Whine & Cheese

Christmas Goodies

Despite not a creature stirring here at W&C of late (yes, not even a mouse)... we survived Christmas. 

We had a really wonderful time spending the day with Scott & Buckaroo... it was Mexican food and margaritas galore!  Yep, it's not your mamma's baked ham and sweet potato casserole when you're invited over to our house for Christmas!

And despite having known each other now for well over a year, it was the first time our "children" met as S&B's Bailey and new puppy Karter came face-to-face with our Toby.  I think we were all a bit nervous, but everyone was quite happy and well-behaved. 

Why were our dogs so well-behaved?  Well, a perfect segue to some of the fun stuff Santa brought me.  First up, this t-shirt...

I am a huge fan of Cesar Millan and The Dog Whisperer... and with a new pup in the house, S&B have started watching as well.  So let's say there was a lot of "chch-ing" going on.   Now granted I only have a "pack of one" but at least folks will know Toby is under control when I am walking him around the neighborhood.  We joked that it might be interesting to see the reaction this t-shirt would get in a gay bar.  You can find this shirt and other products at Cesar's official web site.

Next up, I didn't have to make a trip to the Scranton, PA Chili's restaurant to get this t-shirt...

My very own Dunder-Mifflin t-shirt!  Extra awesome... on the back, it shows I'm a Dundie Award Winner!  Not sure what category I won, but safe to say Phyllis is likely still the Busiest Bushiest Beaver  (one of my all-time favorite Office moments). You can find this shirt and pretty much anything from the peacock network at the NBC Universal Store.

Finally, our new gadget... and a kitchen one too... so doubly good! 

A Keurig Single Coffee Cup Brewer!

Todd has had some personal experience with Keurig since they have an industrial version at his work. 

It's really quite cool... you just pop a K-Cup (pictured next to the machine and in greater detail below) into the machine an in about 15-seconds you have a freshly brewed cup of coffee... or mug or travel mug... you specify the size of your beverage container by pressing one of those three buttons you see below that blue screen.

The K-Cups are just adorable.  They come in dozens and dozens of varieties... bold, dark, medium strengths... all kinds of flavors... even organic!  And, if you don't like coffee, there are many varieties of tea too!  No muss, fuss, or mess... you pop in the K-Cup "as is"... the machine automatically punctures it, shoots thru hot water and in about 15 seconds you have the hot beverage of your choice.  Pop out the K-Cup (which amazingly doesn't leak at all) and throw it away.

We've now become obsessed with finding K-Cups.  We picked up a couple of boxes at some local stores, but will likely do most of our future shopping online. Price-wise, the range seems to be 35 to 50 cents per cup, depending on where you shop.  Seems a bit pricey, but then I only have to remind myself that a trip to Starbucks for 2 pretty much relieves us of a $10 bill... so really not bad at all.

And even better yet, you don't need to use the ready-to-go/branded K-Cups... get a My K-Cup (that brown thing above)... and you can put a couple scoops of any of your own ground coffee for use in the machine.   

So needless to say... though we definitely don't need it... we are drinking more coffee, especially after dinner where we were just too lazy it never seemed to make sense to make a pot of coffee.  Time to get those decaf K-Cups! 

   

Merry Christmas (Indeed!)

I have not heard a thing about my car accident since July.  While certainly curious, the whole thing had put me in a funk for far too long... so I tucked it away and placed my faith in the 'ole adage "no news is good news."

In today's mail, lurking among a handful of Christmas cards, was an envelope from my insurance company.  My heart sunk... no way was this crap going to resurface just days before Christmas.

I cautiously opened it...

December 19, 2006
We have concluded the handling of your insurance claim (date of loss: May 12, 2006) in which we were attempting collection.  We were able to make a recovery which included your deductible.  We are attaching our payment which is your proportionate share of your deductible based on the same percentage as our recovery.

Out popped a check for $500 -- 100% of my deductible. 

Like some sappy Christmas movie, the music began to swell with "The End" popping onto the screen.

