Chocovine

Delicious! I happened to pass by this bottle at Costco last night and was intrigued. "The taste of dutch chocolate and fine red wine". I'm not a huge chocolate person, but it intrigued me. At 14% alcohol and the color/consistency of a Yoohoo drink, I was sold. It was $7.98 for the bottle and I believe one of my friends had stated she just purchased it but wasn't too sure on trying it. It is a blend of rich dark chocolate and Cabernet red wine. I can't describe it much more than to say it was definitely a dessert in my mouth lol. I found the flavor mild and refreshing, it brought back memories of drinking chocolate milk (something I don't do anymore) as a child. I would highly recommend this to friends that favor sweets and want to dabble in wine. As well, I would recommend this to my friend who are wine connoisseur's striving to find new varieties to try. The website is http://www.chocovine.com/ so definitely check it out and consider pairing it with your dessert for the evening :)

Watch out for the chocolate mustache that is certain to be left behind by enjoying this fine beverage lol :)

The Traveling Vineyard

I'm really interested in wine (of course) so when I heard about this at home business, it sounded perfect! I just signed up as there was a special this month for $100 of the kit and it came with two tasting sets. I think for my first tasting party I am going to host it at my house so my husband can try out the wine as well. I just wanted to share since I'm pretty excited right now as this is something I really am passionate about and I really enjoy the art of wine tasting. You can check out the site at Bubbly if you are curious about it or maybe interested in the business or hosting a wine tasting in San Diego. Hope everyone is having a great week, the weekend is almost here! :)

Finding me....

I've come to the realization that I need to give up the facade that things are always great. They're not...and they're not for most people. What I have realized is that we have choices in our happiness and unhappiness BUT, we do have the right to sometimes have a bad day, maybe an extra glass of wine, and just overall be in a bad mood. Life is full of ups and downs, how we get through them is what makes us who we are. Sounds a bit cliche I'm aware, but it is a true statement. Everyday we are put into situations where we have choices in how to react, and only I can choose the outcome. It's kind of like those books we used to read in elementary school about "Choosing your adventure", lol if you remember those! I choose success, happiness, and loving who I am (flaws and all)! Not a vent, just a bit of self realization that came about after a conversation with a good friend.

Wiine of the Week: Tempranillo

This past weekend we decided that a red would be nice to go with the bbq chicken and pasta salad we were having for dinner. I'm usually incredibly apprehensive of bottles that are "twist off", however this one caught my eye. It was perfect at room temperature and a very light red wine. The flavor was fantastic with the bbq and the pasta salad. I think that next time I would probably have steak with it though just because I think it would pair even better. At around $8 a bottle, this is incredibly affordable with a lot of flavor and it has origins of Spain.

Strawberry Gorgonzola Bruschetta Appetizer

While checking some stuff at Henry's earlier this evening they were demoing a new appetizer that I fell in love with and felt the immediate need to share it with you all! It is very easy to make and pleasing on the eyes.

What you need:

Mini garlic toast

Gorgonzola cheese

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive oil

Fresh Strawberries

Salt & Pepper

You prep by turning on the broiler. Lay the mini toasts on a cookie sheet and mix three tablespoons of olive oil to one tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Brush it onto each of the toasts and sprinkle some coarse sea salt (any should do, I just enjoy the flavor of sea salt quite a bit). Place a piece of Gorgonzola onto the toasts and pop them into the oven for about three-five minutes. Keep an eye on them because you want the cheese to begin to melt, not over done. After you pull them out, place a strawberry slice onto each and finish with fresh ground pepper on top. I took the picture before adding the pepper by mistake. It was incredibly delicious but very rich! I would recommend to serve it with some light white wine. An oak tasting Chardonnay or any Pinot Grigio would be amazing.

Enjoy! :)

Diet Review: 17 Day Diet

I am always up for trying new ways to shed some pounds and have read/tried about every diet out there. I was skeptical that this "Diet" would be any different from any of the others I had read about. It's all the same that you need to eat less, work out more (basically). I happened to catch an episode of Dr. Phil in which he reviewed the Diet and expressed his skepticism as well. Dr. Mike Moreno answered the questions that were asked thoroughly and explained why he felt his diet would work in common sense terms.

I ordered the book after watching the show because I felt like what he was saying really made sense to me. I'm excited to say that after reading the book I am eager to start the 17 Day Diet and I am making out a grocery list so I can start on Monday. A review of the diet will follow in 17 days (What appears to be around April 15th on my calendar). Many claimed to have lost 12+ pounds during the first 17 days, and Dr. Moreno stresses to follow the diet and move onto the next phase after 17 days to keep your metabolism moving.

