a breath of fresh air

I have to voice a disappointment first before anything else. I know it's not the best way to start but I really can't help it. This past weekend I unknowingly picked another not-so-good martini. Oh Almond Joy, why did you have to let me down? You actually taste nothing like your candy counterpart. You not only burn on the way down, but you burn after too. You could just pick one, you don't need to burn all the time. You also made my face burn. Thanks for the overall enjoyable experience inside and out, you shouldn't have, really. Just for that, you're only getting a 6.1. Which may be generous but I can still remember the week prior and you aren't anywhere near that, so this will do.

Ok, that being said, I truly enjoyed the whole evening. I met up with Jenna, Adam, Brooke, Ryan, Sandi and Amy and went out in the bitter cold to watch the ice sculptors on 8th st. I would say despite the cold, it was really neat. My favorite part is when they use a flame thrower to make it shiny. From here we went to 84 East minus Amy and sat at our favorite table on the barside. Perfect table location and size. I recommended the watermelon jolly rancher to Brooke who was not disappointed and after the horrible choice explained above, I ordered one as well. It was like a breath of fresh air. I still give it a 10. It was a well deserved, great ending to the day.

On a different note, I think I'm going to dye my hair. It's time.

a Double Whammy

It feels odd to be writing another post already but also kind of nice. In an odd sort of way, it makes me feel more connected to life and what is going on. I think I may try and open up my posting to all life events. If I do succeed at this more frequent posting, prepare to come here much more often than two or three times a month. Then again, the key word here is if.

So I went to martini night twice last week...kind of. Thursday was a special one time only event with a one time only martini, not that going twice in one weekend has to be a one time only occurrence. Right off the bat the new year brought a new record with it: with four of us in attendance; myself, Sandi, Brian and Rob, there was a 50/50 gender split. Percentage wise; this may never happen again, actual male count; hopefully. After four and a half months, I am proud to say that most of the waitresses recognize me and get my menu without even asking. I don't know why but it's actually a pretty good feeling. I think of 84 East as my own personal Cheers. Though in reality I am not sure if this is something to be proud of. Oh well, it's only going to get better for the next seven months, right? I went out on a limb this time and purposefully ordered drinks that didn't sound good. I figure at some point I have to knock them off the list but I realize now to only do one a night that I know I won't like, otherwise it can turn into a very disappointing evening. Luckily, there was plenty of entertainment at the table. So I started with the Pineapple Caketini, which sounds like it could be good. Slightly tropical with a hint of sweet. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it to it's full potential. It was good, but it wasn't memorable. I am giving it a 6.7 because there are plenty of other tropical and sweet options that are sure to make a better impression than this. I then followed with the biggest disappointment yet, the Grape Jolly Rancher. Gross. Let's all think for a second....aren't the grape flavored candies always one of the last left in the bowl. They are for me at least. I'm sure this is a clear indicator of why, I can only imagine, the bartender probably laughed in his head when he got the order. Unless you are one of the few people in the world that enjoys cough syrup, perhaps Brian, do not order this drink. I am giving it a generous 2.9 because it had sugar on the rim and somehow we managed to consume 1/3 of it. Better luck next week.

Nightly recap:
In attendance: Sandi, Brian, Rob
Drinks had: Pineapple Caketini and Grape Jolly Rancher
Quotable quote: ""It was Johnny Walker's fault." "Oh, I know him!""

2010

Before I begin with my recap of New Years celebrations I would like to make a comment about friendship. I'm getting to that stage in life where I have close friends that I've had for a year and others that I've had for 14 and I am constantly amazed at how God has blessed me. Seriously, they are my extended family. You are my extended family. And my family is what got me through this last year and will do so this next one. Thank you for everything you have done and stood by me through and helped me to celebrate or mourn.

So it's 2010. Didn't Y2K just happen? Did I really go to Europe for the first time 10 years ago? A whole decade. That's pure insanity. I feel old but I'm not. Anyways, the following will be a detailed account of my 2010 party hopping and then some.

