Tag Archives: beer

Photo Challenge Accepted and Birthday Plans

Remember how I wrote about my divorced dad blogger friend, Gary Mathews? He provides daily entertainment in the form of stories about his life happenings over at Skipah’s Realm and recently nominated me for the Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge.

He and I both usually detest such challenges as they take away from what we’d usually blog about and just from our time in general. Time is precious, who wants to spend it dealing with blog challenges? Well, turns out we both do….kinda.

When other friends nominate you, it’s hard to refuse. That’s what made Gary accept, and that’s why I’m accepting now. Plus, I have enough pictures I’m more than happy to share and write about that picking 5 should be easy.Gary followed through with 5 consecutive posts as per the challenge guidelines and he wrote a separate blog post each day on top of that.

For me, I’m taking this as an opportunity to have 5 blog posts essentially created for me over the next 5 days. Beginning tomorrow, June 4th, and ending Monday, June 8th my posts will revolve around one photo and a quick description of its importance to me. The theme will focus on Going Mom and me entering our first days as parents. Hopefully you’ll enjoy each post and it will allow you to look back at your first days of parenthood.

The last post on Monday is not a coincidence, it’s my 31st birthday, so I figured having a post schedules will be best since who knows what crazy plans my wife and/or mom have for me. Okay, I know, there are no crazy plans. Both my mom and Kelley have to work, so I’ll just hang with my daughter which is perfectly fine with me!

Don’t worry, we still have plans, they’re just going to be 2 days early and we’ll celebrate on Saturday. Another good reason to accept and start this challenge. Going Mom and I are going trail hiking around a nearby lake for about 2 hours and then heading over to a local brewery to relax over a few hard-earned brews.

While Avery is no stranger to visiting breweries……

Visiting a local brewery for my 30th. Avery slept most of the time.
Visiting a local brewery for my 30th. Avery slept most of the time.

…she’s going to sit this one out at home and hang with G-Ma for the day. I think she’ll have more fun with G-Ma than being with Mom and Dad after a few drinks anyway. Just a hunch.

So there you have it, I have 5 photos to find and 5 stories to write, so I’m off for now. I’m part of an exciting campaign with Life of Dad where dads from the North, South, East, and West regions of the US are uniting to help raise awareness and donations for The Great American Milk Drive which benefits Feeding America. Be on the look out for my post with all of the specifics and how you can help our team of dads from the South raise the most money for this very worthy cause.

Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend, I’ll see you soon to share pictures of the new Ferrari I got for my birthday! Hint: It probably comes surrounded in plastic and blue cardboard if I actually get one. 🙂

Have you heard of the 5 Photos, 5 Stories Challenge?

Do you like or dislike these types of challenges?

What’s your ideal birthday celebration?

Coffee or Beer: What Would You Give Up?

Does the thought of having to choose either coffee or beer and give up the other make you cringe? Or maybe it gives you the shakes…..or it’s sobering to think about!

It’s a question that enters my thoughts frequently, usually as I’m enjoying one or the other and wonder what others would choose.

For me, I will happily give up beer to keep that precious black liquid flowing, but beer would still be missed. I have been alcohol-free since before getting on antibiotics for my butt issue and haven’t found myself missing it that much. But coffee, oh man, coffee, would be dearly missed if I had to lay off.

Luckily, that’s not the case and I’m a happy camper drinking it daily. Knowing where I stand, I took to asking my fellow Dad Bloggers what they would choose. Now I see these guys posting their drinks of choice all the time and figured most of them would give up coffee in lieu of beer, but turns out, it’s about 50/50.

Beer vs Coffee-Dad Bloggers Poll

Well, from the 100+ that answered.

I gathered all of the comments, removed the names and time stamps, censored one, and left the rest as-is and figured I’d share them here. I meant to ask if they would give up alcohol in general, and I quickly realized my mistake. Without further adieu, here are the replies:

·        My first instinct was to keep beer, but sharing a cup of coffee with my wife in the quiet before the kids wake up is always something I look forward to.

