Weekend wrap-up

This weekend proved to be equally productive and fun!

I’ve really been hating on our 2nd bedroom. It’s a mish-mash of Kev’s work stuff, beer brewing stuff and some general storage. Plus, we keep our recycling bin in there cause there’s nowhere else to put it. Basically I hate going in there. I decided K needed a spot to keep all of his work clothes, his boots, work bag, gym bag, etc…so I got a little garment rack from Target and reorganized the room. (It broke overnight but we got a new one!)

I purged so much crap, too, which felt great. I ended up having a few boxes for my mom (she’s packing up the house and putting it on the market), which worked out well. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure? Ha. Anyway, the room looks larger and it feels good to have gotten rid of so much stuff that just took up space. I was able to reorg the closet a bit in order *share* some of the space with Kev – his beer brewing stuff now resides there instead of in one massive corner of the room. Ha. All in all, a success. It’s not 100% by any means, I would still like to do some organizing, but it’s much much better. So nice that Kev bragged to BOTH our moms about it. Ha.

Kev was off Saturday night so we opened some wine and ate a spread of some cheeses, rye bread and meat. We watched “Four Brothers,” which had so much potential and then just got bad. Bad acting for the most part. A cheesy snowy chase scene. It was just bad. Sunday was super lazy and I watched the Grammys. We were planning to watch the Pro Bowl but K’s sleep schedule is so off, he slept most of the day Sunday. Monday I woke up and called our ops manager to see if I could take the day off. We got a mass email last week indicating that since Amex hasn’t received their 2010 budgets yet, we will be slow this month and any unpaid time off will be approved. Luckily, we can afford it right now and luckily the manager said it was fine.

We got SO much done Monday. Not only did we get a lot of our errands and other things knocked out but we went to my mom’s for a few hours and helped her move some large/heavy items from the basement to the garage for the junk guys to collect. I know she really really appreciated it and I’m glad we could get that done for her. Among other things, K got his taxes done and ended up getting a great return. We went to Lou Malnatti’s for a pizza to go and ended up getting some free beers while waiting at the bar! Kev got a new computer and I got a new iPhone case. We spent the evening with some HIMYM action and had a blast.

Upon waking up he asked why everyday can’t be that wonderful…it made me both sad and happy. Sad because I knew I was headed back to Crazytown. Happy cause it really was a faboosh day. Looking forward to doing it again. It’ll just take awhile. He doesn’t have any weekends off in February.

He’s off next Sunday – perfect for the Super Bowl. We decided to stay home and enjoy the Bravia and surround sound. I believe the B family usually does a party thing, but we’re feeling the couchy couch this year. I think I’ll try my hand at pulled pork! His brother is coming to watch the game as well as his buddy John – who we love just as much. I invited one of my new friends to come (a gal from Dinner Club), and I think she will come by with her hubs. They’re local too. So that’s that. Nothing big. No party this year. Just some old standbys and a new friend. Good stuff. Anyone is welcome, of course!

2009 in review

Feel free to ignore this, as it’s a timeline of sorts. But I’d like to be able to check back on the year that couldda been…

NYE 2009 was spent at home with Kevin, huge shrimp cocktail and 2 bottles of bubbly. What better way to ring in the new year than a lil’ lovin’ at midnight. (TMI? Sorry.)

In all honesty, bringing in 2009 was very bittersweet. We were happy Kev was home. But sad and scared about what we’d just been through. The end of ’08 was heavily concentrated on K’s renal failure. A medical condition that put him in the hospital for several days doped up on dilaudid, a drug that we were told is 10x stronger than morphine. He was poked, prodded, observed, scanned and scared for his life. I was a wreck the first night I left him overnight in the hospital and almost felt like I had nowhere to turn but his brother and parents. Even then it was odd to stay in his room for hours with his mom while she read and I just wanted to climb into the hospital bed with Kevin to hold him close.

After I missed a couple days of work and he took a medical leave, things got back on track. Well, kinda. He was off his renal diet with doc approval and we were on our merry way. Or were we?

