Infuse this!

Woah. Seriously, I'm still alive! Life is busy, but it goes on, no?

I've been busy busy busy working working working. But I've been trying to be super crafty lately, inspired of course by Pinterest.

You can find me here

I attempt to actually recreate things I see on Pinterest to help justify all my time spent on the site...

So here's two recent adventures...

Home made Vanilla Extract

This was a super easy project, and smells so good!

I found these great little bottles at The Container Store for only $4 each!!

Then you just fill with Vodka (or Bourbon) and whole vanilla beans! I sliced the beans up the middle with some scissors and put them in the bottles! I used 3 beans per bottle. Some recipes online show way more vanilla beans per bottle of vodka, one even said SEVENTY for a half a gallon of vodka. Which seems a little steep! Especially considering vanilla beans are around $1.50 each.

I love how this turned out! I'm going to write a little note for each one letting the recipient know to wait 30 days before using it. The taste difference in your baking is outstanding! Plus most store bought vanilla extracts have a TON of added sugar. That's just bad news bears!

Infusion... commence!

Cranberry-Lime Infused Vodka

Secondly I found this awesome Cranberry-Lime infused vodka recipe, that also seemed like a great Christmas gift idea! It works out to be about $9 per bottle! Of course I found these awesome bottles at Grocery Outlet (a bargain grocery store) filled with some sort of fizzy pink lemonade for only #2.99, so I realize these bottles at this price may be difficult to find. Again, they sell 

something similar at The Container Store.

From there I just bought 2 pounds of whole cranberries, sat in front of the tv and proceeded to poke holes in all the cranberries and put them in the bottles. Around 2/3 of the way, I put the rind of one lime in each bottle. Then I put a few more berries on top! And of course, fill with vodka! yes! This smells SO GOOD! And I have more vodka left, so I'm going to make a few more bottles. I again bought a half of a gallon of Svedka, which is on sale for $20 in stores here, so I have enough left for about 2-3 more bottles of this goodness! I found this idea at The Fancy Napkin, and I'm also going to attach this recipe for Cran-tinis to the bottles when I gift them.

Hark! I bring tidings of great booze.

Crantini's

Ingredients:

1/2 oz. Triple Sec

1 1/2 oz. Cranberry-Lime Infused vodka

4 oz. Cranberry juice

Ice

Directions:

Shake with ice, and shake well. Strain and serve in a martini glass

Garnish with cranberries or a lime twist.

Hugs and kisses!

McGriddle Pants

I'm proud of you, Storm Trooper

Holy crap balls, I'm alive!

I've been such a major suck on my blog of late, and yet I've been quite productive in the real worlds. I have even only been checking my facebook every 2 days or so *GASP!*

The job has been keeping me busy, and am trying to gather up some material for some tales from the work place. Mostly I'm still learning the ropes and learning the hierarchy of the restaurant biz. You know, some servers think they are so much better than we, the mere host staff, and even higher than the lowly bussers. Which I think is total bullshit. On a high note, my manager said this to me the other day, "We're working on getting you started serving, so just be patient. But I think you'd make a much better manager" To which I said, I would definitely be down with that. But anywhoodle.

My BFF came to visit me from Arizona for 2 1/2 weeks and I was literally sober for 2 whole days. TWO WHOLE DAYS in the last 17 days. I'm in a MAJOR detox right now. Well, today was actually the "hangover" period, in which I ate everything in the house for most of the day. I feel like I'm going to explode. I also napped for 4 hours. So tomorrow will begin the health cleanse. My liver will thank me for it.

Oh-- and we took pictures

the beach! still sober here..

"hurry up beer man"

"nipple"

let's just call this one "Oakshire Brewing Sample Night"

Ankle failure. Twice. Yes, we're drinking in a dugout. At 1 am.

"Portlandia"

Wenatchee

He wanted to call this one "Gaga" because 'Judas' came on for the millionth time.

Oh yeah, and his shirt says "You discussed me"

Bought at the Portland Saturday Market. Funniest shit ever.

lonelydinosaur.com

The pitcher actually had "PBR Only" written on it.
Why? Cause it taints everything it touches.

Lots of ridiculousness occurred.

'Judas' was in our heads constantly for the first week. I loves me some Gaga, but sweet Jesus, you can only sing it so many times. That and Adele's Rolling in the Deep.

Somehow we ended up watching a Real Housewives of New York City and became strangely addicted. What a SHITSHOW! Oh that Ramona... I want to kill her. And her Pinot Grigio!!! But I digress...

