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  <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72</id>
  <title>Eurydice's Ramblings</title>
  <subtitle>Eurydice</subtitle>
  <author>
    <email>sigrid72@gmail.com</email>
    <name>Eurydice</name>
  </author>
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  <updated>2009-11-15T07:07:06Z</updated>
  <lj:journal userid="1202132" username="eurydice72" type="personal"/>
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  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:527534</id>
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    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-14T23:07:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-15T07:07:06Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-15T07:07:06Z</updated>
    <category term="writing"/>
    <content type="html">Got some great news today!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pepper and I entered 7 titles into EPIC's annual e-book award. Last year, we had a number of finalists, and though we had fewer eligible entries this year, I still managed submit 4 Jamie Craig titles, and 3 of mine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tonight, we found out that the Jamie Craig story, "Trick of Silver," and my VD story, "Crave," are both finalists in the Paranormal Erotic Romance category!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ours are the only two m/m titles in that category; the other 4 are het. And it figures we have them competing against each other, but still, we're chuffed about finaling again. The awards get announced at the convention next March in New Orleans, so now we have reasons to go, lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was a great way to end a very long day. :)</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:527357</id>
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    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-13T23:43:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-14T07:43:49Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-14T07:43:49Z</updated>
    <content type="html">It's not midnight yet, so I'm still good on trying to post everyday...though the only thing of note to happen today was making plans to meet up with &lt;span class='ljuser  ljuser-name_mydeira' lj:user='mydeira' style='white-space: nowrap;'&gt;&lt;a href='http://mydeira.livejournal.com/profile'&gt;&lt;img src='http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif' alt='[info]' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href='http://mydeira.livejournal.com/'&gt;&lt;b&gt;mydeira&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; on Sunday for dinner at Benihana's. Watched a really terrible movie, picked up and put down a really terrible book, discovered Alex had tried flushing a wad of paper towels which is why their bathroom toilet is now completely blocked and we need to get a plumber to fix it because not even the snake will go through, and had animals acting like they're possessed regardless of everything we did.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So...kind of glad that it's the weekend. Though it's going to be a busy one. I think that'll hold true for every one until 2010, at this rate...</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:527099</id>
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    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-12T22:52:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-13T06:52:54Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-13T06:52:54Z</updated>
    <category term="writing"/>
    <category term="general hospital"/>
    <category term="life"/>
    <category term="glee"/>
    <content type="html">It...was not a great day. It wasn't truly awful, but I'm having a hard time not dwelling on the bad stuff. So to help counter that, I'm going to list stuff that's made me smile/made me feel/made me happy in the past couple days:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Glee. I love this show so much. What specifically this week? Jane Lynch. And Kurt's father. And Puck. I know I shouldn't like him so much but I do. I want to gouge Quinn's eyes out, but what he did for her this week...maybe it's the bad boy thing I have.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. I finished the last part of my 4-novella series about a pair of gay lawyers in San Francisco. It's nice to feel accomplished, even if I've been a sea of self-doubt lately.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. Turning off the TV and computers, and sitting with my kids for a couple hours tonight to play board games.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. Oddly enough, General Hospital. Having Jonathan Jackson back has been amazing, and showing the flashback scene today? Made me want to cry. Plus, Lulu and Dante are heating up, Carly's had some great material this week, Claudia is finally gone, and they actually found another baby with red hair. Alicia saw the commercial advertising James Franco's upcoming stint and flipped out. At first she was all, "He's just really good!" But she had this goofy grin and wouldn't meet my eyes, and I finally got her to admit she was partially excited because he's so cute, lol. My daughter has good taste. ;)</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:526826</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/526826.html"/>
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    <title>Wednesday night reality TV</title>
    <published>2009-11-12T06:58:37Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-12T06:58:37Z</updated>
    <category term="antm"/>
