Heidi's Brooklyn Deli

Hidden away in the far end of the "B Concourse" in the Denver Airport is a little gem by the name of Heidi's Brooklyn Deli. I have eaten here nearly every time I have been through this airport. I never tire of eating a sandwich at this fine eatery.

Usually I get the Pastrami but today I decided to have the Cajun Turkey and Avocado. Oh my!! I am pretty sure this is what you would find on the menu in heaven (right alongside the holy trinity of bbq, Brisket, Pulled Pork, and Ribs). The sandwiches are not small by any means. They are big and they are delicious!! This particular sandwich had a whole avocado sliced up between the two halves and a yummy spicy Cajun Mayo. Top that off with a pickle wedge and a bag of chips and you have a great meal.

Of course this is in an airport so you are going to pay a premium for the food but believe me, this one is worth it!!

If you happen to find yourself in the Denver Airport (DEN) and have time to make the trek to see Heidi, she can be found between gates B87 and B89. You will not be disappointed!

THERE IS NO PROBLEM!!!

This morning I went to the store to get doughnuts for breakfast.  It is Adam's birthday today and he had requested doughnuts.  So, I drove over to Winegar's in Clearfield.  

The grocery store is in a small strip mall.  Right next to Winegars is a dollar store.  I parked in a parking spot right in front of the dollar store which happens to be the closest parking spot to the grocery store.  I went in and got what I needed and came out and was putting everything in the van and heard someone honk.  I was parked so I didn't pay any attention to the honking since I figured it was not for me.

As I was putting the last of my stuff into the van, an older Toyota truck driven by an even older geezer pulled up behind my van and he glared at me.  He then drove rather quickly away and parked.  Now he had my attention.  I pushed the cart back to the cart return location and noticed he was standing in the middle of the parking lot staring at me.  I turned and asked him if there was a problem and he screamed as loud as he could "THERE IS NO PROBLEM!!!!"  So, I got in the van and backed out and drove past the store entrance and rolled down my window.  He was now standing just inside the store staring out at me still.  I asked him again if there was a problem and he yelled again "THERE IS NO PROBLEM!!!", and then turned and stomped into the store.

I have come up with two possible explanations for this man's odd behavior.

#1.  I took his favorite parking spot and he was angry about that.

#2.  When he did park, he was in a handicap spot.  Where I was parked was not a handicap parking spot but a couple of the spots in that area are.  He felt I was parked in a handicap spot and was angry about that.   I drove around his truck after he stormed into the store.  He did not have handicap plates or a permit in the window or on the dash to be parked where he was.  Either he does no have one or in his anger forgot to put it up.

If I could, I would thank that man for giving me a good laugh to start the morning.  It was much appreciated!!

Father - Son Insult Fest

Adam and I had a bit of a good natured insult war going on tonight.  I started it and he ended it...or I did by saying it was time to go see Grandma and Grandpa Hall.

If you take the time to read through this, our comments are prefaced with our name.   If there is a comment without a name in front, it was made by the same person as the line above.  I was using my Blackberry and Adam was at the computer in the kitchen.  Read on and enjoy.  I need to go ice my thumbs!

