You've NEVER had Dad's Chocolate Chip Cookies before?! / Quizzes

Henry picked me up at 3:30, and we talked about what happened last weekend (which I later told my small group) - that was CRAZY! Then we talked about what happened last night for both of our fellowships: yes, of COURSE we cleaned up the basement afterwards! No, we just left all the food-related stuff for the janitors to clean... I think that we'd get a smackdown (possibly from Dad as the church administrator, the church board, and Pastor Edward) if we truly DID do that! He asked if I knew any miracle healers since he was still a bit sick from last week, and I had to tell him that I didn't. The reputable ones don't charge money to heal you, and even if they don't, they could still be like the Antichrist or something! Shortly after we got into the church, he complained that he'd injured himself last night at Gladstone since he played a bit too hard - ah, guys!

I saw Andrew's cousins Rita and Betty, but got a death glare from one of them when I tried to say hi - nice kids, really! Little Rachel remembers my name, which is cool. Amos and I were trying to determine which of the kids had peanut allergies because we had a big box of Dad's chocolate chip cookies for snacks: good thing Kyle and Melanie weren't here today, haha. (Justin had to make do with something else) Jason says he's never eaten them before, and I assume the same might hold true for his brother. Andrew LOVES those things since they're so crunchy, and I just might have to buy some on Monday afternoon... note to self: MUST SET ALARM FOR REASONABLE TIME! Later, I saw Ian laughing like crazy over something, so I asked Mike what he'd done now - nothing! Apparently, Ian thinks everything is funny! We asked him whether he was crazy, and he admitted it. He was going on about how Mike was named Jack, fried garbage, and other weird (fried) stuff: "Hebrews" is NOT "Monkeys," kid!

I saw Andrew doing some push-ups in the Awana store while he was waiting for customers, and wondered why the door was open. Jason and Golden were doing some Cubbies prep by putting tents outside - man, it was COLD! I should wear a different hat tomorrow / until it gets warmer... and then maybe I can see Melia's grandma, who apparently really wants dim sum! On the way home, I asked Henry whether he had the house to himself: he asked where I got my information from, since he didn't! Auntie Vivian had said something about his nieces being in Hong Kong - well, if I don't see them tomorrow, I'll have to wonder if he's telling me the truth about their sleeping / taking an afternoon nap since they woke up at 7 AM! (pulling them out in the middle of the school year might not make sense, but then we DO have Easter weekend coming up too... Julie just took a trip to Hong Kong and Tokyo, after all...)

I saw some great Engrish on Bob's shirt today:

Lucky Star Group
PIONEER
Just For You. One
Lucky Star Group
Best Sport To You
Do You Like It?

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

You know the Bible 100%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar: not just a hearer, but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

I wouldn't go quite that far, but I do know a fair bit of the Bible. Always room for improvement, of course!

What type of person do you attract? Your Result: You attract geeks! Your stunning intellect and love of sci-fi and video games allures the geeks like nothing else. Maybe it is the sparkle in your eye that makes them want to text you, who knows. Geeks make good partners, but tend to be arguementative. If you are a TRUE geek magnet, you will know if that was spelled correctly, and actually care. If it is a bad boy / bad girl you are seeking, you are barking up the wrong tree, unless they are just 'bad' behind a PS2 console.
You attract Yuppies!
You attract rednecks!
You attract unstable people!
You attract artsy people!
You attract models!
What type of person do you attract? Quizzes for MySpace

You bet I know AND care about that word's spelling! I left it as is on purpose so the next sentence would make sense. :P

What's Your Best Quality? Your Result: Outgoing   Your best quality is being outgoing! People like you because you are fun to be around, and no one ever knows what you will do next. Also, you are not afraid to say or do whatever you want.
Sense of Humor
Loving
Intelligence
Personality
Ambitious
What's Your Best Quality? Take More Quizzes

You Would Do Most Things For Love

You are willing to go pretty far for love - but not far enough to compromise your core values. Love is a priority for you, and you'll go further than most people to hold on to someone you love. But killing for love? Or even taking a bullet? Probably out of the question. No matter what, you love yourself the most!

Would You Do Anything For Love?

Makes me think of the Meatloaf song...

You Have Good Manners 67% of the Time

Your manners are quite excellent. You are well-versed in etiquette. Of course, you have the occasional slip-up... but you even apologize with grace.

How Are Your Manners?

Guys Like That You're Sensitive

And not in that "cry at a drop of a hat" sort of way. You just get most guys - even if you're not trying to. Guys find it is easy to confide in you and tell you their secrets. No wonder you tend to get close quickly in relationships!

What Do Guys Like About You?

I feel loved when...

The Five Love Languages

My Primary Love Language is Quality Time

My Detailed Results:
Quality Time:	9
Words of Affirmation:	7
Physical Touch:	6
Receiving Gifts:	4
Acts of Service:	4

About this quiz

Unhappiness in relationships is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. It can be helpful to know what language you speak, and what language those around you speak.

Tag 3 people so they can find out what their love language is.

Take the Quiz!
Check out the Book

Dream: Getting shortchanged, and underwear for dogs / SIMEON as a name

If you're a regular reader of this stuff, you already know my subconscious has a bizarre way of processing my life. I'm not sure WHAT it was trying to process after I went to bed this morning... o_O

* waiting for a bus that would take me to Phil's house (lots of buses passed me by, including one that specifically went to Wal-Mart)
* having Phil pass right behind me in a car, but not seeing me at the bus stop
* finally arriving at Phil's house, where I was afraid of tripping down the wooden stairs all over the place
* Phil's parents making me do all the dishes in their sink, for only a toonie's worth in payment - and there were a lot of them! (only $2 when I was promised more than that?! you gotta be kidding me...)
* going to a Chinese restaurant with Lesley, Eric, Teunis, and other friends of mine - we would get graded on our ability to understand and speak Chinese (for the purposes of this dream, the white dudes were able to be reasonably competent in the language)
* seeing poodles all over Chinese magazines in photos
* having the lively young woman owner tell us: "If you try going to the washroom, it's best if you dress in skimpy underwear for the dog - it won't be as likely to bark that way!" o_O
* Teunis losing his cool with the dog since the barking (even at other patrons) drove him absolutely INSANE! (the washroom was light green with brown benches - kinda like a swimming pool / gym change room, too)
* seeing some Chinese opera which we had to evaluate, and then receiving our final scores: "29" (out of 100) is NOT compassionate marking, no matter how you try spinning it!
* looking for the people our own age whom we'd seen in the restaurant beforehand, but encountering one of my grandma's friends / Auntie Cissy / Auntie Cynthia / other people our parents' age there instead! ("it's Valentine's Day time - we think your friends left early to celebrate!")
* hearing Frank Zappa's Dirty Love as part of the restaurant's musical atmosphere - who plays THAT at a Chinese restaurant, of all places?!
* passing by a foggy orange university with multiple buildings in a snowy land once we exited the restaurant - we somehow knew it would re-open once the Ford dealership / gas station next door completed its renovations
* my getting mad because of a sign at said dealership which misspelled the word "hooray" - two instances of the letter O, and only one R... NOT two instances of the letter R, and only one O! (as in "hooray for Vancouver!" - Eric got annoyed since I was mad at the spelling, heh)

Ah, dreaming of online friends again... if this keeps up, most of them will be faceless blobs, haha!


Hey, no calls from Henry! That's a change from the previous two or three weeks when Awana was in session, haha. As long as I don't fall asleep at 5, I should be fine - stupid computer! Checked blogs, too - I really should replace some of the old links with more current ones! Might as well do it now, or else I'll forget for another week - Good Friday / Easter weekend would NOT be the time to do so, haha. Alyssa's moved blogs yet again, so has stuff about Monday Madness / Friday Feast / Animal Crossing / My Chemical Romance and Muse concert tickets / seven songs she likes / chocolate / addiction / World of Warcraft / blog upkeep. Vivian has amusing anecdotes about teaching, and can't believe how long she's been sick - THAT SUCKS, DUDE!

