Fancy Pants Red Wine

Description on the bottle:  When the dress code calls for fun, break out the Fancy Pants!  Not-too-dressy and not-too-casual, this wine is always stylish and always delicious.  Made from grapes soured from premier California vineyards, our Red Blend is playful and approachable, with cherry and plum flavors leading to a lush finish. Whatever the occasion, Fancy Pants is fashionably fun.

Sarah says:  It's good!  What a relief!  I gave this bottle as a gift awhile ago because the label caught my eye and the description sounded fun, but I had never tasted it, which is risky.  I recommend always tasting a bottle of wine before gifting it so you don't end up giving something that your friends aren't likely to like.  I'm so pleased that this wine ended up delicious!  I no longer have to worry that my friend drank her gift in a state of disgust.  It's so easy to drink, which can be hard to find in a red.  Both Jon and I quickly downed our glasses and asked for more.

Overall rating:  Thumbs up!

Sarah says:  It's been noted, and rightfully so, that I haven't been writing as much lately.  Here's the thing... I'm getting too many readers.  I know, I know... that sounds silly.  Isn't the point of starting a blog to get readers?!  It is, but I guess didn't really think it through, many of my readers are people that I know in my personal life.  As I put my opinions out there, I'm also opening up the doors for conflict and debate.  I'm more of a "let's all be friends" kind of girl.  I don't want drama and issues.  As more and more people read this, I find there is less and less that I can write about.  I just want to drink my wine, and write about my experiences from the day.  I don't want to have to re-hash them out the next day after someone disagrees with me, or I offended them.  So, I'm sticking with the "safer" topics, mostly my kids.  But, as parents are reading my blog as well, I am beginning to go more conservative on what I'll write about my kids as well.  Not to mention, as awesome and hilarious as my kids are, there are also many days that they are just your typical everyday kid.  So, I'll keep blogging occasionally as things come up, but they probably won't be all that juicy.  I'm always available to discuss a good bottle of wine, and remain open to recommendations!

Speaking of those kids, in case you didn't know it, parenting isn't easy.  There are MANY days you just go through the motions, not really sure if you are actually doing it right, or making any sort of difference.  And then there are those days that just rock your world.  I've been fortunate to have lots of those awesome rocking days lately.

First, I was having a bad day for whatever reason (actually, I totally know the reason, but again... not safe to talk about here... ) and Liam made me this:

Yup, that's a smiling Lego bouquet of flowers.  Do I have the sweetest kid or what?  I mean, come on!  My seven year old did the best thing that he could think of to do to cheer me up.  He presented his gift, gave a hug, and offered to hang out with me.  

Then, there was the day that our neighbor was crying hysterically while taking the bus for the first time.  I watched my sweet Mary, take his hand and offer to sit with him.  I didn't even tell her to do it!  I was just watching from the curb (mostly because I was curious about how the parents were going to handle their tantruming child), and Mary just stepped up to the plate.  I'm so proud!  Most of the other kids just sat there, staring at the "weird kid" that is probably going to forever be known as the kid that cries on the bus.

Compassion, I've taught my kids compassion!  YES!!  Parent success!!

Lastly, and this one is so good, we were at church, it was during the children's message where the kids go up to the front of the sanctuary for a brief lesson before being dismissed to their classes.  The teacher was telling them about how Jesus is always with them, and Mary speaks up with this little conversation:

Teacher "I want you to know that Jesus is always with you"

Mary "I already knew that"

Teacher "You did?  That's great!"

Mary "Yup, my MOM told me" 

Teacher "Go Mom!"

I gave Mary a thumbs up and I'm pretty sure I beamed for the rest of service.  YES!  My kids believe in God, aren't afraid to say it, and they are giving ME the credit for teaching them.  Oh man, does it get any better than that?  There really aren't too many moments as good and reassuring as that.

I love these guys.  All I can do is keep doing what I'm doing and keep hoping for moments like these to show me that I'm doing it right.  In between moments, I'll keep drinking my wine and reflecting about it when I can!

greener planet

Description on the bottle:  "A glass of wine should be the perfect expression of the place, soil and climate."  Wine ought to be one of the most natural products in the world.  Unfortunately, far too many producers now rely heavily on industrial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.  The men and women who grow the grapes for Greener planet respect the well-being of the environment and of the people who are going to enjoy their wines.  Olivier Azan feeds his soil with natural compost, encourages benign insects to counter pests and helps his vines to develop their own immunity to diseases.  

This wine was made from grapes grown in the visually dramatic region of the Montagne Noire in Languedoc Roussillon.  It tastes both spicy and of dark berries and would be delicious with flavorsome red meat, vegetarian dishes or by itself.  The glass for this bottle is made from partially recycled glass.  To learn more about the people behind Greener Planet and the project's grape-growers around the world visit www.greenerplanetorganicwine.com

Sarah says:  I find this wine interesting.  It's a blend of Shiraz 40%, Merlot 40% and Cabernet Sauvignon 20%.  That alone is pretty different.  But then there's it's "all natural" feel, which almost makes you feel like you are drinking something healthy.  I like it.  The first time I had this it was with a seafood pasta dish, and while neither seafood or pasta is listed as something it would go well with, I really liked it.  Now that it's been sitting on my counter for a couple of weeks, it's definitely lost some of it's flavor, but it's still good.  I found it to be really rich, and easily drank more than one glass that first evening.  It mentions spicy in its description, but I don't notice that at all, it's all just a nice dark berry red flavor.  Yum.

Overall rating:  Many thumbs up

Sarah says:  Many months ago... actually, probably closer to a year ago, we were at my in-laws house and I mentioned to Jon that we needed to take our stuff to the recycling center.  My father-in-law immediately asked if I was "green".  I wasn't really sure how to answer that, and I'm still not sure quite frankly, but I've been thinking about it every time I set something aside to recycle!  I mean, I'm not a tree hugging, organic only eating, camping lover.  But, that doesn't mean I don't try to do my part.  

I try not to waste water, electricity, or gas.  I nag my kids (and husband!) all the time to turn off lights (although, to be fair, I probably do that more to benefit myself by saving money, the earth is an after thought).  I do not buy bottled water, the tap is fine, thanks!

