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16 Week Sono... It's a ???
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Balls to the Walls
Do you remember that feeling when you were a kid?
You know, the one where the excitement battling anticipation like a Chuck Norris smackdown felt like it would never end. For me, this wrestling match took place every Christmas eve. It was as painful as a roundhouse to the jewels just waiting for each minute to pass. I was tortured by the thought that my new favorite toy was waiting out of arms reach as it lay wrapped under the grasp of the evergreen tree. It's blinking lights and poorly stuffed ornaments mocking me with distraction.
Some things never change...
This feeling has its grips on me once again but this time I'm excited today for TWO reasons. Tomorrow I find out whether or not my now sixteen week old baby in the womb is in fact the male that I've been bragging about for over 18 weeks.
I don't know if it was just because of the anticipation or just a need for a fun distraction but today I went out and bought a new putter. It's ugly, gaudy, and completely ridiculous looking but then again so are a lot of people's kids and they still love them. Hopefully I can putt with it worth a crap or I'll look like a complete idiot.
I can't wait for tomorrow's news and for the chance to get out on the course and put my new toy to the test.
... wish me luck!
Cheers!
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Where am I?
It's now week 14 for Mrs. Whore and I...
After making one of the biggest and quite possibly most awesome decisions of my life, I've realized that my goals have changed drastically. I thought I'd come back from the Wine Bloggers Conference with some sort of crazy video footage, pics, stories, and whatnot. I went back and forth on how I'd put it all together before I even stepped on the plane to embark on the painfully long voyage to Walla Walla Washington. Should I bring all of my Wine Whore paraphernalia? I went in with lofty hopes but ended up deciding to just blend in and experience the event for what it was worth instead of trying to use it as a chance to network and promote this site.
I think a lot of people noticed it too. I got a lot of comments about how I was "not what they pictured". I think people expected me to be a drunken mess throughout the entire conference. While I wasn't far from it, I was relatively quiet, tame, and to myself for most of the experience. The truth was that I was far from home, alone, and a little apprehensive about the whole thing. I enjoyed the experience but was very glad to be returning home.
Instead of posting a funny video compilation of stupidity, endless seemingly redundant pictures of vineyards (if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all), and all sorts of other stuff about my trip that you probably would skim over in an attempt to get to another blog post about decanters, aging, or whatever else people are pawning off as wine knowledge, I wanted to sum up my thoughts about Walla Walla Washington in one sentence:
Walla Walla is a beautiful but dry, dessert region where many wineries chose to take root as a result of the sticker shock of other wine growing regions on the west coast.
Their wine offers good bang for the buck but if you're looking to be amazed, you may need to dig deep to find a jewel. Columbia Valley and Red Mountain are good places to start if you're looking for something impressive. I promised myself that I would bring home a few bottles of my favorite from this trip. The honor of this distinction was a bottle made by Sinclair Estate Vineyards called Pentatonic.
As we ended our first trimester, we celebrated with this bottle of this wine. My wife obviously couldn't partake but she did enjoy an orgasmic sniff and a baby sip from my glass. I told her that absence must have made her heart grow fonder but she reassured me that I had found a good one. She always had a good nose for things in life... after all, she found me! :)
Cheers!
Buy 6 or more bottles of Italian wine and get 50% off shipping with coupon code "wine54"
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Funny Name... Serious Business
Luckily this will be a short work week for me...
Why? I'm heading to none other than Walla Walla, Washington.
Sounds like a funny place, right? Well, there will be much serious business to attend to. That's because I'm traveling to this oddly named wine country to attend the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference.
I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous about getting on a plane, traveling across the U.S., and leaving my wife and wine at home. I don't know what to expect but I'm hoping that I get to try a lot of wine (both good and bad), meet some cool new winos, and have an overall awesome time.
I wonder what the weather is like in Walla Walla right now?
I'll make sure to share more details... but in the meantime, happy sippin'!
Cheers!
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Five Words to Live By...
There are five words you should always remember. These five words will help you get through almost any challenge. Just reminding yourself of this simple phrase is calming, reassuring, and uplifting all at the same time...
"...these things come and go"
I recently learned about the importance of this simple phrase while studying some of the ways by which many pro golfers help get themselves through a bad streak of play otherwise known as the "shanks". Instead of getting down on themselves, throwing clubs, cursing, and otherwise acting like morons, this phrase gently reminds them about one important rule: people are inherently good. Just because the outcome of our actions doesn't turn out the way we hoped, doesn't mean that there weren't good intentions to produce the desired results. It just means that things didn't turn out the way we hoped. After all, that's life. Whether good or bad, intentional or indifferent, ..."These things come and go"
As I am writing this I realize I should throw in a word of caution. Don't read too far into what I am saying. I'm not sharing this with you because something has gone wrong with the news I announced in my last post. Instead, I figured I would share this concept with you since I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how this phrase applies to wine, hobbies, life.... etc.
When I first started drinking wine, like many other people living in the U.S., I fell in love with CA Cabs. Then I tried some pretty cool Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and even, dare I say it, Merlot! Yes, there are many bottles of Merlot that I really love. It's not all love when it comes to drinking wine. Sometimes I get bored with one of my old favorites. Sometimes I go back one of them and think to myself "what were you thinking, this tastes nowhere near how I remembered it". Sometimes I just shut up and drink merely to enjoy whatever my glass has to offer.
