First night at Hennen's...

http://www.hennens.net/

Last night was my first night back at the "old" trade. It went surprisingly well. I remembered a lot from my days at Lancaster's and Somoma Cucina. (Both Bloomington, IL restaurants).

The guy who trained me was named Ivan. He is really good. Smooth talker. He has a lot of "regulars/request tables." The sections are small but the ticket sales are big :) Me likey. I think Ivan had 7 tables all night and had over $1000 in sales. Very good considering he was trying to teach someone the "ropes" at the same time.

The restaurant is BEAUTIFUL. I have never been in a place this nice. The kitchen is real nice too. Really long and skinny. More like a galley kitchen. The menu is out of this world. The chef really has his stuff together. The chef is from Alabama, but has lived all over the world. It won't be a problem making money here. The food really sells itself. I think the most beautiful dish I saw go out was the scallops over grits with prosciutto ham and arugula to garnish. The grits looked like fluffy mashed potatoes. I can't wait to try it!

The only "obstacle" I see is the computer. I haven't worked on a computer at a restaurant since 1998! All the tickets at Lancaster's were hand written. So I could basically do whatever I wanted. At Hennen's it is a little different. It is a really organized house with A LOT of rules. No eating on shift. No hoop earrings. No more than one ring on each finger. Black socks, shoes, and pants. White oxford shirt with a button down collar. And you MUST use Hennen's pens. The manager gave me 3, and said if I need more they are 50 cents. I get 1 apron, if I need another one, it is $8. Whew. Tight ship.

I am in a training period of 5 days...working 5 dinner shifts straight through is going to be tiring to say the least. At least I will get done with training fast and get my own sections and finally start making money! At the beginning of each day there is a test from the previous night. I need to get 90% accurate in order to start the next shift. They gave me a copy of the test last night to "practice" on...come to find out, nothing I learned last night is on the test. It is all in this 40 page manual they gave me! Looks like I have some studying to do this afternoon. :)

I am going to head to the mall and try and find another couple white shirts and check out mattresses. Sleeping on an air mattress is getting really really old (thanks Heidi, but the aerobed can only please a person so long :))

The weather down here is rainy and in the low to mid 40s. It is so strange to have skipped the month of February and March and jumped right into April weather. I hear things are still really cold up there. Sorry guys. :(

Take care and wish me luck on my second shift at Hennen's tonight.

Heather

Pictures from the move...

Packed truck...yup the motorcycle got in there

Larry, Jim, Shawn, and Heather finished packing

6% grade heading down the mountain

Run away truck ramp in TN

Heather driving the 24' truck with Dad and Payton

Thanks, Heather

Moving to Chattanooga...

We left Bloomington at 6:15 am on Tuesday morning. After dropping off Larry's truck at the airport, me, Dad, and Larry headed down to Chatta-vegas. We took 3.5 hour shifts. I started out in the Vue, Dad drove the big moving truck, and Larry rode shotgun for the first shift. Then Larry drove the truck, I rode shotgun, and Dad drove the Vue. On the last shift I took the wheel of the big moving truck, Dad was riding shotgun with me, and Larry was in the Vue. Heading up and down the mountain in the big moving truck was...interesting to say the least. I was really glad to have Dad there with me. We got to the house at about 4:45 pm Central time. So 10.5 hours in a big a#$ moving truck is pretty good, I think. It was still day light, thank goodness. We unloaded the Vue and got our suitcases out of the truck and grilled out. It was a really good drive and relaxing. It was awesome sharing the drive with my Dad and Larry.



The next day (yesterday) we unloaded the truck in record time. With all of us helping it went really fast. Andy, me, Dad, Kevin, and Larry got all the boxes out and put in the "right" place. We took a break and headed out to Mellow Mushroom for pizza and beers. After that, we got back to the house and unloaded most of the boxes we planned to unpack.



