All about that beer

I've laid a lot of heavy stuff on y'all lately, so how about something fun? Last week I was in Portland, Oregon for a software user conference. Sounds boring, right? Wrong. Don't forget that I work for a brewery. This is brewery-specific software, so when we broke for lunch, in addition to coffee, water and iced tea, there was beer. And for me, at least, the conference was super useful. AND, we had a good amount of free time, which I'll focus on now.

I traveled with my coworker Beth and neither of us had ever been to Portland. We arrived Tuesday afternoon and the conference started Wednesday. We stayed at Hotel Monaco, which I can't recommend enough. It's unique, the staff is lovely, it's dog-friendly, and they have a happy hour every day from 5 to 6 with free beer and wine.

Yes, that's a stuffed bear on the bed. They also had animal print bathrobes in the room.

Tuesday night we went to Deschutes Brewery. My beer of choice was the Fresh Hop Saison. For dinner I had the Steak and Blue Cheese Caesar Salad, which was good but was nothing compared to the Paprika Fries (which don't show up on the online menu). Um, amazing. Fries with smoked paprika, a garlic rosemary aioli and manchego cheese. We debated between those and the Curry Fries, which I bet are also incredible.

Wednesday night we had a conference welcome reception at Henry's Tavern. This place is huge and we had an area all to ourselves with free beer (they have over 100 taps - I had Full Sail's Amber Ale) and a buffet dinner. Afterward we went to Fathead's, which is a Cleveland brewery that just opened a Portland location two weeks ago. I had the Sunshine Daydream Session IPA (you'll notice that I don't drink dark beers; I like the flavor but it's just a little too much for me).

Thursday evening Beth and I went to dinner at Jake's Famous Crawfish, which has been around more than 110 years and is now part of the McCormick and Schmick's family. We shared the Dungeness Crab and Bay Shrimp Cakes as an appetizer (fantastic) and for my entree I had Horseradish Crusted Pacific Salmon, which was OMG-amahzing. No beer for me at this dinner; I drank wine.

Friday - our conference ended at 11:30 and we weren't leaving town until Saturday so off we went for food and beer! First stop: Lardo's for lunch. We loved this place and it would be dangerous for my waistline if I had one close to me. I mean, they have salads on the menu but if I'm eating here I'm not getting a damn salad. I had the current Chefwich, which you can see below and it was delicious, as were the Lardo Fries, with herbs and parmesan. I had a couple different drinks, including Rev. Nat's Hallelujah Hopricot Cider (forget any preconceived notions you might have about cider; this isn't grossly sweet and the apricot flavor is very subtle). I also had Arch Rock's Gold Beach Lager, which won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in October (oh by the way, our brewery also won 2 medals - a gold and a bronze).

After wandering around the Pearl District, visiting an art gallery and grabbing some coffee at Stumptown, we rode a bus across the river to Cascade Brewing Barrel House. Cascade specializes in sour beers, which I first enjoyed in Denver last April and I have now confirmed how much I love sour beer. We did a flight of tasters and our bartender was so friendly and helpful, giving us suggestions on which order to taste the beers, then we tried the Glueh Kriek, a hot spiced mulled sour cherry ale (which sounds strange but was kind of the best thing ever. We could have stayed there all evening but wanted to spread out our patronage. In another example of how fantastic the staff at Cascade are, they recommended some other breweries to try.

We walked to The Commons Brewery, which is kind of hard to find in the dark, but so worth it. It's a tasting room - no food or even seating to speak of, but they have eight taps and it's some damn good beer. I had the Aji Citron Reserve, which isn't on their online beer list, but it's a Saison beer with citrus and chilis so it's got a kick. I loved it. Also, I left my purse in the restroom and someone brought it and made sure I got it back. Seriously, Portland in general is so polite and friendly!

1. Glueh Kriek at Cascade
2. The tasting room at The Commons
3. The Commons' tap lineup
4. Flight of sours at Cascade

Then I got to have a reunion dinner with my college friend Michelle who lives in Portland. She's my sorority sister (Gamma Phi Beta) and fellow choir nerd and we hadn't seen each other since college. We had a lovely dinner at Paley's Place and tried to catch up 20-odd years in 3 hours.

Saturday our flight didn't leave until after 1:00 so we went to breakfast at Fuller's Coffee Shop, which is a diner in every way, and paid a visit to Powell's Books - a perfect end to our stay.

I can't wait to go back to Portland and explore even more of the area!

The Update, Part I - copy and paste style

We like to joke about Aaron's lack of social media use, but he did a great job keeping people on Facebook informed on my progress in the hospital. Today I'm literally cutting and pasting from FB to bring the rest of you up to speed and then tomorrow I'll have brand new information to share with everyone.


First I have to tell you about the amazing support I received on Facebook. Many of my friends changed their profile pics to the Fight Like a Girl logo I've been using. The day of surgery my sorority sisters wore animal print clothing and took selfies (one of them even took her picture in the dressing room of Lord & Taylor because she didn't own anything animal print). There were hashtags all over the place like #InItToGwenIt and #GammaPhisForGwen and one of my friends coined the term #Gwenning, a la Charlie Sheen. It was overwhelming and wonderful and say what you will about Facebook but I felt so much love it was unbelievable. Now, on with the updates:


From Aaron, Tuesday evening, 6/3
All done! I just met with the doctors who did the reconstruction and they finished up about 45 minutes ago. Gwen did great, no surprises. They keep a very close eye on her the next 12 hours to make sure there aren't any clots, and hopefully tomorrow she'll get to eat and start moving around. I can't wait for her to see the crazy amount of support everyone has sent her way today - we are blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. #inittogwenit rocks! Hugs to everyone!