·        I really enjoy beer but I enjoy coffee more. In saying that, I drink beer like once a month. Coffee is weekly.

·        I gave up coffee and haven’t had it in 15 years

·        I enjoy beer, but I really appreciate coffee. So, I’d give up beer.

·        I don’t drink aside from special occasions (christmas, etc) but I cannot function without coffee.

·        I’d keep coffee and give up beer because I don’t drink it. I must have coffee in my life.

·        I’m not a huge beer drinker. Now, if it were between whiskey and coffee, you’d have to pry them from my cold, dead hands.

·        I would keep coffee because I drink it more. But if we are going great for most beneficial, I probably should give up coffee because I drink it more. I have 1-2 beers every now and then, but I drink 4-6 cups of coffee a day.

·        See I enjoy fresh roasted properly brewed coffee so that happens for me once a week or once every two weeks when I get time. The only thing I take out of moderation is soda. I need to give up soda.

·        I still get Whiskey, right? Then beer. Beer for sure.

·        I don’t need beer to function…

·        I need to cut soda out again. Last time I did I lost 12lbs of water weight in 20 days.

·        I gave up soda for New Year’s and am glad I did. I’ve lost weight and feel better drinking water or the occasional glass of sweet tea.

·        I work nights and get up early with the kids, I need the coffee.

·        Since cutting out everything but coffee and water, I can’t hardly finish a beer anymore. Every time I want one I stop myself because I don’t want to waste half of it. haha

·        This was tough, but I suppose wine will always be there for me.

·        I couldn’t give up soda (primarily sugar-free Cola) I know its bad for me, but I have an addiction and its got me bad! Its the only substance that I’ve actually been properly addicted to

·        I’d give up beer before coffee. There are other ways to relax, but coffee  gets me functional

·        I have mostly given up soda. I have a 1L Nalgene bottle with me everywhere

·        Beer makes me happy. Coffee keeps me sane. I’ll take sanity over happiness. And I will still drink bourbon.

·        Never had either. So, neither.

·        I’m a specialty coffee drinker and part of traveling is visiting specially coffee shops. So coffee is very intertwined into everyday life but also part of experiencing and understanding the different cities.

·        Although I love beer it’s the coffee atmosphere that I prefer.

·        What kind of question is this? Nobody wants to live in your $@#@% up world RC.

·        “Does whiskey count as beer?”

·        Why you making us think so hard in the AM?

·        You can have the beer.. I like my Jameson and my coffee..

·        I drink so little beer, and don’t really even like it that much much of the time. So, I’d keep my daily flavored creamer with a dash of coffee.

·        I like beer, and will have 1 or two a week… But coffee is something I drink 2 cups of daily. I can give up beer and only drink scotch as long as you keep the coffee flowing! I mention other great uses for the “mug of the week” which I should be posting later today if I can figure out how to post an audio file.

·        I can replace coffee with other caffeine sources and I can drink a coffee stout if I get to missing the taste.

·        I feel like I could find a suitable replacement for beer, but not for coffee.

·        Keep the coffee (and cannoli), leave the beer.

·        Beer is a much less common feature in my life than coffee.

·        I don’t drink coffee. I do drink beer.

·        I love beer, but coffee is necessary to function.

·        Coffee… because there is always other forms of alcohol.

·        I don’t drink either. I’m sure that’s gonna get me kicked out of Portland eventually.

·        As much as I love Beer… I can not give up coffee.

·        I’ll gladly give up coffee. And bacon. And Star Wars.

·        I went from drinking over a gallon of soda every day to none over the course of the last two weeks. I’ve been soda-free for four days. I may still have it when we go to a movie, but other than that it’s been plain water or flavored water.

·        I don’t drink coffee at all, a rarity for someone who works th r overnight shift, but I never developed a taste for it, and really don’t even like the smell if it.

