Geek & Things

Kim & Scott's Gourmet Pretzels

2012-01-28T22:10:00.004-06:00

I posted this a few years ago when My Space was all the rage. Since it's long gone and deleted, I decided to post this again out of appreciation. It was a fundraiser for a local school and I have yet to see another one like this. I apologize for the blurry pic (all I had was my cell phone camera at the time), but look! Peanut Free!! Most fundraisers I have to pass up; my son can't eat any of the goodies because majority have the warning, "May contain peanuts." If they are selling non-food items, I will most definitely order because I encourage it. But this was the first fundraiser that landed in my hands that said peanut free! Just because of that, I bought that $15 pretzel!

I checked out their website and they have a "Dietary Allergy Awareness" section that reads as follows:

"•We are a nut-free bakery using only all-natural and premium ingredients, and strive to provide dietary alternatives!
• Our pretzel creations are all-natural and contain no preservatives, trans fats, or hydrogenated oil.
• We offer pretzels in our line that are dairy-free, egg-free, and gluten-free.
• Our Traditional and Stuffed Pretzels are 100% vegetarian.
• Our Café offers nutritional alternatives including our Sunflower butter & Jelly Pretzel Sandwich. We also provide dairy-free and egg-free options, including our soy milk, Traditional Bavarian Pretzel, fresh fruit cups, Knot Dogs and more."

And to make it even better, they feature a logo on the same page that reads, "Allergy Aware Because We Care - Made in a Nut-Free facility."

I love that! Thank you, Kim & Scott's, for caring and being aware. :)

Oilers Birthday Cake using FBCT.

2012-01-24T14:25:00.018-06:00

For my husband's last birthday (which was last September so I'm going off memory here), I wanted to surprise him with an Edmonton Oilers cake. For the most part, I thought it turned out decent enough and not a complete fail. But my husband thought it was the most awesome cake ever and it earned me the "You're the Best Wife in the World!" award. I think it was mostly because I presented him with "Oilers logo on chocolate" and the "Thought" of it, but he still insists it was the best cake ever. So for that, I call it a success!

However, there were a lot of mistakes made and I will point out some tips of what not to do. First of all, it isn't a good idea to rush a FBCT at anytime. I was burning the midnight oil on this one and was very tired so I was pushing myself. Second, it was my first time working with words within the transfer itself. There were several straight lines at the bottom of the text and I don't have the steadiest of hands (especially when I am tired). Plus I clumped too much icing into it. So all that made the design turn out to be very jagged

For my Oilers Fan :P

As you probably noticed, there are also a couple of spots in the "L" that didn't get filled. I will get to that later.

The How-to:
Might want to also check out the tutorial at Cake Central as a follow-along reference as well. They will cover more details that I may have missed.

To start off, here is the logo I used (larger image found here)

I saved the logo to my computer and then used Paint Shop Pro to create a mirror image. This is an important step! You have reverse the image or else your letters will turn out backwards on your cake. If it's just a picture, then it really doesn't matter unless it's a personal preference.

After that, I printed the logo on regular paper as a full page photo (make sure you deselect "Fit picture to frame." That way the image won't be cut off). Gray scale is fine; you don't really need the colors unless you need it for reference.

Then, I took my handy-dandy cutting board and taped the corners of my page with the logo onto the center of the board. After that, I laid my single layer of wax paper and taped that to the board as well. That way, none of my papers will be sliding about while I am tracing.

This is is what it looked like with the wax paper on top of the image I traced. I personally like to make sure the wax paper is larger than the image paper. You can see it in the picture.

I then outlined everything except the oil drop (sorry, no pics of that) in icing colored with Wilton's Navy blue. Then I outlined the oil drop with icing colored with Wilton's Orange.

Then I filled them in. This is what it looked like:

At this point I am pointing out how thick and jagged it looks because, like I said, I was rushing and not using the proper pressure with the icing. Plus, I found this design kind of difficult because there were a lot of straight lines that were fairly close to each other. That, combined with improper icing tip size, caused the lines to look very unclean and thick. I made my own icing bags using wax paper and I cut too much off the tip, creating a bigger hole than what I needed.

Remember the white areas in the "L" that didn't get completely filled? I decided to point that out to show that smoothing the back of your icing is an important step. If you don't, it will have holes just like mine did. So gently push and smooth the back of your icing with a small, clean spatula to help it settle in the empty areas (see pictures of this at Cake Central). Do this before you cover the back with your final layer of icing.

After smoothing your colored icings, cover the entire back with icing. This is what it looked like before I smoothed it out.

It is recommend covering the back of your FBCT with the same color of your iced cake. Even though I was making a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, and considering the entire FBCT would cover the entire top of my round cake, I figured it wouldn't matter much (which it didn't for this particular case). Otherwise, I would recommend using the same color as well.

After smoothing out the back (la-la-la, Cake Central has pics of this step because I forgot to take), I stuck it in the freezer for overnight. Cutting board and all. Some say you can freeze it for a couple of hours and it will still work, but I love preparing it the night before to let it get nice and stiff.

Since the logo is round, I thought putting it on a round cake would be a great idea. Wouldn't you know, the FBCT fit perfectly. :) I wanted to add the icing trim, but I completely forgot about it until it was too late. But I served it on my glass cake stand and then presented it, as is, to one very happy and greatful hubby!

Transfer is still frozen in this picture. Those spots really irritate me. LOL!

Birthday boy gets to cut the cake! Icing is somewhat thawed at this point.

Montreal, Day 3: Geocaching Adventure in Dorval.

2011-08-10T17:26:00.001-05:00

Today we decided to go geocaching in the neighborhoods behind our hotel, which is actually not in Montreal. We are staying in a neighboring area called Dorval and we are very pleased with our choice because it is a very beautiful city. Geocaching give us an opportunity to explore areas that we normally wouldn't be able to see, and the cache hunt here took us to some pretty places. Dorval has several little city parks that are very well maintained and absolutely a pleasant to be in. I wish we had a place like their aquatic Walters Park back home!

I hadn't blogged much about geocaching yet, but it's a new hobby and we are still noobs. With that being said, we didn't find as many caches as I hoped we would. We hunted six, but only found one.

The first cache we hunted was the one we did find. It was tucked away in a little area called Windsor Park. I kinda fell in love with that place.There weren't many people around except for what looked like a man with his wife and he was treasure hunting himself with a metal detector. We looked around, sat on a few different benches and took in the serene scenery. Then we found our first Canadian cache! This was also my first international cache.

Windsor Park - Dorval, QC

After that we tried to find a few more along the shoreline of Lake St. Louis, but no luck. They are there but we are still nooblets. We still had good fun, got some exercise, and got to explore a very pretty place. Here are more of our photos:

Dorval Library and Cultural Center

Lake St. Louis

Le Monument aux Braves - The Cenotaph - Pine Beach Park - Dorval,QC

And last but not least, as we were walking along on the sidewalk back to our hotel, we were passed from behind by the Google Street View car and cameras! TWICE! So there is no doubt that Google users viewing the Dorval area will more than likely see our backsides. The hubby and I found that extremely amusing and he even tried to photobomb it the second time. So we are looking forward to see if we made the cut on Google Maps Street View!

Montreal, Day 2: Nothing too exciting to write home about.

2011-08-09T22:16:00.001-05:00

Mostly took care of business in regards to the immigration visa and tried to figure out the transportation systems. All the signage is in French but we are managing everything okay. Most people here are bilingual so that helps out a lot.

We made a trip to "Rue Sherbrooke" in Downtown Montreal to take care of the medical exam the hubby was required to take before his interview at the consulate. We were both nervous and it took for what seemed like forever, but it's over and done with. We can relax for a few days now.

We wandered the neighborhood a bit and had lunch outside at a nice little bistro. There are several beautiful buildings, a couple of which had thick, green vines growing up along the sides to the top of what looked like multi-story buildings. Very pretty.

This one kept drawing my attention every time we walked by it. It's the Strathcona Music Building at McGill Univeristy.

We did a bit of shopping (fun shopping and then, ick, grocery shopping). And, of course, we stopped at Tim Horton's twice today. I really wanted to go to Horton's again this evening, but I am trying to learn restraint. Plus it started raining. Things are so hot and dry at home, it's been a while since I have seen a good drench. Wish I could bring it back with me!

Another thing I've noticed even before I arrived (thanks to Google) is the graffiti. It's anywhere and everywhere and on anything! Here is one I found tucked in an alley behind the Tim Horton's near our hotel:

At first glance I thought it was Pikachu, but as I approached it I realized it was Gir from Invader Zim. He is so cute; my favorite one so far!

If it's not raining tomorrow, we may go geocaching. It will be my first international find! Otherwise, it may just be hanging in the hotel to read or watch more of Canada's Worst Driver or Canada's Worst Handyman.

Montreal, Day 1: First order of Business.

2011-08-08T22:26:00.010-05:00

Might as well call it Crack.

After a two-hour car ride with no air conditioning in 100+ degree heat and then boarding 2 stuffy small airplanes, we had traveled for over 9 hours before arriving shortly after 7pm EST at our final destination: Montreal, Quebec, Canada. First order of business after clearing customs: Tim Horton's.

We found my nearest haven of coffee goodness in the airport (of course). The funny thing is, we were directed to it by a simple printout sign taped to the front of an information booth. It was a regular 8.5 x 11 white sheet of paper that read:
"<--Tim Horton's
<--Taxi"

Kudos for catering to my priorities, Montreal. Score one for you. Apparently everyone else thinks it's important, too, if a homemade sign is needed at the information booth. Not to mention, it was listed above "taxi." I love Canada!

My husband knows exactly how I worked and headed in that direction. It was like a beacon of happiness when I saw that big, red "Tim Horton's" name. And even more better, there was NO LINE (*shocked*). Hubby ordered me an iced capppucinno, or an "Ice Cap" as he calls it. I have been waiting a very long time to get my hands on another one of those- and it was more delicious than I remember!

I've been suppressing my Timmy Ho cravings back home in the U.S. thanks to my sweet, wonderful supplier: my hubby. Every time he went back home to Edmonton he would stock up on cans of their delicious fine ground coffee. His mom is even nice enough to hook me up every now and then.

But this week I can enjoy Tim Horton's in it's natural habitat, and I am happy. Lucky me, there is one only a block from our hotel. Guess where I will be spending most of my money during this trip!

2010-11-18T14:46:00.002-06:00

I first heard of this study last week and it was intriguing. And then today I found this on the MSN.com homepage. Top page stories, woot!

Honestly I am quite confused. Before my son was diagnosed, I adored peanut butter. I had peanut butter birthday cakes and was in love with my Grandmother's Christmas peanut butter fudge. However, most foods that I was infatuated with were not appealing to me during my pregnancy, one being peanut butter. I ate one, maybe even two, peanut butter sandwhiches the whole time I was pregnant. Now, taking into consideration that I could have eaten candy bars and cookies with peanut and peanut products and not even been "aware" of it. I may have, in fact, eaten peanuts on multiple occasions and have forgotten about it or didn't give it a second thought. I was never aware of how much peanuts were in foods until I had to start watching out for them. Therefore, I determine that eating peanuts when I was pregnant might have increased the risk of my son having a peanut allergy. Since he also has multiple food allergies, I am very confused on the matter and wonder if the same study applies to milk and egg allergies.

Now, one of the first emotions a mother feels when she learns her child has been diagnosed with a food allergy is guilt. "Is it hereditary?" and "Is it because of what I ate when I was pregnant?" are the first things she will ask, usually followed by the ever popular, "Will my child grow out of it?" Needless to say, it's too early to start blaming yourself, Mommy. They still don't know what causes food allergies. However, this study is an important step towards finding out why there has been an astounding increase in the number of children born with them.

Sonic the Hedgehog FBCT Birthday Cake

2010-09-21T15:14:00.003-05:00

My son is so unconventional, he always wants something that is not the latest craze. Totally cool if you ask me; I'm proud! But sometimes Mommy would like something easy, ya know? Go to Wal-Mart, order the latest Iron Man cake and swing by the party department for matching plates and VIOLA! But that is not the case so Mommy has to put on her creativity hat. Well this year for his birthday, he wanted a Sonic the Hedgehog cake. So I discovered Frozen Buttercream Transfers and taught myself how to work with icing.

It was so much fun to make! It was very time consuming and I am glad I practiced on a smaller cake first. I went for something easy since I am still a cake noob. I just traced Sonic's face, not the whole body. I wrote Happy Birthday on the side and presented it for the one and only person it mattered to: my son. He loved it and was as giddy as... well as a 5 year-old on his birthday!

I wanted to use a lighter colored icing for the background, but the kiddo wanted chocolate everything. The FBCT, however, was made with store-bought vanilla Betty Crocker icing so the food coloring would be at it's best. The cake was a simple Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Cake Mix - allergy free, of course! Peanut Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, & Nut Free to be exact. Quick review of it: Everyone thought it tasted great! Found it at the local health food store, but I heard Albertson's carried it as well. I used two boxes to make a double layered cake, which it wasn't easy to do with this cake mix considering there isn't much to hold it together. But icing is a nice glue and cover up, so I practiced with it and it turned out nice!

At the party I got a lot of compliments from the parents, even an, "She didn't make that. She bought it." LOL, yes, I did take that as a compliment! Everyone enjoyed it and I was very proud of learning something new (and thankful it turned out well). But mostly, I was happy the kids were really tickled with it.

Geek Drain!

