Tarrador

green was my favorite color for a reason. Thanks for the great lesson. 17 hours ago

“It’s better to burn out than to fade away!” 17 hours ago

Had the chance to taste this very nice bourbon recently, and was impressed enough to hunt down and score my own bottle. I paid $21.00 for my bottle, which is a steal. But on average the bourbon is available for $35 – $38.

It is made by the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY and is a single barrel bourbon that is still considered a small-batch, although it doesn’t carry any of the info such as barrel number, bottling date, etc. The bottle is tall and elegant and simple, like a very classy woman. Also like a classy woman, she is so much more than she appears.

The color is a beautiful, rich bronzy topaz that is almost reddish. When the cork comes out there is almost a floral fragrance. My first date with Eagle Rare was a rushed shot glass bolted down between courses at work. On this night I pulled down a heavy tumbler and splashed a generous three or four ounces into the glass. The bourbon had very nice legs when swirled, and an initial nose of grain, tobacco, leather, and cardamom. The first taste was almost like a very sophisticated sherry, with additional charcoal, oak, vanilla, pepper, toasted grain, and traces of overripe fruit (flavorful, not spoiled). Swallowing was surprising easy for a 90 proof bourbon. It went down very smoothly and carried warmth vs. stinging heat. The flavors turned dry and spicy, making me think of beef jerky and dried persimmons and very old canvas (I dunno, that’s just what came to mind). After a few seconds there was a follow-up burn, but very gentle, with an oily, honey’ed, roasted almond taste that lingered in a very pleasant way with just a little bit of bitter acidity. So smooth was she I was able to sip the whole 3 or 4 ounces in under 30 minutes watching GOT on HBO.

The following Sunday I knocked out menus, schedules, payroll, grocery orders and prep sheets with a balloon glass of Eagle Rare on the rocks next to me. The cold and the water diffused some of the earthier flavors and maintained the sweet and spicy tastes. Later I paired it with Coke, Ginger Ale, orange juice, and composed into an Old Fashion. All were good, but this is a complex bourbon that really deserves to be enjoyed on its own. Over about two weeks I drained the bottle and even S., who is not a bourbon/whiskey fan at all, thought it was very smooth, flavorful, and lady-like.

I was actually a little jealous of sharing my bourbon with a food recipe, but I did use around 1/4 cup to make a bourbon-butter-cream sauce to go over white pepper seared scallops and red onion linguini pasta. I reduced the bourbon with a mash of roasted shallots and garlic, added some heavy cream and let reduce more, then swirled in some butter and emulsified, then finished with lemon zest and tarragon. I tossed this with the caramelized red onion pasta I made, sprinkled with flakes of shaved Asiago cheese and topped with grilled asparagus and orange juice-marinated sea scallops that had been crusted with white pepper and seared. The flavors were great, but I felt like the sophisticated elements of the bourbon got lost in the competition for flavors. I think this would be a good bourbon to blend with white chocolate and make truffles with, crusted in toasted peanuts. 1 day ago

are so organized, they are combining Christmas and Easter for efficiency. 1 day ago

on passing the test! And I lovelovelove the photo of you in front of Mt. Rushmore! I think I’ve stood in practically that very same spot…

It reminded me of this video, which I think is a great inspiration. One day maybe I’ll do one like it…

but two very exciting steps forward! 1 day ago

and congratulations. It is rare for employers to hire people without an agenda (in my experience, anyway). One reason you may be getting this job is because they see you as a potential candidate for leadership. And remember that close-call on #2 interview? Maybe that little bit of extra experience will put you over the other applicant next time.

You need to decide what this job and position (the one you’ve actually been hired for, not the potential one) mean to you in the long run. If you need to knock it down a gear and de-stress, and don’t really see yourself in this location for long-term (and that is perfectly okay, btw) then the opportunity might be more trouble than it is worth. But more than the responsibilities and work, imagine the opportunity to be in charge and determine how an entire department is run. Imagine also how you might feel if they hire someone (and they are going to hire someone) who is a jerk or poorly organized or lacks passion for change . Imagine two, three, five years down the line, looking at that position filled by someone else and knowing you could be doing a better job.

Also, it sounds like you have nothing to lose by at least applying. If you don’t get selected, you still have the job you’ve already been hired for. Would it be any harder to learn a new management job than the job you’ve been chosen for? Let’s say you get turned down. You’d be seen to have taken a shot, to show some spunk and initiative and team spirit. So when another opportunity for promotion comes around they will still want to consider you because you did not take yourself out of the running before the race even began. Let’s say you do get chosen. Maybe this was the path the Universe had in mind for you all along. All you needed to do was to reach out and accept what was being offered.

I agree with Hawk: “Out of the frying pan and into the fire”. But I like it hot. The hotter the better. Who wants to go to a job they can predictably perform without challenge everyday? Steel is forged in heat and pressure, so is gold and so are diamonds.

