NATIONAL Exposure!!

Go check out www.operationbeautiful.com right now and you'll see MY notes along with some words from my blog post and a link back to my site!!! Beyond EXCITED! I've hit the BIG time! (ok, not really but it's exciting nonetheless!) :)

EXCITING News!!!

Much like the stars of Saved by the Bell miss their anonymity, I missed you guys. But I am absolutely THRILLED to let you in on some exciting news!! My blog is about to get a huge boost of exposure. I got word tonight from Caitlin Boyle, creator and author of the Operation Beautiful books and movement, that my blog will be featured on her website, www.operationbeautiful.com TOMORROW! Holy Amazeballs Batman! The Operation Beautiful movement has been featured on the Today Show and Oprah! And all of her fans will be able to view MY blog! I can't believe it! I just need you guys to do me a favor and return your support to her website by visiting it to check out my mention. Anyone who is willing to feature my blog deserves to have the same kind of support in return. And the Operation Beautiful is a great idea to support for girls and women everywhere. I'm beyond excited to see how much more exposure this might give my blog - I'm prepared for little to none and I will still be excited nontheless but this is a whole new audience to be exposed to and that's a great step in getting my blog out there to more people. After tomorrow I hope to do a "best of" post recapping Octoberfest and then I'll be asking for your input on how to keep the blog going. Stay tuned to all of that...

One more thing before I let you go, two weeks ago on campus, I went into the same bathroom that I posted one of my Operation Beautiful note, and discovered a whole slew of post-it notes on the mirror each one expressing a positive sentiment. I was so pleasantly shocked and I knew that it could NOT have been a coincidence. MY note caused a whole bunch of positivity in return. See...the world CAN become a better place, one note at a time. I'm more than happy to do my part and it does my heart good to see others returning the favor! :) Until tomorrow!

 

 

  

Octoberfest Day 31: "Operation Beautiful"

I am anticipating you all asking me what my favorite activity of the month was so I thought I would beat you to the punch. The activity for Day 31 was my favorite, hands down. Now I know what you're thinking, "how could you choose just one activity to call your favorite?" It's simple. What I did for the very last day of the month truly represented what this was all about. I set out to try something new each day of the month. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I wanted to get out of the ruts of doing the same things day in and day out. I wanted to get my head out of my apps and experience life from a different viewpoint. I wanted to share my journey with all of you in the hopes that it would inspire each one of you to live each day to the fullest. And if one thing I did helped make the world a better place, then I would consider the month to be a success. The idea behind Octoberfest was about celebrating my birthday. The end result became much bigger than that. When you do something selfless for others, the act of pure kindness becomes bigger than you and can have far reaching results that you aren't expecting. That's what I experienced on  Day 31 and I will never forget it. I had an idea of another random act of kindness and my friend Hannah told me about a movement that was taking the idea one step further. It's called Operation Beautiful and it's about spreading positive messages to girls, various ages, all over the world with sticky notes. Right now, we live in a society that is very critical of phsycial beauty. Bullying is very prevalent in schools. And even when girls pass their teen years and become adults, we still struggle with body image and accepting ourselves just the way we are. In a way, the pressure becomes even worse the older we get. When I was in high school, I wrote an original oratory on body image and how little girls are subjected to it even under the age of 5. Disney princesses are always physically beautiful, very small in stature and most times projecting unrealistic ideals. My speech ended up being the 5th best in the state. The message behind the oratory was simple: every girl is beautiful no matter her size, shape, color, etc. Real beauty goes beyond skin and what's on the outside. So I took 7 different sticky notes and I wrote various messages on each of them varying from "Hello Gorgeous, have a wonderful day!" to "You are perfect just the way you are." Then I went to my grocery store, the mall and Drake campus and I put the sticky notes in random areas where girls would see them: bathroom stalls, dressing rooms, on women-specific grocery items, etc. Most of the time, I hid the sticky note so it wouldn't be super obvious and would truly be an element of surprise once a girl/woman discovered it. It's my hope that the woman who has been on the receiving end of the note, stopped her day and truly felt good about herself in that given moment. If she was having a bad day, I hope it cheered her up. If she's been thinking critically about herself lately, then I hope she realized that her beauty is perfect just as it is. If she's been depressed because she doesn't feel she can contribute anything worthwhile to this world, then I hope she thought twice and discovered that we are ALL capable of becoming something. Every woman is unique and different and has a perspective that no other woman shares. That's what makes our world beautiful. Girls should be reminded of this constantly, especially in the teenager years when they're more susceptible to temptations and peer pressure. And as women get into their 20s and are trying to figure out their place in the world, it's even more important for them to realize that they are still beautiful no matter what. And as women age and experience more life, that perspective is mature and beautiful.

I felt so overjoyed spreading the uplifting messages. The only thing more exciting would have been seeing a woman come across the notes. But the way I'm imagining their faces is probably pretty accurate. Again, I couldn't have been more proud of myself in that moment. Being selfless and giving and thoughtful is a truly wonderful feeling. Operation Octoberfest: Day 31. Beautiful indeed.

Octoberfest Day 30: "Frightening Regrets"

