New Blog - Check It Out!

Please check out my new blog: BiteSize Brews: http://bitesizebrews.com/

Red Razzleberry Stout

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! My present to my mom is home brewing at home while she is out playing golf. She isn't a fan of the smell and I'm not a fan of golf. So this works out well.

I've started working on my 4th of July brews for the family reunion. I'm doing a Red, White and Blue theme. Today is Red Razzleberry Stout, adapted from Aaron's Above the Rest Homebrewing website.

Ingredients:

• 7 lbs of liquid amber malt extract
• 1 lb of crystal mat (120L)
• 1/4 lb of H.B. Britsh chocolate malt
• 1/4 lb of black patent malt
• 4 lbs of organic frozen raspberries (donated by my Aunt Kirstie)
• 1 tsp of irish moss
• 1 tsp of gypsum
• 2 oz of Northern Brewer hops
• 1 package of Irish Ale yeast

Directions:

1. Steep grains for 30 minutes in 3 gallons of water at 155 degrees F.
2. Remove grains, add gypsum.
3. Add liquid malt and bring to boil.
4. Add 1.5 oz of Northern Hops for 55 minutes.
5. At 30 minute mark - add irish moss.
6. Add .5 oz of Northern Hops for last 5 minutes.
7. Chill wort. Add raspberries and yeast.
8. Ferment 5-7 days.
9. Move to secondary and ferment for an additional 5-7 days.
10. Bottle / keg and enjoy.

Know another get raspberry or stout recipe?

Jiving at Jive

Two weeks ago I went to a happy hour event at Jive, a software company based here in Portland, Oregon. Not only do they have a great product and a sweet office. They also have their own custom pint glasses. Needless to say, I kinda wanted one...

Last week I emailed a friend who works there and offered a trade. One Jive pint glass for one home brewed beer (Blueberry Pale Ale - I'll post the recipe soon). He agreed and we met for lunch this week to make the switch.

Aren't they cute? Does your company do custom pint glasses? Let me know!

BiteSize's Brews

I really like this new blog name. (Thanks Lauren for suggesting it.)

Why Bite Size?

It's been my nickname since freshman year of high school. Long story short, one of the senior guys over heard my dad calling me "Pint Size" after water polo practice one day and thought my dad said "Bite Size." Thus the name has stuck ever since. It also helps that I come from a family of giants and yet am pretty short. Plus, it's already my Twitter name, bite4size.

Why Brews?
This one should be pretty obvious. It's a blog about beer or "brews".

What do you think of my new name?

"The Time Has Come"

the Walrus said, "To talk of many things"

Of blogs-- and beers -- and stating facts--

Of fermentation-- and dreams--

And why my blog is out of date---

And whether it shall change."

(Adapted from Lewis Carrol's The Walrus and The Carpenter)

Yes, the time has come for my blog to change. Something I've been meaning to do for awhile, but funny how time can get away from you. But like Madonna has taught us time and time again, we need to re-invent ourselves (and our blogs). Mine has got from a college update blog, to a transitioning into the real world blog and now to a beer blog.

Yup, I finally thought of a theme for my blog. Beer! It seems so obvious now that I've finally set my mind to it. Why didn't I think of this earlier? I know what you are thinking, "Ah, there are so many beer blogs out there, especially in Portland." But I've got some great reasons behind this one:

1. I love beer (duh!)
2. I love brewing beer (and I keep OCD notes about it).
3. I love talking about beer (as most of you know).
4. I'm a girl (not many girl's know as much as I do on this topic).
5. I'm young (not many YOUNG, WOMAN home brew).
6. I live in Portland, OR (the beer capital of the world).
7. I love traveling (thus more breweries to try).
8. I love hearing the stories behind different beers and breweries (good content).
9. I can't commit to blogging as much as I want to (and this will keep me focused).
10. I love social media (thus I can promote, share, talk about more breweries).

So what does this mean for you? Suggest a new name, links, breweries, times to meet up for beers, etc. And I'll happily oblige. I'll also be slowly updating my blog to meet my new theme.

