A Recipe & Midnight Madness

In what feels like another lifetime, I worked for one year as Assistant Manager of Warehouse One, which is a Canadian clothing retailer.  The shopping mall was a destination back than and big box retailers weren't yet where we all demanded to shop and we definitely weren't choosing online shopping either.  It was the mid 2000's and at Christmas time the mall was a fun and festive place even though I'd not wish working retail at that time of year or any really on anyone.  One big event leading up to Christmas was Midnight Madness.

Midnight Madness happened on a few weekend evenings in the month of December leading up to Christmas.  Each store would stay open well passed the regular 9pm...until 1am instead and many would have special deals for that time period.  It was nowhere near as hectic as Boxing Day was but still a stressful time for anyone having to work in a store.

At the far end of the mall was a Starbucks.  Myself and a coworker were working this late night shift and we were both concerned for staying awake and alert.  For some oddball reason we both thought it would be a good idea to buy chocolate covered coffee beans.

You probably see where I'm going with this.

Starbucks used to have little boxes of these coffee beans right by the cash register along with mints and biscotti.  I don't think they have this anymore and if they do I haven't noticed.  These were obviously nice little add ons if you were purchasing a latte or cranberry bliss bar.

The chocolate covered coffee beans did indeed keep us awake and alert...not only for the Midnight Madness but for the entire night.  We both vowed to never do THAT again and told the legend to all our others coworkers.  It's a story I found myself telling a few students last week which they all found highly amusing.

Even though I will likely never have chocolate covered coffee beans again, I did love those cranberry bliss bars and still do.  Starbucks has changed the recipe so a few years ago I scoured the interweb for a copycat recipe.  What you'll find below has become a staple in my holiday baking every year.  I've tweaked it several times but decided to finally write it out instead of deciphering my cryptic notes in my home made family cookbook binder.

I'm sharing it all with you.  Feel free to click on the recipe photo and save it to your devices.  Let me know if you make it as well!

* If * you do try it make certain to not skip 2 important steps.

1) Make absolutely sure you coat the baking pan with cooking spray and coat with flour.  If you don't you wont ever get it out of the pan.

2) You most definitely will need to coat your hands with cooking spray to pat it down and stretch it into the pan.  The batter is EXTREMELY sticky so if you don't you'll be covered in it.

The original recipe was in an 11X17 baking pan but I don't have one that size and I'm pretty sure it's not a standard size either.  My recipe is 9X13 which is a size we all own.  This makes the bars a little thicker and the Starbucks version.

My oven runs hot so regardless of what I think they get removed at 20 minutes.  I'm going to caution you as well...they may not look cooked but trust that they are.  If they are over baked they become very crumbly.

Enjoy and happy baking!

Hectic Holidays

There's a Christmas mash-up medley that I love to teach called Hectic Holidays.  It's got snippets of every well-known Christmas carol and a few surprises too.  The idea of the song is to mimic what it's like to dash from store to store while Christmas shopping and hearing the songs being played in each store.  It's a great arrangement but not the easiest to pull off.

I was a piano teacher for about 10+ years when we moved and instead of continuing with that career at the time, I chose to work in retail.  If there's anything more fun than shopping for yourself, then its helping other people shop!  I worked for a women's clothing retailer which specialized in sizing from 4-24 and is no long in business.  Before I worked there, I shopped there, and one of the perks was the employee discount and of course you were made to wear the clothing while working.

The holidays were especially crazy and fun to work.  There were lots of specialty items that would be marketed just for season.  The polar fleece sweaters with adorable festive prints were favourites for many.  Wives would come in and set things on hold for their husbands to come do their Christmas shopping later on.  Some poor forlorn husbands would rush in on Christmas Eve expecting to still find the sweater their sweetums saw back in November and we'd have to tell them no, sorry, that's sold out.

The store would hire special staff just for the holiday rush and for the chaos that ensued on Boxing Day.  The change rooms always looked like a bomb went off.  Shauna was our fitting room guru.  I'd never seen someone create such magic in the helping and clearing of the change rooms.  I'm not sure I've even seen it since!  I have some really great memories of that time and sometimes I can still feel what it was like to be in the store at closing time, cleaning and folding in the quiet, and what it sounded like to close the door at the end of the day.

When I'd moved on to management with a different Canadian retailer, the mall held Midnight Madness.  The stores would stay open until midnight, and we'd all have to take turns working a shift once.  I remember one particular time we were lacking energy and maybe for some reason it wasn't that busy at that particular time, so I went down to the Starbucks on break and returned with chocolate covered coffee beans.  Myself and my coworker ate them, and the result was energy alright but also insomnia for the rest of the weekend!

I worked in retail for about 5 years when the fun left and the hours and staff drama started to get to me.  I remember walking into the music school and the director at the time asked, "what's taken you so long?" Teaching was really my calling and I'd gotten several signs that I was indeed meant to return to it.  While that's still true these many years later, I still try to be kind when I'm shopping and even the other day a cashier complimented me for being so patient with her.  I've been on that side of the counter and there's no point getting upset.  It doesn't prove nor solve anything.  If we can't be kind during the holidays then really, when can we be?

I've noticed a real return to non-covid shopping this year.  In my excursions parking lots are once again full and stores are bustling, and the Christmas tunes are flowing.  It's so great to see that maybe Christmas doesn't all come from an Amazon box after all.  If you are out and about doing your holiday shopping, soak in the atmosphere, be kind and thank your frazzled retail workers.

