Happy 2013

I decided to attempt blogging this year to document my 39th year of life.  Hard to believe I am really that old!  At the beginning of each year, I always set goals for myself instead of making resolutions, and blogging was just one goal for 2013.  Another goal is to make a new-to-me recipe every week all year, an idea I "borrowed" from a friend who completed this task last year.  I'm keeping track of what I make on my 52Recipes Pinterest board.  Wish me luck....52 new recipes will be a challenge!

Week 15 & 16 Challenge: Get a New Cat

I have not always been a cat person.  In fact, when I was growing up, I was scared to death of cats!  I like dogs, particularly my teacup poodle, Nickie.  It wasn't until college, when I was living with my cousin the cat lover, that I started to appreciate how awesome having a cat can be.  As soon as I was living in an apartment on my own, I knew I wanted to get a sweet little kitty cat.  Enter my Miss Priss.  She is not sweet (except for rare moments in the early mornings or late evenings) and I'm pretty sure she has split personality disorder or something similar, but she's all mine.

Fast forward 10 years, and I am living in a condo with a small fenced yard.  This yard attracts cats of all kinds who like to stop by for a visit, pee on my grill cover, chase squirrels, or just lay in the sun on the deck.  Once lovely August morning, a mother kitty and her six tiny babies appeared on the deck, and that was the start of my kitty rescue operation that would last for the next seven months.  To make a long story short, four of those kitties now live a happy country life in my parents' backyard with my sweet mother as their caretaker.

Fast forward again to February and Snowpacalypse '11.  I notice that a small gray cat has taken up residence in my backyard.  He runs to hide when I go outside, but he will drink and eat when I put food and water out for him.  Eventually, he lets me pat him, and we become buddies.  He has obviously been a pet to someone, and I name him Niles (all my kitties are named after movie or TV show characters, of course!).  He doesn't seem to stray to far from my yard and spends most of his time sleeping under the deck or sitting on the fence playing lookout.  My condo complex does not allow pets outside, so I am not surprised when I see flyers posted and warnings written in our newsletter about letting cats run loose and feeding them outside.  I know that means I have to find someplace for Niles to go, but I just don't have time to deal with it as the last weeks of school are so busy and stressful.  However, the decision is made for me when I find an animal trap right outside my fence one morning.  I make a snap decision to bring Niles in the house after work, and that's where the adventure begins.

Day 1:  I wait for Niles to come out from under the deck where he has been napping until 9:00 p.m.  I snatch him up before he can go anywhere and install him in the guest bathroom.  I've cleared out the area under the sink and brought in his blanket and toys.  He crawls in and and stares at me with his big eyes for a while, and then eventually comes out to hang in his new favorite spot - behind the toilet.  

Day 2:  I come home from work (on a Saturday - ugh!) and clear out the guest room so Niles can have more space and see out.  He is so happy to be inside!  He is the sweetest little kitty, always wanting to be patted and never growling, hissing, or scratching.  I decide I want to make him a permanent member of my family.  His older sister still has no clue he is in the house!

The rest of the week:  I start the kitty integration process.  It does not go as well as hoped.  My Miss Prissy does not want a new baby brother, and she will chase him away and act like she's going to attack him any time he approaches.  There is much hissing and growling, and the kitties are removed back to their separate bedrooms.

I take Niles to the vet to be checked out.  It turns out he has a microchip.  He escaped his house in October (!!!), and his owners didn't really try to find him at all.  They turn him over to me, and he passes all his tests at the vet with flying colors.  I officially have a new cat!   The cat integration process is put on hold due to a Father's Day visit from Grammie and Grampie (my parents).  Niles makes fast friends with my mom and would like to be friends with my dad, but he isn't interested. ;)  My dad is not a fan of cats.

Week 2:  We have started the integration process again, very slowly.  So far, there has just been hissing and growling but no chasing or attacking.  I am still keeping them in separate rooms most of the time and only letting them out for supervised visitation in the evenings.  I'm crossing my fingers that older sissy will soften her heart just a little bit and share her space with her new baby brother.

Week 14 Challenge: The Weekend

I had to work on Saturday.  What a beatdown!  Fortunately, my staff party followed our workday, and someone came through with some fabulous jello shots.  My choice was the cherry/whipped cream vodka combination, and it was outstanding!  Although not included in the Mad Men Cocktail app, the jello shot is a classic party drink, so I feel that it's acceptable to include as part of my challenge.  I give the jello shot two thumbs up!

