Wine o' the week- a recipe

I took a couple weeks off from my wine o' the week, but here's something a little different for ya! This drink is deeeeeeeelish in the summer (or anytime, really). Try it soon.

Classic Spanish Sangria

1 lemon
1 lime
1 orange
1 1/2 cups rum
1 (750 mL) bottle dry red wine
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup white sugar

Chill the fruit, rum, wine, and orange juice. Slice the lemon, lime, and orange into thin rounds and place in a large pitcher. Pour in the rum and sugar. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
When ready to serve, crush the fruit lightly with a wooden spoon and stir in the wine and orange juice. Adjust the sweetness to taste (or the liquor level!).

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Very refreshing. Outside- very hot. Punch, good.

Check baby, check, baby, 1, 2, 3, 4

I swear to you, I'm alive and well! Sorry to everyone for being so MIA. I have not had computer access in... ohhh... forever. And school is keeping me oh-so-very-busy. My grandma was in town for a little while. Jeremy was OUT of town. Pooty and Zoey are still having the Smackdown daily. They also have started cuddling with each other on the couch. Right now, they are spooning. Like, for real.
I'm starting to feel pretty good getting into the school psych program. Feeling very optimistic. The summer is flying by already. I'm ready to get a move on with this school stuff!
Chandle called me the other day. It was great hearing from her, in spite of the slight delay over the thousands of miles. She seems to be doing well! :D
Ummmmmm it's sad that I haven't posted in so long and I have so very little to update you about. There is very little going on, and I think it's great. Oooh, wine and crunk juice will be done soon. So that's coming up soon.
I am going to go poke around the net now. I haven't gotten to look at Pink in weeks now. Sorry to be so quiet on my end! I will do better.

Arkansas misses Chandle, so do Ben and Corey

Wednesday night we went to dirty ol' Whitewater Tavern to see our beloved Ben Nichols play with Corey Branan. Once again, the show was great. The place was packed at first, with lots of 21 year-olds pretending like they know who Lucero is (whoops, there I go, being snobby again!) Christy is an exception to this group because she has loved them since she was 15. She's special. :) Anyway, we got to see some folks we haven't seen in a long long time, and the crowd finally cleared out so we didn't have to stand at the back to breathe. We had a blast. We stayed up until way too late for a Wednesday, and it was absolutely worth it. We missed Chandle. She'll be back soon, and I know Ben will be here, waiting for her. Here are some pictures from the show. I took like 30. :)
Jeremy snuck up to the stage and took this one for me. Best.Ben.picture.ever. Go ahead and steal you a copy, Miss Chandle.
They did a really great job (the songs got louder and more fun as the night went on). They were taking turns singing, and eventually sang a couple of each others' songs- God bless 'em. Enjoy the pics. I have many others.

Introducing...

Meet the newest member of our little family- Zoey! We borrowed her from CARE over the weekend for a trial, and we are keeping her through this week too. Looks like we're going to be keeping the little lady forever... who could resist? Parker and Zoey are in l.o.v.e. Their current favorite game is WCW Smackdown on the couch, where Pooty is Goldberg, and Zoey is Kevin Nash (anyone... get it? Kristen? Ha ha). Zoey rears up on her back legs and bats at Pooty, who stalks her and waits for just the right moment to pounce up there, and the wrestling commences. This continues for a good 30 minutes or so, until they are so tired they can't keep going. Pooty also enjoys (as she's doing right now) sitting on her.
She's a really sweet girl- about 10 pounds and probably 4 months old. Judith says she's probably a healthy mixture of rat terrier and Boston terrier. Who knows??
We were a little unsure about having two dogs... but they're just having too much fun to deny. Plus, she curls up and sleeps on my lap. :) Yay!

More pics!

On a more serious note...

