Staying Busy

Being that I don't really know who read this anymore (or who pretty much gave up on this blog besides us) I will go ahead and give a brief update. Everything is going well at the moment. Jason has several new brews at the store as well as a new Facebook page to keep us all updated. He had been talking about purchasing the old KFC in West Frankfort, but that fell through due to the amount they were asking. Apparently there isn't much liquor in West Frankfort to go around and due to conflicts in race, the Frankfortians are wanting Jason to extend his business in the area. So, it was discussed but now he's just keeping up with the current business.
I have started working at Franklin Williamson Human Services in Marion (The H Group) as a substance abuse graduate assistant. I work with Methamphetamine addicts and I actually don't mind going. They are pretty laid back and they look like you and me. I half expected to see a room full of "meth mouths" but everyone has their chompers for the time being. There are occasional internal health problems but I hope it works out for those individuals. I'm not sure how long I will be there due to the current IL budget situations (ARGH) but hopefully something will work out so that I can stay. For now, I will being employed until at least September 31.
Other than that, we stay busy. Oh, I did get into a fender bender on July 29th. I stupidily rear ended someone and caused their hitch to punch a hole into my beloved Jeep. The radiator was pretty tore up and antifreeze was leaking everywhere. I wasn't able to put the car into park nor could I turn it off. So needless to say my car is in bad shape and there is no word on when I'm going to get back. Right now I'm driving a Dodge Caliber as a rental. I didn't get a ticket, thank goodness but it was irritating for something like that to happen.
Let's see...all I can think about right now is school starting in two weeks (I have one more school year until I graduate), the multiple birthdays coming up, travel (always) and just life in general.
I spontaneously decided yesterday that our living room needed to be moved around a bit and during my mindset, I allowed Jason to purchase us a new flatscreen tv. We don't have it yet, but our current television is just too big for our little living room. I bet he would like it if I had those mindsets more often.
That's all I got right now. If it weren't 'For the Love of Cooking' blog that I like to steal recipes from, we probably would ditch this whole blog thing.

Oh, Canada!

Leaving for Canada tomorrow. Actually we're spending the night in the 'Lou and then we're going to head out the next day to the airport. We have free parking at Pear Tree inn. Jason and I can't leave until 8:30 pm due to my long work day but it's fine. We're looking forward to it except right now I'm a little nervous about the budget issue going on in IL. Hopefully the H group won't be closed when I get back. It's a little nerve racking and I'd like to enjoy my vacation. Thankfully Jason has a system on his computer that allows him to keep an eye on the boys at the Barrell via the security cameras. He can also fix whatever computer gliche that occurs through his laptop. Not sure what our complete plans are yet but we are staying two nights in Whistler, two nights in Victoria and two nights in Vancouver. It should be nice and in the mid to upper 60s. Woo hoo!

Over halfway to 30 which will be halfway to 60!!

It's a good thing I keep this thing going, otherwise what would happen to our thoughts? ha. Anyways, hubby turns 30 June 3rd!!! Yay!! We will be having his 30th gathering on June 5th at Pheasant Hollow in Whittington around 5:30 (officially 6) to 8:00. Let me know if you all plan to attend. I have to plan on feeding people and showing up will make it stressful unless you honestly don't know until then. NO gifts are necessary. He loves quality time.

Swine Schmine

Hearing about this swine flu just causes me to roll my eyes and to move on with life. I actually find nothing wrong with this reaction. First of all, our country is full of selfish cowards that spend their time fearing the worst of everything rather than learning how to deal with things as they come. Yes, there was ONE official swine flu death in the United States. Everybody panic. I'm sorry for that family's loss, however might I add that the death was an infant??? It is always heartbreaking to hear about the loss of a young life, but infants are unable to fight off sicknesses the way we are. It's the same with the elderly. There is no need to start a swine flu death toll simply because of a poor infant's struggle with something that happens to be the swine flu. What about SIDS?? You hear about SIDS awareness but that's all it is. An awareness. You don't see it all over the news about how another infant died of SIDS simply because it's something that happens often. What about a miscarriage? EVERY day. We lost track of those death tolls. I'm not about to saran wrap my house like the media caused us to do back when anthrax was the trend scare. Or how about the world ending the year 2000? I don't know about you, but I think we're all still here and alive. Now it's what...the year 2012 when the world's going to end??? News Flash, no one knows. Stop attempting the math because we're never going to know until it happens. We don't have to have all the answers in life. It's just life. Deal with it. You're going to die whether you like it or not. Why should we live in fear of something we can't do anything about anyway? It's just another awareness that doesn't have to be broadcasted on a daily basis.

