Disney Bound

I'm off to my Happy Place tomorrow morning for a long weekend-AND A WEDDING!

One of my best friends, Oriolegal, is getting married!!!!!!!!! I'm ultra excited to be able to share her special day with her and also that I had an excuse to fly to Florida in the midst of school and work.

Please congratulate Oriolegal in comments, and I'll see you all on Monday. (Or Tuesday-I have to work at the Club on Monday)

Jokey Jokes

Have you ever played a joke on someone you were giving a present to? I'm not talking about wrapping lots of boxes and putting them in another box and another and another until you get to a smaller box with the REAL present in it. That's not a joke. That's just annoying.

I'm talking about giving them something else-something awful-before giving them the real gift just so you could see if they really believe that "it's the thought that counts"?

I'm truly enjoy the act of gift giving. I love searching the just the right items, or even for really random fun things that I can stuff in a box and mail off to an unsuspecting person. I love gift wrap-ribbons, tissue, confetti. I love knowing that what I've picked out will (most of the time) be enjoyed by someone I love.

However.

On 2 occasions I've played a joke on people when giving gifts. The first was in college. The second was with my sister.

In college it pretty much went without saying that we didn't have a lot of money. So any gift we got was usually a HUGE deal. One year my friends and I managed to scrape together $50 to buy a gift card for our friend Amanda. This was really HUGE, but to wrap it, it looked small. So I got a big box and put the small card inside.

But it was too light. So I filled it with things from my room: A stapler, Post It Notes, a few cups and a half full jar of peanut butter. I wrapped it up and presented it to her with my other friends.

Upon opening the box, her eyes lit up as she raised the stapler and exclaimed, "I REALLY needed one of these!"

Oh shit. She's going to steal my stapler.

But before I could tell her they were just fillers, she jumped up and down and yelled, "YES! PEANUT BUTTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Apparently, she had just bought Fluff.

I never did get my stapler back, and I went hungry for a couple of weeks.

The other time I did this was to C-Unit-who does not, by any means, have a poker face. Every emotion she feels can easily be read on her face, regardless of whether or not you know her.

The very first year my ex and I had our house, we had Christmas gift exchange by our tree. We didn't have much money and that was well known. C-Unit really wanted a fondue pot, which I got for her.

But along with the fondue pot, I got her a $10 gift card to Stop & Shop-the local grocery store-so that she could buy cheese and garlic.

Intentionally, I laid all of the gifts under the tree tagged with everyone's names-but I left the fondue pot somewhere else, hidden. When it was her turn to open our gift, all she had was the $10 gift card to the grocery store.

"I knew things were tight with you and the baby C-Unit, so I thought it would be good to be able to buy food."

Her face perked up with her, "I'm not going to cry because I hate you right now" look and she thanked me.

She was visibly upset as we all continued opening our gifts so I felt bad. I went into the other room and brought out her true gift, the fondue pot.

Then I got her, "You're such a bitch but I'm going to gorge myself on cheese later so I love you" look.

It was a good Christmas.

The 5 Elements

Yin & Yang
And Fire & Ice
Nothing Says "Error" Like
Getting Burned Twice

Up & Down
And Over & Under
You Can't Move Forward
Without A Few Blunders

Stop & Start
And Try Once Again
Leaning On The Shoulder
Of Your Fair Weather Friends

Hot & Cold
But Don't Overreact
It's True What "They" Say:
Opposites Attract

Wordless Wednesday

Toosdae ?'s

Here are this weeks questions-have fun!

1. Have you ever returned something after you used it? If yes, what was it.

2. Do you believe in monogamous relationships? If no, why?

3. Have you ever solved a real-life problem in a dream?

1. Yes, actually, a lot of things. I've done the wearing a formal dress and returning it the next day thing, but the worst was buying a vacuum, using it, and returning it. (It didn't work very well, and when I returned it, the cashier was very rude so I didn't say anything.)

2. Yes, I do. I think it's just a sign of mutual respect to share your body and life with just one person.

3. I don't think so. Of course, I don't remember most of my dreams, so there is a chance I've found the cure for AIDS but just can't remember...

Ansa's Hea! We Got Yur Ansa's Hea!

If you haven't yet taken my friend quiz located on my sidebar and you want to, stop reading.

