Sunday, January 2, 2011

Day 12 of 12: Goal Mastered

Tonight's beverage is an interesting one indeed. I went from the raunchiness of A Big Pink Dink yesterday to the down-home goodness of a drink called Apple Sauce today.

Apple Sauce

1 oz. spiced rum
3 oz. apple sauce
4 oz. sour mix
1/4 oz. triple sec

Place 12 oz. ice in a blender. Add ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Sour mix: Bring one cup of water to a boil. Put heat on low. Stir in one cup sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Cool. Add 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup lime juice.

Wow! Delicious! This drink would make the most wonderful dessert drink. Although I have felt that the other frozen drinks that we've tried were meant for the warmer months, this one would be fabulous any time of the year. It is a very creamy, sweet drink that tastes more like apple pie than apple sauce, which is why it would make such a spectacular dessert drink. In our family, a big chunk of cheddar cheese is the perfect accompaniment for apple pie. The same held true for this glass of pure yumminess... great with a slab of cheddar to nibble on between sips.

Mike rated this drink an 8, while I gave it a 9 because of it's uniqueness. I highly recommend this drink, especially if you're entertaining, and we'll definitely have this one again.

It has been fun achieving this goal of my Individualized Entertainment Plan. As with any IEP goal, it was necessary to monitor and adjust accordingly. I enthusiastically conquered this goal and do not believe that there will be any regression. We should all have Individualized Entertainment Plans. I know that Alison, author of the Along the Au Sable blog has a plan for 2011 to focus on developing her friendships with those in the community. That is a wonderful goal indeed. We all set them and hopefully we achieve them. As with any IEP, it is ever evolving depending on the current needs of the individual. Throughout the year she and many others including myself will add and remove goals as necessary.

With my goal achieved, I feel that I need to give some kudos where kudos are due. Although I found my Any Bitch Can Drink bar book handy, drinksmixer.com was easier as far as looking things up based on the base liquor, type of drink, etc. I liked the site so much that I've added a link to it in the upper right corner.

I also need to give kudos to my friend and coworker, Carol. She's a fabulous person who shares my enthusiasm for laughing, friendships and fun.

Kudos also go to my husband. Mike has been a supportive and enthusiastic participant throughout, although I don't believe that he had to put forth too much effort at all.

It's time for a new goal. I'll be giving that some careful consideration and get back to you.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

New Beverages and More Ladies

As I look back on my evening last night, I can't help but smile. Ri was invited to spend the night at his cousin's house, which meant that Mike and I could actually go out and celebrate the New Year for the first time since the little bugger entered our lives. Although there are so many choices when it comes to celebrating the New Year, we had no doubts about where we were headed. Eat. Sleep. Funk! was scheduled to play down at 20 Main, which is conveniently located a few miles from the house. Trust me, there isn't much that is only a few miles from our house. It's the price you pay for living in the middle of nowhere.

Even before we knew that Ri was headed to his cousin's, I was brainstorming a way to get Mike and I down there for a little fun. The brainstorming proved unnecessary, and luck was on our side. We really hadn't considered making plans with anyone, but I decided to give Sierra and Lauren a heads up that we'd be at 20 and would love to see them. As it turned out they and their husbands made it. It has been far too long since we've had the opportunity to do that and it felt fabulous.

Those weren't all The Ladies that we saw though. It was relatively early in the evening when I just happened to glance in the direction of the door. Rhonda and Dave (Dave is not one of The Ladies, of course) walked in with a whole slew of people! What a welcome surprise that was! Apparently they had just enjoyed a movie at the Hollywood Theatre and decided to stop in for a drink. One drink led to another and so forth, and they ended up rocking in the New Year with the rest of us!


To top off the celebration, I was surprised to see my friend and coworker Caroline there as well. She made the long haul from Rainbow Lake for the festivities. I could kick myself for not catching a picture of her. I must not have been thinking at the time. Shocker.

More often than not on a Saturday night you'll see BJ behind the bar. She owns the place. Tough job. I wouldn't want it.

I think I'm through reminiscing about last night's adventures and should move on to this evening. Mike and I needed to head to my sister's to pick Ri up today. We decided it would be really silly not to share today's beverage with them. The name of this one really required sharing with others....

A Big Pink Dink

1 oz. coconut rum
1 oz. grenadine
6 oz. milk

Pour rum over ice, fill with milk. Add grenadine to add a nice pink color.



It's hard not to chuckle while discussing this drink. The recipe did not call for shaking it, but we decided we had to (tee hee). Kam even made up some pink sugar to rim the glasses. We all had a little fun with A Big Pink Dink (sorry, I can't help myself).




































The ratings for this drink varied quite a bit. Lance gave it a very unenthusiastic 4, while Kam and Mike both gave it a 7. I thought it was fabulous and feel comfortable giving it an 8. Mike suggested that it would be much better if it was a blender drink. I think I would like it either way. I do recommend trying this one, if only for the fact that you can say that you have had the chance to try A Big Pink Dink.