Soda POP

Holy cow - world's best Christmas present ever. Rita got me a seltzer water maker. I thought the only type of seltzer makers anymore were those little squirtee ones from old Tom & Jerry cartoons, but Rita found the new Penguin Club Soda model. It is awesome. You put one of the special carafes full of water into the little vacuum chamber, slide the top down to seal the chamber and then pump it full of co2. There is a button to "release" the carafe from its little vacuum chamber when you're finished and...voila! Your very own Pellegrino.

Everytime I push that button - it sounds like the roller coaster coming to a stop at Six Flags - with basically the same level of anticipation. If I get particularly exuberant pumping the carbon dioxide...billowy white smoke comes tumbling out of the vacuum chamber like some special effect from an 80s rock video.

The kit even came with different flavor syrups so I can make my own lemon-line, root beer and.....diet soda. Follow me on this...with a little more recipe-tweaking, I could be making my own Diet Cokes by President's Day. (And you thought the economy was bad NOW - if I stop buying Diet Cokes.... You may as well add Coca-Cola to the bailout list right now.)

Between the espresso maker and the club soda machine (not to mention the UPS-looking wine fairy), Rita's house is like the adult equivalent of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Seriously, I don't see a reason to ever leave the house again. I am going to be the most hydrated woman in Southern California.

Although the responses from others to my Christmas present have been a little...ummm....interesting:

"What's the over/under on when you pop an eye out with that thing?" [Thanks Mom]

"Can you do whip-ette shots with it?" [if you have to ask what a whip-ette shot is, you obviously invested your college years more wisely than others]

"Have you tried it on milk? If I got a toy like that - I would try it on everything." [a) thanks for sharing b) no milk...but I AM working on my very own Champagne - a little number I like to call Estate Zinfa-cola....mmmmm (don't tell Rita).]