Happy Halloween

T's youngest brother ate our Halloween candy. We have to go buy more. Sigh.

I haven't really done anything interesting this week....Our roomie has been given 30 days notice (the one non-family member living here) and he seems to be taking it just as we expected--Like a pussy. He seems to think that he is ENTITLED to a lot more from us than he actually is--this is and has been a theme with this kid for as long as he has lived here. It makes me really mad and upset to think about it. (He hates women, and therefore doesn't respect anything I say or do. Which enrages everyone in the house. But he will only listen if T tells him to do something....UGH! I can't talk about this any more.)

Also, spent two days openly weeping (well, kinda) about some of the stuff that T and I have to do in order to get married. Again, I don't really want to go there.

I made pumpkin and butternut squash puree and froze it, so we can have real pumpkin pie (GROSS), pumpkin bread, cookies, pancakes and so on, none of which I will eat, and curried butternut squash soup, which I will definitely eat.

I got nothin, dude. I was so upset last night I called my mom at 11:00 at night--that should tell you something.

Then I watched Ravenous and went to bed. (Seen this movie? It's funny. Shouldn't be funny, not trying to be funny, its gross, and creepy, but parts of it are funny. The music. {And when the dude starts screaming 'HE'S LICKING ME!!!!', that's pretty hilarious too.})

Alrighty.

Ok. As much as I am totally sure you have all been waiting with baited breath to hear about my writers conference, I am going to tell you about it.

However.

I am not really going to give any specifics (email me and ask, if you like) because one of the topics that was heavily discussed in several of my workshops was blogging.

Most authors are quite anti-blog. Also, when you are an up-and-comer, you will be googled, you will be researched, and if you have a blog or a my*space or a face*book, it will be looked at.

So you either have to be careful what you post and where, or not do it at all.

I have some strong opinions about some of the speakers that were in attendance, but I am not going to share them here. Ask, and ye shall receive, my friends.

Anyway, it was flippin intense. Not a lot of sleep was had, the food was not so great, and the coffee was even worse. Lots of sitting, lots of note taking, lots of smiling and talking and stressing and travelling. (We also left on Thursday, which was the plan all along, yet I had convinced myself that we weren't leaving until Friday, so that threw a whole new stressful spin on things. I rock.)

Anyway, all in all it was a good experience. I learned a lot, and it motivated me a bit. Also, my opinion of myself and my writing was boosted as I saw that I am...well, better than I thought I was. And I am not a crazy cat lady. (Quite a few of those around.)

And those Canadians! They rock. They drive like maniacs, but they were so nice, and very into American politics. (I guess our bail out trashed their dollar. I hear that this is happening around the globe--Australia was hit pretty hard too.) So there was plenty to talk about, aside from writing.

Well, there you go. I have been up since 4:30am, and this whole 'Fuck a sleep schedule' thing is getting old. (But I did go to bed at like, 7:30 last night, and had a nap.....I suppose I was tired.)

In the Mean Time

Here are some photos of T and me before we went out to dinner tonight. (He missed me! Took me to a huge, wildly decadent meal that is now causing me a horrid amount of bloat and discomfort. Hooray.)

And please enjoy T's new goatee--he is Freddy Mercury for Halloween (It pains me how many people don't know who that is....) and doesn't want to just grow the 'stache.

I kinda like it, actually....





(yes, they both look startlingly the same. J took them for us on the iPhone and was making noises like they were drastically different. But whatever, I'm tired. Also, that goatee of T's was known as the 'Evil Spock Beard' in HS, when he grew it to play Jesus in the 'Stations of the Cross' play at the church. Holy, holy, holy are we.) (It also pains me how many people don't get the Evil Spock Beard reference.)

Americas Hat

I have returned from Canada.

It was a very good, interesting experience.

I am completely exhausted.

I will write more about it when I have slept.

Met famous people (some of whom were nice, some were bitchy, some were really awesome.)

I will get there. Later.

Off to nap.

Flat Iron Seal

I sent my friend a text message today asking him if he wanted to have dinner at my house--That we were having 'Flat Iron Seal' tacos. (I typed 'steak'. My phone regularly changes the words for me....and I don't notice.)

He wrote me back wanting to know if I had clubbed the seal myself, and that he was concerned that they would be tough if I had.

