out around home. In the evening, Samuel and Lisa went to a concert, so Mom, Elsa and I hung out at home and watched a rather disappointing Gary Cooper movie. We talked and read stories. It was great for Mom to get to hang out with Elsa.

Saturday:
Mom and I went to Franklin, TN for the day. It's an old historic town, much like Old Snohomish, but bigger and more cool historic houses around. It is also within ten minutes of a gigantic shopping mall. We had a blast shopping together and finding some gift type things and mostly drooling over things we could never justify spending money on. It was awesome. We also talked... A lot...

We walked several blocks more to get to antique shops. I found a lovely old Mrs. Southworth book. They actually had quite a few, which is awesome, because I usually have a hard time finding them. For those of you who have never read one of her books, they are super sappy, but fun stories.
I love the name and the picture and the inscription inside. The color green is my favorite too!

We also got a new book for Elsa. She has one called Little Panda, which we got from the San Diego Zoo during our road trip last summer. It is one of her favorite books. I could literally type out the entire thing because I have it completely memorized. So I figured it would be the perfect thing to get her.

We went to the spice shop and got colored peppercorns and peach habanero pepper jelly. It's one of my favorite shops, so if you ever get the chance to go, do so! 

We really enjoyed looking at all the historic houses outside the main shopping street. Every historic house had a black sign in front and it saying what year it was made in.

Perhaps the best part of the day I got no pictures of. We went out to dinner in Nashville. A restaurant I had been to before and fell in love with the place. If you go to Nashville and want a place to get REALLY good food, go to Urban Grub. They cure their own meats and everything tastes super fresh. All the waitstaff were super efficient and friendly and answered every question about the menu we asked.

Mom and I had the best dining experience ever there. She got rotisserie chicken with coleslaw, fries and white bbq sauce. The chicken was super tender and full of flavor,  The coleslaw was light and fresh and made out homemade stuff just not work anymore. The best part of her meal was by far the white bbq sauce. For everyone who doesn't know what that is, it is a mayonnaise based dipping sauce. I'm working on finding a recipe, so I'm not exactly sure what else is in it.

My meal was Club Carbonara. Homemade pasta with chicken, tomatoes, spinach, onions, bacon and a cream sauce. It was amazing! The pasta was cooked just right so when the hot sauce was poured over and it was brought to the table, it had continued to cook to the perfect al dente texture. It was unbelievably flavorful and was even good the next day cold. We got dessert and it was also delicious. Each bite of food we had there was amazing from the biscuits to the last bite of dessert we could fit.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend with Mom. We had really good food because we made Superbowl food and played games on Sunday as well as touring a couple new houses in a neighboring neighborhood.

Dreams and Risotto

So my first work week back is done. Yes, it was a short week. Good thing about having a similar schedule to the military is that I get all the same holidays and other days off. With only one partial day with little K, it was a quiet, easy week. Elsa got a fever yesterday and slept and snuggled for the entire day. I wrote out some hopes and dreams for this year.

my friends, you must help me....

I also tried my hand at making risotto. I used chicken thighs and baked them up with lemon, salt and pepper and along with 1.5 pounds of mushrooms, it turned out quite nicely. Best part is, it made enough risotto for lunch for all four of us the next day and Elsa loved it.

Looking for something fun to do over the weekend here in Clarksville, but I don't really have any great ideas. I've been pleasantly surprised by how I haven't been too homesick during this transition back, but weekends make me want people to do things with. 

January: The First Week Back

To say this week has been blissfully quiet would not exactly be true. Not for at least two hours on Monday morning....

When K's dad brought him over on Monday for me to watch him for around 5 hours, he was already crying, snot dripping down his nose, tears down his cheeks and noisy blubbery/complaining. Elsa, who had slept until he came into the house woke up and was a cheerful as can be. He pitched a fit almost immediately. No big deal, I thought to myself, a baby can't cry for that long. An hour later, I was thinking quite differently. I tried everything, I tried being nice, being firm, threatening with Time Out (which I don't even know how to do), reading, listening to music, singing songs, snacks and even watching movies, but nothing helps. 

While K was in the corner, I looked at Elsa and pointed to the other baby 

"Elsa, K's being naughty. That's bad." I said, not wanting any of his poor attitude to rub off on my sweet niece. 

She looked up at me and for a second looked like I had scolded her, but then she smiled and pointed at K and with a low voice said 

"Naughty." Just like I had said it. It made me laugh. 

Elsa played perfectly through the entire thing, she didn't seem fazed at all by all the crying. So Little K got picked up early... Let's just say,I got paid extra for those two long hours... 

The rest of the week I haven't had to watch the second baby and so the week has felt like an extended break in a lot of ways. Elsa has a good routine, she is sweet and obedient, falls asleep quickly and loves reading to herself. I have had a chance to workout during naps, do dishes while she plays and write thank you notes for gifts, so it has been a productive week so far. 

I would appreciate prayer that I could manage this other kid. I really want it to work out, so if I come to mind... :-)

New Job

So today was the first time I watched Kovu and Elsa. At first things were pretty easy, they played happily, but not together. It is what they're used to. The first hour and a half went smoothly, then it hit Kovu that his parents weren't there, that he was in a strange house with a strange person looking after him. He cried a lot and I tried my best to figure out what he needed, diaper change, milk, stories. I tried it all.

