Nice RAK

Happy March! In joy of Spring reading, I sent one RAK, and one happy mail (technically, since she hasn't signed up with RAK but I wanted to send a book to a good person).

I sent:

and

Social Media For Health!

This post brought to you by CafeWell. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you guys heard about CafeWell? It's a social networking site geared toward health and wellness. There are some out there geared toward weight loss, but this one is actually all about being healthy. CafeWell has programs like Reach for the Peaks, a wireless pedometer step-tracking program with rewards for achievements.

But more than that, CafeWell partners with health care providers, like Altius, to educate and support folks in their health goals. CafeWell provides advice, tips, encouragement from Olympic athletes, experts who answer questions, etc. 

As awesome as it is to have a place to get answers, the most exciting part about this for me is the encouragement. We all need that, right? And to get it from people who have sweated their way, and probably endured every plateau you can, is something special. 

The site is free and anonymous, which makes it easy AND safe. Yay! 

People are buzzing already:

“I'm absolutely thrilled with this motivating program.”

"So today I am taking a step forward to get off the couch and become healthy. I am overweight, underpaid, and not so full of energy! I know if I think I can, I CAN. AND I WILL!"

I don't know about you, but I'm competitive enough that the Reach For the Peaks program would indeed motivate me to move more. And also, being anonymous. It's odd, I know, but something about the safety and freedom of anonymity that puts me at ease with setting safe goals, or setting goals and not managing to make them. :)

Kick-Butt Character Hop WINNER

A big THANK YOU to everyone who entered by Kick-Butt Character Giveaway Hop this week! I look forward to hosting many more giveaways in the future.

And now, without further ado, the winner of Philip Pullamn's His Dark Materials trilogy paperbacks is...

Congratulations gala!

Lots of love to the Kick Butt Characters Hop hosts: Good Choice Reading & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

My Happy List

I'm happy...

That almost all of my seedlings are sprouting! I hope they flourish.

I'm happy...

That I am filled with plans for SCA events, costuming, dance classes, and more. They may not all bear fruit, but planning them is half the fun.

I'm happy...

Tonight Zao and I are going swing dancing. Wahooo!

I'm happy...

Because Mountain & River are considering visiting me and maybe moving out here. I would LOVE that! I am already making plans and schemes. We could be neighbors!

I'm happy...

That everyone is in support of my Pubgirl Reviews project. I promise to be safe, and classy, and have a good time. And I'm also using it as an exercise in enjoying being out by myself. For science!

Colcannon with Rashers

What are rashers?

Bacon.

What is colcannon?

The most awesome, easy comfort food ever.

Also, Irish.

You need:
Potatoes
Greens (Kelp, Kale, Chard, Cabbage, Leeks, whatever, just make it shredded/sliced for ease of eating)
Bacon (or not, if you're a meat-hater)
Butter, or as I like to call it, Buttah

1. Wash and peel the taters.
2. Put them in a pot and cover them with water
3. Put the post on the stove at high heat until the water boils, then reduce heat to medium and cook until the taters are soft-ish (generally 30 minutes)

4. Fry up that bacon. Yum. 
5. Don't throw out the grease or pat those rashers dry- you want to keep all that tasty fat in! After the bacon has cooled a bit, crumble it into chunks.
6. In the bacon grease (or buttah, if you're a meat-hater), fry up the shredded/sliced greens.

7. When the taters are done, put them in a bowl (don't throw out the hot water!) and mash 'em up.
8. To get the right consistency, add a little bit of that hot water at a time. Also add some butter. Some people will tell you to add milk but you can just as easily skip the milk and use broth or just MORE BUTTAH.

9. When the taters are a good consistency, add the sauteed greens and bacon and bacon grease and maybe some more buttah and mix well.
10. Add some garlic, if you feel like it. Or not. You're the boss.
11. Serve it up hot and happy!
12. Blog about it when you're deliriously exhausted.

Man Candy Monday: Michael Fassbender

It's been awhile! I didn't have time for celebrity crushes....but I ran across an article about Michael Fassbender and he just sounds like an amazing man. And also, hot as hell. Disagree? See below.

Roles:

David, in Prometheus

Brandon Sullivan, in Shame

Carl Jung, in A Dangerous Method

Erik/Magneto, in X-Men: First Class

Rochester, in Jane Eyre

Lt. Archie Hicox, in Inglorious Basterds

Bobby Sands, in Hunger

Stelios, in 300

And more!

Bio:

Born in Germany, raised in Ireland, and currently living in London.

Born April 2, 1977

Speaks German fluently

Seriously, watch him in 300, then watch him in Hunger, and see how dedicated this man is to his craft

(plus, he rocks a skinny tie)

This cat will keep me from committing homicide...

