Welcome to Chaos !!

I love spicy food. This salsa called "Death Salsa" is very hot. My mouth burns when I eat it. I got one for my friend Mikey and he he could not eat it, too hot for him. And today I tried the blackberry serrano Noosa. If you like yoghurt and haven't tried Noosa yet, you HAVE to - it is so creamy and delicious. Spicy yoghurt might sound a bit strange but it is surprisingly tasty, I have to try the raspberry habanero one. I am definitely a spicy food person. My Mom used to say that spicy food is really good for the stomach and intestinal flora. And fermented food like sauerkraut too, another food that I love.



And this tea I really like also (not spicy), Youthberry by Teavana......mmmmmmmmm! It's so good! And it smells heavenly.

I have to be at work at 7 30 this morning. Surprisingly I love the opening shift and rather work the opening than closing. When opening I am there at 7 30 or 8 30 AM depending on what day of the week it is and when I close I start at 11 30 AM until about 5 30 - 5 45 PM.
The other day I made some of the Holiday Tea for me and Gabi (our chef) to try. We have some nice teas as well, not only coffee, our teas are by Harney & Sons. I liked it and might send some to my friend Marie in Sweden. She drinks a lot of tea and I would like for her to try this one. I started drinking tea when I was about 12. Coffee came some some years later. I spent many evenings drinking tea with Marie and talking for hours and lots of time with her at various cafés all over Stockholm with a large cafe au lait each.



And I got my first Yelp review! We had a nice couple in last Saturday, besides food and dessert they ordered a doppio and a latte. The man took a pic and I can be seen behind the espresso machine and he wrote, "Exceeds high expectations. Romantic, delicious food and beverages. Service and enviroment is comfortable and elegant. Incredible bakery & cafe." Five stars too!
So it was not I per se that got the review but it was only and Gabi working that day. It made me happy to see that review! 🙂
Well, I am off to work now.......FUN!

Here is an oldie but goodie of ME (this pic is already in the blog somewhere). Location somewhere outside of Las Vegas with the wind blowing through my hair. A bebe dress on that I still have. I keep clothes forever.
I have a few photo shoots awaiting. One with Cindy and one with Barry, both photographers that I have shot with before. I had to cancel on Cindy a few times, once because of work and another because I had to help somebody out. Too bad because we had a shoot scheduled on the day of the supermoon that happened a few weeks ago and I totally missed out on the shoot and watching the spectacular moon......disappointing! Plus I don't like cancelling and being flaky, that's not me.
Barry mentioned maybe shooting in Death Valley......I have never done that before, so I hope we can make that happen. Then I might have another shoot somewhere out by Beatty. That is about 100 miles from Vegas and I need to bring a dress that flows. I have not decided on that shoot yet.
But if I do it I will pack a sleeping bag and then me and Chhaya will spend the night in the car listening to Coast to Coast AM. Munch on potato chips and cuddle!

I am sitting at Illumilatte writing this before I go and spend the day doing errands. Right when I was getting out of the car to walk in here, sit down and have my latte a very skinny man carrying a torn plastic bag walked by. His pants were also torn and he had a bloody cut on his knee. He had a thin small blanket over his shoulders with only a t-shirt underneath and I got out of the car and ran up to him asking if I could buy him a coffee or a tea so he could warm up, perhaps something to eat as well? He looked at me and his eyes were yellow where it is supposed to be white. He said no, wanted whisky instead. I replied that I don't have whisky. Again, I said, "Are you sure that you don't want a coffee or tea to warm up"? He politely declined. I then asked if I could give him a blanket at least, I just happened to have one in my car (recently washed too) and he said yes to that. So I got the blanket out of my car and put it over his shoulders and he went on his way. I felt bad for him, I want to cry now (yes, I am sensitive). You never know where life will take you.
Some people do bad things and bad things happen to them as a result, others are assholes and glide through life with no care for anything besides themselves, sometimes good people fall on hard times and sadness and have no support and end up in a bad situation. I often fantasize about winning a lot of money, I would spend it helping animals, children and adults in real need. I would make sure my family and friends would be taken care of and get myself a home somewhere first but after that I would live to help the ones in need.
Last year for Thanksgiving I went to Molasky park in Vegas and another area where many homeless hang out to give away socks, gloves and toiletries. Although it felt good to help I was sad to see that there was a lot of food thrown on the ground, good food. I don't even throw away food and here there are people that supposedly are in need and they throw away food? That made me feel sad.
The man I gave the blanket to today was clearly in need. Some of the people I have seen in Molasky park (a place where many supposedly homeless and drug users hang out and sleep) seem to be doing pretty good. No worries about rent, bills and responsibilities just worries about how to score drugs.
I hope the man I gave the blanket to finds a warm place to rest today and gets some food to eat. There he is walking away...... 😥
And trust me, I am not "bragging" here about me doing something nice for a stranger.....I am very well aware of that there are many out there doing a lot, so much more than me.



