"See the good around you, even if you have to squint." --little book of inspirational thoughts...
It was one year ago today that my dad died. And even though he was not always well-liked, we still miss him.
Jordan and I went out to breakfast today with Kasia and Gary and Ric. We went to Krumbles over by Renown. I know, you thought I was going to say Arlington Gardens. Surprise! It was a nice breakfast, good coffee. Jordan and I split a Denver omelet.
Jordan left after that to go work at UNR. I came home and finished stitching the living room drapes. They are all hung now. Ni think I like them better this way. A little more modern. I worked on my recipe collection today and getting the recipes I am using going for my next projects. I also need to decide what cookies I am going to make and get started on those.
Janell and I went out looking for dried salmon treats for Ah Choo. Then on to Resco, the restaurant supply place, to see whatmthey had that I could use for catering. I did get a few new "toys". They carry quite a bit. We had lunch at the Sushi Rose. Imagine, Janell eating sushi! Most of the sushi restaurants have cooked items on their sushi menu so there is more for everyone to eat.
Then I came home, more recipe entry, a late dinner, then bed. Such an exciting life, lol.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday, yeah! I watched the Royal wedding, at least clips from it. I'm not one to stay up all night and watch that sort of thing! Very nice wedding! Lots of people there, lots of Americans.
"Dreams have no expiration date.". --little book of inspirational thoughts....
I spent the morning inputting more recipes into my personal chef program, talking to two insurance guys to get a quote on commercial insurance and still trying to discover all the features of MenuMagic. I did go have coffee at Backstubbe with Ric, just to get out, then drove over to Michael's Craft store to see if they had any "gable boxes". They had lots of boxes but not the ones I wanted! Guess I'll have to order online. I looked at one online store and to have a box of 100 of the gable boxes sent to me two day delivery, it was going to cost me $134!!! That's just crazy! Needless to say, I didn't order from that company!
After I came home, I just couldn't deal with food any more, so I took the living room curtains down, sewed the two panels together. (I have two panels on each side and had never bothered to sew the two together so it looked nicer.) Then I rehung them without using the curtain rod rings and clips. And I took the swag away and just let them hang straight. I think I like that better. I need to finish up the two curtains from the left side of the window. I'll get that done tomorrow. And I STILL need to tackle my office space! And get organized. That will happen, I guess, just not quickly. And I need to start baking cookies! Anne wants 30 boxes with four dozen cookies each over the next two weeks! That's a lot of cookies!!
Jordan and I went out to Zozo's for dinner. They were packed. Right before they left 26 girls from one of the college baseball teams playing in Reno, came into eat dinner after their game. Yikes! We left soon after that. The wait staff there sure is nice!
But now it's time for bed.....
"Dreams have no expiration date.". --little book of inspirational thoughts....
I spent the morning inputting more recipes into my personal chef program, talking to two insurance guys to get a quote on commercial insurance and still trying to discover all the features of MenuMagic. I did go have coffee at Backstubbe with Ric, just to get out, then drove over to Michael's Craft store to see if they had any "gable boxes". They had lots of boxes but not the ones I wanted! Guess I'll have to order online. I looked at one online store and to have a box of 100 of the gable boxes sent to me two day delivery, it was going to cost me $134!!! That's just crazy! Needless to say, I didn't order from that company!
After I came home, I just couldn't deal with food any more, so I took the living room curtains down, sewed the two panels together. (I have two panels on each side and had never bothered to sew the two together so it looked nicer.) Then I rehung them without using the curtain rod rings and clips. And I took the swag away and just let them hang straight. I think I like that better. I need to finish up the two curtains from the left side of the window. I'll get that done tomorrow. And I STILL need to tackle my office space! And get organized. That will happen, I guess, just not quickly. And I need to start baking cookies! Anne wants 30 boxes with four dozen cookies each over the next two weeks! That's a lot of cookies!!
Jordan and I went out to Zozo's for dinner. They were packed. Right before they left 26 girls from one of the college baseball teams playing in Reno, came into eat dinner after their game. Yikes! We left soon after that. The wait staff there sure is nice!
But now it's time for bed.....