Please say a prayer for my cousin (on the Ross side), who was in a serious car accident over the weekend. He, his wife, and two kids were all on their way to the Buffalo River when they had a blowout. The car flipped three times and he was ejected from the vehicle. His wife and kids are all ok, but he is in intensive care. He's in pretty rough shape, but the doctors are amazed that he is alive and are pretty hopeful. Thanks, guys.

Wine o' the week

This week's wine is brought to you by a recommendation from Kristen and JR. from many months ago... Jeremy and I finally picked up a bottle of Bohemian Highway recently. We tried the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. A little research revealed that this wine is actually put out there by Food Lion, the grocery store (an interesting little fact). If I'm not mistaken, I think it only comes in magnums, but don't be fooled by the seemingly low-brow-ness of it. The color is deep, deep purple, and the smell is FANTASTIC (really stick your nose down in there each time you take a sip... mmmmmmmmmm). The back of the label says it has layers of black cherry, chocolate, and plum. Any wine that has chocolate-y taste is a-ok with me! It costs around $14.99. Seriously tasty- very surprising. Thanks for the suggestion, guys!
Anyone else have something I should try....?

On a side note, we have less that 2 weeks to go on our Grenache-Mourvedre that's a-brewing downstairs, and we are also (simultaneously) making what has been dubbed (probably appropriately) crunk punch. Details to come on that one when it makes its debut. Ohhhh, it's going to be a good summer! :)

Wait a second, how do I do this?

Am I done yet? No? Crap. Guess it's time for me to hit the proverbial books, eh? I finished my 8 page long (typed) list of definitions yesterday. 8 pages of definitions. Aaaand I'm officially in 10th grade again! Psst, I had a lot of fun writing out definitions. Don't tell. I'm a dork.
So I have a test on Monday. And this is officially the lamest post ever. Go ahead and get used to it people, I'm a student now! Booyakah!
My thesis adviser was supposed to write a recommendation for me (in May) so I can get into the school psych program. Buuuut, she didn't. So I had to rely back on the ol' faithful Honors College staff. They're good to me. UCA officially has all my stuff, so now we start the waiting game... Fingers crossed, everyone.
I promise to not post another lame-o post like this one. I'm going to go study now. :)

Mama's got a brand new bag

Awwwwwwwwwww yeaauuuhh... It's started! I went to my first Tests and Measurements class yesterday at UCA. It's a prereq for the school psych program, so I'm puttin' a lot of eggs in a $700 basket that I'm going to get in there. Fingers crossed! The class looks like it's going to be pretty interesting, not that difficult, but a lot of work. I already have a test over the first four chapters of the book (panic officially sets in! I don't know if I remember how to do this!) on MONDAY. Yowza. Which means, unfortunately, that I have to sit out of the Schirmer family reunion in Nebraska this weekend. Makes me sad because a whole gaggle of Schirmer cousins will be in attendance.... Sigh. Stupid education. :)
So things are going well. My class is every day in the afternoon, so I'm driving back and forth between here and C-town a lot. Bonus: gas in Conway is cheapo. That will help.
Alright, kids. I'm off to another fabulous day of taking notes! It feels grrrrrrrrrreat. I love it.

Wine o' the week- it's sparkly!

This week's wine is Gloria Ferrer's Blanc de Blanc. The website says it costs $25, but it's $20 at Colonial, and on sale this week for $15. An awesome deal....
It's a sparkling wine, which I didn't really care for all that much till we visited the vineyard (seen here in the pics), and this one is delish. Read the tasting notes- LOTS of flavors going on there! It's on sale now, so go pick one up and save it for a special day.

From the website....

Made from 100% Chardonnay, this medium bodied sparkling wine comes alive with crisp flavors of green apple, citrus, and Asian pear. Notes of toast and vanilla result in a clean finish on this exceptional sparkler.

The bouquet of the 2003 Blanc de Blancs is reminiscent of ripe pineapple and toasted biscuit, underscored by a distinctive citrus blossom note. Juicy pear, white chocolate and lemon zest flavors fill the palate, which expand through the wine’s vivacious stream of bubbles and firm structure.

