my husband and i have been meaning to try lucid absinthe for a while now. hubby is a big fan of pernod, and to many, absinthe is the original. and the eyes on the lucid bottle just seemed to be calling us.

i actually like it better than the pernod, as it has a milder star anise flavor, and stronger sweet fennel overtones. it’s pretty potent, and it recommended to mix with water and sugar, though we’ve come up with a few variations (including adding limoncello and/or 7-up). though admittedly, i still prefer gin, vodka, and/or limoncello drinks.

it was extremely expensive, at around $75.00 a bottle, so this is definitely a very occasional purchase. and frankly, i would have preferred to have found the rainbow absolut.

absolut introduced a limited edition vodka bottle to celebrate the 30th anniversary of gilbert baker’s rainbow flag.

the absolut website is nicely done, with the ability to turn off the sound. i did come across one slight error though.

mouse over each color and a little blurb pops up. only the green one is, umm, blue.

that said, i’ve actually enjoyed absolut vodka on many occasions. i particularly like their mandarin orange and lemon flavors. and that’s new for me as i’ve traditionally avoided flavored vodkas. they both make for a great mixer with limoncello. and coming from a strong russian gene pool, i feel somewhat qualified to judge the quality of vodkas.

note however, that i couldn’t find a link from absolut’s main page to the colors page. i had to type in the url absolut.com/colors. maybe i just missed it, but they did a pretty good job of hiding it from the average casual browser. it’s a bit disappointing that the verbiage is all about being proud, but it seems to be pretty well hidden. and the limited edition bottle has been available since may, yet i haven’t seen it in stores. and i go liquor shopping once a week.

h/t bilerico

the associated press reports that “transgender rights laws spread, not always calmly”. they cover the colorado bill that recently sparked a “not my shower” movement among conservatives, and the now infamous montgomery county bill that protects trans peoples rights to use a public bathroom.

the “not my shower.net” people say:

“No longer will women and girls be able to feel completely safe,” the group says. “The outrageous legislation … may result in forcing even religious schools to hire transgender teachers — and then also allow cross-dressing but biological males in your daughter’s school locker room.”

ummm, since when have women and girls been able to feel completely safe, anywhere, with or without laws that allegedly “protect” them? and how is offering protection for trans people to pee in public accommodations going to circumvent this alleged protection? and where are the examples of cases in which trans protection laws have been passed, and women and girls been made more “unsafe”?

i have to wonder what kind of mishegoss would ensue if i attempted to use the mens room in any of these locations.

Our tour is a non-stop 5 hour music party with a message that everyone can understand and embrace. The True Colors Tour asks for equality for all, not just for some, a principle upon which our nation was founded. So let’s celebrate and have fun this summer while we spread the word to get out the vote and all become a part of the changes in America.

i love cyndi lauper.

i’ve been using this galco ankle holster to carry my smith & wesson 637 revolver. when i went to shooter’s world a while back to purchase a holster, they only had two that fit my revolver. unusual, since the “J” frame smith & wesson revolver is one of the most popular for concealed carry.

anyway, the other one was a bit uncomfortable, though less expensive, while the galco has this sheep skin layer that sits against my ankle. more expensive, but much more comfortable. also, galco is a local phoenix company. it’s virtually undetectable when i wear bootcut jeans, and holds the revolver securely. on the downside, i had to remove the hogue grips i put on, as they were too large for the securing strap, and reinstall the original grips.

this past weekend however, in heat topping triple digits, i’ve come to learn that jeans and ankle holster make for a sweaty ankle. so i’m looking into summer alternatives. maybe a purse with a concealed pocket, or even just open carry. galco has several choices in purses, though their prices are somewhat prohibitive.

looks like daisy tagged me with the quirky meme. here’s the rules:

1. Link the person(s) who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1) i’m a recovering obsessive pack rat. i have the tendency to save everything. before i moved in with my hubby, i had saved every single box, original packing, owner’s manual, and receipt for everything i ever purchased. i had a closet that ran the length of my apartment, under the starirs that led to the upstairs apartment, so i had the room. and it made it easy to pack up all my things, especially electronics like the t.v. and stereo safely. fortunately, hubby made me throw everything out.

