... UNFINISHED!....

So, I wrote this a while ago. I didn't finish it, but as I was reading it, I figured I better just publish it. I enjoyed reading it, and I think others will also. Here it is:

Time for a new blog!! :)

I was thinking, (like I often do, haha) and this is what came out of that thought...

What is a day? What is today? Why does a day matter? What/how do we makes it matter? Among other things.

I don't know the real answer to those questions, but I have my answer. So, here's what I think. A day is only meaningful if we make it meaningful. I was thinking the above questions while looking at things in my mom's room; and days, things, pets, life, and other things are only pleasing if that is the way you think/feel about them. For instant, your sister's favorite blanket probably doesn't mean anything to you, but to her it means a lot! Security, warmth, comfort, home, love, mommy/daddy, and whatever else makes a child want their "blankey." But, once again, their blanket doesn't mean anything (more than likely,) to you, you'd just as soon dispose/"lose"/wash it as they'd carry it around with them. Another example, a suicidal person places no value on their life, they don't deem it worthwhile, but other people might see a thousand reasons for them to live, and enjoy their life. It is all about perspective. (Tell me if I'm wrong about any of this, I love to hear from you!!) Even to your closest friend something that is so important to you is (might be) insignificant to them. A day- 24 hours. Let's try to imagine a day in various people's lives. Like a whole bunch of mini stories!

The suicidal person:

24 hours of (some or many of them,) hate, abuse, mistrust, failure, depression, lonliness, numbness, (a carefree attitude which is really just numbness,) drunkenness, looking in the mirror and seeing someone ugly, unrecognizable, inhuman, a defect, a deformity, freak, monster... (Possibly many others, many only a few of these.)

You go to work- a crappy McDonald's job that pays just above minimum wage, no one appreciates, even acknowledges you-or if they do they don't realize what you're feeling inside, they can't even begin to help you out of your mess- you mess up-great, another mistake, why don't I just call it quits tonight, maybe it'll work this time- lunch is the same monotonous obstacle, disappointment, letdown, disaster; you head to your table in the darkest corner, the one where the bulb went out and hasn't been fixed, sit down, and eat your wheat bread with meat and cheese. You can hardly bear to eat, everything just disgusts you so! You throw away the rest of your pitiful lunch. The next four and a half hours drag on, but finally you can go home. You've been thinking about the end of it all ever since that big blunder at the office. Home. There is no one and nothing to greet you. No significant other, no dog/cat, that had never worked out. Your home is a dark, dreary hideout, where you can do whatever you want; because no one else cares. You grab a beer from the cheap fridge you'd bother to buy. Beers made everything less. They helped! You sink, literally, into your threadbare loveseat, (there is no one to love here,) to finish you beer. Your plan is fully devised. Time to put it into action. Afterall, actions speak louder than words. That's the end of your story, forever.

The happy, go-lucky:

The sun leaks warmly onto your soft pillow. It is a bright and beautiful day. Time to get up, afterall, the sun is up! Time to go to work! You turn off your alarm, who needs them anyway, and rise and shine! Wednesday, one of my favorites! You pour yourself a heaping bowl of your favorite cereal, and finish eating and getting ready. You drive what other people consider an old, ugly car, but you couldn't love it more! Your just above minimum wage job leaves no room for luxury, but you don't mind! The restaurant is teeming with busy people, already, and you are anxious to join them! Although you are only a waiter, and get lousy tips, you enjoy your job. You put on the rest of your uniform and head out to the early-birds! "Hello! May I take your order?" You ask cheerfully every time you serve a customer. It is especially pleasant seeing all the patrons again. Wow! Luch time already? You take pride in making a different lunch everyday (for the week,) on your small budget.

Getting Close to the Finish Line!!

Well, as of today, I have one more week at Sweet Dreams bakery. I can't believe its already been almost 3 months! I am going to miss everyone so much!! :( Especially Amal Fruit!!

Today I had a first! :) I got to dip the Sweet Dreams Special, the Chocolate Cascade, and the Double Chocolate bite size for Salmina. I dipped so many of the Sweet Dreams! It was at least 7 sheet trays, each tray has to have between 50-117. 117 fit on the tray when they are paper lined and ready for garnish. I think there must only be around 50-80 when they are first being dipped though. Anyway, I did 7 trays or so of the Sweet Dreams, then 3 of the Double Chocolate, and 2 of the Chocolate Cascade. The Sweet Dreams is a chocolate cake base, raspberry mousse filling, and dark chocolate dipped. Double Chocolate is chocolate cake and chocolate mousse, then dark chocolate dipped. The Chocolate Cascade is a white cake base, chocolate mousse, and covered in dark chocolate



My very last Tuesday at Sweet Dreams Bakery~ May 19th:

I dipped more of the Sweet Dreams Special, and the Double Chocolate. I did 5 trays of each, and Salmina said today that there are 100 bite size on each tray. So that means (with a little simple math), that I dipped 1,000 bite size. I have 500 to dip of the Chocolate Cascade and also Amal Fruit asked me to make twenty 9" and twenty 6" Dynasty. I worked with Mona after I finished dipping with Salmina though- so I didn't get to finish (or start) either. I helped Mona re-arrange in the freezer- that is always on the agenda when I work with her- we assembled Carrot Cake and put them away for later. Then we cleaned and I mopped. Before we went home, she gave me a Snicker's Ice Cream Bar, and we sat down and relaxed. Those are really delicious by the way!

Oh, also of note, Chad, Saad, and later Fabiola and Erika were in the warehouse area, way up near the ceiling putting boxes up there for storage. There were SO many boxes just lying against the wall uselessly, so now they will be collecting dust up there instead. It should free up a lot of space. It was very unusual to look over and see them walking around, almost like they were floating. But they were having fun with it! Like everyone at Sweet Dreams does with their jobs! :)

Things are Good :)

This week went by pretty fast! It's hard to believe it's already Saturday again, and also it's May 2nd! Time goes by way too quickly, if ya ask me!

Anyway, I'll give you the low down of my Saturday:
I made 52 Chocolate Cannoli

Then I was off to work with Mona, just like she said we would two weeks ago or whatever it was. :) We spent a lot of time in the freezer at first, goodness it's cold in there!! I mean, obviously it is, and it needs to be, but brrrrrrr!! Talk about a cold shoulder! :P haha! Anyway, she iced the 6" Carrot Cakes, then I put the walnuts along the sides. After we finished that, we transferred 9" chocolate cakes- again from the icy freezer- and got them ready to be iced at a later time. We also de-panned, cut, stacked, and put in the freezer, 2 garbage cans full (don't worry, they're clean and only used for cakes/pans!) of 9" vanilla cakes. On Tuesday we'll transform them into White Alaska cakes! :)

We also worked with fondant for a little bit, she showed me how to knead it, color it, and roll it. I had done this 2-3 times at JWU, but was very welcome for the review!