I'm going to regret the activity for Day 30. At least that's what I thought. But the reality wasn't nearly as frightening as I thought it would be. I spent part of evening with my nieces again as they were trick or treating in Des Moines. Sarah went as an 80s rock girl and Londyn was Jessie her favorite character from Toy Story. I didn't get to see Sarah as much because she was walking around with the neighbor kids. Londyn was so excited for Halloween. She actually said to my mom "it's Hawoween! Gobwins are coming!" :) I'm sure she picked that up from one of her cartoons. So she was ecstatic to trick or treat. And she wanted to wear her costume everywhere. Even when it wasn't Halloween. It was super fun to take her around. After every house she said "got more canny" and then told me her bucket was "too heaby" so I helped carry it for her. The other funny thing is that nobody could understand what she was saying for her joke. She talks pretty well for her age but at just 3 she's still got her own little language. Walking around with her made me reminisce about how much fun it was to trick or treat as a kid. My dad made a map of our neighborhood and we would come home with an entire pillowcase full of candy. But back then beggar's night lasted from like 5-10 or something crazy. It was a lot longer than now, I know that for sure. Once we got back to my brother's, Londyn was sharing her candy with us and still excited about her loot. I decided that once I got home, I was going to attempt to conquer one of my fears for my activity. I was going to watch a scary movie by myself on the eve of Halloween. I mean the timing makes sense. But here's the thing: I don't like scary things anymore as an adult LOL. When I was younger, I wanted to watch scary movies and go to haunted houses. Except for the time when we went to the haunted forest and I assured my aunt I was old enough to go since my cousins were also going. Well what we didn't plan on was that two of the "scary guys" trapped us in one part of the forest and wouldn't let us past them and their chainsaws. You can imagine that would be particularly terrifying for a 9-year-old. Once those idiots did lets us past them, I threw up everywhere in fear and had to walk in front with the guide the rest of the time. I haven't been able to get past my fears since then. Occasionally I'll watch something scary but I hide my face the entire time. Even when previews of scary movies come on, I change the channel or hide my face and plug my ears. It's silly, I know. But when you live without any roommates, the smallest noises can really get your mind wandering. So I found one of the Friday the 13th movies (perfect, reminds me of my childhood) and set out to watch it, heart pounding already. Guess what?! The movie was a joke. It wasn't scary at all. In fact, it was quite stupid. I couldn't take any of it seriously and didn't last more than 30 minutes. Who would have thunk it?! I thought for sure I would be terrified and instead I'm laughing at the absurdness of this plot! Now in hindsight, I know I could have picked a scarier movie but I'm making up the rules here LOL. The interesting thing about conquering a fear is that things are almost always worse when you imagine them because you're unsure of what to expect. Fear of the unknown is the real culprit. Once I set out to conquer the fear, it turned out to be a non-issue. If that's the case I'm wondering about some of my other fears...like approaching a guy I find attractive. Ahh geesh, that's too much. Jason is the only guy I'm approaching tonight and I just turned the channel on him. Until tomorrow, my bravery is done for tonight.

Octoberfest Day 29: "Dear Miss Manners"

Dear Miss Manners, boy do I have a story for you. And I know I'm not alone. Raise your hand if you've ever received poor customer service? Ok, yes I know it's a ridiculous question, of course we all have. Unfortunately, things seem to be getting worse in this department as more and more people try to abolish the term "manners" from everyday existence. But I'm not going to let it ruin my activity for Day 29. This was Sarah's 11th birthday so we decided to go out to eat and celebrate. She loves sushi so we settled on Waterfront and headed over there. I wasn't really in the mood for sushi so I opted for a clam strip basket and ordered the Waterfront roll with cream cheese. I've had that particular sushi roll before, it's made with shrimp tempura, cream cheese, cucumber and avocado, I believe. We got our food and I took one bite of the sushi roll and about heaved. It tasted old. And fish is one food you don't want to taste old. I couldn't hardly get the one bite down. It was absolutely disgusting. Right then and there, I decided I wasn't eating anymore of it, that's how bad it tasted. When the waitress came back I handed her the plate and said, "I'm sorry but I won't be eating that. It doesn't taste right, tastes old or something." She looked at the plate, then back at me, back at the plate, looked at me again like I was stupid and then proceeded to walk away, NOT SAYING ONE WORD! No apology, no "can I get you another one?" NOTHING. It was like I didn't even say anything to her. Ugh. So rude. Then when we were done eating, she brought my bill WITH THE SUSHI ROLL PRICE STILL ON MY TAB! Umm, no, this is not happening. So I motioned for her to come over and said, "umm, I'm being charged for a sushi roll that tasted horrible and that I didn't even eat?" And she simply said, "well I'll have to talk to my manager." Ok great. Let's get them over here because now I'm at the point where I'd LOVE to give this entire place a piece of my mind. So she comes back and sets my bill down, AGAIN not saying one word. No apology. No recognition that they adjusted my price, etc. No nothing. She literally never acknowledged the poor food. And then in turn the poor service by the restaurant and especially her. She got one whole dollar for a tip. I was flabbergasted. And just to piss her off even more, I decided to order dessert. I needed to try something new for the day anyway. So I ordered tiramisu which wasn't bad. It wasn't my favorite thing in the world but it was good. I kept thinking that I had tiramisu when I was in Europe but then I remembered it was actually creme brulee.

I fulfilled my activity for the day with a distracted mind. I couldn't believe that lady had treated the situation so poorly. Don't people realize how expensive it is to go out to eat anymore? It's becoming a luxury for most people, the least you can do as a server is give them a good experience. It's my hope that people reading my blog can pass along the note that by treating people with kindness, dignity and respect, manners go a long way. And really do help make the world a better place to live. And dine.

Octoberfest Day 28: "Just Like Old Times"

Sunday morning was another early day. I took my niece out to the Animal Rescue League so we could volunteer for an hour. She had been begging me to do that and it worked out for that day. We got out there before they opened so we could spend some time with the dogs. We took a couple of them out of their kennels so they could play around. The first dog, Gil (LOL, love that name) was a pitbull mix and looked like he could be part wiemaraner as well. We got him in the activity center, took off the leash and he started running around having a blast. And then proceeded to poop. Sarah looks at me and says, "that's your job, I'm not doing it." Ahh...the good ol'days of picking up poop. Umm, I don't miss those days. After Gil stretched his legs, we got another brindle colored pitbull mix named Rio and played with him. Both dogs had fantastic personalities and temperaments, I'm certain they will be adopted soon. At least I hope they are. After the ARL, we had planned to take a hike at the Ledges State Park. Talk about the good ol' days. We used to picnic there all the time when I was a kid. I have VERY fond memories of playing in the creeks, cars splashing us, climbing the trails and just having an absolute blast. We got up there by 10:30 so a hike and volunteering all before noon on a Sunday? Not bad. We walked up one trail and then came back down. Found another trail, climbed it and then decided we would try to ascend the trail up to the lookout point. It was quite a climb, I felt winded just walking up so I know we were getting really good exercise. Sarah started getting really tired and wanted to stop but we were already on our way up so we had to just keep pressing on until we made it. Once we were up to the top, then we started walking down and that's when she started getting really crabby (LOL, kids...) and inquiring when we would be to the car. Admittedly, I thought we were closer to the car than we were. You don't realize how far away you get as you're climbing so I understood her exasperation. I was thirsty and getting tired myself. We stopped along the way and got some really good pictures and just enjoyed the crisp October air. Hiking was very enjoyable and it's something that I need to do more of. I'm putting it on the list of an activity that is perfect exercise that doesn't feel like exercise. I'm making a mental note to keep coming back to the Ledges because who doesn't love to be reminded of their childhood?

One final note on Sunday - I discovered that there's a zoom function on my iPhone. Holy crap you'd think I just won the lottery. Folks, I've had my iPhone for a year and just now discovered the camera can zoom. Helluva deal. Maybe I've had my head out of the apps for too long now...