I also nearly broke my ankle again. Remember when I wrenched it during the Rise Against concert? Well basically it happened again. TWICE.We had spent most of the evening out drinking (surprise, surprise). The sky was perfectly clear and my friend wanted to "go look at the moon". So we picked up a six-er of tall cans of Miller Lite and headed to the park. For some reason the ball park lights were all on, at 1 am. So I proceeded to prance around the bases while holding my beer. No failure there, and actually you'd think that would have been the most likely place for ankle failure. Oh no.

We're sitting in the duggout and realized we needed to TAKE PICTURES!! So I ran off to the car to get the camera. Wait, no I froliced off. Sort of a skipping-jogging-frolicking action. The duggout is dirt, then transitions to sand, which then transitions to the grass throughout the rest of the park. Well, once I hit the sand... BAM! I ate shit. I laughed and laughed and rolled around grabbing my ankle. Biffing it is pretty funny, especially when you're wasted. But I was fine, so I made it to the car, and then headed back.

LITERALLY... in the exact same spot I ate shit. AGAIN. AGAIN!!! What the crap!? This time my stuff went flying. Camera. Beer. Keys. Hat. All strewn about. Again I was laughing so hard, but this time the tears came with it. My friends came running over and were trying to help me up asking if I was alright. (this part is hazy for me, so I'm going off what my friends relayed to me afterward) I guess I yelled "NO TALKING!!" because I was laughing so hard and it hurt SO BAD. Then they tried to help me up and I yelled "NO TOUCHING!!" At this point I was on my knees, laughing and laughing and crying and laughing, trying to figure out if I'd broken my ankle and if I could walk on it. Meanwhile my friends stood there histerically laughing at me.

I hobbled back to the duggout and managed to figure out that I didn't actually break it. I'm sure I tore some stuff up in there something fierce though, because two weeks later it still hurts. It was swollen huge for a week, and its more or less back to normal size. But it still hurts, especially in the monring when its stiff, or when I step weird.

We also went to Portland, went to a gay bar and got capital "T" Trashed, went to Powell's the world's largest used book store, to the Saturday Market. Then do the beach, and this last weekend, up to Leavenworth Washington for some awesome rafting action. We nearly froze to death, but that's a story that's really not as funny when retold, however we were crying/laughing in the back of the pickup when it was pouring POURING down rain. I just kept saying "This is a memory of a lifetime!!" I'm such a dork.

So there ya go.

I'm really going to try to update more often, at least once a week. The guilt is killing me. And I miss my bloggy buddies! I'll also admit that I haven't read ANY blogs in as much as two months. But I'm spending my cough time today catching up. I may not comment on everything I love, but I'll try to send some love your way so you know I was actually there catching up!

Peace out my homies! Miss and love you!!

another day, another beer, another hangover

woah woah woah.

Beer and wine definitely don't mix.

Don't get me wrong, I had SO MUCH FUN last night, but today, well, lets just say that I woke up still drunk, and finally started functioning at 4pm. Woo!

So, since my brain is moving slowly, and I'm waiting for the pizza to cook (YUM! Best for hangovers, seriously.) Just a few thoughts.

 This is totally my new favorite beer of the moment. New Belgium's Trippel is so delicious. Unfortunately we can only find it in the mix pack, and I'm not really a fan of the darker 1554 which you also get three of in the mix. I highly recommend trying it.

I miss the flip-flop tan line on my feet. So I painted my toe nails cotton candy pink. Of course I never get to see it, cause I'm wearing thick socks all the time. But I digress...

Too much typing, my head is spinning. I have to lie down now.

Go forth and drink some beers!

bcs

Yes folks, its gametime. I sit here wearing green. I'm not really happy about it either. I've decided to do the grown up thing and root for Oregon. Being a staunch Oregon State fan (GO BEAVERS!) I agree that its the right thing to do, to root for the Pac-10 (Soon to be Pac-12). I feel dirty too. I wasn't even going to watch the game, cause I'm having such a hard time with this, but I'm at my cousin's house, and they are HUGE Oregon Duck fans... and they informed me I had to wear green, or else I'd have to wait outside (its about 15 degrees here today).

All I can say is, I can't wait for this to be over. I'm SO TIRED of hearing about the Ducks. Blah blah blah. Its not my team, and yeah, I'm pouting about it. Whateva! I do what I want!

I also realize that if/when they win, I will never hear the end of it... for at least the next decade. I can see it now... "Hey remember when we won the National Championship?! How many titles have your Beavers won?!" Shut your pie hole.

