Wine Time!

Number 18 (Tour 3 Wineries) is complete! Hooray!!! I have a whole new respect and love for wine. Today my hubby and I toured Thornton Winery in Temecula. Thornton Winery is beautiful and one of the closest wineries to the town part of Temecula which makes it very convenient. All the wine tasting is done in flights with table service, which I felt gave the winery a snobbish feeling. I enjoyed a flight of Champagne and the hubby did a flight called Cal-Ital & Rhone. Both flights were good... but I wouldn't go as far as to say great. One of the most enjoyable parts of the afternoon was getting rained on... twice! Let me clarify that this rain was really just a quick 5 minute sprinkle... but I love rain! I haven't seen any rain since we moved here so for me it was really a treat. Many of the of the other wince enthusiasts were running inside, even though we were under a cheesecloth-esque tarp. Overall the experience was very pleasant but I can't say we will be returning anytime soon.

The three chosen wineries to complete #18 were Wilson Creek Winery, San Antonio Winery and Thornton Winery. As previously blogged I loved Wilson Creek and it is still the winery I judge all others against. Why? I have truly enjoyed and would purchase any of the wines they offer. Of course there are some that l love more than others, but they are all super tasty and delicious... thus they win first place. Winery tours have truly become one of my favorite things to do since we moved to California. I look forward to touring more wineries in SoCal area and hope to get out to Santa Barbara and Napa!

-K

No television... that might be un-Americian

No television for 30 days?! I know some of you are thinking that like not breathing for 30 days. Why would someone do such a crazy thing? Well, to be honest I wanted a good motivator to get my butt up off the couch and see/do some cool stuff.

In 2005, I spent 6 months in San Diego with no television or internet in my apartment and I got a lot of stuff accomplished! I did have movies, television series on DVD and the local library for internet access so its not like I was completely disconnected from the world. But, it was nice not getting sucked in to shows like Tool Academy and LA Ink that you don't need to watch. For me once I start I have to know how it ends and the next thing I know I have lost a whole afternoon watching someone else's stupid drama in back to back season recaps on VH1 or Lifetime.

I have to say giving up television was a lot easier then I thought it would be. Honestly, breaking the habit was the hardest part. For the first couple of days I would sit down on the couch and turn the television on just out of habit. That old familiar sound of the tv powering up would start and I would be like, "arrr I can't watch tv!" and turn it off before it got done fully starting. I started spending more time sitting at the kitchen table so I would not be tempted and spent my time being more productive on things like blogging, searching for a new job, reading and getting out of the house. I didn't even realize the 30 days were up until I was reading television reviews in a People magazine at the gym.

I am still yet to sit back down in front of the television. I am going to make a valiant effort to not watch as much tv as I did before and keep up the lifestyle change. I know my favorite shows like Chuck, Grey's Anatomy and The Biggest Loser will suck me back in... but a girls' got to have some vices right?

-K

Sunrise in SoCal

#24- Stay up all night and watch the sunrise. Why, my husband asked, did I make this one of my 30 goals? I can totally understand why he would be confused by this. I am usually up early enough to see the sunrise at least 2-3 times a week for my fabulous job, so clearly it wasn't about the act of seeing the sunrise. Well, glad you asked I told him and I have all night to tell you... but it wont take that long. In my mind staying up all night and "partying" is something I categorize as only "young" people doing. When I originally made this goal I was envisioning a mellower version of The Hangover. Partying and hanging out with friends till the wee hours in the morning and then going to get breakfast at some local place like The Country Road Cafe. So, hoping it would make me feel young and since I had never done it when I was in my crazy college years I added it to the list.

How did it actually go down? Here's the timeline of events:

• 8:30pm- Sushi at Ken's: not so great. Miso was cold and not so tasty. Sashimi was great. Rolls were ok and service was meh.
• 10:00pm- Attended a graduation party for one of my husbands co-workers wife. Fun but awkward because I didn't really know anyone.
• 11:00pm- Candy run to the grocery store before heading to...
• 11:55pm- Toy Story 3: Was so good! I cried twice... and not just the glistening tear.
• 2:00am- Krispy Kream run: Delish!
• 3:00am- Tried to take care of the weekly grocery shopping... but no grocery stores in CA are open 24-7? What is that? You can get just about any fast food here 24-7 but you can't go grocery shopping! Not even a 24hour Wal-Mart!
• 3:30am- Homemade lattes and Mario-Kart
• 4:50am- Driving to find a place to watch the sunrise. The place I thought would be great was not... so we had to make a dash at the last minute to find a better place. Still made it with plenty of time.
• 6:00am- Sun finally makes its appearance. Got to tell you it took its sweet time.
• 6:30am- Breakfast at Kick Back Jacks: Tasty.
• 7:30am- Sweet Sleep!

