Tag Archives: wine

29 – Birthday Reflections

Posted in family, growing older., Holidays, life, not much, actually by

a stranger bought me this...he said "no one should pay for their drinks on their birthday!" :)

a stranger bought me this…he said “no one should pay for their drinks on their birthday!” :)

Another birthday has come and gone…I entered the last year of my twenties struggling to wake up in a hotel room in a casino.

That sounds much more exciting than the reality, which is that I was waking up at the buttcrack of dawn to coach a volleyball tournament in smoky, windy Reno and our team lost terribly. The coach I was with, one of my best friends for 15 years, forgot it was my birthday. My team didn’t say anything, either. After losing, we got to drive four hours home in the blazing sun.

The great thing about Facebook is that you feel a lot of love on your birthday. It was really heartwarming to check all the random notifications of people, come I’ve always been close with, some who I’ve lost contact with, wishing me happy feelings. And texting is so fun with emojis!! I got lots of cute messages.

sometimes i feel like this.

sometimes i feel like this.

Sometimes I get really depressed around my birthday…I don’t know why. Like either very emotional, or completely void of emotion. Oddly, my boyfriend is a little weird about his birthday, too. He likes to keep it a complete secret from people.

Something about this last one, the last year of my twenties, felt heavier and more of a letdown. Why doesn’t my life have a solid feel to it? What direction am I going in? How do I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing?

birthdays of the past...

birthdays of the past…

I could have said “aw the HELL with it! It’s the last year to make mistakes in my twenties! Party! Wear glitter eyeshadow! Drank!”

However, as a sign that I might be growing up and maturing, I recognized that if left to my own devices this Sunday, I would drown the feelings in wine and ice cream and really hate myself in the morning. So instead I decided to go on an adventure.

 

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. John Muir

Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
John Muir

I took myself on a solo hike….got a little lost in a valley, got covered in bugs, met a snake (it was practically a viper, posed to attack me, I swear!), felt my legs pumping and sweat on my forehead, and I was thirsty and dirty. I talked on the phone with my dad and best friend. I saw a weird scorpion spider thing. Kicked up dust and looked at big old trees and felt the smallness and futility of my fears.

It made the whole day better.

Then I went to my mom’s for a nice impromptu girls night with her and my sisters. We had a yummy healthy meal and some wine and watched Parks & Rec. And I knew all would be right with the world. Twenty nine sounds horrific only because when I was younger, I never imagined life after twenty-five. But. It’s just a number. It’s not how old you are, but how old you feel, etc. And as long as I’m still getting carded for alcohol at least 80% of the time, I have my health and am not allergic to frozen yogurt, I’m going to feel okay about it.

Despite the poison oak, despite the crazy parents and job stress, I’ve dealt with lately, despite the uncertainty of my future, everything was good. Everything IS good. You really do have the power to choose how you will enjoy your life. And I definitely choose to enjoy mine.

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Weddings are getting very Pindictable.

Posted in being single, internet, love, photography by

pinterest someecards
Disclaimer: I am not engaged, I am not fishing for a proposal from my boyfriend, I am not in a rush to get married. But. I am a girl. And we love weddings.

I am free-falling fallen into the abyss that is Pinterest. As described perfectly in many someecards, it is a place we can go to feel hope that if we just see enough pictures, we will get in shape, paint beautiful nails every day, bake perfect cupcakes, make homemade crafts at every occasion, and host terrific parties. As a teacher, I pinterest my heart out thinking “oh now my room will be organized! All my children regularly assessed and progress tracked with ease! Everything color coded! New vocab games daily!”

Of course, the reality of my life is that I never stick with a work out long enough to see any progress, I bite my nails, I eat so much cake batter I never end up with a dozen cupcakes, and my classroom management policy is more like “nobody died, everyone heard about Jesus…great day.”

wedding dressesIt is true that every little girl dreams of her wedding day…I can totally remember thinking about my wedding; dancing and making toasts and being the most beautiful girl in the room. While this is dangerous to admit out loud while in a serious relationship (I can already imagine my boyfriend’s palms beginning to sweat as he reads this), I recently (and sheepishly) began a “secret” Pinterest “Wedding” board. (Ah, you crafty social media people! How well you know me! I love secrets!)

And sometimes, late at night, after a happy hour or two, I find myself mindlessly scanning page after page, pinning, “liking,” watching the music videos people make of their weddings and crying over the happiness of strangers. (click here to lose HOURS OF YOUR LIFE TO LOVE.)

At first, I felt so inspired! Look at all these great ideas! How unique! How special and memorable my wedding will be!

gorgeous

gorgeous

But lately I’ve realized that these are all starting the look exactly the same. There’s almost like a formula for them.