Basically you are limited in the foods that you can choose from, but the protein/vegetables that you can have, you are able to eat as much until you are full. You are alloted a certain amount of servings of fat and dairy/pro-biotic foods. As far as working out, it asks for you to exercise in some way or another for 17 minutes two times a day. The majority of the reviews I have read thus far have been pretty positive and most say they do not feel deprived. Anything is possible for 17 days!

Tsunami updates on Twitter faster than news stations?

This tragedy in Japan continues to break my heart...the past 3 days it has been one thing or another. Whether they continue to experience horrible aftershocks or a nuclear meltdown, they just can't catch a break. I urge you if you haven't done already to make a donation to the Red Cross of $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999.

While watching all the different news casts and live coverage of the Tsunami, I was amazed at how often the reporters referred to Twitter and Facebook as fantastic sources of breaking news. My job position is within the Social Media industry and the more that I learn regarding this exciting field, the more I realize that this is changing the world as I type this. We no longer need to stay glued to CNN to watch updates on breaking news stories when you can hashtag the story in a Twitter search and get updates from people actually witnessing the event occur (example being #Tsunami). It is quite exciting to be a part of experiencing these changes in the world and the fact that Youtube has passed Yahoo as a search engine says a significant amount about where we get our facts.

As a Twitter reluctant in the beginning, I can now say that I am probably more addicted to that form of social media than Facebook. I love being able to communicate with thousands of people as opposed to sharing a status update with 160 friends. Just some random thoughts for the evening.

Out of breath...

I have that overwhelming feeling that I am not in control of my emotions right now and it is an incredibly uncomfortable feeling. Within this last week I have gone from calm, confident, and secure to feeling the complete opposite. I know it is normal to go through times like this and that it will pass...I just want it to pass quickly lol! I had a chance to really vent to a few great friends the past couple days and it has helped a lot! I definitely do not take anybody in my life for granted because I really have been blessed with a great circle of support. So for now I will head to bed with Chelsea Handler's "Are you there Vodka? It's me, Chelsea" and smirk a bit. She definitely has a way with words that really just say "Hey....stuff happens, get over it and move on!"

Wine of the Week: Chardonnay

Friday we decided on a bottle of Hardys Chardonnay from Australia. It is a fantastic wine and complimented the Shrimp Fettuccine we made for dinner. It was very smooth in flavor and definitely one of the more pleasant Chardonnay's that I have had. It was 13.5% in alcohol, so not too strong. I definitely preferred the fruitiness of this Chardonnay as opposed to many of it's Oak flavored siblings lol. I would definitely enjoy this bottle again and at $8-$10 a bottle it was a great deal!

Chick Fil A Soup recipe

I need to make this again soon! It turned out so yummy and is definitely one of my favorite meals ever!!

I found a copycat recipe for Chick-Fil-A's soup which is my favorite! The stomach flu has made it's way into the house and we all feel kind of cruddy :( Here's the recipe though for anybody interested, sounds delicious!!

Chick Fil A Chicken Harvest Soup

1/4 pound butter
3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 to 3 quarts water
2 tablespoons chicken base
2 quarts chicken stock (see chicken tenders recipe)
1 pound fresh carrots, diced
6 to 7 ribs celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Cooked chicken tenders (either boil or pan cook)
10 ounces egg noodles

In a large pot, melt butter. Add flour and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly add the 2 1/2 to 3 quarts of water, stirring constantly. (The amount of water used depends on how thick you want the soup.) Simmer 20 minutes. Add chicken base and chicken stock.

While chicken stock mixture is cooking, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a separate pot. Add carrots, celery and onion. Cook 6 minutes. Drain. Add to chicken stock mixture along with white pepper and garlic powder. Simmer 10 minutes. Add diced cooked chicken tenders.

Cook noodles in a separate pan of boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Add to soup. (Noodles will continue cooking in the soup.) Simmer soup 2 or 3 minutes more and serve.

A Saint on Death Row: The Story of Dominique Green

This is the book description I get off of Amazon; On October 26, 2004, Dominique Green, thirty, was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas. Arrested at the age of eighteen in the fatal shooting of a man during a robbery outside a Houston convenience store, Green may have taken part in the robbery but always insisted that he did not pull the trigger. The jury, which had no African Americans on it, sentenced him to death. Despite obvious errors in the legal procedures and the protests of the victim’s family, he spent the last twelve years of his life on Death Row.

