The Wino That I Know

Our New Addition

2012-01-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

So this year, when we went up to the in-laws, we ended up bringing home an unusual gift. I'm excited to introduce to you Miss Velma Kelly.

Velma, originally named Molly, was a stray found by my brother in law. Turns out he couldn't keep her, and well, I'm a sucker for sweet faces. Her name comes from Bebe Neuwirth's character in the musical Chicago, one of my all time favorite musicals.

She's a super sweetheart...approximately 1 year old black lab mix. Clean bill of health from the vet.

She and Sassy get along very well...and she has even learned that the cat is a force to be reckoned with.

The one downside: She is currently in heat. I'm not such a fan of dealing with this, and as soon as she is through with this and it is safe, someone is getting spayed.

I've been wanting a second dog for a long time, and we are so excited that we happened into this situation and were able to take on Velma.

30 before 30

2012-01-01T14:54:00.003-05:00

OK, so where have I been? I've been crazy busy, and when I'm home, the couch is more comfortable than the computer. So here's my update on my 30 before 30 list...

1. ~~Go on Vacation. It doesn't have to be exotic, but it has to be for fun, with the hubs, and spend at least 2 nights in a hotel. Staying with family does not count.~~ (June 30-July 2, stayed in Charlotte, NC and then met up with the hubs family at the beach for 2 days)
2. Come to grips with whether or not we want children, and if we do want them, a plan for when we might want to start trying.
3. Read 8 books between now and then. Yes, the ones I am currently in the midst of count. (Poisonwood Bible 2/6/11; Water for Elephants 7/3/11, still working on Appollo's Angels and starting Life of Pi )
4. Wear a two piece bathing suit. (Tankini purchased May 28, 2011; wore all summer 2011.Will try to embrace a real two piece in 2012.)
5. Attend a dance intensive without students. (Planning to attending NYCDA workshop in 2 weeks)
6. ~~Have organized closets that stay that way.~~ (organized on April 4- Still working as of June 27, 2011)
7. ~~Find a signature hair cut/style.~~ (New hair cut June 24, 2011)
8. Start a vegetable garden. (Joined a CSA May 2011...not the same, but certainly is good for increasing our vegetable intake. Maybe we'll grow some of our next summer.)
9. Lose Weight. (91 lbs to be exact.) (Met my goal as of December 15, gained some back during Christmas)
10. ~~Apply to grad school.~~(After much soul searching, I decided this isn't the route I want to go.)
11. Create a cleaning schedule and stick to it for at least 2 weeks. Modify what doesn't work and stick to it for at least another month. (I've worked on the schedule part-have not been able to keep it. Still experimenting. Downloaded HomeRoutines App on 7/18/11, set up a schedule for cleaning zones as well as daily and weekly tasks.)
12. Try 4 new local restaurants (no chains!) (Soprano's Pizza 6.12.2011; On our Charlotte Vacation we only ate at 2 chain places: Buffalo Wild Wings (it was late, and convenient when we got to the hotel) and Sheetz on the way back; ) Tuscanny Italian Ristorante for dinner tonight, 7.10.2011; Revisited the Surrey House Restaurant for the first time in at least 20 years 7.16.2011)
13. Try being vegetarian for a week.
14. Buy a houseplant-and don't let it die. (Received an Orchid on 2.14.2011; Dead by the end of May 2011; Received a second Orchid for Christmas)
15. ~~Organize jewelry.~~ (Completed 2.12.2011)
16. Go to the zoo.
17. Complete JL's tshirt quilt.
18. Complete SD's onesie quilt.
19. Try at least 3 new craft projects. (Jewelry Organizer Completed 2.12.2011; attempting some jewelry making 6.28.11)
20. Take a real yoga class.
21. ~~Go Hiking.~~(Completed on 4.23.2011)
22. Have a reunion with at least 2 friends from college.
23. Sing at to Karaoke.
24. Go to a Wax Museum.
25. Update Resume
26. Take new, good head shots.
27. Create a jazz dance syllabus. (Began June 2011. Working with some preliminary information found online, trying some of it out on our students and then adjusting as appropriate.)
28. Write an original children's ballet to correspond with the VA SOLs.
29. Pay off Credit Card.
30. Sex. Let's just leave it at that.

