I love wine. And I love cider. Beer? Not so much... Although some of the micro-wheat-beers have proven enjoyable over the last few years. Well, since my budget has been lean, I've been trying to minimize what I am spending on alcohol without eliminating it.
I can sip on two ciders all night, but I will drink more than half a bottle of wine. I wondered why my alcohol intake was so much higher with the wine. Then I realized that volume is the key. A bottle of wine is approximately 25 ounces of liquid. If I drink 2/3 of a bottle of wine, I've drunk about 16 ounces of liquid. Two ciders is 24 ounces of liquid. Ah Ha! Now it's all making sense.
And when I look at the cost...well, let's calculate an $8 bottle of wine. 2/3 bottle of wine = $5 A six pack of Strongbow (one of my faves) is $8, so 2 ciders is $2.60.
And look at the math?!?!
2 ciders = 24 oz of liquid + approx 283 calories + 7 carbs + 5% alcohol + $2.60
2/3 bottle of wine = 16 oz of liquid + approx 400 calories + 12 carbs + 13.5% alcohol + $5
Oh yeah, and did I mention that hard cider is gluten-free? So, obviously hard cider is a better choice for me all the way around. Still, if you calculate the cost of drinking 12 ciders a week, it's about $16 a week, or $64 a month, which is a measurable chunk. So I had come across a post awhile back talking about it being fairly inexpensive and easy to brew hard cider. Hmmm -- that's interesting.
I came across this blog post on a blog called The Paupered Chef. And their follow-up post indicated success with brewing a Strongbow-like cider. So, off I went to Wine Craft for supplies to brew two gallons of hard cider.
- 1 packet of lager yeast = $5 (enough for 5 gallons of cider)
- 2 rubber stopper airlocks = $2.50
- 2 #6 rubber stoppers = $1.85
Luckily, Whole Foods was in the shopping center next to Wine Craft, so I popped in for 2 gallons of organic cider in glass bottles. $7 each
Put them together in less than 5 minutes and now just have to be patient. The airlocks and stoppers can be reused, so I'm not going to count them into my costs. A gallon is a little over 10 12-ounce ciders at a total price of $8. That's about $0.80 per cider or $1.60 a night (for two). The other thing that I like is that I sometimes don't want a full 24-0unces of cider. Sometimes 16 ounces would hit the spot, so it may turn out to be less waste. If they turn out decent, then I will expand my operation so I can have some ready and some brewing at all times.
Stay tuned...
My sweetheart sent me a text message today. "Found our song - In Spite of Ourselves - John Prine and Iris DeMent. LMAO - listen to the song when you get home." Sure 'nuff, I'm LMAO also. If you only want to hear the song, start listening at 1:30. Lyrics are below. If you listen to the entire thing, the movie John Prine refers to is "Daddy and Them." (Oh my GOSH - what a truly Southern thing to say -- as in "We're gonna go see Daddy and 'Em this weekend.")
So, of course, a little research was in order (read: TimeSuckage). You know the really awesome song "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls? Well, according to Wikipedia (warning: no reference source) "Iris" is named for none other than Iris DeMent.
"In Spite of Ourselves" by John Prine and Iris DeMent
She don't like her eggs all runny
She thinks crossin' her legs is funny
She looks down her nose at money
She gets it on like the Easter Bunny
She's my baby I'm her honey
I'm never gonna let her go
He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays
I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies
He ain't too sharp but he gets things done
Drinks his beer like it's oxygen
He's my baby
And I'm his honey
Never gonna let him go
In spite of ourselves
We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we're the big door prize
We're gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.
She thinks all my jokes are corny
Convict movies make her horny
She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs
Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs
She takes a lickin'
And keeps on tickin'
I'm never gonna let her go.
He's got more balls than a big brass monkey
He's a wacked out werido and a lovebug junkie
Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon
Payday comes and he's howlin' at the moon
He's my baby I don't mean maybe
Never gonna let him go
In spite of ourselves
We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we're the big door prize
We're gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.
(spoken) In spite of ourselves
So you are saying WTF is CrossFit? or Hashing? or Paleo? or Zone? Read on!
I have finally managed to resolve the most annoying way that WordPress (my blog publishing software) was getting rid of my paragraph breaks. That annoying problem was keeping me from blogging because it was so damned frustrating. If you are using WordPress and trying to solve this problem yourself, the answer is now quite simple. Install Tiny MCE Advanced, then to the settings and check the box that tells WordPress "Stop removing the p and br tags..."
I've been back in Atlanta for two weeks now. The first week was all about establishing a household -- acquiring a few pieces of furniture and necessary kitchen supplies. Initially there was some upset about being back here, in the same house, but minus all the "stuff" that I had sold/given away. But thank goodness for my honey who patiently reminded me (through my tears) that the real reason I had gotten rid of the "stuff" was to have a fresh start and simplified life. Oh yeah! That turned it all around for me and helped me say NO to some offered items.
So, now I have:
Today marks 100 days until the end of the year. Here are my goals:
- Lose 10 lbs. A reasonable goal, I think.
- Do 25 double-unders in a row. A double-under is where the jump rope goes under you twice during one jump. Right now I can't even do one double-under.
- 100 pushups, following the plan laid out on http://www.hundredpushups.com/. It's a six-week plan, so this also is a reasonable goal.
- Double my monthly income. Might mean a full-time job. Might mean cobbling together several part-time jobs. Might mean getting a job waiting tables at a strip club. :-)
- Reduce expenses by 10% without giving up my gym. New cellphone plan? Change insurance companies? Get creative!
Part of this interesting experiment that has been my life over the last 18 months is noticing what is important to me. What "stuff" do I want to have? When is my experience of life best? What makes me happy?
Just thinking aloud about some possible 100-day goals:
The last 18 months have been a time of tremendous turmoil change. To recap:
That is the question. I have fastidiously ignored my blog for the last 6+ months. After all, why blog when we can post succinct silly one-line updates on Facebook? But I found myself discussing books that I have been reading with my roommate, Angela, recently, and somehow we got around to talking about blogging about what I have been reading.
So, perhaps I will give this one more try.