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
"It is often the bend in the road that makes life worth the drive.". -the little book of inspirational thoughts...
I was up early again! You do get a lot done that way, lol. I wanted to bake some cookies, but was tired of the cluttered, messy kitchen, so I started cleaning, and rearranging, and throwing way. But the kitchen really looks nice now, lol! Spotless-at least for a while. I wanted extra space to work on the counters also and now I have it.
Wen I had cleaned and put away and rearranged and tossed things, I mixed up two batches of cookies. One chocolate chip with toasted pecans and the other orange-white chocolate cookies. Both turned out well. Even with all the work, it was only 11:30am!
I worked on a catering proposal for SCOR's partnership meeting and offered them three different menus. Then I dropped off the proposal at SCOR along with some cookies (never hurts to advertise.). I was offered two more catering job from SCOR and I said yes, so looks like I am off and running (or at least jogging, lol). After chitchatting a bit, I went off to the grocery store, then came home.
All I seem to do lately is look at recipes, input recipes, and plan. No complaints, but I had to take a break and watch some TV! Now it's almost 11pm and I am exhausticated, so I am going to bed. And I'll start again tomorrow and clean up my office room. Wish me luck on that one!
I was up early again! You do get a lot done that way, lol. I wanted to bake some cookies, but was tired of the cluttered, messy kitchen, so I started cleaning, and rearranging, and throwing way. But the kitchen really looks nice now, lol! Spotless-at least for a while. I wanted extra space to work on the counters also and now I have it.
Wen I had cleaned and put away and rearranged and tossed things, I mixed up two batches of cookies. One chocolate chip with toasted pecans and the other orange-white chocolate cookies. Both turned out well. Even with all the work, it was only 11:30am!
I worked on a catering proposal for SCOR's partnership meeting and offered them three different menus. Then I dropped off the proposal at SCOR along with some cookies (never hurts to advertise.). I was offered two more catering job from SCOR and I said yes, so looks like I am off and running (or at least jogging, lol). After chitchatting a bit, I went off to the grocery store, then came home.
All I seem to do lately is look at recipes, input recipes, and plan. No complaints, but I had to take a break and watch some TV! Now it's almost 11pm and I am exhausticated, so I am going to bed. And I'll start again tomorrow and clean up my office room. Wish me luck on that one!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
"Live happy.". -little book of inspirational thoughts...
I woke up really early this morning (3:45 am!) and couldn't go back to sleep so just got up. It is amazing how much you can get done early in the morning!
I finally figured out what desserts I am offering to make for Zozo's. AND entered all the recipes into MenuMagic so I could enter information on pricing to figure out what to charge. That was the hard part. I had Orange-Chocolate Bread Pudding with Caramel Bourbon Sauce, French Apple Cake, Devil's Food Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Pear and Honey Custard Tart, "Serious Rum Cake", Key Lime Meringue Pie, Strawberry Dream Cake, Strawberry Clouds (Mini-Pavlovas), New York Cheesecake, and Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake. Sound good? I thought so too.
I took the quote over to Zozo's and talked a bit with Judy, then stayed for lunch. We'll see if she takes me up on doing desserts for them. She seemed to like my list of desserts, but it may be cost prohibitive. We'll have to see. I have not heard anything from Total Wine on a job.
I did get a catering job next Thursday, for a partnership business meeting. They need dinner: a salad, a meat, a starch and dessert. That's how it was described to me, lol. Should be fun!
Now I am just getting a menu together for my Personal Chef client and trying to figure out the food programs I have for personal chefs. Definitely a learning curve. Then bed, while Jordan works late. Night, all!
I woke up really early this morning (3:45 am!) and couldn't go back to sleep so just got up. It is amazing how much you can get done early in the morning!
I finally figured out what desserts I am offering to make for Zozo's. AND entered all the recipes into MenuMagic so I could enter information on pricing to figure out what to charge. That was the hard part. I had Orange-Chocolate Bread Pudding with Caramel Bourbon Sauce, French Apple Cake, Devil's Food Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Pear and Honey Custard Tart, "Serious Rum Cake", Key Lime Meringue Pie, Strawberry Dream Cake, Strawberry Clouds (Mini-Pavlovas), New York Cheesecake, and Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake. Sound good? I thought so too.
