TGIF: CHILLING WITH BOND, VODKA ‘N THE 50’S HOUSEWIFE

Yeah it’s Friday and I’m getting close to putting down ye old cell phone and Swiffer and picking up my favorite Happy Hour cocktail.  But first I wanted to share ‘the dirt’ on my favorite TGIF elixer…a dirty vodka martini! (and by the way for those who missed it I showed a new way to clean and ‘tini in this UTUbe video earlier in the week so check it out when you can )  

I truly enjoy vodka martinis not just cause they taste good but because I feel like I’m paying homage to the 50’s housewife.  These June Cleaver types would have one stirred up, waiting for their ‘hard-working husband’ since her daily tasks were considered insignificant and not in need of ‘chilling’.

That was then thank ye gods! This is now and my dirty martini also reflects my sanity saving home-keeping mantra and attitude that a little dirt never hurt anyone!

(I also love them because if you have one or serve them upon entry to adult guests your home looks a lot cleaner, neater and your food tastes Marthesque…well maybe not quite but it’s good enough J)

And, believe it or not it’s key ingredient vodka (which I prefer to gin)  is a terrific home-keeping multi-tasker! That’s right in addition to being yum in my martini, I also use vodka in the following ways:  

PLEASE NOTE:  If you drink the expensive stuff you might want to consider buying a cheaper brand for these tasks.  And, hey if you’re like me, after one martini you probably won’t be able to tell the difference so why waste the good stuff!

• Natural cleaner/sanitizer : Put some in a bottle and spray counters and other hard surfaces
• Flower perker upper: Add a shot when your flowers start to droop
• Jewelry sparkler: Put diamonds, platinum and any non-pourous stone in a shot for a few minutes, then use a toothbrush to clean
• Botox alternative:  Pour some on a cotton ball and dab on face to tighten pores

And  for those of you who love a lil trivia and folklore here’s the ‘dirt’ on the origins of ye ole martini:

Martinis were originally called a Martinez since a version of it was first served in the late 1800’s to gold prospectors in Martinez, California – Guess it helped make those rocks look golden and kept their prospects bright!  It’ real popularity though seemed to come during prohibition since whiskey required longer aging and distillers couldn’t keep up with the demand at speakeasies.  So gin, became a fave alternative. 

Then the famed children’s author E.B. White of  Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little fame, referred to it as the ‘perfect elixer’. 

 

H.L. Mencken called it “the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet.  

And, of course, Sean Connery my favorite Bond…that’s James Bond, put a new spin on it by switching its main ingredient from gin to vodka (thank you JamesJ ) and asking for it ‘shaken not stirred.”

So there you have it and now it’s time to finish my chores that bore before the strike of Happy Hour! Happy TGIF…Spread the glove!

MITT, NEWT, RICK, RON, PAULA DEEN ‘n BEAN…SOUP!

Mitt, Newt, Rick, and Ron—almost sounds like the names of guys in a rock group!

(Sung to Beatle‘s “I Wanna Hold Your Hand“)

“ I WANNA BE YOUR PREZ…., I WANNA  BE YOUR PREZ!”

Can you imagine the four of them as The Beatles singing ‘Been a Hard Day’s Night’ or The Rolling Stones singing “Can’t Get No Satisfaction”–or maybe even the Monkey’s singing “I’m A Believer” !! What a hoot that would be though clearly the lyrics would be way different and there would be four different renditions LOL!  

 But this blog isn’t about these gents being rockers nor their politics.  No this blog is about a comfort food that has it’s roots in politics –I know a strange segue but I am a writer and as such tend to indulge in stream of consciousness asides…So as the race for President enters another week and with another debate behind us, I thought it be fun to share a bit of political trivia and a recipe that compliments it courtesy of comfort food chef extraordinaire, Paula Deen  index.html who is probably now creating a ‘kinder, leaner version’!

Believe it or not there’s an archive in the Senate records dating back to some time betwixt 1903-1907 that declares SENATE BEAN SOUP be a mandatory item on the Senate’s menu. 

