Day XXI - More of the Same...

Saturday I had to work, and didn't get up until I had to. My work went by pretty quickly, and I got to give Mom a quick tour of the store when Scott brought her by in the afternoon.

Once I was off work I rushed home and changed, and the three of us went downtown for our reservation at The Rooftop Cafe (what we consider to be the BEST restaurant in Key West).

Back in February, Scott's family came to town and we took them to Rooftop for Gary's birthday dinner. They gave us a gift certificate to Rooftop as a thank-you, and we were intending to use it for Valentine's day, but there was a kitchen fire the weekend just previous to the holiday.

The proprietors come in to the pet store on a regular basis and have been updating us as to the progress of the rebuild. The Rooftop Cafe finally re-opened on June 2nd, so this is our first opportunity to go back since the fire.

Mom and I are both vegetarians, so while I selected a side from a steak entree as my entree and a salad, my mom threw herself on the mercy of the chef and said "surprise me!"

Her entree was a combination of sauteed portobello and zucchini, some roasted garlic potato gratin, some mashed potato, and some steamed spinach and onions underneath.

I chose a goat cheese and black bean quesadilla with fresh avocado on top, and Scott got the "Surf, Surf, Surf and Turf" pasta.

After dinner we retired back to the house and watched the wedding video.

Day XX (That's Twenty, Right?)

Friday morning we roused ourselves out of bed at about 9am, checked out of the motel and went back to The Falls mall.

Mom and I are rabid shoppers, and we cruised our way through several shops in the hour we had before we needed to hit the road back to Key West.

It was a beautiful day for the drive, and we had started our day with a very small breakfast at the motel (Mom had an orange, Jenny had a banana and I had a danish). By the time we reached Tavernier, we were hungry and needed to use a restroom.

We took a chance and pulled into the parking lot at Chad's Deli & Bakery. We were in a bit of a rush as Jenny had to be at work by 3pm, so we ordered sandwiches for Mom and I and a quesadilla for Jenny, used the restroom and hit the road.

Chad is the owner and proprieter and was working the register during our visit. He is a very jolly and friendly man, and assured us that once we tasted the food we would be back for SURE. As we opened our food once we were back in the car and began to eat it, we were quite impressed. All the bread is baked fresh at Chad's and is very tasty.

We arrived back in Key West with about 8 minutes to get Jenny to work, and she made it just a few minutes late.

Mom and I took naps until Scott got home from work and then Mom, Scott, Travis and I headed downtown to a little sightseeing and ultimately have dinner.

We started out parking near one end of the marina and walked along the waterfront to Greene Street, where we stopped at Kermit's Key West Key Lime Pie Shoppe.

When people come to visit we like to encourage them to compare the two main Key Lime Pie peddlers - Kermit's and the Blond Giraffe.

Kermit's has a beautiful Koi pond behind the building, with several small table and chair sets all around the pond and garden area. We purchased a piece of pie and a piece of chocolate dipped pie-on-a-stick. The four of us shared both pieces and determined (as usual) that the chocolate dipped is the preferred method of Key Lime Pie Goodness.


After finishing up our pie, we continued along the waterfront to Front Street and walked all the way up to Mallory Square to catch a little bit of the Sunset Celebration (held nightly).

As we walked into the area where all the performers are, we were greeted by the beautiful tones of a wood flute player playing hymns as the sun was setting. I enjoyed this very much, especially because the song he was playing as we arrived was "How Great Thou Art", probably my favorite hymn.

Clouds were covering most of the sunset, so we decided to progress on to our dinner destination, The Cafe. Once inside we sat in a new dining room addition that was just opened in March. The food was fantastic (as always) and it felt good to walk back to the car and work off a few of the calories we so enjoyed consuming.

Day 19, Slacker Season 2008

Hello! I'm back! Okay, I'm in Miami, but I'm back to taking care of my poor blog.

I learned today that one of my favorite people IN THE WORLD (Hi Lou!) reads my blog every day! That is so exciting. If I have any lurkers, show yourself sometime so I feel a little less like I'm typing just to hear myself think.

Jenny joined me on Thursday for our regular Girls Day Off and we enjoyed a manicure (me) and pedicure (Jenny) at Nadine's Salon and Day Spa and then went conveniently downstairs to the Square Grouper restaurant and had a lovely lunch. I had the black bean veggie burger again and Jenny had the Mediterranean Plate.

We shared a slice (or rather, a few bites of a slice) of Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and then hit the road north.





I have driven the road from Miami to Key West several times, and had no idea there was an alternate to the "eighteen mile stretch". As I was about to take the left side of the road in Key Largo, Jenny informed me that there is a much more interesting route along Card Sound Road.

I agreed to try it out and stayed straight at the pertinent junction instead of veering to the left. The first portion follows along North Key Largo before there is a turn and the traveler is actually ON Card Sound Road. Both portions of the trip are quite lovely and the view on the bridge over Little Card Sound and Barnes Sound is fabulous as well.




We hit the Turnpike around 6pm and found our way to our hotel - a lovely Quality Inn in the Kendall area. After checking in and depositing our bags in the room, we checked out the pool and then drove a few blocks to a fabulous mall we had noticed en route to the motel.

The Falls is an outside mall that has waterfalls and pools throughout the center of the complex. It is quite beautiful and peaceful. We shopped until about 7:50pm and then took off heading for the airport, following signs that are supposed to lead us ultimately to the airport.

Mom's flight was supposed to land at 8pm, and by my estimation, I thought we were about 15 minutes away from the airport. The signs put us onto one parkway and then pointed to another exit, which we took. Then there were no more signs.


