November in Review
November's been a big and weird month.
I started it by staying up until 12:30am the night of November 1 (or morning of November 2) finishing Where the Crawdads Sing. I went to a new restaurant by myself (Mr. Charlie's Chicken Fingers) where I read and ate, and then came home to finish the book. I couldn't stop. So I stayed up late to finish. It was a Friday, so it's fine, right?
On November 2, I ran a 5k and took pictures of the pretty fall morning. Of course it was a normal day of groceries, laundry, cleaning, and client check-ins.
That evening, Matthew and I tried a new restaurant: Rich's Burgers and Grub. It's downtown, and it was so, so good! We both loved it. We went from there to Abravanel Hall where we saw the Utah Symphony perform the music to the movie Coco. It was so good. I was so impressed with the Spanish guitarists.
We got dessert after that at Normal Club. I may also have gotten a cookie because Chip was right next door. Don't worry though. I only had a bite. I know you were worried.
November 3 was a standard Sunday of church and writing and movie watching with my love.
On November 4, I made chili and cornbread for the 5th of November.
On November 5, I got an awesome text from a former client who shared that she can do 15 push-ups in a row. When she started working with me, she had a goal to do one unmodified push-up. She's up to two sets of 15. I was so happy to get her text. It made my day. Matthew and I watched V for Vendetta and ate chili.
On November 6, it was our 9 month anniversary. Matthew did a really cute social media post for me, and sent me a sweet text with 9 things he loves about me.
That day at work, we went to Benihana for lunch to celebrate some dispositions. It was yummy.
Matthew and I celebrated 9 months at Waffle Love. We split a savory dinner and a sweet waffle.
November 7 was a big day in the world of Starbucks. I got my refillable red cup that gets $.50 off after 2pm on holiday drinks. I don't drink holiday drinks, but thankfully hot chocolate counts!
This month, Perk Energy came out with a bunch of different flavors, so I broke the bank a little bit because I had to try them all. I got Pumpkin Spice (Chill), white chocolate peppermint pretzel (Energy), and salted caramel pretzel (Chill). If you're unfamiliar, you drink the chill before bed, and drink the Energy in the morning or before 3pm unless you want to be up all night.
November 8, I saw Matthew for a little bit before he went home to study. I got dinner at Mo Bettah with my mom, and we went to Target after to buy Where the Crawdads Sing so she could read it. She still hasn't.
On November 9, I had a Donut Dash 5K. Nobody wanted to run this one with me, and they were smart not to. Holy hill, Batman. There are few things I hate more in running than hills. And this was one of the hardest hills I've ever done, in the least distance. It was almost a 400 foot climb in 1.5 miles. I walked a good chunk of it. I ate 3 donut holes at the halfway point. I'm glad I only had that many because I almost got a side cramp from it. Obviously the way back down was a lot faster and easier, besides the side cramps. I grabbed my Banbury Cross pumpkin spice donut and headed to the grocery store.
That night, Matthew and I went to Slackwater Pizza in Sandy. I had eaten at the Ogden one and LOVED it, so we visited the Sandy location. The cheese sticks were so good, and my Hawaiian pizza was delicious. Matthew didn't love his pizza, but hopefully liked it enough to try something else next time.
I used an offer at Orange Peel to get a Boba drink after dinner. It was yummy.
November 10, I went to church. I studied trading, and Matthew studied for his test. We had BLTs, and that night, we went to the Institute at the U of U to learn more about the Young Performing Missionary program Matthew's parents did this past summer. It was fun to see the kids who did it and to learn more about it.
On November 12, I had dinner with Natalie and Mary at Mazza in Sandy. Lots of new restaurants this month! I gotta catch up on Yelp reviews. It was good, though I felt my chicken was kind of dry.
