Since we're getting ready to head into party season I thought I'd post one of my favorite adult beverage recipes.
I created this recipe a couple of years back and have kept it my special secret up until now. It gets it's name from its beautiful burnt orange color:
Longhorn Hooch:
1 Large can of frozen orange juice concentrate
1 can frozen strawberry daquiri mix
the juice of 3 large lemons
3 large over-ripe bananas - mashed
1 1/2 liters ginger ale
1 5th bottle of Southern Comfort 100 proof (more to taste if you like)
Combine first 4 ingredients well in a large punch bowl. Slowly add the ginger ale. Remove excess foam. Stir in Southern Comfort. Add a lemonade ice ring and some maraschino cherries if you like. Enjoy!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sweet Tea oh how I love thee
Let's get something straight Sweet Tea is NOT just iced tea. OK, well maybe it is but don't tell a Texan that. If you plan on doing any entertaining while living here get yourself a plastic pitcher at the Dollar Store and write on it "SWEET TEA". And if you really plan on being a gracious host (as all good Texas women are) you will buy a second plastic pitcher and write on it "UNSWEET TEA" (I kid you not). These are now your dedicated Sweet & Unsweet Tea pitchers and should never be used for anything else under penalty of death.
A few brief lessons in sweet tea:
Lesson #1: You can NOT make Sweet Tea from a powdered mix. It must be brewed.
Lession #2: You must use REAL sugar. If you call it "sugar free sweet tea" because you used Splenda instead of real sugar, people will laugh at you (please learn from my mistakes).
Lesson #3: If anyone asks you what kind of tea you use tell them "Luzianne, of course!"
How to make good Sweet Tea:
Boil Water
Put 1 Cup of real sugar into plastic pitcher with "Sweet Tea" written on the side.
Place 2 to 3 Luzianne tea bags into pitcher with sugar
pour the hot water over it until the pitcher is full
let it steep for about 5 minutes & remove the tea bags
Place in refrigerator. If you need to serve it promptly simply place ice in the pitcher. Good sweet tea always seems to be warm with ice in it anyway.
Enjoy your sweet tea and then quickly develop an addiction to sweet tea.
A few brief lessons in sweet tea:
Lesson #1: You can NOT make Sweet Tea from a powdered mix. It must be brewed.
Lession #2: You must use REAL sugar. If you call it "sugar free sweet tea" because you used Splenda instead of real sugar, people will laugh at you (please learn from my mistakes).
Lesson #3: If anyone asks you what kind of tea you use tell them "Luzianne, of course!"
How to make good Sweet Tea:
Boil Water
Put 1 Cup of real sugar into plastic pitcher with "Sweet Tea" written on the side.
Place 2 to 3 Luzianne tea bags into pitcher with sugar
pour the hot water over it until the pitcher is full
let it steep for about 5 minutes & remove the tea bags
Place in refrigerator. If you need to serve it promptly simply place ice in the pitcher. Good sweet tea always seems to be warm with ice in it anyway.
Enjoy your sweet tea and then quickly develop an addiction to sweet tea.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Cardinals - Beautiful but Dumb
Cardinals are truly beautiful birds. But they are all foam no beer if you know what I mean. They love to fly into windows, repeatedly. I counted one day. 53 times Mr. Beautiful-But-Stupid-Cardinal flew into my window before he finally learned that it was glass & he wasn't getting into my house. Smart one.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Battle Fire Ant 2008
It's ON!!!
I was out planting in my front yard a few days ago and was stung by fire ants. First of the season.
Last year I lost the fire ant battle. They built a house in the lot next to ours and that drove over all the fire ants to our yard towards the end of summer. Well, this year all the lots in my subdivision are already built so I'm sending those fire ants back to the lot in which they came.
So I drove down to Home Depot (I am going to be very happy when Lowe's opens up here at the end of March, so much closer) and bought a big ol' bag of fire ant stuff. Enough to treat 25,000 sq ft lot. Never mind that our lot is only like 16,000 sq ft. I filled my spreader with the fire ant stuff and started spreading. I spread every single last morsel of that fire ant stuff on my lawn.
I WILL win this year. It's personal.
I was out planting in my front yard a few days ago and was stung by fire ants. First of the season.
Last year I lost the fire ant battle. They built a house in the lot next to ours and that drove over all the fire ants to our yard towards the end of summer. Well, this year all the lots in my subdivision are already built so I'm sending those fire ants back to the lot in which they came.
So I drove down to Home Depot (I am going to be very happy when Lowe's opens up here at the end of March, so much closer) and bought a big ol' bag of fire ant stuff. Enough to treat 25,000 sq ft lot. Never mind that our lot is only like 16,000 sq ft. I filled my spreader with the fire ant stuff and started spreading. I spread every single last morsel of that fire ant stuff on my lawn.
