Giraffe

1 part Midori

1 part vodka

3 parts pineapple juice

1 part cranberry juice

Add alcohol into a hurricane glass over ice, fill the remaining portion with pineapple juice and float some cranberry on top. Consume with the hopes that rhymes about ants and giraffes in the rainforest will be easier to come by.

My children's book is going quite well. It's a cute story about a Detective named Dan (He's a giraffe - hense the cocktail name) and his attempts to solve mysteries in the savannas. The problem, however, is that I chose to write this book in verse. Quite ambitious...I know now.

Our adorable little apartment is across the street from a Baptist church. This morning I woke to the sound of Ms. Jennifer Hudson's twin sister wailing gospel music at the top of her lungs...at 7:45. Needless to say I couldn't fall back to sleep after that. The alternative to sleep was of course, writing.

I was on a roll...rhymes flying from my fingertips. I reached a standstill, however, with this line...

"The rain fell down in thunderous sheets

....

Now although there are several words that rhyme with sheets:

Beats

Feats

Greets

Heats

Meets

Seats

How am I supposed to incorporate any of those silly words into a story about ants in a rainforest not being able to find their way back to the anthill? They don't sit down...they're ants.

Plus, although "rockin beats" has a nice ring to it, and definitely rhymes, lets be real. What child would care about the "rockin beats" of a giraffe and his fellow animals in the rainforest?

I'm stuck...

Back to the drawing board...maybe I'll have to change the line to "The rain poured through the trees with...zeal."

Zeal...obviously a five year old would appreciate the nuances of that word...oi vey.

With love and allegro,

Kristen