It's been far too long, so I figured I owed you an explanation as to what I've been up to since we last spoke. Make no mistake, I've been moderately busy a considerable amount of the time.
1. Brewing
About a month ago I cooked up a batch of Extra Pale Ale. It's my first shot at home brewing, but I've got high hopes. If this one goes well, I'm going to try something a little darker next time around, like a porter or a winter ale. I brewed it and moved it to a fermenter, then a week or so later siphoned it to a secondary fermenter. Two weeks after that, I bottled. As we speak, there's a Rubbermaid in our kitchen with 45 bottles of beer in it, conditioning. I could crack one as soon as Monday, but I'm going to hold off until Wednesday since it's been cold (the carbonation process happens slower in colder temps). I'm also considering holding off until Tuesday the 4th as a celebratory gesture. I'll keep you posted.
2. Cramming My Face with Politcs
As alluded to in the previous post, I've been downright obsessed with the impending election as well as political stuff in general (see #3). I even hung out with my 12 grade American Government teacher a coupl'a weeks ago. That was a hoot. I suspect he may become a bit of a comrade down here in the Republican stronghold we call our home town.
3. Watching The West Wing
Aaron Sorkin's masterpiece, The West Wing has four solid seasons of fantastic tv with some of the best characters ever to grace the small screen. By season 5, things start getting a little shaky (I'm sure it's no coincidence that Sorkin left after season 4), but even through the hit-or-miss later seasons, there's some great stuff. The liberalism is a little heavy-handed at times (even for me, and that's saying something), but excepting that, it's fantastic.
4. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
I installed Windows on my iMac specifically so I could play this game. It's glorious.
5. Being Amazed by Our Son's Progress
He started pre-school back in August, and it's doing wonders. His vocabulary is up to 7 or 8 clear words/names, and a good handful of beginning sounds accompanied by signs. He's picking up things quickly now, and we're feeling very confident that the verbal breakthrough we're waiting on is just around the bend. He's in pre-school two days a week for three hours a day, plus his weekly speech therapy. We're feeling good.
6. Getting Ready to Have a Daughter
