Wine Development

In years past, I've never enjoyed drinking wine do to always getting an instant headache and my face getting flushed even after one glass.

Granted, my experience in tasting different wines has been limited. Occasionally, I would experiment at a wedding or a work event where they provided some kind of house wine. My first actual wine tasting as an adult without parent supervision was when the Handyman and I were in Hawaii on our honeymoon (many moons ago). We participated in a wine tasting at one of the wineries on Maui. Very delightful experience and we bought a case of pineapple wine that was shipped back to our house.

Once the pineapple wine was gone, I was interested in finding wine that would be available locally. In my attempt to be open minded, I would try wine at different venues, but I was never able to attach to any wine that didn't give me a headache.

Not until the Handyman and I went to Spain did I discover wines that didn't give me a headache. European wines appeared to be a safe zone for me. My hope was reestablished. After returning from Spain, I was energized to find wines that agreed with me. Ironically, a trend surfaced with in-home wine tasting parties in my local area. Of course, I took advantage of these events to expand my reach to different wines that I might be able to enjoy. The cool thing about these parties is that they give you access to many European wines.

Now we could look at this as a catch 22 situation. Good wine cost more $$. Bad wine gives me headaches. Give or take. Though I've learned a lot, I am not a wine connoisseur by no means. I'm just a growing expert in what I like and what I don't like.  And it's been fun trying different wines. I will fully admit I like semi-sweet to sweet wines. Most of the cool wine drinkers like the dry wines. Dry is not for me so I'll never be able to hang with the cool kids, but that's never been a priority for me as you know.

The downside to all this is that I've become a wine snob because I won't just drink any kind of wine now. I prefer not to have headaches after one glass of wine and my wallet is lighter these days.

All in all, I've enjoyed the journey to identify good wines that I can drink. Happy exploring.

Risky Business

I think I've discovered the perfect time to go to the grocery store when I can wear my sweats and safely not run into anyone.

Once your children enter into the mainstream educational system, you're exposure to community visibility increases. Tested by a few of my friends and of course me. We've discovered no matter where you go within your community, you run into someone you know or someone you recognize from your child's school. With this observation, there is no more running errands around town in your favorite grubby sweats. Not to mention, you're not the cute twenty-two year old that could pull off the lazy Saturday look without looking like a homeless person anymore.

Needless to say, the best time so far to go to the grocery store is on Monday night at 7:30 PM in the lovely community I live in. There was absolutely no one at our local grocery store this past Monday night. Another bonus, I managed to complete my grocery shopping within a record time of thirty minutes. I will have to test this next week to see if a pattern will develop. I will keep you posted.

Enjoy comfortable sweat wearing shopping!

Buzz Word Poetry

As a fully integrated member in the workforce, I developed the strategy to accomplish the goals.

Leveraging my skills to implement the strategy, I'm leading the thought leadership into forward thinking to pave the way toward increase growth.

Along the journey to successful results, I'm challenged with developing solutions to solve problems that are beyond the market scope leading me into an unexpected environment of gamification.   

Gamification is a word. If you don't believe me, Google it.

Share with your friends and have a wonderful weekend!

Possible World Record

I know I've been out of the workforce for awhile, but there's still a level of expectation for fancy hotels in my mind. Yes. I'm out of town on a business trip stuck at a conference in a fancy hotel in Dallas. Not exactly a prime vacation spot. Though the weather is beautiful and refreshing, I'm mostly stuck indoors. During a restroom break, I turn to send the water down the unknown path to the sewer. I look up noticing the ceilings are high and there is a ledge with lighting shining at the ceiling illuminating a gigantic...

daddy long legs spider. I'm pretty sure it was triple the size of the one in the photo to the left. I know it was in an odd location, but I expected a little more from a fancy hotel. Especially since he looked like he had made a home for himself and I had seen him two days in a row. It was a little creepy. Maybe Texas just has bigger daddy long leg spiders than Wisconsin. I swear it could've been a world record size spider.


Have a great day!

Favorite Movie Lines

"Shut your mouth when you're talking to me!"

"You have a baby...in a bar."

"You can't handle the truth!"

Big bear. Big bear. Big bear!

"I had no idea you could milk a cat."
"Oh yeah, you can milk anything with nipples."
"I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?"

This is ridiculous. It's crazy. I feel like I'm babysitting, except I'm not getting paid. 

Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues. 

What's your favorite movie line?

