Mishi chatter

Getting there...

2009-06-03T12:52:00.001-05:00

I will be 36 weeks this Saturday.

I will have approximately four weeks left starting next week.

I am starting to get stretch marks.

My pelvic bones feel like they are going to snap in half.

I don't know how I can get any bigger.

And did I mention I have four weeks left??

Agh!!

But I know I will survive. Women all over the world do all the time. I am just saying that I will survive but not without some complaining on my part.

The good things:
She is starting to become more real to me the bigger I get because I can actually visualize how she looks inside me. She is her own person already and that amazes me.

I am going to take a long weekend this weekend and spend most of it in a river and in a pool.

I might start tele-commuting for work.

We got a dishwasher and it already has made my life easier.

I am not afraid of labor.

The mural in Laurel's room has been started, Aaron Sacco is doing it, and let me tell you friends, it looks awesome.

I have three showers to attend! One this weekend and two next weekend. Well, one extra because I am going to a friend's baby shower next weekend as well.

Chris. Is. Awesome. He has been the best and most supportive husband ever, even when he makes me go for a walk when I don't want to.

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34 weeks

2009-05-22T12:55:00.001-05:00

So this Saturday I will be 34 weeks.

O.M.G.

I feel like I cannot even fully comprehend what it means that we are having a baby sometimes. Sometimes, though, I can. It's weird. To think that the little being inside me will be out here in 6 weeks (give or take) is mind boggling. Not to mention that she will be completely her own little person! With her own little personality! Fascinating.

I am feeling all right. I got the 3rd trimester fatigue though and that's not fun, although I have been reading a lot. Like the Twilight series. Oh goodness, I really can't even explain why I like those books and why Edward is just so appealing to me. I mean, he is a vampire! A teenage vampire! Weird, I know, and I am definitely going to blame this one on the pregnancy hormones.

Chris is good. Actually, to me, Chris is fan-freakin-tastic. He is doing so much around the household and other responsibilities that i feel like crying I am so grateful. And I can tell is excited about being a dad. I think he is going to a great one too.

Our good friend Ren is doing a cherry tree mural in Laurel's room. He sketched out the trunk yesterday and I can't even begin to explain how awesome it looks. The way he has captured what I wanted (not Dr Zuess cartoony, but something older and wiser) is amazing. Go to his blog www.austinartist.blogspot.com to see more of his great works. We will definitely post pictures when it is done to promote his work.

Other than that, the room is basically finished. I don't know how the next couple of months are going to shape up job and money wise and time wise but I am sure we will manage. We always do, we have great support from friends and family. We are so blessed.

The Austin Wine Festival is this weekend. I will be there on Saturday so stop by the Mandola booth and say hi! I will pour you some wine and let you touch the belly for good luck...and a dollar...kidding...maybe...

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Be safe everybody!

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meh

2009-04-02T13:50:00.001-05:00

The underlined ones are mine. I couldn't get the bold to return back to normal...

*1. Started your own blog
*2. Slept under the stars
*3. Played in a band.
*4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
*6. Given more than you can afford to charity
*7. Been to Disneyland/world
*8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
*10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
*12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
*16. Had food poisoning
*17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
*20. Slept on an overnight train
*21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
*24. Built a snow fort
*25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (not yet!!)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (it was too expensive!)
*29. Seen a total eclipse (of the heart? j/k)
*30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
*35. Seen an Amish community
*37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
*39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
*41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
*44. Visited Africa
*45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
*46. Been transported in an ambulance
*47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
*51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
*52. Kissed in the rain
*53. Played in the mud (all the time growing up)
*54. Gone to a drive-in theater
*55. Been in a movie
*56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
*60. Served at a soup kitchen
*61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
*63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
*67. Bounced a check
*68. Flown in a helicopter
*69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
*70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
*71. Eaten Caviar
*72. Pieced a quilt
*73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
*78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
*83. Walked in Jerusalem
*84. Had your picture in the newspaper
*85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
*88. Had chickenpox
*89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
*91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
*93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (almost!!)
*95. Seen the Alamo in person
*96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (Does the Dead Sea count?)
*97. Been involved in a law suit
*98. Owned a cell phone
*99. Been stung by a bee

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LKJ

2009-03-17T08:58:00.001-05:00

It's a girl!

Most of you know by now, either by a mass text, phone call or facebook.

So, we know we have Laurel Katharine Johnson on the way. It's really weird how finding that out made this whole pregnancy thing seem a little more real.

You guys, my family rocks.

Seriously.

This past weekend my mom and dad, grandma, uncle and cousin all came to the house and we (they) re-did the baby's room, put in new french doors (replacing the old windows in the living room), put in new doors for the bedrooms, and excavated an area for our new patio in our backyard! (Thanks to Jason on that one too!)

