Catering Tasting

Last Friday JM, Mom, Dad, Lynds and I went to the Ritz Charles to taste a few samples so we can make a decision on the wedding menu. It was really neat, they had a table set up on the dancefloor for us so we could see the china, linens, etc. that will be used for our reception.

This is how the tables will look, minus the diet coke can! We will be using these ivory tablecloths, but we are having chocolate cloth napkins. The centerpieces come with the catering (the votives with the mirror). I haven't decided whether or not to add some rose petals, leaves, or whatever, in addition. The family tables will have centerpieces made by the florist...but it was way too expensive to have one at every table!

We are going with the buffet option, in which we get to chose a salad, a couple of sides, a veggie, 2 main meals, and then rolls. We were able to try 3 of the main dishes, so the first one we tried was the london broil. The chef came out ahead of time and explained everything. He had marinated it for 2 days in a tomato basil. The rose is made out of tomatoes. It was excellent.

Then we tried the key lime chicken. I didn't want to do the usual chicken with sauce or gravy, so I thought this would be different. It was marinated in lime and honey and then it was cooked so the marinade became a glaze. I thought this was amazing. The chicken was sooo juicy.

We then tried the beef brochettes, which I had no clue what would be! They were awesome. It was flank steak on skewers with olives, pearl onions, artichokes, and some type of sweet pepper. It was then sprinkled with feta cheese. The chef said it was Mediterranean inspired.

While it all was amazing, we could only pick two. I wanted a red meat and then a chicken, so we obviously went with the key lime chicken. It was a tough decision between the brochettes and the london broil, but the brochettes won out. We thought it was a very unique dish to have at a wedding and sooo tasty!

Then we tried 3 different cakes to see what icing, cake flavor and filling we liked. The icings we tried were cream cheese and buttercream. It was a unanimous vote of the buttercream. We then tried the white, chocolate and yellow cake. That was a toss up, but in the end, yellow. It was moist and didn't take away flavor from the rest. The fillings were almond mousse, cafe mocha and chocolate truffle. The cafe mocha was way too coffee-like. I really liked the almond mousse, but the majority vote was for chocolate truffle. We're not for sure that we're going to have the Ritz do our cake, but if we do, this will be the cake.

It's a wine/beer bar. There will be a white and red wine and then the two beers will be Coors Light and Mich Ultra. That may change, but for now it's what we're going with. Cocktails will be cash only.

We still haven't decided on appetizers or sides, but that should be taken care of in the next week or so.

Hope everyone had a happy Father's Day!

Book reviews by me

I've been reading (fun books!) like crazy since school got out. It's so nice to have time! Although I really should be spending more time studying for my board exams, I feel like I need to catch up on my books!

Connie introduced me to Jodi Picoult who I have found to be an amazing author. The first book of hers I read was My Sister's Keeper and it was beyond words. The writing, the story, incredible. I HIGHLY suggest this book to anyone. It's about a young girl who's older sister is sick and needs various transplants...from her. It's a very interesting and thought-provoking read.

Then I read Nineteen Minutes. Still very good, but not as good My Sister's Keeper. It involves a school shooting by a boy who's bullied throughout most of his life.

I decided to take a bit of a break and read Memory Keeper's Daughter. A woman has twins and the girl baby has Downs Syndrome. The father sends the nurse away with the baby girl which she ends up raising as her own in a time where most children with Downs' didn't survive. The father tells the mother that the baby girl died in child birth and the book revolves around these lies. I thought it was a very well-written book, but the topic was so depressing. Don't read it if you need a pick me up!

Then I read James Patterson's new one, Sundays at Tiffany's. It was GREAT! If you're familiar with Patterson, toss everything you think you know about his writing out the window. It's completely un-Patterson and a great read. I finished it in 2 nights :-) It's the story of a girl's childhood imaginary friend reappearing in her life. Like I said, you have to just go with the story and not think too much about it, just enjoy it.

Finally, I just finished Change of Heart. Had to go back to Picoult! This is her new one in which a terrible crime happens. The story is years later and how one man on death row can make everyone question their faith and beliefs. Again, took me 2 nights :-) I think I have a problem!

Tonight I'm going to try to get to bed at a decent time and not stay up reading till midnight! Good night!

Worldy updates

Well, maybe not "worldly" updates...but Shan updates!!!

I took my CRT (certified Respiratory Therapy) exam last Monday and passed! Very exciting because then I was able to officially start work this week. Yay for being paid!

I still need to take both parts of the RRT (registered RT) exam. I'm signed up to take the written registry portion on Friday, June 13th in the a.m. Then I'll take the clinical simulations on Wednesday, June 18th. The clinical simulations are when they give you a situation and you have to pick answers based on decision making and information gathering. I think there's 10 of them and it's very long!

So I started working this week at Clarian's Indiana University Hospital in downtown Indianapolis. It's where I've worked for the last year as a student RT. I even got my one year anniversary key chain the other day! Tuesday was rather exhausting, it was Clarian orientation. The same EXACT seminar I had to sit through last summer. But, I got paid well AND I signed up for my health insurance and all of that. It will all go into affect on June 1st. Yay!

I had yesterday off and then today I went in the morning for some computer training. While working as a student I wasn't able to check off meds on the computer or write orders so I had to learn how to do that stuff. Tomorrow I go in for 8 hours for department and general care orientation. Next week I'll get into the 12 hour shifts I need to get accustomed to!

I went and looked at some houses with Mom today. There are a lot of cute ones out there but that might be making it a harder decision. Tomorrow night we're going over to Lyndsay's to play (or in my case, try to play) poker. Nothing but yoga planned for Saturday and Sunday is church and a bridal show.

Off to bed. I do have to work tomorrow!

Getting settled

I continue to be amazed as to how well this kitten is adjusting! Boo is now it's idol. He's getting a little better with Kodi, but there's still hissing and spitting if Kodi gets too close. Every night Scout asks for milk so we had to run out tonight and get him some more of the kitty milk. I figure he probably didn't get as much as he should of from his mom so he deserves a little treat! Here are a few pictures I took tonight of Scout and Boo playing around. Above Scout is trying to play in Boo's big girl litter box.

Boo and Scout playing around the door.

Scout playing acrobatics on the bookshelf.

Drinking some milk and Boo watching over.

If you want to see more pics, visit my Picasa page.

It's a boy!

I was able to cut out of my board review early yesterday afternoon and take Scout to my vet in Fishers. Turns out it's a boy...1 pound 0 ounces. They treated him for fleas and worms just to be on the safe side. He tested negative for the feline leukemia which was great because now there are no worries of him being around Boo.
My most exciting news was yesterday morning. It was his first night and when I went to check on him in the morning I opened the door and was hit by the smell letting me know he finally went potty. But guess where he went?!? His litter box! He's such a great little guy.
He has also become the sweetest kitten. He didn't even make a noise when they took blood from him for the tests! In the car he laid on his back in the cat carrier and sunbathed the whole long trip. Boo and him are getting a little better acquainted...she's still a little rough with him but he's dealing with it. Kodi came home today and they met. There's a lot of hissing but Kodi's a good boy and isn't aggressive, he just sits there and watches Scout. By the time I put all the kids to bed Scout was ok with Kodi being in the room.
Now it's time for me to go to bed!