Hmm... either Randal has quietly developed his storytelling talent, or he stole this first Simeon story from a book which is not the Bible. I don't know which is the case (and I'm not gonna ask), but the "worm" thing drew me in because it reminded me of Ministry - it's been too long since I've heard that song! He has another story about a different man called by that name - ah yes, the old man who waited FOREVER to see baby Jesus as the Savior of the world. He has stuff about Darfur, China becoming Christian (sure...), encouraging words, international crises, skating with the elementary school kids, and such. Little Nathan (who he mentioned) is so cute! (he's seven years old with a perma-smile that we've discussed before, and was quite the player last year at Summer Conference, haha - Eric and I were pretty much like "What the heck..." when he told us that he had eight crushes!) I also heard about his having to drive all the way out and back to / from the rink AGAIN because of 10-year-old Julie thinking she left her skates there - NOT FUN! I should totally talk to this person tomorrow - goodness knows I won't have the chance to next week! (and no... I am not a stalker... ahem!)

I just hope he's not considering that name for any future children he has: sure, "Simeon" is an actual name (unlike what I rant about sometimes on here), but "Simeon Chin" kinda rhymes. Or maybe (as usual) I'm overthinking things - I know of at least one old friend of mine who had a rhyming name: Jesse Keetley! Then again, Billy Lee rhymes too.... I'm just being cranky, haha. It'll probably pass in a bit... but if it doesn't, watch out! I can think of at least three people who wouldn't like it at all tomorrow when I'm around them, not even saving my parents! As for this afternoon.... well, let's just say that I shouldn't snap at the children (or tomorrow, even), but you never know what will happen.

Speaking of being cranky, Dawn knows she's been that way lately for some odd reason - she'll try to do better for various people's sakes and for herself too. Heh, I could also use some of that... I know Eric would probably privately think it, even if he doesn't say so. It's all good - I got it out by incoherently yelling at Corey over MSN, haha. His suggestions to shock people aren't what I'd be likely to do, but they were sorta funny... Dawn has also seen 300. The eye candy is apparently very good, but the whole "not keeping your own integrity" thing was not so cool. Funny what will make you think that the whole experience is ruined, but I tend to agree. At least have characters that will stay true to their own principles and the point of the movie till the end, y'know? Heh, I don't think I'll see the movie, but it was cool to read what others thought of it anyway.

Catching up with the bomb technician / Mrs. Fields Marbles

You know I don't really feel gung-ho about a Fellowship night when I start writing about it at 3 AM, hours after I get home. Usually, I'm all like OMG MUST POST NOW BEFORE I FORGET! (I did write up something in my offline journal, though!) Met Eric's old friend Josh - I remember him from Eric's birthday parties and such in his old house! Eric commented that I was quiet... well, do you WANT me to go all crazy / yell at you when there's someone in the car that I hardly know?! :P Well, at least I had my book to read while they discussed the past, church, Jon, and other stuff! I had time to think about feeling irrational - you know that's a sign of something else a-coming. :P

Karen and Ivan were going to come, but had a situation that involved a stolen wallet and other articles - SO HORRIBLE, PEOPLE! I had to tell various people (Vivian, Mike, etc.) that my bread was FINE even though it had ice crystals and had an expiry date in March. I laughed at Cordia's shirt, which Quan had given her: "I am a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to keep up" - it suits her, haha! Lesley wasn't feeling well - had her head in her hands since she felt light-headed and such. Alan, Eunice, Citrus, and Mike were on my team: we got an additional ingredient of duck feet because our ingredients were judged the easiest to work with. EVERYONE later said that we had breakfast as a theme: not much else you can do with eggs, salmon, turkey, bread, veggies, various sauces, and an orange! Eric's table had SALTY beef, which actually was a lot like beef jerky - I didn't mind the bite I took, but it might have been a different story had I taken the leftovers home! Jon decided to bounce off the walls (literally) and chest-slap people - yes, this is one of our future pastors... o_O

Jeremy's table came up with creative artistic things, but nobody wanted to try the Starfruit Surprise after seeing Mike and Citrus try it! (Sauerkraut and salmon?! EWWWW! I noticed nobody demurred when Randal decided to take it home, haha.) Certain food items had too much batter / cornmeal, but we only had an hour and ten minutes to put something together! Discussed various things with Jeremy, too - he definitely cheered me up! Confirmed with Randal that he was still going to the finale dinner: WOOHOO! Too bad Steph won't see a repeat performance of the one that endeared him to her last year, haha. (flipping over four creamers at once!) Talked to Dawn about her boyfriend Eni, and figured that we didn't want to try a lot of the food even if we didn't have anything (or much) to do tomorrow: who wants to spend their day off making continual bathroom runs?! Got to see the kitchen as a zoo with 20+ people in the small room all trying to make food / wash dishes / cook food on the stove - our team moved into the kitchen early on, haha.

We saw Citrus and Cordia playfighting afterwards, and people wondered what was up with those siblings! I scored some organic pasta and some sockeye salmon, along with some pickled cabbage - preserved vegetables are pretty good, in my opinion. Eric said that he'd seen Joe Wu mentioned in the newspaper recently for some origami stuff, and asked why he didn't go to our church anymore. I had to remind him about all the stuff that had happened in late 2003-early 2004 around Pastor Glen's resignation - Eric had been REALLY sick just before it came to a head, and so was most surprised to get my email about it right after that fateful meeting! Dianne and Jon commiserated with each other about feeling old because they were tired at 10 or slightly later - Jeremy felt that way too, so he biked home earlier than usual. (I shouldn't be ditzy and ask how long it takes him to bike to the Richmond warehouse office when he's just TOLD me - UGH! Apparently, the Knight Street Bridge is an interesting commute: at least he can get up later for a 10 AM start!)

A bunch of people went to Bubble World later, but the Richmond Crew went straight home. Talked about basketball, football, hockey, mayhem, Oasis (bubble tea place), Dragon Ball, Pearl Castle, Jack's Loft (defunct bubble tea place), some other defunct bubble tea place, Super Nintendo, Nintendo DS Lite, PSP, Playstation 2 / 3, Nintendo Wii, and other subjects. Who knew there was a COOKING MAMA game for the Wii?! Steph and Vivian S. are going to Thursday's game and bring some old bras for the Brabarian Jeff Cowan, haha. There was this time where someone didn't know what to do with a bra that was dropped on the ice, so it went into the penalty box! (haha!) Apparently, GM Place security has been confiscating bras from men too! Must be good times - now, I need to sleep or else I may not make it tomorrow, either... and we all know "major sleeping in" would NOT be an acceptable excuse for missing Awana. ;)


Mrs. Fields Marbles

Categories: Cookies
Yield: 30 servings

2 cups All purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Light brown sugar
1/2 cup White sugar
1/2 cup Salted butter; softened
Egg
1/2 cup Sour cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300°F. In medium bowl... combine flour, baking powder, and salt with wire whisk. Set aside. Combine sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer set at med speed. Add butter and beat until batter is grainy. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat at med speed until light and fluffy. Scrape bowl. Add flour mixture and blend at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix. Place chocolate chips in double boiler over hot but not boiling water. Stir constantly until melted. OR microwave, stirring every 20 sec until melted. Cool chocolate for a few minutes and pour over cookie batter. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, lightly fold melted chocolate into the dough. Do not mix chocolate completely into cookie dough. Drop by rounded tablespoons, 2" apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 23-25 minutes. Do not brown. Quickly transfer cookies to a cool surface.

