I believe that music in the long run can straighten out most things

So it's quote Leo McGarry day:

"If we're going to walk into walls I want us running into them full speed. We're going to lose some of these battles, and we might even lose the White House, but we're not going to be threatened by issues. We're going to bring 'em front and center. We're going to raise the level of public debate in this country, and let that be our legacy."

*sniffle*

Oh, Leo...

(You might also enjoy watching this vid, and by "enjoy" I mean "get chills and bawl like a baby" [the way the show used to make me], which is impressive for something that's not even a full 2 minutes long. At first I was like, "this is an odd song choice" and then some of the lyrics make it more understandable, and THEN the chorus kicks in and that is where the chills and the crying come from.)

***

Thank you to all the people who had such kind things to say on the love meme. I truly appreciate it. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Thank you also to celtprincess13 for the lovely card, and to angelgazing for the delicious cookies and the amazing gift. ♥♥♥♥♥

***

I made the buttermilk cake again today, but I switched out orange zest for the lemon zest and added two tsp of orange juice. And left out the raspberries. It's good, but it's lacking something. Possibly I will add dried cranberries on top next time. Hmm...

***

Criminal Minds

( spoilers want to be a BAMF like Emily Prentiss when they grow up )

***

Thanks to fleurdeleo, angelgazing and luzdeestrellas, I think I have figured out how to fix my yuletide story. I hope. I just have to figure out how to actually write it. I mean, I have 600 words so I'm on the way, but you know, there have been plot developments and you know how that hurts my wee brain. But I have a plan now, I think. I hope.

Wish me luck!

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/107606.html. people have commented there.

I look at the world and I notice it's turning
Harry Potter; Remus/Sirius; pg; 650 words
"I needed to hear this song."

This is a teeny sequel to The Love There That's Sleeping. This won't make much sense without reading that.

( I look at the world and I notice it's turning )

~*~

Feedback would be awesome.

~*~

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/107381.html. people have commented there.

So to kickstart my writing, which has been nonexistent since mid-November-ish, I tried to do that "ten songs/ten ficlets" thing again. It was...partly successful.

Sometime Around Midnight
Dark Angel; Max/Alec; pg; 310 words
Since he can't get drunk, there's only one way to forget.

( and all of these memories come rushing / like feral waves to your mind / of the curl of your bodies / like two perfect circles entwined )

~*~

Feedback is adored.

~*~

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/107193.html. people have commented there.

I meant to mention this the other night about last week's Bones. ( spoiler )

Tonight's Big Bang Theory was pure comedy gold. ( spoilers )

***

225 words on yuletide. At some point I will break through and hit 1000 and then it's all downhill from there. Hopefully that point is sometime before this weekend, or I will have to stab myself in the face. Sigh.

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/106920.html. people have commented there.

I haven't done the last few love memes that went around, but here I am in this year's holiday love meme.

Now to go through and leave some love of my own. Um. In a totally hygienic way. ♥

***

So last night I was making this orange-cranberry loaf, and as I put the pan into the oven, I looked up and saw the box of sugar sitting on the counter and I thought, Oh, shit, I didn't put the sugar in the batter. So I pulled the pan out of the oven and stirred the sugar directly into the batter. It turned out fine. I had it for breakfast this morning. But wow, talk about senior moments. Eek!

***

210 words on yuletide! I don't know that they are good words, but...words, I has them! Talking it out with fleurdeleo last night over dinner clarified some of the issues I was having - all tell and no show, basically - and hopefully now that I am working on fixing that (after I scrapped three separate opening paragraphs), the rest of the story will follow.

*crosses fingers*

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/106749.html. people have commented there.

Ugh. It was bad enough that I had to root for Philip Rivers today. Now the Giants are FAILLING (yes they fail so hard they get two Ls) against the Eagles. How is their tackling so bad? HOW? And how is their offensive play-calling so useless? And how come their receivers can make these huge plays one minute, and can't even hold onto the ball the next? Otoh, Eli can do these smart, smart things, and Bradshaw and Jacobs can make these runs but can't get out of bounds to stop the clock. Jesus. The agita is killing me.

