The Internet Invades The Emmy Awards

From a retweet posted by @feliciaday, I found out something exciting. Neil Patrick Harris, who will be hosting the Emmy awards this Sunday, will be doing something out of Dr. Horrible sometime during the show. How Exciting! That's all I had to say. I'm not some big fan of Neil's or anything, but it's geeky, and it's internet, and it's just backward of the usual. Television usually hands to the internet, not vice versa.

Oh, and this may just be a nod to the fact that Dr. Horrible did win an Emmy this year. Cheers to the whole crew!

Bacon.....

Hubby and I went out to dinner tonight. We are so broke, that going on a date for dinner means we grab whatever fast food coupons we have and pick from there. Tonight, we had the choice of Del Taco (2-for-1 Bacon Double Del's), McDonalds (two for one Big Macs), or Carls Jr.(about 4 different 2-for-1 burger offers). So, we decided on Carl's Jr. We bought buy one get one free Double Western Bacon Cheeseburgers, and a medium drink. Remember when 32 0unce sodas were considered large? We are sitting there, slowly eating our burgers and debating the greatness of this burger over the last we had. Why are we eating slowly? Because we are less than a mile from home, and we aren't in any hurry to get back to the kids. We get away pretty seldom, and rarely for more than an hour. They're safe. My oldest is watching them. If she isn't busy messing with MySpace. I hope they're safe...

Well, back to the story. We decided we liked the last one better, if it had bacon, and onion rings, and barbecue sauce. Then we realized that was what we were eating, except it would also have lettuce. Taking another bite and slowly masticating it (That is not a bad word. If you don't know it, look it up.), I listen as my husband makes his proposal. He's going to open a restaurant. Everything will be made of bacon. That sandwich we had decided on? It would lose the burger patty, and just have a patty made of bacon. Did you want fries with that? No! You will have more bacon! I read somewhere they even have bacon ice cream. And tonight, I stumbled upon (I love that silly button!) his first breakfast item on the menu. Brown Sugar Bacon Buttermilk Waffles... with a side of bacon, of course! Bacon garnish, too? You got it!

We would call the restaurant Your Last Heart Attack, or maybe The Porker Palace. The sign out front would be a neon sign with a line of pigs entering a barn and leaving as dancing bacon strips. On the cover of the menu would be a man, laid out as if for a viewing, with a bouquet of bacon strips clutched at his breast and a huge smile on his face. Next to the salt and pepper shakers on the table would be low dose aspirin packets (the right size to forestall your next heart attack). There would be no diet drinks, only highly caffeinated and sugared drinks. For those not keen on sodas, there will be sweet tea. If you ask for water, we will assume you are on fire, and bring out a hose to put you out. Wait, this is a bacon joint, so you'd be in the middle of a grease fire! We will instead bring out salt, baking soda, or the appropriate extinguisher to put you out.

Oh, and you would have to sign a release form stating that, if you were harmed by anything you ingested or encountered in the restaurant, that you came of your own free will, and would hold all employees, owners, and denizens of the restaurant harmless, and perhaps remember them in your will. :)

While I was looking for an image to head up this article, I found this. I want one. I almost feel bad that I wasted my opportunity on a lesser burger today. Damned diet....

Thanks For Going For Me!

I have had a very informational weekend watching people on Twitter, Facebook, and my rss reader. I doubt I could have seen as much if I had actually been at Blizzcon myself. I'm still a little bit jealous, but that will pass. I'll just have to bone up on my ticket ordering skills for next year.

While all of you have been having fun at Blizzcon, I was having real life fun. My sister in law and her husband are away at the river enjoying some much needed adult only time. Their babysitter came down with a bad case of pregnancy (thankfully, it was in its end stages), so they needed us to watch their boys. Our house is bursting at the seams now, with 9 kids and two adults, a cat and her 6 kittens, and any of at least 6 neighbor kids that drop by to play.

