Call me a purist, but...

What the hell has happened to the martini? The martini is the king of all mixed drinks. It stands far and above the gin and tonic or the Manhattan.

I appreciate the artistry of making a perfectly dry martini. You must know your gins and vodkas to tailor it to your needs. The vermouth is used with extreme caution. You keep the olive juice handy when you want it dirty. And you keep pearl onions at hand for the curmudgeon who insists upon a Gibson.

Yes, James Bond is the spokesman for the martini, not some broad from a city. The Rat Pack drank martinis. Martinis are for gentlemen in suits and fine ladies with smoky voices. A great martini needs no fruit. There is no such thing as a pomtini.

The latest martini craze has brought forth from the woodwork pseudo suave drinkers who think they are being clever by adding 'tini' to end of their favorite fruit.

Alas my fair female drinkers, these 'tinis' are much like the cotton candy flavored lip glosses that reside in your pocketbooks. They will fade in time.

Post Christmas Thoughts

As you may already know, I'm quite the lazy blogger. My life is generally uneventful and mostly drama free; which is exactly the way I like it.

Spencer decorated the outside of the house for Christmas with large ornaments that hang from our front porch. There are also ribbons and bells on the posts. It looks very cute and festive.

Before Christmas, he took a week off work where we spent most of those days at home preparing for the upcoming drive to southern Ohio to visit relatives. I had a wonderful time wrapping gifts while listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The visit went well. It was as quiet and relaxing as being in our own home, only in a far nicer home. On Christmas Eve, I did tear up when asked to recall a favorite Christmas memory. As I thought of my mom and grandma from Christmases long ago, the overwhelming feeling of loss came over me as I tried to choke out the words to my audience of compassionate listeners.

Understandingly, my polite in laws offered me a box of tissues, a pat on the back, and went forth to the next person asking for a favorite Christmas memory as I sat quietly composing myself and trying so very hard NOT to blow my nose too loud.

Christmas morning was light and happy with a breakfast casserole and glowing faces around the table. My niece was especially eager to open gifts, and we adults were all to eager to keep her squirming as we lingered over coffee.

The gift giving in this family is far more ceremonial than the explosive unwrap-it-as-fast-as-you-can times of my childhood. This ceremony took me a few years to master when I was still new to my husband's family.

A person is designated to hand out a few gifts until we all have something to open. Someone is chosen to start, and we all watch as this person oh so carefully, unwraps the gift and shows it for all to see. Only after my first Christmas with my new family, did I realize that wrapping paper is NOT to be torn and opened like a pack of wolves at a kill. The paper, if silently deemed to be "of quality", is opened with great care so it can be reused again the next year. Or more.

The quiet and polite giving of the gifts and unwrapping continues until they are all opened with each person placing reusable paper and bags placed neatly into piles by his/her side. Even the ribbons are kept for reuse. Now, with this artistic family, there are also fabric gift bags that are not meant to be kept. They are given back unless specifically told "you can keep that", which is not often.

Even with this "unusual to me" pomp and circumstance, all the gifts I had carefully chosen were well received by my in laws. Even down to the fish scale nail files that my husband was certain would make his mother and sister recoil in horror. Much to our surprise, it seems, my mother in law had owned one of these fish scale nail files years ago and was more than pleased to receive a new one.

I do think the best part was when my niece took her Christmas Around the World pop-up book, and hugged it tightly to her chest. I knew then, we had chosen a cherished gift for her this year.

Later that afternoon, Spencer and I departed for the three-hour drive back home. Once home and settled in, we put on some Christmas music and exchanged our gifts. Salvador was especially happy that our niece had sent home a gift for him. He opened the package, very impolitely, and demanded some of the new catnip. Of course, we complied, being the doting staff that we are.

So with a happy happy heart, I bid you all a very Merry After Christmas, and do hope 2010 is a wonderful and productive year for you.

New Tactics

I found out something interesting recently. I've stopped reacting emotionally when I feel attacked or threatened.

The first thing I do is STOP. I then mentally take the emotion out of the need to react immediately. I force myself to pause at first. Then, if I must, I respond, but I do not react.
I try to curb the need to attack, or be defensive. I try not to use sentences beginning with 'You'. I try to respond by beginning with 'I'.
I know there are fancy terms for this technique, and I am sure I'm not the first to use it. And yes, it does work to defuse the situation for the most part.
The need to respond to attackers with witty mean-spirited comments is fading. I am happy to break that cycle.

Quick Florida Trip

The trip was short, eventful, and interesting. And somehow we still managed to have a nice time despite getting sick as hell from Ponderosa on the night we arrived. NEVER EVER EAT AT PONDEROSA STEAKHOUSE! Your intestinal tract will thank you for it.

