This weekend I crossed #86 off my 101 in 1001 list - go to a wine vineyard by going to Messina Hof wine vineyard!

Messina Hof is in Bryan, Texas (about 1 1/2 hours from Houston). We went out for my dear friend Mariah’s birthday.

The tour

The public tour is a great deal – it’s only $5, which includes a tour (of the bed & breakfast, vineyard, processing, and bottling area) and 4-5 wine tastings (with instructions on how to properly enjoy each glass). AND you get to keep your glass. We learned all about trilling* and clucking**. They also offer private tours for $7/ person.

Tour schedules available on Messina Hof’s website

* Trilling – Holding white wine at the front of your tongue and sucking in air like you’re sucking through a straw

** Clucking – Holding red wine at the back of your palette and slowly making a clucking motion with your tongue – be SURE to keep your mouth closed during the process

The restaurant

We also checked out the Vintage House restaurant which was a little pricy (and 20% gratuity added for large groups). We all tried each other’s dishes and the Nolan Ryan rib eye seemed to be the winner. I love that every single dish incorporates one of the Messina Hof wines into the recipe somehow.

Connect Online

Want more? Follow @Messina_Hof on Twitter and check out their live UStream broadcasts 4:30 – 5:30 every third Sunday of the month hosted by Paul Bonariggo.

Cheers!
- Qcait

Simply chasing cool is a really bad idea; inspired by cool is a great idea. Don’t do it because you research it, do it because you breathe it.
Russell Simmons

I had a great time at Wordcamp Houston at the Houston Museum of Natural Science!

Today was Wordcamp Houston! It was great to see WordPress cofounder Matt Mullenweg back in his hometown keynoting (full keynote video available here), and I always love spending time with the Houston WordPress community.

The number one thing I took away from Wordcamp Houston is the power of WordPress 3.0. With custom content types and custom taxonomies, you can do a ton with WordPress that previously required a more complex CMS. I’ve spent a lot of time in the content management side of about half a dozen CMS systems, and WordPress is far and away my favorite.

In this post I want to recap the second biggest thing I took away from Wordcamp Houston – Kelsey Ruger’s presentation on the Rebirth of Slick. Essentially – how do you make innovative and cool things online? How do you make your personal brand cool? What does cool even mean? Why design matters.

The full presentation is available on Slideshare and is embedded below: Rebirth of Slick: Why Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company

The highlights

The three rules:

1. Follow your own path
2. Be unique – use inspiration to make something new
3. Take calculated risks – go where others aren’t

Tips to being cool (online and offline):

• Evoke emotion: “the emotional reaction is all that matters as long as there’s some feeling of communication, it isn’t necessary to be understood”
• It’s not cool to say you’re cool – you can’t be slick by saying you’re slick
• What you believe matters more than what you do
• Find your points of inspiration -  Did Michael Jackson create the moonwalk? No – but he made it his own
• You can’t buy or borrow cool – be authentic
• When you spend time chasing cool, you don’t do the things that make you cool

What it comes down to:

Don’t chase cool, be inspired by cool

Market research doesn’t tell you what you should be doing, it only gives you a picture of what has been done in the past

Design Thinking

• #1 – Treat design as a process, not as a event
• Start with as many ideas as possible, then start evaluating
• Are your goals too reasonable? i.e. meet customer needs, optimizes resources, change corporate culture
• When looking at inspiration from innovative companies like Apple and Google, don’t ask what DID they do, ask what WOULD they do
• Differentiate – what should you not do?
• Steps: Inspiration > Ideation > Action > Innovation
• Be motivated by passion – If you make all decisions based on numbers and forecasts, you become emotionally detached from the passion (but don’t ignore the books!)
• Don’t lead with efficiency – fix it later
• Don’t outsource your vision, don’t be a slave to today’s trends
• Don’t follow your customers, lead them
• You can get answers by observing, not asking
• Focus on solving human needs instead of technical problems

Storytelling

When writing on the web (for yourself or an organization), be capable of telling a meaningful story.  A good story illustrates human emotion.

Stories to tell:

• Who am I
• Values in action
• Why am I here
• Vision
• Teaching
• I know what you’re thinking

Book recommendations:

• Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company
• Start with Why?
• The Designful Company
• Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want
• The Story Factor

In short: be your own unique self, figure out what that means (and what it doesn’t), focus your content and do what other people aren’t doing. REALLY inspiring!

Huge thanks to all of the Wordcamp Houston speakers and volunteers! It was a great event and I can’t wait for next year!

Why?