I recycle; which isn't exactly easy, since we live in an apartment they don't do curbside pickup of recycling here, so we put everything aside and take it to the local recycling center every few weeks.  I guess that makes me "more green" than most of my neighbors, because I put a lot more effort into recycling, whereas most people just don't do it if it's not available.  On the other hand, I feel like it's available to most people, so since most people do it, I don't want to be the one weirdo throwing away my empty cans, so I feel obligated to do it too!

I buy energy saving bulbs, as long as they are on sale.

On the other hand, I live 0.88 miles from work.  I drive that.  If I was really green, I'd probably ride a bike, or walk.  I've thought about it a lot, but it's never actually happened.  But, I have been known to run (yup, literally) to church which is 3.21 miles, when I've been training for a race.  So, that makes up for something, right?  :-)   

I buy the groceries that are cheapest, which is never the organic, most earth friendly items. 

Gardening?  What's that?  One of the biggest perks is not to have to maintain a garden.  Planting my own veggies or even herbs is not an option.  Off to the store I go!

I make my kids save all of the papers they bring home from school to use the backs for scratch paper.

My ideal vacation involves a hotel room, room service, a pool, and probably lots and lots of waste.

So, am I green?  I'd say I'm a yellowish.  I'm not exactly helping the earth, but I like to think I'm not a big contributor to what's hurting it either.  I don't base most of my decisions based on their impact on the environment, however, if someone makes a good case for it, I can easily be swayed into following them.  I'm definitely not pushing others to help the earth, which in a way, I guess, hurts it?

I guess I should be a bit more green... because the other day I came home to this:

 

This my friends, is reason to take care of the planet a little more.  Kids.  Our kids, and their kids, and their kids, etc. are going to be on this planet longer than we will be.  I remember playing in the rain, I let my son and daughter play in the rain... I want their kids, kids, kids to be able to play in the rain too.  For now, that's the best reason of them all.

As for this green wine, I'd definitely drink it again, and that I believe IS helping the planet.  Yay me!

How green are you?

Dreaming Tree Crush

Description on the bottle:  An exciting collaboration between Dave Matthews and acclaimed winemaker Steve Reeder, Dreaming Tree captures the spirit of California's wine country.  United by their shared passion to make quality wines accessible to everyone, the two friends set out on a journey to discover the unique characters and rich flavors that give the region its rare charm.

Dave Matthews:  Two Hot Dogs in a Pick-up - A hit day two dogs chase a stick thrown into a pond again and again.  The older, slower dog never gets the stick and moans at the effort but always goes in "maybe this time".

Steve Reeder:  For the Dreaming Tree Crush, Dave and I hand-selected a special blend of our favorite varieties to create a red wine that pulls you in with notes of smokey berry and a pop of raspberry jam.  Around the dinner table or out on the patio, it's a wine you're going to want to share with your favorite people.

Sarah says:  While I found the description on the bottle to be fascinating, I did not feel the same way about the wine.  I was just ok, drinkable, but it was nothing memorable.  Although, I drank the bottle in just 2 sittings, so it couldn't have been that bad.  I just can't think of anything specific to say about it, either good or bad.  Oh well.

Overall rating:  Medium thumbs

Sarah says:  I've been in a place where I've felt that dreams are hard for me achieve.  First of all, I don't sleep a lot.  As much as I wish that I could crawl into bed after a long day and curl up in my bed to sleep, it pretty much just never works that way for me.  Sleep, and thus dreams, are generally something that only come easily for me when I've taken some sort of sleep aid, which I generally don't like to do.  The past few weeks have been extraordinarily bad in the sleep department for me.  I'm not really sure why, there hasn't been anything unusual happening to stress me out.  On a positive note, I'm getting really good at learning to survive in a sleep deprived state.  And, quite frankly, sleep is over rated.  Think about it, it's probably the most boring thing ever!  I've come to realize I can use the hours of uninterrupted time to get lots of stuff done.  I'm done wasting hours tossing and turning, I'd rather get up and be productive.  Sleep, and the dreams that come with it, are dumb.

But, other dreams, "life dreams", are important.  They give you something to aim for, a purpose, and a reason to make good choices.  Most of my life dreams are slowly going down the drain.  Occasionally I dream about owning another house, we walked through a spur of the moment open house a few weeks ago, so that dream popped in my head again, but quickly vanished again when I put in a maintenance request for a leaky faucet and it was fixed the next day.  Jon and I are just not into that sort of repair stuff that comes with home ownership.

I've been dreaming about Hawaii for 10 years with Jon, and I'm suddenly nervous that that dream will have to be put on hold.  We have some big bills coming up because of our Southfield house drama (yup, that house that we put on the market in Feb 2012, still dealing with that!)

I'm forever grateful that my Dad paid for my college, and I dream of doing the same thing for my kids one day.  But as I watch the rising costs of education, that dream seems to be getting more challenging to achieve.

Additionally, my kids demand most of my free time, so any of my own dreams are usually pushed aside to their needs.  Although, now that I think about it... I'm teaching my kids to follow their own dreams, and that in itself is a dream of mine.  I'm raising two super kids.  Sure they have troubles and complications, but all in all, I have two really awesome kids.  I guess maybe I am achieving my own dreams too!

What are your dreams?

La Pinta Verdelho

Description on the bottle:  Lying 46 miles south of Mendoza, La Pinta is one of four vineyards that comprise our estate. With an average of 210 days of sunshine every year, our grapes achieve excellent ripeness, yet the high altitude ensures moderate temperatures which help to preserve the grapes' distinct aromatic qualities.  Verdelho is particularly well suited to this environment, achieving a fine balance between rich fruit and crisp acidity. We harvest our 16 acres entirely by hand, ensuring only the healthiest grapes make it into the wine and ferment at a low, carefully controlled temperature.  The result is a very fresh-tasting style of Verdelho with crisp, harmonious fruit and a hint of spice.  Served cool, it is delicious served as an aperitif, and is the perfect partner for white meats and vegetable and fish dishes.  

Sarah says:  I am totally loving this!  I think with all of the red I've been drinking lately, it's nice to get back to a nice, easy,  fun, comfortable, white.  It's fruity, dry, simple, delicious.  In addition, I'm completely blown away that these grapes are harvested by hand.  16 acres!  Wowza, how long does that take?!  It sounds totally time consuming and almost overwhelming, but fun at the same time.  I wish I could spend my days with grapes instead of numbers.  I'm reminded of my bucket list item:  make my own wine.  Gotta make that happen!

Overall rating:  Two thumbs up!

