Vacation in my mind.....

I am posting this morning out of complete fear that ppppffffttttt is going to become nothing more than a Bachelorette Recap blog. I might have to rename it www.bashingali.blogspot.com if I don’t post about something else soon.

(BUT, don’t worry, we will have last night’s recap by Bob Scarff coming at you shortly. Kasey got a tatoo? What!?)

So last Saturday was officially 6 months of being married for Robert and me. I was going to do something cute for him like buy him a 6-pack of good beer or do something with “6”. That fell by the wayside. Spooniest, I’m going to leave the cute stuff up to you and I’m going to be the person that fantisizes about it. J Perhaps, someday, I’ll get there.

This week, what is on my mind is that exactly six months ago, I was on my honeymoon. I was on an island. I was in Maui.

The island air does good things to your mind and spirt. It allows it to relax, to slow down, to just enjoy. I feel that these are healthy elements that should be a part of everyday life that the normal American just doesn’t allow themselves. We feel the need to work, then work-out, then cook, then clean then run errands, then check or email…the cycle, it doesn’t stop. In Maui, it stops. I can almost hear the ocean thinking about it.

Speaking of the pace of life, last Friday, Robert and I went to our local Lakewood Whole Foods. We love it there. Whole Foods in all of their brilliance is displaying their Top Ten Wines for the summer. Great wines and great prices. A cute bottle of red caught my eye (yes, i will buy a bottle because it's cute). I grabbed it and put it in my basket. Then, beyond the cheese section - I see it, the wine sampling table is out!! It’s the little things in life that make it so good. There is no one manning the table and I look around frantically because I really want to taste this cute wine that I chose to make sure it’s good.

here's the bottle.

VALDEMAR TEMPRANILLO

*Need an elegant, racy Red? Or a classic sipper with a modern twist? Pair this crowd pleaser's ripe cherry flavor and nose full of blackberries and currants with Gran Queso cheese and cookout classics, from fajitas to burgers. (it was VERY good, if you see it and like reds!)*

A willowy blond in her 30’s calls to me behind the cheese bar, “Did you want to sample?? Sorry it got busy back here, so I’m helping!”

“Oh no hurry! Yes, I have this bottle of red in my basket and I thought it might be a good idea to sample it.” I say, I don't want to pull her away from a cheese emergency back there.

As soon as she sees the bottle I chose, she gets really excited. “I love this wine, I love this brand,” she gushes, “This is the wine that got me serious about wines. Because of this brand of wine I moved to Spain after college and studies wines.”

Sigh. She’s one of those. One of those, pick up and move to Europe on a dime people. I want to be one of those.

I ask her about Spain and we start talking about the difference in the pace of life in Spain and the US. She says, “They think Americans are insane and work crazed!” I tell her I would love to move to Spain like she did and she says seriously, “You should. The euro is going down.” 

Well, Adios, everyone, the euro is down, Roberto and I are moving to Spain to learn about wine and siesta every day! It was like she thought that was all the reason I would need to pick up and move to Spain was the news that euro is down and that I should go ahead and book my one way ticket. Oh wine girl, life isn't that simple.

But…someday, maybe someday J 

Robert joins me at this point and she tells us that she graduated from Texas in '94 and we talk about Austin and how much it's changed. Oh, Whole Foods employees, you never dissapoint.

My Spain/wine conversation did get me thinking about where Americans are as a culture. I just stated reading The Omnivore’s Dilema and the first chaper is about how the question of “What’s for dinner?” has become so complex. It completely has for me, I question what is “healthy” all the time. Carbs/no carbs, organic/not organic, meat/ no meat. It's so tiring! Sometimes it makes me want to not care at all and eat cookie dough for every meal. (I won't Robert, don't worry.)

Americans in general seem to be a little lost when it comes to food. Our book stores are packed with shelf after shelf  of countless books on diets and healthy eating, yet we lead the world in obesesity. What does this say about us? I feel like our whole state of mind is off and the level that we enjoy life is skewed. The French, Italian and Spanish eat foods with heavy fat content and drink wine and almost every meal, yet are slimmer and more healthy than us. Their whole pace of life is different from ours, their whole state of mind of how to enjoy life is different from ours. Slower, more simple, more about enjoying and appreciating. Sort of like how you are when you are on vacation….

Like a vacation on an island. Aruba, Jamaica, ohh I wanna take ya….

(Yikes, Aruba=Nataile Holloway, that’s not as fun to sing anymore.)

Anyway --who says you can’t be on vacation mentally everyday? Not checked out, like I’m not going to do anything sort of way, but more in a appreciative enjoying life kind of way.

Go on vacation today and enjoy that pace…….