Back Attack!

Hiya. Longgggg time no see.

So i've been MIA for much too long. Every week I set a goal of posting something new on here so i can get back into the habit. Clearly, i have not been doing that.

I've missed all of you so.

I miss my blog community! I've been having so much fun in Austin though. Too much fun.

The picture above is from one of my hiking adventures around town.

That place is only 15 minutes away from my house! I cannot be any luckier at this moment, on this day.

The past 6 months.. oh my! I cannot believe i've been gone for that long.. i really did not mean to be.

These past months have been the happiest, busiest, and at times most stressful months I've been through ever. We have seriously not stopped enjoying the city from the moment we moved here.

I have so much to tell you all about. In the past couple of months we moved to Austin, started new jobs, gone to countless shows, hiked, started working out, visited PARAGUAY, moved the kids up, had a couple of bbq parties, board game nights, lazy days... so much guys!

For now.. HI! I'm back. 

I hope you've missed me as much as I've missed  you.

With all my love,

Pati

HOMEbrewing Adventures

Hiya!
I hope everyone had a good and relaxing weekend. Mine was really, really quiet. The boy was up in Austin on a boys trip and I stayed home and ODed on my newest obsession.. Breaking Bad. I know I'm super late to this train. Hey I'm here now. LOL. Also been preparing for Pia's party this coming weekend. Pretty stoked on that but also super nervous.. only one little girls mom confirmed that she was coming. I hope I don't put all this work into a party and no one comes. That would be a total bummer for sure.
Today I thought I would show y'all some snapshots of some homebrewing we did a couple of weeks ago. I was waiting until I got pictures from the bottling so that it could be one entire post. I also have a video on Instagram if any of you are interested in the bottling process.
So the brewing itself doesn't even start until you get everything cleaned and completely disinfected. Which is the biggest pain in the butt ever!

After all the disinfecting and cleaning for a bit we turned on the propane to get the water a boiling. Bob was a little apprehensive about the propane, kept saying he felt like everything would explode as soon as he turned it on. Needless to say, we were all fine. Nothing caught fire. We're all alive. The beer got brewed!

After the water reaches a good boiling temperature you steep the grains to make the wort (beer). It's pretty much like making tea. You have to hold the grain bag to make sure that it doesn't burn and let the grains out into the wort. You do this for around 30-45 minutes. You don't want to leave it too long because, just like tea, it gets bitter. This is done to release sugars and enhance the flavor. The malt + the grains release the sugars that get fermented, which turns into the beer!

These three pictures on the top are the addition of the malt into the wort. It has the consistency of like porridge when you add it into the boiling water. Pretty icky looking. I hope you're not entirely lost.. it's a straightforward but also complex process of measuring and timing. It's actually super interesting to read about. I'm just barely scratching the surface with my explanation of the whole brewing process. I didn't get to take pictures of the hops that got added to the wort. They were added twice actually.. on brewing day and later on when the primary fermentation was over. 

So here comes the lame part of me documenting this.. I fell asleep not too long after brewing when the wort was being cooled. Bob brews way too late! I will hopefully change this and document it at another date. 

I didn't get pictures of the wort being cooled or it being put into the fermenter, which is just a plastic carboy. The yeast gets added to the wort when it goes into the carboy and it sits for typically around a week to a week and a half to ferment. Then it gets transferred to another carboy so that the yeast sediment can be separated and a secondary addition of hopping can occur. Ok, so now that your mind is spinning around that... bottling day!

The picture above shows the carboy it went into for the secondary hopping. We had just uncapped it. As with brewing day, bottling day requires tons of cleaning and disinfecting as well. As soon as we have enough saved up we will be kegging. Bottling is a paiiinnnnn. 

These show the siphoning of the beer into the bottles and then all of them capped and ready to sit for a little while longer to ferment. I guess I didn't even tell you all what kind of beer this was! A double Ipa! So super hoppy.

I hope y'all enjoyed my brief explanation of the brewing process. Hoping I didn't bore you to death!

Do any of you brew?

With All My Love,

Pati

Stand With Wendy

Source
Good Morning Ladies!

Today I had a completely different post to put up but thought this was way more important to voice my opinion on. The Texas Senate is voting on the anti-abortion bill today. After it having been VERY loudly contested by the public it keeps getting passed. Rick Perry of course is going to sign it into law as soon as it gets to his desk. I have been sitting on the edge of my seat for the last couple of weeks and following it religiously. Oh, how I wish I could be at the State Capitol today standing in support of women's rights. OUR rights! 

If you don't know about what the bill, HB2/ SB1, entails here are some points: 

• No Abortions after 20 weeks gestations
• All abortions must be performed in an ambulatory surgical center, imposing burdensome and unnecessary costs on outpatient clinics.
• All doctors performing abortions must have hospital privileges within 30 miles of the clinic, a severe restriction in rural areas.
• Women seeking a medical abortion must have two in-person meetings with the doctor

This would leave Texas with only 5 abortion clinics! FIVE! Really Texas Legislature? This is what you think of Texas women? The only word I can think for this mess is disgraceful. None of the amendments that the Democrats tried to pass with HB2 on Wednesday passed. These included exceptions for rape, abuse, diseases.. I am at a complete loss for words today. There will be a HUGE mess of demonstrating today at the Capitol if it gets passed in the Senate. 