Folklore has it that the resolution came about one of two ways:  either at the request of Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho or via the then Speaker of the House Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois.  Seems Speaker Cannon exploded (forgive the pun) when one hot day he arrived for lunch and his fave soup was not on the menu “Thunderation!” he roared, “From now on hot or cold, rain, snow or shine, I want it on the menu every day.”  And thus it became mandated…and, albeit a bad navy bean crop in 1943 so it has been available in all 11 congressional dining rooms.  Seems even back then there was a lot of hot air being passed around Congress J  Spread the glove!

SNOWING DOWN ‘N PLAYING IT FORWARD!

Been an unexpected lazy kinda day here in the Northeast…Significant snowfall’s are good for making us slow down from our normal craziness since the news media give us a pass, reporting from every precinct how ‘snow has blanketed the area’ and that roads are trecherous as they place that all-telling yardstick in the snow to prove just how deep it us.    Nope, today we didn’t have to rush to do our  nine million errands, shuttle our kiddies here, there and everywhere, order pizza for din din so they didn’t starve nor worry about making ourselves look coiffed ‘n relaxed for our Saturday night out.

So where am i leading with this…hmmm…to an email i received a few hours ago from Kevin or “oh capitain” as i call him aka my manager and good bud . And, I wanted to share it with you since it seemed to compliment the unexpected lazy kinda day we had that gave us or at least moi cause to pause.  As Kevin said ,”this is good stuff” particularly as we dig into 2012 and outta the snow or whatever else you may be stuck in…Happy Saturday!  And, please be sure to do #40 and Spread the glove!

2012 HANDBOOK 

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2011 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree….

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will.
Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about, I just did.

DISHWASHIN’ ‘N TANG-O-IN WITH THE BUNDY’S !

I just finished cleaning my dishwasher with my son’s fave drink: Tang!

1. YES, i was cleaning my dishwasher NOT my dishes which is something we all should do to get rid of streaks, rust and other gunk that accumlates in this mani-friendly appliance, AND

2. NO, i’ve not been enjoying an early happy hour!  I actually discovered a while back that TANG and other lemon or orange flavored, powdered drink mixes like COUNTRY TIME LEMONADE are inexpensive, non-toxic home cleaners. Why does it work you may ask??? Well, it’s because of the citric acid in the mix.  So next time you notice any rust or streakin just bring out the TANG (or Country TIme), fill up your dispenser with it and let ‘er run…full cycle please.

Ok, so there’s that, but it also reminded me of something I learned while researching my second book “The Ultimate Accidental Housewife: Your Guide to a Clean Enough House” (and yes you can still find this must have houshold tome on Amazon.com 🙂 So here’s an excerpt of sorts:

Remember the Bundy’s from Fox TV’s hit sitcom, Married With Children?  They were that happy go lucky dysfunctional family that lived in Chicago and attracted millions of viewers for 10 years way back in 1987-1997. For those not familiar:

• Peggy was an uneducated housewife who looked like a ‘60’s throwback sporting a red bouffant and wore heels that were too high and clothes that were too tight
• Al was her dim witted husband who sold women’s shoes unsuccessfully (hmmm were shoes Peggy’s attraction?); and they had two kiddies:
• Bud-who was unpopular, girl crazy and the only Bundy who ever went to college; and
• Kelly, their sex-crazed, equally dim-witted daughter.

A ‘taste’ of the Bundy’s general dysfunction can be seen in this clip:  

But the one that got my attention when I was researching  my book revolved around Peggy’s culinary skills or lack thereof.   In one episode we learned that the Bundy’s were big Tang fans and hated to let one little granule go to waste. In fact they loved the stuff so much that they would make Tang Sandwiches.  Well one day there wasn’t enough for a whole sandwich so they just took a slice of bread and swiped the sides to create what they lovingly called a ‘Tang Wipe’.  If only the Bundy’s had been around back in 1965, NASA and Gemini’s crew could have enjoyed their spaciness and this yummy recipe too!  Spread the glove…and the TANG 🙂

DISHWASHIN’ ‘N TANG-O-IN WITH THE BUNDY’S !

I just finished cleaning my dishwasher with my son’s fave drink: Tang!

