Two completely unrelated things, that is, but N is out of town for the evening and I’m sitting here with hours of lonely Friday evening stretching before me, so this is what you get.

First, a wine review!

This is a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo dry red wine, Monte Campo, Italy.  Interestingly (to me, anyway) it’s marked denominazione di origine controllata.  (Click on the link, maybe you’ll learn something new, like I did!  Wine drinking: it’s educational!)

I’ve repeated many times that I’m not generally a fan of reds, but this one was a gift so I thought I’d give it a go.  (Full disclosure: it was gifted to N.  But he doesn’t drink wine, so all tasting and consumption responsibilities fall to me.  It’s a hard life.)  So taste it I did, as a last resort, when my wine fridge was empty of everything except the Francis Ford Coppola Bianco Pinot Grigio that I’m saving for a special occasion.  (N keeps asking me what this “special occasion” might be, exactly, because it has been in there for months already and that’s by far the longest a bottle of wine has ever survived in this house.  And I always tell him that I’m not sure, BUT I WILL KNOW WHEN IT HAPPENS.)

ANYWAY.  Out of white wine, yes.  So the red wine was on deck.  And guess what?  I liked it! I know!  Despite the fact that the label touts it as having a light cherry, berry and leather bouquet.  I read THAT and was all, leather, WTF, why would I want to drink anything that tastes/smells of leather.  But.  It was very smooth, and had a sweet undertone, and wasn’t as dry as I find most reds to be.  So in short, YUM.  And I bet it would be an excellent wine for cooking also.  I went to the liquor store today, hoping to buy another bottle, but they were out.  So I picked up another Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from a different winery, in the same price range, so I’ll compare.  It’ll be like a science experiment!  (But I will have to buy another bottle of the Monte Campo too.  For control purposes, of course.)

So there you have it:  Thing #1.  A red wine exists that I will not only drink, but actually enjoy.  Who knew?

And now for Thing #2.  I’ve been accepted into the graduate program at Arizona State University, to pursue a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice.  It’s a step toward my ultimate goal, my lifelong dream -  to go into federal law enforcement.  I had planned to wait until Miss T started kindergarten before trying to get into grad school, but I finally decided that since I’m not getting any younger it was time.  Most federal agencies have an age limit for new field agents, and I don’t even know if I have a realistic shot at becoming an agent, but if I don’t at least try I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

Maybe my goals will change as I move through the MACJ program, and I’ll discover something else that appeals to me.  It’s entirely possible.  But either way, I’ll be coming out of it with a Master’s degree, and that’s certainly not a bad thing.  The program is entirely online, so I’ll be able to keep working full-time and we won’t have to relocate or anything like that.

With a full-time job that’s demanding and often high-stress, and two kids and a husband, and extended family and housework and pets and everything else, it’s going to be hard.  I have no illusions otherwise.  (Not to mention the expense.)  But N is awesomely supportive, and my bosses are very understanding.  So somehow I’ll figure it out.  The courses all look fascinating to me, and I’m really excited at the prospect of going back to school, and I have no doubt that this is the right choice and the right time.  It’s adding one more ball to my sometimes-delicate juggling act, but I’ll make it happen.

Because anything worth having is worth working for, right?