happy new year 2009!

it's amazing to see that this day not only marks a new year of 2009, but my 100th post. also, to add to that, it's also our 1 year anniversary since we decided to chronicle the opening of our wine lounge on the www community of bloggers.

amazing how time just flies!

not only that...but this also marks us going into the 8th month that we've been open for business. and, since the day we opened the shop we've been growing, changing and growing. i hope that we've been able to capture those changes, for others to get a perspective of the benefits and challenges one is faced with when they have a dream, and the pursuit of making things happen.

so many people, have made such an impact on victor and my life. there have been some generous members that have truly helped us make our lounge a better place. one member that stands out, that i just can't thank enough for what they've brought to victor and i behind the scenes are THE PACHOS.
they are just the most generous people. not only do they genuinely want us to succeed, but they have a vested interest in making the environment around them look and feel nice. they're so interested that, they've given us a new faucet for our sink because it was looking, as dan would say, "kind of ghetto". hehehe.
and, just to make the amiance condusive for the non-drinker, they gave us a coffee maker. yah! a coffee maker. so that we could sell a cup or two, to the non-drinker, in order for them to enjoy the night out with their significant other.

it's that amazing generosity, that can be overwhelming when your just starting out. but like someone told me, u've thanked them 10 times with hospitality and service. and that's what keeps me motivated when the next person leaves with a smile.

as i stay true to the chronicles, it is important for me to be as candid as possible, and help others relate to the ups & downs of opening of a business.

here's a true about the true {as my bro-in-law would say}...opening up a business is very intense on every level. we put so much faith in God, and making this work for the future of our family. there was no question, when we decided what business to start, and who would run it. v and i were on the same level. we knew, i could handle the "load" for a bit. in order for victor and i to give of ourselves to deliver #1 customer service and satisfaction, one of us would have to leave our careers behind. the obvious choice to running the shop would go to... "V". i had better, overall benefits, to sustain the family through this endeavour.

does the pressure of it all overwhelm me at times? absolutely.

i am a woman, i am sensitive and emotional. so, of course... we as the women that we r...we cry.

am i glad that i stayed working at my job? oh yah!

i love what i do. i get a fresh perspective on our business at hand because i am on the outside looking in, as do you.

i am the eyes and ears behind the operations. however, v and i have to be a team. what's better than to have your spouse, that's on your team, run and operate an establishment, based off what is seen from the "outside" perceptive. in other words, i tell him how to run the joint based off me coming in as a customer. i see operations the same way you, on the outside see it! i am not there at the shop everyday, so therefore i am not as immune to the surroundings, so i am the one to notice that a fixture isn't positioned right, or that the music isn't turned on.

granted, as it sounds, it is just that much of a potential "pain" for v. it's not all fun and games. sometimes one of us can lose an eye. but, we both have agreed on these accommodations before opening our doors, plus, the other eye is always on the prize. we can not second guess each other, because in that instant, someone else might benefit from the opportunity. this is what works for us. may not be for everyone.

also, what we've learned, is, that it's not all compromise.

let us be that first to admit, being in business with your spouse is not about compromise. it's SUBMISSION!

all the way around, anyway you slice it and dice it.... in order to make it work for you & your family's sake, it is:

SUBMISSION!

{ with submission comes an intense love! u'll know y, IFF you cross that bridge}

well, with all that said...that was then in 2008, and this is now

2009!

Salut! to u and yours as we embrace the year to come.

unofficial vacation!

well lovelies, i apologize that i have been away for a bit. i was just completely caught up with my 9-5pm {not really} career and ending my sales year on a high note!. And so now that my vacation from the 9-5pm has begun,... i know have the time to dedicate to our personal business. imagine that!

so for those of you who wonder how a woman can handle and juggle such a crazy life... all i can say is determination, passion, dedication, and most important, maintaining a spiritual relationship with the man upstairs. ultimately, HE's the only prayer that keep me grounded, when i feel like my world is spinning out of control. He keeps me true to myself, and my core.

when life puts you in the spot light for doing what you love, {wine, food, and entertainment...}there are many people looking at you as either a role model, to crap on you because something in their world has upset them, to simply give you constructive criticism, pass judgement on every move you make {because you mentioned that you believe in JC...BAM!...spotlight, and... SHEEEEWM...microscope},

or just come in to see you as their refuge from it all!

either way, both of my careers are paying huge personal dividends.

so, when in doubt that you can't handle the pressures of what life brings you...come in and we'll make you smile. that our job. right? {wink}

Merry Christmas to All!

