Destinea Sauvignon Blanc

Description on the bottle:  The name Destinea comes from the old flat bottomed boats which were used to ship goods, and especially wine, along the river Loire in the past.  Sauvingnon Blanc is the classic white grape of the Loire Valley, producing crisp, fresh fruity wines.  Joseph Mellot has chosen to vinify this wine as a Vin de Pays, free of the constaints of "appletion controlee", in order to maximise this grape's natural characteristics and its delicious aromas of gooseberries and blackcurrant leaves.

Sarah says:  I'm not sure what all that means, but I like the wine.  It's got the light and fruity taste, with an odd kick at the end.  The kick threw me off the first sip, but after drinking a bit more, I think I like it.  It keeps me wanting more.  I can't really explain it... I like the initial flavor, but the kick at the end washes that flavor away, so I keep drinking more and more to keep that initial taste back.  Tricky little thing.

Overall rating:  Thumbs up!

Sarah says:  Destiny... do you believe in it?  I don't.  I'm not sure what got me thinking about this today, but I was thinking about my little Mary and the troubles we had her first year or so of life.  For that first year she was my problem child and brought me the greatest amount of stress.  Oh, how things have changed, Liam is my stressful one now.  But, her destiny was to be a itty bitty non-functioning thing... at least, that's what the doctors would have predicted.  Turns out - she's absolutely fine and we worried and stressed and freaked out over nothing.

Here's the back story for those of you who don't know it.  When I was pregnant with my little girl, we had the standard 20 week ultrasound.  All we cared about was finding out the sex; which was really stressful by the way - all that "we just want it to be healthy" talk... is crap - we knew we wanted a girl (because we already had a boy, and our "dream family" consisted of one of each), and I wasn't sure how we'd react if it didn't work out that way.  We even took crazy measures to try to get a girl (but that's a saga for another blog)  Anyways... turns out, while we were busy freaking out about the sex, the doctors were looking at all sorts of other things.  One of the items that worried them was her size.  She was smaller than they expected her to be at that time.  That began a nightmare of weekly doctor visits for weight checks, measurements, and ultrasounds - all of which concluded one thing... she was too small and might not be developing properly. 

Much to everyone's surprise, teeny tiny Mary was born at a perfectly normal 7 lbs 6 oz!  But her saga doesn't end there - she immediately began to loose weight, which is normal, but she lost too much too fast.  Within 36 hours, Mary was down to 5 lbs, and refused to latch on!!  I should have known right then and there that she'd be a picky eater.  I specifically remember my sister coming for a visit and asking if she was shrinking, not knowing that she was, and I sadly shook my head yes.  See, my sister and I are used to big babies, Liam; 9 lbs 13 oz.  My nieces were 9 and 10 lbs... 5 pound Mary was hard to handle.  They refused to let us leave the hospital until we reached 5 lbs 8 oz, and encouraged me to give her a bottle to help that along.  I held strong, worked with some very patient nurses, and got that girl eating the natural way.  They kept us at the hospital a little longer than expected, but my Mary was alive and well.

After going home we were immediately sent to the eye doc because of Mary's eye birth defect - which isn't important to this story - other than to note that her eye clearly didn't develop normally (we've been monitoring her vision since 4 weeks, patching started at 6 months, and glasses at 12 months).  We attended all the standard doctor visits - I don't really remember them any more - maybe 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months?  Either way, we were always told, she's tiny, in the 1 percentile (I didn't know that even existed!) but she was growing.  At the 6 month appointment the story changed a bit - her weight and height were showing growth, but her head wasn't.  The head not growing leads to a concern that the brain isn't developing properly.  This concern was magnified by the fact that she has the eye problem - so clearly something didn't develop up in that area, what if it impacted her brain as well?!

So, they shipped us off to get an MRI to review her brain activity.  6 months old, MRI, not cool. 

All tests came back normal.

