Winter Break Update

Good morning!

How are you? Man, it feels like I have been out of town forever. I miss you all and thought about you often. I really did, that's not just something to say. I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years!

As you read in my prior post, Christmas was wonderful. We enjoyed our time together so much and it's amazing how fast those kids are growing up. Well, amazing isn't the right word...scary is.

Here's some more pictures from our time in Virginia...

John and the kids AND our friend Xiaoxin playing Apples to Apples. We met Xiaoxin 3 years ago in Orlando when she was studying there and came to an international student event. We became great friends and hung out weekly for 1.5 years. Then she moved....to the same town our family moved to! Imagine our luck. We love you Xiaoxin!

We also did a 2.8 mile hike to White Rock Falls off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Wonderful to connect with nature and get our workout on!

John and the kids conquering a rock!

Oh the joy of a child...

And the joy of love... :)

See? I told you we had a great time! We got back into town last Saturday and rang in the new year with our friends Caitlin and Ben and their cats Boomer and Dip. I didn't get any pictures of the night...argh! Since then I've been at home, sick with a cold and laryngitis. Not a cool way to end my vacation. But, I am happy that it has caused me to slow down today at home long enough to write an update here and reconnect with you all.

Question of the Day: 

How are YOU? Tell me all about it...what was the highlight of your holiday?

Down on the Farm

An overview of one of my grandparent's hills...note the patch of Christmas trees there.

Home, home on the range. Where the deer and the groundhogs play! Where often is heard a pro-ofain word, and the men go out hunting all day!

Good morning everyone, and happy Friday to you! I'll have you know that I spent a whole hour getting these pictures ready to show you. Man, do I love you guys or what? I practically missed two whole episodes of Arrested Development to make it happen.

I'm really excited to share them and a piece of my family. So sit back, relax, and get to scrolling...

Me and the hill of trees behind the house.

The red barn...full of Christmas goodies, and antiques from God knows when...there's even an old horse-drawn sleigh that my great-grandfather used to use!

The white barn and a truck we affectionately call "the beast." Inside is tractor equipment and severed deer heads.

The house. My grandmother grew up with her family here since age 6. And she's lived there until now! It's 4 floors, excellent for manhunt, and is full of cubbyholes and corners with creepy dolls and other old stuff. The basement and 4th floor attic were terrifying to me when I was young (and even a little now...).

This is my great-great-grandfather and mother's grave. Gust J. Madera 1. There are now 5 Gust Madera's (My brother is the 5th.) Gust the first died in a coal mining accident there in Pennsylvania and was an immigrant from (we think) Czechoslovakia.

My dad sighting in his rifle for buck season.

John shooting, doesn't he look like a professional?

John LOOKS like a professional, I REALLY AM ONE. ; )

Helping my cousin make a wreath. I'm not a professional at this...but with Chris' help, I did alright!

This is me in my Dad's hunting gear. Can you see me? If you look into my eyes you can see that I am so seriously ghetto. Don't look at me wrong or I will mess you up!

That's my little tour around the farm and some pictures of the fun things we did. We can't wait to go back, hopefully when it is snowing so we can get some great winter shots. It's so beautiful in the winter when the snow is hanging on all the trees and the barn is standing tall and stark against the blanket beneath it. You must see it! 

Have a great weekend everyone, and see you Monday!

Question of the Day:

Is your family attached to a particular town or piece of land?

Totally Awesome Tunes Tuesday: Road Trip Music

It's time for another Totally Awesome Tunes Tuesday! Last week I asked you to send me your favorite songs to drive to and I have to say that you all have such excellent taste! Love the oldies here. I tend to go back for good road trip music too, as you'll see...Check out the road trip song picks from this week:

From Meghan at Wishful Thinking:

Click to hear: My Favorite Game by The Cardigans

From Christina at The Olive Tree:

Click to hear: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson

Click to hear: I Want You Back by Jackson 5

 From Emmet Katherine at Hippie Lace:

Click to hear: Any tunes by Joel Plaskett

From Hannah at Culture Connoisseur:

Click to hear: Impossible Germany by Wilco

Click to hear: Killer Queen by Queen

Click to hear: The Long Black Veil by Johnny Cash

Next week's topic is Christmas themed! I want your all-time favorite Christmas tunes, even the silly ones that people might point and laugh at you for. 

