Success!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Well, I've officially catered my first event. It was only possible through the generosity of U.V.U. and the hours of help from family. My sweet Tom came and helped me in the kitchen for long hours and worked with me every step of the way. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Even when I was exhausted, I was still enjoying myself.

I made roasted chicken with a mushroom infused veloute sauce (fancy word for chicken gravy), fresh roasted vegetable medley, rice pilaf, pear and caramelized pecan salad with a red onion vinaigrette and of course rolls and butter. I made everything from scratched. I rendered (cut) all the meat from whole chickens, chopped all the vegetables, made the sauce with chicken stock- the whole works. Friday I was up from 6:00a.m. to 1:00a.m. prepping food out and was up the next morning again at 6:00a.m. to begin the day.

I forgot to take pictures of the food, but it tasted good. I also forgot to take a picture of the drink table. I know the table centerpieces weren't big of fancy, but we just wanted a little something to make the luncheon special. I wish I had taken a picture of the room. The crisp, clean look of all the matching tables looked great.

I think we did a great job considering we couldn't get into the church until half an hour before the luncheon began! There was another activity before us that ran late. There are definitely a lot of things I'd change for next time, but it was all behind the scene things. My main concern was that the bride would be pleased. She was concerned with having her luncheon in the cultural hall and wanted it to be nice. My family helpers all dressed in black and white and served the food and cleared plates, and worked their fannies off! I loved the look on the bride's mother's face when she realized they didn't have to clean up. It felt good to know I had a part in making their special day achieve its "specialness."

Opportunity Knocks Me Out

In my life, I've only held two jobs that I was willing to keep for more than the summer, or the winter. or whatever the appropriate season- shoeing horses and building picture frames. Not too long ago I was "laid off" as a frame builder, which story may very well become the subject of another blog. And, as the horseshoeing season has not officially begun, I find myself once again among the unlucky and unemployed. This would not be nearly as alarming if I were 21 and single. But, as I am married, and nearing my thirties, a decade of life that should be marked by the unfathomable possibilities of success, and the hopes of settling into a rhythm and career that would allow me the rock hard stability of a professional foundation, I am faced with the terrifying prospect of interviewing for jobs that I have as much training and experience in as a high school graduate.
As I am trained for little else, applying at Michaels for a picture framing position seemed like the next logical step. My application rose straight to the top of what was no doubt an enormous stack, disappointing hundreds of picture framing hopefuls. An interview was scheduled at my soonest convenience, and the manager bent over backwards to accommodate my every whim.
The interview was flawless- a study in professional communication. Rhoda, my interviewer praised me up and down for my years of experience and for my obvious need for no further training. I would be, in her words, "an incalculable asset to the store." Now full of myself, I determined that this job and I would be the perfect marriage. I had been honing my craft for years, learning the ins and outs of frame building and picture framing so that I might arrive at this place , under these circumstances- the union of the perfect job with the perfect employee. "We would like you to start right away," she said. "That would be great," I said. "It would be wonderful if you could work the morning schedule," she added. "That would be my preference as well," I returned. "We are prepared to start you at eight dollars an hour," she said "Tpbbbbpbbbpbbbtpbbbbbbbbpbbtpbbbb," I said. Actually, I never said that last part. It was merely the sound of me filling my pants with disappointment. So, this is what I was worth. The realization was sobering, to say the least. My years of experience and training, my knowledge and skills, my apparent value to company, had all brought me to this very depressing and sadly avoidable point-- the beginning.

Sincerely,
Thomas

What I Used To Think

I've made a break through; turned a corner; leapt from the plateau, on which I have spent so many years without direction or resolve. This blog is a testament to that. Also, I recently enrolled in aviation classes to pursue a life-long goal. And, after at least 21 years of nail biting, I've called it quits.
A long study of my life has lead me to analyze the deeply-rooted beliefs I had accepted as a child, and which have corrupted my ability to function as a normal adult.
Some of my more crippling and heinous misunderstandings are as follows:

1. The monster under my bed can only grab my feet if I set them down right next to it, due to its tiny arms and lack of "Bed Monster Commitment."
2. Falling asleep is just a shorter version of dying, making the prospect of being unconscious absolutely terrifying, and giving "bedtime" the same connotation as "death sentence."
3. "Ninja Turtle" is a reasonable career decision.
4. Any child can overcome the fear of bullies or even the effects of physical handicaps through the purchasing of "fast shoes."
5. Girls are lame.
6. When watching an action movie, declaring "I'm him!", or "That's me!", in connection with movie characters, can determine the pecking order for the rest of the night, and dictates who can punch whom without recourse or retaliation.
7. My parents often drug me to get me to sleep, because I can never seem to make it past the opening credits of Saturday Night Live, no matter how hard I try.
8. The correct lyrics to Jimmy Hendrix' "Purple Haze" are "'scuse me while I kiss this guy".
9. Snakes in the sewer can swim up the pipes and bite you on your pooper.
10. Teachers are not real people, but farmed and bread for the express purpose of being cold and authoritative figures without first names. Those seen in the real world doing normal people activities are braking serious teacher rules, and should be reported.
11. All dogs are male and all cats are female, and that puppies and kittens are a direct result of a long and complicated courtship, which included dinners out and other pre-planned activities.
I can see now that a flawed seed will only produce flawed fruit, or no fruit at all. But, my corruption of yesteryear has been purged and set afire, and the soil prepared for a whole new season of sewing.
One fact I still hold to be true: Choosing your school picture background carefully can cause even the most skeptical of people to believe you really were in space.....in a space station.....made entirely of lasers.



Sincerely,
Thomas

Beware

I've had to change my security level on my comments. Some dummy stranger left a comment that has a link that might be a virus link, so I deleted it and will notify Blogger but until I feel safe it will be a little trickier to leave comments, but I'd hate for one of you to somehow link in to a virus!

Love,
Tanya

Magic Spell

So, I was browsing Pyzam for a new template and in my excitement almost dropped the glass balls I was juggling! They have a David Bowie as Jareth from Labyrinth template! I was instantly ready to switch my template over when I remembered how much time it takes to put my sidebars back in. It made me seriously question my commitment to David Bowie. Did I not love him enough to change a simple blog template? Could that sub-par level of affection withstand the storms that threaten all great love? Do I really deserve someone wonderful like Jareth? Think about it: he doesn't discriminate against you just because you may be tall, short, hairy, an ogre, or baby. He loves kids. He can sing. He loves masquerade parties and what woman doesn't wish her husband would drug her, dress her up, and take her to a masquerade?! I've survived this long loving a man in ballerino tights who has a fascination with small children that I can only describe as disturbing. I'm sure I can hold on to the good memories hard enough to keep this crush going well into my old age.


Then again, maybe I need help.

Quinn Snow Day

I need to stop blogging at 1:00 a.m. Maybe I'll post more later when my mind can actually form coherent thoughts, but suffice it to say that we had a lot of fun tubbing last Saturday.

Valentine

First and most important: every reader or peruser of my blog must click on the link to Ben, my brother in law, Tom's brother. Tom and Ben made their first film. They have so many great ideas and a great help and friend in Garret Batty, of Three Coin Productions. "My Valentine" was chosen to produce first because of Valentine's Day of course. So go watch it. It's hilarious!!

Second, we had a wonderful Valentine's. On Thursday I had a lot of studying to do for a big test Friday so we just watched our niece and nephew while Ben and Kat got some well-deserved alone date time. We celebrated last night. We went to a Utah Grizzlies hockey game. They were playing the Bakersfield Condors! I had to fight the urge the whole game to yell out "I'm from Bakersfield. Do you know anyone in Laurelglen area?" We also had dinner at The Garden restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, overlooking the temple and Salt Lake scene. It was beautiful and the food was great! It was neat because my current chef/professor was the head chef of The Garden for 8 years. A lot of recipes we make come from the Garden because he created 80% of the menu. They still use his recipes. I realized after I ordered the porkloin that I made the apple-mango chutney that accompanies it. I was even more pleased to taste it and know that I created the same quality. It feels good to know I can reproduce good food like that. I think it's what I'll make for our family Valentine's dinner tomorrow. We got to stay at Little America hotel. We love it there. The tower is worth the stay every few years because the rooms are so comfortable and elegant. The Little America has this amazing breakfast buffet. It's so gourmet, with an omelet bar and fresh-carved ham, french toast, crepes, biscuits and gravy, all the fresh berries you can eat, pastries- a total breakfast lover's dream. Go some time!