That's all I have to say about that (ha). Anyways, Jason and I are going to see Flight of the Conchords tomorrow in the Lou. Yay!!!!! I'm excited. I also get to see Heart and Aerosmith (again) in June. Friggin stoked.

We love all God's creatures, but...seriously?

I (Brooke) receive two magazine subscriptions: one to People and one to Entertainment. I noticed that in my most recent Entertainment that the section with splits, births, court orders, marriages, deaths, etc. there's now a "pet" section. Apparently two pets of famous people have passed away including Bill Clinton's cat. I am aware that there are terribly bored people in this world who give a damn but seriously, I don't. I know I don't have much room to speak since I subscribe to celebrity gossip magazines in the first place but I'm not THAT bored.
I am also tired of hearing that it's almost time for our president Obama to purchase a "first" dog...even though I find it funny that he considered a Labradoodle, since that is what we own...but in the end, I still don't care. When somebody's pet cures cancer, then I might care.

Also, the chow chow puppy that Martha Stewart was going to buy died in a breeder fire. I have thought of nothing else. Sorry I have spread the infection to other blog readers.

In other news,

The Liquor Barrell's grand opening will be APRIL 4. Stop by. There will be live music, tshirts, free throws on our new Jack Daniels Basketball goal and a drawing for a mini Miller Light grill. Good times, my friends, good times.

OPENING SOON

The NEW Liquor Barrell on 707 West Main in Benton, IL on SUNDAY Feb 15th at 11am. It is BIGGER and BETTER. Stop by and see us!

Progress

Just a quick picture update of the progress with my new building. The first picture is from 11/26 and they go on from there stepping up every few days. The last couple of photos are from today. The last one is a pic of the demolition of some of the surrounding properties.

Later,

Jason

WE DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO BOLTS

Why bother

Had a nice time on New Year's Eve. Blueberry Hill was interesting to say the least. It turned out to be more of a club scene than expected and well, we're just not into that sort of thing. It was nice because it was something different to do. I would definitely like to go back and eat at the restaurant sometime. Jason's back is hurting him due to sitting on a stool all night. I had to stand up for awhile myself. There were people of all ages hanging out but after midnight Jason and I decided that it was time to call a cab and head back. Of course there were NO cabs to wave down so calling a cab seemed to be the only option.
The next day we decided to go to the Galleria so that I could purchase some LUSH products. I went there for the first time last month and the products seem to work for most. We then left and stopped at Whole Foods and man I wish we had one of those closer! I bought some cheese and we took some olives home from the olive bar. Schnucks is similar but not as awesome.
Other than that, the New Year was kind of quiet. Nothing too exciting. I don't bother making resolutions because I'm pretty much over it within two weeks.
The new building is coming up nicely. We're getting tired of people asking why it's square and if we're going to call it the "Liquor Box" then laughing at what they think to be an original comment.
It's exciting. We also broke a record on New Years Eve due to most people staying home. Also exciting. Other than that. It's a new year. woohoo

NEW YEAR'S EVE

Jason and I plan on heading to St. Louis for New Years Eve. No one has really told us any plans about meeting up as a group so we decided to experiment a bit by getting a hotel room at the Sheraton Clayton around the Delmar Loop. We have plans to go to Blueberry Hill for the events. Hopefully it will be a fun time since well, it will be just the two of us and neither one of us know what to expect. I've always wanted to go somewhere that involved dressing up a little bit with party favors. St. Louis would not be my top choice but it's the only place to go in this area. That or Evansville, but we just decided to experiment this time.

Last night was insane...

