Mo Livin' Large

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

Turns out, not all of Albert Einstein's smarts were related to science.

Anyways.... This is going to be a post filled with random things I've learned over the past few weeks.

• In Detroit, it takes an hour and a half for the police to arrive at the scene of a (non-injury) car accident, but less than an hour to ticket you for parking too close to a fire hydrant.
• It requires twenty to thirty FBI investigators to investigate fraudulent health insurance claims. And they don't hesitate to use battering rams.
• If your tenant is two or more months behind on rent, one should issue an eviction notice as you never know who's going to be looking for said tenant.
• I am definitely not a fan of Weight Watchers Edamame Salad but I love their Chickpea and Feta Salad. I'm not saying I don't like edamame, by the way, but that salad just didn't do it for me. But don't take my word on it; try it yourself. 
• I am either a complete whack job or much nicer than most people think, but either way, I get invited to parties by people I've never met in person.
• One asshole in the office can ruin an otherwise (relatively) happy place to work. Lesson to be learned here? Don't be the office asshole.

And the random things I've learned ends and the new places I've learned about begins.

A few weekends ago, some girlfriends and I went to the new Imagine Theater downtown Royal Oak 
to see Bridesmaids (if you haven't seen it yet, do! It's hilarious, both for men and women). Anyways, as we roamed downtown Royal Oak, we made two discoveries I want to share. Before the movie, we went into Creative Arts Studio where we found a plethora of amazing and well priced jewelry and other accessories as well as a studio where you can learn how to fuse glass, throw a potter's wheel, make beaded jewelry, paint on glass and many, many other creative art techniques. You can check them out on their website http://creativeartsstudios.com/.

So for the past two years, I have been obsessed with cupcakes. Not just to eat, but everything cupcakes. I have a cupcake trinket my mom bought, endless cupcake stamps for my card making hobby, recipe books dedicated to cupcakes, and so much more. So with cupcake bakeries springing up all over, is it any wonder I love Taste Love Cupcakes? They're located on Main Street south of 11 Mile and just a little teeny bit north of Fourth Street. My personal favorite is the chocolate on chocolate, but I've heard absolutely wonderful things about the vegan too.  Check out their FB page too for their daily specialty flavors.

I could rattle off a dozen other Royal Oak business I love, including 6 Salon, Beirut Palace, Skyward Group (be sure to ask for my friends Jen Stillwagon or Jeff Watson), and Caroline, Inc., owned by the beautiful Caroline Groeneveld. But I won't.

Instead, you'll just have to check out Drag Queen Bingo at Five15 for yourself.

P.S. - I started a FB Fan page for my blog. Check it out and "like it" for more up-to-the-minute news and witticisms I have to share.  :)

 

Once upon a time, at a school not so far away...

... a girl had a party at her off-campus apartment. She invited people far and wide from across the 
campus, and they promised to come, and bring friends even! And so the girl, we'll call her Mo, began preparations for the party.

As it was Christmas, Mo hung Christmas lights around her apartment, covered an entire wall with wrapping paper for people to decorate, and hung mistletoe in strategic places.

Let me repeat that... Mo hung mistletoe in strategic places. And if you, dear reader, don't know what mistletoe is and all the mischief it can create, then please stop reading and pick up the nearest copy of a Christmas-edition Harlequin romance.

The night of the party, everyone arrived. Friends, including Mo's friends Chardonnay, Riesling, and Shiraz, her friend from Michigan State, Honey Wagon (who was wearing press-on fingernails), and friends of friends were in attendance, and a rousing party ensued. Beer, wine and other beverages containing alcohol were consumed in great quantity and at a great rate. Most everyone in attendance was feeling jolly and there was laughter, singing, and dancing all through the apartment. At one point, our heroine main character Mo had gone into her bedroom to have a small disagreement with Shiraz, Chardonnay, and Riesling (no mistletoe was hanging there, just point of information) and was returning to the living area where the majority of the party goers were when...

