I'm not sure what it is ... the past few days I've been afflicted with heavy-feeling headaches, and lethargy. My blood pressure got VERY low yesterday, so I've cut back to half a Lisinopril. But I don't seem to want to do anything ... very unlike the "Jackrabbit," eh?

Got my D*C book in the mail! I'm very excited about seeing Patrick Stewart (sexiest bald man EVAH), Tom Felton, John Noble, and of course Leonard Nimoy. I'm also contemplating funking up my hair for the weekend. I dug out my trusty old box-O-goodies that I used when the Munchkin was pinkified, and I've got:

* Two mixing bowls
* Four sets gloves
* Four applicators (three large and one small)
* Two hair clips
* Half a roll of hair coloring foil
* Two boxes black hair dye
* One box Light Reddish Blonde
* One box Red Penny
* One frost kit, color Champagne
* One box blonding kit
* Half a bottle of creme developer
* Two bottles of Special Effects Atomic Pink
* Two bottles of Adore Violet Gem
* One bottle of Adore Indigo blue
* One bottle of Adore Rich Fuchsia
* One bottle of Jazzing Mood Indigo
* One bottle of Avatar Crystal Clear
* One bottle White Out conditioning toner

The question is: WHAT do I do with it???

susubug, last night was so much fun! Thank you for coming over and giving me a reason to cook! Even though I didn't score any lobster, the langoustine risotto was quite edible, and of course my mother's tomatoes were superb. Best of all, though, was the company and conversation; you are such a fun person to know. You give me hope that I'm gonna survive this divorce after all!

I got my order from Penzey's last week, and decided to christen my Cassia Cinnamon and China Ginger by trying their recipe for ginger snaps. The dough is currently chillaxin' in my fridge; I'll let you know how they turn out.

Speaking of the refrigerator, did you know that all the cold air that circulates through the fridge portion comes from the freezer? And that the fan is what circulates the cold air? And if your freezer is turned down too low, your fridge's ambient temperature remains higher? And that it takes 24 hours for a fridge to cool to a safe temperature (below 40 degrees)? I didn't - but I do now. And in case anyone who lives in the north Atlanta area was wondering, yes, Castleberry's is THE place to go for appliance repair.

So, now I've got Nesterino and Copper Top playing nicely, my kitchen clean, my bunny shedding, and I can't remember whether or not I took my Lisinopril this morning ... the headache I am currently experiencing might be an indicator that no, I have not. Think I'll dig up my monitor and check.

EDIT:
107/77. Think I'll take some aspirin.

I did it! I bought tickets!

Mo said we can leave early if we have to - by the end of the day, the judge should be about finished, anyway, and someone else can step in to be ring steward. We'll just have to be careful about choosing the Munchkin's classes to make sure she doesn't have any late ones ... maybe pull her out of the Western divisions altogether.

But still, woots! Very much looking forward to it.

No Copper Top today; just Nesterino, who's napping. After he gets up and I give him some lunch, we'll head over to the MIL's to root through some of the Munchkin's stuff in the attic. Oh, joy ... hope I find it quickly, or we're gonna melt! Maybe I'll just chuck some of the boxes in the van and bring 'em home.

I want ... a pizza.

The Colin and Brad Show is coming to Atlanta!!!!



My only concern is that it's the same day as Mo's fall show ... in which I'm ring steward, and the Munchkin is showing. Should I order tickets ... ?

I'm having dinner with the MIL tonight. Heaven help me.

Yeah, OK, so I'm a Trekkie. So sue me.

No, I'm not hardcore. I can't give you episode names and numbers, nor do I know Dr. McCoy's serial number. I admit I've entered into the Kirk vs Picard debate (Kirk would win the battle, but Picard would win the war); I've read numerous books, and when I was twelve wrote a really horribly embarrassing Mary Sue. I freaked out over the opportunity to meet Nichelle Nichols (remember, wdnsdyschld?) and gushed all over poor Walter Koenig when I shook his hand. I own a first edition Starship Enterprise collectible Christmas ornament and a Lt. Uhura dress, and am totally pumped that Esmeray is going to enter the Miss Klingon Empire competition this year.

Yeah, I've seen the movie twice, and am planning to see it a third time with arizonakelly and susan_gayle.

Yeah, the Munchkin and I stopped at Burger King specifically Friday night to get a couple of ST glasses. And took them home and gloated over them and washed them and put them lovingly in the cabinet.

