I just posted 4 new posts this week on my Yak and Yeti brewer’s blog. Didn’t know if people knew about it or were following it yet. If interested in following blog or getting emailed when it is updated, either add it to your blogroll or use feedmyinbox.com.
Prost!
Last night (Wednesday, 8/3) was the first night we stayed at our new house. How VERY exciting! I picked the girls up from school after a quick shopping trip to Macy’s and Target (YAY, I FINALLY found shower curtains for both bathrooms that I liked, and without a day to spare!). I told them we were headed to the new house and Julia was about to burst with excitement; she couldn’t wait to go!
In an effort to cook more a few weeks ago, I told Adam that when the cereal ran out, I was going to make breakfast from scratch. This worked well for about 1.5 weeks until the muffins ran out on Friday morning and we were in the thick of moving over the weekend. Last night Adam asked me what was for breakfast and I gave him a half-crazed half-blank stare and he said, “Woman, get thee Pop Tarts!”
(Okay, that’s not what he really said, but it would be funny if he had, eh?)
So off to the store I went for two very important thing – butter and Pop Tarts.
This morning we were all up and getting ready for the day and I popped a package of Pop Tarts into the toaster for the girls. When they popped up, I placed them on the counter to cool off (who hasn’t been burned by Pop Tarts before???).
Julia usually would rather play in the morning than eat breakfast, but this morning she was curious as to what lay on the counter. Having never seen a Pop Tart before, her first reaction was, “I don’t like it!” I said to her, “Julia, it is like candy.” (Dumb mom move, but what can I say – it’s how I get her to try new things when I’m desperate.) She looked curiously at the Pop Tart and she says in an excited voice, “Mommy! It’s like toast! But it’s like a cookie! It’s a toast cookie… with SPARKLES on it!” (Have I ever mentioned her love for toast before? Too funny. She can eat three pieces in a sitting. Takes after her mom, I guess.)
I relayed this story to Adam and we laughed a bit when Julia came running into the bathroom and said, “Daddy, like a cookie! With sparkles!!!”
Guess who ate her Pop Tart without any problem?
erin
Since we are living at both the apartment and the house at the same time (one foot in both places so-to-speak) we have a hard time figuring out what to do for supper,….so we decided to use a gift card to TGI Fridays that a friend gave us as a thank you.
I don’t frequent these type of places often, but there was one nearby and it sounded like an easy supper. I didn’t realize they had a $12.99 three-course meal available. So I had the fried green beans for an appetizer, the jumbo shrimp for entree and an Oreo ice cream dessert.
There was a lot of food and I didn’t eat it all, so I decided to share my fried green beans with the girls. Both girls tried to take one bite and then drop it saying (or grunting in Raven’s case) that “I don’t like it.” So being the creative dad that I am, I cut up the beans into bite-sized chunks.
I watched as Julia proceeded to eat the breading off the beans and make a pile of the refuse. I turned towards Raven, where I see her taking off the breading and putting it in a pile and popping the green beans into her mouth. Between the two girls,…we have one good eater. After they were done, I swapped their plates and each girl finished the refuse from the other. Perplexing merriment for the whole family!
Note: This post is not about laundry, though I sure do love doing it.
So, back on July 3rd, when we had a pretty good inkling that all would be well with the purchase of our home here in Colorado, I decided to order a washer and dryer. I love my Kenmore set that is in the Pella house, but it is already 6 years old, so we decided to leave it with the house for future buyers/renters and buy a new set here.
I attempted to order the set online, but whatever was supposed to happen didn’t happen, and I found myself on the phone trying to find out if the order had gone through. No, ma’am, it hasn’t, but if you would like, I can assist you.
Pulling up the website again, I told the gal what I thought were the washer and dryer I wanted to order (simply a newer model of what we’ve had – no real bells or whistles), I received the order confirmation, the prices were the same, and that was that.
Fast forward to yesterday.
Yesterday the washer and dryer showed up. I was painting, so I showed the delivery men where the units should go and I left them to their work. They called me down to the laundry room to take a peek and I almost passed out. Umm, THOSE were NOT the washer and dryer I ordered. But, I didn’t say anything, because I couldn’t be positive, and they were sure that these were the units I ordered per the list, etc., so there you go. I signed their paper and they went on their way.