So, yes, full house, full of happy giggling and some bickering, a little drama (I have mostly girls), dirty faces and scraped knees. We went to the park yesterday with grandpa and played in the playground, had a baseball game, and performed death defying stunts on caterpillar climbers (3 and 5 year olds make you swallow your heart when they climb!). Then we ate pizza and drank Dr. Pepper (sorry Noah), and threw the frisbee around. Oh, and all that happened after we took the second oldest to the hospital for a broken toe. She missed out on the park, but she was happy enough, plugged into her laptop, Cookie Crisp and cold water nearby, foot propped on the couch arm. We brought her pizza. I think she had as much fun as we did.

Today, I'm catching up with blog posts and twitters I missed yesterday. What a wealth of new things to dream on! Well, at least look forward to. Thanks to all the people that went that shared their experiences or will be sharing them soon. I look forward to enjoying the con through your eyes and ears!

So, You Want My Business...

I probably haven't mentioned it before. I am my guild's webmistress. Now, this is just a fancy title to cover up the fact that I find a guild hosting site, monkey around with what little coding I know how to change to make the site red and black and have a nice banner graphic. Then, I sit back and authorize members. Well, hubby had made a nice splash page that I was only partly responsible for, and one of my guildmates had noticed the coding for the enter button was wonky. After granting him access so he could fix it , he noticed many problems with the coding in other places on the site. This was not due to my monkeying, so he contacted DKPSystems. They said they had no plans to fix it to make it compliant. No Plans. I pay for this service. The discussion began on what to do when the site went up for renewal. I offered up stay here, move back to GuildPortal, self host, or better idea. The guild was split in three, with the comments basically stating that they would go wherever the site administrators wanted. Well, our site was ready to expire, and I only had 9 out of a potential of over 50 or more active members responding, so I went to renew, just for a bit, so a decision could be made. I can't just post the new site up on the info tab in World of Warcraft. Our membership spans several games, because we try everything that comes out. We have members in the military who visit the site when they can when on duty. We have members who have left gaming and joined the real world (shocking!). We have some members that refuse to enter another mmo unless it is Star Wars. So, we have to annouce changes on our web presence, however craptastic it may be. I didn't want to renew with the package someone had prodded me into getting mid way through Burning Crusade (it included dkp tracking and other neat things raid leaders like to have), because we're at a raiding standstill, and have grown beyond needing points to buy things. We roll on everything, passing when we know someone can benefit from an item more than we can. We're just cool that way. So, I let the site expire. I had a note to support asking how to downgrade the site, since we didn't need all the services we were paying for. NO RESPONSE. Well, if I had even been considering staying there just to save me some work, that notion had gone the way of the dodo. I was done. I used my card, paid for three months, and posted the stay tuned for moving instructions post on the front page.

The decision? We will be a self hosted site. I hate leaving behind all the forum posts. History takes a dive. When DKPSystems sites expire, they are blocked. When GuildPortal sites stop paying, they revert to free. And your forums are still there. So, I can go back and read all that history from Star Wars Galaxies, our stumbling into different other games. I will never be able to go back to the more than a year of history in our DKPSystem forums. This saddens me. Do I want to do a straight copy and paste of all the forum threads? No. Ugh. I think I will find the juicy bits, and scrap the rest. I haven't found a way to export that from them, though they have a tool to import forums.

If you have any pointers, I welcome them. Hubby already has a site where he has an active forum community, so I am sure that we will not have a problem with setting up shop. I guess what I want is an easy WYSIWYG editor for a blog style news page, with side bars that can hold such info as who is on Ventrilo, a shout box (they love that stuff!), a calendar everyone can use to make raid signups (should we ever get back into it), and links to what we like to visit.

Sorry about the page long grumpfest. I stil haven't heard from DKPSystem about downgrading, and I asked three days ago. I let my guild down by letting the site expire for a full day. I'm mad, and hormonal. This is not a good combination. Anyone have a chocolate bar?

Exploring Free Kid Friendly Online Games.