I laughed my ass off.

Anyway, that's essentially the only funny thing that has happened today. I'm really, really starting to freak out about Canada....and I am doing load after load after load of laundry in preparation. (I know the house will be destroyed when I get back anyway....I don't know why I even try. Maybe to justify my rage.)

Frigid!

T sleeps like a nuclear reactor. Hot, hot, hot. He wants a sheet and nothing more, lest be burst into flames.

I, on the other hand, sleep as though buried in snow. I cannot have enough blankets, pillows, and fuzzy sheets.

Our bed looks weird.

Anyway, last night it was so cold in our bedroom that even with the 1.5 blankets we had on the bed (compromise, folks!) I was shivering and T was tired of it.

So he got out the (!) down comforter. And placed it atop the blankets (and polar fleece sheets) we already had on the bed.

And here's the clincher--When I woke up this morning, we were both, BOTH still under the blankets. T had not spontaneously combusted, nor had he flung the blankets (or himself) across the room.

This means it was freaking arctic in there last night.

And now I'm off to go take a shower in it. (Wish me luck).

Top of the Morning

It's four forty-five in the morning.

I have been awake for an hour.

I had to take T to work this (very blustery, if I may say so myself) morning, and he didn't have crap to take for lunch, so off to the grocery store we went.

Is there anything more glamorous than a woman wearing fleece pajama bottoms with clouds on them, sheepskin slippers and a "class of 99" sweatshirt (Not the year I graduated, thankyouverymuch) stumbling around a grocery store parking lot? I think not.

My options at this point are:

1)Stay awake and go to the gym at 5:30
2)Stay awake and clean the house
3)Stay awake and dick around on the computer for a few hours
4)Stay awake and call my mother
5)Go back to bed

T didn't go to the gym yesterday, as it was not operating during hours where he was free from work. So technically speaking, he has to go today and I don't. (So there!)

I think I'm going back to bed. Hopefully I can go back to sleep, rather than my patented "Stare and the ceiling and grow more and more enraged" routine that I seem to love so much.

Bored-Dumb

Oh, TMI Tuesday. (Yes, it's Sunday. I'm BORED.) How I don't want any part of the sex questions. (Again, not appropriate blog fodder. And maybe....Maybe I will bring back that entry. Maybe.)


1. Prudence: When do you feel it is most important to exercise prudence? When is it acceptable to throw practicality out the window?

I have a tendency to be overly practical. I really try to look at things from all sides, and use logic. A lot of people tell me this is a good thing, and makes me stand apart from 'the pack', as it were, because I try to take all sides into account, and see what all the outcomes would be with all courses of action. I annoy myself when I do this too much because I over think a lot of shit.

When is it acceptable to throw practicality out the window? Ooph. I have a hard time not being responsible. Like, when we went to Vegas, I spent money that I had in savings. I took that money, knowing that I could spend with without any financial ramifications, but still felt guilty for not saving that money. For not leaving it where it was and having a modest time while we were there.

I suppose everyone needs to cut loose every now and again....but I have a hard time.

2. Justice: Is a sense of justice really a virtue, or is only a tool that allows us to pass judgment on others without feeling guilty? What do you feel is the greatest injustice facing the world today?

I think that justice is a virtue, however, I don't necessarily agree with the way 'justice has been served' in a lot of things. I also don't think that revenge is a good form of justice. The greatest injustice? I can only pick one? Oh lordy. Uhm, well, Hate. Hate of any kind, for any reason. Religious intolerance, sexual, racial, economical--hate. I think that if the world could overcome it's hatred of the unfamiliar, the general ignorance most people hold so dear, everyone would be better off. But I'm not holding my breath.

3. Temperance: All things in moderation. Should we allow ourselves a few excesses? How well do you restrain yourself when faced with your deepest desires?

I think that you should be allowed a few excesses, within reason. I don't think those excesses should negatively impact your family or your life. (i.e., my drunk mother drinking to excess, costing us all tons and tons of things, like money, respect and love.) But like I said before, everyone should be allowed to cut loose now and again. How do I restrain myself? I really have a hard time when it comes to food. I really, really, really love me some food. The rest of them....(aside from smoking) aren't that hard.

4. Courage/Fortitude: How well do you confront fear and uncertainty, or intimidation? Does facing the little things make you as brave as facing the big things?

