Cheers and Jeers

Jeers... to having to do bathroom checks at work now. Apparently, in order to "save money," the talking heads at Target came up with the brilliant plan to have the Starbucks girls do the mid-day bathroom cleaning. So now along with "steamed milk" and "poured coffee," I'll be able to add "scrubbed toilets" to my resume! (Sense the sarcasm... let it roll around in your ears for a minute.)

Jeers... to missing Stamp Club because NavyGuy had a night flight. Tally had already spent most of the day by herself, so I had to come home and be with her instead of getting my craft on. Grrr.

(Tiny) Jeers... to Tally. For acting like an actual dog, not the perfect puppy we've been honeymooning with for the last three months. After being cooped up all day, it's not surprising that she's been driving me nutty all night long with the jumping, and the nipping, and the stepping on my laptop, and the frantic tearing around the house like a toddler on a sugar high on Christmas. (Of course now that I've typed this, she's decided to curl up on my lap and look adorable. Damn puppy dog eyes. They'll get'cha every time.)

Cheers... to having Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for breakfast. That's all I got for cheers. It was really more of a jeerful day. Bah.

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Black Friday

Have you ever worked retail on the day after Thanksgiving?

I would not recommend it.

People are crazy. Ca-raaaay-zeee.

Like these two, going to Target at 5am to buy dvds and three dollar toasters...



Teehee... I mean, what smart bargain shoppers! :) This is actually Sister and Brother-in-Law in line at MY STARBUCKS at 6:30am on Black Friday. Mom, Sis, and BIL hit the Target sales and then got in line for coffees just in time to be my customers. And, check out that awesome blackboard sign above Sister's head... uh huh... that's right - my most beautiful Starbucks sign ever.

And here I am in my green apron. Slinging syrups.



Such a proud moment.

Truthfully, the Starbucks portion of my day was kind of fun. I was working with three other great girls, and the guests were pleasant once they got to us. I mean, we were their source of food and caffeine! And we didn't have to tell them that we were out of 32 inch plasma screen televisions. So all of the customers were jolly and things went swimmingly.

Then, I had to work the sales floor. Blah. Boring. All I did was straighten shelves for three hours. Oh, and re-shelve dvds that people had intended to buy, changed their mind about, and then subtly left in the seasonal department behind a Christmas tree display. Plus I swear - every customer in the store who had an indecipherable accent decided to ask me... something... usually I couldn't figure out what they were requesting so I just said we were out of everything. Oops.

Anyway, I survived my first retail Black Friday, but let's pray to god that I'll be spending next Black Friday on the opposite side of the check-out counter :)

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I {heart} Target

Because, well... I'd still be moving my possessions on my back Sherpa style if not for these babies.
Can a person ever really have enough Rubbermaid containers?

(For those of you playing at home, the correct answer is, "no.")

On sale this week for $4.

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I {heart} Target

The college dorm items for Back to School 2009 are on the shelves at Target!!! Sooooo wishing I was going to college in a few weeks so I could deck out my dorm room with these fab finds...

Xtra-long Twin Bedding by DwellStudio in Bloom - So pretty.Brushed Nickel Banker Desk Lamp - Crucial if you want to study after your roommate has already gone to bed (plus it looks like you stole it from the library!)Pink Dish Chair - you can never have too much funky seating in a dorm room.

Dots Bath Towels - Must be stylish when returning from the communal floor bathroom.

Pop-Up Hamper - Doing your own laundry for the first time won't be nearly as fun without this.
What item will always remind you of your freshmen dorm room? (For me, it was actually a set of blue interlocking crates that my roommie and I assembled together... a couple fingers were nearly severed, but our friendship was sealed in the process.)

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"Oh, I'm Ross - I'm too Good for the Hut"

Wednesday night was my first shift training at the Pizza Hut/Food Avenue in Target. From those six hours, working Food Ave seemed to revolve around cleaning, shoving personal pan pizzas in the roller oven, and handing out Icee cups to nine year old boys, who like to mix the raspberry, blueberry, and Cherry Coke Icee to make a brown slushie they proclaim "awesome!". Totally doable.

