A Long Sojourn

So I ran out of salad dressing and had to use one of the roomies' ranch dressing. Meanwhile I was drinking some of the wine that Brian so graciously gave me last weekend. When I went to take a drink from the wine glass though, memories of the eighth grade were resurrected. Not that I was drinking wine or had run out of salad dressing in the eighth grade, but that having greasy ranch lips makes your glass look nasty. Before our winter ball a group of my friends, along with our dates, went to a local winery for dinner. There we were served sparking apple cider in wine glasses. This is where I remember seeing my greasy ranch lip prints on the glass and thinking that I had done something wrong. I wasn't sure if my parents had failed to teach me some basic etiquette (particularly considering the only alcohol I saw my parents drinking was Miller Genuine Draft or Kahlua). 

Speaking of sparking apple cider. I specifically remember one new years (the one time of the year my parents generally go out socially), my sister and I made Rice-a-Roni and had a few bottles of sparking apple cider to drink. In fact, I drank two just by myself. That stuff is some tasty juice! Yet by the time my parents got home I was puking just short of the sink in my bedroom (my sister and I shared a bathroom but had our own sinks). I'm sure my mom thought I had been drinking alcohol for the first time in my life that night. 

And yes, I did save Pepsi Points one summer to buy a pair of Tevas, now known as mandals. They were actually pretty sweet, with a Pepsi logo on the back. If you're from the Pacific Northwest you understand the utility of such sandals, particularly in rivers. I also ordered a Pepsi beach chair (see above) and a CD case. I guess my family was REALLY into Pepsi that summer.