It's Summer. We live in Southern California, and it is hot. The kids are in the house, and they are bored. What to do? We only have two WoW accounts running right now, as my eldest daughter is out with her grandfather on an RV trip and can't play. So that leaves 4 children, begging to use the computer, the Playstation 3, and the Wii. Since they are all connected to the same monitor, My husband rounded up the three laptops he had kicking around that needed some work and made two working units. One of them has WiFi, the other doesn't. So, two kids can be playing online games. Here are there games of choice, starting from the youngest.

Wizard 101 is a great game, very easy to jump into, and free for a portion of it. You can gain access to other areas of the game with a one time gate fee or by paying for a subscription. They have family subscriptions, too, so if you have a few kids like I do, this can be some really inexpensive fun! It is really nice that the sidewalks are a safe zone, so if a kid didn't finish a chore and had to get up, they don't come back to a corpse run. Mini games are a fun part of the play, allowing you to gain mana and health as well as gold. If you aren't a big fan of mini games, you can chase down floating blue and red clouds and run into them for a recharge. Battles are very easy, and easy to find groups for. You play cards to attack or heal, which take their mana cost away from your bar. Your opponent casts, then the next in your party plays their card, then back to the mob, in that order until the job is finished. There are neat mini pets to collect, and you can recolor any armor drops you get. I hear they even have player housing. What fun!

Adventure Quest Worlds is the follow up game to Adventure Quest, which in itself was a fun game that did things with flash that no one else had done before. In their new, browser based flash mmo, you can join friends in killing monsters and doing quests, or just chatting. Other titles by these extraordinary developers are Dragonfable and Mechquest. The games are all free to play, but I would hope that you would want to pay the fee they offer to unlock special weapons, just because the game is so cool! Marissa had bought her lifetime membership to Adventure Quest, and I read that they are going to enable you to "transfer" special characters from any of their older three titles to their new mmo soon. From the about page, "The best part is, in an upcoming release, you will be able to import data from your existing AQ/DF/MQ characters and accounts, making all of your old hard work and effort really mean something." I know Marissa will want to do that, and I foresee a membership request for her birthday present in November.

Battlefield Heroes has been another favorite in this house, and not just amongst the under 16 set. Many nights hubby will be playing against one of the kids in a battlefield. Yay for griefing the kids! This is a free to play game that gets its funding from the sale of Battlefunds, which you can use to buy outfits, emotes, and other things to enhance your gameplay. I would advise that, if this game becomes as addicting to your family as it has to mine, that you turn off the music. It's repetitive and annoying. It is a first person shooter with leveling involved.

Of course, there is Free Realms. They have all tried it and like different parts of it. The cooking mini games are right up Sammy's alley, where the brawler quests really keep Noah involved, and Alex likes the pet training. It is free, up to a point. If you want to be a tank or a healer, you'll have to pony up, because members only can play the medic and warrior classes. But, pure damage classes are a dime a dozen, really, and you can learn two types free, the ninja and the brawler. If you want to be a wizard or an archer, you have to be a member. You can gather ore and gems for free, but if you want to do things with them, you have to be a member. So, for a casual player, the free options are really all you need. One day you might feel like playing the cooking and gathering mini games, another day you might feel like driving in the demolition derby. You only need one character, they just switch roles and outfits according to your whim.

I have a lot of girls, and most of them are the girly type. They seem to enjoy i-Dressup.com. There are lots of mini games on the site that allow you to earn iCoins to buy clothes and accessories for your own character to wear or decorate their house with. You can even use iCoins to buy your membership.

Under the category of sites that are ok if you are watching, I give you these suggestions. They like Y3, a flash game site. If you let your kids visit this one, please check what they intend to play. I found my daughter playing a dirty hobo game. I won't go into details on it, but it was awful (and offensive). Another site they frequent is AddictingGames. Again, this one should only be played with parental supervision, as it has some questionable titles, but there are many paper doll type games on both sites, as well as cutesy flash games.

