Beach, Bill, & Broadway

What a fun/exciting/terrifying couple of days it's been! Here are a few Thrills of Hills to tell you about my week...

1) Rehoboth Beach: Last weekend, Brian and I went to Rehoboth beach for 3 days! We had a really nice time chilling on the beach, swimming, reading, mini-golfing, boozing, etc.... Brian beat out 8 little kids at a boardwalk game to win me an awesome stuffed animal pig! (Which we immediately dubbed "Sir Oinks-a-Lot")... I also got sun-burned despite putting on 3 layers of sun-screen and hiding under our beach umbrella w/ a shirt on. I hate tan people!

2) Earthquake: HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! Did you guys FEEL that sucker? I was at work when it happened and almost jumped out of my boss' 50 ft. high window to my doom! (Which, at the time, seemed better than getting buried in the building I thought was collapsing). My hands were shaking for about 20 minutes afterward. O-EM-GEE talk about SCARY!

3) The Lion King: I purchased tickets to see The Lion King on Broadway for my birthday this November. They came in the mail this week and I am OH so excited to go to my favorite city & celebrate my big 11/11/11 24th birthday!

4) Bill Clinton is a vegan: Although I lost respect for Bill after the whole "Monica" thing, he made-up some of his eternal douche-baggyness by announcing his veganism on CNN. Good for him! He's helping save a lot of animals, improving his health, and helping the environment.

5) Hurricane Irene: I'm currently bunkering down in my house to avoid the imminent disaster that is Hurricane Irene. But I have lots of snacks and my Harry Potter books, so don't worry about me, friends. Keep safe, booze up, & enjoy the delightful stormy weather!

Life's a Brew-sical

At work this past Friday, I won an award at our "monthly team rally" for being such a super help this summer to the beer team! (Note to readers... I work in the alcohol industry. Our beer team actually does work. They aren't bums who get drunk on 40s during their lunch break).

Anyways- After the rally was over and I received my award, the manager of the beer team came over to my desk and said, "So, Hilary, I don't know if you've heard....." Automatically, my heart rate jumped from lazy turtle to jack rabbit. Had I heard what!? That my boss had fallen and was being rushed to the hospital? (I would have had a panic attack.... and rushed to bring her a diet coke). That all the wine in the kitchen had exploded and I needed to go clean it up? That the office had all pitched in and bought me a giant basket of dachshund puppies!? What hadn't I heard!?

".... That the beer team and I actually wrote a song for you & were going to sing it when giving you your award"

Yes, those were the words that came out of the beer manager's mouth. Were you expecting that? Nope, neither did I! She then went on to sing me the song, which was to the tune of some Duran Duran song I've never heard of but pretended to know so I wouldn't look like an idiot. I was so elated and confused that I don't remember the whole song, but I know it went something like this...

Hilary writes great beer reviews.
She's great at writing and she knows her brews.
She's now an expert at unique craft ales,
IPA's, porters, she could never fail.
Stouts and wheats are much better than tea.
And Hilary always includes the ABV!

In a nutshell, it was one of the greatest moments of my life. Only once before has anyone written a song about me... and that was my crazy uncle who was drunk & trying desperately to entertain a bored 3 year-old. The most magical thing about that moment with the beer manager was realizing that my life is truly becoming a musical!

Vegan Bake-Swap!

A few months ago I joined the meetup.com group, "DC Vegans," and through that got invited to join a Google group called, "The DC Area Vegan Bake-Swap." One Saturday per month, the group leader picks a vegan cookbook and all the members select a dessert recipe from the chosen book to bake. We then meet at a cozy little cafe near U Street, stuff our faces with each others creations, & swap desserts!

The members of the group are very... "eclectic".... which makes the 2 hours we spend together each month very interesting. There are architects, lawyers, writers, military chefs, housewives, organic farmers, engineers, firemen, butchers, and hotel owners. (Note to readers- I made some of those up. Especially one in particular... guess which one!?)

For a past swap, I made these awesome lemon bars....

For the most recent swap we had, I made these chocolate peanut butter rice-krispie treats...

Another note to readers: This is NOT a recipe/cooking blog! (Just thought I should stress that again to reassure you all. Phew!)