Dream with Ivan, Karen, and blood / Blogthings

Wish I could meet Billie (murse) today, but circumstances dictate that I can't. At this point, I may just end up MAILING her birthday gifts! Heck, I've done it before. (Jasmine should remember, heh)

I had a weird dream last night:

* talking to Sarah and Hannah about cakes and yelling at Eric later when he showed up - he was being supercilious and generally annoying!
* talking to some guy friend of my brother's via cell phone, while trying to pack everything up from a trip we took
* encountering Jasmine (surrey_sucks) in the dream, and having her complain about bloody underwear / pads when she shaved down there during a certain time of the month :P (all the guys were like "SO DON'T SHAVE, THEN!")
* having someone mix up a red dog-shaped suitcase with opium for his own red suitcase with clothes in it (fatal mistake, as everyone circled an oval-shaped pool and drowned said person: THE OPIUM'S NOT FOR YOU!)
* playing video games on YouTube (and seeing dinosaurs trample various monsters)
* finding a blue pillow with pastel flowers on it, and wondering if it was the same as my pillow at home because it had similar hairs on it (and it was the same - SCARY!)
* making plans with Karen and Ivan - Karen offered to drive me from Richmond to Burnaby Place so we could meet our other friends (the dream ended with my being surprised that they'd drive me - they perhaps would in waking life if there were no other alternatives!)

At least Ryan didn't show up in this one - that was an interesting pattern, but it's over for now! (the "online friends" thing still applies, even though I've met Jasmine a few times in real life) Now I guess it's time to gird myself up for tonight: COFFEE / COCOA! :D (caffeine won't make me NOT care what happens in the Iron Chef program, but it'll make me be happier than I would otherwise be with this concept... double-cleansing time is near, as well :P)

Your April Fool's Day Prank Should Be

Setting off stink bombs

What April Fool's Prank Should You Play?

HAHAHA! Certain people would say disparaging things about this result, too! Reminds me of Top 100 April Fools Day Pranks, actually... :D

You are Marilyn Monroe

A classic tortured beauty You're the dream girl of many men Yet they never seem to treat you right

What Famous Pinup Are You?

You Are 71% Tortured Genius

You are smart. Brilliant, in fact. And while it's a blessing, it's also a curse. Your head is filled with everything - grand ideas, insufferable worries, and a good deal of angst.

Are You a Tortured Genius?

You Are a Night Person

For you, there's nothing worse than having to get up and moving early. In fact, you probably don't hit your peak until well after the sun has set. So if you're struggling to make it on a normal schedule, realize it's not your fault. You just weren't meant to do anything during the day!

Are You a Morning Person or Night Person?

Like I need an online quiz to tell me THIS... *laugh*

Life comparison, psyche color, Mrs. Fields Maple Pecan Butterballs

Talked to both Erics earlier tonight - that was good to get some answers to questions and such! Corey gets no love for suggesting certain things, however. At least I guess I'm going to the thing tomorrow - but I'm not good with the unknown! Heh, I did manage to get a death threat in - not sure I'll like tomorrow night, and I just want to stay home! Ah well, the promise of certain things will keep me going!

Your Life is Better Than 43% of All People

Your life is pretty average, with lots of normal ups and downs. You're on the way to having a better life, as long as you focus on what's really important. Remember to take the time to do the things that you like best, and let the little things slide. No one on their deathbed ever wished that they spent more time worrying or complaining!

How Does Your Life Compare?

Your Psyche is Green

You radiate love, empathy, and acceptance. You are able to relax almost everyone you meet. You are naturally comforting. Balanced and flexible, you only seem perfect! When you are too green: you are jealous, manipulative, and deceptive. When you don't have enough green: you feel sluggish and out of sorts.

What Color Is Your Psyche?

Mrs. Fields Maple Pecan Butterballs

Categories: Cookies
Yield: 24 servings

1 1/4 cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 cup Pecans; finely ground in Food processor or blender
1/2 cup Butter; softened
2/3 cups Sugar
1/4 cups Maple syrup
1 large Egg
Recipe by: Ruth Burkhardt

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a medium bowl... combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and finely ground pecans. For extra flavor, sauté pecans in 1 tablespoon butter until slightly browned. Mix ingredients well with a wire whisk and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until mixture forms a grainy paste. Add syrup and egg and beat until slightly thickened. Add the flour mixture and blend at low speed just until combined. Place dough in plastic bag and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Remove dough from refrigerator and shape into 1-inch balls. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets 1 inch apart. Bake 17-18 minutes, or until cookie bottoms are golden brown. Immediately transfer to a cool, flat surface.

Celebrity collages, being high-maintenance, Quiz Heaven stuff

Source photo:



I tried other photos, but the generated results were way too man-heavy! =/ There was this one photo I used (when I had makeup on for one of those formal nights during the Alaska cruise), and their facial recognition technology told me that it couldn't recognize a face! Excuse me, but there WAS a face in said picture! Ugh.

"Mountain Dew Energy at Silvercity" photo: Primo Levi, Federico Garcia Lorca, Albert Finney, Robert K. Merton, Fujiki Naohito, Anton Webern, Wim Wenders, Jacques Villeneuve, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Howard Shore.

"Lovers' Lane at Anne of Green Gables House in P.E.I." photo: Daniel Radcliffe, Goran Persson, Donald Trump, Bette Davis, Mahmoud Abbas, Amos Gitai, David Kelly, Chester Bennington, Calista Flockhart, and James Spader.

"Big Mouth Lives Here" photo: Meryl Streep, Daveigh Chase, Janeane Garofalo, Wim Wenders (again!), James Spader (again, but with a different picture!), Wayne Knight, Queen Latifah, James Naismith, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and Candace Cameron.

You are 52% High-Maintenance!
You're pretty high maintenance. Not as much as some, but you definitely like it when you're taken care of. The idea of doing something when somebody else might do it for you might seem... unpleasant... but you'll get up and do it if it really needs doing.
'How High-Maintenance are You?' at QuizGalaxy.com

What should your nickname be?

Unstable

Take this quiz at QuizHeaven.com

... No comment... :P

Mrs. Fields Malted Milk Cookies / GoToQuiz, Go-Quiz, GJ Quiz, Blogthings

Mrs. Fields Malted Milk Cookies

Categories: Cookies
Yield: 42 servings

1/8 cups All purpose flour
3/4 cup Plain malted milk powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup White sugar
1/2 cup Light brown sugar; firmly
1 cup Salted butter; softened
2 large Eggs
2 teaspoons Pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Sweetened condensed milk
12 oz Milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300°F. In medium bowl... combine flour, malted milk powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside. Blend sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer set at medium speed. Add butter and mix, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla, and condensed milk. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake 24-25 minutes until cookies are slightly brown along the edges. Transfer cookies immediately to a cool surface with a spatula.

Your Job Satisfaction Level: 59%

Your job is about average. There are some parts you really enjoy, and some parts that stress you out. It's possible that you need a small change. Maybe you should switch companies or positions. It's also possible that you're simply burned out. No job is perfect, even a great one. Give yourself a personal day to think about your career goals - and if your current job is helping you achieve them.

Should You Get a New Job?

You Are an Okay Student

You know how to get by in school, but your heart isn't always in it. Motivation is a problem for you. Maybe you need to study something more exciting!

Are You a Good Student?

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd   Sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea / chocolate... and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry, and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and its eloquence; and you may like to read / write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society; however, you can probably be overly critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Gamer / Computer Nerd
Musician
Social Nerd
Drama Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Science / Math Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Ha. The result had an "its / it's" error - how ironically idiotic! You obviously don't understand ANYTHING if you make that kind of error!

