9999 cans of Halcyon on the wall.....

Last Saturday to expand our 4 and 6 year old children's horizons, we toured a local brewery here in town. Tallgrass Brewing Company in Manhattan, Kansas brews up lots of tasty craft beers and we joined them for a taste and tour. We tasted Oasis, Halcyon (Unfiltered Wheat), Buffalo Sweat, Ale, IPA and their newest craft beer that their head brew-master made.  On the tour, we learned the process of brewing beer from start to finish. 

  The grain room, the mash tanks, the transfer to the fermenting tanks and learning the importance of having giant fermenting tanks named after the original American Gladiators. Well of course they named the smallest tanks after two of the female gladiators. We learned lots and my husband and myself  found new beer we both enjoyed. 

However, with the addition of two older gentlemen attending the tour, who were equally impressed by 3 service members of the U.S. Army attending the tour with their spouses, a pair of little sweet Southern boys and a few locals from Kansas State University, kept us entertained and our glasses topped off from start to finish on our tour. These older men, obviously wanting to keep their identities a secret, but one of them spilled the beans when  Tom went to get a refill within the first 5 minutes of the tour. Just met Tom Clancy & John Locke from "Lost" today while on our tour at the brewery. Tons of doppelgängers in Kansas. :D   

Yep, Kansas is full of doppelgängers. Tom wasn't writing his next novel, Locke wasn't chasing black smoke on an island, nope they were both two guys doing some pre-game drinking before K-State took on Kent State and inviting everyone out to St. Mary's for a barbeque. Check out Tallgrass Brewing Company and see where you can pick up some of Kansas' best craft beer close to you. :D

Might be an Addicition...

The sweet cherry nectar from the South aka Cheerwine is now in my possession. Eleven cases were smuggled cross country from North Carolina to Kansas and onto a military installation by my in-laws. This is my private stock pile and hopefully I'll be able ration it out to last 25 weeks until we go back to North Carolina for my birthday/Thanksgiving. That is unless, someone breaks into my home and steals it. Do you think renter's insurance would cover such theft? :D

C25K Week One...done!

I finished up week one last Saturday morning. I enjoyed pushing myself, going out and doing the program. This is Week 2 and I'm slightly off track with all this rain and tornado warnings we're having, but I walked Sunday and Monday evening to the local Shoppette (Convenience store) on post with a few of my neighbors. I didn't get to do my usual C25k routine yesterday, but I'm going to attempt my run this evening if another tornado warning doesn't ruin my plans. Wish me luck as I continue my goal! :D

C25K-Week One........Excuses

Here goes- I'm holding myself accountable and updating everyone on my weekly progress. As I mentioned I was to begin my Couch to 5 K (C25K) program last Tuesday. Well, that kind of didn't happen and this is why....

Last Tuesday following my last entry, our power went out in our neighborhood and the temperature was still hovering above 90* at six o'clock that evening. Not knowing what time our power would be restored and not knowing the next time I could shower, I forgo-ed the first day of training to sit under the carport in the shade with my neighbors until the power came back on almost 4 hours later.
Wednesday wasn't a planned training day, but I debated on whether or not to run since I missed first day of my program. Instead, I decided to sit in my yard and chat with my neighbor while enjoying a nice alfresco dinner that Clay had prepared for me. Clay had made some fresh seafood that we had picked up in town earlier that afternoon. He fixed Black Peppered Shrimp and Caesar salad for me and he enjoyed some fresh scallops. Much later that evening I found myself having the worst stomach ache in my life. Early Thursday morning laying on the floor of my bathroom, I convinced myself that I was dying from food poisoning. It was the worst kind of sick imaginable and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. If you've ever seen Drop Dead Gorgeous, just imagine the part of the movie were all of the beauty pageant contestants get violently ill from a seafood buffet, you would have a small glimpse of how I felt. It took me until 3 o'clock in the afternoon to make it down to the couch and regain the ranks with the semi-living. I am especially grateful for my husband for caring for me and acting as Mr. Mom for the entire day. I surely couldn't run on negative calories and I laid in bed looking pitiful for the rest of the day, the hour long couch adventure was way too much work.
Friday, I was still weak, but not sick and this was a major step towards feeling better. I took it easy and didn't run that evening either. Saturday, I figured that there was no point on trying to salvage the beginning of my C25K program, so I went around the neighborhood to the yard sales and our family attended a birthday party for our neighbor's daughter at the indoor pool.
So, TOMORROW I will begin (again) my C25K program. I'm excited about running, having some "me time" and avoiding shellfish for an undermined amount of time. Wish me luck as I begin this new adventure.

