Black Friday - but a lot better

So, I did promise Cookie I would hit a few of the "Black Friday" sales the day after Thanksgiving. I don't have much cash to spend, but I will accompany my friend if she wants to go. But, we do have to be back home in time for me to get a bit of rest and have some leftovers. Because this Friday is Beer Fest. I mean Black Friday. But actually, I MEAN BEER FEST!!!!

Click on the photo to see the ad larger!

PRESENTING, TRIANGLE BREWING COMPANY'S 2nd ANNUAL BLACK FRIDAY BEER FEST!!!!! The proceeds of this event will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. $25 pre-sale gets you amazing NC cask beers and a buffet of food. According to TBC's blog, the beer line up so far is this:

Triangle Brewing Company: Bourbon Aged Abbey Dubbel & Habanero XPA
Duck-Rabbit Brewing Co.: Coffee Porter
Liberty Steakhouse & Brewing: IPA & Brown Ale
Carolina Brewery: Flagship IPA & Oatmeal Porter
Rock Bottom: Pumpkin Pie Ale
Ham's Restaurant and Brewery: Peg Leg Pale Ale
Foothills Brewing Co: Hopium IPA
Natty Green's: Old Town Brown
French Broad: Running Rebels ESB
Top of the Hill: TBA

There will also be draft beers from Carolina Brewing Company (IPA) in Holly Springs, Triangle Brewing Company, Rock Bottom in Charlotte, and Liberty in High Point, as well as various bottles from around the US and world. Happy Thanksgiving, indeed :-)

A visit with the past

Saturday was an interesting day. As it was my self-declared possible last Beerfest, it was a special one. As the tickets are now $40 a pop and the cost is probably on the continued increase, and the fact that Michael and I would like to start having kids sometime in the near future (near future meaning with in the next few years) was the driving force behind this decision. But if next year’s Raleigh Beerfest comes up at a reasonable price and life decisions seem to make sense, then sure, we will go. But anyway – several people knew this may be the last Beerfest for us for a variety of reasons.

Having Ed and Amy here was wonderful. As they, too, were aware this may be our last fest, they didn’t want to miss it. Having them here made the day especially wonderful. The whole weekend for that matter, as they stayed with us until Sunday morning.

Anyway, back to Saturday. First three hours went great. Had several great beers and a few I had never tried before. I was tipsy, but not out of control. It was a beautiful day, and I was enjoying the festivities with a few thousand of my closest friends. At some point, my group decided on a mass trip to the restrooms. As I had already gone right before, I decided to stay put. I recall saying, “I will stay right here. Please come back and get me.” Well, either I moved or they did because I spent quite some time standing in that one spot. While standing in that spot, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around and saw my former sister in law, Amy. I hadn’t seen Amy for several years. In fact, I hadn’t seen her since before my ex and I separated. As I assumed that Nathaniel and I’s separation would lead to permanent dis-involvement from his family, I never contacted anyone to say "good bye" or even "I’m sorry." So for Amy to walk up and say hello to me with a smile on her face was almost more than I could handle. And in fact, it was. I balled. Like a baby. Worse – a drunken baby. A baby who had tried 30 some odd beers in the past three hours while standing in the hot sun crying type baby. Good lord – my stomach flips even thinking about it now. I gave Amy a ridiculously huge hug. I told her how I had missed them all – which is very true. I was blessed with some amazing connections through my ex’s family.

Everyone knows divorce is hard, but it’s not just because of the splitting of two people. Two families are also divided. I left behind another set of parents, siblings and even my dog. My world flipped those years ago. As did all the family members on both sides.

There I stood. Amy smiled and said that my other former brother and sister in law and their brand new twins were standing near by under another tent. I asked, “Would they mind if I said hello?” Geez. I was a blubbering wreck. I went over and said hello – they looked at me and said hello. I was drunk. Great. Totally how you want to see your former inlaws. I gave hugs and said congratulations. I said I was very happy and recently married. They asked where my husband was and I had to reply that I had no idea – I had lost him about 30 minutes or so before. Right about that time my phone rang. It was my husband. I said my goodbyes to my former family and again gave huge hugs – ridiculously tipsy and probably too long hugs.

Recalling the events the next day, and even now, I feel slightly embarrassed. The crying was way over the top – but I’m an emotional person and sometimes that happens. But their friendliness and welcoming towards me was positively wonderful. Thank you so much for your kindness. Then and now.

