A Barbecue Wine

I wanted to make sure I documented July's wine club adventure before July left. This month has seriously just gone so quickly and I think the boys and I are trying to savor some lazy summer days ... which tends to mean my laptop stays tucked away and off to the side.

So, when I realized that August is officially here this week, I knew I needed to get on here and share July's wine Chardonnay. Now, I am not a Chard fan. Not in the least bit. I'll pretty much take any other wine over it. I'm not sure what it is ... I just don't find it all that refreshing, but I am always optimistic that wine club will make me into a changed woman.

Chard's are supposed to be excellent picnic wines. I think this is that they can be not quite super chilled and the flavor peaks. So, the fare was like a perfect summer picnic ... including some excellent homemade gluten-free bread. Yes, GA the hostess went all out and make some amazing artisanal bread that you spread melted Brie on. I probably could have eaten the whole loaf. (That's sad, isn't it ... I just rarely get good bread anymore :))

 Fresh fruit and apple chicken sausage kabobs

 Homemade bread and grilled Brie

 Portable mini potato salads

Gluten-free shortbread cookies, caramel, pecans and chocolate

The wines for the evening ranged from California to Chile to France. 

First up was a California Chard. It had a crisp pear taste and was great when we were sipping it before we ate anything. Unfortunately, this did not pair well once you began to eat. It is definitely a "no food with this" wine. 

The second one was the Chilean beauty. This was much stronger, and permeated with peach and bold oak. It had a short finish. I didn't really love it. But D happened to go play cards with the boys later and the leftover wine was brought over and he said he loved it. So, I think we may have been drinking it a little too chilled. So, I'll give this one a second chance, because D raved about it so much. 

The third wine was the one I enjoyed the most of the evening. It was very mellow and almost butter smooth. It went well with the food and if I didn't have to drive, I would have drank my whole glass and had another. Surprisingly it was the Australian Chard ... and I wasn't expecting that one to be the one that would win me over. 

We ended our flight with the quintessential Chard ... a French Burgundy ... now this was very oaky and when you think of Chard this is definitely what comes to mind. I'm not a fan of French wines (I know, strange isn't it) so this one was just a little too much for me. 

Overall, still not a Chard fan ... but at least I know in a pinch if it comes from Chile or Australian, maybe I will at least give it a try. 

Three minutes down

Tonight was my first race of the year without D waiting for me at the finishing line. Granted, it was a women's only race in the evening and he did offer to come and cheer me on, but I didn't think it was necessary to keep the boys up just for me. And my sister was at the event, so it wasn't like I was alone.

It was the Esprit de She 5K, sponsored by Life Time and Athleta. Lots of swag ... free wine post-race ... free dinner ... and shopping discounts galore. Most importantly ... I shaved more than three minutes off my last chipped race time. Wahoo! I wasn't expected that. Especially because the course was super hilly, so I did have to walk a couple of the hills in the second half. It was that brutal. So, yeah, I was thinking I'd actually be slower than my last race so when I checked my race time ... I just had a big ol' smile on my face. I wish I knew what the time was on my very first race back in January. It would be awesome to compare how far I've come in the last seven months.

Now, I'm relaxing on the couch ... looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning. And at some point, I need to blog about this month's wine club venture (it was last weekend, but I just haven't had time to blog about it yet!)

The Grass is Always Greener

Today I met a woman who recently joined our department. We did the typically "get to know" type questions ... and I was thoroughly impressed ... or jealous ... or both. At first I thought she was way younger than I was, but we discovered we're about the same age. She worked a company for a while after college and then decided she needed a big change ... so she decided to go work at a farm in the south of France.

But to get the job, she had to fill out an extensive application and get experience working on a farm here. She explained to me how you had to have proficiency with specific machinery. So, she got experience for six months here and then was off to France. My mind immediately raced to how fulfilling a job like that could be. You have very specific tasks you need to achieve and you reap very tangible awards.

It's amazing how the grass always seems greener, doesn't it? I think there was a small part of me who wished I had been crazy right out of college when it's excusable to be crazy and have trekked around the world. I want to make sure I support my sons and allow them some sort of experience like that before they get too committed to careers or have families of their own. I want them to have some adventure and gain life experiences that will be unique, inspiring and ... fun.

That way ... they can be the ones telling others the really cool stories!

Color-rific

Today the boys came and watched D and I run The Color Run 5k. This was definitely supposed to be just a fun way to promote exercise, have a good time and not worry about getting a PR. This was so evident in fact, that D ran the whole thing with me. (He typically is about ten minutes ahead of me at a regular race ... so he had to cut his pace quite a bit.) Then again, it also probably made me run faster than normal.