P.S. I got a 39.5 out of 40 on my written test and a 92% on my practical. I was really pleased with both. We had to prepare duck, a soup, a sauce, and two side dishes with appropriate garnish as well as demonstrate our cutting skills and some other criteria I can't remember all within 2 1/2 hours. It was intense and fun!

Here's a picture. I don't have any for this blog's subject but it's fun to have a picture, right? This particular photo is of Sean right before his mission and our nephew Chase, Laura and Devin's son. They don't have a blog but I want the world to see their cute son.

The First Cut is the Sweetest

Saturday I had the opportunity to prepare the food for my friend Catherine's baby shower. It was so much fun! Rarely do I feel creative. I always feel like I'm just copying other things, but I felt like this time it was my creation. I was proud of my little toothpick holder made out of half a lemon. I rested my little stuffed potatoes on "nests" of alfalfa and it looked like little egg nests. I'm sure it's been done before, but the idea seemed new to me. I used the tops of my melon bowls as bases to add height and angle the bowls. I really enjoyed using food in new ways and thinking outside the box. I'm sure nothing will come of it, but one of the guests called the host after she left to get my number because she wanted me to cater an event of hers. I was flattered and felt very fulfilled at the end of the day. I also want to thank Tom for staying up really late with me and helping me prepare the food the night before.

Here are some pictures. P.S. I didn't make that beautiful cake. Christina did. She makes the best cakes. They're all from scratch and so beautiful and they taste amazing!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Business Before Pleasure

Cash was on the verge of writing genius and could not be disturbed.


Maggie finished all her dinner, and there was a lot on that plate, so she could have a cupcake. We were all very proud of her.

To show our appreciation and pride we all sang "Happy Thursday to You" to Maggie and let her blow out the candle on her cupcake.

The little disc on the cupcake was a ring, so life for Maggie was pretty great tonight.

Winter Wonderland

We are definitely in the middle of winter. The other day we missed school because the canyon was closed while they blew up avalanches. Today we woke up to a tremendous snowfall. Midway, which is right next to Heber, cancelled church so they could shovel people out of their homes. We were able to make it.



I do love the snow. I do love the snow. I do, I do, I do.


We shoveled our way to our car this morning for church. Tom had to shovel our way from the car back to the house after church.


If you didn't notice, that snow bank behind us is as tall as me now!

I'll update you when we build our snow fort next weekend.

Bowl Full of Cherries

Today we got together as a family. We hadn't all been together since Christmas break. It was so nice. We feel so spread out so it's great to have these fun-filled days together. We went to lunch, then bowling, then to a movie, then played games.

I bowled my usual 75 using the time tested Granny method while Tom rocked the house with a turkey!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I don't know why people didn't smile bigger. (Thank you Kat. You smiled when I said cheese.) I promise, we were having fun.



If you caught the tail end of that video you'd hear Tom apologizing for bowling Kay D's frame, not realizing his was over after getting a strike. (He thought it was the tenth frame.)

And the winner is...

I've won my first medal. Here's what I had to do for it:

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!



Let me explain. Last Friday Chef Troy came in to our class and announced that we could compete in a culinary competition, a la Iron Chef, and possibly go to Nationals. I considered competing. I thought about the competition. I knew I probably wouldn't win, but I thought I'd still compete for the practice. As I was thinking this over, my current chef, Chef Todd came over and said, "Tanya, the board had our meeting and we all nominated you for the Food and Beverage Service part of the competition." I asked him if it was because I was a bad chef. He laughed and assured me that it wasn't. Cody, another of my culinary professors was very complimentary and I was flattered that several people who hardly knew me had such confidence in me. In any case, I met once with Cody and we discussed how we'll practice for the state competition in March.

Skip ahead to today.

