50 Minutes to Spare?

I was first introduced to Tom Lehrer in college. I believe the song was "New Math," but he's more famous for his "Elements" song. Well, Ryan stumbled upon a full version of his performance in Copenhagen 1967. 

We just listened to the whole thing and laughed the whole way through it. It's pretty tongue in cheek for a bit of it but, nonetheless, funny. So, if you know anything about history, have a soft spot for science and math, and/or a want for a smile, check out this...

Fun Adventures to Ommegang Brewery

Ryan and I are really fortunate living where we do that we have a lot of things around us. This past Saturday we drove about an hour or so out to Cooperstown, New York. Baseball fans will know that's where the Hall of Fame is. Farmers might know it for the museum, or because their farm's out that way. Beer snobs nerds will know it for one of the bigger craft breweries in New York.

Brewery Ommegang is located on a back country road just outside the heart of the city. We got a late start going out there so as much as I wanted to stop and walk through all the adorable shops. we headed straight to the brewery. Next time, Ryan's gonna deal and I'm gonna walk around to my heart's content. And we're going to the Farmer's Museum because I'm going to pet a damn cow. There were live ones outside that you could just walk up to! Anyway...

The brewery was built in 1997 modeled after a Belgian farmhouse and it fits right in with the landscape. It's perfect. 

Thanks to a LivingSocial deal we were able to get a tasting in, a couple teeny, tiny glasses, and a Duvel shirt. for a steal. We even hopped on a tour. Duvel, a Belgian beer maker who put up a huge capital investment in the beginning, owns Ommegang now, after the family sold the remaining shares to the company. 

The tour was okay, learning about the different spices that go into Belgian beers. The history of the brewery was a little too short. We've been on enough tours, and Ryan's brewed enough, that we know how beer gets made and the different techniques of heating/cooling/storing. The fermenters are still pretty impressive. 

While the plant wasn't running, we did get to see the bottling/kegging lines. It's nice to see the different stages at some breweries. These guys still hand pack pallets with boxes of beer. Wouldn't that be cool to say you got jacked arms from beer?

The tasting room had six beers on tap Saturday: Witte, Hop House, Rare Vos, Hennepin, Abbey Ale, Three Philosophers. The store sells their really nice tap handles for the very reasonable price of $56.99 - guys slinging said taps are not included.

For tastings, beers are typically laid out lightest to darkest, or lowest alcohol content to highest. Like the good wife I am, I tried each and every one of them. Have I mentioned I'm NOT a beer person. Bleh. The first one, Witte, wasn't so bad. I was able to drink the two ounces by myself. The rest of them were gross and I relinquished them to my husband who dutifully drank them. 

The glasses are pretty much glorified souvenirs. They're so teeny! Adorable but impractical when it comes to drinking beer. We'll probably get a chuckle and use them if anyone asks for a small glass of beer.

The trip was definitely fun and I love hanging out with the hubbs - even if his driving makes me crazy. Ommegang was a little underwhelming but we'll be there again soon. If only for Modest Mouse on May 23rd.

May you dream of beer tonight. Or if you're not into that, dream of petting adorable cows! I will be. Dreaming of the cows I'll someday pet - not beer. Man, I sound like a creeper. 

New Tunes - Awolnation "All I Need"

I just realized it's been quite some time since I posted new music. I was almost out of commission for a bit because I dropped my phone and shattered the screen. Thankfully, I bend over and pay for insurance. I got a new "refurbished" version of my old phone. The buttons are finicky and not what I'm used to, but there's only 11 months until I can get the newer version. I will be counting down until that day. 

You may have heard of Awolnation when they took the radio by storm with "Sail." Their newest album, Megalithic Symphony, has some pretty great songs including "Kill Your Heroes" and today's song, "All I Need." I hope these guys come to my area on tour. Until then I'll keep their album on repeat.

And as a special treat, I made a couple printables. I'm going to get these printed by one of the big box stores so they'll look nice. I have just the spot to put them.

All I Need is You Smiling

All I Need is Life, Love

These printables were formatted to fit a 5" x 7" piece of paper. I used the following fonts on each one: CarnevaleeFreakshow.  LTChickenhawk. I used textures from this pack: GrungeRemodelingTextures.

Books in Review - The Real Series

If you like broken heros and ones that dabble in MMA/boxing/fighting, this should be a contender for your next read. The series is written by Katy Evans and starts off with Real . 

Sports rehabilitation specialist, Brooke Dumas, sees the guy of her dreams. Fighting in the ring of the nation's Underground, Remington Tate is a beast of a man. Drawn to her (or perhaps by her loud best friend), Remy wins fight after fight pointing at Brooke during each one. Seeking her out after his tenth and final opponent, Remy demands her name. After his second night of fighting he offers her the job of a lifetime, working as his rehab specialist. Taking the job, Brooke embarks on a country wide tour as Remy fights his way back to the championship.

Weeks of playing with fire have Brooke and Remy fighting to stay sane. But after Brooke delivers an ultimatum of make love to me or sleep alone, Remy backs off. He wants Brooke to know the REAL him, not what everyone else sees in the ring. Brooke learns about black Remy, a character whose gets speedy and often has to be subdued chemically. 

After realizing that Brooke's sister Nora is under the drug induced spell of his most formidable opponent, Remy strikes a deal that has Brooke walking away from him. Delivering a healthy Nora back to Brooke is his main goal, even if it might just cost him the girl he loves. 

Real ends with a love more together than ever and a whole lot of lust.

