Category: Ruminations and Crackpot Theories

Observations on life in general.

50 Shades of . . . Wine

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The much ballyhooed movie version of the notorious Fifty Shades of Grey is being released on Friday, which is Valentine’s Day. I’ve read the trilogy. I have no interest in seeing the movie.

However, E.L. James came up with a wonderful bit of marketing: she “created” a Fifty Shades of Grey brand of wine. There are two blends: Red Satin and White Silk.

fifty shades of wine

The slogan is “Connect with your Inner Goddess.”

I thought I’d try the wine any way.

I actually tasted both wines this summer. As a general rule, I drink red wines. This red was okay. Nothing spectacular. A few weeks later, I tried the white.

50 shades of white

It may have been the company and the setting (a group of authors, lakeside, on a gorgeous summer day) or maybe it really was the wine, but I thought the White Silk was fabulous. Light, fruity, smooth. Silky. Really. (Remember, I make fun of wine tasting notes on Twitter every Tuesday.)

Being the open-minded kind of woman I am, I’m perfectly will to try the red again. Maybe on Valentine’s Day. But only the wine. That’s the only E.J. James “creation” that appeals to me.

 

 

Month End Goal Check

Time to check my goals progress for 2015. I won’t bore you with my whole goals list, just the high and low points.

Progress:

  • I went on the first of two planned writing retreats.
  • I’m working on revisions for my February release.
  • I joined Weight Watchers
  • I started my promo campaign for my February release.
  • I launched my Twitter campaign, #TastingNotesTuesday.
  • I went on a date with my husband.

Need to work on:

  • Yoga once a week (my DVD player crapped out on me, but I did get in some cardio.)
  • 30 minutes “in the book” five days a week.

How are your 2015 goals/resolutions coming along?

 

SOL SUNDAY: Adventures in Wallpaper

When I was about 2, my parents started building the house in which I grew up and in which they still live. My parents, not a contractor, built it, with the help of an aunt and uncle. We lived in the cellar (basement) for a bit. Yes, I do remember this.

When the upstairs was nearly ready to move into, my father took me to one of the stores in the small, nearby village in which he’d spent his teen and young adult years. We went to Annie Long’s for just about everything. This day, we were picking out wallpaper, and I, all of about three years old, could pick out the wallpaper for the room my younger sister and I would share for most of the next 15 years. I found what I wanted right away.

childhood wall paperYes, this is the actual wallpaper from my childhood bedroom. My parents papered the walls, then my dad build closets, shelves, and bureaus against one wall. Although the room has been redecorated numerous times, the wall remains in the back of the closets, unfaded by sunlight, as bright as the day it was pasted onto the sheet rock.

I knew, even at age three, this was the perfect wallpaper for a child’s room. The doll in the green dress looked like my beloved Suzibelle. And there were letters, those magic symbols that marched across the pages of the storybooks my mother read to us. In later years, I would first try to find all the letters of the alphabet, in order, as I lay awake in bed. And later still, I would try to make words from those letters.

These brightly colored walls eventually gave way to lavender (which turned gray too quickly), then yellow (with zodiac bulletin boards!).  But I still get a thrill whenever I think about my dad taking me to Annie Long’s and letting me pick out what I wanted.

 

WIP Wednesday: Prepping for the New Year Pt 2

GOALS 2015

I divide my goals into categories: writing; family; personal; and so on. This year, I added a new grouping: Promotion & Marketing. Items such as newsletters, blogs, Tweets, Facebook, Goodreads, and Tsu belong in this category. They used to be under Writing, but they multiplied too quickly. One of the things I need to do in the coming year is focus on the writing when it’s time to write, and the promotion/marketing when it’s time for those activities.

Another thing I’m trying to do this year is be specific. “Be kind to myself” is a nice sentiment, but what does it mean? So I added “Monthly date with myself.” I’m also going to set up and maintain a Happiness Jar. I meant to do this a year ago, but until I reclaimed my office, I didn’t have a place to keep the jar. It’s now all set up and ready to go.

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Speaking of my reclaimed office, once of my goals for 2015 is to maintain and refine the writing space. I actually worked on this the day after Christmas by moving books off one shelf to another where they would be more easily accessible.

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I also hung my book covers.

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And there are goals that have been successful and will stay on the list: calling my aging parents once a week; a monthly date with my husband. Because my parents are “local”, I didn’t make an effort to stay in touch, which is really self-absorbed. So for the past several years, I make a point of calling once a week. When X-Chromo was a senior in high school, I realized TV Stevie and my identities as “parents” was about to shift and we would once more be a couple instead of Y & X’s parents. So we started dating again. It’s been wonderful.

What New Years goals have been successful for you?

SoL Sunday: My Introduction to the Bogeyman.

Do you remember the first time you ever heard of the Bogeyman?

I do. My mom had asked me to run down to the cellar and make sure the door to the hatch was locked. I didn’t want to do it. The cellar was dark, dank, spooky. The hatch was even worse. And there were spiders.

My older cousin was staying with us at the time, and she said, “What’s the matter? Do you think the Bogeyman is going to get you?” I had no idea what she was talking about, so she explained.

That made my trip to the cellar and the hatch so much more . . . memorable.