Recipes On Tap

Here are the four recipes that I'll be making this week (I figure since I cook for one I'll get two to three meals out of each dish):

1) Spicy Cauliflower Stew With Spinach - features carrots, cauliflower, red potatoes and spinach (from Time Life's Great Taste Low Fat Vegetables Cookbook). Flavored with garlic, dijon mustard, goat cheese, and yogurt.

2) Pasta With Vegetables In A Creamy Cheese Sauce - features scallions, bell peppers, cauliflower, and rotini (from Time Life's Great Taste Low Fat Vegetables Cookbook). Flavored with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses.

3) Vegetable Pie - features potatoes, rutabaga, parsnips, mushrooms, pearl onions, carrots, and green beans (from Time Life's Great Taste Low Fat Vegetables recipe). Flavored with garlic, salt, black pepper, milk, sage, and Parmesan cheese.

4) Spicy Kale With Baked Salmon - features kale and onions flavored with vinegar and red pepper flakes (from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home). The salmon isn't from a recipe book (just my brain) so I'll probably just cook with olive oil and some 21 Spice from Trader Joe's.

So I'm pretty excited about making these delicious and nutritious meals! I hope that they turn out well.

Changes Good

So. How does one go about making positive changes in her life? Changes that she recognizes need to be made. Changes that she's been contemplating time and again. But bad habits are hard to break. And while I can very clearly see what changes I need to be making, I never seem to be able to stick with things. For me, it's money and health. I've already addressed my gradual weight gain in a previous post, so I don't want to gripe too much. The difference between the self of my now and the self of my youth is that I know what I'm doing wrong and I know what I need to do to fix it. Really my goal is not to focus solely on calorie counts and expenditures, but rather to make healthy changes in my life and then to see the results in the way my jeans fit.

So how do people resolve to make changes and then actually stick with them? If I did it once, I can do it again.

Ch-ch-changes:

1. Stop using my credit card and start paying it off. The balance just keeps going up. I have to be firm with myself and just say no. And learn to budget better.

2. Exercise more. And in different ways. There's no excuse for this one. It gets harder for me once it gets dark and cold, but I need to suck it up and do it. Especially when I know that it actually makes me feel good. The dog is not an excuse to not go to the Y!

3. Prepare and eat nutritious meals at home. I really want to start eating more whole foods and to expand my cooking abilities. I've been wanting to do this for a few months (since I read The Omnivore's Dilemma), but I basically haven't had enough money left over to try the new recipes that I've bookmarked.

I also need to drink less beer. But I might be condemning myself to failure if I try this during the holidays. So, we'll see about that one.

Anyway, there you have it. Probably the same three things that every girl aims to change every month or two. But maybe now that I've written it down it will make me hold myself accountable?

Goo

I had this epiphany a year or two ago when I dropped a bit of weight that health and fitness are an uphill battle. You eat well, you get your work out in, and you feel great about it. Then you realize that you have to do it all over again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the day after that, forever and on into eternity. You never get to just sit back and hand it to yourself for the job well done and leave it be. Otherwise, all that effort will slowly dissolve back into your thighs.

Which brings me about to where I am right now. Somehow, my break-up caused me to gain weight rather than lose it. I blame it on all of the cheese and crackers I enjoyed during my first winter in the tree-house. And too much snacking at work and not enough exercise.

I've been trying to get back on track all summer (some of last year's jeans are too snug to wear!), but life always seems to get in the way. Hanging out with the girls or watching the game with the boys or working overtime instead of walking the dog. How does one balance her social agenda with her health goals and her budget? How can we ever be happy with our bodies without spending every iota focused on attaining what we want? And why am I so certain that being thinner will solve anything? I certainly wasn't happier last year, when I weighed five fewer pounds than I do now.

Ho hum. Nothing to do but plod along. Day after day. In search of balance. And fitting into last year's jeans.

