Bacchanalia, Texas Style

Yesterday we went to the 9th Annual Wein and Saengerfest hosted in the lovely old German city of New Braunfels. Basically it’s a very large wine tasting featuring mostly wineries from across the state, though some out-of-state wineries were also featured. I didn’t bother much with those, since I was interested in the local stuff that I can get at the grocery store easily. Ok, I didn’t bother with them because I was too busy looking for the Sangria tent.

Which we found right off the bat!!

The way the fest works is, you purchase five tickets for five samples and get a free wineglass. You then have the option to purchase more tickets for $3 each. Total ripoff, but worth it when you consider you are away from the house and having semi-adult conversations with friends your own age. Wait…. Hm…. ok, close to your age. I just realized I was the oldest in the group. Had I realized that yesterday, I would have bought more tickets.

Ignore the manicure, look at the glass!

As soon as we find the Sangria tent, sponsored by a local favorite, Dry Comal Creek Vineyards™, we fork over two tickets. Yes, it cost two tickets, but you get a full glass of cold, delicious Sangria. And though the temperature was only 88* F (31* C for my Metric friends), the humidity was at about 1,890%, which explains the hellacious storm that came through the area last night, dumping roughly 2 inches and scaring the everloving life out of the dogs and Little One. So at least I can scratch “water the lawn” off my chore list today.

All in all, we had a great time. I only had to buy one extra ticket, so that was good. Like I said, the Sangria was worth two tickets, and I was rather thirsty. Besides, I didn’t have to drive at all. The stars don’t align like that very often, you know 😉

Revenge of the Fifth

No, I’m not talking about a fifth of liquor. Yesterday was May the Fourth, which hopefully was with you all day long. If it wasn’t, then I hope you imbibed from a fifth of something.

And it was a very long day for yours truly. Ran around town looking for last minute things for Hubby before he left for his trip, dropped him off at the airport at the height of rush hour, only to come home and find out my evening plans to have dinner with a friend fell through. It was just as well. I was extremely tired. I don’t remember falling asleep, to tell you the truth. I do recall having to get up at 6:45 AM to pick up Son from the Relay for Life, though…

Today is a new day, however. And I have the opportunity to attend the 9th Annual Wein and Saengerfest. Several wineries will be giving away samples, as well as local breweries. And let’s not forget about the “Saengerfest” part of the title. In a German town, food will be flowing along with the beer.

And guess what?? I am not the designated driver this time!!!!

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll be sloshy when I return home. But at least I will be able to sample wines without worry. Besides, I have to come home to make dinner and enjoy a movie with the kidlets and also go outside to enjoy the spectacular view of the Moon. No matter what, the geek in me always surfaces 😉

All That Glitters

Last week, I discovered that Lolita,  wine glass designer extraordinaire, has her own blog!!

And then I discovered she had designed a new glass!!

Courtesy of Designs by Lolita

The Heart of Gold wine glass!! And y’all can bet a bottle of wine I will be christening it this weekend. And since I still have Peeps™ left over, it’s going to be a very, very nice weekend. At least for me 😉

Easter Came and Went, and No Sugar Coma

I just didn’t have the time!!

Yesterday found us attending a lovely Easter Mass, and then rushing to pack up the Mom Mobile™ for our trip back home. Normally I would have gorged on the Peeps™ once I got home, but we had to unpack and settle my folks in their prospective areas (I got Dad, and sis got Mom), and then had to rush over a late dinner and then get home. It was late, and though I very much wanted to savor the sugary goodness, I was just too tired.

And today finds me in quandary. I have to go pick up my other sister and her family from the airport, and can’t indulge until after they are settled at my sister’s, because even though I am a rather cool aunt, I refuse to share my Peeps™. I know that sounds selfish, but c’mon!!! I have waited for weeks for this stuff!!!

But I think I have found the solution.

AND… I’m using cotton candy vodka.

I would like to see a kid try to take that Peep away from me!!

There will be sweet, sweet sugar tonight 😉

Disjointed Ramblings of a Tired Mind

I woke up this morning rather disoriented, finding I had overslept because I set the alarm for PM instead of AM, and was rushing to get Son to school on time for him to catch the bus for the school trip to Angelo State University for an ROTC drill meet. So currently I am operating with only four hours of sleep, and one pot of coffee. Don’t worry, there is another pot percolating quite happily right now.

As usual, thoughts tend to be disorganized when I have not had plenty of rest. This morning was no different. As I drove to the school I thought of how odd that the post office is completely lit inside. I thought that it is due to workers, but no….it’s kept completely lit all day and night. Which made me wonder if it was a deterrent to vandalism, which led to thinking about how many vandals have been caught lately (three), which made me wonder who would want to vandalize a post office, and how. I mean, do they write graffiti on the wall about poor service? Do they put bulk mail in the single letters slot? What?? And speaking of graffiti, it used to be we could ALL read it just fine. Now? Dear Lord above, the misspellings drive me insane. Driving home last weekend I saw a a highway exit sign that had the word “Legion” spelled “Lejion”. And no, it isn’t in Spanish. I just wanted to hit the taggers with the unabridged Webster’s Dictionary. And once I arrived at my folks, the idiots wrote “La Reconquista” up on a highway sign, but they spelled it “LA RECONKISTA”. Seriously?? You want to “reconquer” Texas and can’t even be bothered to spell your cause correctly?? Gah!!