So, Laurel's room has new insulation, wiring, sheetrock, double pane/low-e glass window, new paint (a very pale yellow on the walls and pale blue on the ceiling) and a new ceiling fan.

And I can't wait for our patio to be done! It's gonna look so awesome. Righteous!

It's spring break and Chris has off all week...poor thing, he is having to work hard around the house all week and I am not much help since I am working this week and can't lift heavy objects or be around any chemicals, fumes or sanding. I felt very useless, so I made everybody sandwiches, ran errands and walked around proclaiming how awesome the whole renovation was looking.

And this weekend we are driving to Denton to visit our very good friends, Pete and Joy, who just recently welcomed Zoe into the world. It's gonna be fun to see them as parents and squeal over little Zoe's toes and cute tooshie.

Don't have any pictures now. Sorry, sorry. I know I know. Soon.

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Focus

2009-02-25T07:50:00.001-06:00

So, I went to my monthly midwife appointment. It went well, I met with another midwife who I didn't really like as much as the others ones I met with, but she was nice enough. I did gain 6 pounds though. In one MONTH. And when you consider my goal weight for the whole thing is 25 pounds, 6 pounds is a lot.

I know where I went wrong though. I did indulge a little too much on the snacks and vanilla milkshakes. But I also went from walking a mile to a bus stop and standing on my feet for 8 hours to sitting in a chair for 8 hours. And I was still eating the same as I did when I led that very active lifestyle.

So, now I need to re-adjust. I do have to watch the sweets and I have to get the lead out. I need to start moving. I walked twice already this week and lifted weights once. That's a start.

But damn. I thought I was doing so good.

Other than that, the baby's heartbeat sounds good and everything we did see at the ultrasound looks healthy. We go back next week for another one since the face and the front of the heart could not been seen from the baby's position.

And I still feel so completely utterly un-prepared.

I am at a total loss about diapers, daycare...well, those are the two main ones. We want to do cloth diapers. Yes. Yes, I know. They use water. But they also don't stick around in a landfill for 1000 years and, yes, there are some made of biodegradable corn stuff. But mass farming corn is just as bad for the environment and hello! It's food. There are people starving throughout the world and we have the audicity to put food in our cars and in our packaging. Humph.

I digress.

So there are services that pick up the dirty ones and drop off the cleans ones and financially speaking, I think it works out to be a pretty good deal.

But what if the little tyke is in daycare? Do daycare centers handle cloth diapers?

And then there is the question of daycare itself. As in: WE CAN'T AFFORD IT. So, what do we do then?

These two main thoughts are constantly with me, swimming somewhere in the back of my brain, occasionally surfacing.

Then there is the house issue (needs constant improving) and the commute issue (needs constant improving) and you can see why i would reach for that vanilla milkshake.

Instead, though, I am trying to take those worries and use them to fuel my walking. We'll see how that goes.

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20 weeks

2009-02-13T17:47:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is the beginning of my 20th week being pregnant.

Squeee!!!!

That means I am about halfway through which means ohmygodwearegoingtobeparentsin20weeksandhowinthehellarewegonnadoit!!!!

As well as happiness, of course.

My belly is rounding out and I promise, promise to put up pictures soon, but it's cool finally having to wear maternity clothes and look pregnant instead of just fat. I am also going to start doing some mommy bonding with other moms because I need advice, seriously. But also because my little one is going to need playdates and little friends his or her age! (JOY, could you please move back to Austin? nono, I understand...)

It's weird though, I was talking with Joy today and I said something that just sounds weird. I could totally do this pregnancy thing again. I know, I know, I haven't actually gone through labor or dealt with staying up really late...but it's kind of sad to think that this might be my only experience with pregnancy. Not that we are ruling brothers and sisters out, we are just not planning yet. We are going to see how one turns out to be and then we will decide. But I love being pregnant! Although I haven't gone crazy with food, I love that I COULD if wanted to. Ya know? I love the fact that I am constantly nourishing someone. SOMEONE. Isn't that weird? Before there was nothing and now there is SOMEONE inside me. It's kind of profound to me when I think of it that way.

Now I want ice cream and cupcakes...thanks to Posh for the cupcake craving. Oh man. If you ever need some more panel judges Posh, I am there. I think a pregnant lady's perspective on cupcakes would add more insight to your panel.

Cupcakes!

ultrasound

2009-02-06T11:16:00.001-06:00

Well. The babe must take after his dad. It's stubborn. It was lying facedown so we couldn't see some of the vitals needed for the anatomy scan, such as the four heart chambers and the face. It also had its little legs (which were precious to see, by the way) tucked up unders its body so we couldn't make out the gender either.