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/106343.html. people have commented there.

On the upside, I wrote 1000 words tonight, for the first time in about two weeks.

On the downside, none of those words were on my yuletide story. Sigh.

I think I have to rethink the way I'm telling the story - I think the idea is sound, but I'm just not coming at it from the right direction. Or something. I thought about it while I was highlighting my hair (I miss the old Feria highlights I used to use. It makes me sad they don't make that anymore. This other stuff - Highlight Styliste - is... I like the color, but the coverage is difficult, and not just because I have more grey than I used to - it doesn't coat evenly! I don't like the whole powder thing. I liked it better when it was mixing one liquid into another. It just worked better. Sigh. I hate change. [/tan]) and I think I have to skip the exposition and just jump right in. Or something. I don't know! It's so inert right now, and if there's one thing this source is not, it's inert. It's an assignment that is a perfect match for me, and yet I can't get out of the gate. It's making me a little crazy, to be honest.

I am going to bed now, but I guess I will be back at it again tomorrow. From a slightly different angle. Or something.

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/106132.html. people have commented there.

As promised, KITTEH SPAM!!

Ok, so here's the cat story of late. In the last three years, I've had to put down three cats. Sad, but not unexpected, really, as two were seriously geriatric - 19 years and 17 years, respectively. Both Josie and Katrina had long, spoiled lives, and they were active and pampered up to their last days.

The third, Pouffie, was a slightly different story. Only 13 when I put her down last year, she had lived a pampered life with me, but spent much of it suffering from an injury she had incurred as a kitten, which had caused major damage to her pelvic bone and hip. I was not expecting her to have to go so soon, but it was a mercy, she had somehow re-injured herself, and had lost most of the mobility of her back legs in a short few days.

I got a kitten when Josie went three years ago (almost 4 now, omg!). Her name is Maya. She was 6 months when I adopted her from the Vet office where I'd been taking Josie for his cancer treatments. No one wanted her because she was so skittish. I loved her at first sight.

After Katrina, the last to go, Maya became 'First Cat'. But she was always kind of lonely. I'd been meaning to get her a playmate for some time, so it proved fortuitous when I received a call in mid September by an old friend, who had a kitten (4.5 months) who needed a home quite desperately.

She brought him to me, and his name was Max.

So not dial-up safe, FYI.

( MEET MAD MAX and MAYA as she tries to tame him. Hah. )

So there you have it, Mad Max and coquettish Maya, and my life as their human. ;/

Posted on DW because I can't be arsed to get Semagic. :)

Things I have done today:

• made nutella cupcakes
  
  • can I just say that I find cupcakes intimidating? You can only fill them 3/4 of the way or they overflow! They have to be carefully removed from the muffin tin rather than just turned out like a cake! And this batter was kind of sticky and not pourable, so I had to spoon it into the cups. And then swirl the nutella in. Which... okay, I only had one mess-up, but still. It was only after I had them in the oven that my parents called and my dad mentioned using an ice cream scoop to keep the portions uniform and my mother suggested greasing it so the batter released easily. Why did I not think of that? Anyway. The cupcakes are good, if a little sweet for my taste, but I think for Christmas I will make it as a cake.


• dropped off way too much laundry for washing


• read fic

Things I should do today:

• Finish non-baking Christmas shopping


• write yuletide. YULETIDE! YULETIDE!


• start cleaning out closet and/or bookshelves

Things I should not be doing today and yet apparently am:

• playing bubbleshooter


• Reading this week's EW


• reading the latest comments on the return of Victoria Bitter wank.
  
  • this is the wank that keeps on giving, guys. It would have been hilarious enough if it had just included the false assertions of being an IRA member and the pseudicide, but the fact that it is also the return of VB makes it completely epic. It is the perfect wank for the holiday season, as it is apparently the wank that keeps on giving.


• downloading the episodes of Being Human that I haven't seen.

Things I someday would like to watch, possibly when YULETIDE is written:

• Mad Men


• Being Human


• the seasons 1 and 2 episodes of Psych I haven't seen (which is most of them)


• Slings and Arrows (Dude, I have the dvds, and yet they sit, unwatched. sigh.)