Email the link to the  YouTube song to me at culture_connoisseur(at)yahoo.com

Weekend Update| November 28, 2011

The old red barn.

How can 4.5 days off fly by like a normal weekend? Life's not fair. We had such a great time in Pennsylvania. We went up to go visit my grandparents on my dad's side and for the first time I got to bring John along. It was the first time he really got to meet any of my family on that side and I had a great time showing him around the place!

My family lives in a small town in Pennsylvania (population 441). They own a large plot of land where they farm Christmas trees, and they have been there so long (generations!) that the road they live on is named after my grandmother's maiden name

I have much more to tell you about my family's farm and a few stories from our family line, but today all we need to worry about is food! What a delicious meal. As you can see, our table was full to the brim! We had all kinds of goodies and it is literally all I ate while I was up there. For two days I ate nothing but Thanksgiving leftovers. I was fat and I was happy. :)


 


I guess one of the more unusual dishes is pictured here. I don't know how many of you have noodles on your table at Thanksgiving, but we do! They buy some kind of homemade noodles there local and when they cook up they are so soft and doughy. They've been serving it on Turkey day as long as I can remember and it's one of those special things I look forward to.

The food wasn't the highlight of my trip though, the people were! I hadn't seen that side of my family in about 10 years! It was so awesome to hang out with my Aunt Dawn and her husband Jim (who I met for the first time!) and with my two cousins, Chris and Brandon. The last time we spent time together I was 15, and we were all just kids. It's so different (and awesome) to spend time as adults, and really talk. I wish I had a few more days to soak it all in....

My Aunt Dawn and I.

I can't wait for our next trip up there. Not only was Thanksgiving a memorable experience, but taking John around the farm and telling stories of my family and our past was more than I could ever ask for. Like I said, I'll be sharing some of that with you this week, as soon as I pretty up those pictures!

Here's a teaser photo- me and one of the Christmas trees on the farm. Yup, I'm a tree-hugger alright!

Question of the Day:

So, what was the best part of YOUR thanksgiving?

Don't forget! If you haven't emailed me your favorite road trip tunes do so now! Totally Awesome Tunes Tuesday is coming tomorrow. :) Email me at culture_connoisseur@yahoo.com!

Anniversary Cruise Photos

Good morning, and happy Friday! Not to brag, but I've got the day off today. Three hoorays for being a government employee! I finally had some time this morning to round up my cruise photos to share. I hope you enjoy them (I know we did!) and that it brings some warmth into your day if you're dealing with those chilly temperatures...


Here's some of the photos from on the ship. We were on board the Disney Magic and the service was absolutely wonderful.

Anniversary Cake.

They tied our hands together and sung us a Happy Anniversary song!

A ghost towel for Halloween.

Pirate night. We didn't come prepared but John did find a bandana. :)

We stopped at two ports in the Eastern Caribbean- St. Maarten and Tortola. In St. Maarten we headed over to the French side to check out a fort, and then over to the dutch to visit a secluded beach and do some snorkeling. Tortola was just ok. We got off the boat for about 30 minutes and then headed back to relax by the pool and eat more food...

John at the overlook of the French side of the island.

On our trek up the hill to the French fort.

Gorgeous!

A cloudy day in Tortola. Steve Zissou impression.

Our final and most exciting stop was Castaway Cay, the Disney island. It has everything you could ever want in an island and we had a blast snorkeling and relaxing at the adult beach. We say little Dorie fish, striped angel fish, and even one huge gray fish with warts all over it. Isn't this location breath-taking?