So, they shipped us off for some blood work and genetics testing.  The results - there seems to be no explanation for her eye defect or her small size (although I like to point out that Mommy is pretty small, and both Mommy and Daddy wear glasses, but no one seems impressed with that logic).  They suggested some more in depth testing, more blood work, and more advanced doctors, all of which equaled one thing to me, more money.  We choose not to continue with the testing.  My whole reason for that was this:  it all started because the doctors were concerned that her brain wasn't developing.  That was never once a concern of mine.  She has met every single milestone.  By this time, she was 12 months old - sure she was a little small, and wearing glasses wasn't all that common, but she was crawling, walking, babbling, laughing, making eye contact, eating finger foods, drinking from a sippy cup.... basically doing everything a one year old should be done.  Brain development wasn't a concern for me, it wasn't even a second thought... why put her through more testing to determine what I already know - that's she perfectly perfect.  We halted all testing at that point, and I've never once regretted that decision.

Now that Mary's 4 - I look back at the ridiculousness - her destiny wasn't to be an itty bitty non-functioning thing.  BLAH - her destiny is whatever she decides it's going to be!  She's a four year old, who likes Hello Kitty, Dora the Explorer, her big brother, coloring, singing, dancing, candy, making new friends, play dough, and telling jokes.  She's is perfect and beautiful.  She is extremely social, but can be incredibly shy in new situations.  She loves her glasses and says they help her see, but whines everyday when it's time to put on a patch.  She prefers to pick out her own clothes, which usually doesn't match at all, and almost always ends with boots.  She dislikes having her curly hair brushed, but likes it put up in two pigtails.  She likes to play dress up, and put on makeup.  She pretty much does everything 4 year old girls like to do.

The life lessons I've learned from this experience:  Don't believe everything you hear, you are beautiful, life is what you make of it, and you make your own destiny. 

Mary has proved herself to be way more than anyone expected, what have you done lately?



M.Lawrence Sex

Description on the bottle:  M. Lawrence sparkling wines are hand-crafted in small batches using fine grapes from planet earth.  The bubbles in these seriously fun wines are produced by fermentation in the cool close method.

Sarah says:  First of all, I'm thrilled that these grapes are from planet earth, what a relief.  Second of all, this wine was seriously fun! (Although most wines are after you drink the whole bottle)  This was my first experience with a sparkling wine.  It was delicious.  It has the bubbles of champagne, and the fruitiness of wine.  We ordered this bottle while out on Mother's Day - this light and fruity wine would have been perfect for sitting outside on a warm evening, chatting and flirting.  It was great, even though we were freezing our butts off in silly Michigan.  I would definately get this again.

Overall rating:  Thumbs way up!

Sarah says:  Sometimes I'm like a little kid.  The name of this wine, Sex, had me giggling like a school girl.  I just can't believe someone actually named their wine that!  You really would have thought I was a 14 year old boy with my silly reaction.  We just HAD to order it. 

Although I was allowed to kick back and act goofy on Mother's Day - tonight I grew up a little.  I had the opportunity to acquire some new clothes today - the frugal me never passes up "hand me downs".  As I was going through the bags and trying things on, I noticed myself picking items that were more "grown up" than my typical stuff.  I was proud of my smart decisions - things that I might have previously considered boring, are now conservative and simple, and conservative and simple is what I like!  By the time I finished, I had a large stack of stuff, and no where to put it. 

The "no longer good for me" pile

So, I cleaned out the closet a bit - out came the items that were too tight - memories from college that I was still holding onto.  Out came the pants that have been waiting 3 years for me to loose those last 5 lbs - I've finally come to terms with my body, and am pretty content with wearing the next size up.  Out came things that were stained - I've always held strong to the argument that I can wear them underneath something, but the reality is, I'm not going to and I just don't need to hang onto them anymore.  Out came the items that took too much time to care for, ironing, dry cleaning, hand washing, no way - if I can't pop it in the washer and dryer, it's not for me.  Out came the things that showed too much boob - because the reality is I haven't had boobs since I stopped nursing, and these shirts just look bad on me now.  Out came the pants that bunch in funny spots when I sit down - because it's just not worth it to feel self conscious all day - I have too many other things to be doing than shifting my pants around all the time.  In went my new simple, classy, clothes - clothes that can be accessorized with jewelery - instead of seeing how tight I can suck in my belly.  I think I'm going to be more comfortable and look a tad more mature, I'm looking forward to trying out some of my new things!

