Shayla - Second Date #1: Toby Maguire

Name*: Toby Maguire

Date Description: This was my first second date from the dating race, and the last date I will be posting about. We did a triple date with Jon, Eric, and their dates, Zoey, and Xena, respectively. First we met at a mutual friend's wedding reception because we just love them so much we couldn't NOT go! It was fun to see Toby in a setting where he didn't know anybody. It showed me how easy-going he truly is.

Next we went over to Eric's house and made dinner together. Jon and Zoey were in charge of appetizer and drinks; Eric and Xena made the main course, and Toby and I made dessert. I have to say it was one of the best overall homemade meals I've had in a long time!

After dinner we played a riveting game of Balderdash (MAN these are some funny people!) and then off to play Mario Kart (which, for those of you who have paid attention, is my favorite video game...possibly because it's the only one I know how to play...and yes, I fell off all the mushrooms...)

Best Quality: Toby is very go-with-the-flow. He was up for anything and everything we decided to do!

Highlight of Date: Mario Kart, always Mario Kart. Okay, more like watching Toby get into Mario Kart and laughing with him as one, or both, of us went driving off cliffs and into giant chomping duck-looking things...

What I Admired: I feel like Toby isn't afraid to be himself. He hangs back when he feels like hanging back and gets in there when he feels like being there! I think it's admirable when people have the ability to just not care what everyone else thinks.

How do you know the person you're on a date with? He was voted best date on some dating race I did last month...

Describe the date in one word? Fun!

Thanks Toby! For winning the dating race so I could go out with you again!
*Name has been changed

Winners!!!

Is anyone still reading out there???

*Drum roll please*

Here are the winners of our second dates!

Shayla's Poll - Toby Maguire

Eric's Poll - Xena

Jon's Poll - Zoey

We'll be taking our dates out on Friday, so stay tuned to hear how it went! In case anyone is interested, here are a few more stats:

Shayla's Poll - all within 1 vote of each other and the winner

Scenic

Mr. Incredible

Fred Astaire

Jon's Poll - all within 1 vote of each other and the winner

Rogue

Carmen

Eric's Poll - within parameters of the winners of the other polls

Nike

Nicole

Acceptance? Speech

As cliche as this may be, I feel like I have some people to thank for my success. I know this had little to do with me.

• 12 of my dates were set up by another person. There is NO WAY I could have won without the help of those who set me up. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! What great people I have been able to meet and hope to keep in touch with. Jon's drive would have slaughtered me were it not for my wonderful friends setting me up!
• Too many people to name were cheering for me! I can't even tell you how many people--even strangers--would come up to me and tell me how much they loved reading the blog and they were rooting for me, as the only girl, to win. Several people said they would do whatever it takes to see me win...I think they wanted it more than I did! I am truly grateful to my supporters.
• I have the most wonderful, amazing, supportive roommates ever! They were there for me when the hard times in the race came along and I didn't think I could go on anymore. They never stopped encouraging and comforting me. And they gave me some girl time so I didn't go insane...not that boy time isn't good...but you girls understand, right?
• I am thankful for all of you!! I have been watching as the votes come in and WOW! That many people even read this blog?? Honestly, thanks everyone.
• The men who went on dates with me! Definitely could not have won this competition without all of you. I went into every date expecting and planning to pay; I had planned on spending more than $200 this month and ended up spending less than $30. Regardless of who paid, everyone I went out with was a gentlemen. Thank you.
• Mostly, I am thankful to my Father in Heaven. He was more comforting and encouraging than anyone. It sounds a little weird to publicly thank Him on a blog for a dating competition, but He alone knows how much it really changed me.

I have to say, when the idea of this competition came about I told the boys I didn't want to do it because I would be so embarrassed when I didn't get any dates and they had a lot. I honestly did not think I would get more than 6 dates the entire month, and that was pushing it! I am grateful for the opportunities this competition has provided me.

I would like to offer a challenge to each of you:

If you are single, do something like this. No, I'm not saying you should try to go on a bunch of first dates in a month, start a blog and write about it. In fact, I'm not sure I would wish that on anyone. :) BUT, I am saying that you need to set some personal goals for dating this year. And make them hard goals! It is good for us all to get out of comfort zones a little bit and do something that scares us. And, as singles, we really do need to be dating more often. If we all do it together it won't be as scary.

If you are married, remember how much fun you have with your spouse and plan dates with them! And go out often. Remind yourselves why you fell in love with each other. No, I know nothing about married life, but I do know that this is important and can only do good things for your marriage.

