The Donut Tour

For lunch today, the dream team (me, Lauralee, Shelby, and Fota) decided to go find out which place in Logan has the best donuts.  Each place we went to, we asked which donut was the most popular.  Here is what we found:

Lee's Marketplace.  Lee's is a hometown grocery store, expensive, but clean and I like shopping there.  The best part of Lee's is the lunch special.  You can get 2 chicken items, 2 amazing sides, a roll and a drink - $6.  It is the ultimate deal in Logan.  I especially like the mashed potatoes and gravy - the best I have ever had.  Since I recently got braces, I have taken advantage of their creamy goodness.  Back to the donuts . . . the baker lady said that the plain old-fashioned glazed was the best seller, but we decided to go with a chocolate covered cinnamon roll (seen below).  Since there were 4 of us and we didn't want to overload on donuts, we decided to get 2 donuts at each place and split them. My father has diabetes and it is not something that I want ha ha ha ha ha, but serious.  

Shaffer House Bakery.  This place is awesome.  Right when we walked in, we could smell the fresh goodness.  I was sold.  They had delicious looking turnovers and pastries - I wanted to bag the donut search and just settle down with a nice flaky turnover.  On to donuts . . . we found out the Bavarian cream bar was the most popular, so we got one of them . . .and 2 delicious looking Reese's cake donuts.  Definitely excited to pound down those little homies.

Dunkin' Donuts.  Brand new to Logan.  Today was the grand opening, actually.  It's like it was destiny for us to do our donut tour today.  I have only had Dunkin' Donuts in Korea and I wasn't a fan, so I was skeptical.  There weren't too many people for the grand opening, but there were enough to notice something was going on.  The owner gave us a donut hole while we were in line. I think he called it a "Munchkin" and it was delectable.  They said the most popular was the blueberry cake, so we got 2.  Also, they were giving out free hot chocolate and coffee.  I guess they are doing it for the next 3 days, ahh yeah.  I had salted caramel hot chocolate and it was money in the bank.  8 ball corner pocket.  

Johnny O's Spudnuts.  I think this place is a few months old.  I hear there are 7 potatoes in each donut.  That's not true.  This place has the coolest interior and decorations.  There are lounges to chill and you would think that a young hipster started this business, but there were 2 old grandma's running the joint.  They were nice, but when we said we only wanted 2 donuts, they seemed disappointed.  They tried to sell us 6 or 8 ha ha.  Geez grandma, I ain't gettin' any younger.  We bought 2 fluffy maple bars.   

Game Time!  Look at this healthy lunch. 

And the winner is . . .

They all sucked and I am never eating another f'n donut again.  ha ha.  Just kidding.  I think we all agreed that the Bavarian cream bar from Shaffer House Bakery was the best, but we only had a small piece and it was just right.  If I had to eat an entire bar, it would make me sick.  But, a small taste was delicious!  We were also torn between the blueberry cake donut from Dunkin' and the maple bar from Johnny O's.  

Valuable Lesson Learned:

Don't eat donuts for lunch.  We immediately felt gross and felt sick and definitely not productive at work ha ha.  I can't feel my toes now and I'm experiencing frequent urination, headaches, blurred vision, and fatigue . . . 

The real lesson is one of friendship and unity.  The 3 co-workers that I journeyed with were my friends going into the donut tour, but now they are my brothers.  

Braces at 30

I am 30 years old and I just got braces.  I have had them for just over a week and these are my thoughts. 

My entire life, I have hated my teeth.  My bottom row is pretty straight, but I have some vampire chompers.  I used to work with kids at an After School Club program and kids would always ask me if I was a vampire ha ha.  That’s always good to hear.  My top row is terrible, vampire teeth, crooked front row and then they go way narrow in the back.  Of course, people are nice and have never said, “You need braces!”, but I have always wanted them.  I admire people that have straight teeth and I sure respect those people that have had braces in the past.  You have my respect.  Like most things that you don’t like about yourself, they bug you far more than they bug others.  But, I am not getting braces for others, I am getting them for myself.  For those of you who have already had braces, I am sure you can relate to the following.  For those that are older and thinking about getting braces, hopefully this can help persuade you (or not ha ha) to get braces and be a helpful and humorous guide to get you through.  

