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...

Sunday

Most Sundays are leisurely in our household. Yesterday was far from quiet. It could be categorized as chaotic. It started at 6:45. I had to admit I turned off my alarm and laid in bed for a moment wondering why in the world I had to get up this early.

By 8:00am, I was ready for the day, backpack multiple changes of clothes in hand. Said goodbye to Dad, who is out of state for the next few days and headed for Granite Falls and the Mountain Loop Highway. Starting in January, I'll be cooking for weekend activities there, so I needed to scope out the "kitchen"- it is barely qualified to be a proper kitchen... -_- Kinda disgusting and old. It should be an adventure.

From there, around 10:45am, I headed to Canyon Hills Community Church, barely making it to the 11:30am service with Gracie and Nick. I changed my shoes and shirt in the car at random stoplights as well as fixing my hair. I rather enjoyed the service and wish it was a closer church. We talked for about forty minutes after the service while waiting for the traffic to die down.

Gracie invited us to hang out at her house until dancing started, an offer Nick and I quickly accepted. Once dancing started, I learned the bare, bare basics of the dance that was taught before we ditched and went to find alpacas (which turned out to be llamas) and ended up wandering through the woods. many ferns and branches were thrown at each other...

Volleyball was right after the dance, and we headed that way to catch a game before dark. It was sad cause it was the last game I'll get to play this year since I'm leaving next Saturday. Nick, Gracie and I, after much thought (and little brains) ended up in the Target parking lot, towering candy corn and talking.

It is days like yesterday that make me happy and appreciate the little things in life.

Sunday

Sundays are usually relaxing. Yesterday was far from relaxing, but I somehow came out of it feeling happy and fully of energy...

Between waking up and Church, I went and had a business meeting for Civil Air Patrol and toured the "kitchen" I will be spending the weekend in once a month. It was a sad excuse for a kitchen, I'm not sure I've seen a kitchen in worse condition and that's saying a lot. I barely had enough time to do the entire tour and get to Church on time - okay, I was a couple minutes late and ended up changing my shirt and shoes and fixing my hair at stoplights on my way.

I hung out at my friend's house for the next few hours before Joyful Dancing started. I took about three minutes to learn the very, very basic step of what was being taught before two of my closest friends and I ditched to walk around the woods nearby.

Volleyball was already in full swing by the time we got there after the dance. I caught one game before it was too dark to play. I really just wanted to say goodbye to people since I won't see them again for at least another two months...

My friends and I weren't ready to call it a day quite yet, so (after many brainless moments of trying to find a place to go) we went to Target, bought drinks and candy and talked in the parking lot. We stacked corn candy up to look like corn, at Espresso M&Ms (which are amazing!) and talked pretty late. It was fun. I'm lucky to have such cool people in my life!

A Package Arrived

I have always wanted a Kitchen Aid. Like, seriously, forever. Not just any Kitchen Aid, a big professional one. I was tired of making small batches of things in our Bosch mixer, tired or having to make single recipes on repeat for three or four batches, or mixing in chocolate chips or chunks of anything by hand. When I say by hand, I mean, quite literally, by hand, as in with my hands in the dough. I was tired of the not-quite-soft-enough butter that would make the plastic part of the beaters snap off and I'd have to throw away butter...

So finally, after a long time, I finally bought the Kitchen Aid I wanted. A Professional 600 Steel Blue Kitchen Aid. It is beautiful. From the second I opened the box to every time I walk into the kitchen and see it sitting on the counter, I knew it was perfect.

Of course I had to make a batch of cookies to christen it. Or maybe I'm just weird. Ian does approve because it "doesn't have flames", but seems to still eat what is produced from it. Already it's made a batch of cookies and a double recipe of vanilla biscotti. I'd say it's a keeper!

Hit the Ground Running

I got home last Saturday night. Ian picked me up at the airport and we had a fun drive back up home. I stayed up late to see Dad and the rest of the kids who were watching Ax Fights. I didn't end up going to bed until 1:30... 3:30 my time.

Sunday morning, Ev and I went to Church, then helped outside with a project. Jane and I went shopping for Rose's piano recital refreshments before we headed to volleyball.

Monday, Jane and I spent literally the entire day making food. We made Neapolitan rice krispy treats, lemon cookies, watermelon with mint and mini chocolate cupcakes. Plus gathering all the catering gear we would need

Overall, the spread looked great and went over well, even though we had a lot leftovers....

