Mean = Hot (part two)

Okay, so now I'm nervous! What if this is a "you had to be there" story? Oh....I kind of think it is. But I'll continue....because you know I always finish what I start (*snort*).

Okay, so we're at the festival and MJ and I are setting up the cooking demonstration area when Amanda shows up and and offers to do anything we want. My memory is a little foggy, but I remember MJ sending her in the Cafe kitchen....probably water or something.

Amanda comes back with a big smile slapped on her face....and I can see it's fake.

So she comes up to me and tells me she has met the offending Chef. He kicked her out of the kitchen after she not only introduced herself, but asked him if there was anything he needed for his demo later in the day.

Kicked her on out, people! To the curb!

Now. I can't tell you what Amanda does for a living, but I can tell you this: she knows a lot of people. And some of them are very famous. And she meets them through her job. Which is one of those jobs with a lot of connections. And Amanda is very good at her job and she's very nice. VERY nice. Like, give-you-the-shirt-off-her-back-nice. So MJ really likes her and goes out to lunch with her and is actually her friend.

So when I went back to work after hearing Amanda's story, and after a while, MJ asked me how my set-up was going.

What choice did I have, but to tell on that troll of a chef? Huh?

So I casually say, "My work is going great, but someone wasn't very nice to Amanda. She got kicked out of the kitchen."

MJ's eyes start snapping and blinking very fast...which is what she does when she's trying to control what is going to come out of her mouth next. So she casually says, "Oh? Who kicked her out?"
So I start to tell her, but before I can finish, MJ's marching off to the kitchen.

'Cause you don't disrespect MJ's friends. She will mess. You. Up.

Mean = Hot (part one)

Okay, so I'm telling you this little story because.....well? Because I know you'll think it's funny and will be able to relate.

Because you're all girls.

And I just know if any one of you were with us? You would have felt the same way.

So, MJ is working at a charity event. I'm there to help her, as is Micah - who is the nicest guy in the world and a chef. Micah is a friend of Amanda. And Amanda is super-cool and is running the whole event.

Get it? Here's the cast of characters

Amanda: Super-cool, nice, funny, managing a charity event. MJ's new BFF.

Micah: Friend of Amanda's, super-nice, funny, a chef and - get this - works as a chef in the SOUTH POLE all winter. I kid you not. Isn't that cool?

MJ: Well, come ON! She's MJ! My buddy from work. I met Amanda and Micah through her.

Kirst: Mine and MJ's BFF from work.

Me: Doofus.

Okay. So. We are at a charity event....Amanda's managing the event, MJ is the star chef and Micah and I are helping MJ cook.

We are all in the kitchen. Cooking, laughing, chatting. MJ mentions that she has been trying to coordinate the chef demonstrations for the Minnesota Garlic Festival and one of the chefs she has been in contact with is kind of mean and condescending.

So, of course we instantly hate him.

She replays all of her email exchanges with him and concedes that it's hard to tell what kind of tone someone is using when they're writing an email, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I still hate him.

So....the charity event is over and 4 days later we're all together again to work at the Garlic Festival. There's a cafe at the festival where local chefs from the most popular restaurants in the Twin Cities cook food from local farmers and sell it: with all the proceeds going to the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.

So, the chefs aren't all bad...they're donating their time and expertise for the hippie farmers in the area.

MJ has been in touch with these chefs and has recruited them to do cooking demonstrations with her. Kirst and I are in charge of providing all the cooking equipment and Amanda is in charge of escorting the chefs from the cafe to the stage and making sure they have all the ingredients they need. Micah ends up helping in the cafe kitchen when some of the chefs don't bother to show up on time (MJ says getting the chefs to the stage on time for their demonstration is like herding cats).

Do you want me to continue?

What I Did At Work Today....

I have the coolest job ever.

Sometimes I forget this.

But then I go to work and have a great day and get to work with my friends.

