Is a fish stupid because it can't climb a tree?

I saw a quote tonight that has me thinking.

"Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." --Albert Einstein

I think it is interesting how the mind works. Everyone thinking differently about the exact same thing amazes me. I'll admit sometimes it is extremely frustrating to explain something to someone every different way you can think of while they stare blankly back at you like "huh?"; however, I know that there are certain things I "don't get" or perceive totally backwards from how others do.

For example, I often forget how long I've been in the restaurant business and that things that I find as "common sense" sometimes are only second nature to me because I've been around this atmosphere for so long that certain things are "no brainers" for me but may not be for others. I started waiting tables when I was 19 (nearly 7 years ago), and many things were brand new to me and I had no idea what I was doing. I try to think back and remember the first time I ever rolled silverware, something I'm a bit of an expert at now and could probably do in my sleep, when we have new employees so that I don't get frustrated with having to explain "simple tasks". I remember the girl that was training me, and we all sat down at this big round table with tons of silverware in front of us with stacks of napkins and "tabs" to hold them together. I had no clue what I was doing or if I would ever be as fast as those other girls. The trainer looked at me shocked when I said, "Can you show me how? I've never done this before."

At least every other week or two we have new servers in training at the restaurant, and I often have to remind myself that I once didn't know how things worked and had to be explained the things that today are now part of my auto-pilot behavior. This is one of my biggest weaknesses for me I think. It is hard for me to not get frustrated with the "dumb questions" that I get asked over and over day in and day out. I always think "Why is this so hard? What aren't they getting it? Why don't they know this already? Haven't I already explained this 73,268 times today?" And this is where my sarcasm comes in.

For anyone who knows me very well at all--especially the adult me--knows that I am one of the most sarcastic and quick-witted people around. This works to my advantage in social situations. If I am out with a group of people, it is not usually difficult for me to make conversation with people--even the ones I don't know very well. Usually this is because I will spout off something quickly. Some little meaningless "dig" into someone. It's all in good fun. Everyone laughs and we have fun. This is not always true for me in my job--especially with my newer employees.

I tend to answer questions that are in my mind "dumb" with sarcastic responses--not always on purpose, and they are not always received well. Some people view me as hateful or rude because of it even though 99% of the time in my life I have the best of intentions. I am an extremely empathetic person. I go above and beyond to make sure my employees have a schedule that they like as well as what works with their life. I feel like I am a pretty fair boss and a genuinely nice person. I feel like I have my employees' best interests at heart as well as the restaurant's. However, that is not always what is perceived because of these quick witted responses.

Here's an example from today (there are many more every single day): we have a mandatory training class scheduled for a day next week. As the manager that does the schedule, I am fully aware that this meeting occurs during some people's normally scheduled shifts. This class is being offered once in the morning and once in the afternoon in the same day. The schedule will be posted tomorrow for our employees to see even though it has been ready since Thursday (so I already know who is scheduled when and they do not). An employee asked me today "So what if we're scheduled at the time of that meeting? How are we supposed to go if we're scheduled to be here when we're supposed to be there because I always work on that day?" I looked at her and with a straight face said, "Well, believe it or not that girl that makes your schedule (me) is aware that you have to attend one or the other of that training class so you will be off in time to attend." It just rolls off my tongue. I should've probably been more sympathetic and explained for the 1,315th time this week that we are going to have them scheduled differently on that day than we normally do, but at that point I couldn't help but have the reaction of what do they think? We scheduled this class with no plan as to how they'd be scheduled? Wednesday we were just going to say "oh sorry we forgot we needed people to run the restaurant while this class is going on?" I guess it wasn't a dumb question I was simply tired of answering it over and over again as I do with every question ever asked. I wish I had an "off switch" for these responses because they probably make me seem like a jerk, but I'm the boss--aren't I supposed to be the jerk? haha. just kidding.

I guess the point to all my rambling is that I should start to give the benefit of the doubt to my employees and better explain things to them even if I think they should already know them. Even if it is something I've done a billion times, like rolling silverware, it may be their first time so I need to take a deep breath and think before I speak... even though if I turn over a new leaf on this subject  I know some of my more veteran employees will be quite disappointed without my responses to the "newbies" that aren't getting it, but you can't please them all I suppose.

