The world of Podcasting

In the past month or so, I have discovered Podcasts (and ebooks).
I mainly started listening to these with the idea that I could listen to them at the gym. I have ended up mainly listening to them while I am working, and not at the gym (that's another topic, entirely, see below).

Podcasts are kind of fascinating. I have started listening to:
The LOST podcast with Jay and Jack
The Dawson's Creek podcast

Those that know me know that I love D.Creek, and I think it's intersting that this podcast is aired by another D.Creek fan. What's more intersting is that this just started airing last year (even though the show has been off the air since about 2003). That means that there are other D.Creek fans who still love the show, and there are other D.Creek fans who actually listen to this even though the show is in syndication. Amazing, and see, I am not the only freak. Although I may be 10 years older - but hey, it's keeping me young!

I have also realized that I cannot listen to something well, and do anything else at the same time. I'm not counting mindless listening to the radio or humming along to a tune while you do chores. I should have known I would have this problem when I noticed that I cannot talk on the phone and have anyone else talk to me at the same time. I can only listen to one person at a time, and usually the one who is louder wins. But while I have this podcast on - I notice that I stop typing, then I sit back in my chair, and then I realize 20 minutes has past and my screen saver is whirling around. And when I notice that I have been able to keep tying and get some work done, I have not listened to a word of this podcast and must rewind the entire thing. Those people that work and listen to eBooks, how do you do it?

Anyway, I have found another mindless way to pass the time, and I need to start listening to these at the gym - that is my March resolution!
Also , does this mean that any old Joe Bloe can air a podcast? Will there someone in the universe who will listen to any silly old topic that someone wants to talk about? Hmmmm, maybe I can start "A day in the life of Chewie and the Bear"...

A walk in the clouds

This past weekend, Scott decided we needed a weekend away. He just got back from his 2 week business trip, and had a 4 day weekend to enjoy. I didn't have a 4 day weekend, but we decided to kennel the dogs and spend the weekend in Temecula wine country. We have been meaning to do this for a couple of years, and finally made it out there for a tasting.

We stayed the night at the South Coast Winery, and their villas were very nice. I loved how they were each separate rooms with no sharing walls. This means that you had no neighbor's walking heavy above you, or loud neighbors next door (like we do at home most nights...). There was a bottle of wine for us in the room, and Jacuzzi tub.

We started Saturday out with a wine tasting, and it shocked me how Temecula wine country has turned into the bar scene of he SD area. It was packed, and you had to fight for a place up at the tasting bar. There were people drunk, and loud, and just hanging out. Granted, I had a buzz going after our 5 tastings (and the 2 extras that she gave us), but I don't think I would just hang out in there. There is a separate area with tables for Wine Club members, which we were considering (and still are), and I could see myself hanging out there for a few hours on a nice day. If we actually lived in Temecuala (which we did find our dream started home out there 3 years ago), we would definitely be part of the wine circuit.

We then headed over to the restaurant for a little appetizer and a bottle of wine. After relaxing for a bit, we headed back later that night for a superb dinner. Scott had the Lamb chops, and I had veal and beef riggi's. It was excellent, and worth the drive out here for a nice dinner out (more reason to become a club member).

Sunday was our tour of the winery, and it has sparked the dream of having a vineyard in both of us again. We learned a lot from the tour guide, and ended the tour with a tasting and tips about pairing wine and food. We learned that the sweet wines I like (like the white Germans that we always buy) go really well with spicy food. Scott knew a lot of the workings of the winery because of his Gallo experience, and I think we should start looking for jobs or ways we can become active at the wineries in Temecula (it's not that far of a drive).

On our way back home, we stopped at one other winery for a tasting, and in comparison to where we just were, it was on a different scale completely (small, with 2 people working the tasting room, and nothing fancy about it at all) and the wine was not as great in my opinion either (I didn't say, let's buy a bottle to any of them). Maybe I was wine'd out by this point in the weekend, but I wouldn't want to go back there.

The man who owns the vineyard for South Coast bought the land only due to his father's pressure to buy it. It sat there for years, and he saw the movie "A Walk in the Clouds" and thought that his land looked a lot like that setting. So he went out and tested the soil and now has this thriving vineyard (the largest in Temecula).
I think I'm going to go out back and test our soil now :-)

Jan, Feb, March - oh my!

I bought this little planner (pocket size, really) so that I can keep track of the things that are happening, the things that I need to do, etc. I am managing to write things down in it, but then forget it on my desk and end up never taking it with me. But it's a start, and I have 10 more months this year to perfect the idea of keeping a planner (right now, I just know that I need to go to work at 7am, and then my Outlook calendar keeps me in check).

But it's nice to see the things that we have done, and the things that are coming up this year. Now, there is no excuse for forgetting to put key events in Scott's Xmas letter. I will proof read his letter with my planner in hand.

