Red Red Wine

To say that I love red wine is an understatement. I love it at a party, I love it before dinner, I love it at home and I love it when on the phone. (Ok, that was silly but you get the point!)

It took a while for me to develop a taste for it. It was tough to put down my chard (Cakebread Cellars I still puffy heart love you) and try something new. But ever since I did I have fallen deep in love with red. It started when a good friend of mine took a trip to Italy. He came back raving about their wine, and how amazing it was. He's since then started a collection that I would KILL for. He now gets wine shipments by the case. And everytime he visits he brings at least 2-3 yummy bottles for me to try. Score!

Lately, I've had a hankering to start up my own small collection. Over the past few years, I have tried so many that I love, but I forget to write them down. So I decided that I would showcase my favorite wines on my blog every now and then. Win/win!

So here we go. Tonight's wine is Primaterra Primitivo. It's a red wine from Southern Italy. I bought this wine at World Market for around $10. All I can tell you from my own experience with wine is that this wine wasn't "hot" when I first opened it. I didn't have to let it sit for very long to air out. It was very tasty and fruity. And that's about all I can tell you, because I am HORRIBLE at detecting what all I taste in wine. Believe me, I've tried. Either it's good or... it's not so good. So complex I am!

All in all, I think this is a great wine to go with pizza, burgers, or a good juicy steak. From wine.com: The winemaker's notes: A ripe and fruity wine with notes of plums, blackberries, and cherries with good concentration, balance and length. (Yea, what he said...)

I say two thumbs up!

Tell me your favorite, and providing I can find it here, I'll test it out!

La vita e bella.

PS I used my Nikon D40 for this photo - it has been collecting dust lately. My next goal is to get out there and take some good photos of downtown Columbia.

WHAT A NIGHT!

Last night, my South Carolina Gamecocks toppled #1 Kentucky Wildcats in a game that Gamecock Nation will not soon forget. It was a tense nail biter until the end! Congratulations to Devan Downey for scoring 30 points! I apologize if you follow me on twitter, for I was very excited! But I wasn't alone! My fellow Gamecock"tweeties" were as well!

This is a shot of the court after we won...

Excited much?? GO COCKS! GO COCKS! GO COCKS! ;) (USC Emily sums it up best here) :)

CAUTION: Wet Paint

My blog is like my house. At least once or twice a year, I usually change the color of one of my rooms. So today, I am making some changes to my blog, and this is not an area I'm an expert in. The above header is just a temporary one (credit listed below). So if you come here, and it looks CRAZY, sorry about that. Hopefully it'll be back to normal soon. :)



















Credit:
Blog Temporary Header Photo is of Findlay Park Columbia SC by Mike Muench

PA Goes Home

Today PA leaves to go back to, well, PA.

This week, we spent some good quality time together, and I even met his family, including his sister, brother in law, niece, nephew and his MOM. Sounds scary? It was. I was terrified. But they were all so nice. His brother in law made us a Low Country Boil (also known as Frogmore Stew and Beaufort Stew). We ate, drank and roasted marshmellows in the backyard and played Wii. The house was loud at all times, someone always talking, laughing, and picking on each other. I felt so welcome and that crazy family atmosphere was what I've been craving for SO long. I even teared up a little bit one time, when his 2 yr. old niece was sitting on the ground telling me VERY seriously which Disney princess she likes the most. Thank God no one saw. And despite the strong Northern accents, they all had their Gamecock gear on and Palmetto trees everywhere. SO funny!

Having said that, I can't say that any strong love connection was made. The reality of "the situation" (that's for you Jersey Shore fans) is that we really didn't have a chance to get to know each other that well. One week is not enough. And of course, there's the fact that, for now, he still lives in upper PA. And I'm not big on LDR's.

Only time will tell what the future holds, but what a crazy, unexpected fun week!

PS After the incident with the ex, I have (as predicted by a few of my friends) received several voice mails and texts from him. I have responded to ZERO of them. It blows my mind what a complete arrogant and disrespectful @ss he really is.

PPS I always like to post a picture. Here is the view of the river from the back of my house. What a dreary day today! I want my sunshine and 70 degree temps back!

Oh the irony

Picture it...a girl with a southern drawl sitting at a bar talking to a boy with a strong northern accent. And I loved it. And we talked for HOURS. (By the way, he works in NY but lives in PA. I'm not totally crazy afterall.) We had so much fun!

So the debbie downer part is that he leaves to go back home on Sunday. He's trying to find a job here, because he has family here and loves it here. But until that happens, who knows! Just happy to have had a nice evening with a nice man.