James: Nerd
Adam: No you are.
James: Lol
No! You are!!!
Adam: No you are I am cool.
James: Cool as an ice cube
Adam: No that's you I am the other cool.
Carhonker.
James: Animal killer!
Gun shooter!
Adam: Hunting critizizer.
James: Game player
Brownie eater!
Book reader!
Adam: Blackberry lover.
James: Computer typer!
Pot licker
Glasses wearer
Adam: Bberry typer. Blackberry licker.
James: Backyard hunter
Freedomer
Youther
Adam: Downstairs worker.
James: Cave dweller
Adam: "Foxburrow" builder.
James: Carnivor
Xboxer
Adam: Omnivore.
p9+
James: Herbivore
Adam: Computerer.
James: Show watcher
Adam: TV hog.
James: Fisherman
Adam: Camper.
James: Hiker
Snowshoer
Backpacker
Adam: Pointy hair.
James: Fuzzy
Butcher boy
Buzzy!
Pea huck
Clapper
Adam: Booger. Goober pea eater.
Sent at 6:51 PM on Sunday
James: Crab eater
Adam: Goober.
Traveler.
James: Sponge Bob Square Nose!
Mog
Adam: Sponge Bob sguare brain.
Cow.
MOOOOOOoo
James: Controller freak
Barbie watcher
Adam: Poohbear watcher.
James: Jeremiah Johnson watcher!
Adam: Cops wATCHER.
James: Mountain Man wannabe
Brady bunch lover
Napoleon Dancer
Adam: Blackberry lover.
James: Makeup wearer
Baseball player
Elk stalker
Adam: Pampered Chef
James: Turkey caller
Adam: Pig caller.
James: Future missionary
Adam: Future old missionary.
James: Cheese eater
Adam: cow killer
James: Cheese cutter
Adam: Cow eater
Pumkin killer
James: Jamba wanter
Adam: Jamba eater
James: Snow cave builder
Adam: Hair dude
James: Eskimo wannabe
Caribou kisser
Adam: Always scouting wannabe
Netflix wanter
Netflix paper frog maker
James: Angel lover
Mathis heroer
Adam: A's lover
James: Red Sox hater
Adam: Eckersly, Mckguire, and Canseco heroer.
James: House killer
Adam: Yankees hater.
James: Bat boy
Adam: Bat girl
James: Catcher!
Adam: Screamer
Singer
James: Nancy!
Adam: Pancy
Everyword speaker
James: Bit talker
Byte sayer
Adam: Pillow lover
James: Bytheway listener
Adam: Shower lover
James: Bubble maker
Adam: Apostle listener
Booger maker
James: prophet follower
Adam: same as youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Baby talker
James: Baby changer
Babysitter
Adam: Baby thrower
James: Upchucker
Adam: diaper changer
James: Sneezer
Adam: Hungarian partridge
dog
James: Gun wanter
Bobwhite
Pronghorn dorkelope
Adam: Make me get it maker
Raven
James: Moose Twit!
Adam: Bear bather
James: Elk eater
Bantha fodder
Wookie
Wookie
Adam: Sly dog
rebel scum
James: Snuffleupagus
Adam: Big bird
Elmo
James: Barney
Adam: Cookie monster
Barbie
James: Princess Leah
Adam: Bj Baby bop
Ham Solo
Darth Tader
James: Bert and Ernie
Adam: Oscar
James: Cuke Skywalker
Adam: Grover
James: Grover
Adam: Princess Lettuce
James: Beaker
Mrs potato head
Adam: C3- Peanuts
Angry eyes
James: Monkey chow
Evil indy
Adam: Little bow peap
Ham
James: Sheep loser
Adam: Rex
James: Woody
Buzz
Light
Year
Adam: Arm loser. Yodeler
James: Stinky pete
Adam: Bullseye
James: Rider in the sky
Too slim
Adam: Bull in a china shop
James: Smelly bugger
Adam: Bull in a China soap
James: Soy bean hater
Adam: Edemomey
dobe Reader
James: Bunk bed sleeper
Adam: Adobe reader 9
James: Tent liver
Adam: Queen
bed sleeper
Tinkerbell
James: Smack typer
Adam: snoring beauty
James: Stink or smell
Adam: Shrek
Snow black
Fiona
James: Kiss your whole facer
Donkey
Adam: Donkey
James: Puss I boots
Adam: Puss in Boots
James: In
Adam: Fairy God mother
Evil sister
James: Prince Charming
Adam: Tomato lover
James: Not!
Adam: Onion
Bellosh
James: Tomato milkshake drinker
Balrog
Adam: That is them
Bullfighter
Indiana bone
indiana cones
James: Girlfriend smoocher
Adam: Ka cheega
James: Mater
Kermit
Miss piggy
Adam: The king. Jamie the ant
James: Animal
Adam: Fuzzy bear
James: Dress wearer
Adam: Dress Designer
American Idol champion wannabe
James: Captain underpants
Adam: Captain underwear
King of pants
James: Captain chaos
Adam: Fake dog scat maker
James: Ipod listener
Scat sniffer
Adam: Ipod buyer
James: Scat eater
Stay up too later
Adam: Iphone wannahave
James: Any phone wannahave!
Adam: New car wannaget
James: Nose runner
Adam: Lao che
Goober picker
James: Any car wanna get
Adam: Goober growing
James: Lollipop licker
Adam: Lollipop maker
James: Oompa Loompa
Adam: Lollipop princess
Chocolate factory wannahave
James: You throw like a girl
Adam: Yo play ball like a girl
James: Play ball like a girl
Yogurt eater
Adam: You run like a girl
Mom runs like a 2 year old
James: You smell like a wookie
Adam: You smell like a wet dog
James: Armpit sniffer
Adam: Tooter
James: Horn blower
Adam: Cuzou player
James: Lawn mower
Adam: Car drier
James: Ankle biter
Adam: Hankie blower
James: Squash lover
Adam: Potato hater
James: Toilet scrubber
Pooch smoocher
Adam: Smelliot
James: Sid hair wanter
Adam: Sid the science kid
Gerald
James: Science kid wannabe
Shuttle launcher
Pilot wannabe
Adam: Buh na na na nuw
James: Hymn singer
Talk giver
Adam: Choir singer wannabe
Chapel lover
James: Hunting video maker
Adam: "I pay my tithing every week"
James: Brownie eater
Adam: Toe eater
Booger eater
Frankenstein
James: Slow typer
Adam: Slow thinker
James: Telletubby
Adam: Tinker toy
James: Tinky winky
Dipsy
Adam: Po Tinky winky
James: La la
Poe
Adam: La La
James: Nu nu
Adam: Teletubbie
Tubby custard
James: Tank engine
Adam: Tubby toast
James: Diesel
Adam: Barnie wannabe
James: Dinasoar poop
Adam: Recycle Bin
Dino crap
James: Garbage can dweller
Adam: Egg orange juice drinker
James: Mustard water drinker
Adam: Napeleoan Dynamite
James: Ketchup water drinker
Trout fisher
Adam: Salmon fishier wannabe
James: Rock Lobster
Adam: Red Lobster
Crab crap
James: Chinese Gourmet
Adam: Jammers wearer
James: Fish gill
Nemo
Adam: Got to go
Sent at 7:33 PM on Sunday

