Wanderlust

I was doing so well with my weekly or bi-weekly posts – and then I fell off the face of the blog-world. I’ve definitely been keeping busy, but I’ve also spent some time alone. Sometimes that’s all you need. Sometimes you need a little alone time to clear your head and get back into life. It’s been an interesting few weeks – with lots of different things happening. Celebrating life, mourning death, and living in the moment. So many different emotions, but such a good feeling in the end.

I found my inner “hippie” a couple weeks ago at a yoga practice. This was different from my normal practice – seeing as it was out in the country on an organic farm. It was a small group of yogis, but I felt very comfortable there. After hanging around for an hour or so, we began our practice. I ended up with a few bug bites, but I also ended with a clear and open mind. It was pretty nice to be out of “town” where I could see the stars, hear nature everywhere, and just BE. After we said our “Namaste” we enjoyed some organically grown food and some wine from the local winery. I’ve always loved the busyness of the city, but it’s kind of nice to be out where no one else is. Close enough where I can easily get to people, but far enough away that I don’t get bothered by them. The whole time I was out on the farm, I felt like Jennifer Aniston from Wanderlust. (If you haven’t seen the movie – you should. It’s pretty hilarious. Plus – Paul Rudd is in it and who doesn’t love Paul Rudd?) Anyway – we show up and there’s incense burning around the outside of the house, there’s a hammock in the yard, and a man with dreadlocks greeting us with a huge smile and a hug. I felt so out of my element – it was great. The people there were so REAL – I hope that’s something that will rub off on me. The realness of the place and the people, I want to be that REAL.

And after great, calming nights like that of yoga, I have the occasional practice where I feel like I’m dying. That happened last Friday. It was a free class at a studio I hadn’t yet been to. I thought I would try it out – there’s no harm in that right? Plus I have a Groupon for 10 sessions that I hadn’t used yet, so maybe I should try one out for free before I use those. Well let’s just talk about how it was hot when we walked in, and once the class was fairly full – the heat lamps were turned off. It was SO HOT in there from body heat alone. We went through an awesome flow – hit so many poses – and attempted a Side Crow. Not quite as successful as my regular Crow, but it was a good try. (Side note: whenever I say Crow it makes me think of the Brandon Lee and I get a little freaked out. That movie is kinda freaky.) It was nice to switch up my practice a little bit, and I definitely got my ass kicked. Once we were done, there was a free keg of 312 (awesome) and some great conversation with a different dynamic of people than I’m used to at PLY. It’s good for me. Broadening my horizons is ALWAYS a good thing.

To follow that kick ass workout, we headed to Exile Brewing to drink FOR FREE with my German beer mug. Fantastic. Those bad boys are aggressive – the mug not the beer – and I loved trying the new Oktoberfest. (Speaking of which – Oktoberfest is just around the corner… so excited.) And in typical German beer fashion, I came home and fell asleep – on my couch. I woke up at 3:00 in the morning with the TV still on – I have been trying to finish up Nip/Tuck. I crawled back into bed for another few hours and then headed to the Farmer’s Market in the morning for a burrito and some Java Joe’s Coffee. Weekends like that are some of my favorite.

I made a trip to Ames on a party bus for the Iowa/Iowa State game – boo Hawks – and spent some time with my favorite people. As it turns out – I’m not as good at tailgating as I used to be. Or maybe I’m better at it – you choose. I’ve celebrated love with friends getting married, friends getting new jobs, and just friendship in general. I’m in a good place with most things and am content with what that means.

And while I have decided to forego the yoga teacher training (for now), I will be all-supporting for someone else going through it for the next two months. One night a week, and one full Saturday full of yoga and learning – I’m really excited for the end result. Finding something that opens you up and frees your mind is something that I hope everyone finds.

“Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life.”
–        Swami Vivekananda

Dare to do what you want to do, even if it’s something you never thought you’d do. Try something new – because you never know, it could change your life.

Be who you are and just do you. Because as Abraham Hicks says: “People will love you. People will hate you. And none of it will have anything to do with you.” So do you, be you, and ignore anyone who can’t handle that.

Be you.

