Sometimes, I get a craving for something that I haven’t had in a long time. Something rich, something that brings up warm memories of sitting in my mom’s kitchen, watching her cook. I’m usually pretty good about giving in to those cravings at times because if I don’t – then they’ll get worse. This isn’t a healthy recipe, though it does contain vegetables, but it’s a soul-soothing one. I fixed it two days ago for my boyfriend and I, along with crescent rolls and watermelon for dessert (nothing beats fruit that is perfectly in season). I’ve been munching on the leftovers for a few days now, which has saved me money at work (which I was spending around $8-11 a day for lunch).
Made with ground hamburger meat, gravy mix, canned vegetables, cheese, hash-browns and French’s fried onion, this is definitely one of those dishes perfect for cozying up on the couch. This is a secret family family (yeah… right), but I found this version that is almost identical!
Yesterday, I ended up going for a run, the first time in a long time. It felt wonderful (and I got to use my nifty running bag)! I was gone for about 40 minutes and ending up finding an apple tree just randomly on the side of the road (didn’t belong to anyone), so of course I grabbed an apple, even if they were a little buggy (tasted like Granny Smiths). I definitely plan on gathering some apples from there later on!
I was looking through my archives when I realized that I had never posted about the brewery tour I took back in March with the boy. Which is sad because this is a great free event in the area that anyone (over 21, of course) can do.
When I woke up that morning, I wasn’t really in the mood to go anywhere or do anything, but the boy finally convinced me, so we were off to the Carolina Brewing Company (we arrived with almost an hour to spare - but the line starting building fast, so that was good). I had heard about this from a former co-worker who had gone the previous week (that girl was awesome).
Carolina Brewing Company, located in Holly Springs, is a local brewing company which uses only the four main ingredients to brew their beer (malter barley, hops, yeast and water). They use no additives, chemicals or pasturaztion which creates a beer with a shorter shelf life than others, but even more tasty (this coming from a girl who drinks whatever is on sale at the grocery store).
The tour started at 1:00, but they turned the taps on about 15 minutes before. They served their 3 main beers (Carolina Nut Brown Ale, Carolina Pale Ale, Carolina India Pale) and their seasonal brew (Spring Boch) which had just been released the day before. The Spring Boch was perfect for me. Light, smooth taste with the barest hint of sweetestness. The boy tried all 4, but I only had a glass and a half of the Spring Boch. I did taste all the other beers and while I could appreciate their quality and taste, they were just too bitter for my taste buds.
I hate that picture… I wish I had listened to the photographer (aka the boy) and taken off my jacket. 
The tour itself was relatively short, about 30 minutes, but chock full of great information. Then everyone went back to drinking. It was basically like a huge party, however, the line for the men’s bathroom was twice the line of the girls. I definitely want to go back and take the tour again, hopefully when their Carolina Summer Wheat is released. The most interesting thing? The 6-month pregnant girl who was the DD for her husband. She looked so jealous of everyone else!
Carolina Brewing Company also does private tours for a small fee, which would be a great company bonding experience or trip for your wedding party!
I hate it when people ask me what I want to do. My answer used to be just a nonchalant shrug, but after graduating, people seem to want more of an answer. What I want to do changes every week. It has since I was about 5 years old – you can ask my mom that.
Well, I guess that isn’t entirely true. Since I’ve been old enough to hold a pencil, I’ve wanted to be a writer. But I know that it will take years of dedication before I can dream of writing, at the very least, part-time. My dream is to have a little cabin on a lake where I can write full-time. But I know that I need a full-time job now in order to build up to that dream (unless, like my mom says, I marry someone rich ).
But this post isn’t really about me, it’s more about the education system I have had experience with. In high school, I never had anyone who actually encouraged me to find what I really want to do. The teachers and staff all seemed concerned about cramming dates, numbers and words into my brain to prep me for “the real world.” Maybe it was different in your school, but in mine? No one really seemed to care what you wanted to do with your life. There were no options to explore any sort of career path.
Then I got to college. I can honestly say that I am glad I went to college on a scholarship because I really learned nothing in my classes. There was no a lot of flexibility in my chosen curriculum, meaning that after I took a few basic classes, I couldn’t explore other departments outside of my own. When I declared my major after submitting my application, I had no idea that they would never ask me again about that choice. I also never knew that my school had an undeclared category – no one ever told me (I’m also the first in my family to ever attend college – either side). I was lost, confused and wanted to experience as many options as possible – but I wasn’t really allowed.
To my advisers, I was just another name on their list. Just a number for them to check off.
I recently signed up for some on-line summer classes through my Alma Mata. I feel that will give me a chance to explore other classes that I might have been interested in, but didn’t really have the time to experience. I signed up for only two classes, as I feel that will really give me the chance to learn the information, not just absorb it long enough to pass a test.
