The Rundown: Drink It In

Spent last night hanging out and having dinner with Faye, Murielle and Emily Grace. Today is Mur's birthday and we wanted to have a little visit since I haven't seen my beautiful niece since Christmas when all she did was cry.

The visit was awesome - she's so big and so active and so much like my brother it's not even funny. She's going to be a stunner and a little troublemaker; you can already see it in her eyes, the way she knows when she's doing something she shouldn't but keeps doing it anyway.

Once we got home - around 10:00, 11:30 to me - Faye offered me a drink she called Blueberry Tea. Now, since my mother has a long history of drinking actual tea, I figured it would be some new flavoured deal that she's into and said sure. Boy was I wrong.

This concoction did involve a bags worth of Orange Pekoe and hot water, but also a sizable shot of Grand Marnier and Amaretto and all I can say is Yowza! Hot, sweet liquor is not my thing. Faye, she loves the stuff. Me, not so much. But it got me thinking and brings me to today's Rundown...

All-Time Top Five Drinks (Alcoholic or Otherwise)

5. A Nice Glass of Wine
In no way am I a Wine Snob. I know a little, but I'll never be the guy who sits around trying to explain to someone who just happens to like wine the difference between a Cabernet and a Merlot. Who cares? If you like it, drink up. I'm still big into the Australian wines right now and a nice Italian Pinot Grigio is always good. But ultimately, any glass will do.

4. Venti White Chocolate Mocha
Oh yeah, Starbucks is making an appearance on this here list! Faye actually had the audacity to tell me yesterday that she, "Doesn't really like Starbucks," as if that is humanly possible. Everyone should like Starbucks, even if it's simply for the fact that small, medium and large doesn't exist and you can order the most basic or elaborate beverage you please. Mine is fairly easy, but utterly delicious.

3. Bailey's on Ice
This one should be a standard for everyone. Seriously, a nice tumbler full of Bailey's over a couple of ice cubes is heaven in a glass at just about any hour. Winding down at the end of a long day? Sip some Bailey's. Casual dinner party where you don't want to get too loaded? Sip some Bailey's. Wednesday afternoon in Cambridge with 20 minutes left on your guest pass for the library computer? Go home and sip some Bailey's...

2. Tim Horton's Double Double
I have no idea what it is about this stuff. Maybe they do actually put addictive chemicals into the mixture. Whatever the case, I can't drink anything else from this Canadian institution. The even weirder part? I'm not picky about the amount of sugar or cream in my coffee anywhere except at Timmy's. It's ridiculous... and so damn good that I'm going to get another one before I head home for that Bailey's.

1. Guinness
There is nothing else that could possibly top this list. It's kind of like the Bailey's idea where it fits at just about any time and place, except that there are the added bonuses of (a) it's full of vitamin goodness, (b) a couple of these is like a colon cleansing in a glass and (c) watching the cascade of this dark deliciousness is absolutely one of the best barstool experiences and man can have. Mix in the nostalgia factor of Pub Days Past and you have the makings of an easy #1.

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Heading off to London tonight to get settled in with Sarah's Dad.

I'm actually really looking forward to it and am glad that we're getting this time to hang out together without her. Not that I don't want her around of course, but getting a little time to get to know Garry outside of being Sarah's dad is important to me and can only serve us better down the road.

That also means that the pack of smokes currently residing in my left front pocket is the last one.

Yeah. I know. You've heard it before. Only difference is, this time, I have my future father-in-law ready to bust my balls every time I venture outdoors for some unfresh air and that's not the summer I want to have.

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Should be back online full-out tomorrow. I never knew how addicted to Facebook I was until yesterday... I'm twitching without it.