Then we called it a day! :)

I went to Meijer later and this guy randomly started talking to me, He was asking me different things, and told me he was new to Detroit. He wanted me to go bowling or do this or that, show him around Detroit area or whatever. It was kind of weird, but refreshing to be able to talk to someone, and he was fun to talk to! But yeah, I'll stick with Robert over random late 30s guys at Meijer! :P Anyhow, that was my interesting tidbit for the night!

Wednesday, May 6th
Tuesday I worked with Mona, we made White Alaska and Double chocolate cakes, arranged and re-arranged things in the freezer, cleaned up and mopped the warehouse. Oh, and we made flowers out of ribbon for Amal's niece's wedding on Sunday. She really liked them and was pretty excited for the wedding. (I guess it's at her house, or a bridal shower is, or something like that...) Then I assembled thirty 9" Dynasty cakes, Chad helped me towards the end because it was getting later and we were one of the last ones to leave. I took care of Steve's cakes, stacked them up and put them in the freezer too.

Today I made the Fruit Flan, then packaged those and the cheesecake. Then I assembled thirty 6" Dynasty cakes. After I finished those, I frosted the 9" Dynasty from yesterday, then frosted the 6" cakes. That took most of the day. I also put away Steve's cakes for him, and whipped some chocolate buttercream for the Death by Chocolate Cakes Amal was working on. I am truly going to miss Amal a lot, today she was saying how much she loved me and she even cleaned up where I had made a mess of my frosting area! She said she never does that, and I don't blame her! She is always so sweet to me, she made two batches of whipped cream for me too! It is so very upsetting though, I know she is unhappy, she says it at least once a week. Today she told me about one of the girls that worked in the store front at Orchard Lake, 3 or 4 months ago. She was 21 or so, smart, pretty, and well liked from what Amal said. I guess one day she didn't show up to work, and that was very unusual, since she was usually punctual. Later, they found out that she had committed suicide. She laid on Interstate 696 (busy highway) around 8 am and was run over. Probably again and again. I just cannot imagine what makes someone want to do that. Amal said she had thought about it though, that there is just no point/pleasure in her life. She just has to work to survive and doesn't want to work. I think people just get hopeless and stuck in a rut, and become unhappy. Or maybe they just need a little Jesus in their life! Things have never really been "easy" for me, but I have been able to make the best of nearly everything, and learn to be content no matter what happens.
Anyway, I guess Detroit (metro Detroit) is just depressing! Who knows. But internship was good, even though I was pretty out of it and think my allergies are acting up. Or I'm getting sick. :/  

Week 8 I guess it is. It's almost May!! :o

Today was a very good and interesting day!! :)

When I first came in, Salmina had me put the candied lemon on the Lemon Bite Size.

Then I made 3 trays of Fruit Flan.

Then I had to go see what the party near Steve's work station was all about! Amal Fruit, Saad, Amal S., and Erika were all in and out of there. Well... the big fuss was.... ladyfingers!! To all the non-Culinary/Baking people, I do not mean literal fingers. Or ladies, for that matter. :P Lol! I mean the soft, light strip shaped cakes that are used for Tirimisu and garnishes. I have been wondering whether Sweet Dreams makes or buys their Ladyfingers, but hadn't asked anyone yet. I'm happy to report that they are 100% homemade, that's one of the many things I love about the bakery!! :) First, Steve whipped a mixture of what I have to guess to be egg yolk, leavening, and sugar. (I did not see him putting the ingredients in, only mixing it with one of the big mixers.) After that was fluffy and yellow, and looked similar to the vanilla cake batter, Amal Fruit distributed it into the large bowls. Then the meringue was whipped- this time with sugar, not the citric acid stabilizer. Before the meringue was folded in though, I added the flour to the bowls, and then Steve folded it all together. He used just his cupped hand to fold it all together, which I thought was interesting! He said something about how "the Chinese can use the hand as a knife, but they couldn't cut this tomato... Introducing the (something or other) 5000" I don't know if it was just a joke, or a commercial or what, it was kind of amusing though. Then Amal Fruit dumped the batter into the batter depositor machine, which Amal S. was putting sheets through and operating. Then Erika was sifting the confectioner's sugar over the top of them, and putting them on one of the large speed racks, which would later be rolled into the "walk in" oven and baked to light, golden perfection. :)

After I watched that process for a little bit, Amal Fruit said that she needed me to make 20 of the 6" Oreo Delight cakes, and 15 of the 9". So I started on those, de-panning them, using the machine to slice them, setting them up, filling them with whipped cream and crushed Oreo bits, layering them together, and then frosting them with whipped cream. Rolo put the dark chocolate shavings around them, and the Oreo bits on the top to identify it. That was the last of my duties for the day. I assembled the 6" cakes, but will frost them tomorrow.

Amal is so precious! I'm really glad I got to work with her again today! :) She is so sweet! She shared some orange with me, and made whipped cream (it's a blend of cream and non-dairy base), and said she loved me a lot because she never does either of those things for anyone else. I just got kind of shy like I do, but smiled and said something like "aww, thanks!" :D Anyway, I know we will both miss each other when I leave. Well, if I leave. Yesterday I had an interview with Jason from Camp Matoaka about the Head of Culinary Arts position- he said they would give me an answer by the end of the week. He was a little concerned about my lack of experience with groups of girls and being able to keep them in line and also living with them, and what not. We'll see what happens there. Today I talked to Sam with Tripp Lake about a baking position, she didn't say much about the job or camp, she wanted to ask more about my application and asked for a reference from JWU. Tripp Lake would be more large scale though, I think she said 300-500 people per meal. That could be a stressful challenge, but also a really great experience and fun! Also, I know Salmina wants me to stay on, and I really do love the bakery and everyone that works there! It is nice having options, but it is kind of stressing me out too. All will be well though! :)

:) Saturday (04/18)

-Filled and put the fruit on Fruit Flan and fruit on Bite Size Cheesecake; wrapped them

-packaged Cheesecake, Carrot cake, helped stack baked cakes

-Haha Salmina said "*uck you!" In Bosnian to the glove she was trying to put on and was not cooperating at all. It was so unexpected, we both just laughed, when she told me what she'd said.

-saw how Amal S. makes the bite size key lime/Raspberry/Chocolate base that Salmina puts whipped cream over. I've also seen how she (Amal) makes the bite size cakes- she uses the batter depositor to make "puffs" of the mousse base, then puts a sheet of the correct cake over it. Freezes that, then uses a rolling pin to separate the bites into perfect little circles. That doesn't really make sense, but it does to me...

-Amal (Fruit) thought it was so funny when I asked if she had any "kiwi". She was literally crouched on the ground laughing! She is too precious! Apparently, Arabic/Chaldeans say it much more firm, and almost angry-like. She told me I said it so cute and gentle, then she said how they say it. Sounded angry to me! Haha! So, I'm sure we will say "kiwi" to each other for a while now. We already said it to each other a few times and just laughed and smiled! Yeah, she's still my favorite! :)

-Steve + Mr. Probz: I introduced Steve to Mr. Probz, and we were blaring music in his area of the kitchen, it was pretty great! He really liked Mr. Probz, and said he would have to show his wife too! I was pretty happy to share good music :) He played this really good song that had a similar song to Mr. Probz's, apparently it was by Drake, but didn't sound like his usual songs, and had a female accompaniment.