Last night we went to Andy's weekly poker night at the bike shop. Come to find out...I don't like playing poker. I was out in the 4th round. I wasn't too disappointed either. ;-) I thought it was boring and not a very fun way to give your friends your money. Andy did well. He got 2nd place. Hanging out in the bike shop was fun. Dad and I looked at all the bikes. We even took some out for a test ride. The Trek "Pure" was really cool cruiser/commuter bike.

This morning we took the Budget rental truck back. We got our $150 deposit back. It is good to have it done and all of our stuff in one place. Now all we have to do is find places for all of our things. I think the plan is to head downtown Chattanooga and check out the Delta Queen Steamboat on the Tennessee River and do some sight seeing. After that, balance the check book and clean the house :-P Gotta love all that dog hair!

I should have pictures of packing, moving, and living in Tennessee in the next post. Till then later taters, Heather

Closed on the house!

We closed on the house today. After some drama this weekend with the garage and our "awesome" neighbor, it is finally DONE! What a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. Here are some pictures our friend Mike Hannah took of me being very very happy...

Of course they are in reverse order. Grr. The first one is a crazy jumping pic (really nice day--notice no jacket and no shoes in February), second one is landing, third one is mid-jump, the fourth one is getting ready to jump, and the final one is "normal." So happy to be finished with this ordeal and moving to Tennessee.

Yesterday I signed over my power of attorney to my lawyer so he could close on 1116 while I was in North Carolina for work the rest of the week. By 11 am Andy and I had a fatty check deposited into our checking account ready to put down on a new house in Chattanooga. (BTW...we haven't found a new house yet, so don't start asking about that).

Illinois Winter...

Dear Diary:
Aug. 12 - Moved into our new home in Illinois. It is so beautiful here. The hills and river valleys are so picturesque. I have a beautiful old oak tree in my front yard. Can hardly wait to see the change in the seasons. This is truly God's Country.

Oct. 14 - Illinois is such a gorgeous place to live, one of the real special places on Earth. The leaves are turning a multitude of different colors. I love all of the shades of reds, oranges and yellows, they are so bright. I want to walk through all of the beautiful hills and spot some white tail deer. They are so graceful, certainly they must be the most peaceful creatures on Earth. This must be paradise.

Nov. 11 - Deer season opens this week. I can't imagine why anyone would want to shoot these elegant animals. They are the very symbol of peace and tranquility here in Illinois. I hope it snows soon. I love it here!

Dec. 2 - It snowed last night. I woke to the usual wonderful sight: everything covered in a beautiful blanket of white. The oak tree is magnificent. It looks like a postcard. We went out and swept the snow from the steps and driveway. The air is so crisp, clean and refreshing. We had a snowball fight. I won, and the snowplow came down the street. He must have gotten too close to the driveway because we had to go out and shovel the end of the driveway again. What a beautiful place. Nature in harmony. I love it here!

Dec. 12 - More snow last night. I love it! The plow did his cute little trick again. What a rascal. A winter wonderland. I love it here!

Dec. 19 - More snow - couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work in time. I'm exhausted from all of the shoveling. And that snowplow!

Dec. 21 - More of that white shit is coming down. I've got blisters on my hands and a kink in my back. I think that the snowplow driver waits around the corner until I'm done shoveling the driveway. A-hole.

Dec. 25 - White Christmas, More freakin' snow. If I ever get my hands on that (@#*%& who drives that snowplow, I swear I'll castrate him and why don't they use more salt on these roads to melt this crap??

Dec. 28 - It hasn't stopped snowing since Christmas. I have been inside since then, except of course when that SOB "Snowplow Harry" comes by. Can't go anywhere, cars are buried up to the windows. Weather man says to expect another 10 inches. Do you have any idea how many shovelfuls 10 inches is??

Jan. 1 - Happy New Year? The way it's coming down it won't melt until the 4th of July! The snowplow got stuck down the road and the a-hole actually had the nerve to come and ask to borrow a shovel! I told him I'd broken 6 already this season.