I’ve read that the #1 cause of stress in general is living life outside of your values, and how else to recognize that stress than to first recognize your values?

At my job, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is required reading. Part of that process is to create a personal mission statement. The idea is that any decision, any life goal can be measured against this statement. It’s incredibly powerful and I highly recommend it.

Where to start

• There is a mission statement writing tool out there from Franklin Covey that comes highly recommend to help flesh this out
• One of my favorite inspiration and productivity blogs, Marc and Angel, suggests boiling it down to a single sentence (and has tips on how to do that)
• I used my own approach (see steps below)
• I say, use what works best for you!

The process I used

1. Step 1 – Brainstorm – I wrote down everything that I care about on a single piece of paper… and I mean everything. Big things, little things, things are silly or vain, things that are serious – everything. I tried to be as brutally honest with myself as possible – especially when it comes to religion (more about that in this blog post entitled “Belief” if you’re interested). The list was about 50 items long.
2. Step 2 – Categorize -  In looking at the things on my list, they seemed to fall logically into a few different categories – “In life,” “In love,” “In my career,” etc.
3. Step 3 – Refine – Next I combined things to come up with a list of fairly absolute statements.  I  generalized a lot of things, and wrote out specifics on others. I tried to think in terms of absolutes as much as possible – if my relationship/job/living situation changed drastically, all of these things would still apply. If (heaven forbid) Jason got struck by lightning and I moved to Moscow to join the Popovich family pet circus, I would continue to live my life through these statements.

The result – My Personal Mission Statement:

I will go with my gut to do the right thing, keeping in mind Reason, Experience, Scripture, and Tradition.

My career goal is to enjoy going to work every day, and feel valuable (in compensation, respect, and esteem) doing something I am genuinely passionate about.

I will do my part by identifying and taking opportunities to challenge myself, constantly learning from others, and putting my full spirit and work ethic into my work. I will approach every day with a positive attitude.

My sister is both a poor college student and a bona fide nerd (she has the Anime Convention photos and Batgirl tattoo to prove it). So in planning her visit to Houston later this month, she specifically requested “nerd stuff.” I originally compiled this list for her, but I want to share!

Here’s my list of must-see Houston nerd adventures:

1. Comic Book Shopping

I love comic book shops. My favorite in Houston is Bedrock City Comics. With 4 locations all around town and an events calendar to keep any nerd busy, this place is awesome. They have comics, books, apparel, knick knacks, toys, and collectibles to spare.

I also love Third Planet – if my dad opened a store and set out all of the sci fi and nerd memorabilia he’s been collecting for 25 years, it would look like Third Planet. This place is hard to get to and has a tiny parking lot, but is filled with treasure inside. A must see for visiting nerds, but I don’t get the impression the stock changes much.

2. The Hobbit Cafe

This is a must see by special request from my sister. The Hobbit Cafe is really more about the food (healthy, veggie friendly) than the nerd stuff, but definitely worth checking out. One of my favorite Houston porches, and a damn good burger.

Photo thanks to Flickr user nutmeg

3. The Orange Show monument

The Orange Show monument is perhaps the most unique thing in Houston. A folk art environment that is like nothing you’ve ever seen. Though I know she would love to experience the amazing Art Car parade first hand, for this weekend we’ll be sure to visit the monument.

My Art Car Parade 2010 Photos | Orange Show Monument photos

Full disclosure -  Schipul did the Orange Show website & I think it’s completely fabulous.

4. Houston Museums

I love Houston museums! I’m a big space geek and I love taking out of town visitors to NASA (it’s a bit pricey and exhibits don’t change often enough for locals to go often). The Museum of Fine Arts is fabulous and where else but The Houston Museum of Natural Science can you not only watch a super rare Corpse Flower bloom but also follow her on Twitter (@CorpzFlwrLois)?

I’ve never been to The Health Museum, but it currently has an exhibit on animation sponsored by Cartoon Network that I want to check out. What nerd doesn’t love Adult Swim?

5. Alamo Drafthouse

Love, love, love Alamo Drafthouse. The venue may not immediately strike you as nerdy, until you take a look at the events calendar and notice Tuesday is “Anime at the Alamo,” during the fall they show weekly Lost showings, and next weekend will feature a Kevin Smith inspired art show in the lobby. And there’s beer! Nerd bliss!

The original Austin locations are really the ultimate experience, but Houston’s West Oaks location is a great alternative to trading your right arm for a Saturday night out with Front Row Joe.