-Towards the end of the day, Salmina had me make 20 emergency Fruit Flans- all by myself. I'm such a big girl! Lol!

-Basma came in (she works in the store front) and was telling about a wedding consultation she had earlier, and how the groom was saying that he definitely wanted to go with Sweet Dreams and was all into the consultation. All the while Basma is just going about the consultation like usual (I'm not really sure what that entails, cake testing, pricing, delivery, date, etc. I suppose), Then the bride nonchalantly indicated that Basma's shirt was open, right at chest level. Her boobs had been on prominent display the entire time. She was mortified and had no idea! So then she came back and told us what happened, and we were all laughing really hard!

-Ooh, Steve let me fold the meringue into the cake batter today!! :) I was like "oh yeah!" I didn't even ask, he asked while I was going to go do dishes for him. Oh, and the whole time he was explaining it, his wife was on the phone hearing it! She thought it was really funny!


It was a lovely way to end the weekend, and I'm very glad it is the weekend!! :) I'm ready to sleep in and relax. I think my (seasonal) allergies are starting to act up. :/

Tuesday/Wednesday:
-Dipped brownies
-wrapped bite size
-Salmina told me a little bit about her daughter today- I am actually just a few months older than her, which I was really surprised at! She has to do a year long internship to finish her medical something or other. I was like "Oh wow!" That has got to be rough, but she is staying with Salmina, so that helps a lot I'm sure! Salmina said she is going to have to work forever! Haha! Isn't everyone! :P
-Also, Salmina asked when I was done with my internship, then explained that Rolo and Rita (Sam's sisters) would be leaving about the same time. She said if I was interested, she could ask Sam about hiring me to help her during the summer/busy season. I told her that would be great! :) I just need to get my speed up- she mentioned that I was slow. I know that, forever the turtle! :/ I don't know what else I can do to un-turtle myself! It's hard to go against my nature. But I guess I have no choice...

When you Think Things are getting Boring...

...think again!

I was beginning to feel like things were starting to get into a kind of rhythm. I had a few things I did pretty regularly. Every morning, every day, every other day, etc. Turns out this week has been breaking that mold. It is only Wednesday and it's already been crazy! Today I worked from 7am-7:30pm. Yesterday I worked from 8-5:30. I've been keeping busy, and I like it! Although it's very tiring, I try not to get tired out. But I'm still human and I work more than I sleep. But I'm 80% sure everyone at the bakery does. (Work more than sleep.) It's just the way it is. Anyway, that kind of cycle, has been broken.

Today I:
-Melted chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. White, dark, caramel...
-De-panned 6 pans of Brownies, 4 or 5 of the Cheesecake Duet
-Attempted to help Salmina cut the brownies and cheesecake (using the fancy new machine Sam bought), but apparently we broke it. Oops! Sam figured it out though! The 2 batches that the machine did cut, ended up having to be re-cut because they weren't up to Salmina's standards.
-Assembled twenty 6" Dynasty cakes; yesterday I made twenty 9" Dynasty
-Dipped brownies
-Made an 8x batch of Eggless Cake. It baked from 5 to almost 7 pm. -_- Don't ask how that's possible. It was the weirdest cake I've ever made! Honestly, it looked like a biscuit. The batter, aka dough, looked like a fermenting bread dough. It was very bizarre! I know the measurements were right, I checked and re-checked them. Apparently it was the mixing. Or the recipe is just funky. It's from somewhere on the Internet. Can't always trust the Internet!

Yesterday, and recently, I:
-helped Mona put Walnuts around the edges of probably 20-30 Carrot Cakes
-made 150 Cannoli- 50 Almond and 100 Chocolate- on Friday
-packaged obnoxious amounts of bite sized
-helped with the Cheesecake bites and the Fruit Flan


um, gosh. I've been doing a lot lately, and staying busy. When I try to write it out though, I just forget things or it doesn't seem like I've done much. Hmm. Well, I'm trying to keep track anyway!

On a side note, today is my stepbrother's 18th Birthday!! :D Mine is in 4 days, it's hard to believe!!

Victory!!

April Ninth Two Thousand and Fifteen
Today I made some progress!
The morning started out a little slow, but then picked up a lot! I ended up not having lunch (I talked to Steve during lunch and then didn't end up having time later), and stayed until 4:40!
Things I did today:
+Wrapped Carrot Cake and Red Velvet Cake bite size
+Rum balls: Peanut, Coconut, (chocolate already made) I rolled the little black balls into water then into coconut for some and then chopped peanuts for some, then put them in their paper liners and into the freezer.
+Talked to Steven, he shared his whole grain & Cheddar crackers with me, I think it's a new tradition :P Oh, and of course he teased me about guys- accusing me of dating a high schooler and being a heart breaker and such! It was very amusing, we always have good and amusing conversations! He told me about how a girl was supposed to go with him to a Prynce concert in '84, and he went to her house, and her brother said she wasn't there. He said it would have been better to have just told him that she didn't want to go, he already bought tickets and we both agreed that that is just plain rude! Also, he told me more about how he met his wife and how they ended up together. They broke up for 3-4 years, but stayed in touch, and now they've been married for 25 years! So you just never know with relationships!
+Then I packaged Raspberry Delight bite size for a while
+Salmina interrupted me during that to have me cut brownies, then coat them in delicious chocolate and wrap them in their little liners. I was so happy she let me dip/enrobe/coat something! I was wondering if/when she would let me! So I was finishing the first of five trays, and she came over to see how I was doing... and then:

Salmina said I did a good job! Not just a good job, she said "perfect"! She said I do things "perfect" but I just need to work on my speed, but that will come with practice. I was so shocked and appreciative! I totally thought that she thought I was just doing a terrible job and couldn't get things right, and couldn't remember anything! So, that was certainly a pleasant shock!! She is getting to be more and more grandmotherly and less... stern and intimidating. She just likes to have things a specific way, and she knows just how she wants them. (Kind of like me sometimes!)

+I finished the brownies up, and then it was around 4:40, everyone on the non-decorating side of the bakery had left and I was tired & hungry, so I left too. Before I left, Chad (pronounced Chaddy) asked how I was doing, he really tries to make an effort to talk to me and make sure I feel comfortable- particularly when we have lunch at the same time. :) He's pretty cool and funny!