You always hear them say "There's no such thing as dumb questions. Only dumb answers." Well, if you're ever wondering "What would be a dumb answer to this question?" I've probably got one for you.

Month of Thankfulness

Wow! Where has this year gone?!? I can't believe it is already November. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for.

On Facebook, the trend this month is to each day list a thing to be thankful for. Last year I did not jump on the "bandwagon" but this year I have, and I enjoy it. Some people complain and say "we should be thankful everyday and not just during November. I completely agree, but we usually don't take the time to say out loud or so public on Facebook the things we are in fact thankful for (and that includes the people that are spouting off that thankfulness isn't limited to November lol).

So I would like to make a short list of the things I'm thankful for on here.

• My sweet AJ. lol. We argue like an old married couple, bicker like siblings, love like soul mates, and share so many memories that I cherish. Our house may not always be clean. We may have dishes and laundry piled up for days, but the love we share brings me true happiness. I love that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him. I love that I get to show him true love forever. I love that I get to share more memories with him in the future. 
• My loving family. I am so very thankful to get to have such a large loving family. I love that it may not be blood that bonds us all together, but it is love.
• My friends. It seems like the older we get the more we realize how few friends we have. lol. I love that I don't have to see or talk to some of my special friends every day or even week to know which ones I can count on through thick and thin no matter what. It warms my heart to know they are there for me through it all--good times as well as bad. 
• My job. I'm so thankful to be employed when so many are not. I am so thankful that in turn I have a reliable car, a beautiful home, and all the things I need in life. I may not always have the things I "want" in life, but I am thankful to always have the things I need. 
• My health. I am so thankful that I have my health. I may not be "in shape" or have the figure that everyone thinks I should--even myself lol, but I am thankful for my health as well as my family's health.

Thank you for letting me share my little slice of heaven--also known as my life--with you. I wish you all the best as the holidays are upon us... only 49 shopping days left til Christmas...

A Summer Full of Memories

My family has always meant the world to me. I have always known that I have a wonderful family. I have always known that we can count on each other during the good times and the bad. Thankfully up until 2012 almost all of the times I've been with my family have been good times and the happiest of memories. It's not even September yet and 2012 has been the biggest year of loss my family has experienced in the almost 26 years of my life. In April, we lost my Aunt Wanda (follow link to previous post), and it devastated me that the world lost such a free spirit.

Now, I want to share with the world what a wonderful, Godly man my Pawpaw was, how great my family is and how difficult this journey was on us all...

 (my Pawpaw and me a long, long time ago)

September 2010 the doctors found an extremely rare tumor in the direct center of my Pawpaw's brain. He was 70 years old, and they decided the best course of treatment would be radiation to keep the tumor from growing instead of removing it due to its location and his age. Radiation was not a permanent fix though, and July 9, 2012 he was admitted into ICU because this rapid growing tumor had started growing again. A new doctor had seen his case since 2010 and was willing to try surgery because the tumor was now terminal and radiation was no longer an option. There were great risks with this surgery. My Pawpaw knew them all and as a preacher of God's word for the last 35+ years, he had already made his "peace" with God and knew whatever the outcome, it would be better than what he was experiencing. Surgery was scheduled for Friday, July 13, 2012. I was supposed to start 13 days of vacation the next day. Thankfully my employer and coworkers worked it out so that I was able to join my family during the surgery. I arrived at the hospital that morning prior to them taking him back. We were able to pray with him and each other. He told us he loved us (a memory I will cherish for a lifetime). We cried. We held one another. They came to take him and wheel him to the operating room and we followed him until we weren't allowed any farther. The aching in my chest that he may not make it out of that surgery was one of the most real emotions I've had in my life.



Something I'm not sure we are ever ready for is to see the people we've looked up to our whole life in tears. It is an awful feeling in your core when you see your Daddy holding onto his sisters and mother as his Daddy is being wheeled away to a risky surgery on a terminal brain tumor. It is heart wrenching to think about the worry in their souls, and to see the sorrow on their faces because it is out of their hands. Seeing the strongest people I know at their breaking points was quite possibly the most humbling experience of my life.

(my daddy and his mama)

I learned a lot about myself and my family that day. It seemed like he was in surgery for an eternity.  We sat in silence a lot. Mostly though, we enjoyed each others' company--despite the circumstances. We laughed more than we probably ever thought we would. We laughed til we cried.Then, we cried til we laughed again. I know that God had his hand on us that day (as He does every day) because He was preparing us for the longest journey we've ever endured as a family.