So the economy has plummeted at a time we decided to open our doors and welcome the opportunity to become entrepreneurs.
Perfect Timing! Is it?
We say, "Absolutely!"
These last 6 months have been the best of times! And our neighbors, customers, and supporters all around us have been such a blessing.
Is this time bittersweet? Yes!
Bitter because, the retail businesses are suffering all around us, and we are in that market, so of course we are affected. However, if we can weather the storm, keep our faith and hope alive, we can only go up from here.
Sweet, because although people are not shopping as they did before, everyone is eating and celebrating the holidays with great dinners and great, affordable wines {that's where we come in...smile}.
There are still blessings to celebrate. We can actually enjoy, through these trying times, the true meaning of Christmas! Not the pressure to give a gift but quality time with spouses, family & friends presence, and not so much pressure to give presents!
So, with that said, from our house to yours, we wish you all a

Merry Christmas!
And, Thank You All For Your Continued Support And Presence!

priscilla...are you and victor swingers?

hahahaha! funny people!
for those of you that don't know what i'm talking about... i created a post on our gold club members that were grandfathered into the gold club. and in the post i reference one of my fav love stories, "Brokeback Mountain" when i was explaining how we grandfathered out gold club members into the club. {rhetorical...i know!}
any ways, we women have a good time making fun of our husbands going on trips like fishing, riding motorcycles...etc.
well, i know rudy is just going to be beside himself when he reads this, because, i thought it was self explanatory, however, i was approached by one of my readers.
and the questions came up about the post, and why i would put my husband out there on blast!
and then she asked me as if to tell me a secret, "..hay, do you guys swing with those 2 couples?"
what?
"well, why would you write that?"
wait. what? are you crazy?
i was almost offended and then realized that there are just some people out there that may not know my personality and understand my jokes. and that's ok! but, ....wow! was that a reality check.
so i kindly answered, no.
and then proceeded to read her the entry in my voice...with my emphasis on different parts, inflected different areas, etc., etc.
hence, here we are explaining myself, my intention and justification for me being an @$$ sometimes, and allowing my humor to amuse some people...not all....i understand that, now.

so the answer is a big fat bold...

H. E., double hockey sticks.....

NO! {arrrgh!}

Life's lessons in numbers!

I can sit here and reflect back on the night leading up to the movie "TWILIGHT", and it was such a great fun, group of people! What we understood about this movie is minimal for us adults. all we knew about this film is that this series was to be a "pop" culture phenomenon. my daughter {soon 2 b 13} and all her friends are reading this series, or have read this series. soooo, being that i am this biggest fan of halloween, it would be appropriate to entertain the idea of a "vampire love story" with a wine event. why not? we have blood orange mimosa's, and vampire wines that did well during october's festivities. so, i felt it was appropriate to entertain our guest...with a tasting and a chance to see the movie that everyone was talking about!


i negotiated a private screening room with our local theatre. i had do the ground work, such as contact the GM and ask what we {winestyles}could do as local residents {of the same strip mall}to ensure we get our guest into the movie after a night of celebratory vampire activities. i had assured him {the GM} that we were grown adults...that enjoy wine, and not the "typical" sports bar crew that obnoxiously overstays their welcome!, in order to convince the {client} GM, that the winestyles group deserves to enjoy this movie at midnight. right? and, not have to stand in line at 7pm in order to get good seats at 12am. well, this took awhile to do.