Anyhow, I got back and Chrissy was home again- she hasn't been feeling well. She ended up getting us Chinese, which was really yummy and we talked for a bit! :) It was nice!

catching up, going on a month

Talk with Sam about the Bible, traditions from it (no eating pigs, no sex with women on their periods, don't eat day old meat, etc.), doesn't believe that business and personal beliefs should interfere- India law about not having to serve people if they choose not to- went to a LGBT wedding thing and served samples, against personal beliefs, but still human and still deserve respect and love

Blueberries and kiwi on Fruit flan and cheesecakes
Cut strawberries
Ladyfingers
Cake crumbs/nuts on Venetian
Dynasty cakes with Amal

6" Sweet Dreams Special for Alyssa's birthday
Drive there, no problems except finding Kristin's road/house, dinner with dad, Spoonlickers, spending the night, reading the resurrection story
Church- good music, energetic and insightful pastor
left after church, nice drive, Kristin is really close to Alpine
Got to see sissies, Easter lunch, eat candy & cake, Arts place with mom & Alyssa, talking, walk on trail
Shopping with Kristin, Charlene, Alyssa, Spoonlickers afterwards :)
Loooooooong drive back- ~6:30-8:45
sleeeep


4/07/15
Packaged fruit flan, fruit cheesecake
Melted and strained 7 kinds of chocolate (Dulce de Leche, two pink kinds, Tirimisu, White, Dark, then Banana I think.
Dried off the condensation from dipped bite size
Lunch
Practiced icing rectangle and circle cake
Made rum balls with Erika (dish washer), scooped and then smoothed, into freezer
Clean up, clock out

4/08/15
Dipped and wrapped Chocolate Cannoli and Almond Cannoli
Weighed and re-made the Rum Balls, they must be .13 lb or 2.08 oz
Wrapped Carrot Cake

Wrapped White Chocolate Cascade, (Chocolate cake+white choco mousse, white choco coated), White Alaska, (Vanilla cake+white choco mousse+white choco), and Banana (vanilla cake+banana mousse+white chocolate), Bite Size

Days 16 & 17

Day 16- Tuesday, March 31
Another Tuesday. I didn't do much, Tuesdays are slow. I cut strawberries, wrapped Red Velvet Cake, Carrot Cake, and the little bon bon/mini cakes we have. Then Rosa helped me with tying the ribbon/bow around the Berry Delight Cakes. I didn't do very well, I think she corrected every bow I made! Haha! Oh well, it was something to do, and she's nice and I like her. :)

Day 17- Wednesday, April 1st
Happy April Fool's Day, first of all! Thankfully, no one did any pranks at Sweet Dreams, I'm not sure if they really know about April Fool's. I much prefer to think of today as Ryan's (Swenson) birthday though. :) Today was pretty slow again.

I talked to Steve a lot today. He decided I'm a heart breaker, I told him about Josh asking me to Homecoming and then he was just teasing me about that and then Matthew. Well, what can I say? Things happen! I also helped him with the cakes a little, stacking them after they've cooled and getting pans to fill, then doing the dishes for him.

Amal made a really neat cake today! I forgot the name of it, but it was glazed in chocolate and then she put kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries in a decorative way. Chocolate molded flowers, leaves, and then chocolate tornadoes (they look like tornadoes), were also added. It was really beautiful and cute. "Cute, just like you!" Amal told me.

Amal let me help with Dynasty cakes again! :) I was so relieved! I scooped the mousse, stacked the layers, then put the chocolate bars around the edges. :)

I got to try a Dulce de Leche mini cake, and the Mango Sherbert, both were very good!!

Oh, I kind of watched Amal S. while she made the Deep Dish Apple Pie. She had big logs of the crust ready, then cut it into strips and pressed it along the pan. An apple peeler-corer-slicer was used to make the filling. Instead of a hand crank though, they used a screwdriver, it was pretty great. Gotta love innovation and smart thinking!

Day 14 & 15

Today was another day in this weird week.

I made some progress with Salmina, she let me cut the Rocky Road Brownies. At first she did her typical disapproval of nodding her head and saying "No, it's not right. It's too big." But she was patient, and made strips of paper as a guide for me to cut with. I was happy and surprised she didn't just give up on me and finish it herself. Maybe she feels bad for me, I've been hanging around bored a lot lately. She did suggest I practice piping in times like that, which I've thought about myself.

Also today I cut strawberries, made cake crumbs with Rosa (using an attachment on the mixer), and practiced icing on the round and square Styrofoam cakes. I wrapped cheesecake, the brownies, and something else I think. Salmina has kind of taken me under her wing a bit. She is still somewhat intimidating and I do my best to not mess up, I hate that look and shake of her head in disapproval. Oh, the new boy, who apparently makes ice cream all day (not really sure just yet, I will ask when I get the chance), went around asking if anyone wanted ice cream. Who could say no to that since it's freshly made and delicious?? So I had some just in time for my lunch. :) Anyhow, he seems interesting I guess, he speaks English, so that's nice, another person to add to that list.

Oh, Mama Josephine and Rita have been kind of irritating me today. They just kind of butt in with whatever I'm doing and then just wander off again, whether or not the task is done. It's a little weird and frustrating, they just kind of take over. Also, Mama made me really upset, I was going to help Amal Fruit with cakes she was doing (like I have a bunch already) and she gestured at me and told me to go away, or something like that. I never really know what she's saying, but she was scary and clearly yelling at/scolding me. I'm not sure if it showed, but that really upset me. So I decided it was lunch time and then looked for something to do afterwards. (Thankfully, Sam had me help Rosa after lunch.)

But this week has been a little rough, I'm glad tomorrow is the weekend. Being the only intern has its advantages and disadvantages.


Day 15 
Today was good, very good!! Although everyone was freaking out because it was snowing pretty steadily around 8 or so- nobody wanted snow. That's besides the point though. As usual this week, there wasn't really anything for me to do. Or no one commandeered my help at least. So as Salmina suggested yesterday, I decided to work on my piping/decorating skills. She got a piping bag, coupler, and tips for me while I got the frosting and dummy cake. Then I went to work and just had fun, I really got "in the zone" today, which hasn't happened in a while. :) I got frustrated sometimes, but then again, I did that my entire shift-decorating, that is- so I was bound to. At certain points, Sam would come over and show me something or correct a technique. He also put the cake-which was already on the turntable- on a tall Cambro, making it up very high. It looked quite funny and made me feel like a giant, it was very effective though!! Basma, one of the ladies who works up front, said something about how tall it was at one point, how she had walked by it several times but hadn't connected how it was basically taller than her. It was funny but embarrassing (already feeling like a giant), it was amusing though, and Chad especially thought so! I made one design I liked, I copied a picture of one of the cake designs, at Salmina's suggestion, and then I tried swags and drop icing. I think drop icing is the term, it's getting late though and I could be wrong. Later I will have to add in the pictures I took of the cake I decorated. It was very nice though, and a welcome break, a good transition into the weekend!

I made some super delicious chicken, I finished "Catching Fire", and went to Meijer for a few groceries and to look around at everything.  

I better write down how I made the chicken, I definitely want to share it with ya'll and make it again for myself!!

