Fetzer - Gewurztraminer @@@ (3 corks)

Retails: $7.99 (Total Wine)

Gewurztraminer (guh-voorts-truh-mee-ner). As if the guttural, spit-inducing, dry-heave-of-a-word didn't give it away, this is a German white wine (grown in California). Quite a good, German white wine, I might add. About two months ago, a co-worker asked me for a recommendation on a German wine to give as a gift to a neighbor. Having never reviewed a single one, I was at a loss as to what to recommend and put my "roxy.cape dot com" stamp of approval on. How embarrassing! Yes, as of recently, my reputation around the office has been that of "wine connoisseur"--- in truth, I'm probably the office wino, a title I graciously uphold and am honored to have (will they let me have business cards though, that's the question...)

This is a delightfully rich white wine best consumed ALONE--yup, it's a loner. It isn't bad with a meal, but it does tend to be a bit overpowering. It's a solid dessert wine, honey-sweet at first with a slightly dry, crisp finish -- somewhat reminiscent of green apples.

In other news, my fiance and I celebrated our dating anniversary this past weekend --- yes, we celebrate our dating anniversary. By tradition, we head up to Tampa's Channelside district, right near the cruise ship port. We rent a hotel room and walk to all of the bars and restaurants at Channelside. In particular, we enjoy some bowling at Splitsville --- both for its club-like atmosphere and the sense of irony in going to a venue called Splitsville for your anniversary. This particular year, however, we ended up getting food poisoning at Stumps Supperclub, resulting in my making a mad-dash to the bathroom at Splitsville in the middle of our second game, and calling it a night at 9:00 where we spent the rest of the evening taking turns in the bathroom. Happy Anniversary!

Fetzer - Merlot @@@@ (4 corks)

Retails: $6.99 (Publix)

Strong oak flavor with a tinge of smoke in the aftertaste, Fetzer Merlot is a solid medium-bodied wine that I am enjoying from my new space in the home. Yes, I've reclaimed a piece of it for myself, it's every (wo)man for himself here at the abode !

When you live in a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo with your fiance, space can get a little tight. Although we are fortunate to own a home that encompasses an astonishing 1200 square feet, even still, there could always be more room. When his two children spend the weekends with us, they take over the spare bedroom (and every other available corner). My fiance likes to occupy the living room (that's where the xbox lives). So, that leaves me with few options for a space of my own --- the kitchen (standing room only), the bathroom (an obvious no), or the bedroom (no wine allowed).

I took it upon myself to reclaim a forgotten corner of the condo -- the porch (or lanai as we call them in Florida). One weekend, I took an entire afternoon to scrub every corner of the porch to make it livable. After removing the cobwebs, sweeping the dust and appointing it with some colorful lanterns and a giant fan for the especially hot summer days, I uncovered a small sanctuary. I've dubbed it the "girls club" -- Roxy, my dog, and I can now sit in peace and quite in the giant papazan chair doing as we please--drinking some wine, reading a magazine and in this case, blogging (the wifi reaches out there !) Sometimes, it's not that you need space, it's just that you need a space...

We're in the process of becoming the primary care givers for his two elementary school aged children, two boys ages 7 and 9. It's a long story of how we came to this point in the road so I'll spare the back story, a culmination of the past two years. In essence, things weren't working out with them living with their mother (his ex-wife) for a number of reasons and so, over the past few months, my fiance has been coaxing her into mulling over the idea of exchanging custody rights. To our surprise, two months ago she filed on her own accord. In a month, we'll have the court's official decision.

Where am I in this sudden shift from fiance to step-mom? I'm excited, but it's a bittersweet sort of excitement. I don't know a single person in this same situation and hardly anybody knows how to react to the news. I know that you single guys and gals out there in your mid-twenties (or older) are staring, mouths a-gape at the thought of coming into a situation like this. At one time, I, too, literally said I felt I was "much too selfish" to take care of another human being. But of course, at some point you grow up. At 26, almost 27, I've lived a very full, very incredible life--I've seen and experienced things that most people have not at my age -- and I don't see that stopping just because I'll be helping to raise two children who aren't mine by blood, but whom I love all the same. The adventure of life doesn't have to end just because you have children !

So, to each one of you who has said, or has thought at some point, "wow, that sucks" or "oh, you poor thing," your pity is hurtful. You wouldn't tell your pregnant friend "wow, that sucks" if she told you she was pregnant, would you ?

I knew my fiance had kids from the first day we began dating so I have been fully aware for quite some time of what I could be getting into. For him, it's the first time in six years that he'll be able to reclaim his place as full-time father and provide his children a stable, loving home life. That's a pretty exciting thing for someone who has missed out on many milestones due to the current circumstance and I can't wait to be there for the rest. Yes, it will be challenging, but regardless of whether they are your own or not, children are a challenge. Period.

Life is all about encountering new challenges and learning how to coexist and learn from them. And when times get tough, or require a bit of thoughtfulness over wine, I've got my new space to retreat to.