I WILL win this year. It's personal.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Fall in Central Texas
Ahhhh-Chooo! That is the sound of Autumn in Central Texas. If you don't have allergies before moving here, you will soon enough. Austin is the Fall Allergy Capital of the US. Isn't that fantastic news? It is for Kleenex. Just prepared to be miserable until Winter finally sets in. And remember, you'll be in good company because everyone around you is suffering from allergies too. If you are allergic to Cedar (it seems most around here are) it might be wise not to move to Cedar Park. "They didn't name it Cedar Park because of the Oak trees" (that was what my doctor told me...ha ha).
Luckily for you, Fall in Texas is short. Very short. Sometimes it feels like Summer on Tuesday and by Wednesday night you're smack dab in the middle of Winter. For example, this week. Wednesday it was 89. Yesterday it was 44. As I write this it is 42. By Wednesday we're supposed to be back in the 70's. Is it any wonder your body is confused and doesn't know how to react to the seasonal change?
Luckily for you, Fall in Texas is short. Very short. Sometimes it feels like Summer on Tuesday and by Wednesday night you're smack dab in the middle of Winter. For example, this week. Wednesday it was 89. Yesterday it was 44. As I write this it is 42. By Wednesday we're supposed to be back in the 70's. Is it any wonder your body is confused and doesn't know how to react to the seasonal change?
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Lesson #1
When you first drive into Texas you will notice a few things:
#1: Turn signals are apparently optional equipment on automobiles sold in Texas. No one uses them. You are supposed to psychically channel the other drivers so you can predict their next lane move.
#2: Everything is bigger in Texas. That includes automobiles. If you drive a small, practical, gas efficient car, be prepared to be intimidated...a lot. Texans drive trucks and SUVs. And they're all BIG. In California Mercedes and Lexus are status symbols, here it's a jacked up Ford F450. If you want to fit in, go directly to the local car dealership and buy the biggest truck on the lot.
#3: Bigger means privileges. When you drive a big truck or SUV you can do what I have named "Intimi-driving". Big trucks drive right up to the very back of your car, almost to where they can read the VIN number on your vehicle in an attempt to get you to move out of their way. There is no point arguing. Just move over and wave. It's the friendly thing to do.
#4: No, that's not a 'bigger' version of 'the finger'. When I first moved here, I thought I was being flipped off...a lot...and particularly in my neighborhood. I wasn't. Here in Texas, they wave, all the time. You just kind of get used to driving along and waving at people you don't know. Thing of it as a pretend parade. The purpose, near as I can figure, is to let people know that you see them. Thus preventing crime problems, which in turn lowers the number of crooks being shot. That, and people are just plain friendly out here.
#5: Off ramps and On ramps: I hope you have noticed that most of the highways here are elevated or at least good portions of them are elevated. Have no fear, no earthquakes here to collapse them. ***A little lesson in Texas-speak: What we call "frontage roads" they call "feeder roads". More on Texas-speak in a future blog*** Ramps here are located in the left (or 'fast') lane of the feeder roads. What we had in California, they call "suicide ramps" here. Always remember that Texas on ramps are superior to California on ramps and you'll be fine.
#6: Embrace the loops. Make them your friend. Since that's the only way you're ever going to get to where you want to go.
#7: Immediately remove all references to California from your car. Californians aren't particularly well liked here (although they are better tolerated than "Northerners"). Join a local church, put one of their bumper stickers on your car. That will immediately remove the impression that you're "not from around here".
#1: Turn signals are apparently optional equipment on automobiles sold in Texas. No one uses them. You are supposed to psychically channel the other drivers so you can predict their next lane move.
#2: Everything is bigger in Texas. That includes automobiles. If you drive a small, practical, gas efficient car, be prepared to be intimidated...a lot. Texans drive trucks and SUVs. And they're all BIG. In California Mercedes and Lexus are status symbols, here it's a jacked up Ford F450. If you want to fit in, go directly to the local car dealership and buy the biggest truck on the lot.
#3: Bigger means privileges. When you drive a big truck or SUV you can do what I have named "Intimi-driving". Big trucks drive right up to the very back of your car, almost to where they can read the VIN number on your vehicle in an attempt to get you to move out of their way. There is no point arguing. Just move over and wave. It's the friendly thing to do.
#4: No, that's not a 'bigger' version of 'the finger'. When I first moved here, I thought I was being flipped off...a lot...and particularly in my neighborhood. I wasn't. Here in Texas, they wave, all the time. You just kind of get used to driving along and waving at people you don't know. Thing of it as a pretend parade. The purpose, near as I can figure, is to let people know that you see them. Thus preventing crime problems, which in turn lowers the number of crooks being shot. That, and people are just plain friendly out here.
#5: Off ramps and On ramps: I hope you have noticed that most of the highways here are elevated or at least good portions of them are elevated. Have no fear, no earthquakes here to collapse them. ***A little lesson in Texas-speak: What we call "frontage roads" they call "feeder roads". More on Texas-speak in a future blog*** Ramps here are located in the left (or 'fast') lane of the feeder roads. What we had in California, they call "suicide ramps" here. Always remember that Texas on ramps are superior to California on ramps and you'll be fine.