The Time I Sold My Soul To Retail

In what feels like another lifetime, I was a sales associate in a woman's clothing store.

Hubby and I had just built our dream house and I needed to supplement my income to contribute more to the mortgage.  Normally, I would take the summer off from teaching, but that summer I got myself a part time job at Cotton Ginny.  I shopped in that store.  I loved the clothes.  The people I worked with felt like family.

It was good that I had that part time job because when Hubby was transferred to Saskatoon my job at Cotton Ginny was able to transfer too.  I needed a break from teaching piano.  No one understood how burnt out I was but no one talked me out of working retail.  It was an easy job for me.  It was like shopping except I didn't have to buy the clothes!  I worked hard.  I was loyal.  I was told by the District Manager that what I did for the store did not go unnoticed.

My position was considered part time even though I had been getting full time hours.  What I didn't know when I transferred was that I had taken someone's spot who was on maternity leave.  This person, I called "Friend" and we worked together, but as I later found out, she held a grudge against me for taking over her position.  I had no idea all this was going on.  The manager.....it was a revolving door.....liked to play games.  She liked to try to make me look bad and she liked to do things behind people's back.  In my time working for the company there were 3 managers at this store and this one was the final manager.  I can't imagine she was a likeable person in other areas of her life.

That summer, the company began reorganizing.  We were told that they were creating an Assistant Manager position in our store and everyone else would be part time and given no more than 20 hours a week.  Imagine that!  After having full time hours.  What a kick in the butt.  What happened was I was pitted against Friend.  There were many things I did that were considered my responsibility that she didn't know how to do.  It was poor timing, but due to a family engagement I went on a weeks holiday.  When I returned, Friend suddenly knew all of these things.  Not only that, but she flaunted her new knowledge in my face.

We interviewed for the job.  Friend got the job.

Manager told me that she had wanted me to get the job but staff found me condescending.  Right.

So I gave notice and got an Assistant Manager job in the store across the mall hallway.  I worked there a year.  Being an Assistant Manager was a good and yet horrible experience.

I saw the Music School Director in the mall one time.  She said to me, "You're working here?  Come see me."  Well, that wasn't the immediate sign that made me go see her, but it wasn't long and I did.  It was obviously meant to be because a full time piano teacher had just up and quit.  I was immediately hired and given a full schedule of students.

I worked retail for 5 years in total.

I used to miss the comradery.  I liked chatting with shoppers.  I loved having a new wardrobe all the time.  I gained much more though.  I gained weekends and holidays off.  I gained a shorter work day with more money.  Most importantly I got my life back.

Cotton Ginny closed.  The company went bankrupt.  I saw Manager and Friend move from store to store within the mall.  Staff seemed to do that in search of a better job.

This whole experience happened about 8 or more years ago.  Today, I went shopping at that very mall.  Some of the stores have changed.  I was shocked to look in the Dawgs shoe store to see Friend hustling her butt in her retail way.  At another time, I might have stopped and said hello.  Not anymore.  I've moved on.  It makes me sad because I wish she could have as well.  If she was so determined she should have tried for something better.  I can't imagine....even fathom....still working retail and being the person I am now.  I know that teaching piano is what I was truly meant to do with my life.

My manager in my home town said to me, "You are better than this Sandra."  I didn't understand what she meant.

But now I see it.....

.....and she was right.

It's Not the Number that Matters.....

.....it's not the number that matters.
 

How many times did I tell customers that back in my retail days? Multitudes of times a day. Does it make you feel any better?

Only if you close your eyes.

I went to Addition-Elle today. Its a division of Pennington's and Reitman's. I worked there for one month during that other time period in my life.....the one in which retail stole my soul. They specialize in clothes for sizes 14 to 24. Its been a long time since I've ventured through that door.

Still.....the number doesn't matter. If the clothes fit and look good and make you feel good in them.....then who cares what number is on the label? Its not like you're going to go around with a giant 20 in neon flashing on your forehead. Its very difficult when you have every size in your closet starting at a 12. Extremely difficult to admit this is where you need to shop. Again.

I also remember how hard it was to realize that I didn't need to shop in those stores anymore. It was an incredible realization that I had when I could walk into any store and fit clothes. It was a hard concept to come to terms with as well. My body image was out of “whack”.

This week I am in search of clothes for work. All I want are some things that fit. Things that don't give me muffin top and things I can breath in. Like I told the girl in the store today.....NOT Standing Up Pants. You know the kind.....the pants that look totally awesome until you sit down and they cut off all circulation. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure my students would appreciate me not passing out all the time.

I did not find pants today. I did come home with a sweater set and a casual shirt along with some matching jewelry. I tried on items in sizes ranging from 1X to 3X. And you know what? That number didn't really matter after all. I found things that fit and fit my lifestyle and I did feel good. 

 

I have come to terms with where I am now. This is the body I am living in at this point in time. I cannot change the present.....only my future.

At work on Thursday I talked with coworkers about my thyroid condition. “Bob” says “You look the same to me.” And I laughed. “That's because I just saw you on Monday!” I replied. But really what it is.....is that I'm beginning to understand that my circle of friends love me whether there's a big ol' X on my shirt or not. They look beyond it and see me. And if they can do that.....then I can too.