How To Read A Cocktail Recipe

Outside of writing, tutoring, and working at My Sister's Closet at the YWCA, I teach bartending classes every quarter at the Homewood Library. Sharing my knowledge from bartending and writing research is one of the most fun ways to blend the two vocations together. For every class, I batch the cocktails that attendees drinks, then demonstrate how to mix each cocktail on its own. All of the juices and syrups are made before the class begins. When I talk through making the cocktail, it looks easy. But without hundreds of hours of practice, many of the movements and practices probably don't feel natural. That's OK.

Next time you want to make a cocktail at home, keep a few things in mind to make the outcome more delicious. If you're so inclined, you can apply these tips to the recipes in my book that's due to come out in December.

1. Be confident. Everybody looks silly shaking cocktails. Do it with confidence, and you'll look more the part of the badass bartender.
2. Avoid ingredients with artificial ingredients. Store bought syrups and juices
3. Be precise. Use jiggers or other measuring devices. Yes, many bartenders don't, but if they're making craft cocktails, they've had a lot of training. At home, 1/8 ounce too much or too little of an ingredient can throw a drink way out of whack. Use the dang jigger.
4. Read into instructions. "Shake vigorously" usually means to shake a cocktail for 10-20 seconds, 10 for pellet or chip ice, and 20 for huge cubes. Same goes for "stir vigorously."

New focus for Blog Like Crazy

And now, for something completely different.  Y'all have probably noticed that I haven't posted since Tuesday. The election results and subsequent wave of hate crimes, hate speech, and general bullshit have left me with a lot of deep grief. Here's the thing. As a cisgender straight white woman, I experience a goodly amount of privilege. Much has been written from this viewpoint that expresses what and how I feel. It's not my place to do that again.

Instead, I'm going to resume Blog Like Crazy for a different purpose: To highlight organizations working to preserve the rights of People of Color, LGBTQ+, women, people with disabilities, and all Othered communities. To be a signal boost for writers of color. To provide resources on how to be an ally. Because it's up to us, White people, to LEARN how to be allies. It's not on these communities to teach us.

If you don't think there's a problem, unfollow me. If you believe that the reaction to this election is the same as the other side's to 2008, these posts are not for you. I'm not here to argue, I'm here to provide resources. Love trumps hate. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has. 

Vote-y McVoteface

I get really, really excited about voting. In fact, Ed Bowser wrote an article four years ago about how stoked I get to go to the polls. Spoiler: it's a lot. This year, it's more important than ever. Today, I'm not writing to convince you to vote for my candidate. I'm not rehashing my arguments about our current third party options. Nope. Today's not the day for that.

Today is the day to get your butt to your polling place and vote. If you want to write in the Glow Cloud or Mickey Mouse for president, be my guest. But aside from the presidential race, 469 seats of the current do-nothing Congress are up for re-election. Many state and local officials are on the ballot.

Vote. Vote for people who have been purposefully disenfranchised, even this year. Vote to protect your rights and the rights of those you love, however you feel that's best accomplished. Don't boo, vote. Don't kvetch, vote. Today of all days, don't stay home. Vote.

This month, I'm attempting to blog my way forward by writing every day as part of Blog Like Crazy.

6 Articles I Barely Shared On Social Media

As both a deeply private person and a writer trying to build her portfolio, I've written a lot of pieces that I didn't share when they came out. Though I was proud of many of them, they weren't immediately available online and I forgot or the topics were personal enough that I could risk offending someone or there was some sort of error (from me or the editor) that overshadowed the awesomeness of the piece. Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, most of those errors have been fixed after the fact, but it was far enough after publication that I forgot to publicize the piece. Yikes. Anyhow, here's a short and strange look into my portfolio.