... out of no where...

... a man came out of the bathroom. He was tall, with dark hair and dark eyes, and he looked up, spied the mistletoe and claimed the traditional forfeit of a kiss from our completely unsuspecting Mo.

Now the layout of Mo's apartment was such that the bedrooms were in the back, the living space was in the front, and the bathroom was in the dead center of the hallway separating the two. So when the man came out of the bathroom and immediately began besmirching Mo's honor by kissing her, it ended up that the two "lovers", entwined in their kiss, blocked the bedrooms off from the living space, the living space was blocked off from the bedrooms, and no one could get in the bathroom.

And that's when Honey Wagon, Mo's sorta kinda good friend, began timing the kiss. (sorta kinda only because of her timing the kiss, just for the record)

That lasted for nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

Now, being older, things have grown a bit hazy in Mo's mind but yes, eventually Mo and the Rake ended up in her bedroom. Alone. And certain things may have happened (however, unlike a certain former president, Mo can honestly say she did not have sex with that man). And the rake, along with his friends (one of whom had been thoroughly enamored with Honey Wagon), left that same evening.

The next morning, Honey Wagon and Mo awoke, and Honey Wagon, in quite the hurry to get back to MSU for work, left. Sans fingernails. Which Mo later found strewn about her living room. Until the day she moved out, actually.

In the meantime, Mo's friend Alma (a friend who was a student at Alma), came by to borrow Mo's student i.d. in order to use the library at Mo's institute of higher learning (not that it actually belonged to Mo, she just went to school there). Their morning greeting went something like this:

A rather groggy and hungover Mo: "Hey. What's up? Want some coffee?"

Alma: "No, I just ran into Honey Wagon at 7-11 and got... Holy shit! What the hell happened to your neck?"

(Mo runs into the bathroom and begins examining the did-someone-just-try-and-strangle-you-or-was-he-just-happy-to-see-you bruises on her neck)

Mo: "Um, I kinda met someone last night."

Alma: "No shit. Was his name Hoover?"

Mo: "I'm never drinking again."

Alma retrieved Mo's student i.d. and left to research her paper.

 

Later that same afternoon, Mo went to lunch with her closest friends who of course had been in attendance at the party. Their lunch conversation went something like this (for purposes of privacy, Mo's friends names have been changed):

Mo: "I'm never drinking again."

Chardonnay: "So, Mo, what's up with the turtleneck?"

Mo: "Nothing."

Shiraz: "Uh huh. That wouldn't have anything to do with that Sasquatch you were making out with last night, would it?"

Mo: "Sasquatch?"

Riesling: "You had a lot to drink last night, Mo."

Mo: "Yeah, I know. But what's up with this Sasquatch thing?" 

Shiraz: "Like Riesling said. You had a lot to drink last night, Mo. Not to worry, though. I'm sure he'll be at Bourbon's party tonight."

Mo: "I'll drive. I'm not drinking tonight."

 

Even later that night....

Mo: "I'm never drinking again. This hangover sucks."

Chardonnay: "Wait until you see who just got here."

Mo: "Who?"

Reisling: "Oh look who just got here."

Shiraz: "Oh, look. Sasquatch is here."

Mo then turns around to find a tall, dark, unattractive HAIRY guy brooding in the corner staring at her.

Mo: "What the hell kind of friends are you? You let me make out with that?"

Riesling: "Well, it's not like we could stop you. In your defense, he did kind of come out of no where."

Shiraz: "He came out of the bathroom, not no where. But still, she's the one who let the kiss continue for more than, what was it, ten minutes?"

Mo: "Whatever. Give me that bottle of Boone's Farm and let's just forget this ever happened."

(Riesling, good friend that she is, handed over the bottle and Mo took a gulp or five, and let's not forget, this story takes place when Mo was in college and therefore, Boone's Farm was completely acceptable)

Shiraz: "Hey, if we take a picture of him do you think it'd count as a Sasquatch spotting?"