Food Affinities
This Blanc de Blancs is delicious with seafood such as calamari, oysters on the half shell, cracked crab or roasted mussels and with Pan Pacific cuisine such as Thai satay or fresh Vietnamese spring rolls.

Beginning of Summer of Fun 2007!

The weekend started off with a big bang with all the teachers going to West End together and sending me off with tequila. It was a bit rough, but lots of fun.
Have I mentioned that I have the most thoughtful boyfriend in the world? This is what he gave me as a congratulations-for-being-done gift. He contacted the FABULOUS and talented Brooke and purchased this beautiful piece of artwork for me. I love, love, love it. I swear I had looked at her art blog and noticed this one and WANTED it immediately. It's absolutely perfect, AND it goes so well right over the wine rack! I think it suits me just right. THANK you to Brooke for making it, and THANK you to my sweet Jeremy for thinking of me. I love it (and you!) more than you know!

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging around the house, running errands, and going to Riverfest. I felt like little Pooty when it was all said and done with. A huuuuuuge sigh of relief and exhaustion. :)

That's all, she wrote.

Well, it's officially over. I've worked at CLS since I was 18 years old, every year in some way. I can't believe I will not be working here anymore. I have alllll these different emotions ranging from sadness to excitement to fear to relief. Thus begins a brand new chapter in my life. Thanks to everyone for all the support. I am officially a student. Here we go....!

Rock it out, yo. 1.5 days left.

Jordin won last night- yaaaay! This is actually the only American Idol I have actually predicted. Loves me some Jordan. It got me thinking of this performace... ahhhhhh American Idol. I will miss you for the next 8 months.
Today is my last full day of school- yahoo! I am showing the 7th grade "Sweet 15," (see my full analysis of this cinematic great here) although I feel like I'm cheating them because they won't get to enjoy the whole movie. Time restraints... sigh.
Tonight is my last CLS graduation. I will be up at the front singing with the other teachers. That's when the kids cry- when the teachers sing to them. I guarantee you I will be bawling. I got a little choked up at freaking rehearsal this morning. Last graduation. I think I'm getting sentimental.
PS, I luuurve Jordin, but this was awesome.
1.5 days left, 1.5 days left!

Wine o' the week

This week's wine is Proyecto 4, a tasty combination of 4 different varietals. It costs around $9.99, and it's one first wines we found when we started trying new types (not just cabernet and shiraz, I mean). Notice, it includes Mourvèdre and Grenache- YUM. I highly recommend.

From the website... "Bodegas Concavins epitomizes this push to modernity with its Proyecto 4, a sumptuous blend of 4 harmonious grape varietals from 4 of Spain's premier Mediterranean wine regions, all aged for 4 months in new French and American oak."
Tasting Notes
"Very deep purple-red color. On the nose, it is fruity and spicy, with a hint of vanilla coming from the oak aging. It is round, supple, and fruit-driven in the mouth, with a long and elegant finish."
The Four Varietals
Cabernet Sauvignon 48%
Tempranillo 32%
Monastrell (Mourvèdre) 13%
Garnacha (Grenache) 7%

2.5 days

Aaaaaand here's a list:
1. These are pinatas my 7th graders made for Spanish class. They were very creative this year. Yay, them!
2. I have exactly 2 and a half days left. But who's counting? Unemployment, here I come!
3. The 8th grade homeroom teachers are gone today on their class trip (LUCKY), which means I get to have 7th grade alllllllllllllll day with one other teacher. And they're going insane. Henceforth, so am I.
4. I am starting a summer school class June 4th. It's the class they told me in college, "If you're going to go to grad school, you HAVE to take this class." I immediately plugged my ears and said, "la la la la la la- I can't hear you!" No, not really. But I didn't heed their advice. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
5. If I don't get in to school psych, I will be real ticked I spent $600 on said class.
6. I talked to Chandle yesterday (via gmail), and she was stuck in Bahrain, where people were giving her funny looks and telling her wrong flights to get on. Send her happy vibes as she slowly makes her way to Nepal...!
7. Kindergarten graduation was last night, and 8th grade graduation is tomorrow. My last ones. Sigh...
8. My grades were due at 8:00 a.m. today, and I am done, done, done! PS, I was cutting it awfully close this quarter with getting everything graded and turned in. :)
9. JORDAN HAD BETTER FREAKING WIN on Idol. Dat's my girl!
10. Have a good day, everyone!