Tuesday, Jane and I did grocery shopping for a couple weeks. It took us a long time. We went thrift store shopping after with Ev and then after that, we played tennis. I use the word played lightly. We chased balls around and missed a lot. 

Wednesday, Mom and I went out for sushi and Costco shopping. After that, Jane, Ev and I went thrift store shopping in Everett. I have uniform pieces to put together for my main summer camp this year. 

I was rather sucessful, even though I only got one item. I got a nice pair of black tactical 5.11 boots. They're comfortable. When we got home, we made curry for dinner, then played more tennis. 

Thursday is already expected to be a busy day. I finished my ICUT training. Required radio training for Cascade Falcon. I've managed to get out of doing that course for four years, so it's finally almost done. I have a hands on evaluation tonight. I'm making cookies for the tester. It's not bribery... ;-)

The rest of today will be making cookies, getting together with Gracie and then CAP tonight... 

Basically, my life is crazy.... Crazy, but good. 

A Sleepless Time

At first I couldn't sleep. It surprised be because I was up until 2:30 the night before watching a movie with Mitchell and Anna. I was pretty tired. Or so I thought....

Turns out, I'm stressing about things: 

There's a missing person case right now, I kinda know his sister and haven't been able to get them off of my mind. It feels so much more real even barely knowing the family. I've felt sick about the situation since I heard of it 24+ hours ago. It breaks my heart that the world is as it is. 

I'm the event planner for Cascade Falcon's banquet this year. Basically, I'm going from one person, to another person, to another person, to another person, then back again. It's stressful and I feel like an idiot and middle person... 

Getting close to leaving to go back to Tennessee for the month of May. Wrapping up seeing people, cleaning up my stuff in the house, finding summer clothes to wear, things to do while I'm there and CAP work that has to get done before Falcon. 

I've got Officer Basic course I'll be working on, ICUT radio training to do, get by CAP driver's license, do SLS (don't even really know what that stands for) in addition to my actual CAP job... 

Anyways, I just lay there thinking and instead of stressing, I talked with God. Most of the time I either put off praying until I can get a chance to focus on it instead of letting it come naturally or praying more often. It was good. 

I grabbed my blanket and headed out to enjoy what I knew was going to be the last clean night for at least a week. There was a gorgeous moon, faint stars, dimmed by both the moon and the city lights and the sound of frogs from all around. It was peaceful. I sat in the middle of our Cul-de-sac, longing for the summer and shooting stars. 

After that, I wrote in my journal and took a look at my goal list for this year. I've already done quite a few things on there, so I'm pleased about that. Now I get to focus on the next ones! 

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.

CAP News

I just learned that the position I've worked really hard to learn and serve as for the past five years for Civil Air Patrol's Cascade Falcon summer encampment has changed. I no longer will be cooking food for around 200 people.

My first reaction was happiness. It means less stress, no planning, no forgetting ingredients and having to run to the store, no super late nights and really early morning, no inspectors, no flopped recipes or hungry cadets, no tears.... No cleaning, scrubbing, no dishes....

Then my thoughts changed to sadness. I won't have a team of cadets working for me, the satisfaction of running a kitchen and making meals for so many people. I will no longer be able to short order cook, have cadets come for evening meals or to steal chocolate milk.

I'm going to miss cooking for Cascade Falcon. I know things could change. We could move to a different facility another year, so for now, I apply for a different position and do my best to learn something new. Something challenging.

Thanks to everyone out there who I've gotten to work with in the kitchen. The adults who mentored me and let me make mistakes, the teens who put up with my leadership as I learned how to lead. The cadets who gave honest feedback and the ones who threw everything into doing the best possible job for me. You guys are my inspiration to learn something new.

I've made innumerable memories in those kitchens and made tons of friends in the process. It won't be the last activity I cook for, but for me, Cascade Falcon will not be the same.

A Procrastinated Task

So I've been meaning to write a blog post on my other blog, Gracie's Tasties, for literally six months. Since August, when I finished my last summer camp for the summer. Cascade Falcon. The memories of Cascade Falcon are mixed, fond memories of feeding 200 people, memories of sore feet and burned hands, friends, family, food... All mixed feelings. It is a hard week, but very satisfying.

If you want to read what I wrote about it, check it out here. It was a lot more fun to write now that I can actually think about it, the first few months after I had thought about it so much, from like April on, that I just wanted a break.

And so a couple weeks before I leave Tennessee, I am getting some of the tasks I had as goals done.... Hopefully I can continue picking away at these things!