·        I drink gallons of coffee so I would choose to keep it.

·        I don’t drink coffee at all, so if I gave up beer I’d get dehydrated

·        I wouldn’t have to give up anything. Beer is my savior.

·        The choice was kind of made for me since I needed to go gluten free. I’ve rarely had a gluten free beer in 3 years. Wine, on the other hand…

·        I like both, naturally, but I’d sooner give up on beer than I would give up on coffee. I can always have wine, whiskey, etc. etc.

·        I would give up beer in a heart beat. Not coffee.

·        I drink a good amount of both. Would give up coffee before beer. Tastes better and costs just as much or more.

·        Having been on coffee bans twice in my life, both times for a month, and knowing how I came close to killing everyone around me, I would struggle to give up coffee for good. It’s my only vice.

·        Coffee. But then I never drink the stuff.

·        I would give up beer.

·        LOL easy enough to do, I havent had any alcohol in over 10 years.

·        If you really want to polarize the group, offer giving up cocaine or hookers.

·        I’d keep hookers. Oh, wrong question. I would keep coffee because there is no substitute for it. I LOVE beer, but I love JD even more, so that would drown my sorrows re: beer.

·        Need coffee or can’t even wake up in the morning. Without beer, well at least there’s whiskey and wine.

·        Beer would go. There’s always whiskey.

·        I’d keep beer. Not a big coffee fan nor a fan of hot drinks. Only coffee I drink is iced coffee if it has some kind of flavoring in it, so it wouldn’t be that big a loss. For beer i’m a quality guy not a quantity guy. Also, how the hell does Tom aka Mr Tom’s House of Beer choose to keep coffee over beer?

·        Tom I know, I know. There are a lot of fantastic beers. I guess I could get my caffeine from elsewhere. I do love my beer

·        RC Liley Soooo, nice to see where so many of you stand. I wrote this question and then had a full day of not being on FB until now!

·        I should’ve said alcohol in general as scotch/other liquor is an obvious loophole, so-to-speak. I’m with the coffee keepers though

·        RC Liley One last thing, thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts! Love the coffee stout idea, that’s the way to go too!

·        If the question was rephrased to ask coffee or alcohol, then coffee is out. Gotta have my scotch!

·        RC Liley It would be a harder decision, but i’d stick with coffee still

·        Pierre Calzadilla Priority of food: Water -> Coffee -> All other things that enter mouth

I get that these are all dads/men, but figure the same holds true for the general population. Just a hunch.

What side of the fence are you on? Think about it as you’re most likely enjoying your weekend cup (or 3) of coffee today or as you’re gearing up for some good beer this evening.

I’ll leave you with this infographic depicting the effects of beer vs coffee to see if it helps you in your decision.

Have a great weekend and enjoy your coffee…..or beer…….or both!!

A Half Marathon In My Garage On Mother’s Day

Our original plan to start Mother’s Day off with a half marathon and 5k race followed by coffee and brunch and Brewed never happened. Guess that’s what I get for writing and scheduling a post ahead of time.

Due to inclement weather with tornadoes, heavy rain, and lots of lightning, the even organizers figured running in the stuff may not be the best idea. If only they would’ve called it off before I was half-way there, hydroplaning on the highway, that would’ve been nice.

With the torrential rain and lightning already rearing its ugly head at 5am, we had already nixed the plan of having G-Ma and Avery come watch Going Mom and I run. My wife was sure the race would be canceled, but since I didn’t see anything posted, I said I’d just go alone and come back to celebrate Mother’s Day after the wet run.

As I was driving through nasty weather thinking how much it sucks inside a car and how much more it will suck when running 13.1 miles, Kelley called to tell me they finally called it off. Actually, it’s now going to be next weekend on Sunday, the 17th. So, I turned around and picked up Grande black coffees at Starbucks for the 3 of us. And then I stopped again and made use of my free refills with the Gold Card to make a total of 6 coffees.