And to recover from the incident, I had a few more beer samples under the tents. Bad idea. I spent a good chunk of the next several hours curled up in bed. At least I went out with a bang!

Beer Fest

Here are some snapshots from Beerfest. The weather was beautiful, and the new location seemed to work well, too. Although the white covering on the field was nearly blinding at times. I will write more about some other Beerfest happenings later, but for now the photos can tell some of the story!

It's like Christmas Eve...

TOMORROW IS BEER FEST! YAY!!!! It is really and truly one of the best days of the year. We have a huge group going this year, so it should be an awesome time. We are doing the afternoon session with a post-party at our house, as tradition. I am like a little kid bouncing around at work and so ready to get out of here for the day. Ed and Amy should be in town by now, which is super exciting. And tomorrow morning, a bunch of folks will meet at our house, we will pile into cars, and we will be off to Beer Fest. 150 breweries, over 300 beers. 4 hours to try as many as possible. YAY! Needless to say - many photos coming your way soon!

HAPPY BEERFEST EVE!

BEERFEST IS TOMORROW! WOO HOO! Everyone have a lovely weekend - I know I will!

Some photos and a countdown

FRIDAY. Friday is the end of the road. At 3pm eastern standard time, I will sit down at a small cafe table in the GLS House and have my MALS exit interview. From what I have heard, this process goes about 30 minutes or so. So, by 4pm at the latest, I should have clearance for graduation. If not, oh geez. But let's just assume this will all go well. Let the countdown begin......

Now, in early celebration, Mike and I had an excellent time in Hickory, NC this weekend for the Hickory Hops Beer Festival. The selection of beers was absolutely fantastic - it was just as great as the BeerFest in Durham and Raleigh. Less of an international feel, but it was great to have so many local beers. One major comment for the planners though - HAVE FOOD AVAILABLE. A 6 hour beer festival lacking even ONE food vendor is a major event faux pas. There were a couple local restaurants within walking distance, but they were pretty much "sit down" in nature and not conducive to festival fare. Next year, have some food booths, folks!

To end on a high note for my review of Hickory Hops, I thought I would give my award for the #1 beer at the festival. Out of all the beers I tasted on Saturday, one was beyond awesome (and Meredith agrees with me here). The Pisgah Solstice was just wonderful. It is high gravity and Belgian style, but words just don't do this beer justice. Fantastic find. It's only available in Asheville, Black Mountain and Spindale, NC - so if you are ever in one of these three cities, have a glass of Pisgah!


Okay folks, I know you love photos. So here are some from this weekend - enjoy!!!

Davidson Boys - Andy, Taylor, Alex, Matthew and Mike in front!

Meredith and I after we got "lei'd"

Gangsta Matt and Gangsta Mike

Happy Beerfesters!

All ready for April 26 in Raleigh, baby!

Weekend Update

Can I just say how odd it feels to not have this final project hanging over my head? It is actually quite strange. Mike was in Chicago from Thursday - Saturday, so I found myself cuddled up on the couch with Buddy Saturday afternoon watching "The Lives of Others" (fantastic movie - thanks for the recommendation, Rod!), and I didn't even feel guilty about it! I got up that morning, cleaned up the house, slayed the laundry monster, hit the Farmers Market to get eggs (more on that in a moment), and hit the gym for the completion of my first week of 5K training (so far, so good!). I accomplished everything I needed to do for the day by about 1pm. How fantastic it is to have my life back!!!!

To kick off this free time, Tammy, Lauren, Meredith and I headed out to Chapel Hill Friday night to celebrate all the milestones in our lives - Tammy and Efren will soon be off to Vandy, Lauren was celebrating her new found freedom, Meredith was celebrating her new career opportunities, and I was celebrating the end of my degree program! It was a great night. We spent the whole evening at the East End Martini Bar as a torrential rain storm came through and prevented us from hopping around. But the pineapple martinis and great dance music were enough to make the night great. Add to it the company of 3 of the most beautiful and fantastic ladies from D-town, and anyone would have a great time!

