Double Dog Dare...yes, this is the name of a wine!

I recently had the opportunity to go out with a very wonderful group of ladies. We are close yet we don't see each other as often as we should. We know each other well yet we often don't talk for months. We have fun together, yet we don't spend nearly enough time doing so. We share much yet we share infrequently. But on this particular night, we shared. We spoke of exciting prospects and of current happiness. We shared bottles of wine that were way too expense by half. But what the heck, you only live once, right? And the memory of the evening will stay with us long after the wine bottle has been emptied.

Imagine if we all lived our life the way we wanted to what would it look like? Would we eat cake for dinner more often? Would we say what we really felt a little louder? Would we be happier? Imagine having the courage to go forward and take the first step when you wanted something. Perhaps you are are a teenage girl and you would love to go for coffee with that cute guy in your Math class. Maybe you are a young man and you want to have a career as a pilot or a doctor. But you just don't think you'd be good enough. Give yourself a break! Why don't we just ask for the things we really want? Are we so programmed into believing that certain things are out of our reach that we don't even try? How many of us have, at one time or another, shrunk away from something we wanted, because we were too afraid to go after it? When, truth be told, we don't always get a second chance. Our lives are finite. They have a beginning, a middle and most definitely an end. The key to really living is to believe in ourselves and make the most of the middle. It's often the best part. Like an oreo cookie. Or a piece of cake with an extremely rich and decadent layer of icing in the middle. Or, my favourite...it's a bit like a bottle of wine. Work with me here, I'm really stretching with this one....Okay, take, for example, the first glass of wine...it's just been opened and hasn't fully breathed yet, your palate is unfamiliar with the taste (it's a new bottle, you've never tasted before). This is the beginning. It's new, fresh, and you're still making up your mind about it. Have another glass. Ahhh, yes, there's the full flavour, you allow it to roll around your tongue, tasting all the notes and savouring the smoothness. It slides down nicely. That's the middle....you can have another glass of the middle cause it tastes so yummy. Now you get to the end. You've had enough, you can't distinguish the notes as easily and your grip on the glass is a little bit shaky. The bottle is empty now. Time to turn in.  Don't you wish you could have another glass from the middle? So it is with life. We are given only one middle. It is up to each of us to make the most of it. Stop procrastinating on projects that you've set aside. Think about your dreams and how you can make them come true. If you are unhappy with something then take the chance and make a change. Find a new job, cut your hair, ride your bike more often, and by all means, drink more wine! Splurge once in a while and buy that bottle that you think is too expensive. Surprise your best friend, your lover or your sister and don't worry about the dollar sign. If you think it's worth it then it is. Because this is YOUR life and you deserve to be happy. When you learn to find happiness within yourself then you will bring happiness to others, thus making the middle a really great place to be.  I Double Dog Dare ya!  I'm in the middle right now and I'm pretty darn happy so what kind of wine do you like? 'Cause I'm buyin'

Note: Double Dog Dare is an inexpensive red wine that I found when I was on my way to go sailing. It was a great wine to drink while out on the boat, enjoying the fresh air.

Please feel free to leave your favourite wine in the comments section. I would welcome the opportunity to hear about some of the wines that are popular with others. ;-)

Wine Matters

Our brain works in mysterious ways. It is still a widely untapped area and research has shown that most of us use only 10% of our brain at any given time. Even less, if you're a teenage boy. It's all considered Grey Matter. If you are the parent of a teenager, it's very likely your grey matter is taking more of a beating. Watching our children go through adolescence is a very trying time. Homework, friends, peer-pressure...it's all a lot to handle when you are a teen. And that's without even considering the L word. LOVE. True love, young love, being in love, most of it is intensely felt for a short time. Matters of the Heart. Grey Matters, Matters of Fact. These are all very important matters. 

As parents, we sometimes need to be reminded that we were once like our children. They can be so challenging at every stage that we forget about the rewards of parenting and focus strictly on the parts that drive us crazy. And to be sure, going crazy is where I can often be found. The nice part about going crazy is that the way back from going crazy is filled with wine. It's frequently a necessary part of the journey when trying to find your way back from going crazy. I'm quite positive that names such as Apothic, Arrogant Frog, Flip Flop, and Double Dog Dare, to name just a few,  were all a result of the creative genius of people all coming back from a "gone crazy" type journey. 

Aside from wine, you will need other tools to arrive safely through to the other side....commonly known as adulthood. If you can summon from within, using both your heart and your grey matter, the patience and understanding needed, you can survive your teen's very important and necessary passage into adulthood. You can offer to listen, when they choose to talk. You can offer guidance...when they choose to listen. You can offer a hug when their hear is broken. You can offer money....cause you know for darn sure that it will be accepted! 

Our brains don't prepare us for raising teens, thankfully that is why we have wine. Like a roller coaster ride that is bumpy, curvy, topsy turvy, exciting and scary all at the same time, so is life with a teenager. Having the wine along for the ride just makes it that much more bearable. So stock up your wine cellar and strap on your corkscrew because in the end, it's not where you end up, it's the adventures along that way that really matter. 

Of course we all know it's really the wine that matters, but we're trying to be good parents here......pass the wine please! 

Always time for wine!

 It'a about time. Everthing has a time and place. Time for dinner! Time to go! There isn't enough time! Time is one of those funny things that I consider to be a great equalizer. Everybody, everywhere has the same 24 hours each day. What do you do with your 24 hours? How will you spend your day tomorrow or the next? Are you doing everything you want to do? So much of what we do depends on time and yet the number of hours in each day doesn't change from one day to the next, one week to the next. Everyday is like a gift, being opened for the first time with so many wonderful possibilities inside, just waiting to be discovered. Until you open the gift. Sometimes the gift is exciting....like a brand new watch that you've been wanting. Some days the gift is more like a pair of itchy woolen socks from your great-aunt Frannie....not exactly your heart's desire. But with everyday you have the same opportunity to make the most of whatever happens and most importantly...you can always open a new bottle of wine! Beso de Vino is an excellent choice. I just happened to have had it recently at a gathering and shared it with others and they all agreed that it's a great tasting wine. A red wine from Spain, it is a blend of Syrah and Garnacha grapes.  It's great as your house wine and pairs well with many different foods. Reasonably priced at around $12-$15. We should always remember to make time for the wine in our lives, whatever your wine might be. Have a glass today and make your next 24 hours happy ones. Cheers!