We tried me laying on my side for a bit. When I rolled over back onto my back, you could see the little one trying to flip over to be face up, but as soon I as rolled over, it flipped back over.

Little stinker.

But since we didn't get some of the vitals, I have to go back in a month and we will see if it wants to cooperate this time or not.

I was a little disappointed, but I think i knew there was a good chance of this, so I am not too terribly disappointed with waiting. I mean, I still have 21 more weeks of waiting as it is, so waiting 4 more weeks isn't that bad.

I am learning patience.

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Update-y things

2009-02-05T10:49:00.002-06:00

Well, I am 5 months. Officially 19 weeks on Saturday. I am starting to show, but the roundness isn't quite there yet and I can't wait for it to get there because now it just looks like two big bulges from maybe eating too much pizza.

I go today to the ultrasound appointment where they look at the babe's brain, heart, spinal cord, and ...um...the other vital organs (I am reluctant to name them on here because I don't want my page to get added to google search for certain words...). So we find out today if we are having Liam Noble Johnson or Laurel Katharine Johnson!

Yup, those are the names. Liam is a name I have always, always loved and connected to and Noble is Chris' dad's name. Laurel is my grandmother's name and Katharine is my great-grandmother (grandmother's mother) and my sister's name.

We certainly didn't mean both names to have the letter 'L' but it worked out that way. And we certainly didn't mean to have a baby L and a kitty Lucy. Too many Ls!

Not really.

I have felt some movements that I suspect were baby bumpings but I am not sure and I haven't felt anything from the outside yet. I hope that changes soon too although I am not looking forward to getting kicked in the ribs. But ah well, not much one can do about it.

I will post pictures soon. I took some at my birthday of the belly and when I get the ultrasound stuff today,I will try to post those as well.

Other than all that, things are going well. I have only gained 5lbs during my entire pregnancy so far (I am hoping to keep it around 20lbs when all is said and done, but I am trying not to worry about it too much as well). I have been getting hungry about every two hours and I try to eat healthy stuff and lots of greens. Although I still have a little trouble digesting them smoothly.

House stuff is all right. I have someone from the City of Austin investigating who did work in our yard several years ago, it still smells from what we suspect is a leaky wastewater line. It is very frustrating because it creates this awful smell in the house too.

My family is helping us with the last bedroom this March where we will replace the window with a more efficient double-pane, low-E glass window, re-wire the room, put up a new ceiling fan, new sheetrock, new baseboards and trim and finally, new paint. Then it will be all ready to start acquiring stuff for the babe.

Then we just need to finish some minor details on the hallway floor, replace the old laminate flooring with new laminate, and then do some major cleaning ALL OVER THE HOUSE. I am talking about doors, cabinets, major scrubbing of the wood floors...I am going to be enlisting my friends and family who are known for their cleaning, work and motivation skills to help me on that project (ahem, Ann, G'ma, Katie and my mom).

And then there's the small, everyday realizations that Chris and I are going to be parents. The Cool! moments and the Ohmygod! moments.

Speaking of Chris, he has been the best throughout the whole pregnancy. I mean, he was the best before but now, wow.

He cooks every meal, makes sandwiches for me, cleans the litter, takes out the trash, does dishes and laundry, lets me sleep while we could do other things...and still tells me I am beautiful.

And even with those two separate bulges I was talking about earlier, I feel beautiful. At times, pregnancy feels weird and uncomfortable,but on the whole, it is beautiful.

we got the beat

2009-01-03T12:29:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we went to our second pre-natal appointment. All my bloodwork came back great (yay for not being anemic!) and my blood pressure is actully lower than last time. I only gained 3 pounds in my first trimester and that includes the holidays. Then we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat.

So. Cool.

It was like listening to a little train...dadum dadum dadum...at 150 beats per minute. The midwife declared it perfect.

We will be finding out the sex at the beginning of Feb. So maybe we will tell you what it is, maybe, if you're lucky. jk

Other than that, I feel good! I want to eat again, I have energy, and I am not cranky all the time!

Yay!

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for my sister-in-law and mother-in-law

2008-12-15T13:58:00.001-06:00

So, I know almost everyone knows about this video already, I saw it at my favorite site, poshdeluxe.com, and when i did, i almost turned to Chris and suggest we move to France so our baby could speak French like this little charmer.

I was trying to explain the video to my mother-in-law, Karen, this weekend and alas, was unable to do it justice. So I am posting it here, so hopefully Jennifer will see it and direct Karen to it! Enjoy and see yall soon!

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

done

2008-12-15T10:47:00.003-06:00

Well, I finally received my grade for my last class for my last semester of classes at Grayson County College. Everything is in order and I believe I am...graduated. Finally. Albeit, it is only an associate's degree, I am going to pretend it says more than that and actually reflects my rise from depression two years ago, growing up and deciding to finish something I started.