Even though not all of you are in Texas this still affects you. It is only a slippery slope from here.. what next? This is an intrusion into our rights and we need to take a stand. I know I might offend some when saying all of this but these are MY opinions and MY thoughts. I am only in support of WOMEN. 

With All MY Love,

Pati

Splish Splash Summer

Hellloooo!!!

This post was actually suppose to go up yesterday but I've been crafting a lot and trying to prepare for Pia's birthday party! I'm super excited for it. I haven't gotten to throw her a REAL party in a couple of years. She picked out lalaloopsy as her theme which I was stoked about. Hoping to show you some pictures from the preparations soon.

Anyway, Texas weather has been ridiculous.. I'm sure it's been like that for most of the country though. It's completely unbearable outside unless you're in some kind of water. That's exactly what I've been doing... along with the minions. 

These are some pictures from my parents pool over the weekend. ENJOY!

You like the sequence of events in the last two pictures? She was trying to do a canonball.. clearly she's doing a running man?! Who knows really. Haha!

With All My Love,

Pati

The Fourth

Good Morning Gals!

Thought I'd bring you a small recap of what my Fourth of July looked like. We woke up before sunrise and headed out to the beach to watch the Kemp Ridley sea turtles being released into the big, blue ocean. It was such an amazing experience and i'm totally going again before the summer is over. I was standing in the water so three of them even grazed my leg. It was amazing.

After the morning of turtles we relaxed for a bit when we finally made it home. 

It wouldn't have been a Fourth of July celebration with no BBQ so we made some burgers. They came out pretty delicious if you ask me and Crusher even joined in the fun! 

We sat outside and watched other people shoot off some fireworks for a good while. We bought a really small amount this year but didn't  feel like we missed out at all. Everywhere you turned there were fireworks being set off. 

I've always wanted to do the sparkler pictures and this was the first year I've ever done it. They came out pretty cool if I do say so myself. Bob of course decided to just write inappropriate things so I will not be posting those. Ha! Boys..  

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your Fourth of July and also this photo dump.

With All My LOVE,

Pati

Jazzy July

Hiya gals!

It's the second day of July and I'm feeling refreshed like I always do when the month begins.

Today I just wanted to jot down five things that I want to accomplish this month.

I'm hoping this will be something that I do at the beginning of every month and actually helps me accomplish mini goals.

To DO:

1. Build Shelves: This has been on my list for far too long. I have little knick knacks everywhere and nowhere to put them in an organized matter! I must change this.

2. Throw Pia the best party EVER: My little princess is turning 7 and she wants a pool party.. so I need to start preparing all the invitations and decorations for the 20th.

3. Workout: I need to make this a daily thing not a whenever I think about it thing.

4. Photoshoot with the minions: This one has also been on my to do for too long. Hoping to change that with some fun props and locations.

5.Finish 5 Sewing Projects: Yesterday I was messing with the sewing machine again and I love it so much. Even the mistakes were fun. Planning on making DIY baby shower gifts for a friend so that should put a dent into this goal.

These are all super attainable if I just put my mind/effort/time into them. Wish me luck!

Do you have any goals for July?

With All My Love,

Pati

So Long June...

June whizzed by me. It just went extremely fast.

I haven't even been to the beach once yet this summer. I'm hoping this will change sometime this weekend!

This month brought the minions last day of Pre-K and 1st grade. Those two are just growing too fast for my liking. They're doing all kinds of activities this summer that I wish I could go see them with more ease. Damn working all the time. I need to find a way to work for myself. Best thing to do in my opinion. 

We also went to tons of shows this month. Only have more planned for July. I have a couple of goals for July that I plan on sharing probably on Monday. I need to hold myself to these things. Even if I do one a week it's getting something done that I didn't have before. One thing at a time. 

Lastly, the boy and I had to have some kind of beer event in our lives. The Thirsty Planet anniversary event is the one we chose. We went last weekend for our two year anniversary and had a good time. I also helped to brew some beer this month. I'll show y'all some of those pics after we bottle in a week or so. Stoked. It's smelling extremely hoppy.. not too sure that I'll like it but being part of the brewing is good enough for me. 

Cheers to a good first month of summer.

With All My Love,

Pati

Anniversary with the OSO

Hello Gals!

Thought I'd pop into the blog today and post about someone that means a lot to me. The boy! Yesterday was our two year anniversary. I know it's not very long but, no joke, these have been the best two years in a very long time. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is forever.

I'm done looking and happy about it. 

He compliments me so well. We support each other in everything and at the end of the day that's what it should be about.

Our relationship is far from perfect. I'm not very patient and neither is he but we find a way to make it work. I've grown so much as a person in these last two years and I have him to thank for that. He makes me a better person. Period. 