Ok, I think I better go drink my next pot of coffee now. Hubby will be skyping soon, and I need to be lucid for that.

This Day is Like a Joke

And yes, I mean that. I started off today by getting up with the alarm, only to find myself knocking glasses and phone off the nightstand. As I scrambled off the bed, I stepped on the glasses. Picking up the phone, I shut off the alarm on it, and turn off the little light it gives, so not only do I walk in the dark, I do so without my glasses, which HILARIOUSLY leads to me stubbing my foot on the Turkish chest at the foot of the bed. No worries, as I finally manage to get slippers on, and walk out of my room in time to trip over the little dog who is SO GLAD to see me she barks over, and over, and over…

Making my way to the kitchen, I remember I was supposed to change two spotlights, and sigh in the mediocre light as I fill the coffee pot with water, only to find I had forgotten to wash it out yesterday. As I turn to get the coffee grounds, I trip over Miss Attention and fall against the counter, spilling coffee everywhere. I scoop it up (hey, it’s still good!), and finally get the coffee started, going on to wake Eldest first, since she takes a bit longer to get ready.

Finally sitting down to drink my coffee, and I realize I had forgotten my pajama pants.

Yes, my friends, it’s that kind of day!! Make sure to enjoy it!! 😉

How to Have a Successful Wine Party

First, you add WINE!!

NOT the wine consumed...

Then you add FOOD!!

There was more. Trust me.

And then you stir that with a lot of love and FRIENDS!!

And we are older, but just as cute. Trust me.

And all that leads to lots of talking and laughing and forgetting about the time.

Wine Parties…there should be a law 😉

‘Tis the Season

It’s that time of year again. The time when someone in your home will get sick, be it a cold or the flu. In this case, the someone is me. I have been fighting a cold for a while now, and in retrospect, I should have let it take its course so I wouldn’t be sick on Christmas Day. But I never claimed my hindsight was 20/20, so I have that going for me.

Today I have last minute shopping to do. That should tell you just how sick I am, because normally nothing would make me go to the mall this week. The way I see it, I got sick from someone while shopping, so I’m just paying it forward. I can be very charitable that way. All kidding aside (or mostly kidding), after shopping I shall be enjoying a hot toddy, featured today at H&B.

Then after that, I shall be imbibing (there really is no other word for it) Nyquil™. There is nothing quite like the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine. Hopefully that will help me have a nice Christmas.

My future posts may be quite garbled, but that’s a small price to pay for comfort 😉

Weird Conversations, and Why I Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Talk Before I Have Coffee

I swear, sometimes it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. Last night I went to bed rather late, since Eldest was practicing her Parade and March stuff for ROTC in the kitchen, and right as I fell asleep I got an anxiety attack, so I laid in bed waiting for an hour for it to subside, thinking stupid existentialistic crap that probably solved the world’s problems, but I promptly forgot after dreaming about narwhals. Why narwhals? Because Eldest had been talking about them a couple of days ago. Crap like that just lies in wait to assault my REMs.

This morning I got up, and tripped over the little dog as I made my way with one eye open to the coffeemaker. You would think I could not screw that up, right? But noooo…. instead of creamer I poured lemon juice into my cup of coffee, not looking because A) the bottles are similar in color and size, and 2) the dog was barking to be let out. I’m hiding the bottle of lemon juice in the back of the fridge from now on.

So, I have my second cup with creamer, just in time to Skype with Hubby. YAY!! So, we talk about stuff going on over there and soon enough we are all, “Oh I miss you honey!” and “I miss you too!” and then we talk of how some stuff over there is so weird and suddenly for no reason I say:

I know! I just don’t understand why they (Muslims) would want 72 virgins. I mean, that just doesn’t make sense to me. I would rather have 72 hookers. They would know what they are doing, right?

And Hubby just looks at me with a lot of pity, because that part of the conversation had absolutely nothing to do why we miss each other. Or maybe it did, and I missed it. All I know is that today is a three pot of coffee day and I am soooo going to have a nap.

El-Oh-El-Ay, LOLA!!

As some of y’all may know by now, I love Lolita glasses. For those who don’t know, they are whimsical hand-painted drinkware, and serveware. I collect the wine and martini glasses. Lolita makes glasses for every season, and Halloween is no different. Last year, she had several designs, including “Bloodshot”, “Pumpkin Potion”, and “Witches Party” glasses. I like my glasses to be seasonal, but subtle enough to be used year round. Last year I got the “Masquerade Too”, which is very pretty, but not as pretty as this year’s:

“Masquerade 3” is done in deep dark shades of red and burgundy, almost maroon!!! Now you may ask… why would I get this glass, when I have a Masquerade one already?