So yeah, I've been cooking

Disclaimer: I hate the new Blogger interface with a fiery passion.  I can use the old one for another month before they take it away but that's just like elongating your breakup until after you come back from the vacation with your soon to be ex just  because you already paid for everything even though you know the ENTIRE trip sill suck.  Ok moving on.

I realized the other day that I haven't talked about cooking here in a LONG time.  Not because I haven't been cooking, especially not during the pandemic when cooking was one of the only things I could that didn't involve murdering my roommate (jokes folks just jokes), but because it just hasn't come to my mind so I am going to share some updates on random meals that I have made that I would suggest you try.  These will not at all be in the order I made them because my memory is bad when I'm bored.

Saturday Summary of Fitness Friday

So I've been light weight MIA the last few weeks.  After recovering from being sick I had a ton of stuff to do at work so the gym didn't happen.  I finally got off my lazy behind (ok not totally lazy) after my two week down time amounted to a two pound weight gain.  Given that has not happened prior to this month I'll take it but it made me unhappy.  This is my first week trying the tweaked workouts that Elizabeth gave me and they kicked my butt, Monday most of all because it was a lot of alternating weight work which takes a while for my brain to catch up to and process correctly.  Over the course of the week the weight has fallen off which means the gain was solely because my behind didn't go get my sweat on.  I was able to stick to my diet easily enough despite being sick so yeah even when I'm in maintenance mode I need to make the gym life my life otherwise I'll be packing the pounds back on.  Which leads to a different conversation.

My body is smaller than four months ago of course and it's reshaping a bit as well.  My clothes are also now too flipping big.  The sweaters are beginning to look like tents and the jeans just depend on the cut but there's more room in most of them around the waist than should be allowed.  No big deal right I'm sure I have some smaller ones here and turns out no I don't.  I've been in the same weight class as it were for so long that I have jeans that are bigger than my current size but not a single solitary pair smaller.  So I have got to start adding to the smaller girl collection just like with my workout gear and unmentionables.  This may be a TMI moment so skip it if you want but I've always enjoyed my breasts even if shopping for bras could feel like I was going bankrupt.  So I was a little apprehensive about going in for a new set because I was worried about how much I had shrunk.  I honestly had no idea I just knew my bras were not fitting well anymore.  I explain the situation to the fitter who measures me up and says yeah smaller band but no smaller cup.  That seemed unlikely but I tried on the new bra and it was like I had found a new friend.  I was also a little perplexed on the cup size not shifting but for the moment I'll take it.  I'm down two sizes in the panty range as well so now I have all of these oversized things in that arena as well.  I plan on donating the jeans and clothes that aren't too beat up.  Underwear I'll dump cause yeah no but can you donate gently worn bras?  The ones that I wore a lot are just going to have to be made into something else or dumped.

Last bit of information or update for today.  I have totally abandoned my Polar F7 watch.  It worked for like a nanosecond on Monday and then kept giving me the check the heart rate monitor error.  As I have gotten smaller the thing is just glitchy as hell.  My Fitbit is still on preorder so for the next month I'm just going to work out without all the tech you know like before when we didn't know those things existed or that we needed to track those things lol.  Ok I think I'm done rambling for now.  Gotta go update the sidebar. 

Anyway how goes your fitness goals?

P.S.  I keep saying I'm going to share one of my dinners and haven't done so.  So here is last night's very delicious dinner.  It's another meal from my trainer.  Mustard Salmon, brown rice and lemon roasted asparagus.

It's Hump Day Baby

Ok this will be a totally random, mixed bag of stuff that will have little to do with my hair so keep reading if you would like lol.

First, my inner nerd has come on out because of t-shirts.  I very rarely buy shirts that aren't related to work or my sorority but I totally had to indulge in these.  I am totally in love with Harleen Quinzel who is Harley Quinn's alter ego before she's in love with the Joker and off her proverbial rocker.  And Puddin' is her term of endearment for the psychotic object of her affection so the shirt made me crack up.  The other two shirts combined other random things I like (Minions, Doctor Who, and the Grinch lol).  I have enjoyed watching people trying to piece the connections together when I'm wearing the Minion and Tardis shirt.  I am all kinds of geeky and I know it.

I also finally made my salmon and OH MY GOD the wild sockeye salmon was flipping amazing.  Like it makes the farm raised salmon taste like a knock off version of your favorite Little Debbie treat.  It's not bad but it's not nearly as good.  The only downside is it's dramatically more expensive than the farm raised offering.  I will have to look for it when it's on sale and also look for another salmon that I saw when I bought these two.  Still have enough for lunch tomorrow or dinner maybe. 

