Go ahead, open that bottle!

This bottle (found here) used to belong to Thomas Jefferson and sold at a Christie's auction for $160,000.

That's right...any bottle!

Saturday February 28th marks the 10th anniversary of Open That Bottle night. Started by wine critics Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, this 'holiday' is a time to stop worrying about when that special occasion will come to open that perfect bottle and just open it. They caution that if you keep saving that special bottle of wine for too long, it may go bad.

Mr. WB and his parents know that well. When he was born his parents bought a fantastic bottle that they promised to open when he graduated college. He graduated and they took a trip to Monterey Bay to celebrate. They opened it on the beach and lo and behold, the cork had disintegrated and the wine tasted like...pure alcohol. Super bitter and gross.

Gaiter and Brecher say that if this happens to you when you open your special bottle, grab a coffee filter and use it to drain out all the particles. Then you can enjoy drinking your wine instead of picking at it.

Here is the NPR website where I first heard about this 'holiday'.

Here is the official website for Open That Bottle Night 2009.

Enjoy...I know we will!

It's an End of Year party!

Confused, yet? I know what you're thinking. "Huh? What are you talking about? 2009 just started!" Well, let me explain...

Since Mr. WB works for a company that deals with payroll and taxes and other financial matters during Christmas time, he doesn't get a Christmas party. Work is way too crazy at that time. Instead the company throws an 'End of Year' party for all it's employees after w-2's go out and before all the tax stuff starts rolling in.

That's where we'll be this weekend, partying it up with most of the mister's co-workers. The party will be held at Arden Hills and from what we've heard (we missed last year's) is always lots of fun. The food is supposed to be really yummy and there will be lots of dancing.

I'm a little confused on the attire, however. Black-tie or Blue jeans are our options. It's such a broad (and crazy) spectrum, I'm going to have to really search my closet to figure out what I will wear.

Hopefully I'll choose correctly and will have plenty of fun pics to show you when we get back!

It's Valentine's Day...

We're geeks at heart! (source)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I like this holiday, despite it's creation by the greeting card company. And this one is shaping up to be a pretty good one. There are a few things I'd like to blog about that pertain to this V-day.

First, this is a really special Valentine's day for the Waterbabies. It's our first married Valentine's Day! Yay! I am so excited about the card I purchased for Mr. WB. It's from Hallmark but I didn't mind spending a little extra for such a great card. Unfortunately, I sealed the card before I got a good picture of it. :( We'll see if I can snap a photo when he opens it. I added the card to a little bag with a Starbucks card and my traditional V-day gift to Mr. WB...new boxers. The perfect mix of practical and sweet. Like him!

What are we doing to celebrate you might ask? For lunch I snagged this easy, and tasty, recipie for Tomato Basil Bisque and heart-shaped grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm excited I'll be making it all from scratch, it'll be yummy! And later today we're going to watch the Amgen Tour of California. I am really excited to see Lance Armstrong, Levi, George Hincapie and all the other cyclists do their thang on the street's of our Capitol. My Dad religiously watched the Tour de France since before I can remember and devoured It's Not About the Bike during his fight with Colon Cancer, so I will be forever grateful to Lance for helping and inspiring my dad throughout his struggle.

I think that'll be out day, the rest of it will be very quiet...maybe we'll make dinner together later? It's still up in the air. Until later, I'll leave you with one of my favorite Valentine poems from when I was a child. It's from a book by Jack Prelutsky.

It's Valentines Day,
and in the street
there's freezing rain,
and slush, and sleet,
the wind is fierce,
the skies are gray,
I don't think I'll
go out today.

But here inside,
the weather's warm,
there's no trace
of wind or storm
and you just made
my morning shine -
you said you'd be
my Valentine!

Happy Friday the 13th!

Source

It's Friday the 13th today and I'm wishing everyone loads of luck!