Last, just wanted to mention that I'm always experimenting with my hair. Some of you may remember during the summer I used the Remington hair dryer that curled my hair. It worked great, except that it left it a tad unruly looking. Lately, I've been trying to perfect how to curl my hair with a flat iron. One of my obsessions is watching how-to videos on youtube, and I watched several videos on this technique. It's not easy, and definitely takes practice. But I'm getting there. The reason I like this technique is because it only takes a few minutes! And this is crucial for in the mornings, because I am always running behind!! And thanks to my friend Jersey Girl for sending me a sample of this stuff. It reduces frizzies BIG time. Works better than anything I've ever tried. And believe me, I've tried a lot.

(Yes I fixed my nails, ha!!)

Happy Hump Day!

A date?

Casual/meet for drinks/after work/"date" tonight w/ New York. Who is apparently from PA. WTH? Where did I get New York from? BAHAHAHAHA Blame It On The Al-Al-Al-Alcohol. Will update later tonight or tomorrow...

On another note, yesterday was THE most beautiful day we've had in weeks! We've had an unusually cold snap lately, and temps have barely been above freezing. This week it's been in the 60's and sunny, and since I had the day off yesterday, I decided to run at the lake dam. Whenever I need a "serenity now" moment, this is my go to place! Amazing view of the lake.

And then it happened...

I am sorry for the lack of posts lately, but really it's just that nothing exciting has happened lately. Work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat. That's about it.

Until last night.

I knew it would happen eventually, just didn't know when and where. Apparently, last night was the night.

The Ex (Formerly known as Mr P) and his girlfriend walked into the same restaurant I was eating at last night.

I don't have time to finish the whole story right now, but I'll be back later this evening with the rest of the details. I will say this though...the evening did not end at ALL how I thought it would. ;)

Okay, I'm back. I really didn't mean to wait this long to update, but this day got away from me. But y'alls comments are so funny!

Last night, my good friend J and I decided after MUCH deliberation to go eat at local sushi/hibatchi joint over on a popular side of town. The weather was yucky, and it took us forever to find a parking spot. We finally got inside and settled in, and ordered our wine. Our salads arrived, and we were chatting it up and having a good time. I looked up and saw this couple walking in the door. My heart dropped. I'd recognize that face anywhere.

Now here's where I give J credit, because I swear I had a full on panic/anxiety attack at the table. I guess it was just because I had not seen him in about 6 months, and to make matters worse, he's with his girlfriend. He's been seeing her since we broke up, and if I'm honest, probably even before we broke up. But seeing them together...Ugh. It stung. And I just panicked. But like I said, J got me through it. I drank some more wine (probably a little too much) and just tried to breathe and focus on other things for a few minutes.

J told me I needed a game plan. Decide now: do you leave without him seeing you or do you confront him? I didn't know. I knew I didn't trust myself to say very much. So the moment of truth finally came. I finally went to the restroom, fixed my hair, touched up my makeup, and walked out and straight up to his table. My heart was racing. I tapped his shoulder, leaned over and just whispered "Hey D." He looked up, and the look on his face was priceless. It was a mixture of shock and fear. And his face got a little pale. He said hey back, but by that time, I was gone. It wasn't a grand gesture, but it felt good. I knew it was the right thing to do. I didn't want to cause a scene, and really what's the point? I made my point. And that chapter is closed, and tossing my wine into his lap sure would have been fun. But at the end of the day, he's not worth it. And I am. I finally know that!

So we left, and I drove J home. I was still feeling a little meloncholy at that point. After I dropped her off, a co-worker texted me to come meet her and some others out at a local restaurant/bar downtown. I wasn't planning on going anywhere after dinner, but on a whim, I decided that I would. Why not? It was either go home and sit on the couch for the rest of the night thinking about him (and probably crying), or go out and have some fun.

So I did. Interesting how things happen. For a reason maybe?

There was a good sized group of us, including my boss. Turns out he had 2 friends with him. I was quickly introduced to one of them; we'll call him New York. NY and I just casually started chatting about anything and everything. He's in the process of moving here from NY. I know what you are thinking, but...he loves the South, the Atlanta Braves and the way I talk. Can't be that bad, right?? ;)

I ended up having SO much fun, and we even closed down the bar! I don't remember the last time I've heard the Last Call! I went to grab my coat and told NY goodbye. He then asked if he could get my number and would it be ok if he called me sometime. I said sure. We'll see!

Even if that goes nowhere, it really helped what started out as a really BAD night turn into a really fun, interesting evening.

