Family Bowling

Family Bowling
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Hanging out with the family this afternoon bowling up a storm. Let's see if I can hit 200. Ha!

Morning Run

Morning Run
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On my morning ten k through Genesee Valley Park. Nice morning for it.

EDIT: I ended up running a little over an hour.. so about 8 miles. Loved it.

Family Christmas 2009

My family always has a good time over Christmas.  We exchange gifts 3 times over 2 days, and have 3 big fun meals as well.  This year was a blast.

Molly and I opening gifts with the family

I got 3 mini watering bulbs for my plants.. w00t.. ha

Molly is doing some kind of gang symbol here... and I of course saw a camera

"WOW" is how you express yourself

Molly and I (ok, there are a lot of Molly and I)

Nola and I (hey!) last night after eating tons of super foods and gobbling down mixed drinks

I ended up with a ton of great stuff, I gave WAAAAY too much this year, but I love spoiling the people that mean so much to me.  To all that wished me Happy Holidays, I appreciate it.  Right back at ya.

Game Night Holiday Party 2009

Game Night Holiday Party 2009
Sent via camera phone by lukeawol.

Here with the gang for our annual get together. Lots of food! Lots of people.

I brought a casserole... the protein was all gone by the time I got there. Hmm...

Music Again

FINAL Work Holiday Party.. woo!

More shameless self portraits... ha! But regardless, tonight my office all gathered at Ristorante Luciano for the boss's big holiday party. Nola and I got there right at 7pm and joined the cocktail hour in progress. We milled around for awhile, found our way to some seats, and watched as our table was joined by a couple big names in the leadership. Ha. But we had a great time, had an amazing sampling of foods, and I even had some pasta and dessert! Was quite the night.. I think I had 6 glasses of wine Italian red wine... soooo good.

Wrapping Time

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My dining room is Christmas central right now, as it is every year. Wrapping up stuff and getting it ready for the week of giveaways!

Monday Morning...!

Label Day
Sent via camera phone by lukeawol.

A new week.. a partial week. The next few days should fly by. See ya on the flip....

Happiness is only a decision away

Things that make me happy [as of late]...

1. Chapstick
2. Getting out of work early
3. Compliments
4. Shopping for new clothes
5. Surprises
6. My wonderful friends
7. Running
   
8. Being exhausted because of laaaaaate nights

Cookie Crazy Day

Day with Deb = Day of cookie making! 11 kinds!  w00t!

Work Holiday Party

Work Holiday Party
Sent via camera phone by lukeawol.

Hanging out and eating lots at the holiday social in the May Room. Let's see if I win a laptop again in the raffle. :) Food is good!

Work Dinner Party

Each year, our office goes out to a nice restaurant for the holidays.  This year we went to Pomodoro Grill & Wine Bar. Was fantastic... absolutely wonderful. Food was great, I had a delicious 16oz steak, and had a great time exchanging gifts, laughing about the events of the year, and having a couple glasses of wine. Sooo much fun. 

Lori and I

Mary listening in on some gossip

My attire for the evening

The awesome bar (and tender)

Our table for 16

Mall Trip

Mall Trip
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Another successful mall trip down. Shopping for my list of people is coming along very nicely.

My Recent Purchases

(WARNING. A lot of self-pics ahead.)

I've been replacing my entire wardrobe. I was going to wait until after Christmas, but in my travels over the past two months, I've been finding such great deals, and I'm now a size medium in many of the things I'm buying, so I figure.. hey, why not. I'm about $770 into my $1500 budget, so about half way. I'm having a ton of fun shopping too, and can't wait until after the holidays to finish up.


I have always wanted a pair of white, all purpose, tennis type sneaker. Love it.


I just realized a couple days ago that I don't have a great pair of non-work dress shoes. Found these yesterday.


Also realized a couple weeks ago I don't have a pair of dress brown shoes. NOW I do.


All my old sweaters are two sizes too large, and I haven't worn them in 3+ years. So I've started buying a couple sweaters, and want to get a few more.


I have always hated coats because they just have always made me look huge. But I've bought three new coats recently (plus another one my mom is giving me).


I've also always wanted a pea coat. Came across this one yesterday. It still looks a little bulky, but I like this as a dressier warm coat for nights out.


Not pictured, but along with this, I bought a bunch of running gear. My run last weekend was COLD, and I need more gear to stay warm in the winter, and needed matching running shorts for when it gets warm.


I've bought four hoodies, as you've seen in pictures on the blog already.. and I'm looking for a few more colors/designs.

Also not pictured are the new BB's I bought that are just really nice (and fit like a glove!), these awesome Reebok knit low socks that have done wonders for my feet, the new V-neck shirts, the dozen or so new t-shirts... Uhh! :) Love it so much.


Though I'm starting to think my shoe desires are culminating in obsurdity. I now have four shelves of shoes. Haha!


