Reminicing Time

A long time ago (or at least if feels like a long time ago) I met a girl named Julie while working at Chase-Pitkin. Typically I don't get too close to girls, but Julie was a girl I could talk to and get advice from (she is the only person who actually knew who i was dating...since it was against company policy), and she was also someone I could act 5 with. Each week while writing the schedule, I would try to put Julie and I together as much as possible!! HELLO FUN. We would sit up in the rafters and act like 5 year old girls giggling over everything. It was as if Chase-Pitkin was our own personal playground and we got paid for playing. There was always some project that needed to be done, and it just so happened to be better to have two people working on it rather than one. Oh, and it took all day to do it too. Why bust your butt and get it done in two hours when we could spend Julie's entire shift on it?! Seriously people - it was all about having fun rather than work.

Each day we worked together was full of laughter. And on the ceiling on that empty store is "Julie and Kelly were here :)". I miss those days, where your main responsibility was to make sure your orders got in, the shelves were stocked and you gave good customer service. In the midst of all that you had fun. Most everyone got along, and it was just good plain fun. Watching the new people come in and get "broken in" by the veterans - we would always tell them to do something the wrong way and laugh our butts off while they made a fool of themselves. Life couldn't get any better.

As the days went on, Julie and I talked about having a slumber party and watching Disney movies that both had yet to see. That night came...we both got out of work, we rented a couple movies and we to my place. Julie proceeded to tell me that her dad thought I was a lesbo since I invited her over for a sleepover! He didn't believe I had a boyfriend. Our sleepover was a bust. We had both worked all week and neither of us even made it half way through one movie before we were fast asleep. A couple days later, while at the St. John Fisher football game with my boyfriend, Julie happened to be there and so was her father. I grabbed "dickies" hand and ran him over to meet Julie's father. Ya, he didn't buy it. :( And to this day, he knows I am straight, but he calls me the lesbian friend. haha! Gotta love it.

THANKS MR. L! Although, he being the best seafood manager EVER, i need to call him for good fish cooking techniques and recipes.

Thanks for the fun Julie.

Fish

As a child, it is safe to say that fish wasn't a favorite. We can even take that further, fish, if it touched my plate, it took a lot for my parent to get me to even take one bite.

As an adult (if 29 counts for an adult) I have to say I am trying to open up my palate a bit. Fish or seafood is still not something I crave, but little by little more fish is finding it's way to my plate. Tonight I am cooking fish for my very first time. It may not come out well, but at least effort was made. As for seasoning, I went for more heat than zest. After looking at a couple recipes, this is my seasoning:

EVOO on the bottom and lightly over the top of the Tilapia
salt and pepper
little lemon juice (after all this is fish we are talking about)
a mixture of ground red pepper and chili powder
sprinkled on top is crushed red pepper and a bit of garlic.

I may have went a bit crazy with the garlic and the lemon, but you gotta try if you are going to learn! As a side dish, creamed spinach. Thought about serving some rice or noodles with the fish, but I am opting not to. It doesn't seem as if it will fit in well with the spinach.

Cooking is an art...one I enjoy testing my abilities in! My brother my cook for a living, but I love to be in the kitchen just as much creating my own masterpiece. :)

In the frig are some mushrooms - LOVE mushrooms. I am trying to come up with a tasty recipe to put those in. Maybe tomorrow night will be pasta with broccoli and mushrooms on top. Food for though.

Me Again - 4 Topics

One - The Little Family....I LOVE YOU! You crack me up! And are soooo right.

Two - I love my job. Love what I do, love the feelings you get during show set up, show start and end of show. You had a hand in it, no one may know it but you, and it feels great! It is that time in my pre-show prep that I am stress, overwhelmed, frustrated, exhausted...you name it. Everything that is in place changes, things are added - it is the exciting/stressful/exhausting part or show prep. If you look at my right now my cheeks are red, my eyes are puffy - I look H O T T hot! oh yea. This is the time one questions why we do what we do. I even text my dad last night asking him why I do my job. Even I know that answer - the challenge, the feeling you get when you pull it off, the learning curve. But I could sure go for that big bear hug right about now. Thankfully I have the support of my co-workers and bosses - that helps even though it can still be long days.

Three - my dear friend kelly called me last night and we talked for a while. She pointed out a good point - she or my other friend need to pull me from work when i need a break. I don't stop and take a break by myself. Kelly made me realize i need to find my stopping points. I have no idea where to begin in doing that or how to go about it. I keep telling myself that I just need to get through September...but Kelly is right, what happens after September? Food for thought on my end.

Four - (and last) - Bart. Not sure he is big on Phoenix. Last night we camped out in the bathroom until 4am. This is the only room, besides the laundry room, that has no windows. With it been monsoon season, phoenix can have some interesting nights. Bart was terrified last night and the bathroom is seems as shelter from all scary things. Now, i am not one to make fun seeing i am terrified of thunder and lightening. Bart however, is terrified of wind as well. Last night it was lightening and strong wind. Bathroom it was. We are needing to have a "need to leave Phoenix talk" tonight per Bart. I am sure that will go over real well with the person that actually brings home the bacon, not the one that just eats it. :)

Well I am off to sign off at work. Have a good night all.