1. When "My $5,000 Wedding Budget" was published on Debt.com, we had gone a few hundred dollars over budget. I also don't like to admit that wedding planning triggered panic attacks, or that I think the modern obsession with weddings can turn the celebration into a pageant and that icks me out.
2. I profiled winemaker Randall Grahm for VinePair, and forgot to send the article to him for several weeks. He's an odd but interesting bird, and I got to learn about viticulture. Wine is cool.
3. This article on the geeky side of clarification in cocktails for Tales of the Cocktail came out a couple weeks after the third death in our family in ten weeks. Big, huge, sloppy thanks to the editors for their flexibility and generosity. I was too shellshocked to do anything other than read over it and file it away for later.
4. Sometimes I write about agriculture. FarmLife magazine is super cool, but the full issues don't go online for a bit. My first feature for them focused on a pair of brothers farming up in Quebec.
5. For the first few months of the year, my main coping mechanism was compartmentalization. Though many of y'all may not believe it, I wrote an article about the history of the Cosmopolitan for mental_floss.
6. People get real snarky about recommendations for starting a home bar. Really, people get snarky over booze recommendations in general because they're based on opinion. There's no hard and fast rules, guys, mmkay? Drink what you like. Here's my take for mental_floss.

This post topic was inspired by the suggestion to blog about 5 things you know. This month, I'm attempting to blog my way forward by writing every day as part of Blog Like Crazy.

2016, in a nutshell

As promised on Nov. 1, I'm going to use #bloglikecrazy to get a bit more personal on the Internet. But there's less than two months left in 2016, and it's time to face the music: This year was pretty shitty. There were some high points and a good bit of travel, but a lot of the milestones were negative. As a result, I've spent a lot of time on the couch with Netflix instead of socializing because I couldn't bring myself to leave my blanket burrito. Though I've nabbed three bylines in new-to-me national publications (and have one more coming), I've been seriously struggling financially with writing. Most online writing pays less than $500 per article, and the hours involved in researching and writing render the hourly rate less than ideal. Include time spent pitching and emailing, and the stats are downright grim. In addition to articles, I almost write copy for one corporate client, but the gig isn't steady.

Now, to the really tough stuff. In the first few months of the year, three family members passed away and we moved another into an assisted living facility, all in the span of ten weeks. All this happened before our first anniversary. Though none of them were completely unexpected, it was/is completely overwhelming. I worked through the first two deaths, but took almost a month off to try to keep our lives even marginally functioning. For several months, we were splitting our time between Birmingham and Guntersville. Thank goodness the Bears don't get carsick.

On to the positive: at the beginning of the year, Adam was offered a job with a local law firm (YAY!!!). I traveled a lot, and although it threw a lot of parts of my life out of sync, it also provided me a way to temporarily distance myself from the tough stuff. And we bought a house tucked away in a cute little neighborhood in Homewood. It's about twice as big as our shoebox apartment was, but it's a haven. It has a decent-sized back yard, which the Bears love, and lots of sticks and chipmunks for them to chase.

In the middle of all that, I dropped off the face of the Earth. Social media, blogging, social interactions: all of it was too much to face. Several of the articles I wrote during that time haven't made it onto social media. I simply haven't had the energy or motivation to do anything but hide from the world. When a publisher approached me about writing a book back in August, I jumped on it to have Something Important To Do. And to see my name on a book, of course. It was overwhelming, and I lost myself in it for six weeks.

If I'm being honest with the Internet, I haven't processed most of the changes from early 2016. To keep going, I've addressed the issues with a large(r than usual) dose of inappropriate humor, but that's a mask. I want to start back with therapy soon, even though I don't feel like I'm ready to face up to that much loss and anger and vulnerability. But that's life, in some ways. No way forward but through.

This month, I'm attempting to blog my way forward by writing every day as part of Blog Like Crazy.

Whiskey Trail: Day Three

Day three included visits to Woodford Reserve and Wild Turkey. Out of all the distilleries we visited, these were the two that were least familiar to me. My introduction to American whiskey was through Jack and Cokes or whiskey and ginger ale highballs. Woodford wasn't as well known within my college circles, and if we were going to buy whiskey, it would probably be Beam or Jack.

