It's the coldest day in 10 years...

...& we're drinking white wine. A Chardonnay, even.

What?!

Crazy, huh?

Well, sort of, but not really. You see, we went to Time For Dinner last night with some friends, & the meal that Doug put in the refrigerator to thaw was the Crab Stuffed Chicken. Yum. However, our wine supply is almost all red right now, & I just couldn't think of any that would even minimally work with the dish.

(As an aside, the Time For Dinner thing is fun! The food is awesome, too. While we assemble the food, it's sort of cheating, not really cooking...but I don't care!)

Luckily, we visited our very dear friend Robin on Sunday, & she sent us home with 2 bottle of wine, 1 of which was white! The Hahn SLH 2006 Chardonnay, to be exact. While we realized it might not be the greatest pairing - I think that the Hahn SLH 2007 Pinot Gris would've been fabulous - we were confident enough.

We were right. No, not the best pairing, but it certainly didn't offend! Honestly, it was quite good. Both the dish & the wine were lovely on their own (yes, I did just say that a Chardonnay was lovely), the pairing was just ok. As predicted. But the fact that I'm sitting here - in 6° of freakin' St. Louis - still drinking not only a chilled wine but a Chardonnay after the chicken is gone should really tell you something. We love Hahn wines. Good stuff, people, good stuff.

The Hahn SLH Pinot Gris would've really made me happy, though. I've had it before, & I absolutely love it. Ah, never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Not that our friend Robin is a horse...but if she were a horse, she'd be a mighty fine one.

With damn good wine.

4 Days In...

Come on, 2009 -- show us what you've got. Better economy? Weird weather? The possibilities are endless.

But hey, it's too soon to talk about that, & I'm not going to join the throngs of bloggers that have shared their cheerleader-ish hopes & dreams for the year like they do every year. Frankly, the year is merely a period of time & it's going to be what it's going to be...& that's largely up to us & what we choose to do with it. Having said that, Happy New Year, & I hope that you make the best of it!

So, we've been back for a while, but let's talk about my trip to Jamaica, shall we?

Actually, there's not that much to tell. We went, hung out on a beautiful beach at an amazing resort, drank lots of rum at the swim-up bar, & got a tan. We had a killer massage in what had to be the coolest place to get a massage EVER. The food was great, the views incredible, & we neglected to take a lot of photos. Damn, damn, damn. In my defense, we didn't really go anywhere or do anything other than hang out...but here's what we took. (If you want to see more, check out the link - Couples does a great job!)

Our room upon arrival...I'm not a fan of the headboard & the bed was harder than I like (but I'm spoiled), but overall, the room was nice, roomy, & very blue & white.

Here's a couple of views from our terrace...sadly, neither photo does it justice, but as I said earlier, I just wasn't inclined to keep snapping. It really was outstanding, & at night, the lights were fabulous.

The only thing we didn't love about our room was the noise - we were just down from where most of the nightly entertainment was, which wasn't cool if we wanted to get to sleep before midnight. Oh well.

On our first night, there was a huge wedding. I'm guessing the bride & groom were natives because there were a lot of people! I'd hate to think how much money it cost to have a wedding at the resort, but I'm here to tell you, it was gorgeous. I was only able to get 1 shot, & it's not a very good one...

Ok, not the best, but I figured it'd be a bit tacky for a stranger to run around taking pictures...but take my word for it - it was beautiful. I wish I could've taken photos of the tables, but it was really dark, & then there was the whole tacky thing I just mentioned, so sorry... I know some of you would have really enjoyed them. Everything was very well done - the flowers, the lighting, music, the colors... As pretty as it was, all I could think of was how much money was spent on 1 little day, a mere blip in a life. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20!

The lobby was decorated for Christmas.

Eh, as usual, my photos don't do it justice. New camera, you know.

So yeah...great trip. It was over at just the right time - we were missing the dogs terribly. After a few delays at both the Montego Bay & Charlotte airports, we finally made it home. Talk about a major drag...but thank goodness there are decent bars in airports. There's even a wine bar that we discovered last year at the Charlotte airport that serves & sells North Carolina's Yadkin Valley wines, so obviously, we had to stop in again. Checking out wines from other states is a big hobby of ours, & I'm happy to report that North Carolina's wines are pretty damn good. Seriously - while they may not be of the same caliber as Napa or Willamette, I think they have real potential, therefore, I'm happy to support their efforts. Some day, we hope to take a trip to the Yadkin - I think it'd be cool (I'm certainly not going to go to a NASCAR race, which is huge in that area), one We bought a Bordeaux-style red blend from Raylen Vineyards, & I'm looking forward to sharing it with some of our fellow winos.