My Pawpaw made it out of surgery 8+ hours later. They were able to remove most of the tumor, but he never really woke up from it. He was barely conscious for the next 13 days. Then, on July 26th, they took him down to insert a drain tube in his head--he already had a shunt, it wasn't working, it was not supposed to be a major event. Most of the family wasn't even in town (he was in the hospital 2+ hours away from where we live), let alone at the hospital when this was taking place. While they were performing this mildly routine procedure, he had a hemorrhage in his brain which sent him into a deep coma, and he was placed on a ventilator. After running tests that weekend and letting him rest, it was determined that next Monday, July 30, 2012 that there was nothing else medically that could be done. We were able to have him transferred back to our home town, they removed the ventilator between 5 and 6 pm that day, and we waited. And we waited. And we waited. We had just thought the previous 3-4 weeks had been exhausting, but nothing could've prepared us for this.

Something I had never honestly thought about in my whole entire life was what happens after "life support" is removed. On TV they make it seem so sudden. They remove the ventilator and then the crying starts, then the flat line and then they raise up the sheet and call "time of death". Well, I'm a television medical drama professional--House and Grey's are my favorites--but this was nothing like that. It was on the verge of torture sitting at his bedside or in the hallway because at times you can't bare to sit and watch him struggle for each breath.

 (guess this is proof we got a little sleep in the hospital lol)

It was emotionally draining to pray and beg God to either let him stand up and walk out of the hospital or go to heaven to meet Him. It was gut-wrenching to watch my grandmother--his wife for 47 years--sleep in a hospital "recliner" next to his bed every nite.

 (my mom-o and pawpaw's last pic together...I'll cherish it for the rest of my life)

It was torture to have to go to work and be on edge all day because at any moment you could get a phone call telling you to leave and come back to the hospital because "it's time". Well, after the longest week of our lives a little after midnight on the morning of Monday, August 6, 2012, my Pawpaw finally got his peace. The fight was over. He met our God and has been dancing on the streets of gold ever since.

The funeral was a beautiful remembrance of his life. It was a celebration because of his 2 favorite things--God and his family. A close 3rd was his love for Yankees Baseball though lol.

This experience through the loss of my Pawpaw has taught me several things:

• Family will always stand by my side no matter what.
• I have wonderful supportive friends that held me up when I didn't feel I could stand.
• My employers are great because they gave me all the time I needed with my family--no questions asked.
• Love does exist--my grandparents were living proof of that.
• I need to get back in church because that's where God and my Pawpaw want me to be
• AJ is one of the most supportive, loving men I've ever met in my life and I am thankful for him.
• Sometimes it's okay to laugh even when all you want to do is cry.
• Sometimes strong people feel weak too--and that's okay.
• God has a plan through it all... even when we can't see it. 

Thank you for letting me share my journey with you all. God Bless! :-)

Busy, Busy Weekend

Did so much to our house this weekend, and I am one proud woman. AJ and a bunch of other helpers put a new roof on our house. Then I put a few helpers to work on some other exterior things. We took the ugly carpet off of our front porch, pulled weeds out/cleaned up the flower beds, painted the brick on the front of the house, painted the shutters, and then painted the front door. SUCCESS! I love how everything turned out. I am so proud of our house. I have been proud of the inside for awhile but never really loved the "curb appeal", but now that has all changed. Still indecisive about the front door color though. It turned out "Tiffany Blue" which wasn't exactly what I was going for, but it's some $5 clearance paint I found at Lowe's so I can't really complain. Going to post a few pics for you to enjoy then headed to bed for some much needed rest... hope you all enjoyed your Holiday Weekend and didn't work nearly as hard as we did. :-)

 The white trim on the door around the window is now black to match the doorknob. I haven't taken an updated pic yet...

Choosing My Battles

A life lesson I have not thought much about in the past is "choosing my battles". I am one of those people that practices this valuable caution, but I'd never really thought about the importance of it until recently; it seems like every time I turn around lately I want to look so many people in the face and scream "Choose your battles! This is not worth it!"