I'm sick. As in, feels like it's trying to become bronchitis. But I went to work all week anyway, because we had major deadlines. And I made pork in my crock pot, only while I was at work it charred to a lump of coal and stunk up my house. And the maintenance guy who was supposed to replace my rickety steps instead just dropped a load of lumber off.

Thank goodness for a strong sun, and Valentino.

(Yeah, he chases his tail all the time, despite being 6 years old and scared of everything)

Friday Confessional

I confess...

I have gained back half of the weight that I lost. I'm not worried, though- I'm still eating really healthily, and will be moving more as soon as I get over my current illness (and work stress).

I confess...

I'm nervous that I'm doing my first blog hop wrong. And that I won't know until the end, and people will hate me. Where does this blog insecurity come from?

I confess...

I started a second blog, for an entirely different purpose. I hope to be witty and charming on it (maybe I should post while tipsy? Or would menfolk be intimidated by a woman alone at a bar with a laptop?). I've never had a guy buy me a drink, or pick me up at a bar. In fact, the only men who have ever approached me at a bar were on St Paddy's Day, and they were much older and drunk. So....this is more for fun than actually with any hope of finding my Prince Charming.

I confess...

Finding a mate is really low on my priority list right now. I have plans and schemes, trips coming up, and not enough money to go around. I think I'm happier, being too busy to be lonely.

I confess...

I'm also allowing myself to be embittered by the cowardice of the men I have dated. Not all of them, definitely, but a large contingent. Here's a hint: If you're reading this and you have gone on a date with me, and at some point stopped talking to me rather than tell me you aren't interested...you're a coward. Grow a pair and stop hurting women through your passivity.

Tell Me Award!

The fabulous Ducky at BatCrapCrazy just gave me the Tell Me About Yourself Award. Yay awards! Like all those bloggy awards, you have to post 7 things readers might find interesting about you, and then pass the award along to 7 worthy blogs. 

Seriously, is there anything about me you DON'T know??







1. I have read every Jane Austen novel in existence. If I'm going to be ruined for men, it might as well be from good literature. Although I still hold Jane Eyre as my favorite classic.


2. I have a timeline (boyfriends beware!). I want to have 2 kids, 4-5 years apart, and I want to be a wife for a few years before becoming a mother, and I want to be engaged for a year before getting married, and I want to date a while before getting engaged. So if I have my last kid at 41, then my first kid is born when I'm 36, say I get married at 33, that means engaged at 32, I basically need to meet my Prince Charming by the time I turn 31. That's in 5 months and 3 days. 


3. I despise white chocolate. It doesn't involved cacao at all, only sugar, and tastes horrid. If I could, I'd strike it from the planet.


4. I can whistle two ways- through my teeth via tongue, and through my lips via palette. I've been able to do this since I was a little kid.


5. I drink apple cider vinegar diluted in hot water every morning. I am convinced this is what kept me healthy through the cold winter.


6. I had my first crush at age 4 or so, on the youth director at my church. Age difference much?


7. I started a new, second blog for reviewing the meet market/happy hour scene. It's an excuse to get out, make eyes at boys, and drink cheaply. Secretly, I hope someone will pay me to do this.


TAG! If your blog is listed below, you've won the award. Aren't you special? 
Two Bears Farm - Always great posts, and inspiring
Rumtruffle - Crafty crafty crafty! I wish I had her talent
Athena in The Middle - I have a crush....
A Hasty Life - her pics are gorgeous, her posts are fun
Xpresso Reads - She lives on books and coffee. Hey, me too!
Shyablog - This man's creative brain astounds me. As does his hair.
Imagine Gnats - Another creatively inspiring blog

Kick-Butt Characters Hop & Giveaway

The Kick Butt Characters Hop is Hosted by Good Choice Reading & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

Who doesn't love kick-butt characters? That's half the reason I read any book! 

I'm offering in this hop the three YA books with my favorite kick-butt heroine.

I'm talking about Lyra, of course!

(don't believe the crappy movie, these books are amazing and Lyra is the best YA heroine I've met yet)

Up for grabs is the paperback copy of the His Dark Materials trilogy, pictured above.
Enter below!

We Want to Know Wednesday

Thanks to Mamarazzi and Crazymama for hosting!

{1} How many phones do you have in your household? (cell, smart, land lines)

One, just my cell phone.

{2} Are you brand loyal? (Apple or Android or something else?)

Nope, and I never have been. For anything. I just don't see the point.

{3} Would you rather talk on the phone, text or email?

Email! I hate talking on the phone. Hate it with the burning passion of a fiery thousand suns. Email lets me go on (and on and on), and is creative and involves writing and is fun.

