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Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

Friday, November 4, 2011

Friday TRYday: Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc 2009

In the words of Jimmy Fallon as the nasally disc jockey Dirty Dan on Saturday Night Live, "And We're BACK!"

Yes, it has been a while since my last post.  I took a short hiatus to focus on finding a job and lucky for you, after a valiant effort, I remain unemployed :)  If anyone has any suggestions about job hunting for an up-beat, can-do, creative, global studies major... let me know!  because I haven't just struck out...at this point, I have been benched.  On a positive note, I get to come back to what makes me smile, BWA and the people who read it. So, do you know what day it is?  That's right folks! It's Friday TRYday!

Today's Pick


  Winery: Lazy Bones
Type: Cabernet Franc
Year: 2009
Origin: Paso Robles, California

Bottle Description:
 "When the day is at my pace, I can relish small pleasures like ripe cherries, spiced blackberries, aroma of sweet wood and fresh herbs."

Thoughts from the Palate:
 BWA: Regardless of the super-cool graphic on the bottle, which is why I bought this wine in the first place , this is an all around yummy wine that makes you want to just sprawl out naked on a magic carpet in the hills and chill (this woman is now my idol).  The wine itself is a beautiful rich color that is at first simple on the palette then builds mildly in the back of the throat.  It manages to be both bitter and spicy at the same time, which makes for an overall balanced flavor.  I would pair it with a day of solo painting or a cool fall pic-nick with bf or some friends.

For $6.99, this Trader Joe's find is worth a try!

Cheers! and Happy Friday!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Friday TRYday - La Finca 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Every Friday myself, and who ever else would like to join me, will be trying a new wine...and sharing the experience with you!
TODAY's PICK

Winery: La Finca
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon-Red
Year: 2009
Origin: Mendoza, Argentina

Bottle Description:
 Deep red colors with sweet pepper aromas.  Its luscious berry fruit on the middle palate and its wonderful soft texture and finish is inviting.  This is a wine to enjoy with beef, lamb dishes, and mature cheeses.

Thoughts from the Palate: 
This is a goooood glass of wine.  It almost shocked me at first how smooth and unabrassive it was when it first hit my lips, almost like it wasnt there.  As you sip and then slowly swallow the wine, the flavor begins to build subtly on the back of your tounge. It felt light, not very sugary, and I would almost describe it as thin-bodied, like it snuck up and surprised you with it goodness.  Easy to drink.  Fun to share.  I would reccomend.

Would you be shocked if I told you I picked up this bottle of La Finca Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 at Trader Joe's for only $3.99?  After I tasted it, I was!  Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself here!

Check back every Friday to see what we try next!

Cheers! and Happy Friday!









Life Lessons: When you bite off more then you can chew, it can take a bite out of you

I had the brilliant idea to switch bf and myself's bedroom with my office.  This seemed like the Tomas Edison of ideas because seeing as we don't spend a ton of time in the bedroom, sorry bf it's true,  it has the largest square footage and the smallest closet.  On the other hand I spend quite a bit of time working on projects in my office where I have the most physical furniture but the least square footage, however it has the BIGGEST closet space.  My clothes needed a bigger home; it was like a constant flood of hoodies, denim, and heels spilling over a failing dam.  Bf said, no.  But, why? Couldn't he see it made sense?  I mean duh, right?  I couldn't live in this disorganized clutter of crap piling on crap piling on stuff that I didn't even know was there half the time.  There just simply wasn't enough closet space, and the extra floor space we had in the bedroom, was tragically being put to bad use by me and my spill over.  So I took matters into my own hands.  I said, "you wont have to help me do any thing except move the beds, I'll do the rest."  I got my yes, but I got the biggest pain in my ass along with it. 