Two Things You Should Know About Me

I was supposed to be in a class webinar for my Master's course - however I can't seem to log on. Therefore, I'm writing this blog post.

Two Things You Should Know About Me:
1. If I say someone is in my family and they live in Oregon, they aren't really blood relatives.
My mom, dad and I moved to Oregon when I was a baby, my little brother was born here. However, none of my extended family lives outside of New England. To make up for this, I have been blessed with a lot of "family" out here. We go to the Carey family reunion every year for 4th of July. I have many Aunties and Uncles from both my "mom's side" or my "dad's side." I also have a tendency to call my friend's parents "mom" or "dad". Maybe I'm old school (way old school - tribal style), but I really do believe it takes a community to raise a child and I owe these people a lot and it's a term of endearment for me. I would like to point out I love my real parents very much as well as my family out on the East Coast. I just wish I could see them more.

2. Everyone is my best friend.
When I was little, my mom told me it wasn't nice to call friends "best friends" because it made other people feel bad. The way my brain processed that is, well then, everyone can be my best friend. Apparently this confuses a lot of people in my adult life when they attempt to keep track of all my best friends. My advice to them is, you'd be amazed how awesome it is when all your friends are the best ones.

Just two random things about me. Now, tell me two things about you.

10 Years Ago...

10 years ago today, I broke my leg. Broke might be an understatement, I shattered my femur while skiing on Spring Break. Last Saturday, while my mom and I were skiing (yes, I still ski) I realized it has been a DECADE since that day. Crazy! In honor of this special day I thought I would do a trip down memory lane of all the things I've accomplished even with my titanium rod and four pins:

1. Learned how to walk again (very important).
2. Learned how to rely on my family and friends for everything (humbling).
3. Played varsity water polo in high school (major goal in rehab).
4. Swam competitively for my university (definitely was the slowest kid).
5. Completed 3 Nike Women Half Marathon's (and I got the Tiffany Co. bling to prove it!) See above photo. You can kinda see my scar too...
   
6. Enjoying telling stories of how I got my scar "I got bit by a shark," "I got knifed," and "so-and-so hates me".
7. Going off in airports (sometimes) and having to explain to people "no I can't take off my leg."
8. Still skiing, wakeboarding, hiking, camping and traveling.
9. Being able to do stupid things ("I can't break my leg again", "I'm bulletproof", "I'm 1/2 robot", etc.)
10. I now have the perfect excuse as to why I'm so short compared to the rest of my family!

Here's to a couple more decades of health and happiness. I can't wait until all my friends are 60 and catching up to my bionic-ness!

Where were you 10 years ago?

New Job!

Many of you know I recently became a "free agent" in the job hunting scene. I'm happy to announce that I'll be the new Community Manager at The Standard in their Business Development department. I'll be in downtown Portland, if anyone wants to meet me for lunch or happy hour :) I think this is the best place for me to sharpen my social media / project management skills so that I can be a stronger marketer. I keep wanting to say "when I grow up." Does anyone else who's older than 25 struggle with that?

When exactly do you grow up? As Warren Miller says, "How old would you be if you didn't know when you were born?" Maybe I just struggle with this more than my friends since I still look like I'm 13, not 23...

Half way through my first day - so far so good!

Richard Stearns, World Vision President

Last Sunday, I got the opportunity to hear Richard Stearns speak at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church. Stearns is the President of World Vision and the author of The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us? The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World. He spoke, of course, about what God expects of us. The answer is actually really simple:

God wants everything: our heart, mind and soul.

This leads to a trickier question: Are you willing to be open to God's will for your life?

This is when you start looking up James 2:14-19, James 1:22, Ephesians 2:10, Luke 6:46 and Matthew 7:21-23. It starts getting a little intense.

As Stearns says "Good works and deeds are the evidence of our personal salvation."