It Happened Again

I went the entire month of July without posting anything. My brother was here for the first three weeks of the month, and I still don't have internet at home, and work is just too damn busy to spend time posting blogs. So there you have it. Just a quick run-down of life this summer:
My visit with my brother was great. I was sad to see him leave, but I am enjoying the return of naked mornings in my studio apartment.
I am broke (thanks, bro), and trying to cram in the overtime now that I don't have a fifteen year-old to entertain in the evenings, and I'm trying to fund a trip to DC at the end of August.
I'm growing two tomato plants and I ate my first cherry tomato yesterday. It was delicious. However, someone (or something) has stolen two of the big Brandywine tomatoes off of the plant while they were still green. I hope that the other two last to maturity. I've been watching them grow with bated breath.
It is as hot here (and has been for weeks) as I can ever remember it. I must admit that it makes me consider the temperature in Hell and secretly regret my heathen ways.
I am trying to get back on the health track. My work-outs are fine (though I could stand to change it up a bit), but my food intake has been very indulgent; and I'm blaming it on the heat (and working out in the morning leaves me with more time in the evenings) that a beer sounds amazing every single evening when I leave work. The weekday drinking has become a too-often habit.
So, here's to August! Even with the heat, I don't want summer to be on its way out already. I feel like we've only just started getting to know each other.

Water Stations Past, Present And Future

So I realized that I tell y'all about stuff, but that I'm very bad at following up with on-going sorts of things.

Yesterday was the Country Music Marathon & 1/2 Marathon. I had eighteen volunteers made up of my co-workers and their friends and family. We got to our site at 5 in the morning. With the help of another group, we set up tables, filled barrels full of water, lined the tables with cups and filled those with water for the runners. We watched the 1/2 Marathoners run by for a while before we started to get our own runners. We handed out water and cheered on runners. We worked in the rain. We picked up trash.

By 10 a.m. it felt like about 2 p.m. They ended up closing the race early because of the weather, but all of my volunteers were very good sports. We were out there until about 11, and we dropped the supply truck off at homebase at about 12:30.

All in all, it went very well, and I think there was only a short period of time when people were standing around without anything to do. It's funny how different an event is when you're "in charge of it" as opposed to just participating.

I still got that surge of inspiration from watching all of those people go by, from the lone wheelchair racer to the last three people who were limping past us but didn't want to give up, even though they wouldn't complete the full 26.2 miles. It was an amazing experience, and I thank all of my volunteers who came out and helped us to be a part of it.

Country Music Marathon

In my effort to do, and be involved, and and and and, I decided to organize volunteers from my office for a water station at the Country Music Marathon & 1/2 Marathon this year. I have volunteered twice before, and both times it was a very amazing, inspirational experience.

Through several annoying mass emails, I have rallied enough troops (10) from my workplace to man a water station. I'm a little disappointed that we're going to be in the back half and won't see as many runners as I have previously (at Mile 4); nevertheless, I am looking forward to it, and I think that it's still going to be really cool to see this totally different part of the race.

I just went to the first meeting today after work, and you are looking at the blog of a Water Station Captain. That is right. Looks like the Yacht Rock Captain shirt that I bought two weeks ago was but a portent of titles to come. A lot more work goes into everything than anyone ever realizes. I got a little nervous at the beginning of the presentation, then got pumped up, then got a little disappointed as I realized that my group wasn't big enough to work on its own, and that we'd be grouped with other small groups, but I'm feeling pretty good about it.

I go meet up with my "Sector Coordinator" tomorrow to check out our site, Water Station 14 (between miles 19 and 20) of the course, and to meet the captains from the other two groups. Coordinating the tasks between three different captains should be interesting, but I'm excited to see where we're going to be and who we'll be teamed up with. Also, the more I think about it the more comfortable I feel about having more people than I'd anticipated at the station.

I still need more volunteers, so if you're interested, hit me up! And if not, you'll be hearing about it at least!

State of the Blog - Ish

I got a laptop last weekend. I've been claiming for the past few months that possession of a laptop would enable me to write more. Encourage me to write more. But I've been sitting here for a half an hour trying to get inspired, and nothing is coming.

There's lots of stuff that I want to write about. What's going on in my life. Mostly my feelings and emotions, but I never know where the line is with such a public forum. If I were anonymous it might be different. But it's tricky deciding how honest to be when I know about six of you who do most of the perusing of this page. And you range from co-worker friends to family to other bloggers.

