Thankful

24 pounds, wow, that's a big turkey! Well I did it, a mere nine hours later the bird was finished. Thank goodness for my dad, it's just comforting to have him there and know that if there's a major disaster that we can fix it. Which did happen without anyone knowing. I must have had the water a bit too warm in one of the batches of his famous rolls and they didn't rise. I'm so glad we made 4 batches of rolls, we definitely were not short any rolls even with the mishap of throwing out a batch. Eleven guests, three tables put together, one turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes, jello, cranberry sauce, turnips, two pumpkin pies and two apple pies later with a little wine and berry juice it was over. The day I've planned so long for was completed. It was a blur. I'm so glad that my dream came true and I was able to host Thanksgiving for both of our families at my new house. It was perfect! I loved bringing both of our traditions to one table full of laughter and fun. We had puzzles, movies, lounging and relaxing as well. The whole day was just what I would have wanted for a traditional Thanksgiving. I'm so thankful for my family and... for my new baby to come. Yes, it's all going well and I can thank God for it, and I did at church today... over and over.... I'm so thankful.

Random Thoughts

It's been a while, a long while. I've found that I am not a frequent blogger. It's hard for me to keep up with my hectic schedule! My new wine business is fun and I spend most of my free time focusing on that. Our recent Open House was a hit as well and I find myself learning more and more about wine and my palate every day. Currently, I'm on a "wine smelling" kick. I just like to smell it and see what I come up with. The sense of smell is so amazing and can definitely trigger memories, events and open doors to new senses.

Recently Jason took me on a surprise trip to Lake Chelan! It was so nice. He planned it all without me knowing. We stayed at Campbell's resort on the water. It was a weekend filled with relaxing and literally doing NOTHING. Well needed and deserved. We went to my favorite winery, Vin Du Lac. There I was able to hands on see their beautiful lucious surroundings and their amazing awards and accolades. I think they will always be my favorite winery.

Gooble Gobble.... Turkey day is around the corner! More to post soon as I'll try to keep up from now on.

Cheers!

Friends

Friends are an important, crucial part of life. To me, I rely on my husband, my family... my cat Rosie, and my friends. I am lucky for those that I have and thankful for the friendship they bring to my life. Even though life gets busy, tough, and overwhelming at times I know my true friends are always there for me.

Time Flies

Wow. It's been a while since I've typed away at my blog. Between all the other things out there (Facebook, Myspace, reality) I find myself on many different sites. It's amazing how fast time flies.

My latest and greatest news is my new business! Northwest Wine Source. My sister, Diana, and I bought this business from a friend that moved away. We were afraid to even speak about it until it was final and we had a liquor license as we didn't know if it would happen. After 8 pain staking months of paperwork, saving money, background checks, etc, we are finally starting! Our website will be up in January as the company has several other projects ahead of us. So, you may ask yourself, what is Northwest Wine Source? We are your local wine specialists. We focus on hand selecting excellent NW wines that you don't typically find in the grocery store or that you may be hesitant to pick out because you don't know the quality. Thus far, we have visited over 20 wineries to expose ourselves to the winemakers and know where they are coming from. We will have wine tasting events, parties, and sell special orders and monthly wine clubs. I am so excited for this new venture, so on top of my full time job I now have my side business that I can't wait to explore even more.

Not only has this business venture brought my sister and I closer but it has opened me to a whole new world and passion for wine. Sometimes I fall in love with smelling the wine that I know I may love it before I even sip it. I can't wait to share this passion with my friends and family.

Cent Anni!

Dad

Can you resist this delight? My dad came over tonight with his arms full of goodies. Most importantly was my 4 year old wedding cake. I know, it sounds scary, but it's not! He's a professional baker and he has been the master at keeping this cake fresh since we got married. Our 4 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow and so, it's time, to pull out the yellow cake with guava and strawberry filling, buttercream frosting and my favorite purple little flowers. I snuck a bite and slipped one to my dad too... yummy! Believe it or not, there's not even a drop of frostbite! I'm so excited for our anniversary tomorrow. Not to mention in my dad's other arm was a homemade strawberry/rhubarb/apple pie that he made us with cut-out hearts around it. Now that's a dad for you! My wonderful loving creative mother also made us a 99% recycled card made with the original paper I created our invitations with. Now, that's where I get my creativity. My parents. Love it!

Sisters

Sisters. I'm so happy I have a sister like Diana. She is my best friend, sister, business partner, and most importantly the person I would turn to if I ever needed a friend. She listens, cares, loves, shares, laughs and cries with me. In the 6 years I've been with Jason we have overcome a lot of situations. All in all we have made it out better than I would have imagined. I can't wait to have so many memories together. Thanks Diana for being my sister.

TJ for Short

THOMAS JEFFERSON(1743-1826): He was an amazing man. Visiting his house in Monticello, Virginia gave me chills. He is most remembered as author of the Decleration of Independence. He once said "No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." His garden was a beautiful, each and every square inch of it. He had eggplant, to watermelons, to grapes and beyond. Every single stem was thriving in his rich soil and beautiful surrounding earth. His house was re-composed of most of his items and I felt thrilled to walk the floor that he created. His rotating book tray gave me inspiration alongside his polygraph where he would copy the books he wrote such as "Jeffersons Works." Seeing the ~6'3" bed he died in made me reflect on how he changed this world. He died on July 4th only hours before his friend, John Adams. Back in that time they transfered news via horseback so John thought his friend was still alive, when he died on July 4th as well. What an amazing day that was. Oh... the history.... I love it.