January Page

So I did my page that week as I'd planned but just now getting to blogging it.
21 photos of the 31 days of January.

A chunk of my plate

10 things rolling round in my head right now. . . or maybe it’s 10 things to accomplish. . .
Mailing Valentine Cookies and Baby Gift
When the scrip order is, buying wedding gift, e-mail Mon. dinner details
Printing rubber stamping labels to finish getting organized
Hand Quilting class sign ups – long drive, no work Friday or Monday
Mommy is sick. . . will we get to scrap this weekend.
Wed. Dentist day, early release – details work out
Office Depot or Max – item, price, scrip, coupons
Bazzaro book I started, do I want to keep reading
January scrap page, Feb. choose photos, e-mail nanny boy photos, 21mo. Photos to send
Lots and lots of homework piled around and papers that must be looked at.
No school Fri and Mon. . . hum. . . library holds and returns
Sorry, no photos -- didn't find time. . .

January in Photos

So, I've joined the scrapbooking challenge of 2009 in a photo a day --

here is my January in photos.

The 1st - happy New Year

2- playing with our new present -- very fun, although not real sturdy with two squirmy boys.

3 - having a bedtime story

4- tired of everyone being so sick

5- and we get snow on the first day back to school

More on the 5th - aren't they so fun


6th has a better photo later

7th on the back of the couch

8th wasn't great

9th, peeking in on brother having a shower

10th going for a ride

11th - who knew they could bottle that nice relaxing feeling I found in the vineyards?

12th - the can of snow was a gift, in Jan, from a teacher. He asked for DAYS when he could make his snow man. I was sick, sick, sick and I kept telling him he had to wait. Why is waiting so complicated?

13 - still sick and getting grumpy.

14th - crazy silly photo

15th - they are wonderful when they play nicely together.

16th - why is it that milk can ONLY be consumed from a bottle??

17th - self explainatory and so fun.

18 - check out the socks. . .

19th - checking in with a friend.

20th - I love my commute

21 - I really love my commute - more in Feb -- I'm going to scrap a page about my commute this year.

more for the 21st - this is my daily playdate

And even more for the 21st - this is my play dates kitty

22nd - a good book a friend recommend to me

23 - I got the hear that snowman none stop for two days straight, including in the car. It didn't get packed up because -- oh did you guess -- our household was sick the entire month of January. Check out the styling dude.

24 - lovin to laugh

more 24 - I'm not sure I properly thanked auntie for buying this perfect present -- now if I could just get the little man to go OUTSIDE with them. . .

25 - wasn't appropriate for posting, until I get it cropped

26 - a donut makes the day bearable. . . way he has to carry it around for an hour before eating I'll never know.

27 - I don't remember her mom, really I don't. I like her kids and their cool toys though.

28 - the drive was entirly to long for the day, but hey, it was kinda fun to stumble upon this. . . even funner were the swans (that didn't photograph well.)

29 - I needed a video camera to truly capture this evening of play.

30 - someone really, really likes my camera and will be taking photos of me in no time.

31 - I'm not sure you can call it pizza, just a huge pan of cheese -- or is it the crust and shape that make it pizza? I'm not sure it matters if you're hungry enough.

And there you have it -- perhaps I'll post my January scrapbook page after I make it this weekend. I'm determined to make it.

Friday Fill in's

1. Enough with the new president.
2. children who don't nap causes me to be conflicted.
3. I've been craving Taco Time.
4. JayB talking often makes me laugh.

5. I wish I could go to the Ocean next week.

6. Teaching young children about money has been on my mind lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a quite house,

tomorrow my plans include Scrapbooking with mom

and Sunday, I want to Scrapbook some more!

A list of firsts

Some of My Firsts tagged by wholarmor

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? It wasn't called prom at private school but I went with Seth to both his and to mine. I was going to post a photo, but decided I really didn't want one here.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? As in the first person I dated and said I loved? Nope, last time I spoke to him was at a mutal friends wedding, I'd been married about a year.

4. What was your FIRST job? ,I refused to work grill.

5. What was your FIRST car?

Does that say Nova there on the side?