Where do you need to do a little growing up?

Sleepytime Extra

Description on the box:  Nothing promotes physical and mental well being like a good night's sleep.  So when you need something to help you unwind, enjoy a cup of Sleepytime Extra.  This relaxing and delicious herbal tea starts with the time-honored blend of chamomile, spearmint and other soothing herbs found in our beloved Sleepytime tea.  We add Valerian, trusted as a sleep aid since the days of the Greeks and Romans because of its mild sedative properties.  The result is a tea with trusted calming effect and great taste of Sleepytime, plus a little "extra" to gently lull you to sleep.

Sarah says:  I know, I know... drinking tea on my wine blog is 100% cheating, but I'm drinking tea tonight for several reasons.... which I will get to in a minute.  I like my tea fairly mild, I usually steep about 5 min or less, and add a small squirt of honey.  This tea is my 2nd favorite.  My favorite is called "Moonlight Mint" - I've never been able to purchase it on my own.  My Garby bought it for me the first time I ever had tea, and I loved it, but was never able to find it in the stores in MI.  When Garby lived in IN she'd buy it for me whenever we went to visit.  This Sleepytime Extra is the closest I've ever been able to find to my Moonlight Mint.  It is delicious, with it's light minty flavor.  It leaves my mouth refreshed, and my body warm.

So, why the tea instead of wine?  Well, there are three reasons:

1)  The crazy Michigan weather has my sinuses going crazy, things are draining and my throat has been killing me for a few days.  The heat from tea always makes my throat feel better.  Plus, there is something that just feels comforting about tea - I'm pretty sure that has something to do with me being introduced to tea by my Garby.  I'm always flooded with memories of tea parties with Garby, with tea being poured from a pretty tea pot and munching special cookies.  Tea warms my body and my heart.

2)  I'm a self declared insomniac.  Sometimes this comes in handy - while everyone else is "waisting time" sleeping, I'm catching up on work, laundry, dishes, reading, and praying.  Other times it's a drag, I feel tired, but I just lay in bed tossing and turning.  Lately, I've really had the desire to sleep, probably because I haven't been feeling that great, but sleep hasn't been coming.  I'm hoping the Sleepytime Extra will help me get the sleep results I desire tonight.

3)  The box says this tea promotes relaxation - and tonight I need some of that!  I had absolutely the worst experience at McDonald's ever tonight.  Here's the thing  - I know that McD's isn't high class, and it's horribly unhealthy for me and my kids, but sometimes I just can't resist a double cheeseburger, with those itty bitty little onions that you can't get anywhere else, and being able to take my kids somewhere they can run around like animals and not get dirty looks.  So, off we went.  And it was a nightmare.  Apparently, a kid took a fall and got a bloody nose in the play place, that in itself isn't the end of the world, it happens.  It's the manager who yelled at everyone to get out of the kids area that upset me.  She didn't raise her voice to get our attention, she yelled, more like screamed, at us to get out.  I literally jumped, and thought we were in trouble for being too loud or something.  I had no idea what as going on, just that we were being reprimanded for something and needed to leave.  Eventually, we were told that they just needed to clean the area.  Fine.  So we got some ice cream and waited.  Meanwhile, yelling woman barked orders at the poor employees cleaning, and banged on the windows to get their attention.  My poor kids were literally scared of her.  This is typical for Liam, but not Mary.  Mary generally lets stuff roll right off her back, but she was clinging to me.  They actually said they would have preferred to leave than wait for the play place to be clean - because she was that scary.  I eventually did something I never do in restaurants - complained.  I spoke with a manager about how this lady was being way too harsh and was making us all uncomfortable.  She needed both customer service skills and management training.  She was just so disrespectful to everyone.  I was proud of myself for speaking up.  So, finally, we get back into the play place - and we are sitting next to a fairly large family.  There was swearing, burping, and just inappropriate behavior by both the adults and kids.  Again, I realize we weren't at a high class place, but there is just a politeness that I expect.  Plus, it's a family place, shouldn't we act like families, not animals?  We ended up leaving earlier than I wanted because I just couldn't take it anymore.  Long story short - I probably won't be going back to that one for awhile.