Fire up the fryer!!!

I heard about this on Geek Brief today. I did a search and found a recipe. I am going to have to try this!

http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-99/01-16-99/a05op025.htm

http://www.recipezaar.com/156010

Baby Names...

A friend sent me this link to a site that has collected Utah baby names over a period of ten years. I can't imagine how stupid some people can be. Why on earth would anyone name their kid some of the names found on this list? Are people really that dumb? I am sure it is cute in the beginning, but how on earth does a kid learn to spell "Vyquetoriya Walkasheaqua" let alone say it?

There are some names on that list that I am sure I would get hit by my mother-in-law if I said them in front of her.

How on earth do you explain to a child how/why they were named "Zestpoole"? Their name is forever going to be questioned by spell-check and anyone with half a brain!!!

See for yourself... http://www.wesclark.com/ubn/

Welcome to Utah, if you can come up with a stupid name, someone in the state is willing to name their kid with it.

Horse with five legs...

Yesterday we were heading up to Willard to pickup some pie cherries for Marni's mom. The road I normally take to the freeway was closed for construction, so I decided to just head up the old highway that parallels the freeway.

As we were driving along I noticed in a field off to the left an obviously male horse. I thought no more of it and did not feel any particular reason to point the horse out to anyone else in the van. A few moments later, Carolyn pipes up and announces that she had just seen a horse with five legs.

I sat there in stunned silence for a few moments until I looked at Marni and we both started laughing. I thought I was going to drive off the road.