Which internet subculture do I belong to? [CLICK] You are a Conspiracy Theorist! Holy cow! You actually did an online quiz? Little did you realise that the information you gave us is being sent to an unknown government agency for evil use against you! Don't try to leave... we are already watching. More Quizzes at Go-Quiz.com

You Are Bodies By Drowning Pool
You like loud music. Good for you. I'm proud of you. Finally, someone not sucked into the clique that is pop or rap music. Good Job.
Which Of My Favorite Songs Are You?



You are a Insane Ninja


You are just insane. You got kicked out of Ninja Tech, but somehow got enrolled back in, and passed to become a ninja. How? The world will never know. For now... you just play on the grass with the little kids, roll in dirt, speak your own language, and blow things up. You are one talented kid.
Are you a ninja?(pics)

Dream of dragon sirloins and Steve / Bzoink and Memegen

Man, I had a weird dream last night:

* going to a library with Jeremy and a bunch of others, and seeing non-circulation books on the shelves all tied together with string in groups of five or six each (I saw a true crime book which we would have liked)
* going to the upstairs section of Metropolis with Chrystal and other friends, where I bumped into Steve L. (wrathchild) and his friends
* having to leave the mall with my mom, who refused to drive me home (Steph tried offering dragon sirloin soup as an incentive... and Jon said we could go to a new restaurant called DIRT a few blocks away from my house when it opened in three months!)
* finally telling my mom that I didn't want to go home with her, even if it meant dropping me off in the middle of a dark blue starry night
* finding my way to the apartment, where I watched the traffic outside my window and washed up
* telling Elizabeth various things, who took it all in stride (NO GUILT - YAY!)

I wonder what is with this latest pattern of dreaming about online journal friends... not like I've been thinking non-stop of them! Note to my subconscious: I know I want to meet some of them, but I will NOT be online 24/7!

Your Halloween Costume
Created by Andy and taken 58619 times on Bzoink
Name
Age
What you want to be
You will be
Pieces of Candy	282
Create a Quizlet | Search Quizlets | Go to Bzoink

Automatic Cliché Journal Updater!
Created by iamcool and taken 1487 times on Bzoink
Journal Username
Journal Site
Today, I	talked my friend out of committing suicide
I felt	very angry and sooooooo sad *cries*
Turning Point	I got drunk and avoided life
Conclusion	I'm grounded
Create a Quizlet | Search Quizlets | Go to Bzoink

What Do You Dream About?
Created by iamcool and taken 1224 times on Bzoink
Name
Age
Birth Month	JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
Most Frequent Dream	Did someone say Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?
Your dreams are	Black and white
Will your dreams come true?	Forget about it
Create a Quizlet | Search Quizlets | Go to Bzoink

Which faery or goddess are you? by smackerchickxxx
name
age
favorite color:	blackpurplegreenredorangepinkyellow
favorite faery or goddess:	gothic faenature faenaughty faenature faemagical faeCeltic goddessRoman goddessGreek goddessmoon goddesswater goddessearth goddessfire goddess
you are:

Mrs. Fields Linzer Cookies

Mrs. Fields Linzer Cookies

Categories: Cookies
Yield: 24 servings

Cookies

1 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 cup Butter; softened
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Egg yolks
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Almond extract

Filling:

1/2 cup Raspberry jam
1 teaspoon Grated lemon peel

Topping

1/4 cups Confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup Sliced almonds (2 oz)

Preheat oven to 300°F. In medium bowl... combine flour, almonds, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon with wire whisk. In large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and the almond extracts. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and blend at low speed until just combined. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. With index finger, press an indentation in center of each ball to hold the filling. Bake 22-24 minutes, or until just golden brown on bottom. Transfer cookies to a cool, flat surface. In a small bowl, combine jam and grated lemon peel. Place 1/2 teaspoon of filling mixture in center of cooled cookie. If you wish to add an extra decorative touch... sift confectioners' sugar over cookies, and place sliced almonds in the jam filling.

Dallas and ice cream pizza! / Dying of yellow fever

Spent some time with Grandma before Dallas came over - I was watching the news when he got to the townhouse. We discussed the fall of Harmony Airways, exercise for children in class, prices, Toronto, orcas in Alaska, the Colorado-Vancouver hockey game (we shut them out 3-0!), and my mom's cooking. Curry, tripe, congee, fish, peri-peri chicken, and veggies were on the menu - so were soya eggs for Jon's protein needs since he's Lenting meat. It was funny listening to Grandma talk about beer, haha... Jon also made a "Dallas face" when referring to his reaction to the stuff. I refused to take certain food items home: who knows what that blob is which Jon's friend gave to him! Talked about lamb, honey and not feeding it to babies under one year of age (lacking enzymes?), Nathan and Jon making the best macaroni and cheese ever, my handwriting (he should hear how I type!), the 24 finale dinner (not MY auspices!), the Citrus Lemon episodes, blog updates, the ice cream pizza Dallas bought for us, birthday cards, my old friend Daniel Louie (who Jon saw at Regent), coffee, summer classes, Dallas' landlord cooking a LOT of stuff, and exams.

I know how my mom thinks, so I told her that Daniel's married (which is true) - she then tried to twist it and say that only I thought like that. Um, no... who wants to matchmake all the time around here?! Not me! :P Jon and I listened to the Boredoms on the way home while listening to Dallas talk to Harmony about Delta and books. Then I got home and had second thoughts about certain travels, as usual when I've already sorta committed to that kind of thing. Oh well, at least I get to bug Corey about reduction / minimizing and violent video games! ("I'm also downloading a really violent game called Yakuza where you get to beat people in really violent ways, like slamming their face into a curb and then hitting them with a golf club. I saw some swords in the previews, so I'll try to reduce something the way you think of it.") I also had a phone call from Manitoba while I was out: 204-927-2271, anybody?


Today's Haggard Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

Lydia Rost was the daughter of Emile Rost, the owner of Destrehan Plantation in Louisiana. Lydia's room in the historic plantation house is kept perpetually in summer dress with furnishings contemporary to about August 1853, when Lydia died in the room - a victim of yellow fever. Lydia's last rites were given by Father Paret, who described her death in his journal, which (roughly translated from the French) reads as follows:

"The poor child is on the point of returning her soul to her Creator. She's suffered so much, spitting up black rotten blood from her burning chest. Her whole body is covered with blisters... Her haggard eyes seem to pop out of her head. Her cheeks are shrinking. Her teeth rattle and click against each other... Her whole body twists and turns with such an unbelievable force that the doctor and I barely hold her down. After a long and intense writhing, her pulse weakened and the agonizing death rattle began. Soon, we had only a corpse whose eyes I closed. That death will never be erased from my mind as long as I live... I could hardly remain standing and I trembled like a leaf... my eyes flooded with tears... Having finished this pious duty, they impose a second on me, that of announcing the news to the tearful family."

Culled from: Vestiges Of Grandeur

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Okay, perhaps my ongoing illness isn't quite as severe as Lydia's... but I still can sympathize! I see a "specialist" tomorrow. Let's hope he can work a modern medical miracle on my ravaged remains!

Oh, by the way, you can visit Lydia's death room, complete with haunting portrait, at Destrehan Plantation.

While I was huddled in my sickbed today, I read the book Vestiges of Grandeur that this fact was culled from. It's an interesting collection of exterior and interior photographs of the grand old Louisiana River Road plantations. Of course, the ones I found most interesting were the photographs of the abandoned ones that were collapsing, but which still had all the original antique furniture and family heirlooms inside them. These plantations are still owned by the original families, too. Can you imagine simply allowing a grand old plantation house complete with your entire family history and priceless antiques to erode like that? Stupid people. We really should take these things away from them for their own good.

Anyway, the book's quite interesting if you'd like to explore the history of plantations in Louisiana.

Vestiges Of Grandeur: The Plantations of Louisiana's River Road by Richard Sexton

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Morbid Trinket Du Jour!

Here's a nifty toothpick holder you'd be proud to display at your next cocktail party!