Sarah says:  Liam said something to me several days ago that I can't stop thinking about.  He said "Too much fun is not enough!".  I'm not even sure what prompted the statement, but I LOVE it!  I find myself telling my kids that they are having too much fun, and that they need to calm down, more than I'd like to admit.  How did that even start?  What happened where we decided our kids we're allowed to laugh quite so loud, or run in that many circles?  They are kids, they are supposed to have too much fun.  They have their whole lives ahead of them to be calm and quiet.  Their childhood should be about having all sorts of crazy fun.  From this point on, I've decided to stop stopping the fun.  My house will probably be louder, and a little messier, but my kids will be happier... and that will be worth it. 

 

In combination of allowing my kids to have too much fun, I will also be allowing them more opportunities to make their own fun.  While I'm pretty lax with my kids, I do often spend the weekends trying to arrange fun for them, even if it is just going to our local pool, I generally assume that is the most fun activity for them, and don't even give them a chance to present a counter offer.  

Cheers to having too much fun!  What's your favorite activity that just overwhelms you with fun?
 

EpicA

Description on the bottle:  Discovery.  Adventure.  The thrill of something new.  Epica is about experiencing more.  it's about moments:  getting together with friends and sharing spirited conversation, good food, and great wine.  This Chilean Red Wine explodes with flavors of savory cherry and dark cocoa - big enough to share or enjoy on your own.

Sarah says:  I love the description on this bottle.  Sitting around with my friends, enjoying conversation and wine, laughing, telling stories and jokes, just living life, it sounds great.  Despite how great that sounds, I drank this wine alone, and I'm sure glad I did.  It's not great.  It's super spicy, as much as I'm loving red wine these days, I still don't love the spice.  It was pretty hard for me to drink, I wouldn't have wanted to subject my friends to it.

Overall rating:  Thumbs down.

Sarah says:  I did have two epic-like experiences recently.  The first relates to the wine cup in this pic.  It's a tumbler, travel type cup, in a wine glass shape.  I've had one of these for awhile, and just received a second one for my birthday this year, but just recently discovered their greatness.  A few weeks ago I was sitting outside waiting for the fireworks to start.  I wanted a glass of wine to relax with, but I was nervous having the glass outside.  It was likely to spill or even break.  I remembered this cup at the last minute, worked like a charm!  Since then, I've used my wine tumbler several times sitting outside on the porch and at the pool.  Is such a great thing!  It still gives me the wine glass feel, but the comfort of a lid!  EPIC!

My second epic moment happened a few days ago.  For some reason, Jon received a jar of fluff for Father's Day (not from me!).  I was confused by this, I've never heard him mention a love of fluff.  I've personally never had the stuff, my parents didn't allow such sugary items, and quite frankly, it never appealed to me.  Oh boy, have I been missing out!  Picture this... an Oreo, dipped in fluff.  Yup, that happened... A LOT.  It was amazing!  And when the Oreos ran out, I used graham crackers.  Yum.  I don't have a picture of any of this, because the fluff is gone.  We (mostly me) inhaled the jar in 3 days.  It was EPIC!

That's about all I have to update on, the past month has been BUSY!  Sorry I've been quiet, I'm sure that will change as summer is here, and sitting outside with my new wine glass is a new favorite past-time.

What exciting things have you been up to?

Palacio Del Conde Part III

Sarah says:  Thanks to my wine club (that I forgot to cancel, but is now officially cancelled), I ended up with two bottles of this.  It continues to grow on me.  Tonight, I found it to be quite good.  A nice way to end a stressful Saturday.  It's a good wine for cool nights, not really a summer wine, which seems ok since it's 40 degrees this May!  And yes, I drank from a water glass, it really was a stressful day, don't judge me.

I've been saving all my wine corks for awhile now, with no idea what to do with them.  I got to the point where I couldn't possibly squeeze another into my jar, so I decided it was time...  I honed in all my creative juices, and did a wine cork craft!!  I consulted google, and pinterest, and Michaels.  I read, and researched, and pondered.  After much thought, a few glasses of wine, and only 3 moments of total frustration, I ended up with a coaster and a trivet!  Ta da!!

And... they are functional!!!

Whoot whoot!!

I'm very un-creative and arts and crafts just aren't my thing (that is probably the #1 reason I changed majors from elementary ed to accounting so many years ago).  Luckily, I pretty much found the easiest crafts I could find, and it's not so bad when you do it while drinking wine!!  Plus, some of them bring back some fun memories, it was fun to dump out the jar and reminisce.

Here's how it's done... the coaster is the easiest, take 8 corks, arrange them in a square using a 2 corks and turn pattern.  Make sure you corks are level and approximately the same size.  Glue together, and you're done!

The hot pad is slightly more complicated.  Find an unused picture frame, take out the glass and any matting that is included.  Also, you may need to remove any hooks on the back or the standing post.  Put the cardboard backing back into place.  Arrange the corks in whatever patter you desire, trying to cover as much of the cardboard as possible.  Hot glue into place.  I took it one step further, cut one cork into 4 small pieces and added it to the bottom 4 corners of my frame, because I didn't want it scratching my table.  And you're done!!  Make sure you only use real corks for this project, the artificial plastic ones won't absorb the heat from a hot pan the way regular corks do, you could end up with a melted mess.  The fake corks are great for the coaster above!

Now wine has served a purpose, it has pushed me out of my comfort zone and into spending Saturday night doing crafts.  And, now you all know what you're getting for Christmas!

What did you do tonight?

Alessandr Gallici Pinot Grigio

Description on the bottle:  The vineyards of the veneto have long been a source of inspiration for me and pinot grigio from this region achieves and elegance and concentration rarely found elsewhere.  2011 saw near-perfect vintage conditions and the grapes, sourced from low-yielding vines, displayed an intensity of fruit and a firm structure which I knew would combine perfectly.

The result is a wine to which I'm proud to give my name.  Fresh, elegant and mouthwateringly long, this pinot grigio displays crisp apple and citrus characters given added complexity by a fine minerality.  I suggest you enjoy served as an aperitivo or with lighter dishes such as roasted vegetables, fresh seafood and grilled chicken.

Sarah says:  I think several months ago I would have really enjoyed this wine, but now that my world has been opened up to reds, I think this is just ok.  It's a pretty standard pinot grigio, it's got that citrusy, almost tangy flavor.  It's good, but it's not mind blowing good.