Basically, I wanted a somewhat sweet but still savory chicken dish. So I took my chicken boobs, (thawed), cut out the fat and gross stuff, dipped it into a beaten egg. Then rubbed it into a mixture of crushed pretzels, cinnamon (that was the main flavor I was aiming for), garlic powder, salt, and a little bit of pepper. I thought the flavors would meld together well, but I wasn't really sure, I just went for it anyhow though. Oh, preheat the oven to 350-375!! I put some butter (a Tablespoon or so), some oil, honey, and almonds on the bottom of the pan I used, and mixed it together. Glass or metal 8" is preferred. a sheet pan with sides is fine too. Anyhow, egg, seasoning & pretzels, then into the pan with the butter and such. After I put the almonds on the bottom I realized they would keep the chicken from touching the bottom of the pan, so I flipped them onto the top, coating both sides of the chicken in the honey/butter/almond mix. Then pop the pan into the oven for like 10 mins or so, check the chicken, if it's not pink, then it's done! Or temp check it. Oh, also the last few minutes of cooking I decided to add more honey, thinly slice an apple and put it over the top of the chicken. I just wanted them a little soft, but mostly warm. You could add them for a softer texture. I don't like cooked apples though, so I just wanted my warm and slightly softened. Get those the way you want them, then plate your chicken and enjoy! :)

Days 11 &12

Well, not too much has happened, there hasn't been much for me to do.

Tuesdays are slow, and I went home early- around 2 or 2:30, everyone just slowly started leaving so I had to too. But today wasn't all that great anyhow. Kathy thanked me for cleaning the microwaves but chided me for not drying them- it will ruin the fondant and chocolate. Which I guess I knew, but per usual didn't think about.

Then when I was working with Salmina, I almost burned chocolate from using a wet strainer to get the clumps and bad stuff out of the chocolate. Once again, I already knew moisture ruins chocolate-I'm not sure anyone told me it would burn it- but I didn't think about it.


Strawberries
Steven's birthday
Mascarpone cream- Mascarpone, whipped/cooked egg yolks, whipped cream
Tirimisu, "raining" coffee flavored syrup, holes in cap
Death by Chocolate sheet cakes

Wrapping white choco brownie, chocolate brownie,

Tried white chocolate gluten free brownie, opera cake,




Day 13
Cut strawberries (couldn't find the cutting board at first, that was a disaster!)
cleaned
Dynasty/Venetian combo with Amal (watched)
Wrapped White chocolate mousse bites & Tirimisu bites
Mixed Raspberry & Key Lime whipped cream- Salmina makes a stiff whipped cream!!

Helped Sam & Amal S with chocolate chiffon cakes- he let me fold in the meringue, it was really fun!! Plus he is always so nice about everything, I really like working under him! It does bother me that he says "perfect" though. I hate it when people say that. Nothing is perfect. Anyhow, he let me measure & whip the meringue, take out the required 3 bowl scrapers full, then blend in the rest of the meringue into the batter. Amal S then put the batter into the Alpha Batter (I think that's the name of it, Alpha something at least), and it came out and perfectly filled the sheet pans, which were then put into the awesome rack rotating oven. (Not the technical name.) After I washed the bowls, utensils, and work station it was 3:07 and everyone was pre-occupied. So, perfect timing to head home! :)

My Counting is Off, it's really Days 9 & 10

Yeah, guess I can't count! It's not day 8, it's day 9 today! Haha!

Friday, March 20, 2015- Day 9
Today I worked under Salmina for the first time! If Wafa intimidates me, then I don't know what Salmina does! There's just something about her that makes me feel nervous and somewhat inferior- no, that's not right, like I have to prove myself. But anyway, she had me dip (filled) Cannoli, one batch into chocolate bits, the other into slivered almonds. Then I put them in the Sweet Dreams paper liners, and she brought some out for the storefront, the rest for refills. After that, I cut a small bowl of strawberries for cakes. Amal had me finish (all by myself) the Cookie Dough cakes from yesterday, I frosted them in whipped cream and then covered the sides in chocolate shavings. Oh, I had my first major mistake today, or big no no, or however you want to say it. I had just finished 3 or 4 of the 9" cakes, I was moving them from one end of the work table to the other, so I could cover them with the chocolate shavings. As I was moving them, my elbow caught on a box of strawberries that hadn't been put away, and one of the cakes went sliding off the end of the sheet pan, and SPLAT onto the floor!! I was mortified! Amal turned, saw what happened, and said it's fine, don't worry, they were heavy. (Usually carts are used to move anything or get product from one place to another.) I told her my elbow caught on the box. She reassured me that it was alright, and in a matter of seconds was cleaning it up, scraping the ruined cake off the floor and into the garbage. I felt so awful and amateur. I don't think it bothered Amal much though. I felt pretty crappy for at least the next 20-30 minutes and was extra careful and tried to do extra well with the other cakes. Anyway, I got through that situation, and did pretty well on the rest of the cakes, didn't drop any or anything! Haha! But Amal said I did well, and I think I did pretty good too. I know I probably took twice or thrice as long as Amal or any of the other employees would, I finished all 40 though, was focused and worked hard. A few times Sam (owner & "boss") tried to make me mess up, by "accidentally" bumping into me and claiming "Oops, I didn't see you there!" Haha yeah right, you didn't see one of the tallest people at your bakery, who happened to be wearing a pink plaid shirt! But he's really fun, and I am really glad he's my boss! After that was done and I had cleaned up my station and put the rest of the cakes into the walk in cooler, Amal had me put ladyfingers around the cakes she frosted. Rosa then wrapped them in glittery ribbon, which always makes a mess and is a pain to clean. But they always get wrapped in ribbon. Amal piped something between a rosette and a swirl on the top of them, and later they will get strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and maybe raspberries too. I cleaned up, then she finished up the last two cakes of the day, special orders. A 10" round (4 layer) Black Forest Cake, frosted in whipped cream, covered in chocolate shavings, and later on will have whipped cream rosettes with a cherry in each. The other was a half sheet (square with 4 layers), of the White Chocolate Cascade, which is chocolate cake, white chocolate mousse or whipped cream (it was already filled, so I'm not sure), whipped cream frosting, and white chocolate shavings. The final touch is a dusting of cocoa, it adds a lot of dimension to it. Amal & I put everything away, made sure everything was clean, and then went home a little after 3. :) She didn't try to follow me home this time! Lol!

Oh, today was the first day I didn't wear my uniform- they were all dirty, I really have to do laundry. Amal was just gushing about how cute I looked and that I should never wear my uniform again. She even jokingly exclaimed that she would cut it. She said there used to be uniforms at Sweet Dreams, but nobody liked them. But people were very surprised to see me in regular clothes, Steven was especially surprised- we usually have the same, or at least close to the same uniform of a skull cap and chef coat.

Also, Sam introduced- kind of, he didn't actually say her name, but had a girl who graduated from JWU's Charlotte campus come through the kitchen. Later there was a guy that Sam was showing around the kitchen. Amal and I don't know what he's up to, but she said no one else is allowed to come, she'll only work with me. I told her it's okay, we'll just take up the whole area next to her station and no one will be able to work there. :)

Another good day at Sweet Dreams! It's hard to believe tomorrow is already the weekend, but I'm tired out again, and might be getting sick, I'm not sure. Yesterday I passed out on the couch, and I've been taking a lot of naps after internship. I'm still getting used to 8+ hour days though, it's been since the summer. Kind of, I guess I had labs and was working at Kohl's at the same time. Anyway, for now I just come home and am a big ball of lazy!