Hope you all enjoy the game... I gotta start drinking. And uh... *cough* go ducks.


Oh-- and hope you all like my new layout! :)

THE drinking rules, part deux

Some of you may remember a post I did a few months back of THE Drinking Rules

Well a friend of mine passed along a great blog called American Drink in which they posted a similar such post. So good it bared repeating. Here you go!

Rules for My Born Son. And You.      by insooutso

1) Be polite and smile your brains out, but let the bartender flirt first. Always provide a number, never ask for one.

2) Decide what you will order on the drive to the bar. Eye contact is key, never wave money to get attention.

3) Vodka and Coke? That better be a joke.

4) If a song is longer than five minutes, save it for the black lights and the basement. If the song is Meatloaf, congrats on your gender reassignment surgery. Your mother and I still love you just the same.

5) Buy someone a drink because you want to drink with that person. It’s a sign of respect and enjoyment. Never do it for the sake of reciprocation and never expect something in return.

6) “Sorry, I was drunk,” is never an excuse. Ever.

7) Never get to the point of throwing up. If it accidentally happens, it better be in the bar bathroom. If you’re in the bathroom, always in the toilet - never in the sink or urinal. If there is mess in any way, shape or form, grab a mop. It is nobody’s job to clean up your bodily fluids. Did your friend throw up? Someone in your party is responsible for clean-up.

8) Friends can talk friends out of driving when they shouldn’t. Real friends listen. 

Reoccurring problem? Reevaluate your friendship.

9) Blended drink? You better have sand between your toes, mister.

10) A proper White Russian is made at home. Never trust bar dairy.

11) There is no shame in getting punched if you are conspicuously trying to break up a fight. Fight between two women? Tread lightly, your role could get misconstrued. Additionally, it would be wise to head to another establishment.

12) Never bet on pool.

13) Did they turn up the lights? Go home. Don’t offer to help stock or clean; it looks desperate and you are probably getting in the way.

14) No politics. No religion.

15) It is safer to lick a urinal cake than it is to eat bar-top snack mix.

16) Always know the ingredients. Shots have many different names and chances are that the bartender doesn’t know what it is outside of the normal realm of shots (Bend Me Overs, Red Snappers, et al). If you give him/her the ingredients, there is a strong chance that they even know how to portion it correctly based off of the ingredients chosen. Lots of mixers? You better be ordering a round for the table and not an individual shot.

17) Never drop a drink into a drink. Never light anything on fire. Never slam your shot glass on the bar.

18) Alcohol doesn’t do certain things to certain people. If somebody claims that tequila makes them violent, it’s because they’re a violent person. Simple as that.

19) Make your own toasts. Sentimentality is good. Honesty is good. Poignant is good. Repeating what somebody else said is a quote, not a toast.

20) Compared to life, loss or lock down, cabs are virtually free. 

Totally great advice!! I love it!

 

I said, "GOOD DAY SIR!!"

Hold on to your butts, this is a good one.

So last year, Budweiser came out with an AMAZING product. Yes, that's right, "fan cans."

me and all my Bud Light Beaver Can awesomeness

Yes, this was the best invention of my entire life. Seriously.

Anywhoodle...

This year,  Budweiser has decided to "not make" this can for fans. Or this is what I was told. I think its brilliant, amazing, and the awesomest thing ever. HOWEVER, after searching diligently for weeks, nay months, I have not found any. Something about encouraging "binge drinking" was what I read on the Internet.

Nay...

My roomie hears that a store in town is selling "fan cans" so I immediately drive there. Oh no. Yeah, that's right. Oregon cans. ALL OREGON CANS. Fucking GREEN AND YELLOW cans of pure BULLSHIT. No Oregon State, black and orange beautifulness. Whores. It was all I could do to not freak out on the poor clerk at the store. She told me that "Budweiser has chosen not to support Oregon State. They only support University of Oregon."

Um.......... excuse me?!?!?!?!?!?!

I stomped out of that store so fast.

Now, please keep in mind, I am a DIE HARD Bud Light drinker. For the last 12 years!! And now... I have vowed to FIND ANOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fucking Fucker. I'll show you "not supporting" my team.

Commence "taste test 2010"!!!!!

FUCK YOU BUD LIGHT!! I don't need you!!!!!  I'll find another!!!!!!!!!

The winners!!!!!!!!!! Kinda mad that Bud and Bud Light are in the running.... but what ever.....

 The losers!!!!!!!!