I have to say the 2:30-3:30 was the hardest part stretch to get through, but once the sun started to color the horizon I was suddenly less tired. Now my body is just all sorts of confused. Overall, glad I did it and we had a fun night... just not exactly like I had imagined it when I made this goal.

My new found LOVE!

Wine, vino, nectar from the gods... whatever your favorite term is I LOVE it! When I set the goal to tour 3 wineries it wasn't because I loved wine, I liked it and thought it sounded like something fun do do that I had never done. Touring wineries is one of my new favorite activities.

Let me explain why. The hubby and I drove down to Temecula for the Balloon and Wine festival. We assumed the wine would be the highlight of the festival, however we were sorely disappointed. After you paid an exorbitant "entrance" fee you have to pay extra to sample a small selection of wine. Needless to say we were in inland southern-cali and hot as heck at 10am. Standing around to pay more to "sample" wine was not going to happen.

On the drive into the festival we had driven past about a million wineries and decided to go try one of those since it was on my list anyway. We asked the tourism tent if they recommended a particular winery. After a long debate of not being able to pick just one they suggested Wilson Creek because they had a great Almond Champagne. That's right folks... Almond Champagne! And it was amazing!

Not only was it cheaper per taste but also air conditioned... and since we arrived at 10:30 (just 30 minutes after opening like true alcoholics) we got one on one service by a very sweet lady. She entertained all of our ridiculous winery touring virgin questions, poured us double the tastes we had paid for and took us back to the VIP tasting room! Yes folks we hit the gold mine on this winery. We stopped for lunch on site (mostly out of necessity) and headed back home.

Last weekend we "toured" San Antonio Winery. Not such a good experience. It was basically a liquor store where you could taste 3 wines for free. Free or not, it was not very good! Basically a Folgers experience after being served freshly roasted and expertly poured espresso in the heart of Italy. For me, winery touring is as much about the overall experience as it is the quality of the wine.

The last winery is not planned yet and am up for suggestions anywhere in the So-Cal area.

- K

My last 100 days in office

I have less then 100 days till the big 30, and only 2 things crossed of the list so far... eek! So where am I at on this whole journey? Lots of things in progress and time for an update.

#4. I am officially signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon... "The happiest race on earth". This will be the last Sunday before I turn 30 so just barley squeaking that one in. http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/endurance/disneyland-half-marathon/

#5. Not registered yet for the Playa Del Rey Run 5K but am for sure going to be completing it. http://www.playadelrun.com/

#11. 13 of 30 books read to date. This one is going to be close. If I can really buckle down and get some quality reading time in I should be close.

#12. Migraines... if you get them you know my pain. I was having at least one migraine a week when I started this a year ago. Now I am down to one or two a month. So what changed? Lots actually. I really started paying attention to what triggered them (sleep, stress and some foods), started going to acupuncture and started taking an antihistamine every day at the same time. It is amazing how much my quality of life has improved. I have also created my own little remedy concoction of 3 migraine aspirin and a Benadryl when I start to get one. Overall, I have have been able to reduce the frequency of my migraines and the duration when I do get one. Its not 100% better but I am crossing this one off as win.

#14. I started a program called Kinetix 3 weeks ago and am lovin it! It is based on the principal of eating six balanced meals (40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fat) and exercising. I am eating healthier and working out 6 days a week. The food is great and I only have to be at the gym for 30 minutes which I am all about! Also, I still get to eat the food I love and cant live without, like sushi and mexican food, twice a week. If I can stick with it this one is as good as done. I am already noticing small changes in myself. http://www.kinetixliving.com/

#20. Not sure why creating a 401K is such an obstacle for me but it really is. I just cant commit to giving up part of my paycheck. So silly because it s for the greater good. Its like ripping off a band-aide... I just need to do it but I'm scared.

#22. Officially gave up television on 6.1.2010. It's amazing how much more you can accomplish when you are not getting sucked into shows like The Biggest Loser, Tool Academy and L.A. Ink. On 6.30.2010 this one is officially put to bed.

