Chinese New Year Parade

The San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade is today. If you do not have any plans and want to see something really cool and exciting, head out to the parade. It will begin at 5:15 p.m. on Market Street. Yeah, you can see it on television since it will be a live telecast but the live experience is so different than watching the telly. It will be crowded so get there a bit early, stake out your space and enjoy.

Happy Hour Friday - Lychee Martini

Howz about lychee martinis since the Chinese New Year Parade will be on Saturday. Yeah, okay, sounds good to me!

Lychee Martini

Fill a shaker with ice.

• Add 1 oz. vodka
• Add 1 oz. Soho lychee liqueur
• 4-6 tablespoons syrup from canned lychee

Shake until chilled. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with:

• 1-2 lychees

Mmmmmm...

Gym-iny

Now, what do you call those people who just hang around the gym but do not work out? You know the ones. The ones who just walk around the gym socializing but only get onto a machine to sit on it. There is this gal who walks around the gym floor with a cup of hot tea and sits on a leg curling machine...for twenty minutes! C'mon now. Get your useless behind off the machine. If you want to relax, head out to the lounge or something. But really. I see her just waltzing around the floor aimlessly doing nothing but sitting and sipping. Maybe she is not aware that a gym is for working out. Once, okay, it would not get too much of my attention but I have seen her more than three times this week already. With a cup of tea each time.

Yeah, okay, gonna clam up right about now.

Another Marathon

Egads. How did I ever let that happen? The DVR is getting full. Aaack. So, since it is a rainy day today...and conveniently a Sunday...I am hosed up at home in front of the telly going through a DVR marathon. Going through as many shows as I can to get it where I am not thinking "holy moley" which means the DVR is about two-thirds full. So, I am here bug eyed going through this marathon. How many Bravo episodes can I go through? A lot, apparently. Almost halfway done but think I am about to take a break from it all. Brain is blitzed from all that telly. I have brain drain...

Happy Hour Friday - Zombie

I woke up this morning feeling like one. A zombie, that is. Groggy and sluggish. But that is a Friday morning to me. Dragged down by the past week's events.

This drink is also known as a Hurricane to some folks. Same yummy stuff.

Zombie

Fill a tall glass with ice.

Add:

• 1 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. dark rum
• 1/2 oz. grenadine

Fill with equal parts:

• pineapple juice
• orange juice

Float:

• 1/2 oz. Bacardi 151 (whoooooooa!)

Beating It Again

I just heard wonderful news. My good friend had a recurrence in her breast cancer last summer and had been undergoing chemo treatment for the second time. The good news is that she did not have to go through her last round since her scans showed no more signs of the cancer. I always admired her and when she beat it the first time, I was exceptionally proud of how she handled it and beat it without too many side effects. So, I was devastated to hear that she had a recurrence this past summer. But, through her strong resolve, she beat it again this time. You can imagine how ecstatic I am to hear this latest news. Keep on rockin'!!

Double Celebrations

Happy Valentine's Day to everybody!! Hugs and kisses...

And Gung Hay Fat Choy...happy Chinese New Year!

This is the Year of the Tiger. My sister is a Tiger so this year should be a good one for her. Cool. It has been rough for her. I hope this year brings much luck, fortune and happiness to her and all her other fellow Tigers.

Happy Hour Friday - Mind Eraser

Hmmmm...not sure why this is called a Mind Eraser. To me, it is a skinnied down Black Russian.

Mind Eraser

Fill a rocks glass with ice.
Add:

• 1 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. Kahlua
• 1 oz. soda water

Forty Lashes

I bought one of those new lash serum/moisturizers that tout growing longer lashes while making them thicker. I started the treatment about a week ago and it recommends that two months of treatment will land results. We shall see. I have a pretty decent length for lashes but they are just stick straight. I am not one to wear mascara which a friend commented on that fact. I guess most women wear mascara. Well, I will have to report back on the progress in a coupla months so we shall see what we get around that time.

Chuckie!

What a crack up. I was on the bus going home at night after a session at the gym. It was a bit late so the bus was fairly empty. So, this chick gets on about halfway through my hood and...she has a Chuckie doll in her arms! Remember Chuckie from the horror flick? Yeah. That Chuckie. It was so cool. I had wanted one years and years ago when the movies were a rage back then. I had watched the movies with my ex (at that time) and he wanted to get one for each of us. That would have been funny cool but he thought it may be hinky owning one and did not want to bring any bad juju on himself. But this Chuckie looked just like Chuckie. It was so cute. The gal put him in the bus seat as if Chuckie were a real child. And she treated him as such. Not sure where she was going since the beach was less than a coupla miles away. She tucked him in and patted him on the head. How cute in a weird way. But...I will not be running out to find a Chuckie. I will leave all of that with this chick.

Super Bowled

Wow. The Saints won. How cool. What a story. Going to the Super Bowl for the first time...and winning in an upset over the favorite. Good thing I did not bet on the game. Or maybe I should have.

Oh, well. I went off to the mall instead figuring it would be quiet. Not that I had any business going there but I wanted to hit up Trader Joe's for some groceries. All turned out well.

Hey, Saints...good for you!

Happy Hour Friday - Mudslide

Pretty popular and tasty.

Mudslide

Fill a rocks glass with ice.
Add 1/2 oz. vodka.
Add 1/2 oz. Kahlua.
Add 1/2 oz. Baileys.

Mmmmmmm...tasty...

Commuter Scents

Okay. This one is probably a common commuter's pet peeve. Too much scent. Like cologne or perfume. Granted that the offender really does not know how much of a scent is being shared. How funny that this man stood near me (I was sitting down) and had probably just shaved. He must have put on talcum powder or some type of cologne that had a powder scent. This is funny but when I smell men's cologne that smells powdery, I sneeze like a cat. (Choo, choo, choo.) So, I try to hold in a sneeze by wrinkling my nose back and forth. What a sight that must be.

What is worse than powdery cologne is bold women's perfume. Do you remember Giorgio? Ha ha. I am totally dating myself but that scent is so distinctive that one knows what I mean by the mere mention of the name. Oh, thank goodness I was not into that when I was younger. (Admittedly, I had a beach bag with their logo though.)

Hmmm...I feel a headache coming on...

Vegging Out

My latest food thing. Grilled eggplant sandwiches. Between toasted whole wheat bread, spread with zesty guacamole dip (it is sold as a dip in a tub and is not really guacamole but it makes a good sandwich spread), topped with lettuce, tomato, sprouts, red onion. That makes vegging out really tasty.

Chick vs. Food

Just for the heck of it, I try eating an entire 1.85 lb. steak. Oh, boy. A bit ambitious but I know I can put away a one pound steak. Actually, not much of a problem, really. I say that with a tad bit of embarrassment. I mean, I am a chick and that is not quite...uh...how much a chick usually eats in a sitting. But I guess I can say that I have a healthy appetite. Hah! Like you do not yet have that figured out. Hoo boy. But what brought this on, you ask. I am not too sure. Maybe because I have been watching too many Man vs. Food episodes. Maybe I was just really, really hungry. Who knows. All I know is that I want to go toe to toe with this slab of beef. Yep. Excuse me now but I think I need to get cozy with my steak.