Jan. 4 - Finally got out of the house. We went to the store to get some food and a gosh dang deer ran out in front of my car and I hit the bastard. It did $3,000 in damage to the car. Those beasts ought to be killed. The hunters should have a longer season if you ask me.

Jan. 27 - Warmed up a little and rained today. The rain turned the snow into ice and the weight of it broke the main limb of the oak tree in the front yard and it went through the roof. I should have cut that thing into fireplace wood when I had the chance.

May 23 - Took my car to the local garage. Would you believe the whole underside of the car is rusted away from all of that damn salt they dump on the road? Car looks like a bashed up, heap of rusted sh-t.

June 10 - Sold the car, the house, and moved to Chatta-vegas BABY! I can't imagine why anyone in their freakin' mind would ever want to live in the freakin' State of Illinois.

Love, Heather =)

Movin' on UP y'all!

Hello all. Sorry it has been almost 3 weeks since my last post. OMG! Am I slacking? No. I was trying to wait until it was more "official." Well I just can't wait anymore...

We sold the house! After it was on the market for only 4 weeks. Whooo Hooo! (times like a million). We have to wait until February 10th for the close for it to be "official" & there still might be a slight snafu with the buyer's financing. Worst case scenario the close will happen February 26th. Hopefully the later date does NOT happen. Pray for the closing date to be on the 10th, K?

Yeah baby. I am M-O-V-I-N-G! Holy Jeese! I am really moving. Oh man... I am really moving. Crap. After living in Bloom Bloom since I graduated high school, it is gonna be a hard move. Double Crap! I JUST realized I have been out of high school for 16 years! Balls!

Andy and I have made so many great friends and have been really spoiled to have our family so close (only an hour drive for Andy's family and 2 hours for mine). Now we are going to be 9-12 hours away from our family and 8-ish hours from our friends in Bloomington. Well...we knew this day was coming, hence the blog. Hopefully, we will be able to keep in touch through e-mail, phone calls, blogs, facebook, etc. And remember, Chattanooga is a GREAT place for a vaca. ;-)

I am really excited to be living in the SAME house as my husband, no snow, close to OUTdoor rock climbing, and new job possibilities. But a little scared at the same time. I am pretty sure I won't have too many troubles meeting new people and making friends. But there is always that thought of... "Oh man, I am starting over from scratch. New friends, new grocery store, new neighbors, and all that jazz."

I guess I will be ready for my next pair of "big girl pants" in a couple months. I am so looking forward to seeing Andy, the boys, buying a new house, getting new furniture, and starting our life together, finally!

I will post a pic with the "sold" sign on it as soon as I can...gotta borrow a digital camera first. (hint hint) ;-)

Take care everyone, and if you are sad about the Sweets moving to Chatta-vegas just picture us running the hills of TN chuckin' rocks at rabid Cujo TN pooches. =)

Heather

Chattanooa Cont.

The end of my trip to Chattanooga was just as awesome as the beginning.

Like I mentioned before, I made Christmas dinner. Come to find out...it was pretty good. :) Andy and Kevin went climbing Christmas day at LRC and I stayed home to cook. I was a little bummed I couldn't go play, but I was very happy with how the dinner came out and how the house looked for company Christmas night. The pies were great. I think the Italian beef came out pretty good too. I think it was my favorite Christmas ever so far. Not that my childhood Christmas wasn't fun, but cooking Christmas dinner for my husband in shorts and sandals with ALL the windows open while he was rock climbing, was exactly what I would describe as my ultimate holiday. Plus, because of having 2 homes to take care of, we did not exchange gifts. I thought I would really miss a major component of the holiday, but I actually enjoyed the holiday more because of it. I didn't have any pressure to buy that super special gift. Our gift to each other was being under the same roof for more than 3 days. Ahhh. That was really nice.