Things were hard after kidney failure, I’m not gonna lie. He felt like his life was spiraling out of control. That’s just it, KF was something he couldn’t control. Something scary, unknown. Something that took a huge toll on our relationship. Ah, our relationship.

To summarize what was happening post KF, I was running away from my feelings. I was going out a lot, I was going to the gym all the time to “escape,” I was confiding in others instead of focusing on my relationship with him. Part of me also feels that he felt like I was spiraling or running away so he took a tougher grip on me, which in turn, caused me to run further. I broke down one night and cried to my dad as he hugged me. I didn’t know how to fix anything.

It all came to a head in February, and as time went on we worked and talked and we decided to seek out help and support. We did just that.

Spring was soon upon us, and it proved to have many fun times. After K’s b-day party in late February, we enjoyed many Sox games, I went to Angie and Tim’s and they cooked a huge birthday dinner for me (as well as bought me 2 bottles of my fave types of vino!), we experienced our first time hangin’ with Kim & Mark in a 2-on-2 situation (what, it was a big deal!), and BOOM – June. You know what that means. VAYYYYGUSSS!

It was a blast. I’ve blogged about it before so I won’t go into deets again. But wow!

The rest of the summer flew by, we ate too much, drank too much, went to Cordial too much, overdid Shark Week too much…you get the point. But it was all good times. Some highlights were Kim’s bachelorette party and the Sharky Malarky party, to name just a few.

Finally, our fave time of year, fall, was upon us. We spent a good amount of “J & K” time together as well as some quality time with D, some fun times with Mark & Kim, and other friends as well. We also had lots of weddings to attend in September and October, but we managed to have some quiet time together while Kev was on furlough. Of course our favorite time of year is Halloween and again I’ve blogged about our autumnal beers and stuffs, so I won’t bore you now but we had a great time. We attended Mark and Kim’s Halloween party and braved a Bears game the next morning. You only live once.

From the first day of 2009 til now, I can feel a change.

I have realized that Kev and I were close to losing one another, I don’t want to lose him. I realized every couple has a bad year – and we had ours. But there were great times, too, that can’t overshadow the really gritty tough stuff we went through as a couple. I know more hard times will come, but I feel like we are stronger by actually pushing through the horrible sad times we went through. 2009 was full of tears – but also many priceless friends and memories. Also, I feel like I won’t settle at this job anymore – and I’m actually being proactive to get out of it instead of complaining and doing nothing. I have made new friends, really good ones. I have proved to myself that I can do certain things. I have tried hard to be a good friend, lover, sister, daughter, etc. Though I know I let myself down during the first half of 2009, I’ve learned a lot from it about what I want, what I need, and what’s *truly* important. I don’t believe people that say “no regrets” cause that’s just a lie. Sure, everything you’ve done has brought you here, but don’t say there isn’t anything you wouldn’t take back. At least I wouldn’t say that. Cause I would. I can’t…so therefore all I can do is move forward, look at the future through a positive lens and do the work it takes to make it a great year.

No but really let’s focus on the good stuff

Some exciting stuff has been happening! I don’t like to boast about stuff or come off as self-important, so it’s hard for me to post all about me and what I’m excited or happy about. (Clearly I like to vent much more…heh.) Here goes nothing!

K and I have been doing some real estate investing with my brother. We give him money. It’s basically a personal loan to him. He uses said money to invest in rehabbing apartment/condo complexes or homes, then pays us back — plus some. This plus some is 10% on our investment – which has been awesome. Better than any bank at this point. We trust him, so there’s no worry that the money won’t come back. We will have our second opportunity to invest 20k again and get 2k back very soon. I smell a vacation…?! Or just more money in savings.

Also exciting –> the Examiner.com articles. I realize it pays very low, and it’s not really a huge deal at all, but it’s fun for me. And right now, that’s all I need. It’s a hobby and a resume-builder, and honestly those are two things I was desperately in need of. It’s been fun to post on Twitter and get good reactions. It’s been fun to see how many hits I get per week.

