Leftovers

I’m drinking various leftovers tonight.  I hate having bottles of wine sitting around with just a little amount left in each of them, so tonight I clear them out.  I won’t list them since I’ve already written my opinions of each of them!  I will say, this isn’t the greatest of ideas, a little of this and a little of that, doesn’t leave the greatest taste in my mouth.  BUT, it does clean up my fridge, and gets these bottles in the recycling bin before garbage day tomorrow!

I must be in a leftover mood, because we ate leftovers for dinner too.  It’s one of my favorites because there is very little prep work and no cooking!  Well, usually there is no cooking, I had some leftover pancake batter, so tonight I did have to make those up on the stove.  But at least I didn’t have to make the batter.  I like clearing out my fridge on Thursday nights for several reasons.  Garbage day is on Friday’s, so if I uncover anything gross in there, I can throw it away and know it’s going out tomorrow, instead of sitting and stinking up my kitchen.  Also, I do my grocery shopping on the weekends, so I like to open up some room before I do that.  Lastly, by the end of the week, I’m just tired, and don’t want to have to think about what’s for dinner.  It’s easy.  Luckily, my kids are young enough, where they don’t care.  They think the assortment of leftover night is fun!

I must be on an “out with the old, in with the new” kick.  I cleaned out some of my dresser drawers yesterday too and ended up with 2 bags of clothes to donate.  It’s funny to me to see the things that only a year ago I thought were a good idea to keep, and yet this year it’s time for them to go.  I think a lot of it this time around has to do with the fact that we are probably moving to a smaller home, which means I need to have less stuff.  I had 10 pairs of pajama bottoms – time to cut that down to a more reasonable 3.  2 is really probably enough, wear one while washing the other, but I’ll keep 3 in case I’m sick and can’t keep up with the laundry, or have a PJ emergency (better be safe than sorry!).  I also had about 15 t-shirts that I’ve accumulated from various runs and volunteer events, and I have 6 from high school (4 years of marching band and 2 senior shirts)!  High school was fun, but it’s time for those to go.  I kept a few of the best t-shirts to work out in, but the rest are history!

I don’t really like day to day cleaning, but there is something fun about a big clean out old crap type of clean.  It makes me feel refreshed and good about myself.  This is good to do with old stuff, but it’s also good to do with old thoughts as well.  I’ll admit it, I have a tendency of holding a grudge.  After awhile, it’s important to let those old, dreary, thoughts go, so you can make room for new good ones!  Yup, leftover night is necessary for sanity. 

What do you have that it’s time to let go of?

Gallo Pinot Grigio Part II

As previously discussed, I really love these small bottles of wine.  Perfect for the mommy drinking alone.  Wow – that sounded horrible.  I hope you guys aren’t starting to think I’m an alcoholic.  I’m really not. 

I realize that it would probably be cheaper to buy a whole big bottle, but I’ve already discussed how I don’t like opening a whole bottle for just me.  But, buy one of these nifty little bottles in a 4 pack, and suddenly it’s the perfect size, and economical!  It’s cheaper to buy the pack than it is to buy them individually.

Ahh… money.  The cause of hundreds of marriage fights and probably divorces a year.  I’ve heard over and over that money is one of those top 3 things that couples fight over.  And Jon and I are no exception (although I’m not sure if it’s in the top 3, but probably top 5).

I’m an accountant, I create a budget and expect it to be followed.  I have a spreadsheet that’s linked to a spreadsheet that’s linked to a spreadsheet that will tell us exactly what we can and cannot afford.  I check our bank account activity every single day.  I balance our books to the penny.  Lord help him, if Jon buys something that I didn’t know about, I call him and expect an immediate recap of what it was, why, was it on sale, etc. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s my nature, I can’t help it.  I try not to care, but eventually I just go nuts, I NEED to know these things.  I like to save, and save, and save some more.

Jon is not an accountant.  He spends money as soon as he gets it.  He shoves bills into his pockets in no particular order, or shape.  He has lost cash.  At the end of the day he has often said, “what happened to all of my money?”  He likes to “blow” an unexpected payday.  All that stuff, drives me crazy.  It’s actually amazing that we have survived without me losing my mind over his spending habits.