Octoberfest Day 27: "Junk Yards and German Shepards"

I woke up bright and early Saturday morning to pay homage to my chest. Yep, you guessed it. My activity for Day 27 was to walk in the Race for the Cure. Believe it or not, I've never done this activity. There are thousands of people who participate in Des Moines but for whatever reason I hadn't - until this year. Thanks Octoberfest! Brrr....it was COLD Saturday morning. Put on three layers for pants and almost 5 layers on top. Stocking hat? Check. Gloves? Check. I was ready. For the most part, I stayed warm until we started the race. My fingertips were still cold but it wasn't unbearable, thank goodness. Once we started trekking, I was fine. So until the race started, we walked around looking at the different booths, collecting free giveaways and ironically running into people we knew. My cousin's friend Diane spotted me and said hello. She then turns to these two women and started to say "this is my friend Angel," when I literally looked at the woman and semi-shouted, "Oh my God we did the San Diego marathon together 10 years ago!!" Just a little FF (Fun Fact) for you all, I walked a full marathon back in 2002 in San Diego for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I met a couple of women through the group who I ended up walking with for training and the actual marathon. We also all stayed in the same hotel room. Literally had not seen these two sisters for 10 YEARS! You can imagine the scene once they recognized me, screaming and hugging and oh my gawding, taking pictures, exchanging contact information, etc. Then Angel's sister says to me, "do you remember when we took that ride with the random stranger?" You better believe it Pam. And I'm going to share that story now because it will go down in my life history as one of the dumbest and yet funniest things I've ever done. If you are all familiar with some of my other stories in life (i.e. Downey ball), then you know that's saying a lot.

There's five of us women who all walked together in the marathon. Myself, Angel and Pam who were a little bit older and then two other girls my age (early 20s). So we get done with the marathon, we're in San Diego and our tickets entitled us to a free concert in Chula Vista which is down by the border. We go to the area where we think the train comes and we stand to wait. We waited for about 20 minutes when literally a man steps out of the shadows and says "are you waiting for the train to Chula Vista? Do you realize you're standing on the wrong side of the tracks and you just missed it?" Umm...no sir we did not. Then he says what should have been the biggest red flag to date "I can take you guys down there and I'll only charge you $5 a person." Now what did our parents teach us as kids? NEVER TAKE RIDES WITH STRANGERS. We chose to ignore that advice since there were 5 of us. So we get in this van, Steve is his name. And he "works for the airport transporting passengers." His drivers license picture suggests he could be a terrorist. I'm not going to focus on that. So he radios into the airport that he's taking some passengers down to Chula Vista and gets dead air back. Think "breaker, breaker, static" minus the "10-4". Again, nothing to worry about at this point. Except that EVERY time he radioed in, nobody responded. So we start driving down somewhere, I mean who in the hell knows where we're driving it's not like any of us was from the area. Steve tells us he's taking a shortcut so we don't miss the concert. Umm...ok....a shortcut...I mean is the shortcut necessary? Can't we take the route that all these other cars are taking? Cars that could save us if this guy indeed becomes a terrorist? Suddenly the "shortcut" becomes VERY dark. There are ZERO cars around anywhere and no street lamps. So it's just us with Steve the guy-who-very-well-could-be-a-terrorist-or-worse-yet-serial-killer-but-claims-to-be-an-airport-employee in a van somewhere in the back woods of California. At this point in the ride, I started quietly thumbing through my purse for something that I could weld as a weapon should the situation call for it. Turns out every woman in that van was doing the same thing we just didn't realize it at the time. Then comes the infamous words from Steve who said, "yeah, there isn't much in this part of California except junk yards and German Shepards." That's when Angel yells, "turn this (bleeping) van around right now!" and Pam says "Angel! What are you saying?" Those of us who had been scared but were trying to hide it were suddenly terrified. I'm thinking, "Omg. This is happening. I'm with a serial killer. Holy shit. This isn't the way I wanted to go down. What do I do?" And Angel repeats her hysterical order, "you better turn this (bleeping) van around right now Steve. I don't know what you're trying to pull here but you better do it because I am not (bleeping) kidding." And Steve says, "no it's just right up here, I promise you should see the ampitheater." Right as Angel is readying herself for another threat that Steve should probably heed, the dim lights of the ampitheater started to come into view. Turns out he was right. And it really was a shortcut. Steve got us there in time for the concert. And then decided he would just wait for us in the parking lot. Umm don't you need to go back to work? He assures us he's fine to wait. We go to the concert and are still nervous as hell. The group was split on whether to take another ride with him back to San Diego. When one of the girls comes up with a "brilliant" plan. "I saw this on an America's Most Wanted show one time," she says. "If Steve is really a serial killer, he won't take a picture with us because it would be evidence. So when we get back to the parking lot, we'll ask him to take a picture with us. If he refuses then we know he's a serial killer and we should get a ride elsewhere." Yeah, yeah, that's good, we all start nodding in agreement, shaking our heads and pacing back and forth like that's the best idea we'd ever heard in our lives. Never mind the semantics of any of it. Logic went out the window when we took the ride in the first place. At that point, half-assed logic was all we had left. So the concert gets done and we get out to the parking lot and ask Steve aka "Possible serial killer" to take a picture with us. And he emphatically agrees. So by some odd reason, we all decided since Steve took the picture with us that he probably wasn't a serial killer. And proceeded to take a ride with him AGAIN. During the ride back one of the girls in the group speaks up from the back and says, "Steve, we thought you were a serial killer." OMG. LOL. This situation has just gone to another level of absurdness. And Steve, surprised, says "a serial killer, why?" And we explain our points to him when he tells us the real reason that he offered to take us down there: he was in the process of starting his own cab/transportation service and he's trying to get his name out and build his clientele. He gave us business cards as we read the proof (Ted Bundy also had "proof" is what I should have been thinking). In the end, we were transported safely to and from the concert and took a ride with a complete stranger. Never living that one down or forgetting it because it was absolutely hilarious once we talked about it later.

When I brought that up to Pam and Angel at Race for the Cure, they couldn't believe I had remembered all the details (who me? I never forget ANY details, makes for a great story!) We all laughed and reminisced and promised to get together to catch up and tell that story over again. It was so great to see them. I mean never in a million years did I think I would run into them. The race was fantastic, it was so wonderful to see all the brave women walking either for someone or for their own courageous battle. I felt honored to be among such remarkable and strong women. Before hand Stacey insisted we get balloons for my birthday so the guy made us each a balloon hat and we wore those the entire race. Just use your imagination here, mine was supposed to be a candle (for my birthday) and looked nothing like a candle. See the picture as evidence and make your own assumption. So walking with a balloon hat was random, but not quite as random as running into long-lost friends. And then Stacey gave me another wonderful birthday present. A SUPER Saturday indeed.