I really didn't want Mom to have to wait in the belly of the parking garage alone, so I was anxious to make it to the airport quickly. Every time we thought that we were maybe heading the wrong direction, we would see an airplane overhead heading in the same direction as we were, and getting closer to the ground!

Finally we saw the all-important sign again and within minutes we were at the airport and picked Mom up. We took her back to the motel to unload her stuff and then to a Benigans a few blocks away for a late dinner before going back to the motel and heading to bed for the night.

***(Yes, that gas price is $4.05 for regular. In Key West we pay $4.29)***

Eighteen Days...

Today is Minx' 7th Birthday.

I bought her (and the other cats) two toys and a "kitty garden". Jenny brought her a piece of filet mignon for dinner. Chou, Maui and Buster were ALL OVER the filet mignon, but Minx was not so interested.

She also didn't give the time of day to either of the toys. Maui, however, is totally fascinated with the "fishing" pole, and quite enamored of the tick-tock.

Fourteen Days of Hurricane Season

Today it rained.

I have four more days of working and then my mom is coming to visit us for 4-ish days. Jenny and I are going to drive to Miami to fetch her and maybe go see the Sex and the City movie while we are there.

Tonight we are having Tacos. I don't have to make them.

This makes me happy.

13th Day of Hurricane Season 2008

No hurricanes, but I'm on day five of ten days I'm scheduled to work straight through.

I'm already burned out.

Scott got back from New Mexico last night and we went to a quiet dinner together at Outback Steakhouse to bond a bit before going back home to our animals and house-guest.

Right now I'm exhausted and sore.

Day 11: Now I Get To Use Numerals.

Have I mentioned yet that starting Monday (two days ago) I am scheduled to work every day for 10 days straight? This is due to one employee being on vacation and two others leaving in the next 10 days. I'm not working overtime or anything, it's 40 hours spread out conveniently (HA!) over the week.

Monday and Tuesday I went in at 2pm and today and Friday I go in at noon. Tomorrow (which is usually my day off) I don't have to go in until 4pm, and I'm hoping to get some relaxation in by a pool somewhere.

Once I was done with my eight-hour shift today I came home and transferred laundry from washer to dryer, started another load in the washer, and did a sink full of dishes.

Travis just helped me bring our dining table in from the back patio. It has had a shaky leg for awhile, and as we started to set it down, the final weld gave up. Scott is arriving back in town tomorrow and he LOVES the table and it's chairs. Somehow I don't think I'm going to track down a welder in one day.

Day Ten, Not Much Hurricane

The party has been over for two days, and I am finally starting to get things cleaned up.

Conveniently for him, Scott is in New Mexico on a business trip.

What really disappoints me is that I didn't take ANY pictures of the food or the decorations or anything.

Mostly, it's sad that I didn't video Stinkerbell learning to swim in the wading pool. THAT was the highlight of the day.

Day Eight: Exhaustion

It is 10:30pm and I am in bed. There are still a few guests in the living room and back yard, but I am done for the day.

Jenny and I both finally went to bed around 3am and we all slept until about 10am this morning. Right away the four of us (Scott, Me, Travis & Jenny) got to work. Scott mowed the back yard, edged it, swept all of the patio, picked up dog poo and mopped inside.

Travis bustled about putting all the random stuff that had yet to be put away in our bedroom.

I started putting things away and then began to set up the table in the back yard and fill the wading pools.

Jenny got started on the gnocchi and then we decided we needed another trip to the store because she ran out of flour.

We hopped in the Honda and drove to GFS for flour, tealights, pans and additional white grape juice.

Once we returned Jenny finished the gnocchi and then took a break to help me draw on the sidewalk and carport floor with liquid chalk before she got started on the crostini. We decided we needed another break and took the Honda downtown to fill two coolers full of ice thanks to the restaurant Jenny works at.

Scott took about a 45 minute nap after taking care of all the yardwork, and once he was up I took a nap until about five minutes before the official start of the party.

As guests arrived we plated the food and set it on the table under the awning on the back patio. Apparently all the neighborhood flies decided to attend regardless of the fact they were not issued invitations, so after about ten minutes we moved the table into the house.

Overall the party was a raging success. There were three dogs, several kids, and the wedding video on a loop being projected on the dining room wall. A wedding picture slideshow ran on the big screen TV at the same time in the living room. There was much eating, drinking, and guests being astounded that Jenny and I made all the food and from scratch!

Everything turned out wonderfully, there's an entire pan of ribs, a quarter of one cheesecake and half of the other, a gallon ziploc bag of uncooked gnocchi, lots of couscous salad, a bit of the bean dip and a bit of the feta dip, some chips and all of the corn left. We forgot about the corn completely.

Scott leaves on a four day business trip tomorrow and I am working the next ten days straight.

Goodnight!

Day Seven, Hurrykane Seezon 2008

I worked an eight hour shift, came home, and proceeded to hang pictures, clean the hamster and skunk cages, make and bake two pans of fruit cobbler, take a trip to Walgreens for butter, and do a load of laundry.

Jenny came over this morning and cooked for three hours, then went to work and worked an eight and a half hour shift and then came back to the house to cook. She took the ribs (14 lbs of ribs) out of their three day marinade and dried them individually before giving them a dry rub.

Meanwhile I assembled the spinach & feta triangles which will be baked tomorrow. We'll also find time to draw on the streets with sidewalk chalk, make gnocchi from scratch, finish cleaning or picking things up and throwing them into the master bedroom AND finding time to make ourselves look pretty.

I'm exhausted. Jenny is too.