S

Cheesecake and Contentment - A Recipe for Success

As I begin week four of my new job, I can’t help but smile. I got a great workout in this morning, it felt like fall when I walked outside, and I got a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks (they’re back!) on my way in. I went to bed with my laundry put away, the floor vacuumed, and the scent of freshly blown out candles wafting around my apartment. I’d been enjoying my last couple weeks since my last post, with lots of yoga, delicious food, and time with friends. As I ease into September, it finally feels like I know what I’m doing. 2012 sucked, 2013 has been decent, and I’m really looking forward to what 2014 brings.

Like I said before – I’ve spent a lot of time in yoga the past few weeks. I’ve enjoyed classes at Gray’s Lake and I’ve sweat it out in Lululemon’s Showroom. But mostly, I’ve fallen in love with the classes, people, and ideals at Power Life Yoga. So much so – that I’ve worked out a work trade with them. Three hours of work at week, and free yoga classes to follow. It’s been such an amazing experience for me that I’ve also thought about teacher training. I’m still throwing it around my mind… because I may almost rather enjoy the classes without having to worry about what to teach next. I’ve got some time to figure it out though. No matter what I decide though, I’ll be forever a yogi.

I celebrated Restaurant Week in Des Moines with some of my favorites – with a trip to Fleming’s. Oh em gee. So delicious. If it weren’t so expensive, I’d want to be there at LEAST once a month. The atmosphere is awesome and the wine is even AWESOMER (yeah – awesomer for sure). Their cheesecake is seriously amazing too. So for sure – go get some of that. It’s a very close tie in cheesecake between Fleming’s and Sakari. Interesting choice between places eh? Then this past week, I got invited to help celebrate promotions with some friends and they decided to go to 801 Grand Steakhouse. And when I say oh em gee about Fleming’s, I REALLY mean OH EM GEE about 801. I had some yummy Moscato (because you can’t go wrong there) and tried some Carpaccio – I didn’t know what it was till I tried it. Super tasty though – I’ll eat that again. Then I had a giant Caesar salad which I accidentally said “sure” when they asked if I wanted sardines on it. So those little guys got pushed off to the side. But THEN I got to the rest of the meal. Garlic mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and pistachio encrusted lamb chops. Wow wow wow. My mouth is watering again just THINKING about the deliciousness of this meal. And to top off the meal, I shared a slice of cheesecake with raspberries drizzled all over it. I can’t even handle how yummy it all was. After eating that entire meal all I wanted to do was sleep. And so I did. I was so full. But it was SO worth it.

I just realized how much I just wrote about food. I love food. So much.

And maybe one of the best parts about this past week – FOOTBALL!! Saturday was the season opener for state schools and it was fantastic reading everyone’s statuses and seeing their tailgating pictures. I was so jealous. I miss college. And all I have to show for it is a degree I don’t use and student loans I’ll be paying off till I retire. But it was so fun. And congrats Panthers on your win – I’d rather you win than two weeks from now during the Iowa/Iowa State game and the stupid Hawkeyes pull a win out their asses. Because then those fools will not shut UP about it. Such poor winners. But even worse losers. All right – enough with that… I know Cyclone fans can be real dicks too. Just not quite as bad J

I had a little epiphany while practicing a week or so ago. We were in savasana (corpse pose) at the end of class one Saturday morning, and our instructor kept talking about santosha. Santosha means “contentment” and “satisfaction.” Basically – doing whatever you need to be content in life. It really settled deep within my mind. Perfection is so completely unattainable – but contentment can happen so easily. You don’t have to lead a PERFECT life. You can be satisfied and content with what you have.

Which leads me to my next thought: church. I went to church growing up, but then never really made it back. I don’t necessarily say I’m a non-religious person, but more spiritual. I don’t go to church, but I think I have found my “church.” Yoga has helped clear my mind, bring new meaning to things I haven’t thought about before, and opened my eyes. I come out of class with a more focused look at what’s happening in my life and where I want to go from here. What I want to do next. I love that feeling.

“Be daring. Be different. Be impractical. Be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”

– Cecil Beaton

I’ve found my church. My sanctuary may not have a cross or a preacher, but I do come out of it feeling the same way. I’ve got a clear focus, an open mind, and a feeling in my heart that I’m doing life RIGHT.

Namaste.

S

Positively Positive

Guys. I’ve been SO BAD at blogging lately. I’m not impressed with myself. Like at all. I don’t want to make up excuses… but I’ve been REALLY BUSY doing REALLY AWESOME THINGS. I’ve also been doing a lot of working… but I really shouldn’t make up excuses. It’s hard for me to sum up the last month – yeah… it’s really been that long – in a blog entry… especially since I get wordy as is. I’ll just recap the great stuff I’ve been up to.