Elusive Small Forks

Last year, I had to buy another set of silverware because the small forks have mysteriously disappeared. Now that I have two sets of large forks, large spoons, small spoons, and knives, my silverware trays are overflowing. Throughout the year the trays have consistently remained the same except for, yes you guessed it, the small forks. The elusive forks have slowly disappeared again.

I think I need a new plan. I can only speculate where the forks are going. Maybe I should look into buying just small forks next time.

Soup with a Twist

 

During our lovely Wisconsin white out blizzard, I decided to make up a new recipe or rather my version of a recipe. I'm sure there is some kind of recipe out there that is similar. I was too lazy to look anything up.

Chicken Tortellini Soup-minus the chicken and add a Twist

2 containers of chicken stock (or more water and 3 chicken bouillon cubes)

1/2 gallon of water

4 carrots peeled and chopped (or half bag of baby carrots chopped up)

Half an onion (chopped or sliced however you like your onions)

Sprinkle pepper, fresh garlic, and parsley (whatever amount works for you). Warning: I added a lot of pepper, which made the soup too spicy for the kids (hahaha more for me)

You can add chopped celery if desired. I didn't have any.

Dump all of this into a big pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium for 30 minutes.

Bring back to a boil.

Add a bag of Tortellini (any brand you like from the store). Wait for Tortellini to rise to the top. Then set to medium for 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the Twist: Take a very green (under ripen) avocado. Peel, chop, and add to the soup.

Simmer for about 10 minutes and serve.

Obviously, you can add chicken if you want to. I just didn't.

Enjoy!


 

Flour Power

In preparation for my new book club, I was making a bucket of brandy slush. Now the recipe requires sugar. Since my skills in baking usually come from a box, I don't have the need for sugar very often. Though I know I keep a bag around somewhere in the cabinet. In my search for the sugar, I move several canned goods and a few jars to get to the back of the cabinet.

Reaching my full arm in, I pull a bag out. I look at it and see it is all purpose flour.

Another arm reach, I pull out another bag. Nope. Another bag of flour.

In for the third time, you guessed it. Flour.

Maybe the fourth time will be lucky, I pull out another bag. Nope. Flour again.

Okay where did I get all these bags of flour. As I stated before, I don't bake much. Granted, they are small bags. The only thing I can think of is when I needed flour I went to the store and bought another bag. Weird.

On my fifth arm pull, I am graced with a bag of sugar.

In my extra effort to find sugar, here is the brandy slush recipe:

Boil 2 cups of water. Place 4 tea bags (black or green) in the water. Let cool. Take tea bags out after a few minutes.

Boil 6 cups of water. Dump 2 cups of sugar into the boiling water. Stir. Let cool.

1 can of frozen orange juice concentrate

1 can of frozen lemonade concentrate

3 cups of brandy


In an empty 1 gallon ice cream bucket, mix everything together and place in freezer.

When frozen, add three ice cream scoops into a cup and poor 7up or Sprite over mixture as desired and serve.

A fun and easy party drink to serve a big crowd. Enjoy!

Professional Gambler

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything, but I've been busy. The unemployment line keeps getting longer.

From marketing expert to professional gambler, its not too far of a stretch. Don't worry about me, I'm back to playing the stock market.

New Washer and Dryer

Finally, I have my new washer and dryer. Yay me! It is amazing how it only takes one cycle to dry one load.

Book Suggestions

If anyone has ever been laid off, you have to read Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster. Absolutely hilarious.

If anyone has ever tried to loose weight, you have to read Such a Pretty Fat or Why Pie is not the Answer by Jen Lancaster.

This is my kind of humor. I love sarcasm.

Still reading too much!

I just read an article that listed the top ten mysterious diseases that doctors have no cure for. The article goes on to give a definition for each disease. To my surprise, Schizophrenia is one of them. If I’m not mistaken, this disease has been around for sometime now. I found this far too fascinating to let this go. I think in a past life I was a psychologist or sociologist since I just love observing and analyzing people’s behaviors. Well, 95% of the analyzing is actually my own behavior, which leads to a tiny bit of obsessive issues. Anyway the article gives this description of Schizophrenia.

Experts consider this the most puzzling of mental disorders, one which robs the sufferer of the ability to logically distinguish between reality and fantasy (I don’t know if I could get through a single day without visiting my fantasy world, especially when I am on my yacht in the Mediterranean). Symptoms range wildly between patients and include delusions (Sometimes when I buy a pair of shoes and read the receipt after the purchase, I swore the sale tag read $30), hallucinations (When I go down the basement stairs, I envision myself falling down the stairs breaking something and wondering how I am going to get back up the upstairs to take care of my kids and get help for myself), disorganized speech (Hell, disorganized is the understatement of the year, my head is so inflated with disorganization there is no room for organization in here. My husband would definitely vouch for this one), and lack of motivation or emotion (Oh my God, every morning I thoroughly lack the motivation to get up. My responsible personality has to yell at my tired personality to get up. Or maybe it is just the sound of my kids fighting over the space in my bed that motivates me to get up everyday.), but the disease has no defining medical tests (so in other words you can diagnosis yourself, lucky me).