So, how do we make it work?  I force him to look at my budgets.  He might be bored and not understand 100% of how I got to the numbers that are there, but at least when I say “that’s not in the budget”, he gets it.  He realizes I’m not just saying it to say it.  We talk about any and all purchases before hand.  It doesn’t matter if it’s expensive things like a camera or Christmas presents, or if it’s a new pair of shoes, or if it’s a tube to toothpaste.  We talk about it.  And I’m pretty sure Jon has come to expect my crazy “what did you buy!?” phone calls and is prepared with an answer.  I think he understands that he married a crazy numbers girl, that’s what he gets.  We each have some of our own money that we can blow without judgment on whatever we want.  Well, I try not to judge, and I don’t always do a great job at that part, but at the end of the day, Jon can still do whatever he wanted with it.

Understanding our different money approaches, and not trying to change each other has been especially positive for us.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I also think that Jon realizes I make good money decisions and lets me be in charge a bit.  Letting someone else in control of a part of your life is very difficult, but it’s also freeing if it makes your life easier. 

The communication part is the big key.  We don’t always agree right away on purchases, especially those that aren’t in my budget, but we can usually find some middle ground.  If it’s too challenging, trying drinking a glass of wine first.  That usually helps things go a little smoother.

We're currently working on correcting the biggest money decision we ever made, buying our house.  Moving, especially since this will be the first move with kids, will probably be stressful.  With a move, usually comes spending money, and buying new things.  I'm sure we'll disagree on some things, but we're ready.  Talking money doesn't scare us. 

Naked Grape Pinot Grigio

Description on the bottle: Light bodied and crisp with aromas of pear, lemon, and honey.

Sarah says: Naked Grape is a good name for this wine.  It's grapey.  It's drinkable.  Not too sweet, not too bland.  It's a little bitter going down, but leaves a pleasant flavor in my mouth.  It's nothing special though, just normal white wine.  I don't mind it, but don't love it.

jon says: if this wine was a movie i would have fallen asleep. thank goodness we were watching "ferris bueller's day off", one of the few things that came out of the 80's worth a darn, i mean aside from us :) so i think that this wine's name is the best description of what is in the bottle. i feel like some wines have a lot more going one then just smashed up grapes and this was simply that nothing added. this is a safe wine and completely unremarkable.

Overall rating: Horizontal thumbs.

Sarah says:  I hate being naked.  Ok, I’ll just say it.  I have a negative body image of myself.  There, it’s out there.  No turning back now.  Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure that I am not alone here.  Society today has ruined our minds into thinking stick thin is normal.  I know that this isn’t true – but I can’t seem to get it right in my head.  I’m working on it though.  I’m slowly weeding the word “skinny” out of my vocabulary, and inputting “healthy” instead.  I struggle, when someone tells me I look skinny, I’m super happy at first, then comes the guilty.  (By the way, don’t tell me I look skinny, just tell me I look good)

Years ago, (either late elementary school or early middle school) I realized I hated my body and I declared myself to be fat.  I honestly cannot remember a time where I was comfortable in my own skin.  Throughout middle and high school I secretly bounced back and forth between crash dieting and binge eating.  I was probably around 5-10 pounds overweight in high school (which doesn’t sound so bad, but being 10 pounds overweight in high school is a death sentence!)  Not only was I a nerd, but I was slightly chunky too.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to embrace my nerd-ness; so I got good grades, that doesn’t make me a nerd, it makes me smart!  But I’ve never gotten comfortable with my weight. 

In college, I gained the freshman 5 (or 15 depending on who you are talking to), and probably a few more during sophomore and junior years of college.  Now I was just plain old overweight, and hating myself.  Jon must have still liked me because he proposed.  I had still been attempting to diet and lose weight, but never had any success.  I was not going to be fat on my wedding day, so I enlisted the help of a personal trainer.  This was both the best and worst experience of my life.  With Jeremy’s help, I learned how to count calories and really work out.  He pushed me, hard, and wouldn’t let me stop when I complained.  I lost weight, and it was awesome.  That part was good, the obsessive nature it created in me, probably not so good.  I became obsessed with seeing how low I could push the calorie mark, or how long I could work out for.  I know there were weeks at a time that I was eating no more than 900 calories a day, and working out at least 2 hours a day.  I also remember spending days eating basically toast and distilled water – so that there was no sodium in my body at all, because sodium causes you to bloat.  (I’m not proud of these things, I’m just explaining how crazy it got).  That was before a real job and kids, so it was easy to do these things.

