Update on my Birthday

Thirty-seven!!! Wooo hooo!!! Made it...another hurdle I soared right over! What an awesome birthday it was! I giggle at all those people who question why I get so excited over my birthday and why I wouldn't take it off and just have a 'me' day. Everybody awes at how much attention I get, they think it's cuz I'm such a nice person and that everyone must love me! I giggle cuz they still haven't figured it out! If you remind people incessantly about your birthday, make a big deal about it yourself, everyone else will follow - it must be a big day otherwise why would there be so much hubbabaloo?!! I think I just made that word up! But I'm not gonna tell them all...I'm selfish, I'm gonna keep celebrating my special day and sucker you all in to do the same!!! By the way - thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Who wouldn't love celebrating their birthday when they have so many wonderful people in their life to make a big deal about little ol' me!?!

So let's begin! I came into work and Sally bought me a Tim's coffee and cinnamon for breakfast! Mmmmm...oh oops, that's not the first thing. Ticia dropped by the day before to give me my card since we wouldn't see each other on my birthday and she secretly stashed a Starbuck's card in it for me (already lowered the balance on that one!). Ok...now it's my birthday and Sally bought me a Tim's coffee and cinnamon bun for breakfast! She gave me a birthday card with a Michael's gift card secretly stowed away in it! Wooohoo...shopping spree at Michael's!!! I had singing voicemails, cards galore, Debbie gave me bright orange gerberas to brighten my day...oh hold on...I forgot to mention drinks on the patio at the Courtyard Mariott Hotel downtown with my lovely ladies! Margaritas and snacks in the sun...even a sunburn to remember it all by! Francis and Sally took me out for lunch to The Free Press downtown! Mmmm, they have the best homemade potato chips in the city! Back to the office for a little work and then who should pop by with a carrot cake with cream cheese icing made by his wonderful wife for little ol' me?!! Kevin! Yummmm!!! Bobbi Lynn and Ethan made a special trip in for my birthday...or was it for the cake? Hmmmm...does it matter now? Ha! Then a little more work and what? More cake?! The office celebrated with yet another birthday cake! Oh my! What a great day...and tell me - why would I use up a vacation day and miss all that?! I even got parcels in the mail! Some birthday goodies from Ireland and my lovely lady, Ryn, she spoiled me with cupcake paraphenalia! A cupcake wallet, cupcake mints and even cupcake lip balm! So cute! Bruce's aunt had mailed me a card with some lottery tickets in it, unfortunately I can't retire just yet! His sister sent a card from Spain with a little spending money! Woohoo.

Alright, now the big surprise of the day...not like that wasn't enough but now I have to share with you what Bruce has been hiding up his sleeve! When he got home from work he told me to be ready by 6:30 - not casual but no dressy, somewhere in between! Alright...intrigued. He took me to '100', the newest restaurant in the Delux chain. It's on the corner of Rice Howard Way across from the Westin Hotel. So cool - it didn't seem like an Edmonton restaurant. Very funky inside. The hostess sat us at our table and our waitress came by with some champagne, "a little something special to start the evening"!