It all started a couple weeks ago on facebook. I am a very firm believer in keeping drama out of social media sites. I also think that some things honestly are not the business of the world and shouldn't be shared so publicly. A "friend" on facebook (I use quotes because she's an acquaintance) decided that her status was the best place to discuss her relationship issues. Someone pointed out (nicely in my opinion) that facebook wasn't the place to discuss such a private issue--the war was on! It turned into a giant issue between everyone posting comments as it will do on social media sites. Everyone was either defending the boyfriend or defending her and bashing the boyfriend or telling her that facebook wasn't the place to address it.

This situation made me realize that I have way more respect for AJ than that. I strongly believe that if you have an issue with your "other half" then it should remain between the two of you. Whether it's venting to a friend, mentioning to my mom an issue I have with him, or putting him on blast on facebook-it is not for me. I realize that I love him so much that even though I may be frustrated with him at the time, but I will forgive him. We will be okay because I love him, but my friends/family will always have the thoughts in the back of their minds of when he hurt me. Even if I'm over it, it may change their view of him, and that is not my desire. I also have more respect for him as a man to not put something that I think he "did wrong" all over facebook. He, as the love of my life, does not deserve to be treated that way by anyone--especially me.

The next situation that taught me this important lesson was my employees. It seems like the story of my life at work is choosing my battles. I realize that my staff is not perfect and there are thousands of little things I might do differently or would change about the way things happen, but that does not mean that every single thing every single time will get pointed out by me. I've realized that there is "more than one way to skin at cat" and as long as they are properly doing their job there are a few things that can be overlooked in order to keep up morale. So, I choose carefully which battles I choose to fight... which I as the manager will win. haha.

Just a little rambling that's been on my mind lately...

Joys of Adulthood

First of all, I want to give a quick update on my pawpaw... he went back to the doctor yesterday for his follow-up appointment after surgery last week and we got a wonderful report. The mass they removed last week was superficial so when they removed it they definitely got it all so no chemo and after monday no more catheter!!! Thank you so much for your prayers!

Other than that exciting news let's see... what has been going on in my world?!?! I have been a busy busy woman lately it seems. I had a three day weekend last weekend which I couldn't have been more excited about, and I have another one this weekend--talk about a lucky girl! (I traded shifts with another manager because he is going to Vegas in a week and then I will be working 11 days straight without a day off so I will be less excited then haha.)

We went to the Full Moon Cafe in Tulsa last Saturday night with another couple and had so much fun! I didn't know the place even existed. For those of you that enjoy a casual drink and dueling pianos this is the place to go! I used to go to piano bars all the time when I lived in Florida and I LOVE them, but I didn't even know there was one so close to home. I will definitely be dragging AJ back there soon.

Then Sunday my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came over for dinner. They came over so my brother could try to fix my dryer that decided to DIE last week--one of the not so fun things about being an adult, but oh, how I love spending time with them. Let me take this opportunity to tell you my favorite part about being a "grown-up". I love that my brother and I (who are only 17.5 months apart) can be so close. I consider him and his wife to be some of my very best friends. In high school, I never would've guessed I could say that about him, but it's true. I love that we've grown up and learned to appreciate and love one another. I love my sister-in-law not only because of the great friend she is to me, but also, the wonderful wife she is to my brother and mother she is to my nephew. I hope that when my younger siblings (they are 18, 15, and 12) grow up we can all be as close and that they have as amazing spouses as well--being the oldest of 5 I want lots and lots of nieces and nephews and bunches of in-laws. :-)

Showing off a pic of my nephew and his cool tricks... or maybe he was "saving it for later" either way he's pretty impressive in my opinion lol.

Then my Monday off was pretty un-eventful. I relaxed at home all day and did some dishes and picked up the house a little (which now on Friday you can't tell I did anything--oh well, another one of the things I DON'T love about being a grown-up lol). Tuesday it was back to work then dinner with a good friend--and the borrowing of the washer and dryer so I could have clean clothes for work because my brother was not successful at fixing my dryer on Sunday :-(

Wednesday I got to see my sweet nephew again. Wednesdays are our days together and I cherish that time with him so much--I've been babysitting him at least one day a week since he was 5 weeks old and I wouldn't trade that time with him for anything in the whole wide world, but this Wednesday his mommy was sick so she was going to drop him off and then go back home to be sickly. Plans changed and she ended up sickly on my couch all morning then taking him home early. I was sad to see him leave early and sad to see her sick but so glad to spend one on one time with her--that doesn't happen nearly often enough.