And then? I find out my friends are making these super cool videos !

Check it out, people! If you watch the first test in the Pumpkin Bread video, you can see the exact kitchen I work in....they shot the video in a few different kitchens, but the one with the big windows in the background is where I normally work. The women you see in the videos - Shirley, Jennifer, Marcia and Grace - seem kind serious in the footage....but in real life, they're soooo much fun. I keep expecting Jennifer to crack a funny, but she's keeping it all business-like :)

And guess what I made at work today? The healthified chocolate chip cookies. I think it may replace my old recipe! I really like them!

Things......

• I love my new job. It's stress-free.

• Conversely? A monkey could do my job. I'm very afraid that the people I work for will wise-up and eliminate my position.

• Since mid-March I've been to Boston, Arkansas, Seattle, San Francisco and Atlanta.

• I would love to live in Boston, Seattle or San Francisco. Atlanta and Arkansas would be too humid for me. Atlanta was already 120% humidity at the beginning of April. I have too delicate of a constitution for high humidity.

• The phrase "delicate constitution" makes me giggle.

• I left for San Francisco on Monday evening. I didn't get there until late.

• When I was riding the tram to the car rental, there was an amorous couple standing next to me. The woman was tweaking the guys nipples through his hoodie sweatshirt and grabbing his crotch. I kid you not. It scarred me for life. I'll never be the same.

• I got to my hotel in San Francisco Monday at 11pm.

• I left for the airport to travel to Atlanta on Tuesday at 11:30 am.

• I got to my hotel room in Atlanta Tuesday at 11pm.

• I got home last night at 9pm.

• People-watching at the airport is a good time.

• I'm glad I don't have to travel with a 15 month old. There was a lady with a boy that age traveling from San Francisco to Atlanta and that boy didn't make a peep the whole trip. He was the best little guy.

• The Noodle was not that kind of baby. She would've made the whole plane miserable. People would've started breaking the windows and trying to squeeze their bodies out of them to drop to their deaths just to get away from us. I'm not lying.

• Delta is way better than Northwest.

• I've had never traveled on Delta before because Minneapolis is a Northwest hub.

• The people I travel with are hilarious. Yesterday my body hurt from laughing. Scott the sales guy is a riot and had all of us in tears at lunch yesterday.

• I'm happy to be home.

• My cats are happy to have me home. Quinn the cat layed next to me all night, purring and licking my face. Helmie the cat is currently ignoring me. I'm being punished for leaving her. She'll make up with me later today.

• Noodle is watching Zoey 101, so she doesn't care about anything else.

• I've missed my bloggy friends and will catch up with blogs in the next couple of days.

What have you been up to?

Work, Potatoes with Life Lessons and Loree

Yep! I'm at it again! Working at the photo studio. Do you want to come along and see what I've done?



What? No?



Oh.



Okay....sorry to bother you.



Hey! Wait! This is MY blog. If you don't want to come to work with me, you just point that cursor to that red box with the white "X" and get outta here!



Sheesh. Ungrateful Internets.



Okay. Here we go.



You know where we need to go first? Do you?



In my business, this will always be the answer: "To the grocery store." Always. This question will be on the final exam, so file it away in the ol' hard drive, people.



Here we are at one of the nice ones. Brand new in Northeast Mpls. Not too far from the studio. This store is so great that I almost try to go there for every shoot.
Anyway, we've got to get some red potatoes. The ones I found the day before at that other store (with the harsh lighting) had skins that were too thin.



Ha! Did you hear that? The potatoes had skins that were too thin.



This brings us to a new feature on this blog.....Life Lessons Through Food.



MJ will laugh at this because we've been learning life lessons through food together for about 12 years. It's times like these where I'm reminded how much I want to work with MJ every day.

Because I miss her.

And nobody else thinks the life lessons are the least bit funny.

So then I sit there and giggle to myself and everybody thinks I'm a crazy person.