Namaste, Chandle!

Saturday night was our going away party for the fabulous Chandleous. Leah and I made some deeeeelish food (I'll let her post a closeup of the cake cause it's too cute). Lots of people showed up and we had a lot (a LOT of fun).
I have many many pictures to share, so let's get to it!
Let me first of all explain the ridiculous wine stain on my shirt. It doesn't need TOO much of explanation- basically, Chandle and I collided. Ruined shirt, moving on! We tried for approximately 20 minutes to take this picture, but we were laughing way too hard. I love these girls, I just do. We had so much fun, as you can see.
Finally, about 1 in 10 pictures would come out decent, so here's mine (despite the wine down my shirt). Yay!
Even Mr. Vest decided to show up to say goodbye to his Chandle.

Let me also explain my boyfriend's luxurious hair. Here's the process:
1. Blow-dry normally very-curly hair. 2. Straighten said hair.
3. When your girlfriend isn't looking, steal HER old hair from when she got her hair chopped off (yup, these are the ones- check it out).
4. When she goes to set up for the party, have Virginia attach it to your own hair (a la "feux weave").
5. Show up READY TO ROCK.
6. Show off glorious, glorious ponytails (see next picture).
The result.... hilarity. :)
Gooooooood times on Saturday. Thanks to everyone for coming and saying bye to Chandle. We'll miss her terribly, but I know she's going to do great great things. Yay Chandle.

PS, 4.5 days left. I have no children today because the 8th graders are gone. Entertain me.

It's time to say...

...to my lovely Chandle. Don't forget about the shindig me and Leah be throwin' for her tomorrow. No need to bring anything except a beverage and yourself. Kimmy P has made it into the great state of Arkansas, so fear not! It's going to be lots of fun. Let me know if you need directions or anything- it's easy to find. See you there!

PS. Today is the 8th graders last day of school. I officially have 5 days until I am unemployed for 3 years. YOWZA.

Wine o' the week

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about putting this one on here because I loved it SO much. We tried it a long time ago (probably in the fall), and we both thought it was one of the best bottles of wine we had ever had. The flavors were intense and complex, and we savored every bit of it. The next day, we went out and bought another bottle, and we've been hoarding it ever since. PLUS, the one we found is a 2001 (right, Jeremy?) instead of a 2003. Even better. So I hope it lives up to my memory and my high, high expectations. It's VERY tasty. Retails around $25.

From the website...
2003 ALEXANDER VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Wine Description: Complex flavors of ripe blackberry, cocoa, cassis and anise integrate with elegant aromas of vanilla, cinnamon and spice. The integrated tannins balanced with a lingering but supple finish.
Winemaker Notes: The growing season of 2003 was marked by even temperature patterns topped off with a picture perfect fall. Four premium North Coast appellations were targeted as the source for this wine's grapes.
Those grapes were crushed and fermented warm, pumping juice from the tank bottom over the cap of floating grape skins on a regular basis, to amplify extraction and flavor. The wine was pressed off the skins at dryness and allowed to settle in stainless steel. The resulting 'clear' wine was then racked to 60 gallon French and American oak barrels to finish malolactic fermentation and then barrel aged a total of 28 months.
Food Recommendations: This Alexander Valley Cabernet's full-bodied flavor pairs superbly with all grilled meats and roasts.