November 13 was Matthew's test. Sadly, he didn't pass. He has come up with a game plan to buckle down and study even more this next month for his third attempt. Please send all good thoughts and prayers his way. I also had a massage this day, and the therapist ended up being a student I taught in my first year at Jefferson. So that was fun and weird. Since Matthew didn't pass, I got him a soda from Hey! Soda. We picked up a Cheese Pull Apart from The Pie and watched Parks & Rec.
November 14, Matthew and I went to Zupas and Target. And we had a fun misunderstanding about a driving error I made (but also the other driver made; she was dumb).
On November 15, I went to the dentist and had no cavities! Huzzah. That night I met up with Amber for dinner at the new Sandy Mo Bettah's. Sadly, she had a hard time finding it and went all the way to Murray (from Lehi) before turning back around. But it was delicious and fun to catch up with her. We tried Handel's ice cream afterward. It was just OK in my opinion. I got the coconut cream pie flavor, and coffee chocolate chip. She got turtle and monkey business (banana caramel).
I've jumped back into the world of Shakeology with the new peppermint mocha flavor, because it's plant based. I haven't had stomach issues so far because of it. I did have one weird day, but that could've been because of the salad I ate at lunch. My body has a hard time with mixed greens, even a tiny portion. So I need to try a day of Shakeo without salad at lunch, just to confirm my body does OK with it. It's such a good quality meal replacement, and so tasty. I have missed it.
On Saturday November 16, Matthew and I had a double date with my coworker Cameron and his wife Mariah. It was lots of fun to talk with and hang out with them. We got Nielsen's custard afterward. So good.
Sunday morning, Matthew and I went to Coachman's for breakfast. I hadn't been in several years, and Matthew had never been. It's a little like stepping back in time to an old restaurant in Mesquite. It's clean though, and the food is good and super reasonably priced. He loved it, and I still liked it the second time, happily!
That day we did more class and studying in separate rooms.
The week of November 18-22 was pretty rough. Monday was fine--normal day and got to talk to Matthew and catch up on my show.
November 19, I went to High Fitness with Brittney in West Valley, and got Curry Pizza afterward. It is always good to sit and talk with her and catch up. I used to work with her every day. So now that we don't work together we have to make an effort to get together regularly. Matthew and I had a misunderstanding that day which bled a little bit into the next day. But we resolved things. I'm thankful we both try to fight right; there's no nastiness or name calling or yelling. There is defensiveness we both need to work on, but we learn more every time.
Sadly, Matthew started to get sick on Wednesday November 20. His throat hurt really bad. He didn't go to work, and didn't want company while sick. So I took myself to Happy Hour at Itto Sushi, and visited Sagato Bakery in Midvale to try a Lamington, which was so, so good. I caught up on Walking Dead and watched Riverdale as well.
Matthew tried to go to work on November 21, but only made it a couple hours before heading home. I visited him for a little while after work. Then I drove down to have dinner at Capriotti's with my cute grandma. It was so, so good. I am sad I didn't try it sooner. My grandma and I talked in her kitchen until 12:40am. On a SCHOOL NIGHT! I got home at 1:00am and have no regrets. I was tired and am tired, but I treasure our conversations and the understanding and love we have for each other. I know not everyone gets to have a relationship with a grandparent like I do, and I consider myself very blessed to have her.
Friday, November 22 was a pretty regular day. Matthew went to urgent care for his sore throat and tested negative for strep even though swallowing is killing him. I got waffles with Kelsey in the evening.
Saturday, November 23 was busy. I was up early to do my workout and take my car to get tires, which is always a fun way to spend money. I did a 1.5 mile run, half out and half back from the tire place. I got gas, picked up groceries, cleaned, did a couple client check-ins, and headed to Saratoga Springs to help Matthew's parents unload their stuff into storage. I went home and did my writing and finished laundry. I was super wiped out and took a short nap around 5pm. Matthew got to my place around 6. We went and ate at Five Guys burgers and got Cold Stone after. I had to try the new Cookie Butter creation. It was awesome! So good.
