Thursday 2/9/12 SPIN, Wine, Snow, Weasel

Thursday 2/9/12

Started the day with SPIN class at my new gym.

It feels good to be back at the gym,

gym rat that I am!

co-workers & I tried the Wine I acquired

from friends Greg & Jackie’s wine cellar.

Consensus: This should have been consumed

10 years ago. The wine had a barnyard aroma

(not in a good way), it was thin & flabby

& not very good overall.

Who needs me to come evaluate their cellar?

Do you have wine you should be DRINKING

and not Saving??

Wednesday when the snow started….

Thursday morning, after the SNOW!

Chester checking out the snow

Look what Weasel has in her mouth…..

Take THAT Michael Vick!!!!

What day is YOUR LUCKY DAY???

————————————————–

The strongest oak tree of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.”
– Napoleon Hill

————————————————–

remember you can ALWAYS see Picture of the Day here:
http://helentdiehl.posterous.com/

feel free to Share 🙂

February 9, 2012

Wednesday 2.8.12 Dog School & Wine School

Wednesday 2.8.12

USVBA – saw this license plate today –

volleyball players who could this be?

We have to know them?

– I did not recognize the driver. It was an older woman.

Who ever it is – according to the stickers on the car –

it is a man & woman who have a dog & a cat.

The Doggie Restroom at Chester’s school:

Canine Country

Chester’s school also has a doggie daycare.

I love the little black & white dog looking at me.

And I just noticed the white dog on the chair.

AND — the DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW (how much?)

http://www.caninecountry.org/

Chester checking out the snow –

it just started snowing

SNOW! I had to leave to go into the city.

I wanted to stay home & watch it SNOW!

Wine school instructor NEAL EWING (left)

& DOUGLAS (Wine Sommelier for the Prime Rib restaurant).

School is held at the Warwick hotel;

the Prime Rib is attached to the hotel.

Douglas brought us a couple wines to try for tonight’s lesson

which was Pinot Noir & Chardonnay.

Tasting a few Pinot Noirs & a Zinfandel

We got to try 8 wines tonight.

Writing tasting notes is CHALLENGING!

It’s hard figuring out what I am smelling

and tasting.

snacks on the way home on the train,

Last week I was starving on the way

home so this week I packed some

crackers & cheese. We always get to

bring home leftover wine & I had wine

glasses with me so……

a little wine, cheese & crackers in First Class!

Chester playing with a new toy he got

at dog school….what IS IT???

oh yes — #7

Michael Vick!

get ’em Chester!

“You’ll rarely be 100% sure it will work.

But you can always be 100% sure

doing nothing won’t work.”
—————————————————

remember you can ALWAYS see Picture of the Day here:
http://helentdiehl.posterous.com/

feel free to Share 🙂

February 8, 2012

2/7/12 Pilates, dogs!, word of the day, cookies!

2/7/12

stealth photo of my Pilates class.

I was planning on going to SPIN

but I read the schedule wrong 😦

There were A LOT of people in class – at least 40!

It was almost 60 degrees today —

a great day to take the dogs for

a sprint in the park.

Chester generally cooperates for pictures,

but not Weasel.

can you see Weasel? she blends in!

MOOSE HOME – Toastmaster Meeting!

It’s a big commitment (3 hours) to go twice a month

with all the other activities I have going on (school!).

Not sure if I’ll keep going. I’m torn.

CANDID was tonight’s word.

Many people used it.

It was suggested as being “too easy”

yet subterfuge (my word last time) was “too hard”….

Michael was wondering if there was

an “approved word of the day” list?

We got our Girl Scout Cookies —

did you???

THIS is why they are so addicting……

we were always taught to read the ingredients!

What is this person meant to teach me?

—————————————————-

It is no disgrace to start all over.
It is usually an opportunity.
– George Matthew Adams

—————————————————-

remember you can ALWAYS see Picture of the Day here:
http://helentdiehl.posterous.com/

feel free to Share 🙂

February 6, 2012

2/6/12 M & M’s, presents, puppies

2/6/12

Remember I told you our friend Jackie likes

M & M stuff??? Welcome to the M & M room

@ Club Castleman.

M & M’s everywhere!

Have any M & M memorabilia you want to

get rid of?? I can find a good home for it!

We don’t usually stay in this room —

too many EYES staring at you!

{we stay in the Princess Room}

forgot to show you the presents I got!

Nice new dishtowels (all we have are old ones!),

a LEOPARD iPad travel case (grrrrrr!)