Day Six, HS 2008

Yesterday was a very long day.

I worked from noon to 8pm and when I got home Jenny had already completed the Beer and Cheese dip. We were hungry and needed a little girl time, so the two of us went to Chico's for dinner and then brought takeout home to the boys.

Once we returned we got started on our list of things that needed to be completed last night:

• Beginning the Arnold Palmer
• Tomato sauce for the Ricotta/Chickpea Gnocchi
• Decorating a Cheesecake
• White Bean & Artichoke Dip
• Key Lime Couscous Salad
  
• Beer & Cheese Dip

When Jenny started chopping ingredients for the tomato sauce (onion, garlic and jalapeno), the entire house filled with eye-watering fumes. We decided to keep ourselves able to stay in the kitchen by wearing a pair of scooter goggles and sunglasses.

My main task was sous chef, keep the dishes clean and to decorate the cheesecake.






I began by making hearts of chocolate and carmel by drizzling the sauces inside a heart-shaped cookie cutter and freezing teh cheesecake for a few minutes, then ground up some bite-size Butterfingers and made more hearts with crumbs, then spread more crumbs around the edges. It didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked, but I didn't want to sacrifice taste for beauty by using Magik Shell instead of regular chocolate syrup.





I also started the vat of Arnold Palmer by dumping an entire box of Lipton "Black Pearl" tea into the empty bucket and pouring two boiling kettles over it. I put the lid on and let it steep overnight.




Each time we complete an item on the menu, we have to play tetris with the contents of the fridge to get everything inside.

We'll Return to Your Regularly Scheduled Program After These Important Messages:

I started a second blog.

Happiness is a Warm Skunk

Skunk Central

Grand Stinky Station

Skunk-a-lot-o-pus

Stinkerville

Day Five, Hurricane Season 2008 - a day late...

And several hundred dollars shorter.

Thursdays are generally my day off. There are a few exceptions, like the week after I go on vacation or when my boss needs to rearrange the schedule for some reason.

Yesterday I was off, and Jenny and I managed to get a LOT done. We purchased all the food items and ingredients necessary, and also obtained two large and one small wading pool, an umbrella for our back yard picnic table, a folding six foot table, some serving platters and plates, two buckets for serving our signature cocktail and the Arnold Palmer, and various and sundry other items. (Isn't "various and sundry" redundant?)

Anywho...

We started at K-Mart, went to Albertsons, then to the Sugar Apple, then to Fausto's, then to Publix, and then decided to borrow my bosses' truck to get the wading pools from K-Mart to the house (Wading pools do not fit well into the back of a Honda EX).

My boss is a generous guy, and agreed to let me borrow is F?50 (BIG DIESEL TRUCK) for the mission. As I was leaving his office he said "Reese, do you know HOW to drive a big truck like that?"

I assured him that I have experience driving BIG DIESEL TRUCKS and off we went.

We purchased the pools and nestled them safely in the back of the truck, well inside the canopy. I reached up to shut the canopy and as the canopy door frame hit the tailgate, the glass exploded all over me.

Calling your boss to tell him that you busted the glass out of the back of his truck is not fun. I do not recommend it for kicks OR giggles.

When we returned the truck to the store both my bosses came out and took a look, and then the he-boss left for an appointment and the she-boss said "What did you hit?!"

I didn't hit anything. I didn't even slam it. It just shattered.

Oh yes, all over me. I had shards of glass in my hair, and all over my arms and legs, and down my dress. Little tiny cuts bleeding. And little bits of glass itching my skin. AWESOME. Or Not So Much.

When we returned to the house I went into the back yard and hosed off the arms and legs and then cringed and tried to ignore the other pieces I could feel for the rest of the day.

Day Four Addendum

After posting my blog, Jenny and I created a battle plan and schedule to get done all the shopping and cooking necessary for Sunday's party. As per usual, Jenny brought over her laundry, since we are happy to enable her laundering for free at our house instead of wasting money at a laundromat. Also, laundromats do not have friends' kitchens attached to them.

Since Jenny's boyfriend Travis arrived at our house two weeks ago, she has spent more nights here than at her house, and her cat Charlie is NOT impressed. He peed all over her bed.

Jenny loaded the washer with some of her cat-pee-items and stuffed a pillow in on top. Travis soon yelped "Water! Water Everywhere!" and we discovered that the living room was flooding.

We quickly pulled the couch and coffee table into the middle of the room and unplugged laptops and phone chargers. The dog bed and the bulk of Jenny's dirty laundry were used to mop up the water, and we learned that the pillow had been placed directly under the water faucet and had spurted the water out onto the floor.

All this was at about 1am. We were still planning to make the cheesecakes and didn't make it to bed until about 3am.

Day Four, Hurricane Season blah blah blah

Today was a much better day overall.

There was a bit of chaos at the store, but from customers not from employee relations.

A woman entered the store and asked an employee for help finding a carrier for her cat. She was very rushed and demanding, and berated the employee for pointing out things that are "Way TOO Big, what's wrong with you?!" Sadly, I was in the office at the time, or I would have stopped this behavior before it escalated. As I was not there, she continued to bully said employee and then demanded that the cashier take her before the rest of the line that was already formed.

The cashier is a lovely young lady named Jewel. Jewel is 16 and has been working at the pet store for two years. She is very sweet, agreeable, hardworking, and pretty. No one yells at Jewel (other than her parents, of course) and certainly no one bullies her.