1. YES, i was cleaning my dishwasher NOT my dishes which is something we all should do to get rid of streaks, rust and other gunk that accumlates in this mani-friendly appliance, AND

2. NO, i’ve not been enjoying an early happy hour!  I actually discovered a while back that TANG and other lemon or orange flavored, powdered drink mixes like COUNTRY TIME LEMONADE are inexpensive, non-toxic home cleaners. Why does it work you may ask??? Well, it’s because of the citric acid in the mix.  So next time you notice any rust or streakin just bring out the TANG (or Country TIme), fill up your dispenser with it and let ‘er run…full cycle please.

Ok, so there’s that, but it also reminded me of something I learned while researching my second book “The Ultimate Accidental Housewife: Your Guide to a Clean Enough House” (and yes you can still find this must have houshold tome on Amazon.com 🙂 So here’s an excerpt of sorts:

Remember the Bundy’s from Fox TV’s hit sitcom, Married With Children?  They were that happy go lucky dysfunctional family that lived in Chicago and attracted millions of viewers for 10 years way back in 1987-1997. For those not familiar:

• Peggy was an uneducated housewife who looked like a ‘60’s throwback sporting a red bouffant and wore heels that were too high and clothes that were too tight
• Al was her dim witted husband who sold women’s shoes unsuccessfully (hmmm were shoes Peggy’s attraction?); and they had two kiddies:
• Bud-who was unpopular, girl crazy and the only Bundy who ever went to college; and
• Kelly, their sex-crazed, equally dim-witted daughter.

A ‘taste’ of the Bundy’s general dysfunction can be seen in this clip:  

But the one that got my attention when I was researching  my book revolved around Peggy’s culinary skills or lack thereof.   In one episode we learned that the Bundy’s were big Tang fans and hated to let one little granule go to waste. In fact they loved the stuff so much that they would make Tang Sandwiches.  Well one day there wasn’t enough for a whole sandwich so they just took a slice of bread and swiped the sides to create what they lovingly called a ‘Tang Wipe’.  If only the Bundy’s had been around back in 1965, NASA and Gemini’s crew could have enjoyed their spaciness and this yummy recipe too!  Spread the glove…and the TANG 🙂

MY RED-ISH CARPET MOMENT

After watching all the glamour and glitz at The Golden Globe awards last night, my manager Kevin AKA Steven Spielberg (and congrats to the real one for winning last eve!)  thought I should have my own behind the scenes ‘red carpet’ moment.  Actually, he had this planned since last week when we were at the Today Show spreading some glove with Kathie Lee and Hoda and shot some video of little ole accidental housewife me .  Not quite Red Carpet glamour and glitz more like stairs and glares as I walked from the Green Room to Hair ‘n Makeup n then into the Sudio.  But I did get to rub my fave gloves and elbows with Seth Rogen, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Camille Grammer (and forgive me but if she’s a ‘real housewife” then I’m Angelina Jolie–hmmm then again my name is Julie maybe she is real LOL :), my old bud and her publicist Howard Bragman and Henry!  Hope u enjoy…And,  please stay posted, my “Steven’s” got a follow-up video  coming to a blog near you later!  Spread the glove!  

GUY IS I…GO BLUE!

Happy Ides of January! Watching my fave home football team the NY Giants who are leading the game against Green Bay Packers 20-10 at halftime.  Go Blue!! Can’t remember the last time I sat and watched them though I love football and dare I say I throw a mean spiral 🙂 Nope usually if i’m watching TV on a Sunday I’m watching golf since I think I’ve shared my son’s an aspiring PGA golf professional now at the ripe ole age of 17!  But today it’s beer, nachos, buffalo wings and moi as a couch potato daring anyone who wants to try and take control of my remote… NOT happening.  So this is what guys feel like LOL! K g0tta go half time’s over…time to twist off another brewsky, eat unhealthy, lie horizontal and root for Big Blue!  Spread the glove!