Octoberfest Day 26: "DIY Decoupage Phase 2"

I was so excited to bring you guys the activity for Day 26. I mean it was so good that you would have all gasped in delight and speed-read the post until you got to the really good parts. Want to know what my planned activity for today was going to be? Are you sure you're ready? Wait for it....A BLIND DATE! And when I say a blind date, I mean truly blind (I mean he wasn't blind and I'm not blind) - I had never met the guy, didn't know what his name was, didn't know a single thing about this person and yet I committed myself to spending the entire evening conversing with this person without any expectation of hitting it off. Wowza. Sounds nervewracking right? I mean talk about an adventure AND leaving my comfort zone! Well you can all hold your horses because Mr. Blind Date (that's what we're calling him) stood me up. Without even trying. Talk about a spoil sport. Someday, when he grows up, he'll realize what a fool he was to NOT take me up on such an incredible offer. But his loss is my gain because instead of spending my Friday evening eating a delicious steak and playing games like I'm a kid again, I'm spending my evening working on Phase 2 of my DIY Decoupage project. I know. It's not nearly exciting. I get it. But unfortunately the yahoo who stood me up left me not much of a choice on what to do with my evening given the last minute nature of his cancellation. The jerk. Doesn't he know that Octoberfest is happening and you guys are counting on living vicariously through my posts? Of course he doesn't. See the beforementioned sentence on "when he grows up." So despite my adventurous nature, I had to settle on getting back to my DIY project. Which is fine because this project is getting good. So you may recall that the first phase included choosing my tables and selecting the magazines that I was going to grab articles, pictures and headlines from. Tonight's phase involved going through all of the magazines (and there are a lot of them) to see what I want to use on the tables. Remember that time that I told you all that I'm a magazine hoarder? Yeah, turns out even choosing what pictures to use on my tables is nearly impossible. Yes I still have a bazillion pictures of Nick and Sharon from Y&R. Is it appropriate to include pictures of half naked David and Victoria Beckham? I think so, this is art people, these two should be sculpted from marble they're so good looking. I'm putting them in the YES pile. What about Carrie Underwood? These dresses are gorgeous and don't even get me started on her legs. Those gams are the envy of women everywhere, especially me. OMG. Look at these shoes. They are must haves....not just on my table but actually in my closet. The ohhhh so sexy Keith Urban? Duh. Is it even a question? The guy once adorned an entire birthday cake for me, rest assured he's going on the table. So now that I have my pages selected, I begin the daunting process of cutting out scraps of paper to make the "collage" look. This is going to take me awhile. Check back with me in another day to see if I'm still cutting. Good thing I have you guys and beer to keep me company. As I cut through each magazine, my hand cramping after every other one, I can't help but wonder what Mr. Blind Date decided to do instead. As quickly as the thought entered my mind, it exited just as quickly. He isn't worth my thoughts. Eat your heart out Mr. Blind Date, you might be doing something yourself but I guarantee it isn't as cool as going out with me would have been. Check. Mate.

Octoberfest Day 25: "Seal of Approval"

As you all have probably guessed by now, I love to write. So the activity for Day 25 was perfect for me and after having a bad day before, it made my heart feel good too. (Speaking of the bad day, going to bed and allowing myself to give the worries to 'ol Mr. Sandman really helped, NOTE TO SELF) A good friend of mine from college has created a group called Seal the Spirit and they supply hand-written cards to individuals who are especially deserving. The messages of hope and caring are assembled at various card writing parties and then delivered around the holiday time when people need support the most. What a wonderful idea! As a writer, I believe in the positive impact and power that words can have over others so it was an honor to participate in this activity for Octoberfest. A simple caveat, however. The card writing party actually took place on Sunday October 20 but since I already had activities lined up for that day, I decided to take a batch of cards and write in them for another day. So I was there for the card writing party in spirit (haha get it?!) and sat down to write my messages when I had no other activities planned. I'm a thinker folks, this head is not just a hat rack. Let me just take a moment to say that when I allow myself the time to serve others who are in need, it really warms my heart like no other activity. I think we get bogged down with our day-to-day activities and we take for granted the support systems we have in our lives. But when you stop to think there are people living in this world who HAVE NO support system, it can be heartbreaking. If one message that I'm writing in this very minute has the power to impact someone's day or someone's holiday season or someone's life, then it's absolutely worth it for me to set aside time to do it. "Leave the world better than the way you found it." It's my hope that by leaving genuinely positive and good impressions on others, then in some small way I have made the world a better place. If you'd like to participate in this very worthwhile group, check out their website or their Facebook page. As for me, I'm going to continue writing in whatever capacity I can because someday my words will help change the world!

Octoberfest Day 24: "Cheese de Philadelphia"

