beerfest2013

On the first of June, the North American Brewer's Association put on 19th Annual Mountain Brewer's Beer Fest here in E. Idaho. I heard over 7,000 people went, as there were breweries from all over the Western United States. Craft beers are my heaven! And honestly, I'm still not too familiar with the different breweries that are available to me here in the West; they are quite different from what I bought in Florida. It seemed like a great opportunity to be introduced to what's around.

Luckily for me, my man had the day off and my 3 best friends came from out of town! The day was perfect; sunny, warm, and the vicious wind that is so common here was quiet.

I asked my friend Alisa to send me the pictures she took, since I forgot my camera. This was a day of celebration for us. You can see it on our faces. Especially since Carson worked 13 straight days before this, we hadn't seen Alisa and her hubby Caleb for months, and Candice lives in SLC so it had been a while since I'd seen her, too. Besides, when you throw sun and brews into it, any situation gets a little silly.

The lovely Alisa and I

Us plus the fabulous Candice

Cheese-balls.

Showing off his new tattoo

not sure what's going on here, but it makes me laugh

Uh... same with this one....

we tried to get everyone rounded up, but we're
missing a few.

All in all, the day was an absolute success! It was a great way to kick-off the summer and I'm sure all of us will remember that day for a long time. Thanks again to Alisa who remembered her camera, because of her we have lots of visuals to look at and giggle to :)

Saturday March 31, 2012

On this day in eastern Idaho, the sun was out and warm and offered the first hints of spring. I think it got up to 72 degrees F in Pocatello, where I was spending the day with my boyfriend. I needed a perfect day like this. Badly.

I slept in. That's a feat in itself! Since it was so warm, I was able to wear a skirt for the first time since moving back to Idaho! I was so happy to get my legs in the sun and feel my skirt fluttering around. I have to say, I looked really cute. And my guy even wore his nice buttoned shirt! We took a walk downtown and we poked around in some stores. After our walk, we were pretty hungry, so we tried a pizza place by his house that we have never been to before. It's called Bigfoot Pizza and we had heard good things about it. The pizza was MASSIVE! The toppings were stacked on and it made me feel like we really got our money's worth! We got a half & half since I'm veggie and he's not. I gotta say, the old cliche is true: opposites attract. My half was covered in veggies, while his had a bunch of meat.

We took the pizza back to his house and watched The Boondock Saints 1 & 2. I missed out on those movies when they were new and popular so I decided to play catch-up with him. I really enjoyed the movies! And my pizza! And my company!

Days like this are always a bit monumental and very memorable for me. People think that you have to spend a ton of money and have all these grandiose plans to have a good time. The bottom line is that that is just not true! My man and I walked downtown, we window shopped and browsed stores without spending a dime, but still enjoyed the atmosphere. We looked nice for each other. We soaked up the sun. We watched DVDs he already owned. The only money we spent was on the pizza-- food, sustenance, a necessity of life. AND we even got the daily special, so it was a couple dollars cheaper than it would have been. We enjoyed the day, and each others' company fully without making a big deal of things or blowing a bunch of money.

When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter how much money is spent. The only things that matter are the memories and feelings, the bonding and building of relationships, that are cultivated during the time we share with others.

cold toes

Today is beautiful. The sun is warm and the air is fresh and crisp.

My good friend was on vacation for a little while and today we met at the coffeehouse I used to work at. She brought me back some really pretty sea shells and coral that I might try to work into a painting or a picture frame, or something. They're so cute that I have to create something pretty with them! I also saw my old boss today, and that was nice. She's such a nice lady and I'm glad her coffeehouse is still successful. I think they have the biggest assortment of teas in the city and I'm very, very grateful for that.

So, readjusting is taking some time. I'm mostly settled into my new room, I've been spending a lot of time with my family, and I hang out with my friend whenever our schedules match up. But it is really nice to be in a place where I feel comfortable. The air is different here; it's not dirty or stinky, it feels fresh and clean against my skin. I know this transition is probably going to last for a while, but the beautiful season helps cushion it. It was great to sip a warm drink and catch up with my friend while feeling the cool air. It's so reassuring to me. Although I don't know what's going to happen next, or even where I'll be in a few months, it's nice to know that right now I can relax and enjoy my time, with no pressure to do anything.

reading to recover

I've been in bed all day long because I caught a cold, or something. It's terrible. I don't remember the last time I was sick. Really, it's been years. I had forgotten that my body aches when I'm sick, I get a nasty taste in my mouth, I can't hardly do anything because my balloonish head starts to swim, I get cold then hot, and I suffer bouts of "mindlessness" where my thoughts just sort of drift away to somewhere, thinking about something, and have nothing to do with what's happening that moment. It's sort of annoying.
This is bad timing for me to get sick. I'm on the final leg of my summer semester, 3 weeks to go. Needless to say I have a mountain on homework. I'm glad I worked hard yesterday because I won't be able to accomplish what I had planned for today. Oh well, I'll survive. I'd rather take a day to get better instead of pushing myself and prolonging my recovery. I did manage to do some homework this morning, so that feels good on my conscious. What doesn't feel good on my conscious are the 7 daunting tests I need to take in the next 2 weeks. What the hell, right? BUT! I can see the finish line. That also feels good on my conscious.
I think for the rest of the day I'll indulge in some leisurely reading. The really cool thing about that is I have a huge selection to pick from right now! So I can switch genres if my sickly mind wanders too much. I'm usually always reading more than one book at a time-- currently I'm reading 5. Half of them are graphic novels/manga I've been following. Then I have some poetry, fiction, and books on meditation and yoga. In fact, I really need to get reading because I'm borrowing a ton of books from my friend. She feeds my addiction to written works, haha. I love having a former Lit major as a best friend; conversations never run dry with her!

what i'm working with

It's times like this I'm very, very grateful for the friends in my life. Although I can't physically be with them while I'm sick I know they're with me in spirit. Her loving willingness to let me borrow however many books whenever I please eases the loneliness I feel from living across town from her and our intimate circle of friends. The love of books we share creates a support system that flourishes even when we don't talk for a few days (like right now for example; my dear friend is occupying herself in the Appalachians. Lucky girl!). Sharing and discussing books provide little windows to our souls and helps us stay connected. I'm so thankful I have someone in my life to share this bond with. It's something that has been inside of me since I was a small child and my book-wormish father taught me the wonder of words.
So on this day of utter solitude and ill-health I'll extend my gratitude of magnificent friendships and the bonds in life that are unbreakable. It's a wonderful thing to focus our daily thoughts and actions on a central idea, such as gratitude. Even if you can't express it directly to the person in your heart, the thoughts you release into the universe find their intended target. And for me, that's comforting.