Since my last posting on July 15^th… here’s what’s happened. (That's SO LONG AGO)

·         Ate my weight in carbs at the Italian Festival

·         Road-tripped to Minnesota to see NKOTB, Boyz II Men, and 98 Degrees in concert

·         Attended and LOVED a couple Yoga In the Glen get-togethers

·         Relaxed for some Yoga in the Park at Gray’s Lake

·         Got my butt kicked at some Lululemon yoga events

o   **Sidenote: I haven’t ONLY been doing yoga the last month, although there’s plenty of it

·         Ate lots of sushi – good and bad

·         Got recruited for a new job (and accepted!)

·         Took a couple days off just for ME

·         Attended a Chive meet up and people watched my ASS off (go to chive.com and see what I mean)

I’ve had lots of positives happening in my life lately and it makes me smile. I know there will be plenty of negatives to follow, because that’s how life goes. What goes up, must come down. But at this point – I’m prepared for it. I have a great support system through my friends and family and so far they’ve backed me on everything I’ve done. That makes it much easier for me to be happy and stay positive.

I’ve been doing my share of creepin on the Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/every other annoying form of social media lately, and I really like the positivity I see. Sure – there’s plenty of negativity and plenty to annoy the shit out of me. I’m trying really hard to not let it get to me – because obviously it’s their life and really has ZERO EFFECT on me so it SHOULDN’T bother me – but sometimes it just happens. Let me get back on track… positivity. Seriously though – I love what I see. And sometimes it’s the little things – like someone getting their Starbucks paid for by the person ahead of them in line. And sometimes it’s the bigger things – like getting a “thinking of you” gift from a friend because of something major happening in your life. Maybe it’s all the yoga I’ve been doing, but I feel like I’ve been happier, calmer and more forgiving lately. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve just had a positive outlook on life because my life has been looking up. Maybe by the time 2014 rolls around, I’ll finally have my shit together. And maybe not. But I’m positive and hopeful about it.

It makes me happy when I see other people happy. I like when people are happy because they aced their first test of the semester. Or when they got a new pair of running shoes that helped them run a million miles that week. I like when I see people getting engaged, having babies, buying homes/cars/pets. I like all that positivity. Sure it can be annoying – but they’re positive life events out in the open for others to see as well.

I didn’t realize this was going to get into a motivational post about positivity… but here you have it. I’m POSITIVE I will get back on board with my posts – and will continue to tell you about the awesome and not-so-awesome things I’ve been doing. Maybe I’ll bore you with the icky sushi I ate – or excite you with the fact that I can do the Crow Pose in yoga. Or maybe vice versa? But I am POSITIVE that I will get into your head at some point and make you think.

A couple little words of wisdom were found on a sign (that I have on hold at Francesca’s and am picking up tomorrow) that really tie in with my positivity jargon I’m using tonight. So here you have it:

“Live by the sun, love by the moon.”

A rotation of happiness – live and love continuously, all day – every day. For the rest of your days. If this is what yoga does to my mind and soul, then I’m going to forever be a yogi. I love this.