I woke up today feeling extra crabby. And I'm not sure why. I had great ambitions to perform another random act of kindness today as my Octoberfest activity. But I just didn't have the heart for it. It didn't occur to me until tonight what my activity would be. I promised you guys something new every day of the month, right? And not all of those things are quote, unquote activities. Sometimes they are metaphorically something new. I have tried to provide entertaining accounts of my day-to-day events but I enjoy it very much when I can provide something useful as well. My new activity for today was dealing with a bad day in a way I don't normally do. As I mentioned, I don't really know why I was in such a foul mood. I think that it's so easy for us to get caught up in our obligations and that becomes very overwhelming at times. I've been trying to get caught up on everything since my parents' party. And given my ripe old age of 31, I'm still tired from my parents' party LOL and that isn't helping matters. I made it through the day at work and then I had to attend a guest speaker at Drake as part of our class. Honestly, I wanted to just go home. My classmates and I decided to grab sushi before the speaker. I love these people! :) As a group, we are always laughing hysterically about random stuff and we commiserate over class requirements together. I really wanted to skip the speaker tonight because I just didn't feel up to it, I would have liked to just go home and go to bed but I'm glad that I didn't skip it because the light-hearted laughing helped to improve my mood. Case in point - after I realized I was charged an extra $3 for cream cheese on my sushi rolls (highway robbery!), Chris told a story about being in Mexico and really loving the dip that this hotel had provided. And when he asked the guy what it was made from he replied, "cheese de Philadelphia." LOL Ahhh we got a really good laugh out of that one :). So the tired, overwhelmed, defeated, not sure where to start mood continued even after I left my classmates. If I could have stayed laughing with them a little longer I'm sure my mood would have continued improving. So on the way home, I craved comfort food thinking it would make me feel better. So I stopped at McDonald's and ordered a coke and a sundae, feeling even more guilty because one of the things I'm feeling down on myself for is not eating healthy or getting to the gym lately. Sigh. I'll start tomorrow. I got home and to be honest, the coke didn't taste good, and the sundae didn't hit the spot. So I didn't consume either. Ugh. That didn't work. I let my dog outside and realized there's a hole in my fence where it literally looks like someone punched the wood out. Great. Just what I need. I walk into the yard to assess the damage and I stepped in dog poop. Ok, I'm fighting a losing battle here. And that's when it occurred to me that what I really need to do is give up and go to bed. I think we all live such busy lives that when we feel overwhelmed our first instinct is to do more. But in reality, sometimes those situations call for some TLC for ourselves. I know that I'm tired. What I would normally do is stay up until my usual bedtime of midnight or after checking a few more items off the list. Well guess what? Those items will still be there tomorrow. To make myself feel better, I got organized, made a list of things to accomplish tomorrow and as soon as I finish typing this, I'm going to sleep. There's no other way to try making myself feel better. I just need to give up on today and look forward to tomorrow. Sometimes that's the best medicine for us - and maybe some philadelphia cream cheese wouldn't hurt...

Octoberfest Day 23: "Front Wedgie"

Front Wedgie

Neither myself nor Carrie will be climber of the month anytime soon. But we did give an outstanding effort tonight at Climb Iowa. An outstanding effort at trying to get kicked out. Let me back up. For starters, the guy giving us orientation was like the Ben Stein of rock climbing. Think the Dry Eyes commercial. He was about as lively as a tree. He told us we had to fill out the waiver first and I said "oh is that so if I die, I won't try and sue you" And he said "no." Wow. Ok umm that was a joke buddy. It would be hard for me to sue you if I were dead...oh never mind. Geez, tough crowd. He hands us our shoes and tells us they need to be pretty tight. We ask if we need socks and he says "most people don't." So Carrie says to me "you want a genuine experience right?" And then whispered, "I hope they sanitize these." Next step was to get our harness put on. Let me tell you a little something about the harnesses, they aren't comfortable. Carrie made the mistake of jumping ahead in his orientation by asking about the walls and he said "we're going to get to that" Ok point taken. Man this guy is not effing around. I'm sure that the fact that we weren't taking anything he said seriously didn't help. To make matters worse, in the middle of his explanation of the walls, I exclaimed, "oh god, owww I have a front wedgie" he didn't laugh or look impressed. The thing we were both curious about was that if this hurts for a girl, we can't imagine how uncomfortable these things are for the guys. So he takes us to the wall to try out, shows us how to do everything and then says to try it. I made it up the wall a little bit and then you're supposed to just fall back and let the rope rappel you down. Umm, that requires trusting the rope to hold you and when you're high up, that's scary to do. The guy keeps explaining to us the difference in the different walls when we notice a kid (probably age 7) with a huge backpack slung over his shoulder. And Carrie asks the guy if that's his chalk bag. They give you chalk to help your hands when they get sweaty. Or in our case to just put on our hands to look more official. Carrie said she's going to ask for a designer chalk bag for Christmas. Jesus, these little kids are going to smoke us on these walls. So we attempted a wall that the guy said was somewhat easy. Umm, that's a joke. It wasn't easy at all. I made it up a few feet and then had to let the rope carry me to the floor. And by carry I mean I fell and almost landed on a girl sitting on the floor watching her boyfriend scale the walls sans rope. Why would you sit on the floor when people are flying off these walls? So Carrie says she has to use the bathroom (which I'm thinking would be difficult with the harness on) and then tells me she didn't really have to go, she just wanted the guy to be done with orientation Haha. We were finally on our own to tackle these walls. Tried finding the areas that were the easiest to climb. The first one we tried was a little easier than what the guy was showing us but it was still hard. I made it about a third of the way up and then remembered my chalk bag. LOL it doesn't help by the way. And when you're on a rock climbing wall laughing hysterically things get even more difficult. Carrie was down at the bottom laughing and taking pictures of me. So I came down and we decided to try the easiest wall of all. Except a kid was rushing over to it. "Want me to shoulder check him and tell him to get off?" Carrie asked me. "Well it is Ladies' Night, don't they know they should be letting us do this?" I said. "Would you EVER want to do this in real life, like on a real wall?" Carrie said. "Umm negative. This is hard enough." So the little climbers were finally off the easy wall and we set out to attempt it. Mission accomplished! As I scaled the wall in a pretty quick fashion, Carrie was texting our friends "apparently Shawnna's a natural." I need to work on my landing however because I bounced into the side wall as I came down, of course started laughing hysterically A-gain and fell on the floor (see exhibit A picture as proof). Carrie goes, "my favorite part was when you ran into the wall. Now let me attempt this." So she climbs up gets almost all the way to the top and then stops saying "I'm seeing stars." Omg. LOL Yes you better come back down. Carrie had given blood that day so perhaps rock climbing wasn't the greatest idea ever. Her claim to fame is being the first person to pass out mid-climb and pull a Weekend at Bernies. Admittedly we were starting to get tired of climbing, or rather my hands were. We tried a couple of the hard climbs again and after literally flying off the wall back down and almost hitting that girl again (seriously she's still sitting in harms way!), I said, "ok I'm pretty much done." Now there is a group of people doing planks in a circle, not sure why. We thought it would be hilarious if Carrie came down off the wall landing in the middle of their circle, "well hello everyone." Bahahaha. We conquered the easy wall again two more times because it made us feel like official climbers and called it good. My fingers were shaking and my hands couldn't do another climb. It was probably time for us to go anyway, we are not professional climbers which obviously showed. And I think people were getting tired of us complaining about a front wedgie. You try it and you'll see what I mean. Who's got two thumbs, conquered the easy wall at Climb Iowa and no longer has a front wedgie? This girl.

 

Old Pro

I fell

 

Stopping for chalk

 

Baller Status

 

Look at Carrie go!