And in probably the best news for me I am steadily drinking at least 72 ounces of water a day, often more like 96 or a bit over 100.  As someone who really sees, still, no purpose in plain water this is a major accomplishment.  I'm sure it will help me lose weight, nourish all my cells and help my hair and skin out in the long run but woo if it wasn't for Mio or Minute Maid drops it wouldn't happen.  Crystal Light doesn't have tubes for larger bottles of water.  I could use two of the tubes meant for 16 ounces of water but that made the water odd after a while with a weird after taste.  And I'd run through a box in two days when I was really on my water intake.  Three squeezes of either makes the absolute right amount and when I ran out tonight instead of foregoing more water I ran to the store with my coupons and grabbed way more than I need.  And when I got there it was on sale and one had been permanently marked down woo winning. 

And thanks to Phoenix for nominating me for a Sunshine Blogger Award.  I will answer that post either tonight or tomorrow.

Mid week Updates

Okay so it's really probably later in the week but better late than never.  Plus there's going to be another post today too that has absolutely nothing to do with my hair lol.

I should have taken a photo when I left the house on Monday.  My hair felt great and looked great but it was bouncy and felt like it wasn't set enough to hold up all day.  I was right.  It was mimicking my pre vacation hair by the end of the day and was completely fallen on Tuesday.  I did make it to the gym too so that didn't help at all.  I got the new combs I was waiting on so I used the jumbo rake to comb out the little bit of curl that was left and then M&S yesterday with my Elasta QP and grape seed oil.  I did take a photo this morning of my mid week roller set which is never done with as many rollers as the first one for some reason lol.  If I look tired it's because I am lol.  This week has been interesting at best.

So I have had ridiculous periods since like forever.  The depo provera cancelled them out most of the time and all was well except I'm not at the age where they don't want to leave you on it indefinitely and the options on the other end of the spectrum aren't necessarily so much fun. 

• Option One: deal with it, it's likely I'm perimenopausal now which could last another year or three.  Not the most horrible thing except I'm having cycles every three weeks right now and lets just say that SUCKS.
• Option Two: progestin only birth control pills.  This is an option because my family has a history of high blood pressure and mine can fluctuate.  It would at least regulate the cycle better BUT increases the risk of blood clots.
• Option Three: endometrial ablation.  This would greatly reduce cramps and bleeding and runs the risk of stopping my cycle all together but it also means no kids.  The ablation burns off a layer of the lining of the uterus where eggs would implant.  It doesn't sterilize you but it makes it dangerous to get pregnant.  Now as I have none, I'm single, nearly 39 and would never want to have children with someone I hadn't known at least a year and been married to another year the chances of me having kids is slim to none I know.  But I have spent the last few days second guessing the do I want to have any really before I even go in for the biopsy to make sure I even qualify.

So yeah it's throwing off my mood a bit.  I have time to make a decision so it's not a huge deal.  I just missed my first chance to do it this week but yeah I gotta decide something.  I remember thinking how lovely it would be to be a grown up and do all those grown up things.  No where in there did I see me not as someone's parent or at least fantastic step-parent lol.  Life has a way of throwing us some curves.  I'm still a kick ass aunt though.  And I made my Cinnabon kit and it was quite tasty.  I'm better prepared for round two whenever that comes.  Ok off to the next post.

Brain went goofy, look what I found today...

So in the midst of good daughter duties, I spent yet another day perusing Walmart after mom's appointment.  We tend to split up because if we don't I end up frustrated cause there is literally no need to go up and down every aisle when you only need something from two of them.  As I was roaming for the mix of healthy and I need this sugar cause I'm stressed to high heave, I found things I had to buy cause yeah I had to.

First up from the Asian section, stir fry noodles and a thai peanut kit that doesn't require me to actually put the peanuts in--cause yeah I hate peanuts.  I am going to try to make something remotely healthy with both cause I love Asian food and noodles are filling to me but the stuff I like keeps getting discontinued.  Yeah ignore those hot dog buns and Minion lunch bag lol.

Then when I hit the baked goods aisle my eyes caught that box in the left corner and another one that made me go oh yes ma'am.  So yeah I shouldn't even entertain Cinnabon but the smell and the icing are like Baby Magic on newborns--total traps.  I didn't make either today because I bought other stuff--didn't eat any of that either lol.  But I'm super duper excited especially about the salted caramel brownies.  If I wasn't so annoyed I would have been drooling at checkout.

