I'm back!

Hello everyone and sorry for the hiatus from blogging! After the election I was a little worn out and not quite sure what to write about...but I'll try to continue updating this blog more regularly! I have been very busy with various things lately but I'll try to make an effort to write on here as much as possible...I've received some ribbing from some of you for not posting anything new in a while! ;)

Also, Karl and I are going to TRY to start up our "Wine Duo" blog again, so check it out when you get a chance...this is one we'll try to update every time we drink a different wine: wineduo.blogspot.com

I have a hodge-podge of things to write about and discuss, and the topics are really all over the place so I'll go in list format:

1) Good documentary - "Kicking It"
I found out about this movie through one of my students who is on the soccer team at Saint Mary's, and it chronicles several teams competing in the Homeless World Cup in South Africa. YES, there is actually a World Cup soccer tournament for homeless people! It is an AMAZING tournament and very interesting to learn about through this film, which was produced by ESPN. Basically, homeless people from 48 different countries try out for their countries' teams and then compete in the Homeless World Cup. Some of the benefits of it include helping the homeless kick their drug/alcohol addictions, feel part of a team, feel that they are cared for, and also realize that they can accomplish something. One aspect of the film that struck Karl and me was the stark difference between the homeless people - it seemed that there were two very distinct groups: some were born into poverty and really never had a chance to be anything but homeless (i.e., the players from Kenya and Afghanistan), while others were homeless because of their own vices - namely, drugs, alcohol, crime. These were the players from countries like the United States and Ireland. It is about an hour and a half long and in my opinion, definitely worth your time to watch. It is amazing to think that a sport like soccer could have such a great impact on the homeless. At the end of the film it talks about how 2/3 of the players have been able to change their lives for the better since playing in the World Cup. Some of the other statistics included 1/3 of the players getting jobs and 50% improving their living conditions. It was also interesting to find out what happened to the players who were chronicled in the film - some went on to live much better lives, while one relapsed and died of a drug overdose just four months after the tournament. That was very sad to hear, because this guy seemed like one of the most stable out of all of those followed by the film. Check it out when you get a chance. We got it from Netflix.

2) I've been taking pictures of things lately that I keep meaning to write about...so here is a pictorial review of the past few weeks:

I went to my first-ever NHL game about a month ago. I took the graduate class that I'm teaching to the game and we met with the VP of Communications before the game began for an hour-long Q&A session about the San Jose Sharks. I definitely enjoyed watching professional hockey and plan to go to another game sometime. It is a lot better in person than on TV!


When my mom, Mike, aunt Ruth Ann, and uncle Mike were visiting, we went to a winery in Sonoma called "Jacuzzi Family Winery". The name was a turn-off to me because all I could think about was a hot tub, but the wine turned out to be excellent. As Karl and I uncorked this Moscato Blanc recently, I noticed something kind of ironic - when I worked at Oliver Winery I would sometimes hear people say that the Muscat wine was the perfect "hot tub wine"...and we were drinking a Muscat wine called Jacuzzi! Hopefully you get why that is funny.


I have been getting a little Christmas Crazy lately! haha Even though it's 60-80 degrees outside every day, I'm not letting it dampen my Christmas spirit. I got these Tollhouse slice 'n' bake Christmas cookies at the grocery store and they were yummmmmy. My mom made fun of me for making slice 'n' bake, but I don't care, they were still really good. I've also been listening to Christmas music in the car (I'm not sure how Karl feels about that) and I cannot wait to go home and celebrate the holiday with my family and Karl's family in just one month!!!!


Stemless wine glasses are the best. We got these when we tasted wine at L'Aventure in Paso Robles, and they are the Riedel brand. We just sent a set of four to my mom and Mike as their Christmas gift. If you're interested in purchasing Riedel stemless glasses, check out the store on Wine Enthusiast's website. Just a word of caution - when buying stemless, make sure the base is nice and broad. We also have a set of stemless glasses from CB2, but the base is so narrow we always nearly knock over our glasses.


Budget wine buy of the week: Charles Shaw Valdiguie Nouveau. I'll write about this on the wine blog so check it out when you get a chance...


Today Karl and I ventured up to Napa for a nice little four-winery day trip. This picture is from Cakebread Cellars, where we did a tour/tasting. Some of my aunts and uncles had raved about this place so we just had to check it out for ourselves! We also took a picture today that we'll use on our Christmas cards this year...we're hoping this year's card will be just as funny as last year's. Keep your eyes on the mail in mid-to-late December. ;)

That's all for now! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving next week!