The (cheap) wine project

I have a favor to ask of you.  It involves you drinking wine. 

Do I have your attention now?

I am working on a new page for the blog which will contain wine reviews.  I want both the good and the bad, so we know what to look for and what to avoid at all costs. 

On a personal note, I like the cheap stuff.

Not Boone’s Farm kind of cheap (though I’m not knocking it – every wine has it’s time and place, including all manners of hooch).  Just inexpensive.

The kind that you won’t hesitate to spontaneously buy, even when it’s not on sale.  The budget-friendly-even-in-a-recession kind.  The wine we do not cut from the budget ever.  That kind.

Not that I don’t appreciate good wine – I most certainly do.  A decade+ ago I worked in a 5-star restaurant and learned a lot about what makes a wine great.  I was fortunate enough to be able to enjoy that great wine at bargain prices too.  But what I once enjoyed wholesale gives me sticker shock retail.  ‘How much?  For something we will drink?  It will be ALL GONE?  Ummm…no.’

Anyway…I welcome reviews of all price ranges, but I personally am focusing on the cheap more affordable varieties.  (Hint – the less it costs, the more you can buy)

I’m making note of every bottle we open and I will be adding a new tab shortly.  I hope to add to this list on an ongoing basis, and while I do love wine I can’t afford to drink it all, so I welcome your input.  My goal is to have a fairly comprehensive list of budget-friendly wines we can all refer to and enjoy.

So there’s a project for you this weekend.

Go, drink lots of wine, and report back.

Do-able, right?

In which I examine myself

What do you miss most about your life pre-children?

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. And quite honestly, I have been trying to stuff the thought into a small box in the back of my mind. My life is infinitely better with these girls in it, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. I say often that I don’t know what we did before we had them, but it surely wasn’t anything good. They make every day better, every moment brighter.

But the truth that I feel so guilty acknowledging is that I do remember what we did before. And while it certainly wasn’t better, or even nearly as good, it wasn’t bad either.

We slept late on Saturdays. We read the newspaper in bed. There was wine and late nights dancing and brunch at the Waffle House. We went out to eat a lot, and not fast food either. Real restaurants, with cloth napkins and candlelight and delicacies. We went to the movies and saw whatever we wanted. We could travel with only carry-on luggage. We took architectural tours and read books together and studied European history. I had breakables all over the place, with no regard for safety. We had friends that we went out with every weekend. We went to sporting events and enjoyed camping and conversation. Just conversation.

I wouldn’t trade my life now for anything in the world, but sometimes I miss the ‘before’ moments too. So what does that mean? I’m having a hard time getting past the ‘I must be a horrible mother to even think this’ stage, but I think maybe it means that I miss my husband. I miss me. Something is missing. And I think it’s our identities apart from this family.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being known as Annie, Catie, and Lilly’s Mother first, and Heather second. I wouldn’t have it any other way. But lately I have realized that without any life separate from this house, I’m not the wife my husband deserves. I am not bringing much to the table. This is difficult for me, as I’m an introvert and I don’t like putting myself out there. But I need to do it. I need to force myself. There are always projects at church that need volunteers, and I vow to get better about stepping up and stepping out to do it. I think it would be good for all of us.

First on the list – finding a babysitter. How does one do that?