#23. One great part of Kinetix is that is is forcing me to learn to cook. I have to plan out every meal each week and most of them have to be pre-made so I can just grab them and go. I am actually starting to get kind of good at this cooking thing. I still don't love to touch raw meat and usually leave that part up to my hubby... but if I had to I could totally do it!

#24. Gonna play it smart on this one and plan to do it around June 22nd... the longest day of the year. I am going to need to plan on some sort of activities to keep me up all night. Love any suggestions anyone might have.

#25. Planning a Sunday morning routine has been a lot harder then I thought it would be. I made this goal so every Sunday wouldn't be spent sleeping in... but that is my favorite Sunday morning activity. One fairly consistent Sunday morning routine I have been able to get into is going to the gym. Not my favorite thing to do but I do notice that I am much more productive and feel much better on the Sundays I do. This one is still a work in progress.

#10, #26, #27 & #28 are all things that will really just have to be evaluated on September 8th and see if I feel like I have completed these things over the last year. I feel like I have been making some good progress on all 4 of these things so far.

#30. Officially booked our 30th birthday trip to Mexico! Yeah! September 10th -17th at an all inclusive, adult only resort and I can hardly wait!

At this point in the journey I am most concerned about finishing #2(Figure out what I want to be and make it happen), #15(Write a book- fiction or non fiction) and #17(Spend 30 nights sleeping under the stars). Time will tell on how far I can get on these...

-K

Top 30 Celebrating Turning 30 with B & K

In an effort to make myself feel better about turning 30 I wanted to compile a list of other people that will turn 30 and events that occurred in 1980! (in no particular order)

PEOPLE

Giselle Bundchen

Jessica Simpson

Kim Kardashian

Ryan Gosling

Christina Agulara

Jake Gylenhaal

Alicia Keys

Kristen Bell

Christina Ricci

Tony Romo

Macaulay Culkin

MOVIES

The Shining

The Blues Brothers

Fame

Friday the 13th

Caddyshack

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Airplane!

The Blue Lagoon

Xanadu

MUSIC

AC/DC released Back in Black Album

Turning Japanese- The Vapors

Another one bites the dust- Queen

OTHER

Strawberry Shortcake

Pacman

Miracle on Ice- US vs Finland 1980 Winter Olympic Hockey Championship Game

Brooke Sheilds Calvin Kline Commercial- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXzR5b6HoIA

NASA's Voyager program launches

Hepatitis B Vaccine invented

John Lennon is assassinated

Take 2

Unfortunately, my worst fear with my list has come true... list revision! Last March my husband's company filed for bankruptcy. Since then he has been on the job hunt. We knew that relocation might be necessary, but we wanted to stay in Colorado. Good news/Bad news... my husband got a job and we moved to Rancho Cucamonga, CA. No need to adjust your screens... yes the name of our new city is Rancho Cucamonga.

Multiple items on my list involved places or events that were Colorado specific. I am going to try to replace those items with things that are as similar as possible. Drumroll please for the revamped list:

#7 Run the Cherry Creek Sneak. This would have been on 4.25.10. We moved to CA on 4.23.10. New plan- The Playa Del Run 5K on 7.18.2010.

#6 Run the Bolder Boulder. This is on 5.31.10. As much as my hubby wants to fly back to run the race it seems a little impractical. I on the other hand really want to run the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. It is the weekend before my birthday and I think it sounds like a lot of fun! I am on the fence between the half marathon and 5K option for this race. 13.1 miles may be more than I can handle... I'll keep you all posted on what I decide.

#11 See a concert at Red Rocks. I wanted to at least go and see the amphitheater before we left but didn't get the chance. Hope to still get to do this one someday. Since this is a venue that people from around the country travel to there is no California equivalent. The Hollywood Bowl is one of the options I'm considering... but for now this goal is taking offers.

#15 Hike a fourteener. Colorado is home to 54 fourteeners. California is home to 13. Apparently it is such a coveted event that you have to apply for a permit months in advance with the date and number of people in your party to be able to hike many of them. So, we may not be hiking an official fourteener but will hike a mountain with 3,000ft elevation gain.

Silver Lining? Completing the list should be easier then ever, especially things like #18 Tour 3 Wineries. Completing the list will also give us a chance to get out and explore our new home.

-K