I kind of feel like Jimmy Stewart running through town...  Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!

So, political-correctness aside, Merry Christmas to all!

Here is the Christmas card that I sent out to most of the folks on my snail-mail list:

Inside: Wishing You Peace and Happiness this Christmas and in the New Year.

Todd is home all next week... I am working "as needed"... so I am going to try to detach myself from the computer as much as possible... thus W&C likely won't be back in full-gear until the New Year... stay safe, don some gay apparel, remember to breathe... eat, drink, and be merry!

Express Lane: Issue 21

Even the Express Lane is pretty crowded going into this final weekend before Christmas!

CBS finally reveals jury's votes - Not announced on the finale, the final voting for 'Survivor: Cook Islands' finally makes it onto the show's website today.  Sundra seems to have been the key vote for Yul (who also had Candice, Adam, Jonathan, and Brad). (12/21/06)

Ross Is Grandmother to 'Brothers & Sisters' - This show keeps on raking in the guest-stars.  The latest casting news is Marion Ross playing Sally Field's mom... word has it this Mom won't be as "happy" as Mrs C. (12/18/06)

Time magazine's Person of the Year: You - Pretty much a cop-out if you ask me!   So, how many of you are going to add  "2006 Time Magazine Person of the Year" to your resume?! (12/17/06)

Three-time Slam champion Davenport pregnant - Guess that means Lindsay is likely headed into retirement w/ the baby due in early summer. I had a chance to have a one-on-one interview with back when I was moonlighting as tennis journalist... a great gal, congrats! (12/13/06)

'Sopranos' Back in April - The final season (or at least the first part of the final season) gets a spring debut... with 'Rome' returning for its second season on January 14th. (12/13/06)

'30 Days' Back on FX Calendar - A third season for Morgan Spurlock's always fascinating series... production starts in the spring... which I am guessing will lead to it usual late summer run. (12/12/06)

ABC Asks 'Lost' to Stay Up Later - Not that it matters all that much to us TiVo users, but Jack & crew will be moving back an hour later (10pm EST) and conveniently out of the way of 'American Idol." (12/6/06)

Lance & Reichen Split - And just under the nose, the length of this relationship comes in a a comfortable 14 minutes and 47 seconds. (12/4/06)

Schroder's Number Is Up on '24' - Good thing there are 24 hours considering all the cast additions this year... the latest, Rick Shcroder, who will play Jack's partner at CTU (that is, if Jack can somehow get out of that Chinese prison... duh). (12/4/06)

I Smell Cookies!

A batch of home-made Christmas M&M cookies fresh from the oven:

Around the holidays, whether we need 'em or not, I always feel compelled to bake some cookies. 

If you asked folks one thing they remember about my Grandma, I am guessing the majority would say her Christmas cookies.  She would start in November and literally bake thousands of cookies... and at least a dozen varieties.  She would box them up and hand them out to pretty much to anyone and everyone.

Before I moved out to Arizona (and long before she left us mentally, then physically), Grandma wrote out some of my favorite cookie recipes on note cards.  Though I know those cards are in my recipe folder, it still startles me to see that handwriting in red pen.

And while I rarely get mushy spiritual, I have to say I feel her presence when I am making and baking the holiday cookies.  This afternoon I was thinking just how pleased she would have been that they now sell bags of M&Ms with just the red and green ones!

Out Of (i)Tune

While making some purchases on iTunes... Celine Dion's unintentionally hilarious version of "Feliz Navidad" and Carrie Underwood's delicious (and decidedly non-vanilla) bad-girl turn with "Before He Cheats"... I stumbled across the Top 100 Best Selling Songs on iTunes for 2006.

I figured it would be fun to count how many of the songs we own. 

Well, the fun didn't last too long! 

I was feeling pretty hip that we had 5 of Top 11... but then we could only scrape up 9 more in the next 89 songs!   Ouch!

I think the music you like tells a lot about you. 