Live, laugh, love –

S

Thrive

I’m hoping you’ve all made it through this Monday so far and have landed your happy little ass on the couch with the remote and a beer… but if you haven’t, then I hope you’re already in bed. Or maybe you had an awesome Monday and can’t wait to continue on with the awesomeness. Mondays are pretty hit or miss, that’s for sure. As I sit down to write tonight, I just feel – blah. I wanted to talk about every awesome thing I did in the last couple weeks (clearly “awesome” is the only adjective I know how to use tonight… maybe it’s because I watched quite a few episodes of HIMYM this weekend…) but I just wasn’t feeling it. Maybe I’m just tired, or maybe I just want to read my book instead. Just a slump for the overly wordy blog entry for the day. But I did find something that made me happy, and opened my eyes a little bit. I know I’ve said multiple times that I wish I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I realize I may not be a “grown up” for many years, but I just wish I knew what I wanted to do forever. I’ve always wanted a CAREER. I don’t just want a job. I want to find something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to be challenged. I want to learn new things. I want to meet new people. I don’t want a sedentary lifestyle where I’m unhappy with what I’m doing. I want to be active and try new things. I just haven’t figured out what exactly that entails. Does that involve me being my own boss? Does that mean I need to move somewhere else? Or does that mean I just need to find something that works for now, and until I have the resources to do my forever job, settle? I don’t know what it means. I’ve got an ongoing bucket list, and my list for things I want to do this year. I also realize that I’m 26 (and a half) and there’s no hurry for me to figure out what I want to do FOREVER, right now. I just don’t know. I get on social media sites daily, hourly (depending on what I’m doing) and I see people getting new jobs, getting engaged, having babies, getting divorced, going back to school, complaining about how “hard” their life is, and I just want to punch people. Is that terrible for me to say? Probably a little bit. But it’s how I feel. I’m happy with where I am in my life – I just wish I had a little more direction. Maybe I’ll have an epiphany some day and just wake up and BAM – I know what I want to do forever. I just want to THRIVE. I don’t know what I will be doing while I’m thriving, but I have extremely high hopes for myself. Back to what made me happy and open my eyes a little, my quote. Well not MY quote, Reba’s quote. The one that opened my eyes and made me happy. “To thrive in life you need three bones. A wishbone. A backbone. And a funny bone.” Like I said – I want to THRIVE. I want to be happy and healthy and challenged. I have high hopes for my future. Maybe my future is 20 years from now, or maybe it’s 6 months from now. To get what I want (whatever it may be) I need a backbone. Stand up for what I want and love; and stand up to people who don’t care about you. That will never get you where you want to be. And most importantly – a funny bone. Make sure you’re able to laugh at yourself, or with yourself – whichever you prefer. I don’t understand how people can go through life being SO unhappy. Laugh, be happy, and spend time with people who bring out the best in you. So – my goal for the rest of the year: thrive. No matter what I’m doing – whether it’s work, getting in shape, or my to-do list. Thrive. Do things that make me happy, with people who make me happy. Challenge myself with things I’ve never done before. Or challenge myself with things I want to perfect. But by the end of the year – I will continue to thrive. Remember: all you need are a wishbone, backbone, and a funny bone. Sara

Time Well Wasted

Well kids – we’re halfway done with 2013. How’s it feel? Do you feel accomplished? Anxious? Hopeful? Or do you have an overwhelming feeling of “what the hell have I been doing the last six months?” I think I’ve got a combination of all of the above. Accomplished because I’ve done a lot of new things this year; anxious because I don’t know where to go from here; hopeful because I think I’m on the brink of something great. And then of course the “what the hell have I been doing the last six months” because it feels like just yesterday I was nursing a New Year’s hangover. The last six months have flown by, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year.

And now, for you tonight: a recap of the end of June. And I will have you know – I actually wrote an outline of what I wanted to put in this entry. Usually it’s just a fly by the seat of my pants type post – but I felt like being a little more organized today. Perhaps it was the green tea flowing through my veins that helped keep me on track – or the fact that I got more sleep this weekend than I have in a LONG time. Either or.

Monday was my typical Monday. Too tired from the weekend to wake up early for a workout, and no time the rest of the night to work out since I’d be at work till 10. While I was at work number one for the day, I came across a little blurb of information: “7000 jumps with a jump rope burns ONE pound. Do 1000 jumps each day during the week and lose one pound.” Well shit. I can totally handle that. So I decided that for my work out that night, I would do 1000 jumps. Surely it can’t take that long – I can do it in 200 jump increments and be done in no time. Well as it turns out – I am TERRIBLE at jumping rope. My feet hurt, I wanted to throw up, and I nearly Hulked out and tore a jump rope in half because I kept screwing up. Maybe I won’t get this done. I got my 1000 jumps in and headed home so I could wake up for an early trip to the gym.

Flash forward to Tuesday morning when my alarm went off at 5:00 am. That shit wasn’t happening. Back to bed until 6:30-ish. Finally I crawl out of bed and get ready for work. I was excited for dinner that night – yes I was ready for dinner at 6:30 in the morning – because I was trying out a new recipe (thanks Pinterest!) Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Bake. YUM. Worked out and died a little after work – then headed home to mix up my concoction. This was a DELICIOUS meal. Chicken, Frank’s Hot Sauce, crumbled blue cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, and tater tots. It looked pretty AND it tasted good. That rarely happens. Followed dinner up with She’s All That – which reminded me that each movie I watched in the 90s gave me unrealistic expectations for what the real world was going to be like. So disappointing.

