Well, that went...

GREAT!

So I was offered and accepted a new job!! The position will allow me to continue working part time for my current employer* (and keep my little client lady) and will hopefully afford me some great opportunities to grow in a career doing something that I love to do!!

What is it??

A chef's position at an assisted living facility!! Kind of a Country Club environment, really. And the head chef that hired me is a super nice, high energy guy who has revitalized their entire system. It's great! Everything (almost) made from scratch - and as he put it "The kitchen is the heart of every home, and above all we want this kitchen to be that here... We come in and have fun every day!! And we serve delicious meals too! What could be better?"

Exactly. Sounds good to me. The kitchen is my happy place after all - and you let me make suggestions and assist with menu planning?? Whoa nellie.... I am IN! And there are some pretty major advancement opportunities to be had as well!!

Seriously - this is a GREAT fit for me. And he was totally willing to work with me around family commitments... How cool is that?? Also - these folks like to eat WELL... No skimpy flavorless over processed dreck for them. Awesome...

Also - and honestly this made me feel really good - he mentioned that all of my references (including present and past employers) told him that if he didn't offer me the job and get me to accept before I left the building he was crazy... Wow. That's pretty nice.

I guess at least somebody likes me. ;)

So I am excited... Really really excited. And quite happy about this. And it's Friday to boot! Just doesn't get any better...

*I currently provide elder care - so it seems like a no brainer to be happy about a job that combines my two stregnths, cooking and caring for seniors!

As the week slides to a close...

There is still just not much going on, really.

And really - I am just fine with that. It is cold and snowing lightly (again) and that will continue to be a pattern.... oh.... until May or so... Just like normal. I am sure we will be having more sub zero days to come as well...

And you know, sub zero temps are nothing to mess with. People can die in this kind of weather! It happens! (Granted - usually to drunk or injured people, but still...) But to those assholes that I just heard the report on who let their dog freeze to death or let their dog freeze to the sidewalk?? - There is a special icy place in hell for you and all those of your ilk. Bastards. You deserve to be publicly horse whipped.

In other news, I have a job interview tomorrow that I am pretty dang excited about. Now I just need to see if it is the kind of position that would work well with my family and all that they require. One can hope...

Computa and Sporta are doing their thing - normal school and tween stuff. It's really kind of nice to be in a rut, of sorts...

Tonight I plan do experiment a little more with puff pastry - I'll let you know how it goes... Oh! And last weekend I made a feisty Derby Pie -

It was fabulous!! Like cookie pie magic - with ice cream!!

Alrighty, then. Time to get to work... What do YOU have going on??

Signs

And good bad or indifferent - that's where I am headed... Maybe I should take a camera...


Heeheeheee!! You know that's true...

And this is pretty dang good advice, really...

Word.

Funny for Friday...

I may be a soft sell today, but it gave me a chuckle. And it's oh so true!!

(Though I am feeling sorry for my friends in Florida the past couple of days - it's really really cold for you guys!! In the morning...)

Which reminds me - when we lived in Jacksonville, folks were telling me all of the time how cold it got there in the winter... And I was thinking it had to be total BS! So I asked a friend (from Saskatoon Canada) who had been living there for some time what the deal was, and as she put it while rolling her eyes... "Rich, sometime in February you will find yourself wearing socks with your birkenstocks - that's about it."

So - from the email bag...

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING...

65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Wisconsin plant gardens.

60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Wisconsin sunbathe.

50 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Wisconsin drive with the windows down.

40 above zero:
Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.
People in Wisconsin throw on a flannel shirt.

35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Wisconsin have the last cookout before it gets cold.

20 above Zero
People in Miami all die.
Wisconsinites close the windows.

Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico .
People in Wisconsin get out their winter coats.

10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Wisconsin are selling cookies door to door.

20 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Wisconsin let the dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Wisconsinites get upset because they can't start the Snow-mobile.

40 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops.
People in Wisconsin start saying...'Cold enough fer ya?'

50 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Wisconsin public schools will open 2 hours late
(Actually - some even close! But still...)

Cue the winter blahs...

They are here - in force. Meh.

It's that stage of the winter when you realize that the snow is just not going away. Not today. Not for months... It will just get dirtier, grayer - and occasionally refreshed with *more* snow. Days are gray too - or if we are so blessed to see some sunshine it just means that the temps are colder than cold. Now with wind! And you find yourself thinking it's sad that you are looking forward to the day because it's supposed to get up to 32 degrees - heat wave!!

Man, I am full of the bah humbugs today aren't I?? I blame sudafed... I have a cold, and while it allows me to breathe sudafed makes me edgy. Because really - what could make the winter blas better than being edgy too!

So what to do?? Beats me...

Chocolate?? I can get on board with that...

Tropical vaccation? Well, gosh! That would be nice - not going to happen though...