Sunday, November 24 was a really calm, low-key day for me. I slept in pretty late. I started to do my writing, but my dad called. We chatted for 40 minutes about life and current circumstances. We decided it would be best for me to stay up here for Thanksgiving, mostly due to weather. I did my writing, made some protein snacks, and went on a walk. I got my book cases and DVD cases moved so I could do Christmas decorating. I got all my stuff up, including my tree, by the time Matthew got to my house to finish laundry. Shortly after he showed up, my mom showed up with the first piece of a Christmas village: the Three Broomsticks from Harry Potter. I was so, so excited and am looking forward to collecting the whole set. After my mom left, I made Matthew and I dinner and also baked chocolate chip cookies. We watched Elf to start off the Christmas season.
November 25 was pretty uneventful. A full day of work, and watched Walking Dead from the previous day.
Tuesday, November 26, I drove 80 minutes in traffic to go to my aunt's reception. The live band was fun.
On November 27, I originally was going to work a half day at home, then drive home to California. Sadly, the weather had other plans in store. I worked at home and got some things done, including finishing my 50,000 words for the month. I participated in National Novel Writing Month for the third time. I wrote the minimum amount of words (1,667) every day to stay on track. It was a hard and emotional project, and I'm glad I did it. I celebrated by getting myself some Marco's pizza and cheezybread. So good. I also watched Frozen.
On Thanksgiving I woke up with a very swollen left eye. To be fair, both eyes were puffy from crying, but the left eye was insane. It sometimes gets puffy if I sleep on that side. I had surgery on that eye when I was 13, so I've always thought it was related to that. It didn't hurt, and I hadn't had any weird allergen things either. I went on a four mile run in the snow which was super hard. The first half was great, and the roads were fine. I should've been smart and come back the way I came, but I kept on my normal loop. Sadly, the sidewalks and road were a mess in the last half, and I got soaked. Oh well.
I had a nice leisurely morning--took a bath with salts, read some of my book. And I made the fruit salad for our Thanksgiving. Matthew picked me up around 1:15, and we went to his brother's house in Saratoga Springs for his family's dinner. Jenn had everything set up so nicely. Her good china was out, napkins folded fancy, and used calligraphy to label the kids' spots at the table on a big piece of brown paper to catch their messes. Chad and Jarrett both smoked turkeys, and both were really good. The green bean casserole was good, and Jordyn's punch was good. Honestly everything was good. I just had a tiny bit of all of it since we still had to go to my family's later.
We hung out and chatted and chilled. We headed to my family's a little after 5, and got there about 5:35, when dinner was supposed to be ready. But if you know my mom and grandma, you know dinner is 1.5-2 hours later than what they say. So it literally wasn't ready until 7, which is fine since we weren't starving. All the food was good. It was nice to chat with my cousins a little bit.
My cute boyfriend talked with my grandma about her knee and fixed her knee brace. It was so sweet.
Friday, I lifted some weights and ran a mile. We had a really low key day at my place. We braved the storm to get Indian food and watched Home Alone after. The only Black Friday shopping I did was to get FitCon tickets and a Cheesecake Factory gift card (with two free slices). Also, I learned how to put on my magnetic eyelashes, and I am a fan.
Saturday, I went to Orange Theory for the first time in a long time. It was fun and challenging, as always. I got groceries and donuts and headed home, where I did my usual Saturday cleaning and laundry. Matthew came over around 1:45, and we went to Megaplex and saw Frozen 2. I loved it. I think I like the music in the first one better though. But this one had a lot of important messages that I really appreciated. We came home and studied for a couple of hours, then went and got some food and watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What better way to end a month?
This month, I finished an 8-week program for maybe the third time? It's called 22 Minute Hard Corps and is led by Tony Horton. It's a pretty straight forward home workout program. I wanted to switch it up from weight lifting and wanted something quick I could combine with running. So that was fun to accomplish. I missed three days (two from needing rest, and one for the Donut Dash 5K).