2010-09-20T09:27:00.006-05:00

I was informed this morning by Mercy's Maid that the new L4D & L4D2 DLC called The Sacrifice is being released soon. First of all, {/excitement}! Second of all, it made me realized how much the real world has drained me of my precious Geekery. I am way behind! I'm still a big VG nerd and it's clear everyday (just ask my co-worker's, they think I'm weird), but between kindergarten, doctor's offices, work, wedding planning, FAAN fundraising, and everyday real life, I feel normal and it's depressing me! I mean, seriously. I've had Final Fantasy XIII in my home since the relase and I have YET to play it. And I miss Final Fantasy XI all-nighters... And playing Resident Evil till 3am.... I feel like a shell of my once full-blown dorky self. Now I'm signing up to for PTA and volunteering for classroom parties and going to bridal shops! D: oh noes!

{/panic}

So in an effort to get back to being me, I checked out Geekologie and I came across this vid. Guy named Mat Graham made a remix of the Song of Storms from Zelda. Freakin' Awesome! So I checked him out on YouTube and I'm a total fan now. Gerudo Valley has always been on of my Fave Zelda songs and I like what he has done. His Bolero of Fire is awesome too. Oh yeah that reminds me! I haven't hit OC Remix lately ... EEEKK! I'm giddy now! And guess what. I'll hit Bob's House of Video Games, watch some Angry Nintendo Nerd, and start to FINALLY read the L4D comic "The Sacrifice." I think that will do it ...for today :)

Also, the L4D DLC will be released the day the finace and I board the plane to Las Vegas. Can you say, "Pack the Xbox, baby, we're ringin' in this marriage right!"

The Day I Sent My Peanut Allergic Kid to Kindergarten.

2010-08-24T14:28:00.004-05:00

As if being emotional about your baby growing up and starting school wasn't enough, the added worry about him being safe around food in a school that encourages in-class snacks made it twice as hard to handle. Everyone kept telling me, "Hang in there, Momma! All parents go through it! He'll have fun!" I do believe that and those all those comforting words helped soothe some fears. After all, I put him in public school because my child thrives on social interaction and I will not keep him in a bubble because of his food allergies (Secretly I want to but that's the Mommy in me!).

His previous daycare/preschool was owned and operated by family so I haven't faced sending him to a new place with new people until now. Of course, I was worried and suffered typical separation anxiety (still, "Normal Mommy Syndrome"). But it's added worry when sending my peanut/tree nut allergic child to a place where peanut butter is a staple for most snacks and lunches and no family is present to watch out for him. To best describe how I felt, I had the normal "Mommy" fears pressing down on me: Will he make new friends? Will he be able to eat plenty of lunch in time? What will he do if he gets confused and doesn't know where to go? But on top of all that, it felt like there was another massive weight. It was almost like a HUGE boulder and it was called "Food Allergies." Will he sit next to someone eating a peanut butter sandwich? Will that kid get it on his/her fingers and wipe it on the table where my son can come into contact with it? If so, how quick can his medicine be given to him and how fast will they call me? Will he be left out of school parties if another parent brings unsafe snacks and cookies?

I felt so helpless and yes, I stayed home from work that day! Did I cry when I left? Yes, as did many other moms that day. It was so hard to make myself walk out of the classroom and leave him there with strangers, but he made it through his first day just fine! Needless to say, getting him prepared and making sure he had medications at the school, that was a whole other dance in itself. But I have a wonderful support group of friends and family and thanks to everyone that helped me thru it, checked on me, cheered me up, and gave me words of advice. :)

And I found this today on a new blog that I am following: "First Day of School with Food Allergies" from The Nut-Free Mom Blog. Gave me a bit of inspiration to help me keep a positive outlook on school :)

Sending Food Allergic Children to School

2010-08-11T16:58:00.001-05:00

"Sending Food Allergic Children to School" is a great guide offered by Kids With Food Allergies to help prepare your food allergic child for school. Over the past two months I have been preparing my son to start Kindergarten and let me tell you, it's been an exciting and, at the same time, a nerve-racking experience. I am happy and scared at the same time. That's suppose to be normal right? HAHA! Well, along with backpacks, lunch boxes, school supplies, and teaching my kiddo all about "Stranger Danger," I also had to meet with his allergist to form a Food Allergy Action Plan, make sure Epipens/Twinjects are renewed, learn how to not share or trade snacks/lunch/drinks even when it looks like a safe food, and set up meetings with the school nurse and his teacher. The list goes on, like school parties. Ever since he was diagnosed at the age of one, I have been afraid that my child would have to sit out for the Christmas party or be the only child without a treat when someone brings cupcakes for their child's birthday. I refuse to put my child in a bubble and dealing with food allergies is all about education and having a backup plan. So I best be ready and stock up on some Cherrybrook Kitchen peanut-free/nut-free/egg-free/dairy-free cake mix! Which, by the way, are very delicious despite the "lack of" ingredients!

"Macha" Cosplay - DIY Hat with Kitty Ears

2010-07-22T09:28:00.004-05:00

I went ahead and posted a pic and brief summary of my kitty cat ears on cutoutandkeep.net (awesome site by the way) since that's where I found the easy tutorial on how to make them. The original version and tutorial is by "Cat Morley" on the same website. Hers are definately better, but I still got compliments on it.

This was for a Macha costume that I wore to A-kon 21 in Dallas this past June. I still haven't posted pics of the kon yet and I'm sorry! Wedding planning and my getting my kiddo prepared to start school has made me into a busy Queen Bee. But A-kon was fun, as always, and I got to cosplay as "Macha" from .hack//SIGN and "Zoey" from Left for Dead (she was way fun!). I'll post pics later!

My First FBCT!

2010-07-20T16:41:00.001-05:00

I was at a loss on how make a Sonic the Hedgehog birthday cake for my kiddo's birthday and was looking into printed edible images when I stumbled upon the FBCT (Frozen Buttercream Transfer). I originally found this neat project and gave it to a friend (she's pretty good with cakes) to try out. We both had never heard of FBCT but apparently it is a widely used technique. All you do is print out an image (or grab one from a coloring book), place wax paper on top of it, trace the outlines onto the wax paper, fill in with colored icing, coat the entire back with icing that matches the cake icing, freeze it, then voila: you have an edible buttercream image to place on top of your iced cake. Neato!

I decided to do a test FBCT first. I chose some Super Mario mushrooms because they are simple, have color, and have easy areas to work with. So this is what I made:

Tada!

I also practiced icing the cake too because I suck at it. Even tho that part still looks choppy, it's still the best looking cake I have ever made! And I had a lot of fun and it tasted great. I'll post another blog later that shows how I did it.

Needless to say, my friend's FBCT didn't turn out so well. Her outline and some of the colored icing peeled off with the wax paper. She used the Wilton black icing in the tube. I read in many FBCT tutorials and threads that the Wilton icing in the tube doesn't work well for this project. Some said it worked ok when they used it, but I used Betty Crocker milk chocolate icing (because coloring it black is super easy) and it worked like a dream. It froze and peeled nicely. Also, she only let her FBCT freeze for about an hour. I let mine freeze overnight to make sure it was sturdy and solid before I applied it to the cake.

Helpful videos I used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV2DZDuv9XA - "How to do a Buttercream Transfer"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILouJOZ9I4o - "How to Decorate a Cake" from BettyCrockerTV

Boys Flannel PJs from New Look Pattern 6131

2010-07-19T16:45:00.000-05:00

I made these flannel Hockey PJs for my son last November and just realized that I never posted a picture of them! Now, I'm not a master seamstress, but this project was pretty easy. A bit time consuming for me because I was learning a few new techniques that I have never worked with before, like button holes (I used blue buttons, see them? lol).

First off, I made a "mock-up" with the shirt pattern out of an old ninja turtle bed sheet. I do that on some projects as a test and it helps me see my mistakes so I don't ruin the actual project. I had a few old sheets in my towel closet that I've been using, but I hear Muslin works good for that too because it's inexpensive. The Ninja Turtle shirt looks incomplete on the inside because I didn't follow the instructions like I was supposed to (hence why I do the mock-up in the first place!), but it turned out to be a cute little shirt too.

And look! The pj shirt also has a cute pocket on the right side of the picture, with the word "hockey" right in the middle! Considering the print on the fabric, you can't see it very well. I am very proud of that cute, little pocket tho!

Here is the pattern information: New Look pattern 6131
I had to use a different size for the top than the bottoms because, like every child, he wasn't going to fit in just one size. Also, since the pants were elastic AND drawstring, I made them a couple of sizes bigger and an with adjustable leg hems so he can grow into them. I also made the shirt bigger too.

As for the kiddo's approval? He loves them! They are very soft, comfy, and he loves wearing them around the house. This was probably the very first sewing project I finished that was nearly flawless. I am very proud of them and they were easy to make!

I love Me, You Do Not Have To.

2010-07-18T10:59:00.001-05:00

"It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not" -- André Gide

Some days I think of quotes such as this and it helps keep a smile on my face. It also helps me deal with general people everyday, especially at work (LOL). Not everyone will be liked, and you will not like not everyone. Good intentions may be in place, but that is life.

I may be misunderstood, and I may be disliked for all that I am. But I'm also loved for the same reasons, just for being me:
I am a Mother and a Fiancé.
I am a huge Dork.
I am a Gamer Girl and you're a n00b.
I am a Sister, a Daughter, and a Friend.
I am someone's "Cupcake" and someone's "Muffin."
I am quick to speak my mind before thinking but...
I am also considerate, respectful, and compassionate IF I am treated the same in return.
I am also someone's enemy and someone's bane of existence.
But everyone has flaws and I am proud for all that I am because I love me whether you do or not.

I am me and I cannot change.

Some qualities can be adjusted, some need to be tamed.

But I am me and I will not change.

That's a big change in opinion compared to my Emo self from a few years before :P

Resident Evil: Afterlife Trailer

2010-07-14T09:35:00.004-05:00

Since I am broke and unable to go to the movies or afford cable (but still know priority and have the internet!), I just now got a peek at the Resident Evil: Afterlife Trailers.

I dislike Paul W.S. Anderson. And Ali Larter. Not a fan of either one. With that said, the nerd part of me is big enough to be uber excited about this movie. I'm a zombiemaniac and a HUGE Resident Evil fan, so no matter how much I fuss and complain about their selection of cast members or how much P.W.S.A. generally screws up everything, I will still end up going to see it and more than likely buying the DVD to play over and over and over... just because it's Resident Evil. I do love that more R.E. characters are making appearances in the movies, especially Wesker. IMDB says Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine are also in Afterlife, but the previews aren't showing much about that. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Trailers look awesome!

I can see a lot of things taken from Resident Evil 5, and I think 4 as well. I can't tell, it's been a while since I played 4. There is a lot of Youtube and forum comments blasting it, but I really think they just never played the games at all. Upsets me. Just like when Harry Potter Movie buffs kept going on the about the Harry + Hermione b.s. Seriously, they just never read the books. Shame. Hollywood versions are sometimes great, but the original works are always the best! That applies to Video Games as well.

Two True Stories about Food Allergy PALS.

2010-06-15T14:29:00.009-05:00

As a mother with a food allergic child, I get a lot of stories from friends in regards to peanut allergies. I love to hear them because it makes me feel that people are listening and developing an understanding and awareness. A Food Allergy PAL is a person that is non-allergic that helps out those that are. This was something that was created by FAAN. I wanted to share two stories I heard this week from different co-workers that involve real-life F.A. Pals:

Story #1:
This one made me smile. A lady I know has a 6 year-old neice that is attending a summer daycare through a church. One day the neice offered her aunt some chocolate covered peanuts, and before the aunt stuck her hand in the bag, the neice quickly hid the bag on her side and asked, "Wait! Are you allergic to peanuts?" The aunt said she was kind of taken aback and that she immediately thought of me and my son. She said to her neice, "No, I'm not allergic to peanuts." The neice replied, "Ok, good! Because it would have been bad if you had eaten one!" Then she and her neice talked about peanut allergies off and on for the following few hours.

I was tickled by that! We never figured out how her niece managed to learn of peanut allergies. All I could think of was that there must be allergic children in her daycare class and the teachers are teaching the kids about the dangers of food allergies. I think it's fantastic that kids, even at that young an age, are becoming aware and learning how to prevent their friends from ingesting dangerous foods!

Also, the earlier they learn, a better understanding and tolerance they can build. Which brings me to...
Story #2:
I'm not fond of the situation that occured in this one, but I was very glad to hear the outcome. This one has been through two other people before it reached me, so the details are probably different but the general idea of the woman's attitude holds true.

Apparently there was a birthday/holiday party at a local daycare. This daycare sent out notes to all the parents saying they had children with food allergies and gave them instructions on how to read food labels and a list of safe/unsafe foods. That impressed me because I have been dreading the classroom parties for when my son starts kindergarten this fall. Another thing that scares me is the attitudes, misunderstanding, and intolerance from the other parents. Which is what happened next...

One lady apparently did not read the letter and brought a box of store bought cookies LOADED with peanuts. When the teacher politely told the lady that she couldn't accept them because they had allergic kids, the woman became unglued and irrate. She said was put out of her way to buy those cookies and then informed the teacher that it was a pain to change it or buy something else, and the whole thing in general was a pain! All this said with a raised voice. The teacher told her that she understood her situation and asked then woman if she could kindly understand the situation of the allergic students. The woman was still irrate.

