Texas Lou

This is a cool photo of a photo that my sister sent me showing my parents together in the 1970’s.  My brother looks just like my dad in this picture.

Mom and Dad

I’m thinking about submitting it to My Parents Were Awesome.

This is just a little something I saw posted on facebook and wanted to save it here so I can return to it and remind myself of its great advice from time to time.

Terrapin Side Project Liquid Bliss

Friday, I was picking up Christmas presents at one of my favorite restaurants/watering holes, Beer Run, when I stumbled upon this intriguing brew!  Terrapin Side Project Liquid Bliss, from Terrapin Beer Co. is an experimental dark beer made with peanuts.  It was smooth and delicious with a hint of peanut butter.  This beer is probably one of the top ten best beers I’ve ever had.  Even the smell of the empty pint class when I was finished, left me salivating and wanting more.

Alot of people have commented that the idea of peanut butter beer sounds disgusting and if you aren’t a fan of dark beers, you probably won’t like it.  But for the experienced beer snob like myself, this is definitely worth the $8.99 for a 22 ounce bottle to try and fall in love with.  I can’t wait to get my hands on some more of it!

We were helping my mother-in-law out at her late mother’s house a few weeks ago installing light fixtures and such and I spotted one of these:

It’s a Supermax hairdryer by Gillette from the 1970’s and the second I saw it, it brought back vivid memories of my parents’ master bathroom!  The bright orange color instantly reminded me of my mom blowing drying her hair and putting on makeup.  I then remembered the smell of my mom’s perfume that she would wear whenever her and my dad would go out for the evening.  I would inhale the scent when she would hug and kiss me goodbye before leaving us with the babysitter.  The smell of it always seemed so comforting.

It’s amazing the memories that can be triggered by the sight, smell, or sound of something.  Our senses are so powerful and I think we take them for granted since they are constantly in use.  This makes me wonder what other memories and feelings are locked inside the intricate vastness of my brain and what could possibly trigger them to come to the forefront of my mind.

Yesterday, I watched the documentary, Happy, which explores what makes people happy in all different walks of life.  The movie was very enlightening and definitely worth the hour and a half it took to watch.

Lately, I’ve been doing quite a bit of research: reading (books, blogs, and articles), watching (online and TV), and exploring of myself to try to become a happier and healthier (mentally and physically) person.  I know that true happiness does not come from a pill, or other people, or money, but from inside myself.  So I’ve been trying to figure out how to access this happiness that I know is hidden somewhere inside of me.

One of the methods for finding happiness within that the documentary suggested was listing 5 things you are thankful and grateful for on a regular basis.  I’ve heard that this is a great way to bring about feelings of happiness and well-being from many other sources, so I thought that this blog could server as a great medium for listing what I’m thankful for on a regular basis.  I’m going to try and remember to post 5 things that I’m thankful for every Monday here on the blog.  I like to think of it as a good experiment.  If it works and succeeds at making me a happier person, then I’m better off.  And even if it doesn’t make me happier, it will serve as a good reminder as to why I should keep my chin-up and count my blessings.

So here it goes, 5 things I am grateful for on this Monday morning:

1. I’m thankful for my cat’s health.  We found a large lump on Revolver Ocelot’s chest Friday evening and I’m so grateful that not only was the vet able to get us in for an appointment at the last minute on Saturday morning, but also that the vet seems to think that the lump is not a tumor, but only an infection that is being treated with antibiotics.
2. I’m thankful for cell phones and wireless networks.  It is because of these, that I was able to call my twin brothers, Christian and Bradley, last night and wish them a happy 7th birthday.  I would have liked to be there to celebrate with them, but I’m very happy that I could call them and talk to them on their birthday.
3. I’m thankful for my husband’s family and that we live close to them.  I am often whining and feeling sorry for myself about the fact that I live so far away from my family.  However, I realize that many people have no family or friends close to them.  When my dad moved to America, his entire family was half way around the world (and a much longer and more expensive plane ride than the one from Virginia to Texas).  So I am very thankful to live close to my Virginia family and have lovely traditions to share with them during the holidays.
4. I’m thankful for strong legs and a healthy body that allows me to run on a regular basis.
5. I’m thankful to have the ambition, desire, and knowledge to seek out a happier and healthier me.

A couple other things that the documentary mentioned that I’m hoping to try are compassion meditation and committing regular random acts of kindness.

I just voted in the 2012 election and here’s proof:

I’m wearing my voting sticker proud this morning!  I voted for the office of President and Vice President of the United States, Senator for Virginia, House Representative for Virginia, and cast my vote on two amendments to the Virginia state constitution.

Everyone should get out there and vote regardless of the long lines or your busy schedules.  This is a right and privilege that many people in this world do not have and less than 100 years ago, even women in this country did not have so get out their and exercise your right as an American!

Happy Election Day!

This morning, on my way to work, I was stuck behind an SUV going unusually slow.  I was really annoyed that the person in front of me was making my commute last a few minutes longer than it normally does.

All of a sudden, a deer darted out in front of the SUV in front of me which caused them and then me to slam on our breaks.  We were all lucky…the deer escaped without injury and the driver of the SUV and myself were safe from any car accident.  Then I realized that had that slow driver not been in front of me, I probably would have been driving at my usual higher speed or following another car driving at a faster speed and things could have ended very badly for myself, the deer, and my car.

I realized that someone or something was watching out for me and the unusually slow driver in front of me this morning was put there for a reason.  I found myself being thankful for them rather than annoyed or frustrated and reminded myself to not always be in such a hurry.  It’s experiences like this that reinforce my belief in God and a higher power.

