A longggg while back, Foodbuzz sent me a sample of Nabisco’s new Newton Fruit Thins as part of their Tastemaker Program.

Thanks www.nabiscoworld.com/newtons/fruit-thins-fig-honey.aspx

Not to be confused with Nabisco’s Newton Fruit Crisp bars, which have received truly awful reviews.

Way to rebound Nabisco because I thought these light snappy cookies were divine. Yep, that’s right, divine.

Sublime even.

But you’re talking to a weirdo who prefers vanilla over chocolate and oatmeal-raisin over most anything else.

While I was dreaming up fun ways to use these crisp, figgy gems, our hands kept reaching into the bag. But not in a bad way, in a couple-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away kinda way. I caught Chris with his hand in the cookie bag more than once, and he is not a sweets person (but I married him anyway). What we loved most about these cookies was the spice and the subtle fruitiness. They are certainly not overly sweet, but more like a tea cookie.

Which made them the perfect compliment to some over-the-top, sweet overload that is Ben & Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns ice cream (sue me, I had a coupon):

Seriously fun site: http://www.benjerry.com/flavors/our-flavors/

Behold the gloriousness that is the marriage of Fig and Cinnamon:Its celebrity name is Figamon, and it’s damn sexy.

Fine Print: Though I received the Nabisco product for free through Foodbuzz, all opinions are my own though sometimes I listen to that guy I married, but not very often.

For those following WeightWatchers PointsPlus, Danica calculated the Thins at 4 PP for 3 cookies (I trust her). Half a cup of Ben Jerry’s is gonna cost you EIGHT PP, which includes 28 grams of sugar! (I just lost the Belly Fat Cure people too.) Like I said, I had a coupon for B&J’s and ate it 1/2 a cup at a time, counted the Points, and, before the carton was empty, I grew tired of it so the rest went in the trash. Big whoohoo for me.

Why just go to the movies or hang out at a bar when you can go the Mango Hometown Tour Taste-off?

That’s what I’m saying!

On Friday, I enjoyed a fabulous hot and sunny day in Portland. I had just gotten the news that there was no need to come in on Monday to meet the founders of the company I’d had two interviews with – they had decided to go with a internal candidate. Ugh.

As disappointed as I was, I knew the best pick-me-up was a quick visit with the two cutest Peas I’ve ever seen and their ever-stylish and fantastic Mama. Sometimes life just helps to put life in perspective like that.

For dinner, Chris and I walked over to the D-Street Noshery – the site of the afore-mentioned Mango Tour. We were a little late, but we had a brief chat with the mango reps (now that sounds like an awesome job!) who were lovely as they offered me their very last mango.

We’d never been to this Cart Pod before and deciding what to have for dinner was tough, but we finally went with Herb’s Mac and Cheeses where we ordered the special of the day: Mac ‘n Cheese with Mango, Bacon, and Blue Cheese.

Yes, it was as AMAZING as it sounds.

We also got a Bacon, Spinach, and Pepper Jack Mac ‘n Cheese which was very good, just not as good.

Not all Cart Pods serve alcohol but we were blessed by the presence of the Captured by Porches tour bus. We tried the Invasive Species IPA (a little too hoppy for me) and a Blonde Ale. The Blonde Ale hit the spot as we chatted with an amusing little tyke who wanted to show us all the tricks his stuffed dog could do. He was too cute, and we had a nice time chatting with his parents and trading Food Cart recommendations. This is the kind of thing that makes us love Portland so much.

And the bacon doesn’t hurt.

You guys know me well enough to know that this post is NOT about recovering from a half-marathon or even a 10k.

This is about recovering from Friday night:That’s a Bacardi Scorched Cherry rum and Diet Coke, my friends. This is how Chris’ birthday cocktails started, and it ended with me singing karaoke, not once but three times, ending with “I Had The Time of My Life” with a girlfriend.

Yeah.

Yesterday was brutal, but I’m good today. More to report when I’m back to being totally human.

If this is how we celebrate the possibility of getting new jobs, I’m scared to see what happens when I get a job.

Didja do anything fun this weekend?

I have intentions to write a long, meaningful post but things keep popping up. Specifically, I have a job interview tomorrow to prepare for. I feel good about this one. We’ll see.

Here’s some blah blah to tide you over until I can really get to it:One of these bags contains homemade tortilla chips and one contains organic dog treats. Guess which one I reached into without looking and almost ate from?Tuesday night I had a dinner date. Fortunately, she didn’t want any of my Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese. (She’s so smart already!)Oh. My. God. This gave Praline Bacon a run for its money in the My Favorite Food category.

Hop on over to EastBurn to get it and order whatever’s on Nitro – I had a Clem’s Cream Ale. Nitro’s awesome!

After dinner, I walked home by way of a little dessert place. Super cute! I bought a carrot cake square, but was too full to eat it until morning. It made excellent fuel for painting.

The Hubster’s birthday is this weekend so I’ll try to take lots of pics and get something of substance up soon. In the meantime, I need to start conjuring up past workplace accomplishments for my interview tomorrow. Tell us about a time when you … Ugh, I hate those questions. I’m an office manager. My job didn’t have that many memorable moments.

There was the day that an employee told the managers to go to Hell as she stormed out the door. That was pretty memorable.