birthday gifts

"Well, what do you want for your birthday?" my mother asked me again this morning.

"Uhh, I haven't had any time to think about it while you were out of town," I muttered.

So, what do I want for my birthday?

Boyfriend got me a nice wok to start cooking healthier, a pizza stone to cook up my gluten free creations, and "the least useful" - a opal bracelet with diamond chips and thin gold wavy links in between.

Thought about having her order me a case of Chebe mixes. But I would rather have something that lasts a bit longer. Last year was a day of pampering at a day spa with a lunch afterwards.

My best idea is new tops. I have a problem with those. Long story to follow....

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I bought a black suit in December for a funeral, and figured I could wear it to a job interview with a light shirt under the blazer. So a couple weeks ago, I dragged it out of the closet for the interview for the job I got. I was thrilled that the pants fit (perhaps a bit better). But when I put the blazer on, I practially had to dislocate the shoulders to get it on. And sure enough, when I was trying to get it off, I heard some seam rippage (no visable tears).

WTF? Oh yeah, the hardware store is mostly upper body. So all the lifting and carrying around stuff has an effect.

The downside is all the "professional" wear tops I had in my previous job will not fit me right now. The cute blue button blouse I tried last Saturday will not work in a lab (unless I'm trying to seduce the boss or something).

The slight consulation is that the bottoms I can still fit in. Oh, and the shorts I bought almost two years ago when I first met boyfriend still fit (with a bit to spare).

Latest fave

It's a bit expensive, but I love this stuff so much right now I don't care. Besides in a few weeks, it won't be such an issue anymore.

Chebe.

Heard lots of celiacs rave about this stuff, and while at Wild Oats on Tuesday with boyfriend, I picked up a couple packages. I tried their yeast free bread and their pizza mix.

First of all, this stuff is so easy to make. Take the package, add a bit of oil, two eggs, and some milk. As the ingredients get mixed in, it starts to make a stretchy doughy mass.

The first one I tried was the yeast free bread. I divided it in half and tried to form it into two even sub bread loaves. Baked it on the pizza stone (birthday present from the boyfriend). It made two substantial sub rolls. Took it out of the oven, let it cool, then bagged it and put it in the fridge. Split, toasted, and it made a yummy sandwich.

Very happy.

When I tried the pizza mix, I added shredded cheese to it. I was a little nervous since I had to roll it out. But I was able to roll it out on the countertop, then pick it up and put it on the pizza stone without it breaking or falling apart. Since I cooked it on a stone, it was a crispy top and a little chewy in the middle.

So very happy.

Don't know how the figured out tapioca flour could work this well. If you've ever tried cooking with tapioca flour, it makes a giant mess. But the owners of Chebe figured it out.

Going to order a case. You save a bit that way. They have a mix for cinnamon buns, and more.

even worse

By Saturday, I was in bad shape. I put in 11 hours Thursday, and 13 Friday (the store is only open for 13 hours at the most). And still had to come in Saturday to open.

I was a sick puppy. I needed a jacket on the floor because I was so cold. When I needed it in the break room, I was pretty sure I had a fever (the break room AC isn't working, and it's been almost 100 degrees).

By the time I dragged myself home, I had a sore throat to boot.

So I'm taking it easy, drinking a lot of water and catching up on things I can do from the comfort of my bed and laptop computer.

But that ruins my plans of shopping for shoes for the new job...

The worst

As much as I enjoy working with the guys and girls (for the most part) at the hardware store, and have gotten to know some of the frequent shoppers pretty well, this last week makes me happy that I will not continue to work there.

The managers are nice (a bit forgetful), the floor guys are very nice (with one noteable exception), the cashiers are nice (with a couple exceptions). Still deal with customers who can't deal with a girl that knows something about tools, but the ones that can are very nice to me.

But since we're near the college, we have some college students there. They request spring break off. The moms also requested off to have spring break with their kids. And the managers gave it to all of them.

Then one cashier had a seriously sick kid. Like emergency surgery sick. So she couldn't show up. Then another cashier just pulled a "S" (call in saying you're running late and never show up). Since "S" still works for the organization, I won't use the full name (plus it's insulting to the rest of the normal people I know with that name).

So instead of being on the floor, I was a cashier for a few days. With overtime.

Besides the fact that being a cashier doesn't help the image that I'm a floor person, there's lots of emphasis on the floor people to help acknowledge every customer (which most don't appreciate if you're trying to help a customer). And there's the re-merchandising fiasco that I can't even describe without needing some serious booze. Then Friday came our big shipment of stuff that we barely touched any of by the time I left Saturday afternoon.

I won't even go into the mess of dealing with sales promos that was dumped into my lap.

The not-so-great

The not so great thing is that boyfriend will more than likely not be close by for my birthday. He was supposed to go out to Alaska for a job Monday. It's been postponed by about a week or so, but probably not two weeks.

He came for a visit last Friday and left Wednesday. Since Tuesday was my day off, he took me out to celebrate an early birthday. We saw "300", and went to a nice seafood place. My tuna was overcooked (kitties liked it fine), but the waiter has a celiac girlfriend so he told me about a restaurant that had a gluten free cake.

But I got an awsome set of birthday presents. Including "the least practical" that I love very much so.

The great

Okay, and now for the great news:
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I got a real job!

It's for some serious money. I start April 2. Tuesday I go in for my paperwork and drug test.