I have had a life filled with these things. People tell me I am strong and brave, but I don't really believe them. I just accept these things as the only option and plow forward. And stress my face off. I think that (depending on the thing) big and small things are all a matter of perception. It's how you handle it that counts.

5. Faith: Is it important to have faith? How steadfast are you in your core beliefs? Do your core beliefs equate to faith in something?

I think it's important to have faith....but not necessarily "Faith", like religion. I think you should have faith in yourself, in what's important to you. That has nothing to do with "God" as a concept. I am ridiculously steadfast in my core beliefs--like, oh, treat everyone equally regardless. My core beliefs don't really equate to faith in anything, being that I am not a religious person in any stretch of the word, but I suppose that's something that is different from person to person.

6. Hope: Does having hope for the future help you deal with the present? How good are you at finding the good in the bad? What is the thing you hope for most?

I lost all hope a long, long time ago. I don't hope for anything, really. I mean, not in everyday life. I'm more of a worst case scenario person. Plan for that and then you're pleasantly surprised all the time. I don't ever really see the good in the bad until everything is over with. What do I hope for the most? I hope that I have a great wedding. That my life will be stable and happy. That my future children will be healthy. That T is safe and healthy at all times.

7. Love/Charity: How easy is it for you to give selfless, unconditional, and voluntary loving-kindness? How easy is it for you to receive selfless, unconditional, and voluntary loving-kindness?

Very easy for me to give. Very hard for me to accept. If I love you, I love you. That's the end of it. If you love me, I typically thing you are deluding yourself. T still manages to love the dickens out of me, though, even if I think he's crazy and I'm just really, really blessed. (But that's more self hatred than anything else.)

Gym

First off:

I could survive for 1 minute, 13 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

Now, I'm sure you will all feel better knowing that.

Hopefully that doesn't come to pass, as I don't know that being chained to a bed and a velociraptor is something I would like to do. Ever.

Went to the gym again today.

I hate to have people look at me while I am exercising. I am not pretty. I am sweaty, my hair is all fucked up, my face gets really red. Not good. Mostly, I feel like they are staring at my jiggling behind, and I really hate that.

So today, I went to the very very back of the gym, so that no one but the wall could see my heinie, and hopped aboard le treadmill.

There was a weight bench directly in front of me.

A tottering old man wandered over, sat on the bench, and watched me.

For about 10 minutes.

Not wanting to assume that he was lechereous, I didn't say anything. Maybe he was resting, maybe he was having a heart attack.

But he stared. Directly. At. Me. The whole time.

I turned up my iPod and looked at my feet.

A personal trainer person man, (that's his title, I'm sure) saw what was happening as the GYM WAS ESSENTIALLY EMPTY, and came over and got on the treadmill right next to me. (I assume that treadmill rules are similar to rules at the urinal, right? You're not supposed to sidle up right next to someone if given the option not to, right? I don't use urinals, I just hear about it.)

The old man left.

Sigh.

Pointless

I just wrote an entire blog entry and deleted it.

It's not appropriate blog fodder.

Gmail has a thing now to keep you from sending emails when you're drunk--Blogger should make something to keep you from typing blogs when you are pissed/irritated/hurt/emotionally bereft/not yourself in some way.

Just saying, is all.

(I'm fine. Just irritated. So what else is new, right?)

Kinda irks me--it was a damn good entry. :)

Fave Friday

The kids at Blogtoberfest (read: Another blogger who is obeying the rules as well as paying attention) inform me that is Blogtoberfest Fave Friday.

Which makes my job easier, because I am really, really tired.

See, the last time I looked at the clock before slumber, it was 4:48am. The alarm went off at 5:30am.

That's not a lot of sleep. Is there anything greater than listening to your significant other breathe, peacefully off in the land of Nod, while you stare at the ceiling and culture up more and more hate for, well, everything? I can't think of anything I like better than that. (That's what I keep telling myself, anyway, since I do it so often.)

So I'm tired, tired, tired. Went shopping (hooray for Ross and TJ*Maxxx) and then went and saw a really terrible movie (Quarantine. Really? Really.), joined a gym (Lord save us all) and drug myself around under the power of only caffeine.

So let's do our faves.