    <category term="top chef"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I was fearful at the start of the episode with the challenge. They picked something that they knew Nicole was going to suck at. And that Erin would do well with. I was convinced that Erin was going to win, and then she'd somehow be in the top 2 when she is whiny and inconsistent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It didn't help that she did a good photo, and Laura seemed to struggle. I was even fearful that Nicole would end up not making it when they didn't gush over her photo the way Jay did. But Laura's photo shocked me. She really is such a chameleon! And Laura and Nicole are my ideal top two. Laura's likely the sweetest girl they've ever had on the show, and Nicole is just stunning.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name="cutid2"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Pepper has been talking about Top Chef for ages, but I never watched until two weeks ago when I caught a marathon of the current season. I got hooked. So I watched it tonight, but it all feels like a waiting game until they get to the brothers and Kevin as 3 of the top 4. I don't know anymore who the 4th will be. I'd originally thought Jennifer, but she's really crumbled under the pressure the last 4 weeks. Robin shouldn't necessarily have lasted this long, and I can't say I'm sorry to see her go. The drama next week will be if it's Jennifer or Eli with the others. At this point, unless Jennifer rallies (which I just don't see happening), it'll be Eli.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:526440</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/526440.html"/>
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    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-10T20:35:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-11T04:40:49Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-11T04:40:49Z</updated>
    <category term="alicia"/>
    <category term="writing"/>
    <category term="christmas"/>
    <category term="life"/>
    <category term="alex"/>
    <content type="html">1. Christmas cards! I've already posted my call, but I'm going to repeat it because I know some people fall behind on checking LJ, overlook a post, etc. If you're interested in being on my Christmas card list, go to &lt;a href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/524522.html" target="_blank"&gt;this post&lt;/a&gt; and sign up. I love this season. I'd like to be able to include you in my cheer!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. Alicia is feeling better, but now Alex is sick. They're off school tomorrow because of Veteran's Day, and Craig is working from home, too, so I'm going to have a full house.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. Pepper and I are trying something new in our collaborative process that is terrifying both of us, lol. I'm hoping the end result turns out great to make all this nail-biting worth it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. I'm in a bit of pain today. Last night, I realized after I'd gone to bed that I'd forgotten my phone downstairs. So I went down, without turning on any lights and very tired, and promptly missed the bottom two stairs. I fell down and landed on the hard tile at the bottom on my left shoulder, jamming my left wrist and twisting my right ankle. Oh, and skinning both of my knees and my left elbow. Fun, huh?</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:526284</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/526284.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=526284"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-09T22:44:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-10T06:53:15Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-10T06:53:15Z</updated>
    <category term="life"/>
    <content type="html">Recently, I used up the last of the gift certificate I got for Amazon for my birthday from my in-laws. That shipment arrived today, and it had in it two things that have me excited: &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gay-Art-Felix-Lance-Falkon/dp/1551522055/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1257835588&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Gay Art: A Historic Collection&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Concert-Josh-Groban/dp/B0028SVXVM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=dvd&amp;amp;qid=1257835623&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Chess in Concert&lt;/a&gt; with Josh Groban and Idina Menzel.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Clearly, I'm excited about these for different reasons, lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I haven't had a chance to do much more than flip through the book yet. It arrived when the kids were home, so because of its graphic nature, that got put away after a couple careful peeks.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But the DVD...even Craig is excited about that. I love Chess, and have had it memorized since I first got the CD in college. I belt it out when I've got it on. I even lost my voice on a trip to a con in LA one year because I kept singing/playing it over and over for the 8 hour drive down, lol. I had heard Groban played Anatoly in this production, but I was super excited to see that Menzel was in it, too. Adam Pascal plays Freddy, too, which will be fun to watch. I was going to pop it on tonight, but Craig is currently working and I was threatened if I watched it without him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maybe I can sneak it on tomorrow and just not tell him that I've already seen it. ;)</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:526016</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/526016.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=526016"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-08T19:01:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-09T03:05:23Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-09T03:05:23Z</updated>
