I am back! So. On top of everything else that was screwing with my internet access, my laptop died. It was all very traumatic, but luckily I did not really lose anything because I never trusted it to begin with, and thus had nothing stored on it.

I did end up getting, with help from my mom and my aunt, a cheap new laptop. Because it is a million years newer than my old laptop, it is blazing fast and amazing, despite being what passes for low-end these days.

And I've now also finally solved the home internet access issue, and no longer need to rely on the mobile hotspot on my phone (with a 5GB monthly limit!) like I did for a while there. Connecting to the hotspot involved repeated attempts to make the laptop and phone play nice before I could get online, followed by paranoia about going over my limit, which meant I was basically living in 1998 for a while there.

But, anyway, back for now, and I figure in about a year or two I'll be caught up on my email. >_<

• My new laptop has Windows 7 and I guess I am an idiot, because you guys would not believe how long it took me to figure out how to CLOSE A DOCUMENT in Word. They've got every other damn command cluttering up the toolbar, but apparently "Close" is top secret command that you can get to only if you really, really want to find it.
  
  
• My mom and I have been out of town a lot, and the trainer who rides Logan in our absence has been away at horse shows, and then he got a cut on his leg and took a few days off, and then it was rainy so he was in his stall a lot instead of out in the pasture, and also there is a mare in heat in the barn and even though he is gelded sometimes a mare will just trip his trigger out of nowhere and he goes nuts, so he is FRESH and FULL OF HIMSELF, which means my mom and I are playing the "no, you get on him first" game because it'll be an exciting ride, for sure.
  
  
• I made this recipe (for dinner) and it was AMAZING. I substituted fresh thyme for the chives, and it was so so good. I've had it twice already this week and don't intend to stop anytime soon. Since I did not have access to brioche, I used English muffin bread, which was a great texture for this, as it absorbed the creamy sauce and got slightly soft but did not fall apart or get mushy. A+++ would eat again. (Tonight, actually.) Creamed Mushrooms on Chive Butter Toast
  
  
• You know, we talk a lot about how insane storyfinders requests often are, and how they make awesome stories sound completely weird and horrible, but the other side of the coin is that they sometimes make horrible stories sound like they might be worth reading, which isn't quite as amusing when they turn out to not be readable at all. The scene described in the request may be kind of cute and sound perfectly normal but then when you hover over the link it goes the some badfic writer's LJ (or worse, Wraithbait) and that brief little hope you had that you found a good story you somehow missed the first time around is snuffed out with extreme prejudice.
  
  
• I have an update on my previous post where I talked about how much I liked Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure, which I since verified is the color "Shell We Dance." I'm happy to report I'm even more pleased with it. I've been going 10 to 12 days between polish changes, and even then I'm only finally doing it because of the gap that begins to show between my cuticles and where the polish starts, due to nail growth. THIS SHIT IS AMAZING. Which means it will likely be discontinued soon, so if you're thinking of trying it, hop to it.
  
  
• I adored this Critical Analysis of Couch Forts, despite the misuse of taught/taut.

Happy birthday to the June babies!

perch, redconverse, skalja, morganmuffle, ladycat777, droolfangrrl, redfenix, eee1313, groovekittie, eveningblue, artemis2050, arsinoee, big_wired, justbreathe80, rasterweb, eternallycait, mojober, scribblinlenore, sharonhaze, nakedwesley, abbylee, cathalin, and kanata!

Count von Count would like you to know that over at Dreamwidth this post has comments! Ah ha ha ha ha!

ITEMS OF YAY!

• I finally have a DVR! I've been working a lot more days at the comic shop, so I decided to check into getting a DVR from Time Warner. I talked to myself very sternly before I called them, and told myself that if it was $30 or less extra a month, I could get it, otherwise NO. But when I called, it turned out to be a mere $9 a month more. And I saved myself $40 by going to get it and hooking it up myself. Welcome to the 21st century, DD! You're only eight years late!
  
  
• Kerri is finally back at work after being gone due to surgery on her inner girl parts. It's been a really long sucky three weeks in which I was stressed and overloaded and cranky, and now she's finally back and I can catch my breath again. Half days only, but OMG I don't not care, at this point I will take ANYTHING.
  
  
• Birthdays! I am late and have missed some, as usual, but happy birthday to: gravityslave, illmantrim, luthien, stereowire, maleficently, faith_girl222, fairestcat, dafnap, bodelian, chicklet25, evilfoo, ileliberte, a_caged_heart, and lillyjk!
  
  
• Season finale of SGA tonight, which means I get to go to primad's house, which usually means baked goods of some type \0/, and I'm really looking forward to That One Part, even if I'm not looking forward to That Other Part. There were so many things I loved about this season, and many things I did not, but even after ten years in the trenches, I still have a very robust Fangirl Filter, so I look back fondly on Season Four, and thank it for all the good times, and sternly warn it not to ruin everything in the last goddamn episode.
  
  
• I have awesome vegetarian chili for lunch, and I will share the recipe with you!

( Insanely Easy Vegemetarian ChiliCollapse )

I can't seem to stop updating my journal today.

X-Men: Evolution on DVD

I sweartagawd when they sit down to pick which eps to put on these DVDs, the first question they ask themselves is, "Which ones does Devil Doll have *no interest* in?"

Cripes.

There's some other stuff over there about a new Batman cartoon, and new Wolverine/Sabes statue ($200!), and a Van Helsing comic. I'm not linking to all that, though.

Also, ( DD's Mac-n-Cheese RecipeCollapse )