Favorite Color: Purple, mostly.
Favorite Song: This is a tough one. Right at the moment, Digital Love by Daft Punk.
Favorite Book: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I can't think of any more. I'm off to have more coffee. Yes, it's 5:30 at night. But I have to be up in 11.5 hours because we joined the freaking gym and I have a panic attack if I think people are looking at me while I'm exercising, so we have to go before anyone gets there.

Up to the Minute Posting!

So I'm coming in just before midnight, so it counts!

And here is what is happening, like, right this moment (or at least less than 5 minutes ago....) here at le Condo.

I'm sitting in the computer chair/not helping T......Spoiled princess that I am.





Like my snowflake sheets?

Well, we're off to bed. Slept until 1 pm today (it was no less gray and dreary outside at 1pm than at 9am, which was the undoing of my circadian rhythms. Undoing, I tell you. Slept way, way too much) but have to be out of the house no later than 6:30am tomorrow....Yeah. Sleep happens now.

Good night! (And happy 3am/you'll be up in two hours or so, Brian. Enjoy the East Coast.)

Must. Keep.Blogging.

So, I am totally going to fail Blogtoberfest. I'm heading to a writers conference in Canada (America's Hat! So hilarious. But I love Canada, actually.) next week, so unless I 1)Take the dust-farting laptop 2)Use free wi-fi that may or may not exsist in the hotel we are staying in 3)Have any time or inclination to write blogs on said farting laptop with said hypothetical free wi-fi, there will not be any blogging.

I am terrified of this writers conference. Also, excited beyond repair, but that's mostly cloaked in 'the fear', which is a term I usually use in reference to the smoking of the pot.

See, in a freakish, kismet turn of events, I have been invited to attend this conference by T's beautiful sister, A, to whom these conferences are old hat. She knows her shit when it comes to writing, has years of 'real' writing (as opposed to 'fake' writing, which is what I think I do....Don't ask.) expirence. This will be my first conference, like, since I was a child. I have no real writing to take with me (but have begged off speaking with editors/agents/publishers, so that's not soooo terrible) so I have been outlining and reading and swearing and bellowing things about dialouge and grammar and plot to T, which I think confuses and scares him more than he likes to admit. (Nothing like quietly doing a crossword puzzle in front of the fireplace, enjoying your cocoa, when your wife to be comes howling out of the bedroom demanding your justification of past and present participles in a context you cannot understand, then tears up a little and stomps back into the bedroom.)

I love that I am expressing my fear of my writing forever sucking with a huge run-on sentance with grammar problems. Love that.

(I just bang out blog entries and publish them. I am not one of the elite {not that that is a bad thing} bloggers who types everything in a Word document over the course of several days, edits, spell checks and so on. I just barf words out and let fly. Which is not the case {and therefore the problem} with my 'real/fake' writing.)

Anyway.

My mommy sent me a package today, which contained knitting patterns, recipes, and a leaflet on 'Safe Holiday Cooking', which reminds me of such gems as "Wash your hands before cooking", "Use a meat thermometer", and my favorite, "Don't partially cook the turkey".

Bless her heart. Seriously, my mom has like, no money at all, and it's a big deal for her to be able to send me stuff. So when she does, she feels like she needs to pad the order a little. She seems to forget that I have worked in professional kitchens a time or two. But the thought was there, and that's what matters.

She also knitted me a hat, which is made of really pretty yarn, and sent me a skein that matches so I can make one for T (no.) or make myself a scarf to match.

I have a huge head. And thick hair. So my mom, when knitting for my giant bean, always makes something akin to a grocery sack in size. She crocheted me a hat several years ago that I used as a basket because it was 1)very firm and 2)Huge.

This hat is really big, but it fits ok. And it's pretty. T says it's cute, and it sure beats my other hat (which has earflaps!) so why not. I'm not really out to impress the world.

See?

What?

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Sites


The sad thing is, that's a low score. I scored lower than 90% of the other websites who submitted.

Damn.

My Favorite Game

Is called "Find the Sweatshirt". Or, "Find the Keys/Cellphone/Purse/Etc."

I lose things a lot. I just spent several minutes playing that first game, only to realize that the sweatshirt in question was sitting next to me.

I rock. Have I mentioned that before? 'Cause it's true.