So tonight I was a bit curious because the last thing I want is for Sears to call me back and tell me they delivered the wrong set. That, and, well, it seemed like I should know what I ordered and how foolish would I look telling them I ordered one thing and received another but not actually know what I ordered? Ha.
About 10 minutes ago I pulled up the order, clicked on the product links, and lo and behold, there were pictures of the EXACT washer and dryer delivered to my home. I must have surely gotten a number wrong when telling the order clerk, or she might have swapped a number around or two, but sure enough, there they are and they match the online product description perfectly.
While this experience could have been a bit of trouble in some ways, it all turned out for the good.
Regardless of the positives, though, there is one downside. This washer requires HE detergent. Boo hiss. I am looking at making my own for the fraction of the cost. The only real difference I can determine is that HE is low suds, and therefore I should be able to make my own low suds for much cheaper.
I will say that this was a good lesson for me that the next time I order products over the phone, when I receive the email order summary, I should (and will in the future) make sure that what I think I am ordering is what actually was entered as the order. This time it all turned out for the best, but what would have happened if some metallic blue monstrosities would have shown up? I shudder to think. Ha! Also, it will keep me from wondering for ~30 hours if what I received was what I ordered. (Way too tired last night to get online and look.)
Have a good night!
Erin
Do you have those days where there is so much good and some bad that the day has a mixed-sort-of-feeling to it and at the end of the day you’re feeling more perplexed than not about the whole thing? Or, maybe you were expecting it to be a great day, and so the not-so-good really brought you down…
That’s how I’m feeling tonight.
I hemmed and hawed over whether to post this, but settled for writing to get things off my chest. Don’t worry… there’s lots of good in here too.
A good thing: We closed on the house on Tuesday and took possession yesterday. What a surreal feeling to walk into a big, empty house with the kids last night… I haven’t been able to wrap my brain around the fact that It. Is. Ours.
Today I took off work because I wanted to paint. For now, I am only painting our bedroom and the girls’ room. One thing I didn’t remember about the house… Every. Room. Is. The. Same. Color. EVERY ROOM. Not even a joke. Tan. Tan, tan, tan. That WILL be changing. Ha!
A not so good thing: I was not nearly as prepared to paint today as I should have been. This is entirely my fault for not planning ahead. I don’t much of an excuse (although I can give a few – really busy at work and working overtime, completely wiped at night and thus not spending time planning, etc.), and I should not have been at all surprised that I had to make three trips to the store today. Those three trips meant that I did less painting. I had six coats total to do, and I only got three done. Boo hiss. So, tomorrow will be a test in painting while children run amuck. I am bringing snacks and movies and toys and anything else I can think of to keep them out of my paint.
Heaven, help me.
Master bedroom beforehand (see that lovely tan???):
The color I picked for the master bedroom. Oh, yes, I did.
The master bedroom in progress – more to finish in here tomorrow:
The girls’ room beforehand (again, with the tan):
The paint I picked for the girls’ room:
Okay – an aside. I must talk about this paint color. Let me say that simply, this is The. Most. Perfect. Color. Pink. Ever. EVER. I *love* this color. I have been seeing this color on the walls of Pottery Barn rooms in the catalog for a number of years, and I finally succumbed to it. Thank God that when I asked Julia what color she wanted her room to be, she gleefully shouted, PINK! You, my dear, shall have it. If you are wondering what this color is, it is Benjamin Moore Pink Cloud 887 for Pottery Barn. I am in LOVE.
Here is the girls’ room in-progress. Slight concern – because I had forgotten / didn’t remember / didn’t even know that this room was tan, I am wondering if I should have primed before painting… I guess worst case is that I’ll have to buy another gallon and slap on a third coat, which is no worse than having to prime. But still. This definitely gets a second coat tomorrow and we’ll see if I feel it needs a third. I mean, seriously, if I’m going to pick the perfect color ever, it better look perfect when I’m finished. Ha!
Hopefully I’ll have more pictures for you tomorrow!
Other rooms I’m considering subjecting my Passion for Painting to include: 3rd bedroom, guest bedroom, a living room wall. We’ll see what happens. It won’t be happening this weekend, I can guarantee that.
Let’s move on, shall we?