1. Love God.
2. Love our fellow man. It's that simple.

"God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, who then sent us to be His hands and feet." What does that look like? Think of the parable of the mustard seed. If a tiny mustard seed can move mountains... What if we were each a mustard seed and we each had a shovel. How easy would it be to move a mountain? Now what if social injustice (lack of clean drinking water, sanitation, education, medical care, etc) was that mountain.

Don't think someone else will do it. It's our job and God expects us to do it. And we can do it.

The mustard seed can move a mountain. I think we can do more than that.

Are you willing to be open to God's will for your life?

Red Chair Group in PDX

Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend the Red Chair Group's conference here in Portland, OR. I studied social media in college and have done some freelance work but my primary focus the last year and a half has been gaining a solid foundation in sustainability. This conference gave me the chance to get back to my roots.

Lead by Olivier Blanchard, this conference focused on mid-level managers and account-level professionals on how to properly manage, measure and grow social media programs under their care. Perfect for me and my new position as Community Manager at The Standard (more info on that in another blog post). Some of my favorite take aways from the event included:

• "You can no longer live on the mountain." You need to engage in with your customers and communities. "Customize content for all channels."
  
• It's my job to help bosses understand the shift that is happening. Something I definitely need help doing. But this conference helped me with that. From vertical engagement (the brand speaking to the consumer) to lateral engagement (the brand speaking to the consumer, hearing back from the consumer and the consumers talking to one another).
• Social media enables social community. Yet another way to view this shift. "Create something worthwhile, then let the community share it."
• There are four core disciplines of Social Media:

1. Strategy (Development)
2. Operations (Integration)
3. Monitoring reputation, community and customer support (Management) : ME!
4. Analyst (Measurement)

• "Value has become a buzzword. Buzzwords are meaningless. Value is not a product. Value = Usefulness."
• "Think of your department goals. Goals are not targets. Set targets. Be specific. Be Clear."
• There was a lot of talk on legal considerations when it comes to social media. I learned something new here. Libel is written defamation and slander is spoken defamation.
• Rules for Engagement:

1. Never get suckered into an argument.
2. Stick to the facts.
3. Never assume anything.
4. Be helpful.
5. Some people can't be reasoned with.
6. Do the best you can.
7. Listen more than you speak.
8. If you feel outnumbered, get help.
9. Follow up.

• Steps to Channel Development:

1. Identify channels you should be in.
2. Understand channels you should be in.
3. Create listening outposts.
4. Connect with key citizens "denizens".
5. Become involved with topics and conversations.
6. Develop a positive reputation.
7. Grow social equity.
8. Establish leadership presence.
   

• ROI = gain from investment - cost of investment / cost of investment.

1. Establish a baseline.
2. Create activity timelines (schedule!).
3. Monitor impacts on conversations.
4. Measure transactions.

• F.R.Y. = Frequency, Reach, Yield.

Just want to share some highlights of the conference. Red Chair Group PDX will be back this fall, so I'll be posting information on that as soon as I get it. And I'll be attending So Fresh PDX in a couple of days so look for that post soon too.

What's On Your Bookshelf?

I gave up TV for Lent. Which has honestly been pretty awesome. I've been getting more sleep and reading WAY more than I have since before college I think.

So far I've finished:

1. The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn - A Christian view on money and how it isn't mine, it's His.
2. Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson - What has been happening at the East Asian Institute since Three Cups of Tea was published.
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - What it's like to be a black maid in the South during the Civil Rights movement.

I'm one of those people who reads more than one book at a time. Being that my mood changes a lot it would make sense that my choices for reading would change as well. Right now I'm working on:

1. One Tough Mother by Gert Boyle - about the Columbia Sportwear's CEO and the lady behind the brand.
2. The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn - I got the chance to met Randy's wife, Nanci last year and she gave me a bunch of his books, finally getting to them. This one is about a Christian view on sex.
3. The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman - I've already read Hot, Flat and Crowded, figured I should at least read this best seller.
4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - My book club book from last month which I never finished (shhh! Don't tell...)
5. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - I went and watched the new Alice in Wonderland with Janet and her awesome daughters and felt like I missed some parts so now I need to re-read this book and see what I forgot.

