Speaking of Food...

Yes I DID go to the Grilled Cheese Grill in Portland and it was amazing!  I swear you could eat somewhere new and cool for every meal in Portland and never run out of new places.  They have the best food there (next to New York, of course).  I realized I haven't posted pictures for a min, so here are some pics of the latest in my life...

 Schweddy Balls in my mouth

 The magic that is the Grilled Cheese Grill

 Seriously so good!

 The bottom level of the Grilled Cheese Grill

 We went to the second location, which is the beloved Double Decker Bus

 The creepiest "stache" we've gotten from the Beaver vending machines yet!  It matched perfectly!

The temple the other night, when the grounds were more peaceful than the Celestial Room.

 This is old...but what's sweeter than a sleeping bebes?

 Gibson in Police Training.  That's his cool face.

Gibson's latest obsession is this helmet and he never takes it off.

 This is how we do Canadian Thanksgiving now...a Bobbie from Capriotti's

Oh Yes it's Friday Night!

It's not Tuesday...sorry.  You get what you get.

1.  I love food.  It makes me sooooo happy!  I'm one of those people who makes yummy noises and does little chair dances when I eat something really tasty.  I can't help myself!

2.  My next Half is in 3 weeks and I started to panic this week.  I was sick last weekend and nailed to my couch, so again I missed my long run.  Boo.  So, I ran 10 miles Tuesday night and listened to a session of Conference while I ran.  It was absolutely perfect.  I had a nice rhythm and was nice and relaxed.  The only thing is that I don't think I was fully recovered, nutrition-wise, so by the time I finished my little body was not happy.  I was exhausted!  And dehydrated...but the run was good and faster than I had anticipated after not running for a week and being sick all weekend.  Clearly I was fine the next day and felt like I hadn't run at all, but I haven't run 10 miles in a minute!

3.  Jonas had his first Primary Program on Sunday and it was so cute!  Matt and Renee learned a few things after this first one...like don't give him stickers the morning of (they ended up all over the railing), tell him not to pick his nose, and send him to the bathroom before.

4.  And since we're talking about church...what is up with family wards??  I went to a family ward and the singles ward when I was in Portland and then we stayed for the whole thing at Matt and Renee's ward this past weekend and I cannot get over the comments that were made in both Relief Societies!  I mean, I would start by saying that they didn't pertain to me...but they didn't even pertain to the lesson!  It was...interesting.  I'll just stop complaining about my singles ward and treasure the last year and a half I have there before they boot me off to old lady weird comments land!

5.  I haven't been doing personal stuff at work for the past couple of weeks and it's starting to get to me!  I haven't been g-chatting and have NO idea what's going on in my friend's lives.  Do I even have friends anymore?!  I have to check my email/facebook late at night before I go to bed and then once I get through my routine, it's after midnight and then I'm a tired guy in the mornings.  It's terrible.  Well...I mean, I've gotten caught up at work, but that's because I've worked through my lunches for the past 2 weeks too.  Let's not get crazy and say it's just because I haven't been doing personal things.

6.  I've been trying to go back to the temple weekly again, because I started to slack a while ago and dropped back to like bi-weekly or something.  I was so frustrated the other night though, and I was trying not to be.  I was in a session where 2 guys were going through for the first time (probs for their missions), so it looked like the whole ward was there (which is great!).  And I get that it's an exciting time, but shouldn't it still be quiet in the Celestial room??  I was so bugged.  That's supposed to be a peaceful place of refuge and I had to plug my ears while I was praying so I could focus on what I was praying about!  Frustrating.  I ended up walking around the grounds outside for a bit because it was way quieter out there.

7.  I discovered the other day that by the end of the year, after doing 3 Half Marathons and 3 relay races, with all of the running I've done in those plus the training...I will have run between 650-700 miles in one year.  Isn't that bananas??  I didn't even think I'd gone 300 miles on my shoes yet, so I wasn't sure I needed new ones, but I for sure realize now that it's time...it's past time.

8.  I'm trying to justify ordering a really beautiful plum colored wool coat for winter...but it's still 90 freaking degrees here!  Please please please let it get cold this winter so I can order this coat!  It's really an investment, right?  A good coat?  And if/when I go to NYC it'll be totally necesssary, right?