Thursday boring except the part where we got the good report on my pawpaw! I passed out Pampered Chef catalogs to potential customers then went to work. Today I went and got my nails done--two and half hours later they are super cute. I've had a pretty great night at work. I found out my nephew started walking--can't wait to see it for myself. I'm going to try and get some sleep tonight because I have some exciting super secret plans for this weekend (more details on monday after I get back from my trip and the secret will be over and I can explain how exciting it is)...

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend! God Bless! :-)

Appalled

Sorry Folks, but I need to do a little venting because I am in shock of something that happened this evening. (There is a little graphic language in this because it is dialouge in the story so please keep that in mind when reading.)

A little backstory...

A few months ago it was kind of getting late in the night, and I was at work--there weren't many customers in the restuarant at the time. One of my servers came into the kitchen crying because a man was being rude to her. She said he was angry and rude because there was lettuce on his burger and was apologizing to me because she didn't remember him asking for no lettuce. I calmed down my employee and fixed the man's burger and walked into the dining room (took a total of about 3 minutes to fix). I found the man angrily standing in front of the entrance to the kitchen--waiting to speak to me. I smiled and told him I had fixed his burger, and while holding it in my hand, he continued to belittle and scream at me about how incompetent he thought my employee was for putting lettuce on his burger. (Does any one else see a problem with anyone getting this angry at a stranger over lettuce?!?)

He refused to eat the burger or even take it to go--even though it was IN MY HAND and fixed. He left angry and swore he'd never be back; however, the next day he returned when I wasn't there and joked with the staff and manager on duty at the time laughing while saying "I was an asshole to those girls last night."

Since then he's been in a couple times, always speaks and is genuinely pleasant to me, and I try not to hold it against him. BUT we still fondly refer to him as "the burger guy" haha...

Then tonight....

A friend and I went to a local restaurant for her to have a late dinner, and I was going to have dessert and sit with her so she didn't have to eat alone. We were seated at a booth in the back--there were only about 3 other tables in the restaurant including a couple at one booth right behind us and then a couple guys at the bar--one of which happens to be one of my employees.

My friend was texting and receiving messages while we sat and waited on the server to bring our drinks and take our order. The woman at the booth behind us said something (I'm assuming asking what the noise was) I didn't understand and he loudly said "I guess it's someone's f***ing phone going off!" I asked her if she heard him--she hadn't and then she put her phone on silent so it wouldn't disturb anyone including them.

The server brought our drinks and there was a piece of ice stuck to the side of the glass. I was talking to my friend while trying to get it unstuck with my straw and knocked my glass over! It was embarrassing because I hadn't even taken a drink out of it yet, and it almost went all over my friend. The woman from the next booth again yelled "That's what you get you stupid bitch!" I was shocked. Then my employee joked from the bar "Hey, Kristen! Do you need a lid?" I joked back "I think I need a sippie cup!" We laughed and the man then said loudly "I think you need a f***ing babysitter too!"

I am a 25 year old adult professional woman in a nearly empty restaurant being treated so horribly by a stranger that I nearly LOST it. I was angry I needed to walk away. So I went to the restroom to get away and chatted with my employee and his friend at the bar briefly and walked back to the table...having to walk past the angry booth to get back to my seat. Apparently while I was in the bathroom, the couple was still angrily speaking loudly about us and my friend turned around and said to them calmly "Didn't your mother ever teach you that if you don't have anything nice to say then you probably shouldn't say it?" The woman yelled back something about jumping over the booth to get at my friend.

They were packing up to go boxes and about to leave when I walked past them, but I got a good enough look at him to realize he was "The Burger Guy" and it ALL made sense.

Although when this all happened his back had been toward me, so there was no way he knew it was me before I went to the restroom, but the attitude made sense. It is clear that he/they do not care who you are or if there is a reason--they will be rude. I am still in shock at the way this situation unfolded (over a cell phone getting text messages at 10pm in a nearly empty restaurant). Some people have ZERO respect for people or know how to behave appropriately....

Life may give you lemons, but it also gives you someone to help you make lemonade with them.