I also am going to be adding two more books to this list shortly:

1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Just got it on CD for my iPod. (I already got A Thousand Splendid Suns loaded but wanted to read this one first)
2. The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns - President of World Vision USA and whom I just heard speak this morning (blog post to come).

What are you currently working on?

Seeing God

I've been volunteering at Wildfire, the middle school program at my church, for over a year now. I have a solid group of 7th grade girls, whom over this last year I've gotten really close too. Kurt, the youth pastor, most recent talk series has been called Pause, something I agree middle schoolers don't do enough, between cell phones, iPods, Facebook, school, homework, sports and other after schoool activities these girls are more involved than I ever was at their age.

Last night, Kurt compared pausing and looking for God to looking for Where's Waldo? Just because you don't see Him, doesn't mean He isn't there. I thought that was a great comparison. He then challenged the students to spend 60 minutes sometime in the next week to seek God. Really try to find Him, like they would search for Waldo. As a leader, I try to do the "homework" as well. Lucky for me, I've already found Him...

As many of you know, it's been a rough couple weeks for me. I was laid off, so now I'm a networkin', meetin', coffee drinkin' fool and to top it off a new friend of mine, Kate, is missing in the Gorge. I'm burned out, professionally and personally. Last night, while at Wildfire, I got a text saying Kate's search has been called off. Heart broken is an understatement to how I was feeling, but I tried to put on a good face for my girls. But then worship started and I lost it. I'm not a crier, but I bawled like a baby... And something weird happened...

I got a hug. Not just one hug, 15 plus, from all my girls, then from their friends and other leaders. I couldn't imagine being in another place to get such bad news and be able to cry out the weight on my heart. For the first time, instead of me loving on my girls, they were loving on me. And I couldn't be more humbled by their actions. So for those two hours at Wildfire, I saw God's red and white Waldo cap on each of my girls and couldn't be more grateful for having them in my life.

Where have you seen God lately?

Middle School Camp 2010 Highlights

Man, my life has been crazy! Lots going on in the world

of Jenna, but I thought I would share my highlights from

Winter Camp 2010 Everyday Apples.

• Sundays from Heaven: Dropping ice cream sundays from 2nd floor of building onto eagerly awaiting middle schoolers with bowls.
• Earthball: Dominating mud game, humans vs. 6 foot yoga balls.

• Accidently sending my co-leader Jenn to the ER: Don't worry she's okay and our 7th grade girls got a perfect example of how God answers prayers.
• Meeting my co-leader Jenn: She rocks! God has great things in store for her. I'm a little bit jealous of her passion for life (okay WAY jealous).
• Having one of our girls REALLY open up about her life in the foster care system.
• DANCE PARTY! Yes, the tights made a return.

• Being fed: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner for four days straight!
• Laughing so hard with my girls, all I can say is "Kurticus"...

Nothing like spending time with 7th grade girls to help you get your priorities straight in life.

Love, laugh, pray.

"Bars close at 2AM, My House is Always Open"

I love micro brews. Maybe it's because I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, the micro brew capital of the world. Or maybe it's because I like the taste. Or maybe it's because I compare beer tasting to wine tasting (I'm classy like that). Or that trying out local breweries gives you the opportunity to learn about the local community and the stories behind the beer. Or maybe it's all of these reasons... yeah, I think so too...

I graduated in May 2008 from college, my mom asked me what I wanted for my graduation present. I said "an iPhone!" Mom promptly said no. And I countered with a micro brew kit. And after a year and a half of stalling. I got one! Granted it's borrowed from a family friend but I got permission to brew in the house!

I've started my own micro brew adventure. Luckily I found Above the Rest Homebrewing Supplies, in Tigard, Oregon. Not only do they support locally sourced and organic products, they give FREE classes! How sweet is that? To top it off, Aaron, is a genius and can pretty much answer every question you have. He just loves beer, the science, the freedom, everything! Shameless plug, buy something at Above the Rest Homebrewing Supplies and mention my name and I get 10% of my next purchase. So support a great family owned company and me and buy from them!