My dad had taken great care of the girls, as always...they certainly didn't starve. Within seconds of walking in our door, I was struck by how much bigger Piper had become! It was really remarkable. So much so that we're going to get her in to see the vet in the next week or so - the poor chunk has to get her thyroid checked & be put on a diet. Everyone ele was great, though, & Gordon said that they all had a wonderful time.

The second thing we noticed was that it had been very windy while we were gone. I'm so glad we bought a cover lifter for our hot tub's lid -- it was the only thing that held the lid on! We walked outside, heard this loud watery noise & then saw that the lid was halfway off! A lot of the water was gone, so we had to refill it. I hate to think of how much our electric bill is going to be...needless to say, Doug was not pleased.

So, what next? Other than a cruise to Mexico in February with the Luces, we're trying to figure out what our vacation plans are over the next year or so.

Tough problem to have, I know.

U-Turn

I'm not going to mince words...November sucked. It was perhaps the worst month for us ever. Luckily, December is a lot better, & it's not even over yet.

Let me start with the biggest news - I got a promotion! Weird, huh? It wasn't a "Claire, you've done such a wonderful job for us over the last 6+ years, so now we're making you a manager" kind of promotion, but nonetheless, a promotion. You see, I was approached by a manager in my department about a job, & after talking about it & interviewing with a couple of different people, the job was mine. Yay, me! It's very scary stuff, though...I've never done what I'll be doing. In fact, I never even considered doing it, maybe because I thought it would never be an option. Hell, I can't even pronounce most of my job duties! Despite this, the stars aligned just so, & BAM! New job, with a 5.4% increase...not too shabby in this economy, & certainly not when upper management sent an email out not too long ago saying no one would get a raise this year. (I don't mean to be cryptic, but this is the internet, after all, & I'd rather not discuss specifics about my job. I know, you get it.) Just in time, too - I was feeling very trapped & beginning to wonder if my letter opener would be sufficient enough to slit my wrists. (Kidding...but I really did hate my job!) So, on December 29th, I start my new position....

....the day after we get back from Jamaica!

Go ahead, hate on me. You know you want to.... Ok, that's enough now.

This Saturday, Doug & I get on a plane & head to Couples San Souci! We haven't had a vacation since the end of April, & we're long overdue. To say that we're excited is putting it mildly. Very. We'll be gone for 9 days. Can I just tell you how much fun it is to spend Christmas on a beach? Away from the dysfunction, the craziness, the rushing around...it's bliss. Just imagine...an 80° Christmas with a swim-up bar, reggae, & a lot of rum. Dirty Bananas. Pina Coladas, Hummingbirds. Even the dreaded Bob Marley shot - hey, I'm no wimp. Shall I continue? No schedule, incredible food, & amazingly beautiful surroundings...sleeping, reading, playing, or just vegging out looking at the water. I can do that for hours. And the kicker? My husband, the scrooge, wants to bring a string or 2 of lights to hang on our balcony. If you could only know how major that is...

So yeah, December has treated us much better than its predecessor. Sure, Doug's mom & Charles (oh, how I miss that boy) are still gone & there's no bringing them back, but aside from what I was just talking about, both of our vehicles are running as they should, we ditched our colds (I can't tell you how great it was to enjoy wine!), & we've had a little bit of a break from our seemingly grueling schedule. Those are just a few things, but at the top of our list is the love & support we've felt from our friends. We've always known we have an abundance of outstanding people in our lives, & we feel very, very blessed.

Oh, & it's 18° out with snow & ice on the ground...but Doug & I just came in from our hot tub.

Yeah...we know how to roll.

Not the usual Thanksgiving post...

Under normal circumstances, I might write about which wines we chose to take to Thanksgiving, how dysfunctional our combined family's Thanksgiving dinner is, & our yearly escape to Nashville the day after. Under normal circumstances, it'd probably be a damn funny read.

But these aren't normal circumstances.

The month of November hasn't been a good one. It's been heavy with stress, disappointment, frustration, sickness, & sadness. I'm not going to go into all of that on this blog, but there is one particular thing that I will talk about - some of the sadness.