Needless to say, one of the mothers of the allergic kids was standing nearby and heard every word. If it had been me, that little anger monster inside of me would have grown 20 ft tall and I would have marched over to that woman and told her that my child's life is well worth the trouble of not accepting her $3 box of death, but that would probably would have just made the situation worse.

The best part of the story is this: the teacher finally told the woman that her attitude in the situation wasn't appreciated and asked her to leave the daycare immediately. And she did. So CHEERS to the teacher! I wish I knew who she was, because people like her are heroes to me! I really hope that my son gets a teacher that's just as great and understanding.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my stories as much as I did. And remember, keep reading every label!! Have a safe and happy summer!

Left 4 Dead 2 Parody - Wendy's Commercial

2010-06-13T19:26:00.003-05:00

This is the funniest thing I have seen in weeks.

Our Peep Sushie!

2010-04-27T16:34:00.000-05:00

I was itching to make "Peepshi" after I discovered the recipe. They were fun to make and unexpectedly tasted awesome! The kiddo was tickled silly with making them and I was having giggly-fun by serving them on a sushi dish. We even ate them with chopsticks and tea! This was well worth the short prep time and cheap ingredients! We want to make more soon!

FAAN Gear now available at Cafe Press.

2010-04-12T16:24:00.000-05:00

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) now has shop with Cafe Press to help spread awareness. FAAN Gear like apparel, bags, and gifts can be bought with their various logos and sayings, such as "Respect Every Bite." There are even a few Walk for Food Allergy things in there, but not the apparel section. T-shirts are reserved for those who participate in the actual walk and raise over $100. So adults have to earn them but the kids automatically get one free at the walk.

How to create an audiobook in iTunes.

2010-04-11T17:56:00.000-05:00

I had Pride and Prejudice on my ipod and it was driving me crazy how it would play random chapters while my music was on shuffle. Also, the boyfriend added an audio CD on how to speak Japanese on my laptop so I could add that on my ipod, too. Although throwing in random Japanese lessons would be like a random pop quiz and may help me learn it better, it would still be annoying if I only wanted to listen to my music.

I knew there had to be a way to separate audiobooks from music, and I found it here. It's a great photo tutorial that guided me through it, and it was so simple!

1. In iTunes, select and highlight all the audiobook files.

2. Right click, the select "Get Info." (iTunes will ask you if you want to edit multiple files at once and just say yes.)

3. Click on the "Options" tab.

4. Check the "Media Kind" box, then from the drop down menu beside it, select "Audiobook."

5. On the same screen, check the "Remember Position" box, then select "Yes" from it's drop down menu also.

6. Then click on "OK" and there! You should have a section for "books" or "audiobooks" listed on your itunes Library menu!

The rest of the tutorial will show you how to add a graphic if you choose to do so.

Hope it helps someone else, too!

So what is Anaphylaxis?

2010-04-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

Definition:

"Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. It can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to something you're allergic to, such as the venom from a bee sting or a peanut.
The flood of chemicals released by your immune system during anaphylaxis can cause you to go into shock; your blood pressure drops suddenly and your airways narrow, blocking normal breathing. Signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis include a rapid, weak pulse, skin rash, and nausea and vomiting. Common triggers of anaphylaxis include certain foods, some medications, insect venom and latex.
Anaphylaxis requires an immediate trip to the emergency room and an injection of epinephrine. If anaphylaxis isn't treated right away, it can lead to unconsciousness or even death."

source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/anaphylaxis/DS00009

Frag Dolls

2010-04-09T21:25:00.005-05:00

If you're a gamer girl, then you HAVE to know about Frag Dolls. I discovered Frag Dolls about four years ago and was uberly ecstatic about an all-chick professional gamer team. Shortly after the group was formed, they went undefeated for 32 hours on Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory at the Electronic Gaming Championship. Just goes to show that girls can game! They are my idols and I am dazzled by them! *insert anime-style twinkle-eye face here*

But what I really love the most about the Frag Dolls, and what they are REALLY all about, is their advocacy of female gamers. They want to see more ladies in the gaming world (including beginners) and have formed notable gaming communities for just that purpose. The team also make appearances at the Women’s Game Conference and Women in Games International Conference. I would love to attend those, but it would be totally awesome if they made an appearance at A-kon in Dallas, TX!
Frag Dolls was formed by Ubisoft in 2004 and consist of seven totally awesome women:
Valkyrie (she plays Final Fantasy XI, w00t!)
Spectra
Rhoulette (Captain)
Psyche
Phoenix
Fidget
Brooklyn

Here is a snippet from their offical website's "About Us" section;

The Frag Dolls are a team of gamers recruited by Ubisoft to represent their video games and promote the presence of women in the gaming industry. Started in 2004 by an open call for female gamers, the Frag Dolls immediately rocketed to the spotlight after winning the Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow tournament in a shut-out at their debut appearance.

Also, Xbox Live has Frag Doll Fridays. So if you want to play alongside the dolls, then you may want to check that out.

*Get a Frag Doll signature stick here.

Peeps Sushie

2010-04-06T16:34:00.001-05:00

Here's a fun and somewhat disturbing new way of eating Peeps. Get some rice crispie treats, fruit rollups, and let the beheadings begin!

Seriously, I am loving those pics in the tutorial. I wish I could post one but I didn't want to do that without permision, so please go check out that link! They are so cute! I need to try this! The kiddo just got a package of peeps for Easter from his Grandma... *evil grin*

Thanks to Geekologie, who reminds me everyday how much of a loser I am just by their awesomeness.

Castle Zvahl [S] Exploration!

2010-03-30T16:44:00.003-05:00

The March 22, 2010, version update for Final Fantasy XI included the following new areas accessible in the past:
Castle Zvahl Baileys [S]
Castle Zvahl Keep [S]
{Excitement}! I love those areas in the present so, naturally, the boyfriend and I went to explore. I like how they added Imps for "decoration." Couldn't figure how much else they could change it aside from them and the banners...

Adventures in "Smalltown" Wal-Mart.

2010-03-29T16:35:00.004-05:00

Saturday we decided we wanted to go fishing and all we needed was to get the Canadian boyfriend a license. I should have known better than to go to a smalltown Wal-Mart. BUT..it was on the way to the lake and right beside McD's for a quick Happy Meal.

So in Wal-Mart and three employees after the initial flagdown, I am tossing suggestions out there to help this lady (bless her heart), who is apparently in a higher position than the first two, try to get this license issued. Oh my, the questions that popped out of her mouth, we couldn't help but giggle and snicker. One of her first confused inquiries was, "What's Alberta?" Ok, lol, no big deal. I told her it was a province of Canada. Then she mentioned something about using "CA" as an abbreviation for Canada to use in the state field. I was holding back a huge smile and I told her that it might not work that way.
Then came the big giggle....

Still staring at the license machine, and kind of agitated at this point, she says, "Is Canada a part of the United States?" .....

I looked at the boyfriend and he probably saw the same hysterical yet silent laughing fit he saw in me. I couldn't believe she just asked us that LOL. The other employee standing beside her giggled too and said, "Well, it's attached. On the same continent, but uh, no, it's not."
I told her that the license was no big deal and we could go get it somewhere else, but she begged us to stay because she was determined to figure it out. She made a phone call and whoever it was walked her through it.

I think I let her finish it just for amusement because I SHOULD have went somewhere else. I later found out the boyfriend does qualify for a resident license because he's enrolled full time in college. For someone trained at issuing such licenses, a flag should have went up when I mentioned that. But no. We ended up paying $40 for a non-resident fishing license for a full-year. Next time I'll take my friend's advice: go to Gander Mountain or somewhere a bit more knowledgable.

Needless to say, we got to go fishing anyway and had a blast. We also have a funny story to tell! And the boyfriend will have to make it worth $40 and catch us a lot of dinner. He's off to a good start, tho, considering he caught the only fish for that day.

Going Mobile!

2010-03-29T11:10:00.002-05:00

Tesing mobile Blogger! If this works then I can post pics & blog on the go! I won't have any excuses either other than just being lazy, which is to be expected!

Farewell, Kujata. Thanks for the memories.

2010-03-22T22:24:00.007-05:00

I will admit, my heart kind of sank a little when I heard that Kujata was on the list of Final Fantasy XI servers Square Enix had decided to deactivate. Yes, I am THAT much of a nerd. What can I say, I have more spirit in Kujata than I ever had for high school's football team (which was minimal...ver ver min-i-mal).

I moved to Kujata from Ifrit in the summer of 2007 and have yet to regret it. I met a lot of new friends and grew very attached to the server; it was a new home! But now I feel like I'm being evicted! My poor, helpless Moogle and I, cast out into the streets with nothing but a tattered old bag full of gear and sything crap! Dramatic, you say? Yes, I know (teehee).

I heard there were a few "Farewell, Kujata" parties going on last night, too. They were rockin'! Did I just say "rockin'"? Well, at least I bet they were rockin'. I, err, kinda wasn't invited because I'm not a part of the cool crowd >.> Just like high school!

Oh well, from what I have read on most forums, it seems Valefor will be happy to take us orphans in. Hopefully we will get a warm welcome and ride this out together until eventually everything will be shut down for Final Fantasy XIV (it's inevitable, don't deny it!).

R.I.P., Kujata (December 19, 2002 - March 22, 2010).

My Kujata Memory Scrapbook:

What firemen do when no one else is around.

2010-03-22T09:13:00.000-05:00

Be sure to watch thru till the very end!

Edward Hopper didn't expect this.

2010-03-20T20:34:00.001-05:00

Every time I see this picture so many questions run through my mind... How did the bear get in the city? What did the the Nighthawks do to make him so angry? How did a plastic chair managed to crack glass!? Is the bear furious because he was refused service when all he wanted was latte? Is he yelling, "WHAT NOW?! WHAT NOW!??" Many, many more questions.... But most of all, I laugh my butt off every time.

Peanut-Free Egg-Free and Milk-Free Easter Baskets

2010-03-15T10:29:00.002-05:00

Peanut-Free Egg-Free and Milk-Free Easter Baskets

Posted using ShareThis

5 Things You Need to Know About Burning Calories

2010-02-25T12:43:00.006-06:00

A good article I found on LIVESTRONG, the cool website site where I keep track of my calories with My Plate.

Calories combine with oxygen to equal the energy your body needs to do its daily activities. You get calories from the food you eat. You burn calories through the activities in wh...

Know Your BMR!

2010-02-24T22:04:00.005-06:00

If you are jumping on board to count calories for weight loss then you should probably know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). Don't look at it and go, "ZOMG math sukz, I'm not doing it!" First of all, no one else could possibly hate math more than I. Second, it really helped me become more aware of the calories I burn in addition to working out. Once I learned that, I began to have a better understanding of how to manage my "calories in, calories out" and then I saw weight loss results.

Now here some important tidbits to always keep in mind:
*A calorie is a single unit of energy.
*A single pound of fat contains 3500 calories. I know it seems like a lot, especially if you've been in the gym for over an hour and only sweated off 200 calories. It can seem discouraging, but you have to factor in things like your BMR, nutrition, and exercise to gain an idea of how your body burns calories and fat.

Your BMR is the amount calories your body uses for energy in order to function while at rest, like breathing, heartbeat, etc. So basically, it's how many calories you are burning if you are sitting around while do nothing at all. Everyone's BMR is different and it varies according to age, muscle mass, weight, height, and a few other conditions. Also, your BMR only accounts for 60% to 75% of the total calories you burn every day.

Just plug in your numbers to the appropriate formula below:

FEMALE: 655 + (4.3 × weight in pounds) + (4.7 × height in inches) − (4.7 × age in years)

MALE: 66 + (6.3 × body weight in pounds) + (12.9 × height in inches) − (6.8 × age in years)

Or if you are still completely lost (or just lazy) then here is a calculator:

These tools don't factor in muscle mass, but it gets you pretty close to the number you need to know. You can also increase your BMR by increasing muscle mass.

Don't get BMR mixed up with BMI (Body Mass Index) or RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). If you want to learn the difference between RMR and BMR, then you should probably read about it here than try to get me to explain it. Some people prefer to use RMR over BMR, but the numbers don't vary by too much. I suggest do some google searching and determine which one you think would be best for you. If you go with RMR, there are several calculators on the web to help you with that as well.

Oven-Barbecued Pork Chops

2010-02-23T20:48:00.002-06:00

Healthy and Very tasty!!! I never thought I would like anything cooked with orange juice, but it gives the pork a nice zing while getting a dose Vitamin C. I handed this recipe to the boyfriend/chef and he has made it twice already in the past week.

From Eatingwell.com, click here to view the recipe, info, and picture.

Here are the variations we made:
Boneless Pork chops
Red Onion (no kind was specified in the recipe)
Kraft Light Original - Reduced calorie barbecue sauce (Under 30 calories per serving!)
Minute Maid 100% Orange Juice - Again, not specified but just mentioning what we used.
Vegetable Oil - oil is oil, except I try to not use this because of the soy. I prefer Olive Oil.
Chopped carrots in the sauce.
Then he serves it over white rice (or brown rice if you're avoiding the white stuff, like I need to be...)

The second time he wanted to make more sauce, so he doubled everything except for the pork chops. Needless to say, the orange juice stood out a little too much, so next time he is going to decrease the OJ.

Family reviews:
The Picky-Eater (the Boyfriend, not the kid!): He likes it, and it was his idea to add the carrots so he can get a bit of veggies in his diet (he hates vegetables).

