Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition

I don't know what my deal is lately - kind have the funkity funk funk funks. But this morning I get to meet Training Buddy - run a 5k in December like cold weather, get my hair done, go to the dump & meet friendsfor dinner later. So maybe that will help - in the mean time - I give you Friday Fill-Ins, Saturday morning edition...

1. The right word is sometimes hard to find.
2. Go outside and play kids and shut the door quietly, please.
3. Up was a really sad movie..
4. Not far from coffee is where you'll find me.
5. Ooh! What is that really cool treasure in the What Not Corner at the dump?
6. Training for a half marathon is starting to sound like a good idea.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to basketball watching, tomorrow my plans include above plans plus laundry and Sunday, I want to sleep in & watch the UConn women rock at noon!

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition and It's Cocktail Time!

1. Why are you making such a big deal about hating President Obama - really, Tea Party people give the guy a break!
2. I want you to take me to the Oscars some time - it would be fun.
3. I'm cool with loading the dishwasher then it will be on my terms.
4. I'll lace up my running shoes and see what happens this afternoon with my 5 mile training run.
5. I could use a nice ,cool drink after that run.
6. Big East Championship first and then the National Championship for the UConn women.
7. And as for the weekend, last night (tonight) I'm looking forward to starting It's Cocktail Time again, today (tomorrow) my plans include the training run & then going to see the movie Precious with Training Buddy and Sunday, I want to sleep in and in the afternoon & help pick some awesome bands for Music on the River - our town summer concert series and Sunday night - The Oscars !!

And what better time to return to It's Cocktail Time than on the eve of a 5 mile training run! But I'm happy to report moderation was exercised, water was drunk & I got to sleep in so all is well. This is Hubby & I's take on the traditional Dirty Martini. We tried out this new eco- friendly vodka, Vodka 360 which has cool packaging & a $20 mail in rebate so for $10 you can't go wrong!

Dirty Martinis - the HB Way

2-3 oz. 360 vodka
1 oz or to taste caper berry brine
1/2 oz. extra dry vermouth

Mix the above & shake over ice. Strain & pour into chilled martini glasses, garnish with 2-3 caper berries - Cheers!

Back in the Groove - TGIF!

1. Johnny Weir looked awesome last night.
2. I'm starting to get interested in the 2010 Olympics.
3. And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more of a pain in the ass than the risk of just going for it.
4. Go run a marathon if you get an urge.
5. Having sweet dreams is better than having nightmares.
6. What does it take to recover from a weekend with my friends in Florida? About a week.....
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Kathy's visit, tomorrow my plans include a decadent breakfast and visiting with Kathy, quilt store shopping & UConn basketball and Sunday, I want to go for a walk/run in the woods.!

Friday Fill - Ins

We are so enjoying our company but I actually have time to do a quick post - in between cocktails & getting ready for the Greenriver Festival.

1. Sandwich and chips make a quick dinner.
2. Girls in Trucks is the book I'm reading right now.
3. July brings back memories of sleeping outside growing up.
4. That I wouldn't live in Montana was obvious.
5. They say if you tell your dreams to yourself, they are sending you a message.
6. I'm not real good at slowing down to think it over.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to chilling with my friends, tomorrow my plans include hanging out at the Greenriver Festival and on Sunday we'll be sleeping in!

We are drinking Moscow Mules tonight so no new cocktail - cheers anyway!

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition and It's Cocktail Time!

I like the option of doing Friday Fill Ins on Saturday morning - usually on Friday nights I just want to chill away from a computer. And I can taste the proposed cocktail - just to make sure I'd want to share. So here we go!

1. She had a great idea to make cocktails from St. Germain, that Nico's Mom did - it's my new favorite mixer!

2. My guardian angel is by my side, always.

3. I know this: I need some time to just chill this weekend.

4. still.

