Even though I knew it was Henry’s birthday, I signed us up a few weeks ago for a Children’s Hospital charity walk. My friend Todd had his own walking team for it and when I found out about it, I was like DID SOMEONE SAY WALKING? You know I love me some walking! Especially when it comes with an event t-shirt! Henry is a good sport and didn’t mind (too much) having to leave the house pre-7AM in order to drive around Oakland looking for somewhere to park before festivities commenced at 8AM. We ended up parking in one of CMU’s parking garages and cutting through their campus to get to the designated meeting spot.

I’m still v. annoyed with CMU and the whole college application process. I hope fucking Suri Cruise is enjoying her time in MY SON’S SPOT. (LOL j/k but NO RLY.) I’m actually glad he opted not to piss around on the second round of wait-listing because he really loved Drexel and being outside of Pittsburgh. Plus, he has a life at Drexel and isn’t on the brink of a nervous breakdown like these CMU kids are.

Pre-walk cold brew acquisition from the Roaming Bean. They had stuffed snickerdoodles there and Henry was ogling them to an uncomfortable degree and I thought for sure he’d treat himself since it was his birthday and god knows I treated him with nothing, lol.

(THE MAN NEVER WANTS ANYTHING, OK!?!?!?!? I was nice to him all day at least and if anything, I sacrificed A LOT by refraining from bossing him around.)

Anyway, what a great event! There were lots of vendors and free snacks (I had a banana and Smiley cookie — the breakfast of Pgh champions!), Zumba on a stage which would have been better if PAUL EUGENE was leading it, but they did play a Blackpink song which was cool I guess.

One of our other work friends, Sharon, also joined Todd’s team with her husband Dave and daughter Lillian so that was really nice too! Sharon is one of my faves and it was nice when I was still going into the office post-pandemic on Tuesdays because she was usually also there but then I just gradually stopped doing that and now we don’t have our own floor anymore and I hate going on some alien floor like I’m a visitor, having to share a space with STRANGERS UGHHHH.

Sorry, that was a little side rant. So very unlike me.

FINISH LINE!

So one of the things that I had to laugh at is that there was a booth there giving away kids pillows. I’m sure if I had gone over to the booth and actually paid attention, I would have understood what was going on but instead I just walked by and thought nothing of it. Then Sharon’s husband Dave decided right before the walk started to go and grab one even though their kids are teenagers. He came back with a Minecraft pillow and I was like, “OMG I BET CHOOCH WOULD LOVE THAT” so I sent Henry off to get one. By that point, it was slim pickins and the Minecraft ones were gone. Dave and Sharon both were like, “Please just take this one honestly, we don’t really need it” and Sharon ESPECIALLY was like, “I’m not kidding, I don’t want that in my house.” LOL. Dave even said he’d carry it through the route for us and I was like, “I mean, if you’re sure…” and their daughter did not seem like she cared either way, so now we have a Minecraft pillow to surprise Chooch with when he comes home next week! I know he’s going to be like, “Wow cool” in that shitty tone but then he’s going to be snuggling it in the care when we drive him home after his break.

THOSE KIDS WERE SO ADORABLE. You know that means something coming from me! The girl with the purple shirt on—Egypt—was like a mini-adult. I was a big fan of hers!

Anyway, it was honestly such a great start to the weekend. Todd and Brittany are two of my favorite people so it’s always fun seeing them, and their friends and family were so down to earth and welcoming! Hopefully they do this again next year because I’m in!

Also! You can see the neon yellow wristbands on some of us– there was a vendor handing out SLAP BRACELETS. I used to love those little bitches so much! It made me launch into a spiel later that day, a spiel that I am positive Henry has heard before, about how I was so obsessed with them back in the day (“Doesn’t surprise me,” Henry murmured) and one time, when I went to FRONTIER DAYS in Ligonier with my friend Kristin and her parents in elementary school, I spent all the money my mom had given me on SLAP BRACELETS because there were shops that had DESIGNS I DID NOT ALREADY HAVE IN MY COLLECTION.

Do you remember how they became outlawed because kids were allegedly getting sliced with defective ones?

Back at home, Henry was examining the one I got that day and made some offhand comment about the tape measure inside of it and I was like, “OK, WAIT, WHAT NOW??? THAT IS WHAT IS INSIDE THESE THINGS?!?!?”

And he said that’s how the original ones where made, with whatever the tape measure metal is!?!?!?

MIND BLOWN. Henry spitting facts as always, no break on his birthday.

We went home, ate lunch and relaxed for a while, then went to a brewery of the birthday boy’s choosing out in Jeannette. I decided that since it was a special occasion, I could break my month-long beer fast. (Just so you know, my choosing to not drink beer anymore is 100% about vanity and weight management, so I’m not like “falling off the wagon” or anything!)

But first, when there are “wall wings,” there’s me bossing Henry into a pose!

This was the foyer of Sobel’s Obscure Brewery! Because I’m a thorough investigative blogger, I looked at their website and found that this space was once an Historic 1903 Department Store (their capitalization, not mine!).

That’s the owner! He was very friendly. I sampled the Monkey Business brown ale and immediately went for a full pour of that.

It was DELECTABLE. Reds and browns for me, please.

Henry got a flight. I have been steering clear of flights because they make me feel sick afterward whereas one fill pour (or 2 half pours) don’t. Maybe it’s psychosomatic but in my head, it feels like mixing liquor and even now just thinking about a flight sitting in front of me made my stomach roil. Is there a science to this or am I just being weird as usual?

Since it was the middle of the afternoon, we were one of only about 3 groups there. It was a very pleasant experience! I only wish that the music would have been a little bit louder because it was almost eerily quiet in there.

I liked this place so much that I made Henry buy a glass.

It started raining really hard while we were there so we split a honey wheat while we waited out the storm.

I am really liking this new “season” (ugh, I hate when people say that yet here I am being One of Them) of our lives. It’s nice to have been with someone for so long but still have so much to talk about—well, that’s 90% accredited to me, the resident yapper. I always have shit to say. But it was just really fun sitting there and talking about the recent Cold concert, and past Cold concerts, and what we’re looking forward to at this year’s Riot Fest, and just concerts in general! MUSIC IS MY FAVORITE THING TO TALK ABOUT and thank god Henry can keep up.

After it stopped raining, we walked around a bit before driving back home. I loved this mural!

Can I be so for real for a second though and talk about how Henry is OOAK? Like, all men should be modeled after him. He is basically a feminist (I mean, I taught him though), he hates Trump, he is an ally, he is patient and reliable, he puts literally everyone else before himself (not always the greatest thing because SELF-CARE IS IMPORTANT TOO but you can’t train an old dog, etc etc), talks softly to the squirrels and bunnies when he passes them in the yard and driveway, and takes care of the most basic tasks so that I have more free time to paste things in my journal and do YouTube workouts or god knows whatever I’m into that week. This is why everyone likes him more than me, and after 20+ years I think I am finally OK with that. I get it, you guys! I get it. Lol.

He is so amazing that on HIS BIRTHDAY, he walked down the street to a local record shop and bought me tickets to two upcoming shows that I have been clamoring on about (Armor for Sleep and Royal Coda). On HIS BIRTHDAY. Ugh, I love that oaf.

Henry is the best. Like that’s news to anyone.

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