Tuesday's Wine Spotlight (with chocolate!)

Instead of just spotlighting a particular wine or wine brand, I thought I would share this great video combining my 2 true loves...Wine and Chocolate. Enjoy them both (the wine and the chocolate)

Video courtesy of About.com
with Jonathon Stewart

,

What is your Personality?

Your Personality Profile

You are dreamy, peaceful, and young at heart. Optimistic and caring, you tend to see the best in people. You tend to be always smiling - and making others smile. You are shy and intelligent... and a very hard worker. You're also funny, but many people don't see your funny side. Your subtle dry humor leaves your close friends in stitches.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

This was the easiest personality test ever! Pick a picture and voila! Everything is pretty true except the shy part.

WiiFit Update (2 weeks)

So have lost 3.8 pounds in the last 2 weeks, and actually it would've been more, but after 1 week I had actually gained 1 pound. I would like to say it was due to toning, and the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" thing, but it was no fault of the Wii, it was my addiction to the Chicken taquitos I had bought at Sam's the same time hubby was picking up the WiiFit. The taquitos are now gone (I won't say how many were in the box, just know it was from Sam's and I ate them all) I'm banning Sam's and trying to eat healthier (I eat pretty well, but when those darn taquitos are in the house, all bets are off. I eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner, they are that yummy).
I set my "goal" to lose 3.4 pounds every 2 weeks, so I am just over my goal and expect much better results in the next 2 weeks. The exercises, especially the aerobics, are interactive and fun. Who knew I was a master hula hooper? I encourage anyone who may be unmotivated to "work out" to at least give it a try. I'm very competitive, so I find myself doing some "tests" over and over, until I beat my previous high score.
I'll keep you posted!

Just a quickie

Everyone is still sleeping so I'll try to make a quick post. We have "baby" coming today and I need to get the kids up and dressed to take hubby to work. Of course he's not up yet either, so here I am.
Several have asked for a WiiFit update. It's coming this weekend. I thought I had posted that I would update every 2 weeks, but apparently I put EVERY week, so sorry for that. I will update this weekend and explain the results (they may not be pretty) but it's of no fault to Wii.
I hope everyone has a great Friday and a terrific weekend.

Wine Spotlight 8/19/08

So, while I'm not a huge white wine drinker due to the fact that it hits me like tequila and the hubby gets scared when he sees it in the house, I did get a tip from my new blogger friend Katie about Twisted River Riesling. While I could not find a website for the actual Vineyard it comes from, I did find an overwhelming amount of info on the wine itself. Thanks Katie for the tip.

Thank You also to Mora's Fine Wine & Spirits for the info and pic.

The Twisted River label offers delicious wines at affordable prices. Their "Late-Harvest", or Spatlese Riesling is rich and fruity with hints of pear and melon. This wine is bottled with 55 grams per liter of residual sugar. Perfect as an aperitif or with Asian cuisine or barbecue. This wine is sealed with a BVS twist-top to maintain maximum freshness and fruitiness.

Dear Neighbor...

Dear Neighbor,
I wanted to personally write you a letter to apologize for the "eyesore" in our back yard. While it was not our intention to have the kids pool up this long, or for it to get "green" there were extenuating circumstances that pulled us away from the task of getting it drained in a timely fashion.

I started draining the pool 3 weeks ago and was diligent to drain several hundred gallons every other day, so as NOT to flood the yard next to us or behind us (yours). I realize my mistake and will make sure next year to siphon it ALL through the hose and let the water flood wherever it may, probably towards the back of our property, so this won't happen again. Anyway, when my husband was rushed by ambulance 2 weeks ago to the hospital, and then had to stay for 4 days, I lost track of this pool project and thus it looks the way it does now. I'm sorry.
Thank you so much for calling Codes and Compliance, the nice man and I had a good laugh that someone would call over something so petty. While the nice man could not tell me who the complaint came from, I recall watching you clear the bushes, and weeds from your back fence line (and throwing all the crap into our yard) thus exposing your new view to our yard, just days before the complaint came in. I'm not mad, I'm sure you had good reason to call, and I'm writing this letter to open up the communication between us, so next year when I flood your yard emptying the pool, you can just come to the cleared fence line and tell me your displeasure to my face.
Sincerely,
Your neighbor with the "green" pool.