********************************

Also, I need to learn to use my words. Taking A to the transportation hub today, T (who was driving) considered pulling out in front of a truck that he didn't see. Rather than saying something along the lines of, "My darling fiancee, there appears to be a large vehicle outside of your current range of vision. Please use caution before journeying further into this intersection", I made a sound that was similar to "Auughtrphaaaa!!" and pointed at the truck.

Seriously? I amaze myself sometimes. I do that all the time--See something in the road, a traffic snarl or something weird, and if T doesn't react immediately, I start making barking/moaning/growling sounds rather than forming words.

Sounding like a drunk infant is not the best way to alert someone of peril.

Just sayin' is all.

I Fail

Fail fail fail fail.

Didn't post yesterday. Granted, had superbusycrazy day, which no one had anticipated, but still. No post. Should have posted via the iPhone while killing people with stares in the grocery store, or while driving.

T's sister A came out for the wedding show, which I had forgotten about entirely.

This wedding show was essentially worthless, being that we don't live in a huge town, and organization was not, it seems, high on the 'to-do' list.

We may have chosen our wedding cake, and we got a free wine tour/tasting out if it, so I guess that's something.

Then A and I went and had a martini at my former place of employment, and I cooked dinner.

I look forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Have spent a lot of time with people who require my conscious attendance in their company before 8 am. (E's parents, for instance. 9 am is nearly AFTERNOON!) Eleven sounds like a late sleeping dream. Even if I don't get nearly as much crap done when I sleep that late....whatever.

I got nothin'.

Went and saw Bill Maher's new movie today.

Go see it....knowing you might be offended, if you are religious.

It was thought provoking, and depressing, and brought up interesting points that I hadn't thought of before. Therefore, I liked it.

Also, finished 'watching' Neil Gaiman's new book today, and loved it, even if the ending was.....meh. But I am here to judge. And I have a feeling there may be a sequel, which might not be a bad thing.

And....that's really it. Hooray for that, I guess. Off to feed myself (and E) dinner. (T is helping his brother J move the big-screen television he just bought home from the store. It would seem that J wanted a huge television, one so huge, in fact, that it will not fit in his car. I am getting that man a tape measure for Christmas, I tell you.)

Maverick.

I'm sure you have all seen this. If you haven't, enjoy. (We are all still laughing about this in my house. But again, I'm really trying to leave my political leanings out of the blog.)

Animals

I took T to work this morning, as it is COLD outside....at least early in the morning. He didn't have to be there until 8, which is a nice respite from the usual 4:45. The company he works for is going through the 'annual down', wherein they turn everything (and I mean everything, electricity, everything) off and have a bazillion contractors come in and they fix, clean, repair and do maintenance on every single thing on the property.

This lasts for a week. During that week, everyone works overtime, works 7 days straight or more. And none of them (aside from the operators, which T only is part of the time) do their normal jobs.

Today, for instance, T is a "Hole Sitter".

He gets to sit in a chair (I assume there is a chair involved, I didn't ask, now that I think about it) and stare into a hole for 9 hours, to make sure that the contractors that are inside the hole, fixing whatever, don't fall to their doom. If they do fall, T calls someone on the radio and the anti-doom task force is deployed.

Thrilling. (I want an anti-doom task force!)

Anyway, so I got up earlier than usual today.

After my return home, I called my mom, being that if you want to actually talk to her, getting a hold of her before about 10am is advisable. If you just need a quick exchange of information, you can go as late as 2pm.

My mom recently acquired a new kitten. She has named this cat "Zip", which would seem to be an appropriate name. She beats up the other cats (Sasha and Cleo) and races all over the place, like kittens are wont to do. She also has learned to get out the front door through the screen, which drives my mom to distraction.

She always comes back, Zip, but she brings with her a gang of ne'er do wells. She will be gone for ten minutes and come back with four other kittens, who invite themselves in and help themselves to the food dish and get in the kitchen sink and generally traumatize the older cats and annoy my mom.

Are we bored yet?

Anyway, while I was on the phone with my mom, and she was telling me all about the kitten gang in her sink, I went into the garage to have a cigarette (Yes. I know.) and I opened the garage door, not wanting to fill the place with smoke.