Overall rating:  Thumbs mostly up

Sarah says:  Thank goodness it's Friday night!  I don't know why, but this week just crept by.  I think it's that I was all go go go the past several weeks with the audit, and now that the auditors are gone, I'm crashing into a stop.  It's almost as if I don't know what to do with myself, I can't remember what my work days were filled with before the audit took over.  For those of you who don't know what an audit is like... here's a little run down:

2 weeks before audit:  We're fine.  I'm working on stuff, but it's coming along nicely.

1 week before audit:  There's ALOT to do, but we'll get it done

2 days before audit:  THE AUDITORS ARE COMING!!  Why isn't this done?  Didn't I look at this a month ago and it was fine, now it's wrong, all wrong!  Why are you just now asking this question?  What do you mean you didn't start the workpaper yet?  I'm not ready.  The auditors are coming!!

audit day 1:  I got this, bring it on.  Your questions, I have answers.  Ya know those college all nighters, I pulled an all weekender.

audit day 3:  Where are they?  I'm not paying them $700 per hour to sit down there and do nothing.  Why aren't they asking me questions yet!

audit day 7:  They are driving me crazy!! I can't get any of my regular work done because every 5 min one of them comes in here and interrupts me.  I can't even research their questions because before I can finish one task, I'm being given another one!

audit day 9:  Sleep, what's sleep?  I live on coffee and week old bagles.

audit day 11:  What is this, accounting 101?  Their questions are so stupid, and annoying.  And what the heck, all the auditors look like they are 19!  Is this an intern audit?  If I just talk fast enough and they believe me, that part is pretty awesome.

audit day 13:  Why are you asking me about cash?  Didn't I answer all cash questions 2 weeks ago, I don't remember what we talked about.

audit day 15:  Ok, you guys aren't so bad afterall.  Let's have a pizza party.

1 day after audit:  Ahhh... it's so quiet, I can finally relax and get some stuff done

3 days after audit:  What is this 5 page typed document of more questions?!!?  Arg.

1 week after audit:  That was the best audit ever!!

Doohickey

Description on the bottle:  What exactly is a doohickey?  It's sort of like a Thing-a-mabob or a Whosey-whats-it.  But better.  And it's a perfect word to describe this California red, a proprietary blend that will keep you guessing about what grapes are inside.  Look for flavors and aromas of black currant, blackberry and vanilla, with some soft spicy and floral notes and smooth, silky tannins on the palate.  Can you guess what grapes are in the bottle of Doohickey?  The only way to find out is to try it for yourself!

Sarah says:  First of all, let me just say that I love the description, that's the kind of fun stuff I like to see on my bottles of wine.  It's so fun and intriguing that I just can't help but want to try the wine!  The wine is pretty good, definitely smooth, easy to drink.  I love the blackberry feel to it.  And, as it turns out, it's a great bottle to have on hand if you happen to have a last minute wine & Phase 10 party!  I think everyone that tried it, liked it!

Overall rating: Thumbs up!

Sarah says:  While I'm loving the Doohickey, the font on the bottle is a little funny, and when I first picked it up, I said out loud "Doochery?"  And it stuck.  Now, I realize that Doochery isn't a word, and if it was, it wouldn't be spelled like that.  But none the less, Doochery is what came out of my mouth, and Doochery is what I continued to call it the rest of the night.  Perfect timing, because I had the most Doochery experience today.  It got me fuming and I just can't seem to stop thinking about it.  I even took the kids to Baskin Robbins (It's scoop fest night, I can't resist an ice cream sale!) and enjoyed a double scoop (Pistachio Almond and Jamoca Almond Fudge, don't knock it until you've tried it).  But, even emotional eating didn't calm me down, I'm still stewing about this.  So I turned to the next best thing... Wine and vent about it in a blog!

I'm going to attempt to express to vent my frustration without giving out too many details or boring you with my accounting stuff, but it's totally something that happened at work.  LLLOOOONNNGGGG story short... I've been trying to reconcile something (or fix a likely error) for a few days, except I only have half the information, so I'm basing my reconciliations on assumptions and good educated guesses.  The person who has been hired to maintain and record all of the transactions (lets call him guy) told me some info that I wasn't 100% sure was correct, so questioned it a bit, and tried figuring it out on my own.  I emailed guy during the day and said that I wasn't comfortable with his conclusion on how the error needed to be corrected.  I proceeded to email guy several other times throughout the day with other thoughts and suggestions as I continued to think about the issue and look at it, but since I was basing these thoughts and suggestions on my half bits of info, I was looking for guy's agreement or further thoughts on the error.  At the very end of the day, I received a ONE LINE email from guy, saying that he was going to record it the way he originally told me he was going to record it.  Um.... excuse me?!  Guy just entered the Doochery zone.

1)  What happened to proper email etiquette?  Call me old fashioned, but what happened to the greeting, the signature, and the pleasant "If you would like to discuss further please feel free to contact me"

2)  I am your client.  You are hired and paid by me (ok, not me me, but my Township, close enough).  We pay you to be thorough, detailed, smart, accurate, kind, well thought out, and to follow accounting rules.  You are not getting paid to do things wrong, and completely dismiss my concerns about this item being recorded improperly.

3) And even if you still think the way you are recording it is correct, you need to tell me why!  Convince me that my thoughts aren't taking into account the complete picture, but your's are.  I've said over and over to him, that I know he has the details, so it's possible that I'm missing something, acknowledge that.  Clearly, I've spent a lot of hours looking into this issue, and you spent... what? 20 seconds?  That's just disrespectful.

4)  At the end of the day, the financial statements are mine.  I literally consider the CAFR my 3rd child (actually this is my 4th kid... Detroit's was my 3rd, but since I put Detroit up for adoption, I'm back to 3).  I need to be comfortable with these numbers, I'm the one that is held accountable for them.  I tell you how to record it, guy.  Do not get confused into thinking that you are telling me what to do here.  If I think the numbers are wrong, we will continue to look at it until I feel otherwise.  You cannot push me off with a one line email that tries to tell me how it's going to be.

Oh guy, I almost feel bad for you... because now that I've laid out my frustration in this blog, I pretty much have a script to read for when I call you tomorrow, to tell you that you will continue to look into this with me until I'm satisfied.  And because you've now left a bad taste in my mouth, you're probably going to have to work a little harder to earn that satisfaction.