One of the coolest parts of each tour was their master distiller. At Woodford, Chris Morris showed us around and answered my (many) questions about booze, history, classifications, and boozy science. Outside of the nerdery, the campus was gorgeous. Theirs is the oldest working bourbon distillery in the country. It's beautiful, and holds the distinction of being a National Historic Landmark.

The coolest part of visiting Wild Turkey was getting to hear from Jimmy Russell. He's been making whiskey there for 60 years (!!!) and knows or knew every important player in the bourbon game. In fact, he's been making bourbon for ten years longer than bourbon was legally required to be made within the U.S.

He's also friendly. When he found out I was from Alabama, he said, "Well, War Eagles!" We were able to get him into storytelling mode, and he told anecdotes about his friends, bourbon and changes in legislation. He's a living part of bourbon history, and I want to collect his stories.

The third day was also where the journalists started hanging out and talking less cautiously. After dinner, we came back and spent time sipping Seelbach Cocktails in the Seelbach Hotel bar. Unfortunately, we weren't able to tour the Rathskeller speakeasy area due to time constraints.

I also realized on this day (Wednesday) that I wanted to come back. The science and history and picky details of whiskey production are amazingly interesting, and I want to learn as much as I can about them. There's only so much you can glean from online sources, and I want more. I'll for sure be back.

Whiskey Trail: Day Two

Day two was our Suntory-Beam visit.* We started the day by sleepily boarding the bus at 7:30 a.m. After an uneventful (and half-asleep) drive, we reached Jim Beam. This visit was one of the most interactive tours we experienced, and started out with guests getting the chance to scoop grains into the mash cooker. Probably the coolest part of the tour was being shown around by Fred Noe, Jim Beam's seventh generation master distiller. He's a character, to say the least. When your dad is Booker Noe, I think being colorful is pretty much an expectation. His stories...man, his stories. I could tell you, but it'd undermine some of the pitches I have placed or sent.

From there, we headed to the Maker's Mark Distillery. It was rustic, picturesque and absolutely gorgeous. It's the type of place where you wouldn't be surprised to see a man in a frock coat running to catch a well-trimmed buggy.

And did I mention that part of the aging warehouse has a ceiling designed and created by Dale Chihuly? It's stunning. We exited through the gift shop and it was time to depart.

One of the things that was most interesting to me was that both of these distilleries allowed visitors more access to unfinished bottles. At Jim Beam, they allowed us to rinse our own Knob Creek bottles and then to fingerprint the wax when it was still warm. At Maker's, the gift shop has the option that allows you to dip a bottle in their red wax and let it drip down the sides.

Then it was back to the bus for the ride to Louisville. We ate out, and then caught drinks at the Seelbach Bar in the lobby of our hotel, the Seelbach Hotel. It's. Gorgeous.

Tomorrow, we visit Woodford and Wild Turkey. I'm looking forward to visiting both, and will be sure to take enough notes to recap the day.

*Suntory bought/merged with Jim Beam (which owns Maker's Mark) in May.

How Not To Live Your Dreams

I'm on the American Whiskey Trail* and I'm writing. Some of the pubs of my bucket list have accepted my writing on the topic. It's intoxicating. Literally. But I've spent a lot of time not doing a damn thing to further my writing. Sometimes I spend the day as the middle of a blanket burrito wondering what I did to someone in a past life to suck so much. The experiences leading up to the crappy days have taught me how I can avoid living my dreams, and I thought I'd share:

