T is for Tuesday... and Traditions

Okay, so I haven't got any "T" ideas yet.  I'm beginning to think that these T Tuesdays are a bad idea since I have no follow up skills. 

I guess I was just hoping that I could create a tradition that I could come back to and rely on as the time went past.  Scientists (or psychologists or someone with an official title) say that having a tradition can help you relax and become comfortable with a situation.  I'm not sure what all this applies to, but I can think of two things in particular: sleep and marriage.

I think of marriage for several reasons:
1. I just (literally: the credits are still rolling on the screen) finished watching The Five Year Engagement.  It looked like a funny movie, but I probably wouldn't have watched it right away if it weren't for Jason Segal- I really love him.  I fell in love with Marshall on How I Met Your Mother, but I love pretty much everything else I've seen him in.

*Side note: favorite Marshall quote "I want to stay in tonight- I have warm soup tummy"

It was good- I would recommend it, but there were some real bummer moments in it.  I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but they definitely get cold feet in the strung out planning of their wedding. 

2. I just went to the Northwest Montana Wedding Expo last weekend.  I will say that I will never go to that with a combination hangover flu bug ever again.  What is the point of paying to go in somewhere to look at brochures if you don't get to reap the benefits of free booze and elegant snacks?  There was free Tamarack beer, for crying out loud!  Across from the boudoir photographer booth!  But we did see our bridesmaid dresses on the model in the runway show. 

3. Two of my best friends (they are definitely top 5) took me with them to view a possible wedding venue up past Martin City.  Anyone who knows Martin City will immediately go, "Why are they getting married by Martin City?!" But I happen to think anywhere with a Deerlick Saloon is a-okay in my book.  Also, the scenery is fucking gorgeous.  I know I told my friends this repeatedly, but when we drove up that road to go camping the last 2 summers, I always look at that particular field and those horses and cows and think "What a beautiful meadow up here in the woods!"  And now they are getting married there!!!!
So you can see how I have marriage and weddings on the brain.  On the drive back into town from the venue, we were talking about what they would do at the ceremony.  At weddings, there are so many traditions.  We talked about why couples "jump the broomstick," how Jewish people stomp on the glass, those silly candle-lighting-as-one portions of the ceremony (it's symbolically beautiful, but it can end up being so cheesy sometimes!), spending the night away from each other and not seeing each other before the wedding, and all that good stuff.  Why do we go through all that?  It seems silly if you think about it.  Going through these traditions is probably a comforting ritual that calms the nerves of a worried bride and groom. 

Just like sleep- I am a notorious insomniac (See Also: Night Chef, or Creeper Staring Into the Fridge in a Dark Kitchen).  So I have read a LOT about different tips and tricks to aid sleep.  My favorite "Tricks" involve medication, but that isn't the healthiest route, so I look at my alternatives.  One that I've seen several times is creating a bedtime ritual or tradition.  Parents do this with children and most of us don't even think twice about the connotations.  One that I've seen is brewing a cup of tea- I've tried it with mild success.  Unless the tea has a spot of Nyquil with it, then it works pretty good. 

Do we do these little traditions to make ourselves feel better?  Or do they really have some sort of meaning?

P.S. How was that for a T Tuesday?  I lost track of all the T's after counting 100!  Success! 

Cold Mountain

I watched the movie Cold Mountain today for the first time- I never got around to seeing it in its Academy Award hubbub, so I decided to bite the bullet when I saw that my roommate owned it.  It is very gritty, and it makes me glad to live in the 21st century for a number of reasons.  Running water, for one.  I couldn't stand being that dirty all the time!

One thing I noticed is that people will do a lot to make it through in a war.  People make sacrifices and they make choices and they become people that they might not have been.  I absentmindedly thought to myself that I was so glad we weren't in a war right now.  Then I realized we were.  Just because its not in our backyard, there is a war going on.  How can we forget that?  It seems like even up to World War 2 and the Vietnam war, people away from the fighting still had to sacrifice- use less butter, not wear nylon stockings, get temporary jobs in the factories making ammo....  What are we doing when there are thousands of U.S. soldiers over in the middle east?  Having chinese food delivered and watching tv.  Meanwhile, overseas.....

I don't really know what to think of all this, but I think the fact to take away from this is that we should think about this.  Period. 

 

Terrific Tuesdays- Tabasco!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

As part of my ongoing quest for knowledge (I miss college) (hey that rhymes!), I'm going to try and learn something new each week and share it with you, my beloved reader.  Now, I could go the obvious route and only research stuff I really like, but I think everyone would get sick of reading about dogs, Seinfeld, and Snoop Dogg's transformation to Snoop Lion.  Just so I can get this out of the way right now, here is Snoop Lion's debut as a reggae superstar:

 

Are you high yet? 