I have been pretty depressed for a while, but I never know how much of that to share. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm still trying to determine the threshold of what's appropriate while remaining honest. I want to write, but for the past year my life hasn't been bubbly and full of domestic happiness the way that it was before. The past year has been full of looking at myself and into myself and seeing what I don't like and not wanting to reveal all of that to anyone, really. I realized that most of my previous posts were pretty superficial because I didn't want to get too personal and when I get low I get quiet. 'Cause who wants to read about someone who's fucking unhappy all the time, especially if she can't write about it eloquently and articulately?

The point. I guess. Is this: I want to write more. I want to write better. I want to write real. I want. I want. I want. Story of my life. When do I start doing instead of just wanting?

The Move, The Move

Is happening Sept. 12 at noon. It's actually been happening all week. I've been packing and dragging what I can carry to the new place during my lunch breaks. I'm hoping to only have the big stuff left by next Saturday.
I need some things. I'm looking forward to the fall. I'm gonna' relax into myself and my new place. I'm gonna focus on my health. On my pooch. On hanging with the people that are important to me. I'm gonna work enough to get my apartment in order and hopefully pay down some debt.
This fall/winter has self-improvement written all over it. And I'm right on top of that, Rose.

Yo-yo

No. Not like a rapper. Like a child's plaything. This is what I am. What I feel like. I hate to be so whiny, but christ, could my mind make up its mind at some point? I feel like I'm at the whim of a small, whiny child who wants to simultaneously bring me joy and throw me down a flight of stairs. Today I feel okay. Yesterday I thought I was going to fall apart at every moment. The day before that I not only felt like I was going to fall apart at any moment, but did, on more than one occasion.
I would just like to hit on a moment of clarity that actually sticks with me. I would like to make up my mind about something and maintain it. Not find that twenty minutes later I am frustrated about the same thing that I talked myself out of being angry about only minutes before. I would like to maintain my resolve, I guess is what I'm saying.
I am angry. I am sad. I feel disillusioned. Mostly with myself. I'm disappointed in myself. I feel naive about my expectations. I'm no longer sure of anything. I'm scared. I'm lonely. I was excited about my new apartment, but now I feel overwhelmed by fear and loathing (but not in Las Vegas).
Make a decision, brain! I beg you! Make a decision and actually stick with it. Maybe this is all part of the process. Maybe I'm being impatient. I am sort of impatient.
Fine. I will wait it out. I will see if this is going anywhere good. I will hope that this is all a part of getting me to where I want to be.

Experiment Update Number 1

So I just re-read my goals, which I had forgotten all about.
I did get in three strength workouts and 2.5 cardio workouts last week. So I was pleased about that. Tonight I am due for the circuit training (strength routine) with a few more reps than last week. Can I say that I'm dreading it? Can I say that that would be an understatement? Either way, let's stay positive here, I hit last week's exercise goal.
I also did a fairly good job of sticking to healthy snacks at work (I passed up a shared Twix!), until the weekend, which coincided with pre-m.s. I ate a fare amount of not the best stuff this weekend. But I will say that McDonald's has one of the best chocolate dipped cones around. The chocolate melts in your mouth like poison. Yum!
I drank on Saturday. Forgot all about my three drink limit. But didn't have a hangover, so although I wasn't as healthy as I'd have liked, I DID get my @ss to work on Sunday morning for a little OT.
Two out of three ain't bad, right? Well, technically it's a 66.66%, which is not a passing grade, but I'll take it.
This week's goals are pretty much the same (sort of blew the snack one given that the Girl Scout cookies I ordered came in today), so instead of trying to avoid unhealthy snacks altogether (at which I will fail), I'll compromise by making my goal to count calories this week instead. And not go over. Obviously. Um, today is excluded. That means I'll count on Saturday too.
Okay, those are some nice, shiny goals. Now...I shall try not to die while I do squat thrusts. Yes, they are just as horrible as they sound.

Experimental February

So February is going to be an experiment. An experiment in not drinking for a month, in trying to eat well, in setting an exercise goal for each week, and sticking to it. To see if a month of healthy living is enough time for palpable results in the realm of mind, body, spirit.
I figure that the shortest month is the one to try. I'll let y'all know how it goes.
Given that today was Super Bowl Sunday I didn't eat incredibly well, but I refrained from beer, AND I had an excellent walk/run (much more walk than run) with my dog at the Greenway. It was an amazingly gorgeous day, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't close my eyes and breathe in deeply to really enjoy the wind and sunshine.
So this week's goals:
- 5 days of exercise. Two days of cardio and three days of strength training. It's time to start implementing some strength training so that I can tone up. I hate strength training, but it needs to be done. Tony brought me home this Women's Health 2009 Training Guide from the free bin at his work. I find a lot of the exercises to be very intimidating, but it's good motivation.
- Pass on the unhealthy snacks, most especially at work.
- Skip beer altogether, though we do have a birthday party coming up, so, if it must be consumed, 3 drink maximum.
Okay. Small, attainable goals are the road to change. So here we go.