Sometimes we think we are super woman and no task is too big for us.  I struggle with this way of thinking to a fault.  When I do a project I want to plan it, buy the materials, start it, change it, fix it, start it over, and finish it all in one day.  Whatever it takes to get it done nothing can stand in my way.  I am learning that while it is good to be motivated, sometimes pushing yourself too hard can make experiences in life seem less rewarding and even painful.  Is it about getting it done, or is it about enjoying what you are doing?  Yesterday while switching the rooms, I became exhausted after finally completing  just the movement of items from room to room.  Everything still needed to be put away, hung up, organized, and moved to the right places. As I started to move things around in the new office I could really feel the fatigue in my muscles.  In order to put stuff away I needed to move the bed around so I could put the desk and the book case where it needed to go.  I didn't want to waste time so I didn't wait for bf to get home from work, I just muscled my way through each task banging a lip here and a shin there.  I don't know why I am like this, and maybe you can relate, but I am one of those people who doesn't like to wait around for help.  Knowing this, I could feel this task start to get more and more daunting as it got later in the day but giving up felt like a failure to me for some reason.  This was a wrong feeling to ignore.  As I went to move a bookcase the shelves dropped off, hit the bottom level and broke the whole thing into two.  I had no book shelf and I had no where to put this clutter that had manifested on top of my guest bed.  I choked back a break down.  So, then I managed to carry my giant Ikea desk, by myself, through  two doors and into my office, an action deemed "HULK-ing it" by the guy who carries my Goodwill donations in for me.  Thanks bro.  And as I tried to push the desk into the corner to meet it's final resting place, I heard a deafening crack and then a boom.  Me and the desk both hit the floor, and at that moment I couldn't tell which one of us was in more pieces.  While the entire left side of the desk had snapped off in such an aggressive manner that the interior particle board was showing and it resembled the bite of a great white shark,  I  on the other hand was trying to hold back tears of frustration and whimpers of disappointment because my ego had been shattered.  I still couldn't just walk away. I tried to remove the broken desk from the room so I could keep working and in doing so I sliced my finger on the jagged edge of the desk.  I hit my wall.  I was tired, frustrated, and as I got more tired and more frustrated things kept getting worse.  I finally realized I am not super woman, and maybe I had bitten of more then I could chew, and some proverbial "it" decided to start biting back.  This was supposed to be fun and when it stopped being fun I should have stopped.   I am slowly learning, especially when it comes to matters of the home, that no one and nothing is perfect, everyone needs help sometimes, and that it is just the way it is.   

Cheers!
 









Thursday, August 25, 2011

NOT Gilty! - a trio of wine for a steal

Gilt Group, the high-end fashion for less website, has become the crumpet to my morning tea.  I don't know, there is something about seeing beautiful, well constructed fashion for a fraction of the price that can really get my heart pumping first thing in the AM, even if most of it is still out of my price range.  Recently, the site has been branching out to different avenues of the discount consumer marketplace with deals offered on sites like Gilt City and, like the one I discovered today, on Gilt Taste.

Currently, Gilt Taste is offering three different bottles of wine from the Freeman Vineyard & Winery's limited 2009 vintages here!

So, if you have some extra dough, or should I say cheese, on hand...these may not be a bad option if you enjoy sampling different wines from California vineyards.  And who knows, you may stumble upon your new go to vino...  

Friday, August 19, 2011

I Knew Red Wine Was Good, but I had Noooo Idea it was This Good - couch potatoes have no fear, red wine is here!

So, as I scurried around this morning making preparations for a quick weekend trip to Lake Tahoe with the boyfriend, I wasn't sure if I would have time to make a post.  Between Scooping doggie you-know-what, folding what seemed like a mountain of laundry, and trying to decide which of the 7 pairs of shoes I "really" needed for the two days we were going to be there (I know, too much stress for someone my age), I managed to squeeze in a moment to plop down and read my email and boy, am I glad I did. There was an email forwarded to me from bf (boyfriend) which is something I have come to enjoy receiving on a daily basis; come to think of it, if there isn't one sitting in the inbox I am honestly a little bummed.  Bad call bf, setting the bar too high! On a side note, bf and I have been together for  almost 5 years and we are renting a house together, which has been an amazing learning and growing experience for both of us. Luckily, it has bonded us tighter together in love, but I'll tell ya, It could have gone either way there for a while, however I am thankful everyday we are on this journey together.  Getting back on track now, bf works for a diabetes awareness project and he puts together a monthly newsletter that updates health professionals on the latest news and studies that effect their practice; that way they can best inform and answer their patients questions.  The email I recieved was this months list of articles with the forwarded message, "Check out the article on red wine and mice!"   Oh bf...good lookin' out my man!


The article from mailonline.com describes a miracle pill that could fight some of the world's scariest health isssues: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.  Based on tests done on mice that were deliberatly fed foods high in fat content and the pill, results show that the pill was able to block the fat so the mice didn't gain any weight and they didn't show any signs of diabetes.  My excitement, oh wait,

 "THE excitement surrounds a family of drugs based on resveratrol, the ‘miracle ingredient’ in red wine credited with inhibiting the development of cancer and heart disease.  The drugs would activate a gene called SIRT1 that is key to longevity and energy, and their potency would give them the equivalent health benefits of 8,000 bottles of wine."

 8,000 bottles of wine! and I get a lil' sheepish about admitting to my glass or two a day, for the projected health  benefits, of course.  From now on, there ain't no shame in my game!