When Rushing Woman demanded that Jewel take her next, Jewel was startled and stopped in the middle of the transaction she was already halfway through to cash out the psycho. I was still in the office, or I would have headed this disaster off at the pass. Rushing Woman turned to Other Lady and said "Sorry I'm being rude, but I have a cab waiting and it's $20 a minute." (I am certain that there are NO taxis in Key West that charge anywhere near that much.)

Other Lady said "Well, you ARE being rude!" to which Rushing Woman replied "Well why don't you just be quiet?!".

Right about this time, the employee that had been dragged into service by Rushing Woman found me in the office and told me what was going on. I asked if everything was ok now and she assured me it was. Five minutes later she came running back in and said "the other lady made Jewel cry!".

I came out and by the time I reached the register both women were gone and Jewel had composed herself. Before I could get a full report, the phone rang and the caller asked for the Manager. That's Me.

I picked up and listened to Other Lady, who is a long-time customer (of course) who spends a lot of money in our store (I'm sure) on a regular basis. She felt that the entire situation was handled horribly and couldn't believe that "that girl at the register" allowed such behavior from Rushing Woman, and maybe I need to give her more training.

I took a deep breath and apologized on behalf of Jewel, explaining that she is not accustomed to being bullied and I agreed that she shouldn't have given in, and furthermore I was sorry I had not been available to handle the situation. In all I said "I'm Sorry" and "I Understand" about three or four times, each. Apparently this was not everything Other Lady was hoping for and said "Well..." and just waited for me to offer more. I sputtered a few more apologies and then she hung up.

The three of us (Jewel, Myself and the other employee) regained our composure and I went to work in the dog food department.

About twenty minutes later I went to the front of the store and there was a woman holding a small pet carrier and demanding to exchange it (we don't return pet carriers at all) and "I'm in a big hurry, I have a cab waiting and this is just too small and I don't like the print on it..."

I deduced correctly that Rushing Woman was back with a vengeance. I spoke calmly to her and explained that all the pet carriers like the one she had were in the same place and we only had the one size.

"I need something bigger! My cat won't fit in this and it has to be airline approved!"

I didn't take the time or effort to question why she had bought it in the first place when it clearly would not hold any cat more than 6 months old. Instead I pointed out the carriers that are airline approved guaranteed, and opened one to show her that a cat will fit happily inside.

"That's much better! I want it! Can you exchange it for me please?" She thrust the original carrier and receipt into my hands and barged towards the counter.

"M'am, you will have to wait in line. You already upset several customers earlier and I can't let you push them around again."

The five people waiting in line at the counter were witnessing all of this and I had no sooner finished my sentence than she turned to the customers and said "Do you mind if I cut in front of you? I have a cab waiting?"

The two women who were next and 'on deck' half smiled and said they supposed they didn't mind while the other three increasingly incredulous customers watched in horror. I assured the two women who had agreed that they didn't need to do that, but they both just said again that it was fine, one of which adding under her breath "whatever it takes to get her out of here!"

Jewel stepped aside and I rang up the return/exchange as quickly as possible. As I was handing Rushing Woman her receipt, she said "I need a comb! Do you have a comb for a cat?" Jewel began to describe where to find the comb, and then stopped and wisely said "I'll show you."

I rang up the next customer as Rushing Woman waited for Jewel to GET her a comb, meanwhile saying "can you charge me for the comb please?" while I tried to explain that I had to scan it first to find out how much it was going to be and still ring out the current customer.

Finally the comb arrived and the customer that was actually next acquiesced to Rushing Woman's demands to be rung out next.

As the troublemaker left the building with her entourage (did I forget to mention she was dragging three other people with her and ordering them around as well?) the remaining customers and employees breathed a sigh of relief.

There was a moment of silence.

The hurricane had passed.

Day Three, Hurricane Season 2008

I was asked if I intend to blog the entire Hurricane Season day by day.

Intend? Sure. Will it happen? Maybe.

Today (ok, it's after midnight so technically yesterday)...

I received my new laptop and cried at work. Not necessarily related occurrences, but looking back probably not totally unrelated, either.

I had an emotional day. Work has been stressful lately and today was no exception. I felt as if I was in trouble for something but had not been notified of what, and even when the information that I have been working a lot of overtime (for free - since I am on salary) by choice was provided to my boss, I didn't even receive a "Thank You" or an acknowledgment of any kind. The addition of my looking online and seeing that apparently DHL delivered my new laptop to a "residence front door" somewhere on Gulfview Drive (as opposed to my work address) YESTERDAY, culminated in my not being able to handle it when my boss told me that they decided not to change our logo after all.

About six months ago the three of us (my two bosses, who are husband and wife, and myself) decided that we were going to change the logo because the current one is outdated, too busy, and not cohesive. I worked on some options for awhile but couldn't devote the necessary time to it amongst all my other duties, and requested that we hire out to a real graphic artist.

Fortunately I know one (ok, several) and my boss agreed to pay him to work on a new logo for us. To date he has given us six or seven new ideas and I really liked them. When I found out today that his work has been in vain (although he WILL be getting paid, I made sure of that), I just couldn't take it.

To throw a little added pressure onto my day, Scott told me that the rumor in his office is that his company will likely not be getting a renewal on their contract that ends in September. This means that we may be moving earlier than we expected to.

In the meantime, party plans are rolling along - my desk also arrived today and I set it up and started getting the front room put away before getting out my new laptop and immediately downloading firefox and setting up my blogosphere bookmarks.

Day Four is already upon me and I must now check my Woot and be off to bed.