Okay. So I get to the studio and the first thing I do is grab some of Dave the Photographer's delicious coffee. It's really really strong. And made from the very best beans.
Yummy.
But I need some milk to tone it down a little bit...........oh look!
No milk...........but there is some HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM!!!!

Don't you judge me!

Okay. I need to sort out the potatoes and pick the best ones (life lesson).

It's kind of hard to tell which ones are the best when you first look at them.

All I know is: They shouldn't be too small or too big:

A little character is a good thing. You don't want (your potato) to be too perfect.

Sometimes, though? You find out that very character you loved so much in the beginning? Well....it's too much. It's just not working the way you thought it would.

Sometimes (potatoes) things aren't classically beautiful.......But they're almost so ugly that they're cute:

And you know what? Sometimes life hurts. And once in a while you'll get stabbed in the back. Don't worry, it happens to all of us. You just need to let it go.

Okay. Lessons over. But they were useful, right?

So I baked up my potatoes and now I need to scoop out the innards for Pegi, the food stylist. I try to make them as beautiful as possible. I futz around and figure out that I need to use a melon baller to get a nice edge on the potato. Then I need to trim the skins with a little scissors because they get a little raggedy:

After all of this, lunch came. The studio caters in lunch every day. Today was Asian. After lunch, the potatoes that Pegi styled and baked up need a little freshening up.......a"facial" perhaps? Pegi gives them a little steam.

Now I go into the other kitchen to bother my pal Loree. 'Memba her? She's the one who turned 50 and got the hair-brained idea to run a marathon to "celebrate". Freak.

Anyway, Loree just styled a thick, juicy steak for a grill shot. Here's Mara, our hand model. Kevin, the photographer, will take a close-up of the steak and of Mara "flipping" the steak.

Isn't Mara just tiny and cute? The grill has fake, glowing coals. I love the fake glowing coals.

This is my old new best friend, Loree, with Mara.

Loree just found the love of her life at age 50. She knew him years ago when she was in the Coast Guard and reconnected with him through the wondrous Internet! Exciting, huh? And he's sounds so sweet that I now have a mouthful of cavities from listening to her nauseating stories of all of the sweet things he says to her.

Okay, I've gotta go. More on Loree and Mara another time!

Continued.......

Okay, everyone! Are you ready for the continuation of day two?

Here it goes.......

First of all, all I can tell you is we made carrot cake, peach pie, chicken and muffins this day.

It's aaalllll so top secret.

Kind of like the CIA.
Minus the double agents, world travel and the involvement of the government.

So, okay.........it's nothing like the CIA.

Anyway, I'll tell you that four shots is a lot for one stylist to do in one day. If we were shooting for the front of some packaging (like a cake mix, for instance)? We'd be working for a couple of days to get one shot. Maybe even more than a couple of days. And there's no way they'd let an idiot like me style anything for it.

Anyhoo, Melinda (the food stylist) is good and she knocked down 2 shots before lunch. She saved the harder shots for the afternoon - the pie and the cake.

Here are the tools Melinda used to do the "stand-in". The stand-in is a fairly unstyled piece that the stylist (or assistant) would put on the set so the photographer can light the set and the Art Director can work with the plates and other accessories for the shot. In food styling, there are lots of medical and dental tools used. See that scalpel with the teal handle?

Oh - by the way? There are 6 people working on the shot here: Me, Melinda, Kevin (the photographer), Amy (the photographer's assistant), Linda (the art director) and Mara (she's works for the studio and the client and is here to make sure we do what the client wants). Here's a picture of Mara. Just because I like her:

She's cute and tiny and petite and wears really cute shoes with high heels. And she's fun to talk to.
You know who else I really like? Stephanie:

She runs the studio. When she comes in for the day everyone is clamoring to talk to her. And not because they need anything, but because she's just fun to talk to. This woman has 5 kids. Five! And a grandchild!!! She truly is super-woman. I think she may have been a model, as well. Look at her! Gorgeous!