We ordered an appetizer and our entrees. As we were taking it all in, this guy from the kitchen came out to tell us that the chef was preparing a "mise en bouche" or a pre-starter and that our chicken skewers would be pushed back. Well, special treatment I see. The executive chef, Paul Schufelt, came out himself to deliver this wonderful treat from the kitchen. It was Kobe beef with goat cheese and spinach in the middle on top of fingerling potatoes with a demi glaze on the side. So yummy! After we had indulged in the special dish that you can't even find on the menu, Paul came out with our porcupine chicken satays and explained how the dish was prepared. Soooo good. By the time we finished that dish we were both pretty happy but hold on, here comes Paul again, this time with my free range chicken and Bruce's AAA Tenderloin! Let me just tell you now, the two of us were there for just over three hours so it wasn't like we were horking down food! We put in a valiant effort to finish our meals, however we came up short. As we were taking it all in and revelling in all the fantastic flavours of the evening, Paul came down the stairs to tell us that dessert was on it's way, which we hadn't ordered, and that he'd like us to enjoy a chocolate martini in the mean time! We both had a martini glass drizzled with chocolate, a dollop of chocolate on the bottom of the glass in which they secured a small sprig of mint. Neither Bruce or I are big martini fans but somehow that chocolate martini grabbed our attention! Mmmmmm. Now that would've been a perfect finish to the most delicious meal we've ever had the privilege of eating but hold on...there's more! Paul came down with the dessert - a large square plate with 'Happy Birthday Sarah' drizzled in chocolate, two espresso cups with chocolate semi-freddo, two cinnamon churros with vanilla bean sauce and a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing! Holy Doodle! As much as our stomachs were telling us not to, we tasted it all! So rich, so decadent and so not able to do it! We took our time and picked at it all, tasting all the sweetness it had to offer! Paul came back to check on us and I told him that I thought I made a kick ass cupcake but his was absolutely fantastic! He smiled and turned to Bruce and said, "Can I tell her now?! I'm so nervous!" WTF??? What is going on???? Paul told me that Bruce had arranged for he and I to work together for a couple of days on some catering jobs so that he could work with me and teach me some tricks and have some fun together! Me - working with an executive chef - ME!!! Bruce had told him about my short time at NAIT and that it wasn't for me at that time but that he can see I'm obviously still interested in it and wanted me to have the opportunity to see it from an executive chef's world! Isn't that totally awesome?!!! And then Bruce had to top it off with a chef's coat that I will have to get altered and my name embroidered on it! Best husband in the world and I'm so very happy that he's mine!

Day two of my birthday (yes it lasts for more than one day), Bruce's parents took us to the Cactus Club Cafe for dinner. Had the pistachio encrusted halibut with brown rice, asparagus and red curry sauce. Fabulous! Then we went back to their place for some dessert and what, more gifts??? Yup, got myself a new bottle of 'Beyond Paradise' perfume, some Estee Lauder gifts with purchase and some birthday cash! Wow! I seem to be cleaning up on this one!


Finally, day three of my birthday we me my parents at the southside Mikado for dinner! Yup, you got it! I think I've forgotten how to cook! Tonight should be interesting, we have no dinner plans, what to do? What to do? We ordered so many yummy dishes and ate our way through our tatami room! Dragon eyes, spinach gomae, edamame beans, karokke, sashimi, beef yakiniku, alaskan roll, oh my! And don't forget the Kirin beer! So full! Another fun birthday card with a little more spending money! Kathy and the boys gave me a cake pan, but not any ordinary cake pan, it makes six ice cream cone-like cakes! Very cute!



I hope I'm not forgetting to share anything...I know it's a lot to take in! Thanks for sticking it out with me! Now you all understand why my birthday is so special to me! You all make it that way! For some reason I've been truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life and I love you all. Thank you!!! Only 362 days till my 38th!!! Woohooo!

Why? Part 1

It's been awhile since I've blogged...I realize that...but why? There seems to be so much going on that I could be super busy, too busy to blog...but I'm not. Well, I am busy, but not too busy. Maybe I haven't blogged cuz my computer's been down, but it wasn't. Yeah, I don't know the reason for sure, it could be cuz I don't want to spend any time thinking and analyzing all the stupid stuff in a day. That's probably the best answer to why I haven't blogged so much lately. Let's see...I've been busy but what would be interesting to you? Ummm....

Well, I guess the 'biggest' news is that my manager moved on to another ministry! Wooohoo! But I don't want to waste my breath, or more accurately, blister my fingertips, by writing about her.

I've had a few orders for cakes and cupcakes in the last little while. I like how my baking makes people happy...you never see anyone frown when you give them a cupcake - there's always a great big smile. That makes me happy. I experimented with some icings and have a yummy chocolate one but Bruce's favourite, and I think mine now too, is a cream cheese icing! Next I'm gonna start experimenting with fondant icing...just a little something different.

Father's Day was yesterday. Had breakfast with my dad and dinner with Bruce's. You'd think dads would be tired from all the excitement and attention...but I'm tired! Why?

I have plenty more to chat about but I have run out of steam and need to put my weary head down to rest so that I may continue tomorrow...but this is a start! Zzzzz...