    <category term="life"/>
    <content type="html">Damn it. I forgot to post yesterday. But I didn't really have anything interesting to say, anyway, so better than gabbling about nothing, right?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Except I've still got nothing, lol. It's been a busy couple of days, with a ton of cleaning, shopping for stuff for the house, proofing a galley, writing about 4k, taking care of Alicia since she's sick, and all the normal house stuff. Alicia is doing better, and will likely go to school tomorrow, but I have really got to hit the grocery store soon. I've been scrounging up meals with stuff in the house, and considering I haven't done a full shop in almost 2 weeks - just a couple runs for milk and bread - it's been interesting, lol. I ended up making a potato soup for lunch yesterday that my mom used to make, a comfort food for when we were sick. That compelled me to try other recipes from when I was growing up, at which point I realized why we had them so often. They use staples that are always on hand, lol. Funny it took until I was 40 to actually learn that.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:525751</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/525751.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=525751"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-06T22:14:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-07T06:15:45Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-07T06:15:45Z</updated>
    <category term="alicia"/>
    <category term="life"/>
    <content type="html">Long day. Very tired. Alicia came home sick this morning, and most of my day has been taking care of her. Doesn't bode well for the weekend, though at least her temperature had gone away by the time she went to bed.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:525546</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/525546.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=525546"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-05T22:03:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-06T06:12:10Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-06T06:12:10Z</updated>
    <category term="life"/>
    <content type="html">It's official. My eye appointment today confirmed that while my long distance vision is still perfect, my left eye - which has always been weaker - has deteriorated enough to fatigue my overcompensating right eye. Thus, I now have prescription reading glasses. Or I will in two weeks when they come back fully fitted.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I picked out two sets of frames, since our insurance paid for one and I'm notorious for losing things like that. I took pictures of the frames at the opticians, but the quality is crappy. &lt;a href="http://twitpic.com/of2xq" target="_blank"&gt;This pair&lt;/a&gt; is the blingier of the two, and really comfy, while &lt;a href="http://twitpic.com/of380" target="_blank"&gt;this pair&lt;/a&gt; is incredibly lightweight and more neutral.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Such is life. And hey, if it helps the watering and headaches, I can't really complain, now can I? :)</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:525092</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/525092.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=525092"/>
    <title>ANTM</title>
    <published>2009-11-05T06:48:22Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-05T06:48:22Z</updated>
    <category term="antm"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why the hell isn't Erin gone yet? The judges have been hot for her since the beginning, and she has been absolute crap the last three weeks. She whines, she complains, she cries, she bitches...and her picture this week was atrocious. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The only thing making me feel better is hearing Jay say in the preview next week that 2 people are going home. One of them better be Erin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And if Nicole doesn't win overall, something is seriously wrong.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:524854</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/524854.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=524854"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-11-03T21:34:00</title>
    <published>2009-11-04T05:39:00Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-04T05:39:00Z</updated>
    <category term="v"/>
    <content type="html">So, we watched V tonight...&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm still unsure. Sunday, Craig did a marathon of watching the original two miniseries, and at some point, we're going to watch the original show. I wasn't hugely interested in watching the remake, but Craig asked so I recorded it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I like the idea that they've been on the planet for years as a sleeper cell, but the pace seemed...sluggish? I dunno. I kept waiting for more, and it just didn't come. I saw the twist with Alan Tudyk coming a mile off, and I've never cared for Scott Wolf. Other than that...I liked...Ryan? Is that his name? The one who turned out to be a visitor helping them. And I always like Elizabeth Mitchell, so it helps she's in the lead.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The rest of it...eh. We'll see. I'm not sold yet.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:524649</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/524649.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=524649"/>
    <title>And the clock goes ticking on...</title>
