First of many review posts for Pumpkin Beers and Harvest Ales.

I have been working on getting all the pictures on my phone uploaded to Google Photos because that app allows me to post my pictures in this blog.  To get the pictures uploaded you have to have a Wi-Fi connection which means I need to remember to open the app when I am at home. I have forgotten to do so for several days now. 

What does this have to do with a beer review? My Google Photos are updated through 8/24- but I took picture of this weeks beer: Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin last week so it's not uploaded.  My executive decision at this point is to do my blog post anyway.  Maybe I'll get a picture uploaded here tomorrow and without further ado, here is my review! 

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin:

ABV: 5.7

Cost $8.49 at Meijer

I chose to start my reviews with this beer because it was on sale.  This one is easily found in any grocery story or mass market retailer. I have had it before and enjoyed it in the past.  I purchased a 6-pack and tried one cold.  I sampled the Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin which cooking so by the end of the bottle it was getting warm.  When you take a swig of this beer you can taste malt and a bit of your favorite Fall spices cinnamon, cardamon, and cloves.  I would personally enjoy a stronger hit of the spices.  The ABV was higher than I would have guessed. It's a smooth beer and I would have assumed it didn't break 5%.  The aftertaste is a little bitter and the beer itself is best served cold. When it warms up, I find it too malty for me to enjoy.

Would I buy this again?  Maybe, if I was sharing the 6-pack with others and if I had an Ibotta rebate.  In case you aren't familiar, Ibotta is an app you can use to get rebates on purchases at grocery and other stores.  You click on a store, add the rebates that interest you and then when you get home you scan your receipt in the app and $ is added to your account.  You can redeem your rebates for various gift cards or transfer the money to your PayPal account. I'm saving my earnings for Christmas shopping.  Here is a referral link : My Ibotta Link

This weekend I'm going with Tom to a local brewery's Oktoberfest and I plan to try at least one beer to blog about-stay tuned for that! 

Happy #ThirstyThursday!*

*and I just realized I should do my pumpkin beer reviews every week on Thursdays. You heard it here first; I'm making it a thing! 

Happy Fall! No need to put away the flip flops

Fall is officially here and along with it, Chicagoland has temps over 90 degrees for another 3 or 4 days.  As anyone you run into will tell you, it's hotter now than it was in August.  August was quite lovely.  Now here we are trying to get our Fall on and you'll suffer a heat stroke if you break out the boots or savor a hot cider. 

The current weather situation has killed my mums and thrown a wrench in my meal planning plan for the week. Good thing I said I was going to meal plan in my last post because putting that down in writing has made me feel  accountable and thusly ice cream for supper Saturday through Wednesday ain't gonna happen here.

Today the man went to the grocery store and mostly followed my prepared list. Does he realize how lucky he is that I put the list in order of the store layout? Anyway he did a better than fair job of  purchasing what was on the list.  Right now the air is on and we are slow roasting a beef roast.  I am using a Tastefully Simple recipe from my One Pot 10 Meal Kit  this one is Savory Beef & Carrots .

I'll let you know how it turns out.  Tomorrow I'm going to try the Rustic Chicken Wild Rice Soup  .  Monday I'm going to keep it super simple because we have our annual eye doctor exam after I get done with work.  So chicken wings and turkey burgers w/baked French fries and salad.  Tuesday another Tastefully Simple ! Chicken Fajita Tacos Wednesday I have a Wine Wednesday Tastefully Simple party- so the fam is on their own.  For Wednesday, I am putting Bryce in charge, he likes to make pork chops.  Thursday chicken stir fry- i.e. chicken, rice and whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator.

There you have it, I just spend about 10 minutes and planned the week- with an assist from the 10-Meal Kit this week.

Next week it's going to be cooler, so I'm thinking butternut squash soup!

Pro Tip: For a slimming look, pose with a giant pumpkin!

Who knew

Who knew it would be 4 years between posts from me.  I didn't, well actually I didn't have a plan to come back to this blog.  Today I decided, let's do this thing.  I enjoy a place where I can talk about stuff and I like to look back on what the kids were up to in these posts.

Speaking of the kids, all of them are now officially teens! So I will try and respect privacy and still brag on them when possible.  In my opinion, teenagers don't particularly  have good self esteem or confidence.  Maybe it is just my 3; in any case,  I'm working on bolstering that when I have the opportunity.

Since I last wrote we moved back to Chicagoland. Turns out I need to be surrounded by people, I don't necessarily feel a need to talk to strangers, like the hubs does, but I do like lots of people around me making up a big colorful group of different lives being lived.  To whit, when I run a race I notice the people around me and savor the differences.  People can be really cool and they can suck at the same time.  I'm trying to focus on the cool part, focus on what I want to see more of,  and all that pop psychology rigmarole.

My plan for this blog moving forward is sharing some book reviews, recipes, money saving tips, great podcasts and what the family is up to in 2017 and beyond. My goal for this week is to sit down and do meal planning for the upcoming week. Wish me luck!

 I also plan to try all the pumpkin beers I can find this Fall Season - and that will start with whatever is on sale at Jewel this week. So holding myself accountable, look for 2 upcoming posts from me to you:

1. Pumpkin or Fall Ales (in case I run out of  pumpkin specific ales too quickly) review.
2. My Meal Planning Adventure

I can't leave this list at 2.  I need a third..

3. In which I discuss my new adventure, a personal project I've been putting off for over 2 decades.

xoxo