We hit up Sea World on the afternoon of our arrival. Saw a few shows, pet the cute rays in the tank and basically realized that Sea World of Orlando is no Disney World when it comes to trying to wow you with landscaping. Their topiary was awful. We did enjoy watching the dolphins swimming in the tank. Got to see an erect dolphin penis, too. (giggles). We really loved the Killer Whale show entitled Believe. Spence took some marvelous pictures of the show. So glad we didn't sit in the splash zone!

The next day, due to Spencer being still violently ill from the Ponderosa dinner, we had to cancel our two hour drive to St. Augustine. Instead, we opted for Downtown Disney to see the Princess Diana exhibit. We were moved to tears by the exhibit and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in English royalty.

Downtown Disney is fun in the daytime, but at night it really becomes a wonderland. I enjoyed shopping at the World of Disney store and bought a few more of the stretchy mickey head bracelets that look like crystals. I'm now up to five in various colors.

We stopped in the Disney Christmas store where we splurged on an adorable Advent calendar with a Mickey head design. The store really got me excited for Christmas. I found a nicely-made Peter Pan ornament and showed it to Spencer exclaiming loudly, "This is a really nice Peter!". That made me laugh and blush! I then told Spencer, "Perhaps, I should have worded that differently!".

We had dinner at Bongo's, the Cuban restaurant, where I fulfilled my ceviche fix. They also serve one of the best mojitos I ever had. Spencer was still sick, so he was unable to fully enjoy his dinner of seafood. I was being the fretful wife, and had a hard time eating my delicious meal of marinated pork in front of him. We still managed to enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant and promised to return again on another Florida trip.

We took a few hours one day to visit the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum in Orlando. The museum was more fun than I thought. So many odd things to see and do in the Ripley Museum, it's part fun house and part museum. I have to say, I really liked the shrunken head that was displayed. He was actually kinda cute!

All in all, it was a nice little get away. Even thought we didn't go to Universal Studios, or the Disney parks, we still had a pleasant time shopping at the cheesy souvenir shops, and seeing Downtown Disney twice. Even Sea World was okay, but it's not something we need to do again in the near future.

And yet, I still Dream

I dreamt of you again this morning. Both of you. This time, it was pleasant. You both were busily getting ready for a play. Costumes were everywhere in the room. They were the type of costumes one would wear in an English play set in 1850 perhaps. I felt the smooth silkiness of the man's tight jacket. The peacock feathers on the womens' hats made me sneeze.

You both were happy to see me. There were tears of joy. From me, tears of remorse and relief. Forgiveness was given all around.

Oh, how I wish that were true.

Poem for Peace

The path through life is fraught with holes,

Temptations abound to steal our souls.

Before you give in to pain and strife,

Others before you have given a life.

Let freedom ring!

Let our voices soar!

Shout to the world,

"We will not be ignored!"

Stuff that Makes Me Laugh

Free Grill and Grilling Tips

As every Southerner knows, its time to get ready for that all-important cooking technique of the south...outdoor grilling!

I have just found out there are several stores (not just in the South) where you can get a FREE Bar-B-Q grill! You can get a free BBQ grill from any of the following stores:

A&P

Albertsons

Bi-Lo

Costco

Food Lion

Fry's

Giant Eagle

Heinens

Home Depot

Ingles

Big Lots

Bloom

Brookshire's

Lowes

Publix

Save-a-Lot

Sam's Club

Target

Vons

Trader Joe's

Wal-Mart

Winn-Dixie

I especially like the higher rack...which can be used for keeping things warm!

Just make sure to get a metal one... the plastic ones don't do so well.

Ya'll enjoy now!

Our local newspaper is often the source of wicked humor, if you happen to include reading the comments section of the articles online. One columnist, who shall remain nameless, is often a source of online criticism from the peanut gallery. I must include myself in this mixed bag of virtual nuts.

Now, I don't go after the poor man every chance I get. I leave that to the daily posters who vie for the honor of First Poster of The Day. They often say what needs to be said, and I may add something now and again to fill in the gaps.

It seems Mr. Local Newspaper Column Guy took offense at today's online responses to his "well crafted" column. We were not sympathetic to his cause.

In a nutshell, here are the basics to this recent column:

Lady with two kids runs out of gas on freeway. She made a few phone calls for help. In one call, she asked her relative to phone police. Passerby appears, offers to stay until help arrives. State Highway Patrol arrives, does not offer to help and leaves citing she is a low priority. Women gets angry. Local police arrive, as does a relative with gasoline. She receives help from local police and relative. All ends well.

Now, to me, this is a nice gesture on behalf of the local police department, but it is hardly newsworthy. So I can see why the online crowd made snide remarks. And in return, Mr. Local Columnist has a hissy fit and writes HIS snide retort.

Ahhh, small town drama. Don't ya just love it?