Rosés for $15 and Under - Stay Away from Chateau Miraval and Drink Great Wine

Yesterday a friend of mine let us all know on Facebook that she bought the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Rosé wine Chateau Miraval. She went on to say she was pretty convinced that the wine shop clerk snickered. I out and out laughed that someone would spend about $20 (average price nationwide is $23 without taxes according to wine-searcher.com) on the Jolie/Pitt creation*. It isn't that Chateau Miraval is a bad wine, it just isn't worth $20. I posted that there were far tastier Rosés at cheaper prices and people asked for my recommendations.

So here are my Rosé choices and are at or under $15 locally - nationwide pricing may differ.  Click on the name of the wine to see a picture of the bottle and label.

What the Heck is Holy Week?

When one thinks of Christians and their religious celebrations, one tends to think of Christmas as the ultimate Christian holiday. In fact, they're wrong.

As a Catholic Christian, I really am an Easter person. Huh? What do I mean by that? Catholics celebrate Easter each and every week at Mass. Easter is all about the sacrifices and Resurrection of Jesus. Each week at Mass, Catholics receive Communion which celebrates and makes real for us Christ's resurrection. Not all Christian religions celebrate Communion each week; for many it is reserved for only certain times per year.

Bustedhalo is a great Youtube channel that explains Christian religious practices or beliefs in highly visual, brief clips. Below is the one for Holy Week, the final week of Lent which is also the week before Easter.

Will You Attend? Yes, No, Maybe

I have a friend who when she receives an Evite to an event or party, always answers "maybe." Not that she is any busier than the rest of us, but regardless, the initial answer is always maybe. It isn't until the day of the event, or if you prod her with an email because you need to firm up your plans, that she finally give you a definitive answer. Her constant waffling drives my friends and me positively crazy.

Today in WTF: Booze, The Great Equalizer

Do you feel oppressed by affluent, white males? Are you struggling to fit in with your peers? If so, you may want to start binge drinking in order to boost your social status and satisfaction. A study is out which examined levels of alcohol consumption and the relationship with social satisfaction in selective Northeastern liberal arts colleges. Some interesting results were found. Binge drinking is defined as 4 or more drinks for a female and 5 or more drinks for a male. Sounds like a typical Tuesday Friday night right?

Celebrate St. Patty's Day by Drinking Irish Wine

I don't like beer. I haven't liked it since 1988 when I was drinking Budweiser products at the basement of the Sigma Chi house at UW:Madison. It isn't snobbery, I'm just not a fan of the taste. I've struggled over the years to properly celebrate St. Patrick's Day without drinking Guinness, Harp or the gawdawful green beer.

Then I met my husband and everything changed. My husband's ancestors are known as 'Wine Geese." What are Wine Geese? Well it comes from Wild Geese, which refers to exodus of Irish soldiers to France at the end of the 1600’s following the Willamite-Jacobite war. The damn Catholics and Protestants always fighting. Catholics were forced to skip town. Wine Geese refers to Irish emigrants who became involved in the wine trade in other countries.

Valentine's Day Thoughts: Wine, Women and Song

Have you ever blamed being over-served as an excuse to cheat on your lady love? Sorry guys, that excuse doesn't hold water (or wine) anymore. Two wine economists (who knew those existed and what an awesome job!) noticed that societies which embraced multiple wives, polygyny, do not consume alcohol. Two notable examples of this in today's world are parts of the Muslim world and parts of the Mormon church.

Don't be an Ash This Wednesday

As a good Catholic girl, this is the time of year I think about how I can be a better person. I think given the recent news of Pope Benedict abdicating this Lent may be a bit more interesting.  I think New Year's resolutions are foolish, but for some reason I have no problem with Lenten "resolutions".  I was pondering why there was such a difference between the two periods of personal improvement and reflection for me.

Today is National Girl Scout Cookie Day

I saw on the morning news today that we are celebrating Girl Scout Cookie Day today. The CEO of Girl Scouts, Anna Maria Chávez, called it a "girl entrepreneurial" program. She also called it a "parent-supported" program which allowed girls to grow as individuals. Not sure what world Ms Chávez is living in today, but that is not my experience.

Honey Lavender Frozen Greek Yogurt

Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day! I love making homemade frozen ice cream or yogurt. It is a snap to do and the taste is so much better. You will need to invest in an ice cream maker, but you don't need to spend a lot of money on it. I have this Cuisnart model which runs about $50 on Amazon and I've had it for years. KitchenAid also has an attachment that can be used in their stand mixers that has a 2 qt capacity which I am also thinking about getting as the capacity is greater than my Cuisinart. First world problems, but worth it considering given how tasty this recipe is!

Greek Skillet Lasagne Supper for These Cold Days

Who is whining about this brutally cold weather? I know I am not alone in wearing long undies and wool socks in my neck of the woods. This type of weather calls out for comfort foods that remind you of your childhood and warm you up from your toes to nose. My go-to meals in this weather are soups and pasta dishes. On Tuesday at about 5pm, my son asked me to make lasagna for dinner. Given that a proper lasagna takes a good hour to cook and I didn't have the ingredients in the house, I had to improvise.

I Blinked and He Was Gone

Whenever I walk by or glance at my mailbox, I still feel nauseous eight years later. I remember the rock by the mail box post that he used to love to stand on because he loved the feeling of almost falling, of losing his balance. I removed the rock not only because it attracted him to that spot, but because it made me physically ill just looking at it. Last month was the eight year anniversary marking the day my son missed being hit by a lawn maintenance truck by mere inches.

June, It is Time to Hand in Your White Trash Card

Who would have thought that a mother from McIntyre, Georgia would show more common sense and better parenting skills than a more educated and affluent mother from Long Island?

You Know It is Bad When I Feel Bad for the Prostitute

My husband and I have invested in a couple apartments in an up and coming neighborhood in an adjacent city. By up and coming, I mean it is a place where the recent college graduates come to live because the rents are cheaper, there are fun bars and great restaurants that aren't expensive. A fair number of divorced dads live here too while their ex-wives and children live in a much nicer town just a mile or two down the road.

Around the corner from one of our units has been this Asian 'massage' parlor. We've owned the unit for six years now and that business has been there long before we purchased our unit. This area has a few of these establishments. They have always ticked me off as they are in eye sight of an elementary school and surrounded by residential areas. Bring the whole tone of the neighborhood down. From a financial perspective, it turns off tenants too. But really, it makes me furious little elementary school kids have to walk by this business to go to school each day.

How I Got to Be Two Goats Away From Crazy

My sisters Maribeth and Jennifer, along with my two nieces and nephew, paid our family a visit after we started our adventure in raising chickens. Everyone was enthralled with my built-in petting zoo, especially the kids who were all under seven years of age. Each day, the kids would chase around our ten week old baby chickens and discover some of their free-range hiding spots. One afternoon of some particularly fun times of chicken hide and seek, we ran inside to get some lemonade when disaster struck.