Food!

May 30th
This could be a continuation of the blog about my mom and her delicious cake.
Since we couldn't go anywhere this holiday weekend because Brand had to work, we got a little day visit from the in-laws. And did they ever come bearing gifts! Brand's parents also like to take care of us in the sneaky way that parents do. They always send us home with a lot of food and always bring a lot of food. If they're not bringing us food they're taking us out.
Well not only did they bring food (LOTS of food) but they brought us a BBQer! They got it for pretty cheap and thought we needed one.
So we grilled it up today and the rain decided to hold off for at least one day so it was nice :) We had grilled steaks (Brand is a grillmaster so those steaks were cooked to perfection), potato salad, mac salad, fruit salad, baked beans, and bread. All washed down with some yummy rootbeer. We had coke but something about Rootbeer seems more BBQey to me.
Brand's mom also thought we should have some pretty flowers on our deck so we were able to make it a little prettier :)

Not a bad day at all :)

I dreamed a dream...a krispy, treaty dream

May 29th
Have you ever had something in your dream that when you woke up you just really, really wanted it? I've had it with clothes, babies, cars, jobs, celebrity friends, and mostly FOOD! I dream all the time about eating cupcakes, french fries, chocolate, etc. It is one of the most depressing things in reality is waking up and realizing it was all a dream.
The other night I had a dream I was eating Rice Krispie treat cereal straight from the box. I had not had this cereal since my trip to Coos Bay, OR with mom, dad, and Stephen (at this point Julie and Josh were too cool for family vacations...:-P) Stephen and I made up our handshake in the back of the Aerostar van and ate dry cereal to no end! So the fact that this ended up in my dream was quite a mystery. I woke up with one hand near my mouth as if it was holding something, and the other one by my side also with the same semi-fist.
I had to have those Rice Krispie treat cereal! But I didn't know if they still made them. I googled it and found a Kellogg product locator. You put in the product and then your zip code and VOILA they tell you where to go. Apparently only the Wal-Marts in my area carry it so I'm glad I just didn't hop in the car and head to my closest Safeway.
But I did get it. And it was even better than I remembered! And it got better as I took my spoonful with milk and it just kind of melts in your mouth.
I may have to fit this into my regular cereal rotation because dang..this stuff is good :)

Wedding season!

Wedding season has begun! We went to our first wedding of the season (and first wedding after our own) on May 28th. My coworker was getting married after quite the little quick love story. She had grown up in Cheney all her life (for those non-Washingtonians..that's where I lived for four years while going to EWU). She was homeschooled so she didn't go to the local high school but made friends at her church. Quick sidenote..she is proof that not all homeschoolers end up weird and antisocial..this girl is great! In the summer of 2008, she was accepted as an intern to a senior center in Ireland. So off she went! She is also the reason I have my job because I was offered it the day she told our boss she was leaving. While in Ireland, Jameson, a friend of her best friend Becca, had emailed Becca via facebook to see if she could hook him up with her "very good looking" friend Kalen. Becca had to inform him that she would love to but Kalen was in Ireland. But that didn't stop him, he got the courage to email her on facebook and they continued to write Facebook letters and real life letters back and forth. When she came home for Christmas they finally met up and started to date! He then visited her in Ireland and she came back that summer (and back to us at Meals on Wheels with a new position!) In February they were engaged and then married! They're quite a sweet couple and I know that may have bored you reading about someone you don't know but it's a pretty great example of how someone's courage changed their lives. And how sometimes you have to travel around the world to see the beauty in your backyard :) I was happy to attend her wedding and since I had known her long before we worked together, it was great seeing a girl who works so hard for everything and does it with a smile on her face and humility in her heart, get everything she deserved :)
I did take a pic of their first kiss but it was crappy..so here's a so-so pic of me and a great pic of Brand at the reception.

We should've had the kazoos in our mouths! Those were the favors :)
Well just two more weddings to go!