I am now 11 weeks. I think I would have a little pooch if I didn't have a little pooch to begin with. So I am just pretending the already-there pooch is the baby pooch, but I can't wait to actually have a real baby bump. All I am getting out of this deal right now is aversion to healthy food (which I love, like greens), an aversion to do anything but lay on the couch and read and grumpiness. Man, I have been a grump lately.

I do hope to do some more crocheting but I think the overload of hormones have wiped out my inspiration/motivational part of my brain. Gah.

Speaking of losing motivation, it is now gone for continuing this post, so farewell readers.

yes

2008-12-10T12:19:00.001-06:00

Yes. It's true.

Chris and I are pregnant.

You probably already know that by know. Either my mom, Ann or Chris and I told you.

I am 10.5 weeks. Seriously. I am counting the .5s because the past 4 weeks have been the longest of my life. End of June/July is going to take FOREVER to get here. Sweet baby Jesus.

So, my class is (almost) over. I am still waiting on my grade, which i hope doesn't come solely from my paper that I worked a total of 5 hours on when I had the whole semester to do it. Ready for the excuses, cause here they are: I WAS WORKING! At a winery. Lots and lots. During harvest I racked up almost 60 hours in one week.

Then I got pregnant...and well, I am not an emotional wreck like most books say I would be, but I am un-motivated, un-inspired and extremely tired all the time. Who wants to write a paper when you are feeling like that? Sheesh.

So, anyways, I am not hoping for one grade or another, just to pass so this semester is over and I can graduate.

I am actually in a really crappy mood so I will blog no longer today lest I scare everyone away with my bah-humbug-ness.

Cheers.

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random-ish thingies

2008-10-14T12:42:00.001-05:00

If you see me, please don't ask me if I stomp the grapes. Because I don't. And that is the first thing people ask me when they find out what I do for a living.

Also please don't say these things to me:
"I bet your job is very intoxicating."
"Oh what a nice kitchen..." (in reference to the lab. It's a LABORATORY people, do you see a freakin' stove in here? But you do see some burets, lots of chemicals, stainless steel countertops, graduated cylinders and beakers...)
"Are you drinking on the job again?" -followed by laughter. No. No I am not. I am tasting because that is a part of my job, but I am not "drinking on the job".

Unless you want me to glare at you, then say those things to me. Otherwise, ask grown up questions about my job if you are curious.

On a different note:
One day there was a tour full of school children through the winery. The manager giving the tour was doing an excellent job and finally they got to the bottling line and as I walked byI overheard a little girl ask, "Do any girls work here?" To which the manager replied, "Yes, there are a lot that work in the tasting room and there is one, that works in production, Michelle."

One that works in production. Does that mean anything to that 8 year old girl, who really was asking, are there any girls that work as winemakers. Are there any girls who fill the barrels, who move the wine, who work in the lab, who work on the bottling line? And lastly, CAN girls work here, is that something that is done?

This is my answer to that little girl: Yes. Girls can be winemakers, bug scientists, wildlife biologists, pastors...anything you want, you can do. And there is so much out there that you don't even know of yet! All we know as little kids are astronauts, doctors, lawyers, actors, fireperson, etc...There is so much opportunity. So find out what you love to do and then seek out how to make a living at it.

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How to get covered in must and wine

2008-09-11T16:31:00.008-05:00

How to get covered in must and wine:
Get inside of the tank after draining off most of the juice but with the must still inside. But don't get into the tank any old way. Go in through the opening near the bottom, the manhole. Look up and bend over backwards and slide in through the manhole on your back. Once your backside is firmly on the bottom inside of the tank, push yourself further into the tank and therefore, sliding more into the remaining juice. Stand up inside tank and shovel the must out. The must that is up to your knees inside the tank.

That is how you can get covered in must and wine.

This is the tank I was in:

Although you can't really see the wine stains on the back of my pants, this is my backside after shoveling out the tank:

And this is me actually in the tank. Smiling. Having a blast because it is my first of many times I will ever be inside a tank.

If I ever get around to scanning childhood pictures, I will show you how perfect this job is for me. When I was a little girl, I would actually play with five gallon buckets and a waterhose in the summer time. I made mud pies. Mud villages. I climbed trees barefoot. I got filthy during the summers when I could be free and play wherever I wanted. But I also loved school, especially science.

So this job is the best of both those worlds. I love the physical labor part of my job and how most of the time, I am covered in grapes, wine samples and water. And then there is the science part of my job where I can spend a whole day in the lab and feel like I have only been there for a couple of hours.

How did I luck out again?

Don't get me completely wrong though, there are downfalls. Some days I am just exhausted and don't wanna move, let alone bins and buckets of wine and cleaning chemicals all day. THere are some days when I can't get my chemicals standardized or solutions mixed up properly or experiments to go correctly. Those days are frustrating.