The three classmates who won in the school level cook-off and I headed to the meeting we were instructed to attend. I assumed it would be an information meeting and I knew they'd announce who won of my classmates who competed. And they did. I clapped as my three classmates headed up front to receive their gold, silver, and bronze medals. As the clapping subsided, the man at the front proceeded:

"And in the Food and Beverage Service competition, First place goes to Tanya Quinn." The lecture hall of people began clapping for me as I had to walk down and accept a medal for doing absolutely nothing. The worst part is that another student won second. I felt for him. Who gets second for a competition you didn't compete in?!

I think it's an okay thing, winning before you compete. I already have a win under my belt. I can move on to the state level with full confidence. So go ahead. Celebrate something you're going to do. It's a good feeling. Have that ice cream sundae because you're going to work out tonight. Paint your nails because you're going to scrub the bathroom tile. (Wear gloves when you do scrub so the painting isn't for all for naught.) The important thing is, find joy in the things you're going to do, then the strength to do them and go out and do them!

Maybe at the next level I'll compete before I take home the gold.

Hey Good Lookin'

I have been making some good looking food. I'll post recipes soon, but here are some pictures. I've included a lot of the things we've made. I also included a picture of me and my two team mates after we each butchered our first fish. I know you're jealous of my stylish uniform, but sorry, those elastic-waist checkered pants are all mine!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The decision to begin culinary school is definitely one of the best I've made. I've really enjoyed it. We work hard every day, but the days go by so fast.

So far we've had one practical exam. I had two hours to make a meal for my teacher from scratch by myself. We had to produce a soup, sauce, starch, vegetable, entree and had to demonstrate three types of classical cuts. Chef Todd said no one had ever finished their first practical on time. So of course I had my challenge. He laughed when I told him I looked forward to being the first to finish on time.

So, the day came and I had planned really well. I finished on time! It was great. I was really pleased with how it turned out. My goal was to finish on time, and I did. I got a good grade too. I was really pleased because Chef always says we need to balance speed with quality and I did just that.

We're Famous!

Here are our celebrity look-a-likes. Soon I'll be able to post my own pictures, but until then:

In case you were wondering, yes, that girl cut off at the end that Tom looks like is Kate Beckinsale.



Here's mine. As a side note, not a surprise, there were three more oriental girls that I looked like.

A Time To Mourn

I needed to put my sorrow out into the universe. It might help me move on. First, let me say I take every precaution to protect my laptop short of sleeping with it. Ask Tom. I am paranoid about where I leave it. So, when we rushed out of the office last Friday for a friend's Christmas party and I discovered I left the laptop at the shop, you can imagine my desire to turn right around and retrieve it. We decided the laptop was perfectly safe locked away at work, under a desk out of sight no less. So, one thing lead to another and I did not go back all weekend. Upon arrival to work Monday morning we discovered that ours and several other units had been broken into. They were looking for blank checks. They found them at several other offices. Luckily, United suffered no loss. Yes, here's where your stomach turns...

They found my laptop bag.

Here are some of the contents of my laptop bag:
1. Various important papers including some credit card statements so I had to change all my credit cards
2. BRAND NEW macbook
3. ipod video
4. wireless internet card I bought LAST WEEK!
4. Every song I've ever downloaded- I have over 50 gigs of music; (that's a lot) And all that music was purchased legally, so I'm out that money, not just time
5. Every picture I've ever taken from the beginning of my marriage in 2003; and no, they weren't backed up anywhere because I just put them all onto the computer planning to back them up on an external hard drive when I had a spare moment.

Let me just say: I know I'm extremely blessed. It's just stuff. I know that. I'm still very grateful for all the Lord's done for me. I lead a very blessed and cushioned life. It was a lot of eggs in one basket. In the end everything works out for the best. I'll probably regret this blog. Maybe if I had come Saturday night to retrieve the laptop I would have walked in on the scum and they would have shot me or something. I have all these optomistic thoughts and I'm often fine, but it still sucks!

So, that's why I've been down this week. We've made an insurance claim and you know how easy and painless they make it. Oh wait, they treat everyone like you must making a fraudulent claim. I have to provide receipts for everything that was taken. The laptop's easy, I just got that. But Tom gave me the ipod 2 years ago. The music will be a bear to find receipts for and I'm sure they won't count pictures as valueable, even though that's what eats me up the most! So, because people in the world are thieves I'm having to deal with insurance people who treat you like a thief because the same scummy types are defrauding insurance agencies as well. I haven't talked about it much because I get pretty upset every time I think about it too long.

