November = Gone

So November is done - about that .....

Its been awhile since my last post - things have been pretty busy lately.  Pretty much every weekend we had something going on.  Overall, things are pretty good - just looking forward to the holidays coming up and a nice break from work.  Here's a little recap of the highlights of November.

November kicked off with a fun weekend in Philly at Theresa's cousin Stacy's wedding.  The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a blast.  It definitely turned into the heaviest drinking night of the month haha.  Family get-togethers with Theresa's family are always a good time :-).  The day pretty much consisted of the ceremony, drink a few beers with the family before the reception, cocktail hour, dinner/drinking/dancing/cigars at the reception, some more drinks at the hotel bar with the family, and finished the night off with an always-satisfying late-night Wawa run.  It was nice to relax and do nothing the next day once we got home :-).  The only downfall to the day was that we missed another wedding the same day for our friends Aubrey and Josh.  Congratulations to both couples!

Theresa and I hanging out with the family before the reception.

The weekend after that was pretty relaxing - just hung out for a lot of the weekend and took a breather.  One of the highlights of the weekend was Theresa's brother Harry's surprise 30th birthday party.  It was a good time and seemed pretty happy/surprised about the whole thing haha.

The third weekend of the month brought a pretty fun-filled day Saturday.  My buddy Mark was in town for the weekend visiting his brother in Philly, so I went into Philly in the afternoon and hung out with him and had a couple solid beers.  Later that night, my friends Keith and Fran had their house warming party, which was also a very good time!  It was really good to see some friends that I haven't hung out with in awhile and to help Keith and Fran break in the house a little.

Thanksgiving week was very nice - worked from home Monday - Wednesday, and had Thursday and Friday off.  We had a very relaxing Thanksgiving day hanging out at Theresa's dad's house.  Lots of turkey and all the other Thanksgiving goodies.  It was very nice to have a day with Theresa and her family where we could just relax all day :-).  Thanksgiving week was overall very solid.  It was nice to hang out with Theresa all week and unwind a bit.  Even had a chance to squeeze in a decent amount of Halo: Reach.

Found a puppy all comfy cozy in the bed last week :-)

Finally, Keith and I had a chance to brew our tripel that we have been meaning to brew for awhile now.  We brewed it a couple weeks ago and bottled it this past weekend.  It will be fun pop this one open in a few weeks when it is done bottle conditioning.  Thinking about doing a clone brew next - maybe a clone of Ruination IPA or Ubu ale.

Looking forward to bustin the next couple weeks out and getting to Theresa's birthday and a two-week project shutdown!  It will be nice to be home for  a couple weeks straight to enjoy some time with Theresa and our family!

Song of the Day: "Passerby" (All Points Bulletin Live version) by Dispatch
Beer of the Day: Sawtooth by Left Hand Brewery

Soup, Pulled Pork, Halo, and a Busy November

How the hell is it November already?  It seems like it was summer just yesterday, and now its been in the 30s as a low the last few nights.  I love this time of year.  There's something about walking the dog in that cold, crisp, morning air with the leaves falling that just makes me feel more alive.

Anyway, haven't updated in awhile so I figure I would do a new post.  I have been working from home the last couple weeks but am now back on the road in Detroit.  It was really, really nice to be home with Theresa and Abby for two straight weeks!  Its sooooo nice to be able to come home to the best girl in the world and the best puppy in the world! :-) It also gave me a good chance to relax at home and cook and do some other hobbies.

I love being able to cook when I am home!  This past weekend I made a sweet potato and chipotle soup that came out really tasty.  It was a Bobby Flay recipe from a cookbook that my parents got me.  I served it with some cornish game hens and Theresa made some tasty green beans :-).  On Sunday I threw a pork shoulder in a crock pot with apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, made some stovetop stuffing, heated up some leftover soup.  It turned out to be a pretty tasty hearty meal.  The pork came out pretty good - I think next time I may season a little differently - maybe add some more brown sugar, but overall it was a pretty solid meal. 

Being home for a couple weeks, also gave me a chance to play a decent amount of Halo: Reach.  The game is a lot of fun to play and is very well done.  I have been a huge fan of the Halo series (including all the games and the books) since I played the original game when it was released with the original Xbox.  Halo: Reach marks the last installment of the Halo series, and I feel like Bungie did a really good job on it.  I really feel like they did an awesome job incorporating some solid new game play mechanics while still remaining faithful to the original feel and style of the Halo series.  The campaign is very engaging and challenging (but not frustrating), and ties into the rest of the Halo storyline very well (it is effectively a prequel that immediately precedes the original Halo).  The multi-player match-making is really fun and addictive.  Bungie did a good job of including a game type for everyone in this installment and has been doing a good job so far of making updates and tweeks to improve the games.  The armory and credit system makes it a lot of fun as you earn enough credits to get new armor items.  However, the biggest highlight of the game is that it gives me something to do with my buddies that I can't be with physically.  Its been nice to be able to play Reach with Zorro, Veggie, Tommy D, Chewie, Matt, Corey, and others over Xbox Live.

I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to fly by.  Theresa's cousin Stacy is getting married this Saturday which should be a really fun time!  Unfortunately, our friends Aubrey and Josh are getting married the same day down on the shore, so we won't be able to go it.  But I am really happy for both couples and I'm sure both weddings will turn out great! :)  We also have a couple parties the couple weekends after that which should also be a lot of fun.  Before i know it, its going to be Thanksgiving!

Song of the Day: "Punk Rawk Show" by MxPx
Beer of the Day: Labatt Blue Light (wish I had one in hand now haha)