End Of The Affair

Once upon a time a young girl was so happy to have an Easy Bake Oven. One day she was preparing to make the most beautiful and delicate cake in her new oven. However, she forgot to remove the plastic tray used to slide the cake pan into the oven. The tray melted under the awesome strength of the cooking bulb within, thus making it impossible to use the oven. Several years later the young girl was given a Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker! Wonder of wonders!

Okay, so the young girl is me. I was watching Barefoot Contessa (recorded on my DVR!) and she was making scones. Ina made it look so easy. I thought, I'll show her easy and I got out my Girl Gourmet Christmas gift. Here are the steps that followed.

This is the cupcake mix. You just add a little water, mix, and pour into provided cupcake paper cup and then into plastic cup.

Then you place the cupcake into the steamer, pop it in the microwave for 25 seconds, remove the lid and this is what you see. It smelled very pastry-esque so I continued.

Then you load the icing (mixed in the same manner as the cake mix) and load it into this icing gun thing. You place the pre-nuked cupcake under the icing gun and push down on the lever. The cupcake spins round and round and back and forth in the slot to create a professional icing swirl design.

This is what actually happened. It oozed all the way down to the bottom chamber holder thingy. No worries. I decided to proceed yet again.

Yes, they even give you decorative sprinkles! I liberally sprinkled them on my delicate and now odd smelling cupcake. I took my highly anticipated first bite. It tasted a bit like...cardboard.

I threw it in the trash with shimmers of disappointed tears in my eyes. It was so gross, if they were a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean they would be called "bilecake" or "cardboard cup". It's such a shame because I used to love cupcakes; now I think I may be turned off of them forever, the affair is done. I think I'll leave the baking to my heroes on the Food Network. So, if you know anyone without taste buds that would be interested in receiving (no purchase necessary!) my Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker with three remaining cupcake mixes and frosting mixes be sure to send them my way. Well, better go, my stomach is starting to cramp.

New Dwelling

I've taken a few photos of my new place. I only have about 2 rooms in order but they are still not decorated.

This is my kitchen. You'll notice my cuisinart griddler on the counter top. It has quickly become one of my prize possessions. I also have a dishwasher now, hooray!!

This is yet another view of my kitchen (it's just so large).


This is my living room. I'll definitely have some art work in this room. I should be able to start planning picture placement (alliteration rules!) next week with the help of an organization book by the domestic goddess Martha Stewart. I've got a class to teach this weekend but other than that my plans are to relax and enjoy the time off. Next week will be busy so I'll store up my free time while I can.

Technology

We have a scanner at work, of which no one has received training. Usually I just tell the students, who are pretty tech-savvy these days, to have a crack at it. I decided to do the same myself today. It was fairly easy and I was even able to edit my scanned item using Adobe Photoshop on the desktop. However, when I inserted my flash drive into my desk computer it shut down. Huh. So, I rebooted and tried to open the file again. It said "no file selected" and the disk was empty. I wanted to post this cute little comic (seen below) from the newspaper. Being the information savvy librarian that I am I just went to the newspapers web edition and did a screen shot. So, technology both failed me and made a quick recovery.

I thought this was really cute and it shows the general perception of librarians: elderly, glasses, bun, "forceful" about library property. Anyhoo, work has been pretty busy. Students have been asking reference questions and I've taught a few classes this week. I'll be traveling to our Augusta campus next week so that will be another nice change.

I saw Bride Wars which I had high hopes for but fell flat in the humor department. I also saw Hellboy II and Notes on a Scandal. Both were pretty entertaining but I wouldn't really recommend either. I watched The Thief Lord last night which is based on a young adult book I read a couple years ago for my international literature for young adults. It was lame but I remember that I had a really hard time getting interested in the book. I finished the 5th book in The Last Apprentice and there will definitely be another book. Hooray! I think I'll try some non-fiction next. Unpacking is nearly complete but I'm very unmotivated at this point. The 5 boxes that needed to be unpacked last week still need to be unpacked this week. Organizing and hanging of artwork will be the last thing to happen.

New Books

As some of you might know I now work at an academic library. I used to work at a public library and we received crates of new books each week. I loved looking at all the new books, especially the young adult books, and deciding which ones I wanted to read. When I started at my current job I kind of forgot about new books. Several boxes of books have arrived, stuffed with young adult literature and I'm like a kid in a candy store! Once I finish the last book in The Last Apprentice series I'll dive in to the new arrivals.