I have to go. Hubby is making me sign up for Battlefield Heroes. But I want to play a girl!!!!

A Million Giraffes?

I drew one for him. Here it is. Pardon the less than professional scan job (I had to use my camera!). Rules are, they have to be hand drawn, no computer used except to submit (you can snail mail them too!) Click on the title to submit yours, or to look at the many he already has in his gallery.

Lend A Hand

If I haven't said it before, I'm an elementary school lunch lady. It is nearing the end of the school year, so a kid being out for an extended period is not unusual. At this point in the year, the grades have for the most part been decided, and we are just waiting for final assignments and to finish cleaning out desks. I noticed Jordan had been out, and then his brother, but I figured they were on a family vacation. They are both great kids doing well in school, why not?

Word of anything comes to the multi-purpose room, and my kitchen, very slowly if at all, and usually I get it from the kids and the yard duty workers. I found out early this week that Jordan had been diagnosed with leukemia. You can read about it at the blog that has been set up here . Local businesses have set up some great ways to contribute, if you live in the area.

I'm small time. I don't run a business that can contribute. But I do play an awesome game that millions of other people play, and if just a few that read my blog will pass this on to some of their in game buddies, or other bloggers, or even podcasters, who knows what kind of help we can get for this great little guy and his family? (Jordan would give me such a frown for calling him little!) Please help me help them! Leave a supportive comment, use their PayPal donate button, Twitter about it, Facebook about it, pray about it, do whatever you can.

Of Pedicures and Polar Bears

This past weekend there wasn't enough time for me to play WoW. I'm sorry, I went out and had some real life. I would have invited you along, but most of you don't live anywhere near me, so I'll just tell you what fun I had!

It all started last Monday, when my father in law asked me to check on union prices for Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios. He wanted to take all the family out for a little fun before he set off on his real life gold farming expedition. So, I found a great deal on Knott's tickets and had them sent UPS to our doorstep. Ordered on Wednesday, they arrived on Friday, and we were on the road at 8 am Saturday. An hour and a half after piling all 7 kids and 3 adults into vehicles, we parked and walked past all the tourist trap shops and Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant (I always though it was funny that you had to line up for the restuarant like you have to line up for a roller coaster)to the entrance.

The entrance was sparsely occupied, deceivingly so. When we got in, the place was mobbed with high school and middle school kids, girl scouts, and big brothers and sisters escorting their little brothers and sisters. The lines were still mostly short though, and we got to go on such great rides as the Pony Express (you sit on what looks like a playground horse, and the ride clamps you in by the back and the legs), the Calico Mine Ride, Boomerang, the Log Ride, and some new ride that looked like a less scenic version of the log ride on steroids. The kids went on several more rides than that, all the kind that turn your legs into rubber and make you wish you hadn't eaten so much cotton candy.

We ended our day pitching mini whiffle balls into glasses in the midway. We walked out of there with at least 2 small stuffed animals per person, and a huge polar bear. Yup, me who never wins anything pitched a winner. Not sure where I'm going to put the thing. But I won!

During our all day trip to Knott's, we also managed to look at all the old gold town sets (the assaying office, the jail, the schoolhouse, and the graveyard). We visited the blacksmith shop and some of us walked away with prairie diamonds after we chatted up the blacksmith. I looked longingly at the Birdcage Theatre, but no showtimes were listed. If you ever go to Knott's, try and find a day where there are shows scheduled there. It is the best thing in the park, in my opinion. Nothing like an old town show, complete with cheers for the hero and boos and hisses for the villain from the audience.