My best month was November, when I was ranked as #1 Examiner in Chicago! Watching my name climb to the top of the list was fun, silly and exciting. Kim was there (virtually) to share in the excitement!

Getting an invterview with Rue La La and having Elle’s very own Joe Zee “retweet” my post made the big huge nerd in me way too excited. Thanks, all, for your support. If you’re readin’ this…

Another item – I am getting hooked up with Creative Circle. They place designers, editors, writers, etc. in freelance, p-t or f-t positions. I’ve seen many jobs posted by them and decided to apply for some. Mainly marketing writers since I’ve got the most experience there. They emailed me back right away and I’m headed there tomorrow for a meeting on Michigan Ave. A friend of mine hooked up with them and that’s how he got his newest f-t gig. So I’m hoping it’s all good.

I’ve got my resume printed on pretty paper and my letters of recommendation from people I’ve been in grad school & working environments with. I’ve got a pretty folder with some of my Examiner articles printed and placed. I’ve got an online portfolio of sorts. I’m hoping it’s enough. Enough to get me some additional freelance work or enough to get me a new full-time gig.

To be honest, for me, freelancing would be ideal. I know I need health insurance and all that jazz, so it’d be tough. But, I’ve also spoken with my brother about doing additional work for him with real estate. It’s all new and different and I know I can’t make full-time money by being a beginning freelancer, especially with the economy right now.

So for now I’ll stay at Crazytown and just try to stomach each moment of annoyingness. But I hope something good comes up. I’ve had my eye on this job in the town next to ours…but haven’t heard anything after applying. Boo. Not to sound like I think I am alllll *overqualified,* but their pre-reqs weren’t all that intense. I know my writing isn’t the best – especially for Examiner. But I know that I’ve written well for my stuff at my current job and I’m capable. So we will see. All I can do is try to be prepared for whatever ?’s CC comes up with tomorrow. I.have.no.idea.what.to.expect.

Last but not least, I’m happy that our 5-day cleanse was a success — we realized we could have self-control and determination when it came to what we put into our bodies. Eating and drinking were out of control and we wanted to prove that we could not only do a cleanse of sorts but actually sustain our minds and bodies with minimal calories. I felt great! We were impressed that we were able to stick to it for 5 days and blown away with how AMAZING just canned soup tasted after we were finished. Though we did lose some weight, it wasn’t about that but a sense of new beginnings, purging the old, restarting the ol’ digestive track in a sense. A good lifestyle? No. Will I ever do it again? Prolly not. But it was great at the time and I don’t regret it for a second.

I’m sure I have more fun and exciting (to me) stuff to talk about. But til next time, pals…

Ok so since November…

Ummm the holidays are a bit of a blur. Thanksgiving was spent with mom and sis…pretty standard, yet it felt different without my stepdad there. Lots of leftovers, lots of vino. Yum.

Kev and I had some fun parties between Nov and Jan and all that jazz. Good times all around. Plus I had my usual work party – which is typically hilariously inappropriate. I’ll leave it at that.

Christmas was a bit different this year. Each year, my sister and I spend Xmas Eve with mom and most of Xmas day with dad. Well Xmas Eve was nice, mom made yummy food and we did gifts. We started drinking a bit before dinner, so by the time we ate, I was so full and tired. After gifts, I hung out for a bit and headed home. I got home and opened my Xmas card from my stepdad I just lost it and broke down bawling.

At that moment, Kev dialed his # on his celly and I talked to him and cried to him – he told me it meant so much and it made his night. I had been super duper pooper scooper holding in emotions about the divorce. It was sad to miss him on Xmas Eve for the first time in 10 years. Just. Sad. We laughed a lot and got along so well, he was like a dad to me. A buddy, too. Life is different now.

