Time keeps on slippin'....

So, here I go again being an awful blogger, what's new. I am not even really sure where to start, so I'll just recap the last couple weeks. Between both of our schedules, we have been incredibly busy. Not to mention the upcoming wedding, holidays, travel plans, etc., etc. Where do I begin? I guess I will start with our most exciting recent plans the last weekend of October. Chris and I, and our friends Brandon and Tricia, headed to Atlanta to meet my brother and his girlfriend to celebrate the closing weekend of Oktoberfest at Der Biergarten downtown. It was an absolute blast. We had lots of great beer, listened to the authentic band, and even ordered pretzels with an amazing mustard assortment. From there, we wandered around Atlanta, hitting a couple more bars before calling it a night. It was definitely a night to remember (and naps were needed all around the next day).

We also got to celebrate Halloween together for the first time in years! We stayed in for the night, handed out candy and enjoyed some craft beers. This past Friday night, we did try a new restaurant: B. Merrell's here in Columbus. It was great. We had great food, and the beer selection was awesome! It was definitely a local hangout, which made it all the more endearing.

Other than that, Chris has been trying to survive school, we've both been enjoying the change of weather, and we're both getting very excited for the upcoming holiday season! Stay tuned for more!

Playing catch up...

Okay, so the last two weeks haven't really been that exciting (sorry!!). We had grandiose plans for super fun date nights, which all seemed to get passed by due to hangovers, injuries, and lots of work (no excuses, we know). The weekend before last, we did something of a group date night on Friday by going to Balloo's here in Columbus. Balloo's is a cigar bar, and has a really awesome atmosphere. We loved going there when we were here last time. We met up with a group of friends, mostly guys from Chris' class, and checked out a couple other bars in Uptown that night. Needless to say, Saturday was something of a wash. We finally pried ourselves out of the house to go see a movie here on post late at night. Per my brother's recommendation, we checked out "Prisoners." It was awesome! It kind of turned out to be one of those movies you think about for awhile afterwards, and we were still talking about it the next day.

Chris has been extra busy with school, and work has been hectic. We also have an awesome new group of friends that keep us busy on the weekends :) Chris managed to severely sprain the soft tissue in his right foot last week, so he is just now able to limp around without the support of crutches. I had some plans for a weekend date night, but due to Chris' immobility we were limited. We ended up heading to the brew pub here on post as a last minute decision to grab some dinner on Saturday night. We had a couple drinks and watched the Tigers play. We invited our friends Brandon and Trisha to meet up with us. We had a great time (such a great time in fact, that I think Chris forgot about the pain in his foot). It seems like we have a really awesome time, then need a day to recover. Nothing in moderation :)

This upcoming weekend is Columbus Day. Chris has a cushy four-day weekend, while I don't have any additional time off. We may just have something great planned, who knows!

A little bit of everything....again...

So this was my weekend. Friday night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and ended up having a little too much fun. My real date night was supposed to happen Saturday morning, but we didn't get out of bed until 11. I don't know if it was the beer the night before, something I ate, or the change in the weather (or all of the aforementioned), but I was worthless most of Saturday. I ended up taking a nap until 3 in the afternoon. Chris decided to go fishing since I was out of it. I pulled myself out of the house and met him at King's Pond here on post and he even surprised me with Taco John's for lunch :)

About 30 minutes into fishing it started to downpour. We scrambled back to the vehicles and headed home. Once we got home we watched the MSU Spartans and the Tigers. Chris decided he wanted to "party" so I made a run to the shopette to get some snacks and beer. We finished out the night watching movies. The Sapphires was awesome, and The Place Beyond the Pines was really good too.

