Weaver Cabin

I (Dave) was very excited to be able to spend the weekend with some of my high school buddies I haven't seen in awhile. Russell and Humberto were both in town(Along with Russell's wife Ann and her cousin Julie, both from Virginia). We went up to Russell's cabin and spent the weekend laughing and catching up; it was great! I had made a pong/quarters table (Which was ridiculously heavy[Thanks for the help Matt and Chris] and I spent a lot of time spray-painting on the flames and black background) and we brought that up with us. We spent most of Saturday on their porch playing games and laughing with a little bbq in the evening. Ann almost fell through part of the deck...I fell through a step last year (Actually, I slipped on some ice and broke a 2X6 with my spine).


Sunday was spent at Shaver Lake. Most of us wakeboarded; Humberto and I got up on our first try (Yeah us) and Russell and Chris went doubles (They're better). We found a little island that nobody else was on and set up camp. Chris and I got a little bored just sitting on shore so we started playing bocce ball with some rocks. That led to hitting rocks out into the lake with an old, large tree limb. I'm sad that it had to end, but it sure was fun.


Right before we left the lake we set up a group shot. From left to right: Back row:Humberto, Chris, Me, Russell, Christina...front row:Kalia, Sarah, Ann, Julie. Thanks to all for such a great time...let's do it again
-That Guy

P.S. Jess didn't go to the cabin because she had already made plans with Jen to go down to L.A. to visit Shira and down to Pasadena to visit Amy. I was jealous.

Incredible Niece

Just some funny pics of our niece from a recent visit. I love her reaction to Jessica's "scary" face.

Catching you up

I feel like there have been so many things going on lately that I have wanted to post about, but haven't. This will be my Easter basket/Christmas stocking full of all my little treasures. Here we go:

Chris and I finished brewing our porter and bottled it. Now it's just a waiting game until they are ready...I'm so anxious to see how it turns out.


I bought some ladybugs for my garden (Yes, you read that right). Louie gave me the idea. My watermelons are starting to grow now. I'm anxious to see how that turns out as well.

The Beach Chalet totally came through and also inspired me to look into becoming a Brew Master. (See next post)

Dawn and Larry started their own blog. Go give them some love. Comment and encourage.

Chance and Dom got some new pets and I'm still waiting to see some pictures.

We're all wondering if Ted made it home safely or not. Honestly, I think they should start a side blog about the Terrific Traveling Ted. I'd read it...

Jessica is back to teaching swimming lessons and working at a job that pays instead of her internship. I met the people she worked with and they all seemed really nice. Her boss even quoted Friends with us (How fun is that?)



And now, probably my most exciting thing...Russell and Ann are visiting CA! They've been living in Virginia/North Carolina for over a year now and I have missed them SO much! I'm really looking forward to spending time with them and watching Russell pole vault in the street vault in Old Town Clovis. I love em


Peter and Nicole (Jessica’s cousins) each stayed with the Armstrong’s for several days and we got to spend a little time with them. Peter made some homemade caramel for caramel covered apples. I think he should go into culinary school. Nicole ate a lot of sugar and rode on the tandem bike with me. She could clean out Willy Wonka.

We saw The Dark Knight and man-oh-man was I impressed; especially with Heath Ledgers performance. I'll go see it again if you're interested. I want to see it with E Rock.




Jessica and I made homemade biscuits and bacon gravy for breakfast one morning. That's for you Weavers.

I'm sure there's more but that's enough Merry Easter for now.
-Dave

The Beach Chalet...

...is amazing! If you're an avid "What The Hale Man" reader(Or if you have talked to me in the last week or so), then you may have noticed some recent posts and comments regarding The Beach Chalet and the Golden Gate Park Porter. I'll try to explain this as quickly as possible while still keeping all the important details:
Chris and I brewed some porter, which reminded me of my favorite beer. I posted a small section about Golden Gate Park Porter and I received a comment from the owner of the Beach Chalet, where the beer is brewed. We exchanged a couple of emails telling eachother about our favorite beer and how we came to drink it. The owner also told me that I would be receiving a special package in the mail. I was so freakin excited! First of all, I think it is cool that someone would take the time to send a nice word out to a complete stranger, let alone do something generous and unforgetable to make them happy. I mean, come on...how rare is it for someone to make a complete strangers day?! This all leads up to when I got home from work today. There was a package at our door and I felt like it was Christmas and my birthday all at once.
Without patting myself on the back, I have always tried to put the golden rule into practice daily. Helping someone else or doing something for a friend, family member, or stranger gives me the reward of seeing the appreciation on their face. Perhaps it will inspire them to do the same for someone else. I believe that if everyone were to do it, then people would start becoming a lot more optimistic, happy, and trusting. I just think it is the right thing to do and it continues to make me happy. (Sorry, this could have been a side post, but it will tie in later.)
Upon opening my present...I mean package, I found some really cool stuff that just made me smile. It made me so happy. I kind of wish the owner and brewer (Aron Deorsey) at the Beach Chalet could have seen me open it. Perhaps they practice the golden rule daily as well. If they happen to read this, I would just like to say Thank You! You have given me proof that the golden rule isn't merely a childhood fable told to children to keep them in line; it's a lifelong priveledge. Thanks for making a stranger feel like a friend.
Now, I encourage all of you, whether you're my friend or a complete stranger, to go to the Beach Chalet (Here's the google map) and give them plenty of business. Make them feel like a friend and show them the reward to the golden rule. Trust me, you'll not only enjoy the food and beer, but the atmosphere and the view; great service too and a historical building worth sight-seeing.