Things I would like to do a full rewatch of (sooner rather than later):

• The Wire


• Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel


• Middleman


• Firefly


• West Wing


• Homicide


• Sports Night


• Gilmore Girls (seasons 1-4 only)


• Battlestar Galactica


• Northern Exposure

Jesus, that is a lot of tv. Why do I have to work again?

Now, I must write!

*opens Write or Die*

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/105815.html. people have commented there.

I gave up on work about 3:45 this afternoon and spent my last 75 minutes redoing the food tags on my delicious, so now they are more specific and I can more easily find what I'm looking for. (Oddly enough, I don't have near the same problem finding stories with non-specific tags - I'm not sure why that is.)

So tonight I baked this raspberry buttermilk cake from smitten kitchen, and dear god, it is tasty. It took about ten minutes longer in the oven than the recipe says, but that's because I baked it in an 8" round instead of a 9". SO SO TASTY OMG! Maybe next time I will skip the raspberries and do lemon flavoring. Or orange. I don't know, but it's a good, tasty, easy cake that tastes really good. I don't think it'll be included in the Christmas baking, but I can definitely see making it on a Sunday night for breakfast for a few days.

Tomorrow I am going to attempt self-frosting nutella cupcakes, and if they come out as awesome as they look on that page, I will probably make a bunch for Mary and Sal for Christmas.

Mmm...baking...

Before I baked, I watched this week's Friday Night Lights. I thought I was going to make it through without crying for once, but then ( spoilers )

I probably should attempt to write, but I think I am going to go put the flannel sheets on the bed and then crawl into it.

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/105703.html. people have commented there.

Good lord, I tried to do a spot of online Christmas shopping, since Boss 1 is gone for the day and Boss 2 is in a three hour conference call, and the phones will not stop ringing! And when the phones aren't ringing, people are stopping by! WTF? It's Friday! Give me fifteen minutes of peace so I can order some gifts! *rant about international shipping and the lack thereof from some sites redacted*

Speaking of Christmas, I don't send holiday cards anymore - I got out of the habit and never got back into it, so I never put my name in anymore for people to send me cards, since I feel bad that I don't reciprocate. I do love receiving cards, though, so thank you so much to rei_c for the lovely card! First one of the season! *hearts*

***

Last night, mosca posted a poem in breathe_poetry that I really liked (Different Uses for Windows by Arlene Ang), and included a link to H_NGM_N, the literary journal in which it appears, so of course I had to go over there and poke around.

I found this poem:

Fifteen Beautiful Colors
by Erica Bernheim

I. Four mornings in a row of dawns, reversed sunsets, greasepaint reflections of peril heightened.



II. Ash, scattered, tastes of care and warns of inter-mural collisions. Expected, their flat hues.



III. Speaker, formulaic, blends all domestics into hard-won remainders like salt and rock salt.



IV. Lights at their brightest are the first to be extinguished. Six tickets rigged. Stained clandestine yellow.



V. Signals, misfired. Cornflower becomes alabaster, what voices scrape the self-professed neutron into action.



VI. Sweets, water, rested and longing for motion, the completion of the voiced projections: picture, abandon.



VII. My love, this journey and you have worn me like a jacket, like bluish seams erased and easily worn out.



VIII. Comfortable lead, pulling from center together, narrow as spit rope. Forty bowls, none glass.



IX. No one cares for the plights of the professionals, their amber sweat, their safety is what this does for you.



X. This is what the conversation looks like when no one wants to have it. Someone keeps score in red.



XI. Dead pull hitter. No trigger. Even the handle has been sold. What remains, iron.



XII. Two arms reaching make little sound grasps at smoke. Nothing here will bloom or rise, planetary faces.



XIII. Ball into glove is to tincture as impact was to need. Precious intensity wheedles its own sins.



XIV. Fine and ground to pieces no bigger than the heart of palm that holds yours. Waves out, be mine.



XV. What is this moon but silver ending, this flesh but nothing, this lamp, this stiff night.

~*~

I liked the first poem on the page well enough to scroll down and keep reading this one, and I liked it too, even though it didn't really ping me. Interesting use of language, and the first sentence of IV is well put, but nothing to really jolt me until I hit this:

VII. My love, this journey and you have worn me like a jacket, like bluish seams erased and easily worn out.

How perfect is that? It packs a whole relationship into one line, twenty words long, nothing tricky about it, deceptively simple. You know exactly what kind of jacket she's talking about, and exactly what the narrator feels like. This is why I love poetry and why I wish I could write like a poet. (It also doesn't hurt that it makes me think of Sam and Dean. Shut up.)