Bubble Kids

I'll start by saying that if you are the type of person who is terribly afraid of germs, turn back now. I'm not that person. I do not even carry sanitizer in my purse (I can here your gasps). My children can and do get dirty, their dad is more worried about dirt and germs than I am, pretty funny, but at least it gives the kids "balance".

So I took my 2 (Boogie and Puddin' Pop) along with another little girl (baby) to the park. While I'm sure the other Mother's were cringing at the thought of the "germs" the 3 of them put their faces in contact with, but to me, it was a photo opp.

Pictures were taken with my cell phone so quality isn't the greatest, but funny none the less.

This is Puddin Pop!

This is "Baby"

And my darling Boogie

(Is it a boy or a piggy?)

No surprise!

For those of you who know me, this will come as NO surprise...

You Are 50% Boyish and 50% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch. Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes. You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them. You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Tuesday's Wine Spotlight

From here on out I will spotlight a favorite wine or winery every Tuesday for your enjoyment.

If you would like to send me one of your favorites to spotlight, tell me about it in a comment here, with a link back to you and if I post it, you'll get all the credit.

Here is my personal favorite: Barefoot Wines. They have a large selection of extremely inexpensive wines in 750ml and 150ml. I encourage to check them out and pick up a bottle or 2.

Get a Laugh!

I was visiting another Mommy blog, The Wise (young) Mommy, and came across some ecards you will never see Hallmark put out. Stop by Someecards.com and find the perfect one for your friend, significant other, Parents, or coworker. I'm sure you'll be as amused as I was.

Here's one I really liked.

This is for BOTH of my Children!

Finally got it!

Yay. Yesterday I finally got my WiiFit. So, I thought I would track my progress here. I'll post a weekly WiiFit update and see if it can help me lose the 20 pounds I am trying to lose. I am currently at a 26.46 BMI and am trying to get down to 22.89. I have my goal st to lose the 20 pounds in 3 months. I did a 30 minute combined workout yesterday, and another 30 minute workout today, and hopefully will be able to sneak in another 30 minutes if I can get hubby to get the kids out of the house. Since yesterday, I've lost .4 pounds.
The system makes it easy to do different exercises without even realizing your doing it.
Wish me luck!

Oh my Goodness

Chelsea and I had gymnastics again today. While this class started out pretty simple, it is getting down right exhausting. We start out with stretching, helping the little ones touch their toes (which is easier than touching my own) "flapping" their knees like a butterfly, patting the floor, easy stuff. Then we break into 2 groups of 7 or 8 depending on attendance for the day, and move from one apparatus to the next as a group. In the first few weeks, the little ones were a little intimidated by the equipment, so we were encouraging them to try the different things. Now, when they are supposed to be on the floor, and it's taking too long for the person in front of them, turn away for a second and they take off. They want to do everything NOW! While Chelsea does well on the different tasks, she runs off a lot too. She is so eager to run to the beam, but when her group is on beam, she wants to be on bars, or tramp, or wherever she can run too. I spend 30 minutes chasing her, as do the other parents. I'm sure it is quite amusing to the spectators to watch all us old folks running after the kids. Quite the work out for us too.

Wine at Five?

I think we'll skip the wine in this heat and go for yummy pina coladas

So Soon?

