Reviews, Dues, and Disney Plans, too!

Will and I celebrated the one week anniversary of our engagement with dinner at Emerywood Fine Foods this past weekend.  I worded it "one week anniversary" for a reason...hold that thought...

Dinner was nice. Notice I didn't say exceptional.  Their lunches/sandwiches are great, this was my first time having dinner there. Our salads and soup were very good. The chef sent out a honeydew mousse with basil oil and goat cheese to cleanse the palette between the soup and salad course and the entree; however, the mousse was not cold enough so it was bland and left a slightly oily residue on the tongue. Quite the opposite of palette cleansing.

Will got the Blackened Filet, glazed Asparagus, Bleu Mashed Red Potatoes. I got the Grilled Chicken Paillard with Goat Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes, Basil Orzo, and Snow Peas in a Balsamic Reduction.  Both entrees were good, but neither were the type that we would go back and order again--which is disappointing, because a special dinner out should be...well, special. The waitress said she "heard" it was our anniversary and offered us free dessert. Uhmm...okay. We think she confused us with another table, but once Will heard the words "Crème Brulée" he totally shot me the "oh hell yeah it IS our anniversary" look and we enjoyed a free dessert on our special evening.

Spencer and IV started their Challenge League Soccer team practices this past week. This is quite an adjustment from the Saturday YMCA league I am used to seeing.  The dues are high, the travel expenses, the uniform costs, begging for sponsors, the heat, the camps, the skills workshops, the tournaments....wow.  Now I know why soccer moms are always bitchy and drive big SUVs.  Because they freakin LIVE IN THEIR CARS!!
But, the kids look good and I think this is going to be good for the boys! Our first tournament is in July.  The boys will be in Sky Blue uniforms and I will be in a melted puddle of angst and heat stroke....

We had already scheduled our next family Disney trip; but we finally had the family meeting where we nailed down dates, tickets, when/where, mapped the parks, checked on shows, dinners, parking, accommodations, rides, schedules, etc.  IT IS GOING TO BE FANTASTIC! 
Will and Joe will be with us. Joe has NEVER been to Disney and Will hasn't been since he was a kid--so they will enjoy it even more than we will.
Spencer and IV are finally over 54 inches tall and can ride all the cool rides. Plus the kids are old enough to enjoy more than Mickey and Donald...they are looking forward to the fun stuff at all the Disney Parks and Universal Studios like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Dr. Doom, Spiderman, Space Mountain, Test Track, Tower of Terror, Jaws, MIB, etc. 
Now, we just have to wait a few months for our trip...and save money....

I loved the Disney campaign for the Star Wars promotion-- Too cute!  Our boys are going to have a blast!

Father's Day 2010!

We had a lovely cookout for Father's Day this year.  It was too hot/humid to be by the pool, so we all gathered in the kitchen and enjoyed each other's company.  Boppa was showered with fun gifts--just the way he likes it--ha ha!!

And you thought turning 40 was big news....

I am engaged.

Will proposed at my birthday party last night.  It was one of the best surprises of my life ♥
After lots and lots of wine tasting/sampling/drinking, lots of story telling, and of course lots of laughs and side splitting joking around with friends, he decided the time was right.  Thankfully, Laura had my camera and was able to get some pictures for me!

Knowing, I'm more of a non-traditional girl (ha ha) he opted for an Alexandrite center stone with diamonds on the band.  He chose the stone and the setting and had it custom made.  Alexandrite is my birthstone and it is a color-changing stone that blends blue and red hues beautifully--which is perfect for our Carolina/State house division.

And yes, the proposal was the big news of the night, but that came later in the evening. Earlier in the evening, friends brought wine and we had apps and desserts. It was an evening of a million laughs and I will forever remember this night....despite the abundant amounts of vino!

Wine Tasting

This weekend I attended a wine sampling menu at Bistro Sophia in Greensboro with the Greensboro Corks Crew. It was fantastic!  Check out our menu:

• Nardi Giordano Prosecco “Spago” Frizzante DOC Prosecco di Treviso, Veneto, Italy/NV paired with: Truffled Pommes
• Torrent Bay Sauvignon Blanc Nelson, New Zealand/2008 and Wildhurst Chardonnay Lake County, California/2008 paired with Smoked Salmon & Cucumber Sandwiches
• Pere Anselme dry rosé of Grenache Côtes-du-Rhône, Southern Rhône, France/2008 paired with Duck Salad served on Bibb lettuce 
• Pellegrini Family Vineyards Carignan Redwood Valley, California/2007 paired with Sliced Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Mushroom Salad 
• Eredi Lodali Dolce Frizzante DOCG Moscato d’ Asti, Piedmont, Italy/2009 paired with Miniature Crème Brûlée

 I could have easily bought a bottle of the Prosecco and stayed out on the patio talking for hours; however, I switched to coffee and enjoyed the company of new friends for a while.  I can't wait for their next event!

Da boyz

This weekend was Spencer and IV's end-of-school year pool party they host for their little friends. We had lots of snacks, drinks, pool toys and an entire sunny afternoon to just have fun!

Congratulations to Spencer for ending the school year with another excellent report card AND receiving TOP DOG OF THE YEAR!!!  I'm so proud of my little guy!!!

Mom and Dad's 45th Anniversary Celebration

June 4, 1965 my poor, poor Dad sold his soul to the devil..... Wait, that makes me a spawn of evil.  Scratch that. Forty-five years ago, my lovely mother married my brilliant father!

To mark this special occasion, we had a surf and turf dinner Friday night and a cook out/family party on Saturday night.

Your Momma's a Pecker Face!

Going to dinner the other night, Spencer called IV a "Pecker Face".

I took a deep breath. 
I knew this was going to happen sooner or later.  Name calling is normal, right.  But..geez...PECKER FACE???
Nana and Boppa managed to stifle their giggles as I asked Spence if he knew what that term meant. He said no so I calmly explained to Spencer that it was a rude way of calling someone a penis face.

Spencer scowled at me--immediately sat in judgement OF ME and said, "Well, Mommy, that's what the penguin called the other penguin in the movie Surf's Up because they have bills on their face. Maybe you should be more careful about which movies you let me watch!  I am only nine!!"

I sat in total disbelief.  I took an innocent penguin joke and made it dirty.

A simple equation

This is a burn on my arm.

It looks like a jack-o-lantern face, a sail boat, the symbol for pi, or...the word "IF"  as in IF I had not drank as much of this:

and decided to bake cookies, I may not have burned my arm!

On a related note-- the Mead (honey wine) was yummy.  And how cute is it that a medieval version of me and Will are on the label-- ha ha!

Chain Smoker

Do you know that disc golf is a serious sport? 

no seriously...quit laughing. 
More than hippies and stoned college sophomores play it. 
I'm being totally honest here.
Will is an avid disc golfer.  And don't say "Frisbee Golf" because that is a name brand of a disc (that isn't even used in disc golf any longer--sort of like saying Q-Tip for a cotton swab...or Kleenex for a tissue.....but that is an entirely different blog post, huh?)

Anyway...this weekend I finally got to see him play disc golf.  He's REALLY good...and he ain't bad at disc golf either... hardy ha ha...

To celebrate our one year together, I surprised him with a putting target:  

Little boys and their toys are so cute....