On a good note - this wine has left a great taste in my mouth, and I'm going to go enjoy some more and ready myself for tomorrow!

Ticker Tape Chardonnay

Description on the bottle:  None  :-(

Sarah says:  I gave this bottle as a birthday gift because I thought the name Ticker Tape sounded sort of accountant-ish, and we're both accountants.  Well, Deb, I'm so sorry, this just isn't very good.  I'll owe you a better bottle!  It lacks much flavor and leaves a dry blah taste in my mouth.  I think I've officially made the switch to preferring reds.

Overall rating:  Thumbs down

Sarah says:  Speaking of things Tickers, my heart has been heavy for several days.  The tragedy surrounding us these days is overwhelming.  The two really impacting me lately:  the South Korea ferry disaster, and the 2nd grader hit by a car in a Canton Public School parking lot... I'm assuming these both hit closer to my heart since they involve kids.  

The ferry boat is just a nightmare, 300 kids killed in one night.  I can't even imagine the terror those kids experienced in their final moments.  Alone, away from family, thinking they were doing the right thing by doing as they were told, they totally trusted those adult crew members, and they were completely let down.  And for those parents, the horror knowing your child is among those that will likely die, but there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.  It's not just boys and girls, it's daughters and sons.  I go back and forth between sad for the kids, mad, and sad again for the parents.  It makes me want to hold my kids and never let them go anywhere again.  

And Emily, a 9 year old, hit by a car in a school parking lot.  A complete and horrible accident, with her own Mom behind the wheel.  I literally cannot express how sad that is.  I cry thinking about it.  The grief that the Mom must be experiencing, I'm devastated by it, I cannot comprehend what she must be going through.  I seriously cannot think of anything worse as a parent, I'm sure she wants more than anything to switch places with her daughter.  I feel so fortunate that even after hectic frustrating mornings with my kids, I always get that chance in the evenings to recover from it.  To never have that opportunity again would be life changing.  I hope that family finds a way to find happiness again, it will be hard, I hope they are strong enough for it.

Stories like this make me love my kids a little harder.  It's sad that it takes another's tragedy to remind me how good I have it.  We all have it good, even when it doesn't seem that way, just imagine what these families are going through, and it's a sad reminder that you'd probably much rather be sucking it up through your troubles than theirs right now.  So tonight, once again, I squeeze my kids a little tighter, I spend a little extra time reading and chatting with them, I pay more attention to them, I turn off the TV, Kindle, phone and computer, I give them the extra scoop of ice cream, I become a better Mom.  I hope these parents know, that all over the world, people are thinking of them, loving them, hoping to take their pain away.  And hopefully, one day, they'll be able to do the same thing for another again.

Palacio Del Conde Part II

Sarah says:  The more I drink this wine, the more I like it.  It's just a good old red wine, nothing fancy about it, but it's tasty.  It seems the more time I spend with it, the better it gets!

Speaking of things that get better with time... running!  The body really is an amazing thing.  Feed it right, move it right, and it will do great things for you.  I am by no means winning marathons here, but my latest 5K went quite well.

I had set an goal of completing in under 29 minutes, which would put me at a pace of 9:20 (my best record was 29:30 total, 9:30 pace).  My initial results were disappointing... 30:45 total.  But, after hearing some grumbling that the course was actually longer than a 5K, I mapped the run and discovered it was 3.5 miles, almost a half mile too long!  (Total side rant here, as much as I want Detroit to survive, if they can't even properly map out 3.1 miles, that's pretty sad.  I don't mind that it was 3.5 miles, I just wish they would publish the results as if it was that distance!).  Anyways, get out the calculator folks, 3.5 miles in 30:45 min equals a pace of 8:47.  That pace in a 5K would have put my total time at 27:14!  That means I didn't just beat my goal, I blew it out of the water!  Yay me!  I'm happy that all that practicing wasn't for nothing.

But, the numbers chick in me wants to see the official results published with my success.  The way it currently stands, my pace is just under 10 minutes, yuck.  So, although unplanned, I'm going to run another race in a few months.  This one will be at the Canton Liberty Fest... here's the great thing about this run: The start and finish lines are less than a mile from my house.  The course goes along a trail that I run weekly in the summer.   I know every little bump and turn along this run.  I am soooo going to personal record this race!  I'm totally pumped about it, I took a week off to rest, but just wrote up my plan, full of intervals, cross-training, and running the actual course.  I can't wait to get started on it!

Tonight I lift my glass to running, to things getting better with time, and to hard work paying off.

What have you gotten better at lately?

Palacio Del Conde

Description on the bottle:  We produce Palacio Del Conde in the charming village of La Font De La Figuera in the gentle hills inland from Valencia on Spain's Mediterranean coast.  Here, the hot summer, wet winters and rich soils combine to produce ideal growing conditions for the noble tempranillo grapes in our wine.  Three years aging in American oak barrels add a vanillin flavor to the beautiful ripe fruit in this structured wine.  I recommend you open the bottle and hour before serving and drink with red meat dishes and strong cheeses.  I am proud to present my beautiful gran reserva; please find a special moment in which to enjoy it.

Sarah says:  The wine IS beautiful, unfortunately, the bottle is not.  The description on the back is impossible to read.  One, the font is itty bitty tiny... I'm guessing is a size 5 font or lower.  Two, it's a brown font against a black background.   I literally had to shine a flashlight on it to read it.  It's disappointing, because the words there are quite lovely, and I totally missed the part about opening the bottle an hour early and serving with red meat.  I ate with ham and opened and drank immediately.

Overall rating:  Thumbs down for poor information.

Sarah says:  If you were thinking that this bottle isn't something that I would have chosen for myself, you would be thinking correct.  90% of why I purchase a bottle of wine is because the label intrigued me.  If I can't read it, I'm not intrigued.  This came from the wine club.  Apparently, I didn't cancel it when I meant to a few months ago... I just delayed my next shipment.  I have officially cancelled it now.  The surprise case of wine that showed up Saturday was both good a bad.  A case of wine on a Saturday can't really be frowned upon, but I wasn't really planning on spending $100+ on wine this weekend.  At this point, I have no choice but to make the best of it, and drink up!