Thanks to Christina for the link.

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Morbid Mirth Du Jour!

My dogs could contribute some specimens to the Circus of Disemboweled Stuffed Toys. Grisly!!

Thanks to Katchaya for the link.

Hot water FIXED! / TERRIBLE baby names!

Hey, the hot water finally appears to be fixed - I know it was a weekend yesterday and all, but that was NOT fun! Time to take a shower before I go to dinner and see Dallas for the first time in a month! (I got two private messages on the Bad Baby Names forum - one person thinks my flaming baby avatar is cool, and one person thinks the animation is annoying! I'll change it if they're frowned on, of course... I don't want to get off on the wrong foot there!) My mom also just sent us an email: "Harmony has folded!" So of course I think of my brother's girlfriend first BEFORE thinking of the airline - I was like, "So she folded something... big deal!" Apparently, J-Mak's dad is taking it easy along with his wife: he should, and they remember Canada 3000: he should! At least my sister thought the same thing, so I'm not alone!

I saw this post in baby_names, and agree with the writer pretty much. I can think of better spellings for most of the names below, and REALLY think that some of the reasons also make me want to go stab someone!


Ariandreaunalyn Kieryn-Krystelle - I had my first baby a few months ago and wanted to name her something really different. I also have a very short last name so I wanted a really long first name to go with it, so I came up with the name Ariandreaunalyn. The middle name I chose because I love the name Kieryn, but it didn't sound right with Ariandreaunalyn, so I added the Krystelle to Kieryn to get a good flow. I spelled Kieryn and Krystelle with Ys because I think the names look really cool and different that way. (Ariandreaunalyn pronounced Air-ee-awn-dree-awe-na-lin, Kieryn pronounced Kee-ere-in)

(This name definitely made me go, "WTF?!" I wouldn't be shocked if that kid completely struggles with spelling her name. Even I have a hard time remembering and spelling it, and I am pretty good at spelling... except on bad days, but still, yikes!)

Cap - I always liked the characters Cap Garland and Almanzo Wilder in the Laura Ingalls books. I don't like the sound of Almanzo so I wouldn't name my son that, but I love the sound of the name Cap. I am thinking about going with Casper and using Cap as a nickname, but I might just use Cap as his formal first name and avoid the "friendly ghost" remarks.

Heather's Name Page 2

(I would rather be named after Casper the Friendly Ghost than a cap. Besides, I don't think the new generations would know who Casper is.)

Gabby - Not Gabrielle, which I find pretentious, but just Gabby. I think it's a cute, friendly, down-home kind of name. I picture a little girl named Gabby with red hair in braids, freckles on her nose, and dressed in overalls; a typical country girl who loves to ride horses, fish in the creek, climb trees, and do other outdoor things.

(I consider Gabby to be a nickname, and it is so obvious that she assumes her kid will stay a child forever.)

Iryeena - Iry for short. It seems out there.

(My eyes practically bled when I saw the name.)

Isaiya - It's not a boring name you hear all the time like "Matthew and John"... it's unique.

(Unique in a kr8atyve way! I have no idea how to pronounce it... Is it pronounced I say ya?)

Juniper Spring - I love the name Juniper Spring. I am still trying to talk my husband into it. :-) Nickname could be Piper or June. Spring was her conception.

(*blinks* Okay, I didn't mind the name Juniper Spring, but the comment about its conception is horrible. I think people should not use a name based on a child's conception period.)

Kaidense Wrey-Ann - I really like the name Kaidense Wrey-Ann because it is my first child's name, and the Wrey is my sister's middle name and Ann is my mother's. So they have a part in her name, too!

(Wrey-Ann doesn't bother me, but Kaidense? It makes me think of chemistry and physics, *the dense part* and it sounds like a kr8atyve version of Cadence.)

Kaydi Mckayla Roxi - My favorite girl's name because it's spelled unusually, and I like the sound of it.

(Too much kr8atyve names in one full name. I may not mind it if it was Kaydi Mckayla Roxy, but no, it sounds too much kr8atyve.)

Kaytlynn Jolianna - Kaitlyn is a pretty name, but I like it spelled differently to set it apart. It also looks really cool spelled Kaytlynn, and I think Kayti looks way cooler than Katie or Kaity. Jolianna is like Julianna but a little different, again to set it apart. I also like the nickname Kayti Jo... it's so cute.

(The comment makes me agh. So basically, she assumes the name will make a child be automatically cool based on her name. Obviously, personality in her opinion is not a factor in what makes a person cool.)

Kori - I'm planning on naming my baby Kori because it's a cute, high energy type of name and I think it would be a great name for any age. I also like the name Kori because it will fit in with the Kylie / Kaylie / Katie / Kelsey names, yet it is a little more uncommon so my Kori will stand out a little more. Another plus for the name: it will be easy to learn how to spell and write it when she is in Kindergarten! I haven't decided on a middle name, because so many names sound great with Kori.

(Um, am I the only one who thinks it is a kr8atyve variant of Cory?)

Klye David - It's very much a man's name.

(Messing up the letters in Kyle doesn't make it a different name from Kyle. I am hoping that the name Klye is merely a typo.)

Heather's Name Page 3

Marya Crystalyn - I love Marya because it's much less common than Mary. Crystalyn is sweet and goes well with both Marya and Mary.

(Marya doesn't bother me, but Crystalyn? Yikes!)

Nivek - It is Kevin spelt backwards, which is my name and Nivek is my daughter... it forms a special connection.

(So, does that mean she thinks the only way to bond with a child is to name her daughter after herself?)

Olivia Hope - Olivia means PEACE, and Hope means just to hope. I think the names sound Latin, and excited. It makes you think if it were your name, "I can do something!" The sounding of the names are totally different, but ring a beautiful tune.

(Basically, one cannot get self-inspiration and self-motivation without his or her name.)

Peaches - I think it's really cute and pretty.

(Okay, I do think Peach is a cute name, but I also believe that a child GROWS UP into an adult.)

Sheyenne - Sheyenne is a beautiful alternative way to spell Cheyenne, and combined with Summer, it sounds feminine yet strong at the same time. I gave my daughter this name, and everyone always comments on it!

(..... I have no words.)

Ta'Lyra - It's uncommon and cool... what more could you want in a name? I think Tali would be a cute nickname, too.

(I am truly speechless.)

Terrynne Ashlee - It just has something in it. It's unusual and you never hear it!

(*blinks* I don't mind Ashlee, but it is just the -nne part of Terrynne that pretty much set the 'WTF' alarm off.)

Heather's Name Page 4

Dream: Updates with Candy and worship with Nathan / "Fixing" water

Had a dream where I needed to help Nathan lead worship for the Fellowship one night. I was looking through our blue songbooks, trying to find appropriate songs since there had been complaints in the past about that. Suddenly, Randal showed up and wanted me to help him photocopy various sheets of paper: I am NOT your multi-tasker, thanks very much! Nathan called to say he'd be late, so I'd have to finalize the song selection by myself since he trusted me with that kind of thing. Sure, why not? After that, I told Randal that I could help him put the photocopied material on our chairs - he had no choice but to be satisfied with that, and he thanked me genuinely. Nathan showed up shortly afterwards, praised my song selection (Randal seemed to be jealous! har har), and thanked me profusely for helping him when he needed it. After singing, we were split up into groups - I had the feeling Randal was staring at me all throughout from the next room!

After that, Nathan and I were transported to a world where we could read Candy's (candyxpants) journal and comment on it. She posted a lot of surveys and quizzes, which we copied for later posting of our own... later, we met her and she involved us in her personal life! Then there was a black kid against a yellow background, who claimed he was from Star Wars, but we quickly learned that things were not as they seemed. We read a book about how this guy named Phil tried to help people in the same circumstances, and somehow realized that this black kid was Phil in another incarnation. Later, we learned that this was A VERY BAD THING - the last few pages of the book detailed how "Phil" was really a killer! ("Remember that kid whose parents were Phil and Phil? [short for Phyllis / Philomena] Well, he's in your life right at this moment, and HE WANTS TO KILL YOU ALL!") We were escaping quite handily when the dream ended...