1. Distrust your intuition. In business, it's good to make well-reasoned decisions, but if you have a squicky feeling about a setup, follow your gut. It's easier to walk away amicably before crap gets real than afterwards. 2. Don't write anything down. I'm probably not going to remember what I have to get done today if it's not logged in a to-do list. Last month, I had an idea for a novel...and didn't bother to write it down. It was something about a woman and a dog or a unicorn, but it was bestseller-quality. 3. Let rejection dictate your day. Just stahp. What can you learn from this and do better next time? Can you reshape it to mesh with another publication's needs? If yes, do it, then eat ice cream and binge watch Arrow. Not the other way around. 4. Procrastinate. Believe me, I'm a BOSS at putting off assignments I dread. But it also makes me a hostage to my whims rather than indulging them off the clock. Just do it, man. 5. Go at it alone. If it wasn't for my friends, I'd be in an asylum. They're my support group and cheering squad and wine -- I mean book -- club wrapped into one, and I'd be a mess without them. They're also quite literally the only reason I started writing journalistically and have the resources to keep doing badass work.

*More on that later.

How To Pitch An Idea: Honest edition

Creating article ideas is easy. Getting them to print is much more challenging. In my four years of freelancing, I've gotten better at framing ideas for specific publications and figuring out what would fit at what publication. What follows is my process for sharing my ideas with others.

1. Record a flash of brilliance. It doesn't have to be perfectly formed, but if it doesn't make it into one of my many notebooks, I'll start playing with Tessie and it'll be gone.

2. Google it. Before you even consider finding a market, search the topic. If my idea has been covered, I'll try to find a more creative angle to us as an approach. If my exact topic has been covered, that item stays in my notebook, but gets put on the back burner until I can figure out how to tackle it.

3. List publications. If this article could fit at one of my bucket list publications, I'll pitch it there first. If/when it gets rejected, I can restructure the idea and present it to one of my mainstays.

4. Draft the pitch e-mail. Obsess over every comma, word choice, and sentence structure. After the content is out of my brain, I reshape it (and reshape it and reshape it) until it blends the publication's voice and style with my own.

5. Hit send. My usual ritual is to close one eye, stare warily at the screen, pray for minor errors, and click. Then I jump back and watch it leave my computer and freak out.

6. Wait. Now that it's sent, what tiny and idiotic errors did I make in the e-mail? OH GOD, I MISPLACED A COMMA.

7. Keep waiting. Don't give in to self-doubt. Editors are busy people, and if I don't hear back within a week, I'll send a follow up message.

Content and Context: Cocktail Syrups

Hi, my name is Clair, and I'm a nerd. For more than a year now, I've been writing a column for mentalfloss.com on cocktail chemistry. This setup combines my love of science with my passion for classic cocktails, and helps me to find new ways to communicate complex topics in food science.

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about flavored syrups: grenadine is used in a surprising number of classic shaken whiskey drinks, and other flavored syrups can class up a simple drink in a hurry. There are many, many ways to make syrups, but they all have their pros and cons. Check it out: How To Make Flavored Cocktail Syrups.

Expert Drinker

At this time two years ago, I was wasting away in an office job to make money. It was what I thought a career had to be -- grunt work with a generous helping of boredom and convoluted power structures.

When I got the chance to bartend, I jumped on it. From the outside, it seemed both nerdy and glamorous, and I wanted to be part of that culture. To catch up, I studied drink and product flashcards every day. I asked bartenders I knew for book recommendations, and read them all the time.

After a little while, I started writing about what I'd learned. It was easy and challenging all at once: I'd become passionate about cocktails, so I wanted to do their stories justice. It was a topic I'd come to know well, so it was sometimes hard to translate my knowledge into an accessible story.

But explaining product and cocktails are both parts of bartending, so I used every shift to refine my narrative about a certain drink or a technique or an ingredient. Once I started practicing, it became easier and easier to explain it out loud and in writing.

As an adult, I've had trouble owning up to what I am and what I want to be. It took me a long time to call myself a writer, and a few months of bartending full-time before I would call myself a bartender without a qualifier. Even now, I'm not a drinks expert. What I am is an expert drinker. I've developed a palate, know how to balance and re-balance a cocktail, and consult the Flavor Bible enough to figure out what liquors play well with what flavors.