Canceling the wine club is harder than I thought, other things I'm having a hard time with lately... letting my Liam grow up.  Liam is my first born, my baby, my little man, my... kid?  Both of my children have had their own set of struggles, Mary's have been more physical (ie, with her vision and small size), Liam's have been more developmental (ie. poor speech and social skills).  This might sound horrible to admit, but I sort of wrote off Liam of having close friendships because of his social awkwardness.  I've never been more happy to be wrong, Liam is making friends like the best of them!  I've discovered that when I try to force Liam into a friendship it just fails miserably, but when I'm not there to "help" him, he somehow manages just fine on his own.  Just this weekend, Jon and I were watching him at the park, he was playing with 3 other boys around his age.  Jon and I observed that Liam was the "leader" of the group, the other kids followed him around and did whatever he said.  That was unexpected.  It literally puts a lump in my throat watching him "be normal".  He's turning into a completely regular kid, I love and hate it!!

Liam has recently made friends with a couple of boys that live within our apartment complex, but not in our building.  Throughout our 20 months living here, Liam's radius of acceptable outdoor playing space has grown, from the just courtyard in front of our apartment, to the "other" side of our building so he could do a complete circle with his bike, now two buildings over to play with his new friends.  Here's the terrifying part... I can't see him when he's outside in front of the other building.  Up until this point, I've been able to see him from the window, or call his name and have him appear within 10 seconds.  Now... I have to walk, out my door, past the neighbors door, past a cluster of 4 garages, past another cluster of 4 garages, and past 2 doors, there I usually find him in that area.  It's terrifying.  I know that the other parents can see him, but still, it's not like he's playing at their house, they are playing outside, in a very open public space.  It's hard letting your kid grow up.  I told him tonight that I'm getting him a watch, with an alarm, and I'm going to set it for 15 minute intervals, and I expect him to come check in with me every time it goes off.

Is that too much?  What would you do?  How do you let your kids grow up a little, but not too much at one time?  I'm seriously at a loss here.  I want him to play and have friends, I'm overjoyed that he communicates with these kids, and I don't want to ruin it by being overprotective, but I still need to protect him.  By the way... for the majority of adults out there that Liam won't speak to, don't take it personally, he definitely communicates better with 6 year old boys than he does me.

How do you let your baby boys turn into kids?  With a bottle of wine at hand!

High Note Malbec

Description on the bottle:  Front: Altitude is essential in providing our vineyards with intense sunlight and cool temperatures.  This perfect paradox allows us to craft a Malbec with a deep violet hue, smooth velvety texture and vibrant fruit aromas.  Back: The velvety texture and deep flavor of the small juicy berries of the Malbec grapes are distinctively influenced by the environment in which they are grown.  Our Uco Valley vineyards, high in the Andes foothills of Mendoza, enjoy the perfect combination of elements for growing this unique varietal.  Intense sunlight, cool temperatures and dry conditions allow the fruit to slowly mature until handpicked for optimal flavor.  The result is High Note's brilliant violet color accompanied by rich blackberry and black cherry aromas and tastes.  

Sarah says:  This is the best smelling wine I've ever experienced.  Every time I tried to set my glass down, the delicious smell pulled me back in.  I ended up drinking this wine super fast simply because it smelled so delicious.  Don't get me wrong, the taste was pretty great too, but it was the smell that really won me over. 

Overall rating:  Thumbs mostly up!

Sarah says:  So, wow, I've been distant.  There are a couple things causing this.  

1) It's audit time, the time of the year that I work crazy hours.  I have a love/hate relationship with it.  The former auditor in me enjoys the audit, because I understand it.  I LOVE preparing the financial statements, it's my favorite task, and I only get to do it this time of year.  It gives me purpose, my ho hum daily routine sometimes feels very meaningless, but not during audit time, during the audit I'm super important!  BUT - it takes me away from my home.  I work more, sleep less, am stressed and a little up tight towards everyone.  I can't wait for it to be over.

2) I'm trying to be healthy.  With a 5K coming up in 5 days, I need to be on my best behavior.  Wine each night isn't the best strategy to improving your time (trust me, I've tried in the past and failed!).  I have a goal to beat my previous personal record (which was in 2010, what in the world have I been doing the past few years?!).  I'm pretty sure I can do it, but it will require a decent amount of effort.

3) My budget is a little tighter.  Without getting into the gory details, all of our house drama over the past 2 years has caused our tax return to be much lower than we are used to.  That entire impact was felt in my wine fund.... I'll be taking donations for awhile until we fully bounce back from that (reason #1083 not to buy a house!)

BUT - something happened that I just couldn't resist telling you about!!  Something so awesome, that we just had to celebrate.  Liam got student of the month!!!!

I mean, seriously, I'm just so freaking proud.  This happened last week, I couldn't even find the words to write about it.  Mostly, there is a giant smile, and tears... good tears.

1 year ago... Liam couldn't count past 12, he couldn't blend two letters together (ie. th, br, etc), he wouldn't make eye contact, he "escaped" to the bathroom 10+ times a day, he couldn't complete a task without 1-on-1 assistance.  1 year ago we were having a conversation about holding him back.  We choose to push him forward.  Today, he counts well into the 100's, is reading at his grade level, holds conversations, sits through class, and works independently.  I give A LOT of credit to his 1st grade teacher, she has been so wonderful to Liam, and patient with us and we played with various treatment plans to find the right one for him.  She just stays positive for him and lifts him up when he needs it.  She is the best thing that could have happened to him.  It was the reading specialist that nominated him (as a part of Liam's IEP he gets to meet with the reading specialist 3x a week), and she is the 2nd greatest person in his life.  She appropriately encourages and challenges Liam.  He started 1st grade at a "below Kindergarten" reading level, and now, they just bumped him up the final bump to be officially caught up, he's right where they want 1st graders to be 2 months before the end of the school year. Whoo to the freaking whoo!

I know he's not the only kid that deserves student of the month, I know loads of kids work their butts off, I'm not trying to discount any of the work that they did.  But, Liam, has worked especially hard this year.  He has pretty much had to learn 2 years worth of info in 1 year, since Kindergarten was pretty much a bust for him.  That kid gives every single ounce of effort that he has in that little growing boy body of his.  I get tired just watching him, I can almost hear his brain working watching him trying to figure out a math problem, or sounding out a word.  It takes him about 2 - 3 times a longer to complete the same work that it takes others, but he doesn't give up.  He constantly says "don't tell me!", he wants to figure it out.  His patience and dedication to figuring it out is amazing, and inspiring, and awesome.  

