Summer's simple pleasures

“Summertime and the livin’ is easy”-George Gershwin

Ahh.... Summer. The time of year when we linger with friends a little longer, allow our kids to stay up a little later and enjoy a less hectic day-to-day existence. For us, as soon as school is done, mornings become less rushed, meals are more casual and the ever present “to-do” list gets a little easier to manage.  

Although we are only a few weeks into summer (I know that officially summer doesn’t start until June 20th, but humor me), we’ve already made some great summer family memories, and almost all of them have been very simple.

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Watching our kids run through the sprinkler and laughing for hours.  Sitting on the grass and watching a baseball game on a Sunday afternoon while the kids danced and played with friends.  Planting a small vegetable garden with the kids and telling them stories about my grandparents’ garden when I was a girl.  Having dinner with friends and laughing over a good bottle of wine.

So, my Inspired Wining friends, please join me in my quest for summer’s simple pleasures by sharing your ideas and suggestions for fun and simple family activities.  Also, if you have a favorite bottle of summertime wine or beverage, please share that as well.  After all, the grownups need to make some fun summer memories of our own.

Michelle Gauffreau is a customer service consultant for Broadcast1Source and  a founding member of Inspired Wining. She is also a wife, a mother of two and an active volunteer in her community.

Red wine, yoga and girl time

As a guest panelist at a conference last month, I listened as one of the attendees posed the question, “How do you not burn out?”

I was the first of the panelists to respond. "Red wine and yoga," I said.

The room fell silent as the attendees chewed on that thought and then a slow laughter spread. But, I held steadfast. “No, I’m serious. I go at such a fast pace, juggling home/work/marriage and pushing our company to the limits that I need a consistent outlet to catch my breath and refresh. Red wine and yoga are my outlets.”

As I was leaving the conference and dashing off to a shortened girls weekend, I pondered the thought
more and kicked myself for not adding girl time to that list. My mom and girl friends reenergize me whether it’s just by being there to listen or give advice or to cut up and de-stress with laughter.

And you know what? During that girls weekend, we laughed and laughed. It felt great. The laughter started in a gift shop where we found a hilarious line of gifts and cards with circa 1950's and 60’s photos with funnies on them.

A magnet that said, "Wine is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

Another magnet --- "Behind every great women are lots of women."

Cards -- "Grab the toolbox, let’s get hammered."

Cocktail napkins -- "I’m on a liquid diet and it’s going well; I’ve lost two days so far" and "You don’t have to put yourself down; we’ll do that when you leave."

Of course I loaded up on chatskis for the special girls in my life, but I thought all of you, too, would enjoy a chuckle. Hope it will de-stress and energize you if only for a minute.

Tiffany Crenshaw is a  North Carolina native, wife, mother of 2 wild and crazy kids, and an entrepreneur. She loves her family, a delicious glass of red wine, girl time and the occasional spa treatment. As an enthusiastic member of Wednesday Night Whine, she rarely misses a “meeting” unless she’s traveling for business. She is the President and CEO of Intellect Resources, a recruiting and consulting firm specializing in the healthcare IT industry. 

Confessions of an Inspired Wining "Widower"

My wife, Michelle, is one of the six amazing women who formed Inspired Wining. I have to admit, when I first heard that their monthly gatherings would include charitable goals and projects, I thought to myself: “Yeah, right. I’m fine with you getting together with your friends once a month. You don’t have to pretend that there’s anything more to it than wine-drinking and the occasional man-bashing session.”

Boy, was I wrong! What these women have accomplished is incredible. Not only have they forged deep and lasting friendships while having a lot of fun together, they have worked tirelessly to raise money and awareness in the fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and to inspire other women to unite for a common charitable purpose. 

All of the Inspired Winers lead extremely busy lives with kids, jobs, and Church and volunteer activities, but they nevertheless find the time and energy to make a significant contribution to a worthy cause. What a great example for their children! And, frankly, what a great example for their husbands. To paraphrase Jack Nicholson in “As Good as it Gets,” you make us want to be better men.

[As an aside, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’ve seen “As Good as it Gets.” Of course, that movie did have a few good scenes with Helen Hunt in her prime, but I digress . . . .]

So, I hope I can speak for the other “Widowers” (Bobby, John, Kevin, and Scott) when I say: Ladies, all of your time with Inspired Wining has been worth it, and we support you 100%. If that means some extra “Mr. Mom” time for us, that’s fine, and that’s good for us and for the kids anyway.

Know these things to be true: You make a difference for PPMD. You inspire each other, you inspire other women, you inspire your children, and you inspire us. We are proud of you.