Day 10, March 21st, 2015- 
Today was really quite boring, there wasn't much for me personally to do, and it actually seemed pretty slow for most people. There were plenty of cakes for Mai, Kathy, and Melanie to decorate though. Anyhow, I wrapped up Rocky Road Brownies for Salmina, she is becoming less intimidating by the day. You would laugh if you saw what she looks like, she's really not intimidating at all, I don't know why I feel that way. She mentioned how the marshmallow part of most of the brownies separates and it looks like it was made separately. I didn't think about it until afterwards, but it's probably because the brownies weren't warm when the topping was put on them. Many years of making Rocky Road Brownies have taught me that, always put the topping on when they're warm, and make it while the brownies are just finishing baking. As I was wrapping them, I kept thinking about my mom, Rocky Road Brownies always make me think of her, and my childhood. They were always such a delicious, special treat!

Some of the other things I did today were practice frosting a (styrofoam) sheet cake, Mai said I was getting better, and her and Melanie were giving me tips. I'm liking Mai more and more, she is generally quiet, but is nice and I like the way she suggests things, she doesn't assume things and she isn't rude or mean about it. I helped Steven stack cakes to put into the freezer, and talked to him a bit, it's always nice to talk to him, especially since he speaks English! Lol! I put chocolate shavings on some of the cakes Wafa was finishing. I watched Amal make a Fruit Napoleon. It was a bit different than how we made it at JWU. The puff pastry was very thick, well the layers were, obviously a puff pastry is flaky and has many layers within each portion. But she had a layer of that, Bavarian cream, blackberries and strawberries, then another layer, topped with the final layer of pastry. The top was dusted in powdered sugar, then a criss-cross/lattice design was made over it. An edible image was requested for it, and placed in the left corner, and then more fruit finished it off.
Later on, I helped Amal with 4 fruit platters that had been ordered. She leveled an apple and secured it in the center by dipping it in chocolate. (I love it when chocolate is glue! Haha!) Then she added sections of pineapple, muskmelon, honey dew, and strawberries. The decorative touch was shish kabobs of pineapple, muskmelon, honey dew and strawberries, coming out of the apple. I did some cleaning to pass the time, I cleaned the mixer Amal and Wafa use for whipping cream and for frostings, I also clean 3 of the microwaves. Amal had me frost a 10 or 12" Berries Delight cake with whipped cream, and cover the sides with ladyfingers. That was the first cake that size that I got to frost, and I was happy Amal let me do it! The other significant thing I did was cut, fill and finish a Banana Delight cake- the first I've seen in the bakery so far. :) The Banana Delight is filled with white chocolate mousse, then vanilla crunch bits are added on top of that, and fresh banana slices (about one and a half bananas) complete the layer. The second layer is the same and then it is frosted in whipped cream, covered with ladyfingers, wrapped in ribbon. The top is finished off with whipped cream rosettes, fresh banana slices, and apricot glaze to keep it fresh and pretty.

I'm pretty happy it's the weekend now, I just wanted to sleep in this morning. I have been so tired, and am excited to get some more sleep and wind down. :)

Amal kept feeding me, or I would get bored and snag some fresh fruit.
She had me try a cheesecake bite and another cream puff. Before that she had me pick something out, and I tried a bite size vanilla cake with raspberry bavarian and covered in chocolate.
I had lunch with Amal, Salmina, Chad, Amal S, and Wafa. As we were almost finished, Rita came in with something I'd seen her make earlier, a bread like dough with sesame seeds and some kind of mildly spicy paste. It was delicious! She brought another with just cheese, of course those were delicious! I just want to try everything from other cultures now! Well, in theory! Haha!

On a side note, I made a Grilled Peanut Butter sandwich with honey & apples for dinner, and it was super delicious and healthy, with just enough sweetness to make it feel like a treat! :) I would highly recommend it. Just be careful with the honey, if it drips out onto the pan it will burn and leave marks on your pan.

Days 6 & 7! :D

Day 6:
I didn't write yesterday, so I'll just do a little recap. I worked with/did something for Wafa for the first time, she intimidates me, I'm not sure why. Maybe I just feel like she doesn't think I know what I'm doing, who knows. But she is nice, don't get me wrong! Anyhow, she had me make chocolate covered strawberries. After I did that, she had me drizzle them with white chocolate (using a piping bag), she showed me. Then I did it, and she said I was doing fine, although she was making me nervous and I wasn't doing as well as I could have. (It's super simple for goodness sake!) While I was doing that Salmina (lady from Bosnia, makes bite size treats), came over and was getting flustered, apparently she thought it was outrageous that I was using two hands on the piping bag. Wafa tried to tell her to just let me do it the way I was, to let me learn it first. Salmina just couldn't handle it though, she made me use one hand, by cupping the end of the parchment bag in my hand and then piping. This caused my poor left hand to be left out and just hang out awkwardly. I was quite baffled by the whole thing. JWU and NCCTC had both taught me to use two hands to pipe. One to guide and one to secure the end and keep the flow going. I guess that is just ludicrous to her and probably other Sweet Dreams workers though. I did notice that Amal Fruit was using just one hand while piping frosting onto her cakes. Anyhow, that was weird. Let's see, what else did I do...? I made cupcakes with Mai (girl from Thailand, younger, kind of quiet), she let me participate- unlike Stephen. I like working with her, she tells me how to do things, but doesn't hover over me and she trusts that I know what I'm doing. We made a bunch of Red Velvet & Chocolate cupcakes, (don't tell, but we used cake mix for those), to get the batter evenly into the liners, we used this neat little machine. The batter is poured into the top, which is open, then after the machine is turned on, it spins out batter according to a number system (we used 71 for these) there are 4 openings and they line up with the cupcake tins. That makes it super easy, convenient, clean, and fast to make cupcakes! Then pop them into the amazing, massive, rotating 6 rack oven, and wait for them to get springy and perfect. Oh, I also practiced frosting a styrofoam (round) cake. Melanie let me crumb coat 3 sheet cakes, which was nice. I think that's mostly all I did, I helped Amal in any down time I had.


Day 7
Let's see, today I worked with Amal again, she's my favorite!! :) I cut strawberries for her- everyone was using strawberries in their cakes today. Then I practiced with the sheet/square foam cake, that was pretty difficult, I haven't worked with anything besides round cakes before. Except for the one rectangle cake (present cake) I made in Specialty Cakes and covered in fondant. I practiced that for about 30 minutes, while Amal finished doing something before we assembled cakes together. After she was finished, we made assembled a new cake! Well, new for me! It's called "Death by Chocolate" haha! It's a chocolate chiffon cake layered with chocolate ganache, chocolate crunch bits, chocolate mousse, and then another layer, the whole thing is frosted with chocolate butter cream, & I think glazed in chocolate. Amal & I didn't glaze it, we just assembled it, and then she frosted it while I assembled the cookie dough cake. I was so excited that I got to make the cookie dough one! I've been curious about it ever since Amal showed me it in the display, the second or so day after I started. I removed the cakes from the pans, cut them in half, stacked them, put the 6" in the cooler while I worked on the 9". Each one is a layer of chocolate chiffon cake, whipped cream, chocolate chip cookie dough chunks, then another layer of that, topped with a plain cake layer. I think it's frosted with whipped cream then chocolate curls on the sides, and garnished with more whipped cream and cookie dough chunks, but I'll find out tomorrow. I made 20, 9" and 20, 6". That was the last thing Amal & I did for the day, we cleaned up then headed home. :)

