perfect storm

This is what I want to do to my last post -----> last post

At least the part where I said I thought I could teach kindergartners.

Today I feel really disappointed in myself and embarrassed.

Sometimes I think I've got this whole teaching thing in the bag,

and some days I don't.

I tried teaching a lesson the students were not ready for. Oh and & I'm really hard on myself.

Which is the perfect storm for a bad morning when you're getting observed by your supervisor.

But it's nothing that a long run couldn't fix. That and Linkin Park.

But now that I'm sitting here, calves aching, skin salty, mind basking in norah jones' oh so soothing voice, i feel better. 

another one bites the dust

Okay. Story time. 

Once upon a time I had a white Mazda Protege. I was driving it home from my honeymoon with my hubby when all the sudden we heard a popping noise and the car stopped working. We were only 30 minutes away from home when this happened. Luckily, we were able to pull over safely and my mom came and rescued us. Here is a picture I took while watching our car get towed away:

Long story short: the car was toast. So we sold it to an auto body shop and that was that. 

A month later (so 2 months ago) we bought another car; a 97 Dodge Neon. This was not necessarily the best purchase, but it was cheap and we were desperate. Well. About a week ago, I was driving home alone from American Fork. The VERY SECOND I pulled into my parking lot, the car made a loud noise and died right then and there. I looked behind my car and there was a huge trail of liquid that went all the way back a block or two. Luckily, my neighbors were cleaning their car and helped me push my car into my parking spot. 

Long story short: this car ended up costing way too much to fix. So we sold it to a mechanic for parts. I'm just super duper grateful I made it home safely!

Here is the history of our cars this year:

I think next time I'm going to get something like this:

Yeah, I wish. :) But for now it's back to walking, biking, and bus rides!

confessions of a waitress drama queen

I am a waitress at Brick Oven and have been for a little over a year. 

Most days are great and I absolutely love my job. 

However there are days when it so hard not to cry, get mad, or run away.

And it's not just me. I've talked with my fellow servers and we share the same frustrations.

So, on that note. Here are the things you should know (in our opinion) about your servers when you visit a restaurant:

Number 1. Minimum wage is different for tipped workers and varies from state to state. In states like Utah, Texas, South Dakota, and Wyoming, your server is getting paid $2.13 an hour. So they really rely on other people's tips for their income. Then, depending on the restaurant, a certain percentage of those tips goes toward bussers or other helping employees.
{For more info on tipped workers, click here}

Number 2. 10% is never a good tip. 10 % means you thought your server was one of the worst servers you've ever had. 15 % is adequate. and 20 % means you thought they did a really good job. Anything above that really makes their day and let's them know that you appreciated their service! Anything below 10 % is a real big bummer; especially when we thought we did a good job.
{For more info on how to tip, click here}

Number 3. Save camping for outside the restaurant. (However, there is an exception...) Campers are those people who have paid the bill, but stay and talk for more than 15 minutes. I once had a table of 2 ladies sit at my table for over 3 hours! This is frustrating for 2 reasons. Reason number one: each server only has a certain amount of tables in their section. If it's busy, then that is money they would have been getting from other people. Reason number two is that your server might be trying to go home at the end of their shift and without getting all their tables cleaned and checked off, neither your server, nor the busser can go home. So, here is the exception (because trust me, I DO understand wanting to stay and talk): make it worth their time. Leave a bigger tip. :)
{For more info on Camping, click here}

Number 4. Servers love being told they did a good job! And they especially love it when you tell their manager that they did a good job!

Well there you have it. Those are my confessions of a waitress drama queen. a.k.a: me on a stressful night. But I want you to know that I love my job. I love the people I work with, I love the friendly atmosphere that Brick Oven has to offer, and I love getting to meet new people every day. Next time you're in town, ask for me and maybe I can be your server! (And Ammon might be your busser.)