And X. reminds of fandom. Sigh.

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/105339.html. people have commented there.

Thank you to pinkfinity and regala_electra for the lovely v-gifts.

♥

*

\o/

Three sets of minutes done! Well, not done-done, because they still have to be reviewed/revised etc. but the hardest part is done and the first drafts are now in the hands of the appropriate staff members for editing. Woo!

*

Apparently I'm now famous in fleurdeleo's office because I gave her half the baked goods I made last weekend and she brought them into work and they were a big hit.

I brought in the cheesecake to my office today for the potluck luncheon (which is in lieu of a holiday party? I don't even know), and the funny thing is, yesterday, a number of people asked me if I were bringing something in today - I guess the blueberry cake and the banana cake made an impression. Heh. Winning the world over with baked goods - a sound strategy.

The people I sat with during the luncheon liked the cake, so that was a winner. Someone actually asked me if I ever made grain pie, and I was able to say I have, and then someone else recommended Veniero's grain pie, which recommendation I totally seconded.

I'm full of a lot of food - there was pulled pork and brisket and ribs and pierogies and chicken with string beans (too spicy!) and mac and cheese and a dozen other things I didn't even get to because I was so full with what was on my plate. Boss 2 made pineapple rum punch and I had a half a glass of that as well. And for dessert, a piece of cheesecake (I made it! I had to taste it!*), a chocolate mini-cupcake, a bite of apple crisp, and a half slice of flan. Everything was very good, but I totally want to curl up and go to sleep now.

FOOOOOOD COMAAAAAAAA.

So I mentioned that I decided I would bake for Christmas gifts for the adults in the family - there are four couples I usually buy for, and this seems like a cheaper, more personal gift (and also easier than trying to figure out what to get them either as individuals or couples). Of course, I had to listen to a harangue from my dad about it, as he mansplained why he thought I shouldn't do it, and just buy gift cards instead (is there a special subcategory for dadsplaining? because I think he does it to my brother, too). I was like, I'm not twelve years old and I have thought it through and it's totally workable, especially if I do most of the baking in their somewhat larger and more counter-space-having kitchen (plus! an industrial size KitchenAid stand mixer! Woo! *is mad jealous of that*). So we had one of those "I'm at work and can't yell at you like I'd like to so I'll speak in furious hushed tones on the phone" arguments the other day and the upshot is that I am baking for Christmas, but I am also taking an extra day off to do so (my boss was all, "that's fine - nothing is going on 12/23 anyway").

I won't even go into the way my mother makes me crazy sometimes, and specifically how she did so yesterday, because arrgh!

*deep calming breaths*

I love my parents, but dear god, the can be infuriating sometimes.

ANYWAY. I ordered a springform pan to be sent to their house since they don't have one and I don't want to lug mine from home, and I also ordered these star-shaped bake and give paper pans from King Arthur Flour. Anyone ever use them? It seems like a great idea, but do they really hold up in the oven? I guess I will find out. I don't think they're good for cheesecake though, hence the springform.

I also took care of my nieces' gifts yesterday - the boys just get Best Buy gift certificates these days - so I feel much more on top of things than I did earlier. Heh. I love Christmas shopping and I'm good at picking out gifts for people, but the past few years have been harder - I don't seem to get much in the way of Christmas spirit until it's much later than is wise to start shopping. Doing a lot online helps, and walking past the trees being sold on the sidewalk always perks me up, but still, I miss being more excited about the holidays.