Charles, who we'd been treating for hip dysplasia for months, took a terrible, horrifying turn for the worse late Saturday night. Charles had pulled through so many hard times in the past that we weren't quite willing to count him out just yet. We had hope late Sunday night when he was up walking around, but by morning, that hope was gone.

All day long, I held back tears. I had to be at work - they tend to frown on emergencies for dogs, regardless of how one feels about them. I need my job, so I spent the day riddled with sorrow & guilt. I wanted to be with Charles, & to take him out of his pain, but there was nothing I could do until the evening.

Charles needed us to do one last thing for him, so Doug & I were on the floor at Charles' side, petting him, when he died at Dr. Gwen's office at about 5:20 Monday evening. How I wish he could have heard us, I had things to say...but I believe he knew what I wanted to tell him anyway. He passed quickly & calmly. He has new hips & is running around somewhere with Lexie, he can hear & he's no longer in any pain. While we have peace knowing that we did the right thing for him, our hearts are broken.

I'd love to write a beautiful post about Charles & how much we loved him, but I'm afraid I'm just not up to it right now. I can only say that he was the most beautiful & sweet dog, & a very treasured member of our family. Not "like" a member of the family - Doug & the dogs are my family. Charles had the softest fur & loved being petted more than anything. He was a very happy boy & seemed to be constantly smiling. He was, before he lost his hearing, our staunchest defender -which was always very surprising because of his gentleness. He never hesitated to let that leaf blowing across our yard know that it should move on to the neighbor's house. Charles taught me a lot about patience....having a deaf dog can be tough, especially when the dog isn't the smartest. These things Charles couldn't help, but it was impossible to be angry at him for any reason. I wish I could do him more justice in this post, but I just can't.

Our house is far too quiet now. Charles made more noise than any of the others, he always had a very heavy, plodding step & liked to walk around at night. Mattie misses her best friend - while she seems to know what happened, she still looks for him every morning to play. Piper is very confused, & Bella keeps looking for him. They are all sticking very close to us - they know we are sad.

We're doing the best that we can, although that's not saying much. As for me, my emotional state keeps changing - I'm fine, then I'm crying. I'm numb, & then I'm too sad to even cry, but the tears end up coming anyway. (Luckily, I'm usually at home or in the car when this happens, I hate to cry.) Other times, they sneak up on me - not having to step over the spot where he was always sleeping, not having to stomp on the floor to get his attention, or catching myself using his signals... Those are just a few things. It's just going to take time for all of us to get better, & that sucks. But we WILL get better. We have to. In the meantime, we're always going to miss our boy.

My Birthday Suit

Hey, Mattie here. It's been a while since I've popped in, & since Mom's not looking, why not?

So, yesterday was my birthday. I'm 14 years old. 14! People say that's really old for a dog like me. Heh, I don't really feel old, so whatever. I might be getting a little grumpier in my old age, but hey, I've been through a lot, I like my comfort, & my little sister Piper gets on my damn nerves. I think I deserve to be spoiled & set in my ways.

For my birthday, Mom & Dad took the day off, but all they did was run errands & work around the house. No fun, but the house looked good. Then Dad put me in this:

At first, I was a little pissed - no one ever put me in a costume before. That was always Lexie's thing, & she actually liked it. (I really miss her, by the way.) Anyway, apparently Dad bought the costume for Bella, but then decided that since it was my 14th birthday, I should be the one to wear it. Ugh. But then Mom & Dad got into costumes, & then our friends showed up in their costumes, & everyone was telling me how cute I looked, & then it wasn't so bad. Then I remembered all of the Batman movies I've seen & how cool he is, & I figured Dad did right by me, as always. Even so, I don't get why people dress up for my birthday...it's just weird.

But the sleeves were too long, so I kept stepping on them. Screw that. I got out of it.

People were here pretty late, & everyone was having such a good time. Everyone looked funny in their costumes, too. And you should see our house now - there are bottles everywhere because Mom was mixing up a bunch of drinks for everyone. I heard someone say that she should open a bar...good idea in theory, but when would she ever have time? I'd much rather she stay home with me all day.

She's home with me now, & that's what counts. They'll be leaving very soon because they have to go make that money crap. I don't think I'll ever get my head around that, but whatever. I just wish they'd leave the bedroom door open so that I can crash on the bed. They won't, though, because Mom really likes her really nice sheets & she says I'll tear them up. So this will have to do:

We Haz New Toy

Sorry about the LOL speak, but sometimes it just fits.