P.S. Maybe the guys will get together sooner or later and form a similar group of our own. Although, I’m not sure Inspired Bourboning has quite the same ring to it.

Stu Gauffreau is General Counsel for a software company and a Colonel in the Army Reserve. He enjoys spending time with Michelle and their two children and the occasional half-jog/half-limp around the neighborhood.

The cause of friendship

Inspired Wining is delighted to welcome guest blogger, Michelle C. Davis, this week. Michelle recently started an Inspired Wining group in December. 

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"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" C.S. Lewis

Several years ago, I was fortunate to be a part of a dinner club that was forming among brand new friends.  During those first few months, we all began to reveal our inner selves to each other -- and our passion for wine, food & life!  

Fears of judgment began to chip away as I let down my wall and began to really share “me.” Much to my surprise, no one really cared if my house was not 100% presentable or if I gave my kids a bath while they stood naked in a tub not filled with bubbles & toys. We also didn’t care that the culinary experience at one of our homes was a simple (but delicious) homemade pizza! 

What we learned about each other during these times together was that while life is happening, you need to share it with others around you, and when you do, true friendships form. Friendships that last forever!

Recently, I discovered another opportunity for a new circle of friends to come together.  Last summer I joined Inspired Wining with one other friend. We were already in a Bible Tasting ~ Wine Study group together. Out of this group of individuals, several of us decided we particularly enjoyed the Wine Study and that we should continue getting together once a month. Viola! Our Inspired Wining group was born. We've officially been meeting since December. 

In the short period of time since December, we've shared birthdays, deaths, life's ups and downs….AND OF COURSE WINE!

Although we haven’t found a particular philanthropic cause yet, without a doubt we have been inspired to join together in the cause of Friendship. 

Cheers to my Inspired Wining friends & to those of you thinking about forming your own group!

 ~ Michelle

Michelle C. Davis is currently enjoying a career at Greensboro College as a Senior Development Officer.  This role exemplifies her love for relationships and the ability to share her "gift of gab" with people who have a great cause in common.  Having two teenagers on the cusp of entering the world of higher education, Michelle has an appreciation for support of the college community.  

10 sips, my ass

I gave up on conventional doctors after various physicians (including a specialist) recommended surgery. Tuning into my granola side, I sought a naturopathic physician. After one consult, we discovered the root of my troubles -- food allergies. Removing gluten and dairy from the diet solved all evil.

During a recent check-up I told the doc that I feel great, but I also lamented. It pretty much sucked that removing dairy and gluten from an already healthy, low carb diet didn’t net any weight loss. Frankly, I told her, I expected to be a twig after nine months without gluten or dairy.

She tried to cheer me up saying I’d lost body fat and gained muscle, but perhaps I’d see more pronounced weight loss if I changed up my exercise routine. (Believe it or not, she said exercise less).

Then she recommend I cut out my wine.

Wine? Isn’t wine supposed to be the healthiest of all alcoholic options? I don’t drink beer, gluten. I don’t drink liquor, calories. But wine? She must have seen the horror on my face to that recommendation, so she suggested I treat alcohol like a carb -- eat/drink sparingly. She recommended that at meals I skip the carb and drink just 10 sips of wine.

Ten sips of wine? Hmm.

I went home that night, dutifully passed on the carbs, and drank only 10 sips of wine. Please try it. See just how far 10 sips will take you. Once you do, you may come to the same realization I did: “10 sips of wine my ass, I’ll keep the extra poundage.”

Tiffany Crenshaw is a  North Carolina native, wife, mother of 2 wild and crazy kids, and an entrepreneur. She loves her family, a delicious glass of red wine, girl time and the occasional spa treatment. As an enthusiastic member of Wednesday Night Whine, she rarely misses a “meeting” unless she’s traveling for business. She is the President and CEO of Intellect Resources, a recruiting and consulting firm specializing in the healthcare IT industry. 

Raising a glass and raising hope

Welcome to the Inspired Wining blog. We hope you’ll visit often, comment freely and share your hopes and visions for the future.

The Inspired Wining community is one in which people, women especially, come together to inspire new possibilities. Our blog shares the stories, experiences, resources and tips of six women who: 

• love to wine, 
• are personally dedicated to funding research in the fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and 
• are committed to helping you bring about positive change through friendship and fundraising.

Raising a glass and raising hope – that’s what our group and our blog is about! Cheers from the Inspired Winers…Allison, Lisa, Tiffany, Michelle, Alexis and Andrea. Thanks for dropping by.