& coconut body wash (Needed this!)

Towels in action

cuteness overload: puppy bowl behind the scenes.

Be prepared to say ahhhh, ohhhh SO CUTE!!!!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/sly/puppy-bowl-behind-the-scenes-puppies

a couple of bottles of wine I volunteered to

rescue from Greg & Jackie’s bar….

They don’t drink wine & these dusty bottles

have been in the bar for awhile.

I’m going to take them to work &

drink them with my co-workers….

(that kind of sounded funny…)

~ an 1996 Portuguese Blend

~1999 Bordeaux Blend

Do you have wine that needs to be

“evaluated” ??– I can come check out

your collection & tell you what you have.

What’s good, what’s not so good…..

spent some time putting together some

packages & mail that needed to get mailed.

Did you know that stamps now cost 45 cents??

You’re worth it.

Time to Study!

Need to review last weeks lesson

& do homework for this Wednesday night’s class.

Who has questions????

—————————————————–

Lots of people were talking about the commercials

from yesterday’s Super Bowl.

Here are my two favorites.

Sketchers: GoRun Mr. Quiggly

Volkswagen: The Dog Strikes Back

never end your sentence with

————————————————————

Prepare yourself in every way you can

by increasing your knowledge

and adding to your experience,

so that you can make the most of opportunity

when it occurs.
– Mario Andretti
————————————————————

remember you can ALWAYS see Picture of the Day here:
http://helentdiehl.posterous.com/

feel free to Share 🙂

February 6, 2012

Super Bowl 2012 February 5th @ Club Castleman

Super Bowl 2012 February 5th @ Club Castleman

Every year we attend a Super Bowl party at our

friends Greg & Jackie’s house aka

“Club Castleman” (that’s their last name).

They live in Millersville, PA about 2 hours from Ivyland

so we always plan to stay overnight.

I got up early to make some appetizers for the party.

I don’t know why because Greg always has a

plethora of food.

my newest, bestest appetizer —

Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon,

Capers & finely diced red onion.

These go fast at a party–I can never make enough!

I’m always expected to bring these –

my version of a pepper shooter.

We always exchange Christmas gifts

with Greg & Jackie on this day.

This is Michael with his GROWLER of an IPA

from a local brewery. He liked it too!!!

(he’s kind of hard to shop for)

sign on the bar

Jackie “won” this hat from a freebie

give away on Picture of the Day.

LUCKY!

Jackie loving ONE of her many presents –

she loves & collects M & M “stuff” —

the blanket was soft & comfy.

Jackie is EASY to shop for!

Jackie giving the talking fish a kiss –

We gave this to Greg bc he has animal

heads all over the basement

There were A LOT of people at the party.

Every time a commercial came on I was

shushing people so I could hear it!!

The commercials are the best part of

the Super Bowl, right?

Most of you know who was playing in

Super Bowl XLVI

NE Patriots vs NY Giants

yummy snacks that someone made.

(Joyce — I didn’t eat ANY!)

this was SOME of the “game time” food —

Greg also puts out a HUGE SPREAD for

1/2 time….who wants to come with

us next year? We need help eating it!

Jackie & Michael organizing “the game”

you pay $1 for each token & when it happens you

win the pot. There are 14 different things that can

happen. We won the FIRST round so we were

ahead of the game right from the start.

Goodnight Greg — it’s been a long day!

——————————————————

“The Giants are Super Bowl Champions!”

– The New York Giants official website,

who declared the winner before the game was even played.

{I’m thinking….maybe they wouldn’t mind posting the lottery #?}

——————————————————

remember you can ALWAYS see Picture of the Day here:
http://helentdiehl.posterous.com/

feel free to Share 🙂

February 5, 2012

2/4/12 Duck Sauce, Newtown, PA

2/4/12

I alerted Michael earlier in the day I wanted to

try a restaurant that I recently read a good review on.

http://twosquirts.com/blog/2012/02/03/duck-sauce/

After work today we ventured to DUCK SAUCE –

an Asian Fusion/Chinese restaurant.

Also, it is byob – our favorite type of place!

DUCK SAUCE

http://www.yelp.com/biz/duck-sauce-newtown

We coincidently ran into friends Lynne & Stu –

so they were our dinner dates for the evening.

Michael & Me

Wine for the evening

— DREW Syrah — quite nice!

“Dark color with purple-crimson edges

and a nose of cherries and raspberries.