Minnie Mouse: The First Wo-Mouse of “Dot Couture”

Happy Wednesday fellow housewives!  Home working following yesterday’s paw-fectly fun Today Show segment with Kathie Lee ‘n Hoda and caught up with the my Rhode Island bud, fashion guru and ABC Nightline featured Mom-trepreneur Audrey McClelland of the oh so fab website/blog etc momgenerations.com which she, her sister and mom host.  We were talking about a bunch of stuff  going on in our lives and when we got off I decided with Spring around the corner (one can only hope!) I’d check out what fashion trends are happening since i of course forgot to ask her as I chatted in my oh so sexy sweats and clogs!  Well, low ‘n behold . . . who’d have thunk!  I’m ahead of the curf…sorta …or at least my signature pink with black ‘n white polka dot cuffed rubber gloves are.  That’s correct…according to Audrey polka dots are ‘back baby’.  I’m thrilled though my gloves alone will not a fashion statement make so I best start saving some moula to complete the look!  That said, I did want to share a look ‘n link to Audrey’s uber informative “Mom Fashion Report /365 Days of Fashion Advice for Moms!” which will give you the 411 on Spring 2012.  http://momgenerations.com/mom-fashion/   I’m looking forward to the fashionista trends she’ll share from Fashion Week in Feb!  

Oh, and lest I not forget, I wanted to pay homage to the First Woman or Mouse 🙂 of ‘dot couture’: the sheek ‘n stylish  Minnie Mouse! 

Spread the glove!

WOOF KATHIE LEE N HODA ‘N BEING ON TODAY SHOW!

Kathie Lee n Hoda always bring me to my knees 🙂

Every time I do a segment on the Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda it’s a hoot…and today’s about PET PEEVES was no different.  We laugh, they make fun of me (particularly Kathie Lee) and we almost always find a reason to end with a libation unless of course we’re talking about kid-related stuff…Then it’s simply understood that you might like or need to have a glass of vino at day’s end to help us through our hectic mommy schedules!

 Today, I shared how the oohs, aahs and cuteness of that new puppy or kitty you lost your mind over and brought home over the holidays has now evolved into a blend of not so cute poop, pee, hair and odors…oh my!  And, I shared some of my simple money saving tips to clean and deodorize using everyday household items like white vinegar, baking soda, toothpaste (non-gel), Hydrogen peroxide, and Listerine;  Bounce fabric dryer sheets and cat litter to absorb smells (and btw cat litter is a terrif moisture absorber beyond the litter box since it can suck up to 15x it’s weight-sorry it doesn’t work on our bodies J); how to get rid of fur on furniture and floors using mani-friendly rubber gloves (dampened) or double-stick tape on a paint roller; and ended by sharing a great way to save our sanity post clean-up while also helping pets in need:  drinking Les Compagnons wines which give a percentage back to four pet charities… Fun, informative stuff which you can enjoy in its entirety should you wish (glass of vino optional!) by clicking here:

I also thought you might be interested to see some of this accidental housewife’s behind the scenes,  shot courtesy of my very own Speilberg and manager Kevin. BTW, have some video too but still figuring out how to get it to play so that’ll be for another day!

And BIG, BIG woofs go out to HENRY, our lovable pooch n the real star of the segment and Susan,  my amazing producer and Henry’s mom xo

 As always if you have any pet peeves you wanna ask about, share a tip, trick or tale about please do so here on my blog, facebook or tweet moi! Spread the glove!

Today's Star "Henry" woof him!

Henry's fab mom n my producer, Susan!

  

Restin' assure all's good to go...forgive pun!

POOP, PEE ‘N PET ‘TINIS!

Happy Friday all!  Hard to believe we were getting ready for the ball to drop a mere 6 days ago! Oh well time she flies….

I may have mentioned that I’m doing another segment with my two fave gals Kathie Lee ‘n Hoda on the TODAY SHOW Tuesday.  The segment’s called Pet Peeves and has to do with how the oohs and aahs of how cute that little kitty or puppy were when you lost your mind and brought one home for your kiddies during the holidays  has now gone to RRRR’s and what was I thinking as poop, pee,  hair and odors rule your roost.  Well, this accidental housewife is here to help you get rid of the ick, stink and save your sanity ‘n manicure. So as i prep for the show where I’m gonna use some new mani-friendly things that you probably have handy in your kitchen or bathroom, I wanted to share a couple of pix.  The first is my idea of a perfectly potty trained kitty who may be on their 9th life, holding their breath to find their litter box.  And, the second is why I am seriously considering coming back as a doggie in my next life–imagine being able to have a free tini 24/7 curbside!  Spread the glove!

See Spot. See spot woof down these 'tinis!

OMG! I've gotta stop drinking so much water!