And yes, I made a special trip to Burger King yesterday while my van was getting cleaned to pick up the last two glasses.

And yes, I admit it ... I was so disappointed over them being out of Spock glasses that I girded up my loins, put on my best friendly and flirty face, got nicely pushy, and arranged with the restaurant manager to buy the glass from the display case when the promo is over Monday morning.

I even gave him my phone number.

Okay. Maybe I am hardcore.

Aaaaaaand, two of my current fave-raves, combined!

I GOT 'EM BACK!!!!



woo hoo!

Well, today's the day ... yet another check-mark in my bizarre and stressful calendar for the past couple of months. At then end of the night I'll be able to add it to my list of accomplishments for the week, which already include (1)Finish Bible study facilitation for the year, (2)Help Munchkin complete survive ninth grade, (2)End extra dance practices on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings/afternoons. But does this mean my calendar magically empties? NO. Of course not! Trips, summer camps, riding lessons, visits ... Well, if nothing else, I'm never bored.

Now I'm going to impale marinated chicken and mushrooms on skewers. What a life I lead!

Mmmm, fresh strawberry muffins ...

And when I say "fresh," I mean FRESH.

I love being able to bake ...

The cat is licking the desk.

o_O

On the fire for tonight: NOTHING.

Dress rehearsal went very well! Though I had a moment of panic in between completing Rhythm of the Laila and moving on to Sidi Mansour; I changed into my costume and realized I had FORGOTTEN THE DANCE. But as soon as the music started, I kicked back into gear, thank goodness! Oh, and the Special Guest Dancer is Tribal/Burlesque. This should prove interesting!

I have gotten addicted to Urban Decay makeup. Oops.

My laptop still isn't here. Darn.

The cat is now lounging against the keyboard and keeps JUg;khg,'d()_y6. Stupid cat.

I shall now watch "Whose Line" and contemplate whom I shall marry in my dream tonight. Hopefully not Kathy Kinney; that would be ... no. Just ... no.

I have very little to say, except that I got up way too early on a Saturday morning when I didn't need to.

I gate-crashed a party last night ... warnerharmer and Big Joker were bringing the kids out for sushi to meet up with some friends for a birthday, and I hobbled along to help with the Little Miss and Nesterino (long, drawn-out grown-up dinners are not their "scene"). It was very enjoyable - the food and company were good, and it was nice being out and not a "mom" for a change.

Yeah, yeah, I know; in three years she'll be out of the house and I'll be hugging White Bunny and sobbing, "Where did my baby go?!" Maybe by then I'll have picked up a rich sugar daddy who will whisk me off to Italy after her graduation and spend his time lavishing me with gifts and gelato while we stroll down the Spanish Steps. Riiiiiiiight ... if Hypothetical Sugar Daddy only takes me to Rome, he is in so much trouble. And if HSD even suggests Pisa, I'm stealing his vintage 1947 MG TC Roadster and running off with the pool boy.

Has anyone ever heard the band Fair to Midland? The Munchkin got me on to them - kind of remind me of Asia, with a little dark metal thrown in there. Me likees. I also want to gank the new Dashboard Confessional. Oooh, I'm so EMO!!!! (dyes and spikes hair while wearing raccoon eye makeup and skinny jeans that make butt look like an ice cream cone)

I need a bigger iPod ... Barn Hobbit got a purple 8gb. I have iPod envy.

OK, I need to start chopping chicken and veggies for the soulvaki ... and putting more insta-tan on my bod. I hate the way this stuff smells!

Having Dee's family for dinner tonight, which we've done - oh, hundreds of times in the past nine years! So I'm setting the table, and I set it for six.

It SUCKS that I'm still in the we're-a-family-of-three mode.

It's set for five now.

HoKAY.

Let's try this again, shall we?

Friday night, show prep. Everything went very well ... I think we're actually getting the hang of this! We were done at nine pm, instead of the eleven thirty pm we're used to; at one point in the evening, Mo and I looked at each other with puzzled looks on our faces and said, "What's missing here? ... oh yeah, the panic!"

Saturday's show went pretty well - there was some drama that Mo and I had to deal with, but for the most part, "them Statham girls" did very well!

( Picspam! )

We went out with Mo and her family for Mexican afterwards, and ended up sitting chewing the fat until ten. Needless to say, the Munchkin and I were pretty tired the next day!

Sunday, the Munchkin and I finally worked up our choreography. I will NEVER leave it that late again. We looked cute, and the dance was adorable, but we kept forgetting stuff!

