Contest over at BabySnazz.com!
http://www.babysnazz.com/contest/

Blog about it for extra chances to win :)

http://www.kitchencollection.com/

Mom was bemoaning the fact that her Pyrex Pie Keepers have gone AWOL or broken over the years and she couldn't find any more. I figured, if there are any out there to be had, Uncle Google will find them for me.

Not only did he find them (for $5 each!), he led me to this site, which is eeeevil because they have such fabulous things, mostly at a fairly deep discount, even after you add in the tax and shipping (also, there is a free shipping coupon until Dec 17 for orders over $50: Freeship1208 )

*sigh*

I must not buy kitchen stuff... I must not buy kitchen stuff...

do you need a Winter Corgi Butter Dish???

maine_girl!!!

Hope your day is fabulous!

State orders midwife to cease and desist after 20+ years. This group is trying to help design and get legislation passed to protect home birth.

a href="http://www.savehomebirth.com" target="_blank">www.savehomebirth.com</a>

100 most challenged books of 1990-2000 and making note of the ones I've read. Re-post in your own journal, if you like.
(bold=read)

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Friday: Went to Asia Mart and got way too much stuff, but it's all edible, and most of it is keep-able, IYKWIM :)

Saturday: got a bug up my butt to host friends for dinner (I'd actually already invited silverstah and __himself__, but firmed up what I was cooking and invited _good_kitty and her Splendid.

My oven was on pretty much from 10am to 6pm. I got up, scrubbed out the new and old cast iron well, dried it, greased it up and tossed it in the oven while I worked on doing dishes, etc. Then I baked an(other) apple cake. Then I put a 14lb pork shoulder in the oven (cut slits in it, put in a mix of salt, pepper, long pepper, grains of paradise, cardamom and fresh garlic, rubbed that over it, and let it sit out while the cake was in the oven, about 45 min). While *that* was cooking and the cake cooling, I finished cleaning up the kitchen, got B to arrange the shelves against the wall (I now have a baker's rack and a small book case in there to add to the storage, because dude, I have a lot of kitchen stuff), got rid of extraneous boxes, bags, random stuff, swept, vacuumed and mopped the floor in both the kitchen and the front hall.

I have to figure out how to store my root veggies and things. Currently I have a rubbermaid rough tote housing: oniond, potatoes, carrots, apples and grapefruit. There has to be a better solution, but I'm damned if I know what it is. I don't want to put them in the pantry, because I'm afraid that 1) I'll forget about them and 2) they'd be right against the water heater, and that seems imprudent somehow. One of those veggie hangie things i don't think will work b/c we have a suspended (I think that's what they're called?) ceiling in there. Meh.

Anyway, speaking of root veggies, I washed and cut up about 4 med onions, about 1 1/2 lbs of carrots and most of a 5lb bag of potatoes, drizzled with olive oil, tossed with salt and pepper, and threw those in for the last hour of the roast cooking. Pulled the roast out, removed to a meat carving plate thingie, covered with foil, scraped all the goodie off into a small saucepan, and later made gravy from that (letting the veggies continue to cook while the meat rested).

Since I felt it necessary to do green veg, I simmered bok choy with shiitake mushrooms and a little bit of oyster sauce.

Oh, and iced the cake with a "burnt sugar" frosting. Yum!

Kitty and Splendid brought Blue Moon Brewery's Full Moon winter ale, OMG, YUM! Went beautifully with dinner.

A good time was had by all, and I got my "cooking for a crowd" jones taken care of for a while.

This was also impetus to straighten up the public areas of the apartment. The dining room is still in shambles and there are boxes in the (wide) hallways and over to the side in the living room, but it wasn't claustrophobic, even with 6 adults. :)

Sunday: weather was SOOO gorgeous, but Polka woke up with a cold. I imagine it's the one I had week before last/last week. Icky, but *I* felt better for being outside, so I woke B up, got us all dressed and walked up to Guglhupf for brunch and bread. I had their smoked salmon breakfast which is 2 slices of yummy bread, smoked salmon topped with scrambled eggs, *good* hollendaise sauce and minced red onion. B had eggs benedict for the same price. I think I won on that one. :) Polka nursed and played with paper and spoons, and a good time was had by all. We ate outside so she and I could get some Vit. D. :)

Sunday was also Laundry and Dishes Day (we were bad and had left the dishes from Saturday night to do, but everything was done by 4pm, so I don't feel too bad ^_^).

The absolutely lovely and talented silverstah!!!

She, __himself__, _good_kitty, Splendid, B, Polka and I had a lovely autumnal dinner Saturday night to prove that yes, we can actually entertain in the new apartment :)

Now, if we could just get the dining room cleared of boxes... ;)

I hope your day is as fabulous as you are, sweetie!

http://community.livejournal.com/awesomecostume/

This is a place for you to share the most awesome costumes you have run across! We want to see it all - historical, fantasy, sci-fi and everything in between - as long as it's truly awesome!

Community Rules


1. NO SNARKING. There are plenty of LJ communities dedicated to snark. This is not one of them. Snarkers will be summarily disposed of, post-haste.

2. Don't post your OWN costume. There are communities for that as well - dressdiaries is one of my personal favorites. This is where you get to wax poetic about your favorite costumers and their creations.

3. No hotlinking to images. It's rude. Post a link to the costumer's personal site or unlocked LJ entry - an added bonus of this is that if they check their site tracking, they can see that they're being loved upon! :)

4. Tell us WHY the costume is awesome! Don't just say "OMG, look at THIS!". Tell us what you think is utterly amazing about the piece. Many costumers focus on one era or type of costuming - so we may not know why this 10th century tunic is totally awesome. Share with us why you think it's amazing!

5. Have FUN!

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact silverstah, your cheerful moderator!