Toddle toodle Princessmonkeycup

OMGITWASSUCHANICEFOGGYMORNING.
Once I was able to roll out of my bed and squelch Phil Collins from my alarm clock anyway. I ate breakfast, fixed my lunch, had a bowl of hot chocolate, and took out some trash. And I didn't have to defrost my windshield this morning. Mmm, milder weather.

Here's hoping that the copy job I know I'll be getting around noon isn't as much piecemeal as it was yesterday. *grumble grumble* Feels good to charge as much money as I did yesterday too. Job security to have income that covers the hours I worked. I thank god every day that this isn't an independant venture of mine. I'd call it a loss. And to think I just had a member come in that I have NEVER seen before- he tells me we should get bigger LCD monitors. heh. heh.

I feel like I'm forgetting to do something today. I hope it isn't important. What a nagging sensation. The videos aren't due back til Monday, and rent isn't due til Saturday. And today is payday. I pay most of my bills online. Next one isn't due til Jan 8th. So what the heck is bothing me? *shrugs*

Strawberry ice cream is the breakfast of champions when you don't feel like oatmeal.

People are strange to strangers.

Going to natter on in Monkey Candy.

Winter

I had ice on my windshield this morning. It must be winter in Florida.

I cut an apple into potato chip large slices as part of my lunch. I packed it with cocoa, brown sugar, and cinnamon to mix with the apple juices. So far I've kept the sugar and apple juice in balance with the cocoa's bitterness. A nice treat for chocolate cravings.

Important news articles for you to read.

Where Are Your Dreamers?

In Which I rant about the FDA, redicule a model and a smoker, diss on Macs, and call Kellogg a bunch of bastards. I plan on thinking twice about buying any of the Kellogg family products. Keebler, Sunshine, Nutri-Grain, Cheez-It, Famos Amos, cereals with the Kellogg banner, Kashi, Morningstar, Pop-Tarts, Eggo, Austin, Murray, all of it. Lists - Extended Product Families, Snacks and cookies, Sugar free line, more cookies, the main list of Kellogg brands with links to all the rest.

When a whole company says its going to start cutting trans fats I say great, there is no need for them and you don't get them in natural scratch cooking. But instead they plan on using genetically modified soy to do it. Just add MORE crap to the food why don't you? It isn't bad enough that the majority of the US corn crops are genetically modified? That there is more to the Rice Krispy treats than butter, sugar, and marshmellows?

Saturday Update?

Chocolate Banana Bread Successful experiment!

As a continuation of the child responsibility article I posted in the last month, look what I found! Childfree Zone

Maybe you can’t have the childfree restaurant, movie theatre or coffee shop, but at least you can buy the sticker. Use it in your home, office or vehicle. Or stick it places it doesn’t belong — makes an excellent addition to expectant mother parking signs

Sorry, it's just a funny thing to have printed up.

Highlights of Science

So recently my husband showed me this stuff called Aerogel. Its basically got more tricks than a loaf of bread. I first saw the photographs and I said it had to be prank product like the Orion Crystal. But this Aerogel stuff has even been featured on the Forbes List.

We quickly are advancing to the age of the terrabyte drive, being able to store whole movie collections and archives on single DVD discs, and quad-cored processors. So it is no surprise to see that stretchable silicon has been created. I can't manage much more incredulousness, but I wonder how long it will for people to believe that 1964 World's Fair became America. What can we dream of?

Screw This

From my mother:

I called Cingular today. They will take off $3 on the
directory assistance, I have to pay the other $6. They said the cell phone had been used by someone to call directory assist. It could not be some one using your number on their cell phone, cause then your cell phone wouldn't work at all.

Next month, if there are more directory assist. calls that you do not make, then you may need to get your own phone. I looked into getting a newer phone for you. To do that I would have to get a new plan. The cheapest new plan for more than 1 phone costs $20 more than I am paying now. I can't afford $95 a month. He did say you could go online to find phone numbers at 411.com and at anywho.com for free.