Stitches Update

Sammy got his stitches out today!!! We stopped by the doctor's office and nurse Terry took them out. Sammy did very well and only bled a little bit. I had to hold his hands to keep him from knocking the scissors and tweezers out of the Terry's hands. Now Sammy has some tape over the scar to keep things held together while the healing continues. He is going to have one cool scar!!

For his bravery Sammy got a Small Gulp (little brother to the Big Gulp)!

Best Burger Anywhere!

Last week I was in Page, AZ on business. I was looking for someplace to eat for dinner and remembered a really good place just off the main drag.

If you ever find yourself in Page, stop by and have a bite to eat at Slackers. I had the Bacon Burger. Wow!!! I can't begin to describe how incredibly delicious the burger was. It was grilled to perfection and topped with crisp bacon, just the way I like it.

For the cost conscious, you can't go wrong at Slackers. I had the bacon burger, fries, and a drink for $8.75. Compare that to the barely edible rib eye steak I had the night before at one of the local steak joints in Page for which I paid $24.

http://www.slackersrestaurant.com/

Ouch!! That hurts!!

I spent most of the past week at a customer site working on some equipment issues they were having. Finally, Friday morning we had fixed the problems and I was ready to head for home. On my way into town to gas up and head out, I called home to tell the family the good news. I was greeted on the phone by Adam. Adam told me that mom was busy taking care of Sammy.

Sammy had been playing with the kids across the street. He was hiding next to their truck and turned to run...right into the open door of the truck. As you can see from the pictures, Sammy did quite a number on his forehead. Marni finally called me on her way to the doctor to get things sewn up. She called me later to tell me that Sammy had six stitches in his forehead. Later when she took the bandage off, we realized that he really has seven stitches. Poor kid. Now he is going to have a cool scar...Lucky!!

This going out of town thing is dangerous for my family. I was in Rexburg, Idaho one time and Marni called to tell me that Carolyn had fallen back on a chair and hit her head on the table. If I remember right, Carolyn ended up with five staples in the back of her head from that one.

Influence of older siblings

This morning, the girls helped me out by bringing the mail in. Carolyn did her best carrying the ads. She had obviously dropped them a few times and was having trouble keeping them together. She just put them in a nice pile on the table.

A while later, Erin (all of 20 months) was sitting at the table drinking some water while I cleaned off the remnants left behind from breakfast and lunch. I looked over at one point and she had her elbows on the table, her hands to her chin, looking through the WalMart Ad. She was flipping the pages and talking to herself.

As I watched her, she turned to a page with a game console displayed. She mumbled a few words to herself and then clearly said "Xbox." I about laughed myself silly. Obviously she has been listening to her brothers better than I had thought.

A page or two later and she found a picture of a guy working a grill. Erin promptly muttered to herself "Daddy's cooking," and then looked up at me and grinned. It was enough to melt my stubborn heart and contemplate firing up the grill and throwing some steaks on.

Boston Temple

One of my evening trips while in Boston was to attend a session at the Boston Temple with a friend from my days as a missionary in Taiwan.

After the temple session, we went to Chinatown in Boston and ate at the Taiwan Cafe. The food was wonderful and took me back to my days as a missionary.

A long day and the virtues of alcoholic beverages

I arrived home at 4am this morning after one very long day. The day started out innocent enough. I was in Foxboro, MA attending a training class for work. Friday was the last day of class. We finished at 10:30 a.m. I was on the road headed for Providence, RI to catch a flight home. I dropped of my rental car and was in the airport by Noon, hoping to catch an earlier flight home. That is where things went south.

I found out that flights were being canceled and that there were no earlier flights out. I was doomed to sit in the airport until 5:30 p.m. when my flight would leave. Around 4 p.m. I was told that the plane was still stuck in Chicago and that the airport there was closed because of bad weather.

A little while later word came that the plane was in the air and would arrive at 7:30 p.m. We would board and get out of Providence quickly after that. I could never be that lucky! Pretty soon the word came that our flight out would be delayed until 9:55 p.m. Not to worry, my flight out of Chicago was delayed as well and I would have no problem getting my connection to Salt Lake City.