    <published>2009-11-03T00:20:17Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-03T00:20:17Z</updated>
    <category term="life"/>
    <content type="html">I didn't balk too much this past summer when I turned 40, but I've been balking at something else recently that proves I'm not as comfortable with getting older as I thought I was. For a few weeks now, my headaches have become a little more common, and my eyes have been getting tired and achy for seemingly no reasons. I don't wear glasses or contacts, though when I was 18, I was told one eye was near-sighted, the other one far-sighted, and should probably wear reading glasses to help the headaches I got then.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I got them, but they didn't help. They actually made things worse. So I stopped wearing them and just got used to the constant conscious focusing I have to do every time I change perception depths. It's gotten to the point that it's automatic, but lately, it's not as fast as it always was before. Which leads me to think that maybe some of my other maladies might be related to my eyes, too.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So Thursday afternoon, I go for my first eye exam in 22 years. Yes, I know I'm overdue, but there never felt any need for one before now because I had such excellent vision. I have no idea what it's going to reveal, though I suspect something is probably wrong. And you know, the idea of needing glasses bugs me a hell of a lot more than the numerical value of my age. It's silly and vain (because if I do need glasses, I doubt I'll get contacts because I've always been *uber* sensitive about stuff near my eyes), but oh well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I guess I'll know on Thursday.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:524522</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/524522.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=524522"/>
    <title>Christmas cards</title>
    <published>2009-11-01T21:28:35Z</published>
    <updated>2009-11-01T21:28:35Z</updated>
    <category term="christmas"/>
    <content type="html">I know people will cringe when they see it, but I'm starting my organizing early this year because it's the only way I can guarantee getting it done, lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am sending Christmas cards to anyone who might want one. All you have to do is leave your address in a comment (all comments screened) or drop me an email at sigrid72 (at) gmail (dot) com with the info. Let me share my Christmas cheer! :)</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:524208</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/524208.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=524208"/>
    <title>Daily Deal</title>
    <published>2009-10-31T17:20:40Z</published>
    <updated>2009-10-31T17:20:40Z</updated>
    <category term="writing"/>
    <content type="html">One of my stories has been listed as &lt;a href="http://amberquill.com/DailyDeals/index.html" target="_blank"&gt;today's Daily Deal over at Amber Quill Press&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's an m/m vampire novella called &lt;a href="http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/BridgeTroubledWater.html" target="_blank"&gt;Bridge Over Troubled Water&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Detective Brady Lindstrom deals in death, and not just because he’s a homicide cop with the slaughter of a century to solve. Ten years ago, vampires murdered his lover. Ever since, he’s looked over his shoulder, ready for vampires to strike again. Or maybe just the one he loved.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Exhausted and angry about the needless deaths he has to investigate, Brady worries that the killers he’s looking for aren’t even human. Those fears are compounded by an unexpected visitor, the battered and nearly broken Cole Singer, the lover he’d long ago given up for dead. When Cole offers to trade information on the killers in exchange for sanctuary, Brady realizes he doesn’t have a choice. He just can’t turn his back on the face of the only man he’s ever loved. Even if he’s a vampire... &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There's an excerpt at the site above, and today only, it's only $1.50. But you have to buy it through &lt;a href="http://amberquill.com/DailyDeals/index.html" target="_blank"&gt;this link&lt;/a&gt;, not the blurb/excerpt page since it's part of the Daily Deal program.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:523817</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/523817.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=523817"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-10-30T22:12:00</title>
    <published>2009-10-31T05:34:11Z</published>
    <updated>2009-10-31T05:34:11Z</updated>
    <category term="general hospital"/>
    <content type="html">This won't be of interest to very many people, though I'll be honest and say I have absolutely no idea who might or might not watch soap operas. &lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I grew up on General Hospital. I remember Laura and Scotty's wedding, Luke's arrival, the whole Luke and Laura craze. I fell out of it a little bit in college, because my roommate loved Santa Barbara and it was her TV, watched it again in my 20s then had to give it up when I moved to the UK in '99. I got back into it after '06, though I'll admit I didn't warm up to it right away. I'd missed a lot of history, and my favorite characters weren't really around. Plus, the focus on Sonny was infuriating.