So, you might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned Adam yet in this post, and that’s because Adam is currently in the Midwest (Ralston, near Omaha, right now). Adam drove back to Pella, IA, on Wednesday to meet the movers who were going to pack and move all of our remaining items to Arvada.
From what I heard yesterday, it seems like the packing part went well. They even told Adam that they thought they’d be fully loaded by 1 pm today.
Apparently that was wishful thinking.
At around 9:30 AM this morning, I received a text from Adam stating that they didn’t bring a large enough van and they weren’t going to be able to pack and bring all of our items to Arvada. Upon further discussion, apparently they weren’t able to fit almost half of our stuff into the load, and we’re not entirely sure what will be arriving here in Arvada between 8 am and 10 am Monday morning. Am I annoyed? Only a lot. There are other things concerning this as well that I won’t discuss here, but suffice to say, I wrote a nice but firm email to our relocation assistant about this. We don’t yet know when the rest will make it.
Add to that, because I never considered the possibility of this happening (I mean, come ON, this is the THIRD TIME we’ve done this – this is the first time that they estimated the size of the moving vehicle incorrectly), I never told Adam what were absolute Must Brings with him. So, now I’m not even sure if I will have my steam vac to clean the apartment carpets. Small, tiny, itty bitty problem in the scheme of life? Yes. Can I borrow one or rent one? Yes. But, with my stress and annoyance level as late, this surely didn’t help today.
However, we will have SOME stuff here this coming Monday and Please God Please God Please God let that include our king-sized bed. Please. PLEASE. Thank you.
Okay, so, did I tell you already? WE BOUGHT A HOUSE AND WE LOVE IT AND WE OWN IT NOW AND OH, MY GOSH, WE’RE MOVING IN AND OUT OF THIS APARTMENT, HALLELUJAH!!!!
The girls seem to be handling all of the hubbub going on around them okay, but Julia has become increasingly defiant and downright naughty over the last few days, and I hope it’s a side-effect of Adam being gone mixed in with a whole lot of change. Tonight I took the girls swimming (we all needed it after a long, hot, and sweaty day), and she openly defied me multiple times, the last time being that she pushed Raven in the pool which caused Raven to bounce off (with her abdomen, thank God, and not her head) the side of the pool. I was so disappointed with Julia’s behavior, so I told her we were going inside. She threw a tantrum that would make a 2-year-old proud, and she worked herself up so badly that a.) she peed herself on the concrete, and b.) she threw up. Good night, almighty, child. She then proceeded to scream and cry all the way back to the apartment. I’m at a loss as to what to do here other than stick to the consequences I suggest (which I did tonight and holy moly, did she ever hate it). I know she’s not upset at me as much as she is upset at her situation because she will be screaming and fussing about and come to me immediately for comfort. It’s almost comical.
What else can I tell you about…? My Paypal account being “reviewed” because we’ve moved twice in six months? Or… my inability to find a waste management services that does trash AND recycling? My inability to pack anything (I don’t know what my problem is here)?
But then… I have managed to get so many other things taken care of such as address changes. And then there was that great bird that I got in the mail from one of my besties and I can’t wait for her to see my front entry decorating that I came up with today all because of that bird.
But, that was kind of the “last straw” for my evening. Good day? Yes, so much good in our lives and so much wonderfulness going on that I really can’t complain. But, bad day too? Yes. All of those little things add up overtime and while life is Good, in a manner of speaking, there have been a lot of little nits of late that keep piling up on top of me and I can’t seem to shake them. (For those wondering, yes, I have been reading my Bible and praying and trying to find ways to alleviate this “burden” that is one me – I keep holding out hope.) So… life really IS good… and I keep telling myself that… but, occasionally you just have to sigh and throw a tiny pity party and write about it on the internet, right? Ha.
Have a good night,
Erin
ps. I’m not joking. Best Pink Paint Color EVER.
Thanks much to my husband for his blog post about his Cherry Wheat at the Yak & Yeti and the fact that he posted a link to this video, and hence, I have had this song stuck in my head for close to a week.
You’re welcome.
Wait, back up a minute, Coors has a lion on its logo?
Yup, well at least it used to and it has 2 tails, in case you were wondering. I had a free hour today so I went on the free Miller-Coors brewery tour and this entry will walk you through some of the highlights.