Mo: "Shut up. And you're walking home."

 

And that, my dear readers, is how it came to be that every time Mo discusses men with certain friends, Sasquatch comes into the conversation.

 

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes,...

... and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world." -  Ada Louise Huxtable

So here we are, July 1st. Exactly six months left of 2011. Which makes it a great time to set goals for the rest of the year, which feeds perfectly into my plan of completing certain things on my bucket list.

For those who didn't know, I grew up being a Girl Scout. I had just started the second grade (which
would have made me a Brownie), and went all the way through high school (which would have made me a Senior). So imagine my surprise one day when I was wandering through Borders and spotted "You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown Up Girls" by Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas. So one of my six month goals is to complete six badges in six months (yeah, that's one badge for every month). On the list of badges I'd like to complete so far is:

•  Be Your Own Boss: Several months ago, my friend Amanda and I started Monet Cards. Unfortunately, neither of us have been taking it that seriously. So in an effort to be more proactive, I'm combining my little card company with my badge goal.
• Exercise Your Options: It's a fitness badge. I thought it only fitting (pun intended) since I'm trying to lose weight.
• Be An Author: well, because I like to write. And someday, I hope to be something of a novelist, not just a blogger.
• Know Your Best Cellars: One of my bucket list items that I want to tackle first because it's relatively cheap as opposed to say, traveling.

Still not sure about the other two badges just yet.

Another goal I'm attempting between now and December 31st is to get down to 200 lbs. I'm weighing in at 244 now, so six months may be a little aggressive, but really, when you think about it, the only thing I have to lose is the weight, right?

And finally, as mentioned above, I'd really like to get Monet Cards up and running and off the ground and keep the stock a bit more up to date and current.

So what about you? Any goals you're hoping to accomplish now that it's summer?

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."

Thank you, Jim Davis.

Hello. My name is Monique, and I'm an emotional eater. I also eat out of boredom, because I like the taste of food, and, in a sense, it's an addiction. And then of course, I eat because it's a necessity. Given the amount of diet programs, self help books, pills, supplements, DVDs, machines, etc., I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that overeating is by far the most popular coping mechanism, as compared to say drugs or alcohol, people, women especially, turn to in times of stress. Anyone with me on that?

Doesn't matter. It's my blog post so I'll just keep going with this.

The problem with having a food addiction, rather than say a drug or alcohol addiction, is that eating is necessary to sustain life. I mean sure, you could go the Matrix way and eat gelatinous globs of amino acids but honestly, who wants to do that? Especially when food is sooooo good but oftentimes it's the actual yumminess of food that triggers the urge to overeat.

It's such a vicious cycle, overeating, and yet so unavoidable because again, you need to eat. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Changing your eating habits is difficult for many reasons. Sometimes the food is tasteless. Portion sizes aren't large enough to be filling. You may take drastic measures to lose weight by eating nothing but grapefruit or cabbage soup. And all of these things can trigger binge eating, or falling off the wagon so to speak. As can eating out with friends. You know you should order the salad with grilled chicken and the fat free balsamic vinaigrette, but man does your friend's cheeseburger and onion rings sound good and the next thing you know, you're having, "what she's having." 

Eating healthy can also prove to be expensive, especially in winter months when farmers markets and farm stands aren't open. Sure, you can eat "seasonal" but really.... In the winter when root vegetables are in season, who likes the actual taste of rutabaga (aside from my grandpa Jack), let alone all the work that goes into preparing it? Buying organic in theory is wonderful, if you have the paycheck to allow you to do so. But in these times, the 2 for $1 boxes of mac and cheese is a far more economical option than the two pints of grape tomatoes for $5. And don't get me started on free-range chicken prices versus Tyson. Just don't.

Vicious, vicious cycle.

