Organic Beer

Last evening while shopping at Whole Foods, I got a wild hair and decided to try an organic beer. I've not ever had an organic before, or not one that I recall. Pinkus Organic Hefe-Weizen is the beer I chose. This beer is from Munster, Germany. It seemed a bit like Blue Moon without the citrus flavor. I thought it was rather mild and didn't have a bad after taste. The beer was not as full or thick as Blue Moon. And I'm not trying to say that these beers should be identical. I am doing a comparison based on some of the beers I've tried.

I was expecting this beer to be completely weird. Maybe the USDA Organic label at the top was screaming "HIPPEE" to me. So I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely buy this beer again for a light mid afternoon brew.
There are plenty of blogs out there that will help define more indepth what it means to be a USDA Organic certified beer and all the rigorous guidelines Organic Breweries must follow. Do a google search on Pinkus beer and you'll get a really good start of information to point you towards all the answers on organic beer.

I Love Americans!

Aww, don't you just love Americans?

Model 3.0

Well, I've been model 3.0 for all of 6 days now. How am I feeling? Surprisingly, I think model 3.0 is better than model 2.0. Liesl is right. 30 is better. So what do I plan to do with my first year in the 30's? I would like to say I have high aspirations of being something grandiose, but I'll just settle for getting the rest of the debt paid in full, and building a nice little nest egg for Jess and me. Then we can look at options for when we're both models 4.0. I guess it actually is a major feat to be able to pay off any and all debt, live within your means, and save for an earlier retirement. If I could ever figure out how to not work for the man, I would do it.

Happy 30th - YA YA YA YA YA

We arrived here Friday around dinner time. This is Johnny G's in Dallas. It is awesome!
I did not realize there was a surprise celebration planned. Johnny's is a usual stop for us when we go to Dallas because it is just that cool. So I didn't think anything different of this time. When the lights started to flicker, I secretly thought to myself, "John, did you forget to pay the light bill???" Ha ha ha ha ha!

Once the lights stopped flickering, a cake emerged from the kitchen, and folks started singing Happy Birthday to me. On a scale of 1 to 10 on the coolness of a cake, this has got to be a 100. It has every element of everything I like. 1. Hello Kitty; 2. Motorcycle; 3. Hello Kitty's YA YA YA YA YA; 4. Pink; 5. Designed by the coolest sis-in-law in the world; 6. Bandanna; 7. Sunglasses; 8. Total Surprise!

This is some extreme precision and extreme concentration. This is 1/2 a sheet cake, 1/2 chocolate, 1/2 vanilla. It was super yummy. We shared with at least 1/2 the restaurant. Folks around us were reminiscent of the days when they were 30 and how mortified they would have been to have the world singing Happy Birthday to them at 30. I thought it was all fantastic. It was a total surprise! And the shots that kept getting sent to me made me very happy :-) *arm up in the Hello Kitty attack* YA YA YA YA YA! Remember, folks up in Dallas have got to check out Johnny G's.

Next I'll post the pic from Six Flags.

What's On My Head?

Too much Tequila will make anyone do weird things. I seem to be highly prone to do weird things even without alcohol. So the following photos just back that up. I didn't start out the night with this pink skull cap on my head. It was one of the first gifts I opened. So it of course had to immediately be placed on my head. Then I pulled the dirt bike out of a bag. I'm shocked the bag didn't end up on my head too. Looking back, I'm REALLY shocked the bag didn't make an appearance on my head.

Once I was done extracting items out of the bag, I proceeded to remove the wrapping from the boxed item. I was instantly intrigued with this wrapping paper as it is just like contact paper and it's sticky all over. Well, that just got things off to an even better start. Now I was in a competition with myself to see how many things I could place on my head. And do you see what I got? Yes, that's a box of tennis balls. HA HA HA. . . and no, I don't play tennis. I think they were for my walker. You know, those balls they puncture to put on the back 2 legs of walkers to help ease the slide across floors. HA HA HA. . . hee hee hee. . . HA HA HA!
And then, I just couldn't leave that contact paper alone. With skull cap still on my head, I proceeded to wrap myself in the totally sticky wrapping paper. If there had been more, I probably would have been rolling around on the floor trying to do a full body mummy wrap. See, this is where I don't know if it was me, or the Tequila fueling this obsession. In between the time that I unwrapped the box of tennis balls and this next photo, the restaurant staff brought me some hideous dessert with a sparkler (I think, maybe I was trying to blow out someone's cigarette) and the waiter had smeared it all over my nose. I don't know at what point the bandana ended up backwards, but I proceeded to stuff my face with the horrible dessert. It had to be the Tequila at this point cause the dessert was terrible.
Once I realized the bandana was still on my head, I quickly removed it. Only to have it be replaced with . . . yes, that is correct. . . my napkin.But it wasn't enough to have just the one napkin on my head. I decided to start stealing the napkins away from the folks sitting by me and continue to build on the things that were on my head. I'm not sure why I didn't return to the wrapping paper at this point. I think it got taken away from me.

Yup, that's me in all my glory. I think that pose was inspired by Pam & Jason (love ya guys)!

