A pet peeve and a revelation.

Auto-play music on websites, especially blogs. Kill me. You load a site, sometimes more than one, and start reading when suddenly your least favorite song comes blasting through the speakers. You scramble for the mouse and quickly search each open tab for the offending music player. Those little buggers are small! I searched all three sites several times before finding it on the page I had been reading. That chick has weird music tastes. In the same playlist she has Kenny G, Celine Dion's version of Ave Maria (WHY!?), Keiko Matsui (I have no idea who this is, the name just sounded like a video game programmer), Acoustic Alchemy, David Benoit, Mannheim Steamroller, Dido and Enya. Seriously. The only ones I would listen to are Mannheim Steamroller and Enya.
Enya is amazing. Beautiful, soothing, quiet. Enya is one of my favorite musical artists.

I was typing my title when I had a revelation. A pathetic, obvious revelation, but a revelation nonetheless. Peeves the Poltergeist in Harry Potter is named Peeves because he annoys you, he peeves you. *Runs around the table* I am slow. I am slow. I am slow.

For a long time, my family had (and maybe still has) a set of Rook cards. We never played the original game 'Rook' but always one of the side games in the included book, usually 'Donkey.' I don't remember how Donkey was played but in the end, the last person to lay down their cards was forced to run around the table saying 'I am slow. I am slow. I am slow.'

Prayer Request

Please pray for my knee. For those of you who don't know, two years ago last month, I slammed it into a tree while playing paintball in the rain. It gave me some pretty bad trouble for about a year, and then some mild trouble off and on for this past year. But today, after I got home from work around 10, I ran up the stairs and when I tried to walk in the hallway, it spazzed and pain just shot through it. It is also red and possibly swollen. The pain has faded enough for me to walk a few times but right now it is killing me. I have my brace on and I'm going to use a hot compress before bed but please please pray. The last thing I want is to end up in the hospital right before or during Christmas.

My two favorite blogs ever!

Since it is the season of giving and all that happy joyness. I have decided to share with you my two favorite blogs in all the world. Actually one is technically not a blog but a site that links to blogs but who's counting?

Blog number one:
Pioneer Woman
To get started on Pioneerwoman, I strongly suggest doing one of two things (both of which I did when I discovered the site but then again, I think I was up all night reading): first, browse her recipes. Unlike most food blogs out there, Ree (the Pioneerwoman) has good down-to-earth recipes with normal ingredients. Nothing fancy-smancy that you have to mail order from a tiny little country somewhere in Europe that charges $600 for a little half ounce jar and you need two ounces. 8-0
Secondly, check out the Black Heels To Tractor Wheels section of her site, but only if you have several hours to burn.
About once a week or so, Ree will have giveaways. She will give away anything from the latest copy of Photoshop to a brand new you-pick-the-color Kitchen Aid Mixer. I want. I really want. I have entered several giveaways for various items but a Kitchen Aid mixer...I salivate. I'm really hoping I'll win one from her latest Kitchen Aid mixer giveaway.

Blog Number two:
Foodgawker (WARNING! FOOD PORN! ;-) )
I could be on this site for hours! Literally hours. I should clarify that this is not technically a blog. It is a super awesome site that links to food blogs. There are over 200 pages chock full of recipes with mouth-water pictures. Some of the sites that are linked are in a foreign language, use European measurements and or crazy weird ingredients. Most, however, can be made with ingredients you have on hand or maybe only one or two special ones. Also, you can use an online converter to convert the European measurements into American.

Busy Busy

I'm in such a hurry today, that I'm updating with a slice of pizza in my left hand which makes for very interesting typing. :-P
It's a Wonderful Life performances are finally over! The cast party was Sunday after the last performance and strike. It was pretty good. I brought two different kinds of homemade fudge. Raspberry chocolate and peppermint chocolate. Not much was eaten by the time I left an hour or so into the party but there was also lots of other stuff that people had brought. So I took most of it home but left a few pieces for the few die hards who were still there. The recipes made a LOT. Approximately five pounds each batch and I made two. That being said, there is nothing left.
I have to make more later this week for Christmas presents. I bought the cutest little boxes at Ocean State Job Lots in Ossipee yesterday when I went to help Natalie get ready for the holidays. The smaller boxes will hold 8 pieces of fudge each and the larger probably 18 pieces each. It appears that I will make four different kinds of fudge, Raspberry chocolate, eggnog, white chocolate peppermint and semi-sweet chocolate peppermint.
Gotta run, I'm off to bible study at the Whittemore's.