{4} What do you think of Video chat? what do you use? (skype, facetime? google talk?)

I don't use video chat. If I did, people would feel ignored because I multi-task like mad whenever I'm online. Maybe THAT'S why I hate talking on the phone...it makes me focus on one thing only.

Fulfilled Mommy @ http://threekidsfouryears.blogspot.com/ wants to know:
{5}What is your favorite gadget? (Tablet, cell phone, etc.)

My laptop. Of course, it's basically my ONLY gadget....

{6} If you had to pick just one technological gadget, (computer, cell phone, smart phone, tablet)and it was the only one you could use for a year, which would you pick? explain why.

My laptop. I can do without a phone, given how little I use it. And I don't have TV service, so that's out. But my laptop is my connection to the internet, and thus the world.

Musical Monday: Keeps Gettin' Better

True story?

Ok, I'm never really a super bitch (I need to work on that, though), but I think we can all relate to the re-invention of identity as a recurring theme in life. And there ain't nothing wrong with that. :)

Keeps Gettin' Better, by Christina Aguilera
Step back, gonna come at you fast
I'm drivin' out of control, I'm gettin' ready to crash
Won't stop shakin' up what I can
I serve it up in a shot, so suck it down like a man

So baby, yes, I know what I am
And no I don't give a damn and you'll be lovin' it

Some days I'm a super bitch
Up to my old tricks but it won't last forever
Next day I'm your super girl
Out to save the world and it keeps gettin' better

Kiss kiss, gonna tell you right now
I make it sweet on the lips, I simply knock you out
Shut up, I don't care what you say
'Cause when we're both in the ring, you're gonna like it my way

Yeah baby, there's a villain in me
So sexy, sour and sweet and you'll be lovin' it

Some days I'm a super bitch
Up to my old tricks but it won't last forever
Next day I'm your super girl
Out to save the world and it keeps gettin' better

Hold on
It keeps gettin' better
Hold on
It keeps gettin' better

In the blink of an eye, in the speed of the night
I hold the universe up, I'll make your planets collide
I'ma strap on my boots and I slip on my suit
You see the vixen in me becomes an angel for you

Some days I'm a super bitch
Up to my old tricks but it won't last forever
Next day I'm your super girl
Out to save the world and it keeps gettin' better

Some days I'm a super bitch
Up to my old tricks but it won't last forever
Next day I'm your super girl
Out to save the world and it keeps gettin' better

Hold on
It keeps gettin' better
Hold on
It keeps gettin' better

Guinness Brownies

Wanna make new friends? Serve these at your next meetup.

You'll need:

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cocoa powder (the baking stuff, not the drinking stuff)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 Tblsp butter, cubed
• 8 oz baking chocolate, chopped
• 1 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 bottle Guinness stout, at room temperature

Step 1 when baking with booze is always to test the quality of said booze by consuming a bottle or glass of the ingredient while you cook.

Then:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray or line a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt until well combined.
3. In a double-boiler on low heat melt the butter, baking chocolate, and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips. You need to stir this constantly so it doesn't burn.

4. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy, or at least frothy.
5. Remove the melted chocolate mixture from the heat and let it cool a little.
6. Add Guinness to the egg mixture, then add the melted chocolate mixture, stirring constantly to combine it and keep the warmth from cooking the eggs. 
7. Stir until smooth.

8. Add the flour mixture, and stir until combined.
9. Fold the remaining cup of chocolate chips into the batter.
10. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
11. Voila! Instant sexy fudgy brownies!

Friday Confessional

I confess...

I haven't posted or checked blogs all week. I feel guilty about this, but seriously, work is insane PLUS my mom is visiting PLUS I'm still a little sick. I just haven't had the time to do anything. Please don't shoot me.

I confess...

Despite having a lot of chores to do, I have Big Plans on Saturday. And by Big Plans, I mean a chance to flirt with firemen wearing kilts and playing bagpipes and drums. 

Yes.

I confess...

It makes me sad that I won't be able to drink my beloved stout (Beamish) on St Patty's Day because of this gluten-free dietary change. 

However, I can still drink mixed alcohol, so I'll still be able to act like a tart.

I confess...

I'm really excited to get my flirt on. Or even just eyeball some hotties. I thrive on that hormonal rush headgame.

I confess...

I could also use the distraction, as I am single for the foreseeable future (note to menfolk: if you want me, you must woo and pursue me, and understand that I'm not boinking anyone on the 1st/2nd/3rd/etc date. I am not your mistress, mother, or buddy).

I confess...

I enjoy that having no time for men means more time for writing, costuming, baking, Valentino, volunteering, etc. I'm getting excited over my old hobbies by frequenting Pinterest and making plans.