the GM wants to meet his bottom line (ie. $$$, roi, revenue, etc). and i, of course, just want our clients to feel important, that they do not have to wait in line for a "pop" culture film, that chances are, if it wasn't for this event, they wouldn't have known about the film at all. I mean, let's face it... the buzz about this film...well......there wouldn't have been a buzz, except in the homes of some of these"parents" {like I} with tweens, teens, and the others talking, again, about this "Eduard", on and on and on. {tangent...bring it back pris...bring it back}


well, he wanted me to sell out this theatre of 89 people, in 3 days. was that going to be possible?hmm...in my mind, anything is possible and sky is the limit! {attitude}. however, that being said, i do know that no! is no...until after i have exhausted every possible scenario {objections is what we call it in sales!}.


well, the e.mail blast went out and that's when the actions started. now because we have a lag on our e.mail system, those of you that i have phone numbers for...know that you received a frantic text message to come out and support the efforts! well, let's just say{....during a time such as this, sometimes you realize just how important you are in some of your phone pals reach...}that, we received very few responses! {again, these are your phone pals so again...you would think that if they are in your top 5...they are a part of your team! right?} WRONG!


we had 5 family members...and the rest of the 40 tickets, went to total strangers, that were pounding pavement for us to meet our goal!


I'm so ama-cing {amazing}!
"Say it"......"Vampire"....."Are you scared?''....."No".............

well, the freaks came out last night to enjoy a night out with us and the vamps! yahoo! we had a great time as always with our peeps.


long story short...out of all the people you know {and here's the point of this entry}...in my experience inviting people to major events, you will get a 1% response. without having to follow up. hands down! with follow up, you may push that event to 10% but don't count on 15% without follow up. {...and this is how Team Obama made it happen! ouch!} and this my friends, is a prime example of seeing this life through different capitalist eyes. life is absolutely a numbers game! prime example...in my phone book i have 500 phone numbers, and in our database we have approx. 5000 contacts. in 2 days...without follow up...we got what we should have expected! see...told you! {btw-i think these are very conservative expectations..my worse case scenario's.}


so this, in a nut shell is how i plan my events...because i know that without a "follow up team", for 5500 contacts, the bare minimum, is what i can expect. and that my friends, was a golden nugget in sales 101, right? good.


at least your learning from an old sales pro! {toot, toot}


meet more people...because {bad news travel fast, duh!} 10% of who you meet...will not like you, so enjoy the other 90% that do!

making the limelight, can be a lemon?

still staying true to the chronicles, i have to walk women through a moment in the life of the lime light.

now don't get me wrong, i'm all about the stage, and lights, camera, action...but, in business. hmmm! there is no class on balancing marriage and business in the "real" world. and the truth of the matter is...you will be tempted and put in some very compromising situations, when the can of whoop ass! isn't plan B anymore. there is nothing more sexy than watching your husband on a stage performing his "manly" duties of "The Provider". it's an awesome act of kindness, self sacrifice, etc.etc. when you have your own business, and you see you hubby working to make a future for your family and your children's future. but here's the deal, ladies...

strength!

a woman with a man in business or any power, or uniform power position...needs so much strength and self confidence, because, other woman who don't have that...want that. and will do anything to hurt your marriage, to to have a day in "your shoes". couple that with childhood insecurities that rear their ugly heads, when the opportunity arise, and when you least expect it, "bam!", your relationship is just put through "the TEST!"

plus, we, woman have to know that if you allow your man off the leash for to long, or turn around, in 1 second all hell can just break loose, if he is not properly trained, i mean that in the kindness way. seriously!.if the leash is to long, he can hang himself, or if you turn around at the wrong time, hungry predators, that come in all shapes and sizes, will try to lure him away...

for a kill.

and the smell of sweet success for another woman is...well, let's be honest...woman are a different breed. right? especially a driven woman. she will not stop, until she knows that she can get what she wants...at all cost!