Ease On Down The Road

1. I rented this movie last night and Jeremy and I are about halfway through. I love, love, love "The Wiz." Michael Jackson is the coooooooooolest, especially back then.
2. I have officially gotten into grad school. I am admitted to the social work program at UALR!! YAY! I am still waiting to hear from UCA, but I don't think I'll hear till later this summer. But I am definitely going to back to school and will officially be unemployed for the next 3 years! HOOOORAY!
3. I finished my last tutoring session yesterday.
4. I went on my last CLUE field trip last week.
5. I had my last field day on Friday.
6. I have a week and a half left of school.
7. Ease on down the road.

Mark your calendars...

Well... she's hittin' the road again. Or the air. Or the mountains. Chandle's heading off to the faraway land of Nepal, so we're having a going-away party for her! Most of you have already gotten an evite from me, but if you haven't, send me your email address and I'll make sure you get it. Or you can just respond here in the comments. It's going to be at Leah and Blue's house on Saturday, so let us know if you can make it! It's going to be lots of fun, featuring some friends we haven't seen in a long long time (such as Miss Kim). Let's send that Chandle off in style. :)

Nerd alert.

Ok, fellow nerds. I know you're out there too. And I know you are just as excited as I am for the release of the new Harry Potter book. A side note: on the last one, Cody and I finished reading it within 10 minutes of each other and we called each other right away to discuss (and maybe cry a little... well, that was me, I guess).
ANYWAY, if you haven't already (and I'm sure you have), go immediately to Amazon.com and preorder it. They just lowered the price to $17.99, which is crazy low, and they almost always ship it to you so it arrives the release date (July 21st). Can't wait. Nerd alert. And it makes me happy.

Wine o' the week

According to the website...

Grape varieties: Tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon

Color: deep red with violet-cherry tint

Bouquet: deep and elegant aromas, intensely fruity with hints of ripe raspberry complemented with a fine note of oak

Palate: well-balanced and structured, showing plenty of fruit and spice. Complex and elegant with a long finish.

That's a lot of fancy talk for something that's got a good fruity (NOT sweet) flava with a real kick (the spice). All that for around $8. Don't forget that there isn't only merlot and cabernet when you're looking for a red wine. Experiment with other (sometimes better!) varietals, like this tempranillo (this other wine o' the week is a good one too). Be adventurous! And, hey- it's cheap, so why not? :)

It's my mama's turn!!

Today is my wonderful, amazing, terrific, incredible, fabulous, beautiful, super-woman Mama's birthday!! May is a birthday marathon month! To celebrate, we went to Melissa and Greg's house for some tasty tasty eatings. Melissa cooked dinner and I made the cake. My mama enjoys it when her girls cook for her (can you believe it?). Here are some pictures from the evening...

Here's the cake I slaved away on... Italian cream cake. Mmmm! That's three layers, people. I was proud. :)
Dinner was followed by the most intense show of manliness I've ever seen with the boys. They played jacks. That's right. Jacks. PS, my dad is a total ROCK STAR at the game. It was a little hilarious to witness this whole thing. Good job, fellas.
Out on their front porch was this little friend. If you can see it, that's a big frog Melissa keeps by the front door. On top of it is a little, live frog. She said it just stays there and sleeps all day. I think it's quite amusing. It wasn't at all bothered by us walking in and out and taking pictures of it. Ha!

In other news...

Thursday, we had our school's athletic awards banquet. Normally that means the coaches stand up and announce the players' names and pass out certificates. Very exciting. This year, however, they totally blind-sided me and awarded me coach of the year! They called my parents and had them turn in some old pictures of me, and they did a DVD montage of my life. Made me BAWL my eyes out. At the end, they had a picture of me in my sombrero, saying "Adios Senorita Ross!" It was the sweetest thing. Ever. I was completely surprised- and my entire family was there to watch it. Kristen was in on it too (thanks, Miss Kristen!). They also gave me this beatiful bouquet of roses and crystal vase. It's my first crystal anything. :) Very sweet of them. It's going to be so hard to leave here...!!