I will let you know how they all taste whenever I make them.

Hair Post Woo Woo

Howdy everyone,

I managed to finish all of my hectic stuff yesterday and short of a minor detour with mom's brand of cheap crazy today went pretty well.  I decided not to skip or rush wash day and started as soon as I sent out this week's study guide for the exam on Friday.  And for a change I remembered to use my Hair Therapy wrap and slapped it on after I had the soup of prepoo things on my hair and under my plastic cap.  Didn't think much of it but let it sit for about 40 minutes and then went into the normal wash routine with the added step o the Shiny Silver shampoo to make sure there is no more tinge of yellow in my gray.  I did an abbreviated post wash deep conditioning and then waited for about 40 minutes post shower for my hair to lose some water.

I was ready to fight with my hair since it's been a few weeks since the perm and my hair did not get super straight like it normally does.  Imagine my shock and awe as the big rake went through my hair like it was butter.  The next two combs did the same thing and the net hair loss was amazingly limited.  See the photo below if you're up for a surprise.  Not bad for four weeks post especially after the last few weeks of what seemed like shocking loss post relaxer.  I know my hair is getting adjusted to the weather, water and my new schedule but lots of shed hair is not sexy.

I was able to meet with the trainer and figure out how to use the equipment beyond the treadmill.  Thanks to a skin condition flare up I haven't been back but I should be back to it tomorrow.  And surprisingly save last night I have been eating pretty healthy and avoiding all the feel good foods just cause.  I even abandoned my lovely big philly cheese steak sub at Subway in favor of a plain chicken strip sub (the teriyaki looks weird to me lol) and have been pleasantly surprised at how tasty it is.  I even made this last night so as not to give in to my super lazy must eat now routine.  And after finding some of the lettuce soggy remembered to check how to layer it properly so the next batch will be delicious and crispy.

How does things in your parts of the world?  Short of students not being equipped in all aspects of young adulthood, things are good here.  Inching closer to my license, mom's vacation and being financial again with my sorority.  Oh the delays of processing dues.  I could have paid them before I moved but I didn't want to have them transferred.  Oh well back to the grindstone.

Food Lust

This will either discuss my latest food obsession or a recipe I discovered that I want to share.  I can confess now that if I was wealthier I'd have to set strict limits on my Williams Sonoma spending because I love them like way too much.  I'm not a clothes freak or shoe whore lol but kitchen gadgets and a deluxe kitchen with a double oven and lots of counter space would be a tiny taste of heaven for me for real.  The only other things I lust after as much are music and books, like the real ones you can touch not the digital ones, don't love them yet.  I'll make a separate tab about those maybe.  I'll update this as soon as I love something new.

05/11/2013--Peanut Butter Ice Cream.  It's by no means Gingersnap Ice Cream however it's very tasty especially if you like peanut butter.  The recipe I'm going to share has peanut butter cups in it and that's how I made it the first time but for some reason that didn't work well for me.  They were too cold or too hard or something.  The next time I made it I made it with heath bits instead.  It was the perfect mix of chocolate, toffee and peanut butter.  So that's what I use now instead.  Oh and my blasted waffle iron broke when I was trying to be nice to mom and make her some Belgian waffles so I have to find a new one.  Any ideas?

11/15/2012-- Gingersnap Crumble Cupcakes (What's Cooking Chicago trifecta).  So good, loved them and mom liked them too which is always a sticking point.  Will probably make some more of them next week for the holiday along with the duck, turkey breast, and pecan pie.

10/18/2012--Creole Fried Chicken (What's Cooking Chicago strikes again) and Williams-Sonoma have captured my heart.  I've made the fried chicken twice now and it just makes me happy.  I only use chicken thighs for it but ohhhhh so yummy.  And when I was waiting to grab food I went into WS and found the electric ice cream machine with two bowls that was cheaper than grabbing an extra bowl and the machine at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I'm also on the hunt for Lemon Oreos so if someone sees them please let me know.

7/21/2012--Gingersnap Ice Cream--check the blog posts or the What's Cooking Chicago blog--so good

7/6/2012---Since I had to lay off the cookies, I've been back on my homemade mix of the Planter's nutrition boxes I was briefly in love with till I calculated how much my healthy snack was costing me.  Instead I order from Nuts.com or a similar site now and four or five pounds of nuts will last me 4-6 weeks if I snack daily.  If I don't then it can last a few months easy.  The alternative was 6 bags that would only last a few days (or less if mom saw them and started snatching them like she does the Fruitables).  Either way better than the oreos for me but ohh double stuff golden oreos are so delicious lol.  Signing off for now.