Apologies!

I'm sorry everyone! (I.E. all two of my readers :-P) I've been busy with It's a Wonderful Life and work and the lappy broke. :-(
So here's a boring quizzy thingy for you that I was tagged in on facebook.

40 Secrets About Yourself.
If your tagged do this then tag 10 of your friends.
Be honest no matter what.

[One] Have you ever been asked out?
yes
[two] Where was your default picture taken?
Emily's house
[Three] What's your middle name?
Ellen
[Four] Your current relationship status?
taken
[Five] what is your current mood?
tired but that's not really a mood. disgusted.
[six] what is your current mood?
Look above...?
[seven] what color underwear are you wearing?
*checks* blue
[eight] what color shirt are you wearing?
black and grey
[nine] do you have any pets?
nope
[ten] if you could go back in time and change something, would you?
yes
[eleven] if you must be an animal for one day, what?
a moose
[twelve] ever had a near death experience?
no...but I have been to the ER twice
[thirteen] something you do a lot?
read. say stupid things
[fourteen] the song stuck in your head?
none
[fifteen] do you want or have tattoos?
nope
[sixteen] name someone with the same birthday as YOU?
Mr Broughton and Dave Colbath
[seventeen] when was the last time you cried?
yesterday
[eighteen] have you ever sung in front of a large audience
yup
[nineteen] if you could have one super power what would it be?
i dunno...never really thought about it
[twenty] what's the first thing ..you notice about the opposite sex?
basic build
[twenty-one] have you ever been in love?
i dunno
[twenty-two] if so are you still in love?
I dunno
[twenty-three] favorite color?
black
[twenty-five] do you still watch kiddy movies or tv shows?
sometimes
[twenty-six] what are you eating or drinking at the moment?
peppermint drinking chocolate. NOT peppermint hot chocolate. Peppermint drinking chocolate. look it up
[twenty-seven] do you speak any other language?
do pig latin, gibberish and ubby-dubby count?
[twenty-eight] what's your favorite smell?
i have many. peppermint, orange, chocolate, roses, clean laundry to name a few
[twenty-nine] if you could describe your life in three words what would it be?
blessed, confusing, difficult
[thirty] when was the last time you gave/received a hug?
when hannah went to bed a few hours ago
[thirty-one] have you ever been kissed in the rain?
no, but snow, yes
[thirty-two] what are you thinking about right now?
three very special kisses in my life (hey, you asked)
[thirty-three] what should you be doing?
going to bed
[thirty-four] who was the last person that made you upset/angry?
Randy
[thirty-five] how often do you pray?
Not enough
[thirty-six] do you like working in the yard?
sometimes
[thirty-seven] if you could have any last name in the world, what would you want?
Pitt? Clooney? They're good ones. Oh, no, no, Tatum.
[thirty-eight] do you act differently around the person you like?
a little i guess
[thirty-nine] what is your natural hair color?
mousy brown
[forty] who was the last person to make you cry?
i cried in church because Pastor Dave and all the deacons prayed over me for healing.

And I tag...uh...anyone who reads this. Lemme know if you actually do it though. Thanks!

You threw off my groove!

Last Saturday, we were given two six-packs of Squamscot Beverages in Mistletoe Mist flavor, for employee samples. I was a little apprehensive about the new soda. I had tried Squamscot sodas before and wasn't impressed. They tended to be flat and boring. However, the Mistletoe Mist flavor had me intrigued so I grabbed a bottle on my way out. I promptly forgot about it and it sat in the fridge until this morning when headed for the milk to wash down leftovers of Mom's amazing Hawaiian pizza, I spotted it. Because I had no idea what Mistletoe Mist tastes like, I had nothing for comparison. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Mistletoe Mist is quite good. The initial taste is sort of subtle grapefruity and cherry-y. There is also another flavor in there that I'm not quite sure what it is. The after taste is strange. It's almost like the initial taste but more watery, if you will, which sounds unappetizing but works. While I was sitting here debating the complicated inner-workings of this wonderous new soda, my mom takes a sip and declares it tastes like one of those gingerale and fruitpunch punchs you make for informal parties. Well. There goes my groove. Excuse me while I sit in the corner and drink my gingerale and fruitpunch soda.