I have gratitude today for...
* sitting with some nice people at lunch during I-Day. One guy was from Springfield and we talked Flyers the whole time.
* going out with Emily tonight. We didn't know each other real well but I asked her the other night if she wanted to get together. We went to a Thai place in her town, had a bottle of wine and a few apps. We talked and talked. I love this girl--we have a lot in common and just had great conversation. So happy she's dating Dave and I look forward to hanging out again this summer when we all go to DMB together in Pittsburgh.

I have gratitude today for...
* beautiful weather in Pittsburgh.
* meeting some great people from two different offices I'm focusing on up here.
* a great workout on the elliptical. I really didn't feel like doing it and wanted to take a nap but I made myself do it and it felt great!
* dinner at the Olive Garden. I had salad, breadsticks and a flatbread pizza. Everything was really good!
* American Idol tonight. This season is one of my favorites. I absolutely love Phillip and hope to see him play sometime. He did The Stone and it was fun to see him do a Dave song. I even voted tonight!

Dear Olive Garden,

I owe you an apology. When I drive by one of your locations or see your commercials I shrug my shoulders and think to myself "who goes there?" I've always thought "Why would anyone go to Olive Garden when you can find authentic, family owned, really good Italian restaurants in every town on the East Coast?"

I forced myself to go to the fitness center in my hotel this evening. I spent an hour looking at menus for all of the restaurants in this part of Pittsburgh. It was already 8:00pm and I wanted something close, quick and was kind of craving a flatbread pizza. I'm not eating meat right now so that has made finding places to eat challenging in this city.

I looked at your menu online and the caprese flatbread caught my attention. I know your breadsticks and salad (really, your dressing) are your staple items and they are damn good. I remember from many trips to your Lawrenceville location during my high school days. So, as much as it killed me to break my "try local restaurants when you're in a new city" rule, I headed out to your location in Greentree.

I ordered a salad and the flatbread pizza with basil, tomatoes, cheese and garlic. I was pleasantly surprised when I was given a couple breadsticks to go along with my salad. I ate the entire thing. Everything was delicious.

My server was very sweet and friendly; sometimes I'm not treated that way when dining alone because no server likes serving a table for one. They automatically think "smaller tip". She called me honey and sweetheart which was kind of weird because I'd bet my life I'm 10 years older than her. It makes me feel weird when people use those terms unless you're my aunt or grandma---and when I'm much older than you it makes me feel even weirder. It's ok though, because at least she was being nice.

On my way out of the restaurant I even stopped to tell the manager how lovely my server was. Since starting a new job in November I dine out several times a week. I can tell you the amount of times I leave 100% satisfied are few and far between.

So, Olive Garden---I'm sorry for judging you and for cracking jokes about people that go to Olive Garden. Because tonight, I was one of those people, and everything was great!

Sincerely,
Christine

I have gratitude today for...
* a nice time at lunch with the Nationwide gang. We went to Cracker Barrel, I wasn't too thrilled about that but it was nice to see everyone. I just got a side salad because there was NOTHING on the menu besides a plain salad that didn't have meat or a ton of butter. They couldn't even give me green beans without butter because they are cooked in butter. Gross. I thought Friendly's was bad, at least they had rice and veggies. I don't care if I never see the inside of a Cracker Barrel again.
* listening to Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen during my drive to Pittsburgh. It was narrated by Ellen herself, who I could listen to forever. I just love her. It was funny and sincere and I really enjoyed it. It made 3 hours of my looooong drive go by quickly today.
* Auntie Anne's pretzels. They are seriously one of the favorite snacks. I had one during my drive since I was starving from barely eating lunch.
* starting Katie Couric's book The Best Advice I Ever Got after I finished listening to Ellen's book. I'm so glad I thought to check out a few books on tape (or CD, rather) from the library for my drive to and from Pittsburgh this week.
* Emily Gross sending me a recipe for roasted veggies lasagna. I thought it was nice of her to think of me.
* the text I got from Megan telling me she and Jeff haven't had meat for 5 days! I think that's awesome and I feel like I may have influenced them to try it.
* dinner at Scoglios Restaurant. I am becoming more comfortable with making up my own entrees when it's hard to find a choice without meat. The potato soup I had as an appetizer was awesome too!
* talking with Kerry tonight about her new job. I'm happy I called because seemed like she needed someone to talk to.

I have gratitude today for...
* setting some more visits for next month and getting lots of emails out today for work.
* going to yoga tonight. It's been over a week since I last went and I could feel it. I need to start making sure I'm exercising when I'm traveling. Sometimes it's hard after long drives but I can't fall back into my old ways after doing so well for this long.
* dinner at The Great American Pub with Andy. Deig was our server (I forgot she works there) so it was fun to see her. She was able to talk to us almost the whole time we were there.
* getting things organized for my trip to Pittsburgh this week.