Over coffee (it was EARLY!), we talked about many things: his story, why being Catholic is important ...READ MORE]]> I had the honor of having breakfast with Catholic author Randy Hain in January. He’s a passionate and engaging man who is truly a gift to those who meet him. I’m glad to now call him a friend.

Over coffee (it was EARLY!), we talked about many things: his story, why being Catholic is important to him and so much more. Randy is a convert to the faith who truly embodies the power of the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life.

Thursday night, he spoke at my parish in Atlanta about how to lead an integrated Catholic life. His book “The Catholic Briefcase: Tools for Integrating Faith and Work,” which recently released, is on this topic – it’s a great book and something I believe all young working Catholics like myself should read (even the young-at-heart Catholics should read as well!). The crowd was engaged and hanging on to every word. He challenged us to look at our lives and reflect on where we are with our faith in all parts of our lives. He listed off three things which can keep us from fully integrating our lives: Silos, time and surrender. Then he went on to encourage us to pray more! That’s definitely something I know I can work on.

Recently I decided to try become an early riser. Randy is actually one of the reasons why I am trying to get up early to make more time for God. His book has greatly influenced me and I have already experienced many fruits from his tips.

As Lent approaches (tomorrow … yikes!), this is truly something we can work on during those 46 days of fasting and sacrifice. Are you living a Christian life in every part or do you keep God in one section and leave Him out of the others? Take a moment and think about it.

To read more about Randy’s ministry and to purchase his book, be sure to visit his website The Integrated Catholic Life.

Cheers,

Sarah

I was out with a couple friends last night at an Irish pub here in Atlanta. They had this menu sitting on the table (pictured above) that said “In Heaven there is no beer.” I couldn’t help but think of St. Brigid, her visions and this blog post I wrote in August 2010. If ...READ MORE]]>

I was out with a couple friends last night at an Irish pub here in Atlanta. They had this menu sitting on the table (pictured above) that said “In Heaven there is no beer.” I couldn’t help but think of St. Brigid, her visions and this blog post I wrote in August 2010. If you’re not familiar with St. Brigid, let me give you some background information.

St. Brigid was born in the mid-fifth century and buried at Downpatrick beside St. Patrick and St. Colmcille. Brigid built the first Irish Convent beside a giant oak tree — this place became known as the Church of the Oak (Cill Dara) or Kildare as it is known today. Brigid was the daughter of a pagan chieftain — a stubborn unbeliever. Before his death Brigid sat by him in prayer and weaved the first St. Brigid’s Cross before his death. The St. Brigid’s Cross, believed to protect the home and animals from evil and want, is placed in cottages on her feast day, February 1st, the day of her death in about 524 A.D.

I first heard of St. Brigid’s visions when I was studying Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body with TOB expert Christopher West. He spoke of her visions of a lake of beer in Heaven. Obviously this piqued my interest so I did some digging on the internet and found this poem that is attributed to her:

I should like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings.
I should like the angels of Heaven to be drinking it through time eternal.
I should like excellent meats of belief and pure piety.
I should like the men of Heaven at my house.
I should like barrels of peace at their disposal.
I should like for them cellars of mercy.
I should like cheerfulness to be their drinking.
I should like Jesus to be there among them.
I should like the three Marys of illustrious renown to be with us.
I should like the people of Heaven, the poor, to be gathered around from all parts.

I’d like to think she’s right on this! A lake of beer sounds pretty Heavenly to me … sorry, Irish pub, but I’m going with a saint on this and not your marketing team.

So here’s the real question … what beer is the lake of beer made of? Ponder that over a pint of Guinness!

Sláinte!

If you wanna join us, leave a comment or email me. I’d like to see as many ...READ MORE]]> I’m attending the March For Life in Washington, D.C. January 21-23 with a young adult group from my parish. Anyone else going? I’m planning a Catholic Drinkie outing on Saturday or Sunday night at a local watering hole.

If you wanna join us, leave a comment or email me. I’d like to see as many of you as possible! Also submit suggestions for locations. I have a few in mind but am up for anything!

Cheers and see you in the District!

Sarah

It’s been a long while since I had an update. It’s been a busy time for me! I’ve been traveling quite a lot, both professionally and personally. As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, I love to travel so this has been a blast. It’s just been tough for ...READ MORE]]> Greetings and Happy New Year!

It’s been a long while since I had an update. It’s been a busy time for me! I’ve been traveling quite a lot, both professionally and personally. As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, I love to travel so this has been a blast. It’s just been tough for me to neglect the blog the way that I have. I tweet daily so that’s really the best way to keep up. That being said being more active on my .com site is a 2012 resolution for me.

Welcome to Catholic Drinkie 2.0. With the help (and much patience) from a lovely friend at Little Leaf Designs, I am proud to unveil the new look and feel on all my social outlets! There is a new layout here as well as on Twitter & Facebook. So exciting! So check it all out and tell your friends.