So! Here's Melinda, cutting out a piece of pie for the "stand-in".

.
See the pie she is working on? The top is much smoother than the one on the right of the photo. Go ahead and click on the photo and check it out. The one on the right of the photo is the actual recipe. The one that Melinda is working on?

It's stuffed with instant mashed potatoes!!! Melinda makes the mashed potatoes and then tops them with the pie filling to get the top of the pie to look less bumpy and cracked, but she needs to have the peaches show through, so she tops them with the actual pie filling. When she styles the finished piece? She pins peaches on the potatoes to cover them up and make it look like a peach pie.

For the next shot, the carrot cake, the art director decided she wanted a bowl of berries in the background. So, luckily, Pegi, another food stylist is working with berries in the next studio. I go over there and see this:

Ummmmm.....hey, there Dave! Whatchya doin'? Errrr......working real hard I see. Uh, whatchya lookin' at there? This Old House's website? Hmmmm. And what does this website have in common with food photography??

Dave is another photographer/assistant. He is shooting all the step-shots today. There is a lot of waiting around for the photographers while the food stylists make the food pretty. Dave likes woodworking in his free time. He's building some kitchen cabinets for his house.

Chicks totally dig Dave. They feed him fruit with very large tweezers:

I didn't get a shot of Pegi, but she's the one with the big tweezers. She's really neat and a funny goofball. I see Pegi maayybe twice a year, but it feels like I've know her forever.

But you know what? That's how this business is: you work very closely with people you may have never met before. You need to become best friends and work well together as a team to get the job done and not piss anyone off. In the process, you get to know a lot about these people in a short time and then you're done. You move on to the next thing.

Anyway, I get the berries from Pegi and I sort through them and look for some beauties. I place the strawberries in some cool water to hydrate and perk up the greens on them.

Meanwhile, Melinda starts working on the carrot cake. I made the cakes the day before and the frosting today:

And here is the finished shot on set!

Viola!

It's about 6pm and we get to go home! I get home at about 6:30 and I'm tired.

A Day In The Life......

Okay, Internets.....I thought you'd enjoy a little pictorial of my last couple of days (and I do mean little. Some of my pictures didn't turn out so hot.)

My job is always different. I like that in a job.

You know what Zuddy likes in a job? A nice, reliable paycheck. Which is something I can't seem to provide for him with my current work.

Anyhoo.......the last two days I worked in a Photographer's Studio as a food stylist's assistant. For a while I really wanted to be a food stylist, but I've come to realize that I don't have what it takes. Heck, I don't really have what it takes to be an assistant! Because a lot of the "assistants" I know? They're really food stylists masquerading as assistants.

Okay, so here it goes.............

Sunday night, I looked at all the recipes (there were six recipes) and all of the Art Director's layout sketches to see what I needed. I need to look at the layout sketches to see if anything is featured in the background as a prop. Like a bowl of veggies as a side dish or something like that.

Early Monday morning (about 6 am) I left the house to go grocery shopping for the shoot. I went to one store and bought everything. I should've gone to 2 stores because I needed some pretty green beans and the ones at the store were ugly. I had actually planned on going to a second store, but the traffic was horrendous for some reason, and I felt like I was late when I got there. Turns out? Mondays are hard and everyone was late, so I should've gone. But I didn't.

Anyway, I worked half of the day by myself and I had some "step-shots" to do. The photographer takes photos of a certain step of the cooking process. They let me "style" those because on the finished product, they will be tiny little pictures and not much detail is needed.

The rest of my time there, I continue to prepare food for the food stylist who came in for a half-day to style for 2 shots. The food stylist's name is Melinda. Melinda cranked out both of those shots and we got to go home at 4:30. I got home at 5:15.

Tuesday I left a little later......about 7 am. I had to go to the grocery store again. I went to the one where the stinky people shop. They always have nice-looking stuff and I needed some beautiful chicken pieces.