Samuel gave me some fantastic advice. Instead of telling him to stop crying/stop doing whatever, he told me to praise good behavior, so when he stopped crying for a minute I would tell him he was a good boy... It worked and we rocked for about five minutes before he fell asleep. Elsa seemed a little confused by his behavior, but was good. Anyway, Kovu made watching  Elsa seem like a piece of cake.

Samuel, Elsa and I went on some errands in the afternoon. We went to a jerky shop and got some kangaroo jerky for a gift. Two tactical shops. I love those shops. then to pick out perfume for Lisa (never do this), then to visit Lisa at work and last of all picking up the dry cleaning. It was good to get out of the house and has been interesting spending more time with Samuel.

Anyway, Kovu comes over again tomorrow from 9-2, so a lot longer.... hopefully it goes well. Prayers would be appreciated. On the up side, only a day and a half until I go home!

Feelin' Like the Holidays!

Well, one of the two problems I was having last week kinda got sorted out. I am committed to watching Kovu (Swahili for Scar), a little 18-month-old boy. It was interesting watching he and Elsa together. Hopefully things will go smoothly.

Lisa and I went shopping yesterday. We got pedicures. It was awesome. Our other errands involved finding jewelry to go with the formal dress Lisa made for a ball they have this week. We found a really pretty, sparkly necklace and earrings. Matches the dress super well and looks classy. And then Sam's club... So Sam's Club has this amazing popcorn that they only sell during the Christmas season. It is kettle corn drizzled with Ghirardelli white and dark chocolate. If you ever find it, do yourself a favor and don't try it. You will get addicted.

The last time we went into Sam's Club, we couldn't find any and today was started out that way. We were in line, possibly the slowest line, when I saw a lady in one of those electric scooter/cart thingies and I saw the distinctive red bag with the purple top. So basically, Lisa and I are a little crazy over this popcorn. We left the line and went in search of it. After a good search of every possibly area it could be in, we returned to the checkout empty handed. As we were walking away with our other groceries, Lisa spotted it. A partial pallet facing the cashier and hidden from view from the shopping side of the store. Lisa went back to buy it, even braving the busy, two-weeks-away-from-Christmas lines. When we got home and had some, it tasted even better than we remembered.

We got a package today from home. No need to be curious about what was inside. We knew. I spent 10+ hours watching, hanging out and answering questions on Skype. I should have popped myself some popcorn. It was rather entertaining. Mom makes candy in a similar way to taking care of us when we have a medical problem. She panics. It's adorable. She hates making hard candies and gets rather hyper. Seeing the busyness of the house was fun as well, it looks pretty funny from the outside with people constantly coming and going, the fridge being opened more times than anyone would care to admit and a lot of sarcasm.

Anyway, the holiday package came today.  Opening the tin of goodies instantly made it the holidays for me. I could smell the Ting-O-Lings' combination of butterscotch and semi-sweet chocolate. No matter what time of year it is, butterscotch reminds me of the holidays. I had a caramel first and boy was it delicious! Silky smooth, just the right size, buttery.There was a new family picture for me.

I have to say, I think it turned out quite nicely. Even though I wore heels, Ian is much taller than I am. Jane definitely wins the award for looking the best. Will there ever be a year where we're not stressed when doing a family picture? This was the day before I left for Tennessee. Can you imagine how boring this picture would have been without me? What I meant to say is... Can you believe how little our family would look if I wasn't there?

Home is less than five days. Busy days though. Samuel get eye surgery done tomorrow, so Elsa and I have him home all week and a car. I'm thinking we will venture out to the Greenway for walks since it is so warm and nice. Now that I've said that, I realize that the 15+ mph winds are probably bringing rain. Tomorrow I shall write a post about the dinner and dessert I made today....

Decisions

How to start off this post? Hmmm... Being an adult sucks. Like seriously sucks. Making mature decisions is really challenging. Work, schedules and life goals are hard. Who thought it was a good idea to decide what to do for a career at such an age?

Today another job opportunity came up. Or rather, a continued job opportunity. The job? Nannying for not just my adorable, cute and relatively well behaved niece, but also for a child a couple months older than her. It would be a commitment for several more months, at least to the end of May. Sounds great in many ways, I know I'm good with kids, especially working with more than one and it would be good money. The problem with that is somewhat easy to place. I would be living 3,000 miles away from home in a place where I have made no friends (there is little opportunity to), away from my friends and family. I would miss what could be Anna's last half a year at home before she goes away to college.

In combination with trying to figure that out, I also have to plan for my further education. I know I want to go to college, but for what? Would it be better to get a more generic degree in say, business? Or should I follow my probably unrealistic dreams of becoming a caterer, culinary instructor/leader?

I know what you're thinking. Have I prayed about it? The answer is yes. I have. I've also cried. There is a verse I wrote out sitting next to my bed and I keep reading it. It may not seem fitting, but for me and my relationship with God, it is right.

So for now, I'm waiting and praying. And talking to my family. Here's to challenges and facing them with those who love you most!

Oh, by the way, I was looking up some child care stuff online and was trying to figure out how many years of experience I have... Wow.