I am also happy to report that Saturday mornings are back to being spent at the Farmers Market! The Durham Farmers Market officially opened up the season this past Saturday, and the place was packed - even with some rainy weather. I managed to pick up a dozen eggs (half for Mike and I, half for Meredith) and a beautiful head of buttercrunch lettuce. I didn't bring more cash, or I would have gone home with a lot more. I am excited, too, because the market will now be open on Wednesdays from 3:30-6:30 which will be fantastic for those mid week needs. I can just walk down there before I head home in the evening. Welcome back, market!!

This weekend was also fruitful for wedding stuff. Sunday, Meredith, Lauren and I hustled out to Burlington to hunt for bridesmaid dresses. We ended up finding a great one, which I think will work fantastic. The price is great, and the style is wonderful. Once Cookie approves it, we will put in the order!!! That should hopefully be this week.

After the bridal shop, we hit Garden Ridge Pottery in Greensboro to get table decorations - simple is the key, and I think we got some nice stuff. This whole wedding thing is really coming together - fantastic!

This weekend is off to Hickory for the beer festival, then next week is my exit interview. Week after that is Raleigh Beer Fest, so the month of April is momentous and exciting! I will hopefully have some pics of random events to share with you soon!

It's like Christmas twice in one month!!

As you all know, Beerfest is an important time of year for myself and my closest friends. This year, we all waited with our fingers poised above the buttons on our mice, waiting for 12 noon to strike on Wednesday, March 26. My posse managed to get their tickets to the Raleigh Beerfest on April 26. And thank goodness for that. By the end of the afternoon, tickets were already sold out. We have been holding this day on our calendars since the date was released to the public last year!

Now, to my wondrous surprise, Mike mentioned to me that a big group of his buddies from Davidson are planning a get together in mid April - April 12 to be exact. Did I want to go? Sure - I haven't met a lot of the Davidson friends he talks so highly about, and this seemed like a great opportunity. Wait - but what will we be doing? Going to another beer festival?? HICKORY HOPS? YES! Count me in!!!


Yes, folks - that is two Beerfests in one month. I am beyond excited. On April 12, I will be meeting many of Mike's dear Davidson friends and trying many beers at the same time. Then, exactly two weeks later we will partake in Raleigh Beerfest. It truly is a great time of the year.

April is for celebrating - Lauren has a new life ahead of her and the impending excitement of finding a new love, Meredith is embarking on a new path to personal fulfillment and social change, and I will be done with school and ready to go full on into wedding planning! April is truly a month to celebrate.

WELCOME, SPRING!

A few random things

Addictive Shopping
www.woot.com
The schtick is thus: the site normally only sells one item per day - "one day, one deal" is their motto. It is normally a refurbished electronics item of some sort, but you never know what will pop up. Some great deals can be had off this site. I bought a collection of memory cards for my camera on the site once for about 25% of what they would have cost in the store. Now, of course, I have memory cards but no camera. Ah, the irony of the universe.

But, if you check Woot today, you are in luck. It's a WOOT - OFF! The Woot Off is non stop Woot action for about 24-48 hours. One product stays on-line until it is sold out. When it sells out, the next product goes on the market. What most Wooters wait for is the ever elusive "BOC", or Bag O' Crap. I believe the BOC sells for $1, then you pay $3.95 for shipping. Mike managed to grab a few BOCs a few months ago. We got a delightful assortment of items. A few small electronics items, a fan on a string in the shape of a Budweiser bottle, and some RCA stuffed animals. You may question paying $15 for something you have no idea about, but really, you are paying $15 to receive a big box in the mail, full of gifts from a long lost friend with a great sense of humor. There are Woot stories about people receiving very high end items in their BOC - so, you never know what will show up on your doorstep. Warning though: the BOC sells out FAST. You pretty much have to catch it as it is posted on the site. That is why I am clicking between this window and another, constantly hitting refresh - I don't want to miss my first chance at a BOC!!!

Stephen Hawking
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/26/hawking.flight.ap/index.html

This story made me teary. This must have been an amazing experience for Dr Hawking. My family has a close connection with a family who lost a loved one with Lou Gehrig's, and to hear someone with the disease having experiences like this and sharing his message of exploration and looking towards the future is absolutely wonderful.

BEERFEST

Can I just say, yet again, how excited I am about Beerfest tomorrow? Ed and Amy will be getting her eabout 5 or 6 o'clock this evening. We are then off to Carburritos for dinner(also awesome), then a going away party for a friend leaving for an extended trip to Germany. (We'll miss ya, Luc!) We will hopefully be up and animated early enough to hit the farmer's market to get fresh stuff for our after beerfest cook-out, and i would like us to leave for Raleigh no later than 11am. Get in line, then BEER!!!!