Got up to find out that the hot water STILL was not working! After stewing about it for a while, I called the assistant manager Hester: she claims that someone is getting to the source of the problem, but doesn't know when it will be fixed. Well, I certainly hope it's soon - otherwise, we can add to the long list of debts owed to me by that company! SO terrible! Somehow, I don't think it'll be fixed soon enough for my liking - y'see, I can be just as cynical as the Peach sometimes! ;)

Oh, and searching for "certain things" (literally) on my blog brings up a ton of results. Add "certain people" and "certain person" to the mix, and you get about 1600 hits. I know that's a large number! Pity I can't tell with accuracy how many times I've mentioned particular friends / siblings of mine in here: when people have at least three or four nicknames, things like that get difficult! Hey, here's some candy I haven't touched in a while - maybe I'll give it to the kids on Sunday, since it can't be expired! Perhaps Natalie will get them since these have NO peanuts - yahoo!

Fog / No men here! / Mrs. Fields Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

I forgot to blog that Justin's grandma is in hospital - sad news! My mom said that I might not be going on two cruises in two weeks - Steph said she might treat me to the second, so I guess we'll see on that one! Now Eric is online and bugging me about various things like dragon hamsters - why I keep him and Corey around, I do not know. I will say this: you can blame me for foggy windows, but your reasoning would be SO WRONG! :P

Mom also thought there was a man in my apartment when I was talking to myself... ha ha ha, nope! Then she asked whether I was sure: YES! Besides, I'm an adult now, so she can't say anything even if there WAS one here! Later, I mentioned that I was "talking" to Eric - her immediate reaction was to say in a confused tone that they saw Eric tonight (which I know quite well) and call me on my assertion that there was nobody else here but me. I think I know things better than she does, but it was still quite hilarious if a bit annoying!


Mrs. Fields Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Categories: Cookies
Yield: 1 serving

2 cups All-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon Ground coriander
2 tablespoons Poppy seeds
1/4 cups Salted butter; softened
1 cup White sugar
2 large Egg yolks
1 large Egg
1 1/2 teaspoon Pure lemon extract

Preheat oven to 300-degrees F. In a medium bowl... combine flour, baking soda, lemon zest, coriander, and poppy seeds. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer at medium speed until mixture forms a grainy paste. Scrape down side of bowl... then add yolks, egg, and lemon extract. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture, and mix at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 23-25 minutes until cookies are slightly brown along edges. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to a cool surface.

Stupid vice-president! / I want to read FINAL EXITS!

All I have to say after watching this episode of 24 is that the vice-president is arrogant and not a very nice species of human being! (although Corey assures me that the vice-president in reality is also these things since he shoots his friends and is a hypocrite around telling people to go away) This vice-president is about to defy the president's direct orders... just because he woke up from his coma (from an assassination attempt) and issues him an order to NOT go ahead with a nuclear strike DOES NOT MEAN that his judgment is clouded, thanks! The ambassador's country didn't even set off the bomb that injured the president in the first place - "a warning," indeed! At least Bill apologized to Nadia when she was found innocent because of a remote device - then Milo got what he wanted from her, which was kissing. That was great, heh. The autistic character Brady was cute and reminded me of little Sean, but I don't know about using those people as terrorist bait! They have Gredenko now - yay for tranquilizer darts!


Today's Instant Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

A pipe bomb exploded and instantly killed a Brazil man who may have intended to use the device to stun fish. The body of Paul Lynch, 31, was found early Saturday by friends who had been searching for him since the prior evening. "A shrapnel piece from the bomb ... passed through Lynch's heart, killing him instantly," Clay County Coroner Rick Swearingen said. Lynch had been fishing alone in Birch Creek near Clay City, about 60 miles southwest of Indianapolis, and had two of the homemade bombs with him. Bomb technicians from the Indiana State Police Bomb Squad defused the remaining pipe bomb, which was made from a steel pipe. The pipe bomb may have been intended to be used to stun fish in the creek.

Culled from: The Indy Channel
Generously submitted by: Bruce T.

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One small death for man; one giant leap for fishkind!

Yes, I am rising from the sickbed to send the newsletter again today. I went to a doc-in-a-box this morning, and he gave me medication for my allergies, which of course has done little good... so I look forward to another miserable restless couple of nights before I can get in to see a specialist. Oh, suffering - thy name is spring!

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Wretched Recommendations!

Katchaya has a non-fiction recommendation that looks like an excellent read!

Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die by Michael Largo

Binkyboodlehead agrees:

"So glad to see you have added Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die. I grabbed it tonight after seeing a lady pick it up and cross it off her husband's Christmas wishlist. I flipped through it and was amazed! Who knew there were so many bizarre ways to die? This is an extensive A-Z list of dying and death. Pages and pages of gore ... I love it!!"

Here's the Amazon.Com description:

"We're all going to die - it's in the contract - but how will it happen? Today, although we live longer, people are killed by everything: bad words, bloodletting, flying cows, frozen toilets, hiccups, laughing, and spontaneous combustion are some of the unexpected causes. According to death certificates, in 1700, there were less than one hundred causes of death. Now there are more than three thousand. In the eye-opening and addictive Final Exits, causes of death - bizarre or common - are alphabetically arranged and include actual accounts of people, both famous and ordinary, who died in their own particular way.

"Thoroughly researched, with uncanny historical detail covering burial customs, famous last words, and more than four hundred medical and historical illustrations from throughout the ages, Final Exits is more than just a trivia book. It is a portrait in words and numbers of human fate."


Dude, I would TOTALLY read that book! :D

Not a fan of cold showers, so I'm not coming over!

I was GOING to take a shower a while ago before I went over to the townhouse for dinner and such before our TV crack... but NO SUCH LUCK! The hot water turned out to be very cold... stupid apartment management who didn't even notify us about that! Good thing I found this out while washing dishes instead of turning on the shower and THEN stepping into what would surely have been a freezing experience! So then I called my brother, who answered the phone even if he was teaching - weird, but I told him that I was staying home tonight because of the water situation. It's okay even if Eric would probably have driven me home afterwards, since I probably need to stock up on "me time." ;)

You are Witchy!!

Nothing gets Witchy cackling like causing trouble for her oh-so-perfect sister, Sock Fairy. And with her expertise in spells and potions, you can guarantee that she's always brewing up her own magical brand of trouble. With her short fuse, wicked sense of humor, and distinctly unwashed odor... Witchy is a sock best avoided, but that doesn't stop Bad Oddies flocking to help her cause mayhem. The undisputed leader of Bad Oddie Island, Witchy isn't scared of anything apart from bubbles and happy dogs. But she loves the rain, and couldn't live without her cauldron to help cause trouble.

Take this quiz at QuizHeaven.com

Oh man, I can imagine what certain people would have to say about THIS description... o_O
I just DARE you to come up with something... actually, no!

Dream: "It's too rainy to wait on picking people up!"

I had a dream which started out with Jennifer J. (fate_envies_us) inviting me to hang out with her friends overnight - I accepted said invitation, and was having a good time at a Texas-sized party when Jennifer L. (tehgreenfairy) called me and said she wanted me to hang out with HER friends! After I was finished with that party, I went right on over to Jifjen's house - we had fun searching for things in closets as part of a game, reading, and just relaxing after a good lunch! Everyone was very nice to me, which I appreciated very much! Then I got a phone call from Rich, who said that it was time to go for our cleansing retreat up in the mountains: if we engaged in any bad habits that we wanted to be cleansed of, we'd get a selected punishment that we had to choose beforehand from a short list. My bad habit was doing stuff to my hair: oh dreamland, why must you reflect real life in this way? The punishment I'd selected was having these black breast cancer boils randomly appear / disappear on my face for a year!