This store is a little chi-chi foo-foo. And, as I've mentioned before, there's almost always a fellow shopper who smells like they haven't washed their hair.

Today was no exception. I think smelling unwashed hair is my "super power".

I don't like having this "super power".

Anyway, I digress.....Look at the lovely warm lighting of this store. Soothing, huh? Look at the copper ceiling. Pretty, right?

Oh, I also had to take a photo for Lisa of Take 90 West. It's the Velveeta. Right where it should be, huh? In the dairy aisle.

But, is Sunny Delight supposed to be there, too? I don't know......maybe.

Anyway, Melinda wanted a couple of HUGE boxes of instant mashed potatoes for a shot. And not for what you'd think (tee hee!). The first store didn't have HUGE boxes here, so I had to go to the big cheap grocery store:
Argh!!! The lighting, the lighting! Hurts my eyes. But I found what I needed.

So, I hop back into my car and head to the studio. Oh I forgot.....I took a picture of the city on my way to the studio.

Because I'm a reeal careful driver like that.

Do you know what all of that haze and steam means?

It means its freakin' cold, people, that's what it means. -4 degrees kind of cold.

Oh! Look! We're here!

I'm the first one here, so I go into the building and wait. Oh! Here's my bag and some of the things I carry for a day of work:

A microplane, a sharp chef's knife, a scoopy-outy thingy. The potatoes I bought, and an apron.

Sometimes? I just bring all of my kitchen tools in my new tool holder:

I love this thing. LOVE it. Even though it's ugly. And guess what? This studio happens to do the photography for Pampered Chef!! So they have a lot of their products there. Like my new favorite little thingies, their prep bowls:

They're so cute they make me want to cry....they look like a wee little batter bowl. I'm totally buying these the next time I have to go to one of those dumb parties.

Okay......Moving on.....here's the kitchen I worked in:

They have about 4 kitchens at this studio. They're all large kitchens for 2 people to work in at once - the food stylist and the assistant. They have 2 ranges in each kitchen and 1 or 2 fridges.

This is the worst picture ever, but here's a set with a stove for one of the step-by-step shots. Maybe you can see better if you click on the picture.

Okay, I need to quit now, because, Dudes.

It took me forever to load all of those pictures in. I'll continue this story tomorrow.............

Tile

Hey! Guess what?

I went to a tiling class! It was fun and I know I can do the tiling by myself! Yay me!
Now.
I have some things to consider.....who wants to help me?
You do? Awwww, thanks! You're such a good friend!

Okay. Here they are:

• I can't get my mind off of marble tile. So pretty! And so expensive! Not only is it expensive, but would it look dumb with my cheap-o laminate coutertops? This is not the time to be polite. Just tell me...
  
  
  
  So... here they are. Aren't they pretty? One thing to consider here, besides the counter top and the price is I will have to rent a wet saw. Not a huge deal, but I will have to purchase all of the tiles at once and do the tiling in one fell-swoop. Since I tend to start and stop projects, this could be interesting.
  
• Another option: The tile place I went to has a really pretty tile with some crazing. I love it! It's cheaper than the marble, but more expensive than getting the subway tiles at Home Depot or Lowe's. Let's see if I can find a photo of it.........

Or.....I can just go to Home Depot and get a plain subway tile. Cheap...20 cents a piece.
By the way, I want to do a decorative strip and a chair rail-type tile, too. I can do this with any of the tile options - no problem. Here is and example of the look I'm going for:

Okay, but you know it's not going to be quite that extensive, right?
I'm just talking the subway tiles with a strip of the decorative tile and then a strip of the chair rail...although I'm kind of liking that diamond-shaped tile on top.....hmmmm......Well.....I don't have a lot of space to tile, so it can't get too fancy. Here's a reminder of what I will be tiling:

And I'm not getting all kooky, here, either. I'm just tiling from the counter tops to the upper cabinets.