I feel so far behind. It's been over a week since I've written! I don't like it at all, but my life has been super crazy in the last week. Sunday was my first Pampered Chef party! I had so much fun. I'll be honest that the turn-out wasn't quite as amazing as I thought it was going to be, but the people closest to me plus an extra super special girl I hadn't seen in a while were there. I've had some additional orders outside of the party so it's going to work out pretty well for my first order being placed tomorrow.

So I spent the whole weekend cleaning to prepare for all the guests at my house. I finally finished my kitchen redecorating that I started the weekend before, and it looks pretty good if I might say so myself--especially since pretty much everything was "budget friendly".  (I will post pictures sometime soon)

Also, this week I learned how hard it is for me to not get overly invested in things/people. It's like when I care about something or someone I have to give it/them 110%. I guess that's not a completely bad thing, but it starts to wear on you. It's easier to get your heart broken by people or your feelings hurt if you care so much. I do it a lot with my employees too. It's hard for me when I find out one or some them have been talking about me--I take it so personally, but then I have to try to step back and realize, everyone talks about their boss at some time or another and it's not personal most of the time. SIGH.

 I posted on facebook about this exact subject because my feelings were hurt, and I was having an "emotional day" because female hormones are so lovely and sometimes you just get upset because you feel like it--or even if you don't feel like it...

 I ended up deleting the post on facebook today--about 24 hours later because it was pretty negative and I'm not usually the one to post negative things so publically. However, the response I received in that 24 hours was overwhelming. I realized that I DO have friends or at least people who are close enough to know my heart and know that I have good intentions--even when ranting on facebook. I appreciated all the encouragement and today was a much better day. I probably offended some people with how blunt I was about them talking behind my back, but I realized if they are guilty enough to get upset about it then they probably thought it was about them because they were guilty and had been doing it...so I feel less bad about that. It started out being in reference to a specific situation but really was more in general about how much people talk about other people and how much it frustrates me.

I have a lot of younger employees so I'm around the gossiping so much--it is exhausting sometimes to listen to all them bicker and fight with one another over the most trivial things, but I guess that's one of the joys of management huh?

On a happier note, last night AJ (after knowing how heartbroken I was over the gossiping) was even sweeter than he normally is. I have to tell you--he is a very sweet guys, but last night he let me ramble about girl stuff and didn't criticize or ignore me for "just being a girl." He genuinely loved me and held me until I felt all better, and that ladies and gentlemen is one of the 1,763,054,834 (approximately haha) reasons that I love him so very much. So thankful to have my soulmate by my side--no matter how much friends, family, or others in my life hurt my heart I know that he has it and is protecting it from the storm.

"Normal" Weekends

Wow... What a weekend off! I have LOVED it... Starting this weekend I have Saturday AND Sunday's off now... If you know anything about the restaurant industry, then you know that is unheard of, and I couldn't be any happier about this. AJ has "normal" weekends off too so we got to enjoy two full days off together, and it was wonderful.

Yesterday, we went to the pig show (first one I'd ever been to) to watch my brothers and 3 year old nephew (well technically he's my cousin, but my family's kinda special so don't ask me to put the family tree together... just trust me he's more like a nephew because his momma is one of my dearest friends). They did their pig showing things--still not sure how it all works, but I was supportive and pretended I had a clue. I also had an excuse to wear my cowboy boots so I was excited.

This is what my super cute boots look like. LOVE them--bought them for a George Strait concert in 2008 and have only worn them like 10-15 times since so I get pretty excited for any chance I get to wear them. I had so much fun watching them show their pigs--they did so good in my untrained clueless eyes, and I couldn't be any more proud of them...

Then went for a "night on the town" with AJ and one of my bestest friends in the whole world. That was a blast--but one of those "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" kinda nights, so, that's all the details I can give you. Then this morning woke up much too early for a Sunday off of work, and went to a yummy breakfast, took a big ol wonderful Sunday afternoon nap that can't feel nearly as good on any other day of the week, and then some good friends came over for dinner. I made roasted pork loin, rolls, salad with homemade ranch dressing, corn, and roasted/fried potatoes. These potatoes were my demise tonight. I am normally a pretty decent cook and have people over for dinner almost every Sunday night--it's my favorite time of the whole week. I have made roasted red potatoes with butter, salt, pepper, and vegetable seasoning a million times, and they are usually pretty fail-proof. I seemed to forget how long they take in the oven, and it seemed like they would NEVER be finished. The pork loin was done to perfection and waiting on the potatoes (guess I should've started them before the meat instead of the other way around). So, being impatient and surrounded by hungry people, I poured the potatoes in a pan on the stove, cranked the heat up to high, and fried those bad boys in aforementioned butter until they were golden and wonderful (I mean, what wouldn't be wonderful after frying in butter?).