Well, the day before our trip, a gal from my guild who we recently met in real life suggested we go out for pedicures. I had never had one before, not being very girly. To explain what girly means to me, I'l tell you what I am, and girly is everything opposite. I don't fix my hair. It either goes in a pony tail or bun or hangs straight. I wear jeans and teeshirts, no makeup, and rarely remember to put on my earrings. Fingernail polish is a no no in my field. The last manicure I had was before my junior prom. So all this pedicure stuff is foreign to me. "Sure, sounds like fun!" I typed in Facebook chat. Sunday afternoon, we met at Olive Garden, a little late due to horrible traffic on her end. We chatted over lunch about everything but WoW, then headed over to the salon. I had no expectations, and I was floored. This place had these neat chairs with massage controls, and a "foot jacuzzi" at the foot. We sat down, watched some CNN, chatted some more with a tiny bit of WoW sprinkled in, and enjoyed our pedicures. I could probably go in for another one in a couple of months or so. Would that make me girly? I hope it doesn't become a turn off to the husband. He married me, after all, because I was so low maintenance, and for my bomb shelter, but that is a story for another post(he is cleaning it out, sprucing it up and adding the creature comforts for an office/get away room for my birthday!).

New Project

In the interest of cleaning up my drafts folder, I am completing them, or deleting them. This post was started early in June. Boy, am I behind. Italics following will be updates on this post.

Hubby has this idea that I should do a podcast. Not we but I. I have no qualifications. I talk so fast sometimes I stumble over my own tongue. Reading my blog it should be obvious I have interruptions so frequently that the only coherent posts are the ones I write either at work during my break or late at night when the kids are sleeping and the husband is distracted by Battlefield, in any of its many forms.

So, he has decided that we need a place to escape the interruptions(speaking of interruptions, I just left the keyboard for twenty minutes to yell at the kids and clean up cereal my 3 year old helped herself to). We have a place, but it needs some work. It's a bomb shelter, probably built during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It's not huge, probably about the same size as my smallest bedroom. It has a weird door on it, made of plywood covered with tin. It won't shut all the way, and the hasp to lock it is on the outside. Kinda inconvenient and scary at the same time. When I moved in to the house 4 years ago, it had twinkle lights strung in an "x" across the ceiling, a velvet poster on one wall, a nasty mattress on the floor, and indoor-outdoor carpet on the ground. My sister helped me gut it, and now it is just plain concrete floor, with a light plugged into the one socket. Is it time to fix it up into a hide away? Definitely!


A problem we have is the way the entryway works. The door opens, and there is this narrow entry that goes down into a small corner of the shelter. Husband believes this was put in place as a blast wall. Who am I to argue? After all, he is the expert when it comes to all things apocalyptic in this house. Anyhow, this makes it hard to get any furniture that isn't made of small parts into the interior. I'm hoping we can get the two office chairs and all the desk parts in there. For floor covering, I have a bunch of scatter rugs I think would do fine until we find a good area rug. He managed to escape the major spring cleaning going on in the house to go shopping at Home Depot with his dad, and picked up a few fluorescent lights to hang from the ceiling, and some paint to paint the walls white(they are currently brick red). He also has plans to run a cable out to the shelter for internet access. The wireless works well outside the shelter, but the signal isn't strong enough to get inside.

I'd like to get a couch and some shelving in there, so there is a good place to stretch out with a book, and store some canned goods, water, and other supplies.

Here is where the updates start. It is now mid July, and we have some furniture in there, some throw rugs I had from the last place I lived (no bare floors here to use them on!), the walls have a base coat applied, and hubby strung up some fluorescent lighting. He also added a "light switch" to the socket, with a remote, so we can turn the lights on and off without unplugging them. Cable for internet is still in the works, but we have a source for it that won't cost us anything but the labor to dig the trench and the pvc pipe to protect it with. Perhaps by Christmas I'll have a cozy hideaway/disaster supplies storage facility to run to! Please enjoy our short film of our progress, starring Sammy, with the breathy Shawndra as narrator. :)

To Boldly Go...

I'm sorry, it's a little sideways and funky, but I had to get the pretty neon sign in the picture, and the marquis with the show I just went to see...Star Trek! Yes, I took it with my cell phone. I probably could have backed up and got the same effect, but then I would have lost my place in line! No, I would not have missed the movie, because even at a special early day before release 7 pm showing, the Fox usually has a few seats (or twenty) left over (except on Wednesday).

