Surprises

And so it would be--- a couple Call-Ins who are sick would throw a wrench in my upcoming evening of endless cocktails and jingle jangling.

Tonight I will be wearing sneakers, jeans, a tee shirt, and a chef's knife. To the heat of the kitchen!

Lobster and steaks. Prawns and garlic butter.

And ohhh the champagne :o)

I make a fast wardrobe change...and the clock strikes midnight.

New Year's Eve Day

Well..after nearly consuming $30 worth of Caribou in 24 hours yesterday I have returned back to Decorah. It was a super fun weekend.

In fear of getting snowed in, I woke up @ 6 AM and got on the road shortly thereafter....Eesh.

I anticipate a very busy New Year's Eve behind the bar...and hopefully a profitable night!

Have A Driver!!! :o)

goodnight---I'm cashing in.

Cleansed!

How can it be summed up? Only one way:

Wonderful!

I needed this break so badly. SO badly. A MONDAY, without work!?!?!?!? COMPLETELY FREE.

It was glorious. Really. I spent it holding a 5 and a half week old baby *(SOOO beautiful), eating (multiple times, and always in great company) shopping, commuting (Which I have this super quirky satisfaction from....City driving...I don't know why, but I LOVE IT!!!!), and catching up.

My "Christmas Vacation" up here in the TC area has reminded me of who's important in my life. Good people. Honest people. Loving people. Joyful people. Connected people. Adventurous people. Brave people. Entertaining people.

It makes me realize how much I miss them, and how incomplete my life in Decorah presently is. These are people that I need in my life. That I love and cheerish and admire.....that I will give much more efffort in communication with. Today, tonight, this mini-adventure-----it's been the perfect timing, the perfect reminder, the perfect cleansing interaction that I have needed and wanted for a very long time.

Safe travels to the bold, beautiful, and beloved.

Oh Sunday---What a day...

Mmmkay. Cut to the chase:

I woke up quite early this morning---Brunch shift @ the 'Yat. LONG day. Where do all these people COME FROM?!?!? And WHY does everyone have to eat between 11:31 and 12:13 ???? WOW.

I lived--it actually wasn't that painful at all. What was and is painful---this ginormous burn that extends the circumference of my right arm from the wrist and lower palm to my elbow. If you could see the blisters.....mmm photo booth tomorrow. Note to Self. The color is...a site.

I feel hot. I'm going with a 2nd degree burn. The Minimalist Story approach:

Soak sink. Suds on top. The drain 18 inches below the surface. 1 sterile glove and ninja reflexes that weren't nearly ninja-y enough....

the wise cook would have grabbed an empty 1/2 gallon container and simply removed hot water until the drain could be reached with tongs, perhaps even running cold water when there was only 5 or 6 inches of water left.

Obviously my brain was clipping along at a bit faster pace than my common sense.
I was tailed by a psycho-path from Zumbrota to I-494. I got to Jordan and Jeanette's house. A brief Christmas was had (minus Jeanette who was @ work) in which a bottle of gin and some books were passed from one set of hands to another. A short trip to Houlihan's ensued followed by catching up, NFL follies, and cook talk.

Cook talk with Jordan is great. Our restaurant of the future will be a Ring-A-Ding-Dinger...promise.

Home Alone

Home alone with Gracie tonight... excellent.

Movies, books, couch...blankets..dog on my lap...

a Breakfast/Brunch shift early in the AM and a Road Trip to the center of the universe.....Minneapolis.

So quiet. So nice.

Miracles

I love Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

I think there are some flaws with the show, but I think it's important to see the side of America that the show portrays. Sides, actually.

The side that literally lives day to day "right down the street." The side that scrapes by, works late [everyday], shops @ the Thrift store and local food pantry because it's cheaper--and there are 10 mouths to feed, mortgage and bills to be paid each month... The side of America we feel uncomfortable watching and reading about on t.v. The side, that while we may acknowledge exists, we seldom take the time, action or thought to engage and interact with. The side we prefer to keep at a distant gaze rather than arm's reach.

And then there's another side of America that we can watch in each episode. The side of America that remembers. The side that is willing to be stupid and goofy on camera in effort to bring a smile and a laugh to a face that's forgotten how to. The side of America that refuses to settle into the comfy spectator's cushion of the upper middle class. The side that acknowledges circumstance, and is slow to judgment. A side of America that values families, community, education, safety, faith, and opportunity, and Living Alive [as opposed to "just living"]. The side that chooses to give themselves when they have no money, no resources, no materials to donate or offer up instead. The side of America, that consciously chooses to make one person's Miracle--a living, breathing, connected reality.

Volunteering. 2009 New Year's Resolution.

What side of America do you want to be on?

December 25th

Ahhh! So nice :o)

Few things top traditional Felde/Steele Family Fondu on Christmas Eve, opening presents to Classic Holiday tunes on Minnesota Public Radio 89.5 F.M, and a joint Christmas Day Feast @ the Bril's house....

SO FULL. So content. A movie and a nap here and there...a book [one of many!] and a blanket...

a dog on my lap :o) Merry Christmas.

Best part-----> more Christmas to come this weekend...aiiiyyye!