Driving a Man Magnet

After being a car-less wonder for two-some years, I finally have some wheels again. Since my current plans are to stay-put in gringolandia for the sake of my education, I figured having a car would make life much easier (I live in the 'burbs ... we have public transportation but it takes me an eternity to get anywhere worthwhile).

At first I researched basic used cars that wouldn't cost me an arm and leg in car payments. Just when I was about to give into taking on a sizeable amount of debt in order to buy a car, a great deal landed in my lap.

So what landed in my lap? A late-90s Acura Integra. The catch? It's stick. Kelly doesn't drive stick. Kelly is a girl about cars. I know nothing. If it gets me from point A to point B then I'm happy (a functioning radio is nice). But considering the price (or lack of) tag, I took on the challenge.

And now, Kelly drives stick! (Look out world!)

Since getting my car I've discovered that guys LOVE this car. When I tell them what I drive I get immediate respect. Then they point out that it's a stick and I'm a girl AND I can drive it! Whoa, impressive-ness!

Stopped at a red light, I frequently get a glance from the driver stopped next to me. The guy checks out the car ... then the driver ... BAM, look of shock. Tiny redhead driving a sweet car, whaaaa???

So I officially can drive a manual. AND I officially drive a MAN MAGNET.

(Obviously this is what I have ALWAYS wanted in life. SUCCESS!!)

Rules of margarita-making

So I have split personalities somewhat. I'm an ESL/EFL teacher by day and a drink slinging bartender by night (I need a superhero name, quick!). Strangely enough though, teaching and bartending have an awful lot of similarities which is probably why I enjoy both so much. But that is a story for another day. Today the topic is MARGARITAS.

So I have worked in two types of restaurant bars: Anonymous American fare and Anonymous Tex-Mex fare. Each one had a different recipe. As you can probably guess, the Anonymous Tex-Mex fare restaurant made them better. This fact and numerous experience drinking margaritas at other location has led me to the conclusion that one should only drink margaritas at a Mexican, Tex-Mex, or Latino style restaurants.

The Anonymous American Fare restaurant I work at now makes HORRID margaritas. Besides the typical 3 to 1 tequila to triple sec ratio, we have to mix in some weird combination of Orange juice, splash of lime, and sour mix. I guess this doesn't sound so bad, but trust me it is. First off, there is too much juice mixer added in general. Second, a REAL margarita doesn't use SOUR MIX!!! YUCK. (on top of everything, we use an extremely cheap sour mix which tastes extremely watered down.

Kelly's Rules about Margarita Making:

- Never use sour mix

- only use lemon and lime (OK, throw some sugar or simple syrup in there if it's too tart for your taste) (Orange juice is OK only if it's a Gold margarita - gold tequila and Grand Marnier)

- always drink margaritas on the rocks, never frozen. Frozen margaritas are for wussies. But leaving the name calling out, putting a margarita through the blender melts the ice excessively then waters down and destroys the taste of the tequila. If you want a frozen margarita please don't waste your expensive bottle of tequila, grab that plastic one that smells like hangovers and spring break parties.

-salt the rim. It's not a margarita without the salt. Sorry.

OK now close your eyes and imagine you're on a warm beach with beautiful blue water. Margarita Mission: successful.

Beer O' The Week

And the Beer O' The Week is............ Tyskie! I discovered this beer thanks to my mother. She ran across it in the supermarket and naturally had to buy it due to our Polish heritage and our shared love of brewskis (yes my mom is cool).

It's excellent. Buy it. Drink it. Love it.

So cheers to Poland and a shout out to Karina, my Polish "sister."

(Despite the name of the post... I am in no way promising a new awesome beer every week. But if I find another delish beer, I will post another beer o' the week.... although that could be 2 months from now. :) )

I'm NOT Irish

News flash people (for about the 587th time). I'm not Irish. Yes, I know I have red hair. And I know that the 1 Kelly is an Irish name. My name is some cruel joke thanks to my parents. The hair is (as far as I can tell from family tree information) from my Norwegian heritage. (Go vikings! Go!)

St. Patrick's Day is always a frustration for me when I'm in the US. People are always thinking I'm some insanely Irish leprechaun or something. And I know that a lot of people say "well everyone is Irish on St Patrick's Day!" But I just want to make it clear that I. Am. Not. Irish.

I probably add more to the confusion because I love corned beef and cabbage. And I have a strange addiction to potatoes (but seriously, other countries besides Ireland eat lots of potatoes - that is to say the people in the countries... not actually the countries themselves... err, ok sidetracked there for a sec). And my favorite color is green.

Point being, despite the signs - the hair, the name, the color, the food - the Kelly of this blog is not Irish.

But Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all anyway. Drink your green beer and whatnot. I'll be bartending all night and grimacing every time someone shouts, "hey red! You must LOVE this holiday, right? Cause you're sooooo Irish!!"

Mi querida Chile

No, I'm not in Chile right now. I'm in the US.

OK, now that that's over with....

As of this morning I've heard some type of news from everyone I know in Chile. Including one friend in Concepción (which was one of the harder hit areas).

My friends and family here in the States have all expressed relief that I am not in Chile right now. For me though, Chile is the only place in the world I want to be right now. You don't run away from those you love in times of tragedy and need. And I definitely love Chile. I have an unexplainable strong connection to that country. I know that I cannot be in my second-home at this very moment, but my heart is there supporting the strength of the people and the country.

For anyone in the DC area interested, the Chilean embassy is having a mass in remembrance of the victims of the earthquake this coming Sunday at a church in NoVa. Check out the details here. I have to work Sunday afternoon so I'll be unable to attend, but I hope others will show their support.

Snowtography

The DC area has gone insane with the new "snowcabulary." By far my favorite thing so far has been the Snowtorious B.I.G. stuff. I've seen people on twitter saying, what about 2Pacalypse Snow? As well as, "I love it when you call me big doppler." Insane amounts of snow makes DC awesomely amusing.

Last I checked, we are up to 20 inches of snow and it's still coming down....

So here's some of my snowtography...

In the beginning... some light melty snow on the car.

Last night's light snow on the trees

Light snow foot print.

My boots in snow.

Heavy snow makes tree branches snap...

Through the snowy bushes...

Telephone line down???

(Our phone works and the power is good...

so apparently that wire isn't so important).

If you're snowed in like me, stay warm, watch movies, and relax. If you're not snowed-in... you're lucky. that's all. haha.

snowtoriousBIG/snowpocalypse/snowmageddon or how DCians are winter wimps

The snow has started. Yes, it will probably be a lot (the experts say 30 inches). But seriously, DC ... it's not the end of the world!!! I guess since we can barely survive the 3-ish inches we got a few days ago, 2.5 feet might feel like the end of the world.

All I have to say is that WE ARE RIDICULOUS.

http://snowpocalypsedc.com/

Prepare yourselves for the SNOW-IN FREAK OUT!

That's all for now. Snow photos to follow... chau!