Erin and I had done the Coors tour a few years ago and I did the tour about a month ago when I was job hunting. I wasn’t sure they would permit my entry because I just did it a month ago, but they did.
The lobby is actually more like a “hall of fame” museum that contains multimedia and photos. They take your picture (so they can sell you copies later) and then check your ID for your tasting wristband. What is new from years ago is the tour is not guided anymore and you have a playback fob that you carry instead. (just press the button of the number you see on the signs and hold it up to your ear….pretty simple)
This is a Mash filter, we learned about them in brewery school. I was shocked on how BIG these things were. I should probably preface that the Coors plant has been the largest “single-site” brewery in the world for many years. (Modelo Group is building a larger one in Mexico soon.) Essentially after the malt has been converted to sugar, it is put into one of these and squeezed to extract all the wort and it leaves behind the spent grains.
Here is a pic of some of the 50 or so kettles and cereal cookers….all copper. This is my favorite view in the whole brewery, quite spectacular.
Here is the control room which I’m pretty sure is a few times larger than mission control in Houston. For how big this brewery is, you don’t see many employees (well except all the tour guide staff that is stationed throughout to help lost people or attend to their guests for any reason)
Next you get to walk past the quality lab. They have a “really old microscope” in a display case. This thing is way nicer than the one I have in my brewery…I wonder how expensive the new ones are that they are using?
Here’s their hydrometers for measuring the specific gravity of the wort/beer. Again, they said these were “old”….I’ll take them, they are very similar to the ones I’m using right now at the Yak.
Next you walk past a stainless steel wall with a viewing window. This isn’t really beer, but does a good job of mimicking it by bubbling air behind the glass window.
I’m not sure “why” but in this room they give you a 1oz taster of Coors Banquet or Coors Light. I think they do this to get the saliva working up your desire for more beer in the tasting room.
One of the things I liked about the brewery, besides its meticulously clean hallways and floors was all the murals on the walls. These were pretty simple, but it added a lot to what would normally be boring industrial walls.
I can’t remember who’s wife (probably Adolf’s), but she insisted that the brewery not look so industrial, so she had them put in a flower greenhouse on the property which has at least a couple full-time staff who keep fresh flowers all over the brewery, lab, tasting room, etc.
When you get in the tasting room, you return your talking handheld fob and stand in line for free beer (seriously, how much work do I have to do to get free beer around here?!?!) To entertain the people standing in line they have old advertisements, posters, paintings and other things to read.
I really liked this print of a painting that shows the original brewery with the ponds (still there by the way) and the cool rocky cliffs behind the brewery (keep in mind the height, I’ll show you another pic later)
I kept this pic bigger hoping you could read it…maybe not. You get 3 free samples if you are willing to stand back in line again to get them. I just had the Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat and the Batch 19 (pre-prohibition lager).
Just a view of the tastin
g room patrons. Very few places to sit, mostly standing room around little bar tables. The room is quite large and easily fits 100+ people. When I got my 2nd beer I overheard the bartender tell the two guys ahead me “See you guys tomorrow!” So I asked if you could go two days in a row, just being curious…..turns out these two guys show up EVERY DAY for their 3 beers after work. So much for being worried about not visiting in a month….they were more likely to say, “why did you wait so long to come back again?”
It probably didn’t take Coors long to figure out that if they gave people free beer and placed the gift shop after the tasting room that buzzed people would be more likely to make ridiculous impulse purchases. (to quote Guinness: “Brilliant!”)
When you are heading back to the bus pickup point you can see the hill just behind the newer buildings (barely) and the ponds (which are now part of their water treatment facility, or something).
If you look really close you can make out an “M” on near the top of this mound (viewable from the east side of the pond). Golden is home to the School of Mines and this “M” represents the school. I’m not sure who copied who but I have always been partial to this one. (Go UW-P!)
Prost!
So tonight I added Adam as an author/admin to our family blog. In doing so, I somehow managed to delete myself, and bang, just like that, I no longer had access to my own blog. Ha!
Thankfully Adam had admin access and was able to add me back in… whew!
Welcome to our new author on the blog, Adam! He’s written a few posts to date (his Siebel/Germany posts), and hopefully he’ll add more flavor. *smiles*
erin