And I have to wait for Zuddy to patch the holes in the walls.

So essentially, this may not happen till it's time for us to enter a nursing home.

What else is going on?

• I worked a little on Wednesday, on Thursday and Friday. So much FUN!!!! My friend Judy called and asked me to prepare a bunch of recipes for a taste panel. I got to work with her, my friend Sandy and I got to see my dear friend, Loree. Who, by the way, turned 50. And to celebrate? You know what she did? Ran the Twin Cities Marathon. Psycho. Happy Birthday, Loree!!! You're the best!
• We have a Bridal shower for my cousin, Katie today. I need to go and buy the gift. I will take a picture of the loot. It's a bunch of kitchen items that I love and can't live without. Franklin will be there. I can't wait to smooch his little cheeks and sniff his little head.
• Officer Mc Hott came over on Friday night to return something Zuddy loaned him. He stayed for a while and told us "cop stories". Zuddy and I LOVE his cop stories. He cracks us up. I want to set him up with my neighbor Jenny. Or me. Or Zuddy. Ha haaaaaaa! Just kidding. He and Jenny would make a good looking couple. Who cares if they have nothing in common, right? Tee hee.

All right! Have a great day :)

Nate on Oprah

DUDES.

Did you see Oprah yesterday??

I watched it right after my dear friend, Kirst, and I got back from Homegoods. We had just had this conversation about why we Americans feel the need to have everything we want, be materialistic, live beyond our means and decorate our houses to the hilt.

A-hem.

Anyway....did you see what he did to those houses???? My favorite was the kitchen - that couple was adorable! I want to be friends with them......did you hear when the lady said she wanted to marry Nate? She told him he could learn to love her, or something like that! Hilarious!

If you didn't see it, click here.

And here's a photo of the kichen:

Aaaaaahhhhhhh.............beeeeeaaaauuutious, huh?

Now.

I'm going to work today. So I can have this:

>

And this:



And maaaayyyyybe even THIS:

Clearly I'm not the one with the materialism issues, am I?

The Bowl of Coffee......

Yup. Looking at this picture, you really can't tell how large this cup is, but trust me, it fits more into the "bowl" category than the "cup" category.

My coffee consumption has drastically increased lately. I'm up to 2 bowls of coffee every blessed day, people.
I'm cutting down, starting..........never! Ha!!

No. Really, I'm going to start cutting back today.
Just a bowl and a half for me today...yessiree! Baby steps, right?
Right.

SIGH.

So many things to discuss......where to begin?

Okay.....how about the fact that I've been thinking about getting a job. But I'm sooooo stuck. There are huge benefits to me staying home with the Noodle.
"But wait!", you say, " The Noodle's not home on most days!"
See? Do you see where this is going?
Yeah.
I don't think my services are needed here anymore.

AND. Here's the thing: I can't finish the kitchen, get a new dishwasher or anything else until I bring in some ka-ching. So I'm scouting things out.....which brings me to my next photo.




This photo is featured on the AOL article entitled, "Jobs That Are Built To Last".

First of all: If I encountered this dude at the doctor's office, I'd run away.
Giggling.
Then, I'd make some ever-so-expected-in-poor-taste-naughty joke like, "He sure looks like he's built to last!"

He's just too hot.

Not even a remotely realistic depiction of a medical professional. Hey...I'm not saying medical professionals are ugly or anything. My doctor is a handsome guy. Just not smokin' hot.

But look at the way he's looking at us! Do you think he's interested in us? Ha haaaaaa!

So....back to reality.

I'm looking for a job that pays well and regularly, has virtually no responsibility, won't miss me when I have to stay home with my sick kid, and lets me off for summers and school holidays.

Hmmmm.

Is this the conundrum I keep reading about in all of those women's magazines?



