A Sneak Peek: Monday

I supposed to go to work at 1 today, but got a call asking if I could come in earlier. No problem, means more hours, which means more money! The only thing was it meant my morning got cut short a couple hours. 

As of last week, Teresa and I are starting to work out together. She had been going to the Community Center, but after one visit there I was not comfortable going back.  So when the weather's not nice enough to take a walk, we'll be doing a video at my house.  I bought this new video by Leslie Sansone.  Have you heard of her before? She has videos for an indoor walking program.  I got the Fast & Firm! 4 Really Big Miles. The 1st mile is a 15 min warmup...Mile 2 is a 12 min mile...Mile 3 is a 10 min boosted walk mile...Mile 4 is a 15 min mile while using the firm band.  So far I really like it. You can do all 4 miles together, or pick which one(s) you want to do. Today, I only had about 10 minutes to workout but I wanted to do something, so I did Mile 3. It was great!

I worked today for 7 hours! It was a long day and quite frustrating at times. Let's just say I was glad to get home. :) Today I made pie crust, scone mix, apple pecan muffins, choc chip cookies & and washed dishes. Thankfully there were a couple of girls that came in to help out though, because there were ALOT of dishes.  Why? Saturday was the event that we catered for the Rocky Mountain Elks Foundation.  It went really well! There were 314 people and we were told by several people that it was the best food they had had at the event. Get this! Last year their caterer didn't show up and so they had to get food from KFC for 300+ people! Anyways, we washed dishes at the event, but needed to do it again because we ran out of soap. Whoops!  

That's about it for today. Happy Monday!

A Sneak Peek: Sunday

Today was spent the same way we spend every Sunday...in the Lord's house! Selena and I were with the kids for the Sunday School hour.  The message during the morning service was from Psalm 8...Brother Majors showed us just how small the earth is on the scale of things in the universe.  It amazes me how small the earth is, yet God chose to put life on it and invest SO much in us! 

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. (vs 3-5)

After lunch we had a cheesecake to celebrate my birthday (this Tues) and it was delicioso!

When we got home we all took a nap, and I'm telling you it was much needed! I was really tired. It's been a long week working Mon-Sat, but a good one! After I got up I decided to make Corndog Muffins. I think I'd use a different cornbread batter next time.  We like a sweet cornbread and I think that would be better.  

Maggie & I had a video chat with Alyssa which was really nice! Other than that, we're just relaxing and enjoying the evening! 

This and That

Last weekend we had the youth from BBC come over for their 'Winter Retreat'.  It was a great time! So much fun to see everyone again and spend time with them!!  On Friday we went snow-tubing and had so much fun! After climbing up the hill multiple times, I was pretty sore that night. :)  Probably the best part was when we put 4 tubes in a square and had 7-8 people go down at once...it was so.much.fun! *Be sure to check out Maggie's blog for pictures!*

As we were saying goodbye to our friends from OH, more visitors started showing up for our very first ladies meeting!  The ladies of the church, plus one more, got together for lunch and fellowship, while the menfolk watched the kids. =)  It was really nice!

I'm writing this post from MY laptop!!  A guy at my dad's work fixed it for me for only $30!!! Yay!

Work is going really well! It's very busy this week though. I'm working Mon-Sat since we have the big event this weekend. I started making tortes last week and have been everyday I've worked since then. I'm kinda getting bored with it. All I know is people better appreciate them. ;-) jk.

Last, but not least, I've put a poll on the side. Last month I gave you a closer look at my life for a week.  Did you like it? Should I make it a monthly thing? If I get enough positive responses, I'll go ahead and do it starting this Sunday even though the week will bring us into another month. From then on, I'll do it the last full week of every month.  What do ya think? Yay or nay?! 

Tired Feet

Going into this job I knew I was going to need some good shoes since I'd be on my feet the whole time.  I searched the internet hoping to find the perfect shoe. I wanted one that would give me the support and comfort I needed, plus look nice with skirts...I didn't want to wear just an average tennis shoe. :) I came across these and liked them right away!  They cost a pretty penny, but it's worth it if it means my feet will be comfortable. 

I'm always kinda leary about ordering shoes online, but they came today and fit perfectly! Yay! Now I just have to wait till next week for the real test...will my feet hurt after work...:)

Swedish Meatballs

2 slices fresh white bread
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 pound ground chuck (I just used reg beef)
3/4 pound ground pork
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups beef broth
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.

In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.

Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds.

Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven.

Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.

*Recipe Source*

Valentines Dinner

Since we weren't able to be a part of the Annual Sweetheart Banquet at BBC, I thought it would be fun for us (and nice for our parents) to do one over here...on a much smaller scale. :)

I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures. I thought of it beforehand, but got busy and never got my camera out.

We went witht the same theme as Oak Harbor, which was Dinner Theatre.  Swedish meatballs, rice, salad & rolls were on the menu with Tiramisu Toffee Torte for dessert. It was delicious! Josh, Maggie & I manned the kitchen and we had Lilly & Olivia serve. :) It was so cute! They did really well too! We didn't have any mishaps with food spilling or anything which was a blessing considering we had our parents dining at a table in the living room!  Well, there was one plate casualty...Olivia was just about to take a plate of food out when Max's tail swiped the top of it...haha...good thing I saw it happen! After dinner was finished, we did the theatre portion of the evening. We all sang a song together, and Lilly played Mary Had A Little Lamb on the piano! It was alot of fun, and the easiest Sweetheart Banquet I've ever done. ;)

The Big Day

Today was my first day of work at the bakery! It was great!! It's kind of intimidating though learning all these new things and figuring out how they do things. I'm just praying I catch on quickly and meet/exceed their expectations. All I can do is my best, right?!

Today I...

~ washed dishes ("the best way to get to know a new kitchen")

~ swept

~ ate a banana choc chip scone...they want me to try everything so I'm able to recommend things to customers...it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it ;)

~ helped make a scone mix

~ helped make cookie dough

~ watched Joelle (boss) make a cake with a senior that came in to work on his sr project (he's been coming in a few days a week to learn different things)

~ helped shape bread loaves (that was probably the most challenging part of the day...trying to learn how to shape the different kinds of loaves...practice makes perfect)

I think that was about it. I did learn a bit more about the end of the month catering event though! Looks like I'll be in charge of making enough chocolate tortes for 300 people! After doing 15 or so of those I should know how to do it pretty well. :)  They're even going to have me back in the kitchen with them at the event helping plate the tortes with the fancy berry sauce design on the plates! Yesssss!!! It's going to be so much fun!!

Twenty-two...

years ago I lost my status as an only child. *grin*

That's right, today is Josh's birthday! We did the traditional wake up birthday song, had lots of yummy food [I made him biscuits and chocolate gravy (yes, you read that right!) for brunch] and then sent him on a scavenger hunt to find his gifts. The very last clue led him to everyone armed with marshmallows for our first ever marshmallow fight! It was so much fun...we'll definitely be doing it again. [It was so funny to watch Max...almost immediately he started going around the room like a vacuum cleaner sucking up marshmallows. We ended up putting him outside before he went into shock from all the sugar. ;)]

It was a good day, in my opinion at least! The best part of it was that we got to spend his birthday with him! (For those who don't already know, Josh moved here this week!!) It's strange, but SO good to have him home!

Happy Birthday, Josh! Love ya!