So I was thinking of redoing my delicious tags regarding food - right now that's the only tag I use for anything food-related. When I started, I didn't think there would be much - the online menus of a couple of restaurants I order from, some food-related gift ideas, and that's it - but clearly there is more than that. I bookmark more recipes these days than stories (which is a whole other rant I won't subject you to), so I am thinking I should maybe differentiate a little to make things easier to find. Maybe food: recipes: [type of recipe, i.e., meat, pasta, dessert, etc.], food: information, food: menus? Hmmm...

I wrote most of this post earlier, before the luncheon and now I am too brain dead to remember if there was anything else I wanted to say, so I'll just hit post.

--
*I don't taste the things I don't like to eat, even when I've cooked them myself - I am a very finicky, unadventurous eater. When I used to cook regularly for the family I often made things I don't eat, but I wouldn't have brought something like that in for strangers, anyway.

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/105072.html. people have commented there.

My hair is thick and knots if you look at it funny, so for years I've used a detangler or leave-in conditioner - usually Infusium 23. I ran out and they didn't have any in the CVS in my neighborhood, so I bought this L'Oreal leave-in conditioner gel, and it says on the bottle that it smells like rosemary and mint.

Maybe in BIZARRO WORLD.

It smells more like the backseat of a Cutlass owned by a guy named Joey Bones in 1986. After it's been locked up tight on a 90° day. Ugh. Works really well, but makes my hands stink of nothing that resembles rosemary, mint or any combination of the two. Sigh.

I'll use it, I suppose, but I am going back to Infusium after this. It doesn't have a horrible smell.

*

So my LJ comments have started slowly trickling in. Yay? I'm glad I didn't post any fic during this time of no notifications.

I made a cheesecake tonight to take to work tomorrow. Hopefully it came out as good as the one I made Saturday. It looks good and smells good. Sadly, my oven was not big enough for me to put the cake pan in a hot water bath, so the top cracked. (The largest pan my oven fits is a 9x13", but a 9" springform does not fit in that.)

Then I watched Criminal Minds. ( spoilers )

Then I watched Glee. I tried to dl some of the songs from tonight, but iTunes tells me something is being modified and therefore I cannot. But I really liked ( song spoilers )

*

I'm done with two sets of minutes and 3/4 of the way through the last set, and then hopefully I can actually do some work on my yuletide story at work. That would be good. I still have the same 73 words I had on Saturday. Sigh. I used to be good at this writing thing. What the hell happened? Possibly baking is my new fandom? I was an enthusiastic baker when I was younger and I've enjoyed rediscovering it, and I am more squeeful about it than I am about fandom these days. Hmm...

Speaking of which, I need to go unfrock my cheesecake, and then I am going to bed.

*

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/104750.html. people have commented there.

Christmas! Christmas! Time is near, time for fun, and time for cheer! (that's for Kye)


Oh, hai thar.

I suck for being absent so much lately and by *lately*, I mean the *last two years*, but recently noticed that many folks long missed and silent are poking their heads out on the flist, so I figured I'd join in.

The questions on everyone's mind, I'm sure:

( WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, DJ? )

So that's about it. I have a new kitten, Max, he's a nightmare. Totally psychotic. It's awesome. Wrapped the first of the season's gifts last night, and the kitten was challenging my yoda like disposition by wanting to eat/destroy/play with everything at the Hurricane station. I had to use water as a deterrent for the first time with him. He was soaked within an hour, and was still trying to steal ribbons. O_o. Pictures to follow. Promise. HEH.

I am seriously considering a New Year's resolution that involves possibly quitting a 30 year habit. Gah.

We need volunteers desperately at Walking The Plank, and our Headmistress is MIA (!!) and I will be soon employing a spam recruitment attack the likes of which few of you have ever seen. Be warned. I have time on my hands, now. *cackles*

Have done some writing this year, will probably link it/pimp it, whatever, later this month.

I'm totes forgetting something here. Oh, well, I'll be back.

So, how are you?

Posted on DW because I can't be arsed to get Semagic. :)

Still no comment notifications (even recent comments is running slow), but I am neck deep in minutes, and need some entertainment, so, a meme, gacked from cereta:

If I came with a warning label, what would it say?