The small child: He has mixed feelings about the sauce at the moment and hasn't been too happy to see it served, especially on his precious white rice. He has admitted to liking the pork chop with the sauce scraped off.

Me: I thought I would miss my side of veggies and whatnot, but it makes a pretty good meal with the rice alone. I find it very satisfying and it's flavor is terrific!

So even tho the child doesn't fully approve, we grown-ups like it so much that we are going to make it more often. Hooray for having something new for dinner!

Where Croissants Come From

2010-02-22T21:54:00.001-06:00

Posting this so I can easily find it again later. I can't help but giggle EVERY time I watch it :D

Oh yeah, I'm engaged!! And a date is set!

2010-01-17T09:37:00.003-06:00

Last August my boyfriend decided to pop the big question me. As a matter of fact, it was the same day that he and I married our (NERD ALERT) FFXI alter egos! That was a great day: video gaming, a nice dinner, followed by a sweet marriage proposal!

As of this week, we now have a date set! It will be on October 9th, 2010 in Edmonton, AB. Now that the date is officially set and I have a timeline, I am extremely nervous and already stressing about it. But that's all a part of planning a wedding right?

I've been in a blogging slump lately, mostly because I have been busy with work and the family. But now I have something new to blog about!

Also, I guess I need to get my weight loss tracker back in business, because I definitely have some pounds to lose!

University of Florida prepares for Zombie Apocalypse.

2009-10-02T09:26:00.004-05:00

They have a plan. We should all have a plan! Which reminds me: I've been toting around a copy of Max Brooks' "The Zombie Survival Guide" in my bag for almost 2 weeks now. I bought it months ago in Edmonton and have yet to read it. Guess I need to get my butt in gear!

Doug Johnson, the manager of UF's e-Learning Support Services, is the man behind the plan. He didn't realize his fun little project was going to gain the media's attention but the story has now made it's way to the The Gainsville Sun, The Miami Herald, and MSNBC.

I found this very entertaining and all the people posting negative comments on those sites just need to lighten up. There's always some jerk out there that's going to berate anyone for anything. I think it was a fantastic idea! It was for humorous purposes, aka NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY! Geez, some people just need to go out and get drunk. Besides it was written on the authors own time, no college funding was wasted, and the recovery plan was promptly removed from UF's website before it gained popularity. (click here to see for yourself).

With that being said... I'm opening my Zombie Survival guide. Thank You Max Brooks, and thank you, too, Doug Johnson, for having a sense of humor.

All The Single Babies

2009-09-25T08:50:00.002-05:00

This baby has more rhythm than I do!
Especially cute seing how I JUST watched the "Preggers" episode of Glee. It made me smile, so it's definately POST WORTHY! The hand wave gets me every time xD

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

p.s. I'm posting this blindly from work, so I hope the vid shows up :) Have a great Friday, everyone!

A New FFXIV Trailer from the Tokyo Game Show 2009

2009-09-24T07:23:00.002-05:00

OOOOOOO!! EEEEKK!

Ghetto Mario Bros.

2009-09-19T11:22:00.006-05:00

I stumbled across a website this morning and got tickled with some of the pictures. It's supposedly 23 Embarrassing Mario Costumes, although I think some are creative, funny, and adorable. I LOVE PIMP MARIO AND GANGSTA TOADSTOOL! I especially like that Gangsta Toadstool is packing the orange NES Zapper.

This one is just too adorable!

K-Ray and Desti tie the knot!

2009-09-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

~August 15th, 2009
Kujata Server

Like the big nerds we are, the boyfriend and I married our online alter egos in our favorite MMORPG. It was a blast and our guests had fun too! But some of our good friends couldn't make it. {/cry} So here are some of my favorite screenies for those who missed it!

For more screenies, visit the Picasa Album:

Desti & K-Ray's Wedding

"Passion" Music Vid from Utada Hikaru

2009-09-08T19:17:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite videos from Utada Hikaru. This one even has some pretty nice Japanese and English subtitles. The English version is called "Sanctuary." It's one of my son's favorite songs from our favorite video game, Kingdom Hearts II. Love Love Love! Fave Fave Fave! Pretty! Pretty! Enjoy!

MST3K does Twilight.

2009-08-29T15:56:00.007-05:00

I've been having a serious Mystery Science Theater 3000 itch lately. I haven't watched that show in ages, and I've missed Tom Servo! So I was watching clips this morning on Youtube and I came across this amusing little gem. Not the best from MST3K, but it made me laugh once or twice.

2009-08-26T07:21:00.002-05:00

My bff Amy knows me to well. She posted this on facebook just for me :P Love you, Amy!!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

We need your help now more than ever!!

2009-08-11T15:42:00.008-05:00

In light of recent events and a disheartening email from The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) about the lack of funds they are receiving this year, I'm am writing this note to start asking friends and family to consider making a donation to FAAN. For those that are unaware, my son was sent to the E.R. again on Sunday night due to an allergic reaction from a peanut butter cracker that he accepted from another child. As I am trying to make him understand that he cannot accept foods from other people other than his parents or grandparents (especially other children), I also ask for you assistance in teaching your children about the dangers of sharing foods. Although many of us have been raised to learn that sharing is what we should do, but when it comes to food, and with an increase in the number of children that have food allergies these days, a little education can possibly save someone's life. And please remember, a food that you THINK may be safe could, in fact, contain an allergen. Reading labels and making sure no cross contamination has occurred while cooking is important as well.

Please visit my FAAN Fundraising Page and consider making a secure online donation! Minimum allowed amount for online donations is $15. You can also turn in cash, check, money order, baggies full of coins, you name it! Just contact me and I'll work with ya!

Thank you for your continued support as we are Moving Toward A Cure!

Elaine --
Captain of Joshie's Juggernauts.

August Weigh-In

2009-08-09T14:12:00.004-05:00

www.my-calorie-counter.com The webs free Calorie Counter

I would've liked to have lost more by now, but hey, 14 lbs down since March. Not so bad; better than gaining.

5 more lbs to go reach my goal!! Then after that, I will have to lose 10 more lbs to be back to the weight I was before I started working at the bank. Then after that, I will have to lose 15 more lbs to get back to the weight I was before I got preggers. *sigh* That's 30 lbs...

FFXI July 2009 Update - New Monsters

2009-07-21T11:19:00.007-05:00

New areas have opened for Wings of the Goddess expansion. Read more about the July 2009 update here.

Beaucedine Glacier [S] and Xarcabard [S] New Monsters:

Berserker Demon

Ruszor

Greater Amphiptere (NM)

Gargouille

Cointeach

Evian Roller Babies

2009-07-15T12:24:00.007-05:00

Duane and I saw this on TV the other day... it's so awesome and cute. I just love the one at 0:11 that's shaking his lil' diaper booty :D

Gladiator Cake

2009-07-14T14:15:00.005-05:00

Russell Crowe says eat it!!

July Weigh-In

2009-07-12T14:56:00.002-05:00

Well, to be honest... I haven't lost anything this past month. Nor have I have been exercising or tracking my food. I've been walking occasionally, but it's too ridiculously hot outside.

I weighed myself last night (at the end of the day) and was shocked to see that I was weighing in heavier than the last time. I then decided to weight first thing this morning (like I always do, for consistency, and maybe just a little bit of denial). So this morning the scale told me that still weighed the same. *Sigh* well, better than putting on 10lbs I guess, but I think I need to work harder. I need motivation again.

Kawaii Face Cupycakes

2009-07-07T19:00:00.001-05:00

These are just too freakin' cute! And they look pretty simple to make too. I attempted some Super Mario mushroom cupcakes over the weekend, but they didn't turn out too well (x.x)

Dark Knight AF

2009-06-29T11:29:00.004-05:00

So over this past busy weekend (which was short and fast by the way!), I finally got my DRK to level 60 and made it into my full Dark Knight Artifact armor set :D {/dance} I look all mean and evil and junk lol. Too bad the stats on most of the pieces are not that great or else I'd wear it all the time.
And last night, K-Ray and I anxiously and painfully skilled up on Robber Crabs in Vunkerl Inlet (S) so I could get the uber awesome weapon skill Guillotine. My first time using it, I did 1056 to a poor Pugil. He deserved it tho... and it was HAWT! Roddi welcomed me to the 1k+ club :D I love this job!

Resident Evil Numa

2009-06-27T19:00:00.002-05:00

I just love this vid. Thanks for sharing, Kai!

25 uses for Avon Bubble Bath

2009-06-22T18:05:00.003-05:00

I'm posting this here so I can reference it later because I have too many papers floating about. And I'm bored. Also, it's some helpful info to pass around to the girls. Thanks to my former Avon lady for this, I've used a few of these myself.

Avon's Bubble Bath Has Many Uses According to customers:
1. Zillions of bubbles that leave no bathtub ring.
2. Does a beautiful job on washing cars, mobile homes, recreation vehicles, etc.
3. Use as a laundry detergent (delicate laundry).
4. Use for hand washing.
5. Use for pre-soak on heavy soiled laundry...great for "ring around the collar."
6. Use to wash windows.
7. Use to wash appliances.
8. Use to wash "no wax" floors.
9. Use to wash dishes.
10. Give pets a bath.
11. Clean bathroom fixtures and mirrors.
12. Use to shampoo carpers (Whole room or a spot).
13. Use it to wash walls and ceiling. Great for paneling. no rinsing, no streaks.
14. Use bubbles and sponge to shampoo furniture or vehicle interiors.
15. Cleans Chandeliers and light fixtures.
16. Use to clean toilets (2 cap fulls).
17. Cleans china and wine glasses.
18. Use it to wash your plant leaves, they will shine. Then pour into soil as a fertilizer.
19. Upholstery stains come out by rubbing with a damp cloth dipped in full strength bubble bath. Do not wet the cloth with water, water may leave a stain..the bubble bath won't.
20. Use it to clean you jewelry, even costume jewelry.
21. Use it to get out grease stains on clothes.
22. Use it to wash mini blinds.
23. Put some bubble bath and a bit of water in you potpourri burner.
24. Use it to clean your eyeglasses.
25. Use it to clean your painted or wood cabinets.

Gauldeval is Happy.

2009-06-22T15:23:00.003-05:00

Gauldeval is my NPC Adventuring Fellow btw. I found out that Ajahkeem in Ru'Lude Gardens can modify your NPC for an exchage of accumulated Fellow Points. I got Gauldy some Shaded Spectcles and had his body gear upgraded a notch. Also gave him a new weapon -- a Polearm. Talked to Luto afterwards, and after two other weapon changes...Gauldy finally seems to like it. Now If I can only get him into some heavy or light armor...

Sonic Jr Burger vs Hardee's Low Carb Thickburger

2009-06-22T10:35:00.005-05:00

I joined Sparkpeople.com a while back for My Points, but I'm not involved with it much. I do, however, have an email subscription to their Food Showdown. It's very insightful. Here is one I received today:

Sonic Jr. Burger (with mustard, ketchup, pickle)

Hardee's Low Carb Thickburger (with mustard, ketchup, pickle, cheese and onion)

Scroll Down to See The Winner

Pick the low-cal fast food burger

Both of these burgers might catch any dieter's attention. A "junior" sized burger usually means a normal portion. Sonic's Jr. Burger appears on both their Burger and Kid's Meal menus, and lacks high-calorie toppings like cheese and mayo. But what about Hardee's Low Carb Thickburger? It comes wrapped up in lettuce instead of a bun, but it also has cheese. Is low-carb the same as low-calorie?


		The Low-Cal Winner Sonic Jr. Burger

Sonic's Jr. Burger wins out. At a reasonable 353 calories, this makes a good calorie choice when it comes to fast food. Even without the bun, Hardee's Low Carb Thickburger is still a heavyweight--420 calories and twice the saturated fat (12 grams) as Sonic's burger. Remember, calories count! Just because the bread is missing doesn't mean it's a diet-friendly choice.

For more Food Showdown, register free at Sparkpeople.com

Show me a /dance! (Final Fantasy Dance action screenies).

2009-06-19T12:22:00.008-05:00

Nice moves there, Hero :P

I don't have a Little Teacup screenie *uber phail*
but I snapped Ake showing me some super-cute pimp style :P

K-Ray - He does his own thing...

...Like his "Pervert Shuffle."
I barely knew him then...

Pre-Beseiged Dance-off!

BCNM DANCE!

Pft, Laila you gettin' served!

Fun with /dance motions and fireworks! (aka Besieged Boredom)

Favorite Quotes from Undead and Unwed.

2009-06-16T14:17:00.011-05:00

This book had me rolling with laughter. I definitely want to continue the series.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Father," I said, "you have to help me."
"I'll be glad to help but I'm not a priest."
"I'm going to hell, and I didn't do a damned thing to deserve being damned. Except for that whole double homicide thing. But it was an accident! Plus, I should get points for saving Justine and her mom."
"I said I'm not a priest, miss. I'm the janitor. And this isn't a Catholic church--we're Presbyterians." -- pg 25

"I should shove my my fingers into his windpipe! Up his ass! Around his--" --pg 83

"I was fast, I was strong, I was...I was SpiderVamp!-- pg 84

"The thing that terrified me the most were zombie movies. After watching Resident Evil I had nightmares for a week. It was ironic, because now I was one of the unkillable monsters." -- pg 101. I mostly like that one for the R.E. reference :)

"I became gloriously transformed in 1972."
"That explains the nails and the bell bottoms."
"These are in again!" she nearly screamed, pointing to her Gap knockoffs. --pg 113

"If you ever- ever- accuse me of being prejudiced again, I will knock you on your fat ass. If you've got a problem with someone who treated wrong, go take it out on them." --pg 180

"I'd never talked to a former prostitute before. Oh, the questions I had! How was the money? Were the pimps as bad as they seemed in the movies? Was there a dental plan? .... Was pregnancy considered an on-the-job hazard by OSHA?" --pg 181

Portal graffiti is not a lie!

