End of the year with bubble gum soda

So another Christmas has come and gone. I had hoped it would be a new start for me, after I applied for a job I've wanted for years and even was one of only four people called in to interview for it. Alas, I didn't get it. Somehow getting up to the interview part and then not getting a job feels worse than not getting called for an interview at all. Feels more like personal rejection. So I start a new year at my old job, miserable, broke and with no chance of going anywhere at all.

The girls enjoyed their Christmas immensely. Gin's list consisted of One Direction things: music, posters, magazines, books, clothes, purses, etc. She got them all. She's ecstatic. She's 14, and 1D is kind of her life right now. Every day when I get home from work, I'm subjected to an hour of videos she's found on YouTube of interviews, commercials and whatever else she can find featuring Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn. Yes, I know more about those four British boys and one Irish one than any 40-year-old should ever know - except perhaps their mothers.

Munch wanted art supplies, as usual, so she got a ton of those. She's been creating nonstop. She bought a puzzle with some of her Christmas money, and she spent hours working on that. I might go for more of those. The hours required to concentrate on it and logic/reason involved must be good for her. Her new ADD medication seems to be helping her in school too. 

I got Pooh this very cool equalizer T-shirt from Think Geek. He absolutely loved it! He's 22 and, therefore, very hard to buy for, but he likes T-shirts and music, so I thought, "why not?" He and his roomies liked it so much they've pinned it to the wall of their apartment. He plans to wear it out clubbing sometime though. He'll "suit up" then tear open his shirt for the big reveal. Which is sooo what I imagined him doing. 

Book got, of course, a book and movie, along with some soft pajamas and slippers and clothes. He's a 16-year-old with Asperger's, so he's definitely the hardest to buy for.

I got myself a Sodastream soda maker and an ebook for making my own soda syrups. We've been loving that. I don't buy soda at the store anymore. Instead, the girls say, "Can you make me some soda?" Very cool! I even experimented with my own formulas. My first:

Bubble Gum soda

2 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. water

1/2 tsp. Lor-Ann Oils bubble gum flavor

8-10 oz. carbonated water

Combine sugar and water in microwave-safe cup. Heat for 30 seconds in microwave on high. Stir well. Let cool. Add flavor and mix. Pour into glass. Pour in 8-10 ounces of carbonated water, and stir gently. Add ice. Enjoy!

I'll get more exotic as I go along, but I wanted to see if I could use my flavor extracts that I use for making my e-juice for my e-cig. Success!