The Morning Grind

I know...not such an original title for this morning's post.  But come on...it's early.  And I'm talking about my new job.  Which is in a coffee shop.  That grinds its own beans.  Get it?  Grind?  Morning Grind? 

Anyway...

I like my new job--I like seeing people and the coffee shop's manager and I really like tips.  It's fun and fast-paced and the time really does blow by.  It's a bit scary b/c there are a lot of people lined up in a very small space a lot of the time and I don't know what I'm going to do when all of them order lattes and breakfast sandwiches and I'm the only one there trying to get everyone's order right.  It's not exactly high-tech there--the till is broken, the grinder is tempermental, and as my dad would say, there's not even enough room to change  your mind behind the counter, it's so little.  But it should be fun.  I'll get the hang of it, I'm sure.  I'm friendly, which is the big thing.  And my shifts are later in the day, so people hopefully won't be too grumpy.

Plus, a really good-lookin' rancher-type came in twice on Sunday.  I hope he keeps that trend going.

The downside, of course, is that the weekends are no longer my own.  Even though I'm not working that many hours, I'll still have to be there.  That'll be ok for the winter, but is definitely not going to work next summer.  So, I have until then to get a better-paying job.

As to that, I made the cert for a promotion here in the park.  The job's not mine yet, but that was a big obstacle!  Everyone cross your fingers, toes, eyes, and whatever else you got and send lots of prayers.

I spoke with Donna Cammack last night for a bit.  She's such a nice lady and made me homesick for the ranch.  She called to thank me for the gift Jessi, Emily, and I sent her after she made us the fabulous dinner last month.  She is always so happy and I asked her if she got up every morning and just looked for ways to make the day fun.  She replied that when she was first married, and there were negative people around, she decided that by heaven, she'd be  happy no matter what.  So, just out of sheer cussedness and determination, she's been happy ever since.  I like that.  I like that a lot.  She got me all caught up on community and family gossip, which I also liked a lot.

Ok.  Guess I'll go work now.  Gotta earn that promotion!

Catching Up

Last week was crazy.  I mean, really crazy.  I had an 80-hour work week in the Park and then started my second job at Coffee Crossing, which is right next to the movie theatre in Livingston.  More on that another time.

The Saturday before last, Amanda and I cooked for an entire day to get some meals in the freezer.  We pooled our supplies and grocery shopped for what we didn't have.  We ended up buying about $35 worth of food and made 10 recipes.

We made:
Chicken in Red Wine Sauce
Spinach Cakes
Peach sauce for ice cream
Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Creamy White Chili
Elk and Beef Red Chili
Turkey and Bean Stew
Meatloaf
Thai Chicken
Pork in Enchilada Sauce

My freezer is packed!  I am so stoked, although I forgot to bring something for lunch today except for some hummus and red peppers and nuts.  Dangit!

But it was a lot of fun to cook so much and it's great to look in the freezer and feel stocked up for winter.  Even though it's been in the upper 80s here all last week and weekend.  What is UP with the weather?!