 

Octoberfest Day 22: "$25 Grilled Cheese Sammich"

Sometimes in life it really helps to know people and have connections. Like when I need an extra quarter for the vending machine. Or in the case of today's Octoberfest activity: like when we want to eat at the Embassy Club overlooking the downtown area. AMAZEBALLS! The Embassy Club (or Des Moines Club) is a verrry fancy restaurant on like the 34th floor of the Ruan building in downtown Des Moines. It offers really fantastic views of the city from all four angles. Strolling into this place was seriously a scene out of Pretty Woman, we were decidedly out of place but yet milking it for all it's worth. By the way, I should mention I've actually never seen Pretty Woman, I'm just familiar with the basic premise. Add theatrically challenged to my list of faults. So we walk in and the place is deserted, guess we are the only two people choosing to eat at 8:00 pm. The host greeted us with a thick, heavy accent and oozing ritzy professionalism. I like it already. I felt important - a bit like royalty except minus the Prince and a topless photo scandal. So we had the run of the place. Which was awesome except we didn't really know how to behave, we just knew we should probably be uber proper. This ought to be interesting. Jill goes "umm excuse me Shawnna, do silence your cell phone please" LOL. The waiter (is he called a waiter at a fancy joint?) brings over our menus and we open them up to find meals starting in the $30 price range. And I don't even know what some of these menu items are. Gulp. Holy shizballs. What happened to the "casual" menu with things more reasonably priced? So we asked about that menu and then suddenly felt like we'd made a big mistake because the waiter hesitated for a long time and then begrudgingly said "yes, you can order from that menu, let me bring it back" Then they scurried around getting those menus and were probably cursing us the entire time. And Jill says to me, "this kind of thing always happens when I'm with you." What can I say? I'm blessed with the ability to turn any situation into a bonafide story of hilariousness. The waiter finally brings the menus back and we were relieved to see the numbers back down into the teens. I had researched the menu before I came and I had my heart set on the grilled cheese sammich - this thing came with havarti cheese, bacon and apple jelly, now doesn't that sound like both an amaze-fest AND a heart attack at the same time? OM. G. It was! It was probably one of the most delicious sandwiches...EVER. Certainly not part of my diet but oh well. I can get back on track tomorrow...or when this month is over. So by the time our drinks, sandwiches and soup got added to the bill it came to $25 per person...for a grilled cheese sandwich. Moment of silence while I digest that fact. Geesh. It's a good thing I don't do this often. I asked the guy if I could get change and he said "we don't actually carry cash here" Oh man, of course they don't. Geez Shawnna what were you thinking??!! I think it's time for me to go before I embarrass myself any further! Thank you Jill for getting us into a prestigious elite club - classic example of when it pays to have friends in high places! Literally! Tomorrow's activity involves altitude as well...of the climbing variety!

Octoberfest Day 21: "Happy Little Trees"

Not Bob Ross

I should have been thinking more clearly. After partying for my mom and dad's anniversary well past 4 am, I should have tried something new when it comes to Octoberfest: like sleep for 15 hours or something. But noooooo, I had to choose another activity on a day when I was dead tired. But never fear, I managed to create a masterpiece on limited sleep and a lazy, dehydrated state of well being. Have you heard of this new concept where you mix painting with socializing? Me neither! But I heart the idea! There have been a couple of these places pop up in Des Moines lately. We took advantage of a Groupon through the Social Canvas in Waukee. Plus we got a free drink. Umm how can I say no to that? Even when I want nothing to do with anything alcoholic. You guys are counting on me for a genuine, authentic experience. And I'm happy to sacrifice, I really am. The really fantastic thing I want to stress here is that ANYone can do this kind of class. I don't care if you think you're so artistically challenged you can't even write your own name. I promise you, you can do this. They even provide all of the materials. After we got checked in, handed me my drink ticket (bonus!), I got my paint on my palette, threw on a smock and I was ready to Bob Ross this place. Plus I got to have a glass of Moscato wine...mmm...mmmm...mmm...So she walked us through each of the steps, instructed us how to create the right color, what brush to use, etc. I can't say this enough, it was super simple I'm not kidding, anyone can do this. The only challenge would be if a person were to take a drink out of the water cup (for the brushes) and put the used brushes in the glass of wine. Apparently that happened to the Friday night class. Obviously, the wine wasn't the highest priority to that person. Duh. The really interesting thing about this class is that everyone's painting ends up looking different. Your interpretation of the instructor's directions means your canvas is unique to everyone else's. I was amazed that I was able to create such a wonderful masterpiece given I was so tired. I'm sure that the wine helped LOL. If you find yourself looking for an activity to do with a group of girls or for a birthday party, etc., I highly recommend looking up the Social Canvas. They do a bunch of different paintings so you can try as many as you'd like! Plus, they are just getting their business going and I think people should support such a creative idea. Kinda like when I started this uber crazy blog - which by the way is now up to over 1,300 page views! I jumped up 100 page views in one day! Kudos to everyone for checking it out, let's keep this baby going!

Octoberfest Day 20: "40 Years"

Forty years ago today, my parents were married at age 18 and 21. Their road together has been full of love, heartache, joy, sorrow, bickering, making up, sickness and good health: the perfect recipe for a sucessful marriage. They have endured a lot and yet they're still together. What a perfect example for the rest of us to follow. Because my parents have done so much for me in my life, I wanted to give something back to them and truly mark such a special occasion. It isn't everyday that you see couples make it this far. I started thinking about a party probably a year ago. I began planning the surprise party late spring, early summer. I set out to find as many of their old friends as I could: softball friends, bowling friends, family, etc. Once I got the list then I started on addresses. Then the ideas really started coming to me: we could have a flashing blue light in honor of them meeting at K-Mart which is where they both worked, I could have a small replica of their cake made, we could have a DJ, etc. Then I started putting everything into action. I nailed down a location and then created the invitations. I used pictures from their actual wedding album. How did I manage that without them knowing? Well there's an app for that. Of course there is. And I'm breaking my rule of not getting my head out of my apps but it allowed me to scan the pictures out of their wedding album and had high enough resolution for me to print them. Got the rest of the addresses, mailed the invitations, secured the DJ and put the deposit down on the location. Keep in mind that I was doing all of this while attending grad school, doing freelance work and working full-time. Oh and once October hit, doing an activity every day and blogging about it. Geesh. Once everything was in motion, I was able to get a great deal on a cake through my cousin Maddie who works for the Bake Shoppe in Windsor Heights (fantastic cakes, highly recommend them!), we decided to provide beefburgers for food, I purchased a couple of Groupons for decorations through Nobbies, and I was all set. The planning really took a lot out of me. I was ready to just have the party and not have to worry about the organization anymore.