I looked fantastic at my wedding.  Everyone told me how great I looked, and I loved it.  Unfortunately, I managed to gain a bunch of weight back within the first year of marriage.  Then I got pregnant, and boy oh boy, did I take advantage of that.  I ate and ate and sat around.  And I gained a ton of weight.  I’ve never said the number out loud (and I won’t be typing it either), but let’s just say it was A LOT.  Jon looked at the scale at the doctor’s office during my last visit before labor and said “Holy crap!”  Yeah, it was that bad.  After Liam was born, I attempted my no calorie, lots of working out plan, but, it doesn’t really work when you are nursing and have no energy to care for a newborn, let alone workout.  So, I stayed fat.  Then got pregnant again, and thus gained weight again.

It wasn’t until Mary was about 1 that I decided to try losing weight again.  This time I was smart about it.  I knew I couldn’t commit to a trainer, or stop eating, or work out all day, but I took some of the good things I learned and put it in place in my life as a working Mom.  I successfully lost weight and have kept it off for 2 years.  Go me!  Unfortunately, I still have body image issues.  Loads of people tell me how great I look, but they don’t see me naked.  There are parts of my body that still need so much work.  There are areas that I’m pretty sure won’t be the same again without some sort of miracle, or plastic surgery.  I’ve pondered a tummy tuck – but at this point I’d rather spend my money on a vacation with my husband.

I still don’t like my body, but here’s what I have figured out.  I’ve figured out that I love food, and giving it up isn’t realistic for me, I end up going food crazy later.  I’ve figured out that I need to work out several times a week (for 30 min at a time, not 2 hours), not only to maintain a healthy weight, but a healthy attitude too.  I’ve figured out that it’s my opinion that matters the most, not others.  I go through phases of being more relaxed and other times when I’m very strict.  Lately, I’ve been working out more than normal, maybe it’s because I know I’ll be spending time on Memorial Day in a bathing suit, maybe it’s because I know with the warmer weather I’ll be showing more skin, or maybe I’m just going through an energy spurt.  I’m not worried about it because I know how to manage it so it doesn’t get out of control like before, in a few weeks I’ll take a break and be “normal” again.   

I also do my best not to influence my kids with my body issues.  Liam eats… a ton!  I have found myself worrying, and even saying to him, that he needs to slow down so he doesn’t get fat.  I’m working on avoiding such negative comments.  I’ve also found myself forcing them to clean their plates, now I tell them it’s ok to be full and not finish sometimes.  Our appetites feel different on different days.  I encourage them to be active with me, but don’t force them to work out.  I offer them fruits and veggies, but let them make their own decisions (broccoli or carrots?) 

I don’t hope for much more for me (ok, maybe I’d like to lose 5 pounds more).  I’ve reached a good point.  I’m not really comfortable with my body, but I know that I’m healthy.  I hope more for the younger generations, that they won’t deal with the stress of thinking that being thin will make them fit in, or be cool. I hope that girls won’t think it’s more important to be skinny, than it is to be healthy.  I hope that one day we won't say phrases like "You look great, you're so skinny!" or "Omg, did you see how much weight she's gained?".  I hope to Mary's generation that the number on the scale won’t mean anything.  As an accountant, I think I have the right to say, it’s just a number… there are lots of them, and they are all cool! 


jon says: i love it when you are naked!

Gallo Pink Moscato

Sarah says:

This wine is pretty similar to the JW Morris Moscato we previously drank, but it has one major difference, this one is PINK!  That alone makes it a winner in my book, I've always enjoyed pink wine.  This is definitely still very sweet and would be classified as a dessert wine, but it's a bit more drinkable.  I like it, but don't love it.  I think I can easily handle one glass of it, but wouldn't want to do anymore.  

Overall rating:  Thumbs halfway up

Ahh.. pink.  I love pink.  It became my favorite color probably 10 years or so ago (prior to that it was always purple!).  I have pink shoes, pink purses, pink clothes, pink was even one of my wedding colors!  I guess that makes me girly.  I did something girly today that I haven't done in probably 7 years - I wore a skirt to work!!  Gasp!  Prior to PM, I worked as a teller at a bank, and I actually wore a skirt all the time there.  I've always really enjoyed dressing up.  But, when I started at PM, one of the first things I noticed was that no one wore skirts, ever.  I would wear them occasionally my first few months because I had them in the closet, but I always felt weird about it, wearing a skirt made you stand out.  I've never had the desire to stand out, so I quickly stashed the skirts away and embraced the pants only wardrobe (except in the summer on the weekends, I still wear summery skirts on my free time!).  Pants quickly became normal to me, and I haven't really thought about it much sense.  

