"Brew Ha Ha"? More Like: "Brew? No Thank You"

Went to the annual Brew HaHa last night for the first time ever with a couple of girl friends.

It was one of those times when you say to your friends, "what were we thinking?"

After heading over to the John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks, NV we were actually surprised when we arrived at the entrance to find a long ticket line. Standing in line, we checked out our fellow party goers. We counted more mullets in a square radius than I've seen in a year in Reno (which is scary, cuz Reno has it's fair share of mullets). Moreover, it was as if a couple gals in line were channelling Madonna (the 1982 version) with a bustier, hip belt, leggings, etc. When my single friends checked out the dudes in the room, the term, "slim pickens" was exchanged.... one friend commented that she felt she was at a fraternity party. To top it off, there was this extremely loud band who for some reason, did not believe in singing, instrumental only. We did have a little fun watching the drunks dancing to an almost undanceable band. I think we just felt a little out of place -- and slightly old. At one point I turned to my friend and said, "Let's remember that we ARE in Sparks, at a casino, at an event called a "Brew Ha Ha." What did we expect?"

All this said, I have to admit, since I only had about 1.5 hours at the party, I was on a mission to taste as much beer as possible -- they had some good selections, even Moose Drool from Missoula, MT. SOLID! And now, all of a sudden, I am looking forward to St. Patty's day -- maybe I'll finally make it to the infamous Butte, MT St. Patty's day celebration. Who's in?

MLK Day – Jan 15, 2007

When I was 17 I read “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr.

Many are familiar with this quote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – that quote came from Mr. King in his extremely compelling and moving letter to the clergymen of Birmingham while serving time in Birmingham Jail in 1963. This letter is extremely well written and captivating... and depressing to say the least.

I encourage anyone reading this blog (few and far between, I know) to read it.

You Gotta Have Friends

Bette Midler sings it perfectly, "You Got To Have Friends."

Had a visit with an old pal this weekend. Funny thing about certain friends -- it feels like home when they visit, even if months, or years have passed. Why is that? Is it a cosmic thing? An energy thing? A spiritual thing? A biological thing? I often wonder. Well, anyway it happens sometimes and it just makes life grand.

Sarah came to visit and let me just say that she was a little out of her element for the last two days. Sarah has a wee phobia of hills. So, driving over one of the most dangerous passes in the west in the winter wasn't a thrill of hers, yet she braved, sweated, and white knuckled it all the way to Reno. She brought with her a lively, sweet Golden named Beaudie - apply spelled in the french-noveau style of my New Orleans-native friend.

She braved more mountains with me and even attempted a few sledding hills after some coaxing... I have the feeling she's much braver than she gives herself credit for. She was game enough to try show shoeing with me too up at Squaw Valley near an area called Shirley Canyon. It was brief, but we did it!

View pics here.

Bi-Annual Family Picture

Unfortunately this picture isn't centered properly but other than that, I think this picture accurately captures the personalities of the family, hehehehee :) What hams!

White Christmas

Christmas at Georgetown Lake in Montana with all the fam was quite a memorable occasion! There were 14 adults and 3 kids on a normal day before cousins and guests! The dinner table was huge :)

CHRISTMAS EVE: Santa arrives to suprise the kiddos, explaining that he's just stopping in because he lost his sleigh or his reindeer? But since he was in the area, he figured he'd bring the kids each a gift! Christmas is a great time to keep the kids on their best behavior... all you have to say is "santa is watching... you don't want coal in your stocking do you?" hehehee.

The trip was bittersweet b/c we decided as a family that we won't do Christmases in Montana in the future because it's just too arduous and expensive to get there and back. Summers are it from now on. So, this year was special to me b/c it's probably the last "reunion" Christmas we'll have for quite some time!

View my pics
View Chris' pics