Day Two, Hurricane Season 2008

The Menu for Sunday:

• Marinated Feta Dip
• White Bean and Artichoke Dip
• Beer and Cheese Dip
• Spinach Feta Triangles
• Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini
• Israeli Couscous Salad on Belgian Endive
• Cuban Corn
• Kansas City Ribs
• Grapevine
  
• Arnold Palmer
• Two Cheesecakes with various toppings
• Miscellaneous Fruit Cobbler

Jenny started shopping today for ingredients, and also picked up some random decorations - a cute little banner that says Just Married, and some wedding bells... I think we'll put up the white Christmas lights on the back patio, too.

I worked an extra hour today, trying to tie up some loose ends in my big labeling and pricing project. Most of which has still gone unnoticed.

I heard today that there are burglers going around Key West breaking into peoples houses while they are at home, sleeping. A woman came into the pet store today and said they got away with her big flatscreen TV and her purse and she and her dogs slept through the entire thing.

I do not envy someone that attempts to break into our house, as they will likely trip over an animal and/or incur the wrath of my husband AND our houseguest, both former Marines.

Day One, Hurricane Season 2008

We kicked off Hurricane Season 2008 with a very hot, sunny day.

I worked about 11 hours today. I usually have Sundays off, but holidays always throw off our schedule. Oddly enough, as the Manager I get to come in on the day we are closed and feed all the animals. But it still "counts" as a day off. So before yesterday, I had been at work every day for 8 days straight. Is it any wonder that I went straight to bed when I got home today and slept hard for about two hours?

Next Sunday is our East Coast Reception, a party in our back yard. The wedding DVD is supposed to arrive any time now (it was mailed over a week ago) and we are hoping to show it on the side of the house thanks to the projector that Travis brought with him from Seattle.

Jenny is catering the party, and has planned a menu to equal that of our actual wedding reception in Portland. Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini, a cheese dip made from feta and cream cheese with a lot of garlic, Bleu Cheese Potato Puffs, and a host of other things that I can't remember right now.

This week is definitely going to be a whirlwind of activity at our house. My new desk is supposed to arrive, along with the new laptop. Hopefully I'll be able to get the front room/office organized so when people walk through our front door on Sunday, they won't have to stumble over the six boxes that have still to be unpacked.

The One About Work

Ever since we returned from the west coast and getting married, I've been battling feeling burned-out at work.

Part of it is pretty standard work stuff: feeling like the things that go noticed are the bad things. The screw-ups or times when I've been a little less patient with someone.

The things that go UN-noticed are when I spend two and a half extra hours at work to finish getting an entire section of dog food priced and labeled, or that I pick up after employees that don't finish their jobs before they finish their shift, or that I keep the website updated and the computers running.

Maybe it's just that I'm a details person and my bosses are not. They don't notice this stuff unless I point it out to them and maybe I'm just getting tired of pointing it out.

Or I'm just a whiner - anyone that has known me for long knows that I am quite capable of getting into my whining from time to time.

I'm sure that I have it better than many people in this country. I have a job, first of all. Secondly, my job is what makes our life comfortable - my job is not necessary in our household income. Thirdly, I get to do something I really enjoy for the most part and many people NEVER get to experience that.

I think that is was just a lot harder to leave Portland this time. Scott and I both really felt at home when we were there for the wedding and it was emotionally VERY difficult to come back to Key West.

We have a few close friends in Key West, and good jobs, and a GREAT house, but we have family and a very close and large circle of friends in the Northwest.

My dream would be to live in the Northwest in the summer and in Key West in the winter. People that have the flexibility to do that really have it made.

Kitchen Adventures

Apparently Charlotte Russe isn't just a clothing store for teens and thirty-somethings pretending to be twenty-somethings (not unlike myself from time to time). I learned this last week on Girls' Day.

Girls' Day is usually every Thursday. Jenny has Thursdays off without fail and I have most Thursdays off. Most weeks I go pick up Jenny downtown after I get off work Wednesday night and bring her back to our house, where she makes dinner and then we plot our adventures for the following day.

This past week I was having a BAD DAY AT WORK on Wednesday (more about that later - I have to figure out how to talk about it without pulling a dooce). Scott picked Jenny up when he was off work and called to tell me that Jenny was going to make dinner and I was going to LOVE it.


When I walked in the door to the kitchen, there she was, slaving away over a complex Mediterranean meal. She had everything pretty much under control but wanted my help with some chickpea-ricotta gnocchi. Surprisingly, it was easier than expected and soon it was time for dinner!


The appetizer part of the meal was pita slices and a cheese dip made from feta, cream cheese, garlic and several other spices.

The next course was toasted pitas topped with humus, caramelized red onions and kalamata olives.

We followed that with a cous-cous and english cucumber salad with lemon-yogurt dressing and fresh mint and parsley from our herb garden in the back yard.

Our entree was the gnocchi in a tomato sauce that included coconut milk, onions, curry powder, coriander and several other yummy things.

All the recipes excepting the pita pizzas were from one of Jenny's new cookbooks "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" and it was ALL fantastic.

The following day (Thursday) we slept in for a bit and then met up with our friend "Boots" for lunch at Pepe's. We all enjoyed different variants of grilled cheese sandwiches and then retired back to Boots' house to make dessert and spend some time by the pool.

Through a series of events that are totally irrelevant, Boots has acquired a massive amount of ladyfingers. The obvious choice to some would be to make Tiramisu, but Boots is not a fan of coffee.

Jenny dug into another of her new cookbooks - The Joy of Cooking and found a recipe for Charlotte Russe. Boots contributed raspberry jam and raspberry liqeur, which I then painted over ladyfingers lining a bowl.