Besides that.....now I need to get another blanket to have in my car and I want to get a blanket, a very soft furry one, for Chhaya's bed. She took one of the squekies out of her new toy last night. She is so cute when she does that. Her new nickname is Baby Armadillo. She has like 10 names besides Chhaya. "Kärt barn har många namn" is a Swedish proverb fitting for Chhaya and her many names.
Oh and she responds to all of them. She is smart.



I am going to wax my legs later. For a good wax you need to get nice and hairy.
So the wax grips well and rips out the hair with the root. I actually enjoy waxing, it only stings a little and I like that sting.
I am going to try a new wax, the Parissa wax and see how it holds up to the one I usually use, Sally Hansen.



And before I go here is some girlpower....... A very true statement indeed.



I remember when I let my armpit hair grow out a few years ago and I would be like....."LOOK, LOOK!!!" to everybody when I was on stage at work. It was great! I don't get that hairy though......I was hoping for some shockingly furry armpits but that didn't happen. Then I made a merkin for myself and stuffed it inside my panties. We had some good laughs at the club those nights.....

I thought I would show you what I have been up to in pictures. The other day I got an acute pierogi craving. So I ate pierogis for two days in a row, with lots of fried red onion and sour creme on the side. Then I had a pasta craving. I am fattening up for the winter like a bear.



I am also trying to finish up some arts and crafts projects......



It is kind of cold here at night now and I love the chilly evenings. I had to pull up my hoodie on tonight's walk with Chhaya and wear gloves, she likes the cooler weather too.



Chhaya got a new toy today. Only a matter of time until she tears it apart and takes out the squeakies. Then she will want to play tug with it. Tug and hide and seek are her fave games. She can't get enough of that.



The other day when we were out doing errands, we were waiting for the light to turn green, I had Chhaya in the passenger seat and her window was rolled down. A lady pulls up and said that she just had to say that Chhaya is so beautiful. I know I said, I heard it from strangers so many times - Chhaya is a very pretty girl.
My baby.
Now we are in bed. I just got out of the shower and I washed all my bedding today, so I am feeling extra cozy in the bed tonight. I put on some new food cream I haven't tried before and I am about to put dog paw salve on Chhaya's feet now. Then sleep.

Work so far is FUN. We are a small group that work in the cafe and we joke around a LOT, I have to say I initiate a lot of the jokes but my humor has been well received. I told them that I have Tourette's and multiple personalities so when I burst out singing, dancing, joking around or talking loudly in weird accents they should not worry. I HATE being bored at work, I can sit home and be bored, relax with a book, be quiet or sleep but at work I can't take being bored, I get so restless. Of course I tone it down when we have people in eating......
Everybody that comes in is nice, so far so good.
Besides making a "beautiful" macchiato, one couple told me that my french press I made them was probably the best cup of coffee they ever had and a lady asked me after I had explained the menu and taken her order if I was the owner and I said, "no, I just work here" and she said that I treat the place like I am the owner.
Look, I know that I am not performing brain surgery, I just work in a cafe - I know.
I wanted a break from dancing because I really don't like dancing in Vegas, I am hired at the Spearmint Rhino and I can go work there but for now I don't want to.
I enjoy the cafe, it is a nice looking place in a good area and I get to make coffee and drink it and taste the baked goods that our two pastry chefs prepare fresh almost daily .......yummy. I scrape the whipped cream bowls clean too.



Wake up and smell the coffee beans. Right now our beans are from Black Drop coffee in California.



The daily selection......varies slightly from day to day.



A special order......cupcakes with macarons on top.



I wrote this. They like my hand writing so I am going to rewrite the menu that is on the large mirror hanging on the wall. The girl that originally did it got $60 to write the menu on the mirror but we need to update the selection. I have never written on a large mirror before but I will try. Perhaps I will become a mirror writing artist next?



Our espresso machine, La Pavoni. The owner bought it used. Nobody at the cafe has any espresso training, so when I came in I kind of knew more about espresso than the people working. But there is more to it that just pouring in some ground espresso beans and warm milk into a cup. You have to pull the shot, don't burn the shot, know tamping, heat the milk without burning it, froth the milk if needed and of course know the difference between different the coffees that are on the menu. Anyhow, I watched some online tutorials and printed out a lot of information, put it together in a folder and brought it to work. And two of the girls that work at Illumilatte offered to come in a train us and I think that would be a great because I think we need real training plus I want to know and I want to learn. The baristas at Illumilatte also told me I can come in there and get some training from them for free, I might do that if my place won't take them up on their offer.
I go to Illumilatte on my days off for my latte and made friends with the baristas there.



We also party at work every day. We go through bottles this size on a daily basis, no wonder work is so much FUN!



But I have to go now......I need to give Chhaya breakfast, take her out, go get a latte and start my day. It is Sunday and overcast. I LOVE overcast in Vegas.
And the rum is used to make the bread pudding. No way I would drink at work......even if offered.