But, last year, PM changed their dress code, ladies could now wear skirts without nylons!!  GASP!  Not only that, but we could wear open toed shoes!!!  In the conservative accounting world, these are bold moves.  From what I could tell, not too many people made many changes last year.  But this year, this year is different!  I've seen open toed shoes all spring!  And skirts, I've seen skirts!  I'm beyond excited about this, wearing a skirt makes me feel so much more feminine and sexy (not sure if it's important to feel sexy at work, but hey, if it increases productivity, I say go for it!).  Since I'm not one to be left behind, today I dug out a skirt, skipped the nylons, and wore open toed shoes (hey, if you're going to do it, might as well go all out!).  It was awesome.  I'm so excited to see if I have any old clothes stashed away that I can wear again, OR, I may just have to go shopping!  I'm always looking at magazines, and when I get to those articles where they give you fashion advice on how to turn one outfit into 5, or how to turn a daytime outfit into a nighttime one, I usually just sigh and think that I can't wear stuff like that to work.  Not anymore!  Time to start wearing girly things to work again.  Yay!

What type of clothing do you wish you could wear again?

FYI - in case anyone is wondering, the flowers in the background of the picture are my Mother's Day present from Mary.  It's a card board box, with fake dollar store flowers in it.  Love her!

Cheap White Wine Part II

I'm not actually drinking this again tonight, but I've been thinking a lot about what I wrote yesterday, regarding Mom's yelling at other people's kids.  I'm trying to determine what is the proper etiquette for disciplining some other child.  I'm pretty sure I've told other kids at play grounds or other places to stop bothering my kid, or to stop throwing sand, things like that.  I wonder if other Mom's have looked at me the way I looked at the Mom who told Liam to stop splashing yesterday.  

Here's what I've decided, it's only ok to discipline another child if either of these two conditions apply: 

1) If you've officially been deemed "in charge" by the Mom.  Either officially babysitting, or just a quick moment while Mom runs to the bathroom.  If the Mom asked you to keep an eye on things in their absence, you officially have the go ahead to tell their kid to behave.  Kids have a lot of rules to follow, and each parent is different, it's probably very confusing for them to have someone tell them something that is opposite from what their parents would tell them.  In cases like these, it's probably smart to tell them once what your rules are, that way they don't feel like they are getting in trouble for something they didn't know was wrong.

2) If someone is in danger of getting hurt.  Like, seriously hurt.  Not talking paranoid Mom here, I'm talking a real danger.  Then, not only do you have the right, but I think you have an obligation to say something.  All Mom's have a duty to protect kids, and I take that seriously. 

There you have it, those are the only two times I'll tell your kid what to do, and those are the only two times you are allowed to tell my kid what to do.

What do you think?

Cheap White Wine

Description on the bottle:  The most important thing about a bottle of wine is that you enjoy it, regardless of its vintage or style.  This is the simple and straightforward principle that guides us in our wine-making.  Our white table wine is a premium blend of varietal grapes.  It is an honest, well-made wine.  We recommend it as an excellent everyday wine...that can also rise to the occasion.

Sarah says:  We got this bottle on clearance (as you can probably tell from the stickers) and just thought it sounded like fun.  The description also intrigued me, the most important thing SHOULD be if you enjoy it!  I was immediately thrown off by the color though, it's sort of greenish.  My first few sips didn't go so well either, but after I ate some dinner it was better.  I think this is a "drink with a meal" sort of wine.  It definitely grows on you, but overall, I think it is was it's labeled to be, cheap.

jon says: irony is to blame for this particular wine purchase. the very day my beautiful wife ran off to chicago we happened across this bottle while we were waiting for her ride to arrive. this was actually the second bottle we picked up that day. and the only reason we picked it up was irony. it was sitting in the clearance basket the label was slightly torn and the name was perfect, we couldn't help it. but when we first poured it into our ridiculously colorful glasses it had a greenish hue to it and sarah and i both looked at it and went, "oh"... then we tasted it and absolutely nothing special. so we figured that maybe it would taste better with our dinner and so we tried that out and i felt that it was much better with our delicious dinner that my wife put together for us but i think it was the food that made it better and not the other way around.

Overall rating:  Thumbs not quite down

There were no lifeguards on duty - so Liam took charge.