The day of, I decided that in addition to the party, my activity for Octoberfest would be to get my hair and makeup done. Well played by me. It ended up being literally the best I've ever looked in my life. I felt so confident and pretty and just really excited about the party for my parents. Plus, we ended up getting some really fantastic pictures as you can see here. I got to the location of the party to set up around 3:30 pm. Guests were scheduled to arrive by 6:30 pm and my parents were supposed to get there at 7:30 pm. Everyone asked me how we were getting my parents to the place. For one, we told them long before that my cousin Toby's boyfriend David's birthday was also that day and she was having a party for him. About a week before the party I told them that we were taking them out to a steak dinner for their anniversary. They wanted to be surprised by the restaurant which was perfect; they could pick me up from "David's party" and we'd all ride to the restaurant. Oh and I also told them they should wear lavender/purple because it was their wedding color. Yes, I tried to think of everything. We set everything up, got the food cooking, cake was all set, DJ arrived and then guests started trickling in around 6:30. All in all, I bet we had about 70 people come to the party. Which was a really good number. It was time for my parents to arrive. I wondered if maybe they had an inkling of what was going to happen...

No, they sure didn't. The look on their faces was so perfect that it made all the stress of getting to that point worth it. My mom cried for sure and some people said it looked like my dad started to as well. Mission accomplished! Super duper good deed for my parents and they were so thrilled. It was really fantastic to see. They were 100% surprised and didn't have a clue to anything. From that moment on, it was a lot easier for me to relax and have a good time knowing they were there and everything was done. The party really had a natural progression of activity. After my parents greeted everyone, we made them cut their cake and had to remind them of what their cake looked like because they didn't realize it was a replica LOL. Then we made them dance to "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain and my mom cried A-gain. After that, we all hit the dance floor and proceeded to cut a serious rug. Man I wish people still talked like that. I could have said that my dance card was full all night. Of course the night went by too fast and I wish we could have stayed longer, dancing and having fun but all good things must come to an end. It was truly a wonderful party, it was so great to see so many people, I felt absolutely beautiful and the best part of all is how happy my parents were. Made it worth the blood, sweat and tears. Until my mom locked my keys in my car. Hey, I never said they were perfect! LOL. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Here's to another 40 years! :) 

 

Octoberfest Day 19: "Pumpkin Spice, and Everything Nice"

Not good (for the diet)

I woke up on Friday with a LOT to get done. When you read Day 20, you'll understand just what I'm talking about. I took the day off, not so I could relax but so I could get an overabundance of things accomplished. Including fit in an Octoberfest activity. I decided to get that out of the way right away so I met an old professor from Simpson for coffee and breakfast. As an homage to not only Octoberfest but Halloween around the corner, I opted for a Pumpkin Spice latte from Panera. Amaze-Fest USA. That coffee was more than just delish, it was delightful, it was delectable, it was de-sinful. I mean where has that been all my life? It was definitely a great way to start my day. After that, a couple of crazy things happened to me. For one, my professor wants me to speak to one of his classes about the importance of not giving up. You may recall that I lost my job three years ago and dug myself out of a pretty significant financial crisis. I was super flattered that he would ask me to speak to his class. And I will whip those kids in shape! Just kidding, I'll just talk about my story. It's something that comes naturally from me, as the storyteller that I am. We continued talking some more and I told him that I've thought about teaching someday at the college level and he said "would you be interested in teaching for Simpson? We need part-time evening/weekend professors for next fall." Umm, whaaaa? I mean when I said that I was thinking about teaching someday, I didn't really think the "someday" would be next year. But I guess he's leaving for London to teach a semester abroad and they will be needing faculty. Professor Stiver? Has a nice ring to it. I'll definitely consider what he's proposing. In the meantime, I had a lot to accomplish on Friday so I couldn't sit and chat with him forever even though I would have liked to. I got all of my stuff pretty much done and all I had left to do was cook 20 lbs. of hamburger meat. Gulp. I mean we've already established how terrible I am in the kitchen. How in the H am I going to do this? My cousin said to me "Shawnna if you screw up cooking hamburger meat, god help any guy who may date you." LOL. She's right. How could I possible screw this up? I know what you're thinking, "yep, she screwed it up." You're partially right. I didn't screw up the actually cooking part but I did have a little baby disaster when I tried to strain the meat. Let's just say that a large chunk of the meat flew onto my counter and part of the floor. No big deal. I cleaned it up and lost about a pound of hamburger. Worse things could happen right?  Like Starbucks and Panera could stop offering that Pumpkin Spice Latte, that would be an even bigger disaster...

Octoberfest: Day 18 "Desperate Tannerisms"

Not normal

Let's face it. I'm never going to be a Desperate Housewife - er Housegirl - of Des Moines. For one, there's simply not enough salacious gossip going around. For another, my idea of a catfight would be knocking over someone's water bottle and saying "so there." The drama just isn't in my bones. But I'm really good at pretending so for today's activity, I thought I'd get into character and do something a desperate housewife, or an Orange County housewife, or an Atlanta housewife, or a Jersey housewife would do: get a spray tan. Now I know what you're all thinking...as we approach winter, the time of year when we're completely bundled up and covered, why would I want to tan my skin that nobody will see? It's simple. In the name of science I wanted to see how far they've come with spray tan technology. Now let me just throw the disclaimer out and say that I tried a spray tan booth as opposed to a person who custom spray tans you. Call me crazy but I just wasn't really in the mood to get a tan sprayed on me sans clothing in front of a random stranger. I know the Housewives do it. I guess I'm just not that desperate. In any case, I'm here to tell you that they really have come a LONG way with spray tans. I wasn't sure what to expect at all but I was willing to experiment knowing full well that the outcome could have been disastrous. And it was. At least for about 12 hours. In those twelve hours, my face looked like the tanning mom Patricia that we all heard about recently. Saturday Night Live spoofed her even. If you're unsure who I'm referring to, I've conveniently added a picture as reference. Yes, my face was borderline THAT bad. And I was sweating orange bullets. I thought about taking a picture of myself but it was too embarrassing LOL. I went to bed thinking to myself "dear Lord, please make my face normal colored by morning, I swear I will behave for the rest of my life, sincerely, Me." I woke up the next day - face as orange as ever. Uggggg!!! OMG what am I going to do? I mean do I say that I was in a face tanning accident or that the spray booth got stuck permanently on FACE mode? Ok. Let's take a deep breath and not notice that I'm inhaling a tropical tanning scent. I almost called Classic Tan to ask them about it but I figured well there's nothing anyone can do about it now. Maybe if I take a shower, it will help? Suddenly I remembered the girl telling me that something washed off within the first showering so I quickly disrobed and jumped in hoping and praying that my face looked normal when I was done. THANK THE LORD!!! It worked. I was no longer Patricia's sidekick. Phew that was a close one. I can honestly say that I was impressed with the tan. It looked very natural and hardly anyone noticed. Except for Abe who said to me "have you been tanning??!" in an accusatory way like I just betrayed some sort of natural way of living. Well yes. I was getting into character. And experimenting. Everything that resembles Octoberfest. So for anyone thinking about trying a spray tan, I would recommend it. They really have come a long way and it looked very natural. I may not be desperate but I am tan.