Shopry Mills

We went today. Have I told you how I hate shopping? Well, I do. I lost some weight over last year, and I seem to be slowly piling it back on. I guess that's the way it goes, right? Well, I wasn't really in the mood for shopping, but I had some jeans to take back to Old Navy, along with a "Free Pair of Denim On Us" card (let me say as a side note that when you're dissatisfied with a product or an experience - write a letter. Always. Write a letter, and send it to the customer service department. You never know what they'll send back to you in the hopes of remedying the situation). I had a bad experience with a pair of Old Navy jeans, and hence, the "Free Pair of Denim On Us" card was born.
Well, let me also just say that the Old Navy of Opry Mills has possibly the worst lighting ever. I tried on about eight pairs of jeans, and they all fit, but weren't necessarily the flattery that I was going for. It also didn't help that every time I removed my jeans, every dimple on my thighs and every stretchmark everywhere else were on display. Dear god, y'all would move more product if you had some dimmer lighting. It was enough to make me sink back into my old jeans and slink out of the store with only a pair of yoga pants. That's right, Old Navy, you sure showed me. I'll be working this ass out for a few months before I saunter back in there, trying on jeans in the worst-lit dressing rooms of all time.
It was "inspirational" though. Inspiration to put the Oreo's away, and head back to the Y with a vengeance. Closer to the vengeance that I had at this time last year and farther from the weak vengeance I've been mustering. I tried on the jeans that I had returned, same cut, same style, same wash, slightly thicker denim, and I felt like a sausage. It was discouraging to say the least. The only thing that made me feel better was that my incredibly fit boyfriend said the mirror also played tricks on him, making him feel that his not-quite-cut abs looked more like a beer gut. I'd be content to just get back to my September weight and then maybe start toning up those dimples that are oh-so-evident on the Old Navy mirror.
I hate coming to terms with the girls that I'm never going to be. I'm never going to be fashion forward or trendy. I'm never going to be stick straight with an awesome set of knockers. I'm never going to be spot-on with accessories or hairstyles. I wish that I could just accept these things about myself and make the most of what I've got. I'd say I do that some of the time. Sometimes I can say, you are the girl with the big booty and heels and basic tank top/cardigan/GAP sweater (that your boyfriend picked out for you). Hell, you are the girl with the boyfriend who's always going to be dressed better than you are. So get your tan in the summer, buy your tank tops, find that one pair of jeans you feel confident in, and stop worrying about it. You are who you are. You're getting a little old to not be comfortable with yourself. Oh yeah, and maybe stop eating so many Joe Joe's and get your @ss to the Y.

Ticky Tacky

"And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same." Five points if you know what that's from...Yes, Random House. That's the name of my game.
Hmmm, to do the year in review or not? I can't decide. I think it's still too fresh. Being 367 days past its prime and all. I did, however, make New Year's resolutions. I will list them for you:
1. Call Austin every Sunday.
2. Exercise 4-5 times per week.
3. Eat more fresh fruits and veggies.
4. Shop at the farmer's market for said fruits and veggies.
5. Go to ALL of my book club meetings (I was a tad absent in '08).
6. Buy a house.
7. Pay 1/2 of my credit card balance (numbers 6 & 7 should maybe be reversed, no?).
8. Have dance parties.
9. Be grateful.
10. Volunteer.
Personally, I think ten is a nice, round number. I'm sticking with it. I'm sticking with these resolutions too. I will MAKE them happen. That's how I'll be rolling in 2009. This year's motto is: Time to stop talking about it and start being about it. Sounds badass, right?

Change Is Hard. I Should Know.

It's time for a change. Something...I don't know what or how, but I am in an intellectual rut. I am coasting. I need to make a change. I need a challenge. I need to feel like I'm doing more than I am now.