I took the quote over to Zozo's and talked a bit with Judy, then stayed for lunch. We'll see if she takes me up on doing desserts for them. She seemed to like my list of desserts, but it may be cost prohibitive. We'll have to see. I have not heard anything from Total Wine on a job.
I did get a catering job next Thursday, for a partnership business meeting. They need dinner: a salad, a meat, a starch and dessert. That's how it was described to me, lol. Should be fun!
Now I am just getting a menu together for my Personal Chef client and trying to figure out the food programs I have for personal chefs. Definitely a learning curve. Then bed, while Jordan works late. Night, all!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
It's been a busy couple of days. Sunday Janell, Jordan and I went over to "Aunt Pat's" house with my neighbor Sandy. Aunt Pat is Sandy's daughter-in-law's aunt. Confused? Don't be, we essentially went to Sandy's in-law's house. It was pot luck. I brought an egg, sausage, hash brown, sourdough strata (baked egg dish) and Janell brought a bottle of Moscato d'Asti. We bought it at Total Wine Saturday morning. We had a very nice time! There was lots of good food, good drinks and good company. The rest of Sunday was pretty quiet.
Monday I went to the Washoe County Health Dept to get my Food Manager Certificate. I filled out the rest of my paperwork, showed them my test results from Pete Allen, paid my $28, got my picture taken for my Food Manager ID, then went on to get my AES certificate at the Nevada State AES Center on Bible Way. Lots and lots of hoops to jump through! I took myself to lunch at Creme Cafe on St Lawrence off of Sou Virginia. They offer crepes as well as quiches and frittatas, salads and they have a small production bakery going on there. Creme is owned by the same people that own Sup (pronounce soup but my Sup needs two marks over the "u" before it qualifies as the nice German spelling it is suppose to be), with is only a block or so away. The people were friendly and helpful. They only have seven tables, so the place is not very big.m they were full went I went in there but by the time I left, there were only two of us. Very nice coconut macaroons! Other than that, I tried to go through recipes to see what I had for dessert offerings for Zozo's. I hat to admit it it, but I made Hamburger Helper for dinner last night. It was not that good, lol. I am trying to clean out the freezer and the pantry. Don't know where that box came from! Never again though. Even Jordon teased me about it, lol.
Today, I braved city hall and the courthouse to get my dba-filing a fictitious firm name. Because I am using "April Cooks Tonight!" as the name of my business and not April Woodward, I am working under a "dba" or "doing business as". $21 please. When I got to Ci Hall, the lady at the business license counter told me I had everything but my sales tax permit. So I had to head out to 4600 Kietzke to the Nevada State Dept of Taxation to file papers with them. Interestingly enough, when they typed my name in, Reno Silver Blades came up, my old fencing club! I had to tell them I was no longer associated with them. Imagine that?! It must be ten years or more since I sent Silver Blades up as a business/non-profit! Once I paid for that paperwork, it was back to Cityy Hall, where I paid $114 to the City of Reno for a business license. It all worked out.
After that, I stopped by SCOR and saw a few of the people I used to work with-Bobby, Kitty, Sally, Nita, Bomita, Tim, Michele, Nicole, Laurie and a few more. It was nice to see everyone and they seemed just as happy to see me. It's been almost a year since I left SCOR to go back to school. Can you believe it? It's been a long road, but well worth it.
After Scor, I went to the grocery store to get some prices on supplies for baking. I will likely do most of my shopping, at least for now, at the local grocery stores because I don't need supplies in bulk, at least not yet. That may change in the future, and I can get some things cheaper at Costco. I came home and started inputting recipes into my MenuMagic program so It would be easier to work out pricing. I'll finish it up tomorrow so I an drop it off at Zozo's tomorrow. We'll see what Judy says, although I won't bug her about an answer tomorrow, I'll wait a day or two, lol.