Then came Thursday. The plan was for me to train all morning with Nicole, a team leader, and learn how to open the Food Avenue, watch a bunch of the required videos, and generally ease my way into food handling and pretzel salting. Ha! When I showed up at 7am, Nicole had called in from the emergency room with some sort of neck debacle, so Candace, who was supposed to be working Starbucks, would now be training me... which means there would be two of us to work the Food Ave and Starbucks... one of whom was not certified in Starbucks, and knew little to nothing about Food Ave... so now we have all the components for a day of chaos and half-assing.

The day was ridiculous. Candace taught me how to open Food Ave, while we simultaneously opened Starbucks for the day and dealt with a fruit fly invasion in the pastry case. Normally two separate (trained) people do these jobs. Then it was the two of us manning both areas until 9, when one more employee showed up to help. I stumbled my way through Food Ave most of the morning, learning how to prep sandwiches, salads, and pizzas, helping guests, filling in at Starbucks when I could, and generally trying to run around like a superhuman all the while remaining perfectly calm and in control. Never a hair out of place ;) (No thanks to my super-fly Target baseball hat and apron).

Candace and I actually managed fairly well - both of us were ready to drop by 3:30 when we were done with our shift, but she complimented me on the day and seemed pleased with my progress (gotta love being thrown into the open ocean to learn to swim... or drown really really quickly). Most important lesson of the day... when in doubt, use an oven mitt! I have another closing shift tomorrow night. I can only hope that everyone who's supposed to be there, is there, and of course, that our precious Icee machine keeps spitting out sugary goodness...

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Tastings and More

I'm easing my way into tasting all of the Starbucks drinks. Today was another morning shift (this time with a different trainer), and she went easy on me... for the most part. I can now speak to the following beverages:

* Pike Place Regular Brew - "earthy"
(This is what we brew everyday as the plain drip coffee, and basically, it takes like coffee to me - gross. Apparently, it's a "medium" coffee, as opposed to the bold or extra bold varieties which would really put hair on my chest.)

* Espresso Shots - caramelly, nutty aftertaste
(Still pretty much tastes like coffee to me. The espresso shots come out of the Verisimo machine and are added to many of the beverages. You have to use the shots almost immediately, otherwise they "burn" and taste even more horrible. I tried a good and bad version today. Sweet Jesus they were both foul.)

* Strawberry Banana Vivano Smoothie - refreshing, fruity, and yummy
(One of the featured smoothies for the summer. It has a whole banana and protein powder, and was pretty good. We're supposed to recommend the "Very Berry Coffee Cake" as a suitable food pairing... which I also tasted just so I can truthfully tell people that it rocks!)

* Chocolate Banana Vivano Smoothie - refreshing and chocolate-y
(Best taste of the day! Not normally a banana person, but this was great. These smoothies aren't exactly diet food at 280 calories, but they would make a great breakfast shake or meal replacement item. Don't I sound like a great saleswoman?!?!? ;)
However, I still have very few useful skills behind the counter. If someone is logged into the cash register, I can usually stumble through ringing up someone's order. The saran wrap still has a leg up on me, but at least I didn't knock a muffin on the floor trying to cover it this morning. I also know how to grind and brew drip coffee, replace the cups and lids in the condiment bar, and rinse the blender cups. Woot! Progress. I also practiced my customer service by giving out samples in the lobby. I had my little tray with tiny cups of strawberry banana smoothie, and small slices of berry coffee cake, and the people loved me them! True, there were only five samples, but they flew off the plate :) Aside from dropping a petite scone under the pastry case (oops), I had a pretty successful day!

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Updates and Blogkeeping

* Happy Belated Fourth of July! NavyGuy and I celebrated by going to the Anacortes parade (there was an Uncle Sam on stilts!), and watching the fireworks downtown. For a small town, Anacortes puts on an impressive display of pyrotechnics.