Well, the flight time was still pretty fluid at that point and kept bouncing around so the pilot boarded us at 8:45 p.m., hoping to catch a break and get out earlier. As luck would have it we were able to get off the ground around 9:30 p.m.


Now to back track a moment. While all of this drama was going on, there was a rather obnoxious passenger hanging out at the Mexican Food joint/bar in the terminal. As the flight got more delayed, he would drink more beer and eat more food. I guess the poor idiot doesn't know when to quit and the moron bar tender didn't know when to cut the idiot off.

The idiot got onto the plane, drunk, weaving, slurring, and cussing. Unfortunately for me, he was in the row ahead and to the left of me. After we got off the ground I think his world came crashing down upon him. At one point I looked up and the idiot was puking into one of those little bags that they have in the seat pocket in front of you on a plane and looking for another one. He had puked all over himself. He spent much of the rest of the flight trying to clean his pants and hold down whatever was left in his stomach.

I am not sure if he will remember the night or not, but I am pretty sure the rest of the passengers on the plane will never forget that flight. I hope he remembers the flight though and how stupid he looked with puke all over himself. If nothing else, I have a great example to use when I teach about the Word of Wisdom.

Orange Barrel Killer

Yesterday I had an Orange Construction Barrel commit suicide in front of my van on I-15 in Kaysville. I tried to avoid the collision, but the barrel was bent on destruction by the bumper of my Uplander. The barrel became lodged under my bumper and front tire. I was able to navigate off of the freeway into the emergency lane and construction area. It took some backing up and tugging but I was able to get the mangled, flattened carcass of the barrel out from underneath my van.

I wish I had taken a picture of the barrel. Instead I just have pictures of the damage to my nice new van. I couldn't figure out where the blue paint came from until last night on my way home. I noticed that the barrels have blue paint in the handles on the top of the barrel.

Anong's Thai Cuisine

I am not much of a critic of food, but I thought I would share a bit about my dinner tonight. I followed the advice of a friend and had dinner at Anong's Thai Cuisine in Rawlins, Wyoming. I could not decide what to eat, everything on the menu sounded wonderful. I asked the waitress to surprise me. She brought me Spicy Lamb with Basil Leaves. Wow!!!

Words cannot describe how yummy this dish was. My taste buds are still dancing a jig. The sauce was outstanding and the rice was just like I used to get in Taiwan. There were eight small lamb chops on a bed of onions, green and red peppers, broccoli, carrots, and my favorite...BASIL!!!! If I had not been in a restaurant surrounded by other people, I would have licked the plate clean.

I don't know how often I will get to come to Rawlins, but Anong's is definitely at the top of my list. If you are driving through, I would suggest you take a side trip and have a bite to eat. You will not be disappointed.

Sharing the road

Last week I was working in Wyoming. My co-worker and I got to share the road with this Moose. It was running on the road a head of us. We followed it for quite a while up the road. It finally jumped off the road into the brush. We stopped and I got out and took one last picture.

Surprise!!

Tonight I spoke at a Court of Honor for the Scout Troop that I was Scoutmaster of from 2005 to 2006. When the Ward I was in was split, I moved on with the new Ward and became Scoutmaster of the new troop. I have since been released as Scoutmaster of the new Troop and am now the District Training Chairman and an Assistant District Commissioner.

So, when I arrived at the CoH tonight, I noticed several scouts from the second (most recent ) troop I was Scoutmaster over. I didn't think too much of it. I figured they were there to support me as I was the guest speaker. Just after I had sat down, the scouts from my most recent troop were invited up and they presented me with the Scoutmaster Award of Merit. This is an award applied for by the boys and not the adults. They nominated me and did all of the work for the nomination.





They presented me with a Certificate, a large patch, and the above pictured knot. In a million years I would have never guessed that this was coming. What an honor it was to be their Scoutmaster and to see how well they have progressed and to see what fine young men they have become. I very much appreciate the kind words they said about me.

The Van

The van arrived last Thursday. It does have a slight purple hue to it. I have pretty pleased with what I received. The person who had the van before me added on the Roof Rack as well as the Rear A/C system. These would have had to have been paid for out of his own pocket. I was not willing to pay for these myself on the van I ordered. So, I lucked out.