I'm still learning, and I'm still putting off reading the stack of cocktail books I keep by my bed. With writing, tutoring, and regular bartending shifts, I can make time to read an article or two every day, but I've had a lot of trouble keeping pace with my drinks library. To become a true drinks expert, I'll have to dive back in, and soon. I'll start on it tomorrow.

Shake it off: Wednesday confessions

After bartending last night, I slept in today. The result: a compulsion to share everything with you and a need for puppy cuddles. To satisfy the second item, I've trapped Tessie on the couch with me. To fulfill the first, I've put together a list of eight things you probably don't need to know about me.

1. I don't like pants. Or clothing in general. Really, it's mostly a hatred of shopping for new clothes when old ones wear out. It's time-consuming, and for a 6'1" woman, expensive. I don't like spending money or judging my body, so shopping is a generally poor experience.

2. I'm clumsy. Adam calls me Baby Giraffe. If I'm leaning on a counter, there's a 40 percent chance I started falling over and tried to make it look cool. I probably shouldn't be allowed to own a high temp glue gun. Oh well. Thanks, Internet!

3. I'm crafty. I love knitting, sewing, and making things by hand. In preparation for the wedding, Adam's helped me make five textured paper balls out of coffee filters, wiffle balls, and hot glue.

4. Taylor Swift's music is catchy. And I don't hate (most of) it.

5. Music Through The Night is rad. In fact, I listen to it on the way home after almost every shift.

6. Vodka isn't my thing. Whiskey and beer are. But if vodka is your spirit of choice, order it proudly -- the most important part of a drinking experience is that you're happy with what you consume.

7. Writing isn't a hobby. It's what gets me out of bed, keeps me moderately sane, and puts my mind in order. It's not a hobby or a passing fancy -- it's my trade. I use that skill to make money.

8. I vote. And I believe that each adult within the U.S. political system has a responsibility to educate themselves on the issues and exercise their political voice, both in and out of the voting booth. With that said, if you exercise your first amendment rights on Facebook approximately 1,293 per week, I maintain the right to hide your posts.

Post title from either the Florence + The Machine song or the Taylor Swift song of the same name.

Writing A Better Future: My goals for the next year

Over the past year, I've written for publications I read growing up. Though most outlets weren't lucrative, this work built a portfolio of clips from many different industries. During the next year, I plan to focus even more closely on establishing my writing career.

About nine months ago, I began treating my writing as a business rather than as a hobby. I took calculated risks, shamelessly promoted myself, and began hustling. Once I did, I started asking the right (and the wrong) questions of more experienced writers. I read everything I could find about business writing, and started implementing their techniques.

Now, I've hit a plateau. Since September, my month of just doing it, I haven't placed an article in a new market. I've had more pitches rejected than ever before. Conversely, I've pitched more new outlets than ever before.

But I'm still scared -- still anxious that my writing isn't good or quippy or editable. That it won't be enough, and because of it, I won't be enough. It's still a scary possibility to me, and it's one that I'm no longer willing to entertain.

A few days ago, I hit the point where I refuse to take crap from anyone. Including myself. As a result, this line of thought is no longer tolerated because I am enough, both in writing and in life. With this attitude, I will break into new markets, learn about new topics, and generally kick ass.

With this attitude, no one can stand in my way. Watch out.