What this says, I don't know... besides not having my finger on the pulse of popular American music and/or turning into a crusty curmudgeon (what kind of gosh-darn music are these crazy kids listening to these days!).

Here are the songs that made up the 14% overlap of our music library and the bestseller list (iTunes 2006 sales rank in parentheses).

Bad Day - Daniel Powter (#1)
You're Beautiful - James Blunt (#3)
Over My Head - The Fray (#7)
Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield (#9)
Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers (#11)
What's Left Of Me - Nick Lachey (#32)
Check On It - Beyonce (#34)
Waiting On The World To Change - John Mayer (#42)
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall (#45)
Walk Away - Kelly Clarkson (#48)
Stupid Girls - P!nk (#56)
Not Ready To Make Nice - Dixie Chicks (#61)
Upside Down - Jack Johnson (#66)
Hung Up - Madonna (#93)

The Mighty and the Almighty

I reached one of my reading-related goals of the year... 24 books!  For the mathematically challenged, that's 2 a month (and I think I can eke out #25 before the new year rolls in)!  So a little bit of personal accomplishment... especially since I rarely set "goals" (let alone, meet them!).  I have already thought up what my 2007 reading challenge (more on that in a future post).

So, as you can see this time up it's Madeleine Albright's The Mighty & The Almighty... and I already had the .jpg ready to go from my post all about the book-signing a couple of months ago.

Even though I have become a huge fan of Ms. Albright, I was still a little hesitant going into this one.  My last attempt at reading a book about Islam was a mixed bag ... it was good, but just a tad too overwhelming and "scholarly" for me to fully digest. 

No fear... Madame Secretary is a straight-shooter in print as well. The book is quite readable and engaging.  And while she certainly doesn't mince words about the current administration, she states "Critics have an obligation to be fair and to offer constructive ideas.  That is the purpose of this book."  I believe she accomplishes that. 

However, in the current political climate, any words or advice will likely fall on deaf ears to your counterparts on the other side of the aisle.  Of a White House gathering of former Secretaries of State and Defense, Albright called it "a polite meeting but not, I fear a productive one".  That is really unfortunate, because throughout this book, it is clear that Albright is an "American" first (dare I say, "a patriot") with "Democrat" falling much lower on the list. 

There is a lot one can learn from this book regarding world religions, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Saudia Arabia (heck, the whole Middle East), Africa...  as well as some things right here in the good 'ole USA.  I won't embarrass myself listing all the "I did not know that" moments, but believe me there were many (too many!). 

Albright urges a much greater focus/education on religion as it relates to world affairs.  Now this is not "separation of church and state" (somewhat comically, Albright notes the original intention of the Founding Fathers was to keep government out of religion, not the other way around)... which Albright states "does not insist the state be ignorant of the church, mosque, synagogue, pagoda, and temple."

Now granted some of this may be Monday morning quarterbacking, but just reading some very basic things about Iraq's history and religious make-up it is fairly easy to understand why things are the way they are.  Good intentioned (what do they say about that proverbial "road to Hell") or not, the odds were heavily stacked against us from the get-go.

If you are interested in, but feel a bit inadequate about religion and the current state of the world, I can not recommend this book enough.  While not an encyclopedia, I guarantee you will walk away with some new-found knowledge.  Though, at this point, I would probably wait until the spring when it is scheduled to be released in paperback (with more than likely with a updated/new introduction).

MisMatch #4 - Holiday Edition

... and not only a special holiday edition... but one pulled from real-life events!

So you are innocently walking your dog... and come across this holiday display...

... while The Divinyls' "I Touch Myself" is playing on your iPod.

130,000

A year ago yesterday, I signed up with Site Meter to track visitors here at W&C.  It doesn't take long for a blogger to get over how many (or, for some of us, how few) visitors you have... you want to know what is bringing them in.

Then, you realize you probably don't want to know the answer ... for many of us, I suspect it is not what we want it to be (i.e., our sparking personality, razor-sharp wit, etc.) ... but something much more basic and/or primal (i.e., the mention of the word "shirtless" or "gay" attached to any number of famous folk).