Besides that part of the holidays, which by the way I can’t stand anyway bc everywhere I look it’s red and glittery and bright and cheery, and I don’t like forced cheer, things were fine. But I don’t do Jeebus and I don’t particularly like commercialization and pressure to BUY BUY BUY and spend a lot of dough on people cause it’s expected. I don’t like people donating then because ‘it’s the right thing to do’ or ‘it’s the time of year to give,’ dude if you want to donate, you could do it whenever. It’s like people trying to make themselves feel good or something. And the music…don’t get me started. Forced cheer. Forced Christ. Over and over from the day after Thanksgiving to after Xmas day. I can do the music in small doses. Not 8 hours a day 40 hours a week.

Call me Grinchy, I won’t get offended. I had a spoiled childhood, yes, I never went without, my parents are very successful and work hard — but since my parents got divorced, holidays have been hard. Why?

1. My parents hate one another
2. I have to choose which parent to be with – when
3. I have immense guilt because of this
4. Mainly bc my mom is a little nutty

My mom’s side of the family is way beyond fubar, and my dad’s side … well I never really felt like I belonged. So there. The holidays suck and the only things I like is getting together with several members of my family, giving gifts to those I love, eating and drinking yummy goodness, being with friends and ugly sweaters.

I realize I have it really good in life. I have health, happiness, a nice home, a job, a man that’s amazing in every way possible. I have parents that support my life decisions and love me and I can drink wine with and laugh with and all that fun stuff. I just don’t like Christmas. Don’t hate.

So…hi?

An update has been a long time coming! To be honest, if you were wondering what was going on in my life you could check my facebook or twitter…mostly cause I’m a social networking whoooore. Yep, I said it. Do I tweet too much? Sho’ nuf. Update fb too much with random crap? Yuppers. I guess if anyone had a problem, they could choose to unfollow/defriend me or stop readin. Hah. No but really I realize it’s overkill sometimes, but if you love me, you love it. If you hate me, well, why are you reading my updates or my blog…

But, here we are… this blog is just that — Insatiable Blathering. I don’t proofread or try to write properly or with any convictions, really. I just type my thoughts.

Sometimes I feel like people either love me or they hate me. That’s cause I’m super oninionated. I don’t hold back. I say how I feel sometimes and don’t let people get away with saying certain things to me or doing things I don’t like, without telling them. BUT I also think with my heart sometimes, I’m too sensitive, I can be sarcastic (No…) and I get offended at certain times when I feel like people are judging me.

In fact, I’m feeling a conflict with myself lately. Here goes –

Basically I’ve come to realize that I have my personal thoughts on life, and find myself annoyed when others have totally different lifeviews. Not cool, right? Personal…let’s think about the meaning of that word.

My bf says I can’t let other people’s differences bother me so much. Like when people are closed-minded or stupid, I can’t let that make me fuming mad. (Believe me, I’ve been both of those things in my life too.) Or when I am around people with totally different personalities than me or my loved ones, I can’t get annoyed at them or dislike them. We are all different and that’s what makes it all so interesting.

I have to accept that there are people that aren’t my type – and that guess what – I will be working with them for the rest of my life – so I need to swallow my pride. Ya can’t choose your co-workers like you can your friends. Even if someone is from a tiny town and says “there are no gays in Michigan” and I want to beat them with a stapler upside the head…I have to chill the EFF out. If someone is a hypocrite, a judger, a know-it-all, an interruptor every single day for 40 hours a week…argh I have to deal with it. Or find a new job.

Another thing on my mind…

I have to realize this: Just cause other people think things are ‘normal’ and I don’t, doesn’t mean they’re bad and I’m good. Or that I’m bad and they’re good. Or that anyone is right or anyone is wrong.

Just cause I don’t believe in (or don’t believe in) a few things others might, doesn’t mean anyone is wrong.

Some things I don’t want to do that many might — Be chipper. Go to church and have religion in my life. Life my life on a timeline. Live my life to raise kids. And many others…like for example, K and I live together before marriage – something many do not necessarily “agree” with as a lifechoice.

Point being, I can’t let people that choose a different path let me feel like I’m any less of a person. Or any better of a person than them. I can’t look at them with judging eyes. I am me, take it or leave it. They are them (?) and I have to move on. And either love them as a pal or not be a part of their life.

And clearly K and I agree on all of these items or we wouldn’t be committed to one another, so when it really comes down to it…….

