This week’s episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey was not much fun to watch. Danielle bringing charges against Ashley. Ashley still acting like a spoiled child. Caroling trying to bring everybody to reality.

But what’s with Danielle acting like she’s the victim all of sudden.

Yes, Ashley yanked her hair. No Ashley definitely shouldn’t have done that. But Danielle trying to come off all innocent, and then boxing and pretending that one punch is for Teresa and one punch is for Jacqueline and swearing every 2 minutes just doesn’t make sense. It almost seems that her lawyers must be telling Danielle to act ‘normal’, but she can’t quite pull it off.

And on the Andy Cohen “Watch What Happens“, Danielle just shut down at times – like she didn’t want to lower herself to discuss certain things. Danielle said things like “I blogged about it” when viewers called in to ask about Danielle calling Ashley a coke whore. Danielle wants Ashley to be held accountable for her actions, but Danielle is like Teflon when someone tries to get her to own up to her actions. Maybe Danielle should have a Mango Beach Cocktail – it’s just as disappointing as Danielle’s answers.

When Andy asked Danielle if she had inside information on Teresa’s finances, she said YES but she didn’t think it was right to talk about her co-stars. BUT Danielle immediately told guest Jeff Lewis that she would tell him everything about Teresa after the show! Yeah, way to go – that should keep everything top secret!

Then Andy asked Danielle if she was dipping into the lesbian pool, Danielle said he’d have to “wait and see”. I think she is saying and doing anything to get media attention. So does that make her a prostitution media whore?

So let’s recap: Danielle made it clear that she doesn’t want anything to do with Teresa, Jacqueline, Ashley, and now Kim G. and Caroline doesn’t want anything to do with Danielle, so WHY IS DANIELLE ON THE SHOW????

Guess we’ll have to stay tuned next week to see if Ashley goes to the slammer. Here’s a tip Ashley. Don’t paint “f*ck u” on your finger nails when you go to see the judge!

T-Cee

Cocktails and Air Travel.  They go well together.  Umm, that is if not in excess.

Some cocktails and flights  are great; some are OK.  Others not so much, like the Mango Beach Cocktail (pg. 114 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time). More on that later.

So …Air Travel. We love to Hate it. What do we love to Hate most?

Is it airline annoyances such as:

1. being charged extra for the privilege of checking luggage?
2. the audacity of airlines charging a premium for extra leg room?
3. having to walk barefoot at the security station when you forget to bring socks
4. confirming that your flight is on time, right up till you get to the gate – then delaying for 2 hours?
5. extra taxi-time prior to takeoff?

Or is it passengers that:

1. are in your assigned seat who tell you they need your seat so they can be with  their child?
2. are farting while in line to the rest rooms when you have the back row aisle seat?
3. are freakin LARGE and spill over in your seat.   I know that’s not PC, get over it.

BUT then there are the better flights like my flight the other day where I DID give my seat to a mom who wanted to sit with her child but she ASKED ME before she moved her child.  And then as KARMA would have it, 5 minutes later, I noticed that I knew the stewardess.  Who comped me some wine.  Woo hoo!  Made the extra wait on the tarmac no problem.

So the flight ended well.  Unlike the Mango Beach Cocktail. This is a blender drink of mango, vanilla yogurt, mango nectar, and my bud Jose Cuervo. I have to say it looked really, really good. But it tasted BAD.

So out of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT, I have to give the Mango Beach Cocktail a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT. The flavors just didn’t mesh well at all. C’mon Sandra Lee – I’m hoping the next cocktail will be better!

Salude!

T-Cee

Bethenny and Jason in St. Barts. Although I’m really happy for Bethenny and Jason, I have to say this week’s show was pretty slow.

But the good thing is that Bethenny is being very real. She’s not having her makeup done every second. She’s not getting all dressed up. In fact, I think she was looking a little dumpy. How mean of me. I know when you’re at that stage of pregnancy, nothing seems to look or feel good. But all the same, I think Bethenny could have dressed up just a tad.

And wow – it was amazing to see Bethenny eat. A lot. Like a real pregnant person. I did feel really sorry for Bethenny with her face and legs swelling up. I was lucky that my face did not swell when I was pregnant, but once when I was pregnant and traveling for work, I got to my hotel, lied down and got a glimpse of my ankles. YIKES! They had swollen sooo much from the airplane trip – it looked like elephantitis. In a panic, I called my OB/GYN and he tallked me down. So, Bethenny, I really do feel for you.

And, so far, Jason is holding up – still saying the right thing at the right time – telling Bethenny how the honeymoon is ending, but building a family is just starting. And, what a romantic dinner he planned on their last night at St. Barts with their table in a secluded are of the pool.

So, Bethenny and Jason are back in NY with Bethenny decorating the baby room and wanting only to have a happy healthy baby with a vagina! She cracks me up.

OK, we know the show was taped months ago, but I’m still looking forward to next week and the birth of Bethenny and Jason’s little girl.

Get ready for next week’s show with a Semi-HomeTested Cocktail, maybe the Sunburst Cooler.

Another beautiful day on the lake. I spent the morning planting 2 bushes and 3 (hopefully) perennial flowering plants. Which in this area means using a spade to dig out rocks and huge clippers to cut tree roots. But make way in the ground for my new plants I did.

