The "Grilled Cheese" Philosophy

When I was little, going out to eat was a rare treat.  Even though my dad owned a fast food restaurant, (a der Wienerschnitzel), he never brought dinner home and we NEVER ate out at restaurants unless we were out of town.

When we did eat out, I was like a kid in a candy store.  The process of ordering my food was a really stressful experience because I never knew what to order.  I didn't ever want to "waste" such a special opportunity on an entrée that I could have at home.  So I would pour over the menu and try to figure out what I "should" order by narrowing the items down to those that weren't available to me on a regular basis.  I don't ever remember enjoying anything I ordered and I was always disappointed.

I can fix in my mind, numerous occasions where I watched the grilled cheese sandwiches walk by with their butter coated, perfectly grilled sour dough bread and processed cheese oozing out of the sides onto the steak fries laying on the plate and wished I'd ordered that. Although my mom made grilled cheese sandwiches for us at home; the slightly overcooked whole wheat bread with minimal butter and half-melted cheddar cheese was no match.  But for many years, because it was a "regularly available" food item, it never dawned on me that I "could" actually order the grilled cheese sandwich when we ate out.

I distinctly recall at some point I decided to "rebel" (against who or what I have no idea, because I was never forced to order or not order anything) and I ordered the grilled cheese sandwich.  I just did it. I remember being excited about it and I was NOT disappointed.  I was happy and proud that I made the decision for no other reason than that was what I wanted.  I didn't "should" all over myself, which is what I tend to do, even now.  I ordered grilled cheese sandwiches for a long time after that and it reaffirmed to me that there doesn't always have to be a good reason for doing things. Sometimes, we just know what we want and need to go with it.

Going back to this experience each time I am challenged with a decision is the "Grilled Cheese Philosophy" (GCP).  I use it to help me make decisions when there is no right or wrong answer; when no one else can help me because they do not see through my eyes, and when the pros and cons don't help much either.  I use it when the answer isn't clear or I don't have a strong gut feeling about which way to go.  But I most often use the GCP when I am having a hard time choosing the option I think I "should" choose, but for whatever reason don't want to.  I actually ask myself, "What is the grilled cheese in this scenario?  Which choice am I going to be happy with, no matter what vs. what might I possibly regret?"

For example, I most recently used the GCP to help me decide which color to paint the inside of our current house.  I "knew" what color I wanted to paint the walls and the painter was trying to talk me into a different color.  He even went so far as to paint two walls in my house, one with "my" color and one with the color he thought I would prefer.  Both looked fine.  His wasn't bad, but I still liked mine.  He thought I was going to hate my color once the entire house was that color, but I wasn't so sure.  What finally got me was when a friend came over and definitively agreed with the painter.  It was at that moment, I realized "my" color was the grilled cheese.  Even though she agreed with the painter, I didn't.  I couldn't put my finger on it, but I didn't care, I knew I would be mad if I let them talk me into a color when I knew I really wanted the other one.

Finally, my GCP was instrumental in helping me choose the hotel we are staying in for this trip; hence the name of the trip.  I have had the notion to plan a trip like this to celebrate my 40th birthday for over 3 years; and the idea of relaxing with my favorite girlfriends and staying in the most exclusive hotel has always been the basis of the experience.   When the actual planning started, I found myself getting caught up in details that took me down paths that were very far away from my original notion.  I eventually got back on track and the travel agent and I were narrowing down our hotel options.  (Yes, there are other hotels in Scottsdale that are a little bit less expensive and might have offered more or less of a "package" deal for us.)  However, when I gave it the grilled cheese test, the Hyatt won, hands down, no question.  I don't want to drive by the Hyatt on our way to x-resort and regret that we didn't pay a "few" extra dollars to go all the way.  This is my GRILLED CHEESE!  Thank you for sharing it with me.

Stay tuned to learn more about the fabulous women you will be meeting on this trip and how they are special to my life.....

 

First Post

Blogging.  I can't believe I have decided to start blogging.  I don't follow any blogs, so forgive me if this is not up to blogging par.  The idea of starting a blog came to me today as a solution to a "problem" I have been contemplating for a few weeks.  The fact that I am jumping on this idea without much thought is uncharacteristic of me, but I am excited about it and had a moment, so here I am.
This year, August 27 marks my 40th birthday.  To celebrate, I am planning a relaxing vacation for myself and have invited all of the women who have played the role of a "sister" to me at some point during my 40 years. My goal, which is one that I have had for a few years, is to reconnect with as many of these important girlfriends as possible (many of them I haven't seen in years) and celebrate our friendship.
Earlier this year, as I developed my invitee list I realized I have many "sets" of friends, as do most of us, including those who I met when I was 4 and 5 years of age and with whom I grew up.  I decided to include them all and came up with a list of 62 women.  I was blown away by this number and excited to see who would be able to join me on this trip.
As of March 15th, 24 of them have confirmed.  What an honor!  Almost 1/2 of the women, whom I consider to be the most important in my life, are going to join me in celebrating 40 years.
The "problem", to which I refer above, is how to introduce all of these women to each other before the trip.  There is so much I want each person to know about the important role each of them have played in my life.  I want each person to see everyone else through my eyes.  Is that possible?
That is where the blog comes in.  I realized, it might be fun for me to blog about each of the women going on this trip.  It would give me the forum to write about each friend and introduce them to the rest of the group.  So here I am starting a blog.
There is so much more I want to say, but it is way passed the time when I needed to go to bed, so I am going to stop for now.  Stay tuned.  Future posts will explain my "Grilled Cheese Philosophy", introduce each of the women who have committed to my 40th birthday vacation, and much more I am sure.....