So here is my 365 day review...

A smidge over 130,000 visitors and just about 178,000 page views (i.e. when people searching for something wonder why the heck they were brought to my site and explore further) for the year.

So not too bad at all ... and average of about 350-ish visitors a day/2,500-ish a week (the 260 noted above is for the past week)... and fairly steady throughout the year.  I can't explain the "peaks" in February, July and October... and we'll just ingore the November and December down-turn (though that's only half the month for Dec).

I guess that's it... boy, I was spoiled having a season's worth of Amazing Race Monday "sure thing" material to get the week started!

Oh, some other W&C notes I have been meaning to mention.  A few weeks ago, I created a new banner for our favorite new TV show of the season... Brothers & Sisters.  It'll pop up randomly, but if you feel you must see it now, check out the Banner Gallery.  I also "retired" the Big Brother: All Stars banner.

Also, you may have noticed I added Snap to W&C... if you put your cursor over any external (non-W&C) link in my posts or on the sidebar, it will preview that particular web page.  It seemed like a pretty cool feature (plus the code was free and easy to pop in), so I thought I would give it a try.  I hear that it doesn't work for all folks/browsers... so if it is causing any major problems let me know.   

Beauty "Down Under"

Last August, I mentioned a local TV spot that was a bit "too much" for me. It was for a medical procedure that eliminates... ummm... a ladies "monthly visitor".  Again, fine ... great... but what bothered me was the ad's cute-sy tagline ending (shouted out by a group of ladies no less)...

Stop the flow! Period! 

I figured nothing could top that... well, allow me to introduce you to...

The Aussie Makeover.

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

We are "Enhancing Your Down Under"... and sorry gents, again this one's just for the ladies. 

Services include...

(Okay folks, time to put down any food or drink)

Ready?  Various degrees of hair removal, G-sp0t amplification, vag1nal restructuring, clit0ral reb1rth, outer lip contouring, and lab1al rejuvenation.  (Yes, I purposely subbed in some #s for letters... I do NOT want search hits on any of this!!!)

I have absolutely no issue with the procedures or anyone who wants to get them done. Heck, I have had laser cosmetic treatments myself (on my face!).  Everyone has their reasons, and I am sure it is all quite helpful/valuable for one's self-esteem.  Again, I can speak from experience.   

Additionally, I understand the need to advertise the availability of these services. I, for one, did not have a clue... but then again, I do not have a vag1na nor do I (or am I ever likely to) come in contact with one.

So what's my problem?  Well, to be fair, the ad airs primarily during daytime hours and target market programming (i.e. The View)... but we have seen it during the dinner hour!  I don't care what your gender or sexual orientation,  I just don't think that's an appropriate time to be talking about a what Will & Grace's Karen Walker once called a ladies' "English muffin."

As with the "Period!" ad, I think this whole name/"play on words" thing is just bit too cute-sy as well. I wonder what Australian citizens would think?  Would you want your country to be such a euphemism? But as long as they leave my Outback alone I guess it's okay!

It certainly puts a new spin that Men At Work lyric "Do you come from the land Down Under?"

By gosh, I think we all do now!

As a public service, for those interested or curious... the website is www.aussiemakeover.com

Holiday Lights Part Deux

Just got in from another attempt at taking pix of the front yard holiday lightdisplay.

Thanks to Scott for leading me to this article... Strobist: How to Photograph Christmas Lights... it definitely helped (I hope you agree... you can compare the pix below to the one "good" pic I managed to get a week or so ago). 

The key seemed to be setting your camera's white balance to "tungsten" (get out that manual!)... taking pix at twilight (not when it is entirely dark)... and, if you don't have a steady hand (I sure don't!), using a tripod.  Keep shooting away... my first and last 10 or so pix were so-so... as the post says, there's a magical 10 minute window where the amount of light is just right.