I learned today that a few of my friends consider me to be a social media expert.  At least among them.  I do have a blog, facebook incessantly, and have recently gotten very into twitter (it was during my facebook hiatus that I truly became more twitter oriented…don’t judge.)  But I still consider myself a bit of a hack…however, it’s possible that I’ll be doing a bit more with the social media in the future for a new endeavour, and I welcome it.  I do LOVE social media, even though I struggle with it on occasion.  (Again, don’t judge.)

I’ve been working with my blog more recently too, though I am quite sad today that more people are reading my blog because they are finding it searching for information on Alicia and Andrew.  That’s the caring bridge link for information, if you are interested.  I try not to think about it too much even though I think about it all the time.  I just break down.  I think the fact that they are engaged really gets me.  I just hope they can pull through.  I am constantly amazed by the resiliency of the human body and by the capabilities of modern medicine.

Let’s distract ourselves here for a bit then.

That’s the “mascot” for the Mo’ Cowbell run.  You all (should) know that I love cows.

I didn’t mean *that* otter…  (that’s a fantastic website if you haven’t seen it)

Here’s a good article “The 8 truths about weddings (that no one ever tells you)”

a quote from the article “All your interactions will be weighed with a new gravity. When you do fight, it’s fighting as a COUPLE THAT WILL BE MARRIED. Those things that were mere annoyances are now albatrosses draping your shoulders for eternity.”  Luckily I haven’t done that to Chris yet!  (I have.  Repeatedly.)

That’s all I can do tonight, friends.  Stay strong.

A couple of weeks ago one of my old friends from Clinton facebooked me that she and her husband were coming to St Louis for vacation and asked if I would be around.  (By old friend, not that she is old—in fact I am older than she is.)  Indeed I was, and we decided to get together for lunch.  They were planning to go to the Budweiser Tour before lunch, and when I mentioned how close that was to my house, they insisted I join them.

I was a little apprehensive, as I hadn’t seen Brooke since…well…maybe the late 90’s.  We used to ride the school bus together and attended the same church.  But here she was married with a small child—would it be an incredibly awkward morning?  Plus, you know how those small-town South Carolina people are…

I shouldn’t have worried.  Within a few minutes of meeting up, we were chatting away like old friends.  Not only that, her husband, Tim, was great and her baby was adorable!

ALMOST makes me want one of my own, but then I remember that they aren’t always so cute, they cost tons of money, and I would have to sacrifice so much sleep…

Anyway, I hadn’t been on the Budweiser Tour, so that was mildly interesting.  Tim brews his own beer so he was eager to steal insider secrets on how to make a ton of money. 

 

My camera battery was running very low so I didn’t take that many pictures.  The tour took about an hour and went around a variety of buildings.  Honestly it wasn’t that exciting, but still a nice thing to do.  It WAS free.

Also at the end you got free beer.

Each person got two samples and they were pretty generous!  I enjoyed a blueberry flavored beer and a raspberry one best.  I did not sample Bud Light.

Afterwards we went to lunch.  The best part of a six month old baby is you don’t have to act differently around them yet, like you do for a toddler who is talking and can repeat anything you say!

All in all it was really great to see Brooke and meet Tim and her baby.  I guess I haven’t changed that much since high school after all—we’ve both matured and grown up but our personalities are at heart still the same.  Goes to show you that people just don’t really change, and that is both a good and a bad thing.

Look at those fat little legs!!  At one point Brooke asked me if I wanted to hold him, but I did not.  Is there something wrong with me that I just don’t have that urge?  I did however want to make funny faces at him and poke him a lot.

Today:  lunch meeting, teaching, and run.  I need to stay busy.  It’s already 84 outside so I can already guarantee my run is going to suck.  Wait, that’s a really negative attitude.  Hmm…let me rephrase.  It’s already 84 outside so I can already guarantee my skin will really glow the whole time I am running.  Or should I go to the gym?  Either way I need to get away from the computer. 

For those of you interested in Alicia and Andrew, here’s a link to a website started to keep people up to date.