So, I'm hoping this will be theraputic. I'm really grateful for everyone's blogs and pictures. Tomorrow is a new day and I'll post all that I'm grateful for. I know people are going hungry and homeless and presentless. I just needed to be a little down so I can appreciate the up I guess.

Is It Kosher?

Well, I'm almost ready to celebrate. I have two more final tests, but I am officially done with homework!!! I wanted to share one assignment I am particularly proud of. I had to present information on religious customs that affect foodservice. The large focus was on kosher foods. The laws are extremely complex so I wanted to come up with a way servers could remember some guidelines to ensure they served only the best. I racked my brain for weeks. I paced the floors, stayed up hours of the night and then... genius. I feel I was truly inspired. I wanted to share it with the world. So, sing the following song to the timeless tune of "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel."

"Kosher, Kosher, Kosher"

You can eat me if I'm cloven and chew all of my cud,
except if I'm a porker and live down in the mud.

Fish that have their fins and scales: that you can prepare.
Chicken, turkey, duck and goose are all considered fair.

Kosher, kosher, kosher; dairy I can eat.
Kosher, kosher, kosher; except when mixed with meat.

Make sure there's no blood.


It's very important as you sing the last line you shake your very best jazz hands and add a carny inflection to your voice. You may want to "ah cha cha cha" to get the full effect.

Festival of Trees

Today was great. We woke up to a winter wonderland, 7 inches of snow! We went to the Festival of Trees. Hundreds of decorated trees are donated, then auctioned off to raise money for Primary Children's Hospital. There were so many to admire, but here are a few that stood out. Maybe they will give you some ideas for your Christmas.


Michelle Thompson's favorite- ode to Audrey Hephern



Sophia Slade's favorite- All Olivia the Pig



Tom's favorite- Arch made by two trees



My favorite- upside down tree

Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas from the Quinns!

As you know, Grandma McGuire has opened her home to us. We were lucky enough to find these fabric jewels in her basement. I hope you study the picture closely to fully appreciate the quality photo setting.

You Get to Decide!

Okay, I need your help. It's time for this year's CHRISTMAS GINGERBREAD HOUSE/COTTAGE/DWELLING EXTRAVAGANZA QUEST-LIKE ENDEAVOR 2007! I can't believe I can't find pictures of last year's finished product. It was a masterpiece, complete with flower vines and christmas decorations. Below are a few pictures, but they don't adequately capture the grandeur that is my gingerbread house. (And no, I'm not biased at all.)


Just so you know, I inserted lights so those butterscotch windows put off a soft glow when the lights are out, just like a real home.


Around the corner is the chocolate rock chimney.

So, here are the candidates for this year's CHRISTMAS GINGERBREAD HOUSE/COTTAGE/DWELLING EXTRAVAGANZA QUEST-LIKE ENDEAVOR 2007!


Log Cabin


Carriage


Cookies & Cream

The polls are now open. Let me know what you think. Voting will close 12:00a.m. PST December 1st. I need to get going so it doesn't become a VALENTINE'S gingerbread house/cottage/dwelling extravaganza quest-like endeaver!

Why Captain and Chef?

Did I get two new career barbies? No! Those are just the titles we have decided to pursue...this week. Tom has flown his first solo! His instructors said he did really well. I wondered what doing well is when it's your first flight? Good job, you only scraped one building. Good job, those cows were going to be slaughtered anyway. Good job, now we can buy that new plane we've had our eye on!

Can't you see it? Here are a few pictures from our days in school.


I got some 'splaining to do! My speciality will be candied yams. I'll have the smoothest marshmellow cover in all the land!


"Love lifts us up where we belong".... Actually, Tom informs me that "Lift lifts us up where we belong." Sing that; see how it grabs ya.

Here are a few more...


The flavor is hidden in the sloppy. (P.S. It's supposed to look like that.)


This image brought to you courtesy of Tom's solo flight. That was a comforting picture to receive. Don't mind my texting... I'm just FLYING!