What a great movie! I won't spoiler anything here, because I have a feeling there are just a few more people out there that read my blog that love Trek as much as I do. I will say that I absolutely love my little Fox Cineplex, and hope that the renovation monies do more than just restore the inside to it's glory days look from the 1920's. I'm hoping for THX . They just recently were used for a commercial and upgraded to a Dolby Surround Sound system, and I can tell the difference. Maybe I just want too much. I already have inexpensive tickets, inexpensive concessions, a staff that is friendly and helpful, and some really neat decor, all right around the corner from my house. What more could a girl ask for?

Go see Star Trek in the theatres. You'll be glad you did. I know I am. :)

Here is a better shot from a while ago of the whole front of the theater. This old place has been in use for 80 years. I love it! Oh, and I guess a new sound system is in the works, among other things. So excited!

Computers: Can't Live Without 'Em, Can't Shoot 'Em!

It's been rough for me and my electronics this past month. April was the month of endless flu for me. For my computers, it was about the same. The hard drive on my laptop told me when I turned it on to back up my files, because it was about to burn. When I took it in to Best Buy, the diagnostic turned up bad memory as well. Just squeaking by under warranty by a week, they shipped it to Dell for a repair. That night, hubby's desktop decided it needed a new motherboard, as I was blissfully unaware, playing on hubby's new gaming laptop. Hubby was then relegated to an EeePC during my at home hours, or the entertainment rig hooked to the television. Somewhere before all of this one of my younger daughters (I think it was Sixth of Seven), beat up the Rock Band drum set, leaving it so badly injured that it doesn't register every beat now.

Well, my laptop is back, hubby is in possession of his gaming laptop, and the desktop has been laid to rest for the time being. Things would seem to be right with the world. I downloaded World of Warcraft, installed the add-ons I remembered I used, and went to work on getting the new polymorph spell for my alt mages. After about an hour and a half of hopping around Dolanaar, my computer just turns itself off. No warning, just off. It didn't feel overly hot, and I had a fan on under it. I sat looking at the screen in stunned silence, then turned it back on to go back about getting Esoterique her polymorph spell.

It didn't happen again last night, but it has managed to do it twice today, about an hour apart. I have had my laptop on for about an hour now, just running FireFox and ThunderBird, and no problems or excess heat yet. I'm going to go try and do some Children's Week quests on Esoterique. If my computer behaves, I may log in Delgada for some quests, too. Cross your fingers for me, wouldja?

Slacker. That's Me!

I've been not playing much. I've been addicted to that silly Stumble Upon button. My tabs on my browser are full of recipes for things I may never make. Here, I'll even share them with you!

From Blogchef.net, we have General Tso's Chicken. It looks just as yummy as the dish I had recently at a local fancy schmancy chinese restaurant. Thinking about trying to make it myself, of course, but will the kids eat it?

From Hungry-girl.com, a couple of pages on how to make lighter and still yummy versions of Starbucks favorites. Cafe Vanilla Frapuccino and Tazo Green Tea Frapuccino. There was another page open on what ingredients to buy to make about any flavor frapuccino your little heart desired, but I have since closed it. Try looking around that site. There are all sorts of calorie saving stuff to om-nom-nom on! Bonus, this gal has a cook book out, of sorts. Heard her on the Bill Handel show on KFI, so this isn't a stumble so much as it was a fact finding search.

From SmittenKitchen.com, a recipe for some really delicious looking orange peel treats. Chocolate and orange go so well together. And this way, I can eat the orange while I wait. Yeah, like I need one of those before I pack on all the pounds from that candy. I should really stop stumbling when I am hungry!

I was just thinking the other day that I have changed the way I shop for groceries. I used to be so careful about keeping a coupon file and finding the absolute best deals I could. I had stockpiles of shampoo, deodorant, and soap, all got for free or nearly free with double coupons. I guess I just gave up once stores stopped doubling. I stumbled upon A Full Cup a few days ago and I'm sure I'll be getting back to my old habits soon. I cannot afford, and neither can you, to pass up saving money on things we use every day.