And how lucky am I that as a reward, I got to go out on the boat on another fantastic day. Just lazing, reading, lazing, reading… you get the picture.

Then a quick trip to the market ’cause these fabulous grocery stores here actually steam your lobsters for you – all for $6.99/lb!!! Living large on a budget – that’s what I’m talking about!

OK, so after such a perfect day, I was a little nervous about making a Sandra Lee semi-homemade cocktail – because the last few I’ve made have been really bad. I’m beginning to think that Sandra Lee took the month of July off when she put her cocktail book together. The cocktails from the other months have been mostly great.

So, here goes. I made the SUNBURST COOLER (pg. 106 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time). This turned out to be a simple mix of whiskey (I used Seagram’s 7 – thank you Ralph). frozen lemonade mix and lemon-lime soda (I used Fresca- they don’t call it diet, because it has never ever had calories). I thought it would taste like a Whiskey Sour and it pretty much did, but the Fresca gave it a nice zing. Very Refreshing!

So, LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT? I give the SUNBURST COOLER a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT!

OK, I’ve got to get a few things done before I tune in to “Bethenny’s Getting Married?”.

Salude!

A study, by scientists at the University of Leicester in England, found one of the key proteins involved in the process of memory and learning.

image from Flickr

This Key protein, called the M3-muscarinic receptor, is present in the part of the brain where memories are formed, but it has to be activated, Andrew Tobin, a professor of cell biology at the University of Leicester, said in a press release.

This finding has clinical implications which could provide future benefit to Alzheimer’s patients.

So, Hump Day Kudos to you

UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER!!!

Thank you to Discovery News for this great piece of news!

OK, back in the day, (and my day ain’t over) a White Russian was a Black Russian with cream – which was vodka and coffee liqueur. BUT Sandra Lee’s version of a WHITE RUSSIAN (pg 110 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) includes herbal liquor, creme de cacao,and grand marnier and vanilla ice cream.

What? So I Google herbal liqueur and find several listings, including Jägermeister. According to Wikipedia, Jägermeister’s ingredients include 56 herbs, fruits, roots, and spices including citrus peel, liquorice (their spelling, not mine), anise, poppy seeds, saffron, ginger, juniper berries and ginseng.

Off to the liquor store I go. And I’m searching the shelves for herbal liquors. But can I remember any of the names that came up on the Google search? And did I write any of the names of the herbal liquors that came up on the Google search? NO and NO.

So I ask my friendly cashier if they have any herbal liquors. The liquor store manager looks it up in the computer, and says blah, blah, blah, Jägermeister.

Then, BAM, the cashier gets a HUGE smile and points to a box on the counter next to the cash register which is FILLED with pints of Jägermeister. He says it is a huge seller, so I Google Jägermeister (again) when I get home and Walla. Apparently the young-bloods today drink it with Red Bull (the Jager bomb). I should mention that I’m in NH for a few days, so maybe it’s a local thing.

Anyway, I pop the Jägermeister, gran marnier, creme de cacao and ice cream in the blender. And taste it. Did I forget to mention that Jägermeister smells like cough syrup? And not the sweet cherry cough syrup kids get today. It smells like the the kind of cough syrup your grandma gave you. Hmmmm… Maybe grandma gave me Jägermeister???

So, out of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT. I have to give this version of the WHITE RUSSIAN a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT. I would say sorry to Ms. Sandra Lee, but I kind of feel Sandra Lee owes me an apology for this one. And so does grandma.

Salude!

Danielle drama.  AGAIN. Danielle’s crys of MY HAIR..MY HAIR.. I WANT TO GO HOME..I WANT THE POLICE… is worse than a B movie.  Are we really supposed to believe that Danielle is afraid of Teresa and Jacqueline?  Isn’t Danielle the one who last season threatened to come after everyone and that “she wouldn’t be alone” when she came knocking on their door?

Can the producers PLEASE get rid of Danielle, and return The Real Housewives of New Jersey to a sane level of women having fun and occasionally getting into b**ch sessions?

Teresa, did not let me down – she provided the comic relief in this whole crazy episode. Teresa made me laugh from her “Is Bi**ch Better?” remarks to Teresa’s humorous retelling of the evening’s events to her husband, Joe.

But do you know what is almost as annoying as Danielle trying to pass herself off as a scared innocent bystander? It’s Ashley. Why is Ashley suddenly a big part of the show? I don’t know about anyone else, but I have no interest in watching a spoiled, disrespectful teenager week after week. No matter what a BUTT Danielle is, Ashley should NOT have pulled Danielle’s hair, and Jacqueline is right to call her out on that.

But, hey, how funny was Jacqueline on the phone with the “energy psychic”? I loved when Jacqueline played games on her iphone while the psychic was sending her energy through the phone! And Jacqueline’s request to the “energy psychic” to WORK A LITTLE HARDER on Danielle was pretty funny.

Now, Ashley will most likely be facing legal charges. If Ashley’s smart, she’ll make nice with Jacqueline and her Dad, so they will help her out with that. Judging from Ashley’s contriteness on the “Watch What Happens” show with Andy Cohen, she is smartening up enough to pull herself out of that fire.

And Andy Cohen – can you look MORE uncomfortable on your own show? I would be uncomfortable too but why don’t you use your clout to change the cast on The Real Housewives of New Jersey?

What do you think? Who should go and who should stay on the cast of The Real Housewives of New Jersey next season?