Other New Experiences
1. Attended Minor League Hockey Game - 2/18/2011
2. Visited NYC on Band Trip-not necessarily new, but it was with the hubster! 4/28-29
3. NASCAR Hall of Fame and 4 different race shops/museums - 6/30-7/2
4. Surry County Peanut, Pork, and Pine Festival- not completely new, but I hadn't been there since I was 3. I also tried a new food-pork taquitos from a local restaurant (Bubbas'n'Franks in Carrollton, VA). They were awesome-and very different.
5. Attended the Guinea Jubilee for the first time as an attendee, instead of with the marching band. (Not something I recommend). 9/24/2011

The Importance of the Weekend

2011-09-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

I hate fall. That's a lie. I actually love fall-it's one of my favorite times of year. Unfortunately, my schedule is super sucky in the fall-especially this fall. I am working a third job (working with the marching band), which is a huge time commitment in the evenings and weekends, and I've working overload on my primary job. Two weeks ago (and into last weekend), my schedule was horrid. Mondays and Wednesdays I leave school to go directly to the studio; Tuesdays and Thursdays are band practice in the evenings.

Friday, I worked straight through the entire with in a frazzled fury of energy to go directly to my marching band job (practice and then a football game)...finally getting home about 10:30 that evening.

Saturday we had a parade, which meant I was back up at school by 8AM.

Parade was rained out. Ran home, straightened things up a little in order to get ready to go out again.

Niece's first birthday party (2PM)

Military promotion party (4PM). Take too many shots, have an emotional break down before leaving, rough ride home, and stumble into bed.

Sunday morning-lots of bread and water...feeling too rough to do much, but the hubs wants to go. So...

Off to the county fair.

Wait for FIL to stop by.

Run errands.

Wait for FIL to stop by.

Run to a friends house to do some laundry as our dryer was broken.

Realize FIL isn't going to stop by.

Frantically get ready to start the week again.

This week was even worse as I had auditions scheduled after school in addition to the band practices. There was one saving grace, though. The dryer repairman was coming on Friday, sometime between 8AM and 5PM. That meant someone had to stay home and wait for him, and as luck would have it, it was me.

I truly needed that day off. I feel so much better and refreshed. We had another band event that was rained out yesterday, and then nothing I had to do today...that was 3 days in a row to do what I needed to for myself. What a relief.

I know that weekends like this are few and far between, but I've got to make sure that right now while my schedule is super crazy to take a little more time for me. I feel so much better prepared for the week now that I have had some time to recuperate from last week.

The A to Z of Me

2011-09-25T13:06:00.000-04:00

Nothing like going a month without blogging, and coming back with a silly meme. More fun stuff to come later.

A. Age: 29...looking forward to turning 30 next summer!

B. Bed: Queen Size...which according the hubs I hog, and according me, he hogs!

C. Chore the you hate doing: Putting away laundry...second only to putting away dishes from the dishwasher

D. Dogs: Right now, only 1: a hound mix named Sassy who is approximately 7 years old. She was a rescue from the SPCA. We've had her a little over 5 years...the vet estimated when we got her that she was about a year and a half old. We also run a kennel for friends and family. My sister's dogs, Lucky, the dauschand, Daisy, the beagle/lab mix, and Rufus, the golden retriever, are often frequent flyers over here. We also just finished keeping Willow, a Siberian Husky who caused us much strife, for a friend over seas. We thought we were getting a new puppy after Marching Season is over, but now that doesn't seem to be happening. I still really want another dog.

E. Essential to Start Your Day: Coffee. I think it's more a hot beverage than caffeine that gets me up and going in the morning.

F. Favorite Color: Probably red, although I realized my wardrobe was primarily reds and pinks, so now it's much more saturated with purples and blues. I really do think every color can be beautiful when given the proper attention.

G. Gold or Silver: Silver all the way.

H. Height: 5'10"

I. Instruments you play: I leave that to the hubs. He plays them all. I wish I played piano...apparently, when I was little, I was asked if I wanted lessons, refused, so they got my cousin to play. He no longer plays, and I wish I did. I also played around with the idea of playing the flute in middle school, but decided I was better to stick with singing. I do sing-I still dream of being a broadway baby. I studied voice privately in college, but (obviously) never went anywhere with it.

J. Job title: Teacher. How boring. I did make up my own title, though, and they let me use it on my signature line: Associate Director of Dance. I'm also the Visual Ensemble Director and Calendar Guru at school. I have also been referred to as the Princess of Awesomeness (seriously).

K. Kids: None right now. I think we're going to start thinking a little more seriously next summer about it...if I decide to forgo my masters for now.

L. Live: Southeastern Virginia...in an area known for being a bit ghetto, and everyone famous from here is a bit notorious. Funny, if you go 20-30 minutes away, it's a much different atmosphere. I'd like to get there some day.