I had to go since I had no other choice - while we drove there, we could see the fluffy snow on the mountains. Once we were there, I recognized some of my other friends. We were tasked with finding these infinite gold figurines on tree branches: once we found them, we were to remove them and present them to the leader. If we tried keeping them for ourselves before we were done, we'd receive punishments we DIDN'T ask for! Man, we did a lot of climbing and physical labor! The only way we could be rescued from our fate was if a legitimate phone call came in from the outside (we were isolated) saying that we were urgently needed to help a religious cause. Sarah was our savior, withstanding the third degree to secure my and Rich's release since we NEEDED to be at our church for an event we had spearheaded. (not really, but they didn't need to know that!) Rich and I were made to pick a lot of fruit from a selection of bins before we could sign our work / retreat releases and get outta Dodge, but we considered that a small price to pay for a non-existent urgent need. ;)

Once we were at the church, I saw a bunch of the Awana kids in winter coats doing Game Time. My dad said that we had to help little Wilson, who was over in a corner with his mother Jenny. I went over to see what was up - he had seizures which wouldn't stop unless Rich and I were around to physically restrain him and pray over him... we were the only two people who could do that, although of course Wilson wanted his mom next to him! Once we did that, they stopped forever - Jenny was profoundly grateful for our presence! I flew upstairs to see what was happening - a service packed with old people seemed to be going well. Then I flew right back downstairs to ask Andrew how it was going since he was doing some craft preparation. He wouldn't tell me anything at all in response to my questions, which is uncharacteristic of him in real life! (there's never been a time so far where he's shut down and refused to talk!) Upon some discreet inquiries, I learned that Rich and I weren't supposed to know anything about the Awana ministry anymore - odd, since before we went to the retreat, we were given free rein of the church and its operations.

Eric M., his brother, and Daniel appeared in the basement to convince Andrew to give up his secrets. He told them that they'd have to talk to Auntie Rebecca, which they did. Once I was given unconditional free rein again (they thought the retreat was something that VERY INCURABLY BAD people went on), Alan wondered if we knew the way to Prince Rupert. We allowed that we did, and Alan promptly gave us a bag of goodies to take to his family there! How did he know that we were going there with Eric and Kieran's parents? He said he knew everything about certain people - okay, then! Kieran happened to look out the window, and saw that it was pouring TORRENTIAL RAIN - the four of us figured we better get a move on with us, and maybe meet Ron and Veronica halfway there before the rain made roads impassable! Someone else was supposed to go with us, but we had to leave him at the church since there was no room for him in the car once we got the luggage loaded - and there, the dream ended.


Not sure what all that could mean, although I have responded to a bunch of comments lately that originate from the journals of both Jennifers! Maybe certain things won't come to pass, maybe I have double agents in my life, maybe I've been worrying what certain people REALLY think of me (and turning it negative!), and maybe I've been thinking too much about missed opportunities in Awana! But it HAS been raining hard here in some places, although you wouldn't know it now by looking out the window! Weird stuff, at any rate... I did see Daniel in my row at church yesterday, and also saw Rich reading stuff while Hien and David ran circles around him and our group after Sunday School. Haven't thought much about punishments, Andrew, gold, or snow lately, either. Maybe this isn't a literal dream - horrors! I'll see what certain people have to say...

Awful toys / Philosophy / Mrs. Fields' Lemon Macadamia Cookies

I HATE BEING A BIG CHICKEN!


The Canucks COULD have secured a playoff spot tonight with a win against Colorado, but they lost 5-4 in a shootout! (the only guy to score there was someone who'd scored twice already in the game) I've heard that Roberto Luongo doesn't have any playoff experience, so that might very well be a factor... yikes. Guess they'll have to wait till the next game to get a win, which I believe is also against Colorado - if not, I'm sure someone will be along to correct me. Not very many games left in the season, however!

Speaking of Colorado, Corey forwarded me a link from Something Awful about horrible toys for children. I've looked at it, and yeah - I have no idea why ADULTS in the toy industry don't realize that (for example) a Dora the Explorer toy which looks like a... more adult toy... is NOT appropriate for kids!


Today's Philosophical Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

Empedocles was a mystic from a Greek colony in Sicily, as well as the last philosopher to write in verse. He claimed that all matter was composed of four elements - water, earth, air, and fire - and held that all motion is just the interaction of particles, which never change in quantity, but only in position. He was brilliant, but also arrogant and insane, claiming that through knowledge he had become divine and could perform miracles. While there is some evidence that he died in Greece, the more entertaining story goes that to prove his divinity... he cast himself into an active volcano (Mt. Etna in Sicily), inadvertently and idiotically killing himself in the process. Philosophy, incidentally, translates to "love of wisdom."

Culled from: Bitching and Moaning.Org
Generously submitted by: kelshubert

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I have roused myself from my sickbed to send off this missive. The sickness I am suffering from is worse than ever today, and to make matters even more unbearable, it was nearly 80 degrees. The insects are buzzing, the flowers are blooming, my beloved winter is dying. Oh, how I detest the sickness of spring!

Okay, it's back to the sickbed for me. Hope you all are doing better than I on this doleful Sunday.

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Wretched Recommendations!

Axollot has a fiction recommendation:

Pattern Crimes by William Bayer

"It is a fast-paced serial killer thriller. This is the description on the back of the book: 'It started with a girl found dead at the Damascus Gate. It continued with a succession of bodies, all identically mutilated, all dumped near the old City Walls. It pointed to a crazed psychopath, a case of serial murders. But it concealed something far more sinister...'"

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Morbid Mirth Du Jour!

"Mrs. Smith was a hypochondriac. Dr. Jones was fed up with her constant complaints about non-existent illnesses, so he started palming her off with a mild sedative to keep her happy. One day, she complained about chest pains, and the doctor prescribed his usual treatment. This time, however, the pain was real... and Mrs. Smith died of a heart attack.

"On hearing of her death, Dr. Jones was so upset that he died of shock. Mrs. Smith and Dr. Jones were buried next to each other in the cemetery. The next morning, Dr. Jones heard a tapping on his coffin, followed by a voice saying: 'Dr. Jones, this is Mrs. Smith. Do you have anything for worms?'"

You can thank Remo for that one!



Mrs. Fields' Lemon Macadamia Cookies

Recipe By:
Serving Size: 36 Preparation Time: 0:00
Categories: Cookies

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1 tablespoon lemon extract
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, unsalted

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a medium bowl... combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, blend sugars well with an electric mixer set at medium speed. Add the butter and cream cheese, and add the mix to form a smooth paste. Add the egg and lemon extract, and beat at medium speed until light and soft. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the flour mixture and nuts. Blend at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, two inches apart. Bake 23-25 minutes. Immediately transfer to a cool, flat surface. Yield: approximately three dozen.

"I assume he's still going, even though I haven't talked to him in two weeks!"

Note to self: Break out of your comfort zone at certain times. You WILL have more than enough time with the crew, even if it feels like you're deserting them. At least you tried today - maybe later, haha. You told someone last night that you'd work on the lonely / new people - DO IT! Cruise stuff will rule, too. :P

This morning, I had two cups of coffee quite inadvertently - I should have asked my sister to bring me some milk instead with my breakfast! Oh well, no harm done except probably when I try to sleep tonight! Sister told me that Dad had wondered where I'd been yesterday - not at church! Apparently, he'd gone down to the basement to see where I was since I'm usually there: I've been accumulating quite the number of "free" Saturdays, and it's horrendous! (blood donation, being sick, not being able to get rides out, etc.) I think that this is the year with the most absences in my six years or so of being in Awana, heh. Apparently, Anita had given everyone a lecture yesterday on attendance and such - I heard more about that later from Andrew, too. Nothing I personally can do about it - sigh. I'm sure certain people will also hear about it too!

