Bank of Each Individual State

Today I went for a walk to Target and the Halloween store by my house looking for makeup for the Portland Zombie Walk. Well somewhere along the way walking from Target to Spirit I lost my debit card. I was bummed, but down a block and across the street is a Bank of America. I figure I would walk there so I can put a stop on the card and order a new one, plus pull out some cash so I can get the makeup. Well it turns out since it is a Ca. acct. and I am in Oregon, I can't touch my money with out a debit card. I can put a stop on the card but thats about it, with out the debit card I'm screwed! The new card isn't being sent out till tuesday, and will take 3-5 day to get here. So untill then my $ is being held captive by Bank of EIS (see the blog title)

Before the leaves fall

As requested by my siste, but for everyones enjoyment =) This is what fall should look like. It has alwasy been my favorite season, but never have I experienced it more beautifully first hand. This is Portland in the Fall time! (except the 1st picture... thats Beaverton)

The Melting Pot

Saturday night Vince and I went out to dinner at The Melting Pot with some friends of mine from school. OMG, the food was so freakin' good! We started off with cheese fondue, one pot had spinach, artichoke cheese, and the other was a WI. trio with a cooking wine. The cheeses were served with bread, apples, and veggies. Next was salad, Vince and I chose the California salad, baby spinach, spring mix, blue cheese crumbs, and a tomato vinegrette dressing. For the entres we had an assortment of filet minon, sirloin, some other type of steak, chicken breast, shrimp, green pepper ravioli, and mushroom ravioli, with cok au vue and mojo cooking styles. Lastly was dessert, we had a pot of "snickers," a mixture of milk chocolate, crunchy peanut butter, and caramel, the other was dark chocolate with raspberry. The snickers was amazing. Dessert was served with a plate of various bite sized desserts, strawberries, chocolate marshmallow, marshmallows, brownies, cheesecake, poundcake, and a couple other tasty things.



Here's a picture of the group.

Brooke, Heather, Kathleen and her boyfriend Izzy, Me, Vince ( We have no clue why he is making that face, lol), and Kellen (loved her dress and hair!)

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Last Sunday Vince and I took a trip out to The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island. It was such a cute place, and huge. It was the BIGGEST field of pumpkins I have ever seen. The place also had a large corn maze, and to find your way through you had to answer questions about oregon or figure your way out by trial and error. There was also a fresh produce market, a cage, u-pick flowers, u-pick produce, and entertainment, this place goes all out.

Charlie and I in the corn maze.

Charlie and Vinny in the maze.

Charlie led me the correct ways most of the time. Horray! We made it alive!

Field o'Pumpkins

I found the way the tree was trimmed to be amusing.

Steel Bridge, in the rain getting on the 5.
Steel Bridge again, I think this is my fovorite bridge. I cross this every morning to and from school =)

It's not a hicky!

I burnt myself on my neck on Friday. Yep, I've got 2 rungs on my "bakers ladder" on my left arm (Chef Bruce calls it that because if you look at most bakers arms in the industry they have burn marks going up their arms from sheet pans eventually it begins to look like you have a ladder) and figured I would have a complete ladder with in a few months at the rate we're all goin, but never thought I would burn myself on my neck of all places. It looks like a odd shaped hicky, especially today, here is what it looked like yesterday.

In other news, I have bread coming out my ears! I can't believe how much bread we make. A whole section of our counter top at home is consumed my bread, and this is after donanting half to the resturant, sending some up to the student lounge, and handing some out downtown or on the MAX to anyone who asks. This next week we are learning rich doughs, 2 more weeks of bread and I move on to beginning pastry. Here are a few picture of some breads I have made, now this is only things I have made in 1 day.

Pretzels, freakin' yummy!

Baguette, shaped like wheat

Vienna

Boul of honey butter oat bread

and the daily (2 of the 3) baguettes for the resturant

So I knew it would be cold here and I was really looking forward to it, but its really flippin cold! Its great! I can wear winter clothes and not feel stuffy after walking around outside for a bit. Portlands fall feels like the winters I used to have back in Riverside, but much less drab. The trees are gorgeous, the sky is cloudy but the sun peeks through every now and then, the air is crisp, the rain drops are HUGE and appear so randomly, its great!

dang squirrels!

The streets I take Charlie for on his walks is lined with acorn trees, which make for a beautiful fall but also make for a heck of a walk with Charlie. With the acorn trees come squirrels, Charlie loves small fast fuzzy things. They drive him nuts! All he can think about the moment we start heading down the street is SQUIRRELS! At every tree he must sniff, jump and attempt to seek out the fuzzy tailed "toys" These squirrels are very strange, they are completely safe high up in the tree we are about to walk by, but noooo they have to run down the tree, then once at the bottom sit in the "praire" dog fashion, then chatter their little squirrel talk, and run across the street to the trees over there. By the time we get back to the house Charlie has completely forgotten we went on a walk and insists we go on another, whinning and huffing all through the house. I swear, sometimes I feel like I am raising a toddler!