As the garage door opened, I was face to face with two deer. Just standing in my driveway. The clattering of the door didn't seem to bother them, and so we faced each other for a few seconds before I went and sat down.

They wandered around for a little while, ate part of my now flowerless garden, and headed to the backyard for some apples. I finished my cigarette and went to look at my herb garden, which I need to move inside shortly, and the deer came back around the side of the house and stood less than three feet from me.

Now, I have seen the videos where deer attack hunters. I generally leave the nature alone, in hopes that the nature will return the favor. (That's all I need. To be mauled by a doe in my front yard in my pajamas.) So the deer just stood there, looking at me, and I just stood there, waiting for Bambi to make her move.

I'm still talking on the phone, by the way, in a normal tone of voice. Deer are unaffected. They started grazing on my lawn, close enough to me that I could have touched them. I could see their little teeth, the spots where the fur starts on their noses. The individual hairs in their giant ears.

I went in the house. They're now out back, getting rid of the rest of the apples and dandelions and giving the neighbors dogs heart attacks.

I almost ran over a woman last week because she was STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION so she could take pictures of two deer in someones yard. Really?

I really do have the most interesting life, huh?

And....

I got nothing, really, today.

I am almost done with my second BGTP sock.

I went to a staff meeting for the volunteer job, and would rather wait tables again than work for such a disorganized 'company'. Seriously? Staff meeting consisted of a bunch of teenagers and three retired people sitting around, drinking coffee and chatting amongst themselves/playing grab ass. I sat there for OVER AN HOUR before I just walked out.

Depressing.

We are having some surly weather out here! Semi-exciting.

Does this count as a blog? No one else has updated....So I suppose yes, yes it does.

Magic.

I'm knitting the second "barbie goes tanning" sock. Hooray for that.

I am knitting this while listening to Neil Gaiman's new book online. You see, he's reading one chapter at each of his book signings, from first to last. They are video taped, and then posted on his website for the world to see. So not only do you get a free book out of it, you get to hear the author himself read it. (His voice reminds me a lot of Alan Rickman, and his inflection reminds me a lot of my cousin. The combination is pleasant, which is weird. At least if you know my cousin.)

Either way, I am tickled. I love Neil Gaiman almost to the point of creepiness. (American Gods rocked my socks, people.)

But enough of that.

So aside from knitting and cooking and overhauling my kitchen, I gots nothin'. It's rather ironic that the month I accept the challenge to blog daily is a month in which nothing terribly interesting is going on. Which is ok, because when things aren't boring, they're usually terrible. :) Such a ray of sunshine.

Useful

I am lonely.

And bored, a lot of the time. Which is my own fault, really. Sure, I write, I read, I knit, I cook and clean and launder. Plenty to keep myself busy and distracted, right?

Wrong, apparently.

I spend a lot of time alone, which is ok, I guess. But sort of weird considering I live in a house full of people. T is at work, constantly. When he's not at work, all he wants to do is sleep--and I make him. He needs that rest, he needs the down time, to be able to just sleep and sleep and sleep and then have a good meal and sleep some more, before he goes off to work 9 12 hour shifts without a day off.

I was re-offered the volunteer position from a few months ago, and I think I am going to take it. If only to get me out of the house and to bolster my blog fodder.

I think that was my main motivation for starting school again....something to distract myself from feeling worthless and lonely all the time. I suppose my motivation doesn't matter so long as I get my degree.

Well, I have dishes to do.

Forced Deliciousness

Ok, since my other recipe options were met with such accord, (haha) I am forcing this one on you because...

1)It's really, really easy.
2)It's really, really delicious
3)I just made it and I need to share the wealth.

Ok.

Dutch Babies

(Don't let the title fool you.)(They're like a cross between a crepe and a popover, cooked in the oven. Intrigued yet?)

PER PERSON:

1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour

That's it.

However...

Preheat oven to 475. Place cast iron skillet (ten inch if you have one) in oven while it preheats. (IMPORTANT!!)

Let the eggs and milk come to room temperature. (Not vital, but works better if you do it this way. Do this before you turn on the oven.)

In blender, mix eggs, milk, and flour. Throw in a dash of salt and sugar too, if you remember. (I always make enough for 4 when I'm cooking for 2. But T and I are pigs when it comes to this dish. Oh, and if you are cooking for 8 or more you want to make 2 batches--they're too thick otherwise.)