I hope his desire to learn stays with him.  I hope he continues to have teachers that encourage him, and see the wonder that he is.  I hope people don't get frustrated just it takes him longer.  I hope that he continues to be rewarded for his effort and positive energy towards school.  

Item two above, we left our house to get into a better school district.  Even though that has been a struggle for us, I'm totally confident that we made the right decision for our kids education.  Liam being nominated for Student of the Month has definitely my High Note of the year so far... what's yours?

Paul Masson White Zinfandel

Description on the bottle:  Serve this refreshingly crisp, fruity wine chilled.  Great by itself or with white meat, poultry, seafood, lightly flavored or spicy dishes, and cold cuts.

Sarah says:  Yum, this is exactly the type of wine a beginner wino would drink, and it totally brings me back.  It's light, fruity, easy to drink, and (based on the list above) goes well with everything.  I chose it because I thought the bottle looked cool, in that it's more like a carafe than it is a wine bottle, and I thought that seemed like fun.  If only it was about 70 degrees warmer out, this would be the perfect sit outside on the porch after a long day and chill out with type of wine.  Winter will end one of these days, right?

Overall rating:  Thumbs up

Sarah says:  Speaking of winter, I've decided to stop talking negatively about the weather.  It's Lent, and that generally means I give up some sort of food (ice cream, sweets, peanut butter) for 6 weeks.  And, although I usually accomplish the goal without too many problems, it never feels like the sacrifice that it's supposed to.  I did ponder giving up wine, but I just don't think that's the right thing for me right now.  This year, I thought I'd try something different.  I'm going to try to hold back from something other than food.  Complaining about the weather is something that is easy to do, it easily makes it's way into any conversation, and if you don't have anything to talk about with someone, it's an easy conversation to start.  Especially in this never ending winter, as we are all feeling a little worn down and seasonally depressed, complaining about it is just what everyone is doing.  Unfortunately, this type of conversation has no value, it just brings me down even more than I already am about it.  So, from here on out (or at least until Easter, when hopefully it's warmer anyways!) I will not be joining in the daily weather bashing conversation.

In the true Lent form, I'm hopeful that all my lack of weather complaining will allow me to free up a bunch of time, time that will be better spent doing something more holy.  Praying, reading, chilling with God, whatever it is... it has to be better than complaining about being freezing, while freezing.  Maybe spending more time will actually make me feel less empty, and thus, less cold!  It's worth a shot.

If all else fails, the wine will warm me up.  What are you giving up for Lent?

Clayhouse Wines Adobe Red

Description on the bottle:  The Adobe Red is a blend created for that rebellious, hedonistic red wine lover inside of you, rustic like that adobe but refined with sensuous dark fruit flavors.   

Sarah says:  A wine called Clayhouse?!  We pretty much had to buy it, and I'm pretty sure I'll buy it again.  It seems only fitting that the Clay household keep a bottle, or two, or several of Clayhouse on hand at all times!  The wine store only had this version of the Clayhouse wines, but he said he'd order some other types to have on hand for me.  I can't wait to go see what our options are!  As for the taste?  It's decent.  I enjoyed this more yesterday after eating a few girl scout cookies (and after the events that I'm about to tell you about), it completed my late night snack perfectly.  Tonight, I'm following a chicken curry dinner, not quite as fitting.  It's not as smooth as I would prefer, but it's still totally drinkable!

Overall rating:  If for no other reason, it gets a thumbs up for the name!

Sarah says:  Speaking of rebellion... I did something last night, which has caused many Mom's to do a little double take.  I've been told I'm crazy for wanting to do this a lot, but I totally stand by my decision, and don't regret a second of it.  Mary decided for her 5th birthday present, she wanted to get her ears pierced. That's not the crazy part, it's where I took her to get the piercing done which is causing people to judge.  

I'll just get straight to the point and say it.  I took her to a tattoo and piercing shop; Liquid Swordz, in Ypsilanti.  There I met Dave, the guy that I allowed to stick a need through my daughter's ears.  Most people's initial reaction is "Why the hell would you do that to sweet Mary?!"

First, have you ever thought about how awful the idea of a piercing gun is?  We live in an age where boys can't even shoot pretend guns with their fingers without getting in trouble, and yet, we'll put a "gun" to our child's ear?  Plus, consider the sharpness of a needle, with that of an earring.  It makes so much more sense to pierce using a needle than it does to force a dull earring through the ear.

Second, think about the cleanliness of the location.  Having been in the tattoo chair once, or twice, or well... a lot, I know how clean these places are.  In order for tattoo & piercing places to remain in business, they have to be spot-on clean.  Their work spaces are pretty much empty except for a chair and a light.  Their tools are sterilized and new ones are used for each individual.  It's like going to the dentist, when they open up all those tools from packages, which is your comfort that they are clean... these tattoo and piercing tools are also pulled out of these sterile, plastic bag... things.  I've been to the mall, and I've seen things there which lead me to believe their standards of clean are different than mine.  Plus, those piercing guns have all those little nooks and small spaces, even if you tried I wouldn't think you could get that as clean as you'd want it.  A needle on the other hand, a pretty simple object and quite simple to get sterile.

Third, think of the individual doing the piercing.  A young something earning close to minimum wage, that may or may not have started on the job yesterday, just doing this for a paycheck until they finish school and can start their career?  Or a professional, who makes a living out of piercing, and has been doing it for years?   In my mind, the guy that pierces all sorts of body parts, is going to be the expert in ear piercing department.   The expert is the one I want working on my little girl.  The people that do this for a living, it's not just another ear to them, it's their reputation, their life, it's an art.  They take this stuff way more seriously than someone at the mall.

Fourth, I remember my own ear piercing experience, with the gun, and it was horrible.  I was terrified, so terrified that I think I actually didn't get it done on my first try.  We left and went back another time.  I was still terrified.  It hurt forever.  It was scary and loud.  I cried, a lot.  I wanted the opposite for Mary.

The one and only downfall... they don't keep kids earrings in stock, so we had to order them and wait 3 weeks for them to be ready for us.  Anyone who knows my Mary knows that when she gets her mind set on doing something, also knows that she isn't keen on waiting.  Longest three weeks of my life!  The upside - the earrings really are quite pretty.  And the have balls on the back, so they won't dig into her neck like traditional earrings can.

When we got the call last night that they were ready, we immediately went!  Well, almost immediately... in typical girl fashion, Mary first wanted to change her clothes!