9.  I work with the rudest woman in America.  She is so unprofessional and I just can't take it!  She's super bossy, never asks people to do anything but just tells them to, she never says please, she brings her mom in and just hangs out all day, she'll be on the phone with someone and another phone will ring, so she'll put the first person down and answer the second call and then chat away whilst the other person is sitting on hold listening to her entire conversation.  And she'll do it with like 3 different lines!  I either refer to her as a bull dozer or the tazmanian devil bc she is like unto both.  She doesn't even think she's rude though.  That's what kills me!  She legit thinks she's a nice person.  I've been trying so hard to get over this and to be nice to her but it is really hard!  I even had a bit of an epiphane during Conference, but this is definitely a major trial for me.  I have a really hard time with people who treat others like that.  I know I'm not perfect, but come on...

10.  Have you guys ever seen that little girl on MAD TV who is totally hyper and has adhd or something like that?  I forget her name...  Anyway, sometimes I think I'm her.  I am one of those people who wants to try everything and be instantly good at it.  I try for a bit and then move on to the next thing.  In my mind though, I'm really good at a lot of things!  I know there are more of you out there.  I have lists of things I want to try and do and lists of things I need to finish, because I started and then got distracted by the next sparkly thing.  Do you think this carries on into my dating life??  I just thought about that...

Tuesday Inquiries

1.  I want to shop.  Badly.

2.  I can't stop thinking about the "3 B's" at the Waffle Window in Portland - Brie, Bacon, and Basil on a delicious waffle with fresh peach jam on the side.  Mmmm....

3.  Why do people feel the need to spread their life all over facebook?  Is it a cry for attention, or do they really think everyone wants to know every detail about them?  This is why I don't understand Twitter either.  Why on earth would I have a twitter account?  I'm not a celebrity and I'm pretty sure nobody cares where I am at 2:48 in the afternoon.

4.  Why is it that you always end up working with at least one person who thinks they work harder than anyone else and is just dying for someone to compete with about it?

5.  I'm starting to see the light at the end of my tunnel.  Just a few more months and I think I'll have life all figured out!

6.  Isn't the whole purpose of a book club to have differing opinions and to try new genres you wouldn't normally read?  That's why they're held with a variety of people, right?

7.  I was humbled last week by a very genuine and loving person.  I needed it.

8.  Why are most people so leery about blind dates?  I think they're fun!  Yes, dating can be exhausting at times, but it can also be kind of adventurous.  Dating is just a simple way of getting to know someone better.  I feel that your friends/family have your best interest at heart and wouldn't set you up with a dud, so why not?  I had 2 blind dates last week set up by 2 good friends, and had a great time on both!

9.  I started going to Institute a couple of weeks ago, and I'm really enjoying it.  I really haven't gone since I graduated from college a few (seven)  years ago, but it's been a really nice little boost.  I don't really know anyone there...just a few people...but I really don't care.  Funny how that happens as you get older...you go for the learning and not necessarily the social aspect.  Our teacher is phenomenal too!

10.  At what point do you start thinking about starting a career as a single lady?  I mean...is it too late to think about going back to school?  And if I were to go back to school, would I have to choose between Interior Design and being a Child Life Specialist?  Is it really time that I be making these decisions?  Or should I have already made these at this point in my life?  I promise I don't want to be viewed as a "secretary" for the rest of my life...even though I'm NOT and have a college degree and actually do the accounts receivables but have to sit at the front desk bc we're too cheap to hire a receptionist.

and ps...I did splurge and bought myself a $5 really deep purple nail polish from Sephora the other day that I can't wait to try on!

pps...I'm really sad to admit this, but I think this whole lack of excessive sugar thing has actually made me start to dislike baked/sugary/candy goods.  Wha?!  True.  I had 2 slivered samples of delicious pie tonight at book club and wanted to vomit instantly and am now suffering from a sugar headache.  Blech!  I also only ate 1/3 of a Heath bar last week before I was sugared out!  Lame!  Apparently I can still muscle down chocolate covered cinnamon bears like nobody's business, but luckily those are a Utah specialty item. (We went up to Conference this weekend and got some for the road)

I need a break from my travels for a minute.  I was literally gone every weekend in September.  Duck Creek on the long weekend, Red Rock Relay the second weekend, Ragnar Napa Valley the third, Portland the fourth, and then Provo/SLC which was technically the end of Sept/beginning of October.  Can you believe we're already in October??  Sheesh!  Where has the year gone?!

I think I watch too much Project Runway.  I sit at my desk at work and think about dresses and tops I want to make and how I don't want to make them with patterns.  I just want to be able to whip up what's in my head on a whim and a body form.  What?  Why do you think that's so unreasonable with my limited sewing experience?  Anya has only been sewing for 4 months and I got my first sewing machine when I was 8!  Now...I just need a body form...

If/when I move to New York, I'll definitely have to keep running and possibly start actually working out because I.Love.Food. and there are a million kazillion things there I need to eat.