So I started my day in Portland and drove myself and Esther back to Holland all the while stating "this is the last time in 2009 that I'll ____" and it was awesome. I love that game. I also love saying "See you next year!" because I'm a huge dork. Then I worked out. Big mistake. Last workout of the year and I'm incredibly sore, still. This made living life very difficult but for the night fine. I then proceeded to get ready and headed out to Paul and Julies place after dropping off my amazing guac. I wasn't sure how it would feel going there without the Weilers but I love the Wesselinks so I went anyways, and I'm glad I did. Even though I only stayed for an hour I thoroughly enjoyed myself and also helping the girls to win the game. Woohoo! From here I picked Sandi up and we met Kristen and Ammie at 84 East for a special Thursday night edition of martini night. I felt it necessary to try the evening martini special, the Snowflaketini. This drink should never be remade, ever. It's a mix of vodka, white grape juice and champagne. Why? Really, there are so many things that could have tasted so much better under that sugar rim than this. I am giving it a generous 3.2 but only because I know as bad as it was, it could have been worse. I followed it with the Tiramisu Tini which gains itself a high 8.1. I love Italy and anything associated with it so this may have helped but also, following what it did, it's not hard to get a high rating. It has a good flavor even though it has 3 different kinds of alcohol and other additives. Tip: Do not eat this with anything that is salty, I just don't think they'll mesh well. I also highly enjoyed spending time with these three ladies. Nothing but classiness while singing eighties hits. :)

From here we drove to the Parrotts place in Z! and the mix of the conversation in the car, the martinis, the snow, the carpooling and general giggles made for my last awkward comment of 2009. For future reference, when you aren't sure who is going to be around the corner, do not go into a room and say "wow, i'm intoxicated and i have to pee." and then leave. I think maybe it's not the best first impression. Oh well, I enjoyed myself nonetheless and began 2010 off right with an extended dance party with Peter playing DJ. I love dancing. I could have gone on for another hour if I didn't have to work....and if everyone else wasn't dead tired on the floor.

That was the end of the night but the fun didn't stop there. Later when I got out of work I met up with Brian and Peter at Steak and Shake and had 3 hours of conversation, tricks and reminiscing accompanied by good food. I highly enjoy gatherings like this and I think it was a great way to kick off the year.

Phew. That's it. You made it. Congratulations. I promise to update more quickly, mostly for me so I don't feel so behind.

Best part of 2009: You.

Christmas is all around us

If I truly wanted to, I could tell you about everything that has happened since my last post and you could be sitting here for at least 10 minutes reading a very long, very entertaining story. Instead, I'll give you the abridged version, which will consist mostly of bullet point highlights (not in any particular order) and might only take you 5 minutes :)

• sending out the most awesome Christmas cards ever, that my friend Lisa made here
• introducing Meagan to dear friends at the brew brew (I love that my friends all get along, what an awesome blessing.)
• on a second excursion to the brewery with Colleen and Sandi, having the most precious waiter on his first night and also receiving the best drunk voicemail. ha.
• opening presents with tags like the one pictured at right
• seeing Raquel and the amazing Brace family and having a sleepover like high school. this of course included a trip to the tattoo parlor. not for me, yet.
• having brunch with Colleen at Arnies (also pictured) and going to the mall the day before Christmas. two firsts.
• installing a programmable thermostat successfully! go me!
• laughing so hard I cried at the Christmas Eve service at church. so good this year, and always so wonderful to see my long lost church family.
• watching all of my favorite Christmas movies
• snow
• a lovely though short visit with the Bordenkirchers
• two impromptu dance parties within days of each other with different people. what a blessing again that I have friends that dance.
• sleeeeeeeeping.
  
  

So that was Christmas and everything leading up to it. It's been a good end to a so-so year, which makes me hopeful for 2010.

a GLEEful week

What a week! I think I could write about something enjoyable happening each day but for the sake of you, my readers, I won't.

This week has been a lot different than last. On the outside it looks similar, but on the inside, it's so much different. These are things that brought a smile to my face this week that I won't elaborate on:

• Dexter with friends
• Mario on the Wii and we all suck, ha
• Sharing dinner and life
• Christmas party at work and my work family
• The girls from high school and our annual gathering!
• Decorating my moms' tree (pictured ---->)

Now onto my most enjoyable events of the week....

Wednesday, sweet Wednesday. I love you. You bring me joy in the form of days off, friends and Glee. This week you brought me a whole party, a dress up party. And it was glorious. I had a moment when I was getting ready to be Rachel Berry when I realized I have the best friends in the world. I mean, it takes a special group of people to dress up for a TV show.

And we went all out, as you can see :) So fun! I won't bore you with more about this though, onto the next: Friday and the point of this all, Martini Night.