The official ear piercing outfit

While I filled out the paperwork and got things going, Mary danced around the lobby and made friends with the young adults in the lobby waiting to get tattooed.  Was she scared?  No way.  First of all, it's Mary, she fears nothing.  Second of all, she was too excited to be scared.  Third of all, everyone was totally chatting with her, making her feel comfortable and at ease.  Forth of all, she has no idea that there was any other option.  As far as she is concerned, all people that want their ears pierced go to this place and see this guy.  Does Dave look a little different that the crowd she normally hangs out with?  Sure, he has tattoos, giant ear gauges, some weird head horn things... but he's totally a nice guy, has a family, a home, a life, and feelings just like anyone else.  We go out of our way to teach our kids to accept people, why would this be any different?  What would be the point of saying to her "I know he looks different, but that's no reason to be afraid"... that would be totally backwards right?  I guarantee that suddenly she would think there was reason to be afraid, and would be.  She just thinks he's just some cool guy.  (By the way... a little out of sequence here, but Dave thinks Mary is a cool gal too!  Here's a bit of an email he sent me today "I am glad she is soo excited about  them.   I pierce a lot of children's lobes and your little Mary was awesome.  Coolest kid I have pierced in years.")

When it was our turn, we went to the back and Mary immediately jumped onto the big chair.  I forced her to bring Boo in case she needed something to snuggle. First we dotted her ears to make sure we were getting them in the right spot, and even!  Dave was totally patient with Mary wanting to jump down and look in the mirror every 5 seconds.  Dot 1, jump down and look in the mirror.  Dot 2, jump down and look in the mirror.  Re-do dot 1, jump down and look in the mirror... etc.  He was very cool with her.

Finally, it was earring time!  We asked Mary her preference, sitting alone or in my lap.  She choose in my lap.  Dave talked us through the process (which he had already done like 4 times, but it was still nice to hear again) and showed Mary some deep breathing techniques.  10 seconds later, ear one was done!  Mary gasped during the piercing, and whimpered when he pushed the back on, but no tears!  I think she was a little stunned, but as soon as she jumped down and saw that pink sparkly in her ear, she was totally over any sadness that she felt.  She loved it!  She jumped right back up and got ready for the next ear, this time, she sat all by herself.  Again, we breathed as instructed by Dave, and 10 seconds later ear two was done!  I think maybe one to two tears sneaked out that time, but no real crying!  I was shocked, where was the screaming and trauma that I experienced?  

Ever so slightly upset

She quickly jumped down again, looked in the mirror, and approved!  Dave cleaned her up, gave us some instructions on care for the next several weeks.  Off Mary skipped to the lobby to show all of her friends.  She was so happy (and still is)!!  She couldn't wait to go home to show Daddy.  Most of all, she really wants to go back to school to show her teacher and friends there!  

She was thrilled, I was thrilled, best ear piercing experience ever.  I know a lot of the Mom's think I'm crazy, and tell me I would have been just as happy going to the mall.  I will maintain that things went better at Liquid Swordz than they would have at the mall.  Sure, both places she would have left with earrings.  But, leaving with a smile vs. leaving with tears was worth it to me.  I would totally recommend Dave to anyone looking to getting a piercing!

Totally happy with her earrings!  Thanks Dave!

So tonight, as I sit in the Clay House, and drink my Clayhouse wine (I know, I'm totally cheesy!), I lift my glass to being different!  Do what you feel is best in your heart, and ignore those that tell you that you are crazy.  What have you done lately that's a little out of the ordinary?

19 Crimes

Description on the bottle:  Nineteen Crimes turned criminals into colonists.  Upon conviction, British rogues, guilty of at least one of the 19 crimes, were sentenced to live in Australia, rather than death.  This punishment by "transportation" began in 1788, and many of the lawless died at sea.  For the rough-hewn prisoners who made it to shore, a new world awaited.  As pioneers ub a frontier penal colony, they forged a new country and new lives, brick by brick.  This wine celebrates the rules they broke and the culture they built.

Sarah says:  Oh my lord, I love this wine.  First of all, let me give a huge thanks to Heather for recommending it, and to Nancy for donating it my blog!  You both rock.  This wine is outstanding!  It's soooo smooth, with a slightly dark fruity flavor, and not spicy at all... just the way I like it!  It's just awesome... I might go as far as declaring it a new favorite.  Jon and I cracked it open yesterday - Valentines Day - 19 Crimes... somehow that felt appropriate?  Whatever, we were both loving it.  Who cares about the flowers and earrings, just give me more of this wine!

Overall rating, 4 thumbs way up!

Sarah says:  Other things I totally love... cousins.  As I'm typing this, I'm listening to the giggles of my kids and their cousins out in the living room.  It's kind of a running joke that my sister and I pretty much did everything together for a few years... ie, bought houses within a year of each other, got married within 5 months of each other, had 1st kids with 7 months of each other, had 2nd kids within 5 months of each other, abandoned first houses with 1 year of each other... the awesome result of all of that, is we live less than 10 miles apart... and this:

Cousins, super close in age, that love having sleepovers!!

Cousins, they are totally the best kind of family.  They are fun to hang out with, easy to get along with, don't have any of the annoying family qualities that a sibling or parent might have, and no matter how much time passes, you just pick up right where you left off!  I got a txt just this morning that said "Cousins!  Let's get together!"  Some of my best memories involve my cousins.  The reason I love the movies Hook and Ferris Buller's Day Off; my cousins.  Jumping on the bed at Grandma's, waiting for Santa, and white water rafting; my cousins.  Pool parties, bowling, talent shows; my cousins.  Swimming in a hot tub, playing spoons, sneaking chips and pop; my cousins.  Trips out west, trips to Indiana, trips anywhere; my cousins.  Writing notes, sneaking cigarettes, telling secrets; my cousins!  Drinking, mountain climbing, camping; my cousins.  Badminton, laughing, M&M's; my cousins.  Seriously... I have the most fun, most beautiful, most honest, true to themselves, passionate, follow their dreams, type of cousins.  They are the best!  I love them all.

So tonight, as I listen to my kids develop their own bonds with their cousins, I think of my cousins all over the world (seriously, my cousins are all over the world - not only all over the states, MI, WA, CA, MO, OH but also in Korea and France!), and I hope they are all doing great.  I lift this awesome glass of wine in your direction, and I think I'll have another in your honor!  I miss you all!