I met Mike for dinner. We went to Da Vinci's which is a restaurant in the newly reopened Siena. They have changed the decor and the menu. The food was good. I had deviled quail eggs (never heard of such a thing!!!) and Beef Filet Medalions Oskar (two filets topped with Bernaise sauce and crabmeat. Tasty! It was served with Garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. Mike had Cream of Artichoke soup (very good) and Ivory Wild Salmon. It got it's name because the flsh and flesh are white and not pink! I'll have to look that up, I've never seen it before! That was also very good. We shared deep fried cheesecake, which turned out better than it sounds, lol. Kind of like eating a soppapilla. I also interviewed him because he is my very first client!!! Yeah! Can't wait. I handed out cards to quite a few people today. It's also nice to be doing something again.
So tomorrow will be busy also. I need to organize my office, go see Judy at Zozo's, call and talk to Anne about catering the partnership meeting for SCOR, and otherwise clean house. Time for bed now, though!
Monday I went to the Washoe County Health Dept to get my Food Manager Certificate. I filled out the rest of my paperwork, showed them my test results from Pete Allen, paid my $28, got my picture taken for my Food Manager ID, then went on to get my AES certificate at the Nevada State AES Center on Bible Way. Lots and lots of hoops to jump through! I took myself to lunch at Creme Cafe on St Lawrence off of Sou Virginia. They offer crepes as well as quiches and frittatas, salads and they have a small production bakery going on there. Creme is owned by the same people that own Sup (pronounce soup but my Sup needs two marks over the "u" before it qualifies as the nice German spelling it is suppose to be), with is only a block or so away. The people were friendly and helpful. They only have seven tables, so the place is not very big.m they were full went I went in there but by the time I left, there were only two of us. Very nice coconut macaroons! Other than that, I tried to go through recipes to see what I had for dessert offerings for Zozo's. I hat to admit it it, but I made Hamburger Helper for dinner last night. It was not that good, lol. I am trying to clean out the freezer and the pantry. Don't know where that box came from! Never again though. Even Jordon teased me about it, lol.
Today, I braved city hall and the courthouse to get my dba-filing a fictitious firm name. Because I am using "April Cooks Tonight!" as the name of my business and not April Woodward, I am working under a "dba" or "doing business as". $21 please. When I got to Ci Hall, the lady at the business license counter told me I had everything but my sales tax permit. So I had to head out to 4600 Kietzke to the Nevada State Dept of Taxation to file papers with them. Interestingly enough, when they typed my name in, Reno Silver Blades came up, my old fencing club! I had to tell them I was no longer associated with them. Imagine that?! It must be ten years or more since I sent Silver Blades up as a business/non-profit! Once I paid for that paperwork, it was back to Cityy Hall, where I paid $114 to the City of Reno for a business license. It all worked out.
After that, I stopped by SCOR and saw a few of the people I used to work with-Bobby, Kitty, Sally, Nita, Bomita, Tim, Michele, Nicole, Laurie and a few more. It was nice to see everyone and they seemed just as happy to see me. It's been almost a year since I left SCOR to go back to school. Can you believe it? It's been a long road, but well worth it.
After Scor, I went to the grocery store to get some prices on supplies for baking. I will likely do most of my shopping, at least for now, at the local grocery stores because I don't need supplies in bulk, at least not yet. That may change in the future, and I can get some things cheaper at Costco. I came home and started inputting recipes into my MenuMagic program so It would be easier to work out pricing. I'll finish it up tomorrow so I an drop it off at Zozo's tomorrow. We'll see what Judy says, although I won't bug her about an answer tomorrow, I'll wait a day or two, lol.
I met Mike for dinner. We went to Da Vinci's which is a restaurant in the newly reopened Siena. They have changed the decor and the menu. The food was good. I had deviled quail eggs (never heard of such a thing!!!) and Beef Filet Medalions Oskar (two filets topped with Bernaise sauce and crabmeat. Tasty! It was served with Garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. Mike had Cream of Artichoke soup (very good) and Ivory Wild Salmon. It got it's name because the flsh and flesh are white and not pink! I'll have to look that up, I've never seen it before! That was also very good. We shared deep fried cheesecake, which turned out better than it sounds, lol. Kind of like eating a soppapilla. I also interviewed him because he is my very first client!!! Yeah! Can't wait. I handed out cards to quite a few people today. It's also nice to be doing something again.