5. These words apply to me: happy it's the weekend and we don't have any major, big productions going on.

6. When I woke up this morning the sun was shining - YEA!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight (last night) I'm looking forward to my Friday night martini and fish on the grill and Saturday my plans include getting my hair cut and going to a Rock cats baseball game and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

And now - my new favorite mixer and surely the best summer drink since lemonade. And as much as I love me a good mojito - they are too trendy so I'm sticking to this one. We had to order it from the local packy( thanks gang at Moodus Package!) but they are very nice about ordering me special stuff. This is another french liquor - St. Germian, made from elderflower blossoms. It is so nice, a little cirtusy but not too sweet or strong. The bottle we got came with a very fancy mixing glass and a great recipe book. I can't wait to try some of this with champagne - maybe tonight after the baseball game! This stuff is good, really really really good- so run out and get some and let me know if you enjoy it as much as I did! And definately check out the recipe section of their web site - it is very funny along with some great recipes. The recipe below (copied word for word) was in our little recipe book & it is awesome!

St. Tropez

1 shot Citron vodka

1 shot St. Germain

1/2 shot fresh lemon juice

top with tonic or soda water

Method: Shake first three ingredients with ice and strain into an ice filled Collins glass.Top with tonic or soda water, garnish with a lemon twist, a white bikini , and an azure pool heated to preciously 82 degrees F.

Friday Fill - Ins and It's Cocktail Time!

I am having problems cutting and pasting from Friday Fill ins - damn you Blogger! So manually ( yuk) here we go!

1. I grew up thinking I could be anything I wanted to be (thanks Mom!)

2. Yahoo was the last website I was at before I came here.

3. Why don't you make me a martini, Hubby?

4. Meditating helps me relax.

5. Thanks for the dent in my truck to whoever hit me last night in the Goodspeed parking lot.

6. All the Jon & Kate stuff and Miss California getting fired is very off putting, because quite frankly the J&K stuff is so sad for the kids and anyone who has been through a divorce doesn't want to watch a marriage die in front of them and Miss CA who really cares?!

7. And for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a martini and watching the Sox - Yankees game, tomorrow my plans include taking Hubby to NYC for a birthday trip & hanging out with Mr. & Mrs. Training Buddy who are celebrating their anniversary and Sunday I want to sleep in at the Algonquin Hotel and then go have a great breakfast in NYC!

So after we get the cat/house sitter all set up, we may go ahead and have a Manhattan - get it?! We are going to NYC! Ha - that humor is not even martini enhanced! I am not much of a whiskey drinker anymore - thanks to my friend Tim who used to buy my shots of whiskey all the time. But here is the recipe - a classic.

Manhattan Perfect

11/2 oz. Canadian whisky

3/4 oz dry vermouth

1/4 vermouth rosso

dashed Angostura bitters

stemmed cherry

Stir well in a mixing glass filled with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with cherry.

Cheers!

Friday Fill-ins and It's Cocktail Time!

TGIF is all I have to say this week. It seems like I have been running around and not getting caught up - maybe that pre-vacation panic? Anyhow - the town of East Haddam is swine flu free - at least the school is good and dis-infected. Whatever....

And...here we go!
1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is sometimes keeping your mouth shut.
2. I don't care that much for clams except in chowder.
3. When I think of carnivals I think of cotton candy.
4. Daffodils are my favorite spring flower.
5. Things on my desk include many types of post it notes - I love them.
6. Latin music makes me wanna dance, but I'm not very good.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting help finishing knitting a pair of socks I have been working on for 5 years, tomorrow my plans include hashing and Sunday, I want to sleep in and cook dinner for our house sitters/cat babysitters

And now for happy hour - since champagne is one of my most favorite things to drink - we'll be trying this tonight.

Red Cicada

1 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Pomegranate Juice
Champagne
Combine Vodka and Juice in a shaker with ice, mix well. Strain into a chilled wine or cocktail glass and top with champagne.
Garnish with blueberry stuffed red raspberry.

Cheers!

No Friday Fill Ins but it's Cocktail Time

Sorry for not posting for a week - so much to catch up on. First of all the Habib Kotie concert was amazing - better than I ever thought it could be, I must give a shout out to our friend in Florida - Yeast Infection, who introduced me to African music. Hope you read the blog - thanks, dude! Really, the music was great and if you ever get a chance to see Habib in concert - it is so worth it.

Then, Monday I was sick which sort of sucked. I am not sure if I had the flu or a little case of food poisoning - whatever it wasn't pretty but all is well now.

Then Wednesday I did my last training shift for my hospice training on the inpatient unit. I will be done with the entire 54 hour training this Saturday. I know that sounds like a lot of training hours, but considering the work I really don't mind.

