So You Want to Know Who Stacy Uncorked Is…

Me and my Miracle, Princess Nagger, Summer 2012

 

Who Am I?

I’m Stacy Johnson (not to be confused by the financial dude, obviously), born and raised in Washington State (and no, not during the age of Cowboy’s and Indians… er, um, excuse me, Native Americans) but since I have an adventurous spirit I’ve lived in Oregon, Michigan, New York and most recently Pennsylvania.Ā 

I moved to Pennsylvania because of thisĀ  guy:

That was in 1997 – that seems so long ago, doesn’t it?Ā  We actually met online before it was the ‘in’ thing to do – he was in San Francisco and I was in Washington State.Ā  After a few months of dating long distance, we moved together to PA since his dad, who lived in Maryland, was very ill.Ā 

We only planned to stay in PA one or two years, but thankfully his dad recovered and lasted another 13 years before finally meeting his maker in October of 2010.Ā  He was happy he got to stick around long enough to see this:

We don’t follow the ‘norm’ – we did everything in reverse.Ā  Had the kid, bought the house, thenĀ  got married.

After 20+ years in the Corporate World and years of infertility, I welcomed a Miracle Baby (aka Princess Nagger):

Princess Nagger, 5 Minutes Old – November 2002

Yeah, you’d probably be looking a little frumpy too, if you had just exited a nice dark warm place and had someone annoying you with flashing lights.Ā  Or when you’re nine, and your mom (me) is annoying you unnecessarily:

Princess Nagger (Age 9) May 2012

After weighing all our options, I decided to forgo returning to the 60+ hour weeks and stay home with my new baby.Ā  Being a SAHM/WAHM has been both a challenge and a joy – and I’m loving every minute of it.

In 2011 we welcomed another addition to our family (Little Dude) by way of foster care to adoption, with the adoption finalized in June, 2012.Ā  The Road to Adoption story will be coming in the future, I promise.

Little Dude (Age 4) May 2012

We have an eclectic mix of pets including our Dork Dogs Travis and Rolex:

L: Travis (Blue Merle Sheltie)Ā  R: Rolex (Red Merle Sheltie)

We also have two cats, Blackspot and CharleyĀ (short for Charlotte because she looked like a little baby piggy when we got her from the rescue place – but I certainly couldn’t call her Wilbur). Ā The hubby is scoping out the kitten pages hoping to obtain a third once we move into our new house, since he wants one of his own – Blackspot is Princess Nagger’s kitty, and I laid claim to #Squeak. Ā We’ll keep you posted on the potential addition.

Our house in PA was an awesome antique house – built in 1817 – that has lots of character and is rumored to be the stopping place for the President during the Civil War when he was traveling between Gettysburg and York, Pennsylvania.Ā  We lived there for 10-1/2 years and did a lot of work on our house, adding some modernization but keeping it ‘old’ and as original as possible with our DIY projects.

House-AFTER

Right before the school year (2013) we relocated back to my old stomping grounds in Washington State. Ā It was time to come ‘home’ and start a new adventure, as well as reconnect with my old friends and have some quality time with my immediate family.

My parents were gracious enough to allow us to be ‘Basement Dwellers’ while we impatiently waited for our house to sell, and while we were looking for a new house out here. Ā We found our not-quite dream house halfway between my parents house and my brother’s house:

HouseYardAfter

The only reason I say ‘non-dream-house’ is because it’s been a challenge trying to fit everything from a 3-story plus basement plus summer house plus barn house into a 2-story no basement no attic no outbuilding house.

In other words, my packrat ways interferes with that whole downsizing thing. Ahem.

But we couldn’t resist this cute house because it has an awesome front porch with porch swing:

HouseYardBefore4 HouseYardBefore3

And vaulted ceilingsĀ and a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace in the living room which we love:

House1d House1jWe did have a shed built out back to help alleviate some of the lack of space – and I’m currently in the process of converting it into my winemaking and craft room. Stay tuned to read all about that in the coming months!

I love to cook and try new techniques to turn ordinary into extraordinary. Crafty by nature, I tend to take on a lot of unique projects and enjoy seeing the end result.

Not one to sit still for long, I started my own business doing Web and Graphic Design for select clients (I’ve put that on the back burner since I simply don’t have the passion for it and it was no longer fun – plus my interests shifted elsewhere) and Custom Gift Baskets.

For a number of years (pre-Princess Nagger) I also enjoyed creating One Of A Kind (OOAK) Barbie creations, which I haven’t gotten back to since Princess Nagger was born, and explains why I haven’t updated my SassyDolls website in a number of years.

My favoriteĀ  crafty mode, of course, is making my own wine.Ā  Naturally I had a lotĀ  to learn, since my first batch turned into vinegar.Ā  Luckily I learned from my mistakes, and have enjoyed making (great) wine with a passion.

I even entered some of my wine in Winemaker Magazine’s International Winemakers’s Competition, winning a Silver Medal in 2011, Gold and Silver Medals in 2012, and Gold and Bronze in 2013.Ā  It’s always nice to be validated – or at least know that you’re doing something right.

Why Am I Here?

I started this blog in September of 2008 – it seems so long ago, now.Ā  Prior to that I was part of a group of rabid fans on a quest to Save Journeyman, and had published a few rants on TV.com during our movement to get NBC to save our precious show.Ā  It wasn’t saved, unfortunately.

I had enjoyed the interaction with like-minded people in this crazy virtual wold, and stumbled across several blogs that spoke to me, and I was amazed there were so many ‘like minded’ people out in the interwebs. Ā It became a great way to connect with other people who ultimately have become bloggy friends, as well as IRL (In Real Life) friends that will truly last a lifetime.