Not cool

Octoberfest: Day 17 "Matchy, Matchy"

As you guys know, on Day 3 of Octoberfest, I created an online dating profile with eHarmony. I'm sure you're all wondering whether that has produced any dates yet. While I do enjoy being able to set a slower pace as I get used to this whole phenomenon, let's just say the locomotive hasn't even left the station yet. I've had some guys I contacted and it has resulted in a stalemate of no further communication. For Day 17, I decided to up the ante a little bit; take the stakes up a little higher. So I created an online dating profile through match.com. Holy hell, whereas eHarmony takes things just a notch faster than molasses or paint drying, match.com is like the turbo version, the high voice version, the amped up on caffeine version. I'm not used to guys being so....forward and aggressive. Because I usually find most things in life comical, this too has provided for quite a few laughs just in the two days that my profile has been listed. Yes, I said two days. And yes, I just compared myself to a real estate listing. As I maneuver my way through this crazy approach to dating, I certainly do not have all of the rules figured out. But call me crazy I think I have enough of an idea to know that the following ways to approach someone may not be as effective as these guys would like to believe. Here I give you a little segment I'd like to call: "Don't do that. Why would you do that?"

Not effective

Take a picture of yourself looking at a mirror taking a picture of yourself
We've all seen it right? The person looking at themselves in the mirror with the phone raised up shielding probably the most important feature: the face. And snap goes the picture. Two things have occurred to me when witnessing this photography bust - one, some of the phones are actually equipped with facing cameras, perhaps you should check that first? And two, for the love of G do you not have at least ONE person who would be willing to snap a picture of you??

Must love artificial....chestacle regions
People in general are visual creatures, guys especially, I get it. When deciphering an attraction to someone, the obvious pull comes from physical features at first. Whether your preference is real or artificial enhancements, let's keep that information to yourself, capish? I'm not impressed with someone who actually has the cajones to say "Must have fake you know whats" Ay..ay..ay...unbelievable.

Winter Boytoy
I received an email from one potential suitor mere hours after I signed up for my profile. He is coming home to Iowa for the winter from being in Alaska and said to me "you're beautiful would you like a boytoy for the winter?" Umm...no, I really don't. I mean maybe if I had a pool to upkeep or a yard that needed mowed. But this guy didn't really look like a "boytoy" type if you catch my drift. He did look like a boy...just not a boytoy.

I mean people are brazen! So the match.com experience so far has been a little aggressive for my taste. I suppose if someone is not an ideal match you want to know right away before wasting any time on something that isn't a good fit. But geez, I'm not comfortable on a high speed rail service either. I'm not going to quit though because it's all part of the learning experience. I think I'm just learning I may have a slight aversion to trains...

Octoberfest: Day 16 "Beer Me"

Picture courtesy of www.beerliving.com

I know you guys are upset with me and I don't blame you. If I started a new relationship with someone and then left them hanging for a couple days, I'd be upset too. Just give me a chance to explain. It's not you, it's me. Life just got in the way and I went MIA for a few days, that's all. That doesn't help does it? Makes things worse? Ok, well umm that's the best that I can do. Nobody's perfect. But you want to know what IS perfect? My activity for Day 16. As imaginative as my brain is, I'm marveling I didn't think of this one sooner. What do you get when you cross Octoberfest and beer? Octoberfest beer! Goes along perfectly with doing homework. I stopped by my local Hy-Vee and picked up just one bottle of Octoberfest beer. It was over my lunch hour and I'm sure the lady who rang up my purchases looked at a lean cuisine and a bottle of beer and thought I was having a stressful day. I insisted that she put my beer in a brown paper bag, I mean I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. After work I returned to my brown paper bag and readied myself for the taste of Octoberfest. Those Lienenkugel guys sure do know their beer. The barley malts in the Octoberfest beer made for a rich, hearty character while the aromatic hops provided a smooth, well-balanced and drinkable finish. That means nothing really. Alright yes, I took that language from the website. No, I didn't love the Octoberfest beer. But, again as we've discussed throughout the Octoberfest journey, it's not about winning or losing but about playing the game. And at least we are on good terms again. I'm really glad we had this talk.  

Octoberfest: Day 15 "A Day in Paris"

La Mie (I'm not looking)

That title got you all to read this, didn't it? Yes, today I got a taste of Paris...by not ever leaving Des Moines. I'm embarassed to admit the little gem I visited today has been near my neighborhood all this time and I have not discovered it until now: La Mie. Several of you are no doubt nodding in disbelief over why I haven't been there yet. Honestly I don't know because the rumors are true: what a great little place to eat. You walk in and just the smell alone reminds you of Paris. Except there aren't any somewhat nice French people unwilling to understand broken French spoken by Americans who don't really know their language. Just a quick sidenote: did you know that in France, you can order a hamburger steak and they'll serve it to you pretty much raw unless you indicate otherwise? Still not over that experience in college. But rest assured, I didn't order a hamburger steak today and I'm fairly certain they would have cooked it to at least medium well - food safety laws and all. So they have pastries galore, and a pretty extensive breakfast and lunch menu. I opted for a spinach and bacon omelette after my friend Stacy told me they had good bacon. She was right. But did I expect anything less? I mean Iowa has great bacon. The omelette was pretty good - they got a little carried away with the spinach but all in all it was delicious. And the pastries were out of this world good. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with my friend and her son. Chalk up another one in the win column for Octoberfest. The rest of my day was pretty low-key, catching up on things after so much excitement from the weekend: the great birthday gift that just keeps on giving and the failed sunrise attempt. Yes, I was exhausted. Sorry for the quick post, I wanted to get this up so there was no delay. But as you may have guessed, I'm still catching up on sleep so I'm off to get some zzz's! Until tomorrow - keep on reading! :)