The worst part of braces:

-The questions! 

Question:  “Why didn’t you get braces when you were young?” 

Answer:  “Well, my family didn’t have the luxury of insurance when I grew up – so thanks for                   not making me feel like white trash. “

Question: “Hey, we are thinking about getting our 9 year old daughter braces.  Who did you                     go to?”

            Answer:   “Thanks for making me feel like white trash.”

            Question:  “I didn’t even think you needed braces, why did you get them?”

            Answer:  “Thanks for making me feel like I am vain and white trash.”

-Talking to people.  Everyone looks at your braces when they talk to you.  They say they can barely tell, but they can tell.  Before I speak to anyone, I tell them, “Sorry, I just got brace, so I apologize if you can’t understand me”.  The elephant in the room has been addressed. 

-Talking to girls.  It is embarrassing to not fully pronounce words (hard to pronounce my F’s and M’s) and the occasional drool that comes.

-Not wanting to talk at all, since your mouth hurts.  I was driving with my brother for 20 minutes and didn’t say 1 word, because it wasn’t worth it ha ha.  

-The cankers.  Oh, the cankers.  I have 3 inside my bottom lip, 2 inside my upper lip, and 1 in my cheek where my last bracket is. 

-Flossing.  It’s the worst.  The first night it took me 20 minutes and my jaw was sore from opening my mouth wider than I have before.  The first night, I had this crap floss that kept shredding in my brackets and I had strands of floss stuck in my teeth and brackets the next day.  Not to mention the bloody mess, since my gums were soar. After a week, I am brushing/flossing for about 10 minutes.

-Eating.  The first week, I was eating about 700 calories a day.  I ate Greek yogurt for breakfast, applesauce for lunch and soup for dinner.  I lost 5 pounds, had a headache every day and had no energy ha ha.  It sucked.  The worst was that  everyone around me was eating the most delicious foods you could imagine. Everything looks good when you can’t eat it. But, I guess that is a principle of life – everything is enticing when you can’t have it.  Now, I am starting to eat more normal food.  I ate a salad and it felt so awkward to chew.  I felt like I had more salad in my brackets then I actually ate.  When I went to the bathroom to check my teeth, it confirmed what I thought.  I guess I will eat soup whenever I eat out with other people.

-Wax.  The wax from the dentist’s office is crap.  I get 3 small rolls in 1 pack each time I come.  I go through the pack in 2 days.  It is not only hard to put on, but I need more of it.  My friend gave me ear plug wax (I know it sounds gross, but it is way better.) Instead of putting wax on the brackets that hurt the inside of my cheeks, I just roll a fat ball of wax out and put it across my top and bottom rows, like a mouth guard.  It looks ridiculous, but it feels amazing.

Pros:

-I am kind of OCD and I have to organize everything.  I feel like my teeth are getting organized, so in a weird way, it feels good.

-Only 58 more weeks.  Who’s counting?

-I get to eat healthy without being a dick about it.  Sometimes when you eat out with your friends, you don’t want to order healthy food to sound uppity and that usually makes others second guess what they are ordering.  So, this gives me an excuse without sounding like I am better than someone.

-I’ll have the best damn teeth you have ever seen!

If you have any tips, questions, or comments, I am happy to hear from you!

The World is Good

I hate the news.  I think it is negative and gives a false portrayal of how life is.  The news rarely talks about the good in the world.  Last year, I had the opportunity to go to China.  I had a struggle getting my VISA and it was much more difficult than I expected.  I was told by others and various posts online that it was because I am from the United States.  When I flew into Beijing, I was a little nervous to be honest.  I have met Chinese people before and they have been great, but the media had given me a false belief that China didn’t really like the USA.  I was told in a letter that accompanied my VISA that because I had a few months left on my passport, that there is a possibility that I wouldn’t be allowed to enter China.  This letter along with my preconceived notions about China not liking the USA only made me more uncomfortable.  As I approached the counter at the airport in Beijing with my VISA and passport, I was pretty nervous.  I handed the officer my papers and said, “Nee How Ma?”  (How are you in Mandarin). He looked at me sternly, didn’t say anything, and examined my paperwork for what seemed like 5 minutes.  I was certain there was a problem.  Then, in an instant, he stamped my passport and VISA aggressively and motioned me to go forward.  I gave a sigh of relief, I was in China and they accepted my VISA.  I was still reluctant.