I'm a...

Yep. That's me. Chickened out on the cardio kickboxing class. I had several excuses, the first of which being my heinous gas and the second, and most compelling, that my boyfriend was at home waiting for me and promised we could make quesadillas together. So no, I can't report on the ass-kicking I got from the exercise class, or say that I've finally conquered my fears of public, synchronized exercise. Maybe next week?

But my quesadillas did turn out deliciously, and we watched the season finale of The Office, which was quite entertaining. I'll take an hour of Jim Halpert any day of my life. It was a good episode. They managed to bring back a little of that bittersweet twinge that used to be found in every single episode. I like how everything's been going well for Jim and Pam, but I knew it couldn't last. Also, how about this new Holly character? And Dwight's comment at the end? I can't wait for next season. And uh, God, I love the summer, but I hate summer programming, all the more reason to join that exercise class.

H2Orobics

So...the class went well. I was surprised by how difficult it was. I sort of imagined standing in lines and jumping around a little and splashing. It was a bit more intense than that. We had the whole length of the pool at our disposal, and the instructor (Colleen, I think) would show us how to do something and once we got the hang of it, she would send us off down to the other end. Once you got to the end, you had to come back by doing said exercise backwards. There were one or two things that I wasn't sure I was going to make it through. (i.e. sitting on a kickboard with your legs crossed and breast-stroking your entire way to the other end of the pool while sitting up straight on the board. I thought my arms were going to come off).
There were two older dudes and another woman there when I got there. I only have one bikini, which is about...um, 4 years old, and has been begging for replacement for the past two years. I didn't want to use my undesirable bathing suit as an excuse though, so I brought a tank top to go over it, just in case. Good thing. By the end of the hour, that string bikini was sagging down to my belly button, and my butt crack was most certainly on view for the lifeguard during several jumpy-type maneuvers. Ha ha. The good thing about having people that weren't my age in there was that I was a lot less embarassed than I would have been if it had been a class full of young women.
It was a good experience though. I'm definitely going to make it a once a week endeavor, but I'm definitely going to have to get a one-piece.
Tonight is the cardio kickbox class that I've been wanting to go to for the past month or two. I've been afraid to go by myself, but now that I've gone to one alone, I feel a little more confident. Although I'm still super nervous. I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up. But I think I'm going to suck it up and go anyway. We'll see...whew.

B Vitamins & Other Horse*@%!

Does it count as not cussing if I just put asterisks and ampersands in place of the bad word? Probably not.
Well, I have started taking some B vitamins and Iron supplements, since I'm not eating much meat anymore. It makes me feel good to do something beneficial for my body, and I swear that my mood has been slightly altered for the better by the B complex. Maybe it's only a placebo effect, but I'll take a placebo effect over no effect. The only problem with the vitamins is that they make my pee really yellow. I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I drink a fair amount of water. My urine is usually practically clear, which I take some perverse pride in, apparently. Since I started taking these vitamins, it's been like a neon light there, glowing up at me from the commode. It makes me feel kind of toxic and makes me wonder if the vitamins are getting broken down. Hmm...there's food for thought.
I've re-dedicated myself to health this week. It seems like I re-dedicate myself to a healthy lifestyle every two months or so. I start out strong and then start to backslide. But I have a date in mind, June 28, when I go home to see my family, and I want to be in better shape by then. I've got a few fat pockets and a whole lot of cellulite that I want to attack. I'm trying to come up with a plan of action that's sustainable. My main problem is that I really love food, and I've never been any good at resisting something that appeals to me.
I'm going to a shallow water aerobics class at the Y tonight. First time ever. I'll let you know how it goes.

Eeeek

Hum...so my credit card has been spiraling out of control. I realized a few months ago that since I've been paying rent (for the past year) and a car payment (for the past three years) - my income to debt ratio is not developing in a positive direction. My payments, no matter how large, to my credit card balance, never seem to make a dent. I need to seek out some extra income. I need to figure out some ways to market my skills (these include reading, writing and arithmetic, baking a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies, keeping my plants alive, and walking my dog, among other things).
After reading this book a year or two ago, I was thinking about selling my used panties on-line (anonymously, of course), but after doing a little research, I realized it was a much dirtier endeavor than I had anticipated.
To exacerbate the problem, my wonderful (no, really, they are) credit union keeps raising my credit limit every time that the balance gets a little too close to it.
I really need to reign myself in. It's just frustrating because it's not like I'm going on shopping sprees. It's either groceries, car troubles, or random things like a dinner here - okay, the bar isn't necessary. Anyway, I think I need to take some kind of class on how to live within my means. But I'm not living a champagne life on a beer budget. I'm floundering through a beer life on a beer budget. This is getting ridiculous. It's also a little too personal to be blogging about, but sometimes you just have to say wtf.