Saturday night, I was in the mood for some pumpkin themed activities, so we headed over to Ian and Sarah’s house for dinner, pumpkin carving, pumpkin seed roasting, and pumpkin beer tasting!

Sarah cooked the amazing dinner and I provided the pumpkin ales and pumpkins for drinking and carving.  Sarah made white bean vegetarian chili which was delicious.  It had the consistency of potato soup but the taste of chili and it was perfect for a breezy fall evening.  I brought over Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale, Williamsburg Alewerks Pumpkin Ale (a Virginia beer!), and Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale which I picked up from Beer Run which always has an amazing beer selection!  Rogue and Smuttynose were both kind of spicy with hints of pumpkin and nutmeg while Williamsburg Alewerks was more sweet like pumpkin pie.

After dinner, we carved pumpkins with the help of Amy, Joel, Collin, Ian, and Ben.  Sarah opted for an awesome design created using the power tool pumpkin carving method.  She used a drill to create decorative holes all around the pumpkin’s surface.  I of course had to go with a Texas theme!  Due to my lack of artistic ability, I had Ben draw the shape of Texas  freehand.  It looked great but we were worried it would be too difficult to carve, so he drew me a Texas Longhorns logo instead.  It came out great and the Texas themed jack-o-lantern is now being proudly displayed outside our front door.

Sarah with her lovely pumpkin!

My Longhorn pumpkin!

The cool longhorn pumpkin cut-out.

We used the seeds from our pumpkins to roast cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds and garlic pumpkin seeds and ended the evening feasting on them while watching Netflix.  It was a great night with great friends and the perfect way to celebrate Halloween weekend!

There were many surprises that my family and friends planned for me the weekend of my wedding and I hope to eventually showcase all of the amazing surprises that made my heart melt here on the blog.

At my wedding reception, my maid of honor and sister, Carrie, and my matron of honor and cousin Megan, spoke with the DJ while Ben and I were taking post-ceremony pictures.  They asked if he could play “You’re the One That I Want” from the musical Grease, a childhood favorite of ours, on their cue.  I had no clue this was coming and when they were done with their dual speech, they cued the music and asked that all of “Lou’s Ladies” (all of my awesome girlfriends) join them on stage.  They had blue sunglasses for all of the girls to wear and everyone began singing, dancing, and putting on an amazing show for the wedding guests.  They said they had planned to sing to me while I watched, but of course I couldn’t help but join in.

The whole scene which made me so giddy went like this (thanks to Megan’s husband B for filming and posting on YouTube):

I always loved the Chris Brown wedding entrance video that one couple did at their wedding and the spoof of it that the Office did for Pam and Jim‘s wedding and wanted to do something similar and creative like it at our wedding, but couldn’t get introverted Ben to commit to anything and I was honestly out of ideas after all of the wedding planning so this surprise was perfect!  I love my friends and family and will always remember this amazing and very special moment!

Chris Brown Wedding Entrance

Office Spoof from Pam and Jim’s Wedding

In my post yesterday, I talked about how my sister brought me some Saint Arnold‘s Oktoberfest from Houston.  Saint Arnold Brewing Company is Texas’ oldest craft brewery.  My family and I have been to their old facility and their new one in Houston several times for the tastings and tours.  It’s always a treat for me to get some of their beer since it’s only available in Texas and Louisiana.  Every year, they produce a limited amount of their Christmas Ale and we tend to buy several 6 packs of it when we are home for the holidays.  A couple of years ago, my brother and I both packed up some Christmas Ale and brought it back with us in our suitcases to our respective non-Texan residences.  For my wedding, my friend Cody drove from Houston to Virginia to attend the party, so he brought me an assortment of Saint Arnold brews as a gift.

When you go in for a tasting, you pay $7 and get a souvenir Saint Arnold glass to keep.  You also get 4 tokens that you can trade in to have your souvenir glass filled with different draft beers brewed right there on the spot.  Patrons are encouraged to bring snacks and food and enjoy the company while sampling the different beers.  In addition, if you bring in the cardboard six pack cartons for them to recycle, you can trade them in for cool Saint Arnold swag.  You can also upgrade you souvenir glass to a larger pint glass or even larger boot glass or mug and use your tokens to have those filled instead.

It really is a great brewery in a great city in a great state and I always enjoy going there with friends and family.  Here are just a few pictures of some good times had enjoying tasty Saint Arnold beer.

I got to try Santo, a black Kölsch, when I was in Texas last Christmas.

I bought this Saint Arnold Texas pint glass on one of my trips to the brewery in Houston. On this particular day, I was enjoying a Summer Pils that my friend Cody brought me from Texas as a wedding gift.

This is a 2012 Oktoberfest that my sister brought to New York from Houston for me to try.

Saint Arnold prints messages on the bottom of their bottle caps. This one from a Saint Arnold Lawnmower I enjoyed a few weeks ago describes my exact feelings about craft beer.

My friend Josh, my brother Mikey, my mom, my friend Charles, and I made a trip to the brewery during Christmas break of 2007. Notice my boot that I’m drinking out of!

Mikey, Mom, and I most likely enjoying the seasonal Christmas Ale in the winter of 2007.

There are still a ton of beers that Saint Arnold brews that I have yet to try.  I’d love to get my hands on some Winter Stout, Divine Reserve, Pumpkinator, and Endeavor (I believe named for the space shuttle) so I’ll just have to keep making trips to the brewery whenever I’m in Houston visiting.  And for those who aren’t crazy about the taste of beer or who prefer to indulge in non-alcoholic beverages, they brew a delicious Root Beer.

If you’re not in Houston, be sure to check out the Saint Arnold Brewing Company website and if you are in Houston, get to the brewery ASAP!