 Later that day, I found myself at the Forbidden City.  I was the only white guy in a sea of Chinese people and felt like everyone was looking at me and to be honest, I felt like I was an intruder and like I wasn’t welcomed.  I made no effort to talk with anyone, because I felt like I wasn’t welcomed.  It was one of the most uncomfortable feelings I have ever experienced.  The next day, I went to the Summer Palace and although it was beautiful, my feelings remained the same.  I remember thinking on the bus back to my hotel, “Well, what everyone told me and everything I have read is true.  The Chinese people in China really do hate Americans.” I sat in my seat, staring out at the window thinking. We were stopped at a red light.  Another bus pulled up next to mine and it was packed with Chinese people.  I caught a Chinese woman staring at me from the other bus and I looked down immediately.  I glanced up quick to see if she was still looking at me and she was.  I am normally a friendly guy and if I was in the US, I would have totally waved, but I thought to myself, “No, you are in China, they don’t really say hi and besides, they don’t like Americans.”  Then I thought . . . “Screw it!”

I looked up and she was still looking at me with what looked like a sad, tired, serious look.  I looked back at her, smiled, waved my hand, and mouthed, “Hello!” and awkwardly bowed my head.  I will never forget her reaction and it was one of the best experiences I had in China and one of the best lessons of my life.  She immediately changed here entire countenance like she woke up from a sleep.  Her eyes got big, she smiled, waved back and whispered, “Hello!” and awkwardly bowed back.  She was smiling so bright and I was too.  The light turned green and her buss accelerated faster than mine we smiled at each other until we could no longer see each other.  I had about an hour bus ride before I arrived at the hotel and just remember sitting in my seat and being so happy.  I thought, “That was amazing!  I think they (the Chinese people) like us!  The news is full of crap.  Maybe they think we don’t like them and we think they don’t like us.”  That moment, I changed how I thought about China (and other nationalities for that matter) and I was saying hi to everyone.  The change I felt about China couldn’t have been more opposite.  I remained in China for 4 more days and it was amazing!  The people were incredible and I love that country!

When I got home, I really felt like I had become a better person.  This small experience has helped me to appreciate others more, especially those people from other countries. I think the media creates false stereotypes and it isn’t fair.  I believe people are inherently good. I also believe that if we treat people like they suck, they will suck (or at least we will perceive them that way).  The world is full of great, amazing people . . . maybe all it needs is for people to believe it.

Service and Gratitude

This same time last year, I felt kind of lost or stuck.  It was probably one of the few times, maybe the only time that I was frustrated with my life.  I had experienced some cool things, but felt like I wasn't where I should be at my age.  I decided to go to the temple (temples are the most sacred buildings for LDS people - usually a place I can ponder and think clearly) and I remember praying for direction in my life.  At the time, I was praying about where to live, where to work and felt like I was on my own.  While I was praying/pondering, I really felt a voice in my head or a feeling in my heart that I needed to 1. Be grateful for my life and 2. Serve others.

I went home and those 2 things (service and gratitude) consumed all of my thoughts.  I started saying prayers of gratitude and not asking God for anything, but just being grateful for him and I focused on the good things in my life.  If bad things happened, I still thanked God for them and tried to learn from them to become better.  I started to be involved more in service and was always looking for ways to help out.  I can tell you that those two things (service and gratitude) changed my life.  I had an incredible year in 2014 and everything worked out way better than I could have imagined.  After a few months, I found myself not asking for anything at all in my prayers, because I couldn't believe life was so good and I was truly grateful for everything.  It seems that whenever things are tough for me in my life, it is because I am selfish and comparing myself to others.  If I remember to be grateful for what I have and to serve others, I feel that I am not only happier, but I really feel like life is better in every aspect.  This is a pattern I always need to remember.  I can't be successful in my life if I don't do things for others.  People will always be the best part of life, so let's take care of each other and be grateful for the process that we call life.