I've always thought Friday the 13th's (heretofore referred to as Ft13) were pretty cool and I've never experienced bad luck on these days. Some years I've felt luckier and others I've felt like "ehh...it's just another day" but I don't ever remembering having a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad day* (2 points if you get that reference). What's unusual about this year is that we have two months in a row that have a Ft13, March 2009 has one as well. We usually have at least 2 in a year but this year we have them back to back, and if I'm not mistaken we have a third as well...Yup, November 2009 has one two.

Crazy! Y'know Ft13's always make me think of that movie Freaky Friday. Not the new one, the original with Jodie Foster. Do you know what I'm talking about? I remember really liking it but at the end where the Dad and little brother switch places, I always felt bad since the "magic" wore off at Midnight. They were going to be stuck like that for awhile...and that made me sad.

Anyway, I wish you all lots of luck on this, for some, unluckiest of days! And, you got to ask yourself one question, do I feel lucky? Well do you...Punk?** (5 bonus points if you get that one too!)


*I think I read this book in the first grade and I LOVED it!
**Does it really need explanation?

New Year, New You (It's long, I've got a lot of work to do)

I'm not sure where I heard that slogan but this year I'm applying it to myself. I know, I know, it's practically the end of January...but cut me some slack! This is a brand-new blog. And I'm just getting started...

(image source)

I've set a few goals for myself this year and plan on sticking to them. More than one or two but I'm aiming high! :)

(source)

1. My first goal for myself is to get a proper job. Don't get me wrong. I love coaching the kids and my ideal job would allow me to see them improve every afternoon. But lets face it, minimum wage isn't going to get us that house, is it? Working in an office could be nice but a job working with kids would be best. I would have to go back for my teaching credential if I wanted to teach so that's out for now. I need more of a stable money stream before I can undertake more debt...and to get that, I need a job. :( Hum...the cycle continues.

2. Going along with number one (and #3 for that matter) is my #2 goal and that is save more money. It's important to the both of us that by the end of the year we get ourselves to the point where we can seriously think about purchasing our first home. My weakness is that on my commute to and from work all those yummy restaurants keep luring me in. Hmm...be strong Steph, be strong!

(source)

3. Get healthier! It's been way to long since I have had a proper workout and my previously fit body has become well...not so defined. I really want to try and get back that awesome feeling a hard workout rewards. And not just work out, I want to eat healthier too. That means less fast food (the horror!) and more lighter snacks (and not just 100 calorie packs either). I'll need help with this one...so I've enlisted the hubby. I think he's more excited than I am!

(source)

4. Take a new class/learn something new is number four on the list. Way back in September, someone asked me what I was going to do with myself now that I didn't have a wedding to plan. I thought about it and I decided that I would love to take a class and learn something new. I thought a tap dance class would be fun or even a class at the local community college. Well it's four months later. I think it's time to get my butt into gear and follow through.


5. My fourth goal for 2009 is to become more independent. I think that after all the thinking and planning leading up to the wedding (and afterward setting up our nest) and trying to become a more permanent "we" I have lost a little of me. I think that if I try and achieve all the goals I have set forth for myself that independence and my sense of confidence will return. Just something I need to work on and recapture.

(source)

6. My sixth goal (but not final...it'll be a long year) is to improve my Spanish. My grandparents and parents (and cousins!) speak the language perfectly. Granted they have all lived in South America at one point but I think that it is still important for me to be able to converse fluently with my familia. Don't get me wrong, if I were dropped in Ecuador tomorrow I could communicate and hold up my end of the conversation well enough, it's just the little stuff that trips me up. I tend to confuse the correct conjugations of words and I'm hoping this little tool (pictured above) will help me get better at it. It might not be Rosetta Stone, but I think having this fun with this learning "game" will reacquaint me with the finer points of the language.

I think that about covers my list of goals for 2009.It's a long list but there they are. Putting them down on (virtual) paper will help me, I think, to keep them up front and center. It'll serve to remind me what I hope to achieve within the coming months. Whew...I'd better get started!