back to real life

So this Monday marked the first day without an internship for the last 8 weeks. And to celebrate I worked from 7:30 am to 7 pm at Barrows. Welcome back right? But I can't complain because I finally am getting paid and that was the only shift I had to work this whole week. I'm on jury duty stand-by aka. put your life on hold for 7 days and I never know until the night before after 5 pm whether I have to go to jury duty the next day. So far so good, but I have this feeling that Thursday I will have to go complete my civic duty. So until then, I have been hitting the gym as hard as I can and teaching some swim lessons. Surprisingly, not much to report. But this weekend should be fun! I'm going to visit 2 amazing girls down in LA! Long awaited trip! Plus, road trips with jen are always fun.

Impatient

I am an impatient person. I have been for as long as I can remember. It is something I don't like about myself and I'm working on it. So lately I have been going to the gym pretty hard core. I even have gone early- like wake up at 6 am and go. For me, that is early- 2 times this week and I intend to keep it up. However, because of my impatience, I now expect to see results (even though I KNOW it takes 6-8 weeks). Grr. But alas, I am impatient. Also, I baked a cake for our bible study group last night to celebrate my friend Sarah's recent marriage. I got the recipe from bakerella and it looked delicious! It was supposed to look like this....
However, it did not turn out like that. It turned out like this.... Which, in all honesty is better than I thought that it would. I forgot to cut the top off of the bottom layer of cake, and was just chatting away frosting it when I noticed that the top layer was dangerously sliding off of the bottom. I of course begin to freak out, get frustrated and annoyed because it's not perfect the first time, and throw a fit. Thankfully, Dave was there to step in and help. He geniously put 3 bamboo skewers into the cake to hold it into place. And, he didn't even make me feel bad. My husband is perfect for me!! He balances me out so well. I am super impatient. He is not. Hallelujah he can put up with me, because Lord knows I need him to!!! So alas, the cake tasted delicious and no one cared that it looked kinda funny and that it wasn't on my fancy new cake stand. (Another long story.) So, now I need to learn more patience, and the fact that losing weight/being motivated at the gym really doesn't go well with baking a peanut butter fudge cake at home!!

Clinicals

I only have 2 days left. This is so surreal.... I can't wait. Here I come swim lessons and Barrows!!

Quick Post

I (Dave) stayed home today from work and last night from a dodgeball game. I wish I could have gone to both but I have the weirdest headache. I feel like my head is going to explode, while at the same time feeling like I have whiplash and that someone head-butted me. I'm sure I'll be fine soon, but it just sucks.

On the other hand, what doesn't suck, and is quite cool, are some recent conversations I've had with the owner of the Beach Chalet. His restaurant brews my favovite beer (As mentioned in "Just Curious." If you ever go to San Fransisco, I recommend going there. I'll explain more later, but for now, I am going to go lie down.

Flying Squirrel?

New item for my "bucket list." I want to one day own and use a flying suit.
-Dave

What's on your "to do before you die" list?

Just Curious...

In regards to the Make Your Own Beer post...What is your favorite beer? Mine is the Golden Gate Park Porter from the Beach Chalet in San Francisco.

If you ever go and bring me back some, I will love you for life!

BYOB?...MAKE Your Own Beer!

Beer? I'm a fan of it. After taking a wine tasting class at Fresno State with Jessica, Haley, and Tina, I feel I have come to enjoy the actual flavor, trace scents, and otherwise overlooked qualities of wine and beer. Now in no way do I consider myself a beer or wine connoisseur, but I do feel like I could recommend or discourage a beer or wine that I have tasted. With that being said, I have found that my favorite type of beer is a porter. They are almost always the darkest beer offered by a brewer and they usually have hints of chocolate and coffee in their flavor. When you decide to stop drinking beer merely to get a buzz or to party as a lot of people do, you'll find yourself actually looking for a good flavor and porter offers the flavor that I enjoy.

With this introduction finally out of the way, I can get to the point of this post. My long time best friend, Chris, came over tonight to help me in a little tradition we have started. The tradition is simple...drink some beer while you make some beer. One of the wedding presents Jess and I received was a Mr. Beer kit. It gives you the ingredients, tools, and instructions necessary to brew your own beer without a hassle and without accidentally poisoning yourself. The following pictures and instructions should pair up easily enough to show you most of our process (And yes, those are Incredible Hulk gloves shown in the last picture of the "keg" in the closet. Chris gave them to me as a birthday present and it was one of the best presents I ever received believe it or not.) Check it out:

Step 1: Sanitizing
Follow the steps outlined in the Instructions that came with your kit.

Step 2: Brewing
2.1. Fill keg with cold water to the 4-quart mark on the back.