Sarah says:  Speaking of cheap things, I took the kiddos to Kensington Metro Park today.  $5 for three hours of fun is quite the deal.   I am always looking for cheap ways to entertain (ie. exhaust) the kids, so they get good memories, and I don't go broke in the process! I try to be frugal without limiting their childhood.  After today's success, I'm pondering buying the annual pass for $25, because I think we are going back!  I generally avoid taking the kids to places that are potentially dangerous unless I have Jon with me.  I like to keep the kid to adult ratio even.  But, for some reason, today I was feeling brave and went to the beach, just me at the 2 crazies.  It turned out great!  I have a few complaints 1) they don't open the bathrooms until Memorial Day.  Seriously, it's 85 degrees, the beach is PACKED with kids, and you won't open the bathrooms.  Mary openly took care of business in the lake, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that she wasn't the only one.  2) The number of Mom's in bikini's!  Yes, I'm proud of my body and like to look sexy for my husband, but we are Mom's, our bikini days are behind us, time to face it.  3) The number of 7 year olds in bikini's!  Every Mom I talk to complains about our kids growing up too fast, so why are we pushing them into adult swim wear?!  Let's start a movement where we encourage our kids to be innocent and protect them a little longer.  I'm pretty sure I wore a one piece well into my high school years, and Mary will be doing the same.  4) The number of people not paying any attention to their kids.  There was a little girl playing with Liam, they were equally splashing and having a great time.  At one point this little girl complained to her Mom that my kid was splashing her, and this lady had the nerve to yell at Liam to stop splashing.  Um, no.  Don't worry Liam, I've got your back.  I'm the one that has been watching them the past 20 min to make sure they don't drown, while you ignored your daughter so you could gossip.  I glanced over at you probably 50 times and never once saw you looking towards the water.  They were both splashing, they were both having a good time, why she suddenly complained is beyond me (maybe to get some attention from her Mommy?) but my son didn't do anything wrong, and I will not have you speaking down to him like that.  Grrrrr....

Digging Mary

Anyways - enough of that.  It was actually an amazing day at the beach!  The weather was perfect.  The water wasn't as freezing as I thought it should be.  My kids are finally old enough that I don't have to walk 1 step behind them the entire time in case they fall.  I was able to sit about 3 feet away, and watch them play.  I'm not ready yet to read a book, or engage in a conversation, or do anything that will take my eyes off them, but it was nice to be able to sit.  I built a moat with them, we searched for rocks and shells, we made friends with the little boys playing near by who brought some cool trucks, and I let them just enjoy the water.  It's amazing how entertaining 1 bucket, 1 shovel, and endless sand and water can be to a 3 and 5 year old!  It was a nice, inexpensive, way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  We survived the lack of bathrooms, and got home tired and without sunburns (well, except for the top of my feet - I'm not sure how many times I need to burn the top of my feet before I start remembering to put sunscreen there, but apparently I haven't hit that number yet).  Previously, going to the zoo (the membership fee is totally worth it if you are going to go more than once!) was always our "something to do when there is nothing to do", but I think this year it might be the beach!

Water Part II

Sarah says:  This water is just the way I like it, straight from the tap with two ice cubes.  It’s refreshing and tasty.  Yum.

Overall rating:  Thumbs up

I’m drinking water tonight in honor of Liam’s fish.  The poor guy passed away last night.  This fish was Liam’s 4^th birthday present, he had a good life, lasting just over 1 year.  He was a guppy fish (ie. the smallest fish ever), and had several names throughout his time with us.  His first name was Robin, then Nemo, Roger, Fish, Flash and his last name was Dorothy.  I have no idea where that last one came from, but that is the name we used to send him to fish heaven.



RIP Fish - Liam will miss you

I feel slightly responsible for his death.  1) I was just commenting about how surprised I was that he was still alive.  2) I was just commenting about how much of a pain it was going to be to have to move him to a new house.  3) I was just commenting about how much of a pain it was going to be to find someone to feed him while we took our summer vacation.  4) I go away for a weekend and boom, he dies. 

I could tell he wasn’t doing well last night, even Liam commented that he was broken, so he knew something was going on.  When we checked in on him this morning, he was clearly gone.  We had a little funeral in the bathroom, talked about dying and heaven, and flushed him away. Liam handled it all very well, and I went out of my way to make sure he was a part of the funeral process.  I really wanted to make sure he understood what was happening to Dorothy. 