My friend Matt over at 336 Creative continues to support me with some great hosting. He has a special offer for readers of Catholic Drinkie:

336 Creative is proud to introduce it’s newest hosting offering – fully managed website and rock-solid application hosting. Our new hosting offering was designed with the following in mind:

I appreciate your readership and support of my partners. Let me know what you’d like to read about here in 2012. I’m ready to rock.

Cheers!

Sarah

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Friends, Romans (as in Catholic) and ...READ MORE]]> The following ask is from one of my dear friends who is working to support Catholic Charities, a wonderful organization who does so much across the world to better the lives of those in need. Please take a moment to read and discern a donation. Thanks and Cheers!

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Friends, Romans (as in Catholic) and Atlantans, lend me your ears … or in this case your eyes.

Hear ye, hear ye. Catholic Charities Atlanta is reaching out to form young Catholic leaders to be model citizens and leaders of our world, yet never forgetting “the least among us.”

I have the privilege of being part of the first-ever 2011 Catholic Charities Leadership Class. Championed by the Archbishop who hosted the class as his amazing West Wesley residence last month, the class experience is intended to provide young Catholic leaders with the unique opportunity to learn more about how to integrate faith into our professional lives, and at the same time, learn more about the “least among us” right here in ATL.

Catholic Charities is an advocate and friend of individuals and families facing adversity. Faith-based, the agency provides a holistic combination of accredited services-– life skills education, counseling, family stabilization, and immigration legal services – that remove barriers to self-sufficiency and wholeness.  Catholic Charities Atlanta serves our neighbors in North Georgia professionally, compassionately, in multiple languages and regardless of background.

In addition to the mentoring I am receiving from other Catholic business professionals and leaders, I have the opportunity to help Catholic Charities by raising $1,500 to show my support and solidarity with those in need right in my own community.

Admittedly, I am often so busy with my own secure middle class life, that I am unaware of many of my brothers and sisters who are suffering right here in ATL. I am excited to be a part of this leadership class and to have the chance to serve “the least among us” through this fund raising project.

So Sarah – being the terrific Catholic Drinkie that she is – has kindly allowed me to share this with you, her fellow loyal Catholic Drinkies! Please join me in supporting Catholic Charities and help me reach my goal of $1,500 in donations. You can donate online by clicking on the link below to my personal Catholic Charities donations page.

Hey, for every donation you make, I’ll by Sarah a drink … so let’s work at getting her really tipsy! (yes, Sarah, I mean it!!! Drinks are on me if your fellow drinkies help me raise this money!)

Donate to help Kate here: http://www.regonline.com/CatholicCharitiesAtlantaLeadershipClassKaterineSel

So for my 28th birthday this last month, I gave myself a trip … to Iowa & Nebraska. It’s probably at this point you are scratching your head wondering why I’d choose these two places of all the places I could go. Let me just say it was a great decision and it was ...READ MORE]]>

So for my 28th birthday this last month, I gave myself a trip … to Iowa & Nebraska. It’s probably at this point you are scratching your head wondering why I’d choose these two places of all the places I could go. Let me just say it was a great decision and it was an amazing weekend. I’ve never been to Iowa or Nebraska before – I have a few friends in Iowa (and now Nebraska) and I had always joked with them about it being flyover country. But this weekend gave me the opportunity to see it for myself! Our country is a beautiful place and I am so thankful I was able to visit these two states.

I left work early on Friday to make the direct flight from Atlanta to Omaha. On the descent into the airport, I was reminded of my frequent landings in South Bend, Indiana during my college years with the flat farm fields as far as the eye could see. The only difference here was that there was a lot of flooding leftover from the snowmelt from the winter … and there was a tractor on the runway. Not kidding. It made me laugh. My friend Sarah picked me up at the airport and we set out on the two hour drive to Des Moines to meet up with her friends for a fun night out.

Sarah asked me where I wanted to go for dinner. As a fan of food, I had heard about this place on the Man vs. Food on The Food Network where they had great BBQ called Jethro’s. I love good BBQ so couldn’t pass this up. We started with some summery drinks since we were sitting on the patio and enjoying the AMAZING fall weather! (Don’t worry, after the girlie drink – mine is a watermelon deal in the middle – I moved to beer for the rest of the night)

We had a great dinner: some of the best wings I’ve ever had and a delicious hamburger called the Bulldog: *Our fresh Angus steak burger topped with Texas brisket, caramelized onion, roasted peppers and aged cheddar cheese.* This was served with a side of sweet potato fries. Talk about fat kid snack time! I wish I had taken a photo, but I was so ready to dig in, that I didn’t. The manager of the restaurant walked by and told me he thought I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole sandwich … well, for anyone who knows me at all, I do not like to fail at a challenge so of course, I ate the whole thing. We had a hilarious dinner with the waitstaff and managers who thought the three of us were entertaining (they weren’t wrong). This resulted in free shots for the 3 of us. Happy Birthday to me!