2009-06-15T10:36:00.009-05:00

I believe these were on Bridge number 277 in Mill Creek Ravine. The first one I saw was the cake, which was the farthest one (go figure, I am so unobservant). I was like, "Ooh look! The cake is a lie!!" Then I noticed the Companion Cube and said "OMG the cake really IS a lie!" So awesome seeing random Portal graffiti lol. The classic NES controller was awesome too.

Treasures and Tribulations

2009-06-14T11:08:00.004-05:00

The sad results of actually trying to fight the mimic in Treasures and Tribulations xD
I think I'm 1/4352532436523 on this one lol. Usually we send in the {Death Ray} to do the popping/dying.
P.S. KO'd Tarus look so sad ; ; {/point} Akeda
Photo Date: 4-29-09, Balga's Dias BCNM Treasures and Tribulations

1st Weigh-In for June.

2009-06-14T10:45:00.007-05:00

www.my-calorie-counter.com/Weight-Loss-Ticker.asp

Not bad, I should say! And take in account that I went on TWO vacations and ate a lot of fast food. ...and The Boyfriend's super sweet, super tasty peanut butter fudge (ooOoOo yummlies).

I tried to keep it somewhat healthy where I could, but not much because I all over some tasties. Especially at Tim Horton's... because I will not be able to have treats from there for a while!! Ok, well, I grabbed Timmy Ho's almost everyday >.> lol

Needless to say, I could have done better. The weight is coming off very slowly, but hey.... I am losing and not gaining and I'm not complaining. And the fact that I managed to lose weight while on vacation makes me feel pretty good too. I did a LOT of walking on those trips: large malls, parks, airports, up and down the non-working A-kon escalators... yeah, I think I worked off some calories there.

So I hope I can try to pick back up where I left off before I went to Edmonton. The only problem is motivation to workout again. Ever since the plane landed back home, I have been depressed and don't seem to be enjoying the things I should be. Pretty much back to the way I was LOL not good. Being away made me really happy. As a matter of fact, I wasn't depressed not one single time when I was in Canada. I know it's because I reeeaallly hate my home town lol. I need to find ways to make the best of things, cuz I'm gonna be here a while.

I hope I can report the same good news in weeks to come!

The A-kon 20 Experience.

2009-06-12T11:47:00.011-05:00

A-kon 20 has come and gone, and it sure didn't take long for them to update the website for A-kon 21 (practically the next day.)

I wasn't going to blog about it, but it just doesn't feel right to not make note of something so awesome. Although this years con was kind of uneventful (aside from it's 20th birthday!!!) and all my usual roomies had to drop out due to lack of funds, but it was still a ton of fun!

I wouldn't have been able to go myself if my absolutely WONDERFUL boyfriend hadn't been there to save the day! It was his first year to be able to go, and he heard all the crazy/wonderful/scary stories from me and friends... so he said there was no way he was going out miss out this year. His first true A-kon experience was the pre-reg line.... and he said that was the funnest and best line he had ever been in. Hey.. it's A-kon... crazy stuff happens EVERYWHERE! Thankfully it wasn't the pre-reg hell like we had last year (over 4 hours in line and it was NOT fun!) This time we got there early on Thursday and only had to wait an hour and half... and listen to some cranky teenage she-demon. But she got told off and it was so glorious.

So in a nutshell, here's our A-kon 20 experience:

I got The Boyfriend addicted to Ramune. SCORE! Next year if my brother goes, I'm sure our hotel room will promise mountains of used Ramune bottles. He also got to sample several Pocky products.
He won a free Sonic T-shirt at a booth. First try too. Amy won last year. Do I ever win one? No. I win Pocky and only Pocky. Unlucky I am. I shouldn't complain. I used to win free DVDs from the FUNimation Booth.
Sheraton totally remodeled a ton of stuff. So I'm walking along thinking I know way... BOOM! "What the heck!? There's a wall here!?" Kind of annoying, but I adjusted. Some of it works better than it was before, but I (as well as others apparently) miss some of the old stuff too...like cowboy statue *sobs* He will be missed.
The rooms are SUPER AWESOME now. Flat screen HDTVs, sweeeeet bathrooms, and better comforters than those crappy things Adams Mark made us sleep under. Stayed in the North tower this year too..that was a first. It was nice elevator-wait-time wise, but the view was of the outside Central Tower wall. I missed the window view!!
We got the chance to experience Anime Hell this round. It was a love/hate thing. Love most of it, but there is a heavy price for such amusement (i.e., the reindeer castration video... my retinas were pierced and the image is still in my mind...). I will do this again next year.
The Boyfriend bought a Yukata while we were there and wore it when he went ice skating at the Plaza (pictured below). At some point someone called him "Jesus on Ice" or something of the like. Another new A-kon Ice Skating category to add along with "Anime on Ice" and "Nerds on Ice."
I bought a pink wig. It's really cute. Will be put to good use for many A-kons to come.
Finally got a chance to sit down and watch the Sleeping Samurai Demos and the Kobushi Taiko Drummers. Way awesome and entertaining. Cept when you really have to pee and those drums are making the floor vibrate....
Attended my first Masquerade Ball ever (I'll post pics later). Raymond wore his awesome white suit with a top hat. He got more compliments than I.
Freshly exposed to the world of Steampunk costuming and gadgetry. WAY NEAT!
Was rudely awakened twice in the wee early hours of Sunday morning from an intercom announcement and a fire alarm. Probably some drunken 13-year-old thinking he's gonna be a riot by pissing everyone off by pulling the alarm.

That's all I can remember for now and I'll try to post more pics later. Hopefully all my A-kon buddies will be there next year! And the cosplay this year was really cool; really inspired me to get busy with my coveted Macha costume! We'll just have to see!

PSA: Side Effects of Anime

2009-06-12T08:31:00.009-05:00

I was highly amused by this t-shirt on a girl in the Plaza during A-kon 20, so I sneakily snapped a pic with my cell phone. She was in front of me in the McDonald's line (I was craving some serious salt).

If you can't read it, this is what it says:

WARNING!
Watching anime may cause...

irrational fear of tentacles
loss of innocence
fond memories you can't share with family
shouting of random things
love of fanservices
painful withdrawal with discontinued use
unnatural obsession with checkers
ANIMEYHEM!

So true so true...

Fat Girl: A True Story by Judith Moore

2009-06-10T15:04:00.011-05:00

I picked this book up at the Goodwill store last year as something to put on my shelf for a spur-of-the-moment read. The title caught my attention for obvious reasons.

Fat Girl is Judith Moore's experience of what it's like to be fat. In the preface she immediately lays down her point of view: she is fat but not a fat advocate, nor does she have an eating disorder or explain how she conquered fat with diets and what not. Instead she recounts several stories from her childhood and adult life; some humorous, some painful. Few were embarrassing to tell if they were my own, like how she broke in to the homes of people she knew to hang out and eat their food, or the encounter with the pedophile in the dark movie theater. However one story that sticks in my mind is when her chubby Dachshund, Lily, attacked some random skinny chick's KFC dinner. Still embarrassing, but it was an amusing story.

She also details the people that affected her "fat" life. Her beautiful, slim mother was hateful and disgusted with her daughter, told her she was ugly, and eventually wanted be called by her name and not by "Mama." Her absent father, who was also fat, had an obsession with food which eventually lead to the divorce of her parents when Moore was only 4. She always dreamed of being the pretty skinny child so that her parents would love her and have the perfect family relationship.

Moore never wants the reader to feel sorry for her, however I couldn't help but feel sad for most of her past experiences. Mostly because I can relate to them myself (and I can be a walking self-pity-party RAH RAH RAH!). Although, thankfully, I have never had to endure monthly weigh-ins at school where my poundage was embarrassingly announced in front of all my classmates. NIGHTMARE! And thankfully my mother never beat me just because I put on 10 extra pounds either. But the anxiety attacks, the negative/non-existent attention from peers, and how she grew a hatred for people yet yearned for their love and attention hit really close to home.

I started and finished reading it right before I left for Edmonton. Overall, I liked it and will keep it in my permanent library. And it gave me inspiration to keep moving on my elliptical while I was reading.

"The child might threaten the adult she had become." --Anita Brooker, quoted in Fat Girl: A True Story.

This week on Kujata...

2009-06-09T19:28:00.005-05:00

Sandy has control of Gustaberg. Oh the shame of Bastok!!! San d'Oria pretty much dominates Vana'diel this week, so I figured this would be the perfect week to change my home country from Basty to Sandy! HAHA!

Been representin' Bastok for over 5 years now, so it was definately time for a change. And now, I have Gustaberg outpost for Sandy and Basty LOL now if we can only get Sarutabaruta....

I took this picture Sunday, right after I changed alligence. And I was standing right there in my Bastok Aketon with almost all of San d'Oria coming to claim their outpost lol. I'ms ure some LS worked very hard to get that, so Thanks to whoever for claiming Gustaberg for San d'Oria!

FFXI crafters at A-kon 20!

2009-06-08T13:02:00.004-05:00

Me and Alicia at A-kon 20 in our FFXI Crafting Aprons. Her apron made it's premier this year, while mine made a second appearance (www.cosplay.com/costume/154583)
Next year, I am really wanting to make the Macha (pronounced "Ma-ha") costume that I have always wanted. I think I'm going to start that soon, while I'm motivated (~_^;)

7th Anniversary FFXI Fan Art Contest

2009-06-08T12:36:00.013-05:00

I know it's about a month late, but I wanted to post them anyway (hey, vacation is a valid excuse!) I love the fan art contest, there are a lot of cute ones! Here's this year's Crystal Winner:

Title: Cake In Progress
Artist: P-taru
So freakin' cute! xD

And some of my other faves:

Title: Selbina Bound
Artist: Ginjilow
I just love the gobbie train and the other player pointing and laughing. We've ALL been there! lol.

Title: Sentimental Sky

Artist: Fumi

Title: DS Port..!?

Artist: Masa

Title: Happy Seventh Anniversary!
Artist: hiyo

All these and more are found at: www.playonline.com/ff11us/topics/fanart2009/index.html

AMV Hell

2009-06-03T18:32:00.003-05:00

The Boyfriend found these videos tonight and I laughed so hard that I cried! Here are the first and last vids of the series (they are the most memorable to me), for the rest go to You Tube.

Final Fantasy XIV Officially Announced - It's another MMORPG.

2009-06-02T16:25:00.011-05:00

xi

Gamespot says Square Enix was working on this project under code name Rapture. I found the trailer above on You Tube and, to me, it looks a lot like FFXI. IncGamers.com thinks it might be an online sequel for XI. My feelings are kinda mixed about this at the moment, so I'm not sure what to think about it just yet.

I guess we will learn more as it progresses. It's scheduled to launch exclusively on the Playstation 3 in 2010.

Official Website is out too: www.finalfantasyxiv.com

Edmonton, AB - Day 4: Movies and a Walk.

2009-05-22T01:22:00.010-05:00

Been a pretty relaxing day so far. We decided before I came to Edmonton that we would go see Terminator Salvation during my visit. And so we did. I quite enjoyed it, way better than the last one. The theater was huge and no rowdy crowd!! Texarkana theaters seriously need to fix that wild teenage obnoxiousness. Maybe of the town would actually build something for kids to DO than it wouldn't be so bad. Ugh, anyway, I'm not getting on that soap box.

Before the movie started, we walked to a Roots store. I love Ray's Roots shirts, they are soft and nice. I bought myself my own, but little does he know that I'm still gonna wear his. Haha! I'm wearing it now actually!!

Not much else happened. We went back to the casino for dinner, I also met his grandparents there. Afterwards he took me to MIll Creek Ravine. He bikes there a lot. It was a very beautiful place. We walked and talked and took some pictures. :D

That's our shadows on the bridge :P

Pictures of World Water Park

2009-05-22T01:21:00.006-05:00

World WaterPark inside West Edmonton Mall. It looks like a lot of fun, but I dont go swimming. It is forbidden to see me in any kind of swimwear.

Pictures of Galaxyland

2009-05-22T01:18:00.008-05:00

Galaxyland Amusement Park inside West Edmonton Mall.

Edmonton, AB - Day 3: West Edmonton Mall

2009-05-21T22:35:00.020-05:00

I think it's neat that it's almost 10 o'clock in the evening and the sun still hasn't set yet! It will go down soon tho, in about 30 minutes or so.

Today Ray took me to the Casino a short distance from his home and we had breakfast. It was actually my first time in a casino... aside from when I went into Harrah's in Shreveport, but I wasn't old enough to enter and stood outside by the million dollar wall while I waited for some friends. After we ate, he showed me around the place (very pretty wall water features!) and I got to play some slots! Didn't win anything tho. Poo.

