Little Miss Perfect

Hello everyone!
What a perfect day to wrap up in my snuggie and write on my blog. Not only is the weather NASTY out there, but the family bus (aka the 12 year old Ford expedition) has broken down- well, after going to and from South Dakota, LA, Sacramento, Napa Valley, and God knows where else, year after year, road trip after road trip, my motor would probably break down too.

So, many of you know that I am the ultimate perfectionist. I've been this way for practically my whole life. As a little girl, I believed that a good girl was a perfect girl; anything less than perfect was inferior and could not be tolerated. My life was all about the extremes (and I still catch myself when I enter this mindset). If I'm not perfect, then I must be a terrible person, an undeserving person, a person with little worth or value.
LIES!
My worth and value is not based on my performance, dang it! It's based on who God says I am, and who He made me to be! He's the only one who knows my true value; no other person can determine that!

Again, I had to put myself in check yesterday. Let me tell you, being a Starbucks barista is not as glamorous as it looks from a customer's point of view. Yesterday was my first day on the floor without my training coach, and also my first day on the register. I was scared out of my mind, and I probably looked that way too; customers were not afraid to let me know that I was incompetent, slow, and apparently ruining their day. Give me a break! So I couldn't find the freakin' toffee-nut syrup button; you try and work this thing! Just try and ring up a "venti, triple shot, non-fat, no-foam, 4 pumps sugar-free vanilla, 2 splenda, 1 sweet and low, Latte... Oh wait, I think I'm going to indulge- today's my son's birthday, can I get whipped cream on that?"
You see what I mean?
Try a whole impatient line of these demanding customers! And no, they don't want just drinks; they want zucchini muffins, cranberry walnut scones, salted caramel squares, egg and ham breakfast sandwiches- warmed up, but not too warm, old fashioned doughnuts, rocky road cake pops, asiago cheese bagels with 3 extra cream cheese packets (as if they weren't getting enough fat calories already). Oh, and speaking of calories, one girl (who resembled the former, anorexic Rachelle) decided to give me a lecture on why we should carry our peppermint syrup in a sugar free form. "You know, we could be preventing obesity and type 2 diabetes."
Ugh...
In the words of Charlie Brown: "Good Grief!"

There's really no such thing as a perfect customer, and there's really no such thing as a perfect barista either. We all make mistakes, we all drive people a little insane at times, but you know what? It's totally ok. That's what makes Starbucks...well, Starbucks. We don't say to our customers, "Oh, you're high maintenance and annoying, will you please exit through those doors?" NO! We don't turn anyone away (unless he or she is standing there with an AK 47 or a machete in hand). Notice, my shift supervisor didn't steam with anger, or say "Rachelle, you're never going to learn, are you?!" Starbucks encourages grace; I love that! Sure, I'm not the perfect barista, but each shift I learn something new and I get a bit faster, whether the customers or my manager notices it or not.
My value is not changed if I have a hard day at the register, if I cause foam to fly into the air when I'm steaming soy milk, or miss the cinnamon dolce sprinkles on a customers drink. I apologize by saying, "I'm so sorry, can I try again?"
And I try again.
All the while, God is watching me in love.
When I mess up in life and I bring my mistakes to the Lord, He is gracious and merciful. He says, "Thank you for apologizing my child. You are forgiven. Now try again."
He is looking down with a proud smile on His face. "Look at my girl! She's getting back up! She's trying again!
And she's not giving up!"

A Second Chance at Life

Hi, Hi, Hi!
It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted anything...life has just been too dang exciting!!!
Yeah, it's still been a challenge, and I'm still working through some icky stuff, but my God is a God of second chances! I don't have to live my life as a victim, or a failure; instead, I'm a victor and an overcomer!

So, updates- where to begin? Oh, I started my job (Starbucks!), I started driving (I passed my permit test with one wrong answer to spare, haha), and I started my period! As you can imagine, it's been a looooooong time since my body's been healthy enough to go through it's monthly cycle. Yesterday was my first full-on period in years! God totally knows the desires of my heart, and one of those desires is to have children of my own...along with a somkin' hot husband. =]

Ok, Funny Story of the Week:
My stupid idiot of a dog, Frodo, has been driving me insane! He must take the phrase "Mi casa es su casa" literally, because he is not afraid to mark his territory. The foot of my bed is his absolute favorite place to relieve himself, leaving me with a wet, stinky mess and a giant load of laundry...every day! I had had it with this dog; so with a sinister grin on my face, I researched the most humane way to poison a canine. I stumbled upon an article about avocados. Apparently, avocados are toxic to dogs when ingested. PERFECT! There was a plate of sliced avocado in the fridge! Frodo was siting out on the deck, attached to his leash when I brought him his "treats." Frodo, do you like avocado? He sniffed the plate for about two seconds, then lost interest. You really are retarded! Avocado is only the most delicious food on this planet! I tried shoving a slice in his mouth. Eat the dang avocado! ...No luck.
I suddenly remembered Frodo's weakness: cheese! I got out a few string cheeses, four crackers, and mushed the avocado into a green paste. Then, placing my avocado spread and cheese atop the stone wheat crackers, I created Frodo's hors d'oeuvres of death. Without any reluctance, Frodo ate every last crumb.
I went inside to wait out Frodo's fate, hoping whatever happened would be fast and painless. He seemed a bit lethargic and a little out of it, but he certainly didn't seem to be in pain. This just might work... About three hours later, Frodo was lying still in his dog house. DEAR LORD! I actually killed my dog! I was silent the rest of the day, hardly saying a word to anyone. What am I going to tell my family? That I'm a sadistic canine murderer?
Later that evening, I came in the house after a long and vigorous workout to find Frodo alive and well. Either this is a miracle, or I make a crappy killer!
Well, God must have a plan for this pathetic pooch; I guess I'll just have to continue cleaning up pee stains for now.

*Note: If you or someone you know works for the SPCA, please don't report this. I am not a felon, a murderer, or an animal abuser; I am simply an aspiring writer. The events above may have been exaggerated in order to make the story more comical; if you do not enjoy dark humor, then you may not like reading the rest of this blog.
I do not support cruelty to animals, especially cats. I have a kitty whom I love and adore, and I take excellent care of her.
My family has been trying to get rid of Frodo for over a year now, and nobody seems to want this dog. If you would like an insane jack russel terrier who pees and poops on everything in sight, never comes when he is called, and tries to tear other innocent dogs apart...please let me know. No further actions will be taken against this dog, or any other dogs for that matter.