Dinner Bargains

So the plan was to make the Asian flavored marinated flank steak for dinner but that made me remember the whole someone doesn't cook on Sunday thing.  So the flank steak is still marinating and we pan seared some other steaks and sliced up some potatoes and put them in the oven to cook with some roasted garlic, onion powder, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, and Tony Checheres (spelling on that not sure, and I'm being lazy so I'm not going to look it up).  Well both the steak and potatoes got the same seasoning, the potatoes just got some Italian seasoning and parsley too.  Both came out pretty good, potatoes had more of a kick.  I would imagine that was because my mother doesn't totally get the concept of rubbing spices heavily into the steak but no matter we ate good and will again tomorrow after I decide what to add to the steaks.  Any suggestions?

Oh and I forgot to add that I saw something on facebook that has me inspired.  It was a random photo but it encouraged everyone to find a jar and put a note inside of it every time something good happened throughout the year and at the end of the year you could look at what transpired--hopefully with a little less sadness and much more appreciation.  I have my Cupcake Provocateur jars I can use for now and if they all get filled up yeah for me.  Who's willing to give it a try?

Marvelous Mail Monday the Redux

Today wasn't actually a bad day save the fact that it's freaking freezing and I need to read two chapters for the class I'm teaching tomorrow with absolutely NO desire to do so.  I stayed on schedule, saw most of my clients, grabbed two more cds from the library--no illegal downloading for this girl lol, and when the mail man showed up he brought me more stuff to love.

First up a new vox box from Influenster.  I will be honest in say I was a little underwhelmed when I opened the box because I haven't had a Ferrero Rocher anything in like a month of Sundays.  I gave a sleeve to mom and then cracked open one of the remaining two.  Oh in tiny chocolatey heaven right now.  Since it's so cold out they were almost frozen and so delicious.  The box is totally cute even though my bow fell off.  Granted it would have probably fallen off with the repeated opening and closing of said box but it's a pretty box I'll probably keep after the candy has disappeared.

I also got my necklace from Shabby Apple.  The chain is a little shorter than I like to wear but I love the stone so it's a win regardless.

And I got my Despair 2013 calendars.  Hope those Mayans are wrong or that's a waste of money.

I also picked up my new glasses which is making everything really sharp and clear and now I'm kinda pissed that I didn't get some last year.  I hate that first hour or two that you have on new glasses and feel like good Lord was I really that blind before.  And for those that are maybe NOT having the best day head over to Filing Jointly..finally and please enjoy the photos and laugh your touchie off.

Fantasy Football and Cupcakes

I still haven't rocked my aprons when I'm cooking but it's no fun when the only other person here is my less than wonderful companion--mom.  She's still cranky about not going shopping on Black Friday and I'm so beyond over it that I can't begin to explain.  I made a nice brandy infused marinade for the steaks and sliced up some potatoes and added some garlic salt, soy sauce, Italian seasoning and butter.  And I'm making cupcakes again cause I'm almost out and I love them.  Last batch is done and they are cooling.  The leftovers are in the fridge and the kitchen is mostly clean save the dirty dishes and I'm not touching those.  And my fantasy football win is teetering on the last game of the day.  I'll probably lose at the rate it's going.  Had I gone with my gut and not the expert recommendation it wouldn't be so tenuous but such is week to week in the stupid league.  Ahh well enough rambling.  I really don't have much to tell ya at this point.  I am thoroughly loving my recipe binder though.  I still have to consult it before I make things but I don't have to run back and forth to the laptop now.  I'm in flux about life again but I think I know what I want to do I'm just over thinking it.  I know I'm over thinking it but I always do.  Sue me.  Back to tv and not the game so I don't make myself nervous as all get out hoping for fumbles.  I'll turn it on in a few hours and suck up the loss lol.  See ya

Election Night Avoidance

So today was technically a great day except most of my clients were incapacitated so I couldn't see them.  But I ran into town and went to Sally's and GNC (yeah Gold Card week discounts).  I went to the store for mom.  Then I ran to the store to get supplies for my dinner tonight.  I also had a bright idea to see if my order was in at Lane Bryant since that's the one email account I don't have going to my Blackberry.  It was so I don't have to go there this weekend after chapter meeting on Saturday.  And since I was there I ran around the corner to my favorite burger spot and got food and a lovely chocolate shake.  I had hoped that I could make dinner and cupcakes tonight so as to not watch the live election results.  I'm pulling for President Obama but I can't take the crazy close states and the shenanigans that have already come to light with the cheating poll worker and machines misdirecting votes.  I'm trying very hard to ignore all things that are giving hard numbers and just hoping that he hits 270 before Mr. Romney.