More thoughts:

• I'm taking a tiling class next weekend. I can't wait. I'd like to start thinking about the backsplash


• I'm loving the new TV season!!! How about Pam and Jim on The Office??? And the Unit? Such a great show. Too bad they speak in covert language so much......I always have to have my Zuddy right there to translate for me. How about that. (Jonas always says that on the show.)


• I've been on a cooking binge with the cooler weather. I've made 2 soups: Carrot Ginger and White Bean with Kale. The White Bean and Kale soup I just shot from the hip and made it. Sooooooo good!!!! Even Zuddy loved it. We had nothing to eat in the house, but I had the kale lying around from my CSA box, a little bacon, carrots, onion, canned beans and some chicken stock from the freezer. Oh. And really good Parmesan. That's it!


• It's almost my Mommy's birthday! She'll be 67 years old! I can't believe it.


• Fran is STILL in the hospital!! Remember when I talked about my sister, Myrna's, Mom? It's been almost 2 weeks, I think! Last I heard, they were going to install a pacemaker. I think she's been a real puzzle for the doctors. (***since starting this post, I've heard that Fran has some internal bleeding and a gazillion ulcers in her stomach. They can't install the pacemaker until they stop the internal bleeding. If you're a pray-er, please say one for our Fran!)


• There is a big weekend of antiquing in my friend MJ's town of Buffalo, Minnesota!! I think it's this weekend!


• I need to update my blog list. Here's a great blog I've found through another one of my favorites: The Emory Restoration. The dude who writes this is a total riot. I found this blog through another favorite blog (one that every one knows about) , House In Progress.

• Franklin and I went to Ikea today. He LOVED it. He was actually all babbly and smiley!!!! I can't tell you how thrilled I am. He was an absolute blast.

So that's it today. I'm about to go over to my neighbor's house and help her with the priming of her kitchen cabinets!

Have a great day :)

Swimming Lessons Stink!

Yeah, that's the general consensus here.

I was thinking I was so smart for scheduling them in Mid-August. I remember having lessons in an outdoor pool as a little one. I loved it. And I also remember them being much earlier in the morning (Noodle's are at 11 am.).

Well.....we are having a little "cold snap" here. It's about 65 degrees right now.

And guess what else? I made a big mistake and put her in a class that is a level or two below her abilities. So here is this lanky 7 year old with a bunch of preschool-kindergardners. I'm not very popular around here right now.

One day, I had niece LuLu with us for a day or two and we tried to go swimming at our regular pool. But Noodle not only crabbed about going swimming, she also fell asleep! In public! She's never done that....even as a baby!


Here's Lulu!



Here's Noodle cuddling with......a folder and pencil?? I guess she really loves those new school supplies, huh?

The garden is lookin' good right now (even though it could use a good weeding. But I got a shot sans the weeds for you:



Not much else going on here. Oh! The dishwasher is fixed. Dammit. And finally.

My new counter tops are finally ready to be installed. I just need to coordinate the installation and we'll be all set! Yay! The only problem is I have a few days of work lined up in the next two weeks, so I'll have to work around that.

Tomorrow I'm working at the Minnesota Garlic Festival!! I think it will be fun and I just got off the phone with my friend, MJ, who I'll be working with. She spent 3 days peeling 30 pounds of garlic. Holy Moly. I feel bad I wasn't there to help her, but I'm a little relieved I didn't have to do that. Is that bad of me?
Yes. It is. Sorry MJ, but I'm just keepin' it real, sister.

Hit By A Farm

A long time ago, I wrote about this book.....I sang its praises, I talked about how the author is hilarious and smart and how much I loved it. But when I hit that "PUBLISH" button, I lost the post. Exasperated, I gave up. But I recently found out the author has a blog (thanks, MJ!), so now I'm all into it again.

