"Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it." Anonymous

Nobody Said Life Was Fair

John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men. " A lot of the time, this is true. Nobody said life was fair - if you're lucky enough to land in a spot of authority you'll savour the rewards even if they aren't warranted. Sad that I'm reminded of that way too often.

Enough Already!

Ok, so I haven't blogged since September. So? Have you?! Seriously though, I'm not gonna try to make up excuses that I'm super busy (but I am) or that I've been away (but I was), I'm just gonna say that I didn't want to. Is that what you want to hear? Really?!

So what have I been up to then? Well, let's see. I registered in a leadership program through work. I'm gonna be honest here, I did it because I thought it would look good and it's what management would want to see...go through the maze, find the itty bits of cheese and get to the end. Well to my surprise I'm getting lots out of it but it's a flippin' ton of work! It's not like I'm not busy enough at work these days but then I have to go home, read my text book and do homework assignments. And it's not like you can get lazy about it either cuz it's way too easy to fall behind! I've also been putting in a lot of overtime at work trying to get the business plan perfect before it goes to the Minister, evenings, weekends...funny, I don't see anyone else from my area though...

I also started a photography course at Metro college. It's only for a month, three hours on Thursdays and whaddaya know? It's got homework too!

I'm sure you've all heard that I won't be doing the Legislative Assembly craft sale this year after all. They had apparently sent out information packages back in September. Well, when I realized I didn't know what to expect for Dec. 2nd and 3rd I called the office. They said that they hadn't heard from me and that's when they told me they sent packages out in September. Anyway to make a long story short, I asked if there were still tables available to which she said, "As of today? We have no tables." At first I was all disappointed but this weekend I baked up a batch of cupcakes for a girlfriend's daughter and I couldn't get myself organized and that was only for 24 cupcakes! Yikes...dodged a bullet when I think about it now!

Now it's time to think about the holidays...really??? I'm so not there yet but I guess time doesn't slow down just cuz you're not ready for stuff! Have to decide about parties, presents, when to have Christmas dinner and where. I'm just not feeling it yet. Maybe I should start rehearsing a little jingle for getting me into the Christmas spirit, "Mom made beans for dinner..." La la la...

Nothing Imparticular

I have no chosen topic for this blog but I noticed I haven't blogged since the 21st of September and people have started to comment. Who knew there were people out there who's excitement depends on me blogging!? Who knew?! Let's see...September - oh yeah, BLINK! And it's gone. What the heck?! It went so fast. And we're almost half way through October already. How do you slow this thing down...is there a pause button...slow mo maybe???

This past weekend was busy. Bruce and I threw a surprise 50th anniversary dinner party for his parents on Saturday at Lux downtown. It was nice, tasty and well let's just say we're enjoying some air miles!

Sunday we decided to take in an afternoon matinee. We saw "Couples Retreat" with Vince Vaughn...so glad we used a gift certificate. It's one of those movies that shows all the funny bits in the trailer and then there's nothing left when you sit through it. It wasn't very funny at all. But there was popcorn!

Monday my parents had us and Bruce's parents over for Thanksgiving dinner. You all know it's almost impossible having dinner with family without some alcohol of sorts. Wine was plentiful! My brother is in from Vancouver and he was in fine form...his form, so at least I knew what to expect. Bruce and I ended up cleaning up after dinner while our parents chatted about travelling and going through photos of the Clarkes recent trip to Spain and Ireland. My brother...well he disappeared somewhere upstairs so leftovers were packaged, dishes were put away and pots and pans were scrubbed. To end Thanksgiving, my pumpkin pie - that's right, pastry turkeys!

I will leave you with this...Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Guest Chef - Day Two

Friday was my second day of being a guest chef with Century Grill. What a day it was! Busy right from the beginning. Chef had me making fruit skewers, I KNOW! Fruit skewers, who could have guessed that I would be doing that?! Talk about being a leader, if Chef Shufelt could convince me that I could make fruit skewers and that I'd want to make fruit skewers, well he's truly inspiring! And if I do say so myself, I looked pretty sharp making them!