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But I've stuck with it, for a few reasons, and while there have been ups and downs, and times I want to just say forget it, I really really don't want to right now. I'm loving what's happening right now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. For Dominic/Dante. I don't know what it is about this guy - he's short, he's not as good looking as some of the other guys on the show - but ever since he started, he's just transfixed me. I adore the circumstances of his being on the canvas, and I LOVE his chemistry with Lulu. Every time they're on screen, I stop everything to watch. I'm just waiting for this relationship to explode.&lt;br /&gt;2. For Johnny/Olivia. I've been a fan of Johnny's from the start, and while I really liked him with Lulu, I think he's fantastic with Olivia. They're so damn hot together.&lt;br /&gt;3. For Claudia finally getting her comeuppance. It's about time.&lt;br /&gt;4. For Jonathan Jackson's return as Lucky. I liked Greg Vaughan well enough, but from Jackson's first moment on screen this week, I got goosebumps. It's a different Lucky than Vaughan's, but he's just such a better actor. He's got that quiet intensity that Vaughan didn't have, strong and vulnerable all at the same time. Even Alicia commented today about it, completely unsolicited: "This Lucky is so much better than the last one."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, I hate most of the new kids they have now. I fast-forward through most of Kristina and Michael's scenes, anything with Rebecca in it makes me cringe, and Sonny's constant presence gets annoying. But Patrick and Robin are fun again, Matt is charming, and Maxie and Spinelli absolutely adorable. There are more good reasons than bad to watch these days.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:523681</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/523681.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=523681"/>
    <title>Apple-Raspberry Pie</title>
    <published>2009-10-30T02:26:08Z</published>
    <updated>2009-10-30T02:26:08Z</updated>
    <category term="cooking"/>
    <content type="html">Somebody asked me for this recipe, so I'm going to post it today for my memories and anyone else who might be interested in a nice alternative to regular apple pie.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;b&gt;Apple-Raspberry Pie&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;INGREDIENTS&lt;br /&gt;2 pie crusts (you can buy them or make them yourself, I buy)&lt;br /&gt;5 cups sliced &amp; peeled apples&lt;br /&gt;3/4 cup sugar&lt;br /&gt;1/4 cup cornstarch&lt;br /&gt;1 tsp grated orange peel&lt;br /&gt;1 cup fresh raspberries&lt;br /&gt;1 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces&lt;br /&gt;1 tsp sugar&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;DIRECTIONS&lt;br /&gt;1. Heat oven to 400F. Place bottom crust in pie plate.&lt;br /&gt;2. In large bowl, place apples, 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and orange peel. Toss to coat apples.&lt;br /&gt;3. Spoon 1/2 of apple mixture into crust-lined pie plate.&lt;br /&gt;4. Sprinkle evenly with raspberries.&lt;br /&gt;5. Top with remaining apples, and dot with butter.&lt;br /&gt;6. Top with second crust. Seal edges and flute.&lt;br /&gt;7. Lightly brush crust with water. Sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar. Cut slits in several places in top crust. Cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.&lt;br /&gt;8. Place pie on middle oven rack. Bake 45-55 minutes or until golden brown. Cool at least 1 hour before serving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NOTE: Make sure the apples are sliced thinly so you can layer smoothly. So so good!</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:523498</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/523498.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=523498"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-10-28T08:29:00</title>
    <published>2009-10-28T15:48:24Z</published>
    <updated>2009-10-28T15:48:24Z</updated>
    <category term="alicia"/>
    <category term="life"/>
    <content type="html">No accident today, so that's a mark in the plus column. However, I woke up with a headache and am currently nursing my coffee in hopes that it eases soon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today, I get to make victoria sponges for Alicia to take to school on Friday. For those who don't know what they are, it's basically an unfrosted sponge cake with jam or cream between the layers. Know why I'm doing this? Because Alicia's teacher announced that they weren't having a Halloween party like the rest of the school. It's a combined 4th and 5th grade class, the kids who are considered academically excelled, and according to her, they are now too old/mature for Halloween parties so instead they're having a cultural heritage party where each kid is responsible for bringing in some food item to share with the class that's part of their heritage.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I heard about the reasons why they're not having a Halloween party, I laughed actually. The thought that 9 and 10 year-olds are too old for Halloween is ludicrous. I like Alicia's teacher, and the idea of a cultural heritage day is a great one, but as a substitute for Halloween?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't think so.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:523145</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/523145.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=523145"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-10-27T11:37:00</title>
    <published>2009-10-27T18:44:31Z</published>
    <updated>2009-10-27T18:44:31Z</updated>
    <category term="life"/>