Books I read this month:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Unf*ck Yourself by Gary John Bishop (audiobook)
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern (audiobook)
I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern (audiobook)
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (audiobook)
Overall a really good month with more learning and growth, which I hope will always be the case. I have so much to be thankful for and have such a good life.
I started it by staying up until 12:30am the night of November 1 (or morning of November 2) finishing Where the Crawdads Sing. I went to a new restaurant by myself (Mr. Charlie's Chicken Fingers) where I read and ate, and then came home to finish the book. I couldn't stop. So I stayed up late to finish. It was a Friday, so it's fine, right?
On November 2, I ran a 5k and took pictures of the pretty fall morning. Of course it was a normal day of groceries, laundry, cleaning, and client check-ins.
That evening, Matthew and I tried a new restaurant: Rich's Burgers and Grub. It's downtown, and it was so, so good! We both loved it. We went from there to Abravanel Hall where we saw the Utah Symphony perform the music to the movie Coco. It was so good. I was so impressed with the Spanish guitarists.
We got dessert after that at Normal Club. I may also have gotten a cookie because Chip was right next door. Don't worry though. I only had a bite. I know you were worried.
November 3 was a standard Sunday of church and writing and movie watching with my love.
On November 4, I made chili and cornbread for the 5th of November.
On November 5, I got an awesome text from a former client who shared that she can do 15 push-ups in a row. When she started working with me, she had a goal to do one unmodified push-up. She's up to two sets of 15. I was so happy to get her text. It made my day. Matthew and I watched V for Vendetta and ate chili.
On November 6, it was our 9 month anniversary. Matthew did a really cute social media post for me, and sent me a sweet text with 9 things he loves about me.
That day at work, we went to Benihana for lunch to celebrate some dispositions. It was yummy.
Matthew and I celebrated 9 months at Waffle Love. We split a savory dinner and a sweet waffle.
November 7 was a big day in the world of Starbucks. I got my refillable red cup that gets $.50 off after 2pm on holiday drinks. I don't drink holiday drinks, but thankfully hot chocolate counts!
This month, Perk Energy came out with a bunch of different flavors, so I broke the bank a little bit because I had to try them all. I got Pumpkin Spice (Chill), white chocolate peppermint pretzel (Energy), and salted caramel pretzel (Chill). If you're unfamiliar, you drink the chill before bed, and drink the Energy in the morning or before 3pm unless you want to be up all night.
November 8, I saw Matthew for a little bit before he went home to study. I got dinner at Mo Bettah with my mom, and we went to Target after to buy Where the Crawdads Sing so she could read it. She still hasn't.
On November 9, I had a Donut Dash 5K. Nobody wanted to run this one with me, and they were smart not to. Holy hill, Batman. There are few things I hate more in running than hills. And this was one of the hardest hills I've ever done, in the least distance. It was almost a 400 foot climb in 1.5 miles. I walked a good chunk of it. I ate 3 donut holes at the halfway point. I'm glad I only had that many because I almost got a side cramp from it. Obviously the way back down was a lot faster and easier, besides the side cramps. I grabbed my Banbury Cross pumpkin spice donut and headed to the grocery store.
That night, Matthew and I went to Slackwater Pizza in Sandy. I had eaten at the Ogden one and LOVED it, so we visited the Sandy location. The cheese sticks were so good, and my Hawaiian pizza was delicious. Matthew didn't love his pizza, but hopefully liked it enough to try something else next time.
I used an offer at Orange Peel to get a Boba drink after dinner. It was yummy.
November 10, I went to church. I studied trading, and Matthew studied for his test. We had BLTs, and that night, we went to the Institute at the U of U to learn more about the Young Performing Missionary program Matthew's parents did this past summer. It was fun to see the kids who did it and to learn more about it.
On November 12, I had dinner with Natalie and Mary at Mazza in Sandy. Lots of new restaurants this month! I gotta catch up on Yelp reviews. It was good, though I felt my chicken was kind of dry.
