Map of Visitors

I can check where folks come from to view my page via StatCounter so I wanted to share who has visisted recently because I thought it was pretty cool. I have had visitors from Australia to Thailand to Egypt to the US. This is where the servers are located so the people aren't necessarily in that area but I am thinking that if the server is in Egypt then someone in that area is probably checking out my blog. Very cool!

Element and Artuzzi's

I ate at 2 new restaurants this weekend – this is has been one of the easier lists to complete. I am already up to 29 new restaurants! Element is in the former Cherry location on West Peachtree in Atlanta. It was fairly empty when we were there and we were there 8-11pm on a Sat. They server Spanish tapas and I would definitely recommend this place to friends. The restaurant is multiple levels and they even have some lounges separate from the dining tables that are perfect for a happy hour. We all ordered several tapas – my favorite were the tuna, goat cheese, asparagus, and chicken. Element seems good for groups (we were a party of 9) but also cozy enough for a romantic dinner for 2. Parking may be the only bad thing about this new restaurant – they utilize the AVS parking next door but that is only 6 spots so you either have to find street parking or pay in one of the midtown lots.

I was pleasantly surprised with my dinner from Artuzzi’s. When I walked in, I thought I was at Moe’s or one of the other Raving Brands restaurants because of the bright décor and dining area. Like Moe’s you can see your food being prepared but you can chose dining service vs takeout. I ordered mushroom ravioli with freshe sauce (eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, olive oil, basil) and it tasted just like one of my favorite pastas from Figo. Artuzzi’s seems like a fast food Italian restaurant but the food was up to par with Maggiano’s and Figo. The prices were more than Eats (my favorite dive in Atlanta) but I definitely plan to go back because the pasta was fresh and very flavorful!

Celeb Sighting

I had my first celeb sighting (if you don't count Mike from the Real World NY and I don't count him) in Atlanta on Sat night. I saw Charles Barkley at Lotus Lounge. I got there at 1115 and he was already there and he was still there when I left at 130. He was just hanging out at the bar. My friend got her picture taken with him because it was her bachelorette party but I only got within about 5 ft of him. I did talk to his trainer for a few minutes but that is close as I came so meeting him so I guess I am 1 degree away from Charles now. For the most part, he seemed to be hanging out and people weren't really bothering him too much. I would hate it if I was trying to hang out with my friends and kept getting interrupted. Ironically, we were in a VIP lounge and he was just at the bar so he was very accessible and seemed very friendly.

One Decision

It is kind of crazy to think that one decision can totally alter your life. Of course when you think of all the mini-decisions that make up your day and combine them with you big decisions, it definitely makes for a wild ride called life. I was thinking about this today because of 1 recent conversation and 1 recent news event. First, I was thinking of a friend who had a child in high school and basically that decision that was worth 5 secs of pleasure has cost a lifetime. I am not advocating that the child shouldn't be born, I am just pointing out that his life was forever altered and some may consider that it is a grade B life when it could have been grade A because that decision led to more seemingly "bad" decisions. I also thought about all the kids the decided to go to class one Monday morning at VT and others that slept in - this ended up being a life or death decision. Very scary. I then thought about a car accident that i had a few years ago, I almost got off at the exit before (I was so close to doing that) but went one more exit and got into an accident. It makes you wonder about all of the little decisions that you make (going back inside because you forgot something, waiting for a stoplight instead of running it, going jogging at 4pm instead of 6pm, etc) that could have totally altered you life. It is so crazy! Kind of like that movie Sliding Doors with Gweneth Paltrow - I wish I could know which decisions would lead to a more fruitful life and which ones would lead me down a bad path. Guess this is why life is an adventure and we all do the best we can. Something to think about.

Why I wouldn't date...

MSN posted 2 articles this week - Why I wouldn't Date Him and Why I dumped Her. I thought these 2 articles were interesting for a couple of reasons. One was that the article about why I would date Him hit home with many. Many of the reasons listed are the reasons I wouldn't date someone - bad manners, being cheap, zero ambition, being neglectful, and being too indepedent. I can remember one date where the guy barely tipped on our dinner and I thought he was being cheap. I have dated a guy and a friend has dated a guy where you often wonder what their ambitions are, they move from job to job aimlessly and just want them to get their act together and priorities straight. I also think communication is important and once you have been dating awhile then sometimes the guy does become neglectful. Once I was waiting up for my boyfriend to come by at 11 and he didn't show up until 1 - I didn't care that he was late, I was mad because he didn't call to say he was going to be late. Not because he has a curfew and has to check in with me but because I worried that something happend to him. I don't think I have experienced a Mr Independent but I am sure that that would bother me and of course bad manners speaks for itself. If you are rude - a boyfriend or a friend - I rather not spend time with you.

So aside from the "him" article mimicking most of my own thoughts, I thought it was interesting that the "him" and "her" articles were quite different. It just shows you what is important to women and men are different. The dumping her article includes reasons such as being dependent, nagging, being obsessessed with marriage, wanting more affection, and wanting to make over the guy. Some of the reasons tend to match up - men dumping women for being too dependent and women dumping men for being too independent. I can easily see why a guy wouldn't want to be a girl with these traits.