Oh man, how many things did I put on my head that night? And then to end the dinner, I decided to give my sexy pose.

And that wasn't the end of the night. . . but thank the Lord & Taylor, that was the end of the photos. :-)

With Age Comes Wisdom

I'm taking some of this from The Simple Dollar:

I was reading a lot of the stuff that Trent has to say. I can directly apply it to my life. I have been wanting to change the way that I go about managing my money and how I go about buying stuff. Now, whenever I spend money, I will try to imagine if I lost my job next week, will it still seem like a worthwhile purchase? If it won’t, then I should strongly reconsider my purchase.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons that I think is most appropriate for me at this junction in my life is "that I don’t need to put up appearances of being rich. I still worry about personal appearance, but I’ve learned that grooming and cleanliness really are 90% of the battle - if you’re clean and solidly groomed, you still carry a solid impression without dumping thousands of dollars on expensive suits and dresses. I also don’t need to show off the latest gadgets to impress; I can impress by simply being comfortable with being myself." (Trent from The Simple Dollar). Money should be a tool in my life, one that allows me to take care of what’s really important to me.

Money and material things don’t make me - I make me.

Continued Mission to get in Shape

I started my first blog talking about a desire to get in shape, and how I was going about doing that. I have progressed forward (with a few stumbling blocks along the way), but I finally started running again. Whew Hew! The knee seems to be holding out for me. I did find my wickedly ginormous brace that I'm supposed to wear if I'm doing anything. But, I've been stubborn and haven't wanted to wear it. So I stopped by Academy and was recommended a Patella Band. Surprisingly, it's working out well. I'm able to run my 2.6 miles non-stop now and my knee doesn't become fatigued.

I am very inspired to continue running. I had run for many many years before blowing out my knee. So yesterday I bought some crazy ugly running shoes, but they are incredibly comfortable.(ASICS: GEL-Nimbus® 10) I bought some support socks. And of course I had to splurge just a little and I picked up a cute necklace from Tarma: Earth Friendly Jewelry (Recycled Ingredients).

It's a running girl. Who could resist this? It's not often that you find something girl specific like this. So now every time I look in the mirror, I will be reminded of my great progress forward.

I was glad the shoes didn't end up being Nike that were picked out for me. My hat that I run in is Nike, my shorts are Nike, my knee band is Nike, my socks are Nike. It might seem that I'm a Nike addict, but it's just random that Nike is the brand for all of those. I'd happily wear any brand that works well.

Yummy. . . yet sinful

Naughty Angel

3 parts chocolateliqueur

1 part 151

Stumbled upon a site, BoozeBuddy, and came across this recipe for a Naughty Angel. Yum! That's all I can say.

I ♥ My Bike (that's bicycle)

specifications (bike spec's are similar on my model)

size

XL

color

Blue Linear

frame material

Gradient ZR9000 Alloy

msrp (usd)

$2,219.99 | $1,009.99 (Frame Only)

fork

RockShox Duke Race

headset

Alloy Aheadset, semi-cartridge,sealed

rear shock

N/A

crankset

Shimano XT 44/32/22 Hollowtech II

bottom bracket

Shimano XT Hollowtech II

derailleurs (f/r)

Shimano New XT

shifters

Shimano Deore XT STI Disc

chain

Shimano HG-73

wheel system

Bontrager Race ATB Disc & Tubeless Compatible

tires

Bontrager Super X 26X2.1 / 49/48, Tubeless

cassette

Shimano XT 11-34T 9 speed

brakes

Shimano New XT Disc

brake levers

Shimano XT STI Disc

handlebars

Bontrager Race

stem

Bontrager Race ATB Stem

seatpost

Bontrager Sport

saddle

Bontrager FS 2000

grips/tape

Klein Instinct

Well I absolutely ♥ this bike. I did change the pedals so that I can wear regular tennipods if I want. There was a period of time where I couldn't remember to clip out, so I would fall . . . A LOT! (TGIP)

One of the coolest things about this bike, besides it's phenomenal paint job, is that the bike is first welded together, then they go back over it with a low flame and smooth out all the seams. They also design the frame for the cables to be internal. That is crazy cool. No more pinching my skin when I'm doing tight standing corners and such. So when the bike is painted, it truly becomes a work of art. The bike is crazy lightweight. I like that especially after a long ride if I have to carry it upstairs and am already exhausted. It's not so heavy that I struggle to get it up the stairs.

I cannot wait for Klein to come back to the states.

I started biking more regularly lately and have fallen back in love with my bike. Riding it a few times, I remember what drew me to it in the first place. It is gorgeous. It is sexy. It is the Cadillac of bikes. It rides like a dream. It handles like a dream. I'm glad I splurged on it when I did. I had no idea that the Klein bikes would become obsolete in the US shortly after I bought mine.

A 4th of Independence with a 5th of Vodka

Happy 4th aka Independence to everyone. This is a show of the country club close to my house. I was having a few too many martinis to film upright :) hee hee hee

Mr. Gay

Ah, those crazy gays!

I gotta get this t-shirt

I stumbled upon a t-shirt with this on it at David & Goliath's Tees. It is great! I almost spit my drink on the laptop when I read it.