Slow burning

At age 24, I've already burned out on two jobs. The two side jobs that I kept and resulting lack of sleep probably didn't help, but the side work kept my sense of fulfillment intact. That said, I was so unhappy during this time that I came close to just giving up, work-wise. Here's a list of things I did to break that funk:

• Lists. What's making you miserable at work? Is it the work, your attitude or your coworkers? Does your job offer you anything positive? Taking time to appraise your situation can tell you a lot about the job's worth within your life. If there's nothing positive left, it might be time to look elsewhere.
• Find what makes you happy. Find it, focus on it, and start working towards doing it more often. Even if you can only practice it for 15 minutes a day, put in the time to do what makes you happy.
• Exercise. No matter how busy you think you are, you are the only one who can choose to exercise or not. Get up and move on your coffee breaks or Google ten minute workouts to do when you get home. You'll work off excess energy that can prevent you from sleeping and undo some of the effects of working at a desk all day.
• Take your vacation days. America is one of the only places in the world where workers don't actively plan to take all of their vacation days every year. Even taking a small, tech-free staycation can go a long way towards fostering a sense of rest and relaxation.
• Pamper yourself. You don't have to spend $100 or more to pamper yourself. Get a massage through a local massage school or take a yoga class at your local gym or see if you can find ways to barter for these services privately.

A love letter to my quadriceps

Dear Quads, As I've started running, you've become extremely helpful in powering through every single run. Through this process, you've endured inconsistent exercise, worn out shoes and long days to keep me upright. When I first saw that you'd become defined, I thought I'd worn a dent in my legs from leaning against wells while bartending.

You were my first proof that running has changed my body, and that I'm stronger than I've ever been. Don't get jealous that I've resumed weight training -- I'd like for the rest of my body to match your strength and definition. As I keep running, it will help prevent injury and also relax the rest of me.

Please continue to be nice when I break out the foam roller. Unlike some of your comrades (cough cough IT band), you don't regularly cause me agonizing pain on the torture wheel. It's a relatively new development, I know, but it'll be good for the both of us, OK?

Unless you develop to a freakish size, I'm really looking forward to showing you off next Spring. I've got several pairs of shorts that will flaunt your angled beauty, so don't get too crazy, mmkay? My clothing budget's currently nonexistent and I can't really spring for much of anything. While you're at it, tell the rest of your comrades the same thing. I'm already tiring of baggy winter clothing, and I don't want to find the same thing when it warms up.

Love,

Clair

Today's #bloglikecrazy topic was to celebrate a part of my body. I chose my quads -- that's not too weird, right?

How to change your form

After attending a running form clinic, I was informed that I was "caught in the marathon shuffle." My knees weren't driving forward much at all, and the rest of my body was compensating. As a result, I burn more energy than necessary and am not building strength or endurance effectively. The report from the clinic also outlined ways to start changing my stride, and I found that many items were applicable in both running and writing.

• One step at a time. It's difficult to focus on more than one thing at a time while you're running, so consciously work to change one aspect of your form at a time. For writing, choose one stylistic element to tweak whether it's your diction, syntax or grammar. The tiny changes will add up.
• Be mindful. Your body and writing won't stand up well to abuse. Work towards change; don't try to force it all at once. You're liable to get burned out and/or injured.
• Research experts' advice. Just like in writing, you have to research authors' credentials and backgrounds. Their information will inform how you treat your body or body of work, so choose and implement information only from trusted sources.
• Don't fight it. Yes, you're trying to change ingrained behavior patterns. No, it's not going to be particularly easy. Change happens, and with some direction on your part, it can ensure better results.
• Uncomfortable is normal, overwhelming pain is not. Running through minor pain and cramping is par for the course. If the pain gets unbearable or overwhelming, slow down. You'll be out of the game longer with a compound injury than you would if you slow your training. Likewise, writing in new areas can expand your boundaries as an author, but if an article topic makes you downright uncomfortable, it might not be a good fit. Your emotional health is more important.

Happy birthday, See Clair Write!

It's fitting that my blog's birthday falls on the day where the Blog Like Crazy prompt is to talk about your beliefs. See Clair Write has become an outgrowth of those, and I love working to show them plainly.