2.2. Remove yeast packet from under lid of both beer mixes, then place unopened cans in hot water. (warm liquid pours more easily)

3. Using the sanitized measuring cup, place 4 cups of water into the clean 3-quart pot, bring to a boil and remove from heat.

2.4. Stir both beer mixes into pot. This mix is called the wort.

NOTE: Hops in the mix will appear as green leaf particles and will not dissolve.

2.5. Pour wort into keg. Bring the volume of the keg to the 8.5-quart mark by adding more cold water. Stir vigorously to mix well.

2.6. Sprinkle both yeast packs into keg and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir vigorously again, then screw on lid.

2.7. Ferment by placing the keg out of direct sunlight and in a location with a consistent temperature. Allow beer to ferment a MINIMUM OF SEVEN DAYS at room temperature. (Between 68°-76°F)

If You Can Dodge A Wrench...

I've been getting my exercise in a rather unusual way lately; I've been playing in a dodgeball league! I know what you're thinking, "What? Do they really have those?" Yes, they do. For twenty bucks I joined a team through our church, The Well, and I got a free team shirt. It's great! We meet every Monday night at either 7 or 8 for a game that lasts about 45 minutes. I am definitely the sweaty guy on the team though, which I thought would never happen. The game is actually pretty intense with tons of crazy rules (My favorite being that any article of clothing that is hit is considered part of your body including baggy clothes and capes), everyone is really into the game, it's competitive, most people are honest (It is a church league), and everyone seems to have a great time. We won our first match 8-2, but lost last night 8-4 or something like that. However, the team that beat us has a lot of returning players from last years winning team (Including one javelin thrower) and I think they may win this year. I recommend anyone interested to either come out and support us or sign up next year. It's a lot of fun. Oh, and for some reason our team name is The Hot Pockets.
-Dave
P.S. Thank you Jen for coming out to watch a game and give your support. Fans are always welcome and I know Jess likes the company. Also, Amy...you know you totally want to do this next year!

Our 4th of July

was spent just the two of us. and was so much fun!!!!!! we swam, bbqed delicious burgers for lunch, suntanned, watched a few movies, watched the US olympic swimming trials, spent quality time together, treated ourselves to coldstone, and had our own little fireworks display in the front yard. it was so great to spend the whole day with only each other. after our little supply of fireworks were expired, we laid on the grass in the backyard and watched illegal (up in the sky) fireworks nearby. all in all, it was an awesome day. oh, and the next day (july 5) was our "6 month-aniversary". woo hoo!

The Next Food Network Star

So, we both love this show! We're really addicted. It's amazing. If you don't already watch it, you should. I mean it combines the addicting-ness of reality tv, with awesome food, great personalities, and there's no silly/disgusting drama of who's sleeping around or nasty language or anything. It's great. Our favs to win are Aaron, Adam, and Kelsey. (And really, Kelsey is one of my favs because I feel a personal connection to her. She went to BYU and is friends with some of my dear friends Whitney, Monica, and Lindsey.)

swimming used to be my life.

ok so seriously, this day has been awesome so far and its only 12:06. i was feeling better this morning and was in the process of getting ready for work when my CI called and gave me great news. JHCO is at the hospital today, which for those of you who don't know, is the state accreditation committee. basically, when they are present, i cannot be. which is fine by me!!!! not to say i don't enjoy my internship, but when you're working for free and its the day before the 4th of July, i really don't mind having a day off. so on to the title of this blog, i was able to go to the gym and swim this morning. last night, while feeling yucky still, i watched the US Olympic Trial for swimming. it got my blood pumping!! i was so motivated to get up and swim right then, but i remembered that i felt like crap, so instead i ate a reeses pb cup. (my only true weakness.) but, i digress. back in high school and college, i would swim at least 2 hours per day. wow! when i think about that now, how did i find the time? but man did i enjoy the body it gave me. and the self-control and dedication! whoo! so i got super motivated and excited watching all of these kids younger than me, gheesh i'm getting old, swimming all of my favorite strokes (fly and free) and setting world records. that katie hoff is something else. she kept winning race after race, i think she'll be swimming at least 4 events in beijing. studette. anyway, i swam 2000 yards this morning, which used to be nothing for me, but was enough today to make me feel like a swimmer again. i love that chlorine smell. seriously.

ps- after the gym i stopped by Barrow's, my workplace, to say hi to my little work family that i've been away from for the last 6 weeks. oh man do i miss all those folks. i'm so blessed to have such an amazing job with great people. can't wait to "go home" in 2 more weeks!!

sick.

i feel so lame right now. i'm sick and i've felt sick for at least 24 hours now. blegh. i even stayed home from my internship. i didn't know if i was allowed to do that, so i called my CI (clinical instructor) and asked. she just laughed at me and said stay home and rest. it feels so wierd to be laying here on the couch when i should be at my non-paid job. but, the bonus is that i did finish my book. aahhh its so addicting. and the first chapter of the next, and final, book of the series was added in as a bonus. it did its job... i am counting the days until aug 2 when it, Breaking Dawn, finally comes out.