Afterwards, we were on a journey to the University of Alberta (again) to find that darn S.U.B. and locate that bookcrossing zone. I wouldn't be so hard up for it if they hadn't mentioned they had manga there. We drove around a bit, but we finally found it. But lo, all the manga was gone. *cry* But I did manage to grab one book to take back home with me, and I managed to drop 2 off at the zone

After being stuck in a traffic jam for over 20 minutes, we made our way to West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest mall in the world. We spent a good 5 to 5.5 hours there. Finally got to try Tim Horton's coffee while I was there. What's a coffee lovers visit to Canada worth without trying Tim Horton's!? And lucky me, today they were giving away free small iced coffees :D So I got one of those and an English Tofee Cappuccino. OMG they were so good! Ray got an Iced Cappa, but he didn't like it much, so I had his too! I was sugared up and caffinated! But I needed it for as much walking as we did. It's official, I'm hooked on Tim Horton's. I'm getting more tomorrow.

I took lots of pics at West Edmonton Mall. Most are on my Facebook now, but I'll post them here too. But it's late and I'm going to watch Balls of Fury with Ray :P

Edmonton, AB - Day 2: Whyte Avenue and some Malls.

2009-05-20T19:36:00.016-05:00

Ray took me up and down Whyte Avenue in the Old Strathcona district. We went to a lot of neat shops and a few bookstores. This is where that Warp 1 Comics shop is located. Ended up buying a few things from a bookstore called Chapters and I got some coffee at a chain called Second Cup. It wasn't very good.

Whyte Ave^

We went to the University of Alberta (HUGE CAMPUS EVER!) to hunt down a bookcrossing zone. Ray thought it might have been the Hub, but come to find out that the Hub is not the S.U.B (Student Union Building). We decided we'd try the next day on the way to West Edmonton Mall. BUT! I'm glad we went to the Hub anyway, because it was a dormatory/mall :O

See the windows on the side? Those are dorm rooms. It's really just a lot of convenience store type shops and fast food. I ended up eating my lunch there, I got a Sukiyaki Beef bowl at a place called Edo Japan. There are several in Edmonton, and it was very tasty.

I visited two malls, Kingsway Garden Mall (where we went to the Oilers store and bought Josh a mini hockey stick!) and Bonnie Doon mall. Ray also took me on a scenic drive while going to Kingsway mall. I'll post pics in another post.

That's all we did around town. Then we mostly stayed back at his place and played some Wii bowling :P

Edmonton, AB - Day 1: Greetings and Such

2009-05-20T18:40:00.014-05:00

May 19th, 2009

Well, aside from the unfriendly customs people, my first day in Canada was really fun. The boyfriend took me to meet his mom and his brother, then we walked a few blocks to Boston Pizza. We had to run across an intersection and I was really tired. I felt like my spleen fell out at the curb and I had to remind him that if you die in Canada, you die in real life!

We sat in the bar section so it would be a lil' quieter, and when the waitress asked us what we wanted to drink, she look at me all weird like and said, "Um, can I see your I.D." I so got carded. And the BF didn't! What's up with that!? And he's younger than me...

Anywho, I really liked it. There were about 6 or 7 flatscreens in the place and the best part is... not a SINGLE ONE played football or basketball! It was Hockey on all of em! I loved it! And believe me when I say that Canadians really DO love their hockey. Lots of emotions and reactions whenever a player scored a goal. Last night it was the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks. The Red Wings won btw :P

I was sooo hungry that everything looked good, but I went with a Szechwan personal pizza because it looked tasty and interesting. It was delicious :D

The he took me to a cool shop called Warp 1 Comics, and it. was. AWESOME. Tons of anime, comics, action figures, manga, tons of tabletop gaming stuff, t-shirts, and STUFF. It was like being in a mini-A-kon dealer's room. But the one thing I kept going back to was The Legend of Dragoon action figures. They had Rose, Lavitz, and Dart. At the time I hadn't cashed in for Canadian munnies. That wasn't my main convern tho, my major problem was trying to decide between Lavitz or Rose! Rose is awesome, but if it would be unacceptable if I passed on Lavitz. So the BF helped me get Lavitz, and now that I have slept and thought about it...I'm going back for Rose!!

The store was way cool, and they had so much stuff thatI want to take a second look. Cthulu was hanging from the ceiling, as pictured, and the first person I thought about was my brother of course. That would be a nice throw pillow for my brother! HA!

The BF bought the first volume to Claymore and we watched 5 or so episodes of that then played some Wii bowling. I did pretty gewd for a beginner! :D But I was pooped by the time I went to bed, and I had no problem going to sleep :)

Yesterday's flights.

2009-05-20T16:15:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was really exciting! For the first time in YEARS, I am on vacation!! Waiting it out too was horrible! I felt like a 6 year old waiting for Christmas to slowly come.

I was scared to fly again, because it's been over 12 years since I've been on an airplane. But I got extremely excited once that plane started speeding up for take off. And i got to do that for 3 flights yesterday! All my flights departed on time and arrived early. I had about an hour and a half layover in DFW, and about 40 minutes at the Denver International Airport (which I'm not too fond of that airport btw, it had a funny smell). The seating was extremely cramped in the first two flights, but the small jet that took me from Denver to Edmonton was really nice and roomy.

It was a good day for travel too. The skies were clear or partly cloudy until we neared the Edmonton area. I got to see the Rockies from above :) And I saw some really big canyons and such, but the clouds started to cover most of the view at that point.

Descending into Edmonton was a good experience. I could tell that most of my co-passengers were Canadian because at they would look out the window and see patches of snow on the rooftops or ground (it was about 1C, or about 33F with some snow flurries when we landed) and they would go "EWE snow!" and make nasty faces and sigh heavily. Me on the other hand, I was as giddy as an overly excited child and thinking "YAY!! Snow, cold weather, NO heat/humidity and Ray is down there waiting for me!" And there was a poor 2-year-old on the plane that DID not like that seatbelt and all I could do was smile and feel sorry for the lil guy...and was ready to yell at anyone annoyed by it and say "Leave that poor baby alone, he's just scared!" But even with all that going on, my heart was thumping with excitement when the plane landed; I was FINALLY on foreign soil!

Going through customs was very uncomfortable. It wasn't comfortable at all having security go thru my underwear and personals at the first airport, but even MORE uncomfortable to be interrogated by 3 different parties, have them search through ALL my stuff, and ask me all kinds of personal questions. I understand why they do it, but wow, it was the most unpleasant experience (aside from a root canal!) I'm not looking forward to having to go thru it again when I go home.

But going thru that mess was totally worth it! When I was finally released (without going through a full body cavity search or detained as a weirdo), I walked out to see the sweetest, bestest boyfriend waiting for me with white roses and peanut butter yum yums!

Cake or Death a la Lego Animation.

2009-05-17T21:38:00.006-05:00

Always loved Eddie Izzard. Set it to some Lego animation and it's even more funny!
Enjoy!

Final Fantasy Alchemist Apron rumored to reappear at A-kon 20.

2009-05-16T12:09:00.013-05:00

So the lolita costume project got dumped about a month back, but I did manage to work on a few things that have been irking me about that Final Fantasy XI Alchemist Apron. I tried the apron on last week and it was just horrible, the neck strap was just too short, the slits were upsetting me, and parts of it became misshapen after I HAND-WASHED it after A-kon last year. Grrr, stupid bias tape! I'm slowly starting to hate the stuff. But anyway, I'm still a few pounds heavier than A-kon last year, and I remember how horrible the pictures were. And after trying it on, I said no way! Aprons are very unflattering to begin with, especially for a girl with big bewbs.

However, the other day I threw on my Alchemist t-shirt for the heck of wearing it and wore it all day, even to pay my insurance and go grocery shopping. Yup, I'm that kind of nerd. And I love it! And it kinda got me motivated to fix the apron. I don't want to be at A-kon without a costume, now do I?! So I had to make new neck straps and fixed the belt loops (I have become a better seamstress over the past year!).

Now I just need to find a way to put my K-ray's name on the lilac corsage... So it can match the one he made me in game :P

Here's a link for more Alchemist Apron pics and details about how I made it--> http://www.cosplay.com/costume/154583/

(Dang Ray, those logos look good!)

A-kon Commercial

2009-05-16T11:36:00.004-05:00

This was from a few years back. I still think it's cute *^_^*

Written, directed, and produced by Anthony Brownrigg.

At this point I'm really excited , it's only 2 weeks away. So much fun, and not just all anime either. Yay for gaming and watching people do stupid stuff! \^.^/

Why I Walk - A letter from Elaine.

2009-05-14T11:58:00.004-05:00

This is the same letter I wrote for my FAAN Fundraising page. I just want to share my story with as many people as possible. :)

Why I Walk - A letter from Elaine.

"My son was diagnosed with a peanut allergy the night before his first birthday. As an innocent birthday treat, I gave him a Nutter Butter cookie. I was happy to see him enjoying it. i mean after all, peanut butter was always my favorite food and I couldn't wait for the day I could share peanut butter jelly sammiches with my little one. But I also paid close attention as he ate it, heeding the warnings our pediatrician mentioned about peanuts being a dangerous food allergen for children. I was taking the situation seriously, but I also suspected that nothing would happen. At the time, no one close to me ever had a food allergy, so why should he?

Within the hour we were in the emergency room; his body had broken out with a severe case of hives. I had never seen such irritation and welting, and it happened so extremely fast. I paid close attention my baby's breathing while all the horror stories I had ever heard about anaphylaxis raced through my mind. I was terrified. I never had to face anything like this in my life. And to make it worse, it was happening to my one and only child.

Joshie will turn 4 in July. Over the past 3 years I have learned to read ALL food labels and always keep Bendryl and an Epipen close by. I discovered last summer that he is also allergic to soy and eggs, though they are minor compared to his reactions to peanuts.

I am learning more and more about food allergies everyday. I also trying to educate others about food allergy awareness and safety whenever I see the opportunity. I feel that I am doing something for a really good cause and I get a great sense of accomplishment, especially when the people I have discussed food allergies with come back to me and say, "Hey, I saw this movie that had a kid with a food allergy in it and I thought of Joshie" or, "I saw on the news that this is now being processed with peanuts." That makes me feel good to know that I have educated at least one or two people along the way. And it makes me feel even MORE accomplished when I discover they are spreading the word too!

A food allergy isn't something that should be brushed off casually; some can be fatal. There is no cure and the only treatment is avoidance. It requires constant diligence and a lot of patience -- from everyone.

Joshie and I are walking on November 14th to raise money for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. The money we raise will go towards research, education, and most of all - trying to find a vaccine. To know that my son can go to school without having to fear every child's cookie or peanut butter sandwich would be a blessing and a dream come true. I am working hard to try to make that dream a reality...for myself and my son.

~Elaine
Mommy and Team Captain of Joshie's Juggernauts"

My FAAN Fundraising page (http://www.foodallergywalk.org/goto/elaine.torres).

Joshie's Juggernauts Team Page (http://www.foodallergywalk.org/goto/joshies_juggernauts).

Weigh-In Update!

2009-05-04T11:33:00.003-05:00

I've lost 1 lb in roughly over a week. Not great, but at least I didn't gain! My Daily Plate has been VERY useful too, to make sure I don't over eat. It takes some getting used to, but I got over some of the stubbornness and kept with it.

Bastok - Rank 10 (FINALLY!)

2009-05-03T14:10:00.003-05:00

After how many years of non-dedicated playing?? lol Well I finally made Bastok Rank 10 and got my flag! Now I'm a "Hero Among Heroes." So here's a screenie of me with all my Basty memorabilia in my {Mog House}. Oh yeah, and that's an autographed Vermilion's Cloak made by the best boyfriend ever! Thanks, my K-ray :D

p.s. And just for the record, I got 30 Achievement points on the 360 for that. I found out last night how to unlock the achievements on FFXI, even the ones I did years ago. *HOLLA*

To Frag: Definition

2009-04-29T16:03:00.007-05:00

I get asked a lot about the word "frag." When I say or use it, most people are like.., "wha?? o.O"
Sounds dirty, I know.

Since I hadn't had a blog post in a lil while, and since I saw Roz puzzling over the term on J-May's Facebook Wall, I figure I would post my definition here as well for future references:

Frag -verb: (slang) To kill another player in a video game, usually in online multiplayer settings (Courtesy of Elaine's Gamer Dictionary).

Examples:
"I totally fragged joo in Halo!"
"HAHAHA fragged you.....RIGHT in the earball!" (Thanks K-Ray)
"I fragged your Mom."
And for those who play like me and K-Ray: "Let's go get fragged!!"

Hope this helps someone.
Have a great Day.

"Twilight" Convention at Sheraton, Dallas.

2009-04-24T14:06:00.003-05:00

Twicon 2009 will be held in Dallas, TX. And what do ya' know, it's at the Sheraton Hotel! The same hotel that A-kon is held! (This is where I state my dissatisfaction that it is no longer the Adams Mark Hotel. R.I.P.).

Here's the details:
Thursday July 30 - Sunday August 2

Events:
Concerts from Twilight inspired bands, A Volturi Masque Ball, a screening of the movie, plus more.

Hotel:
Sheraton Dallas Hotel
400 North Olive Street
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 922-8000
www.Sheraton.com/DallasHotel

Hotel Room Rates:
$139.00 per night, and double beds are sold out already. (hmm, A-kon gets a higher room rate...$154 per night)

Guests:
A few people no one has ever heard of and Christian Serratos, who plays Angela Webber in the movie.

The T-Shirt:
$15.99

THE CATCH:
Registration fee is ... what the crap? $255 per person!? My bleeding, broke heart! And I WAS planning on attending. Yeah it covers access to everything and even some food. Not the hotel room tho. And get this, they are offering a payment plan...
Wow.