Open your screaming hot oven, and place a tablespoon of butter in your screaming hot skillet. Close oven. Count to ten, or any other number you're obsessed with, assuming it's less than, say, 20.(Helps if the butter is soft, but again, not vital.)

Open oven again. Smile at melted butter. Swish around skillet to coat bottom of pan. Pour in the batter and shut the oven door. Turn oven down to 450. Walk away for about 12 minutes.

You know those puppies are done when they are puffed up (They will climb the sides of the pan! Don't fret!) and firm-ish in the middle when you poke them. Also, golden on edges.

Decant to cutting board (should slide out easily enough, if you loosen the edges.) or cut into wedges in the pan, depending on how lazy you are.

Serve hot with lemon juice and powdered sugar. (Or jam, or maple syrup, or whatever makes your heart beat quickly. I'm a fan of the lemon juice/sugar mix myself.)

Try desperately to keep yourselves from openly weeping or rubbing on your body. These are that good.

Now, these are served as breakfast 'round my house, but that hasn't stopped me from making them for dinner a time or twelve. Everyone LOVES them and begs me to make them all the time....So of course I indulge them.

Make them and tell me what you think. Thanks.

Fail!

I really meant to get up early today, and get things organized and neat and clean and finish the laundry and get the crock pot out and start dinner....so T and I could spend the ENTIRE day together, since he has two days off before going back for eight more...(and repeat until the end of the month).

Instead, I stayed up until three am watching the food network and slept till noon.

I suppose T doesn't care, as he is still sleeping (and didn't get home until 5:45am, and I have a sinking suspicion that he had to walk home in the rain) and won't be gracing us with his visage for at least an hour.

But still, I feel like a dork. I can't believe I stayed up that late...Without even thinking about it! Hurmph.

I watched the VP debate last night, which was just what the doctor ordered. You see, I have been rather calm as of late, it was nice to feel rage again.

I am thinking seriously about getting rid of the iPhone. I love the pictures and the internet and the iPod and all that, but as a phone, it sucks. I don't get calls, I don't get text messages until hours/days later if at all, voicemail comes in about 4 hours late....

The nice man told me I had 'tower' issues, because we live in the middle of nowhere. My other phones didn't have tower issues! Ugh.

Boring, Boring Hobbies

I finished my sock this morning.

And then took pictures. My life is a never ending thrill ride, I tell you.

Barbie Goes Tanning Sock:

(pardon my pajama clad legs and, as usual, disregard the carpet. And any other general disarray....Sigh.)



Preparing to graft the toe! Which is a real pain in the ass, by the way. Like my knitting detritus in the back ground? Sigh.




My hooker nails and I grafting the toe. Why did I decide to take photos in the one corner of my house that doesn't have some semblance of organization? I'm human.




I CREATE! Anyway, there she is, in all her glory. Now I have to just make another one so I can have a matched set of hideousness. Maybe I will send them to my mom.

Is there anything else I can share on here......Hrm.....Something not terrible boring and knitting related.

T has like, no days off this month, which makes me not just sad but somewhat isolated. I mean, I suppose that's not so bad, because I can get a lot of writing done, get caught up on laundry, cooking, organizing the bed room (There is a place I will not be taking photos for a while....oooph.) and fretting about budgets and what have you.

The only good thing that comes from T working so much is that we will have enough budget surplus for a few months if things get tight. Or I will be able to pay my car insurance, get a DJ for the wedding, photographer, or buy my wedding dress. (Oh, how I love it.)

I have started making my own bread, from scratch, several days a week. I actually really like baking bread. I make donuts too, which I can't seem to keep in the house. I suppose that means they are good.

Food is so expensive! I took stock of the freezer, and we're ok there, but I'm not buying a damn thing I don't have to. I can make multiple loaves of bread for the price of one at the store--savings. I can and will cut corners anywhere I can...even if it means I have to work a little harder.

So there!

Oh, and I pushed my entrance exam back to the 21st so I have more time to study. :)

Blog-er-ific

It's October.

It's C's birthday today.

It is also Blogtoberfest.

I am going to do my damndest to post every day this month. Maybe that will be a good start to Nano next month....I wonder if I can pull that off.

Anyway, here's one day out of 31.