Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!

                                        ~ Winston Churchill, WWI

In this entry, I get into a little bit of hot water with some people.

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I am not much of a drinker, even if my constant allusions to drinking may lead you to believe the contrary.  I enjoy wine and I also enjoy hard liquor; and beer is near and dear to my heart as well.  However, I seldom drink more than one drink per sitting –sometimes two, if I feel like indulging.

Yes, I have had my fair share of being three sheets to the wind and I’ve had some dates with the porcelain god as well.  But in my thirties, those not-as-halcyon-as-movies-depict-them days just don’t seem to happen as often, the occasional sangria detour be damned (it is honestly not my fault that I happen to know a Spaniard who knows her mixology like a geek knows his quadratic formula, you know).

Anyway.  As I am well aware you know by now, most doctors –especially in the United States– do not feel that ANY amount of alcohol is a safe amount during pregnancy.  You only have to perform an elementary Google search to realize that study after study tackles anything from moderate to light drinking  as the culprit of horrible, unsavory things happening to babies. 

And then there are these two lovely, charming doctors who have restored my iatric faith –at least for the time being.  They write a pretty compelling case for why it’s not a horrible thing for a pregnant woman to drink an occasional drink.  Note that I did not say “drink in moderation”, because seriously: a drink a day may sound like relatively little to anyone, but when was the last time you had one drink every single day?

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If you’re not a drinker or a drinker-during-pregnancy, I’m sure you’re thinking I’m trying to rationalize my soon-to-follow confession.

If you’re a drinker, please read thoroughly and do not overdo it.  And if you’re going to light candles at my shrine, I prefer lavender colored votives.

But all I would like to say is this: there is nothing lovelier than one (small) glass of good* champagne/sparkling wine to celebrate life and happy times and family and nothing in particular. 

And now you know, and may commence to judge.

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*And by good champagne/sparkling wine, I mean something that does not advertise on TV and possibly cost more than $15.  In these days where you can get bargain everything, it’s snootily refreshing to know that champagne refuses to compromise.