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‘Country Jam’ - Goddamn Electric Bill

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:15:16 -0500

‘Country Jam’ - Goddamn Electric Bill

copycats: Wicked Game by Peter Jöback & Siaoriginally by...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:05:21 -0500

copycats:

Wicked Game by Peter Jöback & Sia
originally by Chris Isaak
(posted by Nathaniel James)

One of my most favorite songs ever. Nice cover.

This may look like a bowl of baby poo, but it is not! It is...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:00:07 -0500

This may look like a bowl of baby poo, but it is not! It is quite possibly the tastiest soup/chili you will ever have! For reals though, you must try this. Not only is it an explosion of flavor in your mouth but it’s super healthy to boot!

Salsa Bean Soup (aka Black Bean Soup)

1 tsp. vegetable oil (I use olive oil cause it’s GOOD for you!)

1 tbsp. minced garlic

2 cups water

1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder

3 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (8 oz) bottle salsa (medium heat is good)

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Stir in water, chipotle powder, beans and salsa. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.

Place 3 cups of black bean mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pot. Stir in lime juice; simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.

The recipe calls to top your bowl off with Montery Jack Cheese, but I use Mozzarella since that’s what on my Blood Type Diet and it’s just as good. I also like to eat this with broken tortilla chips in it, or use them to scoop out the chili-goodness like a dip. Oh, and do yourself a favor and just make a double batch of it—trust me. You’re welcome.

Well it has FINALLY arrived. Our first HDTV. 46” seems a...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:31:20 -0500

Well it has FINALLY arrived. Our first HDTV. 46” seems a bit ridiculous for a bedroom though. Oh well.

It's Official!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:47:05 -0500

Flights have been booked; going to Tucson for 7 days at the end of January. Staying at The Westin La Paloma and relaxing. Also going to visit the Kartchner Caverns. A little scary methinks! Thank goodness for Duro-last Conventions in the middle of winter [it was Daytona Beach last year].

I’m pretty excited though. It’s the most West I’ll have ever been.

Here’s some various images from Halloween this year at my...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:33:54 -0500

Why kids need to be punched in the face

Decor

Keenan was Brenda for the evening

My Velma Kelly costume [2 mo. of work!]

My In-laws

Various costuming

Here’s some various images from Halloween this year at my In-laws house. They always let kids walk through their house on Halloween since they set it up like a Haunted House, and then in most cases they have an Adult’s Party that Evening.

The pumpkin display is something they do every year and is loved by the community. We were milliseconds away from catching the “kids” who were smashing them. We were ready to go postal on them.

"I only accept nonsense from Laura."

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:57:43 -0500

“I only accept nonsense from Laura.”

- Geoff

Oh how I love my BFFFL!

This is a fun Halloween story! We went up to my in-laws for...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:27:50 -0500

This is a fun Halloween story!

We went up to my in-laws for Halloween. Every year they carve over 30 pumpkins, decorate the yard, and do a Haunted House walkthru on Halloween night.

This year they carved 34 pumpkins. Halloween Eve at about 130am, we were in bed. I was just starting to fall asleep when I heard a popping noise. I became more alert and listened to see if I could hear it again. And again, pop pop pop. As I shot out of bed and ran to the window, the sound was too familiar. And there I saw out in the street, smashed pumpkins. I yelled “they’re smashing the pumpkins!” and woke everyone up. I went tearing down the stairs and out the door in pretty much just my underwear. I was livid and ready to take a baseball bat to some kneecaps. By the time we all made it outside there was no one in sight (which was really really perplexing). Keenan cleaned up the 5 pumpkins [left side of picture] and put them back in the yard. We went back upstairs but were too angry to fall back asleep. I was positive they would be back to take out more—and we were ready to go postal. An hour later, Keenan’s brother’s came home from the bar and we could hear them outside being really loud—obviously they had discovered what had happened.

When morning came, we found out that his brothers had come home to find more smashed pumpkins. So between 130 and 230, while we were laying there awake, the bastards came back and took out the other side [right side of picture]. The reason we didn’t hear them was because instead of smashing them in the street, they came back and kicked the fronts in. All of the damaged pumpkins are in color in the picture.

Such a lovely thing for people to do, no? If we all ever find out who did it….let’s just say things aren’t going to turn out too nicely.

Remember back when I ordered my first item from Etsy back on September 1st? It STILL hasn’t...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:20:20 -0400

Remember back when I ordered my first item from Etsy back on September 1st? It STILL hasn’t come. Apparently, the chick is way backed up on orders. This makes me never want to order something from Etsy again.

copycats: Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song) by...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:57:25 -0400

copycats:

Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song) by Barenaked Ladies
originally from Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” attraction
(posted by Nathaniel James)

totally awesome!

Fail.

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:53:43 -0400

Photos at the Church didn’t work out at all. Kit lenses in low lighting without a tripod = pretty crappy shots. I guess that’s to be expected though.

Had a great time though!

Heading to the Soo this weekend for Nikki and Justin’s wedding. Going to see if I can pretend...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:54:01 -0400

Heading to the Soo this weekend for Nikki and Justin’s wedding. Going to see if I can pretend to be an incognito “Photographer” [see last post] and maybe feel a little more comfortable photographing people. We’ll see how that goes!

Dress and high heels for 12+ hours, here I come!

Doh!

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:40:07 -0400

A girl I know, who does photography on the side, just asked if she could refer people to me because she’s so backed up ($175 a session). I declined. I could come up with a whole slew of reasons why, but mostly it’s because:

I still don’t know my way around a camera that well
I’ve only shot ONE session with a person so far
My shyness is STILL getting in the way

I’ve always felt like if I’m not 100% proficient at something, then I have no right attempting to act like I’m good at whatever it is. I can’t picture myself taking someone’s money and ‘pretending’ I’m a photographer because I’m not. Photography is a hobby that I’d eventually like to make some money off of once I get good at it, but I just can’t bring myself to wear that label yet. I know the only way I’m going to get better is by practicing, but shouldn’t that not involve the exchange of money? Maybe I should just stop being so damn insecure….

Okay, it’s not just his feet.

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:29:36 -0400

Okay, it’s not just his feet.

The only photogenic part of Loki are his feet. Fact.

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:42:32 -0400

The only photogenic part of Loki are his feet. Fact.

How do you book flights?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:43:50 -0400

Okay, that’s a broad question. I hardly ever fly and find the whole “getting the best deal on flights” so tremindiously confusing.

In January, we’re flying to Tucson for the Duro-last convention and then in April we’re flying to Florida for, yep, another Disney trip.

The question is, how far out are you supposed to book flights? When do you get the best deals? Is waiting a month before, too late? Is it better to book online or call airlines direct?

Help!

‘Champions of Nothing’ - Matthew Good Thanks Paul,...

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:02:50 -0400

‘Champions of Nothing’ - Matthew Good

Thanks Paul, for getting me hooked!

And speaking of Chinese related things; my 14 year old brother...

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:18:04 -0400

And speaking of Chinese related things; my 14 year old brother came up with this edited Zodiac calendar when we went out to Chinese the other night. He’s definitely got a witty little head on his shoulders.

Just got done making Cheeseburger Eggrolls for my other...

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:13:29 -0400

Just got done making Cheeseburger Eggrolls for my other boss’ Birthday potluck this week. I totally made the recipe up but they turned out surprisingly well.

Now that I found the perfect english muffin, we can try and make...

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:05:35 -0400

Now that I found the perfect english muffin, we can try and make the Caprese Eggs Benedict we had in Daytona Beach earlier this year: english muffin, tomato, fresh mozzarella, poached egg and pesto…yum!