My response:

Mom,

If you need to cancel the cell phone, fine. But no one uses directory assistance on that phone. The few times I have taken it to work, well- all the phones at work are long distance. And the internet to look up numbers. But I haven't any need to look up numbers. Neither does [my husband]. [My husband] doesn't use my cell phone. [My husband] won't even answer my cell phone if I'm in the shower. My phone hasn't been stolen.

I guess I'll mail you back the phone next month because this is bullshit. Then if it keeps happening while you have the phone, you know that Cingular is making up stuff for you bill. I guess it isn't enough you've been a customer for around six years since when they were BellSouth Wireless.

Because if there are multiple calls for a DA Greensboro number, that's crap anyway. Why would I call for a number multiple times? The one person I know in Greensboro I already have the number saved in my address book.

So unless there is a magic auto dial on my phone for 411... But I tell you I keep track of my 10 most recent calls and the only numbers that are EVER on there are to -- (MN), --- (HA), or --- (GA). The only other people are in TN.

I understand about budget. I don't expect you to buy a new phone plan for both of us.

Sorry that this sounds so mad, but I am. No one made these calls.

Done Again!

Good Omens - Done!
They call me book slayer. Where she stops, even she doensn't know.

Review recap

Book review up on the Wayfarer Redemption. Pretty much belted this one out right after the last page.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been consumed by the book and updating my Earthdawn character. I can't say that I have been playing too much video game lately as I've only played two games of Rise of Nations. Already its a favorite between me and my husband. They usually last over an hour, and its a lot more involved than Age of Empires ever was. I'll go as far as to say that AoE is RTS easy mode. The first game alone I logged in over 2000 mouseclicks. The second match I toned it down to 1300. Micromanagement apply within.

I'll be putting stuff up in the next couple of weeks into the Monkey Candy about the Earthdawn sessions. Currently putting the final updates on my character and participating in some important in-between-session discussions about loot and etc. So much character development to do, so little time!

Happy 101st Post!

Woowoo!

AIM users BEWARE- AIMBots are sending worms in your background (quite possibly).

And in other news, we're excited about gaming (Hopefully) this Saturday. I need to get the diceroller and teamspeak installed, oh and clean off my headset.

I also have started reading the Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass and so far I'm enjoying the read. I just hope that the couple of little indirect facts that I have already figured out from the prologue and first chapter weren't meant to be major mysteries. I've been told I'm rather thick in seeing stuff like that coming so it must be obvious. All that comes later when I'm more than twenty pages into the book though.

And tonight I'm probably making broccoli cauliflower and waterchestnuts with ziti or cellatini. Unless I have other input.

But I think I'll be using AIM a lot less and making sure I have the option checked to not have contact with users other than on my buddy list. And double check that downloads are disabled. Creepy people.

Pineapple banana snickerdoodle

News update from your favorite brunette. And for all of you with TVs don't forget to tune in tonight to the swanky Victoria's Secret Holiday show tonight on CBS. Like an angel would need a push-up bra... pleeezze.

Welcome to colder weather, it is now the first week in December that the temperatures are holding steady at the low 60s. Wahoo. And yet there are places I hear that get frozen precipitation... facinating phenomenon.

Bananas, Brownies, Gingerbread

Ah, the holidays. Most people think of snow, presents, family...

I'll be honest, after the kid obsesion with greed- the season means seasonal food.

Mint fudge, spice cake with apple frosting, candied walnuts, gingerbread, peppermint sticks, and cranberry chutney... I know I'll be an adult onset diabetic.

So my husband stated that the banana bread produced in the house must contain walnuts and dried cranberries. "The bread still tastes good," he said. "But it's just not the same." He's right y'know. Good, but just missing the two little things that make it best. That's at least 1/3c of black walnuts and 1c of dried cranberries. I prefer Planters and SunMaid brands.