I think I'll just spend all my geekery money at A-kon till Twicon can lower that registration price.

The Daily Plate

2009-04-23T14:10:00.002-05:00

So I mentioned earlier that I was keeping a calorie journal. Keeping track of calories eaten/burned helps is a great aide to weight loss, but it's like exercise: you HAVE to stick with it. I've tried three online food diaries in the past, but the one I really have fun with is Livestrong.com's The Daily Plate. I can easily track what I eat, what I drink, how many calories I've burned from exercise and everyday activities, AND how many ounces of water I've had for the day. I just love watching the little water pitcher fill up xD

Their nutritional database is FULL of foods, even stuff at restaurants. I have no problem finding my usual brands and can easily add them to "My Plate." Just keep an eye on the portions and servings, you may have to tweek them a bit. Another good thing is that Livestrong.com actually verifies a lot the nutritional information as well, so you know that what you track is accurate.

There are a lot of other nifty tools too, like graphs and pie charts that show all kinds of extremely useful information. I like the pie chart that tells me how much fat, carbs, and protein I have eaten for the day. Also, you can join groups, accept challenges, and even share a food/exercise diary. One of my favorite parts is that they suggest healthier alternatives to the foods you eat and activities you can do to burn it off. It's aslo really helpful for selecting the healthier food choices at your favorite restaurants :)

Under the "My Calorie Goals," I entered my weight, level of lifestyle activity (light), and a goal of losing 2 lbs per week. Then it calculated the estimated calories recommend to consume per day. Here was what it gave me:

"Our estimate is that you may consume about 1,573 calories a day to lose two pounds per week."

At first I thought, "UGH that's not very much!" BUT, I didn't consider the amount of calories I burn throughout the day. The more calories burned, the more calories added to your allowance. Makes sense, right? So since I have set my activity level as "Light," I track ANY activity: Sitting, eating, getting dressed, showering, and typing too. And I don't really exercise that much, maybe 30 minutes on my elliptical trainer and occasionally taking the stairs at work. Every little bit really does help! And because of that, I can still get away with eating an occasional treat, like Twizzlers and Reese's. LOL I may be eating healthier, but I am not depriving myself of something good! Doing that is a definite walk down the golden road of PHAIL! Moderation is always best: I get my simple life's pleasures still lose weight :D

If anyone signs up with Livestrong, let me know! I'll add you to my Livestrong buddy list and we can keep track together! More motivation to keep at it too! I'll help you with using the site too if needed!

And finally, I should give an honorable mention to my boyfriend. He has been the biggest support, encourages me, and offers a lot of suggestions and advice for helping through all this. *HUGS RAY* Best boyfriend ever!

I've lost 7 lbs!

2009-04-23T10:50:00.001-05:00

Last Spring I worked really hard to lose 25 or so pounds. But I gained it all back while working full-time at the bank. Omigosh do those people like to eat! >.< It's hard to refrain from good food! Especially when it's in abundance right in front of you. Needless to say, I gained the 25 lbs back (insert sobs of failure here). I've been trying to get back on the wagon since I realized my clothes weren't fitting me anymore. It hasn't been easy, mostly from lack of motivation. But since the trip to Canada came about, I've been eating healthy, working out, and tracking my calories. I've even passed up donuts at work (WAY hard)!

But so since last month, I've lost 7 lbs! HUZZAH!! 12 lbs to go to reach my goal! Think I can lose it before May 19th?

And I brought the ticker back! I went with the cute spring time ivy/lady bug to keep it cute lol. They didn't have cupcakes sliders, of course >:( LOL

www.my-calorie-counter.com The webs free Calorie Counter

I'm going to Canada!!

2009-04-19T11:30:00.016-05:00

I'm going to Edmonton, AB! And I'm very excited! That's where the boyfriend is from and I'm going to meet him there. I never get to take vacations so this is very exciting. And it's like I'll have my own personal tour guide too, teehee. I'll leave at the end of May and stay for a week. Then we are both coming back together and then, it's off to Dallas for A-kon 20! Yippee! Fun times ahead :D

I've already applied for my passport (Eeek!) and I should be getting that in the mail within 2 weeks. I've always wanted a passport since I was a kid!

This is a BIG step for me in may ways. Most of all, it's my first trip to another country! I love to travel and always dreamed of visiting other countries. I never thought I would ever get the chance to and for some reason I had it my head that I never would (well I can think of a few reasons why I thought that, but I'll keep this blog nice lol). And the best part is, I made the decision by myself and for myself :)

I know what I'm making for the kiddo's bday!

2009-04-13T13:41:00.002-05:00

1 Up Mushroom Cupcakes!!! Look, they have cute little eyes too :O
And I think maybe even throw in some red and white mushroom/cupcakes too!
Hmmm, I bet I can make Goombas too! :O

Kid's imagine the darndest things!

2009-04-08T10:13:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, the kiddo and I were putting our jackets on and gathering our stuff when I pointed to the Hamburger Helper box on the counter and asked, "Joshie, do you want to have that for dinner?"

His first response while staring at the box was, "Yeah, is that macaroni and cheese?"

Me: "Well, it's kinda like mac and cheese, except it has hamburger meat too."
It was the 3 cheese with penne pasta kind. I'm kind of picky about Hamburger Helper myself. I won't eat it except for the Italian Lasagna, but I like penne. Throw in the "3-cheese" and I'm sold.

All the while, the kiddo was still examining the box. Then he says with a worried look on his face and said, "No Mommy, I don't want it."

"Why?" I asked, "Is it because of the hamburger meat?" The hamburger meat was always the reason why I never liked the stuff to begin with, and I wasn't about to force him to eat it when I boycotted it throughout my own youth.

The poor baby lol. Do you know what he said? The reason why he didn't want to eat it after analyzing that box so carefully?

...... "Because it's made out of hands!!!"

At that point all I could do was bust out laughing and give him the biggest hug ever. I assured him that it was definitely NOT made out of hands. I guess with the picture of the Helping Hand along with the penne pasta (that does kind of resemble fingers) made him assume it was made of hands.

Needless to say, I made it for myself and did not make him eat it. Kids and their innocent imaginations! Needless to say, that put a smile on my face for the rest of the day. :)

Be Back Later...

2009-04-02T08:46:00.001-05:00

Well, in my attempt to do something good, I have screwed up my laptop. I'll be M.I.A. for a while but hopefully not too long. I have a couple of people that are helping me fix it.

Also, just found out that Microsoft is moving their XBox Live Support Center out of town. Yay! More jobs lost and more competition in the job hunt! I hope you can note my sarcasm there.

Texarkana was the main hub call center for Tier 1 and 2 support for XBox Live, and Tier 3 support was transferred to Manila. Well it seems that Microsoft now wants to move it all to Manilla. Hey, they did announce they were cutting a lot of jobs. Sadly, what company isn't these days?

Time to go, my appointment to donate my A- blood is upon me. The United Blood Services are doing their quarterly blood drive here at work; it will be the last time we get to do this before the layoff. This time we get 3 cool gifts: A McAlister's gift card, a Starbuck's giftcard, and a free t-shirt. whoohoo!

Today's Sewing Projects - For the kiddo!

2009-03-28T20:50:00.005-05:00

I had the Cars fabric remnant just hanging around, so I figured it was time to do something with it. Hancock's had their pillow forms on sale, so I ran over there and bought one.
Also, I made a shirt for one of the kiddo's little teddy bears using the leftover fabric from the PJs. I'll post pics of the PJs later, the top is finished, pants are still in pieces.
That's what I've done so far tonight, I am moving on to another project!

Sewing Machine Cover

2009-03-26T20:49:00.031-05:00

I've been working on a few projects these past few weekends but haven't had the chance to post any of it yet. So here's one of my first projects after I finished my Loli Bloomers: A Sewing Machine Cover.

I got tired of putting my sewing machine in the box everyday, or leaving it sitting out on my desk collecting dust in between weekend projects. And since A-kon is just around the corner, I wanted to keep my machine ready at a moment's notice so I can sit down and get to crackin' whenever I could.

I had some awesome remnant flannel fabric that was just sitting in my sewing trunk. It was too small for anything else, but I just loved the design. So I worked with it and viola! Here it is:

Here's a brief explanation on how I did it:

I couldn't make the remnant fit properly, it was really long but not wide enough to cover the whole thing. This is what it looked like:

But luckily I just learned how to make ruffles! So those could give me the extra length I needed to cover it completely in the front and back.

I measured how much would cover the sewing machine, then I trimed off the extra length and set it aside for ruffles. Next I postioned it on my sewing machine, centered it, then pinned along all 4 sides to make long darts for an almost snug fit. I didn't get any cool pics of all that, but if you know about darts, then I'm sure you get the gist. If not, then watch this vid that taught me how to sew darts last year. This is what my finished darts looked like:

Once the darts were finished, I took the remaining piece and cut it in half lengthwise and made the ruffles. Then I sewed once ruffle on the front, and then one on the back (there was enough length on the sides to make sort of a 'lip,' so no ruffle was needed there). Then it was finished!

I am no fan of Kristen Stewart.

2009-03-23T19:37:00.031-05:00

I'm hoping that Summit Entertainment will recast the role of Bella Swan to someone more deserving. I mean, come on, even the talentless-yet-somehow-finding-acting-jobs Kristen Stewart doesn't want to do it. As a matter of fact, she doesn't want to have anything to do with Twilight at all. That's fine. It would be an improvement for the sequals.

Kristen Stewart is a very ugly girl, and I don't mean her looks. She's on a lot of "S"-Lists because of her horrible attitude towards everyone. She's been saying some pretty harsh things in her interviews, bashing her fans, and putting out an "I'm better than this" type of attitude. It's one thing to ask for swarms of fans to leave you alone, but to insult and talk trash about them is a whole other story. She even admitted that she "totally" thought it would be so easy to put fangirls into a frenzy by not filming another Twilight movie. Why, what a harsh thing to consider, lil' Miss Pothead. Full of yourself much? If there is one quality I despise about a person, it's arrogance. Her attitude makes her look like a piece of garbage with lipstick.

And get this. She was offered to present at the Oscars alongside her Twilight costar Rob P. And she turned it down! Wanna know why? Access Hollywood reported that her father said "that Kristen would only present, 'When it’s a great movie, not just one that makes a lot of money.'” Wow.... They sound extremely snotty if you ask me. It's the OSCARS, YOU ARTSY-FARTSY COW! What's wrong with you? Be grateful you were asked to present! Geez.

Stewart says she's shy and said she wasn't ready for the fame. Well, tough cookies, it kinda comes with the job. And "shy" doesn't call her fans retarded and then screams at them to "Get out of here!"

I'd be glad if Kristen Stewart didn't show her face in the rest of the Twilight movies. And aside from the two stupid monkey references, she practically ruined Twilight with her lack of enthusiasm and acting skills. Heck, I wish she'd stop making movies period. Maybe she should just find another career. I hear IHOP is hiring ~~twits~~.

LINKS!

Kristen Stew art's Lame Interview with Nylon Mag

Perez Hilton Hates Kristen Stewart

Kristen Hates Doing Twilight Interviews.

Does Kristen Stewart hate her "Twilight" golden handcuffs? Survey says: Yes.

<--Ok it's official. I have seen the ugliest dress in existence.

Pass This on! (An Office Comedy)

2009-03-19T11:21:00.011-05:00

Wal-Martyrd: Another Urban Legend denounced by Snopes.com.

Ladies and gents, I want you to check out that link. As you know, Snopes.com investigates rumors and Urban Legends to prove whether they are real or fake.

I walked into a frenzy-in-progress when I arrived at work this morning. The big buzz that had all the ladies panicking was a new Urban Legend about a gang initiation. Gang members nation wide are gathering today (no wait it was yesterday, no it's tomorrow..who knows really) at your local Wal-Mart to kill/rob/moon 3 random white women.

Suuuure.

So let's lay out our characters. There is me, the Avon Lady (remember she sits not 5 ft from me everyday), the Boss Lady, and the lady that was trying to be a helpful informant (I'll call her Shirley. Oops wait, that's her real name, oh well). I'm gonna break down the conversation and tell you guys what Shirley was saying, followed by my first thoughts and reactions in 1st person (I'll try to keep them in parenthesis to avoid confusion).

OPENING OF SCENE

It's the morning of March 19th, 2009, 8:00 a.m. on the dot. Elaine enters, stage right. Walks to her desk and sits down as she turns on her monitor. She is upset when she discovers the internet is down. Again.

Enter Shirley, stage right. She is frantic after talking to one of the couriers.

Shirley: "Guys I don't know if you have heard or not..."

Avon Lady: "Oh yes, I have heard. It's been all over the news.Wal-Mart has even bumped up security."

Boss Lady: "Keba junta febba wa!" (trasnlation: I don't know what she said, but something poured out of her mouth. So i figured I would have her speak Ewok.)

Elaine: "Wait, what? What's going on?" (My initial impression was that a coworker got hurt or something.)

Shirley: "Yeah, Kathy (an ex-coworker) said [so-and-so called her, and so-and-so called him to tell her.] Because you know, she called me because I don't have a TV." (Wait, hold up. She said that she said that he said that she said? uh-oh, either someone we know got hurt during a burglary in the Wal-Mart parking lot (not a surprise), or this is another urban legend. By the way the [ and ] means I don't exactly remember what she said, it's kinda paraphrased. But apparently there were 4 people involved in the "Telephone Game." First sign of an urban legend.)