The down side is that when I received the van, the person who delivered it mentioned that the "Check Engine" light was on. So, I have an appointment to take it in tomorrow morning and have it checked out. If the dealer needs to keep it, I will keep driving the venture until the Uplander is fixed.

A "New" Van

With my new career, I was given a company vehicle. One of the other guys just got a new Chevrolet Impala. Usually when you get a new vehicle, you turn your old one in. Instead of giving it back, he held on to it and I received it when I started.

I am dirving a 2002 Chevrolet Venture Van. It is really nice and has 74000 miles on it. In the month that I have had it, I have grown attached to it. The van drives well and has a good, strong engine. This is quite the step up from my previous vehicle, a 1992 Ford Ranger.

On Christmast eve, I received the paperwork to order a new vehicle. The van I am driving is a temporary, since it has already been replaced. It was kept around so that I would have something to drive.

I was given the choice of four vehicles. A Pontiac G6, Chevy Malibu, Chevy Impala, or a Chevy Uplander mini-van. It was a tough choice, but I chose the Uplander. I have some pretty rugged and remote locations to travel to and want something that will do better in those locations. I couldn't see taking a car to the top of a mountain on a snow packed road.

The only other part I was able to choose was the exterior and interior colors. I sent the paperwork in to my boss for his approval and he passed it on to the folks that order the cars. Now it was time to sit back and wait until the spring when my new van would arrive.

Thursday evening, my boss called and said that he had received word that there was a 2007 Uplander available and the fleet folks were wondering if I would be willing to take it instead of a new one. He didn't know the colors or the mileage. What was I supposed to say? I of course said yes. He sent me a message a bit later with the colors and the mileage.

The van is Light Amethyst (silver) with Gray interior. It has 6740 miles on it so far. It should be delivered on Monday or Tuesday. So much for sitting back and waiting.

Where has the time gone?

I just realized that it has been two months since I last posted. What a slacker!

A lot has happened since my last post. I quit my job and went to work for another company. I am a Systems Service Engineer in the Process Control Industry.

I was reading a friends blog, who is also a former co-worker. He was lamenting the stress that happens for I.T. between semesters where he works. I don't miss those days. The holidays were not ususally a happy time for me. That was when I had to work the most. Everyone else was out enjoying their families and I was stuck getting things ready for the students to come back from their break. I never looked forward to those times.

What I do miss though is the daily interaction with my friends. I am closer to those guys (and gal) in many ways than to my own brother and sister. I guess that came from being around them every day and sharing the daily struggles of life with them. I consider them my best friends.

The forbidden question...

This is a copy of an email I sent to my boss just a few minutes ago. I couldn't make this up if I tried.

Someone just had to ask the forbidden question…”what next?”

Well, we received word that Marni’s Grandmother (not the one whose husband just passed away) is in the hospital with pneumonia, a bladder infection, and gall stones. And as if that is not bad enough, we just discovered that Carolyn had thrown up some time after we put her to bed earlier tonight and she had been asleep in it since. Marni opened the door to put some clothes away and almost passed out.

We came home a bit earlier from a family birthday gathering with all of the cousins, that will make their parents really happy.

Carolyn had dried puke in her hair and on her face. I have discovered that strawberry shampoo only makes the smell worse. I am thinking of sleeping in the car tonight, it may be colder, but the pleasing odor would be better than what I am getting in here.

So, I am not saying I will not be in, I don’t know that yet. I am just notifying you of the possibility that (Yuck!! Carolyn is on bended knee, paying homage to the porcelain king again) I may be needed here in the morning or that I may not get much sleep tonight since Sammy was complaining of a tummy ache earlier as well.

This November is going to go down in the Journal as a not fun one, one to be hopefully forgotten very soon. Between the dishwasher, the washing machine, Melanie’s cough freaking me out every few minutes and the foul odor wafting through the house, I could be in for a long night.

Hopefully dreaming of a peaceful Thanksgiving,

Jamie