So, we survived the family time. Still one more night to go.
Last night, however...was...INSANE. My parents and I were supposed to meet Jason in Terre Haute, IN (home of Christmas Story, hehe) last night when it started to sleet. I wondered if we should just wait until the next day but none of us were really worried about it. My parents live in Richmond, IN and it takes about 2 hours to drive to Terre Haute. It takes about the same for Jason. Well everything was going somewhat smoothly until we left Indianapolis. Traffic was STOPPED. Not moving. Period. It remained that way for the next 3 or more hours. We were not going ANYWHERE. Anytime it did move (when it actually did) we moved about 5mph. This was all on 70 to Terre Haute. I called Jason and told him to hang tight because he actually arrived at Terre Haute HOURS before we did. The road was covered in a sheet of ice and any acceleration caused the tires to spin. Cars were off the road in random spots (mostly semis) and supposedly there were numerous wrecks but we were in traffic for so long that we never saw them. Jason went ahead and got us all a hotel room but I kid you not, we just could not make it to him. We left about 4pm (IL time) and at 10pm we were still sitting in traffic. We hadn't eaten since lunch, we could not stop somewhere to pee and Terre Haute was still 40 min away at 5mph speed. BUT even though we were stuck in that situation, we were set and prepared. We had filled up the gas tank, there was a blanket in the trunk and we had snacked a little bit before we got to Indy.
Once it looked like we were moving, however, the traffic stopped again. About 1 am it finally got to the point where we were going to have to get our own hotel room several exits down from Jason and he would just have to come my way in the morning and get me so that he could go to work the next day. But due to the travel conditions, everyone had the same idea. Hotels were booked and people were sleeping in the lobbys. The local fast food restaurants had run out of food and it looked like we were going to have to spend the Eve of Christmas eve sleeping in the car. There was no room in the inn. Haha. None of us were able to sleep in the car. We tried. My mom decided that she was going to keep driving us to Terre Haute. It was so close but so hard to get to. We finally made it about 3:30am. My parents wanted to get another room since we were leaving at another time. But the system was on audit so they had to wait until 4:15 am to get the LAST room available. I had to get up at 6:20. I haven't been able to rest since.


Last night was insane.

Facing the in laws...

Well, not my in laws. But Jason's in laws. I am literally at a point where I have no idea what to say or do when it comes to my little sis. Sometimes I could strangle her. The holidays are supposed to be full of good cheer, but give it 10 min and my sis has already ruined the evening. I don't want to get into detail. It will make me angry. But, this is part of our holiday struggle when you have certain types of family members. All I can think about is Christmas Vacation.
Today should be even more of a blast because the Irwin side is coming over. I love seeing my family but I dread the drama that they bring. I think my sister is an Irwin. Hands down.

There is NO way...

That I would live in a place where a spider this size could crawl on my walls. I mean, this is more than a shoe or a rolled up newspaper could take care of. Ugh! Not happening...ABSOLUTELY not. I have no idea how this person was able to remain conscious while taking a picture of it...

I was reading an article on Fark about dinner plate sized spiders and I was like..."come again?"
Now, I've heard of camel spiders but this friggin thing is in this person's HOUSE. *shivers*

Have you ever?

Have you ever eaten at a certain restaurant or ate a certain food and associated it with a certain beverage? For instance, today I had Subway and I wanted a soda to go with it. I associate Pepsi with Subway, Taco Bell and Arby's. Not the healthiest, but I do. Or, at Tequilas I associate margarita with anything I eat. It's just interesting. Sometimes, on a rare occasion, I'll have a beer. It's just weird how tastebuds work.

Holy Tower of Babel!

I have the stomach flu. Actually, I'm in recovery. It wasn't pretty. Now we're waiting for Jason to be affected. If he is. I stayed home from both work and school today trying to recover. I felt fine going to bed last night but around 2am...it was nonstop. Jason said, Obviously...you're staying home. He left early to go buy me magazines, gatorade soup and medicine. I love my hubby. I joked and told him he probably should have stocked up considering. I got home yesterday from Indiana visiting the fam, and all five of my sister's family members had these symptoms. Of course I couldn't resist giving my nieces and nephew a kiss but geez. It sucked.

In other news, Cincinnati Christian University (my alma mater) is on a roll! I'm not placing blame but I'm just saying two news articles these year with questionable incidents:
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081201/NEWS0107/812010328&s=d&page=2#pluckcomments

Awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow and a peaceful black Friday. I for one, LOVE black Friday. I know it's hectic and insane and I'm not entirely sure what the most demanding item is out now but...it's still awesome. Jason and I will be having Thanksgiving dinner here at the house with his mom. That's it. Everyone else will be at the in laws or working. My family is out of state, so there you go. I will be leaving, however, tomorrow to see my family without Jason. It sucks so bad but life happens I s'pose. We did manage to work out the weekend before Christmas to see the fam but it will be a short trip. It would be so nice to have my family come here for a change.
Last night I saw Twlight. OH...my...GOSH. I wasn't sure why so many girls were squealing over it and why all of a sudden it was the new Harry Potter, but after seeing it last night...I know. It was so mind boggling that I dreamed about it last night. Insane. Loved it. It was beautiful. I am asking for the Twilight series for Christmas now. I didn't understand before, but I see why now.
I had a hard time finding reality after that....

First off, a couple of new images for you. Next, a copy of the letter I have been forced to send out to clarify all of this union crud.

703 West Main Street
Benton, Illinois
(618) 439-6761
liquorbarrell@verizon.net
http://www.liquorbarrell.com/
“Home of the Mix-A-Six!!”