with that said, i've been approached often about how great my husband is and how comfortable, he makes everyone feel and again, and again, how great he is!! and honestly, "i absolutely know!". also, if you look at the goals we set up prior to opening, customer service was and has always been our #1 priority. mi casa su casa, absolutely! did we want to set our place up to be a home away from home for our clients, you betcha'! but...all the marriage counseling and marriage retreats, would have never prepared a woman in business for what i am about to share:

i was approached by another woman that was pretty forward in asking me if she can invite my husband to her house for a "personal" house party to meet her "hollywood" friends and "by the way" maybe cook dinner. {rabbit+boiling water=?}then says to me, "since i've booked this event on a sunday night, i understand that it wouldn't be taking you {me} away from your kids all day, and you can spend the day with them while he {victor} comes over and enjoys the night with me and my friends, alone. are you ok with that? {looks at me} you wouldn't even have to pay for babysitting since it's on a weekend."

hmmm. i thought to myself, well, he's a grown man, "sure", i said, in the name of a business smile. if he's willing to take you up on the offer, that is entirely up to him. and that is the truth. luckily for me, we've been married long enough for him to know that, that entire scenario lifted "red flags" all over the place. we both laughed that night and said, "dude, is this an indecent proposal?" but, these are the winestyle chronicles, and i am giving you the wins and the loses, and i do have to toss this one up to one of our "wins"!


first of all, because our marriage is being tested and tempted everyday, and we are persevering through it with God in our marriage. and giving Him all the glory because we, as individual humans before, would not have handled these situations the way we do now. we, both, have come a long way. That's why, we both realized that no matter what it takes, we would not sacrifice our family time, nor our marriage for the sake of getting ahead. {greed}

if we are not making profit, money, or budget, we would always make time for those 2 priorities. you have to have faith that as long as we keep focus on God in our family and our marriage...He will allow us that time to glorify Him. our foundation is our family and our marriage, and we just can not rock the foundation that has allowed us to be here and sharing awesome moments with others that are just great people. so know that, even though we are in the limelight, things aren't always what they seem, but strength, faith, and prayer can get you through some crazy moments such as this one. i have to stay grounded knowing that if i would have given in to the temptation, chances are the outcome would have affected me and my family more than just my selfish high of sweeping the floor with this great woman's behind.

so when you ask me how i do it, or how do i stay so composed...remember, i breath and bleed just like everyone else. life is just like "turbo kickboxing", you can't get to comfortable because things can always change.

so with that said, you can not take each other for granted in a marriage, but one thing for sure always sign up for that marriage class, because it will save your relationship and keep you grounded when things get out of hand in your relationships.

no amount of money or fame is worth taking the the place of private quality time with the ones you love!!

...the show must go on!

so, in response to our last posting....which was somewhat of a vent session; i want to thank all of you that....hehehe...have come clean, and come out to pay your long over due "tabs" that we might have missed. everyone except.......

hehehehe....but will the "real" slim shady please stand-up!

we walk with our heads up high...we have to always remember that we have been blessed and very fortunate that we are surrounded by awesome people, everyday.
but just staying true to the chronicles....that goes to show you how much can go missing if you're not on top of your game!
so i have been home sick as a dog! yah! and with frogs in me tr'oat!

my husband has been running the show and doing a great job at making things happen! so i have to give him his kudos!

again, thank you all for your support we couldn't have fun everyday if it wasn't for these moments.

i hope we have made you enjoy the time so far....but....

momma is feeling better and ...the show must go on!

i will be updating the blog with new pictures of past events and on with the show!

who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?

well, i am sad to report this BLAST...but, if i am going to be true to the chronicles, then reports about the good the bad and the ugly have to be mentioned. we've been open for quite some time now, and it's amazing how you get to know people and enjoy there company. you figure, if your going to open up a business, you have to be very, very passionate about what your selling because you literally have to be there 24/7. it literally is your baby.

i have a full time 9am-9pm job, and it is very demanding, but on occasion, i need a reality check, and so i go help my husband at the shop when we have major events!

on this particular day, we have some customers that we, from the beginning have enjoyed there company. you would think that, most people coming into the shop have your best interest in mind...but guess what? it is not always the case!
so a man and 2 women come into the shop. often. good times, laugh, joke, hahaha! but on this particular day, i'm imagining that, because i am not there that often, they might assume that my husband and i don't communicate.