* Everything went well with the house inspection - better than well in fact. The "brickkicker" found almost no problems in the entire place. Essentially, there's one screw missing from a downspout on the side of the deck, and the blinds on the sliding door upstairs need to be re-positioned farther away from the door (currently, they catch when you slide the door open). The appraiser comes tomorrow, and then we just have to wait patiently for the financing to be complete... though patiently might be asking a little much.

* Sunday morning was my first shift at Target. I've been assigned to the Starbucks in the Target, so while I'm technically a Target employee, I will be trained on Starbucks first. Confusing, yes. After my first shift, where I was trained by a 24 year old, I learned that a) I'm going to have to taste all of the drinks (ew, I hate coffe), b) the saran wrap box is smarter than me, and c) I have a LOT to learn before I can be left alone in the Starbucks. I have another shift tomorrow; we'll see if I make any progress.

* NavyGuy has been on "holiday" since last Thursday, and it's high time he go back to work.

On a separate note, I realized I missed my 1 year "blog"-aversary on June 25th!!! I meant to celebrate somehow, but the date just slipped by. That's okay. It's really just shocking that I've actually stuck with this for so long! I tend to grab new hobbies and obsessions for a while and then let them drift... Nonetheless, since we missed the date, I'm going to celebrate a different milestone - 500 posts! This post marks #475, so I have a few more posts to come up with a way to party with all of you. Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments - I'm thinking maybe some giveaways? Or a countdown of favorite posts? Posts from some of the frequent guest stars like Mom, Sister, TWP, NavyGuy, or HistoryGirlie? Let me know what you'd like.

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When It Rains...

More good news folks! After an arduous search (and acceptance of the fact that no school district within fifty miles is hiring), I have acquired gainful employment at Target. The mothership has called me home and made me one of their own; I spent my first day in red and khaki on Thursday, going through three hours of boring orientation.



Truth be told, I'm a bit embarrassed. As a college graduate who had a respectable full-time job for four years, it took a bit of "pride-swallowing" to seek out a retail position. I'll be making more than minimum wage - but not by much - mixing tasty drinks at the in-store Starbucks (and maybe filling in at the Food Avenue from time to time). Essentially, spending four years studying Russian history and theories of education was supposed to spare me from this, but whadda ya gonna do? Life is life, and we just bought a house. Every extra dollar will help pay the mortgage (and fill said house with new furnishings), so I will cheerfully join the bullseye chain gang and learn how to be a "fast, fun, and friendly" team member.

Today's orientation consisted mostly of boring videos about Target's philosophies, sexual harassment, time clock compliance, and safety tips, like not using the step ladders that are for sale in aisle C17 as means to reach heavy boxes (which definitely means someone did this as some point). I haven't gotten any Starbucks specific knowledge yet, but all in good time.

So, even though I'm now in the ranks with unreliable high school students, at least it's a job. I will suffer through it, and focus on the good stuff - 10% merchandise discount! (No - I will not buy you all stuff. Maybe as birthday gifts. That's it. Don't try sucking up to me to get you stuff... that's not being a good team member :) Plus I can only use the discount when I pay with cash or check, so it's actually somewhat limiting considering I use plastic for everything.)

Practice saying it with me: "Can I help you find something?"

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I {heart} Target

So, we just paid for a really big party for all of our friends and family, and we're hoping to purchase our first home in the next couple months, but...

That doesn't mean I can't "window" shop!

Here's what I'd buy at Target this week...

A cute accent chair for our future livingroom

Any of these oh-so-trendy gladiator sandals...Regina Spektor's new album...

and dryer sheets. Cuz, well, we're almost out.