Bonus #6:

I’ve never been but definitely want to check out Joystix Arcade – featuring classic arcade games. Most days it’s a full service shop and the lounge is available for parties, but on Pacman Fever Friday (the first and last Friday of each month) $15 buys you unlimited games on the classic machines.

That’s what I got! I’m also working on compiling a List on Yelp called Nerd Stuff in Houston. What did I miss? Please let me know!

This feels like the first time I figured out that the first letter of the Disney logo really is a D. I thought it was a G for most of my life, never questioning that the G made no sense at all. (For people who had similar reactions, there is a Facebook Group with 166,000 members strong.)

So here’s my epiphany: For me, in almost every aspect of my life, it’s all about the experience now.

That may not sound very revolutionary, but it affects every single aspect of my life. Let’s rewind.

How I got here

Last week, Jason and I had a conversation about saving money (something he is good at and I am not). After three years of dating, we finally figured out that the reason we have such different views on money is because we spend money different ways. He buys stuff – toys, gadgets, games – and I buy experiences – food, drinks, going out with friends. For him, it’s easy to stop buying stuff – or tell himself to wait for it. For me, it hurts my heart to say no to friends who want to spend time with me.

Today, An unknown person named esco commented on a post from earlier this summer about my Vegetarian week. Which led me to give it a reread, including this quote that I wrote:

“I have this philosophy about food that it is more important to enjoy life than to count calories and be hungry just so I look better in photographs.”

Eur-freaking-reka

It made me realize that that’s exactly the problem I have with money as well. For me, it’s all about the experience. In my mind, it is better to enjoy life in the now than count calories or even count pennies. What if I miss something amazing? What if I die tomorrow and all of it was for nothing? It’s the same reason I sacrifice sleep to stay up late until the very end of a party or emptied my savings account in college for a summer in Europe.

So Now What?

I’ve read (and highly recommend) Dave Ramsey’s book The Total Money Makeover, the whole idea of which is that sacrifice now will bring great reward later. It sounds like a biblical proverb (several actually) – some call it delayed gratification.

It’s something I never thought I had a problem with, which might be why it struck me so hard. The ability to delay gratification is often a sign of emotional and social maturity, and intelligence – all things I feel like I have.

I’ve run across a few really great posts on the subject that I highly recommend.

From financialhighway.com – 5 ways to delay gratification:

1. Make an Advance Decision and Know What You Want (write it down!)
2. Know what is Important to You- Know Your Values.
3. Have a Plan
4. Prioritize
5. Reward Yourself

From Zen Habits (I just subscribed to the email digest) – how to enjoy life now AND save for later. Some of my favorites on the list:

• Find Free or Cheap Pleasures
• Track Your Successes
• Slow Down

Recommendations?

Have you read any great books on the subject? Follow any bloggers? How do you take control? Any suggestions are very, VERY welcome!

Photo thanks to Flickr user SqueakyMarmot

In case you missed the photos and tweets, I spent my 4th of July in Seattle. If you’re following my Day Zero Project list, that means I crossed off #85 Go on a girls’ trip, #91 Visit Jenny in Seattle, and #1 Shop at a Farmer’s Market.

Things I recommend checking out on your next trip to Seattle:

1. Walk as much as possible

We were lucky enough to be in the heart of Fremont, aka the center of the universe. We walked to the Fremont market, the troll under the bridge, vintage shops, Google offices, great coffee, and the (world record winning!)  annual zombie walk.

2. Eat, Drink, and Shop

The best way to bond with wonderful friends. Some of my favorite moments from this visit -

• Got a pitcher at The Buckaroo Tavern – where they shot the pool hall scenes in 10 Things I Hate About You
• Bought fruit and lavender at Pike’s Place Market – and I can’t resist the photo op outside of the original Starbucks
• Waited out the rain in the open air of the Gypsy Cafe
• Shopped at H&M – dear H&M, please open a store anywhere in the south

3. Go to Canada

Ok this is technically not in Seattle, but the 2ish hour drive to Vancouver might have been the highlight of my year. Very walkable, very fabulous. We ate only fantastic food – especially the spaghetti and champagne at Cinch. And get yourself a Kit Kat – I promise they taste better in Canada (they use Nestle chocolate).

LOVE LOVE LOVE!

>> I try to go once a year to visit – where are your favorite places to go in Seattle???

Last week, we moved into a new apartment. For the first week or so, I had a hard time sleeping. There were new noises – the squeaks and creaks and hums that you only hear right as you’re about to drift off – and everything felt different.

And I started to feel it. Restlessness, stress, stomach cramps, yada yada yada… I was physically and emotionally drained.