Do your friends stop by to watch sports regularly? Or do you have hungry teenagers? I have the latter, as sports was never on the television when I was growing up, and I married a guy who enjoys the same kind of sports I do (the "e" kind). These pizza bites look easy to make and the writer at Chaos in the Kitchen says they freeze well.

Cookies. These won the Pillsbury Million Dollar Bake Off. The Noble Pig posts and in depth how to on just how to make these yummy looking double peanut butter cookies. All they need some Ice Cold Milk!

This isn't a yummy looking cake. In fact, I would say if someone put this on my table, it would go directly in the garbage bin. My guild is full of cat lovers, and when I stumbled on this one, I had to share it. Maybe this one will end up on one of my kids birthday party tables. Grave Addiction has my thanks for putting up a definitely different cake.

Well, it's the first day of Spring Break for me, and it seems my day has been planned out for me. Off I go to clean the living room, feed the toddler, and assemble something that is sitting in a large box on my porch. If it adjusts short enough, I may get another set to assemble, whatever it is. I'm such a lucky girl!

Business

Just a note to say I haven't fallen off the face of Azeroth. I have been selected to sit on a jury for the rest of this week, so I probably won't be posting too much. Hubby is still poking fun at me. Last year I got chosen but the case was settled before it was heard in court. The year before that I was an alternate. It seems I have all the luck!

Speaking of not posting, my daughter is walking up the driveway, so that means it's time to load up everyone else and head for Home Depot for more gardening supplies. Yay.

New Pastime

I don't have cable. I don't have an antenna. I haven't bought the converter box with those vouchers that are still sitting in my husband's wallet. So when a new show starts, it takes us a while to discover it. No TV, no newspaper, no entertainment guide, so, no clue. Yep, that's me, clueless.

I walked into the house today and my husband says,"I got something for you." He opens up a file, makes it bigger than a 3x5 card so I can see, and gestures for me to watch. So I watch. Not too long after the beginning, which is of a nice sit down dinner party, books all over the place, I see Nathan Fillion. I'm hooked.

Yeah, I have been a big fan of the Firefly series, and the movie that came out of it, Serenity. When it ended, as soon as the dvd version was available, we had it. Same with the movie. When Summer Glau started in the Sarah Conner Chronicles, we watched that. When we found Adam Baldwin in Chuck, we started watching that. We were already big fans of the Stargate shows, so finding Morena Baccarin and Jewel Staite playing in them was another treat. But Nathan, aside from that Dr. Horrible stint(which, by the way, was awesome!), hasn't been doing much, at least that I knew about. Remember, I'm clueless. :)

I'm so excited! One more thing to keep me from World of Warcraft. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly suggest you look for Castle, whether you watch your shows on TV, or on the internet. So far it looks great!

Wearin' O' The Green

Thought I would dredge through the many items available to wear and pick some green colored, though not necessarily uncommon in nature, items to wear today as you down a few ales in Ironforge or wish you had a good ale elsewhere.

These items almost everyone should be able to find. The stats are non-existant, but the colors are fabulous! During the Elder Festival, did you pick up the Festive Green Dress? If you didn't, don't cry into your beer, because chances are it's already been watered down. Instead, pick up Green Wedding Hanbok or Dark Green Wedding Hanbok. They're not green all over, but they will keep them from pinching you, unless they are too short to see that high. Speaking of beer, if you were clever with your coin at Brewfest, you bought a Green Brewfest Hat. Now, it doesn't necessarily match the last three items, but as I noticed in the lunch line today, when it comes to wearing the green, the more outlandish and mismatched, the better! Another fun option, for you engineers out there, are the level nineteen twink item, Green Tinted Goggles. If you have a tailor friend, the Green Holiday Shirt can be made after a short trip into Scarlet Monastery. Well, make that about 5 of those, the silk drops in there like leaves in the fall! If you have some Frostweave and you don't care, Green Lumberjack Shirt could be yours. Make sure you get a Lumberjack Axe to heft over your shoulder, to complete the look.

