and I feel fine

My favorite beer! Now we're getting somewhere.

The guy I was with before my husband was a great guy, I can't really say anything mean about him. Sure, he was supremely messy and couldn't cotton to the concept of having a boss, but all in all he was a really nice hippie. With a killer instinct for good beer. Before knowing him, I would be perfectly happy with a Bud Light, and thought Heineken was fancy. Oh, how my taste buds have transcended. Every time we bought beer it was something new and exciting, an experience. You know how those hippies like their experiences.

So basically he turned me into a beer snob.

Some things I've noticed about beer, though keep in mind in the grand scheme I'm a mere novice:

1. Very rarely do you want to drink a good beer out of the bottle.

2. It usually needs a special glass to allow maximum sipping pleasure. There's a very scientific explanation for these things, and I'm surely not the girl to be going there.

3. Speaking of sipping, you absolutely do not chug good beer.

4. A good beer doesn't go flat five minutes after you pour it.

5. A good beer has an alcohol content closer to ten than zero. It'll set you back a few bucks more than one Bud Light, but you'd have to drink two Buds for every good beer to get the same effect. The edge will officially be off within three good sips. Trust.

6. Good beer is VERY RARELY made in America. Try Belgium, Germany, Canada, Holland, and France.

8. Wait a second. Canada? The folks responsible for Molson freakin' Ice?

Ohhhh yes. The Unibroue Brewery in Chambly, Quebec (should I take a short pause while you giggle because it's probably pronounced "Uni-brow?") brews a fabulous line of beers and one of them has become my favorite. La Fin du Monde. The End of the World.

You won't find it at your local dive, I'm sad to say, but if you look hard enough you'll find it eventually. Or, if you're lucky, your local bar/restaurant has excellent taste and keeps it stocked and cold.

La Fin du Monde definitely has punch, but dare I say, it's a fruity punch. It's a party in your mouth. It goes wonderfully with just about everything on your plate. When you arrive at the restaurant (Mangia, in my case) absolutely starving, this beer can act as an appetizer.

You should try it sometime.

(I intended to go into more depth about the beer but then I realized I'm just spewing alternate ways to say "it's really good!" so I'll just tell you - it's really good - and let it be.

-----In Other News-----

This one is for Hei, who recently inquired if I'd had any experiences that made me certain I'd never have that experience again.

My husband drinks A LOT of juice. If I didn't write him a list when he goes to the store, he'd come back with Yoplait Chocolate Whips and eight large bottles of juice, usually grape (white and purple) orange, orange-pinespple, white cranberry, tomato, and sometimes he picks up some prune juice as well.

A couple weeks ago I saw a glass of grape juice on the coffeetable and walked right up to it and took a huge gulp. You can probably see where this is going.

Me: HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THAT is NASTY! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE GRAPE JUICE?!

Micah: That's prune juice, baby!

Me: WHY. WHHHYYYY??

Micah: You don't like it? I find it so exciting!

Me: (incredulous) Exciting? It tastes like cleaning fluid and fermented ass!!

Micah: No, no. It's exciting. Every time I drink it I feel excited and energized.

Me: That's weird. Really weird.

But after I pondered the concept of an exciting juice experience, I realized that's exactly the way I feel about V8. I don't and couldn't drink it everyday, but when I do drink it...I kind of look forward to it, I guess. It's different...almost disgusting but actually pretty good.

That said, I will never, EVER drink prune juice again. Unless I am debilitatingly constipated.

Uh oh, I realized this is the point where I'm supposed to have a contest question. Can we skip that today? I'll give you three tomorrow or something. Tonight is our wedding reception and I'm so totally fucking excited it's comical. Also quite annoying to Micah because I've sat at this computer for HOURS trying to come up with the perfect music compilation instead of curled up on the couch keeping each other warm.

I realize the music is a background thing, some people might not notice it. I feel that music can bring our party to life, and I have even gone so far as to design the mixes so they'll be appropriate to the mood. The first hour is warm, inviting, and decidedly peppy. It takes a slower, jazzier turn when dinner starts. Toward the end of dinner it livens up, perhaps encouraging people to commence with the mingling. The fourth hour is upbeat, hopefully reflecting the good mood of those getting their steady drink on. Yes, I have thought too much about this, spent too much time agonizing over it, and it's almost to the point where I've heard the songs so much I don't enjoy them anymore. Still, I'm signed off without a contest because there is still a bit of tweaking to do, and in the next 30 minutes I hope to actually burn the fucking music to discs, already.