For me, trust and belief go hand in hand. These internal markers are an excellent way to flesh out the relationships and conversations I have with others. As I've said before, I'm a compulsive list maker. Things as personal as beliefs are no different. Here are some random ones of mine:

• Cocktails are cultural artifacts. Whether through their origins, backstories or associations, cocktails are a great way to connect with the bright -- and sordid -- moments in our collective history. In a contemporary setting, asking a bartender about a drink's name can spark hours of discussion about their history (or the bar's).
• I'm a nerd. A huge, flaming, Doctor Who and Sherlock watching, China Mieville reading, football enjoying, drink mixing, cosplaying, music snobby nerd. I can talk for hours about all of these things. However, I'm also nerdy because I keep friends with a lot of people who are outside these fandoms because they have something to teach me and vice versa. It's part of why I fell in love with Adam.
• When I stop learning, I will die. Overdramatic statement? Maybe, but it's pretty much the truth. Anytime I stop reading or research or writing for more than a day, I feel much less alive. I hadn't realized how much I missed reading fiction until I read my friend Cecilia Dominic's book The Mountain Shadow in two days.
• I judge our friendship through hugs. I love hugs. They're a good barometer of how trusting and trustworthy an individual is. Though I understand that there's a boundary of not forcing too much physical contact on someone, a bear hug will almost always go a longer ways than a side-hug-slash-pat-on-the-back.
• Respect, respect, respect. Chances are that we don't see eye to eye on everything and are unlikely to change each others' minds on topics such as religion, politics, sex, etc. Judgment isn't going to win over my heart and mind. If we can't discuss them civilly or intellectually, we won't discuss them at all.
• Conversation is hugely important. Since the filter between my brain and mouth resembles a sieve, we're probably going to end up talking about religion, politics, sex, etc. I'm always fascinated by others' backgrounds and opinions...until they degenerate into proselytization or judgment. If it gets to that point, I'm out.

Fiercely feminine

Being a woman in the South isn't easy. Social pressures build the image of the perfect woman as demure, witty but not too smart and permanently happy. As the daughter of teachers, I was brought up to believe that living fully required the pursuit of knowledge. Though I was taught respect, I wasn't taught to suppress my opinions to garner public favor or to act any less intelligent than I am. I was brought up to be a nerd, and it's now a comfortable part of my identity.

When I started my first office job, being a woman wasn't easy. Within a month, I had found out that raises and promotions were scarce, and for women they were almost nonexistent. Most of my female coworkers had gotten married straight out of college and their lives revolved around their work and husbands. Yes, there was a significant age difference between us, but our interests rarely overlapped. My main point of connection with the others was through the knitting group that met twice a week. Even though I kept quiet for most of the time to avoid offending anyone, knitting became my camouflage.

Outside of work, knitting has always been a way to befriend other women. I've spent hours detangling yarn over wine while talking about breakups and childhood and friendship and knitting and sometimes nothing. These sessions have taught me patience, grace and meditation. My gentle friends have helped me to relax through and in knitting, teasing me about my tight stitches (seriously, it was ridiculous) and giving me room to adjust into a more comfortable technique.

Most importantly, knitting has taught me friendship. After a rough breakup, one of my friends sat with me while I untangled a lot of yarn. I wasn't talking, but she was showing me a very deep love by being there. As another friend says, "That's what friends do. They sit." For me, knitting with others is sitting. It's a way to be there without the pressure of conversation or convention. It's a space to relax into the motions and to sort out the tangled threads of thought.

Recently, I haven't been knitting. I haven't been spending time with my support network or the beautiful women who taught me so much. It's past time to pick it back up, but time and financial constraints have restricted my ability to do so. With the weather getting colder, there will probably nights in the near future where I curl up with a mug of tea, blanket and my knitting for some well-deserved rest, but for right now, I'll just nap.

Appsolutely Crazy

Despite my technological nerdiness, I didn't adopt a smartphone until 2009. After a lot of thought and gnashing of teeth, I gave in to the iTool and bought my first in 2011. For the first time, I didn't have to get text message notifications about my Facebook account. I was able to download useful apps and integrate them into my life and workflow.