 

 

So, now that we've shown Snoop with a pug and a pineapple (yes!) and copious amounts of marijuana-induced brain damage, let's move on.  Since today is a Tuesday, which starts with the letter "T", I will do light research on a subject that starts with a "T" once a week and report back to you. 

 

Since I just decided this moments ago, this week's report will be short (hey, I rhymed again!), but stay tuned for more randomly long snippets about common items that begin with 'T'!!

 

TABASCO

Tabasco sauce is a hot sauce made in Louisiana using tabasco peppers, vinegar, and salt in a process that involves 3 years of aging in a barrel like a fine wine.  The first sauce ever made (by Edmund McIlhenny) was bottled using discarded cologne bottles, which inspired the shape and design that we still see today. 

 

You can find Tabasco on the NASA space shuttle, Air Force One, and in Charlie Chaplin's movie, "Modern Times" in 1936. 

 

Tabasco is also a region in Southern Mexico, fyi.

 

Thank you to Wikipedia and www.hotsauce.com for this valuable fun fact information. 

 

Growler Fills - Craft Beer Enthusiasm: Taverns and Breweries: Making Sense of the Mess

Stumbled upon this the other day- the MT Tavern Association is trying to knock tap rooms out of the picture because they are turning into serious competition.  I think it is a bunch of malarkey!  This better not pass, or I may have to step into the political activist role and I really don't want to have to do that.  Anyway, have a look at this- its a good read:

Growler Fills - Craft Beer Enthusiasm: Taverns and Breweries: Making Sense of the Mess: The Montana Tavern Association's recent attempts to stifle brewery tap rooms touched a serious nerve with craft beer fans.  Comments on thi...

*I would also like to say, go and support your local craft breweries!  Shout out to Kettlehouse in Missoula for being the most chill, laid back place to enjoy beer ever!  http://kettlehouse.com/

Day Drinking

Today is Winter Carnival.  If you aren't familiar with Whitefish, every year we have a couple weeks of crazy events, "royalty,"  and treasure hunts that culminate in a big parade down main and a beer barter.  Its pretty sweet.

I love the parade now that I'm a grown, drinking woman.  There was about 10 years there between childhood and drinking age that it kind of sucked ass, but no more!  It made me think deeply about day-drinking, though.  Once you reach 25 or get married (whichever comes first), day drinking is no longer socially acceptable.  It's called alcoholism.  Not a pretty word.

25 is coming up pretty fast, so I'm living it up.  But once 25 hits, what will I do??  Really appreciate day-drunk loopholes, thats what I'm going to do!  For those of you that have passed the golden years, I've created a comprehensive list of these loopholes so that you can really appreciate them, too:

1. College Football Games
No, you don't have to be tailgating or at the stadium, although that helps.  Hundreds of thousands of underage college kids are wasted to the point of being escorted out of the stadium by cops at 11:45 a.m., which means the rest of the country can tastefully enjoy a beer or two.

2. Super Bowl
Go ahead, get together with your buddies (or complete strangers) in somebody's living room or a bar and get a little tipsy.  That's what all the infamously fatty Super Bowl snacks are for: soaking up the alcohol so that you can go to work without a hangover the next day. 

3..... Okay, football games in general- NFL, college, it doesn't matter.  Football and beer are to America's middle class what peanut butter and jelly are to 5 year olds.  Drink up!

4. Your Birthday
I don't think I really need to explain this do I?  You can get away with a lot on your birthday.

5. Camping
What else are you going to do in the middle of the woods?  You can only stare at a bonfire for so long before conversations get a little dull.  And hiking is overrated.  You don't have to drive anywhere, there's no TV or internet to entertain you, and you are sleeping under a thin layer of polyester.  Anything could happen.

6. St. Patrick's Day
It's a day set aside for public drunkenness.

7. Winter Carnival!
Pretend royalty are driving down the street, trashy "Viking" ladies are walking around kissing everybody on the cheek for "protection" from Yetis, and, oh yeah, its cold as fuck and we're voluntarily standing outside for 4+ hours.

Now, please excuse me while I go pour my adult beverage and get silly!  Happy Winter Carnival!

Hi there!

Hi there!

I've done some blogging before, but I want to start up again with a new topic: ME. 

Sometimes I think this life isn't worth living, but I'm constantly reminded that it is by random shit.  So now I'm going to write about random shit as a slap in the forehead that life is actually pretty awesome. 

So welcome, come on in, the water's warm!  ;)