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/104462.html. people have commented there.

Big Bang Theory

Sheldon! ♥

( spoilers )

*

Castle

( spoilers )

*

Hopefully today will be less fraught and crazy-making than yesterday was, and I will be able to get some work done on my yuletide story. I am worried I won't live up to the source, but then I think, in some ways, who could? Which will make more sense once I can talk about it.

*

LJ, please to be fixing comment notifications ASAP. It is really freaking irritating that I'm still not getting any.

*

Lastly, thank you again for all the lovely snowflakes. I wasn't able to get to everyone before they shut it down, but if I could have, I would have. *heart*

*

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/104195.html. people have commented there.

Thank you so much to ingridmatthews, spectralbovine, tygress girlmostlikely, tartanshell, midnitemaraud_r, devildoll, and also to the anonymice for the snowflake cookies! ♥♥♥♥♥ *twirls you all*

[eta] Thanks also to the folks at crack_impala for the snowflake they sent to unfitforsociety. *g* [/eta]

I have been very meh recently and now I feel all warm and loved.

I've fallen behind completely on answering comments, so I am declaring today comment amnesty day, and getting rid of all the unanswered comments (on anything but fic - those I will try to answer) from before today.

I have three sets of minutes to write now, plus yuletide and broken toys. Yay?

Have a poem:

Rhymes and Songs

It's late now, December, a few trees
continue translating.
A menorah
holds up its little buckets of light.
An old woman with hands to her ears,
two homeless men discussing the nature of evil.
It's a clear morning.
Everyone's carrying luggage. There're gaps
between passersby, larger than usual.
The sun sets silver shields
in a row of window frames, all but one,
where a girl in a fur hat looks out.
Dawn riddled with memories
fading and dispersing among the trees,
fever subsiding —
you think, at last I can do what I want,
but mostly
you're building on the silence,
the solemnity of things left to themselves.
White limousine at the corner: an
intricate, depressed millionaire
trolling for a girl so beautiful
& frightened she might be enticed.
And a new life, arduous
and dire, commences. Years
on a backcountry farm near one of the Great Lakes,
a bent for poetry, little rhymes
& songs
to soothe yourself
and children you've come to know.

~Charlie Smith

~*~

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/104108.html. people have commented there.

Thank you to deirdre_c, marciaelena, catdancerz and dotfic for the lovely snowflakes in my userinfo! ♥♥♥♥♥

*

LJ, let my comments go!

*shakes tiny ineffectual fist*

*

\o/

Giants beat the Cowboys! That always makes for a great Sunday. And they swept them this year, so I think that means they have the upper hand should it come down to a tiebreaker.

*

After brunch, I went to Supercuts and while she was cutting my hair, the hairdresser quizzed me on 19th c. novels like Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice (well, technically movies adapted from 19th c. novels). I thought she said she'd read Jane Eyre, so I kind of spoiled it for her (crazy wife in the attic omg!) but she didn't seem to care. She said she was going to bump it up on her Netflix list, 'cause she likes the creepy ones.

Generally, I hate having to chat while having my hair done, but this conversation was amusing and also about something I am familiar with, which is not usually the case. Also, she washed my hair with this lavender and mint shampoo that I really liked so I ended up buying it. Obviously, the way to upsell me is with conversation about books and things that smell nice.

*

I have a whopping 71 words on my yuletide story. Wah! Also, I am trying to figure out how I am going to find a beta who knows the source, because I'd like someone who is at least familiar with it to read the thing over when I finally finish it.

When that's done, I can focus on Broken Toys, among other things. I think I know what I'm writing for that, but writing it in my current unable to write state should be interesting.

Stupid writing. Why so hard?

*

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/103705.html. people have commented there.

Two thumbs up for both the flourless chocolate cake, which tastes like a really intense fudge brownie, and the Sicilian cheesecake, which is just yummy, with a hint of orange flavor (I wonder if adding almond extract would work. hmm...).