( Yet more picspam! )

We opted out of the repeated backbends, and substituted omis and maias. My hips still hurt!

Anyway. We survived ... AND I got the most AWESOME Mother's Day gifts! Little Miss gave me a portable iPod player, Mom got me riding gloves, and the Munchkin got me this:
( One more time! )

I have the most awesome friends and family in the freaking UNIVERSE.

Okay, so Copper Top is down for a nap, and I'm waiting on Dee's BIL to bring over and hang some mirrors in the basement. I'm paying him with lasagne, salad, and brownies. A man's heart is through his stomach!

I. AM. EXHAUSTED.

Srsly. I've been going nonstop since Friday morning ... show prep, sleeping at Mom's, up at 4:15am (as Barry Carl says, Suck O'Clock), the show, home at 11:00pm, Mother's Day dance practice, lunch at warnerharmer's, in which all the men cooked for us (woot!), home to dance some more, then to Nicola's to dance, dance, dance ...

My feet, back, and hips hurt. But wow, it was all so wonderful!

I'll post pictures & more news later. Just wanted to let you guys know we're alive and survived everything. Now I'm going to eat my baba ganoush and have a glass of wine and GO TO BED.

For susubug, who likes knowing what goes through my alimentary canal.

Bay scallops, gnocchi, and broccoli, sautéed with white wine and crème fraiche, served au gratin. Now I have to write down how I made it so I don't forget, since I made it up as I was digging through the fridge.

Hm, let me think ... OK, I've got it; coffee's kicked in.

First, I warmed some olive oil and butter in a large wok. (Yes, you can use woks for cuisines other than oriental!) I put in red onion slices, garlic, and carrot coins. I sautéed them for a couple of minutes while the gnocchi water was heating. (Timing was everything in this dish!) Then I added the broccoli and sautéed it with the other vegetables; when it was starting to turn bright green, I added the mushrooms. The water was boiling by this time, so I put in the gnocchi and set the timer for three minutes. I put in one cup of dry white wine and the bay scallops and brought it all to a high boil and stirred until the wine was reduced and the scallops done, about a minute. I stirred in the crème fraiche (you can substitute sour cream) and a half teaspoon of McCormick's Lobster base (not easy to find, but you could probably use their mushroom or vegetable base in a pinch). When that had all been smoothly incorporated, I stirred in the chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley and parmesan cheese; by that time, the gnocchi was done, so I drained it, and stirred it in with the scallop mixture. Then I spooned it into my gratin dishes, covered them with mozzerella and bread crumbs, and stuck one of them under the broiler in my toaster oven. (The rest I covered with tin foil and froze for later consumption.) Voilà! Bay scallops gratinée! And all made with stuff I already had in my fridge. Best of all I didn't have to share it with the Munchkin, who thinks scallops are "gross." Heh. More for me.

No Copper Top today, but that by no means should indicate I have a "day off." I need to vaccuum and sweep the house, run errands, hopefully meet up with Susubug for lunch, practice our Mother's Day dance, get the Munchkin early from school so she can have one last lesson before the show this Saturday, rush home, and host dance practice with Kiraz, Barn Hobbit, and Âya at eight.

At least I'm eating well!

OK, I need to check my email ...

"Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

Discussion/comments/opinions?

From Mo ...


WHAT PETS WRITE IN THEIR DIARIES



Excerpts from a Dog's Diary......


8:00 am - Dog food! My favourite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favourite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favourite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favourite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favourite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favourite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favourite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk Bones! My favourite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favourite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favourite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favourite thing!


Excerpts from a Cat's Daily Diary...


Day 983 of my captivity...

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.

Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet..

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Bastards.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now......... .

Aaaaaand Copper Top has now watched the Nom Nom Song four times, and is still clamoring for more "Nom Nom" ....



Oi gevalt!

Just changed CT's diaper ... that's what it was, all right!

Rain, rain, go away; come again ... when we're not at the barn.

On the other hand, the grass and trees are all nice 'n' green.

Got my pix from T2Digital! Now I need to pick poses and sizes ... if anyone wants to see them, let me know, and I'll email you the link.

Nesterino's still napping; Copper Top just finished lunch (acorn squash and a turkey meatball) ... he's got an, erm, interesting look on his face; I think he's "expressing himself." Better check on that!

Last night I set up the new cable box ALL BY MYSELF. Hooray for HD! And for being able to figure it out on my own. Yay!