    <content type="html">This has not been a good day. Craig worked most of the night and came to bed at 5. I was up 90 minutes later and in the shower, but when it came time to leave for school, the kids dawdled and we ended up not getting on the road until 7 minutes past our normal time. That 7 minutes is important because there are so many frigging schools around here. By leaving that much later, I got caught up in the school traffic, so my normal 5-7 minute trip to school took twice as long. Worse, on the ride home, I ended up getting caught in the traffic of everyone arriving at the high school, too. I avoid that when I leave earlier.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What did that mean today? That meant I got rear-ended.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I had gone past the front of the school, approaching the corner where I turn to go down the side (with yet another entrance for people to pull into) and into my neighborhood. The SUV in front of me started making the turn, then stopped because a kid was crossing the street. I stopped, with plenty of room and time, but the woman behind me didn't, and rammed into my backside. I couldn't pull over right away. Traffic is way too heavy for that. In fact, by the time I could pull over, I was half a block from my house so I just pulled into the driveway instead. She followed me, and we got out to inspect our cars. My van was fine, due to Craig's laziness on Sunday when he got back from sailing. He'd failed to take off the tow hitch like he usually does, and that was what the woman ended up hitting. Pieces of her car were stuck to it, and there were some scratches on my bumper, but that was it. She, in her sedan, had it worse, but I was more worried about the two-year-old she had strapped into the backseat. Thankfully, they were both fine, we agreed to part ways, and she left.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was a tad shaken. Still am, actually. I didn't sleep great, and the headache I had from arguing with the kids only got worse after the accident. I'm trying to regroup. I think it's going to be a very long day.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:522982</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/522982.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=522982"/>
    <title>Mexican Marshmallow Mocha</title>
    <published>2009-10-26T19:10:20Z</published>
    <updated>2009-10-26T19:10:20Z</updated>
    <content type="html">This is me, trying to get back - again - to how good I was being about posting before the move. I'm not even going to try and catch up. I think it's impossible, and let's face it, a little boring, lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So to kickstart posting every day again, I'm going to share a recipe I tried the other night for the kids. We have a new ritual in this house. I used to be *really* close to Safeway, and had no problems running to the store every day to get what I wanted. It was fast and then done, which I liked. Here, the local Safeway is better than our old one, but not nearly as close. Going every day would be a pain in the butt, so I've taken to doing one weekly shop, and then running to Lucky - which is closer, but I really don't like very much - to get something I might need last minute. Because I'm kinda sorta planning a week's meals - if not specifics, then generalities because I just do not want to be doing the shopping so often - I've taken to sitting the kids down the night before the shopping trip, giving them free rein of all my cookbooks, and letting them pick something out. It's been interesting, lol. Probably the biggest hit so far was this drink that Alex picked out for Saturday night, though.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's a Weight Watchers recipe, but that just means it's not as calorie-laden as it's full fat siblings, lol. But it was ohmigod so good, and a keeper for us.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;center&gt;Mexican Marshmallow Mocha&lt;/center&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;INGREDIENTS&lt;br /&gt;2 cups low-fat milk&lt;br /&gt;1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa&lt;br /&gt;3 tbsp sugar&lt;br /&gt;2 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules&lt;br /&gt;1/4 tsp cinnamon&lt;br /&gt;1/2 cup marshmallow creme&lt;br /&gt;1/2 tsp vanilla&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;DIRECTIONS&lt;br /&gt;1. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, but do not boil.&lt;br /&gt;2. Combine cocoa, sugar, coffee, and cinnamon.&lt;br /&gt;3. Add cocoa mixture to milk mixture in pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth.&lt;br /&gt;4. Stir in marshmallow creme. &lt;br /&gt;5. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk.&lt;br /&gt;6. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 more minute, still stirring.&lt;br /&gt;7. Remove from heat and add vanilla.&lt;br /&gt;8. Pour into mugs&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NOTES: Makes 3 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup). For WW, it's 3 points a serving. It's *very* rich. You'd have to really love rich stuff to drink much more than that, lol.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:522511</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/522511.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=522511"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-10-01T08:46:00</title>
    <published>2009-10-01T16:14:43Z</published>
    <updated>2009-10-01T16:14:43Z</updated>
    <category term="writing"/>
    <category term="life"/>