***

Here is some music I uploaded. The theme was "songs to wake up to" and I did two small sets:

for when you need to ease into the day with some softness:

For No One - Azure Ray
Raining in Athens - Azure Ray
The Shape I Found You In - Girlyman
You Will Rise - Tom McRae
Anna Begins - Counting Crows

for when you need to get the adrenaline going:

Every You Every Me - Placebo
Back in Black - AC/DC
Wherever I May Roam - Metallica
One Girl Revolution (Battle Mix) - Superchick
Slow Down Gandhi - Sage Francis

I uploaded this for angelgazing, because it is THE Remus Lupin theme song (pre-Azkaban, anyway) in my head:
There Is a Boy Who Never Goes Out - the Lucksmiths

And here are some songs I was thinking should be SPN vids:
Rise Up in the Dirt - Voxtrot
Sam and Dean, saving people! hunting things! the family business!

Red Shoes (The Angels Wanna Wear My) - Elvis Costello
Sam and Dean v. angels

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding - Elvis Costello
Down In It - Nine Inch Nails
Terrible Lie - Nine Inch Nails
Sam wondering how things got all fucked up, and if it's even possible to fix them.

***

Now I have to go get ready to meet fleurdeleo for brunch. And then another day of not-writing my yuletide story! Woo!

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/103496.html. people have commented there.

Thank you for the snowflake cookie, O anonymous benefactor! ♥ It really perked me up.

Today was the bi-annual semiannual twice-yearly scrubbing of the tub. Oy. Scrubbing the tub is my least favorite chore ever. I will say that Soft Scrub with bleach is amazing - it totally got out a stain I thought would never come out. So now I have a clean tub, with a new bathmat and shower curtain, and the rest of the bathroom is clean as well. Lovely.

Then I ran out to buy a couple of things I needed for today's bake-fest, and now the flourless chocolate cake is in the oven, and I am resting up before I start on the Sicilian cheesecake.

We're having this potluck luncheon thingy at work this week, and I said I'd bring something dessert-ish, but I didn't want to bring something I hadn't tested, and my mother couldn't find her Italian cheesecake recipe, so I am taste testing. Well, I will be giving half of each cake to fleurdeleo when I see her tomorrow (and a bag of frozen blueberry boy bait cupcakes, as well), because too much is too much. And then when I've decided which I like better, I will make it later in the week to bring to work.

The flourless chocolate cake was pretty easy, though I was worried I was going to overcook the chocolate because the butter wasn't melting quickly enough (I did it in a makeshift double-boiler - i.e., smaller pot floating on top of larger pot). And I had an unfortunate experience with having to fish out a bit of eggshell (so really, that should be an unfortunate eggsperience. I'm sorry! I can't help it! Bad puns just happen to me!) from the batter, but overall, it was pretty easy.

It's got about twenty-five minutes to go and it smells divine. If it tastes as good as it smells, I think I know what I'm giving my sister and b-i-l for Christmas. (I am thinking homemade baked goods for all the adults, since I've been doing all this baking. That's good, right? It's fairly cheap, compared to what I normally spend, I enjoy doing it, and it tastes good. I just... I don't know how it will be received.)

Both recipes call for a springform pan, which I did not own, so last night on the way home I stopped off at K-Mart on Astor Place, and got one (and also a bundt pan and a tube pan, and the new shower curtain and new bathmat, plus a new toothbrush holder - it has a pretty purple flower on it, and I liked it, even though my bathroom is all green), and man, let me tell you, that is one depressing department store. It reminded me a little of the ABC on Liberty Avenue back in City Line or the TSS on Metropolitan Avenue (man, that was a long time ago). Okay, maybe with slightly higher quality goods, but not by much. I don't know. Something about it was just depressing.

So I've cleaned, shopped and baked, and talked to my parents on the phone. I ... I suppose I should write something now. I haven't in days. I mean, I have an opening sentence for yuletide, and I like my idea, but I just feel completely useless as a writer right now. I can't seem to write the kinds of stories I keep having ideas for (i.e., stories with casefile-y or caper-y plots) and it just makes me want to give up the whole enterprise. Meh.

At least with baking I get the satisfaction of tasty baked goods at the end of the process. Right now, writing isn't providing much of that.

I should have a baking icon. Hmm...

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