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I {heart} Target

A couple Target items to highlight this week:

Scotch Brite Stainless Steel Cleaner

We're blessed and cursed to have stainless steel appliances in our kitchen, and for months they've gone uncleaned because we were terrified to use any cleaning products on them for fear of staining or other disaster. But this weekend, the fingerprints and schmears reached a point of no return, so NavyGuy and I scoured (yep - pun totally intended), the Target aisles to find a suitable cleaning solution. Lo and behold, right near the bins of sponges - stainless steel cleaner! There's a plastic thingy you hold and disposable cleaning pads you attach (similar to the swiffer series). I can't vouch for it's ease of use as NavyGuy is the resident kitchen cleaner, but I can vouch for the how shiny and clean the appliances look after the fact! (The starter kit cost about $6.99 and comes with six cleaning pads; refill packs cost about $3.99.)

Debbie Meyer Green Bags

Now our weekly sale item - Green Bags! My mom gets all the credit for these little wonders. When she visited at Thanksgiving, she brought a few to share, and I've been using them to store our veggies ever since. I have no clue what the secret is or how they work, I just know that they do. Target has them on sale this week, $9.99 for a box of 20 bags. You can probably find them on an end cap somewhere in housewares - they're a "as seen on TV" product, so you might need to hunt around a bit, but they're totally worth it.

I promise that I'll find some less boring Target items next week!

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I {heart} Target

I'm posting this a wee bit earlier than usual, because a) I'm way behind on posting since I was having a mini-vacation this week in Portland, b) the Target sale item of the week is likely time-sensitive, since they usually don't stock tons of these, and c) well, cuz I wanted to!
Hooray for fire!!! (Tee hee hee.) So, my cousin Yo-Yo gets all the credit for alerting me to the wonderfulness of this item. I have to admit that I may have teased her mercilessly been skeptical about the usefulness of an outdoor fire bowl. Yo-Yo got a similar one years ago and it wasn't until NavyGuy and I were registering for our wedding that we thought, hmmm... maybe Yo-Yo's on to something.

I mean, who doesn't want to be able to sit around a nice fire in their backyard on a cool summer evening? And don't even get me started on how you can make s'mores without having to sleep on the ground in a wet tent somewhere! So, mi madre got us the above fire bowl as a bridal shower gift, and now with the summer outdoors season swiftly approaching, the Target gods have decided that you all need even more incentive to have your own! The fire pit/bowl is on sale this week for $59.99!!! That's $20 off. (Which in my world means you can spend those $20 on s'mores supplies...)

Also - don't forget to hit up the Easter aisles at Target tomorrow - everything will be on major clearance and it's your last chance to stock up on Cadbury Eggs and Peeps until next year!

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I {heart} Target

It's the getting to be the time of year for parties - wedding showers, baby showers, graduation parties, and summer picnics galore. Hooray!

6 ft Folding Banquet Table

This fancier card table would be great as a buffet table to hold a spread of brats and taco dip, or as extra seating for a crowd. I could see myself turning it into a fabulous work table in a future craft room. It's six feet long, and folds in half for easy travel - on sale this week at Mecca Target for $39.99 :)

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I {heart} Target

'tis the season...

Women's Flat Sandals - Sale $9.99

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I {heart} Target

So... yeah... I'm gonna need some help choosing between these new spring dresses...

Juniors Mossimo Supply Co. Surplus Dress w/Tie Black $19.99

Juniors Xhilaration Floral Maxi Dress Turquoise Floral Print $24.99

Juniors Xhilaration Flutter Sleeve Dress Yellow Floral Print $19.99

Juniors Xhilaration Floral Tiered Dress $19.99

Oooo, Target. Sometimes you are downright evil with your weekly sales ad. Really? Did you have to put all of these on the front of your weekly ad? Really!?!?

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I {heart} Target

Irresistible! I'm breaking from my trend of choosing sale items, but at the reasonable price of $19.99, these still strikes me as "sale-ish."

Love - LOVE - these different sets of prep bowls that Target has as new items. I haven't seen them in the stores yet, so I can't comment on them firsthand, but most Target dishware I've encountered has been high quality. I'm really excited by the different patterns and color schemes available - they range from typical springy to more modern colors. All of the bowls are earthenware and of course, dishwasher safe.