In December, we had to put our sweet dog, Oscar, to sleep.  We thought we made the right choice by having it done while the kids were in pre-school, and explaining it to them later.  Unfortunately, I think instead it created a load of confusion for Liam.  To him, Oscar just disappeared, and he didn’t understand it.  For months he asked me when Oscar was coming home and if he could feed him dinner, and for months, I tried to explain what it means to die and that Oscar isn’t coming back.  I think Liam understands now that he’ll never see him again, but I’m still not sure he understands the death concept.  To this day, he still makes comments that Oscar is still sick.  As hard as it all has been, I still don’t think I would have wanted to have Liam there with us the day Oscar went to heaven. I was balling my eyes out.  I’m not sure it would have been appropriate to have Liam see that.  Plus, I don’t know if I would have been able to explain much to Liam in my condition.  But, it might have been a good idea to try explaining some of it to him before taking the animal in, so he could properly say good-bye.

With Dorothy, I think Liam got that good-bye, and therefore also got a sense of closure.  He knows the tank is empty and that Dorothy is gone.  It’s sad, but it was a good first pet.  Liam learned a lot.  Daily feedings, cleaning the tank, he even entertained the fish occasionally.  And now, he learned about loss.  All essential things for a 5-year-old to get used to.  Liam REALLY wants a cat now, and I’ve told him we can get one after we move.  I think he’s more ready now than ever.

How did you explain the concept of death to your kids?

St. Julian Riesling

Thanks Travis!

Description on the bottle: Many of the world's most distinguished and enjoyable white wines are crafted from Riesling grapes grown in cool climate regions, like our Michigan vineyards.  This is a slightly sweet, crisp beverage with layers of peach, tropical fruit and lime flavors and a lingering finish.

Sarah says:  Yum.  Finally, something I really like!  The two things I like right off the bat are 1) it's white wine and 2) it's from Michigan!  It's really tasty and easy to drink.  It's sweet, but not so much that I feel like I'm drinking sugar.  It's fruity, but not so much that I feel like I'm drinking juice.  It doesn't leave a dry bland taste in my mouth, but instead makes me want more and more.  Makes me wish Jon was here, because I think we could really enjoy it together.


Overall rating:  Thumbs up!

I received my first ever wine donation from a devoted reader of the blog (others, feel free to do the same!)  Travis thought this would be something I’d enjoy, how freaking sweet it that?!  Apparently, he was right!  I will be going to get some more of this!  Speaking of Travis, it’s time to give a shout out to the guys that made our girls’ weekend in Chicago a success.  The reality is that it would never happen if it wasn’t for their support. 

Let’s start with James & Jon.  They are the Michigan husbands; they are also the Dads of the group.  When we started this annual Chicago trip, there were no kids.  I’m sure James & Jon were thrilled to have us leave.  They encouraged it!  Yes, it was a weekend of girl time for us, but it was also a weekend of freedom for them.  Since then, there are 5 kids between the two.  Amanda and I still get our weekend of girl time, but James & Jon now get a weekend of diapers, bottles, cries, sleep deprivation, carting kids to lessons and church, cooking, cleaning, and loneliness.  Yet, they continue to encourage us to go and have this weekend away.  In fact, they think we deserve it.  They don’t complain (too much) and don’t make us feel guilty about the need to escape.  They are the best husband and Daddy’s ever.  When we get back, our kids are still living and our homes are still standing.  Everything might be a little dirtier than when we left it, but everyone seems to love and appreciate each other more.  It’s one giant win.

Breakfast by Pavel

Next comes Pavel.  We stayed our first night with him and Julie.  Pavel is Russian, and apparently, he can cook!  He graciously cooked us dinner, he called it Chicken Parmesan, but I would just call it delicious.  It wasn’t breaded like I would have expected, and it didn’t use marinara sauce like I would have expected, and I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any parmesan on it like I would have expected.  But, man oh man, it was freaking good.  Then he mysteriously disappeared until the next morning, when he made us waffles!!!  Again, these things were amazing. We’re not talking about ego’s here, these were homemade, batter made from scratch, chocolate chips added, fruit topped, waffles.  AMAZING.  I ate a whole one, and then I ate some more.  Let’s just say my world has been rocked, and I will never enjoy another waffle again unless it’s made this way.  I would also like to give props to Pavel since it was his suggestion we go to Geja’s for chocolate fondue (or maybe he just didn’t want to get stuck cooking again).  Chocolate + Martini’s + 4 girls in Chicago = loads of fun!