It’s all about us, anyway.

Twiddling my thumbs…for now

The bossy boss isn’t in yet so I thought I’d write something quick. Ummm…

Okay so this weekend was super relaxing. I got through tons of 30 Rock. The next episode in my lineup is Season 3, Episode 3. We also watched American Psycho. Hm, what else did I do…I saw Mandy, looked at her wedding color/dress, etc. Picked up a few groceries. Enjoyed the Keurig, as always. Ate light. Slept a lot. Edited Kev’s homework. We had a miscommunication about his assignment…that sucked…But other than that, a sucessfully lazy weekend.

I have a feeling that work will be pretty steady for the 3-day workweek (one word or two, I am so inconsistent with that word..damn) and when we get back next week it’ll be super busy. Boo. But I guess that’s good cause at least we’re getting new jobs in.

Hm everything else is pretty regs right now. I dropped a couple pounds, finally. I’ve gotta keep the momentum, but I sure as hell plan on enjoying a full plate of food on Thanksgiving. FOR SURE. My mom’s food is amazing – and she doesn’t skimp on the full-fat old school ingredients. I mostly love stuffing. Mmm. Nothing like bread squares with butter and herbs that were cooked inside the carcass of a bird that doesn’t fly. DEEELISH.

Argh, the Coug just walked in.

The week in a nutshell

Man oh man, after nursing a hangover all day Sunday I braved work and was just “blah.” That night, I missed my friend Joanne’s open mic/stand-up performance because all I wanted to do after a long Monday of still feeling out of it from lack of sleep and drinking was just lay on the couch. I did just that. We had dinner and just relaxed.

We’re also totally getting into 30 Rock – we’re streaming it through the PS3 and have been watching a few episodes together each night (the nights we don’t have a movie delivered). For me, it’s one of those shows I feel like I never got into early enough to love and it was placed on the back burner. I’m so glad we’re making time for it now. A-mazing.

I was thinking, and this week has been a week where I have had NOTHING to do after work. No family dinners, no appointments, no errands/returns/etc., no meeting friends for dinner or drinks, no co-worker drinks or parties or anything! I actually really like it…is that bad? I suppose I just get so used to having Kevin off that I want to just be with him all night and nobody else. I mean, don’t get me wrong, weekday fun is fabulous, but it was nice to get home nice and early and have the evenings to ourselves. Mikey was over for a bit last night and then D came by, which was sweet cause we still didn’t need to go anywhere. I felt homsick last weekend after just one day! Last night I just picked up buy one/get one Noodles & Co. and plopped down on the couch for the night. I’m really liking the Netflix deal, too, cause that means even more time for Kev and I to relax together. I know what I’ll be doing Saturday — catching up on 30 Rock!

Anyway, oddly enough, I don’t have prior obligations for this weekend and that feels good, too. I should really knock out a dinner with the girls from my master’s program (totally owe ‘em one), coffee with my SIL or another gf that I keep promising a coffee date to, but *sigh* the other thing is just saving a little cash for the holdiays now. Again I love getting together w/family and friends but I just need a chill weekend, too. No pressure. Just maybe a load of laundry, some organizing and relaxing. It’ll help make me feel a bit more sane.

Next week is a short week plus Thanksgiving, which means we all get to eat some DA-LISH-US food. Is it bad that I choose to go to my mom’s cause her food is sooo much better than the food at my dad’s family get-togethers? The food isn’t bad, I think I’m just used to my mama’s stuffing and all that jazz. Actually last year I chose based on food…but this year that side of the fam isn’t doing a formal get-together. Some people are going to visit Grams but others are out of town/state for their other sides of the family. Plus, my dad’s side is doing Xmas early this year. Reason being that my cousin & his wife and their newborn, Alexander, (Xander or X&er for short) are going to be in town. We all know those with newborns don’t/can’t travel much so we decided to work around them and have our family gift exchange/party Dec. 6. Totally cool that we will all be able to meet the new guy! Holy early, but it’s totally fine with me. I’ll be bringing green bean casserole. Why? Cause it’s cheap, everyone eats it and it’s super easy to make. No muss…no fuss…

Hm, what else. Though I’ve been trying to up my veggie and protein intake, the weight is not dropping. I know to kickstart I’m going to have to get back to the gym or do some workouts at home. Just gotta find that inspiration to sweat it out!