The palate doesn’t disappoint.

There are red fruits & cherry compote.

Very intriguing. An extremely balanced wine.

A long finish.”

waitress ANNIE helping Stu make a selection

Spicy Tuna roll as a starter

Lettuce Chicken wraps – mmmmm

I went with the Wok Seared Beef —

as described in the review:

Thinly sliced beef, quickly seared in a wok to give it a very distinct crispiness and tossed with a garlic and spice sauce.

Mounded into a tidy little pile on top of fresh baby spinach.

The beef is also topped with very thin crispy onion straws.

Lynne’s dinner – Grilled Salmon atop brown rice

Stu’s “George Wallet”

We were having an intervention —

deciding for Stu what he needed/didn’t need

in his wallet

Cool multicolor glass Chandelier in Duck Sauce’s dining room

GOODNIGHT LYNNE & STU —

great to run into you —

We couldn’t have planned it any better!

APPRECIATE TODAY!

ASPIRE!

————————————————–

POSITIVE QUOTE OF THE DAY
————————————————–

I am always doing that which I cannot do,

in order that I may learn
how to do it.

— Pablo Picasso
————————————————–

All the pictures from DUCK SAUCE can be found here:

http://pix.kg/p/420842939408%3A1684875708/scl

remember you can ALWAYS see Picture of the Day here:
http://helentdiehl.posterous.com/

feel free to Share 🙂

February 4, 2012

2/3/12 Wine in Winter!

2/3/12 Wine in Winter

Each year I volunteer at this event: Wine In Winter.

It is hosteded by the Kelly Anne Dolan Memorial Fund.

http://www.kadmf.org/

Help and hope for families with seriously ill children since 1976

This is where the FUN BEGINS —

Normandy Farms in Bluebell, PA

http://www.normandyfarm.com/

Griffin & Julius were some of the guys that helped us

get our table ready for tonight’s Wine Extravaganza.

All the staff are extremely helpful.

….especially Griffin’s idea to use BUTTER to plug the

hole in the bowl we were using to chill our white wine.

INGENIOUS!

Helen happy to help

Joyce was helping also

SI SOAVE ITALIA was one wine we poured tonight.

It was fresh & Crispy – very tasty!

We served a Shiraz & this Petite Sirah as well.

Both wines were well received & our Wine Table

was the FAVORITE of the entire event.

hmmmmm, Was it the wine?? Or Joyce & I??

THANK YOU WINE MERCHANT for your

generous donation. Everyone LOVED your wine!

Joyce schmoozing with customers…..

Joyce ate about a million of these.

Me & friend Jack —

we know each other from Volleyball & we pretty

much see each other once a year at this event.

But now that I am hosting wine/food pairing dinners

we will see each other more often??

Need info on the wine/food pairing dinners??

Contact me!

(email, old fashioned phone, text,

smoke signals, airplane message in the sky)

Our crazy neighbors from TEX MEX Connection

http://www.texmexconnection.com/

Me & Chris from Olive Oil Etcetera in Doylestown

https://www.facebook.com/oliveoiletcetera?sk=wall

Me & John, LouAnn’s husband.

LouAnn is one of the many organizers for this event.

I saw her first thing when we arrived – never to be

seen again — She was BUSY!!!

Next year – LouAnn will be my FIRST PHOTO!

Me & Sam – another “repeat customer” from

last year…. Great Seeing you SAM!!!!

Jay & Joyce

——————————————————-

No matter where you are in life,

take action on the most pressing opportunity

in your immediate vicinity.

Even if it’s not “perfect,”

it will teach you far more

than what you envision as being “perfect.”

In fact, it will likely help you realize

and fuel what actually matters.

~Amber Rae

——————————————————-

ALL the Photos from WINE IN WINTER can be seen here:

http://pix.kg/p/610842939408%3A910466990/scl

remember you can ALWAYS see Picture of the Day here:
http://helentdiehl.posterous.com/

feel free to Share 🙂

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

What would helen do?

Thursday 2/9/12 SPIN, Wine, Snow, Weasel

Wednesday 2.8.12 Dog School & Wine School

2/7/12 Pilates, dogs!, word of the day, cookies!

2/6/12 M & M’s, presents, puppies

Sketchers: GoRun Mr. Quiggly

Super Bowl 2012 February 5th @ Club Castleman

2/4/12 Duck Sauce, Newtown, PA

2/3/12 Wine in Winter!

Follow Blog via Email

Pages