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? I don't text, and I haven't checked e-mail yet. Shocking, I know.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? This little man,

his crying woke me up.

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? I've been thinking and thinking. . . I wonder if it was Miss. Russell. I bet my mom would know. Or hey, my best friend mentioned below would know too. :)

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? Hawaii - my ears hurt so very much I was terrified to fly home. I was a High School Freshman.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend and are you still friends with them? Pamela and yes, we are still very good friends.

She takes me as I am and loves me despite my flaws.

11. What was your FIRST sport played? Hum, I played soccer in 3rd grade.

12. Where was your FIRST sleep over? I have no idea, probably my grandmothers, however, I did have a number of sleep overs and above mentioned best friends house.

13. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? I said good morning sweet stuff to this little man.

14. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? to my knowledge the only wedding I've been in is my own.

17. FIRST tattoo or piercing? Ears, first and only.

18. FIRST foreign country you went to? First and only, Canada.

19. What was your FIRST run in with the law? Hum, I think I'd rather not try to explain it, completly innocent, I assure you!

20. When was your FIRST detention? First and only was an unexcused tardy to school which started out as my fault because I didn't make the bus but was really my brothers fault
because I'd found us a ride but he wasn't ready.

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in? Washington

22. Who was the FIRST person to break your heart? hum, what constitutes a broken heart? I think an incident that broke what I thought was a very good friendship broke my heart.

23. Who was your FIRST roommate? Honestly, I don't really remember her name. I wonder if it's written down anywhere?

24. Where did you go on your FIRST limo ride? Honeymoon

So, now that I've spent all morning working on this silly list, I'm not sure I want to post it.

IT"S FRIDAY!!!

Blog title makes me think of the song title: It's 5:00 Somewhere

Having to much fun with blogs this morning:

http://aherncentral.blogspot.com/2008/11/f-f-f-friday.html

Just found a new blog called Friday Fill-Ins.

Add will one of the 4 of you who read my blog teach me how to post a link in just a word?



Here goes.

1. The last band I saw live: I'm not sure I've ever seen a live band - my brother in HS?

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving: sitting down at the table as a family

3. My Christmas/holiday shopping: will be non-existent this year

4. Thoughts of this fill my head: trying to motivate myself to clean

5. I wish I could wear: all this size 12 and/or 14 clothes in my attic

6. Bagpipes: a dying art

7. And as for the weekend, tonight: I'm taking the little man birthday bowling

tomorrow my plans include: His birthday party

and Sunday: I'm going to miss the cousin birthday



And because no blogpost should be without a picture...

you get the last photo I've got uploaded from Camera to computer about a month ago:

Quick tag

A Tag...
by http://georganahall.typepad.com/listen_in/
you have to type in the first thing that comes to your mind to make it fun:

I am: sitting on the couch
I know: my feet are cold
I have: a headache
I hate: having a headache
I miss: my pre-1st pregnancy figure
I feel: ready to start the day
I hear: shoes in the dryer
I smell: laundry
I crave: something flavorerful I can sink my teeth into
I search: for my keys constantly
I love: alone time
I care: about political issues
I always: take my vitimens (okay, it's a new thing for me, but it's been several weeks now)
I believe: in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
I sing: when I hear a song I know
I write: rarely these days
I lose: my keys (even when I know right where they are)
I win: veggie pirates, a new game my son showed me on line
I never: remember which way my camera cord fits into my computer
I listen: to kids talk all day, all day, all day
I am scared: of the unknown
I need: a job
I'm working on: this blog post
I am happy about: having some alone time in my house

Now it's your turn, I tag whoever wants to do this.

California Day 9 -- last day

So, we left San Francisco about 2:30 or so in the afternoon, headed North to the Napa Valley.


Hit the Visitors Center in Oakville to find a hotel -- end up in really nice hotel that didn't belong a busy hwy type street. Quaint little place.

We had a vineyard tour scheduled at Robert Mondavi Winery for 10am.

Do you know why you'll always see roses growing near grapes? Roses are a sensitive grower but its easy to tell when there are bugs or disease on roses, and if they are visible on the roses then the grower knows they are in the vineyard.