Today was a mix of sleeping in, cleaning the house, watching football, doing homework, talking with family, working on wedding flowers a little, and walking the dogs. I may have to make up for this with a mini-date sometime this week :)

Beer Master Brewing Course

Last weekend (I know, I'm late), was Chris' turn. It wasn't a surprise date because we had to schedule it in advance. Chris' family bought him and I a beer brewing class for his birthday back in August. The course was so popular that we were only able to get in last week! We had to drive up to Marietta, Georgia (about two hours north) for the course. It was a beautiful day and we ended up getting there early to eat at Mazzy's Sports Bar and Grill before the course. The course went from 2-5pm. There were six other people in the course. One couple was retired military and Chris new of him from his time in Germany (small world). The course came with complimentary beers from classes past. The kegs actually ran out half way through the course and one of the employees at Beermaster Warehouse had to make a beer run :)

The Red Hare Brewing Company, located in Marietta, Georgia, actually got their start in home brewing with the help of the Beermaster Warehouse. If you ever get a chance, you definitely need to pick up some of their beer. We learned all about home brewing, and even brewed our own batch of an American IPA. It needs at least 2-3 weeks to ferment so one lucky class in a month will get to sample our work. Chris and I were both really interested in trying it out. It does require a small investment up front to get all the equipment, but we are definitely looking into it :) Great date night!!!

Ice Skating...and Brews.

 Last week was my turn. I had to creatively cram date night in between all of the opening season college and NFL football, which didn't leave me with a whole lot of time :) I decided to stay local, and stay flexible. I surprised Chris after work Friday by starting date night right away. We got ready and headed out....to the Ice Rink! I knew Chris had never been ice skating before, and I had only been a couple times. I figured Chris would take to it like a duck to water since he always talks about how much he loved roller blading and skiing, etc., when he was younger. That wasn't quite the case, but in our defense, there were a lot of kids there for a birthday party which made navigation tricky. We tried it for about 45 minutes and called it good. Chris said he definitely wants to try again sometime. Afterwards, we headed back to post for some hard-earned dinner and beer at El Zapata and the Benning Brew Pub. The food is just as awesome as it was when we were here last. The beer was also delicious. The brew pub was a little dead when we got there, but then karaoke started and the place livened up. We had a great time. It was a low key date night, but we had a lot of fun :)

Golf...and dinner...and hot air balloons...oh my!

So last week was Chris' turn for date night. We had a long weekend to fill, and fill it we did. Saturday morning started like it usually does: with coffee. Then Chris asked if I'd like to start date night early (keep in mind this is 10 am). I said sure, so he informed me we were golfing. While I wasn't joyous about the idea, I know how much Chris loves golf and I hadn't been in awhile, so what the heck. We played 18 at our local course: Oxbow Meadows here in Columbus. It is a beautiful course and not overly challenging for a rookie like me. Good Lord was it hot out though! I usually don't wear golf gloves, but I was sweating so much I had to after almost throwing my driver down the fairway. I didn't play horrible. I think I even legitimately made par on two holes. We had a pretty good time.


From there, we came back home and relaxed. Chris said we had to leave around 3:45 to head to dinner. Apparently the place opens at 5 and if you're not already standing in line you have to wait an hour. We both got ready and headed out the door for dinner. We drove about 45 minutes to Hamilton, Georgia and pulled up outside a tiny, one story cinder block building wayyyy out in the country. I was pretty confused. I remember driving past this place before during trips to Callaway Gardens, but I didn't realize it was a restaurant, let alone one that would warrant hour long queues. We pulled up and sure enough, the parking lot was already half full and people were already out of their vehicles sitting in chairs on the porch. Low and behold: Hunter's Pub and Steak House. By sitting on the porch with locals, we were able to eavesdrop on what was worth ordering at this place. Before even seeing the menu I had settled on the Snapper special and Chris was going for rib eye. Once we were in the place, it definitely had a unique ambiance. They have apparently since expanded off the

side of the building so it was too crowded. Our waitress was adorable, we had great beer and the food was phenomenal. We even got to partake in some local college football on the bar televisions. I liked the place so much that I ended up buying a t-shirt. Once we got to the Jeep, I opened the bag to look at the short again and realized our waitress had thrown in free coozies and a piece of peanut butter pie for free! We will definitely be back!