But, overall, I am hooked.

Stay tuned

2008-09-11T13:10:00.001-05:00

More on the hows/whys and whats of this picture later.

Stay tuned, dear readers...

Don't get mad.

2008-08-31T14:32:00.003-05:00

I don't think I can blog about work anymore. I think my blog may be jinxed. I talked about two possible mentors who no longer are my mentors here anymore. I feel if I talk about my co-workers, that something might happen to them and then they won't work with me anymore. And, you guys, I really like my co-workers. I don't want them to get sick or stupid or anything. I am sorry for being so vague but all I can say is that I still love what I am doing and I really can't imagine doing anything else. Even though things are super busy at the moment. I worked 7 days this week, long hours each day except for today, which will be a 6 hour day or something like that.

We crush, we press, I do a lot of lab work (which is one of my favorite things to do at work), we clean, we move wine, we rack wine (which is the same thing as moving wine except you are taking the clear juice/wine off of the lees [which are the heavy solids that settle out after you crush and press] and moving the clear juice/wine to another tank), we clean, we do pump-overs, we clean.

Have I already given you some definitions? No? Ok, well here are some and these definitions are in my own words, so I hope I am right. I will be fact checking as I go along (did I mention my boss knows about my blog [Hi Big D$$!] so I hope I don't make an ass of myself and tell you that one word actually means something completely different, although I doubt BD$$ actually reads my blog but just in case he does: My boss rocks!)

Racking: removing juice/wine from the settled out solids, lees or sediment

Pump-overs:a procedure which gets the cap back in contact with juice/wine during fermentation so that the wine can get more skin contact which in turns helps with tannin structure and color extraction

Cap: the skins and seeds of red grapes(the must)that forms in the tank during fermentation

Topping off: using one batch (either the same or a different one) to fill a barrel completely so there is no air space in the barrel. Over time, the air space in a barrel will increase as barrels are not air tight. Also, winemakers will extract small amounts of the wines aging in barrels to run quality control tests on them.

Crush: a machine or process which, usually, de-stems the grapes and gently crushes them to release juice, which is called free-run juice.

Press: In whites, this happens immediately after crushing. The free-run juice goes into a separate tank while the pomace is pumped to the press (ie: the modern-day grape stomper). There are different kind of presses, the main ones being the bladder press and the basket press. The bladder press is a large cylinder on its side with a delated bag on the inside. During the press, either manually or on a program, the bladder will slowly inflate and push the pomace to the sides of the cylinder where there are slits to allow the juice to flow through and down into a press pan. From the pan, the pressed juice can go into another tank or the same as the free-run juice depending on what the winemaker wants.

With reds, this usually happens after fermentation is complete or when the wine is dry. The juice is drained out of the tank and the pomace is taken out of the tank and transferred to the press. The press cycle begins and the pressed wine is usually put with back with the same wine.

That's all I can think of right now. As I said, I worked 7 days this week but I do have tomorrow off. But right now, must...take...nap before heading back to the winery to do evening pump-overs!

Things I have learned

2008-08-17T02:09:00.003-05:00

These are a few things I have learned since working at the winery:

1. Winemaking is 60% cleaning things, 37% moving heavy things and 3% drinking beer.

2. Stainless steel can hurt your fingers, especially your fingertips. It doesn't matter if you thump them, bump them or tap them against stainless steel, it WILL hurt.

3. Muckmaster boots (aka waterproof boots) are awesome but will leave a semi-permanent mark around your calves and don't keep your feet from staying dry when they are sweaty.

4. Although some at the winery will argue this is the number one rule: Don't be a P---sy! (Although I think to myself whenever they say this: I have one, what does that mean? Anyways, I digress.)

5. If you try to explain to customers intricate processes, they will only remember about 1/4 of the information and then re-gurgitate some bullshit and therefore, make you look stupid. Let them stay ignorant until they actually want to learn more for learning more sakes and not looking to tidbits to throw into the next party convo.

6. I still have A LOT to learn.

7. I still have A LOT of spanish to learn.

8. I still have A LOT in the way of wine tasting and palate refinement to learn.

9. It doesn't matter what I do or wear, at the end of the day, I look haggard, tired, and I stink. At least though, there is a glow in my eyes that encourages me along this path.

10. There is no way possible to be pregnant and do this job. (Btw, I am NOT pregnant, just would like to have on sometime and trying to figure out how to do this while still doing what I love).

Those are the top ten right now. And I am sure there will be another top ten in a couple of months.

Thanks for reading!

Finally.

2008-08-04T20:26:00.003-05:00

I have composing this blog in my head about my internship for a while, usually when I am at the winery, doing some cleaning in the Texas heat (in the shade, though, so that's good).