And Jon is right...while I am (as I'm sure my date will be) grateful for a free date, the lessons I have learned from this are definitely the greater prize.

Oh yeah, and Happy Groundhog Day! Watch that first step, it's a dooooozy!

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations, Shayla! There was about half a day that I thought I would win, and half a day that I thought we would tie, but she pulled a fast one on me. To be fair, she went more out of her comfort zone than Eric and I (probably combined). Her reward: the second date is on us (although her dates, experiences, and lessons this month are probably WAY more rewarding than a free date)!

Shayla - Date #22: Samurai*

Name*: Samurai

Date Description: For this date, Samurai and I flew to San Diego for a nice long walk on the beach. We built sand castles and jumped in the giant waves. Then we had a picnic on the beach and laid down and listened to the waves crash against the rocks. What a great way to end the dating race. Okay...I lied. But we did IMAGINE we did that!

This is the only date in the race that I have made a meal for someone! But, being Sunday, it seemed a suitable date. This morning I made one of my family's favorite breakfasts, breakfast tacos. Samurai came and helped me polish off the pan and we had a great talk.

Best Quality: Samurai always has something nice to say. He's one of those guys who thinks a nice thing and says it. I think too many people withhold their compliments.

Highlight of Date: I loved that we sat and talked about our scars! I didn't realize until this morning how much I had been hurt as a child--and I have all the scars to prove it!

What I Admired: Samurai is every girls dream! Without even thinking about it, he stood up and did the dishes. Then as he was leaving the house he took our trash with him. Sometimes, as a joke, I have ASKED guys that come over if they would take out our trash and they never will...but Samurai just does it because that's what comes natural to him. What a great guy!

How do you know the person you're on a date with? He's in my ward!

Describe the date in one word? Nostalgic

Thanks Samurai! For the long walk on the beach.

*Name has been changed

Jon - Date #21: Penny

Name*: Penny
How I know her: She's in my ward.

Awesome! Penny and I did a double date with my brother. It was a music video competition. But because we only have one computer with the video editing program on it, we had each couple make a dessert while the other couple was editing their music video. My brother and his date took a long time editing their video, and we made homemade strawberry ice cream (from scratch). Then we had a very short amount of time to make our video, and I had never used the program before. In the end, I think Penny and I won both the dessert competition (they made brownies) and the video competition. I mean, look at how awesome this music video is!

Best Quality: Penny's creativity. She came up with so many good ideas for us to incorporate into the video!
Highlight of Date: One of the highlights was playing around in a playground. It was too dark to put any of it in the music video (except, of course, the swings). But we had a blast all the same.
What I Admired: Penny totally helped me clean the dishes while we were waiting for my brother and his date to finish their video. She really didn't have to, and I would have been happy to just have her sit and chat while I cleaned up. She's so cool!

The word I'd use to describe the date is: Awesome!!!

*Names are different than normal.

Shayla - Date #21: Train Wreck*

Yeah we had some trouble with the camera. 6 shots and this is the best one. Enjoy.

Name*: Train Wreck (I should probably say something about this since it seems like such an awful name. Train Wreck made a CD that he titled "Train Wreck". Train wrecks are awful but you can't stop looking. This CD has embarrassing music but you can't stop listening. And yes...I knew, and loved, the songs on it. Oops!

Date Description: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and probably my favorite meal to eat out for! Now, can I just say, Mimi's Cafe has the best breakfasts EVER?! Plus they bring you more liquid than you could possibly consume with one meal. But with such great company it was pretty much the perfect breakfast.

Best Quality: Train Wreck I think must be a professional people person! There is an art to getting to know people and he has it!

Highlight of Date: Conversation. Bet you couldn't guess that one! I liked how Train Wreck was sincerely interested in how I have grown from the dating race. That won him points for sure. And he let me brag about how cute my nephew is. Double points.

What I Admired: I admired Train Wreck's personality overall. Honestly, he reminded me so much of one of my best friends in college (that's you seaweed*) that I couldn't help but admire everything about him. Great guy!

Describe the date in one word: Is there a word for the opposite of a train wreck??

How I know him: Blind date set up by Hawaiian Haystack*!!

Thanks, Train Wreck, for your sincerity.

*Names have been changed.

Jon - Date #20: Johanna

Name*: Johanna
How I know her: She's in my ward.

Johanna and I went to breakfast this morning. I don't usually eat out for breakfast, so this was a first for me. We had great food and lots of great conversation. We also played a game and made some origami penguins that Johanna had been smart enough to bring. Thanks for being such a good time, Johanna!