When Cahill found himself in Texas in December 2003, he visited Dominique at the request of Judge Sheila Murphy, who was working on the appeal of the case. In Dominique, he encountered a level of goodness, peace, and enlightenment that few human beings ever attain. Cahill joined the fierce fight for Dominique’s life, even enlisting Dominique’s hero, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to make an historic visit to Dominique and to plead publicly for mercy. Cahill was so profoundly moved by Dominique’s extraordinary life that he was compelled to tell the tragic story of his unjust death at the hands of the state.

A Saint on Death Row will introduce you to a young man whose history, innate goodness, and final days you will never forget. It also shines a necessary light on America’s racist and deeply flawed legal system. A Saint on Death Row is an absorbing, sobering, and deeply spiritual story that illuminates the moral imperatives too often ignored in the headlong quest for justice.



*****I finished this book about a week ago and I am still finding myself thinking about the book quite often and the impact it had on me. I find that I am in disbelief that at this point and place that our society is in, that a man can be convicted and executed based on no physical evidence whatsoever. I need to read further into this case to actually be able to justify an opinion on whether racism in fact a sad factor in this situation. It appears that the Texas judicial system is lacking in many ways irregardless of any racism argument and that can be said with how the trial played out. Anybody curious on this case or learning more about more "current" Texas judicial proceedings should absolutely read this book. At 160 pages, it isn't a hard read or take a lot of time by any standards. It definitely has made me curious to read more books and look into this case far more. *****

Lets get it started....

I'm pumped to start blogging more! That was a New Years even goal and I had put it off badly! I decided to start fresh, right here, right now! I want to write about everything that I am interested and already love to talk about; I just want to be more consistent with it so I can focus on improving! Here we are and SocialRachael.com has launched! I am incredibly excited to see where this year takes me in regards to writing, work, friends, and everything else lol. Thanks for being part of the journey :)

Wine of the Week: Grenache Rose

I have always associated Rose with White Zinfandel, which is a very poor assumption to make. They may be lighter in color, but that is where the "lightness" ends. Tonight I tasted a 2008 Grenache Rose from Wilson Creek Winery. The initial flavor on the palate is a fruity bouquet of mixed berries. The bottle describes it as Cranberry, Strawberries, and Dark Cherry (which would explain the mild tartness). It's delicious and is a great wine to enjoy either by itself or with lighter dishes. The alcohol content is at 14.75% so while it is lighter in color and milder in flavor, there is a kick somewhere in there. The winery is located out of Temecula California. You can visit their site at www.wilsoncreekwinery.com

How my definition of "Friend" has changed over time....

You see the arguments daily that the internet has changed relationships for the negative. The fact that we spend more time updating our status on Facebook or Tweeting about what’s going on in the world DOES in fact say something… I do not believe that it is for the negative though in many cases.
I have a smaller group of friends and tend to be a little more careful with choosing who I spend time with off the computer. Online though I can chat and get to know MANY people at once.
Social media is not going anywhere and despite the cries of many who say back away from the computer, we are only connected even more with the ever expanding Smart Phones. I still remember being 15 and my grandfather cosigning for me to get a Tmobile Nokia! Remember them?



That was 11 years ago lol. Now…we have the iPhone and Android phones that can do everything from updating Twitter and Facebook (at the same time in many instances), Making video calls, Updating spreadsheets, to using GPS to guide you to the nearest Sushi place.
Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, LinkedIn, etc has changed how we make and build on friendships immensely. In having a chat with my friend over his/her status updates on Facebook I have made friends with some of their friends/family and further built on that by adding them to my network. From Tweeting I have also had the chance to converse and connect with people that I might not have met otherwise.
A friend that I met off of Twitter is actually the inspiration to this post. I’ve never had the pleasure to have met this person in real life, but it feels as if I have known him for a while. I look forward through out my work day seeing his Tweets and being able to offer and exchange encouraging words to help us get through our day. After some recent Tweets with a friend of his, it appears he is missing. He usually updates every hour or two and it’s coming up on a week with no sign of him online. His friend offered a great idea to start Tweeting a tag of #findSoulKirk to keep his many followers updated as well as hopefully gain some more information on his whereabouts.
The whole essence of this post is that I cannot agree with the internet changing relationships or causing us to be less engaged with friends and family. I worry and care about my friends on Facebook and Twitter as much as the friends I have off the computer. I know that many people that have difficulties with making friends with people off the computer rely on Social Media tools for engagement and conversation with real people. A healthy balance of being online and offline is definitely necessary, but by all means continue the process of getting to know people online and being there for each other. People tend to be able to share and express themselves better through the internet anyways….