Retro GardenAfternoon LaceSpring Blossom

The first pattern (Retro Garden) may be my favorite; it reminds me of a popular wedding color combo I've been seeing - aqua and poppy. If I didn't already have way too many items on the Target bridal registry, I'd be tempted to add a set of these! Wouldn't they make a great bridal shower gift? Seriously - can you ever have enough bowls?

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I {heart} Target

I always associate the smell of lemon with dusting. Having used Pledge for years on end, I can no longer smell a nice lemon pastry without thinking of dusting the piano. However, these little buggers might allow me to overcome my Pavlovian cleaning response to the smell of lemon.The Swiffer dusters are wonderful. They're on sale this week for $3.50 and you get five dusters in a pack. I'm able to dust the whole house with one duster, so in my mind that means it only costs me .70 cents per dusting! I will admit they are not as perfect as in the commercials, but dang close. If you need some inspiration to swipe off the flat surfaces in your home, I'd definitely spring for these - they almost make dusting enjoyable!

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I {heart} Target

Having spent the past week with babies and toddlers on my radar (sooooo loving playing with my friends' little ones... then passing them off once the wailing and thrashing begins), this week's Target item goes out to TWP and HistoryGirlie. Despite their best efforts, their little girls are both thriving, and rapidly growing into toddlers... who will need new toddler rooms! Complete with - small sized bean bag chairs!I remember the blue bean bag chair I had as a youngster. I'm sure every parent actually hates them because they inevitably rip and those tiny little beads start trickling out and infesting every corner of your house, but mine was so comfy to snuggle up in with a good book. The bean bag chairs are on sale this week at Target for just $16! According to the website, they're available in pink and red (and an illusive pink and green polka dot pattern which I can't find a photo of... boo).

If only I was a little more compact, I might have to add that pink one to our house...

Of course, I'm no parenting/safety expert, so I'm not recommending you allow your 16 month old to play in the bean bag chair alone. I'm sure you could google the topic and find horror stories involving choking on the beads or suffocation, so let's use some common sense people - here lies my official warning: if you buy a bean bag chair for your toddler, I'm am SO not responsible for what happens once you get said chair home...

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I {heart} Target

Just a quick Target write-up for the week, because I'm off to see Wicked in just a few short hours!!!!  (And please excuse the lack of photos, because I'm still figuring out how to use my mom's Mac.)

Cheap DVDs!  There's some fairly recent films for low prices.  Most of them have been out since before Christmas, but if you didn't get something that was on your holiday wish list, now's the time to pick it up...

For $10

~ Mamma Mia

~ Sex and the City

~ Enchanted

~ Wall-E

~ The Dark Knight

~ Kung Fu Panda

And for a little bit more, you can get these Blu-Ray versions (sale price $19.99, regular price usually closer to $30)

~ Madagascar 2

~ Eagle Eye

~ Iron Man

~ I am Legend

My personal suggestions?  Wall-E, Sex and the City, and Iron Man.  Just watched the last one a week ago, and it was much better than expected.  Good fun popcorn movie :)  

Happy shopping!

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We really do go to Target that much...

Since NavyGuy had today off (Happy President's Day!), we went out to lunch in Burlington, which naturally meant we also had to stop in at Target. Results?
Here, I've been convinced to don an oh-so-flattering cowboy hat. See how happy I am?

Next, NavyGuy needed a new pillow. His idea of appropriate pillow selection? Find an empty shelf and do a full-fledge, double-blind, consumer reports style test of softness, give, and general plush. It's really a wonder we haven't been banned from more public places.

Today's card features a cute little froggy stamp, with a thought bubble and "thinking of you" sentiment. I colored in the frog using my new blender pens from Stampin'Up (Historygirlie, I'll be bringing them home so we can play).

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I {heart} Target

Here's looking forward to sunshine and warm weather :)


My Target recommendation for the week is a pair of these super trendy aviator sunglasses. They've been popular for several seasons, but are destined to reign for a while as the stylish pair to have. The best part of getting them from Target? The sale price of $12.99! Bring on summer!

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