On a side note, I think vanilla is over rated since its such a subtle flavor. I wonder if someone can still make good Sugar cookies without vanilla.

So lately I've been tossing around ideas in my head, thinking of either modifying a healthier gingerbread loaf recipe or if I want to make my brownies. The dilemma with the brownies is the enormous amount of egg it uses along with a pound of butter. Not healthy, which means it tastes wonderful. Aside from possibly getting some Land O Lakes butter (ingredients- cream and salt) and some ginger, I don't want to add to my grocery list. After culling the internet these are the recipes I've best found for giving the college try to.

Gingerbread 1
Microwave Gingerbread
Old Fansioned Gingerbread
Gingerbread 2
Gingerbread 3

Probably won't even attempt this at the soonest until later in the week, but the finished product will definitely be posted.

Old Grandma Hardcore

I have found the legendary grandmother. Oh the pwning matriarch of us all. God bless her and her grandchildren for thinking to blog it all. Not safe for work. Ok for home!

Old Grandma Hardcore

Shilent Night, and a Bottle of Kahlua

So normally I don't go gaga over stuff that shows my age. Especially when it comes down to having the uncomfortable Transformers discussion with someone. But I was more thrilled than peppermint ice cream when I saw Thundercats is slowly being released to DVD. The price is apalling though, especially when you compare it to Ducktales which has the same number of discs and retails for thirty dollars cheaper.

I have to give my kicks to Thundercats though, for the longest time I made my own spinoff fanfic that got a life of its own. Fanfic is too strong of a word, none of the characters from the world were physically present and the cast was set on a totally different world. But unfortunately I had set it in the same time frame and based the cast as being refugees from the same world as the Thundercats. You live, you learn about copyright, that's life eh? Nothing that sitting down for a couple weeks and retooling everything wouldn't fix, but the very idea is a timesinking headache. Pass for now.

Fruits & Such

Just Fruits and Exotics

I have found a citrus supplier... well.. to be specific.. a nursery in Florida that seems to have a decent reputation. They're on my interesting list anyway.. they sell pineapple plants! But the citrus section they have is varied and even includes the celmentine variety. Citrus. Give it a look see.

The Opposite of Itenerary

I enjoy a lot of my hobbies. Reading, drawing, mostly creative outlets. The occasional non-creative pasttimes come and go- playing video games, listening to music, watching movies, reading books. Because unfortunately you're relying on an independant source for amusement and it dries up eventually. At least when there is self-reliance you can anticipate the flux and flow.

This brings to point sketching and the proposed Earthdawn game that some friends are trying to put together over teamspeak. I'm hoping it works because I'm really curious about RP and I think for once I have a character that is really interesting. Or at least has the potential to be. I hope Xalt can play too. He has a really nifty nethermancer rolled up.

Short of this, I may end up dragging out my watercolors again. Taking up soapstone carving would be too expensive right now. The holidays do something to me that hates department stores but loves things like baking and cuddling up in warm quilts. How can a tomboy be so domestic at heart?

Lookie What I Found

I was looking through the Jackson & Perkins website today on a whim. Honestly was browsing to see if they had any fruit trees to sell (I recently saw a neighbor with oranges and peaches fully fruited yesterday! In December!). I admired a Hibiscus plant potted for desk size (nice idea for later, it was a beautiful creamy orange color), an azalea bonsai, and to my amazement- an olive tree! Of all companies I've had the best ordering experiences from J&P, so I have no doubt this would survive and take root.

We ship only the finest garden products – strong, healthy and in peak condition. If your plant has received our recommended care and still does not perform to your satisfaction, please let us know within 60 days of receipt, and we will replace it free of charge, or refund your money, whichever you prefer.

And my mother and me have only had one rose to ever not take root well.. that is a big thing to say since we've bought roses and such from them since 1996! But I agree with my mother in one way, a garden is nice- a garden that is low maintenence is best.