These are the much requested RIGHT answers. 8)

1. Where was I born? Tarrytown, NY

2. How old am I? 30
Though I appreciate all of the people who guessed younger. ;)

3. What would I rather snack on? Cheese n Crackers
I don't really care for chocolate-every now and then it's good.

4. What do I want to do after school? Own a catering business

5. What is my most obvious personality trait? I laugh loud and laugh often.
Callie-thank you for choosing the man burp one. THAT made me laugh loud.

6. What instrument do I want to learn to play before I die? The Piano
I already know how to play the flute.

7. What is my most irrational fear? Bald People

8. What trait do I like most on cute boys? Their lips.
Nothin' says "I'm a cute boy" more than succulent lips. And a backwards baseball hat.

9. What is my favorite book of all time? To Kill A Mockinbird
Though all of the books listed are on my favorites list.

10. What moment prompted my mother to say, "Someone better be dead"? When I shut off the lights on the Christmas tree on Main St. USA for Spectro Magic.

**I know #10 gave you a problem. For some reason, no matter what I write there, it gets cut off. Most of you guessed right though.

Thanks for taking my quiz-it was fun!! Claire-you actually got a 90! One of the answers you clicked didn't have an answer chosen by me-and since you were the first one to play, you were my test dummy. So-you DO deserve a badge...but...I can't make 'em. LOL. Sorry.

Manic Monday-Graphic

If you are squeamish, you might not want to continue...what follows is an extremely GRAPHIC picture...
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Yes. It's true. I've got a blister on the finger my knife rests on. It's the price you have to pay for being a new chef.
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When I first started working at the restaurant, my finger developed a blister not unlike the one you see here. It was smaller, but more painful because it popped shortly after it developed. It make chopping very sore. I was told that every good chef has scars, callouses and burns.
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It is true, that I now proudly rub the small callous that sits under the blister. It's a sign that my tool is used accurately and often, and that I work with my hands. Though I've been lucky enough to not have any burns yet, I do sport several small scars on my hands showing where a dull knife scraped my soft skin, or a cans lid nicked a knuckle.
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Being as obsessed as I am about my skin and my hands, you would think that I would hate the things I've just described. But to me, they are badges of honor, of hard work, and a reminder that skills take time to perfect.
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Yes, I am slowly becoming, a professional chef.

Where I Like 2 Eat

I was tagged by Tisha with the eating out meme. These are the rules:


1. Link to the name of the person who tagged you.
2. Include the state and country you’re in.
3. List your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location (locally).
4. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states) and let them know they’ve been tagged.


Here is how I will modify this Meme:

1. I will list my top 5 favorite places to eat anywhere. Why? Because I don't think I have 5 in CT.
2. I will not tag anyone. Why? Because most people hate it.


So, here goes:


1. Bongo's Cuban Cafe located in Lake Buena Vista, FL, Downtown Disney's West Side. This is a wonderful Cuban restaurant with high energy (but not mind blowing), elegant and eclectic decor and extremely hot waiters. Also, their Cuban Mojito's rock. And it's got a big pineapple on the building. How cool is that?


2. Pancho's Backyard, Cozumel Mexico. This is not so much about the food, but the atmosphere. The food was fabulous though-and the Margarita's were great. I had Pollo con Mole sauce, and I don't really like Mole sauce. But everything else was fantastic. AND they have hammocks overlooking the ocean right outside.



3. Bin 228 in Hartford CT. This is a panini and wine bar with a small but delicious menu. It's cozy brick walled interior is lined with benches piled with pillows and the big window that looks out onto the city street is draped with a large velvet curtain that is swept to the side. It's very hip and comfy and is exactly the type of place I like being.

4. Don Pablos, Orlando FL. This is a chain Mexican restaurant in a large open warehouse type space. It is not "authentic" Mexican, but rather the kind of food you get here in America. But their Chicken Flautas rock and I always had a great time when I went with my friends.

5. Cape May Cafe, Walt Disney World. This is one of my favorite places for several reasons. 1. It is in WDW. 2. My friend T and I would go and gorge ourselves about once a month for a girls night. 3. It is a buffet. 4. There are muscles on the buffet. 5. They have a dessert bar with whipped cream and strawberries. 6. The salad bar rocked.

So...I realized that though I'm a chef, I really like a restaurant based on its ambiance, its drinks and its hot waiters. And, of course, the people I went there with...