D's mom was kind enough to watch the boys while we ran at the event so that they could cheer us on. We keep trying to convince K to run one with us ... as we'd like to to encourage the boys to start running these. We'll definitely start paying more attention for kid's fun runs. According to D's mom, they ran from color station to color station so they probably ran the full race anyway. And they did get some color dust on them. Yes, we were one colorful family at the finish.

I have to say, I was impressed with the crowds. We were the first wave ... and there were five waves in total. And I am going to guess there were thousands of us for the first wave. The sea of people was absolutely endless. In fact, we didn't even get to start running until the fourth wave of the first wave. So, for our 8:30 run, we didn't leave the starting line until after 9 a.m.

In the end, our goal was just to have a good time (we always do when we run these races), encourage the boys to see how fun running can be (which I think they did), and get in some exercise. Check on all three. I've been reading how the number of people doing 5ks has exploded in the last few years. I totally get it. It's a pretty easy distance to run (once you start and get in the groove) and you can continue to improve your time. I never thought I'd be a runner, and I always envied those who running came easy for. Granted, I'm not that fast ... but I keep to it and eventually, maybe, just maybe ... I'll beat D to the finish line.

Up North

Fourth of July weekend in Minnesota. Seen as the middle of summer vacation for many of us ... extra days are often horded for vacation to make the weekend as extended as possible. I am a big believer in this approach. It's a good way to really enjoy nice weather with those you love. And for us, it typically means taking a trip "up north" to my parents camper that is located at a camping resort on Lake Winnie.

A three and a half hour trek to get there, I savor the car trip. But that's because it usually means I get some serious reading time in ... since D does the driving. The boys settle in with an electronic device of choice and I settle in with a book. It's a sweet deal, that is for sure. Of course our trip typically starts with a stop at Target first where we end up buying a month's worth of snacks for a weekend trip, but it's vacation so indulgence is okay (and perhaps encouraged.)

Once we arrive, the boys want to make a mad dash for the pool. We explain that we first have to unpack and get everything situated. But it isn't long before they are in the pool. K and O could have just lived in the pool the whole weekend. However, since O is just three and we are super overprotective parents, this means at least one of us needs to be in the pool with them. D and I both did the honors on the first day. It's always fun to be a kid again and play in the pool.

That evening, K wanted to sleep in a tent instead of the camper. So, we put up our little tent and I hunkered down with the boys. Everything went well until about halfway through the night (frankly, I'm not sure what time it was because I didn't have any timepiece with me in the tent.) O woke up screaming. He had to go to the bathroom and clearly didn't know where he was. I tried to calm him down, but nothing would work. So I scooped him up and ran to my parents camper ... and was peed on in the process. I ended up bringing him  back to the tent (D slept through this whole ordeal ... how he did ... I have no idea.) But alas, that was the only night he spent in the tent.

On Thursday, my parents participated in the annual fishing tournament ... which meant the boys, D and I spent time at the pool and just relaxing. Grandma and grandpa took third place at the tournament and then we joined the resorts potluck (for those who know me well ... this is always a precarious situation ... I don't like potlucks.) Thursday was one of those days that you need more of ... low pressure ... relaxation ... perfect.

Friday, my dad and I took K out fishing in the morning. My dad was sweet enough to let K reel in the first fish ... and it set the tone for pretty good day for the guy. He had a great time. In the afternoon, we took O out. All in all, we caught a total of nine Walleyes, a bunch of Northerns and a handful of perch. Both boys had a great time ... neither would touch fish ... but then again, when I caught the biggest fish ... I would only hold it with a glove:

(Nice double-chin, I know ...)

All in all, it was a great weekend trip. A couple of other memorable moments:

• My dad riding his bike with me while I went on my 2-mile run. I almost felt like I was a major athlete and he was my trainer... but I thought it was sweet that he thought he needed make sure I stayed safe
• Teaching my boys how to play skee ball ... seriously stressed D out ... but watching K make progress quickly was super rewarding
• Learning that when it comes to roasting marshmallows ... K is much more patient than I was at his age. He waits for them to get golden, whereas I used to just take the direct to flame and burn approach. O just likes to eat up all the s'mores everyone else is making
• The ridiculous amount of Mosquito bites all over each and everyone of us. Seriously ... we look like we have the measles they are so bad ... and do they ever itch
• Wasting two hours at a small-town Wild Rice festival because my mom wanted the boys to enter a bike drawing. Alas, neither boy won ... but they did walk away with some awesome kettle corn
• D and I choosing to wear our race shirts every day - the other campers probably thought we were just trading shirts because we didn't wear the same race shirts on the same days ... so really, you couldn't have thought that we just brought up three shirts and took turns wearing them
• Watching my boys have so much fun

It was a great break from the regular routine. Next year, we think we'll rent our own cabin ... we just take up too much room for us to be in the quaint camper ... particularly with the two ruffians we're raising!