This morning I took the kids to a friends house. Hunter loves to play with his friend Dominik, and Dominik's older brother was away at camp, so the little guys could play together...or so we thought. After about 30 minutes Hunter said he didn't feel well. When I asked what was wrong, he told me that he had put a "poisonous" eraser in his mouth and was told by his friend that if he was "lucky" he would die when he was 10, but it might be sooner. This really bothered Hunter and he wanted me to come look at the eraser to make sure I knew it wasn't "poisonous. " Why will our children take the word of a 7 year old and doubt us all day long? He must have asked me three more times on the way home if I was sure that it wasn't poisonous.
I also think Hunter was a little upset because HIS friend was paying more attention to His little sister and being nicer to her than to him. Oh, I remember those days. My older brother is 33 months older than me, the same difference between Hunter and Chelsea. I remember my brother always complaining to our parents that his friends paid more attention to me than him. Of course I remember it being when we were older. It started about the time I was 12 or 13. Hunter is getting it now, when his sister is only 2.
I'm already prepared for High School. It will be the common scenario of Chelsea's friends wanting to come over to "see her brother" and Hunter's friends being interested in "his sister." It will be an interesting dynamic, but one I have already been through. I know the tricks, I know the "plans" and I know that I will be HOME to monitor it all.
Got a good sibling story? Please share!


Tonight's wine at 5?
Barefoot Shiraz

Girls Night Out

We had our cul de sac GNO last night and had a blast. 4 of us get together once a month for food and drinks and to "catch up" without the distraction of the kiddies.
We started with beer and wine, took a dip in the pool (some of us did) and then sat down to dinner.
I brought a spinach salad with bacon, eggs, red onion, mushrooms and avocado, with a warm bacon vinaigrette. Kathy brought the fixing's for fondue, meat that we cooked in a seasoned beer bath and 3 fabulous dipping sauces. Becky made a fabulous lemon ice cream pie, that was to die for.
We ate and chatted, and drank more wine. Beth had to get stuff together for her daughters sleep over today so we left her house at 9pm and headed to Becky's.
While the rest of us have little kids at home, Becky's son is married with a child of his own, so her house is "kid free". The 3 of us listened to old records, yes, I said records, got silly, sang a couple songs into the TV remote (Kathy)and had a fabulous time just "hanging" out. I think we went through 3.5 bottles of wine and a couple beers, but fun was had by all.
Thanks ladies, for a wonderful evening!

Day Off

The babies have been very patient with me while I immerse myself in this blogging project. I've decided to reward them with a trip to the Air and Space Museum. Yep, I'm taking the day off from this laptop that has really been attached to my lap for the last month or so. I have dinner with the "girls" tonight and I will be back tomorrow to tell you about our day.

Have a Wonderful one wherever you are.

Big Brother 10

Is anyone watching this? I am so surprised that no one can get along with Jerry. I think Memphis was justified in his outburst against Jerry, although maybe not to that extent, but it seems like this poor man is taking a verbal beating from everyone. I do not watch the live feeds or the after hour stuff, so maybe it all is justified, but it seems like everyone is ganging up on the old man. His poor wife must be sad. I also wonder what she thinks about the "boob grab"?
I'm starting to really like Keesha, but she better watch out, there are a couple people she should NOT trust, I was surprised to see her let April just suck up to her and become bestest buds after she won HOH, it seemed kinda silly. Dan is flying low under the radar, I hope America doesn't mess that up for him.
What are your thoughts?

Today's Wine at Five?
Barefoot Shiraz

Back in Time

Perky wants to know about what moment in my life I would like to relive... I thought about this for a while and came up with a moment from 25 years ago, that if I could, I would go back to, and possibly change the outcome of. It's a story of first love, and how it all began.
There was a boy, we'll call him Pik, and I had known him all my life (since I was five). It was 10 years later and we found ourselves as "best friends". I knew that the boy wanted to be more than friends, but I resisted so as not to do anything to ruin this precious friendship. At some point, however, I started having feelings for Pik and kept them to myself. It was my first struggle with feelings. Prior to that, I always made it very clear to anyone who would listen, if I had an interest in a boy. It usually worked out in my favor. This friendship meant so much, that I feared losing it, and so I secretly longed to be with the boy, not telling a soul. One evening the boy and some other friends were at my house and we were all just "hanging" out and not doing much of anything (we were all 15 or so, and getting together at someones house was not uncommon, my house was one of the favorites as my dad was rarely home. Just innocent kids enjoying each others company.
The "moment" happened when Pik grabbed a pillow from me (a leather patchwork pillow I will never forget) and we ended up "fighting" over it, as young adolescence will do. Our "wrestling" landed us in an empty spare bedroom (my brother had just moved out)and we found ourselves alone, in the dark, grasping for the pillow, and giggling over the struggle. One thing led to another, and we were face to face, neither of us willing to let go, and we kissed. It wasn't my first kiss, but the first one I had "waited" so long for. It was a magical moment and one that started a 5 year relationship that I will treasure forever.
The boy and I went our separate ways after that 5 years. We are now in different states and haven't spoken in more than 15 years. But he will always be in my heart, my first love, and the best friend I ever had.

