Something to Wine About

I wonder, at what point does one become a true Larryvillian. Is it the moment you smoke your first blunt or is it when you’ve been invited to your first alternative lifestyle party? Well if it’s the latter, I’m official and I have no idea if there were illegal substances present.  We were invited by a woman Daniel works with to their annual red wine tasting party.  There had to be at least 40 couples at this party and very few men (wink,wink).   Everyone brought a bottle of red wine to share so you can imagine the variety. Daniel picked out a bottle labeled “Sexy Red Bomb.” We thought that was pretty appropriate and would be a big hit with this particular venue.  We were right! 

Personally I wanted to get this bottle but I don’t know any of these women well enough to go there.

All joking aside, the party was very well planned,  elegant, and the food assortment was ah-maazing. I've never sampled so many different types of cheese. And sample I did, repeatedly thanks to hunger pains caused by some less than desirable tasting sushi I had right before. Note to self: Never eat sushi that has a face. *shudder* In planning my outfit for our evening out I  wondered if something low cut would send the wrong message. In the end I went with it. This decision was justified by the fact that Daniel could potentially wise up and  leave me tomorrow so it's always a good idea for a girl to keep her options open.

     I hate wasting a weekend and by that I mean not accomplishing something productive. I was bummed because Daniel needed to go to Western Kansas for three days. His dad was having some surgery and he needed to be out there. Since I’m not allowed to use the table saw in his absence I decided to see if Mom wanted to come spend the weekend with the girls and me. Turns out, she DID! She got to spend time with all the grand kids, watched Gentry at softball conditioning, we did some shopping, played Hop Ching with Syd, and she and I watched the KU basketball game while recovering an ottoman in my living room. Sydney also managed to get Grandma hooked on Three Towers Solitaire via Facebook. Mom has always been a solitaire addict and this newest discovery may just earn her a twelve step program one day. Guess it’s better than her selling prescription drugs to her fellow seniors at Thursday morning bowling.  

     Sunday we, (mom, Sis, and I) caravanned to Abilene for the afternoon to celebrate my great Aunt Dorothy’s 85^th birthday and we also met up with my Grandma on my dad’s side. Overall it was a pretty productive weekend sprinkled with some family time that was a tad past due.  

     Daniel got home last night only to be gone again this week for work. Before leaving he was sweet enough to cut some more bead board for me. I know he just wanted to give me something to do to make the week go by quicker and I appreciate that. So my goal this week is to finish the remaining kitchen cabinet doors. Then perhaps I’ll convince myself to make time to “chill” this next weekend. 

     Nah, I doubt it. 

     Yesterday marked the two year anniversary of my dad’s passing. I woke up thinking about what he would say about my new life if he were here. Would he like Daniel as much as mom does? What would he say about how much the kids have changed? I know without a doubt he would be proud of his grand kids. I’m sure he would have lots of advice for them … and for me as well. I use to blow that kind of thing off but it's things like him giving me guidance that I miss the most. You continue to grow but you never out grow needing your dad. 

2011 Desperate Housewifes of Pheasant Season shopping trip

 Although I'm not a "housewife" the girls still included me in their KC shopping adventure.

 The "naughty girl" in this pic was not part of our group. She was actually one of the volunteers from the Hypnotist's show and she kept following him around like a puppy. Do you think it had anything to do with the fact that every time he touched her hand she had the sensation she was having the "Big O"? Hmm....., perhaps.

Let's Get Cookin' on a Makeover!

My latest TV addiction is “I Hate My Kitchen” on the DIY Network.  I too have a kitchen that puts the *ugh* in ugly so for the past year I’ve been searching for cost effective ways to make it more modern. This show gave me an amazing facelift idea for my drab cabinet doors and I had most of the material on hand from another project.  I used bead board on the inserts of my doors, siliconed the edges, and applied a fresh coat of glossy enamel. So far my cost commitment is less than $25 and I have over half of the doors completed. Score!

It's cold. Wear Your Damn Coat.

Why is it that when a child turns a certain age they automatically think it’s okay to wear shorts in the snow and that they no longer need to wear a jacket? Hellooo, don’t ask for that shit on your Christmas list then if you aren’t going to even entertain the thought of wearing it. Geeez.  This topic was the cause of a major mom meltdown in the car yesterday on the way to school. It was 19 degrees and Gen refused to take her NEW jacket or the NEW scarf she HAD to have. She left wearing a thin hoodie.  So I turned the heat off in the car, turned off her seat warmer and let her “chill” all the way to school. Literally.  As soon as they were dropped off I called their dad to vent. I  felt further justified later when I learned that he had parked a block away picking her up from school that afternoon.  He said she was shivering when she got in the car and said, “Mom told you to do that, didn’t she?”  

Here’s a little tidbit for ya child; your daddy doesn’t like spending his money on crap you aren’t going to wear either.

I'd have to change the name of my website if I failed to acknowledge that for me tonight is the game of all games; the BCS Championship between Bama and LSU. I spent my first two years of college at the University of Alabama and that, compiled with the nine years I lived there and some pretty effective brainwashing was enough to install a lifetime allegiance. Tonight's game is the reason I upgraded my cable to HD. So with that, I'll don my houndstooth fedora and say....

Ya'll!

December is always a mad scramble so thankfully both of the girls got a reprieve from softball practice. That break came screeching to a halt this weekend with three practices in three days. *ugh* Gen is getting a tough lesson in conditioning. Her coach is focused on making them stronger thus making them better players. For the next couple months they will spend time every Saturday and Sunday working out at the rec center. I convinced Daniel that this would be an excellent opportunity for us to work out as well. If we have to be there anyway why not burn some calories and halt this annoying urge to hibernate. Gen has never really worked out; not at the level required to make physical changes anyway so this is all new to her. Her coach is very serious and taking no prisoners. The stuff they did yesterday made some our Dog Day's workouts look like a cake walk. When she had to literally roll out of her bed this morning to get up I'll admit, it amused me. Tonight when I had to help her up the stairs to her room, I realized just how long this week is going to be. Good thing I added Tylenol to the grocery list.

Long Lost Pics from December

Zona Rosa in December

She's laughing... not crying. Those ARE the boots she wanted.

Sharpies to Gen is like The Ring to Gollum. "My precious!"

The holidays are over, the tree is packed away, the ornaments and garland are stored for another year and the house is back to boring. *sigh* No, seriously I couldn’t be happier. I had more guests than usual over New Year’s so that was cool. A girlfriend I hadn’t seen in nearly two years out of the blue sent me a text requesting a play date/sleepover. We spent the evening catching up over dinner at the Oread, then The Eldridge for martinis, followed by The Barrel House for some dueling pianos. This was the second year that I’ve spent New Year’s Eve, Eve at The Eldridge drinking martinis.  Hmmm, a new tradition? I think so! 

I cooked like crazy New Year’s Eve day getting everything ready for the next day. I knew if I woke up with a headache the last thing I would want to do is cook. My friends from Pittsburg came in just like they always do and our venue this year was a house party complete with a dance floor, DJ, and oh yes, a shiny chrome stripper pole!  The people in this town never cease to shock the hell out of me and yes, if you’re wondering I gave it a twirl. How could you not? The only difference is I was smart enough to not allow myself to be photographed (unlike some people).

Good-bye 2011, you weren’t a bad companion but I’m anticipating 2012 to be a tad more exciting.  It better be; it signifies the end of the Mayan calendar so this may be the last year we all get.  I personally think they just got tired and went off to invent something else. Who could blame them?

So with that, Happy New Year everyone. Make the most of it!