Evening and, once again, well met to all of you. Well, the end of January is nigh and 1/12th of this new year is gone. With it goes the many, many (countless many, actually...) new years resolutions, failed or not, made by an untold amount of people across the globe. Why do I bring this up, you ask? This blog that you have all so graciously enjoy for a month was just that; a new years resolution. For longer than I can remember, there have been so many hobbies I have always said that I CAN do, but I then I don't actually do them. I've never felt the need to prove my ideas in that regard as I 'know' what I can (or should...) be able to do. For this, the year of our Lord 2011, I decided to actually prove my worth and do something that I said I could do but have never actually done...
So what did I learn from this experience? Well, first off, I don't think I have it in me to consistently post once a day, every weekday. Sometimes, I'm too busy with work and home life, I don't have time to churn out a QUALITY blog entry (therein lies the important distinction...). I do not want to get to the point where I am phoning in this blog and just make short posts about random crap I think of (far, far too easy and then what's the point...). For each post, I want to showcase something in my life that I have enjoyed or (at the very least...) caused some kind of emotional reaction within me (for good or for ill...). By using pop culture items I am interested in inherently, this prospect was made so much easier. But it was definitely a more difficult prospect that I realized at the outset...
Where we go from here is uncertain. My intention was to do this blog often enough that posting would become habit and I got close to that idea. While I did make enough posts for each weekday in January (yay...), what I more succeeded in doing was making myself anxious for something to blog about. Close enough, I suppose. However, I did promise to unveil my entire Ireland journal on this blog and we are still fairly early in the journey yet and I will attempt to continual daily blogging until the end of the travel log. I am hoping (cross your fingers...) that by continuing until that goal is complete, I will have gotten into a better groove and just keep going on and on until I tire of it. I have not grown tired yet, I am just tapping myself out too quickly and I need to find my blog voice or at least define it better than I have already. Maybe something will spring force as this blog evolves from its nascent state...
As a great man once said (you know him if you know me well enough...), 'Excelsior!'. I'll leave you with that...
Showing posts with label new years resolution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new years resolution. Show all posts
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, February 15, 2010
It's fun to resolve...
I'm not much of one to make and/or keep new years resolutions. That's why I always quit smoking (FYI: I don't smoke anything...) every year for the past decade or so. Let me tell you, that's a joke that gets funnier with each and every year. So, outside of the usual hopes I have for this new year (weight loss, do more of the things I love, etc...), I decided I would actually make a keepable resolution. As an aside, here's my list for making a resolution you can guarantee to keep:
-Keep it simple (stupid)...
-Make sure it is something you enjoy or that is fun...
-Group participation helps motivation and adds a layer of fun to the task...
So, this year I have decided to try two different wines a month. After living in Ithaca for a year and a half, I have developed a taste for wine, especially good wine. However, living in Maryland (a state not known for good wine...)has cut down on the amount of good wine I drink. That being said, I decided I needed to be more adventurous and try wines, even kinds I am not known to enjoy. The guidelines for this challenge are that the two wines must be either A) a kind of wine I've never tried before (i.e. Riesling, blushes, Cab Sav, etc...) or B) from a winery I've not had a particular wine from (i.e. I can have Riesling from two different places...)and C) I have to review them in the month following. The purpose of this exercise is to not only broaden my wine horizons, but to also truly discover what I like and what I don't. It's the only way to be sure...
The first wine up for review is the 2007 Riesling from the Sun Garden winery in Germany. This wine was a delight, as Tara and I had a bottle on a date once and now it's become a wine of choice (especially when New York Riesling is unavailable to us...). Germany is the right climate for this kind of wine and Sun Garden doesn't disappoint. It has a wonderful floral nose that transfers well into the fruity tones within the mouth. Unlike some wines like this which finish poorly despite a promising start, the Riesling finishes very clean and refreshing. This wine would be paired well with a variety of foods, from fruits and cheese to light luncheon foods. Also, I have enjoyed this wine all on it's own...
The second wine of January has become a personal favorite (though it isn't true for others I know...). The wine in question is the 2008 Moscato from the Beringer winery in California. From the first glass of this wine, I was hooked. It bears many similarities to another favorite wine, the Pasa Tiempo from Six Mile in Ithaca, so it isn't surprising how I enjoy this. Like the Riesling prior, it has a bit of a floral nose, but the taste and texture is very sweet and reminiscent of honey. The Moscato also finishes very refreshing, not cloyingly sweet as some similar sweet wines. The muscat grape is known for producing very grape-y, very sweet wines, but this wine lacks the grape flavor and transforms into a very delightful experience. However, because of its inherent sweetness, this wine is best used as or during desert. Also because of it's sweetness, it is easy to overdo the amount you drink. Not that I've done this...
That's all for now. February's wines have already been selected and are pending review. While I won't reveal what they are yet, I will say they are not as enjoyable as January's wines, but that's sort of the point. I actually hope I find as many wines as I don't like as those I do. That way I can actually go to restaurants and pick out a wine I like and can recommend to my friends...
-Keep it simple (stupid)...
-Make sure it is something you enjoy or that is fun...
-Group participation helps motivation and adds a layer of fun to the task...
So, this year I have decided to try two different wines a month. After living in Ithaca for a year and a half, I have developed a taste for wine, especially good wine. However, living in Maryland (a state not known for good wine...)has cut down on the amount of good wine I drink. That being said, I decided I needed to be more adventurous and try wines, even kinds I am not known to enjoy. The guidelines for this challenge are that the two wines must be either A) a kind of wine I've never tried before (i.e. Riesling, blushes, Cab Sav, etc...) or B) from a winery I've not had a particular wine from (i.e. I can have Riesling from two different places...)and C) I have to review them in the month following. The purpose of this exercise is to not only broaden my wine horizons, but to also truly discover what I like and what I don't. It's the only way to be sure...
The first wine up for review is the 2007 Riesling from the Sun Garden winery in Germany. This wine was a delight, as Tara and I had a bottle on a date once and now it's become a wine of choice (especially when New York Riesling is unavailable to us...). Germany is the right climate for this kind of wine and Sun Garden doesn't disappoint. It has a wonderful floral nose that transfers well into the fruity tones within the mouth. Unlike some wines like this which finish poorly despite a promising start, the Riesling finishes very clean and refreshing. This wine would be paired well with a variety of foods, from fruits and cheese to light luncheon foods. Also, I have enjoyed this wine all on it's own...
The second wine of January has become a personal favorite (though it isn't true for others I know...). The wine in question is the 2008 Moscato from the Beringer winery in California. From the first glass of this wine, I was hooked. It bears many similarities to another favorite wine, the Pasa Tiempo from Six Mile in Ithaca, so it isn't surprising how I enjoy this. Like the Riesling prior, it has a bit of a floral nose, but the taste and texture is very sweet and reminiscent of honey. The Moscato also finishes very refreshing, not cloyingly sweet as some similar sweet wines. The muscat grape is known for producing very grape-y, very sweet wines, but this wine lacks the grape flavor and transforms into a very delightful experience. However, because of its inherent sweetness, this wine is best used as or during desert. Also because of it's sweetness, it is easy to overdo the amount you drink. Not that I've done this...That's all for now. February's wines have already been selected and are pending review. While I won't reveal what they are yet, I will say they are not as enjoyable as January's wines, but that's sort of the point. I actually hope I find as many wines as I don't like as those I do. That way I can actually go to restaurants and pick out a wine I like and can recommend to my friends...
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