Oh and my boss? TOTALLY planned the whole thing all along....Stinker. ;)

Yoga, Spin, Jim Cantore and FB Colors

I've been trying to find other methods of activity lately, and so this week I tried both spinning and yoga. I'm hoping trying some new things will help build my endurance for running.

I was very nervous to go to spin class at my gym, but I sucked it up and went Tuesday night anyway. I am no stranger to spin, but I was more nervous about joining a "close-knit" group of people that always take spin together. My gym is VERY small, so the same people are always in the same class. Ironically, there were only 3 of us that night in the class. I thought, lovely! No hiding in the back now! But it turned out great, and I loved it. I can't wait to go back.

My friend J invited me to go with her to a Basics Yoga class on Wednesday evening. The studio we went to is designed soley for Yoga. It was an amazing workout, and I hope to go back again soon! In the meantime, I'm going to try a yoga class or two at my gym. I think this will do wonders for sculpting my arms and legs. My favorite part is at the end, where you totally relax your mind and body. It felt so great to relax, with no distractions like blackberry, email, twitter, work, etc.

With this crazy cold weather pattern, we've gotten to see and hear a lot from (on twitter as well) my favorite meterologist from The Weather Channel, Jim Cantore. I've been a big fan of his for YEARS. He is the sole reason I watch TWC. And can you blame me? Look at those arms. Good. Lord.
































Last but not least, I've heard a few negative comments about the bra colors experiment on facebook. Yes, it was a little weird. Yes, it was a little awkward. Yes it was a tad TMI. You probably didn't care what color bra I was wearing yesterday. But you may care that the Susan Korman foundation increased their facebook fan page by 100K fans yesterday, and saw an increase in donations as well. And well, that's never a bad thing. And for the record, "NUDE." :o)

And we're off...

This time of year is about to get insane for me. Not only have I committed to start 10K training this week, but I have my one and only conference to plan for in mid-March. This means I need some serious time management from here on out. Sponsors and exhibitors and registration packets, oh my. The good news is that the conference finishes right before my birthday, and I'll be in Charleston. What better place to be on your birthday than Charleston in the Spring?

The weekend before that, I will be running the St. Patrick's Day 5K in Five Points. Then the weekend after our conference is the Cooper River Bridge Run, which is a 10K. I've walked this many times, but never ran it. As some of you remember, I struggled with the 8K I ran back in November, so I've got some work to do before then. The Bridge Run is exactly 12 weeks out, and my training plan gives me 8 weeks to prepare. I hope to follow it exactly as is, because the closer I get to my conference, the most I tend to work late and not have time to train. So I have to be diligent.

The thing is, I don't want to run the Bridge Run and just barely make it. I want to run it and finish with a decent time. Not a back of the packer. Somewhere in the middle would be great. Who knows! I guess that depends on how hard I train from now til the end of March. Must keep my eye on the prize!

Also, this week I start spin class at the gym. I was going to start last week, but um....yea. No excuses! Just going forward and trying again. I desperately need this extra kick in the butt.

And last but not least, I'm completely detoxing my diet this week. This is going to be fun! If you know me IRL, you might want to avoid me for a week or so. He He.

Here we go!

Welcome 2010!

My friend J and I started off the New Year right by celebrating at my house in our PJs. We ordered pizza, made brownies, drank too much wine and watched the festivities all from the comfort of the couch! We had a BLAST. Seriously, going out for NYE is way overrated. Another friend of ours was going to join us but sadly at the last second she had a family emergency and couldn't make it. We missed you L!

Check out this little goody that J gave me:

It says "Dinner is Poured." All I can say is that next year's football games are going to be taken to a whole new level of fun! Thanks J!

Also, you'll notice I put up my Christmas cards on the mantle finally. I'm going to leave them up for a while. I'm sad I didn't put them up sooner.

Yesterday, my mom and I went and had pedicures together. And today we went and saw The Blind Side. I think I'm one of the last people on earth to see the movie, but SO glad I finally did. It's such an amazing movie and really touched me. I highly recommend everyone see it.

Tomorrow, my Gamecocks will be playing in the Papa Johns Bowl (lame name) at 2 PM, so if you follow me on Twitter, expect a lot of GO COCKS! :) I hope we pull off the W!

Monday, I go back to work for the first time since the 23rd. UGH. It's going to be tough. But very grateful that I have a job to go back to. AND I am moving offices in a week or so, and will finally have a window office. It's the little things that make me happy! haha :)

Wishing all of you a wonderful 2010! I'm so grateful for the friendships I've made this year through the blogging and twitter community. It's a good place to be!! :)