Mercury's direct, so let's shake off the goo and get something cooking! And shaking!!

For some reason, this last Mercury retrograde, which just ended yesterday, really affected me, getting me stuck like something sticky, stuck in something stickier than molasses that was set outside in the frosty air, which would cause it to harden, so it's not only stuck but frozen in place, with a hold stronger than Crazy Glue used on something set adrift on an ice floe, only to find itself stranded in the middle of the Antarctic, with nowhere to go.

THAT kind of stuck.

It began on Election Day, where things ended up going very much in (I feel) not only my favor but the world's favor, but still scared us so witless that a bunch of us got together at our place and ate copious amount of junk food, including but not limited to red velvet cupcakes, until our President was re-elected and we sighed a huge, palpable sigh (but I didn't "trust" the outcome until about a day later, because it was, in fact, Mercury "if anything wacky can happen with technology it WILL happen" time) and has lasted just about three weeks and now it's finally gone and I say "good riddance" and "don't let the door hit you in the bum on the way out, you bum!"  Because I had the darnedest time concentrating, getting simple things like emails and invoices done.  No time for blogging, heavens no!  Because I was really only able to focus on stupid TV shows, or Angry Birds and Scrabble on my Android.  And even then, I sorta aimlessly sat there on the sofa, pecking away at my smarty phone, while the world whirred around me, and along with it, many of the things (other than theatre; did three shows in about 7 months and I need a break) that fed my soul (my book, books I'm reading, meditation, tarot, life coaching, planning trips, planning parties, planning sweet surprises for my sweetie, etc.). 

But now, as the pesky mercury retrograde in Scorpio/Sagittarius ends, I'm swept up in the directness of the zippy Messenger planet, and it appears as though I've gained a whopping amount of mental clarity, as if the stuckedness was almost a gestation period, and now I'm ready to plow ahead like a plucky Engine Who Could - and CAN.  In the last 36 hours or so, I've contacted a social media guru to help me with my book, wrote out countless emails and invoices, sent thank you notes and cards for various occasions/reasons, wrapped gifts, bought gifts, settled some money issues (some not to my liking, but at least I have clarity on some things and, really, it's all for the best), put stuff up for sale on Ebay, sent out emails and posted things on Facebook regarding my book and accompanying 2013 calendar (A nifty gift idea!  Contact me to learn more!!), and had enough mental clarity to buy the ingredients for a simply smashing cocktail to surprise Ben with last night.  Here's what you do:

1 oz. tropical white rum
1 oz. lemon juice (preferred Meyer lemons, but any old FRESH lemon will do.  Don't sully this experience with bottled lemon juice, please.)
1 oz Lillet blanc
1 tbsp. honey syrup (to make, take 1/4 cup honey and two tbsps. of water and cook it for a little bit on the stove and that's that)

Shake it with ice, drain it into a glass, drink it and exclaim, "My GAWD, this is an amazing cocktail!  Where has it been all my life?  My life has been a sad shadow of what it could've been if this cocktail was part of it sooner."  (BTW: can't find the recipe for it that I originally found in a Chicago magazine at the chiropractor's office, but here's at least a different article about the many benefits of living with Lillet in your fridge, from an earlier Chicago magazine article: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/July-2012/Its-Cocktail-Hour-for-Lillet/.  You're welcome.)

So.  Today is my baby Ben's birthday, and I'm surprising him with, well, he's probably going to read this before the event, so I won't say, but it'll be a fun, relaxing, festive and food-filled evening.  And, besides the material gifts he'll receive, he's got the uber bonus of a fully-realized wife again.  And that, my friends, is the sweetest thing of all.

Even better than a Lillet cocktail ...