So tomorrow will be busy also. I need to organize my office, go see Judy at Zozo's, call and talk to Anne about catering the partnership meeting for SCOR, and otherwise clean house. Time for bed now, though!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
We woke up to a cloudy, rainy day, suited for staying in and reading a good book. I didn't do either! Yesterday I had put together a recipe for Morning Rolls using Pepperidge Farms puff pastry. The filling is granulated sugar and vanilla extract. You roll them up like cinnamon rolls, but in this case, you let them rise an hour in a greased muffin tin, then put them in the fridge overnight and bake them in the morning (hence the name "Morning Rolls"). Leaving in the fridge overnight let's the dough ferment a bit, giving the puff pastry a hint of sourdough type tang. Then you bake them for 25-30 minutes at 385 degrees (yeah, I know, strange temperature, but it works!). You need to remove them from the pan before they cool otherwise you'll never get them out as the sugar caramelizes in the bottom of the muffin holes then hardens, not good!
After breakfast, Janell and I went to "Total Wine", the new wine "superstore" that just opened up where the old "Bed, Bath and Beyond" used to be. The place is HUGE! Lots and lots of good choices, very good prices, it's clean and well organized and the staff is very friendly. They are having wine tastings everyday for the next two weeks as part of their opening promo. The store not only has wine, but also carries beer and liquor. We had a good time looking around. Then it was home so I could go pick up my friend, Michael, at the airport.
I spent the afternoon looking at recipes so I can come up with a good list of desserts to offer Zozo's. First the recipes, then I need to work out pricing. We'll see what happens.
All in all, a quiet day. Time for bed!
After breakfast, Janell and I went to "Total Wine", the new wine "superstore" that just opened up where the old "Bed, Bath and Beyond" used to be. The place is HUGE! Lots and lots of good choices, very good prices, it's clean and well organized and the staff is very friendly. They are having wine tastings everyday for the next two weeks as part of their opening promo. The store not only has wine, but also carries beer and liquor. We had a good time looking around. Then it was home so I could go pick up my friend, Michael, at the airport.
I spent the afternoon looking at recipes so I can come up with a good list of desserts to offer Zozo's. First the recipes, then I need to work out pricing. We'll see what happens.
All in all, a quiet day. Time for bed!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
"Scatter joy". -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I can't believe it's Friday already! Time to catch up.
Wednesday Jordan spent the morning with the Spatial Sciences Dept head talking about jobs. We'll see what happens. After we checked out of the USC owned Marriott hotel, we had lunch at "The Lab", a fastening on campus. The menu is small but unusual, the food quite good. I find myself looking at menus everywhere I go, checking out what goes into a dish, how it's made and how it's plated. All research I tell myself, lol. Jordan is getting used to it.
After lunch we leisurely drove up the California coast, stopping in Mendicito and Santa Barbara before ending up in Los Osos at the Woodside Inn. Beautiful setting in a small little town. Not much going on in Los Osos but they are right next to Morro Bay State Park and about 20 miles from San Lius Obispo. Just exploring...but it was SO quiet there. No traffic sounds, no big city sounds (like in LA), just nature.
We left Los Osos about 8:30am Thursday. Jordan had a 1:30pm meeting with the California Emergency Planning group, something to do with FEMA. I tell you, the man seems to be involved in a lot of things! We started to drive up Hwy 1 but cut over to the I-5 via Hwy 41. Hwy 1 takes quite a long time to drive and apparently they had a recent landslide so a large portion on Hwy 1 (which follows the California coastline) is closed until they can dig it out. Jordan was about 20 minutes late anyway but managed to get to the meeting. I dropped him off at his meeting and continued on home. Jordan got a ride back to Reno from a UNR co-worker.
I made it back uneventfully, unpacked the car, relaxed a bit, picked up Ah Choo from my sister's and came back home to find Jordan already home. I guess no one at the meeting wanted to stay past 4pm! Dinner was a remix of left overs with a large side of steamed brocolli, Jordan's favorite.