My Weekend

Some of you aren't coming around so regularly anymore - you know who you are so there needs to be some sort of update on some things that will concern you in the future. That's right, there's been some changes at work. They've hired a new girl to fill the maternity leave position. Apparently she starts on June 22nd but only comes in once a week for awhile??? Yeah, not too sure about that but I'm sure we'll get more details at the staff meeting this week! You know the staff meeting that was supposed to be held on the 1st! Oh, one more staffing change. The humming wonder has given her two weeks notice and her last day is June 22nd! Moving on to greener pastures, or just a different shitty one... but she's moving nonetheless. You would think that they'd have asked me to act in the position until someone is permanently hired. But just like with the maternity leave, nothing has been said about it, there's been no conversation around it...just turn your head and look away as if it doesn't exist! In any event...they've already posted the position and nobody mentioned it to me. Hmmm...WTF?!! Anyway, we'll wait to see what is said at the staff meeting.

I found the best store - my new favourite! The Wilton cake decorating store! You read right - cake decorating store! Good God! Bruce and I walked through the door at 1:38 on Saturday afternoon. It closes at 2 on the weekend! Yikes! We raced through the aisles, well more like I raced through the aisles. I at least wanted to see everything that they had in stock before we had to leave. It's like heaven on earth, so much fun! I'm sure I will go back over and over again! Wow!

We went to a movie and dinner with friends of ours on Saturday. We saw 'The Hangover' and I have to tell you it was the funniest movie ever! I laughed throughout the entire movie; actually Bruce said that I was slapping my knees and snorting a lot! Always a good sign that good times were had! Krista and I were crying we were laughing so hard! Definately not a movie for your parents though. Afterwards we went to the Cactus Club Cafe for dinner! My new favourite restaurant! I had the pan seared scallops over butternut squash ravioli - it was so good I didn't want it to end and Bruce had the pistachio crusted halibut over asparagus and white rice with a red curry sauce...tasted like candy! For dessert the four of us split the chocolate peanut butter bar as we were all pretty full but it sounded so good we couldn't resist! I'm glad we ordered just one as it's super duper rich but so sinful! The perfect ending to a perfect meal. We'll be back. Maybe in 11 days. You know what that is don't you?!!

Well it's after 10 o'clock my friends and this little nugget is tired. Until next time...

Sunday's Ramblings

The weirdest thought crossed my mind while listening to the radio last week. I wonder if all the logical sentences in the English language have been spoken already and we're all just repeating stuff that someone else has said in the past. I know, it's weird but remember my drive into work is a little monotonous - you have to find something to pass the time!

Let's talk about the weather we've had so far in the month of June! C'mon! Where the heck is summer?!! I am wearing socks, a long sleeved t-shirt, jeans and a hoodie - in the house! We refuse to turn on the furnace; it's a matter of principle! I tried warming up this afternoon by baking banana bread. I figured if I hung out around a 350-degree oven that I may feel cozy again! I'm so glad we spent money on flowers! I can see them fighting with all they've got! Which isn't a whole lot since they really haven't had a fighting chance this year! C'mon!

Bruce and I loaded up the Escape with lots of stuff we've been storing in our basement for the past six years and took it to the Big Bin Event held by the city. They take everything except hazardous materials (e.g., paint and chemicals) for free. All you have to do is, well bring your unwanted stuff to the set location - there was a list in the Examiner a couple months back - wait in line (it's open from 9-5 but we didn't get there until 11 and we waited about 25 minutes), back up to the next available trash bin and unload your stuff. They had people there helping you unload and it was super organized! There was an area for tvs, one for computer monitors, one for printers, a place for fridges, and one for electrical appliances. Whatever doesn't sort into those categories goes in a big bin. Once a bin is full, it's loaded onto a truck and hauled away. All for free! I think that's a fabulous idea. And I feel so much lighter getting that stuff out of the house!

I'm off to make some dinner and plan the menu for this week! Wish me luck!

Lesson Learned

I understand why gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins! Where food is routinely plentiful, it may be considered a sign of self-control to resist the temptation to over-indulge. Today, I did not have the self control to resist pizza, chocolate cake and ice cream! Disgusting, I know!!! I was gluttonous! No reason for it, I just kept going! Can I justify this? Let me try. If you keep depriving yourself of things you crave, you will eventually fall off the wagon and give in to temptation all the time. But I did indulged in front of friends, with some but just in front of others. How's that ok? Well, if I did this in private, hiding out in my pantry and throwing the evidence away before Bruce could see it then it would be truly gluttonous but I was weak in the company of friends. They witnessed it, some even chose to comment on it over and over and over!!! (That did a lot of good for my ego). In any event, they were party to my weakness. Yeah, it's not working, is it? Oh well, tomorrow's a new day.