So Friday I enjoyed a Christmas party all day at work and then after work I joined up with some friends to see Christopher Williams with Jon Troast at the Park Theater for a great, live concert. Great music and talented artists make for a wonderful experience. After the concert we traveled over to 84 East. I had forgotten how different going on a Saturday is compared to a Friday. The atmosphere is completely different, mainly concerning the DJ they have playing music on the makeshift dance floor. Buuuuuuttt, without said DJ, we wouldn't be able to call a song for the night, and once it's played go to that silly little area and dance. Which is what we all did, to Billie Jean. Though I never need a drink to dance, because I'll dance to anything, anywhere....well mostly, we ordered a shaker of Tropical Storm. An intense mix of coconut and pineapple that comes out blue and is actually quite strong. I'm giving it a low 6.8 only because this is the first drink that made me flush and since that's painful, it was potentially given a low score. On a better day maybe a 7.2, it's very tropical tasting.

So here's the Martini Night Recap:

persons in attendance: Amy, Katie, Jenna, Brian, Adam, Dwight and partly Jon

drinks had: Tropical Storm

favorite quote: "it's not dark enough to dance the way I want to dance..."

favorite moment: most awkward group dance ever

a category 5

just write about life. give a simple rating on a drink. that's all i have to do. yet sometimes, this seems so hard. i don't feel like a natural writer. i can talk about anything and nothing until i'm blue in the face but when i have to actually write it out, i draw a blank. since this is one of those days, where i don't really feel like doing this, and i just want to use small letters and no capitals, i'm going to compact all the love i have for this day into a short(for me) post.
a category 5 hurricane is nothing to mess with. it's an unfortunate occurrence. you can predict when it's coming and make preparations but in the end all you can do is bunker down and wait for it to pass. hope and pray that when you open your eyes things are recognizable. i feel like i've been in a lot of situations like this lately. i can think of three right now, and though they're over and i made it, and i'm probably even stronger and more confident after, it sucks when you're going through it. and my point of this rambling is to recognize that martini night is not about alcohol. to me anyways. it's about the people and the conversations. it's about having people in your life you can sit at a table with week after week and never run out of things to talk about and if you do, it's a comfortable silence. it's about sharing life with all the good parts and the hard parts. and being there when someone is going through their own "category 5". though i didn't pick it because of all this, looking back, the Category 5 was a perfect choice for this week. it's possibly too many things blended together so i'm only going to give it a 6.7 after really thinking about it. it doesn't stand out to me, but i know quite a few people that have enjoyed it, so i could be completely biased on this one...as opposed to all the others you know ;) so thank you to jenna for sharing an evening of easy conversation and also to the second waitress that has brought me my menu without me asking. milestone.

Peanut Butter Pizza Pie

It actually exists. The title that is. It's not at all what I'm talking about but as soon as I wrote it out I wondered if it was real and low and behold, it is. And it actually sounds kind of tasty. Moving on...

November has been kind of nuts. It still doesn't compare to October but it's running a close second. So far this month I have:

• joined my mother and stood for 5 hours with drunk middle aged hooligans to watch The Boss


• joined Team In Training again, for yet another half marathon


• celebrated Merry Gobblemas with the most amazing family ever


• moved


• bought a dyson. (this one deserved a period)


• overslept on black friday


• gotten a flat tire


• watched two movies, UP and The Blindside, and cried at both


• attended two martini nights, which leads me to this past weekend:

I always love martini night, there has yet to be a time when I have left thinking I just wasted my time and money with crappy people. It just never happens. I especially love it when there is a small group with GREAT conversation or a larger group with lots of laughter and just shared moments. This weekend was the latter and it was a wonderful evening. I feel like I was able to catch up on everyones' lives, share a few things myself :) and enjoy two very delicious martinis. First off was the Pomtini coming in at a tasty 8.5. It was mainly graded down to the fact that though it's a strong flavor and not so much on the sweet side as it is tart, somehow this drink tastes too much like pink grapefruit, which is also tart, so you'd think they'd let the pomegranate dominate like it should but moving on to the Sour Patch Kid. I'm actually giving this an 8.5 as well. Delicious and not too sweet or sour, a perfect mix. I would have liked this one with the sugar rim but we did get it out of a pitcher so I could be misjudging it anyways. I think next weekend I'm going to give one of the wintery flavors a shot, since it's going to be collllllldd. Stay tuned, I think it's going to be a good one.