Introducing, the Co-founders of the Boil in the Burbs - Stacey and Tripp Rex!!!

Family,

And a good Saturday morning to you from across the Pond after another GREAT DAY in the Mother Country. It's the weekend!!!!!!!!!!! And MAN, has it started off with a bang.


So Friday morning was good, complete with a Starbucks coffee and some tasty granola. The work day was smooth and productive without being overly stressful - EXACTLY what you want on a Friday.


I got to the gym over lunch, where I went Hans & Franz style at the gym for about 45 minutes. Let's just say that, after a long layoff from the (rather miniscule amount of) weights, I am SORE AS HELL this morning. Oh well - I am here to PUMP (beat) YOU UP!. Really I just want to be dead sexy in my Speedo when we're in Croatia next month. Yep - Line. Me. Crossed.


In the gym, I heard a GREAT new tune. And by GREAT, I mean - PERHAPS AS BAD AS THE "SLUT" SONG. The title of the song is "Nutbush," (T-bone - I'm thinking "woodbox" will have to be on a future album - DON'T BLOCK THE BOX!!!), and it is DEFINITELY by an American. Here's a sample of the brilliant lyrics:


"NUTBUSH!!!!"


(music)


"NUTBUSH!!!!!"


"City Limits!"


"NUTBUUUUUUUUUUUSH!!!!"


"We go to church on Sunday."


"NUTBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!!!!"


"We got to work on Monday."


"NUUUUUUUTBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!!!!"


"We good to people till Friday."


"NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!!!!!!


"We party on Saturday."



You then repeat this set of lyrics about 45 times. I CANNOT MAKE THIS STUFF UP. Who ARE these people?


All the same, after work, I nipped down to (where else) the Music Factory, where I met Brother Morgan, Steve Ray (VA - he's the Ed Norton look-alike), and their buddy (known only as "The Milkman, because he always delivers - classic - where's Karl Malone sexy love when you need it). I only had one Grolsch because we had to get home for the featured event of the evening - hangin' with the Rexes and K-Wall!


So a little back story here: Tripp and Stacey Rex both live in Charlotte, NC, where, along with their two beautiful children (Sam - GREAT name - and Kate), they host the annual "Boil in the Burbs." This is one of my FAVORITE nights EVERY YEAR, as they cook up about a billion shrimp, have tons of PBR handy, and we play cornhole and bacci ball until all hours of the night. It is a BLAST.


Tripp, Stacey, Jenny, and I all met at Bank of America back in 2003 - BEFORE JT and I were even dating! Actually, now that I think about it, Tripp and Stacey weren't married at that point either. It must have been the love that everyone feels when designing online mortgage applications as part of LoanSolutions under the leadership of the one, the only, GC Robinson.


K-Wall is another friend of ours from Charlotte who's actually been living here in London for the last 9 months. We only live about 2 miles apart here in the Smoke, but in true London fashion, last night was the FIRST TIME WE'D SEEN HER SINCE SHE'D MOVED. Time, it does get away from you...


We met around 7 at the Pontefract Castle, where we had 3 pints or so before dinner. I knocked back a pair of Timmy T's (SO FRESH), but then I switched it up and had THE BEST Heineken I've had outside of the Dam. Seriously - oats in the front - hops in the back. EXACTLY the way it's supposed to be. Stacey said it best when she sipped it and said," THAT'S A HEINEKEN?"


Dinner was, well, where else? THE DOOT, BABY!!!! There we held court on the ground floor, eating everything not bolted to the ground. Rather than get a flamin' curry, I left myself to the mercy of the staff and said, "Bring me what you would eat if you had 1 dish." They did NOT disappoint (although I have NO IDEA what it was called).


After that, we rolled over to Coco Loco (a bar on our own high street that we've never visited) for a last brew. The girls took down a half pint of Leffe, and then Stacey chugged the rest of my Bitburger that I just couldn't finish (to my credit - it was my SEVENTH pint). I must improve if I want to survive the beer festival.


After that, we got home, where we Skyped with the Aussies!!!! We officially met little Charlotte, who was quite scared of my "strange" accent at first (can't imagine why). We had a good chat for about an hour, and then, at 1 in the morning, we PASSED OUT, sleeping until 11:45 this morning.

Perfect pumpkin has brewed us some coffee, so we're just chillin' before we kick off the activities of the day. But you'll have to stay tuned to hear about those!

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat tomorrow!

Love,

Sam and Jenny