Road Trip continued

and then the best part of the trip happened.  I arrived at destination numero uno and my bestie said "we need to get some wine".  She talked about delicious peach wine and her dad's incredible grilling skills.  Hmmm thought I,  I wonder if her dad's skills compete with my modest grilling skills?  (quietly y'all, I thought this quietly to myself. she had no knowledge my pride and arrogance about my grilling skills was sneaking in) then she said turn left, no right, no left and then we were there or should I say

HERE
(prepare yourself for a shameless plug because I almost died when I walked into this adorable winery).

obviously, it's ok looking.  looks can be deceitful  I was unprepared for the level of cuteness inside.  I needed a bigger wallet and a bigger wine cabinet etc... 

Dying yet?



Yes, the stiletto heel is a RUSTY NAIL (since the name of the winery is the Rusty nail). 




I wear my heels 6 days a week, totally need stiletto's on my kitchen counters



but my heart was broken, they were out of the wine holding shoes so my wallet was saved and no wine holding shoes were purchased.

cute to the inth degree

I tasted multiple wines, they were all good

the winners (not pictured here)
Peep Toe Chardonnay (Peach)
Gold Digger French Chardonnay
Buster Brown Cabernet (Blackberry) - - WINNER!!! 
Bottle of each went home with me - so very good

RoAd TrIp

I went on a road trip, all by myself and it was fun.  I stopped and pulled to the side of the road and took pictures like a crazy woman driver.

Yep, I pulled over, stood up through the sunroof and snapped a picture

a picture or two, with people driving past and staring at the crazy woman

and I didn't care

Isn't this peaceful. I wanted to have a cup of coffee and sit by this stream but it was cold and I hate cold!



I drove through a logging town - see those massive piles of SAW DUST? the entire town (all three houses) smelled like saw dust.



those smallish white things hanging on this tree? Those are tennis shoes - it's a SNEAKER Tree!  People drive past and toss their old shoes on this tree. So cool, I had to have  picture.

Why did the 5 point buck cross the road? to stare and to pee.  That's what he did, he crossed the road, stared at me forever (long enough for a few pictures) took a leak and ran off.

Christmas and good deeds, what are you doing?

i have a lot of kids and not a lot of money.  This leads to a lot of stress when Christmas comes around.  I am used to spoiling my kids rotten and buy buy buying things for my children.  The last few years for one reason or another the buy buy buying came to a screeching halt and I needed to find other ways to provide my children with wonderful Christmas memories.
I know Christmas is when we are supposed to "remember the reason for the season" however my kids have had that drummed into their ears until they don't really care to ever hear it again so I don't want to get all preachy with them.
This year I want them to be content and to give to others. Give gifts, give actions and give of their hearts however I am not making them participate in the good deeds and gift giving. I am doing my own thing, they are aware of it and if they choose to participate I will be happy.  This year I will set the example and maybe next year they will choose to join in. 

a serious post

Last night I spent the majority of the evening with a friend, a friend with a broken heart that will never ever be mended.  Yesterday she returned home from work to find her one and only son had decided to take his life.  Suicide is a decision that cannot be taken back, you cannot change your mind and it changes the lives of so many people.  Suicide is not the answer. 
Her son had problems he had struggled with for many many years, however he had not used all his life lines. There were still avenues of help and hope available to him.  For some reason, he decided he had enough and that he didn't want to try any more. 
Please if you ever think you are at the end of your rope, if you think you can't do this anymore or feel like you can't go on.  Please remember someone wants to listen, someone wants to help you and we are here.  ContactWeCare.org
 http://www.teencentral.net/
http://www.itgetsbetter.org/

1-800-SUICIDE		1-800-273-TALK
1-800-784-2433		1-800-273-8255

1-800-suicide
1-800-273-talk

1-800-SUICIDE		1-800-273-TALK
1-800-784-2433		1-800-273-8255

1-800-799-4TTY (4889)
Deaf Hotline

We left town...

That was a good plan or so we thought.  The dogs and cat stayed home. I had someone house sit and thought the boys and the plants would be ok.  I left food and water and a human with them, what could go wrong?  Turns out I was thinking with my lower left brain cuz it all went wrong!  The evidence was obvious.  We didn't need CSI New York to help us discover the crime, nope. There were waaaayyyy to many dog treats left, someone who shall remain nameless did not give them their treats like a good dog watcher/house sitter would have.  Dogs who are being cared for do not get out of their rooms and "eat" house hold plants and leave trails of potting soil through the hallways. Cats who are let out do not use the litter box nor do they leave cat hair all over the beds.

Have you ever been owned by a boxer?  They talk. my boys talk and talk.  Not this time, we came home and have been receiving the silent treatment.  The boys are 6 years old and they have never been silent.  24 hours now we have been being ignored and treated like the wicked witch of the west.  Dear lord, those boys are mad at me.  They are speaking to and sleeping with Bubba (apparently they realize he is innocent and cannot be held responsible for decisions his mother makes about his life).

So the house sitter will not receive the esteemed and coveted duty again.  The poor pets have been apologized to over and over again and the house has been cleaned and will be cleaned again.  It's a mess. The fur... it's everywhere.  House sitters don't clean house.  Well, this one doesn't anyway. So there's a teeny tiny bit of dog hair in clumps, well one might call it colonies of dog hair in various locations throughout the house. I've swept, the kids have swept and we will be sweeping and vacuuming for eons.  I love my Dyson vacuum that is incredibly awesome with pet hair cause it does the job it's supposed to do.   I just wish it could suck that hair off the dogs before it hits the floor, or my pants.

However, we had a great Thanksgiving.  All the usual food, family, friends and fun.  VERY glad to be home

i should write

I should write a post every now and then. If I write then people might read, if people read then I might write more often.  That would be a good thing. Writing is good for me.