Cord Blood

I am very interested in the fact that saving a babies cord blood can be beneficial in treating over 70 different diseases and the research is ongoing. The stem cells gathered from an infants cord blood are the same cells normally found in bone marrow. These cells are already being used for stem cell treatments and transplants for such diseases as severe anemia, sickle cell disease, leukemia, non Hodgkin's lymphoma, and more. Furthermore, current research is being done on the effects stem cells have on cardiac and neurological diseases.
I find it fascinating and comforting that this research may someday save the life of someone I love, if not my own.
A leader in cord blood collection is Cryo-Cell. If you or someone you know is pregnant, I urge you to check out their site and gather all the information. They have reasonable rates as well as financing available. You can also give a gift certificate to the MOM-to-be in your life and get her started in providing a possible life saving alternative for her child, herself, and other family members as well.

Chocolate Stash

I went home (Michigan) to visit friends and my parents in February to celebrate my 40th birthday. I needed a break from the kids and wanted to be able to hang out with "the girls" without child interruptions. I had a friend come in from Chicago for the weekend and my other 2 best girls live in the same city as my dad and step mom. We had a fabulous dinner and cocktails evening, at my parents house and got silly and reminisced. I've know these gals for more than 25 years and it was a fabulous time.
For the occasion, my parents gave me a huge basket of chocolate. Not just any chocolate, a basket full of assorted dark chocolate bars, truffles, and cookies that they had collected over 4 months in anticipation of my visit. It was glorious. I LOVE dark chocolate, and love even more, that my husband does NOT. So, if it's dark, it stays in the house for when I have a craving.
So I came home with this HUGE supply and decided to hide it in my jewelry bureau so the kids wouldn't get into it. They also love dark chocolate, but only ask for it if they see it. So I had this nice deep drawer full for quite a long time (months). I would eat in whenever I was in the mood, have a piece in bed while reading at night, and generally enjoyed knowing it was there. Well, the supply looked sparse the other day and I panicked! I do NOT have to have chocolate. I do not eat it every day, but since I have had this "stash" for 5 months now, I've gotten used to it being there. While grocery shopping last week I bought a bag of ghiradelli dark raspberry squares, just to dump in so the drawer wouldn't be so empty. Today, I bought a bag of dark chocolate M&M's, I figured this would take up a lot of space and keep the drawer from looking empty for a while.
Do you have a stash of something?

Snapbomb

So, I've decided with hubby unable to drive for 6 months, a LOT of follow up Doctor's appointments, Hunter starting Kindergarten in a month, and Chelsea home with me. I need some way to make money from home instead of out of the home as originally planned.

I was doing some Internet searches yesterday and came across Snapbomb. Snapbomb is a company that matches bloggers with advertisers based on the relevance of the blog content.
Blog marketing and advertising has become huge in the recent year and will continue to develop as more and more people seek information from the Internet versus alternate methods.

As a blogger, I am excited about the opportunities I have seen so far with this company, and hope that they will find my writing style suitable for their advertisers. They do all the work. They review your blog content and give your blog(s) a value for advertising posts. They also search their advertiser database and only send you opportunities that match your blog content, making it easy to write about things you are already passionate about.