I posted wayyyyyyy back in January that I was going on a diet. I'm happy to announce that I have managed to lose (and not find again) 13.2 pounds, and accomplished my 5% weight loss goal! With summer here, I'm able to resume my favorite form of exercise: walking. So while I embark on my next 5% goal, which is another 13 pounds, I'm adding in a second goal.

I used to be able to walk 3 miles in 45 minutes. Now, I walk 3 miles in 70 minutes. Obviously, I've got a lot of time to shave off. So that's my secondary goal. During July, I'd like to knock 15 minutes off my time, and walk 3 miles in 55 minutes.

So, dietary goals are to lose another 13 pounds, and walk 3 miles in 55 minutes.

Now, on another (somewhat diet) note.... I have been trying new recipes up the wazoo. And for the most part, LOVING them. I recently discovered Gazpacho. Have you tried it? It's like eating liquid salsa. Mmmmmm.... So is it any wonder that I'm in love with Weight Watcher's Gazpacho Salad? Great alternative to tossed salad, and it keeps for quite a few days in the fridge. I made it on a Sunday and took it to work for four days as part of my lunch. Try it. Almost guaranteed to love it as long as you like tomato chunks in your salad (reader, you know who you are!). Nom nom.

 

It's Oh So Quiet

So I've been really quiet lately, I know. There's been a few reasons for that but the two most outstanding reasons are that 1) I'm too afraid to step on a scale, and b)  work has been keeping me super busy.

Why am I so afraid to step on a scale? Well, I admit. My eating has been out of control. Every single lunch last week was take out, and I had carry out for dinner at least twice as well. And snacking on Better Made BBQ Kettle Chips doesn't help, though I've also been snacking on beef jerky as well (3 PointsPlus for a 2 oz. serving - totally worth it to me). Some lunches were salads, but loaded down with feta, blue and American (National Coney Island's "cheddar") cheese, and there was no low-cal dressing added (not that I couldn't have, just that I didn't).Then there was the Hudsonville Michigan Deer Traxx gallon of ice cream with the Sander's Fudge I consumed over the course of the week before last (never let it be said that I don't support Michigan companies). Various splurges at Starbucks and Biggby, and a $15 purchase at the Macy's candy counter on Saturday have rounded out this food frenzy.

My plan of attack this week is just to get back on track. Slow down and begin eating mindfully again. Start bringing my lunch to work again. And to drink water like it's going out of style (with all this snow we've had, I should just take a glass outside and fill it up!).

And to get back on the scale. The only thing I have to fear is.... well, fear itself!  :)

A little something to go along with my title.

 

Come To Your Senses!

Two weeks ago, I posted my first attempt at copying Daily Candy's Weekend Guide. I've decided I'd like to make this a weekly post (or at the very least a twice monthly post), and so without further ado....

FEAST YOUR EYES ON...

I came to hear about Tess Gerritsen last summer when TNT aired a new series,  Riz zoli and Isles, based on her books. While I highly recommend the series, I'm really enthralled with her book The Bone Garden. Set in Boston in both the present day and 1830, the book follows present day recent divorcee Julia Hammill's startling discovery of a buried skeleton in her garden, and the original story from 1830 of how the skeleton got there. If you're a fan of James Patterson, you'll enjoy Tess Gerritsen's works.  

LISTEN TO THIS!

I was walking through Barnes & Noble two weeks ago and browsing their music selection when I found a 50% off rack. I didn't expect to find anything I'd be interested in, but when I come across an album entitled "Lucy Woodward... Is Hot And Bothered" I have to admit intrigue. A quick stop at a listening station confirmed it'd be a worthwhile purchase (but it's a B&N exclusive which is kind of a bummer but still worth it). Listen to it on a mellow Friday or Saturday night with a glass of wine or a cup of your favorite tea, and tell me if she isn't a bit whimsical along the same  lines as KT Tunstall.  