Now for some gear that you can use! For you plate wearers out there, I bring you the Emerald Set. Looted from mobs in the 55-60 zones of old Azeroth, these items are randomly enchanted. You might be lucky to find a whole set, who knows? For lower level plate wearers, the Jade Set is looted from level 42-51 zones. For you leather wearers, the Jadefire Set is very fashionable, and available in the 46-55 areas of old Azeroth. This set even has a cloak, which might go nicely with the plate set as well. A lower level leather set, the Forest Set, would be great for the 24 and under crowd.

Cloth wearers, to start, I give you the Beaded Set. The shirt is alright, but that robe is the eye-catcher. Another nice robe with green on it is the Spider Web Robe. The Beastwalker Robe is a lucky drop off Nefaru, a rare worgen in Duskwood. The Conjurer's Set is a lovely dark green, my favorite color, and gives the option of a shirt or a robe. The Greenweave Set is very rustic and raggedy, for that slept-in-my-clothes-after-a-bar-brawl look. The Ivycloth Set is a great leprechaun-like set, except for the robe. I'd stay with the tunic. The Pressed Felt Robe is also a great looking choice. The Shimmering Set, without using the robe, looks like you are ready to play ball! The Willow Set is also a great looking set.

For mail wearers, the Brackwater Set is the earliest green set. Set up your warrior or paladin bank alt with this set for some holiday fun! The Soldier's Set has some nice green accents, for those who don't want an all green outfit. If you have a friend that is a blacksmith and you are at least 34, the Green Iron Set is a real eye catcher! For enough gold to make a leprechaun drool, and enough green to keep you from pinches, try the Captain's Set. This set is a crowd-stopper, especially on the female toon of your choice.

I'm sure there are more options out there, as I didn't touch Outland or Northrend, much. Remember to gather some friends, drink some ale, and put the dwarves to shame this holiday!

This would have kept me from getting pinched so much at school today! Some real world green for Saint Patty's Day! Have fun out there tonight, whether it's in Azeroth or in the real world. Designate a blimp operator, cyclist, or driver. You know the one to pick...the one standing in the corner with the obviously non-alcoholic beverage. Stay safe, and I hope you visit my corner of the internet again soon!

Way Off Topic Rant

Please pardon while Shawndra leaves the room for a bit and allows Jeni to vent.

I hate telling kids I can't feed them. HATE IT. Yes, I know, hate is a very strong word. I would be alright telling a junior high student or a high school student to take a hike, but elementary kids? I know sometimes we forget, and that is why, at least where I work, they allow them to charge. It's not a huge amount, but it should be sufficient for the once in a while rush when they forget to hand Johnny his lunch money or box. We even have a system in place for when their account is at it's charge limit. But what kid wants a plate with salad and a milk only, especially when there are such wonders as corn dogs, uncrustables, cheese pizza, and sloppy joes on the menu? None of them do. The lips pout, the eyes tear up, the sniffles commence. I should not have to be the big meanie and tell them no. I would like to have the parent, instead, in line and me telling them they can't have their lunch and that they have to wait until 3:00 when they get home to have it. Then make them go sit in the cafeteria with all their buddies with an apple and a milk and try not to cry because they really wanted a hot dog and tater tots instead.

If you can't afford it, pick up the application! There is no difference between a free lunch and a paid lunch when the kids step up and touch their button. None of them care one bit. Why should you? Please, make the lunch lady happy and take care of your kiddos. She'll go home a little less heavy hearted, knowing she turned away one less kid today, and had to call one less parent's answering service to tell them she served Jessica an emergency lunch. Because, even if she looks like a mean old ogre, she still has a soft spot for these kids, or she wouldn't be there everyday serving them.

/rant off