Lesson Learned: Almost EVERY SINGLE BEER tasted exactly the same as all the other beers. Seriously. Except for the losers. I swear!!!!!!! I could drink anything from our starting batch and never complain.

Please note that
Budweiser
Bud Light
Coors
Coors Light
Busch Light
Miller Light
Keystone Light

ALL TASTE THE EXACT SAMEEEEEEEEEE. 

And I know my beers. And I know my football.
Oh well. It was super fun anyway! :)

And I'll be composing a STRONGLY worded letter to my local Budweiser distributor about my anger. I will be petitioning them. And telling them about their LOSS as a great customer!! I'll keep you updated!!

With love, and GO BEAVERS

i'm so mother f**ing proud of you c**k suckers.

In honor of my
       onset-vegetarianism
                       -pro alcoholism stance for the month...
I give you my favorite beer commercials of all time. :)

vegetarius maximus

Oh Lord. Its finally happened.

I've gone vegetarian.

For a month.

Stop! Stop!! Don't run away! WAIT!! Here me out!

I'm not a "Meat is Murder" kinda gal. (Although I do think some of the U.S. meat industry's standards are extremely sub-par and unhealthy) When you get to the point that your "fat pants" are now too tight, its really time to do something. A few months ago I was on a exercising kick, which I fell off that wagon with an earth shattering THUMP! So I need to take some drastic measures and get my life on the right track. This includes eating better and smarter. Here's where the vegetarianism comes in...

Everyone always says to stop drinking to lose weight. Now I don't generally drink a lot but I do really loves my beers. I'm a beer afficionado, and I just love beer. Not the Natural Light, Coors, or Budweiser kind, but the craft brew ultra delicious kinds. Can't get enough of 'em. Soooooooo... I've decided to keep my beers, and cut out meat. Mostly red meat, but I'm going to try for all meat except for fish for one month. Hamburgers are the real culprits. Those and chicken wings (soooooo good) so I'm going to give it a whirl. Don't worry, I'm not going to become a tofu/garden burger junkie (no offense to those of you who are *winks*) cause that's just not my style.

I've been doing good so far, almost been one week. What's really funny is, I haven't even had any beer this whole time either, hahhahaa! Double whamey! I'm also doing pretty good with my workouts. Haven't missed any yet, and am trying really hard to stay active even when not working out. Less couch time for me!! I mean seriously, I've been unemployed for about a year now, and have put on about 15 pounds. This is not a coincidence. For serious.

All of these things, on top of the fact that my mom was recently in the hospital for Congestive Heart Failure. Yeah, for serious. She goes on her "Vacation of a Lifetime!" trip to Greece for 3.5 weeks and one week in, she is hospitalized. So not only is she in the hospital for heart problems (scary enough) but she's in the hospital in ATHENS GREECE! So I can't go visit her, she's 10 hours ahead and its virtually impossible to get a hold of her.

She's doing much better now, is home and looks good. There's no damage to her heart muscles, arteries or veins and is on heart medication now. Mom was in relatively good shape and has never had any heart troubles before, so you can see how this was a little unnerving.

So the point of this story is, its time for me to start taking better care of myself! Exercising and eating better. GO ME! I'm hoping I can shed some of this "unhealthy belly fat" and get into a little better shape so that if I need to go for a hike or a bike ride, I won't be passing out after the first half mile. Plus I'm getting old enough that when I get out of bed in the morning I have to hobble myself to the bathroom because my joints are all stiff and seized up. How fun it is to get old!!

Wish me luck! And thanks to everyone for the well wishes for my mom (here, and in person).

i'm a mazama mama!

Man just wants to be happy.
But society wants him to be good.
When he's good, he's rarely happy.
But when he's happy, he's always good.

Hey all! Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I just got back from central Oregon, where Mr. Man and I helped celebrate the Bend Distillery's grand opening. You know what that means? FREE BOOZE! We sort of have the "hook-up" too, cause his friend's mom's boyfriend owns the place. So we had quite a few samples after hours, and it was so much fun!! Basically if you love vodka, or gin, you should really try their stuff. Its so smooth and unbelievably delish!

And if you love spice, you gotta try the Mazama pepper infused vodka.

bendistillery.com

 OH. MY. GOD. Amazing. Great in Bloody Mary's or their specialty drink the Pina Mazama. Pineapple juice and Mazama pepper vodka. (Cathy, you should totally give this a try for a booze day!!)

I highly recommend you pick some up!

Mr. Man also participated in the single speed 5K bike race. He's such a cutie. Even covered in mud.

he finished in the top 5

king of the mountain!

oops! i crapped my pants

random shit tuesday

OH MY GOD. I'M 32!!