Let's just say I totally get why bears hibernate. I would not mind sleeping until mid April - maybe even May!

Spring cannot come soon enough...

Too cute not to share...

Friends...


Awwwwww... But I will tell you - I am not going to get an Elephant for Ms. Molly to play with!! Though it *would* be fun to watch the neighbor's reactions... Heh.

I got Nuthin'...

Seriously.

But no news is good news, right?

Still here...

...just COLD! Farookin' cold! Coldity cold cold cold cold....

And again - nothing much funny or interesting happening. So what the hell, I will steal a meme from RSM.

Five things you will NEVER hear me say...

1) Can I please have horseradish on that?

2) I plan to go brunette!

3) Sure - you can absolutely get a pet tarantula! Spiders are cute!

4) I need a shot of schnapps...

5) It's only five below - you won't need a coat.

And there you go...

Happy Friday! Stay warm!

Effin' COLD!!

A self portrait...
This is me, just coming in after trudging behind the snowblower clearing the driveway (again). I really am *not* as big as the door, but I like to wear that coat because I can wear a fleece pullover and another coat underneath it. It's all about the layers.

At first I skipped the face scarf option thinking that the coats, ear cover, regular scarf, hood and gloves would be enough, but it's cold enough that it hurts to have exposed skin out there. That, and as I was beginning to think - "Man, that wind is painful!!" I remembered the weather guy on TV saying that at these temps exposed skin freezes in about 10 minutes. And this job was going to take more than 10 minutes.

Riiiiight.... I knew that... And I mostly like my face - so voila! Second scarf!

And it's just going to get colder...

Issued by The National Weather Service
Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI
3:41 pm CST, Wed., Jan. 14, 2009

AN ARCTIC HIGH WILL PUSH INTO THE DAKOTAS TONIGHT... SENDING VERY COLD AIR SOUTH INTO THE GREAT LAKES. THIS COLD AIR WILL REMAIN IN PLACE FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. AIR TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT ARE THE COLDEST OBSERVED OVER SOUTHERN WISCONSIN IN 13 YEARS.

LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT ARE EXPECTED TO DROP INTO THE LOW 20S BELOW ZERO OVER MUCH OF SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN... AROUND 18 BELOW OVER SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN... AND AROUND 13 BELOW NEAR THE LAKE. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS BETWEEN 10 TO 20 MPH WILL PRODUCE DANGEROUS WIND CHILL VALUES OF 35 TO 45 BELOW.

HIGH TEMPERATURES ON THURSDAY WILL STRUGGLE TO EVEN REACH 5 BELOW... DESPITE SUNSHINE. CONTINUED GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 20 MPH WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILL VALUES AROUND 30 BELOW THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE DAY.

I think I will stay my happy ass inside for the next while. And think about warmer places...

And somtimes you just *have* to fire up the grill...

Irregardless of the weather...

And really, WxMan was a good sport about having to cook...

And the steaks came out perfectly done! Yum!


Great minds think alike - the feisty Ms. Christina and I were once again on the same page. Heh.

To bad their aren't any leftovers though... Dang that tasted good. Tough act to follow for tonight's fare for sure...

So, I need ideas - what are *you* hungry for??

We need more snow!*

So bigger and better forts can be built!!

And yes - that is a tree behind them. A young tree - granted. Only about seven feet tall...

Note the multi-hoe usage. Makes me nervous, but they insist that it's the best tool for building tunnels...


Fortunately - more snow is on the way!! Whoo!! Bigger fort!

(*So okay, I have not lost my mind - I am trying a little reverse psychology on Mother Nature. We will see how *that* goes, eh??)

Transcending...

And really - the definition of that sisterhood we enjoy with our good girlfriends.



I am blessed to have a few... Thank God for them.

Happy Friday.

I should post something...

But really? Nothing is hitting my radar all that much...

I am avoiding the news. Still cleaning out closets. And basically just getting chores done.

Nothing exciting here...

And really? All things considered?? Boring can be kind of nice sometimes, don't you think?

And so it begins...

The great household purge of 2009!!

Because seriously - we not only have too much shit, we have shit that I don't even know we have. Or where it is, or why we have it. And either we need to get rid of this stuff - or at least have it handy and organized so we can use it.

This is a LOT of stuff - believe me.

So yesterday I began this quest with the storage room in the basement - I still have a little more to do down there but it is far and away better than it was - and now reorganized, I have the space to put things that may need a new home once discovered in the closets upstairs!! Whoo!!

Though I cannot for the life of me get a quote from Apocalypse Now out of my head...



Napalm might be easier, to be honest.

So, if I go missing - toss me a lifeline... Pick a closet, any closet will do...

Last day...

...of farookin' Christmas Vacation!!

Can I get a Whoohoo??

Whoohoo!!

:)

Is it just me??

Or does it feel like Monday all over again??

Yeesh...