  1. Select outdoor location with stringed white lights everywhere. Places with brick, barns, oceans, are preferred.
  2. Have some sort of new take on buffets – donuts, candy in glass jars, popcorn, ice cream sandwiches.
  3. Bridesmaids MUST be in cowgirl boots. Groomsmen should wear chucks.
  4. PHOTO BOOTH. MUSTACHES.
  5. Bride and Groom must write each other adorable letter to accompany expensive gift (jewelry for her, watch or “man cave” things for him). Letter to be read aloud with respective wedding party as you get ready.
  6. Write your own vows. Use words like “biggest cheerleader” “be a better man” “never knew I could love like this” “marry my best friend.”
  7. MASON JARS. Mason jars EVERYWHERE.
    boots

    everyone and the boots these days!

    favors

    adorbs. i’ll never drink it. too cute.

  8. Work in a fiddle, mandolin, or friends wearing hats and oversized glasses playing guitar.
  9. Have cool things on wooden or chalkboard signs, like “Grub,” “Whiskey Bar,” “Cigars,” “Games.”
  10. Employ as many precocious children as possible, preferably with flowers in their hair, or a sign that says “Here Comes the Bride” in their grubby little hands.
  11. Pass out favors so ridiculously adorable that no one will want to eat them.
  12. SPARKLERS OR ELSE IT WASN’T REAL.

Now, I love looking at all the pictures. Pinterest is like getting a new magazine in the mail every time I open up the internet. I can’t stop looking at all the pretty. But everything gets so cute and tiny and colorful and special and unique and personal….after a couple of hours none of it looks very special at all. But I do hope that all the Wedding DIY stuff and Etsy bits will help brides on a budget plan the day of their dreams.

And when that day comes for me…I think I’ll just look at Pinterest and select a few solid traditional ideas to mix in with just enough personal detail to be unique but not annoying, throw it in mason jars wrapped in burlap, and get hitched in happiness forever.

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15 Things I want to do. Right. Now.

Posted in baseball, books, family, friends, growing older., life, not much, actually, what the what by

Ice-cream Lady

mmmm nuns and ice cream.

  1.  Eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Half-Baked Fro Yo. By myself. And not feel guilty. Or calories.
  2. Take a long, hot, bubbly, boozy, bookish bath with my bestie Jane Austen.
  3. Have a slumber party with my best friends like we used to in college. We’d gorge ourselves on Freebirds or Gios or order in, drink too much wine, watch “Friends” on DVD, spend two hours in Blockbuster picking out a cartoon, make a cake with frosting. We’d fall asleep in one bed without brushing our teeth. Wake up in the morning and bike to the beach and spend the day laughing at who knows what, dreaming of when we’d live on a cul-de-sac together and have enough kids between the three of us for one awesome soccer team.
  4. English: Elton John, English singer-songwriter...Be instantly good at the piano and serenade myself with anything by Elton John or Billy Joel. Or Elton Joel, their secret love bablien.
  5. Have a good cry. Need “Terms of Endearment” or “The English Patient” and a good Shiraz to make that happen right now.
  6. Smell better than I do at the moment after four workouts, two volleyball practices, one volleyball match, and two working days. Holding out until tomorrow am after my morning workout. Washing bedding this weekend. :)
  7. Be at a live music show where old black people dressed in their finest boogie on the dance floor, like when my boyfriend took me to this blues club in Oakland, and I saw hats and fringe and monochrome outfits and old men in fedoras calling me “sugar.”
  8. Mad-LibsPlay Mad Libs.
  9. Hug my brothers and throw them in the pool.
  10. Watch more Giants baseball.
  11. Speak more Spanish, beyond the silly things I do in my classroom, like “El lapiz esta encima de la mesa.”
  12. Try out one of these eight million hairstyles I’ve been pinning on Pinterest with no intention of ever using.
  13. Figure out how to really put on makeup.
  14. Cure bad breath.
  15. English: Tina Fey at the 2010 Comic Con in San...Hang out with Tina Fey.
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Hear Here in the New Year (308)

Posted in baseball, family, friends, Giants, growing older., Holidays, life, love by

It’s funny to think that man made up time. The way we organize it makes no sense – 60 seconds in a minute, 60 of those in an hour, 24 of those in a day, 7 of those in a week, 52 of those in a year, 365.25 days in a year…

ancient_Roman_CalendarNone of those numbers are related.

The history of our holidays and their formations can be even more interesting. Usually related to harvests, solstice, fertility, etc., before being tied with big moments in the church (clever Romans!).

When we come to the “new year,” we tend to make a big deal about resolutions, the idea of change and somehow convinced that on this particular day, we have more self-control and power over our actions. Enough to effect permanent change.

I’m tired of resolutions. I hate failing, and I’ve yet to keep a resolution, so it seems better to not have a go at it. This last year, in fact, I resolutely gained back the weight I’d lost, and ate less vegetables. So 2012 was a bit of “resolution fail.”

For 2013, I tossed around different ideas – each month I can try something new or give something up that seems to have been a stronghold. How about one month of no texting? One with no dairy? One with no TV (as long as it’s not during baseball season)?

But I didn’t really get organized in time.

we look just like this. all the time.

we look just like this. all the time.

My boyfriend and I (he against his will) made couple’s resolutions of things we’d like to do this year. We want to hike more, challenge each other in specific ways, and go wine-tasting and on other little adventures. I think it will be fun to cross that off.

Or lose the paper somewhere and never think of it again.