This past weekend we went up to Austin to celebrate with a beer anniversary event and a good show. That's just my life now and I LOVE IT! I've looked for years for someone who is happy going to shows, random events around town, or just sit and veg. Bob is it. We talked a lot this weekend about what the future holds for us. A lot of our friends are moving away and starting new. It's about that time for us.. He's finally on board. I've been applying for jobs out of town for months but he finally said he would delve head first into it. I'm beyond ecstatic. This was becoming a huge stress thinking about his work situation. Things can only get better from here on out. 

I could go on and on but I'll spare you ladies.. Here's to the next twenty years with this amazing man by my side.

With All My Love,

Pati

Ps: How was YOUR weekend?

Pps: These pictures are perfectly us! silly and in love. 

"Brave"

Hellloooooooo!

Tired of me yet? I've posted pretty much everyday this week. Wow.. that's just crazy.

I guess when you've been gone for a couple of weeks there's lots of things to say.

I'm so incredibly stoked for tonight and I can't contain it! Eeehhh.

Bob and I are going to see Sara Bareilles in Austin. He got tickets for us this past weekend through craigslist. We had to pay a little more than original price because it's completely sold out. I'm just glad it wasn't a completely retarded amount that people were trying to/still are selling tickets for!

You're totally not going to believe me but Bob is the bigger fan than me.

Whhhaaaa?! Yeah, totally not even kidding about that. One of the many reasons I love him.. he's unexpected. Just like me. 

This is her newest video below and something I've been watching over and over again. It's so uplifting and I hope it makes your day a little brighter!!

Have a happy Friday and an amazing weekend!

With All My Love,

Pati

Forever Grateful

Hiya!

So today I thought I would write a list of ten things that I'm grateful for because sometimes we just need reminding. Right?

Life hasn't been so perfect lately but really, who's is?

These are my ten things and they are seriously in no particular order but rather the order they popped into my brain!

1. My animals // They give me cuddles and want my attention. They don't ask for too much out of me and in turn give so much love. They calm me when I'm anxious or sad. All three of them are just AWESOME.

2. The Minions// Pia and Noah are crazy little people who make me want to pull my hair one second and cuddle in bed and watch tv with the next. They're both growing into amazing humans and each day is more and more fulfilling with them. Knowing I raised them pretty much alone is an even more amazing feeling.

3. Bob// This man is something I've been dreaming of for a long time. I'm the worst hopeless romantic you've ever met and  he's seriously not at all but somehow it works. He keeps me sane! I've never been in a relationship where I don't feel like I'm mothering the other person. He's different we're equals and both bring all of us to the table. We work and I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus he's silly.

4. Friends// Not any in particular but just all of them as a whole. They all have their personality traits that I totally admire about them. Kat is so loving, fun, down for anything, and genuine, she's herself and doesn't make any apologies for it. Lex is reliable, outgoing, best secret keeper, and gives the best advice. These are only two of my amazing list of friends. I love them all so much.

5. The ability to Travel// Traveling is my drug. No joke I cannot go more than a couple of months without a big trip. It's just an innate part of who I am. Exploring and getting lost somewhere makes me happy. Sitting in a field and watching nature makes me SO happy! I would without hesitation give my last dime to be able to have another adventure.

6. Music Concerts/Shows// I love music so much. It has always been my soothing mechanism. I would pop in a cd and listen to the same 12 songs over and over again until I got out of whatever mood I was in. On the other hand it is an aid to a good time, always! I've been making more time for shows since Bob and I started dating because he loves music just as much as I do. We always seem to just make the world disappear around us and focus on the band/instruments/singer. I love that feeling.

7. My house// Security is a huge part of what we are all looking for, no? I'm happy to be living in one of my parent's rentals and not have to worry about rent or apartment life. Even though it might be fleeting, I'm glad we have a roof over our heads there's many that don't. 

8. Knowledge// It really is the key to everything, don't you think? There are times when maybe I wished I was oblivious to something but always look back on it and welcomed the knowledge. It opens doors career wise and just to live life in general. I'm one of those people who just likes to know. If I hear about something I've never heard about before I take three minutes and read at least a little about it. Why not? There's so much to know and it all somehow provokes you to think.

9. My Oma/ My Opa// These are my grandparents. I've been calling them Oma and Opa since I was born, which is the German name for Grandpa and Grandma. My grandpa was fascinated by Germany and actually lived there for some time before moving back to Paraguay and that's why I call them that. I'm not very close to my family but I've always been close to them. My Opa is now gone but I always remember him and what he taught me. My Oma is actually here visiting right now and she makes me so happy! She just gets me and is just such a giving, loving, caring, amazing human being. I strive to be her. Period. 

10. Knowing Who I Am// I might not know what I want to do with the rest of my life but I do know who I am! I've always sort of been against the grain. Felt out of place for the longest time but for the last couple of years I've been extremely comfortable with who I am. It doesn't bring you anything else but confidence and for me inner happiness. I've always known but would sometimes be shamed into not being my best me. Those days are gone. 

You learned a little about me and I got to remind myself that even in those bad days there's always good! 

What are you grateful for?

With All My Love,

Pati