Not too long ago, my motto was “You can sleep when you’re dead” – I’m one of those people who doesn’t want to miss any ounce of fun, so I’m the last one to leave an event, and the first one to suggest we go grab late night food to keep the party going.

But I’ve learned: Sleep is important. Really important.

5 Crazy Facts about sleep

I started researching sleep, and came across some things I had never heard before. Ok, the cat thing I knew (cat lady confession: I have seen every episode of Cats 101).

1. Your body can survive longer without FOOD than without SLEEP
   source
2. 18 hours without sleep is like a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .05 on your body, 24 hours without sleep and you are as impaired as if you were drunk with a BAC of .10
   source
3. Spending time in front of a TV or computer before bed makes you sleep worse. Light emitting devices tell the brain to stay alert, making it harder to relax
   source
4. You burn about ~500 calories during 8 hours of sleep – which is why you weigh less in the morning than at night (I always weigh myself first thing in the morning!)
   source
5. Cats sleep 13-18 hours every day
   source

Tips for Better Sleep

I am by no means an expert, but I’ve learned the hard way that sleep is important. Here are a few things that have worked for me to get better sleep:

• Keep lists
  The #1 reason for insomnia is that people are afraid they will forget something. Keep lists of to do items throughout the day, and have a notepad by your bed if this is an issue. Write down EVERYTHING so it’s not stored in your head. If tomorrow’s a big day, I make a list of all the things I need to grab on my way out the door. That way I can forget about it and relax.
• Drink Sleepy time tea
  I love Sleepy Time Tea by Celestial Seasonings. My favorite is Sleepy Time Tea with Vanilla and Sleepy Time Tea Extra when I’m really stressed. Other people use foods high in tryptophan like milk, turkey, etc. , but tea is the only food that has ever worked to help me sleep.



• Read a book
  Books combat the screen time issue in number 3 above. I’m not saying grab one of those awful books you were forced to read in high school to bore you to sleep – read something you enjoy! You’ll get through tons of books you’ve been meaning to read with just 20 minutes before bed each night.
  Disclaimer – the night I finished Harry Potter 7 I stayed up until 2 AM even though I had to be up really early the next morning. Oops.
• Love your bed
  For me, good pillows are key (mine are from IKEA). Also, I sleep better with a cat curled up at my feet. For others it’s the comforter, lighting, temperature, noise (or lack thereof), or just that everything around you is in its proper place. Find your thing and love it.



• Healthy Sex Life
  My mom reads my blog, so I’ll keep this one PG. According to very scientific studies, a healthy sex life (with a committed partner) means less stress and better sleep… and respectively better sleep means better sex. So… win win.

Sleep on, my friends! And see more ideas in this great post from Lifehacker – Top 10 ways to sleep smarter and better

>>What about you? What helps you sleep?

In the lat week I’ve seen two fairly amazing videos on what motivates people and makes business better  – and why money isn’t the answer. Watch and enjoy. I hope they inspire you too!

==

The surprising truth about what motivates us – why Autonomy, Mastery,  & Contribution are more important than money. From Dan Pink (10 minutes):

Vide on YouTube

Gary Vaynerchuk keynote excerpt from SXSW 2010 – on why CARING MATTERS and how business who don’t care will LOSE (7 minutes):

(Fangirl sidenote – I HIGHLY recommend subscribing to Gary’s newsletter for updates on speaking gigs, video, and cool things going on on the web)

Video on YouTube

Day Zero project list item #5 – “Eat like a vegetarian  for a week”

I added this item to my list, frankly, just to see if I could do it.

Technically I ate like a pescetarian – one who does eat fish. But I tried to keep the fish to a minimum (3 meals in my week had fish: crab wontons, shrimp poboy, and fried fish at Luby’s).

I’ve never been one who could diet for long periods of time (my most successful period was 8 months on Weight Watchers when I lost 15 pounds). I just can’t do it. I have this philosophy about food that it is more important to enjoy life than to count calories and be hungry just so I look better in photographs.

Fried green beans at PF Chang’s – they have a wide menu of Vegetarian & Gluten Free options

My experience

The closest I’ve come to vegetarianism is giving up meat on Fridays for Lent in high school. I wanted to see if it made me feel closer to God. It didn’t really, but I like the idea of disciplining myself for a higher purpose. (More on my thoughts on the traditions of Catholicism in this post if you’re interested.)

I’ve read many blog posts written by vegetarians –  some heartfelt, some academic, and each lay out similar reasoning for avoiding meat: health, environment, and/or animal cruelty.