What I did instead was make a hot steaming pan of lasagna.  And I made two cupcake recipes that I had been stalling on which meant I got to use my Cuisinart food processor to grind up the gingersnaps for the gingersnap crumble cupcakes that I found on What's Cooking Chicago.  I also made white chocolate cupcakes from a recipe I book marked an eon ago.  I didn't make the frosting for either of them because I'm going to take some to class tomorrow night for our final meeting and they are much harder to transport when frosted.  Plus after standing up and working the KitchenAid stand mixer--best 250 bucks I've spent ever seriously I love that thing--I was not in the mood to reduce more white chocolate and whip in cream cheese.  I took the lazy way out and just grabbed a container of frosting.  I'm done early and stalling clearly.  Now I'm watching my dvr'd stuff and chatting it up online.  Hope all is well with everyone else.

Photos of the haul:

 White Chocolate Cupcakes

 Gingersnap Crumble Cupcakes

Lasagna

Could have been a bad day or Why I Heart Williams-Sonoma

Ok so yesterday was good, first year of hair journey went outstanding, had a good dinner with mom and tried to get her to chat about our relationship and we didn't end up fighting so that's a win right?  I forgot to take my meds but in a shocking twist I feel great today so gonna have to check my meds and things when the insurance kicks back in.  And before I went to bed I said hey old lady do you want to make ice cream and bowl tomorrow.  She says yes once she finally hears what I said lol and this afternoon I ask her to pick a recipe after figuring out the black walnut recipes all want long rest times for the mix (from four hours to overnight) so that wasn't going to work with the timeline of ice cream after dinner.  She picks out butter pecan, cool there area pound of pecans in the baking drawer.  Then I get the look that someone gives you when they did something that you are going to get upset about.  Nope no pecans in the drawer, well probably not enough for the recipe.  Someone has eaten all but 3/4 cup from the pound of pecans that were stashed away in my drawer specifically not to be eaten by her grubby paws because when I go to bake something I don't double check the ingredients I bought and HID for that purpose haven't been devoured.  Then I get the pout and pitiful well you don't have to make any for me spiel.  Ehhh, frustrated or not we're all having ice cream.  I added enough walnuts to make it a cup and made the batch which is now in the freezer chilling.  That whole exchange, that has been summarized mightily due to not wanting to be more irritated than I was lol, made me hyper and I decided to go ahead and make my red velvet cupcakes from the kit I got at Williams-Sonoma.

12 Weeks Post, Cupcake Bliss, and more rambling

So my insomnia is all out of control again.  I skipped the b-complex vitamin hoping it wasn't the cause of the extra energy bursts that were keeping me up till 3 or 4 in the morning.  So far it's not that late but I really wanted to be asleep by now.  So in big hair care news (oh boy a yawn) I have hit 12 weeks posts.  The second braid out came out less dry and more curly but the roots are still dry.  On the upside the new growth was much more tame and easier to play with.  After this weekend's wash I'll see how many weeks more that I can stretch without my hair going to hell in a hand basket.  I'm just happy that it's still growing and playing nice with me.  On a similar note I saw a post on longing for length about a year of growth that didn't necessarily net major length.  That is kind of where I am at this stage.  My hair was a little bit shorter than it is now last year.  But the ends were thin and my hair was just thin in general.  Right now my hair reminds me of the thickness right before I got my first perm--well maybe not right before cause that was a bush sometimes, tameable but dang it was a bush.  But it's much thicker and retains a style easier than it used to.  It doesn't seem as subject to weather issues (not going limp the minute there's humidity in the air) and in probably the best moment ever for a brown girl with relaxed hair: I'm not terrified to get my hair wet anymore.  I walked out in a rainstorm, albeit quickly, without panicking.  At worst I would need to wash my hair at some point that night but i wasn't in a hellish styling nightmare that would require intense prayer, a voodoo sacrifice and epic begging to get an immediate hair appointment to fix the issue.  I don't think I'll ever be one of the girls that abandons her stylist (1-I love her and 2-there's just some stuff I don't want to do and 3-nothing beats a wash at the salon--oh the scalp massage) but I'm getting much better at adapting and making note of what needs to be changed.  Since mom wants to get out and about we may go tomorrow for her to check out fruit while I slide by Wal-greens and try to get some buy one get one free Organix products.  I'm running low on Argan Oil and I could always use some more Macadamia Oil shampoo since I'm WELL stocked on the Moroccan Oil products.  Thanks to My Own Beautician.org for sharing about the sale.