    <content type="html">New month, fresh start. Life is slowly finding a new order, so I'm going to do my damnedest to get back into the swing of LJ.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's been an odd month. We're still getting settled into the new house - which I love - but it's a slow process as a lot of projects, like hanging curtains, have to wait until Craig is home on the weekends. I took the month off from working on any Jamie Craig stuff, which gave &lt;span class='ljuser  ljuser-name_pepperlandgirl4' lj:user='pepperlandgirl4' style='white-space: nowrap;'&gt;&lt;a href='http://pepperlandgirl4.livejournal.com/profile'&gt;&lt;img src='http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif' alt='[info]' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href='http://pepperlandgirl4.livejournal.com/'&gt;&lt;b&gt;pepperlandgirl4&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; massive amounts of time to write two long ST fics, and yesterday, we picked up on a project that we've been wanting to get back to for over a year. We were invited last June to submit to MLR, so this is the story for that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But being eager to get back into writing with Pepper has been tempered by my frustrations with a sequel I promised that I just can't get into. &lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;And all the brouhaha lately about straight women writing m/m. And being torn between factions that want realism in their romance and those that want the fantasy. Wank just makes me so damn weary. I honestly don't know how people can expend so much energy into this shit. Do they not have lives outside of their computer? Do they not have things to do? I deleted another blog from my daily links this morning because I got so angry at yet another post there, fueled by an audience with a very narrow perspective and an overdeveloped sense of "I'm right and everybody else is wrong." I find myself doing that more and more lately, because really, who has the time for it? I don't. I get up at 6:30 every morning, and I don't stop until I crash that night around midnight. Our DVR is getting hugely backed up because there's all this tv I want to watch, but I can't afford to watch more than 1 show a day (and my soap doesn't count because I end up ffing through most of it, and can finish an episode while I'm eating lunch). Last night, ANTM won (and I can't be the only one glad Bianca is gone, though most of the girls this series drive me up the frickin' wall). But that means I still have Glee, Modern Family, and CSI NY to watch, not to mention all the rest of the tv from the past 2 weeks.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sorry. I didn't mean to sound like such a whiny bitca. It's been a crappy morning already, and it's only 9am. I made homemade cranberry/orange scones this morning in an attempt to cheer myself up - and because the kids are home on fall break so I wanted something special for them. So far, it hasn't worked.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:522366</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/522366.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=522366"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-09-13T20:42:00</title>
    <published>2009-09-14T03:51:37Z</published>
    <updated>2009-10-01T16:15:38Z</updated>
    <content type="html">Remember me? Sometimes I don&amp;#39;t remember what life was like before I was exhausted 24/7, lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More changes in my household lately. We&amp;#39;re still unpacking - a very slow process. This weekend, we managed to get some curtains up, though honestly not very many. Alex has managed to catch a cold which is never good. I got a new acquisition - a solid oak rolltop desk that&amp;#39;s in amazing condition. I&amp;#39;ve always wanted one, and now it&amp;#39;s taking up a sizable corner of my bedroom. I feel guilty for wanting to get it sorted when there are so many other things for me to do.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like...get used to the other new members of our household. Today, we acquired two pets. Friends of ours are having to move and can&amp;#39;t take all of their menagerie with them, so we agreed to adopt two of them. There&amp;#39;s Lucy, the sweetest, most submissive Boston Terrier, and Bruiser, a black and white adult cat. I don&amp;#39;t have a picture of Bruiser as he&amp;#39;s been hiding most of the day, getting used to his new surroundings, but I do have &lt;a href="http://twitpic.com/hnwap" target="_blank"&gt;one of Lucy&lt;/a&gt;. That doesn&amp;#39;t do her total justice, as I couldn&amp;#39;t get her to stay still. She kept looking around, too interested in everything else, lol.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:522055</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/522055.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=522055"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-09-07T22:44:00</title>
    <published>2009-09-08T05:51:38Z</published>
    <updated>2009-09-08T05:51:38Z</updated>
    <category term="new house"/>
    <content type="html">Bit by bit, I feel like I'm regaining control of my life. The fact that today was highly productive helps in that regard. I wrote 2500 words on a new short, unpacked/catalogued/shelved 9 boxes of books, spent 2 hours shopping at Target this morning for more necessities, and did various little things around the house. I also did some editing and spent an hour filling out paperwork for the kids to start school tomorrow. Which will be another step closer to the return of the routine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maybe organizing my books helped in more than just accomplishing something. I've been frustrated by my books for years. We had to keep most of them boxed while we were in England, and then once we were over here, they just got put wherever we had room. Now, I have enough bookshelves for all of them (I think, I'm not done yet), and with a fresh start, can finally organize them the way I want. It's a tad anal. All my unread stuff is separate from my keeper stuff, and each of those is broken down into various types. Then, I organize them alphabetically by author within each category. I got to catalog my unread stuff, too, which really shouldn't have felt as good as it did, lol. I'm not done. I have another 8 boxes sitting in the front room for me to go through at some point, but what I see on my shelves makes me happy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bit by bit. And boy, does it feel good.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:521976</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/521976.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=521976"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-09-04T17:13:00</title>
    <published>2009-09-05T00:20:12Z</published>
    <updated>2009-09-05T00:20:12Z</updated>
    <category term="new house"/>
    <content type="html">I. Am. Exhausted.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And worse?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We're not done yet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;*headthunk*&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name="cutid1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;We hired a small trailer and a couple of guys to come today to get the last of the stuff at the house. The four of us got there hours before the guys were supposed to show up to have everything done and ready, then the kids and I came home, since it would just be a waiting game at that point. Well, Craig just called. The trailer is filled to the rim - as is the van - and there is *still* stuff left over.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the hell did we get so much crap?!?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Craig was going to do another trip back tomorrow to get his boat, but now it looks to be at least two trips. We have to return the trailer by 8am tomorrow, which means when he finally gets home tonight - at this rate, we think it won't be before 9 because of traffic - we get to unload it into the garage.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I honestly don't know how much more I can physically take. My hip and thigh have been killing me for two days. I've gotten over the other achiness. My knees, shoulders, feet...all fine. No, this is my bad hip, the one I went to the doctor to last spring to get xrayed that didn't show anything wrong, the one that goes out for no reason whatsoever sometimes. It just aches, and no amount of painkillers is helping right now. I really think it's because it's not getting much of a rest. But it hurts badly enough to make me want to stop doing anything and just sleep.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hell, I just want to sleep anyway.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And I want this done.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I mentioned the exhausted part already, didn't I?</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:521494</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/521494.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=521494"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-09-01T23:31:00</title>
    <published>2009-09-02T06:36:20Z</published>
    <updated>2009-09-02T06:36:20Z</updated>
    <category term="writing"/>
    <category term="new house"/>
    <content type="html">Well, I've been offline for the past couple days, and working my tail off - and am suitably sore to show for it - but last night, we spent our first night in the new house. Woo hoo!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That's the good news. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The bad news? The truck we hired to move our furniture yesterday was too small. We get to hire *another* truck to get the rest of it, including - but not limited to - our dining room table, Alex's dresser, an entertainment center, a TV stand, 3 bookcases...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;*sigh*&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had to extend our lease by a week at the other place to cover the delay. And it's putting a crimp in getting things into order here. On the plus side, Craig and I spent the weekend moving 70 boxes worth of stuff, including 80% of the kitchen, and I unpacked all of the kitchen boxes before we did the furniture move yesterday. That makes it easier to get into a normal routine. Though there's nothing normal right now. I have to go down to the school tomorrow to finalize the kids' registration to start next week, as well as continue working.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Of course, in the midst of all that, I had edits to do. And I have a galley sitting on my hard drive as I type. And two more projects due by the end of the month.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm going to be very tired at the end of September, lol.</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:eurydice72:521267</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/521267.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://eurydice72.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=521267"/>
    <title>eurydice72 @ 2009-08-23T23:21:00</title>
    <published>2009-08-24T06:26:42Z</published>
    <updated>2009-08-24T06:26:42Z</updated>
    <content type="html">Tomorrow's the big day!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Final walk-through of the new house!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kids home in the afternoon!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Evening spent cuddling with my babies!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sounds like heaven. :)</content>
  </entry>
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