I don't read a lot since college. There are two reasons for this:
The main reason is that when I read, I ignore everything until I'm done with the book. Obviously, one can't expect to keep up with college courses if this is the case, so I had to stop reading for pleasure during my college years (and there were many of them. I didn't graduate in 4 years, people.). Now that I'm a Mom, I'll just ignore the Noodle and Zuddy until I'm done with the book. Luckily, Zuddy doesn't mind and will take over when I find a good book :)
Another thing: I'm a feeler. If the book isn't upbeat, I get in a funk. My mood is totally dependent on what I surround myself with (and if I've popped a Zoloft!). I get into character, so to speak. Does anyone else out there do this? If I had read Bridget Jones' Diary, I'd feel like I was Bridget Jones for days afterwards. Sheesh, I'd probably pull a Madonna and let a British accent slip in and out as I spoke (note: I haven't read that book. No accent. Maybe I will read it right before a family get-together just to irritate my brothers with a phony accent.).

Point is: I won't ever talk about a book that isn't worth reading. But, I guess that's in the eye of the beholder, huh?

This book is great, people. The author (Catherine) and her partner (Melissa) purchase a farm - it's a dream of Melissa's to farm. They are city slickers, so this book chronicles their journey into farming and how Catherine ends up losing herself to support Melissa's dream....and how she finds the balance to get on with her own dreams while still supporting Melissa.

It's a great lesson in how to treat our partners and their dreams and not lose ourselves in the process. I apply Catherine's experiences to motherhood (or parenthood). It's so easy to forget who you are when taking care of your family.

Anyway. There's my plug. I really loved this book A LOT. And you know what's funny? After I read it, I passed it on to my neighbor, Gretchen (who also loved it). Well, now Gretchen runs into the author all around town! Well, okay. She's run into her twice, signing books. Once at a children's bookstore (Catherine is a children's book author as well.) and once at a local global market! Crazy, huh?

So - today is Saturday and I'm really excited. At 2pm, I'm going over to my friend MJ's house to help her cook dinner for her Daughter's prom dinner!! Wanna see the menu? Remember me talking about MJ? I work for her on Tuesdays. She's an incredible recipe developer.

Prom Dinner 2007

Cocktails and Nibblies
Cambezola and Aged Gouda with Assorted Flatbreads and Fruit
Sparkling Apple Cider and Homemade Ginger Ale

Salad
Composed Salad of Mixed Baby Greens and Spring Flowers
with
Strawberries and Spiced Pecans
Dressed with a Strawberry Basil Vinaigrette

Assorted Artisan Breads
Iced White Tea

Dinner
Grilled Beef Filet Topped with Spring Herb Compound Butter
Szechwan Style Flash Fried Baby Green Beans
Parslied Fingerling Potatoes
Iced Lemon and Mint Water

Dessert
Molten Chocolate Cakes
with Whipped Coffee Cream
Brewed Coffee

Fun, huh? I'll try and take pictures of the prom-goers!

While I do this, Zuddy and the Noodle are going over to his sister Ann's for a party/bonfire.

On the kitchen front: I bought knobs - ouch. They were almost $200. I didn't buy the pulls because when I got there, I didn't recognize the ones I picked out! The finishes looked so different in the fluorescent lighting of the store. Hopefully Zuddy will be able to install them on Sunday.

Then again, maybe not. I have to work. I've had a stressful week, friends:
When I was sick, I was supposed to be working on a project. Well, I was too sick to even work a little bit. Then, as you know, I had that Chicago trip planned with the Noodle. So - I called the person I was working for and asked for a week's extension on my recipe project. She generously gave the extra time, but then called me a week later and told me that my recipes are being photographed one day after the original due-date (Monday, the 7th.) So I've had to kick it into gear and get them done by the original date - Monday!

Luckily, they are getting themselves done and I feel fine about it, but I need to work on Sunday now. And I've a got a nice, juicy cold sore on my chin. I'm sure from the stress of being sick and the stress of, well.....being stressed!

Well, I hope you all have a great weekend. I hope you pick up a book or do something to support your dreams and your partner's dreams :)