I learned how to make and wrap spring rolls...not as easy as it sounds. But then again, my bed making skills always lacked a little. Bed making skills? What does that have to do with anything in the kitchen?! Let me tell you, wrapping a spring roll is very much like making your bed, the sheets need to be tight around the mattress and you need to make your corners precise and tight! I made beggars' purses with brie and mango chutney, chicken skewers, tuna cucumber crudities, and marinated striploin steaks! All before 5 pm. Then it was time to pack the truck and off to the event. The couple that hosted the event live in 10,000 square feet of fancy condo space on Saskatchewan Drive! You read right - 10,000 square feet! For the two of them! They owned the top two floors of the condo building. Two kitchens, enough said. We got there, set up, prepped the last of the food and started on the grill. I think Thursday was the funner day of the two as Friday night, there was a lot of standing around - think about it, you've already made everything and people are enjoying it, all you have to do is make sure when something gets low, you replenish it. Following is what was served Friday night, the efforts of a lot of preparation but also a lot of learning:

• Cheese board
• Vegetable platter
• Sundried tomato dip
• 5-onion dip
• Tuna cucumber crudities
• Beggars' purses
• Spring rolls
• Chicken skewers
• Potato salad
• Waldorf salad
• Century Grill salad
• Pasta Salad
• Heirloom Tomoto Salad
• Grilled Atlantic Salmon
• Grilled Striploin Steaks
• Fruit kebabs

I had such a fabulous time in those two days, it's almost indescribable. Worked hard but it was so satisfying. I got a glimpse into a world I don't think a lot of people ever get the opportunity to see. I witnessed a different kind of work ethic, one where people were proud of what they produced and one where those in charge wouldn't accept anything less than the best. If there was a mistake, you were called on it and told it was unacceptable and better not happen again, and you answered, "Yes, Chef" with full respect. There was a lot of respect in that kitchen. It was a tight group. It was refreshing to see. It almost made me reconsider my career...if only there wasn't that huge cut in pay! But sometimes money isn't everything!

Guest Chef

I'm back from day one of my fabulous birthday gift! I spent the day with Paul Shufelt, Corporate Chef of Century Hospitality Group, at the kitchen at Century Grill. It was a long day but I learned so much in that time! It was all prep work for tomorrow night when we're going to cater a party for 65-70 people - nobody famous I'm afraid but apparently their condo is on Saskatchewan Drive and it has a 360-degree view of the city! I start the day tomorrow at 2pm and will be done around 10:30 or so! Good God! But as I finished up today I was presented with my own Century Group black chef's jacket with my name embroidered on it! So fabulous...kinda swims on me but I'll get it altered eventually. What'd I do today? Chopped. Chopped a lot! Peppers, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, grapes, apples, sundried tomatoes. Learned how to hard boil eggs, peel them and a quick way of 'chopping' them into a salad. I zested and juiced lemons. I made a lemon tarragon vinaigrette. We made a sundried tomato dip and an onion dip. I learned how to filet salmon and portion it out. Tomorrow we'll make the Century Salad, prepare a cheese board, a vegetable platter, fruit kebabs (yay! looking forward to that one!), marinate steaks, load the truck up and head on over to the event. Paul said he'll even have me grilling a little bit tomorrow! So cool! Didn't take any pictures today...too busy but perhaps tomorrow. So tired - have to sleep now! I'm sure I'll have more stories to share from day two!

Yikes!

So I'm driving home from boot camp yesterday, feeling really strong, nothing can touch me when all of a sudden this weird sound...something flapping, chirping, dunno what it is and then out of the corner of my eye I see this huge thing comin' for me!!! Remember, it's after boot camp so all my windows are open, anything could fly on in my car. It had to be the biggest grasshopper I've seen in my life! Ugly thing too! So I'm driving, whacking this thing away from me and praying I don't get in an accident. I'm thinking of a spot I can pull over to free it from my car when it settles down and sits on my passenger's door. It's calm, I don't have to stop if it sits still. So I decide to keep going. I get to a red light and think what do I have that would be long enough to reach this guy so I can scoot him out the window. My arm isn't even long enough to reach over and get him, not that I'd want to touch him anyway. There's nothing there. Hmmm, I wonder if there's anything in my glove compartment...I slowly inch towards it, trying not to startle Mr. Grasshopper and lo and behold, I have a Swiffer duster in there! One can't be too clean in their car! And never mind - it came in handy yesterday getting that little bugger outta my car. You should always be prepared...you never know when you're gonna have to use your Swiffer duster or where!