Other than that, I’ve only had one drinking fest since Nov. 1st, and don’t plan on drinking again til December. I can’t wait for VINO!

Back to work…oh joy!

Weekend wrap-up

Friday night we took it easy and watched The Office, Parks & Rec and Community on the DVR. Each show was such a fail! Not funny. Nothing fun to quote. It was just all bad. Total letdown. We’re just hoping this week redeems itself. We went on a nice long walk since the weather was so mild. The highlight for me was hearing and then seeing an owl! It was so neat. I got super excited. Haha.

Saturday I slept in and then got up to do some vacuuming, laundry, etc. Then I hit the bank with Kev. I packed up an overnight bag and headed to my mom’s place in Naperville. We stopped to pick up a cake for my sister and were on our way to ISU.

The car ride started out fine, but of course I asked her what she’s going to do once my stepdad moves out and she started going on and on about him. I got testy and said something around the lines of “Okay, what about YOU, what are YOU going to do?” And that kinda rubbed her the wrong way…naturally. We kinda got over our tiff in a few minutes…I was going to apologize shortly after things smoothed over but was busy navigating since my mom didn’t know where her hotel was. I figured I’d just let everything go. Whatevs.

We got to the hotel and checked in, freshened up a bit and had a beer. Mom forgot the bottle opener for the Tecate so we had to ask a maid for one. She delivered! Though it was pretty ghetto…

We headed to my sister’s apartment — which is more like a townhome or house. She has an upstairs with 2 bedrooms & 1 bath, a middle level with the basic kitchen/living room and a bathroom plus a basement with couches and chairs. Sweet! If you know her, you’d guess she wasn’t ready at all yet when we arrived, so Nick, his 2 friends and I picked up the keg. It was so weird to be back at one of the liquor stores I used to frequent! Anyway we got back and encouraged my mom to try some jello shots. Hilarious. I had a beer and then we headed to Monical’s for salad & pizza. The wait took for-ev-er and my sis and I were a bit cranky. But we finally ate and all was fine. I was glad our waitress was super quick. I guess she got a good tip from mom because of it.

Well, the rest of the night is history. We got back to my sister’s place and Nick’s sisters arrived so it was nice to meet them. More and more people arrived and I was able to talk to some of my sister’s girlfriends. Some people were saying we totally look alike, and others said not at all. Someone was even saying how we talk exactly alike! It’s funny to hear that kinda stuff. I said something like…”Yeah…we typically don’t like the same people, so we have that in common…” Hah. Anyway I enjoyed bonding with some of her friends. I know she doesn’t like about 99% of girls (I’m the same way) so it was cool to talk to some down to earth young ladies.

My sister was kinda all over the place, upstairs, downstairs, talking to the new people that arrived, so I kinda felt like I didn’t belong. Though one of her girlfriends like, *loved* me, so that was cute. Other than that I talked to her neighbors and just chatted to people about their majors and they asked me about my life after ISU. I talked to Nick’s sisters about hating Naperville and what music we like, etc. But all night I just kept feeling SO OLD. Although one of Nick’s sisters is a year older than me…I just felt like I didn’t belong with all of the 21 year olds. Ah, well. I had a good time just hanging out.

Anyway I was DONE by about 1am (weak!) and crawled into my sister’s bed. Then, at 4-ish, I heard Nick and Jackie yelling. I also heard his sisters. Still not sure what all went down, but I guess the last hour of the party went downhill — fast. I guess there was frustration b/c Nick’s sisters didn’t have anywhere to sleep and the two of them felt disrespected. It was a drunken angry situation that I’m glad I was basically asleep for. Eek.