Strawberry Shortcake

I was asked to bake 24 servings of strawberry shortcake for a co-worker's wedding. She knew I'd like to bake so I said yes of course! This is the first wedding after Brand and I have gotten married so I felt especially sympathetic to her. I knew the feat she had before her (and she did it in less than 3 months!) so I was more than happy to help out in a little way. Plus, it was fun! I had never made shortcake before and have never had to knead. I called my mom and talked to her and my aunt to make sure I was doing it right and they seemed to agree I was doing fine. Turns out I was doing it right because it came out pretty yummy! And not burnt...yay!

I guess you never stop being a mom :)

Mom visits are the best. When she comes she spoils us instead of us spoiling her. When someone visits isn't it the host's job to spoil the guest? Well mom's are a different breeds...dads are too though. They want to help and spoil their child. I guess I can understand that. Especially when you don't live near them. They want to take that time that they have with you to use their natural parental instinct to take care of you. And my mom does a good job of that.
She visited us again for a couple nights because she had some work to do in Coeur d'alene. First she took us to Olive Garden and then on her last night here she cooked us chicken, potatoes, and baked us a yummy Jell-o Poke cake.
We had a great time and seeing her always makes me miss her more when she leaves. But at least I still have her yummy treats :)

You can't have a celebration without ice cream

Today was a day to celebrate. After all the tension at work yesterday, which got even thicker today, I've been rewarded for the hard work I've been doing. I've taken on more responsibilities at work (may be permanent may be temporary but either way I'm celebrating it). These extra responsibilities mean 10 extra hours a week which bumps me up to full-time. So not only will I be working more which means more money, but I am now eligible for medical coverage which means one less bill to pay. Such a  relief! Like I said it may be temporary, only because I've taken the responsibilities of someone else's job and I'm just not getting my hopes up that that will be permanent. If it becomes permanent I'll talk more about it.
The great thing about this comes when the co-worker I talked about yesterday continue to demean and disrespect me. Today she asked me out of the blue as she comes into my office to cut paper "Is this your first job out of college Allison?" I say "yes why?" and in her oh-so transparent and immature way she says "Just curious". My fellow office-mates were astonished and shocked that someone says something like that. And it's not just me it's to a lot of the others. The blatant disrespect and condescension that comes from her mouth will be shut off when my boss breaks to her that I have been entrusted with even more responsibility because I deserve it and have earned it. That's why I'm celebrating tonight. Because I've earned more responsibility and respect than she'll ever get in this office.
I decided I wanted to celebrate with some ice cream. So that's just what me and Brand did :)

I think Brand purposely did those crazy eyes haha.
So I'm excited to take on a new challenge and see how I can deal with doing two jobs. I think it'll be fun and stressful of course but fun too.
Wish me luck!

One word..YUM!

My mom was back in town for one night and will be returning in a couple more nights, and left us with some great parting gifts. Not only did she bring lots of towels for us, but she left us some yummy bread, bananas, and leftovers from Olive Garden. She also treated me to Glee volume 3 soundtrack and the Power of Madonna soundtrack from the Glee episode of the same name. Let's just say I've already horribly belted out "I Dreamed A Dream" 4 times...man can those ladies sing!
But she also left us with some strawberries...yay!
We decided to dip them in chocolate frosting and it was quite delicious. I unknowingly dipped mine and made a pretty little strawberry chocolate swirl. I had to capture the lovely goodness..

Maybe I should get into the chocolating business :)
Oh and this is definitely a nice treat after a horrible case of the Mondays. Really work wasn't bad because it was Monday, but because a long culminating event happened where I had to defend my actions of being "snotty" to a coworker who continually uses and walks all over me. Sometimes being nice only threads the beautiful threads of a nice rug for everyone to say oh how nice that is and then take their cheap ugly shoes and trample over it without a second's thought. And sometimes when you realize that being nice is only enabling laziness and dependence, you have to put up that wall to protect yourself and your dignity. I only have 25 hours a week to do a job that could quickly fill up 40, I do not have time to do anybody else's job. I have also quickly learned that people do not grow up. People don't really mature. We just get better on covering up our immaturity. It's okay to be immature at times, but when it comes to a job to be done and responsibility to be taken, it's time to grow up a little.
Sorry for the rant but it's been a long time coming and I'm not looking forward to the tension that will be hanging thickly in the air tomorrow. Hopefully things get better..and if not...I have more strawberries and chocolate :)