 

IT'S MOUTHWATERING

This Parmesan Chicken recipe is one of my favorite and perfect all year long, and I even go as far as making up a batch of the lemon vinagrette by itself to use as a daily salad dressing. Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, published this in her Family Style cookbook. Remember that grated is the fluffy stuff as opposed to shredded cheese, and the only other two things I'll say about this recipe is: a) make sure you wipe out the frying pan between cooking each batch or the pan will start smoking and the breading will burn, and b) do NOT attempt to make these ahead of time until I've figured out a way to do it without making them soggy. Serve with the salad greens on top, underneath or side by side, and I highly recommend with sauteed carrots. 

 

DO YOU SMELL SOMETHING?

I first discovered Archipelago Botanical's Signature Soy candles in 2002 at Cali's Cottons Boutique in Traverse City (I WISH she had a website). While all of their scents are absolu
tely wonderful, Bergamot Tobacco still remains my personal favorite. It's a wonderfully masculine scent (but not in a sandalwood kind of way) with a hint of floral to it. In short, you're going to love it without worrying about men yelling about girly smells. They also offer a bath and body line, and the entire product range is natural-based. 

OOOOOOOOOOO.... FEEL THIS!

My friend and college roommate Brande' first introduced me to Bare Escentuals in 2005, and subsequently in the past six years, I've bought two bottles of liquid foundation (but only to tide me over until pay day). It's the company that started the entire mineral make up craze, and I can't say enough good things about their products. The coverage is fantastic without the look and feel of pancake make up. The color ranges rival MAC's. And today, and today only, they're having a 30% sale on 20 of their most popular products. Unfortunately, the original bareMinerals foundation is NOT included, but so many of their other products are and so... basically just check it out. And you're going to love the way your skin not only looks but feels after using these products. Trust me. (P.S.-- use the link I included. You won't be able to get into the sale without it!). 

I'm Shrinking!

Last week was a tough week, not going to lie. Between having the stomach flu and a few things going incredibly wrong at work, it was "just one of those weeks." Which is why my blogging has been nil, zero, nada. The bad news: this week seems to be picking up where last week left off at work. The good news though....

I, incredibly enough, am down to 250.2 pounds. This means I have a total weight loss of 7.2 pounds!

The irony to this statement is that I have absolutely no idea how I did it. My Weight Watchers membership is not getting used nearly as much as it should be, nor am I exercising (exercise is one of the most evil words in the English language IMO). I am, however, trying to be as conscious as I can of what I'm eating and drinking as much water (or water-based beverages such as tea) as possible.

Bringing my lunch to work has fallen to the wayside a bit but when I do make the effort, it's usually a frozen entree of the Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine variety. I fill it out with a piece of fruit, a serving of vegetables, and a light string cheese stick.

Lately however I've been eating lunch out quite a bit. Thankfully, this usually involves Subway and if television has taught us anything, it's that at Subway, you can eat fresh! The extra 2 Points it costs me to add cheese to my sandwich is worth it to me (for the time being), and I'm starting to transition myself from "Italian" (read as white) and Monterrey Cheddar to wheat. I also forgo the chips and get soup, which if you've not tried either of Subway's soups (Chicken Noodle or Creamy Broccoli and Cheese), I wholeheartedly give them two thumbs up. We also do Potbelly's quite a bit (Mushroom Skinny with extra 'shrooms) and Jimmy John's (Thursday's dinner) was an Italian Night Club Unwich (all the sandwich fixings wrapped up burrito-style in a romaine lettuce leaf).

Believe me, these are major break throughs for me (did I spell that correctly? Should it be threws?). Especially considering that Wendy's is just two blocks from Subway with their Double Baconator burger. Yes, double. Bacon. Burger.

So dear friends, that's how my first two weeks has gone. I'm very excited! I also want to share that my first weight loss goal is to lose 5% of my overall weight, which would be to lose 13 lbs. for a (mini) goal weight of 244 lbs. This week's goal is to drink more water (or water-based) beverages as I've been severely dehydrating myself by only consuming about 40 oz. of liquids per day lately.