I always miss a piece lol

So I did flexi rod set my hair and it came out nice for the most part.  And as I was taking down the last few rollers in the back, the worry that I always have, because I don't part with my comb to make even curls, came true.  A few stragglers of dry but totally lacking a defined curl hair were there.  I had to run out and do some errands so I just pin curled them down and went about my day.  I rolled it last night before bed and said enough for now.  I did oil my scalp and used a growth oil mix on the back section before tying my hair down and going to bed.  I MUST say though that after the great flank steak I made some decent enchilada pie for dinner.  Really easy and if you want the recipe let me know but it's maybe seven ingredients and some patience lol, layers like a lasagne.  I'm off tangent.  Ok yeah flank steak fantastic, enchilada pie decent, Gingersnap Ice Cream just a tiny slice of heaven.  I didn't find heavy cream at the store and used heavy whipping cream in its place but oh good diety of unknown origins LOVED it.  I had a tiny bit before I went to bed last night but today after the cookies had more time to absorb the ice cream it was so good it was out of control.  If I had a first born I might have donated them away to make sure I always had enough material on hand to make the next batch lol.  It was even worth getting the real maple syrup.  Please check out the recipe HERE and let me know if it was as good for you as it was for me.

Pseudo Lazy and Please NBA Summer League die

Okay so I slept in much later than I normally do which was both fun and weird.  I woke up nearing 11 this morning but considering I was up posting at 1AM I guess that's to be expected.  I still haven't taken down my hair cause well I'm being lazy like the title says.  Snacked on some pizza, eventually marinated the flank steak and let it cook really slowly.  It's was a little thinner than some of the other flank steaks I've made in the past.  It was done in less than an hour even cooking on 325.  It sliced beautifully and the warmed up marinated coated the slices so well it was kinda sickening.  I didn't have any ginger root so I used the ground ginger in it's place.  I may have used too much but I like the tang of ginger and mom enjoyed it so that's all that matters.  There was ONE piece left when I left the living room.  The NBA Summer League game between the Lakers and Kings killed all interest in tv for me for a while.  Good LORD that was the longest half of basketball I've watched in a long time.  I know they are mostly recent signees but this was painful.  As the meat was marinating I revisited What's Cooking Chicago and got the recipe for the Gingersnap Ice Cream (just know I will be making the Gingersnap Brownies at some point in the near future but I'm trying to behave).  I used heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream so I'm hoping there's not a huge taste difference as I had to use real maple syrup in the recipe and let's just say that's not a cheap ingredient.

More randomly randomness

Hey folks,

I've gotten all off track with the wash routine because I've been super lazy the last week or so.  I went to work yesterday and that was good.  It's nice to feel busy even though learning new paperwork is always frustrating.  My Folica order shipped within about 12 hours of the order so that rocks.  My unnecessarily delayed Maroon 5 cds just shipped from Top Spin.  It just reminded me why I hate preordering things.  Same thing happened with my Prince set an eon ago.  It took almost two months after release date to fulfill all the preorders.  Yeah we go an extra cd and ended up with something else free, a t-shirt maybe, but it was such a pain to see everyone with their four cd set with nice cover art and you got bubkiss to deal with on your end of things.  And then one of my sorority sisters showed me a site that I shouldn't know exists because it combines good deals with my cheapness without all the hassle of paying for bids or hoping the deal goes through.  I so love that lol.  Anyway nomorerack is like the best site ever.  I got 1600 thread count sheets for 29 bucks and a headset with microphone jack for 9.  Ahhh cheap girl love.  And you get 10 free bucks for signing up.  I picked up a few ice cream books at the library after work and really didn't find anything that must be tried.  A variation on the white chocolate ice cream that could be good and that led me to searching the net for a version of the limited batch Ben & Jerry's Gingersnap Ice Cream that was so good and is now buried in the vault.  That led to What's Cooking Chicago.  Food lust at it's finest.  Please check it out.  After today's running around I'll deep condition my hair and wash it in the morning.  I may take photos again so I can see the difference between my wet length and whatever style I come up with.  Back to bad daytime tv and cartoons ohh and frozen yogurt lol.  Still working on the crunchy toffee batch, so yummy.