After our great trip to NYC, I got sick - the worst sick I've been since moving here. I blame it on the East Coast weather, which is why I am even more adamant about not moving away from SD :-) It knocked me out for about 2 weeks, and I spend a good number of days in bed.

I was still slightly ill, but recovered enough to head over to a NFL Playoff game (to watch the Giants win) and then we headed to the House of Blues to see Social Distortion. It was a sold out show, and I was glad to see the mix of demographics in the audiense. I didn't want to be the oldest in the crowd (which we definitely weren't since this band started when I was 2 years old), and we weren't the youngest either (since they can still sell out every show). It was great, and Scott really liked them. I wasn't sure how much he would enjoy it, since he didn't know them too well, but he is now a big Social D fan.

They have Reastaurant Week here in SD, which they also had in DC and we used to love it. Basically, restaurants put together a fixed price 3 course menu, so that you have the opportunity to dine at some really nice places for a reasonable price (although one of our restaurants still came out to a $200 dinner with wine). We ate at the Hotel Del, 1500 Ocean Restaurant. It was very good, and we each had a wine sampler which I think was the best part. We each left dinner that night with 3 glasses of wine, and I have a new favorite Chardonnay. At the end of the week, we went out with some friends to Pacifica Del Mar, a seafood restaurant in Del Mar. It was highly recommended, and the food was excellent. My only complaint is that I thought it was going to be right on the water - but the pictures were deceiving and we were actually off the 101.

We decided to throw a Superbowl party at our house, and went all out with over 100 wings, pizza, lots of munchies, and Giants decorations. I think it was our balloons and good mojo that sparked the win. Way to go Giants!

The week after the game, Scott left for a 2 week business trip. You know, 2 weeks seems like nothing now, and it's actually kind of a nice change of pace to have 2 weeks to myself (with dogs, who slept on the bed with me of course). I lost 4 lbs that trip - I think it's becuse Scott wasn't home to cook for me. But by Wed of week 2, I was definitely ready for my hubby to come home. while Scott was away, I drove up to Santa Monica to meet up with Tricia who was in town for the Grammy's (I know, how do you get her job, right?) and I caught up with Steven, who I hadn't talked to since our wedding. Needless to say, we had lots to catch up on!

That pretty much takes us right into March, and I can't believe how fast time is flying! We ended the month of Feb with my parents over for dinner, and Scott made his (now becoming a fav) lamb stew. My parents then left for a trip to Alaska, and I can't wait to hear all about it when they get back.

Having a planner is coming in handy - and it is making me plan lots of fun things for us to do! We've got Def Leppard coming up this summer, and hopefully many more fun things to come.

Happy New Year! a little late, I know

I know, but better late than never, right?

To catch the 1.2 people who read this blog up to date - we spend New Years in cold New York city. It was soooooo cold, but a very fun trip! We got to see lots of good friends and family, we ate spectacular food, and overall it was a great way to bring in the new year (although no one wanted to play Singing Bee with me).

Day 1 and 2:
We had a very easy and drama free trip for San Diego to LaGuardia. Poor Keith and Kara just got back from their cruise that day, and this was their second trip to LGA which was the most crowded I have ever seen it. That's what you get for flying on a holiday, huh?
The next Day (New Years Eve) we toured around Queens and Garden City. We then celebrated the New Year at Casa de Weinsaft. Kara made an amazing dinner that night (which I still need the recipe for).

Day 3 and 4:
On New Years Day, we recovered from the night before, and then headed out to see Jeff's apartment near Mid-town. It was very nice and very small. Just yesterday, Scott and I were in a hotel room (I will post details of that shortly, not to worry), and said - Man, I think this hotel room is just a little bit smaller than Jeff's apartment. We concluded that as a single person, we could live there and get rid of all of our earthly material possessions. But married, no way in hell would we fit. That night we headed to Chinatown and had another great dinner with Bryan.
The following day consisted of walking around NYC, and finding the Saltena place in Queens. Mixed into our sightseeing was Keith's cupcake break - yummy, although when did cupcakes get so popular? We ended the night at Gotham Bar and Grill for dinner, another great meal.

Day 4 and 5:
The following day was the coldest day that I have experienced in about 3 years. It was miserable. And of course, that's the day that we walked all over the place in NYC (Pomme Frites was our wonderful break!). We had real coal over NY style pizza for lunch at Lombardi's, and ended the night in Brooklyn for dinner at Peter Luger. OMG, this was the best steak I think I have ever had, although it might have been the 2 drinks in me altering my perception. This was totally our kind of place, and we took the T-Bone home for the dogs to enjoy. They are big Peter Luger fans, too.
The next day we flew home (again, hassle free) and recovered from the trip and picked up the doggies from the kennel. Then, it was back to work and the start of 2008.

We'll have to see what kind of surprises 2008 has to bring - although it's been a very low key year so far (knock on wood).
Happy New Year!