Whether you’re wanting to keep things non-alcoholic or plan to imbibe over the holiday weekend, you can still keep a festive theme going with tons of summery, delicious drinks. (Just remember that anyone drinking the harder stuff should not be the ones setting off the fireworks!)

Firecrackers
from sofakingdrunk.com

1 1/2 oz Tequila
Cracked ice
Tonic water
Lime wedge

Pour tequila over the ice in a highball glass. Fill with tonic. Stir and garnish with lime wedge.

…..

4th of July Holiday Punch non-alcoholic
from garvick.com

6 c Orange juice
20 oz Frozen strawberries in syrup
2 c Cranberry juice cocktail
3 c Ginger ale

Blend together the orange juice, strawberries, and cranberry juice cocktail. Add ginger ale immediately before serving drinks. Makes 18 servings.

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July Passion Cocktail Recipe
from drinkswap.com

1 oz Strawberry Liqueur
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Passion-fruit Juice
1 oz Lemonade

Shake and strain into an old-fashioned glass three-quarters filled with broken ice. Add lemonade, garnish with a sugar-dipped strawberry, and serve.

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Red, White and Blue Shooter
from hubpages

1/2 oz grenadine
1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz blue curaçao

“The layered effect of this shot will only work if the ingredients are poured in the given order: grenadine, vodka then blue curaçao. Use a spoon to deflect the pouring of the liquor because otherwise the force of each pour will inadvertantly mix all three liquors (and colors!) together.”

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Drinks for the Fourth of July

Don't wig out. It's non-fermented pinot noir (a.k.a. grape juice)

Four ounces? Is he kidding? If I had four ounces of wine, I’d want more. And more. And more. As someone who has a hard time stopping after just one glass of wine, did I really want to chance it?

I worked for the March of Dimes during the 12 months I was pregnant. I knew what alcohol consumption during pregnancy could do. I heard the sad stories of children born with fetal alcohol syndrome. And then there is the possibility of increased cognitive or behavior problems spurred by the mother’s alcohol use. What my doctor and other perinatal experts told me at the time is that a little wine or beer on occasion was fine, but some women might take that information as license to down bottles of booze and put their unborn child at risk. So it was just easier to say, ‘Don’t do it.’”

Years ago it was not big deal to have a sip of wine or beer while pregnant. It some cases, I’ve heard that doctors even recommended it to women who were a bit high strung. (That would be me.) But the times, they are a-changing. In countries like England where drinking during pregnancy is largely accepted, some groups are pushing to adopt America’s standard of slapping labels on bottles of alcohol warning of possible alcohol-related birth defects. And some pubs are refusing service to pregnant women who order alcohol.

It’s easy to find arguments on both sides of the issue. As for me, my body seemed to make its own choice. I tried sipping champagne or wine on a handful of occasions, but my paranoia was overwhelming. And so, for that year I was pregnant, I refrained.

But rest assured, the minute my baby was born and the drugs wore off, I celebrated with a toast!

Sources:
The Telegraph
Daily Mail

photo, Flickr, Brett L.

Post from: Blisstree

Toast to a Healthy Pregnancy?

Stern is charged, of course, with being part of a ring of conspiracy. He’s suspected of helping Anna Nicole become more and more addicted to drugs so that he could possibly get her money. But what if Anna Nicole was just a regular girl?

I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if enabling became a crime all around. Not just for famous people. Not just for the wealthy, but for everyday folks where drugs and alcohol cause the breakdown of their family.

What if all the mothers out there who not only support their husband’s drinking but become a part of the abuse they direct toward their children received the same fate as Howard Stern? What if the fathers of the world could actually be charged with covering up behavior when the mother of their children went on tirades so big that broken dishes and scared children were the only thing left standing at the end?

What if?

Image: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

What If Enabling Was a Crime?

We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery.

Please, if your challenge is something other than alcohol, just substitute “the” word.

Information On A.A.

A Sober, Clean Evening To All,

Mark

Post from: Blisstree

The Gates Of Insanity Or Death