Oh, I tried quite a few things today! I had little bits of the whipped cream, chocolate mousse, and chocolate ganache, which of course were all good. The whipped cream has a different texture and taste, because of the blend of regular and non-dairy creams. Amal also shared an apple and a banana with me, she always has to make sure I'm fed :P She also had me try flaky puff pastry. Then towards the end of the day, Saad (Wafa's husband, he does cleaning, ordering, makes things for the cakes to stand on, etc.) gave me a cup of Pistachio ice cream. I only know it's pistachio because of the chopped nuts resting on the top. It is seriously like nothing I've ever tasted, and I don't know if I'm in love or don't like it at all. It's truly intriguing! Obviously it's creamy, almost minty, bitter but very sweet at the same time, smooth. I can't describe it, you must eat it yourself and decide what it's like.

Stephen taught me two words during lunch today.
Banana- well I don't know how it's spelled, but it's pronounced something in between "mouse" and "malls" more like mouse though
Meat- la. hey. ma. Once again, no spelling, but that's the pronunciation.
Also I heard the word "charmoota" a lot today :/ aka bitch
 

The End of Week One!

Today was Day 5!!

 It's hard to believe it's been 5 days- it seems so much longer, but at the same time, I'm still getting used to everything. Let's see, I went in an hour later today- 8 am- because I didn't sleep well and Stephen (who I would be working with for the day) was coming in later too. I did my time card (I still have difficulty with that, I never know where the time stamp is actually going to end up!), then headed to Amal Fruit's work station. We talked for a bit, then she had me go over to Mona's area until Stephen got there. (Mona is the lady I worked with on day 1 and the entire time I had thought was Amal S. Mona is not her first name, it's her last name but she says her first name is hard to say. I think I got pretty close on the first try, it is just a long name and I don't remember what it was.) Anyhow, I worked with her all day because Stephen ended up not coming in. We got a lot done!! She would tell me what I needed to do and help or show me what to do as needed, and then I would do it. Most of the time she was working on making Black Forest Cakes using the fancy & awesome dispenser machine thing that pipes out the perfect amount of filling each time. Anyhow, I started off with 9" chocolate chiffon cakes, approximately 108 (54 at a time), taking them out of the pan and then cutting them in half, stacking them 3 layers high, and putting them on cake boards. Mona took them and used them to make the Black Forest Cakes. After that was done, I took pre-filled and cut 6" Tirimisu cakes and frosted them with cappuccino and rum flavored whipped cream then covered the edges in some kind of coffee granule sprinkle things. After I got done with those, I moved on to Carrot Cake, doing the same thing but with cream cheese icing and walnuts. The last project before I left was de-panning, cutting, filling, boxing up and freezing 6" chocolate cakes. These were for the Sweet Dreams cakes, which are filled with chocolate Bavarian cream, whipped cream, and flavored with raspberry (probably raspberry jam or filling). I made approximately 69 of those. It was getting pretty late- a little after 5, when I finally finished those up. I was getting pretty tired out and my mind had been drifting all day. I had weird Disney songs & songs I listened to when I was a kid, I was thinking about Robert, I was thinking about it being the weekend soon and the things I needed to do, I was listening to the sounds of Mona & I working... My mind has been a jungle today. But as I said, it was getting pretty late and I was ready to go home. Mona comes over with a sample size Black Forest Cake for me, and insists I "eat, eat". She has already done that with Baklava, pizza for lunch, grapes, the cream cheese icing, the chocolate raspberry mousse, these wonderful & strange "cookies" with hazelnuts... I certainly won't go hungry around here, not with all my female Arabic co-workers insisting that I "eat, eat" or "try this, you must try this". They are very motherly and cute like that! :) There ended up being two Sweet Dreams cakes left that didn't fit in the box, so she had me cut & fill two more. She made a small Black Forest Cake for me to "take to your boyfriend, slice and share it with him. Show him what you are doing all day." If only I could... :( But I brought it home and Aunt Chrissy was very very happy and loved it! Anyway, I thought that was very sweet of Mona, and I really appreciated the thought and gesture. :) I got out at 5:30, successfully drove home without getting lost, and Chrissy ended up being home- she has the weekend off- so we talked some then both  of us were really tired and retired to our areas. I am just really exhausted and don't feel very good. :( Good thing it's the weekend, I'll have time to rest up, relax, and prepare for another exciting week!! :) Have a great weekend readers! :)

Days 3 & 4 at Sweet Dreams!

Yesterday I didn't feel very good, which made the day kind of rough. I couldn't talk for a good 45 minutes or something, and Amal Fruit felt very bad for me, and told Mama and a few other people that I couldn't talk and was sick. She is very motherly and sweet! :) She had me sit down, gave me water and naan, and had me slice strawberries for filling in the Berry Delight (I think that's the name) cakes. After I sliced a bowl for her, and one for Melanie, we cut, filled, and frosted cakes then put the strawberries and blueberries in with the white chocolate mousse. I believe we did the same with more cakes- Dynasty I think. Then Amal passed me on to Melanie, who had me practice frosting a dummy cake, talk about frustrating! But I got out at 3:30, got lost (stupid Campbell road always mixes me up!) and finally got home.

Day 4: Today was good! Amal Fruit was very happy, because yesterday after work she had gotten some kind of something where she got semi-permanent dentures or something like that, and was especially smiley because of that! I worked with Stephen though, we made what seemed like endless amounts of Yellow Chiffon Cake, it took us from 7:30-1 or so to make, bake, cool, stack & store all the cakes. The Chiffon cake is not exactly what we did at JWU, the yolks were not whipped, only the whites. The oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, salt, flours (cake & all-purpose), and anything else I'm not remembering, were all mixed in the largest mixer at the bakery- taller than I am, and I could certainly sit inside of it- until blended and then mixed some more. I was getting worried that the cake would be over-mixed, and that Stephen wasn't paying enough attention to it, but he knew what he was doing. The batter was getting a beautiful pale yellow and getting fluffy. The batter was divided into 14 lb. in bowls then set aside. After I thought that only the chocolate cake was Chiffon, he began whipping the whites. 6 1/2 cups of egg whites, one spoon of citric acid (to stabilize), and a few minutes on the mixer and the whites were a fabulous, fluffy, meringue. Stephen added about 3-4 bowl scraper fulls to each 14 lb. of batter, then let the rest of the meringue whip just a bit more. Then stopped it, lowered the mixer, removed the whip, and put the mixing bowl on the workstation in what seemed to be one fluid motion. One bowl of meringue is then folded into each bowl of batter. Then one bowl-ful is put into each pan (no spray or parchment required) and baked until a light golden color and springy to the touch. Pans are put upside down onto parchment lined cooling racks and then cooled until they are able to be handled. Once cooled, the pans are stacked with cake circles between, piled onto a cart and stacked into the freezer. The process is repeated until you've made at least 225 cakes. Today we made 9", eight 10", some 12", and eight large square sheet pans. After Stephen left for Costco, I was back to working with Amal Fruit, we made some 6" Dynasty cakes. She was laughing so hard because whenever we frost 6" cakes, they slide around on the turntable, so I tried to make it stay. First I folded the towel in half, but it still was larger than the cake and got in the way of frosting. I then tried folding it into four, it raised the cake a good 2" or so, just from that she started laughing hysterically, told Wafa about it. She said it was a good idea, but then the cake started wobbling back and forth and we were just laughing hysterically, and my face turned bright red! It was really great, Amal was so amused! We finished up with the cakes, then she showed me how to do whipped cream rosettes on top of the Strawberry/Berry Delight cake. We cleaned up and called it a day.
One more day until the weekend. :)                


