The Irish

So in celebration of St. Patricks Day I decided to make corn beef and cabbage. I don't know what possessed me to do this since I would rather have just about any meal but meat, potatoes, cabbage and carrots and the fact that all of these were combined in one recipe was never something that was appealing to me. But I found the recipe online and it had great reviews so I made it anyway.
The recipe was actually quite yummy but one night for dinner was good enough for me. I doubled the recipe because I was having company over and thought Jake would like the leftovers for his lunches. These are all just minor details of the dinner experience but where the real story lies is in the preparation for this meal. Some of you may not know this, but I have this fetish with cooking with beer. Maybe is just makes me feel a little bit edgy sometimes. I don't really know. But it always seems to bring in lots of flavor. So it should be no surprise that I chose the recipe that asked for a good beer to soak and brine it with. My experience with alcoholic beverages has been somewhat limited. My first and last drink was when I was about seven. My Dad was a casual drinker and enjoyed a good beer after work. I thought that I might enjoy this too and asked for a sip. He gave me his mug that would chill in the freezer all day in preparation of this nightly ritual. I could not wait to try this mysterious drink and when the liquid hit my taste buds I thought my life would be over. Never in my life had I tasted something so horrible, except potatoes and other vegetables in my opinion and I am sure that I made an unforgettable "bitter beer face". I sprinted to the sink across the room and spit it out like Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. My Dad almost peed his pants from laughing and I couldn't quite understand why my Father would want something every night that was so distant from my Orange Hi-C box drinks and Nestle Quick. Needless to say that I haven't had a beer since and so I needed some advice in picking out something with a good flavor (if that really exists with beer).
The great wisdom came from Sonja, a co-worker of mine. She let me know that a dark beer would be preferable and that she recommended a brand called Guinness. I had never heard of this brand but saw that Smith's had some on sale in their add and I would hit up the grocer that weekend. Well this all happened on Wednesday, which happens to be the night of Young Women's. At our activity we learned how to write talks for about a 1/2 hour and I spent the rest of the night playing Rock Band and singing Beat It by Michael Jackson. I have the best calling in the world! Well during my rock and roll debut my phone received a text message. One of the YW let me know and I asked her to tell me who it was from. She replied "Sonja".
Now Sonja has never sent me an inappropriate text message before as I am somewhat of her boss and she is a very professional person. However, as the YW read the text she said, "I have a Guinness in my fridge and can bring it for you tomorrow". The YW was much more knowledgeable than I and she obviously knew this brand of beer and gave me one of those parental looks. The one that says, "Lyndzi, do you want to try and explain yourself". I was so embarrassed. Here I am singing like a rocker in front of all the youth and trying to reason why my co-worker was bringing me a can of Guinness. I was so embarrassed. Luckily they trust me and know that even though I was singing in a rock band that night, at least I wouldn't be getting plastered at the office.