ha-haah! my dear sherlock? we talk all the time! and at every given moment at the shop. we use allot of code because we need to communicate business while people are amongst us!
so anyway, this group decides that they want to drink a bottle of this special wine we got into the shop, there in our lounge.
well at the end of there night, as so many do...when they are done, they come up to the cash wrap to pay there bill. on the bill victor wrote, "bottle of Reggae Rhapsody for here".

well, i get busy sometimes and i just automatically do the due! so i pack up the wine and give it to them. well, the man takes the bottle and hands it off to the 1 woman on his right, real quick. i'm busy trying to get the receipts and there other stuff! when i look up, he's mumbling something to the other woman to his left that gave me her card to pay for the items.
well, i initially thought, i did something wrong, so i say, "did, i do something wrong?"
all 3 reply, "no!"
so as i am putting the receipt in the cash wrap, i look at the girl holding the bag and say, "was there something wrong?" she looks at me, picks up the bag of the wine they drank in the shop........

that i put in a bag mistakenly, and i say, "yup! that's the Reggae Rhapsody"...hahuk!
i am not thinking...anything but...he's mumbling for a reason. right?

if someone is mumbling at you wouldn't you think....what?

who would think, "dishonest", no!....i'm thinking i did something wrong!!
She{woman 1 to the right} put the bag down hesitating, i look at the couple and say,

"ok. if there something i did, ______, you let me know ok."
the wife, says, "oh he's drunk, he doesn't know what he's saying, he's mumbling."
They leave the shop, and once they have hit the parking area, i look on the receipt, and i remember ..."bottle of Reggae Rhapsody for here."
ahahahahahah! i look out the door, and realize..."dude. did they just steal from us!?"
that is technically a stolen piece of property..right?

and, ...um are they just taking it with them?

One unpaid bottle for the road!

YUP! AND....it was all caught on camera!
I show victor the play back, and sure enough...! luckily i kept the receipt to show victor! and he could see the couple talking on video.

that they did have the bottle at the shop!and to his dismay & disappointment, indeed, one of his "most unlikely" to steal clients is indeed, and officially on the radar as an

offender!!!
it is so sad because, the bottle of wine was less than $20.
but little does the client realize, that, that $20, at this time in our life, just took food off of our table!

we have small kids and we're struggling to see the kids because we're so busy trying to make a life for their future! not to be rich....but for them to be set, and hopefully not struggling, etc.etc. no soapbox here!
and now this nice group that was once a great group, has just hit the "do not trust" list because, what they did made us realize that some people don't care for our lively hood.

what?yes...some don't!

and what they also don't realize is that everyday that i go out to work, i am sacrificing allot for that overhead. everything that is in that shop, momma goes to work to help maintain the house while dad tries to make a living selling wine and trying to make a business take off in a struggling economy. we are still trying to make life for the kids as "normal" as possible.

all this, over a $20 bottle of wine, they just became thieves in mommas mind because i am sacrificing so much for this family, trying to balance it all, and they just took food off my table!

it may look like there is allot of wine in that shop, but guess what? momma know what come in and what goes out!

why? because momma knows how many cookies she's put in the cookie jar.

BLAST OFF {wink} GOT CHA! no...CAUGHT CHA! {smile, wink}

ONE PROUD PUERTO RICAN!

for those of you who come to the shop often, know that i am the proud CaPR or "boriqua"! i love my culture, music, people...etc.,etc. when you come into the shop, we have my tunes playing in the background along with the rat pack. i am a gangster at heart! also, i am a single child raised with a bunch of crazy cuzn's. however, i am the only one of the cuzn's that is a pure bred...i must say. 100% puerto rican woman.
back in my college dayz, i took one of my cuzn's under my wing when i was dorming, and introduced him to the "a day in the life of a college student" at the age of 7 or 8. he hung out with my college buddies and learned how to played craps in the dorm room. not very inspiring right?