From Hunter's, instead of heading back to Columbus, Chris started heading toward Callaway Gardens. I was a little confused but it was still light out and a great day to drive in the Jeep. Once we got to the entrance of the gardens I realized why we were there: a hot air balloon festival! It was awesome. There is something really magical about hot air balloons. Because of Chris' military status we got free entry into the park (awesome!). We found a parking spot and headed right down to the beach area to get drinks from the beach bar. They had live music going on, food trucks, games, and not to mention all of the hot air balloons everywhere. Right at dusk the Veteran Sky Diving team dropped in right over the lake and landed on the beach. That was pretty awesome too. By the time we got home we were pretty exhausted. It was a long day, but a great one. My turn this week!

Catch Up!

Alright team, aannnddd we're back. I can't even remember when I posted last, but I have a million excuses. We are now back in beautiful Fort Benning, Georgia. We packed up at the end of July and made the 23 hour trip across the country, puppies in tow, to settle in our new home. Since our last post, we have done a LOT! During our trip, we made a stop in San Antonio for a night and experienced the awesomeness that is the Riverwalk. We poked our heads in the Alamo, did a little walking around, and headed out the next morning. Our next stop along the way was Biloxi, Mississippi. We were planning to do some sightseeing here too, but we just ended up eating at an Applebee's and doing too many jello shots. We hit Columbus, Georgia on the third day (home to Fort Benning), and settled in for one more night in a hotel. Our first meal in Columbus was at our absolute favorite place: Willy's Wings. The dogs started acting out here, and we knew it was about time to get them settled.
 

The next day we were placed in a house and the fun began. The movers showed up and the next week was chaos. We were all moved in in a week, but I still feel like we're settling. The dogs love the new backyard. We have grass and a tree, which is very exciting coming from El Paso. Grace is becoming an expert squirrel chaser (I would say hunter, but she has yet to catch one). Peter has also calmed down a lot since he's able to burn off energy in the yard most of the day. We sure have a lot more humidity here, but we both prefer it. Even at the hottest part of the day, it's really only around 90 degrees, which is much better than the 110+ we came from. Chris and I have taken up running again, and the lower elevation here is a great help. I am now working from home, which has been an adjustment, but I'm really enjoying it so far. We even crammed in a week's vacation to Michigan already. That was an awesome, and jam-packed trip! We went up to the Mackinac Bridge, went to Mackinac Island, stopped at some breweries, saw a Tiger's game, hung out at the beach, visited the Church we will be getting married at (and left a big, fat check) etc, etc.

Now back to the real world! Chris hasn't officially started school yet, but he still has to report in every morning. We started date nights back up again this weekend, in an attempt to get back into the swing of things. Date night was kind of a mixed bag. Chris and I both got our fishing licenses here and spent most of Saturday on the riverbank here on post. Chris didn't have much luck, but I caught a decent catfish. It was the first catfish I had ever caught, and it was a little traumatizing (they feel like jello and make an awful screaming sound). Saturday night, we treated ourselves to Willy's Wings (again!), and capped off the night with a movie and wine at the house. Sunday, we went to Mass at Holy Family, then headed up north for a throwback edition of Sunday Adventures that we so much enjoyed during our last tenure here in Georgia. We stopped at Little Country Kitchen near Pine Mountain and Callaway Gardens for lunch. Chris ordered chicken and waffles (...when in Rome), and I got a little payback by ordering fried catfish. We both enjoyed a side of fried green tomatoes, hushpuppies and southern potato salad. From there, we kept driving to LaGrange to check out some potential beach areas in the state park. We didn't have much luck, but we did find Highpoint Marina Resort which would be a cool place to grab a beer on the water next time we're in the area. Then we headed back so Chris could finish another draft of fantasy football. We ended the night with a hookah session and mindless TV. Chris' turn next week! Stay tuned...