Phidippides

Last Friday, I went to Phidippides in Atlanta to buy some new running shoes. Normally, I just buy the cutest pair of New Balance around but after running 13.1 miles and wanting to get back into running and minimize my pain, I thought it was best to get some advice on running shoes. As soon as I walked in, someone offered to help me. First I jogged to the front of the store with my current shoes and the guy watched me. Somehow from the short jog, he knew that I tended to roll my foot in when I ran and we needed to correct that. I also filled him on some of my common injuries so he could figure out the best shoe for me. So from that point on, I think I tried on 8 pairs of shoes. I have never tried on that many. After trying each pair on, I narrowed the shoes down by puttong one shoe on one foot and a different one on the other and jogging through the store. I even swamped L to R a couple of times to try both sets of shoes. After all of that - probably 20 runs through the store - I settled on a Nike pair. I did tell the guy after awhile of trying on shoes that I was just going to pick the pretty ones - he thought this was entertainging. Of course I think every pair I tried on was some version of navy so they pretty much looked the same. Then the guy suggested going up a 1/2 size - who would have thought! So today, I wore my new size 9 Nike shoes for the first time tonight and they are great. My run was good and my feet felt awesome so from now on, I plan to go to a running store before I buy any shoes! I definitely recomment Phidippides - it is near the LA Fitness in Ansley Mall. The folks are very nice and it is a local store with one other location. They also sell the sports jelly beans and athletic clothes.

Unisex Bathrooms

I know it has been awhile since I have posted but I have been busy and haven't had much inspiration. However, inspiration hit last night when I went to Cafe Asia for dinner with 2 male co-workers and 1 female co-worker. One of the males excused himself early on in the dinner to use the restroom. When he came back, he told us that the bathroom was unisex. I of course checked it out for myself and I will admit it was rather strange to round the corner and see a guy washing his hands as I was walking to the bathroom.

To be a little more descriptive and paint a better picture, here is what it looked like. The sink is like a trough - one long stainless steel sink with a lot of facets. All of the stalls have doors that go to the ground and have ceiling to floors walls. There are actually portals on the doors with etches of men or women. I think you can go in either because the stalls are the same but it does kind of force you to pick the girl or guy one depending on your gender.

The unisex bathroom challenges a lot of social norms like girls going to the bathroom in groups to talk/gossip about their dinner companions. I noted to one of my male co-workers that I could now ask him to go gossip in the bathroom. Of course that also leads to thoughts of the mile high club bathroom scene but it wouldn't exactly be mile high. Also if you think about what goes on in the bathroom, I am not sure I want to know what guys are doing and vice versa. So this unisex bathroom idea intrigued me. I thought it was interesting - not necessarily bad but an interestering experiment that challenges social norms. Thought I would share so you all could ponder.

1Q Update on the 29th Yr

I thought I would post an updated on how I am doing on my 29 Things list. Some areas I am doing great, others are still at zero. So from the top down, here is where I stand.

1. Number of Flights - 25, it helps when you travel twice a week
2 Hrs of skiing - estimate 18 hrs but probably skied 29 miles
3. New Restaurants - 14
4. Ran 13.1 miles - not sure I am up for the 26!
5. Hrs spent on dates - 12, I am surprised it is this high, maybe I need to count in days:)
6. Cities - 9
7. Books - 6
8. Exercise more than 4 times a week - 5
7. Hrs of Community Service - 2
8. Donate - $150

And coming in at zero - Meeting new people (surely, I have met new people this is just hard to keep track of, even writing this I thought of 3 new people that I have met at work), Save (I have saved money but I may spend it so we will know at the end of the yr how this turns out), Play 29 holes of golf (this may not happen), Beach for 29 hrs (need to work on planning this), Cook 29 meals (I need to be at home to do this one), lose 29 lbs (that is probably too many but so far it is 6).

When God Winks on Love

Yes, I just wrote a review on the book When God Winks and I followed that up with a more recently published book by SQuire Rushnell called When God Winks on Love. This book was filled with more examples of god winks in the love department - so definitely a book probably geared towards women. There were some good takeaways from the book which I decided to share in this review.

• SQuire mentions that Love LAUGHS and the key to a sucessful relationship is Laughter, Appreciate, Understand, God, Honor, and Support.
• Godwinks are like signposts - they don't tell you where to go, they just support that you are going in the right direction.
• Start everyday with the expectation that it will be a good day, don't just hope that it will be a good day. This will change how you experience each day.

There are some other good points but I will leave it for you to find those when you read the book!

J. Paul's in Baltimore

My parents and I ate at J.Paul's in Baltimore on the Inner Harbor. The area reminded us of a mix of Jacksonville, FL and Sydney, Australia. I don't think the folks in Australia would appreicate being compared to Baltimore - so instead of riding on a 22 hr plane ride, just head on up to Baltimore. Baltimore is known for their crab cakes and there are any number of places that have them in the Inner Harbor area. Some of those places are chains - McCormick and Schmidt's, Cheesecake Factory, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Legal Seafood - so you can eat at most of these places throughout the US. So we hoped we picked a local chain by going to J.Paul's. They roped us in with a free appetizer coupon that we picked up at the Visitor Center. We got the crab cake slider appetizer - they looked like Krystal burgers but with a crab cake instead. Dad and I got the crab cake sandwich and Mom got the crab melt. All the food was excellent. And to distinguish themselves from other restaurants, the meal comes with a side of pretzels instead of the usual bread or rolls.