Life of Chaos

As many of you know I have "A" type personality ( I know shocker!) I am very rigid in all areas of my life except for one! Keeping my house clean! I absolutely hate and dread housework! Some people find it therapeutic but I find it a roadblock to the rest of my life. I know that when the day comes I can have a maid then I will be in heaven! I love a clean house however sometimes I just find it hard to keep it that way and let's be honest my dear husband isn't much of a help in this area! However, I have discovered that the more disorganized and dirty my house is the more I feel my life is spinning into a world of chaos! When this happens, all I can say is "Look out" because Hurricane Melissa is not a pretty sight and anything or anyone in my path is in trouble! Most of the time the person who gets the brunt of this is my husband! God love him!


I had every intention of spending part of my vacation straightening...ahem I mean cleaning the house. The plan was to start in one room and work my way from one room to the next and eventually cleaning, organizing and purging all rooms, closets and nooks/crannies. However in the end, I was not very productive or successful in my endeavor as I had hoped! I only got my closet and dresser organized! So for the next month this is the plan to work on each room and get it done! Maybe I will be even ahead of schedule for the whole "Spring Cleaning" thing!

A Day of Wine in Temecula Valley

Today, Matthew and I embarked a day of wine tasting in Temecula with our good friends the Nobletts. Truth be told, this was suppose to be our activity for New Year's Day; however, all of the wineries were closed. So, we rescheduled and hit the road today at 10:00 a.m. We had an absolutely wonderful day, even if the weather showed it would be a dreary day. By the time we arrived in Temecula, the clouds had disappeared and the sun was shining. We stopped at 5 wineries and tasted and bought wine at 4 of them. Matthew and Richard even joined a wine club at one of the wineries. Thanks to Jodie, who was our designated driver, we arrived at each vineyard ready to go.

First stop on the list was Callaway Winery. We had a 2 for 1 special for the tasting and we were able to choose 5 wines each and keep a souvenir logo glass. What was great is that between the four of us we actually picked 10 different wines and shared them. If gave us an opportunity to sample some additional wines without the extra cost. Matt had insisted that we had to go to Callaway's because his former boss had begrudgingly gave us a bottle from their vineyard which we absolutely loved. So, Matthew's plan was to buy another bottle and give it to his boss, that is until we tried the Muscat. Sorry Joe maybe next time!!!

The next stop on our tour was to Baily's. A smaller winery but one with a lot of character and ultimately had the best deal of the day! 1 whole case of the Muscat for only $36, which we decided to share. Again had a 2 for 1 deal and we sampled 10 different wines.

Our third stop was Mount Palomar and unfortunately was the only winery who wouldn't let us use our coupon because they were actually expired. So instead, we enjoyed a light snack of bread, cheeses and salami. We have also definitely decided that when come down next time we will pack our own lunch to snack on in between stops.

Our fourth stop was to Faulkner Winery was again had a lot of character, if you can get passed the small wine tasting room and the server who was sick and coughing all over everything. The only think we walked out of there with was an idea of how we could make our own mulled wine!

Our fifth and final stop for the day was to an unknown winery (at least by the tour guide list) called Long Shadow Winery. I had seen a sign that advertised 2 for 1 tasting and it was literally down the road from Faulkner, so we figured it was worth a try. From our first looks and impressions, we all believed that it was a start-up winery. Boy were we wrong, they are one of the oldest wineries in Temecula and aren't part of the wine tour listing because they do not belong to the Temecula Valley Wine Growers Association. They like to do things there own way and it definitely showed during our visit. I will even say that they were by far the best winery we went to and our host was awesome on top of it! This was also the winery in which Matthew and Richard joined the wine club. Which made the host all the more generous with the samplings and honestly there wasn't a wine on the list that we didn't like.

We ended our day in Temecula with a nice lunch in Old Town Murrieta and made the decision that we will go back soon to visit the other wineries both on and off the list! There were even discussions about a Napa Valley wine tour sometime this spring! All I can say is that we had so much fun today that we can hardly wait to go back again! Hopefully in the spring when everything is blooming.

A Little Disney Fun!

10 Year Review and New Beginnings

Recently, I have had a couple of major events that have taken place that are focused around 10 year anniversaries. In November, I officially had been with my company for 10-years and in December, Matthew and I have been together for 10 years as a couple. So, I got to thinking about everything that has happened to me in the last ten years and found that it is quite a lot. I re-met, dated and married my husband. I celebrated my 25th, 30th and 35th Birthdays. I adopted my first kitten (now a full-grown cat), I graduated with my MBA, went to my 10-year High School class reunion and moved twice once into an apartment and second into a house. I have changed job titles 3 times. I have read countless books, watched as many movies and started 4 new hobbies (crochet, quilting, digital scrapbooking and blogging!) I have developed an appreciation for wine (both white and red). I have made many great new friends and have lost a few old friends along the way! I have had long hair, short hair and back to long hair. I have traveled to Mexico (honeymoon), Brazil (business trip and first passport/visa) and Hawaii (vacation). Attended and participated in good friends weddings! I have experienced some deaths within my circle of family and friends but have also seen the beauty of new life begin within that same circle. Life has been very full with many ups and downs! It is simply amazing to realize how quickly the the time has passed. It almost doesn't seem like it is possible that it has been 10 years.

As a celebration of my ten years with the company, which was recognized in December the owner and president of the company presented me with a 4 day, 5 night Mexican cruise to Baja. (And yes to answer your question my jaw did drop on the floor!) I can honestly say I was very surprised by the lavish gift and never expected anything like it!

As I head into this New Year of 2009 I am not say much as making a resolution but making a commitment to live a better and healthier life! I have put into place a 10 week walking plan that begins today. The plan begins with 20 minutes a day and eventually works up to 60 minutes a day. I am going to increase my water intake and cut down on the Starbucks from everyday (or almost everyday) to once a week. These are my first little steps into a healthier me and my new beginning! I have not set a certain goal of weight loss but rather want to increase my overall energy level and enjoy life to fullest in the new year. (It also helps to know that I have a bridesmaid dress I need to fit into for a May wedding!)

May the New Year and the next 10 years be a fulfilling as the last 10 years!