Looks like they don't have the new Friday Fill In up yet so why don't you follow the link and fill it in for yourself when the new one is posted, they are fun to do. I may post again tomorrow but more likely, since it supposed to be 70 degrees out, I will be out on my back porch enjoying one of these - a French 75. I made a nice discovery this weekend, ok maybe not so nice for my liver but nice for the package store. After 22 years i can once again drink gin. See, back in high school, we used to raid our parents liquor cabinets ( don't tell my Mom) and we would pour shots of whatever was in their in a Ball canning jar "Grandma's Jelly Jar" we so cleverly called it. Then we'd drive down to Taco John's get a large Mountain Dew and mix whatever we had with the Mountain Dew. Is it a wonder I even have a liver? Anyhow - for some reason - all of our parents always had gin in the house but not one of them actually drank the stuff so it was easy to snag and then water down. One fine summer day I was hanging out with my friends Tim & Reba & we decided the gin might be tasty poured into a can of Diet 7-up instead. We got very drunk, Reba puked on the electric blanket in the back of Tim's Falcon (we called it the Flunkin), we thought she dead she was so drunk and I haven't been able to drink gin or Diet 7Up ever since - until last weekend. (Reba survived just fine - we sobered her up a little bit, took her home and I think she got in trouble and was very hung over but OK). So now that I am back in the gin saddle - so to speak - I'll be tipping my glass to this tomorrow night.

French 75 Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 oz Gin

- 2 oz Lemon Juice

- Champagne

- 2 tsp Superfine Sugar

- Garnish: Cherry

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice except champagne. Strain into a champagne flute (or collins glass). Top with champagne. Garnish with cherry.

Friday Fill Ins and it's Cocktail Time

See - I promised I'd write something tonight. Really, after I cleaned up the kitchen from 3 weeks worth of ignoring it (ok - not quite three weeks) because of basketball, the Red Sox played this afternoon (and lost) I had nothing else to do. Or rather that I felt like doing and since gym nazi is already in bed- I better speed this up.

And...here we go!

1. Anonymous...no, just trying to stay undercover.

2. Vacation is a great thing.

3. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, it will always get better.

4. Daffodils and cocktails out on the patio are what I look forward to most about Spring.

5. Who needs therapy when you can buy quilting fabric, yarn or fancy booze.

6. Peeps MUST go into the Easter Basket!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Hubby making me a surprise martini, tomorrow my plans include cooking an early Easter dinner and Sunday, I want to sleep in and then enjoy Habib Koite concert at the Iron Horse!

And now - cocktail time!

PassionFruit Martini

This is the 3rd time I have tried to type this - I'm tired so without all the witty commentary I had before blogger became such a pain....

Mix in a martini shaker over ice
2 parts good vodka
1 part Passion Fruit Jenever

Shake vigorously and serve in a chilled martini glass - enjoy!!

This stuff is also awesome in champagne for a mimosa with an extra kick.

And Nico's Dad (who I think reads this blog ever so faithfully - go check out Habib's You Tube video - I think you'll love this music)

Fillin Friday

Another Friday - I need about 3 extra Fridays this month to finish some Christmas projects I got going. And to think I promised myself less stress this year - HA!



1. Friends are the best thing ever - I've got great ones!

2. Good health; it's nothing to take for granted.

3. I'm ready for going out to dinner tonight & enjoy the company of an old friend and a new friend.

4. Old Spice (my Dad used to wear it) is one of my favorite perfumes or aftershaves or smells.

5. The oldest ornament I have is , since my brother doesn't read this - I have the blue Silent Night ball!!! A very big deal in our family and it was wanted by both of us - Mom likes me best, she gave it to me!

6. Take some hot tea, honey, lemon & whiskey, mix it all together and you have an awesome hot toddy.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner then working on Christmas gifts, tomorrow my plans include running....gulp.... 8 miles and packing up gifts to mail and Sunday, I want to work on Christmas gifts, watch the 'Fins win & enjoy the Niantic Christmas parade!

Friday Fillins & Happy Turkey Day

Well - we are getting ready to go south for forced family fun - errr I mean Thanksgiving holiday. It should be nice, it will be warm although I am looking out the window waiting for the first snow flake to drop. This weekend will be crazy getting packed, getting the house ready for the house/cat sitter and maybe finishing a scarf I started knitting with monster size 19 needles. I'm looking forward to running in warm weather, although I do like it on the cold side - guess I am looking forward running somewhere that is FLAT. Also hanging out by the ocean will be nice. And visiting with the family will be nice, we are helping cook dinner for 13 - YIKES!