Serene.

Bring me two Pina Coladas...

Fun in the sun!

I hope you enjoyed my trip photos! We had such a wonderful time spending every waking hour together. I guess we're one of those odd couples that never gets tired of one another. It was a much needed break from real life and the perfect way to celebrate a fantastic year of marriage and see a little more of this beautiful earth.

Question of the Day:

What's your favorite spot in the Caribbean?

We're Back From the Beach!

Good morning guys and gals! We've made it back from our lovely week-long vacation and boy was it amazing! A whole week of nowhere to be, no one demanding our time or attention, and more eating than is socially acceptable.

I want to specially thank all the wonderful ladies that filled in for me while I was away. You had some awesome posts and I'm so glad you got to share them with my readers. I hope that many of you went to check out their blogs...they really are wonderful!

Here's a little sneak peak of some pictures to come. Our cruise was re-routed last minute to the Eastern Caribbean to ensure calmer seas and better weather. Our ports changed from Grand Cayman and Cozumel to St. Maarten and Tortola. Both were lovely islands, and we really enjoyed exploring.

The shots pictured here were from Castaway Cay, that's Disney's private island. We loved it. Probably our favorite port since the food was free, the water was super clear, and we snuck in some good snorkel time there. 

I really missed you all and thought about you often (well, as often as one thinks about home while on a vacation away from reality...) But when I did think about it, you all were there! I hope you had a great week last week.

Question of the Day:

What were you up to last week? Fill me in on your life!

Confessions of a (not quite) Wine Connoisseur

Hi, friends!

My name is Amy, and I blog over at Amy Around the Corner. First of all, I'd like to thank Hannah for the opportunity to write guest post for her while she is off sunning & funning in the Caribbean with her husband ;) When Hannah first put out the call for "guest posters", I knew that I wanted to help her out, but I wasn't entirely sure what to write about. I gave myself a little time to brainstorm, and finally came back to the #1 blogging statute that "Thou shalt write about what thou are passionate about."

 

... And for me (among other things, of course!) that is wine.

To know me is to know that I am a wine drinker. While I don't prefer sweet wines, for the most part I do not discriminate -- I love it all: full-bodied, hearty reds; crisp, fresh chardonnays; multi-tonal, rich dessert wines. Yum! I love quiet Friday nights filled with make-your-own pizzas and large globes of merlot... and I live for the dinner parties where the wine flows freely, and the conversation and laughter goes well into the night. ... We recently got our gas fireplace working in our house, and enjoying a glass of wine fireside adds a whole new dimension to my 'wine loving ways'.

This past September, my husband Jon and I spent a week in Northern California. We spent several days in San Francisco ... and the rest was spent in wine country. ...Honestly, if we ever get the chance to go back (and I hope with all my heart that we do!), we would spend a whole week in wine country. ... It was just much more our pace. We enjoyed strolling through quaint shops on Healdsburg Ave., stopping in to family owned vineyards to taste & discover new favorite wines, and sitting on park benches and simply breathing in the color and beauty and peace of wine country. 

 On our second day in wine country, we joined up with a wine tour (through Platypus -- a wonderful experience!) and visited 5 wineries in the Russian River Valley. We had a fantastic time, and by the time we returned to our hotel room that evening, exhausted (a bit buzzed) and deliriously happy (um, with ... *ahem*... almost a whole case of wine in tow ...) we had tasted at least 25 different wines, and learned a fair bit about wine (making & tasting!) in the process.

Today, I share some of this "wine wisdom" with you!

 
1. As with all of life, oxygen is a vital part of the wine experience. Oxygenating or aerating the wine allows the wine flavors to open up and deepen -- in fact, experts say that aerating the wine improves the entire flavor profile of the wine. ... This is why people swirl their wine glasses before tasting-- it oxygenates the wine and releases the wine vapors!

