Why red wine is infinitely superior to white wine

While cleaning and reorganizing my pantry this weekend, I accidentally broke a bottle of white wine. Chardonnay, to be exact.

I don't even really like Chardonnay.

I find it too art-gallery pretentious, too sweetly "daytime wedding" reception-y, and far too uninspired.
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Red wine has personality. It's bold and brash and just tempts you to spill it on your clothing, rug, or furniture. It leaves stains on the countertop when tiny droplets slide down the side of the bottle after you've poured the third glass.

Chardonnay just stinks when you spill it. Trust me. I spent quite a while picking up glass fragments and mopping up the river of wine. Even after you couldn't see it, you could smell it.

Had I broken a bottle of red wine, like a good Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, at least there would have been an element of drama.

There she stood, surrounded by broken glass. The blood-red liquid pooled at her feet as she glanced about desperately for help. "Merde," she thought, cursing at herself in French, "There goes my $14.00 bottle of relaxation therapy."

See? I told you red wine is better.

Blogging confessions, part 1: Art imitates life

I've been thinking... again... way too much.

But there's an interesting phenomenon occurring in my blogging-life that is perfectly echoed in my real-life.

I have no group.

It's been like this my entire life, and I don't know what it says about me that I can be a part of a group, but still very much apart from the group.

I went to a small Catholic school from kindergarten until the eighth grade, and I could hang out individually with almost any of the girls (and most of the guys), give or take a handful that I thought were mean.  When we went on to the Catholic high school, many of the girls from my junior high stuck together in a clique. I still hung out individually with them, but wasn't part of that group.

During this same time I played fast-pitch softball with a local team and was popular on the team, but given how they went to local public schools and I was in Catholic school, I was never a part of their group really.

I had two very close friends in high school with whom I was part of "LL and Cool J," based on our initials. Even then, though, each of them had their own groups of which they were really a part.

I was a cheerleader, in the Honor Society, in Girl Scouts (oh yes... even as a freshmen I had every senior on campus buying cookies from me come Spring! No way was I embarrassed, when every Varsity football player was scribbling down his number and cookie order), involved with Church, on Student Council... and yet I always wondered what it was that made me always feel like I was on the periphery of every group. I was eagerly welcomed in to pretty much any group I wanted, but never felt like a card-carrying member.

Even in college, in my sorority, I had a few very close friends, but once again they typically belonged to other groups. On the sorority Executive Council, five of the eight of us still hang out regularly... I was one of the other three. The same with the Catholic church organizations, orientation camps at which I was a counselor, freshman leadership groups, honor groups, etc... I watched as seemingly everyone else made circles of friends, while I felt like I was a Venn Diagram, intersecting the circles but not being a circle myself.

 (I'm the green "sustainability" intersection. Thank you to the University of Hawaii for having one of the first Venn Diagram images that I found on the web)

As a consultant for my sorority, I was forced to be on the periphery by the nature of my job. After that year, I taught high school and had friends, but still not a "group." If you look at the bridesmaids in my wedding, while they are all friendly to each other and very comfortable hanging out together, they're still "friends through Lisa" in that I'm not sure if they even have each others' phone numbers.

I've seen a huge number of my friends go on to join churches where they became a part of a marriage group that has lasted for 5+ years, or Moms groups that developed out of their churches that meet-up and even celebrate their childrens' birthdays together.

And now, to add insult to injury, I find the same thing occurring in the blogosphere! When I read the blog rolls of many real-life (RL) friends, I see the blogs of their RL friends, with whom I know they get together in large groups. Some friends from our church in the town in which we used to live have regular Bunko nights, and I see their names on the blogrolls and pictures of their weekly/bi-monthly/monthly get-togethers. It's interesting-- even though I have (had?) PCOS and took a while getting pregnant a second time, I don't feel like I can fit into the "Catholic IF" circle because I had no problem conceiving my first child.

Do I need a hobby? To start an Ulcerative Colitis group? Start an anti-Prednisone group? Find other stay-at-home-moms who are battling scorpions and potty training, hopefully with success in both areas?

Get off the Internet completely so I don't have to think about this?

Does anyone else feel this way?

(Crickets)

Maybe this is just me. Independent. Easily blending but never fully belonging. Not minding (much) being alone, even in a huge group.

I should have been a spy.

Homeschooling discernment series

So, I've been pondering and praying about just thinking about homeschooling, and now I think I'm ready to talk about it and write about it. In fact, I'm thinking of doing a (weekly?) series on this discernment process/fact-finding mission. Would anyone be interested in hearing my thoughts?

(Silence)

Bueller? Bueller?

Hmm.

Well, my plan is to continue to do research, compile a list of Catholic/Christian homeschooling blogs, and interview homeschooling mothers.

That's as far as I've gotten for now.

Whew.

However, I feel it necessary to refer you back to THIS post.

Think what you will.

Vision of her teenage years

C just woke up from her nap. Typically she calls for me (there's a gate up because otherwise she won't stay in her room) and wants me to get her out of her room.

Not this time.

Oh, no, friends. After calling for me, she asked me to fix her gate (it wasn't on perfectly straight) and get her some more water. After I brought it to her, she said thank you, gave me a kiss, and shut the door. For all I know, she's on the phone with boys and trying on make-up while listening to rap music on her iPod. Ok, not likely given that she's not even 3 yet, but I can see the future and it's not pretty.

Yeah. You're welcome, kid. It sure was fun being needed while it lasted.

"Mad Mel" and Catholicism

I don't want to hear the tapes.

You know which tapes I'm talking about.

The ones that are all over the Internet and that are talked about on the radio and that are front and center on grocery store tabloid magazines.

The ones where Mel Gibson allegedly has a complete breakdown and spews the most horrific vitriol at his ex-girlfriend, the mother of one of his children.

I have no idea if these tapes are real. And even if they are, I have no idea what kind of provocation led up to the kind of rants that are apparently on the tapes.

The one thing that I keep hearing, though, is how he was "such a devout Catholic." This is being used to denigrate the Catholic faith and is fodder for jokes.

Catholic bloggers have been quiet on this issue.

Not me.

If these tapes are authentic, the verbal abuse and hate speech on them represent the Catholic Church and my faith no more than do the actions of priests who have committed atrocious acts against children and teens.

Teachers who abuse and have sexual contact with their students do not represent the teaching profession of which I was a part. They are horrific aberrations in a noble profession.

Married men and women who cheat on their spouses without remorse do not represent healthy marriages.

I hope these tapes are proved to be fakes. But if not, I pray that Mr. Gibson will find healing and redemption in the true Church.

Amusingly annoying

I've noticed the oddest phenomenon in the blogging world. Well, technically I've seen it on other popular websites that allow comments, so I guess I shouldn't limit it to blogging.

FIRST!

Over and over again, I see people writing

FIRST!

when they are the first person to leave a comment. Often, that's the only comment they leave.

FYI, there is no prize for being the first person to comment. There is no recognition or respect given to someone whose only contribution is to write the word "First." What a waste of time and keystrokes.

But my favorite scenario has to be the following...

Take a look at comment #8. This makes me laugh. Bet she felt silly when she went back and looked at all the comments.


Edited to add: And for the record, also "amusingly" annoying is the fact that my blog feed still continues to update about 10 hours (at least) late. NO idea why. The Kitchen blog shows posts immediately. My private blog, if taken public, shows posts immediately. I may be pulling all of my hair out this next week if I can't figure it out. However, I am in need of a haircut, so this may be a two birds-one stone kind of situation.

Recycling, Mama-style

H just spit up some breastmilk.

Into. My. Mouth.

Hey- you give a little, you get a little.