I doubt I'll have Internet access so I won't be able to update this for possibly a week unless my brother in law lets us use his computer or there is an Internet cafe somewhere. So I wish all my loyal readers a very Happy Turkey Day - here are the fillins!

1. The last band I saw live was Fred Eaglesmith.

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is stuffing - I heart me the stuffing.

3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is about 3/4 of the way complete!

4. Thoughts of martinis fill my head.

5. I wish I could wear my Birkenstocks to work on casual Friday.

6. Bagpipes remind me of men who wear kilts & no underwear.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to making ( and drinking) a birthday martini for my neighbor, tomorrow my plans include a long run I guess and Sunday, I want to sleep in and finish my laundry!

"Dude - don't pack the quilt - you won't need it in Florida." - Nelson

Can the weekend be any better than this week?

I don't have any exciting plans for the weekend, oh wait - since half marathon training buddy reads this I am excited to run my training run! I haven't run much this week (translate: at all since my truck blew up) so the training run will be that much more special. But it's only 4 miles, a mantra I am sure I will be repeating in my head as I slog my notwatchingmyweightverywell body down the road. So I will send reiki to my run and keep a positive mood and all will be well with the world.

My brother and I have been having a very spirited e-mail conversation this week. He happens to think W has done a fine job and is horrified by the events of Tuesday. It all started when I sent him the link to this very awesome letter by Alice Walker. So, I do get that not anyone had a great week but baby bro - your guy had his 8 years and now mine has 4. And since I doubt you read this, I do think W did a crappy job.

If you are in need of a good laugh - go check out one of my favorite blogs - Bye Bye Pie. I always enjoy me a June post. The best one ( I think) is when she had gas at work. It's sort of sad that I know that is her post for May 16th but I have read it more than once when I needed a little cheer.

Since it's Friday - here are my fill ins- oh ya, in case you were wondering if I won the snow blower - they have post-poned the announcement until tomorrow - so keep thinking good thoughts! Hubby asked me what I was going to do with it when I win & I just smiled.... Have a great weekend!

1. My blueprint for success includes keeping a positive attitude.

2. Goetze's carmel cremes (link to an awesome candy blog) was the last candy I ate.

3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is who cares, whatever is on sale.

4. Knitting, unless you keep buying shitloads of yarn like I do can be good therapy.

5. I'd like to tell you about more house building stories - it was soooo fun.

6. Being a loyal friend is my strongest characteristic.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to chilling at home, tomorrow my plans include having a glass or two of wine and oh ya - a long run and Sunday, I want to go for a hike with hubby!

Happy Samhain Eve !

Ok - for those of you who don't know what I am talking about - you can go to this web site to learn all about today, an ancient holy day. And for those of you who think, oh gosh - here she goes down the non-Christian road; that's not where I'm taking you. Even today's trick or treating has it's roots in pagan rituals.I've never really cared for Halloween, except when I was a kid, of course and got lots of candy. But even those days are distant memories to what kids today experience, group parties instead of all of the neighborhood trick or treating or trunk or treat, which to me seems like the laziest way to get candy, even though I suppose it's safe. ( and for you who again are freaked about the pagan vs. Christian thing? Many trunk & treats are sponsored by churches - so there!)

Whatever - with no kids I get to do what I dang well please so Hubby & I are going to a friend's house, my reiki buddy where we will no doubt have a marvelous time, practice some reiki healing like good witches and remember fondly those friends and family who are no longer with us.

Here is my Friday Fill In - hope you all have a great weekend!

1. My favorite food seasoning is salt.

2. Fred Eaglesmith(playing on the radio now) is music to my ears.

3. Lucky is something I feel every day, and blessed.

4. My relationship with friends and family is something I take very seriously.

5. Many people forget what's really important; see number 4.

6. My brand new Birkenstocks was the last thing I bought at the store.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner with friends, tomorrow my plans include my first "long" training run for a half marathon and dinner with some more friends and Sunday, I want to sleep in then watch the 'Fins win!