The Bad Room

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope joyous celebrations were had and snacks and beverages were consumed by all. Christmas was lovely, I ate too much, just as I planned. New Year's was fun, I ate too much, just as planned.

I am now living in my new place. Everything is a mess and I'm as happy as can be. I'm so glad to be out of the Palace. The move was on Saturday but I began transporting boxes on the first of the year. There were a few injuries on move-in day but nothing requiring serious medical attention. I went back to the Palace on Sunday to vacuum and do some minor tidying up. I opened the door to the bad room took some pictures and exited as quickly as possible. I did not want to contaminate my new vacuum by cleaning up that horrid room.

The arrows indicate the location of a bug--mostly roaches and spiders. I have labeled the scorpion at the bottom of the picture. The orange circle at the top right of the picture indicates where the window did not close. My dad "sealed" the opening with newspaper when I moved to the house in July. The bug man then doused the paper with bug spray and drenched the room from top to bottom. You can see the good it did. This was going to be my office but I high-tailed it outta there after a week.

These are the remains of the scorpion in that room. It got separated during the move a little. I think my help stepped on him a couple times.

This is where my computer desk was. You'll notice the cluster of bugs in this particular area. Oh, and the spiders came in from the opening in the ceiling from the ceiling fan as well. Gross.

I also decided to take a picture of part of the master bathroom. This is the bidet. Above the bidet is a large nut. I was informed this was called a butt nut and was only found in a very small part of India. I want to check the validity of this statement but I'm worried about what may pop up during a Google search. An image search is out of the question.

I will post more about my unpacking progress. Cable and Internet were set up today so things just keep getting better. Now, I have not had any bills yet, obviously, so I may be singing a different tune in a few weeks.

I finished Northern Exposure. Like most shows, they did not seem to know how to end the series and I was hugely disappointed. However, I still want to see Alaska so no harm done.

Thermostat Nazi

Those of you who know me are aware of my stubborn thermostat habits. I try to see how long I can wait in the winter before I turn it on. When I do turn it on it is rarely above 62 degrees. In the summer I've been known to keep it set at 85 degrees. This is why I am called the Thermostat Nazi. Well, I came home this morning expecting the heat to be running. I left it at a respectable 53 degrees before I left yesterday. It said 43 degrees instead and would not come on. I called my landlord who in turn called the thermostat man who then called me. He asked me to check my gas tank which was at zero gallons. I was very surprised because it was just filled 22 days ago at the low cost of $245. I'm rarely here and I never have the heat above 58 degrees in this house. Figure it out if you can because I can't. I now consider this house to be The Money Pit Vermin Palace. Anyway, I left the house for a few hours to stay at a warmer place. I came back around 2pm and a new temperature was displayed:

So, the temperature to the right is the one I want--it says 58 degrees. The temperature on the left is the actual degrees inside the house--38 degrees. The gas man just came by and we are inching up the scale to normal temperatures. In mere moments I will be warm enough to no longer have tissue stuck up my nostrils to stop the running. We are now back up to 43 degrees--hooray!!

In other news, this is the beginning of my second week of vacation. I have successfully packed two boxes. Yes, just two boxes--both packed within the last 20 minutes. Motivation totally eluded me last week but at least I got all my Christmas shopping done and presents wrapped. Progress is progress no matter what form. Today, I intend to pack at least 3 more boxes and I took a load of librarian books to my work area. I grabbed a few out of the bad room. This is the room in which the bugs roam freely and I never ever enter after dark. There was a dead scorpion waiting in there for me today. That brings the scorpion count up to 4 since I moved here. Alabama was fun and I saw Four Christmases. It was funny but not as funny as I expected. I visited with some friends in Atlanta last weekend and got to celebrate with my grandmother on her 86th birthday. We had cupcakes, two of which I ate for breakfast on Sunday. I'll see more friends and family this week so I won't be home much again. That's all the news for now, must return to packing.

Alabama Bound

Well, my final week of work before the big holiday break is here. We are rather busy with last minute details. I'm taking a 2 day course on information literacy assessment online and the next three days (two for me) will be spent shifting our non-fiction section. I'm taking Friday off--so my vacation will begin a little early! This weekend I'm going to Alabama with my friend to visit her friends and family. I can't remember the last time I was in AL, if ever, so this should be a fun little trip for me. Hopefully, I'll visit Atlanta the following weekend. Time to travel is such a rare commodity. I'm slowly finishing all my holiday shopping and the packing of boxes will begin next week. You may wonder what else I will do with all my spare time. I have the unfortunate feeling that my three week vacation will go by much faster than I'd like.