A recent study found heart disease 24% lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians. Vegetarians also tend to live healthier lives and live longer. Honestly, I think this is as much related to the food vegetarians eat as much as the fact that they are extremely aware of everything they put in their body. Over the last week, I thought and planned every meal before before I ate it, and wrote down the details afterward. In the daily “where should we eat?” discussion in the office, I spoke up and had an opinion (unlike my usual “whatever you want”). I read candy labels to make sure it didn’t include gelatin (made from animal bone marrow), I made sure I got enough protein… I took ownership of my choices.

What I learned

I hope I learned to pay attention to what I put in my body. Think about the ingredients: where they came from, if they are good for me, etc. I hope to continue this trend as I go back to “normal” life.

Some of my favorite vegetarian resources I’ve read -

• From AlmostVegetarian.com – Tips on how to become vegetarian
• Happy Cow Compassionate Eating Guide – restaurant guide for vegetarians
• The amazing HappyKatie’s food blog HungryKatie (not necessarily vegetarian only, but usually) – hungrykatie.com

Crossing this one off the list!

Believe it or not, this blog post began as an explanation of eating habits. I started writing about discipline, and found my thoughts on belief and religion really merited its own post. So here you go…

First, Some Background

My dad is Catholic and my mom is Methodist. Growing up, we had a deal: we were brought up in the Catholic church until we attended our first holy communion – long enough to ensure to my father that we would get into heaven. Then at the wise old age of 8, we were allowed to choose. We had to go somewhere on Sunday morning, but they didn’t particularly care which parent we went with.

From a very early age, I felt empowered to make choices about religion. I recognized that there were differences in denominations and that there wasn’t wrong or right, just different. We would discuss what we learned at church over Sunday lunch, and I remember being amazed at how often the bible verses discussed were the same in both sermons (looking back it’s not that surprising, there are a standard set for holy days such as Pentecost, Palm Sunday, Advent etc. which take up much of the year). Also, I spent my early elementary years attending a Lutheran private school. So add that to the mix.

Catholicism

I have always had reverence for Catholic tradition. I think it’s extremely poetic that in Catholic mass, we’re often speaking the same words that were spoken by biblical ancients, Renaissance monks, etc. Part of me loves the comfort that it is the same as it has always been. This is the same part of me who decided to go to Texas A&M University after attending one tradition-entrenched football game and studied Latin for six years knowing I would never speak it to anyone. I have sung in the two largest cathedrals in the world – St. Peter’s in Vatican City and St. Paul’s in London. Hearing your voice echo off  structures that beautiful is enough to stir emotion in even the most doubtful of us.

St. Peter’s Basilica, The Vatican, 2005

Methodism

And then there’s part of me that lives my life every day. The part that lives with a man she’s not married to and likes to sleep late on Sunday morning and drinks boxed wine (pretty sure Jesus drank from a jug). This is the part of me that thinks that it doesn’t matter if Jonah was really swallowed by a whale or if Mary was really a virgin or any of that – what matters is the message. That’s the part of me I listen to most of the time.

I like what John Wesley says about morality – that you can’t follow the bible or religion blindly. He says we need to take into account REST – Reason, Experience, Scripture, & Tradition. I love that Reason and Experience are half of the equation – and that Tradition made the cut.  It’s up to each of us to make our own way, using the tools we have.

Youth Group Board Retreat, 2003

Now

I spent my childhood at the First United Methodist Church of Coppell and I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s where I learned to sing, got to act in musicals, and met some of my very best friends. But nowadays I’m not plugged in to one congregation like in the past. I spend more time reading books (recently The Year of Living Biblically, my favorite is still Blue Like Jazz) and things I come across (recommend my mom’s pastor’s blog When EF Talks) and soaking in all I can.

What I Believe

No matter where I am in my life, there are a few things I find truth in all the time:

It’s not by chance. The events that have led up to life as I know it – the fact that the world came into being, humans evolved, my ancestors survived, my mom met my dad, and I grew up healthy and now live the life I’m living… cannot be by chance. Something greater than me had to set it all in motion. I call that thing “God” spelled G-O-D but some people may call it something else. I think this is empowering and puts responsibility on me to do something with my life to make it all count.

I am thankful. I am blessed for more reasons than I can hope to count. Even on my worst days, I am alive and healthy and loved and safe. And it just doesn’t make sense to take any of that for granted.

It’s better to do the right thing. Whether you believe the “right thing” means eating kosher food or praying three times a day or going to church on Sunday morning, we all have a moral compass that tells us to treat people and the world around us with respect.  It all comes down to love, and it’s just better to love.

Love!