Friday morning, today, Calvin Willey came over to talk about landscaping the yard. Jordan and I will talk about what to do over the weekend. I spent the rest of the morning getting my ServSafe Certificate from Pete, then filling out paperwork for a City of Reno business license, a Nevada State license, DBA paperwork and getting a Federal Tax ID number. Brother, what a lot of work! And money! But you can't get a city license without getting a state license first. Lots of hoops!
I had lunch with my friend Kasha. She found a new place to try (I'm all about research!), Dee's Bakery. Looks like it's run by Dee and Dylan (not sure of the relationship there). Dee's offers soups, salads and sandwiches every day but Sunday. They also have lots of pastries, cookies, cakes and cupcakes. They leave samples out on the counter for people to try. Yum! We thought the frosting gs were a little too sweet, but the cake was moist with a nice structure. We both had a cup of soup with a half a sandwich, $9.
After lunch, it was back to paperwork and emails. Dinner tonight was steak with a baked potato and more broccoli! It was all good. We opened a bottle of Doffo Malbec, really nice! Doffo is what is called a boutique winery. They make good wine but small volume and not enough volume to sell to large chains so it's mostly word of mouth. I also belonged to their wine club for a while. A little educational TV then bed. I'll go back in and put some pictures of Lis Osos in tomorrow.
Night everyone!
I can't believe it's Friday already! Time to catch up.
Wednesday Jordan spent the morning with the Spatial Sciences Dept head talking about jobs. We'll see what happens. After we checked out of the USC owned Marriott hotel, we had lunch at "The Lab", a fastening on campus. The menu is small but unusual, the food quite good. I find myself looking at menus everywhere I go, checking out what goes into a dish, how it's made and how it's plated. All research I tell myself, lol. Jordan is getting used to it.
After lunch we leisurely drove up the California coast, stopping in Mendicito and Santa Barbara before ending up in Los Osos at the Woodside Inn. Beautiful setting in a small little town. Not much going on in Los Osos but they are right next to Morro Bay State Park and about 20 miles from San Lius Obispo. Just exploring...but it was SO quiet there. No traffic sounds, no big city sounds (like in LA), just nature.
We left Los Osos about 8:30am Thursday. Jordan had a 1:30pm meeting with the California Emergency Planning group, something to do with FEMA. I tell you, the man seems to be involved in a lot of things! We started to drive up Hwy 1 but cut over to the I-5 via Hwy 41. Hwy 1 takes quite a long time to drive and apparently they had a recent landslide so a large portion on Hwy 1 (which follows the California coastline) is closed until they can dig it out. Jordan was about 20 minutes late anyway but managed to get to the meeting. I dropped him off at his meeting and continued on home. Jordan got a ride back to Reno from a UNR co-worker.
I made it back uneventfully, unpacked the car, relaxed a bit, picked up Ah Choo from my sister's and came back home to find Jordan already home. I guess no one at the meeting wanted to stay past 4pm! Dinner was a remix of left overs with a large side of steamed brocolli, Jordan's favorite.
Friday morning, today, Calvin Willey came over to talk about landscaping the yard. Jordan and I will talk about what to do over the weekend. I spent the rest of the morning getting my ServSafe Certificate from Pete, then filling out paperwork for a City of Reno business license, a Nevada State license, DBA paperwork and getting a Federal Tax ID number. Brother, what a lot of work! And money! But you can't get a city license without getting a state license first. Lots of hoops!
I had lunch with my friend Kasha. She found a new place to try (I'm all about research!), Dee's Bakery. Looks like it's run by Dee and Dylan (not sure of the relationship there). Dee's offers soups, salads and sandwiches every day but Sunday. They also have lots of pastries, cookies, cakes and cupcakes. They leave samples out on the counter for people to try. Yum! We thought the frosting gs were a little too sweet, but the cake was moist with a nice structure. We both had a cup of soup with a half a sandwich, $9.
After lunch, it was back to paperwork and emails. Dinner tonight was steak with a baked potato and more broccoli! It was all good. We opened a bottle of Doffo Malbec, really nice! Doffo is what is called a boutique winery. They make good wine but small volume and not enough volume to sell to large chains so it's mostly word of mouth. I also belonged to their wine club for a while. A little educational TV then bed. I'll go back in and put some pictures of Lis Osos in tomorrow.
Night everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)