Happy New Beer

Well, 2005...ist kaput.

I'd do one of those Year in Review things, but man, everyone and their brother does something like that, so I thought that I'd remember all the good beers that I've tasted over this past year.

Let's see, I was introduced to a German beer called Kostrizer that was particularly awesome. My sister-in-law, who knows firsthand my fondness for the fermented hop brew, gave me another German beer (hmm, noticing a pattern developing here...?) called Pilsner Urquell for the holiday and it has a light, but slightly bitter aftertaste. It was great with my wife's homemade pizza. Then there are the usual suspects: Guiness, McEwans, Sam Adams (of course), Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, etc.

I'm going to branching out in 2006 and trying new brews. There are a few good places to get beer here in Oklahoma, but I'm thinking of exploring online to see what I can import. I ran across a site recently where I can buy good Scottish beers. If you know of any others that I should try, just let me know!

Anyway, HAPPY NEW BEER!!!!

-la

Aunty Em

Ok, it's 12:15 in the blessed AM. What the hell am I doing up watching 'Twister' for the 101st freakin' time? This movie is bad, but bad like a train wreck: I can't take my eyes off it.

"That's not a moon, it's a space station!"

Ok, you know you're up late when a commercial comes on selling a collection of the 36 Ultimate Love Songs. Good god, I'm gonna have Michael Bolton going through my head all night.

Aaargh....!!!!

Trip Report

Well, we've been out a few times now with the kid and he's been doing great. For the remainder of this entry, I'll call the kid 'RTC' which, of course, as everyone knows, stands for "Rootin' Tootin' Cowboy". My wife just loves it when I act his him and say, "I'm a rootin' tootin' cowboy, mama!" in my little kiddo voice.

We went out with some friends tonight. Actually, the couple we went out with are very cool. She's a med student who is brilliant enough to be the next Nobel Prize winner someday, and he's a drug rep who is also the lead singer and drummer for a popular local band around here in OKC. Oh, and he also dated my wife for a few years before she and I were involved. Now, most people might think that be a rather uncomfortable situation. But, I'm a pretty confident guy and I know that my wife chose to be with me for a reason (because, like Jack our cat, I tell myself, I'm so damn cool...yeah, right!) Anyway, I genuinely like this guy. He's very cool. So, we went to dinner tonight. They came over b/c they hadn't seen our new place and hadn't yet met RTC. Once all the formalities were over, we headed out to the restaurant (in separate cars...they live WAY south of the city and it take them about 45 minutes to get home) which was a good thing since I was getting hungry.

Dinner was great, the kiddo slept most of the time (except when my wife fed him) and the conversation and wine were great (and Australian Shiraz tonight...good stuff). We're home now and I'm still a bit buzzed as I type this, but I wasn't driving (I promise!) so it's all good. I told you this laptop would come in handy for more frequent entries! Woohoo! (Did I mention I was a bit buzzed...?)

Ok, I better go before I write something that will truly embarrass everyone.

Be well!

-la

Life Interrupted, Just Add Kid...

...and holidays, and family, and work deadlines, etc. Yes, I've been away for quite awhile. Not surprising considering all that has occured, actually.

What's been going on? Well, mostly it has to do with the wife, her pregnancy, the arrival of the new kid, the late arrival of a Christmas tree, and three cats.

Still, that's a lot to work into one blog entry, so let's just do the all-important synopsis:

The wife had the baby. Ten fingers, ten toes, and a kick-ass APGAR score. All that you could want from a baby human. Damn, too, if he ain't cute. I mean it. Really.
When I was younger, my impression of newborns was that they all looked like a small Winston Churchill dipped in 40-wt. motor oil. I guess that's true of babies born naturally, because they are covered in all manner of goo. But, since he was a c-section, there wasn't as much muck. He came out wide-eyed and not too pissed. He's been pretty calm since, too. The only time he get's upset is when it's dinner time and he's hungry. Then again, so do I, so that's probably not a big deal.

I missed some friends' holiday party this year. I heard it was better than last year, too. But, for some reason, it just didn't matter whether I missed it or not. I was content to stay home with the wife and kiddos and call it a night.

I finally ordered myself a new laptop that I'm now using to type these entries. I got sick of waiting for work to buy me one, so I spec'd out one and ordered it. It's pretty kick-ass. Of course, I used the company discount. Merry Christmas to me.

My wife gave me an early Christmas present this year. A day or two before the Bringer of Presents delivered his packages, she brings home this pair of flannel pajama pants with witty sayings on them like "fruitcake or nuts: you decide", "'tis the season", "let it snow", "ride my sleigh". I thought the pants were humorous and went and put them on. They fit and felt great. She happened to mention off-hand that they were a bargain. The next day, I'm sitting and watching a movie with the wife, when I happen to look down and realized that some of the words were spelled wrong. One saying, should have been "where's the green bean casserole" was instead written "where's the green been casarole". I thought the fun would stop there, but then I found another. This one should have read, "chestnuts roasting on an open fire", but instead, my pants read, "chesnuts roasting on an open fire". Not a big deal, and certainly an understandable mistake, but coupled with the first one, made the whole situation hilarious. Needless to say, I got a lot of mileage off of her bargain that night at her parent's house.

Was Santa good to you this year boys and girls? I made out pretty well. Got some great gifts (yes, even the flannel pajama pants) and had a great time at the wife's parent's last night. Of course, I ate and drank too damn much. Had some great wine and cheese, good conversation with my brother in-law, some kick-butt gifts from my sister-in-law (thanks again for those Hornet's tix) and some quality time with Spawn this morning before he had to go back to his mother's.

So, all in all, it's been a good month.

Finally, I'm gonna wish you all a Happy New Year now (just in case things get crazy here....) But, starting next year (boy, that smacks of New Year's resolution if I ever heard one...) I'm going to be more regular about adding entries. And, getting in shape, and...

-la