11/21/08
To Our Loyal Friends,

You may have noticed the picketing that is going on in front of the new building being built for us next door. I am sending out this email in order to try and get the details straight.
First off, I (Jason Van Hoorebeke) am not in charge of what is going on next door. It is true that I designed the building and made all of the choices from light fixtures to cooler doors, but I did not choose the contractors.

I don’t even own that piece of property located at 707 West Main. I own the current location of 703 West Main. The property next door is owned by a partner corporation of CVS Pharmacies, based out of Arizona. Public records, available at the Franklin County Courthouse, show that it is not my property. They are in charge of the construction of the new Liquor Barrell building. The way it is set up is as follows:
1. They are building us a new building to our specifications
2. When the building is completed, we will exchange properties
3. I will take ownership of the 707 West Main building
4. They will take ownership of the 703 West Main location, then tear down the current building

I wanted to relay the facts to you because there have been several flyers or emails going around telling people to not patronize my store because I am using non-union workers to build the new store. As I have explained, I have no chose in who builds the building because it is not mine to build.

It is unfair to hold me or the corporation (Liquor Barrell of Ill., Inc.) accountable for actions by another company when we have no influence over their actions.

I hope all of this clears up any ambiguity that may have been present. I also am hopeful that you will help spread the word around for me. Either by word of mouth or by forwarding this letter along to friends. Your understanding, cooperation and, above all, your continued support of a local, small business man are greatly appreciated.

Lastly, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.

Thank You,
Jason Van Hoorebeke
Owner

Oh the life of a business wife...

I'm hanging in there. That's pretty much it. I'm watching my poor hubby struggle with the stresses of being a business owner while I try to offer my encouragment as well as my input. Something I don't understand though is Union Workers. I never fully understood them or had much to say about them until recently when a few have been picketing the property next door. It all started about a week ago when the building process began and what I've gathered is that they don't mind their own business. We did not hire the contractors next door nor do we have anything to do with the property until we move in. However, they insist on making it an issue by mailing these dumb letters to to their members saying don't patronize the Barrell because they don't hire union workers. This hurts us. It hurts because one, we did not have a say on the matter and two, we probably have some pretty good Union customers who are manipulated by all of this because some of these workers cannot get their facts straight. People are trying to please them for whatever reason by hiring one to help pour concrete and by asking anyone amongst the current contractors if they want to join the Union so that they will stop picketing. Well, little did I know that there are all types of Union workers. There are Union Electricians and for goodness sake Union plumbers. All have something to say when it comes to the building process. Today the Cement Union workers were picketing because the contractors were pouring cement. This is supposed to be an exciting time for us but it's stressful more than anything. It's hard for me to understand because my professional style is not within this field. I'm interested in being more personal and humanistic. I will support my hubby all the way, I just can't wait for the building to be done...

The Liquor Barrell of the FUTURE!!

Well, Construction is moving right along now. Monday, it was just a pot-hole riddled empty parking lot (as seen below):

By Tuesday, they had measured out the exact property lines and placement of the building. Then I went over there to check it out and I was not 100% pleased. I called the contractor and told him it seemed too far back. What had happened was, when I set up the property map, I set everything from the edge of the road. The contractor set everything up from the state easement. A difference of about 10 feet. I went back over with a tape measure and decided that since we were going to have to move it, how about moving it 15 feet.

So Wednesday, they re-drew the building placement and started to dig the foundation out and poured in the base concrete (as seen below):

Next, we had a ton of blocks delivered and added 2 extra storage rooms and a utility room on the back of the building. This caused them to have to re-do the foundation. Again, my fault because I was not satisfied with how it looked so far.

Today, they are setting up the wall bases. The tops of the block pictured are how high the floor is going to be. You can see the difference above the current ground elevation. Thus, we have over 20 semi loads of rock being delivered Monday morning.

Sorry for the image heavy update. Just a bit excited that things have finally started.

Slowbek

I WANT YOU TO VOTE WISELY

Well, it's time. Tomorrow we vote and by next year we'll know whether or not more of our money will be going to people on welfare. It makes me nervous to be quite honest. I have a feeling that either people will regret their vote or they'll be too proud to admit that they should have went with the other guy. Because seriously, I don't believe a lot of people know what they believe in or what exactly they're looking for in a president. Is it a chance to experience something new and exciting? Or are we trying to avoid the greater good? I hate how both candidates used most of their time explaining why the other is not fit to be president when they should have spent more time fighting for themselves. I hate the stupid comparisons and stereotypes and most of all, I hate politics. So, please take the time to understand why we have the right to vote and what your vote will mean to our country...