don't yuck my yum (ze frank)

i didn't want to have a shower because i enjoyed my sloth, my frazzled frizz, my slump-a-dump style.  but i didn't listen.  i got naked and i got in the stall.  i turned on the hot water and stepped into the river of delicious heat.  i shaved this, i washed that.  i turned off the water and opened amy's jar of coffee body scrub.  i smeared coffee grit all over myself and spattered it all over the shower in the process.  then i looked around and laughed and turned on the hot water again.  i rinsed this and i conditioned that.  it felt so good.  and i thought about a lot of things.  like why didn't i want to have a shower?  seemed silly.  seemed so wrong.  i should have showers more often! i enthused to myself.

a couple of hours later with wet hair and cold nose, i feel less enthusiastic, but still.

it was a busy first week back to work.  so far in my experience as a manager i notice a change in me.  i don't know if anyone else does.  before i had a lot of down time in the afternoons.  now i feel like i don't have any down time.  my mind is always full of things i have to do.  there is never enough time in a work day.  i do things like start at 5:50am to cover an early morning job site, and then leave work at 4:30pm when we close at 4, and i was supposed to leave at 1:20pm.  i don't do it out of any martyr ideology.  it's just that i'm trying to get things done.  and i don't think that there is that much more to do now that i'm a manager.  i just think that a)i have way less obstruction--if i have an idea, i can do it. and i'm an ideas person.  i get ideas and then my ideas get ideas and then our two ideas get married and have babies.  and i sometimes think that i can do anything/everything that i get excited about and so i end up doing a bunch of things at once. b) i'm responsible for it all now, and that wakes me up and lights me up and makes me care more i think.

but i'm still a new manager.  give me time to get jaded and faded.  

we came up with a new menu.  want to know about it?  great, i want to tell you.

entrees:

1. quinoa salad--greens, quinoa, cucumber, blueberries and mint with a choice of a few shrimps or a few slices of steak

this is a pricier item, and i don't think it will be that popular either, which is good because i won't be able to afford to make a lot of it.  i got the idea from georgina, our cute little english fundraiser. i forget what kind of dressing i was planning on doing with it. got an opinion?

2. kung pao chicken on noodles--chicken, veggies, bean sprouts, stir-fried with a spicy sweet kung pao sauce and roasted peanuts, on shanghai egg noodles.

we've made this a couple of times for our special of the day and we like it. we need to tone down the spice for the masses of tender tongues that eat at pathways.

3. miso sweet potato and broccoli rice bowl--a smitten kitchen recipe.  you roast sweet potatoes and broccoli and you put it on a bowl of rice with a miso sesame dressing and some toasted sesames.  i've never made it but it sounds yum.

4. chili--my every man every day item.  cheap, well liked, and filling.

sides: (every item except the kung pao comes with a side)

1. sweet potato skins--it's like potato skins but it's sweet potato, so it's healthier

2. tomato cucumber salad--it's simple.  there are tomatoes, and cucumber, and green onion, and there is a vinegary dressing

3. yogurt parfait--granola (maybe i'll make bethany's and maybe i'm crazy), yogurt (i was thinking of lemon or mango, or plain and i add the lemon or mango) and blueberries

4. cornbread--it goes with chili ok.

i'm not done. so you aren't done either.

panini: (i just read about panini and panino is the singular panini is the plural so don't expect me to add an 's' to the end of panini. i will.not.do.it.  this used to be the sandwich section.  i changed it to panini section.  you can chose grilled or ungrilled)

1. the vegitarian--pesto, sundried tomato, roasted red pepper, spinach and mozza

2. the flibbertyjibbut--smoked turkey, fig, apple,brie and spinach (not it's real name but i don't have one yet)

3. the west coaster--smoked salmon, red onion, capers and spinach on cream cheese.

i wanted a panini grill and i told benefactor earl about it and he bought us one. actually two.  welcome to panini heaven

salads: (i know tomato cucumber salad is a salad, but it's in the side section, and technically salads are a side but also have their own salad section.  there's no reason, that's just the way it is)

1. spinach, roasted beets, pear, walnut and goat cheese salad

2. broccoli slaw (with toasted almonds and craisons and a buttermilk dressing (thank you smitten kitchen)

 now i'm done.  

next week my plan is to make every one of these items and take a photo of it so that they can be on the new menus that go on each table.  this is my plan.  of course it's a week where i also have to do a basket of baked goods for the kindly couple that donated 100 000 to our new building.  and it's a week where lindsay is doing a social one night and her youth program another night and pascale is doing an evening with the young adult program.  and kaz--kaz don't care.  well he might a little.  but he also might get his papers this week and be gone like a thief in the night.  gosh, i'm starting to stress myself out.  come on self, the only one saying you have to do all this in one week is yourself.  take it down a notch!  but it's what i want.  and whatever laura wants....laura gets...  haha. i wish.

anyways sometimes well meaning or not so well meaning people, depending on the way you look at it, have told me that they think i'm doing a good job.  but they might do it by putting lisa down.  and that is like making me feel good and then making me feel bad.  because i don't want my worth to be at her expense.  and i don't want to be building on her tragedy. because it is a tragedy and i refuse to benefit by it.  i think of it differently.  that i'm carrying on the good things she did and yes i may have my own twist and yes i may make what may seem to be improvements, but i can only do them because of what she taught me, how she allowed me to develop and the foundation she laid.  so i'd rather carry her torch rather than stomp on her.  you know?  dave knows.  he loves lisa too, and the other day he told  me he was happy with what i was doing and thought i was doing a good job and didn't need to put lisa down to do it and that made me feel good and only good.

anyways.  i talk a lot.

other new year's resolutions:

2. litter box (me and the box and the cats know what i'm talking about. so far i've been doing well)

3. grapefruit for breakfast.  i love grapefruits and not only are they good for you, but they are a snappy, juicy, fresh lovely wake me up.  2015 is the year i embrace grapefruit kind of mornings.

so...i think i should get dressed now that it's five and my laundry is done, and go buy some grapefuits.  because take it from me, you can't eat what you don't have