Nervosa

Hmmm...so I'm getting my hair cut this evening. I'm a pretty non-commital type woman when it comes to such things. I've gotten my hair cut about...five times in the last three years, and two of them were Valentine's Day presents. I can't seem to find a person that I like enough to stick with, and it's always so pricey. I've rooted out a rather inexpensive lady, and I have high hopes. She comes recommended by a friend who always has really great hair, and I'm hoping for some magic.
I'm just in one of those slumps where I don't like anything about my appearance. I've been working out and trying to eat more healthfully, but I'm not seeing much progress. Last year's bathing suit season was the schlumpiest I've been, and I don't want to feel that way about it again this year.
So anyway, I'm hoping to get a new haircut that I really like (or at least don't hate), and maybe it will give me good motivation for skipping the dessert. You know, like, "No, Nichole, you don't need those donuts, they won't help your body match your awesome hair."
I've got in mind (& picture) the cut that I want (it's actually the same picture that I've taken to every stylist - so we'll see what this woman's interpretation is), but I'm not sure what to do with the color. I dyed it dark just before Christmas after years of highlights and being pretty much blonde. I like it well enough in real life, and it's actually pretty close to my natural color now, but I don't like it in pictures. It often has a reddish, brassy tint, and I think that it makes my reddish face look more red. So, I don't know. We'll see. If I like it I might post a picture. If I don't, then this wedding I have to go to tomorrow is going to be unpleasant.

A Myriad

Well...so I dyed my hair last night. A first time accomplishment for all by myself, and only the second time in the past ten years that I've dyed it from a box. The results are uniform, and yet I'm not sure how I feel about it. I went dark. Really dark. My natural color is fairly dark, but no one knows that because it's been highlighted for so long. It is quite a shock every time I look in the mirror. True that it does look healthier (i.e. glossier), I just can't decide if it's the right tone for my skin. We'll see how I feel in a week. Maybe it will grow on me. Either way, resolution number 1 is that next time I get my hair "did" I'll spend the extra money for a professional.
On the self-improvement front, I finally did my health assessment at the Y on Tuesday. It was nerve-racking given that my fat-pinching assessor was a male (not unattractive) pretty close to my age. I managed enough somewhat witty banter to calm myself down, but pulling my shirt up so he could pinch the fat around my hip was still a no-thank-you. However, after the pinching, the stretching (which was my lowest score), the weigh-in, the bicep strength test, and the aerobic test, I didn't turn out to be quite as unhealthy as I'd have expected. My weight was a lot lower than I'd thought, and I still think there might be about a 5 lb. error there. My BMI came out at 25%, which just got me into the "fit" category. It will be a good reference point for future goals though. I'm looking forward to more activity and health.
Although you wouldn't know about my new dedication to health based on the ungodly amount of sweets and candies and baked goods and goodies I've managed to inhale this past week. I tell you, it's got something to do with the time of the month too, which I've only recently picked up on, but now that I'm paying attention, is really showing a pattern. More about that for the Long Tall Sally, 'cause I don't really want to get into such things here.
Anyway, I am incredibly, awesomely looking forward to the upcoming week I'll be spending with my family. I'm not looking forward to the drive, but I am looking forward to spending Christmas with my grandparents and aunts and uncles. I don't know how much to expect to see my mom, but I will be spending most of the end of the week with my brother. Now if I can just find him a Christmas present...for under $40...
Ahh, well. Hopefully my family won't end up driving me crazy by the end of the week, and hopefully they will like my new hair. If not, it's only hair, I suppose. And it is Christmas. With board games, and card games, and fondue, and tree decorating, and probably some slush, which is my aunt's frozen vodka concoction. And how can you go wrong with your family at this time of year?