So, tonight I'm drinking tea, hopefully to accomplish my goals of feeling better, sleeping, and relaxing.

How do you cure a sore throat and a stressful day?

Daily's

Sarah says:  These are similar to the Arbor Mist Frozen Drinks I previously wrote about, although I like these ones better.  They seemed to have a bit more flavor.  I had Strawberry Daiquiri and Jon had Pina Colada.  It was a tad challenging to get the right consistency, frozen, but liquidy enough to drink through a straw.  The secret is, freeze it, pour it into a cup, then add a little more alcohol to the mix which will give it that slushy texture.  Overall, it was delicious, and a great way to end a beautiful, sunny, warm day.

Since I'm handing out secrets, I'll like to share my weekend findings of this weekend with you.  Jon and I, along with my cousin and her husband, went to our second murder mystery dinner in less than 2 months.  Why we ended up at two of these things is a secret that I'll be keeping to myself, but both times were a lot of fun.

The first murder mystery dinner we went to was a 1940's gangster themed evening.  The second was a wedding theme.  Both nights go horribly wrong when someone is murdered!  The goal is for each table (10 or so people) to determine who the killer of the night was.  The fun thing is this:  they only award two tables - first place and last place.  We got to experience each of these.  Our first time, we got that lovely last place.  The significance of that is, there are a lot of wrong answers, but ours was the most wrong.  We took a path that wasn't even close.  The second time we went, we learned a few things, and guessed the correct killer.

So, to help you out if you ever go to one of these things, so you won't get the dreaded last place, here are my secrets of a murder mystery dinner.  I do recommend you go by the way, it's fun and something different to do.

Sarah's secrets of murder mystery success:

Read all the details of your character carefully - they wouldn't put it in there if it wasn't important!

Spend the money they give you - you are given money to bribe information out of people.  The accountant in me wanted to make money, but not pay any out.  The thing is, the amount of money each team has at the end has zero impact on the winner.  Spend every last dollar getting every bit of information you can get your hands on.  There is no risk involved in spending your money.  Unless, of course, you spend it on bad information.

Write down character names and clues about them - You'll never remember it all, and seeing it all in front of you will help you make the best decision at the end of the night.

Listen to the clues the "real" actors give you - There are many characters from the audience, but there are a few actors too, pay attention to what they are doing.  I originally thought they were going to try to trick us, and lead us astray.  Turns out, they are pointing you in the most obvious directions - do what they tell you to do.

Drink:  You have to get up and ask complete strangers questions - sometimes trying to be flirty, sometimes convincing, sometimes innocent, sometimes trying to get info - it helps to have a drink or two in the system.  I had a glass of wine in my hand most of the night, which was good for this.  Plus, taking a slow sip after being asked a question gives you a couple of seconds to think through your response, so you don't end up giving away important information.

Step out of your comfort zone - if you are assigned a character, embrace it.  There is nothing worse than trying to question a character that just doesn't care.  Don't bother going if you aren't willing to act a little silly.  Plus, maybe you'll get best actress award like a certain "wedding planner"!  :-)

Follow the rules - there are very few rules, but they make it pretty clear what their expectations are.  Don't ruin the fun by lying or reading ahead in the game book.

Have fun - it is, after all, just a game.