M. Mother's Name: Ann...although to me, she's just Mom.

N. Nicknames: Hopey, Hopester, Hope-ifer, Action.

O. Overnight Hospital Stays: None-except for when I was born.

P. Pet Peeves: Stupid people. Seriously, just get over yourself and do what you know is right. Whistling. The obnoxious high pitched sounds my husband thinks is funny.

Q. Quotes from Movies:

R. Right or Left Handed: Right

S. Siblings: 1 sister, 3 years younger than I am. We were not particularly close (though no bad blood either) till she had my nephew. Now we are significantly closer.

T. Time You Wake Up: I hate waking up...During the week, the alarm goes off at 5:15, and I'm out of bed by 5:45 (some mornings earlier than others). Most Saturdays, I'm up by 7 as I probably have to be somewhere. If I don't, it's usually around 8AM. I actually tell Sassy she can't wake me up before 8AM. We sometimes bargain in the mornings over it.

U. Underwear: I wear a variety of bikinis, lacy boy cuts, and g strings. It all depends on my mood and what I'm wearing.

V. Vegetable you hate: There are not many of those, but last year we got a whole bunch of Kale through our CSA. I now hate that vegetable. Don't bring it around me.

W. What makes you run late: Chores. "Lemme try to get one more thing done real quickly before I leave..." Although, honestly, I'm not often late.

X. Xrays you've had: Ankle, knee (multiple times), bladder (not fun at all), and my shoulder at least twice.

Z. Zoo Animals: I love big cats. Lions, tigers, panthers...you name, I am in awe of their beauty.

Accessorize me!

2011-08-22T13:39:00.000-04:00

The problem with losing weight is you need all new clothes. Much to my wallet's chagrin, I have become quite a clothes horse since losing weight. I'm almost to my goal-I have about 15 lbs to go-so I'm trying not to go crazy as I might still go down an additional size before I'm done. I've picked up some essentials I need to go back to school with, but now I'm focusing my attention on what accessories I can get to jazz up my wardrobe. I mean, for the most part, you can wear the same accessories regardless of what size you. So here are a few of the things I'm digging...

Express

Leopard Print. I'm not bold enough to wear it as a shirt, skirt, or dress, but I love it right now. I did pick up a cute little skinny belt similar to the one above at Target this morning.

Candie's, carried by Kohl's

Peep toe or not, I love these (and similarly styled) shoes. Being that I am on the tall side, I'm searching for a pair that isn't platform. I have no problem walking in them, but I'd prefer not to be too statuesque.

Steve Madden Trinitie Platform Pumps

Speaking of shoes, I want some nude pumps. Like woah. They seem so pretty and versatile.

Forever 21

I found last year that I got the most use out of a long silver necklace I have. I was browsing Charming Charlie's the other day, and found an awesome long pearl necklace and matching earrings. For less than $8, I was sold.

A Change of Pace

2011-08-21T21:14:00.001-04:00

I established this blog as a way to recall wines I've tasted and loved-or hated, as the case may be. I haven't stayed exclusive to posting about wine-this blog has from time to time become an outlet for different thoughts and ideas I have had, but I always felt like I should keep those to a minimum. (Hard to believe, I know.)

I also haven't been posting a lot of different wines. It's not that I'm not drinking-althoug while doing Weight Watchers, I have cut back-it's more that I have found some of my favorites and am not trying so many different wines.

So I'm changing the tone of this blog...Wine will still have a strong presence, but this is blog is becoming more about my life and adventures, no longer wine-centric. I can promise you, I'm not exciting, but judging by the number of readers I attract, my impressions and ideas about wine aren't either. So...here's to turning over a new leaf!

Biltmore Reserve Riesling

2011-08-21T14:38:00.000-04:00

Wine: Biltmore Reserve Riesling
Store: Purchased at Biltmore Winery
Price: Gift (retails online for $10.99)

"...Crafted from North Carolina's finest grapes, this classic Riesling is crisp and semi-sweet with delicate fruit flavors and a hint of spice." ~Back of the Bottle

A friend of ours had the opportunity to visit and tour the illustrious Biltmore Estate and winery. He thoughtfully brought us back this bottle of wine. Now, I am picky about my sweet wines. I find that in my ripe, old age, I much prefer dryer wines to sweeter ones. This one is sweet with regards to the fruit flavors, but it is not overpoweringly sweet. I did not feel like I was drinking perfume. The Hubs and I enjoyed this as an after dinner drink on this fine, late summer evening, and we both really enjoyed it. I wish I had some strawberries, or other light fruit to enjoy with it, but overall a good experience.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars