Switching, and a horribly early morning post of randomness...

So, I've switched over to the Blogger Beta format. Supposedly, it's not going to change anything as far as the format is concerned, but it will allow for labels to be had, such as "general mayhem", "literary quandries", etc... should be interesting, if nothing else. Of course, I can't go BACK if I don't like it - or if YOU don't like it - so I'm hoping that it'll do everything that it's supposed to do with no issues.


Speaking of issues, I have a knot that's causing the left side of my back to squinch up (yes, that IS a technical term). Even if it *does* quit raining tonight for fire practice, I doubt that I'm going to do anything, since the ouchie factor of the knot is high enough to make me not want to move at all.


Aly and Fae came down last night to visit for the weekend. Yay us! I got to feed them my uber-special Spanish Rice, which I've improved upon over Thursday night's attempt. I don't understand why people would BOTHER with the boxed crap - it's just as easy and quick to do it from scratch. No, really! I'll post up the recipe and you can see for yourself! Fred stayed up until almost two in the morning, talking with them. I woke up at 4:30 to a very amorous fiance, and was pounced... Rather, I think we ended up pouncing one another. LOL. I will say, it was a nice way to be woken up, especially THAT early in the morning.


I ended up falling asleep on the MAX heading into work this morning, which is probably where the knot came from. I'm not doing so well with the whole 10 hour shifts with the 2.5 hour commute... It's harsh on my sleep schedule, and harsh on my brain. I may try for a "normal" 8 hour shift, though I'm only going to do it if I can get weekends off - if not, then forget it. I'll suffer through.


Fred and I have decided that, since we're doing a big troupe dinner on the 19th, and then the Holiday Feast on the 9th of December, we're going to do a really simple Thanksgiving thing... We're doing Tex-Mex. I'm making a mess of chicken and cheese enchiladas, cornbread, mixed squash, home-made tortilla chips, and pico de gayo. Yum! I'm actually looking forward to it. It's been a while since I've had a full Tex-Mex dinner, and I really LOVE working with SW flavors. It makes me happy - the same way Sushi makes me happy... tee hee.


Fred's still trying to quit smoking, bless him. I'm a little frustrated, but I don't know what else do to other than continue to let him know that I love him and I would like him to quit - and to NOT NAG. He's got to be the one to ultimately decide each time whether or not he's going to light up - and I can't be there 24/7, regardless of what I might *want*. I'm hoping that we can take the Thanksgiving weekend (since we're both off Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and he's off Saturday), and get him off them completely. I will say that for the most part, he hasn't been smoking at home at all - which is really nice. I've found that I feel better, and am breathing better... Allergies to cigarette smoke suck ass.


I have almost finished my winter coat... It still needs the front buttons and button-holes. I also need to get another 5 yards of fleece and use it to line the rest of the coat. Unfortunately, the wool is just NOT keeping me warm enough in the wind, so I'll need to beef up the coat to stay warm through the winter. It's a minor annoyance, but one I'd better get solved ASAP so that I don't freeze my butt - or other areas of my anatomy - completely into uselessness.


I also decided that I'd try applying at Skorch Magazine. According to their criteria of what they were looking for, I fit it... But the email they sent back said the opposite - though they promised they'd keep me on file if something came up. I guess I'm destined to be an online amature model for a while, and not make any money at all... *sigh* Personally, I think it was my legs. I know that I'm not supposed to get down on myself, but I'm not shaped the way magazines in general want large women to be shaped. They want thinner-looking legs... So, I won't be getting any mag offers. Not anytime soon.


Sallie Mae keeps calling me and threatening. In order for me to start paying them, I'd have to have a job paying DOUBLE what I'm getting paid now... That's not going to happen anytime soon, so they really do need to just quit. I've told them this, and they've acted snotty and asked when I'm going to GET said higher-paying job, and if I'm LOOKING for said higher-paying job. Whatever. I know they'll ruin my credit, and I also know that I can't do anything about it. If, at some point in the future, I end up applying for and getting a loan for a house, I'll include their loan into it, and get them to go away for good.


And now I have to go to work. Yay.


~M