Beers ‘n’ buds

A few days before Christmas, I was supposed to travel to the Upstate to visit a couple of friends.  However, our plans changed when the freezing rain settled in, so we postponed it.  Late Wednesday morning, I packed up my car and made the 2-hour trek to Clemson!  I get giddy every time I drive into town, though now there’s a bit of sadness to it.  It’s so weird to drive into a town I lived in for 6 years but can’t call home now.  Being at my friend’s apartment was strange because I always had a certain level of stress in school, and even when I was letting loose there, I always had something going on in the back of my mind like “I need to go home and study” or “I have to finish that paper.”  It was definitely weird to be at his place and know that I had a 2-hour drive home instead of a 5-minute one.

The three of us were celebrating several different things – Mark’s birthday back in November, Megan’s on Christmas Eve, Christmas itself, and Mark’s purchase of his first house!  We decided not to exchange Christmas presents since Megan and I are both looking for jobs and Mark, well, he just bought a house, but birthday presents and housewarming presents were definitely in order.  For Megan’s birthday, I etched some pint glasses with her monogram and included a framed picture of the three of us, all from Mark and me.  This was definitely the most involved font I’ve used in etching, and it came out quite…rustic-looking.  I think I’ll stick to block letters and less-complicated script from now on, or figure out another transfer method if I attempt something this intricate again.

I wish I had taken pictures of Mark’s gifts before they were bestowed upon him.  For his gag housewarming gifts, we got him a giant Playboy chalice and a Batman pillowcase.  You know, things that will make the ladies feel welcome when he entertains.    His real housewarming gift was a nice squashy throw blanket from Target and a Lowe’s giftcard, all from Megan and me.  Here’s the chalice in action, as well as Megan double-fisting like a champ.

Did I mention we drank beer?  Because we did.  Lots.  I brought several holiday beers for us all to split.  Come take a pictorial journey through what my liver saw…

We split the Pickled Santa three ways…

…as well as the Bad Elf…

…and Lump of Coal Stout, which I didn’t manage to get a picture of in the throes of drinkage. 

We each had our own (smaller) bottle of Abita Christmas Ale…

…and Mike’s Hard Spiced Apple.

Drunk yet?  We played a drinking game while watching Christmas Vacation – take a sip every time someone says (or sings!) Christmas.  It wasn’t as horrible as I thought it’d be, but still pretty daggone dangerous.  [Please note that the debauchery was stretched out over numerous hours!  I’m not dumb enough to drink all that in a short timespan and then drive home soon thereafter.  ]

For our late lunch/early dinner, I made my pork tenderloin and (sadly undercooked) green beans, and Megan made some awesome herbed potatoes.

And for dessert, we had birthday cake!

The icing definitely says “MARLE”

Does that look like “Mark” or “Marle” to you?  I noticed it when I picked it up but didn’t say anything because I thought it was funnier that way and didn’t want them to fix it – my own little Cake Wreck – but Mom said “you should’ve said something! You probably could’ve gotten a discount!”

D’oh.

Oh well, it was still worth every penny.

 

After all this utter CRAP I’ve eaten lately, I’m so ready to get back to no sweets, no alcohol…my innards are like “eff you, man…we need real nutrients!”