Suffering from major cupcake hangover... But oh, so, worth it!!

Fun-fetti cupcakes. A tradition for over 2 decades!

I've finally found a ring that I can fit on my broke-ass finger. Since my knuckle is GINORMOUS compared the rest of my finger, my usual ring hasn't fit since last November, when I originally broke it. I'm pleased to announce I have finger jewelry again!! 

Cute no? The trick is, that is doesn't completely close!! 

So I can slip it over knuckle-saurus and get it to fit nicely.

I mean really, look at the BEAST of a knuckle!!

One of my oldest friends got married this weekend. I seriously almost lost it several times during the vows. They're both English majors, so they wrote their own. I usually get mistly at weddings, especially those of which I'm particularly close with the couple, but his one was rough. I didn't have any tissue with me, so I had to seriously bite my lip to distract myself. Oh, to be that in love...

Congratulations B and T !!

and I think we clean up "real gooood"

Me and Mr. Man. I friggin LOVE this dress

This was in between thievings of drink tickets. There was one per seat, at each table. Well... there were a few unoccupied tables... and a few folks that left without imbibing... so I did what every red blooded thirsty American would do. I went scavaging for drink tickets. 

Everyone at our table got at least 5!!  You're welcome.

(Hey, don't judge! the Groom told me to!!)

And check this shit out...

Oh HELLLLLL YES!!

Neil Diamond Cover Band is performing at the Free Concert Series in the Park here in town. "River Rhythms"  Yes I know... it sounds like, and usually is, a giant hippie fest. But really?!? Is this not shaping up to be the best summer ever?!?

And don't forget... this weekend is

Und... TRINKEN!!

the hangover

 His name is Carlos.

Happy Sunday!

T'was a great weekend here in McGriddleville -- Including today's lovely hangover which woke me at approximately 8:30am (after finally going to bed at 3:30). The roommate and I had a great bbq at our place, so of course I started drinking around 6. I think I went from "buzzed" to "Holy-shit-I-can't-remember-my-name drunk" in about 2 minutes flat.

Did you know its not the best idea to have 4 beers on an empty stomach?

And then only eat one piece of chicken?

Surprise! See? You learn something new every day.

Just don't be shocked when you walk 2 miles home from the bar at midnight cause the beer your drinking suddenly looks revolting, and you think your forehead is about to make best friends with the tabletop.

Oh, and of course I didn't bring my keys, so I passed out on the porch swing for an hour and a half until my roommate got home from the bar. I guess I missed a great time because some really short, fat chick tried to start a fight with her, and apparently tried to use "You smell like a campfire" as an insult. Sorry little lady, but flattery will get you nowhere.

So anybooze, today has been a fun filled day of solid couch time, mostly consisting of research for my "Movie Madness Throwback Edition Part 2" with such gems as The Lost Boys and the original Clash of the Titans. Cinematic gold my friends. Gold!

For now, my pillow is calling to me.



P.S. Why do people insist on setting fireworks off early?!

beer sampler!

Its Tuesday and I don't have to work today!!
Time for a BEER SAMPLER!!
I'm in public... and I haven't showered in 5 days! Loves me some camping! hehehee!
Details to come!

this isn't my first rodeo

Howdy pard'ners!

Had a fun filled, action packed super-rific weekend here! Most of the festivities circled around my cousin's 40th birthday party, in which I was "volunteered" to help cook/chop/mince/dice/grate and blend... among other things. The weather however decided not to cooperate, so our Mexican Fiesta themed party was moved into the horse arena. After that, things went very smoothly, and a good time was had by all. I think my cousin raked in about 5 gallons of whiskey as gifts, let alone the other beers and birthday cards.

We had traditional margaritas for the party, but I picked up a new booze recipe for you. Its great for people on the go! (HA!) Let me introduce you to

Rodeo Margaritas

4 Coronas
1 cup tequila
2 quarts limeade
Mix well, serve over ice.

TaaaaaDaaaa! Gotta say, this one's not bad!

My cousin calls this their tailgating drink.

Now I'm off to finish up the weekend with some chili, cornbread, bud lights and 5 1/2 hours (YES!) of LOST tonight!

And some good news! I've finally hit 40 followers! Thank you to you all!!!
Our lucky contestant to be our 40th customer is Island Gal who has a pretty cool blog of her own. You should go check her out! Congrats to you and Thanks for following Island Gal!!

Catch you on the flipside!