But I didn't. Until earlier this year, all my apps were either social media outlets or iPhone presets. Embarrassing, I know, but I'd already gotten addicted to real-time texting and e-mail and Facebook and couldn't handle any more...or so I thought. Really, the problem was my slacking on time management, but it seemed like my phone was causing the trouble.

Before I had my run-in with Candy Crush addiction (it's real, people!), I started downloading apps. I discovered a ton of healthful, helpful and informative apps. Here are five of my favorites in alpha order:

1. Argus. This health app uses the iPhone's built-in pedometer and your input to track your activity, water consumption and caloric intake in a beautifully designed feed. If you're so inclined -- I'm not -- to share this information with others, you can connect with friends and family to share it all. Pros: Gorgeous design, easy use, great layout and data stream. Cons: The pedometer doesn't always work. The automatic switch over to running mode can also be buggy and it has been crashing randomly since the software update. Cost: $1.99
2. Duolingo. If you want to learn a foreign language and are willing to spend a few minutes every day for it, download this app. Its game-based system gives the user a little bit of freedom to choose areas of vocab but also checks your pronounciation and corrects your grammar. Pros: User friendly, makes topic accessible, not very time consuming. Cons: If you don't practice daily by a certain time, you'll get an e-mail reminder. The tiniest grammar errors can ruin your score, which is fair considering a lot of words have very similar meanings. Cost: Free
3. LearnVest. As I've mentioned before, LearnVest is my go-to financial organization web service/app. Daily e-mails from the service provide well-curated content that brings readers' experiences into a larger context. Pros: The service provides an easy way to link all your accounts with their dashboard and set both short-term and long-term financial goals. If you mainly use debit or credit to pay for all your expenses, this service is the hands down best way to track them. If not, you can add cash transactions, but the process is not as streamlined. Cons: Daily e-mails and offers on their website for paid services. That said, their newsletter and the free short call I had with one of their professionals have been extremely informative. Cost: Free
4. On The Bar. As a bartender and occasional bar patron, this app is the bomb. Bartenders can check in to let their networks know when and where they're working, and customers can tag their bar adventures. Pros: Easy to connect with and find your favorite bartenders. Cons: The app can be a bit buggy. Certain features aren't always totally functional. Cost: Free
5. Over. I downloaded this app during the App Store's Fifth Anniversary sale while it was free. It's been useful for giving photo credit and commentary within my Instagram posts. Pros: Easy and fun to use. Cons: Only a few fonts and graphics are available for free. The rest are available in bundles for a modest fee, but the ones that require paid access aren't labeled as such. Cost: $1.99

Blogging Bucket List

For a long time, I've been afraid to write a bucket list for blogging. I have a list of publications I want a byline in, but I've been subconsciously viewing my blog as a very personal project. Though its an active sample of my writing, assigning goals for its use holds me accountable and almost takes it out of my personal control. Today, though, I'm taking the leap into commitment to my blog. I've started cross posting each cocktail history blog post to liquor.com and to The Southern Coterie, so in some ways it's already gotten serious.

• Marketing. Leveraging my blog to connect with new writing markets and clients will expand the possibilities for my writing career. It should also help me to overcome my aversion to writing about myself and pitching my services.
• Traffic. I've recently reached out to several highly visible bloggers to guest post or regularly contribute to their work. These steps should hopefully boost my traffic and readership, which may aid in marketing.
• Monetization. Though it might not pay any of my bills, using the blog as a passive source of income could provide a few extra dollars for my savings and/or retirement. It may not seem like a lot now, but every dollar put away now is one I don't have to worry about in 40 years.
• Connections. The connections I've made while blogging have been invaluable. It's been a way to connect with other writers and like-minded individuals. Like social media, it's a fantastic way to start conversations with those you admire. After the first connection is established and it's natural, continuing the conversation over coffee is easy. In today's world, that's how some true friendships begin. I love this aspect of the web-based world and will continue to seek out and build these relationships.