Next week's goal: to start exercising. Ugh.

Oh! I also wanted to share this article I found on Yahoo! yesterday. Apparently, I'm not the only person who is using blogging for weight loss!  :)  Oooooo..... what a title for a book!  ;) 8 Amazing Blogger Weight Loss Transformations

I want candy! Daily Candy that is....

Once upon a time, I lived in the major metropolitan city of Chicago. One day, the beautiful Mo tripped across something leading her to a wonderful daily email from a website called Daily Candy. These daily emails were devoted to helping Chicago aficionados find the new, unusual, and best things in Chicago. My how I miss those emails.

I digress. Daily Candy also had an email for everyone, everywhere called The Weekend Guide (here's a sample of one for Chicago). I enjoy the format so much that I'm going to create my own little version of The Weekend Guide. So without further ado....

 

EAT

Extra-Crusty Baked Rigatoni with Beef Ragu

What: Despite its lengthy name, this is an easy Italian dish that’s a cross between lasagna and baked spaghetti. It’s almost guaranteed to become a favorite comfort food, is perfect for company, and is even better as leftovers. Bump the meat up to 2 lbs. instead of 1 ½ and to save extra calories substitute evaporated skim milk for the cream.

When: Sunday night

Why: Because it’s too good and too easy to pass up.

 

 

VIEW

Easy A  

What: A modern non-John Hughes John Hughes film featuring the adorable Emma Stone as olive Penderghast, a girl who loses her virginity and becomes the school’s own Hester Prynne by way of the school’s gossip mill.

When: Sunday night (ideally while you’re enjoying your Extra-Crusty Baked Rigatoni with Beef Ragu

Why: Witty enough to hold your interest, strong enough to fill part of the gap left by the death of John Hughes, and an awesome soundtrack.

 

LISTEN

Melody Gardot’s “My One and Only Thrill”   

What: A wonderful compilation of her own songs with a few old standards (“If The Stars Were Mine” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) thrown in for good measure. While her style is definitely reminiscent of Ella and Eartha Kitt, her voice is more a mixture of Diana Krall and Sarah McLachlan.

When: Friday night as you’re unwinding after work or Sunday morning as you’re getting ready for Brunch with your friends.

Why: Your can’t help but feel uplifted and cheery listening to Melody’s melodies.

 

 

SMELL

Body Shop’s “The Mother of All Sales” 

Bath and Body Works’ “Hello, Yellow” sale

What: Two of the best bath and body product stores annual sales. I recommend the Spiced Vanilla items at Body Shop, and Brown Sugar & Fig is always a popular (but discontinued!) scent at Bath & Body Works.

When: Saturday morning before or after you do your Facebook viewing

Why: Get an entire year’s worth of bath and body goods for the cost of what you’d spend in one visit.

 

JUST BECAUSE

Talbots' Red Hanger Sale

What: Talbots has put just about all of their winter items on sale starting at 40% off. Be sure to check out their Sale and Outlet tabs for even better deals. They have misses, petites, tall, women’s, and women’s petites sizes along with shoes, jewelry and other accessories. BE WARNED THOUGH. Everything in the Sale and Outlet tab are Final Sale.

When: NOW! Seriously, for Friday only they have free S&H on any purchase.

Why: Because dress pants for work at $24 a pair is just too good to pass up!

 

 

Happy New Me! (or Year of the Mo as I like to say!)

Being the daughter of a teacher and a student myself for 17 years, my new year always seemed to start in September rather than January. With my dad retiring after 40 years, and myself being done with school for the better party of 15 years now, January has once again rightfully established itself as New Year.

As is the resolution of many people, my first and primary goal is to lose weight. It's been a VERY long time coming, but I am truly dedicated for what I'm guessing is the first time ever to this endeavor. This has much more to do with the stiffness and aches and pains I'm waking up with these days than any real "fitness Epiphany," but better late than never as they say.