Lastly, my fan Travis.  We stayed the second night with him and Stephanie.  Travis is my favorite (but don’t tell the others, it’s a secret!).  Here’s why, 1) He gave me this awesome bottle of wine! 2) Last year he got us into a highly overpriced luxury hotel for an evening for a huge discount, and had fruit and champagne sent to the room, and he sent us a fax, which probably sounds odd, but considering I’ve never received a fax in a hotel room before (and I was probably a little tipsy from that champagne) it was super exciting! (Staying at a hotel like this is probably something I’ll never experience again), 3) He made me coffee (I love coffee!) 4) He cooked breakfast!  This wasn’t just any old breakfast, it was Mexican!  Breakfast burritos, yes please!  Anyone that knew me during my pregnancy with Liam knows that I developed some serious Mexican cravings, and they’ve pretty much never stopped.  Eggs, beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa, all wrapped up in a heated tortilla, so freaking delicious.  A quick observation after eating showed my plate was a mess, I had tons of stuff fall out of my burritos (don’t worry, I got a fork and saved it).  Everyone else had a clean plate.  My original thought was that I am a slob and apparently don’t know how to eat graciously.  I later determined that I just enjoyed it more than the average person.  It was great.  Oh how I wish I would have taken a picture to remember it by, but I was too busy stuffing my face.

I’m not sure where Pavel & Travis get their cooking skills, but I’m so glad they have them!  I’m pretty sure that if I told Jon I was having 4 girlfriends coming over to spend the night, and he wasn’t allowed to be involved in our conversations or go out with us on our adventures, he wouldn’t be offering to cook us a meal (or 2!), but these guys totally stepped up to the plate (haha, plate…. Oh man, that was so lame, no more wine tonight!). 

So thanks guys, for making this trip possible, for encouraging and supporting us, for being happy for us, for keeping our kids alive, for cooking for us, and for basically making us feel special for 3 days.  You rock!

Totally Random - Peach

Description on the bottle:  When a quiet night at home becomes a dance party, or a dinner party with friends starts at dusk and ends at sunrise - life is giving you its best when you least expect it. So prepare for the unexpected surprise of our lively peach flavored white wine.  Be.  Live.  Totally Random.

Sarah says:  Um, well, it's very peachy.  It's a little more bubbly than I would expect, or like.  It's totally drinkable, but I don't think I would buy it again, it just tastes cheap (lets be honest, it was cheap).  I really like the label on the bottle, it's fun.  But, basing my wine opinions on the label probably isn't the best strategy. 

We aren't really having a dance party (but we could...), but I totally relate to the unexpected surprise part of it.  Jon knows (or he should know by now) that I love surprises.  No big fancy type surprises, just little ones.  I think they are essential to keeping a marriage spicy, exciting, and fun.  Without them, life can just turn boring and "same old same old". Keeping each other on your toes in a relationship is important, I think it shows the other person that you care and think about them when you can't be together.  Surprises are a give and take type of thing.  No one person can be expected to due the surprising or be the surprised all the time. 

The more I drink this wine, the more I like it.  I'm going to let Jon have his turn while I go drink some more and think of surprises I can plan!

jon says: i would like introduce you to fancy boone's farm. the first thing i noticed well after the initial purchase, is the screw off aluminum cap. then there was the taste. just like boone's farm but with a considerable amount more alcohol and with absolutely no consideration for the taste. i have to agree with sarah "the more i drink this wine, the more i like it".

Overall rating:  Hesitant Thumbs up.

Various Chicago Drinks

Here's what we are drinking:

Sarah:  Gallo White Zinfandel
Stephanie:  Stloi Squeeze
Amanda & Julie:  Buttery Nipples


Sarah says:

See, this is why I drink wine!  No crazy names.  I'm too old for that nonsense.  I love this wine!  A simple, basic, pink wine.  It's tasty and easy to drink.  This is the perfect, newbie wine drinker, type of wine.

Speaking of love, I love this annual girls weekend!  I'm so happy to be here right now.  These ladies I've known since 4th grade!  It's the best, I don't have to wear any make up around them.  They don't care about what I wear.  I don't have to worry about saying something stupid, because they love me anyway.  I can totally just be myself.  We talk and talk and talk, and laugh a ton.  I really look forward to it all.  Along with all of that, it gives me a break from my kiddos.  I love them dearly, but every Mom needs a break.  I think it's important to get away from all the crazy kid stuff to spend some adult time with other women who totally relate to me.  It's refreshing.  Know what else is refreshing, this yummy wine!! 

Overall rating:  Thumbs up.

I wrote that part above in Chicago - the rest below is written after getting home.