Oh, Stephen also told me about "Under the Radar" a show that goes around to different restaurants

Habibi- (ha. bee. bee.) "my love" in Arabic, but basically is a term of endearment, used for almost anyone. Stephen told me what it means today, but at first I thought it was someone's name, and then I figured out it must be a term of endearment meaning something like "sweetheart" or "honey". I was close. :)

Ay- yes, La- no

First Day at Sweet Dreams Pastry & Ice Cream

Lena?- worked there for 18 yrs, pretty good English, does most everything- gum paste flowers, cutting, filling, freezing & organizing cakes in the walk in, making fillings, par stock of cakes, pretty much any & everything.

I worked with Mai and Melanie, we filled cakes with mousse and did crumb cakes. Melanie went over more things with me and showed me around some more. I think I will like her. After I tailed her for a while, she passed me on to Amal S. (well I thought someone said it was Amal S, but it was really Lena I think her name is).
Left around 3:30.

Cut chocolate cakes, Tirimisu, fillings, cutting, frosting, cover sides with cappuccino, to freezer


Got there at around 9:20 or so, went to the door and saw that the bakery doesn't open until 10 (10-7). Kristin asked about a back door, I drove around but it looked like it was only for deliveries. Kristin convinced me I should stay and wait, that's what I did for like 15 minutes maybe. Then I see this guy walking towards the Celica, I figure it must be Sam, it is and he tells me about the back door, gives me a tour and introduces me to everyone. It will take me a long time to remember all of their names, especially since they're all pretty unusual, most of the staff is Arabic/Iranian. The dishwasher, Erica, is Hispanic, I'll have to brush up on my Spanish and maybe we can have short conversations. :) I don't think I will ever learn Arabic though, it seems really difficult! I do have 3 months though :P Haha!



DAY 2: Went in at 7, only a few ladies were there. I started out working with Stephen, he made a cake that Sam had requested, without eggs, so I watched him make it because it was too simple for 2 people to make. He's pretty cool, very relaxed and he knows what he's doing, he's going on 50, has been working at Sweet Dreams for 30 years I believe he said. He also works at Costco in the bakery, is married. He makes all the cake batters, makes sure the par stock of the baked cakes is maintained, and bakes everything. He is also a prankster, and likes to mess with the ladies, particularly Wafa.

Amal Fruit was anxious to steal me away, particularly after she decided that I looked like Danielle, her son's ex-girlfriend of 5 years. She then called me Danielle on and off for the rest of the day, at one point took my picture to show whoever that I looked like her (in which case they said I was better lol), fed me a strawberry with whipped cream for the Oreo cakes we were making. Oh, she made me try stuff from the counter, a Chocolate Raspberry Mousse bite, and a cream puff. She always calls me cute, but really she is the cute one, and funny too! I think I have a new favorite! Lol! I had lunch with the ladies, let's see, Amal Fruit, Wafa, Salmina, and Amal S. It was really good, I don't know if they made it or had bought it yesterday, but it was delicious!! There was chicken, rice with vegetables, french fries (tribute to America?), traditional bread-perhaps naan. They mostly spoke in Arabic, but Wafa & Salmina asked about my heritage, I did my best to tell them. Wafa asked if this was my first time around Chaldeans, at first I thought she asked if I lived with my guardians lol, but then she repeated and I told her it was. Anyhow, Amal and I actually got a lot done today! First we un-molded and cut chocolate cakes, both 9" and 6". Then we filled them with whipped cream (a mix of dairy and non-dairy whip), covered them with crushed Oreos, layered them on top of each other, frosted them in more cream mix, then covered the sides with chocolate shavings and sent them off for later. Oh, the tops have to be "labeled" with Oreo crumbs since the Black Forest and Cookie Dough cakes have the same frosting and shavings. We did that with 20, 6" and either 10 or 20, 9". After that we made a 10" Berry Delight cake- yellow cake, 2.5 scoops of white chocolate mousse, cut strawberries, blueberries and then whipped cream frosting. We cleaned up, then she left- it must have been around 2:30-3. Sam had me watch (the real) Amal S., she was making a huge batch of white chocolate mousse. She had one large mixer full of non-dairy whip, another full of whipped cream, and another somewhat smaller mixer that she was cooling melted white chocolate in. She blended the two whips together for a few seconds, then added the white chocolate with the paddle attachment. (It was really pretty boring and awkward to watch, she doesn't speak very much English and we didn't really say anything. I really just felt like I was in the way.) After she had distributed the mousse into tubs, labeled them, and organized them in the walk-in, Sam called me over. He had been melting white chocolate earlier- while the chocolate for mousse was cooling, and was carrying a long, plexi-glass like "board". At first I thought he wanted me to clean it or something along those lines. But instead he put it over Amal's (metal) work station and poured the white chocolate in a long stream across it. He cooled and smoothed it using an offset and a spackle/scraper, then did something I'd never seen done before. (Though that doesn't take much! Lol!) He scraped off strips, but had his thumb on the left side of the scraper- held at a low angle, and quickly scraped the chocolate up onto the spackle. The result was a white chocolate fan shaped piece, he put it on a 9" circle, then repeated the process, making a kind of rose like flower. The center of the flower was made of a rolled strip of chocolate (but is added last to save storage space), and the result was abstract and beautiful! Plus, it was made out of white chocolate! That was my last lesson, or show and tell if you will, for the day. It was really awesome and a great way to end the day! Sam said I could stay longer and watch Chad and Kathie work, they were doing some decorative work, but I couldn't because my stomach was killing me, my throat was sore, and I was really tired. I said goodbye, then successfully got to Chrissy's without getting lost and there weren't even any crazy drivers! :) I'm feeling pretty confident about driving, which is really nice! My parallel parking still needs some work though, good thing I only park on the street outside my house! :P Anyhow, I left Sweet Dreams incredibly happy and the sun was shining, the temps around 50! I don't know what else I could ask for, really!

Oh, and Sam told me how he was trying to rent a condo before, and the first two times he called to ask about it he accidentally said "condom" instead and he said the guy immediately hung up on him. The third time he called I think the guy realized he had gotten the words mixed up and actually talked to him.