Also made a trip to Century Wine and Beers of the World yesterday to restock my wine collection, buy some gifts of liquor, and find this awesome beer that came HIGHLY recommended from a friend called Victory Storm King Stout, made at a brewery in PA. Can't wait to try it.

Michael's Birthday

Last night was a surprise zombie themed birthday party for Michael F. at the CNY clinic on East Ave. Everyone came dressed up as zombies or survivors. What a great place to have a party! Beautiful leather couches, awesome chairs, four rooms... so much space.. the food was amazing, and there was enough wine to get us through five hours of partying. Michael has a lot of people in his life, and they were all there. Over 20 people in attendance, if not 30, and the ambiance was astounding. Jake had made a playlist of zombie related songs from the schlocky movies we've watched over the last year, and many people brought goodies to eat for dessert. It's great to see the friends so much this weekend, and I don't think I've had this much wine in my life in such a short time. Soooo much fun.

Favorite Quotes from the evening:

"You're very stealthy as of late...!" Haha, double meaning. Awesome.
"It's like watching South Park... but with real people." after the party was winding down, and the dancing started
"Wow. You don't look like you have a single carb on you!" haha, in reference to me being a little more svelt by a guy I don't know very well
"I only make an ass of yourself when you don't make an ass of yourself." in reference to Jake's behavior

Survivor Marathon

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Sent via camera phone by lukeawol.

A bunch of my friends are here and we're hanging out watching Survivor. Five episodes tonight... and we're caught up. Phew! Pass the wine!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Happy Birthday Sophie!
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And the family gathers for another birthday party.

My California Winery Review

Cindy and I visited a bunch of wineries while I was in California. I have a simple rating system for every wine I ever try. Four stars is perfection, which I have never given. But in California, I gave a couple 3 1/2 stars, and a HECK of a lot of 0 stars.

Firestone Vineyards
A large tasting room, this was the first stop on our tasting adventure. The whole feeling was extremely sophisticated, the servers young and knowledgeable, and we tried a couple whites, a couple reds, but nothing stood out. I enjoyed the 2007 Cabernet Franc Rose and the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (both 2 stars), but not enough to consider buying any bottles.

Fess Parker Winery
This winery was refreshing, intriguing, generous with their tasting, and had a really cool gift shop. The server was charismatic, funny and dynamic. We would try, walk around, browse, come back, try again... it was very laid back, but BUSY. Owned by a celebrity, I most enjoyed the 2005 Syrah, "Rodney's Vineyard", which had hints of cherry, blackberry, smoked meat and chocolate. VERY good, with three stars. Also VERY expensive, haha.

Zaca Mesa Winery
Zaca Mesa was amazing. Not only was it entwined in the midst of a mountain, but it had an amazing hiking path that Cindy and I took advantage of. Their tasting room was bright, their wines were good, and we had a great time.

Foxen Vineyard
This tasting room had a ship theme, and was attached to a secondary tasting location, though we only tasted here. I wasn't impressed. The wines had bad scents (and not the OLD wine scent), and I barely gave the 2006 Syrah from the Tinaquaic Vineyard wine 2 1/2 stars. This winery harvested grapes from other people's vineyards, so I wasn't keen on them at all.

Koehler Winery
This was an extremely cute winery up on a hill with a great backyard tasting area and farm animals roaming about. We tasted a bunch of wines and then migrated outside to pet the goats. We tried six wines. I most enjoyed the 2006 Magia Nera Estate, with 2 1/2 stars, and retairs for $35 a bottle. Well worth it.

Buttonwood Farm
Buttonwood was pretty much just a tasting room, flat, with a fake-ish looking "grounds" and really bad wines. The highlight was their bathrooms and their persimmons trees right outside the room. But I was sooo unimpressed with the white wines, but I really enjoyed the 2003 Trevin red. Gave it a full 3 stars.

Blackjack Ranch & Winery
We saw this stop on our first day, but we ran out of time due to all tastings ending at 4:45p. But we stopped the next day, and really enjoyed ourselves. This stop had the best tastings, and there was one wine I would have purchased if I could have brought it home. (I don't have my notes.) We brought a picnic lunch, and ate and laughed under a beautiful pavilion in the middle of the vineyard. A lot of fun, and a great ending to a great wine weekend.

Jingle Bell 5K Race

Jingle Bell 5K Race
Sent via camera phone by lukeawol.

Donna and I at my first official 5K run!

My official time: 23m49s

Not too shabby if I do say so myself! :)

Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving

Infinite Complexities

The nine days since I got back from vacation have been a whirlwind of adventures, non-stop action, tons of work, lots of fun interesting people, and plenty of emotional ups and downs. I'm really enjoying the new take on my life as of late, and it's rewarding me with more joy that I've had in awhile. I knew something was amiss, and the changes I've been making I think are leading me somewhere I hope will keep me on a progressive incline. OK, that sounded random, but suffice to say, I'm very happy, and I love my life right now. Thanks to those people that make it happen, it's much appreciated.

Low carb housing