2. ...Speaking of scent: wine tasting is a multi-sensory experience! The scent, the mouth feel (i.e.: velvety, tannic, big, soft), and finally, of course, the taste all go into what makes a wine taste unique.

3. ...Never cook with wine you wouldn't want to drink. ...It doesn't have to be expensive wine, but it should still be palatable :)

 4. If you want a sweet treat, seek out a late harvest, or ice wine. Late harvest wines refer to when grapes are left on the vine longer than other grape varietals to increase the sugar content in the grape. By the time the grapes are harvested, they have dehydrated on the vine and look like raisins. These grapes produce some of the sweetest dessert wine that will ever pass your lips.

5. Cheese & wine may be the most brilliant combination ever ... ranking right up there with peanut butter and chocolate, chocolate & red wine, or cake & ice cream ;) There's just something about the creamy saltiness of the cheese and the crisp bite of the wine that is simply perfection.

6. No matter what else you may choose to serve as an accompaniment, wine is best enjoyed slowly & sweetly, in the company of good friends and loved ones. 

Cheers!

If I Were On a Cruise...

Hello Hannah's lovely readers! My name is Gentri and I blog over at Gentri Lee. I am so excited to be guest posting here today while Miss Hannah is off enjoying herself on a cruise. Want to know something? I've never been on a cruise... I've never even seen a cruise ship in person! Is that a crime?

Since I've never been on a cruise I thought I'd take this post to show you where and what I would experience if I ever had the opportunity to go...

Places I'd Like to Go:

1. Alaska
I've been to Alaska a few times and I absolutely love it! So amazing. I think a cruise there would be such a wonderful experience and such a refreshing trip.

                                                                          Source: une-deuxsenses.blogspot.com via Astrid on Pinterest

2. Northern Europe
Countries like Norway, Germany, and England have ALWAYS topped my travel list. It would be a dream come true to be able to experience them all on a cruise.

                                                                            Source: 26.media.tumblr.com via Gentri on Pinterest

3. Southern Europe
I've heard wonderful things about these cruises... Oh to actually go... Italy? Greece? Mmmmm.

                                                                                       Source: weheartit.com via Gentri on Pinterest

4. Caribbean
Warm and relaxing. What more could you ask for??

                                                                                            Source: carnival.com via Christin on Pinterest

5. World Cruise
OF COURSE this would top my list. How would it be to spend 6 months cruising around the entire world?! This is definitely a goal of mine...

                                                                     Source: ashlemieux.blogspot.com via Gentri on Pinterest

Now, I've heard about ALL the wonderful things people do while on their cruise. Here are the things I would be looking forward to the most...

1. Swimming with Dolphins
Of course swimming in general. But to swim with dolphins is something I've always wanted to do!

                                                                                Source: myworldhandbook.com via Kim on Pinterest

2. Attend a Formal Dinner
What fun to get all dressed up for a night and be treated like royalty! Yes please!

                                                                              Source: greigedesign.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

3. Constant Entertainment
Shows every night?! I would be in Heaven. Pretty sure Disney would provide the best entertainment.

                                                                   Source: sn119w.snt119.mail.live.com via Julianna on Pinterest

4. All You Can Eat
Oh yes... I've heard allll about the food...

                                                                                   Source: google.com via Samantha on Pinterest

5. Shopping
Last but DEFINITELY not least. I would shop until I dropped (or ran out of money, which ever came first)! I am a sucker for souvenirs and love being able to take home a piece of my trip.

                                                                           Source: marthastewart.com via Charity on Pinterest

aaaaaw. Did we all enjoy our little cruise?? I sure did! I just hope one day to make any of this a reality. :)

Thank you ladies (and gents?) for reading today! I'd love for you all to hop on over and visit me at my normal spot- Gentri Lee. And THANK YOU Hannah for letting me guest post! I hope your cruise is wonderful and I can't wait to hear all about it! :)

Love,
Gentri