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This is the only way I can justify paying for coffee since it brings the cost down to only $1 per Grande. Not bad, eh?

When I arrived back home, I found my mom and Kelley asleep on the couch in the living room. We never woke Avery up, thankfully, and I’ve learned to never wake a sleeping lady……especially when they’re pregnant!

Since they went back to sleep, it would only make sense to join them (I only slept 5 hours) and get a little more rest, right? Wrong! When I have a certain thing to do in my head, I have trouble letting it go. Since the rain and lightning wasn’t letting up, I decided to make use of my indoor rower and row the half marathon distance in my garage.

13.1 miles / 21.08 km is a half marathon, and I ended up rowing 90 minutes with a distance of 22.2 km, or 13.8 miles. Talk about a sore butt! I listened to a great Ben Greenfield podcast to help the time pass while staring out at the rain which ended up not being that bad. I know being fueled by NuttZo (as the shirt says) helped keep me going since I had nothing to eat or drink before or during the stint.

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All three lovely girls woke up and greeted me just before I was finished, and Going Mom took a few finishing action shots for me. Right after, I stood in the rain to cool off as we all sipped guzzled our coffees. I made Mother’s Day NuttZo Oatmeal for the girls by request which was better than what we would’ve had at Brewed anyway.

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The secret, besides the obvious delicious and healthy addition of NuttZo is, add a crap-load of blueberries!

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This was the smaller bowl for my mom, but Kelley would send it back for more “bluebs” if I seemingly skimped on tiny tart fruit. Hers looks more like this….

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With bellies full of coffee and oatmeal (perfect combo for a rainy day), I gave my Mother’s Day gifts to my wife and mom.

Accompanying the personal letters I typed to each of them, I gave an old photo to my mom of her and me after my high school graduation. She had dyed blonde hair, I had earrings, and we both had 13 years back.

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We have more to give my spectacular Mom, but need it to come in the mail first. Although she liked her gifts, she deserves so much more than I could ever give. Raising me alone was not an easy feat, but she did it, and she did it well. I’ll just forget about those times we had fast food. 🙂

For Going Mom, I gave her a new pair of sandals from Soft Star Shoes which was received with great delight. Score one for me!

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I got the size right and a color she loves. Not an easy task a style-impaired guy such as myself. They looked great on their website, but even better in person, and absolutely wonderful being worn by my wife.

Besides the pair of sandals, I also pulled a few strings to get her a pair of these water mugs…

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Yep, they’re from the Baylor Health hospital Avery was born in. Kelley has been drinking religiously from the same one ever since Avery was born on 11/15/13, and we aren’t even religious!

After e-mailing and talking to a nurse on the phone, she said she’d give me two new ones for my wife. Avery and I made the trip up there one day as I took a trip down Memory Lane and voila!, we have two new mugs! Good, because the original is cracked and had water collecting inside.

After visiting and playing with Avery a while longer, G-Ma had to leave while there was a break in the storms. We said our farewells and she was on her way.

Avery ran around the house and threw things at our feet until it was nap time. Going Mom nursed her to sleep where, at one point, she was in a flying bird position.

Sleeping Bird Avery

How that’s comfortable, I haven’t a clue, but that’s how she slept for a while. Kelley and I relaxed together to enjoy each other’s company over one of my home brews.

Homebrew Cheers with Kelley

I love her, obviously, and am so happy to share this life with her. Sharing beer with her is just icing on the cake good because, beer and love.

The rest of the day had storms come and go, but we were able to fit in a walk with Avery with only a little be of rain. Now I just need to make it through another week and prepare to run 13.1 miles next Sunday. Hopefully the weather will hold out this time!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Are you stubborn/determined when it comes to having your mind set on something like finishing a race?

Do you like cards or handwritten letters when giving gifts?

How was the weather for you on Mother’s Day?