Today I'm 33. Time to die for the sins of the world. Or time to come out of the desert and start my life's work; I forget which. One of those.

I've had a great day, filled with snuggles from my daughters and GIRL TIME at a clothing exchange party at 3countylaugh's -- and yes, there was boozing and dishing and nekkidness! I had some pomegranate liqueur, which I mixed with blueberry juice and put over ice, and it was sweet and anti-oxidant-errific. There was also wine, soy jerky (not my thing), veggies & dip, and "Smart Puffs," yum.

Those of us who had been through labor ended up (of course) talking about our labors. Other women's labors are a source of endless fascination to me. I met some fab new people, some of whom are about to move closer to me, hooray!

Oh, and did I mention I got fabulous new clothes? And did I mention they were free? I got a fitted leather jacket -- I've never owned a leather jacket before! -- some WICKED pointy black leather strappy boots originally from Nordstrom, a dramatic cape from Italy, a whole bunch of skirts and tops, and a dress that looks like I was poured into it. Rrrrrrrr.

Also today, Andrew made me a Chocolate Cheesecake for my birthday. Wellllllll, honesty compels me to admit that him making me the Chocolate Cheesecake was my idea. And I was the one who went to the store for the ingredients. And I ended up making most of it myself. But he totally gets all the credit for it. :-)

Right now one kid is in bed, the other is almost in bed, and later will be the Eating Of The Chocolate Cheesecake with tatterdamelion and son upstairs for the occasion. And then I'll get to put away all my Fabulous New Clothes and *squeeee* again at the awesomeness of getting rid of old clothes and getting new wonderful clothes, free, from fabulous people who could tell me the story behind some of the things I got.

... the rogue lime was ingested last night, by me, in combination with Hendrick's gin and cranberry juice.

Oh, and I put lime juice and sugar on the rim of the glass. I was all fancy!

Gin has not been part of my liquor cabinet before, but Hendrick's gin will be from now on. It has a lovely floral / cucumber-y taste. The dark brown bottle probably would have intimidated me if I hadn't already tried some a few weeks ago, thanks to eveofdstruction.

Andrew took yesterday off work, and aawhitewood and Tom came over last night to babysit so that we could go out and have dinner on our fifth anniversary.

Five years! It seems to have gone by extremely quickly -- probably because of the two Special Projects that have been taking up all our time recently.

I used that canned "Hello Boss" coffee from the other day to mix up two types of drinks for myself.

1) Shot of Kahlua, "Hello Boss" canned coffee, whole milk, ice cubes.
2) Shot of Creme de Cacao, "Hello Boss" canned coffee, whole milk, ice cubes.

Do these drinks already have names? Are these White Russians? No, White Russians are made with vodka. I think.

So I think I will call them Boss Kahlua and Boss Creme de Cacao. Not the most interesting names in the world.

(My all-time favorite made-up name for a drink was "Black & Cran," which is what I called blackberry schnapps + cranberry spritzer. I was smirking to myself for days over how clever I was.)

aawhitewood came over and babysat tonight, allowing me to go out amuse myself. Hooray! I don't get to to this nearly often enough -- although aawhitewood is planning to rectify that.


A night out by myself every so often: Just what the doctor ordered.

Bacon.

Vodka.

From BrowniePointsBlog: Homemade Bacon Vodka.


I must make this... maybe I'll pick up some vodka tomorrow on my way back from the salon. That's right, boys and girls -- Vanity and Liquor, combined in one dangerous woman, right here. Watch yourselves.

I need some vodka anyway, so I can begin steeping the crystallized ginger in it for a new batch of Ginger Frappé.

Due to popular demand... :-)



And another one for good measure -- I made three batches of this, if I remember correctly, to give away to 5 friends for Christmas 2001. (I kept the sixth bottle for myself...)

Both girls are in their rooms, and are being quiet -- at the same time, even.

Knowing that I've survived another day and at the end, they are fed, clean, safe, warm, and reasonably happy.

A cup of genmaicha -- a Japanese green tea mixed with toasted brown rice. I love the little white specks of popped rice against the green and brown of the rest of the loose tea, and the finished product is nutty and mellow.

tatterdamelion brought me some of his White Chocolate-Cranberry Cookies. Mmm. I suppose I only need one. OK, two.  ;-)

And, of course, the internet offers me its own simple pleasures.

I am still working my way through the interesting articles gathered in GetRichSlowly's Carnival of Personal Finance post. Wow, what a treasure trove he's assembled here! I have been clicking through and reading an article or journal entry, and usually finding other things to link to from there. Tabbed browsing is definitely my friend.

A link from a link led me to an article from the Dallas Morning News, which pointed me to La Paletera, a new Mexican fresh fruit and smoothie franchise down in Texas, Arizona, and places like that -- none here in Seattle so far. "Fruit in a cup" sounds boring, but apparently it's traditional in Mexico to dust fresh fruit with salt, chile powder, and lime-flavored powder for a "kick." They have other kinds of Mexican street food, too. Obviously this would work best where there's a higher proportion of Hispanics; I doubt it would work all that well in Seattle. Then again...

The thought of Hazelnut Espresso Vodka makes me happy. I wonder if I could make it myself. Six or seven years ago I made coffee-infused vodka to give to friends for Christmas... Mmmmm, coffee-flavored vodka. I bet I could do that again and just add some hazelnut syrup... IDEA!

Here's a blog with a very overtly Christian-woman vibe. If that's not a turn-off to you, check out the adorable tiny sugared Christmas tree decorations she put on cupcakes for her son's preschool class. Summary: Pine sprigs (or rosemary). Strip lower needles off. Spray with Pam. Roll in red sugar crystals or powdered sugar. Stick on top of cupcake. If you like that, then Like Merchant Ships offers more posts of a similar nature.

... back in the real world, my tea is cold and it's 10:17 PM. How did that happen? Curse you and your witching ways, internet vixen! Curse you!

Last night, I met up with some of the other moms from my old PEPS group for a "girls' night out."


It's nice to do this kind of thing once in awhile! :-)

Things to enjoy this fall day, here at the office and then when I get home FINALLY.

• First and foremost, coffee. Because when you're running on three hours of sleep or so, coffee will save you. All hail caffeine!
• Baked sweet potato, with melted sharp cheddar, sour cream, fresh chives and peppered turkey.
• Lavender tea. Really, it's just tea made out of dried lavender -- nothing else. With a bit of honey. Mmmm!
• Sweet kisses from my daughters and/or husband (even though they will be sleep-deprived, cranky, and covered with spitup)
• Pulled pork, waiting for me in the crockpot at home
• Maybe if I'm really really extra super lucky I'll get to nap
• And then tonight, Nikki's "Castle Falkenstein" game downstairs at tatterdamelion's place with him and my other good friends who make me laugh and laugh until I'm lightheaded.
• tatterdamelion is going to make a big hearty Italian soup with fresh produce and beans AND pasta
• I expect to have at least one drink of the alcoholic variety, because it has been that kind of week,
• and I expect to make my "famous" Ginger Apple Crisp, loaded with yummy crystallized ginger.
• and then... the pinnacle of my desires... BED.