I can watch this commercial over and over... (along with the Free Credit Report ones)


Discovery Channel Ad

For some reason, I can't get this to embed.

I SUBMITTED MY THESIS!!!!!

I finished typing it this morning and sent it in to my adviser. I'm sure she'll have corrections for me to make, but wow... Just...wow...

( In case you're interested, a summary of the thesis below the cut )

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen.

Today is quiet. We're housecleaning before the holidays.

Yay!!

To get these all done at once:

Happy Belated Birthday to nine_muses. I really hope that I will see you at the reunion next fall.

Happy Birthday to sweet_lemmon. I've really enjoyed getting to know you and helping you with your fics. Keep up the great work, dear.

Happy Early Birthday to yuna1881. I hope that you have a great day.

I had a fantastic idea this morning while lying in bed. Mr. Bluestar and I are planning to host a wine tasting at his store in December due to that month working out for us (Nov is too busy) and a vague notion that we could do some sort of holiday theme.

I figured that not only could I showcase stereotypical wines to go with a holiday dinner, but I would one up that and give out specific recipes and suggested pairings (at least one white and one red) on little sheets of paper for people to take home.

For instance, I could give a turkey brine recipe and a ham glaze recipe. I was initially thinking of this great New Orleans ham glaze recipe, but figured that perhaps it would be even better if I could make it a bit more regionally appropriate. Same idea for the turkey.

Also, I could serve champagne cocktails using non-alcoholic pomegranate and sour apple mixers. (Red and Green, you see)

I'm extremely excited about this and am going to have to start researching recipes and pairings.

I was thinking that I hadn't done a poll in awhile, so would do post one. To be honest, I wasn't sure about the answer to this one until reading the back of the card.

Poll #1077294 More Wine fun
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Which of the following is not a type of sparkling wine?

( Answer )

I know that I need to still post my tasting notes, but here's some thoughts from Perugina chocolates.

Love is like the moon; unless it grows it wanes. ~ Chinese Proverb

We do not so much need the help of friends as the certainty of their help. ~ Epicurus

I like not only to be loved, but to be told that I am loved. ~ G. Elliot

First off, a side note. For those of the H/Hr shipping persuasion, the next round of hhr_las is up. So, check out fics 1-3 and 4-5 and vote, please!

( On to the wine )

( Now for something harder )

In hopes that we may find a better way.

I tried a rough approximation of this recipe for grilled portobello mushroom caps by Bobby Flay on Saturday evening. I substituted Swiss cheese for the Manchego and only used one portobello per person. (My spell-check for Firefox didn't recognize the word "portobello", obviously it isn't cultured enough.) Anyways, I'm now looking for an excuse to make them again. :D

Mr. Bluestar and myself also had a bottle of Chateau Pesquie Les Terrasses 2003 with dinner and found the wine to be very enjoyable and quite fascinating. We picked it up at World Market for about $12 or so. It's a Grenache/Syrah blend and not too oaky. Though dry, I could taste the cherries that the review mentions.
Anyways, we're planning to pick up a few more bottles if any of Mr. Bluestar's suppliers carry the wine.
I think we're going to take out some of the Australian wines, like Black Opal, and try to bring in some Riojas, as we currently don't have any.

Guess I should start thinking about supper now.

Unfortunately, I don't have a beer icon, so this will have to do. They were drinking beer when the line was given, so it works...right? ;)

Anyways, everyone on my f-list knows that I love wine. However, it is not the exclusion of beer and liquor and so I found the following article in September's issue of Wine Enthusiast to be particularly interesting.

( Beer: It's not just for guzzling )

In other news, I saw Stardust last night and thought that the movie was simply delightful. Michelle Pfeiffer was great and it was entertaining all around.

Anyways, I get to work tonight. We're supposed to get storms, which is somewhat good as we desperately need the rain.

Happy Birthday to my dear annearchy!!

I'm alive and having a fantastic time with vivonelcarmelo and traceria.

We're currently making happy food and going to see OotP later this evening.

I have a Ravenclaw scarf from traceria. It makes me happy.

I've got my harmony_podcast shirt on. :D

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

The four of us had a fantastic time in Chicago. We went to the Taste Chicago festival and also discussed Dresden Files a lot (especially the idea of Sue running through those streets).

Had a nice visit with mom and dad.

vivonelcarmelo and I made it safely back here earlier today.

That's all for now.

I hope that everyone in the States is enjoying this day set aside for beer and barbecues and fireworks... oh wait, that's not it's purpose? ;)


So that we may always remember that freedom comes at a price.

It was nice to have a day off, yesterday, but work it good too as it keeps me busy. I accomplished things like vacuuming the living room, cleaning out the Aviator, etc. Oh, and dyeing my hair. It's now a very dark brown/mahogany and it still has reddish highlights in the sun.

Anyways, we bought some fun stuff for the kids, so I think they will be thrilled when they get home and find them. Each kid got a bike (we had been meaning to buy the boys bikes anyways, but figured we couldn't leave M. out), and we bought a soccer and hockey net and a Slip 'n' Slide.

Cats are driving me crazy. Finally locked them out of the bedroom last night...which helped as Gnat hadn't gotten the point from repeatedly throwing her off the bed.

Hope that everyone is having a good week and that those in the States are enjoying the holiday.

It's strangely quiet here without the munchkins and even more bizarre, when I clean things, they stay clean.
Somewhat disturbing...or it would be, if it weren't so nice.

Still, I was unable to sleep in this morning. *sigh*

Oh well, about to toddle off to work soon. I hope that it's a bit busier tonight as last night was a bit boring. But still, after being on my feet for almost 8.5 hours straight, I was glad to come home and put my feet up.

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend.

I had forgotten how much nicer this whole getting up early thing is. Or rather, not forgotten, but just been to lazy tired to do anything about it. So, having actually gone to bed early last night, I got up at 6 a.m. and took a shower and am finishing up catching up on LJ.

Still have tons of fanfic in my inbox, however. Oh well. I've been reading book 6 of Dresden Files, Proven Guilty, so that has been quite enjoyable.

Yesterday was a long day. We went to Mass, came home and had lunch, and then spent the rest of the day out at the lake. The kids had lots and lots of fun. I actually remembered to re-apply sunscreen in the middle of the afternoon. It was fun to hang out, chat, drink, have hamburgers.
We got the kids home and in bed by 8, laid down in bed and fell asleep until 9:30. Got up for awhile, decided we were far too tired, and went back to sleep.

So now, it's almost 7:30, munchkins are still sleeping (M. is in my bed) and I feel rather accomplished. I'm going to go grocery shopping and run other errands around midday, so I can meet up with my mom, who is coming into town, and take the dog.
Mom will be in town until Friday, at which point in time she's taking the munchkins back with her to Madison. Oh, the joy.

I need to call my skating student to see when she's going to be on the ice this week, so I know when she wants lessons...

Now, time to get dressed without waking M.

Thank you everyone for your concern, T. is doing just fine today.

Poll #1008977 More wine questions!
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

1. When is Beaujolais Nouveau released each year?

2. You'd like a smooth, rich wine with low tannins with your dinner. Your best option would be:

3. Your waiter recommends a white Burgundy. What kind of wine will it be?

4. What are tannins?

( Answers )