Anyways, I brewed my first Amber Ale and it's not in the first week of fermentation. More coming soon...

Why Green Jobs?

Last week I got the opportunity to attend Portland Green Professionals Conference as a volunteer for Willamette University. I was fortunate enough to hear all the keynote speakers as well as attend two of the panel discussions: Sustainability in Education and Sustainability Consulting. It was great to hear all the awesome things that are happening nationally, state wide and right here in Portland around sustainability. In a world where recession, high unemployment rates and climate crisis dominate news reports, this conference was a refreshing and encouraging place to be.

Lots of people ask me what does it mean to be working for a sustainable consultant, how they can get more involved and why green jobs matter. Here are some trends and statistics I learned while at the conference that might shed some light on the green scene:

• Portland aims to create 10,000 new green jobs in 2010 in industries including sustainable consulting, utilities, carbon neutral & renewable energies and education.
• There have been a call to action placed around green jobs, they must be:
• Not only white collar jobs, but blue collar ones too (LEED certified construction anyone?)
• Available for every walk of life (social impacts are important when it comes to being a sustainable community)
• Pay a living wage (Amen!)

Jon Wellington, the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the first keynote speaker described green jobs as vibrant, secure and successful. He pointed out that Americans waste 50% of our energy. Which posed the question, how do we improve efficiency? Anyone who has a passion for process-flows and Excel spreadsheets should be really excited right now. Some other cool trends Wellington highlighted were:

• In stream turbines BEFORE ocean turbines (I wonder how this will effect plants and animals in streams…)
• LED lights will replace compact florescence (Anyone see the Portland Christmas tree in all it’s LED lighted glory?)
• Vegas LEED certified buildings (If you can be sustainable in Vegas, you can be sustainable anywhere)
• Smart grid technology, which is being led by General Electrics smart grid technology
• Get away from incentives -> create a market (Sounds like business class to me)
• Make capital available to allow people to get involved (Portland has some great programs like Energy Trust)

Next up was Bill Bradbury, my tall Segway riding friend and is also on the Oregon’s Global Warming Advisory Commission. Who spoke about how climate change is affecting Oregon. Citing the dead zone off the coast, which is caused by the acidification of oceans. (Just think of the 6.3 billion tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere, of which 3.1 billion tons is sequestered by oceans…) There is hope though Bradbury also spent some time talking about Al Gore’s Challenge to RePower America. This goal of a 100% renewable energy country in 10 years through: energy efficiency, renewable energy, a smart grid and plug in cars. Seems like a pretty big challenge to me. But definitely one I’d like to aim for. Bradbury pointed out three reasons while Oregonians should get on board the RePower America Challenge:

1. Climate Crisis
2. Struggling Economy
3. Opportunity

Finally Erin Flynn, from the Portland Development Commission spoke. I heard her speak at the Green Light Greater Portland conference this summer and while her speech was pretty much the same it was really great to hear how on track Portland is to being the most sustainable city in the country. Makes me proud to say where I come from! Here are some interesting trends around Portland economy:

• 1,000,000 expected young workers in Oregon by 2030
• Oregon Industries are broken up into four clusters:
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Clean Tech
• Solar Manufacturing
• Wind Energy
• Green Development
• Energy Efficiency
• Electric Vehicles
• Active Wear
• Soft Ware
• Oregon has the highest concentration on clean energy jobs, which is growing at a rate of 5% a year (versus the national rate of 3%)
• The average wage for a green job is $22.61/hour
• There are currently 51,402 green jobs
• Oregon Sustainability Center is the first net zero building in conception in the state
• Wind turbines have over 8,000 different components, therefore there is a growing need for certified suppliers
• Portland has some challenges to over come as well, investors have a perception that Portland doesn’t know how to focus on customers, marketing or how to grow a business (This I found particularly interesting…)

Next was the Sustainability in Education panel, which feature PSU, U of O, Willamette and Marylhurst University, while I’ll skip the marketing pitches that were happening in this session for which school is better (my slightly biased opinion is Willamette) I will highlight the benefits of an education in sustainability:

• Green energy in China is a $1 TRILLION dollar market
• Talent goes to where the opportunities lie
• Sustainability education is an asset (or even a requirement)
• Project management and systems thinking are fundamental
• Knowing how 3^rd party verifications and metrics systems work is important
• Being able to answer the question what happens when a revenue stream becomes normal, what do you do?

