Goin' Wild!

Actually we went to the zoo, so the "wildness" was actually really controlled.  The zoo is only about 2 and a half miles away from our apartment, so we decided to take public transportation for the day, which was super convenient.

We saw a bunch of different animals including (but not limited to): black bears (which are best, anyone know that reference?), eagles, turtles (they had baby turtles who had just hatched a few days ago), HUGE sea lions, otters, giraffes, lions, zebras, elephants, HIPPOS! (I think the hippos at Woodland Park Zoo are lazier than the ones at the Oregon zoo.  The ones here were actually doing stuff like standing and swimming laps), and DINOSAURS!

They actually have an exhibit where they turn back time and you can walk with the dinosaurs.  Eric got a little too close...

Ok, so maybe I lied. there aren't any time machines at the Oregon Zoo, but they do have a Walking with Dinosaurs exhibit that we were too cheap to check out.  But we did snap a picture outside of the exhibit. 

After the Zoo we grabbed some lunch (we went to P.F. Chang's after being inspired by their demonstration at school).  And since it was so warm we took the street car to the local Splash Park.  It was a fun (and free) way to cool off a bit. 

On Sunday we golfed at Tri-Mountain Golf Course in Ridgefield, WA with our cousins Wade and Ryan.  It was fun.  Afterwards we headed to their house in Vancouver and had an awesome dinner made by Ryan's sister, Taylor.  She is quite the young chef.  Maybe I'll work for her one day! (unfortunately, I didn't take any photos on Sunday, my bad)

Week 2 at LCB

Last week we worked on some more cutting.  Here are a few pictures of what I'm working on.  I've got some work to do before my knife skills test.

Tourne and Demilunes

 

I must be eating at the wrong restaurants because I've never seen vegetables cut like this before.

Julienne, Paysenne and Lemon Crowns and Basket

Close up on the lemon crown and basket

P.F. Chang's also came and did a demonstration for us.  They showed us how their kitchen works and prepared a few dishes for us.  And yes, we got to sample some!  

We also learned more about Food Safety and Sanitation.  Chef  likes to remind us that we have the power to kill people with our food, but that we should avoid doing it cuz that's not cool. 

Fun Franco Family Weekend

Fridays have always been a favorite day of the week and I've always wondered how it could get any better, but it has!  Every Friday at Le Cordon Bleu (LBC) they have "Buffet Friday".  Buffet Friday consists of the Catering Class preparing multiple spreads of food during the week and serving it on Fridays.  After each spread is graded by the Chef it is a free for all.  We just grab a plate and load up!  All they ask in return is for us (students/staff/faculty) to fill out comment cards.  (Which I love doing anyway!)  Cool perk of being in food school!

Buffet Friday was just the beginning of an awesome weekend.  I know it's not a "Portland Adventure", but worth documenting.  The Franco Family had our First Annual Franco Family Golf Tournament.  We held it at Jade Greens.  It was so much fun.  Here is a Family Pic of all of the players.

Afterwards we went to Tito George's house to celebrate Nino's birthday.  (We miss you, Nino!)  There we handed out awards and raffle prizes.  It was exactly what I had envisioned (actually better than), and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Raffle and such

So today there was an all building BBQ. The fliers posted around said their would be "Free Prizes and Rent Certificates". Here is a list of some of the prizes that were raffled off:

- Free 1 visitor parking for a night in the garage.
- 10 Free faxes from the lobby.
- Free cup of coffee and a cookie at a nearby cafe.
- A jar of jam.

As for the Rent Certificates, I took this to mean they might raffle off 1 or 2 people to receive free rent for a month, which would be awesome. That was not the case. Rather they had $25 off rent coupons. Now this is still money, but when we moved in and the fliers I saw, all things led me to believe good prizes. I was sadly disappointed. Oh well, the food was good and it's not like I lost anything (except for some of my precious time).

Other things of note:

1) Fantasy Football is fast approaching and I have been doing a lot of thinking about players to target, possible trades to make, and it is getting me very excited for football season. First draft is a week from Saturday and the second is two weeks from Tuesday.

2) I had a very interesting round of golf the other day: 2 double bogeys, 6 bogeys, 3 pars, and 7 birdies. Total a 75. Good score, but when you have 7 birdies you really should have put up a note worthy score.

3) This coming weekend I will be partaking in a couple note worthy golf events. First, the 1st Annual Franco Family Golf Tournament @ Jade Greens. Carla has been planning this for a while and it should be a very fun event. Second, it has been about 2-3 years since Twan and I took on Pete Cac and Peter Graves, but Sunday we will be reuniting for an epic clash @ Riverbend.

First Week of School is Almost Over

Guy with Cravat

So, my first week of school is just about finished!  I'm really doing it! (going to baking school that is)

First day was good, your typical first day. Syllabus, rules...how to wear our uniforms!  Fortunately, there were some nice people helping us n00bs out with that stuff.  It's funny cuz both Eric and I wear ties every day.  Mine just happens to be called a cravat.  Kinda like the one this guy's wearing...but mine's plain white. And his looks kind of goofy; ours are supposed to make us look professional and to control the sweating. Gross, but a good idea.

Anyway, second day of school they trusted us with knives!!  Can you believe it?!  I couldn't.  We cut a lot of potatoes.  Now Eric and I have a lot of potatoes waiting to be consumed.  I found out that we're gonna learn how to be creative with all the product we end up taking home. 

My teacher, Chef Luke, is a funny guy.  Well, I think so anyway...I don't know what's up with some of the other students, but it's a tough crowd... I feel like I'm laughing too much, but I can't help it.  I was even called the "rambunctious" one of the group.  Me?  Who'da thought?  When I told Eric this, he said, "wow, you're teacher's got a good read on you."

Tourne Veggies

Today (4th day of school) was another Foundations class, so more cutting!  I've learned a lot from this class already, how to hold a knife properly, how to peel an onion the "Cordon Bleu/French" way, how to and not to Tourne a vegetable. (Meaning, I was shown how it was done...I just don't know how to do it myself yet.)  One day mine will look like these!*fingers crossed!*

Let's See if This Will Last Longer Than a Week

So, I think I should've started this earlier...like 53 days ago

I decided to start this blog mostly to share what I've been up to in school...since I think some of you are interested in that...maybe I'm wrong, and I'm just doing this cuz I think people care...haha.

Honestly, I wish I was a bit more tech-savvy...and more into taking pictures...maybe I will be, now that I have a blog.

Yeah, I put Eric's name in the Blog too, because I didn't want to just share about school...but about Life in Portland!!  Which again, I probably should've started earlier...

Since we've moved here we've:

checked out multiple Farmers' Markets -- which are super cool! (and super close to our apartment)  It's like going to Costco with better samples! 
been visited by family and friends!! (thanks to all of you who have come down and visited!  we loved having you. to those who haven't come down yet, we're waiting!!!)
checked out local eats -- including Voodoo donuts...good, but don't know if they're worth the wait
been golfing --yeah, I came out of retirement
started a new job and new school 
walked A LOT! 
went to the Clark County Fair and saw our first Demolition Derby and had my first deep fried Oreo and Reese's cup --then went on Vortex? yeah, I've made better decisions in my life
met some neighbors

hiked the 4T trail -- includes Train, Trolley, Tram and Trail :) Looks pretty futuristic, huh?