First off, before the nitty gritty details, the WINERY ROCKS! I clean barrels, tanks, bins, floors, etc...I have also lifted 60 lbs barrels, unloading a truck and putting them onto racks, worked 12 hours a day bottling wine which means dumping cases of empty bottles onto a conveyor belt, loading bottles into cases and lifting the filled cases onto a pallet. I have also run tests on the wine, ranging from the sugar content to the acid content to the amount of SO2 in the wine.

Today I punched down the cap of a fermenting red wine. I didn't literallly punch it down, I used a stainless steel tool that is like a paddle and I push it down on the must (the skins and seeds of the red grapes which we keep with the juice until the end of fermentation and then we press the skins some more to get some more juice...)

Tomorrow we get more grapes in, red and white.

The nitty gritty details: my first day of my internship was a little unusual as there were some changes going on in the heirarchy of the winery which wasn't an expected and it was very surreal as Dave, the assistant winemaker, frantically tried to get records straight, notes in order, wine to be bottled, etc...I spent the first week in the tasting room, which was very frustrating to me. But Dave did an excellent job keeping everything together and done in such a diplomatic way.

The second week I switched from going from the tasting room to the back, where mainly I helped Serafin with his chores and not really understanding what I was doing since I was just following orders.

The third week brought the interim winemaker, Greg H. who is this guy. For the whole first week, though, I just knew he owned a winery in Washington, is originally from New York, and was a winer buyer for about 15 years or so. Read the interview from the link, then you will see my shock after I googled him the weekend after meeting him.

Holy cow.

I even went to a wine tasting he was invited to at a posh wine bar in downtown where I was so intimidated by being with him and other sommeliers that I couldn't even taste the first four wines of the night. Then later on, I proceeded to pour wine all over his hand. Yikes.

But mainly, it's been workworkwork. My body is still adjusting to working physical labor for over 8 hours a day. I have lost weight, mainly inches and not pounds, but I figured out why the pounds aren't coming off...working at a winery is like weight lifting all day. There's no cardio. So I am building muscle but not burning fat at the same rate. Eventually, with more muscles, I will have a higher metabolism because muscles use more energy than fat.

Anyways, in the meantime, Chris has been fabulous. He makes me coffee, breakfast and lunch almost every morning. He cleans house and does laundry. He is also looking for a job, so keep your good thoughts coming this way for that area.

I am glad I finally got to blog. I only get on the internet about three times a week now and when I do, it's email, myspace and facebook...in that order. I barely have time to read poshdeluxe anymore, which makes me sad as her blogs always cheer me up in some way.

Have a great and cool August everyone! For me, August means harvest which means workworkwork.

small bloggy blog

2008-06-30T21:51:00.002-05:00

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well, let's see.
1) Bold the books you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE. (I am amending this one, @# means I LOVE it. I don't have the underline option on blogger)
4) Star the books you're reading/have read some of.
5) Copy, paste, & repeat.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien @#
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling @#
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee @#
6 The Bible- parts of it
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell *
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller *
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I have read a LOT of the plays)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll @#
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy *
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis. * (seen the movie)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (seen the movie)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (seen the movie)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving @#
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery @#
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy*
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood @#
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel @#
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens @#
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (seen the movie)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding (seen the movie)
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett @#
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (seen the movie)
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (seen the movie and musical)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker @#
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White (seen the movie)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery-
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas *
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (seen the movie)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (seen the movie)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo * (seen the movie and musical)

Slackin'

2008-06-08T21:02:00.002-05:00

But only in the blogging world. In the real world, I am a busy, busy bee.

This past two months have consisted of me working 40 hours a week, finishing up the spring semester of school, helping my family do some major reconstruction work at my house, working the Austin Wine Fest, going to Sherman and packing up my things and my husband and moving back down to Austin.

Whew.

So, an update on my internship: I start on June 23rd, but I will be all over at first, meaning the tasting room, bottling line, vineyard, lab, etc...I will be getting paid more than I thought. But that will only go to gas since it will be around 55 miles round trip to go to and from work.

BUT, this will not only be work, but school. And I can stay with family in Wimberley anytime since my parents only live about 10 miles away.

AND I am planning on keeping a detailed blog on my experiences there at the winery, so don't go away. After these messages, we'll be right back.

Again

2008-05-17T12:02:00.002-05:00

So, yeah.

I have been saying this a lot lately, but I will say it again on here: I can't believe school is over for the semester and I am just as busy.

The good news: I made three As and one B. So that's what, a 3.75, and combined with a 4.0 from last semester...well, that's pretty good!

Yay!

