The Ageless Husband and the Joy of Freezing Your Ass Off

Today is Mike's birthday...his 36th to be exact, although everyone thinks he is still in his 20's. As I continue to age, he somehow manages to look younger and younger. I am convinced that 10 years from now people will be whispering "Check out the cougar!" when we walk down the street together. For the record, I am 4 years younger than him, which I remind him every chance I get, pointing out the little strands of silver that are coming in. You're welcome, hon.

Since his birthday falls on a Monday, when I have class, we decided to celebrate the weekend before and I knew that I would have to go big after the homerun he hit this year for mine. We have had so many guests since we've been here that I wanted to do something just the two of us and I knew it would have to involve craft beer, since it is Mike's primary passion in life, after me, of course. So I planned a surprise overnight getaway to Philly to hit some breweries, see the sights and eat the local food. I didn't tell him where we were going until we got to the Amtrak station and I had to print our tickets, which is a huge feat for me. I am terrible with surprises and asked him about 40 times if I he wanted it to be a surprise or not.

I still can't get over how quickly we got there. It's only an hour and 25 minutes from Penn Station, which is only slightly longer than Mike's commute to Queens. Being from California, if you want to be in another major metropolitan area, let alone another state, you are investing a minimum of 3 hours in traffic, but usually more like 4 - 5. And forget about the train, the schedules suck, it's inconvenient and overpriced. Anyway, we love the proximity and access we have to new places here. We were in Philly by 10:30am and spent the day hitting some local beer spots: Monk's Cafe for mussels and rare Belgian and American beers, Yards Brewery for a tour and a weird interaction with a crew from MTV filming some reality dating crapfest and a stop at a home brewing store where Mike picked up supplies to brew up a batch of an Oatmeal Coffee Stout. We ended up tucking into our B&B pretty early, mainly because it was FREEZING cold and one can only stay awake so long after a beer filled day.




We spent Sunday touring Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell:



We compared the cheesesteaks at Pat's & Geno's (they tasted nearly identical to me, but Geno's had a few too many onions for my taste and one of their Hummer's was parked out front with anti-immigrant stickers all over it, including a huge decal on the back window that said "SPEAK ENGLISH OR GO HOME!", so I choose Pat's for not mixing politics with Cheez Whiz soaked meat)





And we spent a bit of time watching football before we caught a train back to the city around 5. It was a lovely weekend, despite the freezing rain and wind, and even better to spend some QT with Mike. I mean, he is getting up there, we don't know how many years the old guy has left.



This man ages like a fine wine.

Given that it's only mid-October and it's already this cold, it got me thinking about the many months that lay ahead and how I am going to deal with it. I've lived in very cold weather before and if I've learned one thing, I cannot dread the cold, so I am going to embrace it. I am making a mental list, well I guess it's about to become an actual list, of the good things that happen when it's cold out. So here is my attempt at positivity in the face of bone chilling winds.
1. Without cold weather, there are so many foods that wouldn't be as enjoyable. Soups, stews, anything from the crockpot, roasts, butternut squash, etc. Just thinking about warming up my kitchen and filling our little apartment with all these delicious smells makes me happy.
2. Hot chocolate. Or hot schnocolate (with peppermint schnaaps).
3. Hats, scarves and gloves. Winter accessories are fun and who doesn't look adorable in a hat?
4. Winter coats. I am all stocked up on winter coats now and I love them. It's a big step from my San Diego winter coats which were either a jean jacket or a hoodie.
5. Rain boots...for splashing in puddles.
6. Being snuggled inside with the rain pattering on the windows.
7. The leaves changing color.
8. Wrapping myself in the quilt my mom made for us to use in this apartment.

That's all I have for now, but I am determined to add to this list regularly in an effort to force myself to like the changing of the seasons and not think about what my pasty skin would look like if I were in San Diego.