Wednesday ‘s work day needed to get here and get done – I was taking the day off from working out so I could head to Mickey’s downtown for the launch party for the new Juice. I was so nervous I wasn’t going to get a Juice glass that I left work a few minutes early to make sure I was one of the first 300 people through the door. Well I was plenty early – got my glass and got to spend some time chatting out on the patio while I indulged in some delicious Summer Shandy. We spent a good hour talking about food and I was getting hungry – so to follow Mickey’s, we headed to Wasabi Tao. I’m really starting to LOVE sushi and can understand how people develop an “addiction” to the stuff. We started off with spicy edamame – which is SO MUCH BETTER than regular edamame. Holy crap. Then we decided to go from plain sushi, to sushi sushi, and “OMG I LOVE THIS” sushi. Let me elaborate. Plain sushi = the California roll. Sushi sushi = Tiger Roll. OMG I LOVE THIS = Out of Control roll and the Kirkwood roll. I was seriously drooling. They were so good. I love sushi. And that was an amazing end to my Wednesday.

Thursday was going to be another long and exciting day and night. (Clearly I wasn’t scheduled at either of my part time jobs so I had some more time for fun things. Not that folding and refolding clothes isn’t fun… but you get what I’m saying.) After an early morning and long day at work, I headed to the gym for an all weighted workout. Haven’t done one of these in a while – I was definitely in for it. After plenty of squats, bench press, an ab circuit, and other lifts I forgot about, I was ready for a good laugh. We had some free tickets to the Funny Bone that night – and I was pretty excited to laugh my ass off. And that I did. I was cracking up – and terrified that sitting right next to the stage would be cause for a huge amount of embarrassment. But there was only a little embarrassment. And as if I hadn’t had enough fun there, we decided to head downtown to Pints for a while to people watch. I can only handle so much people watching before I need to go home – so it was a fairly early night.

Friday sucked. I mean work was work – but I was super tired. I had zero plans of doing anything exciting that night. So after a trip to Jimmy John’s for some sammiches, a trip to Hy Vee for some honeydew melon, crackers and hummus, and a short trip to Redbox for some movies – I was so ready to take off my pants and bra and not do a damn thing. It was wonderful. Two and a half movies later, it was bed time for this girl.

Saturday’s wake-up call didn’t come till 9 and it was AWESOME. I definitely needed a full night’s sleep. I drank some coffee and got ready for a quick shift at the mall. After work, I really wanted to go to the Art Festival that was in town for the weekend. However – rain off and on the whole day didn’t really appeal to me. So after work, it was another sushi night! This time we headed to the East Village for Miyabi 9. I’ve heard only good things about this place – so I was so sure I wouldn’t be disappointed. Sadly though – I was a little disappointed. I mean don’t get me wrong, I loved the sushi – but I didn’t love it more than other sushi that I’ve had. We again went for the plain sushi, sushi sushi, and OMG I LOVE THIS sushi. Plain sushi = Hawaiian roll. Sushi sushi = Tiger roll. OMG I LOVE THIS = Acapulco roll and the Miami Heat roll. Very good place – but more expensive than Wasabi Tao, Sakari, Haiku… and it wasn’t my favorite. So now I’ve got that checked off my bucket list – I can move on to try more sushi places! To follow our GINORMOUS amount of sushi, we headed to The Rooftop for a drink while we decided what to do with the rest of our night. I forgot about that place until I looked up during dinner and saw it. On a hot day that place would be PERFECT. There’s an awesome breeze flowing and an open patio to work on my tan. But when it looks like it’s going to rain – I got nervous. After lots of discussion, we decided to hit up a movie. And not just ANY movie – we were going to see Monsters University. Yes I realize I’m 26, but I am a serious Disney/Pixar kid at heart. Always have been, always will be. As I’d hoped – Pixar didn’t disappoint. I still like the first one better – but I’m probably going to buy this one when it’s out on DVD. Another early night for me on Saturday – awesome.

Sunday was an unexpectedly busy day. Another late wake-up call, and then a trip to Gateway Market for brunch. It was a gorgeous day so I thought a walk to the Art Festival would be a great morning activity. A loop through Western Gateway Park was a good start to the day – to get my creative juices flowing. Because after that I was heading to a bridal shower and I knew I’d need an extensive vocabulary for the shower games. (Scattegories and “How Well Do You Know the Bride?” were on the docket for the afternoon.) So many talented artists and great works of art – I wish I could be so creative! Sadly though – my creativity is in my writing. Looks like that will have to suffice for now. I did finish out my night with some laundry (super exciting) and some homemade breakfast sandwiches. I had one for breakfast today and YUM – definitely an A+ in my book. Home run FO SHO.