Meanwhile Jenny hand-whipped egg yolks, sugar and gelatin over a double-boiler to make a custard. This requires about fifteen minutes of constant whipping to avoid the eggs starting to scramble.

The custard was layered over the ladyfingers and about this time I read the end of the recipe and pointed out that it has to refrigerate for 8 hours before being consumed. Gah!






Since it was clear we weren't going to be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor for some time, we decided to relax by the pool.

True Talent

When I chose my photographer for our wedding, I decided to use a long time friend. Scott was horrified saying "She should be IN the wedding, not taking pictures!" But I insisted.

As it turned out, my gut feeling that this was the best choice was right on. Not only is she a talented and artistic photographer, but she is one of my closest friends and AS the photographer, we spent the entire day together. I got to see more of her than I did of my bridesmaids!

Erin brought along one of her friends to assist, and they have now posted a few of their pictures on Veronica's website.

These are a few of my favorites, you can follow the links to see the
rest.


Veronica Nelson Photography

Erin Janke aka Visual Noise Photography

SPF K9

For those three of you that were reading my blogitude back in December, you may remember the Chihuahua that came home with me for Christmas Day and New Year's Day.











I got to spend the afternoon with him and his parents at a pool that is open to the public.

It seems that he remembers me, he climbed right up on my chair and wanted to snuggle.

Not a bad way to spend a day off.

More About Skunks

My youngest "child" turned a year old while Scott and I were across the country getting married. For those who have never heard or read the story of how I acquired a pet skunk, pay attention.

Skunks are born in the spring. The majority of pet skunks in the United States are born and bred at Ruby's Fur Farm in Iowa. The baby skunks are descented early and then travel to pet stores around the country.

The pet store I manage brought in 7 baby skunks last spring. There was one apricot, one chocolate and 5 black and white. In Florida, a Class III Wildlife license is required to own a skunk (considered an "exotic") and the store requires proof of this license before the customer is allowed to purchase their skunk and take it home.

Two of the skunks went home very quickly, as their new parent had anticipated their arrival and gotten the license process started ahead of time. The next skunk went soon after and that left four girls. Three black and white and the chocolate.

As soon as the skunks arrived all the store staff spent a lot of time with the babies, trying to get them used to being handled and socialized. Once there were only four left, we spent additional time with them and soon three of the remaining four found loving homes.

The final baby was the smallest of all. Jen named her "Squirt". I wanted to ensure that whoever adopted her would have a loving pet so I started carrying her around with me every afternoon while I did my various duties. I let her sleep in my lap when using the computer, and had her in a small bed on the counter when running the register.

After a few weeks of this Jen (my boss) told me that she thought a friend of hers was going to get the skunk. I was happy for the skunk but a little sad because we'd started to bond a bit.

For my birthday Jen and her husband Mike wanted to take Scott and I to dinner. We planned for them to pick us up after Jen closed the store (since I had the day off) and they arrived with a beautiful carrot cake and a big gift bag.

I opened the bag and inside was a cardboard box. I opened the box and there she was! I was shocked and thrilled and terrified all at the same time - I knew Scott was going to FREAK OUT.

When I opened the box Scott had his back to me cutting the cake. He turned around and saw me holding the skunk, then turned right back to the counter and said "How nice of you!" He didn't know what else to say!

At first Scott was sure that Jen and I had planned this, but I assured him I had nothing to do with it and hadn't even considered getting a skunk, so I understood if he said "no." But I also encouraged him to come to the store and visit her (she had to live at the store until I could get my Class III License) and get to know her a little bit.

A couple of days after my birthday Scott came by on his way home from work and agreed to hold her. She snuggled over his shoulder into his neck and he was instantly in love. We did a trial run with the dog and cats and then as soon as the license arrived we moved her into a cage in the corner of the living room and changed her name to Stinkerbell (aka The Stink, Stinkbug, StinkerPie and Skunky).

Now she is very much a part of the family. We have had to baby proof the house to some extent, when we go to bed we put up gates across the kitchen doorway and the doorway to the bedrooms and put the dog's food bowl up on a chair.

The evening is not complete until The Stink has waddled over to the couch, put her paws up and we bring her up for a snuggle. As I am typing this she is laying on my stomach with her head tucked into my elbow.

Recaps: Now With Pictures!

We got married on a Saturday.

Sunday morning we woke up, packed up our room at the Kennedy School, bought some souvenirs in the gift shop and then checked out. We spent the rest of the day saying goodbye to family as they left town and I took several naps. The end of the day found us at a Sushi-Land in Vancouver with Andy, Jenny and Jenny's friends from Seattle, Ian and Renata. I spilled an entire dish of soy sauce on my jeans.

Monday was more sleep, some doing of laundry and more sleep.

Tuesday morning we drove to Cannon Beach to check in to the Stephanie Inn. We arrived a little earlier than they expected us, so we drove down to Mo's and had a quick lunch.

On returning to the hotel we were led on a quick tour by the bellman before being let into our room. Scott's sister and brother-in-law had purchased the "Relaxation" package for us, so there was Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries on the coffee table near the fireplace, and candles and lavendar-confetti bubble bath in the bathroom next to the jumbo jacuzzi tub.

We enjoyed two nights at the hotel, and two lovely buffet breakfasts in the upstairs dining room. The weather was a little cold but still beautiful enough to take a walk down the beach and take some snapshots of the hotel, the view and a cooperative seagull.

There is a pizza restaurant in downtown Cannon Beach that has been there about 25 years, during which time I have patronized it at every opportunity. We enjoyed dinner there on Tuesday evening and then decided to drive to Seaside to try to find a camera battery charger. Once we were about 2 miles out of town Scott realized that he left his phone on the table. I circled around and headed back into town, and when Scott ducked in the door everyone in the place was waiting for him and gave him a hard time.