well, this is an awesome story of planting the seed. even though, he was young, he had a taste of what life would be like in college. no matter how small of a snapshot that may look like in this big book of life, that may have just been a paragraph in a potential, biography.
well, that little boy is now a 21 year old man. my baby cuzn "pops". we just got the news that he was accepted to Whittier College to play football in the hopes that history at this private school will be made! with brand new stadium seating, it is with honor that i get to go back to my Alma matter, where i first introduced this fun-loving kid to the world of campus life, and wear a WHITTIER COLLEGE sweatshirt and sit down in the stadium and cheers for my baby cuzn..with honor and purple pride.

i may not have a baby bro, but i can at least now take pride and walk back on campus with a sense of accomplishment and a reason to celebrate for homecoming 2008!

this has been such an awesome moment for our family, that my baby cuzn can accomplish 2 dreams, getting his BA and playing football.

Congratulation "POPS"

we are so proud of you!

MATHEW RO-"fricken"DRIGUEZ

BUGGN' ME? YOU TOO? OR IS IT JUST ME?

so without mentioning any names, we have a customer come into the shop. with her she carries a gift for a friend she is waiting for. however, she puts the gift away from the eye, and granted, she didn't think it was such a big deal. right... is what i'm imagining! well her girlfriend comes in and says hi to everyone, good times all is well in love and war, and then boom! she drops the bomb! out comes the gift that she has been waiting all night to present to her friend. so she waits until everyone is busy! ahahahah! well, she has the girl open up the gift, i come from behind and notice a wine bottle. ok! great! i ask v a question, and then notice the bag. obviously, it's not our logo, but a woman had asked me earlier the name of this particular wine retailer. and, i drew a blank at the time. but when i noticed this logo, i remembered...so i go to the front of the bar and tell v, "remember that lady came in asking about that 'other' retailer, yah! it's _ _ _ !". "oh yah!" v said. well, then this girl proceeds to make excuses for her bringing in this wine, thinking it's our competitor. i told her "no. no problem, it's not a competitor".
what was irritating though, was, she kept on and on, on how sorry she was that she brought this wine in, and then talks more about why she like this retailer so much. i say, "great, no worries, there's room for every one's niche." then she talks about how she personalized the label, and how it's her favorite whit wine....on and on, etc.etc." you get the picture. right. then she busted out with, "i don't want to be rude but...". at this point, i am just about done with her cute little petite frame. i'm thinking "...fine if you think your area wine retailer is better than us for 100 reasons. you don't want to be rude, your so sorry, you hope that...blahblah!"
if you were so worried about being rude, b!@&#, then why did you bring it in, in the first place.
if you would have just been cool about it, we would have been cool. but because you think it's rude, but then go on and on, about how you like this white...then guess what you just went from rude, to tacky in less than 1 minute" what i wanted to say was take your nice, little tacky idea back up the 15 n going toward vegas, since you think that area is so high and mighty...and find some other high flutin' friends to give your personalized label , bootleg wine too, because down here, we deal with "real" winemakers! as we call them, the real vintners, not the machine farmers! ok!
besides, if your bringing in someone else's wine and not sharing with everyone in the tasting room, that should be a $50 corking fee, just for sneaking it in and for taking food off my children's plate! {food for thought}
by the way y'all...we do private label wines as well. click and see.
shfew! now that i am off my soap box...she says she come to our shop more often than the "other" retailer. frankly, i've never seen her there...but what ev! she thinks that's going to pull the wool over my eyes...tacky, tacky, tacky.
it just seem like the more she was apologizing, the more she was indirectly telling us that her area wine retailer is better than ours because of where she lives and mira loma, is well, not as close to her. also, that it would behoove others to try the "other" wine retailer as well...because it's up the way and she really likes it, oh and by the way! blah, blah, blah! {knife in my back, cutting deeper and deeper} pretentious! and not invited. we are way down to earth for politicn' bling! we are the real deal, mommasita!
i am not a wine snob, but at this point...i feel as if i just became a wine snob diva. {snap, snap, snap}