Last but not least and definitely my favorite session of the day was the Sustainability Consulting session with featured Brightworks, Fluid Market Strategies and MarketShift Strategies. I think I liked this panel the best because my brain gets business and likes lists. For example:

Scott Lewis’ (Brightworks) Success Factors:

1. Need to understand the market need (both from an ecological and financial standpoint)
2. Deliver real value
3. Be flexible, nimble, responsive and agile
4. Remember why you are doing this!

“The only thing that is certain is things change.”

Stephanie Swanson’s (MarketShift Strategies) Best Practices:

1. Connect the dots – systems thinking
2. Find value in chaos
3. Plan for policy opportunity
4. Scale for flexibility

Not to mention leverage, planning, energy verification and implementation are all key.

This was a ton of information. I hope you enjoyed it and now have a better sense of why I think green jobs are the careers of the future and why I couple other local people think so too!

Questions/comments?

2010 Charities

In 2010, I'm planning on supporting two great charities: Kiva and Wine to Water. I chose these two charities for a couple of reasons:

1. They make great presents: Kiva's gift certificates and Wine to Water wine.
2. They help two cause passions of mine: Microfinance and clean water.
3. They are legit: Backed by the Skoll Foundation and CNN.
4. They have an educational value to them: Getting younger generations involved in microfinance and clean water issues.
5. They believe in social media: Kiva's Blog, Wine to Water's Facebook and Twitter.

Now you know why I love them, but let me tell you a little bit about each of them, so you can love them too!

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Imagine creating an online stock portfolio, but instead of investing in large multinational corporations your investing in people. You can check out entrepreneurs' profiles on Kiva, choose who you want invest in. Your investing in human being, who is striving towards economic independence and thus improving the lives of not only themselves, but their family and community. With a 98% return on loans, you can reinvest that money into another individual within 6-12 months.

Wine to Water is focused on providing clean water to needy people around the world. Over 1 billion people in the world today lack access to adequate water and sanitation. The first miracle Jesus performed was turning water into wine. Being Christ-like, Wine to Water prays that those who have plenty of water can help provide someone who is less fortunate with the gift of clean water. This can be done by buying Wine to Water wine or hosting a Wine to Water fundraiser.

Who are you supporting in 2010?

Where I'm At

I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions, but I am one for constant improvement. I've broken my goals down into three categories: mind (career development), body (physically and the fun stuff of life), and soul. Here they are, call them what you'd like.

Mind:

1. Improve my "professionalism," my dress, organizational skills, and manner.
2. Improve my writing skills. I'm going to practice this by blogging more here.
3. Start thinking about grad schools. Take a couple courses here and there and find out what I like (and how I'm going to pay for it.)
4. Grow my "freelance business" / non-profit idea more. Don't know about this? Ask me about it sometime.
5. Invest in something, a house, a car, the stock market, etc.

Body:

1. Work out consistently.
2. Go camping more or do more weekend get-a-ways.
3. Actually sign up for roller derby.
4. Start brewing my own beer.
5. Eat healthier and locally, build my chicken coop and learn what foods are grown in the Pacific Northwest and in what season.

Soul:

1. Pray more (with authority).
2. Build more community in my middle school small group. Hang out with them outside of Wednesday nights.
3. Work on forgiving those who've hurt me. Not because they need it, but because I need it.
4. Have a better attitude towards things I don't agree with 100% (be humble basically).
5. Invite more friends to church and develop my spiritual gift more (and don't let it freak me out so much...)

Better late than never. What are you doing to improve your life in 2010?