We found a Rite-Aid that was open and after scouring the aisles for a charger, I gave up and purchased two disposable 35mm cameras.

Wednesday we drove back to Seaside to enjoy dinner at McMenamins Sandtrap Inn.

Our evenings were spent relaxing and watching episodes of Invader Zim.

And By The Way...

Please note that I just had a Man of Honor at my wedding BEFORE the movie came out...

His toast went something like this:

" If you had told me two years ago that Reese would go to Vegas, meet a military man, quit her job and move to Key West, get engaged, ask me to be her Maid of Honor, and cut the cake with a sword, I would have hit you with a stick until you went away."

Ho Ho

I'm sitting on the couch with Buster, watching Unwrapped. Right now they're talking about HoHo's... the carmel variety in particular.

In the almost two weeks since we returned from our wedding and honeymoon so much has happened! I've worked almost every day, as a result this week of our main cash-register computer obtaining a ton of viruses and going totally kaput. Either the owner or myself (sometimes both) were at the store nonstop for the last two and a half days. She spent the day today sleeping, which I fully intend to do on Sunday (my next scheduled day off).

Our houseguest moved out today, to move back in with her boyfriend since they have decided to move to Orlando together in two weeks anyway. We are looking forward to being able to move back into our guest room, but we will miss her and hope she is making a good decision.

I've discovered that I always get the best ideas for a blog post while I'm in the shower. I don't know what about the process inspires my mind to creativity anymore than I can figure out why I always think of CSI: Miami, Borders Books and Murder Mysteries every day while I'm counting out the cash drawer.

The skunk has been thrilled to have us back, she has been up more frequently during our waking hours, so we have had lots of snuggle time.

I managed to write about 3/4 of the Thank You notes last Sunday and mailed them in the last two days. I still have about 15 to go - but will be able to do them this weekend I'm pretty sure. We have been SO blessed by the generosity of those that love us so much! Our backyard near the gate is starting to look like the city dump because we've stacked up so many of the delivery/shipping boxes.

Buster is dreaming. I should be.

Goodnight!

This Child is Cursed

The Renter (or "Young E" as we call him at our house) is plagued with unfortunate circumstances.

His check was not in his account on Friday, but it did show up on Saturday, so he let me know he would be depositing $500 into my account today.

Apparently he got into a car accident yesterday and then his parents called and told him his dog died.

Oy.

Mother of Teenagers

I am only 31 and have never birthed a child.

Yet I have raised numerous teenagers and young 20-somethings. Right now Scott and I are parenting a 19-year old girl and a 17-year old boy. The girl dropped out of high school (her parents let her) at 15. The boy's father (who he lives with) takes care of dinner by asking them which fast food they want.

I also helped raise one of my ex-boyfriends from the time he was about 20 to 26 and our roommate at the time from about 19 to 23.

Apparently, one of my renters thinks that he gets to hop on the Mom-Reese-will-take-care-of-me-wagon.

Well, I won't. He is about a month and a half behind in rent (make that 2 and a half on May 1st) and thinks it's ok to not contact me AT ALL.

How many chances should this child get? It is his first time living on his own. This is not my responsibility.

He can't seem to remember to check his email on a regular basis. Not my responsibility.

He won't return my text messages. Also not my responsibility.

For those that wonder why I don't just CALL him - the answer is twofold. Firstly, I DESPISE talking on the phone. I am too ADD to carry on an important conversation and can never remember my point or any of the relevant facts to the situation when I am on the phone. Secondly, half the time his cell phone has been shut off.

He moved in the Vancouver house from somewhere in the eastern portion of the US and thinks he has "nowhere to go" if I kick his skinny little butt out.

While we were in town for the wedding I reminded him that he had promised to give me at least $200 on the 10th. Since the 10th was two days before my wedding, I didn't go beat down his door on the morning of the 11th when I discovered he hadn't made a deposit.

I DID see him on the evening of the 14th and mentioned that I needed that deposit, he said "oh tomorrow is my day off and the money's in the bank so I'll transfer it tomorrow." Which he did not do and did not ever explain why.

Gah.

Don't Try This At Home

One year ago I weighed 141 lbs.

This morning I weighed 127 lbs.

This was not intentional, and pretty much due to stress.

Just in case anyone is worried, I am eating.

Evidence of Matrimony

From Surf to Snow

Yesterday we left Cannon Beach around 11am and drove to Walla Walla, WA. I enjoyed a nap while Scott helped the family prepare for dinner and then we all ate together at my Grandparents house.

After dinner we enjoyed time with my cousins and their families and spent a little more time this morning with one in particular, enjoying the twin 16-month old boys passionate eating.

Aloha Sushi in downtown Walla Walla prepared a fine lunch which we shared with a friend of mine from high-school, before the wedding we hadn't seen each other since probably mid school year 1992-1993.

Following sushi we packed up our stuff and stopped again at my grandparents house and then at my aunt's farm on the way out of town via Milton-Freewater and Pendleton.

In theory I should be doing laundry and packing. Instead I am going to look up whether the nearest UPS is open tomorrow and then go to bed.

We fly out of Portland tomorrow night - unless the airport closes for snow...

Sand and Surf

We are spending two nights at The Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

The hotel is amazing. Unbelievable.

We are enjoying ourselves thoroughly, relaxing and watching Invader Zim every night as we fall asleep.

The Mystery Revealed...