So without further ado, I've decided to put the Weight Watchers membership I've been paying for for the past few (seven) months to use and get on with it. I've also vowed to make this journey public. I need to be held accountable for my actions, and so you, lucky people that you are, get to be the ones I confess my sins to (for the record, I haven't confessed since 1989 when I made my confirmation which is probably why I haven't been struck by lightning yet). 

After a rather daunting shopping expedition to every woman's favorite store (Target) last night, I returned home armed to the teeth for this latest adventure. Smart Ones' were on sale 5 for $9 (and for those of you Southeastern Michigan locals, Hollywood Market has Lean Cuisines on sale 5 for $10), Kashi bars were on sale, and scales were on sale. Like I said, armed to the teeth.... Anyhow, I stood on my brand new scale last night and weighed in at (a whopping) 257.4 pounds.

Challenge accepted.

Wine in the Bucket

A few months ago, my friend Jen and I started a book club.  It had started as a discussion on what books I had read recently, as Jen was looking for something new to read, and it just sort of blossomed into a "We should start a book club!" kind of thing (being that Jen and I have known one another for over 30 years, this is not an unusual circumstance for us).  Thus, our book club was born.

Our friend and fellow book club member Laura suggested reading "The Next Thing On My List" by Jill Smolinski for our September meeting. It was a lighthearted somewhat fluffy read that was enjoyable yet thought provoking at the same time (I won't go into much detail except to say that I recommend it highly). But the list the title is referencing is a bucket list. You know, the list people write of all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket (there's a great quote about a bucket list in the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman but it's not featured on imdb and I don't want to butcher it). So Jen had the brilliant idea that we should all write our own Bucket List.

I'm not going to lie. My list was far more superficial and materialistic than I like to admit and travel was featured prominently. But amongst other non-travel related items, I wrote in that I wanted to learn about wine. Together with my desire to lose 125 pounds or get down to a size 8 (whichever comes first), I figured I'd start tackling my bucket list by learning about wine.

I've started my endeavor by reading "Secrets From the Wine Diva: Tips on Buying, Ordering and Enjoying Wine" by Christine Ansbacher. It's an enjoyable read, and what I like most about Ms. Ansbacher's writing style is that she starts from the ground up and explains things in a funny yet understandable manner. Anyhoo....

Yesterday I decided to start my Christmas shopping and do some general errands that needed to be done. So while I was sitting at work, I decided I wanted to have some of the best non-Mexican Mexican food on the planet Chipotle for dinner. And since I already had to visit a wine store to get my gift for the office Secret Santa, I figured last night would be a perfect time to start trying to pair wine with food. After some iffy research, I came to the conclusion that Zinfandel would go best with my Carnitas Fajita Burrito bowl (to go).

After discussing what I was looking for with the wine specialist at the store, I walked out with a bottle of My Immortal Zin at his suggestion. I went and picked up my food, went home and cracked the bottle open. Side note: I am not one who cuts the foil on wine bottles before uncorking the wine. After last night's disastrous opening, I am abandoning that habit and will be cutting the foil for the rest of my life.

I poured out a glass straight away, flopped onto the couch, tuned into a Law & Order: SVU rerun (God bless USA for their marathons), and prepared to be wowed by my meal and wine selection.

I was less than impressed.

First of all, I should probably be honest and tell you I'm not a red wine fan. I've liked some better than others, but given a choice, I usually go with white. And perhaps straight from the bottle to the glass without giving the wine any time to breathe wasn't a good idea either. Nor am I to say that the little floaty bits of cork didn't ruin the wine either. But....

It was dry. Like suck-the-saliva-straight-out-of-your-mouth dry. I'm giving it another try tonight, perhaps just to enjoy by itself after dinner. So stay tuned.

On another note.... I was researching wine pairings for our book club meeting next week, and decided to try these new sites I had found to see what their suggestions were. I found a  White Zinfandel that was recommended, and a Beaujolais or Merlot would also have worked.

Better luck next time.