After we left Jethro’s, we went to one of the best bars I’ve ever been to in my entire life. It was Heaven and I didn’t want to leave. Downtown Des Moines is a really neat place and one of the popular hot spots is a place called El Bait Shop. They have lots of beers on draft and many available in bottle as well. It reminded me of my hometown watering hole, but because it’s in a different state and in a different part of the country, they have access to breweries who do not distribute in Georgia. The bartenders were really awesome. I told them I was a beer fanatic and was from out of town. Within a minute, I had 10-12 samples of beers I’ve never had (or never heard of) lined up in front of me to taste. I selected one before the bartender told me about one more … one of my top 5 I want to try this beers. He poured me a sample and I quickly neglected the newly poured beer he handed me. I held the cup up to my nose, inhaled and prepared for a sip. It was as delicious as I dreamt. Not only was I finally enjoying this long-sought-after beer … but I was enjoying it from a draft wall. The beer is called Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and comes from a brewery in Chicago. I enjoyed ever sip of this beer. I swapped beer stories with the bartenders and my friends told them I was from out of town and it was my birthday … this led to two more free shots (people in Des Moines are nice!). After a slightly-intoxicated bachelor told me “I wish you were a guy,” my friends and I decided to leave El Bait and move over to the sister bar next door.

Next door to El Bait is a time traveling experience. We stepped through a doorway and instantly arrived to the 1960s. The High Life Lounge features shag carpet, Formica bar top, vintage wallpaper and wood paneling complete with retro light fixtures. Vintage Miller beer promotional lights and signs hang everywhere. The most popular beer at High Life  is its namesake, Miller High Life or the “Champagne of Beers.” Other popular beers include Hamm’s, Pabst Blue Ribbon, or original recipe Schlitz. We sat in High Life for a while, soaking up the culture, watching the black & white tvs and enjoying many laughs. One of the bartenders offered us some tasty cupcakes – I told you people in Des Moines were nice! It was about this time we decided to head back to our friends’ place so we could crash … sorta.

We arrive back to the house and my friends tell me I need to try an Iowa specialty: Templeton Rye. It’s a Prohibition-style Whiskey which is still made from the original Prohibition era recipe and aged in charred new oak barrels. This is small batch liquor and is very sought after. If you can find a bottle, get it. It was delicious and I was very happy my friends shared it with me!

The next morning came too soon as we woke up at 6am to head to tailgate at the Iowa vs. Iowa State game. We had a great time and I met a lot of great folks – they sure know how to tailgate in Ames! My friend Sarah was invited to a tailgate in Lincoln, Nebraska that afternoon and she asked me what I wanted to do: try to get tickets to the Iowa game or hop in the car and drive 3.5-4 hours to Lincoln to experience another college football game. Seeing as I’ve never been to either state before, I said yes and we left Ames at about 11am to drive to Lincoln. It was awesome! We listened to the Iowa game in the car and just chatted about life. Most of the drive consisted of corn fields (pictured left) and lots of wind turbines. The weather was perfect. Upon arrival in Lincoln, we headed to the tailgate and enjoyed a margarita and some great food. Lincoln was wild with red and Husker fans. After a few hours of hanging out, we hopped back in the car and trekked back to Omaha for a quiet night in, watching football. We spent the entire day doing football-related things, but it wasn’t until 8pm that night when we finally watched the first football of the day. Crazy!

Sunday morning we slept in and went to Mass at a cute parish in Omaha before having brunch at a brewery – no beer for me that day, but enjoyed great company and great food. I hadn’t seen downtown Omaha yet so we headed into the city for a quick trip before finally getting to the airport. Omaha has a great section of town called the Old Market. We walked around and peeked in art galleries and bakeries (what? I love food!). Sarah then pointed out a cute little ice cream shop around the corner. Other than a good beer, I find ice cream to be the best treat in the world. Ted & Wally’s serves homemade, old-fashioned ice cream that they make daily from a converted gas station. The place had a ton of character and the ice cream was delicious! I ordered a Sam Adam’s Octoberfest cone (Beer-flavored ice cream? Yes, please!) and enjoyed every bite. Next time you’re in Omaha, go there and enjoy the delicious ice cream!

It was sad to have this nice weekend come to a close. It was so nice to spend some quality time with a friend and experience new places and things. Thanks to my buddy Sarah for hosting me for the weekend – and to her friends in Des Moines for putting us up on Friday night. Your generosity was appreciated – come to Atlanta and I will reciprocate! I can’t wait to go back (as long as it’s not during the winter!). Cheers to Iowa and Nebraska for new experiences and really great beer!