We purchased a pair of Converse All-Stars Chuck Taylor shoes for each member of our wedding party and then I embroidered their nicknames on the side.

I finished the last shoe as the rest of the wedding party was processing down the aisle while I was waiting for my turn.

The First of Many...

Moon Me, Honey!

I slept most of yesterday, in between drinking gatorade and eating crackers.

Our wedding day was the most fun we've ever had EVER. I know that's cheesy but it's totally true.

Today we're juggling logistics and making a battle plan for the week.

I'm finally starting to relax - I slept all night very well and have had no more intestinal complications.

Thank you all so much for your well-wishes, and it was wonderful to see those of you that were able to come!

All Done

We got married today.

Right now I'm trying not to throw up.

I really hate this anxiety crap.

Fun stories and pictures soon.

***********************************
Just threw up. Just a little. Trying to relax.

3 to Go.

I have three items left.

I'm contemplating doing one tonight. But I'm tired.

And I'm getting married in the morning.

I really wanted to get them all done.

Frustrating.

I do have to say that this is the ONLY thing so far that is not taken care of. That's pretty good.

:)

T-1 Day and Embroidering...

I am in the hotel room - after my bachelorette party. We went to a couple of places and had a couple of drinks, I wore a pink sash and a pink feather boa. I had a very good time but called it a night kinda early because I've just been tired all day and really didn't want to push it.

The "guys" (Scott and his attendants, which are of both genders) are still out on the town, which is fine.

I'm embroidering one item and then going to sleep.

That leaves 5 for tomorrow.

I miss my skunk.

T-2 Days and Counting...

I got a very good nights sleep.

At the couples shower last night there was friends, family, food and fun - we played the game "celebrity". I don't know if that's it's official, commercial name, but sometime I'll explain the rules. It's a lot of fun and quite hysterically funny at times, too.

I got my hair done yesterday and my face waxed, which has succeeded in causing Scott to stop making wookie noises at me.

Today we pick up our rental car, check in to the hotel, Mom and I are having a facial, I'm having what is hopefully the final fitting for my dress, another shower, and my bachelorette party.

I wonder if I'll have time for a nap.

Ha Ha Ha.

T-3 Days and Counting...

I'm up and awake... a little stiff but not too bad considering that I flew all day yesterday.

I have to call the reception location contact person and the bakery this morning. I have a hair appointment for the hair on my head at 1:00pm and then an appointment for the hair on my face at 3:00pm. I decided that Scott would probably rather not marry a yeti.

I'm remarkably calm. Not too exhausted, and have charged several people close to me with making sure that I have a bottle of water I'm drinking at all times.

I do still have 6 items to embroider. Fortunately some of them will go pretty quick, I'm just hoping I remember to be doing that in between other stuff.

Next on tap is my mom's fashion show so we can decide what she's wearing to the wedding.

T-4 Days and Counting...

I just called a cab to pick us up in about an hour and a half... we're mostly packed and just rounding up the last phone chargers, makeup, etc.

All the wedding stuff is pretty much ready to roll, we just have to show up and say yes.

I haven't puked again since Sunday morning and managed to eat a little Sunday and last night.

As one of my coworkers said to me yesterday - Feliz Matrimonio!

:)

T-6 Days and Counting...

I've puked at LEAST 6 times in the last half hour. I've been pacing in the back yard, praying, and calling to leave my boss a voicemail to let her know I may have to come in late.

I think that's the thing that gets to me most about the panic attacks, is that I get myself worked up worrying that I'm going to let someone down.

Ultimately I have to accept that life can go on with or without me, whether I'm in charge of it or not.

I think my problem tonight is that I haven't slept well again this week, got a sunburn on Thursday, and haven't been drinking enough water to make up for either of those things. Then I ate junk for supper followed by a half of a giant chocolate chip cookie that has since been regurgitated.

I am not really stressed about the wedding. I know that I will survive this and be fine, and if necessary will get a doctor to prescribe me drugs so I can get through the thing doped to high heaven.

Right now I need to relax and breathe. And pray a lot more.

T-8 Days and Counting

Coincidentally, I am wearing size 8 shorts today. Before any of you curse me (except those of you fabulous ladies that are size 6 and 4 and 2), my wedding dress was purchased a size 12. Ha ha ha. This will be interesting.

I have 7 out of 16 embroidery items finished, and am halfway through #8. One of the items that arrived in the mail yesterday was useless, as it is the wrong size, so it will have to be returned. That made me double check the items that arrived on Wednesday, and sure enough, one of THOSE was the wrong size as well. I gave it to our friend Jenny.

I still need to acquire 5 items and get them embroidered in the next 8 days.

T-10 Days and Counting...

What does the "T" stand for?

Teeth that are chipped. Apparently items made of canvas are more difficult to embroider than items made of denim or even, say, cloth.

Consequently, one of my top front teeth and one of my bottom front teeth are chipped a bit. Note to self: Do Not Use Teeth to Pull Big Needle.

In addition to all the OTHER things I have to do in the days leading up to the wedding, I need to get my teeth ground. Grinded? Smoothed? Whatever.

To my knowledge, the bridesmaids dresses have not arrived at the bridal boutique. This makes me a bit nervous, and it has also made a few of my "maids" nervous as well.

Today we received an automated phone call from ACME telling us that "some" of our canvas items were not going to be delivered and we should go to the store where we had ordered them and get a refund. Once at the ACME store we discovered that the outlook is not quite so bleak as I thought and we are only going to be missing two or three items instead of TWELVE. As it is I need to embroider at least one item every day between now and the wedding in order to get them done.

What the heck was I thinking?