November 13 was Matthew's test. Sadly, he didn't pass. He has come up with a game plan to buckle down and study even more this next month for his third attempt. Please send all good thoughts and prayers his way. I also had a massage this day, and the therapist ended up being a student I taught in my first year at Jefferson. So that was fun and weird. Since Matthew didn't pass, I got him a soda from Hey! Soda. We picked up a Cheese Pull Apart from The Pie and watched Parks & Rec.
November 14, Matthew and I went to Zupas and Target. And we had a fun misunderstanding about a driving error I made (but also the other driver made; she was dumb).
On November 15, I went to the dentist and had no cavities! Huzzah. That night I met up with Amber for dinner at the new Sandy Mo Bettah's. Sadly, she had a hard time finding it and went all the way to Murray (from Lehi) before turning back around. But it was delicious and fun to catch up with her. We tried Handel's ice cream afterward. It was just OK in my opinion. I got the coconut cream pie flavor, and coffee chocolate chip. She got turtle and monkey business (banana caramel).
I've jumped back into the world of Shakeology with the new peppermint mocha flavor, because it's plant based. I haven't had stomach issues so far because of it. I did have one weird day, but that could've been because of the salad I ate at lunch. My body has a hard time with mixed greens, even a tiny portion. So I need to try a day of Shakeo without salad at lunch, just to confirm my body does OK with it. It's such a good quality meal replacement, and so tasty. I have missed it.
On Saturday November 16, Matthew and I had a double date with my coworker Cameron and his wife Mariah. It was lots of fun to talk with and hang out with them. We got Nielsen's custard afterward. So good.
Sunday morning, Matthew and I went to Coachman's for breakfast. I hadn't been in several years, and Matthew had never been. It's a little like stepping back in time to an old restaurant in Mesquite. It's clean though, and the food is good and super reasonably priced. He loved it, and I still liked it the second time, happily!
That day we did more class and studying in separate rooms.
The week of November 18-22 was pretty rough. Monday was fine--normal day and got to talk to Matthew and catch up on my show.
November 19, I went to High Fitness with Brittney in West Valley, and got Curry Pizza afterward. It is always good to sit and talk with her and catch up. I used to work with her every day. So now that we don't work together we have to make an effort to get together regularly. Matthew and I had a misunderstanding that day which bled a little bit into the next day. But we resolved things. I'm thankful we both try to fight right; there's no nastiness or name calling or yelling. There is defensiveness we both need to work on, but we learn more every time.
Sadly, Matthew started to get sick on Wednesday November 20. His throat hurt really bad. He didn't go to work, and didn't want company while sick. So I took myself to Happy Hour at Itto Sushi, and visited Sagato Bakery in Midvale to try a Lamington, which was so, so good. I caught up on Walking Dead and watched Riverdale as well.
Matthew tried to go to work on November 21, but only made it a couple hours before heading home. I visited him for a little while after work. Then I drove down to have dinner at Capriotti's with my cute grandma. It was so, so good. I am sad I didn't try it sooner. My grandma and I talked in her kitchen until 12:40am. On a SCHOOL NIGHT! I got home at 1:00am and have no regrets. I was tired and am tired, but I treasure our conversations and the understanding and love we have for each other. I know not everyone gets to have a relationship with a grandparent like I do, and I consider myself very blessed to have her.
Friday, November 22 was a pretty regular day. Matthew went to urgent care for his sore throat and tested negative for strep even though swallowing is killing him. I got waffles with Kelsey in the evening.
Saturday, November 23 was busy. I was up early to do my workout and take my car to get tires, which is always a fun way to spend money. I did a 1.5 mile run, half out and half back from the tire place. I got gas, picked up groceries, cleaned, did a couple client check-ins, and headed to Saratoga Springs to help Matthew's parents unload their stuff into storage. I went home and did my writing and finished laundry. I was super wiped out and took a short nap around 5pm. Matthew got to my place around 6. We went and ate at Five Guys burgers and got Cold Stone after. I had to try the new Cookie Butter creation. It was awesome! So good.