I was cleaning out my phone today – deleting pictures of sayings from my phone, multiples pictures of Toby (don’t judge) and extensive food shots – and came across a lot of great words of wisdom. And I think this is a perfect way to start out the halfway mark of 2013:

“Time is precious. Waste it wisely.”

Like I’d said before – these last six months have completely flown by. Time is so precious. But if you waste it wisely – spend it wisely, whichever you choose – then it’s worth it. Although half the year is gone, I enjoyed it. I have loved nearly every minute of it. Sure – shit happens. But you get over it. And other AMAZING things have happened. Waste your time wisely, with people you love. Don’t spend your time doing something you hate with people whom you cannot STAND. Waste your time doing something awesome, with people who are equally as awesome as you are. You won’t regret it.

Have a wonderful Independence Day/week – ‘merica

S

Hops, Sunburns, and People Watching

I’ll be honest with you – this week was not very exciting. I worked Monday night, made spaghetti and watched Double Jeopardy on Tuesday night, relaxed on Wednesday night, ate sushi and celebrated a friend’s birthday on Thursday night, and ended up eating half a frozen pizza, drinking wine, and watching Bachelorette without my pants on for my Friday night festivities. These were all enjoyable activities (especially the ones where I don’t have to wear pants) but the REAL fun started on Saturday afternoon. What was on Saturday you ask? Well – I shall tell the tale.

Saturday was the Iowa Craft Brew Festival. And I was a VIP entrant for the event. Super exciting. I couldn’t wait to drink as much brewery beer as I wanted and work on my tan while I was there. As a VIP person for the event, you got an awesome testing glass (not just a big shot glass like the REGULAR people) and an early entrance from the rest of the crowd. Because why wouldn’t you want to start drinking an hour earlier than everyone else? There were 45 different breweries featured with over 200 different beers available to try. Sadly – I did not make it through all 200+ beers. I think I would have needed to have someone carry me home after that business. But I did do quite well with trying at least one from each brewery. There were a couple that I cut short – because I’ve had a Sam Adams or two in my life, as well as Leinenkugel’s. There were 16 breweries I didn’t quite try – I just counted to see what I missed – and looking through those, I’ve had about 6 of them so really… I only missed 10 breweries. Pretty good for being out from 1-5 pm on a sweltering 95 degree day in June. Speaking of that – I got a nasty sunburn too. Was it worth it? Obviously. I should probably remember to wear sunscreen next time I’m out for more than 30 minutes on my lunch break.

My grading scale went like this:

·         Duh = of course it was delicious

·         Eh = I’d drink it… but it’s not my favorite

·         A Checkmark = yep I’ll do it

·         Completely Scratched Out = not a chance I will ever drink this again OR I dumped it over the bridge it was so bad

·         Write In Brews = there were a few of these not in the book that were write-in BIG WINNERS

·         A Question Mark = we weren’t sure what to think about it. Didn’t quite elicit a check mark, but also didn’t really deserve an “eh” either

(The grading was pretty cut and dry at the beginning, but as the day went on we begin to add in grading option. That’s what happens when you start tasting delicious brewery beer at 1 pm!) So. Some of the obvious “Duh” grades went to Angry Orchard (love me a sweet, cider beer), Confluence Brewing Company, Exile Brewing Company, Samuel Adams, and Leinenkugel’s. Confluence and Exile are the newer breweries in Des Moines and come HIGHLY recommended by me. Definitely worth a trip downtown to hit up these places.

