Wine Tasting Passport Weekend

Saturday, April 4th

7:00am: Get up, throw on workout clothes, head to the gym.

8:30am: Get home, take off sweaty clothes, jump in shower.

10:00am: Hair is done, makeup on, supercute outfit all picked out.

10:30am: Get into car with hubby and head "up the hill".

11:15am: Arrive at first winery. Very hungry.

11:25am: (It's 12:00 somewhere, right?) Wine is good, as is the swiss cheese fondue. Roast beef not my favorite, especially since there is no sauce. And small portions = still very hungry.

12:00pm: Arrive at second winery. Very crowded (this is a good sign). LOTS of food! Thai Beef on Wontons w/ chili sauce, Butternut Squash Soup, Some Yummy Beef Thing, Braised Pork & Mushroom, many cheeses, sweet brownies. Mmmm! The wine and food pairings are excellent!

1:15pm: Arrive and third winery. Less crowded. Delicious salmon dish, tri-tip a little dry, SCRUMPTIOUS wild mushroom soup.

1:30pm: Go back for seconds on the soup.

1:45pm: Buy a case of futures (uh-oh, what have we done?? It is wonderful wine, though!).

2:00pm: Arrive at fourth winery. Proscuitto wrapped melon an odd combination but surprisingly tasty. Much bigger fan of the stuffed mushroom caps.

2:25pm: Wow, the jalapeno olive oil is just delicious and not a lot of heat! Thanks to hubby, must purchase!

2:45pm: Arrive at fifth winery. Whew, starting to get a little tired.

2:55pm: They have personal pot pies?! Must get one!

3:00pm: Eating delicious Thai Chicken pot pie outside in the sunshine.

3:45pm: Back at home.

4:00pm: On the couch asleep.

Needless to say it was a superfun day! After a revival from my little nap we did popcorn and movie night on our oh-so-comfy couches. *sigh* It was a perfect day. :)

Meaningful Mondays: Who are you?

"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do."
~Henry Ford

So do something, be someone! Many are big talkers saying they are going to do this or they're going to do that. Who you are is your choice, based on what you do and how you do it. And I think this quote is referring not just to the reputation of your character but also the reputation of your work.

So what does your reputation say about you? Does it say what you want it to say? Can you change it if it's not what you want???

Daffodil Hill

I know it was last weekend that I went here but I just now had a chance to write about it and add some pictures. My sister and I went to place about an hour from us called Daffodil Hill - it's a private property of about 4 acres of daffodils. So pretty! I got some fun pictures (nothing too exciting) and then after we'd walked through the entire property and I said, "That's it?" my sister and I decided it wasn't necessary to go there again for about 10 years. Yes, it was nice and I'm glad that we went but it was an awful long drive just for that. No, thank you. There are other places much closer that I'd rather go to.

At any rate, here are some pictures from the day:

I'm super excited because tomorrow my husband and I are going on a "Passport Weekend" wine tasting tour. A bunch of wineries in our area are participating and you pay one fee, get a glass and wristband, and then you get to go to all the wineries that are doing this. Normally wine tasting around here is free so, why pay for this weekend? Well for starters, each place is serving FOOD! All different kinds of yummy foods that I can't wait to try! You also get special discounts, tasting of their special reserve wines, etc. I don't care as much about that stuff as I do the food.

Our plan is to get to the first winery by 12:00, 12:30 so we can have "lunch", of course eat at every other place we go to in the afternoon, and then at our last stop, around 5:00, we'll have "dinner". So we're basically planning to eat, drink, and be merry all day long. Sounds great to me!!

Meaningful Mondays - Finding What You Seek

I think every Monday from now on I'm going to have a quote, piece of advice, or something else meaningful. So I will call these posts "Meaningful Mondays". :) I'll try to get these posted at the beginning of the day, not the end, but oh well. At least it's still Monday, right?

So here it is for this week.

"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will".
~Abraham Lincoln

I love the simplicity of this statement. If you look for bad things in a person or in a situation you will doubtless find it. And conversely, if you look for good in a person or a situation, you will find that, too. So the idea is to look for positive things in people and situations even when the tendency is to see how bad someone or something might be. Sounds easy, right?