On our drive to San Jose several days ago we saw a semi truck full of something, it didn't look like apples and yet it looked like apples.

Turns out it was grapefruit. who'd of thunk?

Aren't grape leaves beautiful?? They turn a burnt orange, more brown actually and fall off. Often you'll see some with red leaves, but that means the tree is sick.


Here he is showing us how to tell how old the vine is. I think this one was around 7 seasons old. There is no sure tell way to grow grapes, to decide how long to grow on a vine or when exactly to harvest.

It's all in taste and how much wine you hope to produce with that tract of land. There are some vines out there that in in there 65Th year of production. They produce a lot less and a lot smaller of a grape, but the flavor is what you're after. The less you are able to produce the higher you get to charge for the wine.

It was interesting to hear how to read a label and relate it to the rarity of the wine and therefore the price.

He's showing us that their is a seed in the grape, however, you can't plant the seed and grow a tree. Something about long ago diseases in the ground and you have to graft a tree onto a root system or something or another. It was interesting at the time, but it didn't stick.

Wine grapes grow with yeast on them. I'm dying to tour the Welches grape factory or something and learn something about juice grapes and table grapes and how they differ.


Okay, so wine is all about the flavor, and where the flavor comes from and what can effect the flavor. It's Fascinating. Anyway one of the effects of the flavor is the barrels the wine is kept in.

I forget how many places create wine barrels, but the flavor that comes from the wood depends on where they harvested the trees from. Really fascinating, but hard to hold onto.


They had wine tasting. . . didn't interest me, but I got learn a whole lot of interesting info. on why a wine is served warm or cold and how to open up the flavor of the wine. Why you let some wine's breath and others not. The smell of a wine changes the longer you let it sit. It's fascinating.

Oh, and I'm shocked I tasted it, but this taste treat was wonderful!! They gave us the recipe but. . . Hum. . .

Our tour was amazing and full of fascinating information, it was really a lot of fun. Our tour guide is from Hawaii and wanted to enter the industry to he comes to the Napa Valley 6 months of the year to work at the winery and then is back in Hawaii 6 months of the year. He was an amazing tour guide. He didn't stall when you asked him a question and he always answered the question completely but with a simple language that was easy to understand the answer. There wasn't a single question that stumped him.


From there we headed a few miles up the road to the Grgich Hills Estate so I could stomp some grapes.

It was a BLAST!!! They all thought I was strange. Apparently most folks who stomp grapes stand in there for a minute or two and move on to the wine tasting. I was in there probably 20 minutes. It was so much fun.

The gal that was managing the area was a real sweetheart and took lots of photos for me, even though she thought I was strange.

Oh and no one really knows how long you have to stomp grapes, once the grape breaks you pretty much have it done, but in the winery now, the machine breaks them from juice but then all the excess stuff -- skins and what have you go into a press. It takes 6 hours for the press to extract out all of the juice which is later used to top off barrels and to flavor some. Then the excess what have you gets spread into the fields.

There is a winery in New York that will bottle your stompings for you and label it up. Here in California they never heard anyone wanting to take their stompings. If you decide to take your stomps go prepared with a wine bottle and cork. A) They can't give you one until the end of the day when they've handled there tasting inventory and B) if they give you a water bottle, just say no.

I brought mine home in a water bottle, it smelled nasty and then two days later, it blew its top, we had a nasty, sticky mess

Aren't the grapes pretty?

They taste pretty yummy also, especially when they've been warmed by the sun.

Harvest was finished by the time we arrived, however Grgich Hills is a stop for the train so they have a small section out front they live for the ambiance.

Grapes are mostly hand harvested in the wee hours of the morning -- 2 and 3 am. Part of that has to do with the heat of the day for the workers, but part of it has to do with the frailness of the grape.

Anyway, from our grape tour we headed back east to I-5 and North toward home. We got tired fairly early on did end up sleeping in California again before starting early for home.

What an amazing trip. I small now as I think about all the amazing things I got to see, do and experience. An amazing gift.