DIY: Jolly Rancher Vodka

It's that time of year again - Holiday Season!  I love it - every stressful aspect of it!  Each year I get better and start shopping earlier for Christmas Gifts. This year I'm making lots of homemade gifts.  One of which is Flavored Vodka.  I don't have a lot of friends that LOVE vodka, but I know a couple special gals who will really love this fruity treat.  It's pretty simple to do - but I added pictures just to make it a bit more fun :)

Ingredients you need:
1. Vodka (I used Karkov)

2. Jolly Ranchers (about 12 per 8oz of vodka)

3. Some sort of storing device (I chose this pretty flasks from The Container Store)

Step 1:
Wash your containers!  No need to sterilize them though, you are putting vodka in them :)


Step 2:
Separate out your jolly ranchers by flavor/color.

Step 3:
Insert separated jolly ranchers into appropriate containers!!  Remember: about 12 ranchers per cup!

Step 4:
Fill flasks with vodka until almost full!

Step 5:
Shake them up every few days. The jolly ranchers will dissolve on their own and your vodka should be ready within a week! 

When it gets closer to Christmas I will show you how I decorate the bottles for gifts :)

The Vodka just hours after it's prepared...already dissolving!

Gasthof Zur Gemutlichkeit

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany a med school friend to a presentation about Global Health.  Not only was the information that was presented very informative, inspiring and motivational - but the food was awesome!!  I've never really eaten 'real' German food before.  We went to a place called Gasthof Zur Gemutlichkeit in NE Minneapolis.  It was phenomenal - everything from the various types of German beer, to the cheers (Ziggy Zaggy, Ziggy, Zaggy, Oi Oi Oi!), to the waitresses in German Uniform, to the Rouladen and Weinerschnitzel to the checkered tablecloths - it was all fabulous!

I'll give you a run down of what I tried.

Rouladen - Marinated beef rolled with mushrooms, onions and bacon - DELICIOUS!  This one was my favorite!  I'm normally not a mushroom kind of girl, but I may just start trying more mushrooms because it was sooooo good!

Weinerschnitzel - Breaded Veal Cutlet - Now I'm glad that I tried this BEFORE I knew what it was because I'm one of those name people, where if it's something that I think sound gross (baby cow :( ) I will not eat it.  However, it was very tasty!

Jagerschnitzel - Pan fried pork loin in mushroom sauce - I ate a bite of my friend's and wasn't terribly impressed.  It reminded me of country fried steak and I'm not a huge fan of that either.  I'm glad I got to try it though!

Mash potatoes and gravy - Now this is something I'm very familiar with - yummy!

Spatzle - homemade pasta - which were HUGE noodles - and awesome!  We covered them with the gravy from the potatoes

Red Sauerkraut - I did not try this but it was available in the buffet. 

They also had Caesar salad and some delicious bread and this awesome dessert that I still can't figure out what was in it - sometimes it tasted like apple and other times I thought I was eating chocolate - perhaps it had both...hmm..

Spatzle and Rouladen

You should check this place out and if you are in the area you should REALLY go there!  I brought some food home for the husband and he loved it just as much. My hubby and I have definitely decided it's a destination for our parents some visit!  http://www.gasthofzg.com/

Book Review: Toxin

So I actually finished this book a LONG time ago - I just kind of forgot to write my review about it.  I've read a few books since then. Jaycee Dugard's "A Stolen Life" and, okay, so maybe only one.  Man, I have to get on that! Remember when I said I needed to finish my "Summer Reading List". Well, this book was on it!

Toxin by Robin Cook was awesome.  I recommend it to everyone.  It started out scary and scientific and brought in a ton of emotion with a love story and played on parental instincts (or not, since I don't have any :-P ).  I cried.  I don't actually remember laughing - it's not really a funny book.  It made me not want to eat meat for awhile though.  It is about an E.Coli outbreak at a fast food restaurant (and no, it isn't a true story ~ although, it could be!!). I really don't want to spoil it for anyone.  I will just say that it makes me appreciate hunting and slaughtering my own meat! Or my husband doing it..hehe.

Weight Off My Shoulders

Well, today folks, I put in my two weeks notice at the Engineering Firm I work at.  It was a very tough decision because I wasn't sure we were financially stable enough to do it, I love all my coworkers and feel bad for leaving. However, I took lots of time to consider all my options and other opportunities and decided that we could afford it right now, my family needs me right now and basically, everything will be okay and fall into place like it's suppose to. I'm going to take my newly free time and devote more of it to studying (now I absolutely don't have any excuse!!!), making meals and helping out wherever I can.  It's kind of a weight off my shoulders because I need to take this time to invest in myself.  I've been wanting a change for a while and I think this is a good step for me.

Crazy Busy Week(s)

Hello Again!

It seems as if all I'm writing these days is why I'm gone or apologizing for being away for so long.  It's been so busy!!  I'm still winding down from a week of traveling back home and getting acclimated to my routine again.  I'll try be better tomorrow - but don't get your hopes up ;) In the meantime I will leave you with 5 things I am loving right now:

1) My job at Children's - it's awesome.  I love my coworkers, I love the doctors, I love the patients.  Everything about it makes me happy.  I look foward to going there and can't wait to wake up and go back.

2)  The beautiful fall colors - again, my FAVORITE time of year!  Get out and enjoy it :)

3) My Kindle - I've read so many amazing books on there and my list just keeps growing!!

4) Grey's - again, it's Fall and Fall means new television shows!!!!  Grey's is my favorite.  I love to sit on my couch in my sweats with a nice cup of tea or glass of water and watch my 40 minutes of bliss - I don't care if it's unrealistic, I don't care that it's drama filled - it's part of why I like LOVE it! I also prefer to watch it with my husband gone because he makes fun of it the entire time.

5) October is our anniversary month - in approximately 13 days we will be celebrating 3 years!!