Breaking/Making Goals....

I'm starting a new adventure and ending another. I just finished one month of going Vegetarian (again) and I'm shifting gears and going back on the meat band wagon. It was fun, it made me appreciate the discipline that die-hard Vegetarians and Vegans do and expanded my options for meat-less meals, even more than last time. I'm sticking to seafood, poultry and limiting my intake of pork and beef products. But, I still failed short of my long term goal of cutting out as much processed foods as I could. No one tells beginning Vegetarians (or second time around one's like me) that any convenience food for someone on a plant based diet is as just as processed as regular foods with meat in them. I have a ton of appreciation for those who continue this lifestyle, but for someone who loves to cook as much as I do, the whole month I was miserable thinking that a lot of my favorite foods were "off-limits". No more Beef Wellington and roasted Brussels Sprouts for special occasions, a nice piece of grilled chicken topped with a fresh avocado salsa, Honey glazed Salmon with wild rice and steamed veggies. You get the picture. As good as I felt, I was slightly unhappy meat-free. Maybe my body needed to be reset and enjoy a hiatus from meat, but I'm still going to incorporate Meat-less Mondays into our menu.
On a brighter note, today I will be begin my Couch to 5K challenge. I'm excited and ready to start this evening as soon as the temperature drops below 90*. I'll track my progress and hopefully will be running 5k (approx. 3 miles) without difficultly by mid-June.

Fortune Cookies.....

The other night my husband, 2 boys & I went out to a Chinese buffet and at the end of the meal we opened our fortune cookies. Surprisingly, everyone's fortune fit the intended person. Mine & Clay's were a bit vague like they normally are, but Chris & Ayden's fortunes fit them. We had fun reading them. :D

Clay's fortune ~ An important discussion about you will take place today. (I'm sure people talk about him all the time)

My fortune ~ Your road to glory will be rocky, but fulfilling. (Most people's roads to glory are rocky.)

Chris' fortune ~ You find beauty in ordinary thins. Appreciate this gift. (This is Chris to a "T". The child can find beauty in anything.)

Ayden's fortune ~ Your goal will be met in two months. (I hope this fortune is referring to potty training, because that's the only goal we're working towards.)

What's the Deal with the Crazy Weather Here?

Just in the last week here at the Big Red One, we've had snow, hail, thunderstorms, bright sunny skies and warm weather. Last Sunday night/Monday morning we had a whopping 2 inches of snow dumped down on us, followed by a few nice days of highs in the 70's, then Saturday night was capped off with thunder storms complete with marble sized hail. We welcomed the first day of spring with a high of 83* degrees, sunny skies and a light breeze. We fished all afternoon at Moon Lake, resulting in sunburnt arms and legs. However, I'm excited that spring has finally sprung and the smallest signs are appearing all around us. School is out for spring break, the husband is off work for a few days and we're enjoying the warmer weather that Kansas has finally decided to show us. Today we enjoyed a awesome afternoon at Milford Lake. This is as close to the Atlantic Ocean as I can get for now. The breeze was just as it is alongside the ocean and if I closed my eyes that salty sea air filled my nose. It was wonderful and the boys & Clay had a blast throwing sticks and rocks into the water. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us. :D
I checked the weather, right after I published this post. Here's my FB rant for the day:I'm sunburnt from 80* weather from 2 days ago and now they're calling for more snow & sleet on Saturday. Really? Good grief. :O