I barely have time to workout, but luckily I have the best little sister in the whole wide world and we have started running together and also luckily, I have formed a great network of other workout buddies like Ginny with a G and others....

I have lost a little more weight, but after seeing some pictures last night from a party, I want to lose more and I want it to happen faster. Please.

Next weekend is Memorial Day Weekend and I am spending the entire weekend at the Austin Wine Festival. Saturday I will be there with Whole Foods at the bistro, selling cheese platters. Sunday and Monday I will be there with Mandola's Estate Winery, actually pouring wine. I am excited about next weekend.

This upcoming week I plan on running and working out a lot, maybe buying a new dress or something to wear because I know I will see people I know at the Festival.

Other than that, I have just been working a lot. A lot. But that's good. And I go back to Sherman the first week in June to move Chris back home. I miss him terribly.

Hi!

2008-04-21T14:39:00.002-05:00

I am still here! (pant pant) Let me...catch...my breath first...

Ah, there.

So, it's been a very busy week and a half.

April 13th was Chris' birthday and as it was a Sunday we enjoyed a gorgeous spring day in Sherman where we played bocce at the park while drinking beer, hung out at the house watching movies and smoked the hookah a bit. It was a very memorable, beautiful day.

Then the next day, the craziness began. I drove to Austin and worked from the 14th thru the 17th and then drove back to Sherman on the 18th, a Friday, and then went to class this past weekend. It was the in class meeting of my online class for Enology II. I hadn't met this professor yet as he is actually teaches at Iowa State. But he was really informative and a very good teacher and was able to explain a lot of the questions we had. Then Sunday we had another good day filled with errands like laundry and shopping, but we did get to ride bikes and watch more Battlestar Galactica.

Now I am back in Austin and I will be here until Friday morning. Blah, I hate all this driving but I am about to move back into my house, working at Whole Foods and still have weekend classes and workshops to attend so I do what I must.

Today has been an awesome day so far, and most of it has been in the car. Well, actually it was stressful as I hit morning traffic in Dallas and then tried to get a bill straightened out with my dental office and my insurance. But instead of getting emotional and losing my cool, I thought about all the options and continued working towards them, and I think it might be okay!!

Then I went to the eye doc place because the film on my glasses are glazing over and I constantly have to squint at everything, but GOOD NEWS, they have a 2 year warranty so it's free to fix them. Thank the Lord.

Then I went to the gym because my HR person from work never cancelled my membership but I didn't know if it would still be active since I don't have a regular paycheck from Whole Foods since I was only seasonal. But it is! So I worked out and showered and now am feeling much better.

I work at 4, but only until 1030 so it's a quick and fast shift. Then tomorrow I am going to workout in the morning, meet with my counselor, study and then go to work. I have got to get focused on my schoolwork, it's almost done for this semester! Whee!!

Sorry about the boring update. But that's why I haven't been able to blog in a while. Thanks for checking!

Michelle

Chick books, guy books....

2008-04-11T05:46:00.006-05:00

PS (Ha! A PS before I even write anything!) I use Chick in a lovingly, non-degrading way. I think chick has taken on a connotation of its own in this context. So if you are offended, chill out.)

I might have already told this story on here once. I have a horrible memory of what I have said or not and what I have heard or not. I think this is one of the main reasons Chris married me, he can tell me the same jokes and stories over and over again and each time, it's like I have never heard it before! Anyways, I digress...

When I was cashiering one day at the (w)Hole, I was talking to this one customer about the book I was currently reading. I told him it was by Barbara Kingsolver.

"Oh, a chick book." he said with a slight smirk.

Irked, I replied "What do you mean?"

"Well, there are chick flicks. And there are chick books. Kingsolver definitely writes chick books. " and he walked off.

I fumed. I was mad because it felt like he insulted me AND Ms. Kingsolver.

Later, when I became more accepting and aware of the precious bonds between women, I learned to become proud of chick books. Some men are just offended or put off by the fact that they can't relate to the characters in the book because they are women! I mean, I don't read certain comics, magazine, etc...because I can't relate to the men characters.

Currently I am reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and I started thinking about the difference between chick books and guy books.

The Amazing Adventure is definitely a guy book. One of the underlying themes is the start of comic books. Now, I am not saying that girls don't read comics. But on the whole, boys do tend to read, invest and spend more time with comic books. Or at least they did at one time. This book is about the people behind the groundbreaking work of comic books and their lives. It's a good book.

Another guy book author comes to mind as I write this: Paul Auster.Fierce photo! I love his books! Book of Illusions, Timbuktu...ah, they are so good. And I don't really know the main reason why I place his style under guy books, but it could be all his main characters are male and his female characters are never really, well...easy to relate to. They tend to get swept off their feet too often. Granted, I haven't read all his works so this is only based on a handful of works.