#6: Embrace the loops. Make them your friend. Since that's the only way you're ever going to get to where you want to go.
#7: Immediately remove all references to California from your car. Californians aren't particularly well liked here (although they are better tolerated than "Northerners"). Join a local church, put one of their bumper stickers on your car. That will immediately remove the impression that you're "not from around here".
Sunday, November 18, 2007
A Little Background
In February of 2006 we moved from Temecula, California to Leander, Texas. Big move. My husband didn't have a job yet. He had come out here a month earlier with our son (who was 19 years old at the time) and stayed with some friends to look for a job and a house. Two years prior we had started looking at leaving California. We were about to have a daughter and I wanted to be a stay at home mom. Instead, we refinanced our house. I still couldn't stay home. I had to work. I hated it. We lived in Temecula but worked in La Jolla. For those of you who don't know the geography of the San Diego area, I will educate you a bit. Temecula is north of San Diego...way north, and east too. It's kind of this gray area of Southern California that everyone tries to claim as their own. Los Angeles considered Temecula a suburb. Orange County likes to consider Temecula a suburb. San Diego considers Temecula to be a suburb. I would say that we were closer to Orange County but since we were San Diegans and still worked in San Diego, we considered it a suburb of San Diego. We lived in a beautiful house, high up on a hill above the wineries. I loved that house. But I HATED that commute.
That commute was 55 miles each way. Since we worked near each other John and I would carpool. Which was great for the company. It was a miserable drive. The I15 is really the only freeway from San Diego to Temecula so EVERYBODY uses it. Our drive in to work took anywhere from 2 to 3 hours and the drive home was just as bad. To make matters worse, once I had our oldest daughter we brought her with us. I was breastfeeding at the time and would pump in the car on the way there and on the drive home. It sure made for some interesting drives but you do what you have to do.
When I became pregnant with our youngest we decided that we couldn't continue living like this. So we picked several places to move within the United States and did some serious research to find out where we were going to settle. We decided that we couldn't deal with super-cold weather so we settled on the South. We decided on Austin because of my husband's career path. He is in the computer industry and Austin has many corporate headquarters here (Dell, Apple, Samsung) and he really wanted to work for Dell.
At the end of June, our youngest daughter was born. We put our house on the market. It took several months but finally sold. In January, my husband and son drove out here and I moved in with my parents until our house closed escrow. I flew out after a couple of weeks and we found a house. We closed escrow and moved into our current home in early February. In March, my parents came out and visited. They loved it and bought a lot and had a house built in this area also. The moved here in July.
I guess you could consider us part of the great mass migration from California to Texas. There are many many former Californians here in Austin. We seem to be magnetically drawn to each other. It's strange, kind of like a sixth sense. The vast majority of former Californians love it here. Every once in awhile I'll run into one who hates it. Kinda rare tho.
Texas is a strange beast. It really is it's own country. Once you acclimate yourself to the Texas lifestyle you'll find that your outlook on things change. It is those things and observations of Texas life that I plan to write about on this blog.
That commute was 55 miles each way. Since we worked near each other John and I would carpool. Which was great for the company. It was a miserable drive. The I15 is really the only freeway from San Diego to Temecula so EVERYBODY uses it. Our drive in to work took anywhere from 2 to 3 hours and the drive home was just as bad. To make matters worse, once I had our oldest daughter we brought her with us. I was breastfeeding at the time and would pump in the car on the way there and on the drive home. It sure made for some interesting drives but you do what you have to do.
When I became pregnant with our youngest we decided that we couldn't continue living like this. So we picked several places to move within the United States and did some serious research to find out where we were going to settle. We decided that we couldn't deal with super-cold weather so we settled on the South. We decided on Austin because of my husband's career path. He is in the computer industry and Austin has many corporate headquarters here (Dell, Apple, Samsung) and he really wanted to work for Dell.
At the end of June, our youngest daughter was born. We put our house on the market. It took several months but finally sold. In January, my husband and son drove out here and I moved in with my parents until our house closed escrow. I flew out after a couple of weeks and we found a house. We closed escrow and moved into our current home in early February. In March, my parents came out and visited. They loved it and bought a lot and had a house built in this area also. The moved here in July.
I guess you could consider us part of the great mass migration from California to Texas. There are many many former Californians here in Austin. We seem to be magnetically drawn to each other. It's strange, kind of like a sixth sense. The vast majority of former Californians love it here. Every once in awhile I'll run into one who hates it. Kinda rare tho.
Texas is a strange beast. It really is it's own country. Once you acclimate yourself to the Texas lifestyle you'll find that your outlook on things change. It is those things and observations of Texas life that I plan to write about on this blog.
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