So, it is February 24, 2012 and the black/white picture is in Connecticut, and the color is here in New Hampshire.. What is happening? We have "NO SNOW" and haven't in a long time but CT is getting slammed and rumor has it so is MA. 

We need the snow for business.  We need the fishing derby, we need the guys that come up for their snowmobile weekends and come to the tavern for drinks and fun..  Winter is almost over and up here it does not feel that is even started..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIhw-GiHnZQ

This is one of my favorite Chef's I have ever worked with, even if it only for 1 year.  I think he is so talented and deserves all the recognition....

Ok, I was on Craigslist this morning and noticed that our 1st apartment is back up for rent.  It was so small 600 square feet barely a closet and we lived there for a year, when we were first married, it was 'cozy' and we loved it.   Close to work, close to downtown and work.  When it snowed we would walk downtown in Norwich and go to the Local Pub.. When we first got our 1st couch, that whole weekend it was cold, rainy and snowy we stayed in and ordered take out and barely left the couch.  I miss those days. We now live in a 1200 sq foot, 2 bedroom, with den upstairs, downstairs, huge bathroom, living/dining room, kitchen open living space. 

We are coming up on our 7th year anniversary and we have lived in Norwich, CT, then Charlotte, NC, Winston~Salem, NC, Pittsburgh Maine and the last 3 years in Wolfeboro, NH, and I truly believe the happiest we were was in that little apartment. We are fine as a couple, but work wise has been so stressful lately and I truly feel as if another layoff is in my future, no matter how many sales I have no way around it. My boss truly does not respect me, or even like me, he forced my husband out of this company and is now force me out.

The economy is so tough, how much more can we take. So this is dedicated to a time, when our future was just starting out, and thought nothing could bring us stress..

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.

Today, is the day on Feb. 14, 2005 we got our Marriage License...

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

My husband thinks it is a made up holiday, so I will get nothing, but I am trying to be used to it.

I thought this article was interesting, especially since this is my field of work..


By Angela Rose, Hcareers.com

According to The Outlook for the US Economy, released by Goldman Sachs in October of 2011, “Household finances are gradually getting healthier.” This is great news for the hospitality industry. The willingness of Americans to spend their discretionary income on luxuries such as restaurant meals, hotel rooms and vacations is dependent, to some degree, on their financial situation.

Unemployment, currently at 8.3 percent, is predicted to continue its downward trend. As more Americans re-enter the workforce, their discretionary spending will increase. This, in turn, should lead to a need for increased hiring for cruise ships, restaurants, casinos, hotels, country clubs, catering companies and other hospitality-related businesses.

If you’re looking for a job in the hotel industry, 2012 could be your year. The hiring freeze instituted by some hotels the past four years is thawing. Hotels across the nation are expected to hire additional hourly staff in 2012. In fact, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the lodging industry has already seen an increase of about 50,000 jobs since 2009.

We can expect to see increased hiring in the restaurant industry as well. According to a National Restaurant Association News Release, 55 percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months. This is the largest percentage of restaurateurs planning capital expenditures in more than four years. Expansions increase the need for new staff.

In a nationwide survey of hiring managers across all industries conducted by Harris Interactive, 23 percent planned to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2012. These survey results are supported by a recent Businessweek article, in which economists predict that 2012 will bring the creation of the most new jobs since 2006, shortly before the economy began to decline. The outlook for the hospitality industry is particularly favorable.

According to a recent ManpowerGroup survey, employers in the leisure and hospitality industry sector expect to increase their workforces by an average of 14 percent during the first quarter of 2012 alone. In fact, the hiring has already begun within the travel industry. According to the U.S. Travel Association, the travel and tourism industry has gained 224,000 new jobs since December 2009.

Hcareers.com has seen an even larger increase in the number of hospitality job postings on our website. Hospitality employers posted 35% more jobs on the website in 2011 than they did in 2010 and we’re already seeing this upward trend continue into 2012.

PKF Hospitality Research predicts that employment in the accommodations segment of the lodging industry can expect an average increase of 25,000 jobs in 2012. They also predict that demand for new workers will be highest in cities where new hotel rooms are being added, such as New York City, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Tucson and Fort Lauderdale.

What does this mean for you? If you’re looking for a job in the hospitality industry, whether it’s in restaurants, catering and conventions, hotels, cruise ships or other hospitality fields, your employment prospects should become increasingly plentiful as 2012 progresses.

About the Author

Angela Rose researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for Hcareers.com.

I am in the process of doing a "Bridal Show Room" at the  Inn. I have asked many vendors, and I am almost finished, the picture with nothing on the tables was first, then progressed as the days have been going on,what do you think? 

The "BIG BOSSES" are coming today, and I want it basically finished to show them, in this economy we have to help each bride "envision" her day here at the Inn, competetion is heating up and we are all out to maximize every dollar and make sure every person that comes in wants her wedding here. 

My direct boss is stressing out about today, and I am trying to not stress but I am worried!!

In the New London Day paper last week, it talked about the charges brought against the latest owners of the "Lighthouse Inn" in New London, CT.  Here is a picture of this once wonderful Inn.  When I was growing up on Saturday nights my mom and stepdad would take me out to dinner, when I had no plans and it was always a treat.

This was one of the places that was on their list, along with Poor Richard or Bootlegger both which are gone, but the Lighthouse Inn had music on Saturday nights, ( not dj ) Big Band, Jazz and people dressed up to go out here, so it was always a production. Servers were in Tuxedo's and knew you by name, along with the Maitre D'.  I think these Saturday nights helped me realize how much I love restaurants and the fact you really make some one's event, evening, just by making sure their night is everything. 

We forget these facts sometimes, working in Hospitality we  may do this 5-6 nights a week but for them it is an occasion and they want to savor and enjoy the whole experience.  My first date with my husband was to the Lighthouse Inn, when we became engaged he had made a whole night of it, and we went to the Lighthouse Inn to hear our favorite band "The Cartell's" and he proposed!

The Cartell's and the Maitre D' made the night so special they played "Unforgettable" and when they played at our wedding that is the song I walked down too.   The Maitre D' took our picture and champagne all around, it was an incredible night. 

It breaks my  heart that this wonderful place has been left in disarray and there is no one who wants to take it on and bring it back up to the grandeur it once was and can be again, it looks out on Long Island Sound and surrounded by some beautiful houses, landscape and of course the water.

This was taken from our Deck on Monday, January 30, 2012 around 430pm, I thought it was so pretty.  I know the other day, the Groundhog stated 6 more weeks of winter, but it has been such a mild winter here in NH.  We really need more snow, for all the wonderful winter activities here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

I know it is only week 5 into the New Year, but for me personally it has stunk.  I am so stressed out about my job, my lips have blown up and not in the good way....

I hope everyone else is having a better start to 2012...