I've been trying to take pictures of my pond ducks but they keep flying away before the camera can focus. Instead, I have posted a picture of my potman (ceramic, not illegal). Some lovely friends of mine made him for me and he guards my front porch. I've named him Marley.

I've also included a picture of my friend's sweet puppy Sandi. She likes to jump up on the back of the couch (just like a cat!) and sit on the cushion.

In comparison it looks as though she could kick my potman's butt. However, I assure you she is smaller than Marley.

I feel like I need to readdress the Twilight issue. I get the feeling those that loved the book were disappointed by the movie (usually always the case with a film adaptation) and those that loathed the book (myself) enjoyed the movie. There, 'nuff said. I'm still reading The Last Apprentice series--I'm on book four, Attack of the Fiend. The kids have commented on how scary it looks. Oh, and I'm dying to see Four Christmases.

Race To The Race

Well, my second 5K race (the 13th Annual Will Robinson Memorial Run) was this weekend. I planned to leave my house 30 minutes before the race to have time to park, sign-up and stretch. I found a parking space at 8:16 am. I realized at 8:16:08 that I forgot my MP3 player. I cannot run without my music--I am physically unable. So, it took me 16 minutes to get there but it took another 20 minutes to drive back to my house and then back to the site of the race. I was driving really fast. They started without me (the nerve)!! I started 6 minutes and 21 seconds after the start time. It was so, so cold. I thought my thumb nails were going to fall off from the cold and I just knew my face was covered in frozen snot. I caught up with some of the people and finished in a dismal 28:33--five seconds slower than my last race. Better luck next time. "The money that is raised from the event this year will go back into the community in three different forms; toward a scholarship for the Georgia Military College Alumni Foundation, a Georgia Military Scholarship in Will Robinson's name and a donation to the CHAMPS program."...Union-Recorder, Friday November 21, 2008.

I went home to wash up and clean up my place a little. My mom and my friend April were coming to visit. We had lunch and full-tea, walked around downtown and went to the "mall" for some self-centered shopping. Then mom and I went to see Twilight.


The seats were nearly all full but we snagged two in the nose-bleed section. It was better than the book! I was not bored and I would see it again and I'm even eager to see the next movie (word is they are already working on the script). Anyway, I wish everyone a happy gobble gobble time and to find something to be thankful for.

Holiday Preparations

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and before we know it Christmas will be here. Holiday preparations include saving money for gifts, figuring out travel plans, and for some, especially me, trying to lose some weight before the six week food fest begins. I will have five days off for the Thanksgiving break (including the weekend). I plan to spend that time with my family and friends, catching up on some reading, and...packing boxes. That's right folks, I plan to leave the vermin palace by the end of the year. The bugs, the drafty structure, the brown water (yes, brown), and the iffy safety of the neighborhood, not to mention my high rent, have all lead me to search elsewhere for a place to dwell. I'll be moving to a two bedroom, one bath duplex near work. I get three weeks off for the Christmas and New Year's holidays so that time will also be spent with family and friends, catching up on reading, packing, moving and unpacking. Huzzah!!!

I'm still reading The Last Apprentice series. I am on book three, Night of the Soul Stealer. I also plan to read a biography on J.K. Rowling soon. There has been a persistent buzz for the last few months about the upcoming Twilight movie based on the best selling book by Stephenie Meyer. I plan to see the movie and I certainly hope it is better than the book. It took all my strength to get through the first book and I have no desire to delve further into the series. If I had to read one more sentence about the beauty that is Edward I was going to puke. The series is an interesting idea but is no where near the caliber of Harry Potter--despite many critics' opinions.


This is a LEGO Harry Potter.


This is Hermione

And this is Ron. I thought these were too funny and wanted to share. That's all I've got for now. I'll post pictures of my moving progress and news about my holiday plans.

The Simple Things

Sometimes you have to take a moment to appreciate the simple things that make you smile or make you feel content. Netflix is now sending me Northern Exposure again and the second book in The Last Apprentice series, Curse of the Bane, arrived at work. I'm going to enjoy my run today and be glad that tomorrow is Friday.