On Sunday evening, I celebrated the end of the regular school year and the start of my summer school year.  One week of sleeping a little later and getting home a little earlier followed by three weeks of summer school.  And then FOUR WEEKS OFF!!!  My celebration was in the form of another classic party celebration drink - champagne.  Although I don't care for most champagne, I have discovered a pink champagne that is sweet enough for my liking, so I had a glass (or two) to mark the end of another successful year at work.  I guess I will just use that Mad Men app to do "pretend" drinking from now on - you can actually turn up the picture of the glass like you're drinking it and it will empty!

Week 14 Challenge Update: Old Fashioned

Day 4 is the Old Fashioned.  Our trusty app says "the old fashioned may be the first drink to be called a cocktail.  It's also the drink of choice for Don Draper, who can mix the clubby cocktail without breaking a sweat."  The recipe is:
*2 oz bourbon
*2 dashes bitters

*1 splash water
*1 tsp sugar
*1 cherry
*1 orange slice
Select rocks glass and add sugar, water splash, bitters, cherry garnish, and orange slice.  Muddle, and pour bourbon.  Add ice cubes and stir.

I really, really wanted to like this and make it my new favorite cocktail like Don Draper.  Alas, I did not enjoy it any more than the other cocktails.  I realize now that I either have to drink a sweet cocktail, Moscato wine, or Bud Light, or I don't like it.  So much for trying to broaden my horizons!

Week 14 Challenge Update: A Sadness Fills the Land

Every night before mixing my cocktails, I have been riding my exercise bike six miles.  Then the cocktail is my reward.  See how I must bribe myself to exercise!  This process was going along swimmingly until tonight, when the left peddle fell off my bike right around mile four.  I can't believe my bike is already falling apart after just two months!  I spent almost an hour trying everything to get that peddle back on the bike (including duct tape - yikes!) but nothing worked.  So , instead of forcing myself to drink another possibly terrible cocktail, I instead soothed myself with my very favorite drink - Paradise in a Glass.  Also known as Malibu and Coke.  Always gets a perfect 10 from me!

Week 14 Challenge Update: Mint Julep

Day 3 is the Mint Julep.  The app declares it "a derby-day staple, the mint julep was naturally the cocktail of choice at Roger and Jane Sterling's 1963 Kentucky Derby party."  The recipe is:

*2 oz bourbon
*8 springs mint (from my own garden!)
*1 tsp sugar
Select mixing glass and add mint, sugar, water splash, shaved ice, and bourbon.  Shake and pour into rocks glass.  Garnish with mint sprig.

I was really hoping to like this since I like other bourbon drinks and love mint, but I didn't enjoy it.  Even putting on my largest brimmed hat didn't make it taste any better.  Adding more sugar made it more tolerable, but it still wasn't awesome.  Crossing my fingers for a cocktail I can enjoy next!

Week 14 Challenge: Try a New Cocktail Every Night

I have a rather extensive collection of liquor at my house.  Being the good girl that I am, Santa Claus brings me a bottle or two every Christmas.  I am not a heavy drinker, though, especially when at home alone.  When I do have a drink, it's usually my old faithful Bud Light or Malibu and Coke.  So, I have all these beautiful full or nearly full bottles just begging to be drunk, and in honor of the last week of school, I am going to test them out.  I'm going to use the super cool Mad Men Cocktail Culture app to help me create a new cocktail to drink every night this week.

First up on Day 1 is the Vodka Gimlet.  According to the app, "Betty ordered this cocktail once when out with her husband Don and another time while flirting in a New York bar."  The recipe is simple:
*1 1/2 oz vodka - Grey Goose from Santa
*3/4 oz lime juice
*3-4 lime slices
Mix vodka and lime juice, shake, and strain into glass. Garnish with lime.

The verdict:  It was just OK.  I'm not really a fan of lime flavors, but it started to grow on me toward the end.  I definitely wouldn't order it out anywhere.





Next up on Day 2 is a Tom Collins.  The app tells us that "Although somewhat complicated to make, the drink is not beyond the young Sally Draper, who has been known to mix them up for her parents' bridge night."  The complicated recipe is:

*1 oz fresh lemon juice
*1 tsp sugar
*1 1/2 oz gin - Beefeater purchased in a misguided attempt to like gin & tonic - FAIL
*Lemon slices
In a glass, add sugar, gin, lemon juice and stir. Add ice to drinking glass and strain in drink.  Splash in soda water and garnish with lemon.

The verdict:  This is terrible!  Either the recipe is too complicated for me, or I am just not a gin drinker.  I don't seem to be enjoying the cocktails of the 60s too much!