I actually wrote a post that explains ‘the beginning’, and sums up why I blog: In the Beginning, There Was A Blogā€¦ and it was Random.Ā  It was part of one of the meme’s I participate in, which seems to be par for the course more often than not lately.Ā  Change is coming…

I blog about the joys of parenting, family, friends, life, love and anything else that strikes my fancy.Ā  Mostly it’s because I’m lazy and haven’t ever kept a journal or baby book, and wanted to make sure I was documenting milestones somewhere,Ā  so I’d be able to look back and have those “I remember when…”Ā  moments as Princess Nagger grows up.Ā  That, and it’s nice to have some good blackmail material for when she starts dating.

I thoroughly enjoy the camaraderie I’ve found with fellow bloggers – we are in a class all our own, aren’t we?Ā  People who don’t blog don’t seem to get it, when you mention the word ‘blog’ they look at you as if you’ve grown a set of antennae or a third eye.Ā  Or that you’re using a fancy new dirty word.

Along with being a paparazzi-type with my kids, family and friends (and anyone else who happens to end up in front of my lens), I do occasional reviews and giveaways, but I’m not specifically a review and giveaway blog.Ā  I am very selective on what I will review or giveaway, because it’s all about you,Ā  my most awesome readers, that I want to make happy.Ā  I will only review things that I myself have or will use, and that I can stand behind.

I shoot from the hip and sometimes speak before I think – sometimes I’ll do that when I’m writing, too.Ā  It’s just who I am.

My blog has morphed and changed over the years, and as we begin this new year, look for even more morphing and changes happening along the way.Ā  They’ll all be good, I promise.Ā  And I alwaysĀ  keep my promises.

Thank you for checking me out – well, you know what I mean.Ā  Feel free to make yourself at home, pour yourself a glass of wine, and stick around for a visit.Ā  I appreciate you being here.

Ways To Stalk Me:

 

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For those that have asked, below are the links to the posts about

The Road to My Miracle Baby:

 

The Beginning

Segment 2 ā€“ Rebound Relationship: Abusive Hubby #2

Segment 3 ā€“ Kissing Some Frogs

Segment 4 ā€“ Meeting Mr. Right

Segment 5 ā€“ Mr. Right and the Rocky Road

Segment 6 ā€“ All About the Queen B.

Segment 7 ā€“ RA Fun and Surprise Pregnancy

Segment 8 ā€“ Alien Pregnancy and Worries

Finale – Birth of a Miracle

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72 Comments

  1. Thanks so much for dropping by my blog about Sammy. Your comment was so nice…BIG party in October! Your blog looks wonderful I’m off to explore it some more and join.
    Katy x

  2. This might be a crazy queation but where did you get the red bottles I would like to buy a few of them for my boyfriend mom. She has been looking for red bottles for her bottle tree.

  3. Nice to meet you Stacy! Congratulations on your beautiful girl and I admire you for adopting. My husband and I are expecting our second, but after he’s born we’d like to adopt another child or two. The process seems so daunting though, so I always love to hear about someone having successfully adopted a child into their home. Thanks for sharing!
    Jessica would like you to read ..Joyful Finds: Choir sings a sweet reminderMy Profile

  4. What a great About Me story! Your children are beautiful and I love your little pups too. Good to get to know you lady! Thanks for stopping by and following, I’m now following you as well {FB, Google+, Bloglovin’} and look forward to reading more šŸ™‚ Hope your week is off to a fab start!
    Kera would like you to read ..november sponsor spotlight!My Profile

  5. Wow…you have an incredible about me section…reminds me that mine needs a lot of work! ;-0 BTW…I sent you a message via email…it may have gone into your spam. So glad I found your blog again…thanks to meme’s huh? Look forward to connecting again…Following you in all ways I’m connected Big hugs

  6. Just a note to say thank you for posting your Kahlua Recipe. I have read a great many and tried them too and I like how you summed up the conclusions I had made some time back before I gave it all up. Photos were also very helpful. After diligently saving your recipe to try this year, I read some other posts and just wanted to let you know that you have a nice easy to read style of writing. I am no editor but I know what works and what doesnt and your style works. Liked to hear you lived in Oregon, where my husband and I have lived for the past 24 yrs, before that we lived in the SF Bay area – Marin. Anyhoo, just wanted to say hello and thanks. ~Shayne

  7. Stacy you have a wonderful family!! When I read a story like yours I cannot avoid to think to all those women that cannot get pregnant and thus are not able to get any kind of happy family.
    For this reason, I created a blog where a woman can find a natural solution for her infertility problems. According to Lisa Olson, many women were able to solve their problem and increase their happiness by simply following her step by step method.

  8. Thanks so much for dropping by my blog about Sammy. Your comment was so niceā€¦BIG party in October! Your blog looks wonderful Iā€™m off to explore it some more and join.
    Katy x

  9. Found you through a wordless Wednesday linkup. It was so interesting reading your history and why you blog. It’s awesome that you make wine and have won awards for it! My husband makes beer (when I let him) and I’ve seen the process that goes into thatā€¦ It’s not easy!

    1. Glad you found me, Mandy! šŸ˜‰ That’s cool your hubby makes beer – the process is very similar to winemaking with obviously some differences, but yes, it’s definitely not easy. But oh so much fun to do!! šŸ™‚

  10. Hi Stacy! you have a beautiful family and Iā€™ve loved the way you have put your beautiful story in your blog. Will wait for other chapters too.

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  12. Thanks so much for dropping by my blog about Sammy. Your comment was so niceā€¦BIG party in October! Your blog looks wonderful Iā€™m off to explore it some more and join.

  13. This might be a crazy question but where did you get the red bottles I would like to buy a few of them for my boyfriend’s mom. She has been looking for red bottles for her bottle tree.