Sunday, November 24 was a really calm, low-key day for me. I slept in pretty late. I started to do my writing, but my dad called. We chatted for 40 minutes about life and current circumstances. We decided it would be best for me to stay up here for Thanksgiving, mostly due to weather. I did my writing, made some protein snacks, and went on a walk. I got my book cases and DVD cases moved so I could do Christmas decorating. I got all my stuff up, including my tree, by the time Matthew got to my house to finish laundry. Shortly after he showed up, my mom showed up with the first piece of a Christmas village: the Three Broomsticks from Harry Potter. I was so, so excited and am looking forward to collecting the whole set. After my mom left, I made Matthew and I dinner and also baked chocolate chip cookies. We watched Elf to start off the Christmas season.
November 25 was pretty uneventful. A full day of work, and watched Walking Dead from the previous day.
Tuesday, November 26, I drove 80 minutes in traffic to go to my aunt's reception. The live band was fun.
On November 27, I originally was going to work a half day at home, then drive home to California. Sadly, the weather had other plans in store. I worked at home and got some things done, including finishing my 50,000 words for the month. I participated in National Novel Writing Month for the third time. I wrote the minimum amount of words (1,667) every day to stay on track. It was a hard and emotional project, and I'm glad I did it. I celebrated by getting myself some Marco's pizza and cheezybread. So good. I also watched Frozen.
On Thanksgiving I woke up with a very swollen left eye. To be fair, both eyes were puffy from crying, but the left eye was insane. It sometimes gets puffy if I sleep on that side. I had surgery on that eye when I was 13, so I've always thought it was related to that. It didn't hurt, and I hadn't had any weird allergen things either. I went on a four mile run in the snow which was super hard. The first half was great, and the roads were fine. I should've been smart and come back the way I came, but I kept on my normal loop. Sadly, the sidewalks and road were a mess in the last half, and I got soaked. Oh well.
 |
| Waking up |
 |
| An hour later |
 |
| Afternoon |
I had a nice leisurely morning--took a bath with salts, read some of my book. And I made the fruit salad for our Thanksgiving. Matthew picked me up around 1:15, and we went to his brother's house in Saratoga Springs for his family's dinner. Jenn had everything set up so nicely. Her good china was out, napkins folded fancy, and used calligraphy to label the kids' spots at the table on a big piece of brown paper to catch their messes. Chad and Jarrett both smoked turkeys, and both were really good. The green bean casserole was good, and Jordyn's punch was good. Honestly everything was good. I just had a tiny bit of all of it since we still had to go to my family's later.
My cute boyfriend talked with my grandma about her knee and fixed her knee brace. It was so sweet.
Friday, I lifted some weights and ran a mile. We had a really low key day at my place. We braved the storm to get Indian food and watched Home Alone after. The only Black Friday shopping I did was to get FitCon tickets and a Cheesecake Factory gift card (with two free slices). Also, I learned how to put on my magnetic eyelashes, and I am a fan.
Saturday, I went to Orange Theory for the first time in a long time. It was fun and challenging, as always. I got groceries and donuts and headed home, where I did my usual Saturday cleaning and laundry. Matthew came over around 1:45, and we went to Megaplex and saw Frozen 2. I loved it. I think I like the music in the first one better though. But this one had a lot of important messages that I really appreciated. We came home and studied for a couple of hours, then went and got some food and watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What better way to end a month?
This month, I finished an 8-week program for maybe the third time? It's called 22 Minute Hard Corps and is led by Tony Horton. It's a pretty straight forward home workout program. I wanted to switch it up from weight lifting and wanted something quick I could combine with running. So that was fun to accomplish. I missed three days (two from needing rest, and one for the Donut Dash 5K).
Books I read this month:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Unf*ck Yourself by Gary John Bishop (audiobook)
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern (audiobook)
I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern (audiobook)
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (audiobook)
Overall a really good month with more learning and growth, which I hope will always be the case. I have so much to be thankful for and have such a good life.
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