Now for some of the “eh” grades. Overall, there weren’t BAD breweries. There were definitely bad beers (in my opinion – maybe not for everyone) but no real breweries that had been completely crossed out. Goose Island Brewing Company in Chicago got some checkmarks for their 312 (duh) and an “eh” for their 25^th Anniversary as well as their Summer beer. I’d drink them… but not forever. Madhouse Brewing Company in Newton got an “eh” grade for their Honey Pilsner and a HELL NO for their Coffee Stout. Now I’ve had some DELICIOUS coffee beers before, but this one was definitely not one of them. Which is a bummer because I’m all about the local brews. Millstream Brewing Company in Amana, Iowa is going to probably be a road trip sometime this year. They got a Check for the Double IPA (better than a single IPA apparently) as well as a write in for their Hefeweizen. DE-LISH. Pretty sure that’s worth a 2 hour drive for some yummy beers. Possibly to bring home in a growler… possibly. Let’s see… some others that are worth talking about. Looking through my notes, I can tell that I had started getting lazy with my judging. Not with judging people there – I got plenty of that done. Definitely a great place to people watch.  Third Base Brewing Company in Cedar Rapids got two checkmarks for their Beggar Jon’s and Black Cobra. Mostly I just liked the names they had for their brews – with Czech Your Head, Flying Aces, Jedi Braid, and Red Rocket. That’s how I was deciding which beer to try at most places. If it had a creative name, I’d try it. I don’t know if that’s exactly how you’re supposed to choose your brew… but that’s how I roll.

Toppling Goliath Brewing Company in Decorah got DQ’d in the process – they ran out of beer by the time we made it to their booth. Sorry guys – I was ready to try pseudoSue or Tsunami Pale while I was there. Better luck next year. Number 7 Brewing Company in Ankeny intrigued me with their lack of advertising, a “TBD” note in the book when listing the brews they brought, and their back story. Number 7 is basically the 7^th thing on the owners’ bucket list – open a brewpub. They’d been home brewing and BBQing for years, so they decided to cross “Number 7” off their bucket list, and here it is. Now I need to try their food and see what it’s really all about. Such a great thing for another locally owned business. We tried their Number 7 American Amber (got a checkmark) and the Drunken Sailor IPA (that got a ? ranking). They also offer CoCo Bessie Milk Stout (hopefully a boozy chocolate milk) and the KB Kolsch. Worth a trip up north to try it for sure.

Some honorable mentions for ICBF 2013 include Albia Brewing Company (a write-in “roadtrip?” note), the Arrogant Bastard from Boulevard Brewing, Moose Drool and Brushtail (a write-in) from Big Sky Brewing Company, Boone Valley Brewing Company with their Dunkelweizen (I’ve never met a Dunkel I haven’t liked), Roxie Red Ale and Stout, Chew-Baca from Confluence (comes out in a few months and I cannot WAIT), and Twisted Vine Brewery’s Swashbuckler Summer Ale.

So there we have it, folks. My two cents worth for Iowa Craft Brew Festival 2013. I hope some of you were out enjoying the sights and tastes and sunburns like I did. Worth it. If you have any questions or suggestions on brews I should try or steer clear from, let me know. I’m always up for a challenge, even if that includes crappy beer nights.

The quote I’ll go to close this out is something I’d love to tell people, without it sounding like I’m being rude. But with so many people complaining, whining, bitching and moaning I see on social media, I think this seems fairly appropriate. (And I apologize ahead of time… for the profanity.)

“Life is so damn short. For fuck sake, just do what makes you happy.”

The end. Off my soap box. Now go enjoy a beer, don’t bitch about your “terrible” life, and just freakin enjoy it. Drink beer,  make friends.

Love Love,

Sara

Nerd Status

I know you’ve been wondering “is she dead? We haven’t seen a post from her since MAY. I bet she died during D2D4.” Well – you are partially correct. I did, indeed DIE during D2D4… but I came back to life after a nap, some food, a shower, and some beers. My body sure took some convincing, but I made it out alive. But I need to go back in time… I’m so far behind I don’t even know what I did between now and my last posting. Maybe I should make it a rule that I post at least once a week – no matter what I’ve done. That way I don’t get nearly a MONTH out without any updates on my oh-so super exciting life. So. Here we go. A brief synopsis of some things, and too many details of others. You’re welcome.

May is a big birthday month for my family, so we had a get together at Smokey D’s with a bunch of us. I snuck my cupcakes into the restaurant – Cookie Dough Filled Cupcakes – and had zero to take home after dinner. They must have been a hit! But seriously – they were effing good. Not pretty by any means… but they were GOOD. The dinner I had made the night before – not as good as I’d planned. It was a Chicken and Asparagus pasta with a creamy lemon sauce. Meh. I’ll use less stuff next time, or just a bigger pan. I mean I ate it – so I didn’t HATE it, but it wasn’t my best. That weekend was Mother’s Day. I did a lot of working and made an impromptu brunch. Breakfast pizza (with too many eggs), hash browns, and a fruit salad. YUM. Breakfast is so fun to make. And you can have breakfast any time of day.