2) i have a multitude of food sensitivities. i’m lactose intolerant, i can’t eat peppers of any kind, raw onions, and many spices. i also must limit my intake of greasy (fast) foods, celery, tomatos (especially cooked tomato like sauce, juice, or soup), and cabbage. and i’ve also grown to dislike salt and sugar. there are some restaurants that have nothing on the menu i can eat.

3) i’m pretty paranoid, especially about the end of the world. i’m pretty happy that i’ve made it past 50, and don’t fear dying at this point. i just don’t like to suffer physical pain. i own a small collection of firearms for protection, and try to keep a large stash of ammo on hand, just in case the terrorists or zombies invade. now, with the price of gas going through the roof, and the economy in shambles, i’ve been thinking about stocking up on food and water. and more ammo.

4) i buy lottery tickets yet rarely check to see if i’ve won. right now, theres … at least 11 tickets sitting on my desk, waiting for me to check the numbers.

5) i have this thing about chicken, especially raw chicken. if i’m preparing a chicken dinner, i must wash my hands after handling it immediately, as well as every dish and/or utensil that came in contact with the chicken. when my husband touches chicken, raw or cooked, with his hands, he must wash his hands thoroughly before he touches me. as you might imagine, that makes for hours of entertainment for him, as he chases me around the house threatening to infect me with his chicken hands.

6) i will break rules on occasion, just because i’m impulsive that way. a perfect example is this meme. i’m suppose to tag 6 people, and leave a comment on their blog. i’m not gonna do it. just because

i made an omelet last week that looked so good, i just had to take a picture of it. i fry up a half onion with some fat-free butter spray, add some diced broccoli, and then some diced mushrooms, then cook up an egg white omelet, lay on some cheese, put some of the veggie mixture on top, fold over the egg, and put the remaining veggies on the side. top it off with ketchup, and i’m good to go.

in other news, i tried to get an appointment at my favorite auto shop, community tire, to do my brakes, but they were booked, so i ended up going to just brakes. they advertise front and rear pad replacement including turning the rotors and drums for $99.88, so i figured i’d save 50% over the $209.00 that my honda dealer quoted for just the front pads.

i’ll be honest. if i had to do it over, i’d have just had the honda dealer do the work. it went like this: i made an appointment for 2:00pm, they pulled the car in and inspected my brakes. after about 20 minutes, the service manager dude gave me a quote in excess of $300.00. he explained that in addition to the brake pads, i needed to have my brake calipers rebuilt, as the pads wore unevenly, and the brake fluid replaced (as it looked like coffee instead of apple juice; an analogy even a woman could understand :\ ), and the springs and clips on the rear brakes should be replaced. jeez.

i replied that the reason i was there, was to save money compared to the honda quote, not to pay more. and he replied that honda would not have rebuilt the calipers nor replaced the fluid. ummm, maybe because the calipers don’t need rebuilding, and the fluid replacement was included in their quote?

after discussing it with my hubby, i just went with the pad replacement on front and rear (even though the rears were still ok, it was only $10.00 more) and the brake fluid replacement. the total came to $145.21. we got out of there after 4:00 pm, over 2 hours.

after thinking about the whole experience, i could have saved 2 hours of my life for a little over $50.00, and have the comfort of knowing that trained honda factory mechanics fixed my brakes. the whole just brakes experience felt a little sleazy, like i wanted to shower afterwards. i will say that the car stops better now and the brakes don’t squeal, and my emergency brake lever and brake pedal both engage the brakes much closer to the start of engaging them. of course, i was warned that because of the uneven pad wear, the pads may only last 20,000 miles, instead of the 67,000 of the originals.

well, next time, i’ll stick with either honda or community tire.

the associated press reports that cuba approves free sex change operations for qualifying citizens.

The procedure would be available to Cubans for free as part of their country’s health-care system.

The sex education center has said previously that 28 transsexual Cubans have asked to undergo the surgery and that Cuban doctors have trained with physicians from Belgium to prepare for the procedures.

apparently, cuba’s new president, raul castro, is implementing a long series of changes for cuba, this being but one.

from my statcounter keyword analysis page, which saves the last 500 search engine searches that have hit my site.

stassa writes about transsexual pride.

I am proud to be transsexual and I do not suffer from a medical condition.

yeah, what she said.