In Mine, Remy charges his way back into the Underground easily decimating anyone fighter brave enough to step into the ring. In the best shape of his life, Remy dominates. With Brooke by his side, he's invincible. Until, Brooke learns about what happened when she left him. Distraught and unsure of how to move forward, Brooke wants a moment for herself while Remy tries to destroy any distance between them.

Finally reconnecting, Remy's opponent the Scorpian sends Brooke a message that Remy answers loud and clear. Suddenly facing an unforeseen obstacle, Brooke is sent home to rest for two months while Remy goes back on tour. Joining him after being apart for that time, the two are stronger than ever. 

When back in Austin, Remy's parents visit which leads him to spiral down into black. Weeks go by and he's still there, in black. A trip to the hospital, a revelation from his team, along with Brooke's love and support bring him back into blue moments before his long-awaited rematch with the Scorpian. 

The second ends pretty nicely with Brooke and Remy finally tying the knot surrounded by the team and family he's built.

Remy, the third and final book in the Brooke/Remy storyline, paints the first two books as Remy saw it happen intermingled with the present day, four or so months after the championship. It's sweet to see what went on in his head while Brooke gave us a broader picture.

I'm completely smitten by the books. They're a little bit pricey but definite worth the SPLURGE. There are at least two more books coming out in the series. I look forward to reading Rogue, which comes out in July.

Books in Review - Dangerous to Know and Love

I've been looking through all the books I own to see if there are any worth re-reading because I'm almost positive I'm going to get in trouble if I keep buying books at the rate I do. Luckily I remembered about this little gem I read last year. The book's called Dangerous to Know and Love by Jane Harvey-Berrick. 

The book starts with freshman Lisanne Maclaine, settling into college life, away from home for the first time. Daniel Colton, the brooding freshman on campus, throws "stay away" vibes left and right. Paired together for a class project Daniel and Lisanne study in the library one day when Lisanne guesses his biggest secret. Determined for it to stay that way, Daniel has to trust Lisanne to keep it.

Building a relationship despite wild pasts, wilder brothers, and protective parents, Daniel and Lisanne move through their first semester at college. Lisanne's decision to study and perform music plays a pivotal role Daniel's decision to change, who has reluctantly accepted his life. 

The repeated phrase, "I hear you," is beautifully sewn into the story. I like that the story builds and they fall into this new budding relationship but work to overcome obstacles. I love the book and I would recommend it, hands down. Definitely SPLURGE ON IT.

Books in Review - Unbelonging and Rebelonging

I can't even begin to say how much I liked these books. I LOVED 'em. Earlier this week, I had an insomnia attack where I literally could not fall asleep and stayed up until 6:00am when I finally passed out. To get the clock to fly, I finished Unbelonging, which I had started earlier that day, and then proceeded to download and devour Rebelonging.

Written by Sabrina Stark, the books cover the story of Chloe and Lawton, a recent accounting grad and an underground fighter. Chloe's house-sitting/plant-sitting/dog-sitting in an upscale Detroit suburb and working at a deadend waitressing job with an idiotic manager while trying to find a job based on her degree. One day she walks right into Lawton, who's a new resident of the neighborhood and oh yea, billionaire. Side note: why are the girls always poor and the men get richer and richer? Anyway, the story builds and it's not like wham, bam, they're in a relationship. It seems to develop, at least I think.

Life, bitchy girls, and evil step moms make the story interesting. The story doesn't focus on Lawton's fighting so much like other books may. It's really about Chloe and how she progresses through supporting herself, little brother, and crazy grandmother. With misunderstandings and support characters a plenty, these books will have you occupied and enthralled for hours. I may even read them again. In fact, I know I will.

Needless to say, these books I'd definitely SPLURGE ON IT. When Illegal Fortunes, Bishop's story, hits Amazon, I'll be buying that one too. 

She's Crafty - Ring Box

Earlier this week I posted a blog about emptying my jewelry stand and putting it onto a board hanging on my bedroom wall. Well, that covered necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, but a girl has rings right? To go with my awesome new jewelry board, I made a ring box for all those rings I have floating around. I think it looks pretty damn awesome, a definite HIT. I'm really glad I worked on these two projects. It's the little things that just make me feel like this apartment is a little bit more like home. 

I used a gift box, seat cushion foam, and scrap material from my old bedskirt to make this, along with an exacto knife, scissors, ruler, and some glue. 

Here's how I did it:

Step 1. Cut the foam to fit your box or container. I used the scissors to get the desired size. I fit it to the exact dimensions (not leaving any room for the cloth) of the box.

Step 2. Score the foam almost to the bottom of the piece. I used the ruler to keep my cuts straight. Each cut was about 3/4" apart.

Step 3. This was the hardest step for me. I cut a piece of cloth about four inches wider than the foam and six inches longer. In hindsight I would give it more room to save myself from redoing it five times. Lay the cloth about an inch over the side of the foam. Working away from the edge, separate the foam on your cut lines and work the cloth in. The ruler is really helpful in doing this. Holding your newly stuffed cloth, work your way to the end of your foam. 

Step 4. Layer some glue in the bottom of your box and carefully put your foam in. Use your ruler to shove excessive cloth down on the sides. 

Step 5. Find a small book to fit in between the foam and the top of your container. Then grab the largest books you can find and pile them on. You want to make sure you have a great seal with the glue. Luckily, I have some personal taxation and fraud examination books laying around from college. I knew they'd come in handy again!

Step 6. Let dry for the prescribed amount of time - I left mine for six hours. Then, load it up! I love the way it came out and I'm happy to display my rings in it.

I had a lot of these things on hand, so it didn't cost much. Just the price of the foam which, from Walmart, was just $6.98. I still have plenty left over for other future projects. I might even make more of these and give them out at presents!