Feeling somewhat unmotivated by my wine cellar, I try something different. That's why today I opened a bottle of Zantho Gruner Veltliner. For someone new to the world of wine, "different" would be an understatement when it comes to this Austrian grape. It tastes like a lot of other things, yet completely different from them all. If you're bored and looking for something new, you owe it to yourself to try this grape. You may not like it... you may absolutely love it... but whatever you experience on your tongue or via any other senses during this journey we call life, don't forget to tell yourself...
"...these things come and go"
...so go out and enjoy them all before they are all gone!
Cheers!
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Drinking for two...
It's funny how some things in life change...
Although it was only three years ago, it feels as distant as a past life. I stood over the stove anxiously preparing one of the few dishes I knew how to make. Let me just start by saying that my spaghetti and meat sauce is by far quite unimpressive. That didn't stop me. I was hoping that the love I put into it would make up for the fact that it was made from Ragu and nothing that could be considered as prepared from scratch.
Before crafting this half-assed meal, I talked a lot of trash. After all, this was my "signature dish", "known worldwide", and like nothing else anyone has ever tasted. The truth was much more modest. To make my signature dish, I would brown some ground meat, stir in some Ragu, and pour the mixture over boiled spaghetti. I've been told before that I don't know how to cook... I just know how to heat things up. Well, if there was ever a dish that fell into the "heat things up" category, this was it.
Sometimes you just know...
Ever have that feeling? You know, the one that tells you that everything is going to be okay... or the one that tells you that something just feels right? Well, the second Sheila tasted my "signature dish", looked up at me, and smiled, I knew that she was the one and only woman for me. It wasn't long before we were married. I'd like to thank my spaghetti and meat sauce for helping me realize what was in front of me. I'd like to thank this simple dish for helping me find one of the most difficult things in this world... true love.
Tonight, Sheila asked me to make this dish for her. I thought about it for a second, smiled, and gladly accepted the challenge. While a lot has changed since that first time we enjoyed the same dish, one thing remains the same: I love her as much as the day we first met.
To celebrate the moment, I opened a bottle of Bivio Tuscan Red. The wine went well with the mild yet meaty pasta. A great solution to the everyday drinker question of "what should I open tonight?" This has become a much more difficult question for me to answer. After all, Sheila may be eating for two, but I am drinking for two.
Cheers!
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This place is definitely "IN"...
Anyone who knows me will agree... I am anything but a snobby "connoisseur". I've had people call me a "wine expert" but that just makes me uncomfortable and quite honestly, it's NOT true! I may know a thing or two from my experiences in the world of wine and the places I've visited, but I would NEVER profess to be an "expert" or a "connoisseur". I just know what I like. That's it. If that makes me an expert, then guess what, you can easily be one too. To that point, I would have to say that if anyone else out there professes to know everything about wine, you probably should put them to the test before you take their word. Chances are, they're full of crap!
When it comes to food, it's the same story. Heck, I probably know more about wine than food despite the fact that I've been stuffing my face before I even had the ability to do so using my own motor skills. I love food... probably as much as I love wine.... but that doesn't mean I am a connoisseur. It just means that I like to ENJOY the things in life that awaken my sense of smell, taste, and buzz.
That's why I am not scared to share a secret of the culinary world that most foodies would probably gasp at. If you live on the west coast, you probably have experienced it for yourself. Those of us on the east coast have to wait patiently for our chance to voyage westward to enjoy the fruit of this dining establishment otherwise known as "In n Out."
Yep, I said it. Anytime I hit the west coast, my first plan of attack is to find one of these greesejoints and stuff my face with a double-double animal style burger, accompanied by a basket of fries, and a rich chocolate shake. While I admit that this meal will ultimately take off valuable years from my life, I don't care. Like a lemming with a bad case of the munchies, I eagerly jump off the cliffs of snobby culinary cuisine and indulge myself in the bottomless pit of fat and cholesterol.
As with my wine... I eat what I like and like what I eat!
What else could be more important?
Cheers!
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How do you take it?
I always take life with a grain of salt, ...plus a slice of lemon, ...and a shot of tequila.
Cheers!
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Elvis vs Blueman? And the winner is...
What is it about Vegas that makes it so hard to get back to reality when the fun's over?
I'm officially broke, tired, hungover, and most importantly, glad to be home!
I saw Cher, Cirque du Soleil Elvis, and the Blueman Group... lemme just say that the Blueman Group was my favorite show of the three. They freakin' ROCK!
Cheers!
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It's About Time...
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like to stay in one place and those who like to constantly move around. I consider myself a mix of the two. I usually like to go through a period of change and then enjoy those changes for months if not years. I am not the kind of person who likes to change jobs, move from one town to the next, or even change my social circle on a frequent basis. However, every once in a while, I like to shake things up by peppering in a little change into my routine.
Change is coming. May and June are going to be some exciting months for me. I really haven't done much traveling since last February. Honestly, I am glad. Airports have become such a pain in the ass, even wine doesn't seem to help me get through it. I am hoping the thought of arriving in Las Vegas will help calm my nerves. And in June, where else could I hope to go then the wine country of Walla Walla Washington for the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference. It's going to be an interesting couple of months and I am really looking forward to it.
... after that, who knows, maybe even a bigger change is coming into my life.... but I'll save that little surprise for a future post! :)
Cheers!
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