I didn’t sleep well at all, but was definitely feeling snuggled by my sis and Annabelle the cat. I got up around 10 with a bit of a headache, showered and mom picked me up. We stopped at Avantis for gondolas to go and were on our way. Well the lovely long ride in the car did me NO GOOD AT ALL! Long story short, my mom pulled off the highway and I puked. Nice.

My mom had water bottles and she had some meds in her travel bag so I took some Tums and a half of a Dramamine to ease my stomach. EEEEW.

Got home and just sacked out on the couch — but not before stopping at CVS for Diet Sprite. I needed something to nurse my hangover!

Kev and I recapped our nights, watched football, napped on and off, and I went to bed halfway through the Colts vs. Pats. I heard the Colts made a comeback and won by one point! Awesome.

Back to drying out for 2 more weeks. And after Saturday, I’m just fine with that…

My drinking history: the good the bad the ugly

After speaking briefly about this topic the other night, I thought I’d recap my relationship with alcohol…not only for myself but for you, my loyal readers…ha.

It started, I believe, when I stole gin from my parents and it made me oh-so-sick. I didn’t know how to drink or what to drink, and I think I was about 16 years old. After that, I tried all kinds of horrible liquors like Aftershock (!) and Bicardi Limon and Bicardi O. Sick. Why my friends and I chose these drinks, I do not know.

As time went on, we drank beer–any beer–it didn’t matter. Light beer, ghetto beer, any beer. I swear I was at a party and Mad Dog was served. Nice.

Once college came about, I was a lowly freshman and pretty much drank keg beer or cans of Natty Light. (Nothing but class.) At that time, I also preferred Bud Light to Miller, which has changed since. I dabbled in Captain, finishing a handle with 3 other girls before going out on Halloween night our freshman year. I moved on to bigger and better things like…Captain & Diet – oh yeah. I still can’t drink one of those without being reminded of late summer nights. I think I overdid the whole rum & diet thing…

My love affair for Vodka started my senior year of college. I was old enough to go out to the bars and I’d always order the same thing: Raspberry Vodka & Sprite. If I felt like a badass, I’d order a tall Stoli Razz & Sprite. Mmm. I always kept vodka in my apartment for pre-drinking, too.

Then came wine. Oh, sweet sweet vino. My friend Mandy and I finished a huge bottle of Carlo Rossi once night at her apartment and it was one of the best nights ever. I fell off her desk chair and had never laughed so hard in my life!

I began my real wine obsession shortly after getting hired at a Wine Bar down near ISU. I learned so much about wine and just wanted to learn more. When the bar was slow, I’d read about wine. There were 100 bottles of wine on tap, hooked up to oxygen and stored in temperature-controlled cabinets. It was awesome. The 100 bottle wine bar went from heavy reds that could stay at about room temp at one end to super sweet dessert whites that were chilled. I tried as much as I could and started deciding which types I liked best. I was into Shiraz and Riesling then, especially Shingleback Shiraz. Now I’m more into Pinot Noir or an occasional Merlot. For a solid easy drinking Pinot Noir I like La Crema or Mondavi. I like pretty much any California/Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir or Oregon Pinot Noir. But I’ll try any and all. I love all reds and typically there isn’t one I don’t like. Smooth, silky, spicy, anything. As for whites, I love Gewürztraminer and Riesling.

As of late, vodka has given me that warm buzz that I loooove, but it hasn’t been agreeing with me lately. In fact, it’s been giving me a drunk that I don’t like so much, at all, so I’ve been avoiding it.

So for now, it’s beer and wine for me … and that’s just fine.

One of the best parts of fall…

As many of you know, I like to partake in drinking tasty alcoholic beverages. This year we bought some new as well as some tried-and-true fall brews.

They were tasty, let me tell you. My favorites were Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale, Magic Hat’s Circus Boy and Magic Hat’s #9. Mmm-mmm!

Post-fall brew binge, I’m trying to cut back on any random drinking because we boozed it up so much during Kevin’s furlough. I hate to say it, but I believe it may have been one of the reasons we both gained so much weight! (Typically we stick to light beer.)

Enjoy the pic!