When we got to church, I thought about talking to someone, but ended up not doing so. I know I wouldn't necessarily want to be disturbed while reading magazines, and certainly not by a crazy morbid person! (I agree with someone else's description of me, heh) So instead, I contented myself with being part of the Nathan / Steph / Jeremy / Eric / Sam / Danielle / Citrus circle - we bugged Sam about not respecting his elders when he accidentally jabbed one of us, haha. (his brother's so TALL now!) Jeremy wondered why Nathan needed a Rockstar energy drink, and I asked him just how much sleep he'd had last night: only four hours?! He couldn't have gotten home THAT late... then he said that he'd been preparing the Powerpoint and such for leading worship this morning. THAT explains it, sorta. (talked to Auntie Ying a while later - she feels young at heart even though her two kids are getting married, yay!) Later, Citrus' mom told Danielle and me that Nate looked like he'd lost weight - maybe, but then we're not objective enough since we see him all the time!

Sat next to Jeremy as per the usual, and said hi to Danielle / Christon: you bet those two will be at the Wii night at Citrus' later! (that replaces the Colorado-Vancouver PPV at Eric's) Melia and I admired the past Take It To Heart posters that Chrystal had brought with her: she doesn't remember how she made certain letters out of construction paper! (and no, she did not do the Chinese characters!) Jeremy wondered about the two roses: maybe one was a boy, and the lighter pink was a girl? (Pastor Edward said that one was for Rosenda, and the other was for someone in the CSC) We proceeded to watch the worship team have an off day in terms of the Powerpoint not being plugged in, possibly singing the wrong thing, not leading us into a song, and not starting off the Doxology properly (accompanied by an audible "Oh crap!") - mental blanks were rampant, heh. Sure, we laughed when these things happened, but kinda felt bad too. After service, Danielle commented that she needed something to eat - she hadn't had any breakfast! I told her that I'd made my sister bring me breakfast, and Steph joked that she was my slave. When I said that I'd had two coffees, Melia thought I was all jittery - not really, but it hit me later!

Followed the usual crowd out the door and down the ramp - we got to see baby Abigail and interact with her big brother Nathaniel... so very cute! He even gave Frances a hug before he left... aww, so special! Asked Melia how Awana had been yesterday - she said it was fine, and that they made the boys do more work since I wasn't there (at least they did THAT!)... she even emphasized not to worry about things! I'm not - just asking how it went, heh. Emily told Angus that a friend of Mike's had broken someone's arm while arm-wrestling with them, yikes! I asked Angus when his birthday was, and the specific date (May 19) - Melia and Chrystal told him that I remembered EVERYONE's birthdays! When I told him that I gave him my word I'd remember it with a card, he said that he'd give me his word on his expecting a gift. So I joked that I'd simply take a piece of paper and write "Dear Angus, Happy Birthday! Love from the crazy clan" - that can be his gift instead of an iPod or whatever, haha. Melia, Vanessa, and Steph were all wearing brown, heh. Then I showed Eric that I was wearing a different pants / shirt / hat ensemble, but he didn't seem impressed - CHEH! I'll get him for that later, hehe... perhaps I'll wear the same thing tomorrow night, and see if he notices then! We overheard Danielle talking about "dying all the time and getting frustrated," so we thought she meant in real life - thank goodness she only meant in video games where the guys just bully her and never teach her anything! (no competition!)

When I finally went to Sunday School, little Sean seemed even better! He even leaned on me for a while - Auntie Tracy says he seems to respond to my love and affection, which is cool. (NOT THAT KIND, YOU PERVERTS - HE'S LIKE THREE YEARS OLD!) He even put his hand on my pant leg while he was playing with a toy - and even sat down for some of the time instead of wandering around the room. Then he led me over to the emergency procedures poster, pointed to some numbers on there, and repeated the numbers one through six.. later, he randomly repeated the numbers one through ten. Maybe with his type of autism, he can be a math whiz! Wilson came today after an absence of a few weeks, so Rachel was glad to see him: PICNIC TIME! (her grandma gave me some cookies, too - should take them out before I forget)

After Sunday School, I returned some Awana resources to Auntie Vivian while apologizing for taking at least three weeks with them: there was the week I was sick and obviously didn't feel like reading much, the week of Henry's blood donation, the Spring Break week, and yesterday where I couldn't make it. She told me not to worry about it (recurring theme), and told me that Anita hadn't been pleased with certain things - oh, I'd heard about it! (Anita wouldn't / didn't talk to me later when she was rubbing it in with Michelle / Hilary / others that they had to go back to SCHOOL and do HOMEWORK tomorrow!) Overheard Stanley telling Vivian to shut up, so we both bugged him about disrespecting his elders! Someone mentioned that Lawrence got his license last week - now that makes me feel old! Talked to Andrew to see how his experience at Awana had been - he said that Anita had indirectly lectured him in front of everyone because he'd done something really immature. Yikes! (but that's the way to do it: "certain people - and you know who you are - blah blah blah...") He wondered why my dad had been standing among them yesterday during debriefing since he usually leaves shortly after Awana starts: don't ask me, I don't know! After some more stalling, I went outside - people were out after Sunday School earlier than usual?! Wow! (12:50 or so)

It transpired that Jon didn't want to go for lunch with us since he had to get chocolates at some particular shop for Harmony's birthday - shouldn't you plan it EARLIER since her birthday is in a few days? (mailing stuff in a box doesn't take one day!) Vented about the ugfart later with Steph - we're not being NOSY; we just want to know certain things out of concern! Guess we'll both have to go to the lunch next week where Phil and Jon will discuss their pastoral vision for the church - better examples need to be set, dude! Should reply to Uncle Daniel's email before I forget - maybe tonight Wow, Easter is the week after next already! Good thing the vision lunch isn't on Easter, otherwise I would DIE from not enough sleep... Sunrise Service at 6:30 AM comes EARLY! Dylan asked Jon how last night's worship service had gone since he'd had something happen to his car: actually, we didn't go because of the comedy of errors that happened! (according to the people that DID go, there was some hip-hop dancing plus a cool skit!) Nathan was still holding his Rockstar drink afterwards, and I commented on that fact - he thought I wanted to finish it off! Oh no, not when I'd had two coffees this morning before service! (however inadvertent that may have been) Otherwise, sure - I'm not afraid of Nathan's germs!

At Mui's, we saw Gabriel's family - then while our parents were ordering, I recognized Uncle Ken and Auntie Amy walking into the restaurant! Man, we haven't seen them in some time... apparently, their only daughter Susan is going to be a mother pretty soon! Ken was Steph's favorite uncle when she was young - "I like girls better than boys!" - I remember playing Pac-Man on an Atari way back when they lived in a huge (to me?) house, and moved ALL THE TIME! Talked to them for a bit, too. Steph said that she'd treat me to the other cruise (gotta reciprocate on some level, heh), and told Mom that she was confused about which one she'd make it to. Then we discussed Vivian and Karen's character differences, Stanley's conflict and not having friends his own age, Julie and skating, Timothy camp which conflicts with a co-worker's wedding, Kakuro (two Volume 1 books?!), the TV show finale (I assume someone's still fine with it!), Dallas coming over for dinner on Tuesday, and various other subjects. Good times, haha.


I wouldn't be surprised if Corey thinks my caps lock key is stuck, since I'm yelling at him in like every other message... even resorting to the use of his full name! However, it's not MY fault he keeps sending me weird messages! Then again, he even encouraged me to yell at him the other night... I know he likes making Jane do the same thing, haha. So he really brings it upon himself, and he knows it!