LDOC

Wednesday's Last Day of Classes concerts on the Duke quad were absolutely fantastic. Common was beyond fantastic, and Jason Mraz actually rocked out, too. One of the funnier parts was my advisor, Dr. Kathy Rudy, getting a shout out from Jason Mraz during the concert, as he tagged along with her class on a trip to the Duke Lemur Center. I e-mailed Kathy about it the next day, and she said "Who is Jason Mraz?". ha! Gotta love it. Common's show was just unbelivable. The performance was high energy and nonstop. He addressed all the Duke issues (i.e. lacrosse) with tact and diplomacy, and I think everyone had a blast. Plus, it was great to be outside and having a few drinks with all of our buddies (Meredith, Stefan, Jeremy, Lauren, Cookie, Luc, Victoria, Dan, Mike and myself).

GIRL POWER

It has been too long since I have had quality girl time. That's gonna change next week though. I have a ladies lunch planned for Wednesday afternoon, and a Ladies Night Out planned on Saturday - including salsa dancing. WOO HOO! I am so looking forward to both of these events. One thing I have learned in the past couple of years is how very important it is for women to have women friends. It sounds obvious, but in reality, it is difficult. I am lucky enough to have many strong, beautiful, funny and outrageous women in my life. We all have our own issues and neuroses, but who better to help you deal with your own crap than other neurotic women??? It is the best support in life any woman can have.

Exciting Week

Okay, it is only Tuesday, but tonight starts all the fun activities going on in the next 6 days!! We have on the agenda:

1) Cookie is the trivia master tonight at the Joyce. It will be cool to have Cookie giving the questions, but then again, we lose a team member. But, I am sure the rest of us can try to bring home a victory. It has been TOO LONG (over a month I think) since we have won. So everyone, bring your A game!

2) LDOC at Duke: Tomorrow is the "Last Day of Classes" at Duke. Doesn't mean a lot to me for that fact (since my last class was last Monday), but the Dukies throw a major party on the West Campus Quad. Common and Jason Mraz will be playing around 7pm. I cannot wait to see Common! for FREE!

3) Friday means the arrival of buddies Ed and Amy from Atlanta. They are friends of Mike's from high school near Tampa. It has been a while since we have seen them, so I am really looking forward to their arrival Friday evening.

4) Saturday is BEERFEST! WOO HOO! Besides visiting us, Ed and Amy are headed in to go to Beerfest in Raleigh with us. We are headed to to the afternoon session - which should give us plenty of time to get sobered up afterwards and drive home before it is dark. Beerfest days are excellent, and I can't wait for this one. Besides Ed and Amy, there are more of us going: Lauren and Jeremy, Carlton and Inken, Daniella, Cookie and Mike and I. Taylor and Chaz may make the trip out, and if we can convince anyone else to try and scalp a ticket, we may have more. But it should be a great time. I would say I'd take pics, but I have no camera :( Oh well, I guess I'll just have to drink beer!

5) Sunday will be sleep in and decompress time. We have a PoliSci event to make an appearance at at some point, but other than that, nothing else. Monday is back to work!

I just can't wait for all this fun stuff!!!!!

Not much to report

I haven't really had too much to report, therefore, I have not been blogging. But, today I have some good news. As I type this, my best chickie buddy, Lauren Braun, is in her MALS Final Interview, and within the next hour, she will be officially done with our masters program!! I am so thrilled for her. I am so close I can taste it - so I can't wait to hear how she feels after she has finished all her degree requirements. Tonight calls for girlie drinks at the Fed! woo hoo!

Other than that, I wrapped up my class for the semester on Monday - which feels great. I actually started reading a fun book the other day (The Omnivore's Dilemma) and it feels great to not procrastinate on anything. I forgot how it felt to "just" have work to deal with. That's nothin'! My next (and LAST) class starts the week of May 14, so I am happy to have a little break.

As for job stuff, nothing to report on that matter...yet. Stay tuned.

This weekend will be busy - a birthday on Friday, celebration of PhD defenses on Saturday, Sunday is recovery and house cleaning day.

Next week is Beer Fest! I can't wait! And that means Ed and Amy will be coming to visit next week, too! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!