In the few spare moments we've had lately, we decided to buy something that we've been wanting to buy for a while now... a hot tub! My neck & shoulders have really been feeling a lot of stress, so a hot tub ought to help. I sure hope so - it can really suck!

Since I'm tired & - guess what - short on time, I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

You just can't plop a hot tub in your backyard, hook it up, & hop in, so preparations needed to be made. However, Doug got a little Craigslist-happy (so easy to do) & we found ourselves with an unseen hot tub for $200. For that price, we figured if it worked, cool, if not, oh well.

Yeah, it's ugly & dumpy. Doug said the guy was a total hoosier to boot, so I'm glad I didn't go for the pickup. However, we were hopeful things would work with a ittle elbow grease.

Like I said, you can't just plop & go - we needed to have a flat surface....

With Bella's supervision (of course), Doug started digging.

"Hey, you're not finished here!"

"Lazy ass...looks like I'll have to show him what real work ethic looks like..."

"If Dad was digging here, it must be ok. Yay, I love to dig!"

Dig, Bella, dig!

Bella told Piper that this was way too much work for one dog, so Piper helped.

For a little while....then Piper got tired.

I tried to get a shot of Doug & Bella digging together, but it just didn't work out. Take my word for it, it was really cute. Bella was thrilled -- a sanctioned dig! It took some of the sting out of having the holes in the back corner - the ones that she's been working on for years - filled in with the extra dirt. (She wasn't happy, & still isn't. She's back at it again.)

Once the digging was complete, Doug finished the patio. I helped a little by sweeping a crapload of sand into the cracks between the paver stones. Oh yeah, & I picked the pavers!

Soon after seeing this, Doug decided the $200 tub was a waste of time & money...

I know, I don't get it either.

We did a little talking, a little shopping, & when we got home today, this is what we saw:

Looky there! A used-but-in-good-condition hot tub (with a warranty!), & they took the old nasty one away! SCORE!!!

Doug says he's still got some work to do, but we're almost there. He worked on some rewiring tonight. Hopefully, we'll be able to get in our hot tub by this time next week! It's got 4 seats, but we think 5, maybe 6, people can fit. How much fun!

I wonder what bottle we'll decide to pop open for the inaugural soak....

Hello, Blog

Wow. It's been a while.

Not because I've wanted to stay away, but because I just had other stuff that took precedence - you know, like work, for once - or I just haven't had the energy or inspiration. I'm just not one of those "this is what I did today" writers, not that there's anything wrong with that. (As an aside, I use the term "writer" loosely. Whenever Doug is talking about stuff he did that I can't do, I've been known to call myself an "international writer" just to one-up... Yeah, I think I'm funny.) However, this thing needed a good dusting off, so here I go.

We've got another busy weekend lined up, & tonight's no exception, so I decided to stroll over to Starbucks for a pick-me-up. I was really hoping for a Pumpkin Spice latte', but since it's a tiny little university shop, I was out of luck. A caramel macchiato will have to do, even though it's not a true macchiato - it's actually just a caramel latte', but oh well. It's damn good, & I'm going to enjoy it & hope that I can drown out the sound of my coworkers quacking.

Let's focus on something a little more positive. Like the fact that it's Friday afternoon, & I'm getting out 30 minutes early. Well, I did come in 30 minutes early, but it's just nice to get off early. Granted, it's work - our side business, of course - but at least it'll be quick & painless (I hope, I hope).

Something else that's positive - we're looking forward to a schedule slowdown, even though it won't happen until 11/16. But hey - we survived the VP debate (we did, but I don't think one of the candidates can really say that), & we're almost through our own very busy season, so I can see the end in sight...& it looks beautiful. I need a break. I mean, we haven't been on vacation since coming back from Mexico on 5/3! That's a long time, people....

Speaking of vacation, we're really looking forward to our 3rd annual Thanksgiving weekend Nashville trip. It's only a weekend, but for those of you that know me, we can't get out of town fast enough after spending Thanksgiving Day with our family. Hey, you can't judge unless you come to it 2 years in a row. Why 2 years? Because they're on their best behavior the first year (& that's not saying much), so you need to come back after they've loosened up a little. Any takers? Ok, that's what I thought.

Sadly, my friends, I have to wrap this mostly directionless post up. And not to be political, but let me leave you with some pictures that have entertained me for days now... (Really, people, this is supposed to be funny, so don't choose to be offended. Choose to have a damn sense of humor!)

And to be fair....

One more...

Oh, come on - you know that shit was funny, regardless of what side you're on!