I have never liked limits imposed upon me.  Speed limits, budgets, control freaks are all things I can do without.

Well the other day I had a revelation. Of course, this thought isn’t new to me. However it hit me so hard the other day, I was stopped in my tracks.

I need to get control. Not over people. Not over things out of my control. But with things that are 100% in my control.

• spending – I buy whatever I want, without any thought to cost
• eating out – I eat out most days for lunch and several nights a week for dinner (this doesn’t help my calorie intake or my spending)
• imbibing – I drink frequently (1-2+ glasses of wine every night!)

These are all things I have set limits on before and done successfully. But for some reason they all feel like they have spun out of control recently.

And by losing control over these things, I seem to have gained everything (mostly bank fees and weight). I don’t want those things!

So here’s to getting a grip on my life. And I started last night…by eating homemade, healthy soup (Don’t freak out. Yes I cooked!  And yes it was fabulous.), skipping wine and not spending money to eat out.

Don’t get the wrong idea. I plan to still eat, drink wine and spend. But in moderation. For example, I don’t need to have a glass of wine EVERY night. I can drink it several times a week and still feel okay. I also plan to still spend money. I make it. I can spend it. But I need to put some limits on how much I spend. I have lofty long term goals, like living as a rich person when I retire, and this takes some restraint now. I plan to eat out, but not everyday at lunch and most nights at dinner. I will force myself to cook at home and/or bring a lunch to work.

Wish me luck!

What things do you have to limit in your life?

Tags: drinking, eating, spending

This Wino Wednesday post was inspired by a recent trip to the wine country. It confirmed that love is possible!

A few weekends ago, I went to Napa Valley. This is my heaven. I love Napa. This love affair began when I was in college and dating a wine master. We spent a gazillion weekends up there. But since I moved to Utah 15 years ago, I’ve only been back to thearea a few times. Napa mixes all the things I love: wine + mild temperatures + sun + wine + friendly people + green + beautiful estates + wine+  magnificent food + everything Napa Valley.

In an effort to combine Wino Wednesday and Wordless Wednesday, you can experience my trip with pictures and very little text. I love that I can have solid justification for not putting too many words in this post. I’ve not been in the mood to write much lately.

So the story goes like this…

I took a large suitcase with lots of extra room to bring back wine. Found a place that shipped it to me so didn’t need the space in the end. I had a morning flight and started my day with vodka and cranberry juice. I’ve got to stay healthy! Vitamin C, people.  

I flew in to Sacramento airport. I love their baggage claim area. Crafty for that town.

The view from our villa was awesome. There were cows grazing in the hills behind us. The cows are the black spots. Me soaking up the sun first thing Saturday morning. It felt so good. Don’t mind the natural look, but I had just rolled out of bed to enjoy this.

First stop on Saturday, where I fell in love, was Gloria Ferrar. Just to be clear…I fell in love with the amazing sparkling wine. We went to several other wineries, but I got sidetracked and forgot to take photos.

Gloria Ferrar was so impressive, we went back on Sunday. I kept my champagne Sunday tradition by enjoying a few more glasses of bubbly. Which were served to us. While sitting in the sunshine. And looking out at the amazing view.

On our way out of town, I fell in love again. This time with a vineyard on the hill.

And this is my story.  And this is how it left me…

Super happy with a smile that can’t get any bigger.

Blue skies. Sunshine. Vineyards. Bubbly. Love. This makes me happy.

What makes you happy?

Wino Wednesday…this weekly feature is designed to share my wine alcohol related stories.

Tags: bubbly, Napa, trips, wine

Sundays are for all great things that start with the letter “S” or start with the sound of a “S”.

Of course, I love any day in my weekend. However I have started to love Sundays the most. It is my free day. I try to take care of all my errands and chores on Saturday so I have the entire day on Sunday to relax and do whatever.

And here are what my Sundays are for…

• Sun (or snow in the winter).
• Champagne
• Sheets, clean ones
• Sunkissed tan skin
• Celebration – of life, love and all good things
• Settling down – after a blissful weekend and charging up for the week ahead
• Soaking in the hot tub
• Showering in the evening – before slipping into my clean sheets
• Sexy, sensual and silly – enjoying all things which are that
• Shows – it’s one of my favorite nights to catch up on my DVR’ed shows
• Skin – keep it bare with no makeup
• Sag – NO BRA day, of course, mine don’t sag any more

So here’s to the best day of the week. Sunday. Cheers. *clink*

Tags: champagne, Sundays