The day after Christmas I went to yoga at the new yoga studio in the same shopping complex Andy's new Trek store is located in (The North Shore). It is called North Shore Yoga.

http://northshoreyoga.net/

It was the BEST yoga class I have ever been to. The name of the class was "Flow Yoga." Very similar to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Although, there were more breaks in this flow class between postures than in other ashtanga classes I have taken. The room was heated to about 85*-90* It was awesome! I had a great experience. So good in fact, I went back the next day and took their "Hot Yoga" class. Very similar to Bikram Yoga, but for some copy right reason or something they can't call it Bikram. The room was heated to 110*!!! Classes are guided by specific dialogue including 26 postures and two breathing exercises. The class lasted for approximately 90-minutes. Consequently, I was super duper sweaty. It was really cool. The instructor was good. A little on the militant side, but I think that is they type of yoga that was presented. I was a little intimated before class and my worries were not put to rest until about 1/2 way into the class. The breathing is different and since the room is so much hotter, there are precautions that need to be taken. For instance, they told me to drink plenty of water before and during class, not to eat for 1-2 hours before, and if I feel light headed to sit down. I thought...I did an Ironman. I can handle 2 yoga classes one day after another, even if one of them is going to be really really hot, right? Right? It went well. Whew. I am not a yoga wussy.

After yoga on Friday, Andy and I went to the aquarium and walked around downtown Chattanooga. It was great. The left side of the building (east) is the ocean and the right side (west) is the river. We hit the river side first.

Here I am in a shark tank. Oooooo. A tri-shark in a shark tank...the irony.

Friday night, Andy took me out on a date for Mexican food.

Saturday morning I did the hot yoga and Saturday afternoon I gave Andy his 2nd Christmas "present." (The first was dinner). I took ALL of his laundry (sleeping bags, dog blankets, sheets, towels, and regular laundry) to the laundromat. It has been a long time since I did laundry at a coin laundry facility. If you know me, there has to be an adventure here, right? You will not be disappointed. I get there with my GIANT tub of laundry and attempt to survey the scene. I pick 3 washers that are quad loads (holds up to 40 lbs.) I probably didn't need such big washers, but I was doing 3 sleeping bags, 4 blankets, 3 sets of sheets, and Andy's regular laundry. Anywhoisit... the washing went fine. Onto the drying. I think I kept putting too much into the wrong dryers because the Asian lady that owned the place kept coming over and yelling at me to switch dryers. After ~2 hours, I was done. Pleased with myself and ready to head home, I packed up my clean laundry and headed home. Come to find out none of the towels I dried were completely dry. Ugh.

Saturday night we went out with Kevin, Tyler, and Lacy. We first went to this billiards place on the South side of downtown. It was pretty cool. The next place we went to was Rhythm and Brews back in the heart of downtown. Great venue. We saw 2 live bands. They had Pabst Blue Ribbon in cans! Come to find out...once you have a couple of decent beers, good ol'PBR doesn't taste too bad.

The one thing I forgot, Tennessee is NOT smoke free! Damn. My clothes by the end of the night needed to be incinerated. I HATE smoke on my clothes. Guess when I move down there, my work with the Heart/Lung Association in Bloomington will continue. Watch out Chatta-vegas, smoke free bars are coming!

The drive back to Bloomington was not as bad as the drive down to Chattanooga. The weather was good and the traffic was very light. My heart on the other hand, was very heavy. I really did not want to leave Chattanooga. I miss being with Andy every day and seeing him every day. I miss our dogs being together. I can't wait to sell the house in Bloominton and make our lives so much more simpler/happier by living in the same time zone. So keep your fingers crossed and your ears open for anyone that would like to buy a 1920's 2 BR/1BA super duper cute house on Washington St. in Bloomington, IL. Here is a link to the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) web-site...

http://www.fsbolocal.com/viewPropertyAd.htm?id=13270

Take care,

Heather

I will leave you with the most hilarious picture of the week...Atreyu wanted to get up on my lap while I sat in a camping chair. He missed me! Can you blame him?