Not for most people.

It requires stepping back and looking at something from all angles before jumping to a negative conclusion, and giving someone another chance who has done wrong in the past. Challenging? Yes. Do-able....?

Absolutely!!!!

So good luck in seeking good this week!

Cigar Breath?

I'm super excited because tomorrow my sister and I are going to Daffodil Hill (a private farm about an hour away with acres of beautiful daffodils) and then driving around through sleepy little towns and picturesque wineries to let the creative photographers within us take over. I haven't done a "photography day" in a long time so I'm so excited that tomorrow will be dedicated to that!

At any rate, while researching some different wineries in the area to see which ones we might want to drive past or take pictures at (no, no wine tasting tomorrow - that's next weekend!) I came across this on one of the winery websites:

EVENTS!

Cigar Day: Join us at CBC for a big ol’ cigar on Sunday March 7th. Special discounts for anyone with Cigar Breath.

Cigar breath?? Really??? I know the event is already past so I wonder if they actually made people blow their nasty cigar breath in their face to determine if it was cigar-y enough to get a "special" discount? LOL. Or maybe it was just their way of being creative and basically anyone smoking qould qualify. Let's hope so. Needless to say I had to laugh when I read it. At least they have a sense of humor. ;)

Wish me luck on my photography excursion!!

Couture Trunk Show

I am so excited! I officially have my Trunk Show scheduled for April 10th! In addition to all of the racks and racks of fabulous designer clothes (all authentic!) I'll also have hors d'oeuvres and wine, and strawberries and champagne... mmm, what could be better than a night with my gal pals, amazing clothes, and champagne?? Terrfific excuse to invite everyone over!

The evite was sent out this afternoon and I already have 4 people coming. :) :) :) Small and intimate or big and loud, I don't care, I will have fun either way!

I'm having my friend come over extra early so I can try jeans on and hopefully choose a fabulous pair that I'm going to buy with my hostess discount... and will of course wear them to the party so I can be a walking advertisement. Now I just need to figure out what smashing top and sexy heels I'm going to wear! ;)

I'm Bringing Sexy Back

YEAH! Thanks to the ever-sexy-herself Polka Dotted Owl for granting me this coveted award!

Rules: List 5 things about me that I think are sexy, then pass it on.

1) Confidence is always sexy, as evidenced by little things like, walking tall, sitting up straight, making eye contact, and SMILING. I'm usually a very confident person and that's sexy.

2) Standing up for myself. Having my own own opinion and sticking with it instead of following others. (Wimpy and non-committal is not sexy).

3) I have to copy Polka Dotted Owl for this one... having a toned, fit body that I work hard for and am proud of. Taking care of yourself is totally sexy!

4) Ambition. I know what I want and I go after it, without tromping on other people to get ahead (not sexy!). I always admire people who have the drive and determination to go after their dreams.

5) Laughing at myself. I know I make mistakes and goof up from time to time or even act like a complete goober, and I always laugh at myself when I do. So sexy!

The girls I'm passing this on to are:
Erica
Sweet Melissa

Have a great night!!!

Hlaf-Marathon Progress

It' been a while since I've mentioned my training but it actually has been going well. So far I've actually spent all of my training indoors on the treadmill, mostly because that is where I am most comfortable. But I decided that I would have to get my butt outside pretty soon since, uh, the race takes place in the great outdoors.

So last weekend I hit the trail. I chose a partiularly hilly section because I figured that would be good preparation for me. I was SO proud of myself! I did much better than I thought I would do, away from the comfort of the ceiling fans blowing right on me, my water bottle secured in the cupholder, towel draped on the treadmill bar right in front of me, and, of course, the distraction of the TV and all of it's wonderfully mindless shows.

I ended up doing 7 1/2 miles and even did it faster than I would have had I been in the gym! I couldn't believe it! Now, I'm still really slow, too slow to call myself a runner (and I still have to alternate with speed walking - which I am totally fine with) but I don't care how slow I am, I'm just proud that being on the trail wasn't as mentally difficult as I thought it would be.

I've got less than 6 weeks to go and right now I'm feeling pretty confidant that I'll be able to do it. *sigh* That's a good feeling. :)