Best Quality: Johanna has this excitement about her that makes her really fun to be around.
Highlight of Date: We both took turns trying to make Christopher Walken faces. If you ever want to be entertained beyond belief, just ask someone to make a Christopher Walken face. It's the funniest thing ever!
What I Admired: The thing that I admired most was the fact that Johanna brought some origami with her for us to make while we were waiting for our food. I think it's extremely clever to be prepared with something like that on a date.

The word I'd use to describe the date is: enlivening

*Names are different than normal.

Jon - Date #19: Snookie

Name*: Snookie
How I know her: She's in my ward.

Last night I took Snookie to a sushi bar (Samurai Sushi) that also offers free karaoke. I know this date isn't for everyone, as there are several people who are averse to sushi, karaoke, or both. But Snookie loves both, so it worked out perfectly! We were joined by another couple and pretty much owned karaoke for the night. Way cool! After karaoke, we went to my house and watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Dude!

Best Quality: Snookie has some of the best vocals I know. She was amazing every time she got up to sing.
Highlight of Date: Gotta be singing Ain't No Mountain High Enough with Snookie. Karaoke duets are the best!
What I Admired: She was very forgiving of my karaoke shortcomings, and continued to encourage me to sing more. There are some people who encourage you just out of support for your feelings. But I'm pretty sure that Snookie was 100% genuine in her encouragement. It made it that much better of a date.

The word I'd use to describe the date is: entertaining

*Names are different than normal.

Eric - Date #9: Nike*

Name*: Nike

Age: 23

Date Description: For our date, I had decided to try out the place "Jump On It" that Jon went to with Tykwesia*.  But I kind of didn't know exactly how to get there, and we decided to go try something else instead.  So we went to a place in Provo called "Ozz" to play some pool!  When we pulled up, I thought it was going to be some ghetto place, but when we walked in to the back, they had some really nice pool tables, and just a great atmosphere!  I think it might have been Nike's first time playing.  But I was amazed at how quickly she learned!  By the end, she was kickin' my trash at pool.  It was a lot of fun!  Then we went to Kneader's for dinner, and decided to go check Walgreen's for discount lift passes, and spent some time exploring the store.  I know this might sound like a boring date, but luckily Nike has a great personality and we ended up having a lot of fun!  It was probably the best blind date I've ever been on!  She's a super-cool girl, athletic, fun and smart.  Thanks Nike for being so awesome!

Best Quality: I would say it was Nike's laugh!  She has an awesome laugh, and it just made me happy every time I heard it.

Highlight of Date: When Nike went on a streak of hitting several pool balls in, including the cue ball.  (In the picture, she had it it and it stopped as close as physically possible without falling in - now that's talent.)  "I need more chalk."

What I Admired: I was very impressed by Nike's confidence.  She's ok with trying new things and having fun with it.  It seemed like we have similar personalities, which I think is pretty cool.  Also, she loves being busy and is obviously concerned about others' welfare.  She's definitely someone I want to get to know better.

How do you know the person you're on a date with? Blind Date set up by my Sister!

Describe Nike in one word?  Intriguing.

What is her favorite activity? Snowboarding, Volleyball, Travelling

In summary, this was the best blind date I've ever been on!  Honest.  Thanks Sis and Nike for making it happen!

Disclaimer: The photo is of our date, just not of us.  :)

*Name has been changed

Jon - Date #18: Rogue

Name*: Rogue
How I know her: This was a blind date set up by the amazing Hawaiian Haystack!

I had a really really awesome date last night with Rogue! We went out to eat and then went to a comedy club to watch some long-form improv comedy. The comedy club made a whole show out of one suggestion I gave. It made for a really hilarous night! After the show I took Rogue to an ice cream shop to eat and chat some more. I probably could have spent all night chatting with her, but I had to eventually take her home as I had to work this morning. I really loved this date!

Best Quality: Rogue's laugh is very infectious. She has a great sense of humor and is fun to be around. She's one of those people that I just love being around, as Hawaiian Haystack can attest.
Highlight of Date: As I was dropping Rogue off at her house, we kept talking as if the date had only just begun. I think that demonstrates a little bit just how much I enjoyed being out with her.
What I Admired: She has such a great attitude when it comes to trying new things and putting herself out there. For example, she told me she plans to audition for Glee (I love that show!).

The word I'd use to describe the date is: Incredible!

*Names are different than normal.