Elaine: Ok, wait wait wait. What is going on?"

Shirley (calming down a bit): "There will be gang initiations at Wal-Mart. So-and-so is on her way there now and I told her not to go!"

Elaine: "Gang initiation?" (In my mind, I was rolling my eyes. Omg are you serious? I kinda turned back around facing my monitor, intending to forget about it. It definitely was an Urban Legend.)

Elaine (turns back around to face Shirley): "Where did you hear this?"

Shirley: "It was on the news!" (Ok, so I know SHE didn't see it because she just said she doesn't have a TV).

Avon Lady: "Yeah, they said they bumped up security at the Wal-Mart. I saw it on the new last night myself." (Crap, the news is reporting it. Maybe it's true?)

Elaine: "Which Wal-Mart? Arkansas or Texas side?"

Shirley: "All of 'em! It's nationwide!"

Elaine rolls her eyes in her mind again. It's just too much U.L. to believe.

Elaine: "When?" (At this point, no one knew for sure. I couldn't get an exact date out of em. This weekend, tonight, last week, who knows. I was jones-ing for Snopes.com so bad so I could disprove it.)

Boss Lady: " Jubba ha wonta hie!"

Elaine: "Guys, this sounds like nothing more than an Urban Legend."

Avon Lady: "Yeah, that's what the news called it last night! I couldn't think of the name. I knew it has something to do with medieval."

Elaine: "..................." (Oh Christ on a bicycle. Medieval?? What in the name of Tom Selleck's mustache is she talking about?)

Shirley exits, stage right.

Boss Lady, who has now moved from her desk to near the stage exit while holding her trusty Ewok spear, stops to listen.

Elaine: "When the internet comes back up, I'm checking out Snopes.com."

END OF SCENE

I had to tell them what Snopes was about. About 5 minutes later, the internet was up and running. So I go to my iGoogle page and check out my nifty Urban Legend Add On and sure enough, there it was: "Wal-Martyrd." I told Avon Lady to come check it out since she was the only one left in the office. I tried to splurt my theory on how it was false, saying that gangs aren't going top co-operate with each other to organize a mass initiation at Wal-Mart(remember my blog about Avon Selling the T-Virus and how she reacted? Gangs hate each other, don't they? She looked at me as if to say, "You naive twit." Afterwards, I could see her point of one huge nationwide gang that could possibly do it. Ok so yeah, I was being a little naive. Touche, Avon Madame . But it is still and Urban Legend and I never said I was an expert on gangs.

I'm not claiming to be an expert on Urban Legends either, but I am very familiar with the subject. I wrote a research paper on several of them back in college because the stories have always fascinated me. Some are just completely ridiculous and some are really terrifying (ie, waking up in a tub full of ice with a kidney missing, etc). So I do know some of the folklore and urban tales, and some of the signs that scream, "It's a rumor!"

I'm not doubting the evil nature of people who intend to kill, either. There are very intelligent gang leaders out there who can use this kind of hysteria to their advantage. Something that wasn't true to begin with can all of a sudden become reality, and then the thing people feared is actually happening and they have no clue that it wasn't true to begin with. Craziness!

Considering the shooting at Central Mall about 3 weeks ago, I can see how this Urban Legend could put people into a frantic state of mind. Now, I haven't been able to find anything on the Central Mall shooting myself, and I'm wondering if it is a rumor myself. Please share links if you have them. And please don't comment and say "Yes it happened! My niece's boyfriend's cousin was there!" I don't care who you are, I won't believe it. "He-said, She-said" is not a reliable source of information.

Ah, and the day is still young!

Peanut-Free Egg-Free and Milk-Free Easter Baskets

2009-03-17T16:11:00.004-05:00

Kids With Food Allergies provide a list of easter basket goodies safe for children who suffer from food allergies. read more | digg story

So now I'm a Goddess?!

2009-03-17T13:59:00.003-05:00

I got my latest Pyramid Collection catalog in the mail last week (*victory stance*) and as always, sooooo many pretty things! But what really caught my eye in this catalog was not an object. On every other page it says: "Goddess Sizes Available at No Extra Cost!"

O.O Eureka! I love it!
1.) Clothes were not referred to as "PLUS SIZES," they are referred to as GODDESS sizes.
2.) No extra cost for an XL or XXXXL! How AWESOME is that!!!

Just another reason why I love The Pyramid Collection. They won my affection and willingness to spend my entire paycheck by proclaiming my morbid deformity as divine beauty! (Someone call the NAAFA, we have a winner!)

Speaking of which, I think using the term "morbid" in that sense as a medical term is horrible, but I'm not getting on top of my soap box for that right now. My BMI is only one tick from being classified as clinically "Morbidly Obese." They can kiss my Goddess-sized left butt cheek.

Go shopping--> www.pyramidcollection.com. Right in the middle of the page is where they have a special section for "Goddess Plus Sizing." It does say "Plus," but I'm overlooking it now because they think I'm a Goddess!

I think I like this "me being a goddess" talk. Of course, the BF has referred to me as a Goddess too, that's how he got uber brownie points.

PC World's "The Most Violent Video Games Ever Made"

2009-03-16T16:52:00.005-05:00

While I'm sitting here anxiously waiting for the clock to hit 5, I'm going to share this article I found on DIGG:

15 of The Most Violent Video Games Ever Made! (PC World)

And guess which two scored the highest rating of "5 pints of blood" on the gore scale:
Resident Evil series (pg 15)
Silent Hill series (pg 14)

wow go figure, two of my favorite games! I think I've become desensitized to Resident Evil scariness because Resident Evil 5 hasn't been that bad. It's fun as hell tho! It may also be because I have a partner playing with me :D Ray and I have been playing it after the little one goes to bed, and it is so much fun! We've been staying up late late hours shooting up some Las Plagas! I only got about 5 hrs sleep last night, and I told him if we want to play tonight, then I need to have Folgers injected directly into my blood stream.

Now Silent Hill, that's just plain messed up on so many levels.... I need to play those in broad daylight surrounded by a support group. But it's so worth it!

Ok, it's quittin' time! I got a hot date with the munchkin at Mickey D's!

Avon sells the T-Virus.

2009-03-13T13:52:00.010-05:00

I think Avon should rethink their marketing strategies, unless their goal is to bring about the zombie apocalypse before the Canadians do...

Last Friday my Avon lady gave me the new Campaign 7 catalog featuring one of their new products on the front cover. My first reaction was....OMG Avon is the real-life Umbrella Corporation! Then the Umbrella Commercial** ad for Resident Evil: Apocalypse kept playing in my head. I mean, come on, look at it:

This is my Campaign 7 catalog for March 2009

Now, look at the T-Virus:

W..

T...
F...

And look at this Avon ad. She even looks like an evil Umbrella Scientist, if you ask me:

It's called Derma-Full X3 Facial Filling Serum, and it looks almost EXACTLY like the T-Virus from Resident Evil. Needless to say, my Avon Rep wasn't amused at my zombie geekanese when I tried to explain the humor in it.

I thought I was alone in noticing this. I mean, how many other nerds order form Avon? But today I got a feed about it, and to my surprise it's been all over the internet: You Tube, Geekologie, and even (go figure) totallylookslike.com. So I told my Avon Rep (who sits not 5 ft from me everyday) how much attention it's gained, she just laughed a little then went about her business. Pft, she's no fun! Anyway, I'm anxious to see if Avon sales will boost because of this.

And what perfect timing for all this too, because today is the release date for Resident Evil 5! Hooray!! It's a zombie invasion, antivirus, cupcake kind-a day! */celebrate* Picked up my copy at lunch, and I'll be spending my weekend playing it :P Speaking of games, I finally completed my first round of Portal last night. That game is so much fun, but very, very frustrating all at the same time. I really love it for the dark humor.

Have a good weekend!!!

**

FAAN Walk Dates and Locations for 2009

2009-03-12T16:56:00.001-05:00

I decided to pop over to the FAAN Walk website to check for any updates. They changed the look and announced the dates! Yippe! And I have to say I like their new website.

Guess this means I'll be fundraising again really soon. The sooner I start, the more money we can raise. Be on the lookout for me, because I'll be hittin' you up to support Team Joshie!

The date for the walk in Plano, TX, is November 14th, 2009. For those who are walking for Joshie, mark your calendars! :D

www.foodallergywalk.org

The healing power of... toothpaste!

2009-03-11T16:38:00.006-05:00

I did something really stupid last night *go figure* I am just like my mother when it come to clumsiness in the kitchen.

Last night I was in quite a hurry to get dinner finished because I had to be somewhere afterwards. I was trying to boil a pot of water on a front stove burner when I realized that I had lit the back burner instead. My first reaction when I realized that I had the pot on the wrong burner was "crap, stick it on the back burner so it will get to boiling!" Now, I have a habit of turning the pot handles inwards or towards the back of the stove so that me or someone else doesn't accidentally knock it off, or worse yet, the kiddo come by and try to grab it. So guess where the handle was? It was hovering over the now red hot burner, that's where! And did it not occur to me to get the stupid oven mitt? Gosh no, I was in too much of a hurry. So like a fool, I grabbed the handle. ........ Yeah, stupid. I know. So anyway, I ended up burning my middle, ring, and little fingers on my left hand.

And they HURT!! Omg did they hurt! I heard to never put ice on a burn, so I tried running cool water over them instead, but I was still in pain. The sunburn aloe stuff I had didn't help because it might have had Lanolin in it. I didn't have any burn cream at all, so I asked the boyfriend to look up some home remedies on the internet. Now, I have heard somewhere that a raw potato works well, but I didn't have any on hand. That was one of the options on a list that he found (I don't remember the name of the website tho, sorry). Another suggestion was... yellow mustard?? Who would have thought? Kinda icky, so I scanned the list and came across..... toothpaste! For real? toothpaste? How? My poor fingers were so sore that I couldn't even bend them and I needed something fast. Morphine might have worked nicely. But since I didn't have that option either I decided to go with the toothpaste because 1.) It wouldn't stain my hands or clothes mustard yellow and 2.) It has a more appeasing smell. So I marched into the bathroom and squeezed out a liberal amount on each finger and gently rubbed it enough to cover the burned areas. And o m g, it worked! The pain immediately went away and I was totally stoked about it! I kept the toothpaste on for about 15-20 minutes, then gently washed it off so I could eat dinner. And they never hurt again after that.

Good thing to know if any of you or your kids get a minor burn :)

$25 Gift Card to Gamestop. Thank You, My Points!

2009-03-10T16:36:00.002-05:00

So last week I spent the Gamestop gift card that I received from Mypoints.com. It processed without any complications and now I have $25 more slapped down on my reserved copy of Resident Evil 5! W00tz! Holla! That's the second time I've redeemed a gift card from My Points and I have to say, I LOVE THAT SITE!

My Points is a program that rewards its members with "points" earned by shopping, searching, playing games, taking surveys, or click-thru email advertising. I know that sounds like a pain, but it's really easy and well worth it! The points can later be redeemed for gift cards from big name vendors such as Target, Subway, Gamestop, Old Navy, Olive Garden, and lots more. (Learn More). And best of all, it's totally free!

I've earned a total of 6357 points since I signed up. I redeemed my first 1300 or so points for a $10 Subway gift card because I wanted to start with something small to make sure everything was legit. Sure enough I received an official Subway gift card in the mail from My Points. I used it three times without any problems (well, not from My Points at least...some Subway employees don't know how to work their own equipment).

After that little test, I decided to save my points for something nice. And what could be better than a $25 gift card from Gamestop!? So once I accumulated all the points required (a lil' over 3,700), I redeemed them, received an official Gamestop gift card in the mail, and spent it at my usual Gamestop store. I mean come on, extra money to spend at my local GAMESTOP! It doesn't get any better than that!

Here's how I earn My Points:
*I open the emails My Points sends me, scroll to the bottom, click on the orange button to visit the sponsor's site, and that's it! I've earned points! Usually it's about 5 points per sponsor page, sometimes more. I don't even have to sign up for the offers. It's advertising that's running the joint, so just getting the person to see it is their goal.
*Print and redeem the coupons they send via email (or I can find them on the my points web page). When I redeem the coupons, I get points! I use them at Wal-Mart and Target all the time. The coupons are for all kinds of good stuff too, like Pillsbury, Velveeta, DVDs, vitamins, and even toys! That's how I usually get the bulk of my points, I use them for groceries.
*I used the My Points Rewards Visa card and earned points for every purchase. **(The card was originally issued through Washington Mutual, but due to the economy, Chase bought them out. The My Points Rewards Visa has been discontinued recently, but they are working on a replacement soon!)
*Participate in the odd survey.
*Visit the My Points home page and complete the "Tell Us and Earn More" box usually found on the right. You can earn about 5 points for each ridiculously short questionnaire.

If anyone would like to sign up, please let me refer you! Once you sign up (again, for FREE) and get 250 points, then I get 250 points, too! Just send me your email address and I'll send a referral link :) Also, don't forget to complete "About You" section (I think that's what it's called). Basically you tell them what interests you so they can send specific advertisements. Plus you get MORE points if you complete it.

I haven't decided on my next reward yet because there are so many to choose from. Olive Garden? Yum. Target? Barnes and Noble? STARBUCKS! Or maybe the $50 Gamestop card! omigosh! I can't decide! *squeeeeek*