Moral of the story: If all else fails, fry it. Oh, and don't forget that roasting potatoes in the oven takes a very long time so you should probably start cooking them before 8pm!

Hope ya'll have a great week and enjoyed your weekends as much as I did!

Order In

I must first start with telling you that I love my job. I love what I do--the busy, fast-paced work is exactly what I enjoy. It's not very monotonous, and I get to work with people, which I love. I believe that everyone should do what they enjoy--makes life a lot easier to bear when you are doing something you like especially considering how many hours/week you spend doing it. With that being said, I think that EVERYONE should be required to work in a restaurant for at least 6 months in their lives. You learn to be more patient, understanding, and the importance of alcohol--ok maybe not alcohol but the importance of having time to relax. It's the type of business that you work hard so you reward yourself with playing harder (with or without alcohol depending on your preference).

I have had some of the best times of my life while working in restaurants (I got in the business when I was 19 as a server and couldn't imagine doing anything different in my life right now). I have also learned some of the biggest lessons in life while doing this job. The greatest of all these lessons is to treat others with respect. Outward appearances are a "big deal" in today's society, but I'm here to assure you that some of the "best dressed" have been the most down-right awful people I've ever met. On the other hand, some of the people that may not have dressed/presented themselves as "high class" have been some of the most generous and nice people I have had the pleasure of serving--this is not true in all cases but it does happen so it proves that appearance isn't everything.

 Also, the most obvious thing it has taught me is the importance of tipping. In Oklahoma, servers make $2.13/hr plus tips. I know that it's not THAT low in every state because it's based on cost of living and minimum wage, but almost always servers make a lower than minimum wage rate of pay to offset the fact that they are also making tips. That means if you leave no tip (or practically no tip) for a server they are having to use that $2.13/hr to pay bills, feed their children, and buy gas to come back and forth to work for you to just come back the next week and not tip again. Can you imagine your boss walking up to you and saying "I'm sorry I'm too cheap to pay you today..." or "I'm sorry you weren't 'up to par' today so I'm not paying you rather than letting you know what you've done wrong". If either of those things happened you would be raising hell until you got the money owed to you for the job you had done--you're doing the same thing every single time you don't tip appropriately (at least 15-20% of the total is acceptable in case you were wondering).

Now that I've got that off my chest, I will step down from my soapbox and get back to my original point. I was certain when I started this blog that there would be plenty of stories about my colorful staff and the many adventures that happen at the restaurant day in and day out. They are an entertaining bunch to say the least. Tonight was a typical busy Saturday night and as some of the staff were getting off work they started sitting down at a table in the back of the dining room to eat and relax. There were several tables still eating. I realized I really had to pee (sorry for the overshare but I hadn't been all night and it was around midnight at this point) so I ran to the bathroom and about the time I sit down I hear laughter/screaming coming from the dining room just outside the bathroom door, and I think to myself, "If that's my employees out there making all that noise, just wait until I get ahold of them, it won't be pretty." So I finish my business and walk out of the stall as two of my servers come rushing in the door and frantically scream, "There's boobs on the tv! Like Girls Gone Wild! You can see everything! Hurry fix it!" And now I understand all the laughter I've been hearing for the last 90 seconds or so... I have just exposed the entire restaurant to full frontal nudity on the big screens. I'm mortified and frantically rushing to the AV tower (did I mention it's a restaurant/sports bar with approximately 50 tvs including 8 big screens and over half of them are showing scenes straight from a XXX site?). I hurry to change it and apologize to a few tables as I rush by them--thank goodness it was so late that there weren't young children around and my customers were still laughing about it, but I am embarrassed and may never live this down among the staff. I can hear it now "Do you remember that time you went to the bathroom and there were boobs on the tvs and we couldnt find you anywhere to get you to change the tvs because none of us knew how to change them?" Ahhh yes... I may hear about this forever....