Made some good soup the other night.  It was hella-easy and tasted Tony-The-Tiger Grrrrrrreat!

Buy a rotiserie chicken and shred it.  Set it aside.  Pour 1 16oz jar of Salsa Verde into a pot and let it get hot.  Add in 1 can of beans (white/black/whatever), 4 cups of chicken stock, the shredded chicken, and a little cumin.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Serve with a dollup of sour cream and some tortilla chips.  Thank me later.

In the line-up for tonight: Homemade fondue and Cap'n Crunch-battered chicken strips, sereved with honey-mustard and a pint or two of custom-designed, homemade, handcrafted beer.  TGIFBABAI!

When I see new, cool things on TV, I am often suckered into going out and buying them.  Usually they are little things - a new flavor of Coke (Side note: Lime Coke is trach), a new type of this or that, or some gadget that solved an everyday problem.  I am usually less than impressed.  However, on rare occasions, I come accrost something that reaffirms my faith in the always-trying-new-things lifestyle.  Past items include the Cotton Candy Blizzard from DQ, Certian brands of string cheese, and the Mach 3 Power.  Well, ladies and scruds, I've found another: Zicam Cold Remedy.

Last weekend, Saturday to be specific, I woke up early to brew some beer (Scottish Wee Heavy for those interested).  I was done by 1pm and decided to go for a run.  3 miles later, I was home and in the shower, then off to Brwonings for lunch with Stef, John, and Terri.  After the run, my legs were a little sore, and jumping into a car for the next 20 minutes didn't seem to help that situation, but by the end of the meal, it was becomming obvious to me that something wasn't right.  I was starting to feel soreness throughout my body and showing symptoms of a head-cold (runny nose, sneezing, etc.).  When I stood up to leave the resturaunt, I knew something was coming on... either a cold or the flu.

On the way home, we stopped by Rite-Aid so John could buy some HerpeVagiCort for his mangina, so I went in and looked through the Cold/Flu/Sinus aisle.  Then I saw it, Zicam Cold Remedy.  My mom had mentioned it to me once or twice, but I'd never tried it.  It was $10.99 for two boxes (buy 1 get 1 free) so I got the nasal swabs and the quick-dissolve tablets.  I ate one of the tablets before the store clerk even had my change ready.  I got home, layed on the floor for a few minutes, then watched a movie.  3 hours later, I applied a nasal swap and decided to chill out for just a bit longer.  By the time I applied the third treatment, I could tell it was working, and by bedtime, I felt 100% better.

Now, I'm not saying it's gonna cure you in 9 hours like it did me, but I am convinced this stuff works.  And for the $10.99 I spent, I still have about 90% of the product left for later colds.  Maybe it magic, or maybe it's snake oil, and the effects I experienced were psychosomatic, but either way, that cold got nipped in the bud.  BANG!

Stef and I are jumping in the Ohio River again this year for the SOKY Polar Bear Plunge.  Most of you have probably already recieved a solicitation-email from me, but incase you didn't, here is the link you can follow to sponsor me.  It's tax deductible:

http://sokyplunge.kintera.org/louisville2005/bschy?faf=1&e=225721001

Which reminds me... there will be a 2005 Summer Duck Plunge sometime in July.  Plan on it.  I'll post details as they are finalized.

Heading to Indianapolis today after work.  Playing poker tonight and then brewing all day tomorrow.  Should be fun.  Not sure what the plan is for Sunday.  I don't really care about the Super Bowl, I probably wont feel much like drinking, and the commercials (which are the main reason I watch) will be online afterwards.  Maybe Sunday will be a good day to go to the grocery store... everyone else will be watching TV.

Also, for those that give 2 craps about the beer I brew, the IPA (which was awesome) is gone and the Badunkadunk is on tap in it's place.  It's pretty darn good - fairly dry, with a wheaty-yeasty taste and great banana-clove aroma.  Better than the commercial Dunkel we tried while we were brewing.  The ESB is kegged and ready to drink as well.  It's a pretty plain beer - not much hop aroma or maltiness.  Next time it might be good to add some honey malt or maybe carmelize some of the first runnings to give it a little more of a malty kick.  It's a good beerpong beer, and BMC drinkers will probably like it.

Habba enjoy weekend.