So, this brings us to the question: do men and women read differently? Do they read for a different end? With a different purpose in mind (either conscious or sub?)

But all this to say, why did that one guy smirk about chick books? Most women can travel back and forth between chick and guy books. And even if they don't, they wouldn't say "Oh that's aguy book." Smirk, smirk.

Why do chick books then, get looked down upon? Trash novels, Danielle Steel (repetitive), Chicken Soup for the Soul, etc...I mean, even graphic novels have a better rep than trashy novels. But don't they do the same thing? They take someone off in a fantasy land where talking to the cute sister of Dream (Death) is possible or where a muscle-ripped, barbarian can be tamed by love. (First reference: The Sandman Series;second: about 1/2 of romance novels)

Some would argue that one is art and the other doesn't have any artistic value. But who is to say what is art and what's not? To the lonely wife who takes care of all the household chores, the kids, works, and has the pressure of still required to look young while her pudgy, hairy husband snores next to her as she reads a romance novel...who says that's not like looking at Van Gogh for her?

Does it have to do with emotions? Chick books, for the most part, really play up the emotion part...feelings of grandeur, love, anger, revenge.

Thus leading back to the smirking man at my register on that beautiful spring day. What is it about emotions that scared him so much?

I think I am writing in circles. But I would love your input.

PPS On a lighter note, I googled imaged romance novels and came up with some spoof covers! They are great! Enjoy!

From: http://www.worldoflongmire.com/features/romance_novels/index.htm

And here's one just for Poshdeluxe:

Health

2008-04-10T06:09:00.002-05:00

So, if you haven't discovered my little link section that I finally figured out how to work, then you should. The last one, entitled, My other blog about health stuff, is my health blog. I update on my workouts, food, health goals and other body issue type stuff.

I realized I wasn't moving forward toward my health goals like I have been doing for my other goals. For example, when I realized I wanted to be a winemaker, I researched, moved and am now almost finished with school with an internship lined up to start in the summer. Steps in the right direction, I would say.

But with my health, well, I was cheating myself. Which is not cool.

I would say "Oh yeah, I want to run a 5K, 10K, marathon, triathlon, go hiking for several days, etc..." but then would never take any steps towards those goals.

So see my other blog about the steps I am taking.

But all that got me to thinking about promises we make ourselves and then break. And if you're one who never breaks a promise to others, then why would you break a promise to yourself? What does that say about how you value yourself?

Mainly, these are the questions I have to keep asking and reminding myself to think about. When I say to myself, I am going to do X today, then I should make plans to do X. This what I had to do when I decided to move away from Austin and my loved ones. This is what I have decided to do when I go workout. This is what I SHOULD be doing when I see our messy household, that is, take steps towards making it a nicer, clean household.

Unfortunately I have no time this week since I broke loads of promises to myself earlier this year in regards to my online classes. Had I stayed on top of things then, I would not be scrambling now. Ah well, I can't guilt and regret over it now. The only thing I can do is promise to do better and to keep my promise.

2008-04-08T06:27:00.001-05:00

When to step in and when to not? Do I just stand as a pillar of encouragement and love? Or do I come riding in a horse trying to save the day?

Of course, posed in that silly way, I do not come into save the day.

But looking back, could something have been done?

I know I am writing in such a cryptic way. Some friends of mine are going through some issues and I am trying to decide whether I should stay observant as I have been or whether I should say something.

In fact, just writing this means I am butting in. I mean, what's to stop them from reading my blog? What's to stop someone after figuring it out to mention it to either one of them?

But it all leads to a question that only mildly pertains to them: Where is the line?

When my parents were going through some issues, some of my mom's friends backed away. They pulled out of her life, either because they didn't know how to handle it, they didn't want to address something that they might have to deal with or they didn't want to have to choose.

It's hard seeing people you care about go through so much pain. I was in my early 20s when my parents went through some really bad times and somehow landed on their feet. It didn't affect me because I was fresh in college, striving for my own independence. I also didn't want to hear about it. Shamefully, I think back on the moments when either of my parents reached out to me, either for support or encouragement or just to talk and I shrugged them off.

Luckily, as I said, they worked through them. They both wanted to keep the 20+ marriage going. Now, without any kids in the household, it feels like their marriage is stronger than ever.

A couple of years ago I watched another couple go through some bad times. It all worked out for the better. Although the extreme seemed shocking at the time, they have gone on, grown and matured in ways they probably wouldn't have had they stayed together.

But with those two examples, it's hard to say to those going through tough times to "work it out" because we never really know what's going on, we never really know who that person is going to become with or without their partner.

Either way, it makes me look at Chris and my heart swell knowing that we have chosen each other to be with, to love. And that any problems we come across, we will work them out. Or at least try. And I think that will have made all the difference.