The next week was D2D4 week. I worked, had a nail appointment (I could have done it myself), and a night to prep before the run. Not a very exciting week – but it was okay since I’d be running my ass off Saturday morning. Saturday morning about 4:15 am my alarm went off. Time to get up and moving! We left my place around 5 to walk down to the bus pick up. Grabbed a coffee on the way at the sketch QT and made it out to Saylorville with nearly an hour to go before race time. Time to have a little snack, drink some water, lace up the runners, and use the potties. Basically you just hurry up and wait. Once the race started, I felt pretty good. The first couple miles went by quickly, and then all of a sudden, we were only on mile 4. We were 1/3 the way done and I was ready to be done already. We made it up the first big hill without any issues, and decided a little walk was in order. After that, we did much more walk/running. About mile 9 or 10, my foot started to hurt and I could feel a massive blister coming in. I wasn’t sure if I should run faster or if I should go slower to ease the pain of what I knew would be a TERRIBLE blister. But I kept going – wanting to cry, throw up, and die the whole way, and not necessarily in that order. Once we heard the Isiserettes I knew it was almost over. We wove in with the 5k runners and all crossed the line. All I wanted was a bathroom, water, and to get my freakin shoes off my feet. Again – not necessarily in that order. I spent the majority of the day on my couch – knowing I should refuel and rehydrate, but instead – I took a nap. So naturally, I woke up feeling spectacular…ly awful. Go figure. Some year I will learn that you don’t immediately take a nap after running that far. Your body will hate you. FOR-E-VER.

I had planned out my next week pretty lightly, that way I wouldn’t hate to move around after being sore from the weekend. I got a massage on Monday night – hurt so good. Again – I wanted to cry, throw up and die a little bit. (Do you see a pattern here?) That Friday night is what I was looking forward to though. It was Winefest 2013: Sips and the City. And by that point I was so ready to be “classy” and drink wine all night like a grown up. However, I didn’t remember until later that if you start drinking at 5 pm, you are home and asleep by 10:30 pm. Woops. But it was still fun – lots of good wines, lots of snacks, and some time downtown people watching (my favorite activity). Family pictures were that Sunday and I had come down with the flu Saturday night. Not cool. I ended up staying home last Monday so I could feel better as well as catch up on 30 Rock. The rest of that week – yuck. Well not all of it… but I was busy every night. Work on Tuesday, book club on Wednesday (get ready for the nerd stuff coming up), work on Thursday, and nerd night on Friday. What do I mean by nerd night? Well, if you must know – and you’re going to know because I will tell you – there was a lecture by one of my new favorite authors in Cedar Rapids. Gillian Flynn (pronounced Gill – like fish – ian, not Jillian) was doing a discussion and answering questions about her past, her writing, her future, etc. It was AWESOME. Plus we got her autograph at the end – so basically she and I are BFFs and someday she’s going to be my mentor when I write a book. It was interesting to listen to her talk about how she’s always had a love of “dark” things, and that’s what inspired her writing. She and I are far more alike in our weird-ness than I thought. And weird-ness makes me happy.

Nerd thing number 2 for the week. As I said, we had book club on Wednesday night and needed to figure out what to read next. A fellow blogger and book club member passed along  something to me via Facebook to have an author “attend” your book club. Naturally – I got excited. I looked into it and passed it along to the host. It’s going to be a done deal. We got in touch the author and learned what this was all about. Basically – we would Skype with her and have our own book club discussion with her book – The Year of the Gadfly. Totally one of my nerd fantasies. So – that’s happening. Our July book club meeting will actually be INCLUDING Jennifer Miller, the author of our chosen book. HOW COOL IS THAT?! All right – enough nerd for now. More to come I’m sure.

Things to look forward to in the next month or so: Iowa Craft Brew Festival this weekend, a brunette date down Ingersoll, a bridal shower, Zoo Brew, the 4^th of July, and hopefully a sunburn or two. Hooray for summer FINALLY being here, and coming in FULL FORCE.

 As for my quote, I’m keeping it simple. I don’t think it deserves a lot of explaining, I think it’s just true. Ponder it for a minute – and I hope it resonates with you the way it did with me.

“Whatever’s good for your soul… do that.”

Just think about it. Let it sink in. Listen to what your heart and soul are saying. They’re right most of the time. Just think about it.

Heart and soul,

S