This year had it’s highs. I finished my credential program, coached a historical winning volleyball team, learned how to snowshoe, sang in weddings, helped people give birth, traveled around the US, began my fourth year of teaching, and fell in love with a best friend, in what could be the relationship of our lifetimes.

There was lots of struggles, too. Three deaths in the family, two of which were completely life-altering. Many personal struggles with my place of employment and my vocation. The ubiquitous family and friends and roommates drama that controls the life of the 20-something. Feeling led away from the church I’ve attended since I was a toddler.

IMG_4692This year I found Pinterest, and myfitnesspal, and reunited with Bejeweled Blitz. I climbed a volcano, led a mission trip, finally got paid to lead worship, and remembered how fun it was to date someone and make out. I brewed my own beer and my own kombucha, lived through the Mayan end of the world, learned I was allergic to mango, and made my first omelet.

I don’t know if we can judge what makes a year better or more valuable than another. But I do know that this year I will remember…

  • my dad’s phone call that my uncle jim had suddenly died
  • when on july 4th, i first heard “hi, I’m rachel’s boyfriend” as he introduced himself to my new roommate
  • teaching special ed in a title one school in pittsburg
  • meeting my favorite band of all time – better than ezra
  • holding my grandma’s hand as she died
  • teaching my little brothers camp songs on the drive from georgia to florida
  • my family’s “photo booth” on christmas eve
  • seeing three of my favorite people get married this year and getting to be a part of two of the weddings/engagements
  • taking my best friends to a giants game
  • the giants winning the world series again!
  • how the song “call me maybe” has ruled my life
  • the year I got two bouquets of anonymous roses on Valentine’s Day
  • boyfriend teaching me how to build a fire
  • finishing my credential program at the top of my class
  • my sister and i taking a sweet trip to yosemite
  • my last mission trip to mexico

file://localhost/Users/rachelweightfosho/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Masters/2012/12/23/20121223-161627/IMG_4307.JPG

Bachelor Recap: SixPackSean Episode One

Posted in being single, boys, internet, life, love, television by

Yeah baby! Let the crazy begin!

Yeah baby! Let the crazy begin!!

It’s baaaack! Ah, Sean. The born again Christian whose Southern charm and shirtless ways make me want to stumble in sin.

He’s from Emily’s season, and we never forgot that sweet smile, polite manners, and “I just want to start a family” mentality. (note to boys – this makes women swoon) Now he’s back with 25 (plus a “surprise”) women vying for his attention. And I’m here to deliver the kind of snap judgments I can’t normally do in good conscience to normal people I meet on the street.

To begin – I prefer the seasons with Bachelors vs. Bachelorettes. I love watching 25 hot guys, but I get bored with suits. Show me dresses, hair extensions, shoes that make you slip when you try to do a backflip on your limo entrance! I want your cheesy earrings and terrible bronzer application and cat fights all up in my face.

this girl!

this girl!

Roommates, sister and I gathered with the requisite wine and chocolate and I began placing bets on how long until someone cried or got into a cat fight. We were not disappointed.

Ben who?

Ben who?

First – Sean gives us lots of hopeful glances (sans shirt, of course) into the sunset while he monologues about honor, protecting his woman, being her rock, and the C word – commitment. He’s really got his relationship buzz words down.

Then Arie comes to give him some kissing advice….??? It was kind of weird that Arie had it down to a creepy science, but looking back, he really was a memorable kisser. And yes, we do want your hand in our hair.

We get introduced the cast of characters – token single mom, token models, token cat-lady. It seems ABC heard the outcry over the total whitewashed crowd and called in some African-American hotties. Still a startling lack of Latina or Asian presence, though. There was the professional organizer who faces her past as a foster kid, the one-armed girl, the DC political consultant who dressed more like an escort in Vegas, AND Kacie B!!!! Love that my girl is back; sappy, sweet, cross-eyed Kacie.

Favorite moments:

  • we only waited 1 hour and 34 minutes for the first tears!
  • “I wish I were more sober right now” – the drunken substitute teacher who wore a wedding gown and caused Sean to hint at a rape whistle…thanks for repping the education profession so….terribly.
  • “Let’s get our awkward moment over with” girl – who also sported a whole lot of mouth, I think as a fitness model? So many white teeth.
  • Bachelor’s first barefoot limo introduction from the hippie yoga instructor from…North Carolina? strange.
  • The booty dancing by tipsy “50 Shades” obsessed hair-styler. eek.
  • Tierra, aka the lovechild of Michelle Money and Courtney Robertson. She’s the token “I’m not here to make friends! I’m here for Sean and to find true love!” girl. Just play that on repeat whenever she talks. It didn’t help that she received a rose just for walking out of the limo. Sean might as well have painted a target on her back. Her uber pointy eyebrows at everyone also do not help.
again...ben who!?

again…ben who!?

So it’s all very exciting. Next week I’ll have the terms up for your Bachelor Bingo cards by Monday afternoon, so all you East-Coasters can play, too! Until then, just imagine the results of the next “most exciting rose ceremony yet.”

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