When most people hear that I'm going to Chicago for a girls weekend, I'm sure they assume we do a lot of shopping and going to bars.  If you want to continue to think that - don't read any further.  This blog will be highly disappointing to you.  We was probably the lamest Chicago trip ever - yet it was perfect.  We've done Chicago 4 maybe 5 times ( I can't remember how many, I'm getting old ), which means, we've done the shopping, we've done the tourist stuff, we've done the bars, we've done the pizza and the hot dogs, we've even stayed in a crazy expensive hotel just to get the experience once.  This weekend was about relaxing and getting away from the ho-hum of life.

(Pre) Chocolate Covered Yum

We met up Friday evening at Julie's apartment.  Her husband made us dinner, while we watched Limitless (ie. ogled Bradley Cooper for a few hours).  Then we made the drinks above and watched Bridesmaids (ie. laughed and laughed).  Then we went to sleep.  Yup, crazy Friday night in Chicago.  Saturday, we literally sat around for 5 hours, then went and walked around Pier One for a little bit, before ending up in a movie theater and watched the 5-year Engagement (because no girls weekend is complete with out a good romantic comedy).  Yup, 3 movies in less than 24 hours.  We finally went downtown Saturday night to go to Geja's for fondue.  This was quite challenging for me because our reservation was for 10:00 pm, which is way past my bedtime, and after the crazy day we had, I was exhausted!  But, for chocolate covered stuff, I managed to stay away.  Seriously, is there anything more delicious than chocolate covered fruit, pound cake, and rice krispie treats?!   It was amazing.  I also drank a Passion-tini.  I wish I would have paid more attention to what was in this, because it was also amazing!  Again, totally worth staying up past my bedtime.  Then we went back to Stephanie's and went to bed.  The next morning, we had breakfast and it was time to go home.  Don't worry ladies, I have every intention of writing another blog about the amazing food that was home cooked for us!

I had a brief moment of non-laziness, I used Julie's apartment fitness center Saturday morning to do some running.  I wasn't comfortable running on the streets of an unfamiliar area, so instead opted to use the treadmill.  This was my first treadmill experience, and I wasn't really looking forward to it.  I always had the impression running on a treadmill would feel like being a hamster in a ball.  Um, I was wrong, I really liked it!  I wouldn't say I'm going to go get myself a treadmill now, but I won't be as judgmental if people tell me they use them.  I REALLY liked knowing the pace I was going at, and having that pace regulated for me.  I think half the reason I get tired sooner on some runs is because I'm going way too fast. Maybe I should get a Garmin (hint hint, my birthday is in a month in case anyone needs some ideas!).  I usually run a half hour, tops.  But, the regulated speed, plus the fact that I didn't have to hurry home for the kids, meant I could go a little longer.  So, I was jamming away listening to Matt Maher's "Christ is Risen" (yup, I run to Christian music.  I challenge you to find sometime more uplifting when you find yourself in need of a push.... thought so), and I looked down and noticed I had been running for an hour!  A whole hour!  I never ran that long in my life, I felt awesome.  (My legs the next day didn't feel so awesome, but at that moment, it was great!)  Another reason I liked using the treadmill, there was a mirror right next to me.  Looking over and watching myself kind of forced me to stand up a little straighter and go a little faster, who wants to watch themselves looking all sad and lame.  Here's the moral of the story, don't be afraid to try new things.  I'm so glad I ran on that treadmill, I now know that I am capable of so much more.

Overall, it was the best Chicago weekend ever!  Mostly relaxing, just time spent with 4 friends that I don't get enough time to see anymore.  It's always good to come home, but the reality really set in when I was taking a shower and my 5 year old barged in because he had to go potty.  Happy Mother's Day to me.

What to do you do when you get time away?

Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir Part III

jon says: this is my first solo entry in our blog. that being said i honestly didn't think i would ever do this with out my beloved wife. i was wrong! the kids are asleep and my wife is gallivanting around with her friend in another state. while i am sitting here enjoying “the usual suspects” with the rest of the wine my dear wife found so repulsive. 

i honestly don't know which i enjoyed more the wine or “the usual suspects”. As far as the wine goes i found it to be very drinkable. The taste was very pleasing to my pallet and my tummy. i have no camera and my cell take very poor pictures but i will say i think there was over half a bottle before i got to it and now it is empty. which is sad :(

as for the movie... awesome! i you haven't seen it, buy it! that is what i did and haven't regretted it yet. i don't know how many times i have watched this movie but i feel like every time i watch i see something i didn't notice before. i think the cast is freaking great, the story might have been the last original story from hollywood and the ending in my opinion is surprising. personally one of my top 5 movies of all times.

 overall rating: thumbs way up