If I would have gone to medical school, I would have ended up in a mental institution. I would have diagnosis myself with everything I would have studied or at least I would have related something about myself to every disease, illness and/or sickness out there. Oh, the joys of being me. At least they haven’t taken me away yet.

25 Things about me-Dam Facebook

Since my friend strong armed me into doing this for Facebook, I thought I would share here as well.

1. I had three babies in three years. The only thing that could have been harder would have been triplets. On second thought, I could have had twins with my third baby. Considering my prayers were answered, we have three beautiful individual children and I owe God a really big favor now.
2. I struggle daily with the balance of my family, work and myself. Oh yeah and time with my husband (Sorry Sweetie). I’m almost absolutely sure I wouldn’t change it for the world.
3. I love my husband more than the day I married him because children change everything. And because he will kick my butt when no one else will. Motivation comes from mysterious outlets.
4. After I had my three wonderful babies, I had a life time goal of completing a triathlon before I was thirty. I didn’t actually make the before part, but I completed my first triathlon one month after I turned thirty. Now it has become an annual event for me.
5. Which leads me into my love hate relationship with working out, I use to love to run and now I hate it. Running 8 miles was not something I had to even think about, now I’m struggling to enjoy completing 4 miles. But I love the results of how I feel afterwards so I will continue my love hate relationship.
6. I love the circle of friends I have. They are extremely understanding to all my faults. They are the best.
7. I think sometimes I was born without the filter that keeps you from sticking your foot in your mouth. Social diarrhea seems to be a constant in my social life. Sorry Ang about the pecans comment last Monday.
8. Vacations would fall right behind my first favorite past time, which entails weekends with my kids and my husband. If I had my choice of future vacation, I would love to visit Europe. Italy, Ireland, France, England, Spain in that order.
9. For past Vacations, my all time favorite would have to be our honeymoon to Hawaii. We visited Maui, The Big Island and Kaui. We saw a lot of humpback whales up close and, of course, enjoyed a lot of Daiquiris. Each island holds something special to me, but my favorite was Maui.
10. I climbed Mount St. Helens when I was twenty with my dad. After we reached the top, looking down into the crater was extremely exhilarating. Our ease of climbing to the top made us feel a little adventurous so we veered off the trail path and decided to follow an old lava chute down. Needless to say it took us twice as long to get down the mountain as it did to get up the mountain. Lesson learned. Stick to the trail.
11. I would love to climb Mt. Rainer someday.
12. I’ve held many obsessive hobbies over the years including making beaded jewelry, knitting blankets and now currently reading books. I should probably join a book club.
13. A friend talked me into reading the Twilight series and I read the whole series in two weeks. Now you can see where the obsessive behavior falls.
14. I love reading about conspiracy theories. Secretly sometimes I believe them.
15. Ironically between my brothers and me, I was probably the most likely to move out of the State of Wisconsin first, but I’m still here and my older brother lives right outside of Washington DC and my younger brother lives in St. Paul, MN. Well at least they don’t live in any warmer climate than what Wisconsin has to offer. Heehee.
16. My ultimate dream car would be a ’73 Barracuda convertible. I wouldn’t mind a ’69 Mustang convertible either. Along with a 2008 Dodge Charger. Okay so I am a little materialistic, but it only exists in my fantasy world. The three vehicles we own now are a far cry from my dream ones.
17. If I had unlimited amount of funds, I would have a house in San Francisco (love this city). This obviously goes along with that fantasy world thing.
18. I would love to move back to the west coast when my youngest turns eighteen or sooner if possible.
19. As a freshman in high school, I went to nationals to compete in the 500 yd swim. Even though I was at the bottom of the food chain, I still enjoyed the experience.
20. I still feel 24 even if the mirror reminds me I’m 31.
21. I wish I had more patience.
22. I love the Blackberry Martini at the restaurant Coast. Maybe a little too much.
23. Dreams change as your life experience changes. Erin, this one is for your Philosophy class.
24. I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason. Good or bad.
25. The only thing I regret is not taking off after high school and backpacking through Europe. Other than that, I have no regrets.