A Monday Mash-Up and a Recipe...

Vacation is officially over and I'm a little cranky about it. I'd gotten so completely used to the waking up at 9:00 am and enjoying my coffee from the warmth of my comfy bed while stalking people I used to know on the interwebs on my laptop. No more late night Dance Moms marathons and wandering around without pants. No more morning mimosas and bacon cooked by someone else.

Now, it's back to 6:00 am alarms, making lunches, "but I don't want to wear a coat's" and running outside without a bra or shoes to heat up the car before it's time to leave for school. 

I could have married for money, hired a nanny, bought a new pair of boobs and had an affair with my hot personal trainer instead.

Stupid love. 

Thankfully, the twins don't have school today. This has allowed me to ease into the transition by getting everyone ready, sending them on their way and promptly ignoring every other thing I'm supposed to be taking care of today in favor of a nap.

(right after I finish this post anyway)

I've also gone back to full-time Paleo, in an effort to not only get rid of the 10lbs I gained over Christmas, but also in the hopes of getting the rest of the weight off over the next six months. This time, Mr. BFG has decided to join me. I'm not sure how long that will last, since it basically means he can't have fifteen sandwiches a week. But, I'm hoping the lure of meat wrapped in meat will be enough to carry him through.

We'll see. 

After mentioning it on Facebook, a couple of friends asked me to share my sangria "recipe," which really is only partially "mine." I adapted a recipe from Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman, obvs) and came up with something only slightly more classy than Trashcan Punch and just as potent. But I do live in a college town and it was New Year's Eve, so... 

Anyway, here ya go.

(Her recipe, my notes in bold)

Ingredients

• 2 cups pineapple chunks
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into cubes
• 2 unpeeled lemons, thinly sliced
• 2 unpeeled limes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup green seedless grapes
• 1 cup red seedless grapes (red grapes were enormously expensive and so I just stuck with green)
• 1 small unpeeled orange, thinly sliced
• 1.5 liter red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot or pinot noir, chilled (just throw in the whole bottle)
• 1.5 liter dry white wine, such as chardonnay, sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio, chilled (just throw another bottle)
• 1 cup orange or citrus flavored rum (there is no citrus flavored rum available in this town, or at least not any that I was willing to hunt down and pay $20 for, and since I only make about $20 every three months on this blog I just bought regular cheap rum in a small bottle and dumped the whole thing in, because...why not?)
• 1 cup orange or citrus flavored vodka (the one ingredient type and amount that I actually used correctly)
• 1 cup sugar (I ended up using 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water, but depending on the amount of wine and type you use, it may not be necessary...mine just needed some extra sweetness)
• Ice, for serving (this is especially important if you choose my directions, unless you just want overnight guests who spend the night on your bathroom floor singing show tunes and crying for their mama)

Directions

Place the fruit in a large vat. Pour in the red wine, white wine, citrus rum and citrus vodka. Next, to add a subtle sweetness, dissolve the sugar in 1 cup water and add it to the mix. Stir well, then cover and refrigerate for several hours, giving the fruit and liquids time to meld. Serve in glasses over ice, and have tongs nearby so guests can help themselves to the fruit.

Designated drivers are recommended! (and she's not lying)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mine looked a little somethin' like this...

So, there ya have it. It's actually better the next day, but one glass is it y'all. You have more than that and you're either passed out after reading two sentences of the new book series you're infatuated with (Wool, read it...omnibus edition) or you're hitting on your best friend's wife. And that could be awkward. 

Enjoy!