Such is my advice. Good luck and good energies to you for success! 1 day ago

For an event we made some mini chicken tacos. We cut and fried mini tortilla shells and filled them with a creamy chipolte chicken salad, topped with spicy mango slaw and avocado-cilantro puree.

It is on thing to get great reviews from the customers. But when the customer is only getting three out of four tacos because the servers cannot stop snacking on them… well, I guess that is a kind of compliment, too.

^{They didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed!}2 days ago

but smile when being paid a complement by such a lovely young woman as yourself?

I am so happy things are going well for you now and that you are still here with us. Sending you powerful energies of love and strength and endurance to make it always so…

You are beautiful. 2 days ago

make up stuff in your journal. Wild, exotic, crazy stuff that never happened.

Imagine if someone stumbled across that years from now… 2 days ago

and very “worthy” of repeating! ;) Thank you so much for sharing that.

I went back and reread that entry and I can recall every single emotion and detail and fear and frustration… But these days I can say I feel miles and miles away from the man who made that entry. And I can see with much greater clarity the “ask for no help, solve this on my own, punch and struggle” approach I took because I refused to acknowledge that there might be elements of the problem out of my control. Now that I know what ailed me, I can look back at an entry like that and see it as a nearly textbook example of my… depression (See? I just sat here for several moments trying to come up with a different word, still hesitant to say “depression”). And from a better vantage I can see how things could only have gotten more difficult and desperate had I not sought treatments and counseling.

Around this time I was doing a lot of scribbling and drawing, trying to put a face or image to the way I felt. In no way trying to create art, mind you… Rather to try and vomit up the oppressive emotions that seemed to weigh on me every day. One recurring image was of a man poorly balanced on a tightrope, over a deep chasm. I sketched probably a dozen variations of that theme, including the one posted here. It was the most accurate way to express the feeling I had at the time.

Now I feel like I can make some scribblings with a different theme.. 2 days ago

and sense of purpose. I believe you will learn a lot from these lists and when you go back 15 months from now, you will have very few not done items, and they will have been not all that important…

I used to keep a notebook wherein I wrote seven goals for the day (big and small). I’d mark each goal off as it was accomplished, but very rarely “transferred” a goal to the next day. Looking back and seeing the unachieved items day after day depressed me and curtailed my resolution. I am very impressed with your resolve to wrestle with these tough goals and see them through. Much luck as you go forward. 6 days ago

women in cutesy dresses look perfectly in place at a pub, or a football game, or just about anywhere…

And holding a Guiness, too? Aaaaaamen! 6 days ago

pairs of Clarks and they are terrific. Got mine from Amazon which ended up being the least expensive, even with the shipping.

Your boots look great. Many happy journeys!

t-shirt. She gets questions about it all the time, too. ;) 6 days ago

Haven’t had time to really work on the garden, and the season is slipping on. May just shoot for a late summer autumn garden now, which I have not done before and might be fun.

We need to finish our reconstruction of the raised beds and trellises along the fence. Teenagers keep jumping over our fence to cross the neighborhood, damaging the fence and now they have broken a slat on S.’s bench. Damn the HOA, I’m going to see if Home Depot sells razor wire and put an end to this rude trespassing.

We did get to Lowe’s for some paint for a room and while there S. got some very pretty marigolds to line the steps leading up to the garden. 1 week ago

that if I am rigorous about it, I can comfortably read 25-30 pages a day (depending upon the genre). I typically set a start and end time for completing a book, say 10-13 days. If I get finished before the deadline, I can take a little break or jump right into another book. If I go long, I try to start a new book on schedule, and work to make even more time to read so I can read both books. Reading 60 pages a day can be rather daunting, so by SMARTening up the goal with a deadline, I find I try to stick to it more faithfully. 1 week ago

experience! A great goal to fulfill. 1 week ago

and wise to recognize that being mad at yourself won’t help you stop. It might even stress you out more. My own thought is that you might try being kind and loving to yourself, the way you would if a dear friend were hurting herself in someway. You wouldn’t scold her or even tell her she is wrong; you would ask her what is wrong. It might not be as obvious as it seems at first, but if we stop, give ourselves some space and breath, and really examine what is triggering or motivating our actions, we might glimpse an issue or aggravation we hadn’t seen before. Talk with yourself about what is wrong, but not in a flat out “I already know all the answers” kind of way. Try a gentle, understanding approach aimed at resolving the issue, not the symptom. The symptom will usually go away when the issue is addressed.

What if you put some fringe or fake hair or something on your pen and pulled it? Remember those fuzzy haired troll dolls they used to put on the ends of pencils? I think drawing would be a great release of stress, too. 1 week ago

I have many illnesses. This is one I don’t apologize for, however.