From Aaron, Gwensday, 6/4

Good morning everyone - update for Gwen. She had a pretty sleepless night since they kept checking her new parts every hour on the hour, but we've passed the 12 hour critical watch period so that's good. She has some pain but it is being managed well (funny post about that forthcoming), and she is much more alert and lucid than I expected. Today's highlights should include water, solid food, and perhaps moving from bed to chair. Hopefully that journey won't include a trip by the mirror, because she will disagree that, to me, she is presently more beautiful than she has ever been.

Thanks for the messages and words of support - love to you all! #inittogwenit

From Aaron, Thursday, 6/5

And another beautiful morning in central Ohio - here's the latest for Gwen. She continues to improve, highlights from yesterday included getting out of bed to sit in a chair, followed last night by actually taking a walk around the floor. This morning she had solid food for the first time and took another walk. Today she'll continue that progress - looking forward to more walks intermingled with naps and food. Doctors seem pleased with progress, removed some bandages, and she is tracking for potentially being discharged tomorrow.

The well wishes and support continue to be a source of strength and inspiration to Gwen and me, we are very appreciative! Stay tuned!#inittogwenit

From Aaron, Friday, 6/6

We're home!

I brought Gwen home from the hospital earlier this afternoon to continue her recovery. This morning included the removal of many bandages, some walking, and a shower! Now that we're home she's basically been told to focus on managing pain, eating/pooping, walking regularly, and getting plenty of rest. Those of you in the 'hood should see us making trips around the block, which I will time to occur soon after taking pain meds so as to keep her scowling to a minimum. Also she has some restrictions like don't lift anything, don't vacuum or iron, and don't cook but I think she'll manage. Feel free to insert appropriate jokes ...

And once again we continue to be amazed at the support so many of you have expressed. It has most definitely made a difference. Thanks everyone!!

From Me, Saturday, 6/7

Hello friends! It's really me, posting from the comforts of home surrounded by pillows and one cat next to me on the bed (Clover/Mr. Handsome).

All things considered, I'm doing very well. I haven't had one bit of nausea, thank God, because that would have been seriously beyond awful. I'm glad that the doctors and nurses all commented on how good the incisions look because I think it looks very Frankenstein-ish, swollen and bruised and with blisters from tape, which was a new experience. I came home with four drains, so Aaron and I are "enjoying" a different kind of intimacy while emptying those twice a day.

As Aaron has mentioned, we are constantly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support. People I don't even know changed their profile pictures. Even my friends are amazed by my friends, if that makes any sense. I tried to keep up with all your comments and someday I hope to be able to answer messages. Please know that I've read them all and I so appreciate all the love.

In terms of the cancer, I've been told that I won't need chemo and there's nothing invasive, but just in case I needed validation of my decision to remove both breasts, I got it. In my right breast, where we knew there had been cancer, they found even more DCIS(stage zero) and in the left breast they found atypia, which does not always turn into cancer but I think we all know that I made the right choice.

I had not talked about this publicly but the reconstruction route I went with is called a DIEP flap. That means that they took tissue from my tummy to make new boobs so instead of implants, it's all my body (and yes, that means I got a "bonus" tummy tuck out of the deal). That type of surgery is why it took so long - 8 hours, I think - and then I had some breathing issues afterward so it took another 3 hours or so to get to my room. This surgery also requires a longer recovery time but I'm on the right track so far.

I have so many people to give thanks for, but right now, since I've been long-winded and I'm getting tired, I'm just going to point out the Best. Husband. Ever. (Okay, also my only husband ever, but still...) I can't imagine getting through this with anyone else. I love you, Aaron. 

Thanks for reading!

I love the crescent moon....

Come on girls, sing it with me!

So today some fellow bloggers are having a Greek is Greek linkup, and when I realized that three of the four co-hosts were in the same sorority as me, I knew I had to participate. Granted, I'm much older than these ladies but I'm here to tell them (and you) that being in a sorority has lifelong benefits.

When I went to college in (gulp) 1985, I had no intention of going Greek. Back then at Wittenberg, rush wasn't held until winter term, so by the time it rolled around, I had friends who were Greek, my boyfriend at the time was Greek, and other freshman friends were rushing so I did, too. In 1986 I pledged Gamma Phi Beta.

Pledge night (that's me on the far left).
I'm happy to say that I'm still in touch with all the other girls in this picture!

Our composite picture, before we went to wearing all the same thing.

While sorority life during college was fun, I had no idea how much it would mean later in life. And while people often bitch and moan about Facebook, I will always be grateful that it reconnected me with so many of my sorority sisters. There's a group of us in Columbus/Dayton who get together for lunch (hey, let's do that again soon!) or drinks, and I often see Facebook posts of other reunions. Last fall several of us gathered when Christine was in town for work.

Sorry about the demon eyes - I can't seem to fix it

In January, 16 ladies met up in Florida for a mini-reunion. I was sad to miss that one!

Candy, my sorority sister, fellow Columbus-ite and blogger at Bird Uncaged (where she lists something she's thankful for everyday, wrote this:

"You may not be able to put your finger on the reason why you feel so comfortable the minute you walk in the door, in the moment. But 25 years later, after you have seen each other through marriages and births and divorces and death, or maybe you haven't seen each other at all, but you can sit down in a room together and talk and laugh and cry as if not a single day has passed, THEN you will understand why these beautiful women are your sisters."

Today I'm grateful for my sisters.