Why would you be in trouble? Do you not have feet? _{weird… and kinky…}1 week ago

^{“Uh, what’s this cable-lookin’ thing comin’ out the wall?”}
that’s pretty awful customer service. My cable guy made an appointment to come between 10am and noon on Sunday. I got two confirmation calls before he arrived. He was 30 minutes late, however, and as recompense they gave me 3 months of a premium channel for free. Granted, it was STARZ, but still…

Oh, and he fixed the cable in about 10 minutes. This is not the Comcast I remember… 1 week ago

to hopefully bring you calm, peace and energy. I understand how you feel at times like this. It is okay to put those thoughts and feeling out there. But keep working towards getting better. Life will get better. 1 week ago

I once had to duct tape the fridge door closed during a 72-hour fast to stop random door openings.

Sending you energies for strength, purpose and consistency… 1 week ago

on your dream job! Great achievement. 1 week ago

1. What was the last beverage you had? A glass of red wine
2. Are you in a good mood? Yes, more and more every day
3. Do you believe in psychics? Absolutely
4. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? Yes, all 50 Shades of Grey
5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Men, weight. Women, feet
6. Do you believe in love at first sight? No, but I believe in lust at first sight, and that can sometimes be a good place to start
7. What is your favorite brand of shampoo? Whatever it is my staff member uses… her hair smells divine
8. 3 things you like about yourself? I can take a joke, I’m smart, I can take charge
9. Tea or coffee? Coffee am, tea pm
10. Do you make wishes at 11:11? No, but I will in 5 minutes…1 week ago

man shed fever. 1 week ago

for your four years here, and the opportunity to witness your courageous and awesome growth!! Happy 43 Anniversary! 1 week ago

have been mixed breeds, ranging from labrador mixes, poodle mixes, a flat-coat retriever mix, a short-haired chow mix, a boxer mix and a spaniel mix. All were adopted from the pound or the Humane Society or PAWS, except for Melbourne, who I found while driving back home from a job assignment one day. He was running back and forth across the road in the middle of nowhere (literally, swampland every direction for 50 miles) and bounded, crying and tail wagging, into my van. He was very malnourished, eat up with ticks and fleas, and was suffering from heartworms so badly that the treatments nearly killed him. He continued to be a good and loving dog his entire life until old age and ill health took him 15 years later. 1 week ago

I set out to make a 15 minute clean sweep and reorganization of the kitchen pantry. It has become not just a food storage area, but a general drop-off point for all kinds of stuff, some not food related. It is also relatively generous in size, and somebody’s law of something dictates that available stuff will swell and expand to fill all available areas unless rigidly controlled. So the pantry is full of all kinds of stuff that either have never been used, or were used once, or get used sporadically, or get lost in the shuffle and repurchased until we have multiple containers.

15 minutes actually turned into 1.5 hours and a lot of gathering, reorganizing, dumping, and relocating. During the course of the clean up I came across buggy pasta from 2 years ago, 5 different kinds of rice, 4 kinds of grits, 6 types of flours, 12 kinds of teas, 5 flavors of honey, 2 kinds of agave nectar, 6 heretofore overlooked bottles of our favorite wine, 12 types of dried fruits, 3 kinds of oatmeal, 7 kinds of ancient grains ranging from buckwheat to red quinoa, 5 lbs of graham cracker crumbs, 5 kinds of dried seaweeds, hemp powder, 3 flavors of olive oil, 2 varieties of balsamic vinegar, 8 varieties of dried and canned beans, 4 types of canned tomatoes, 4 kinds of salt, 5 types of chocolate, shredded coconut, coconut oil, coconut water, coconut milk, and coconut flavoring, a post-apocalyptic stash of sugar, malted milk and rum, and a bottle of lemon rinds soaking in grain vodka (my lemoncello project, lost and overlooked).

When the reorganization was finished everything was back in its designated area and it looks like a serviceable, efficient pantry once again. Now I have to summit the task of actually using the items in the pantry (what the hell am I going to do with 32 oz of tamarind paste?). A lot of stuff went into the trash. A few items got transferred to the refrigerator or the spice cabinet. Those will be the targets of my next 15 minute clean ups. 1 week ago

is a habit I’ve become aware of in my own mental process, wherein I begin the day not by thinking about all the things that could go well, but about the one or two things that could go wrong! Thinking about thing like this and preparing a positive plan for dealing with them is one thing, but ruminating and getting bummed out by something that has only happened in my imagination has led me to take less chances, be less open, and certainly be less optimistic.

My wife recently taught me a phrase: “Fake the funk”, which basically means “fake it until you make it”. I like using it as a mantra because it is more upbeat and fun to me. I think that reflecting upon gratefuls and done-wells will not only help you fake the funk, but build a foundation of positive reinforcement you will have no trouble believing. 1 week ago