Well, I won't lie. It's been a long time since I posted anything here, and for that, I apologize. But, my wedding weekend aside, these last two weeks are the closest I've had to a vacation since March. So, that's pretty sweet. That isn't to say there isn't work to be done--because there's always work to be done. It's just a little less stressful than usual (expect the stress to kick up again in January). lolcatz has been off from work too, so our household has been filled with games and TV. I'm kind of amazed at how often we can stumble across Back to the Future or Star Wars and watch them like we've never seen them before. I've also had the time to do some of the hobbies I never have time to do: cooking, genealogy, and reading travel books to plan hypothetical non-work vacations. Good times.

Since our wedding was small and had no reception, lolcatz and I have also been celebrating our marriage with family and friends in the form of cake parties. Here's a shot from one we hosted at our house:





Let's zoom in on the cake. One of those tiers is vanilla with a layer of raspberry mousse filling and a layer of passion fruit mousse filling. The other two tiers are chocolate cake with layers of coconut mousse and chocolate mousse.





We ate a mess o' cake that night and then had another party the next day with more cake still. And that, my friends, is why people start to lose their figures during marriage.

Christmas was pretty awesome too. I had brunch with a bunch of friends (and tested my culinary skills by making two dozen scrambled eggs) and then went and saw Sherlock Holmes. Growing up in a time when everything (really--EVERYTHING) was closed, I'm continually enchanted by the fact that I can see movies on Christmas day.

So, that's the rundown. Sorry again for the blog lag, but my next post should make up for it. Why? Because tomorrow I'm taking an epic one-day trip which I will report faithfully on when I get back.

I'm going to Forks, Washington.

You've been warned.

6 hours on 3 trains in the snow to cardiff spent all my savings and john B to poorly to do panto :( not the best day ever for me or jb. Well done to the understudy he was fantastic (but not jb) Hope he is feeling better soon

Well, Tens regeneration is almost upon us here in the UK. We haven't got long to wait at all, and although I'm really excited to see what happens next I'd be lying if I said I wasn't waiting in a nervous apprehension about watching "my Doctor" regenerate.

But it was going to happen at some point. I'm very aware of that, and I foresaw it coming. It's just part of the show and I fully respect that David, as an Actor has to go at some point. So I'm fine with it really, it's not as if I'd be able to do much if I wasn't is it?

So instead of bursting into tears over it all, I'm celebrating what a lovely time I've had with it.

And below are my top ten moments for the the tenth Doctor.


( Ten fav moments! )

Title:  Andromeda Rising
Series:  Jack's Path, Compatible with Time Eternal
Author:  Amberfocus
Characters/Pairings:  Jack Harkness/Andromeda Harper, Ten/Rose Tyler, Cassi Tyler Harper/Daniel Harper, Dare Tyler/Martha Tyler-Jones, Teganna Tyler, Xanderius Tyler, Marsden Tyler-Jones, Devora Tyler-Jones, Rapheal Harper, Gwen Cooper Williams/Owen Harper
Genre:  Action/Adventure, Romance, fluff, angst, mild smut
Rating:  Adult, R
Beta:  jeprdyfrndly
Summary:  Andromeda Harper, the granddaughter of the Doctor and Rose, has run away from her family, determined to make her own way in the universe.  She and Jack Harkness cross paths and there is no looking back for either of them despite the significant age gap between them.  Unknown to either of them, Andromeda has become the target of an Orion Hunter, a prince who will stop at nothing to claim Andromeda as his very own.  Set during Jack's two years of missing memories.  AU after Doomsday and Torchwood season one.
A/N:  Jack discovers Andromeda's heritage. Cassi and Daniel leave New Earth. The Doctor and Rose seek a cure for Cassi from Owen in 2050.

Previous chapters:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/275070.html

( Read more... )

Found this recipe on the South Beach website, and I'm about to go make it, but I thought I'd share it with you all first. :) Surprisingly simple to make, and ooh, it sounds good.

ETA: Mmm. It IS good. This served with steamed asparagus and a side salad. REALLY filling, and amazingly yummy. And so easy! I did have to substitute lime juice for lemon juice, because I couldn't find my lemon juice ANYWHERE. I know I bought some, but it's disappeared. :P It turned out really well with the lime juice, though, so no worries. :)

( Grilled Salmon with Rosemary )

Hi im back :)

had a few days off so made some more wallpapers and calendars for 2010 as a Christmas/new year prezzy for you all, hope you like and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

( calenders and other goodys )

All right, so, I rewatched it on my own this morning, and my thoughts are a little clearer now. I didn't come away from it feeling quite the same as I did yesterday. The first time, I'd felt like my brain had been squished from the crack, so watching it again to wrap my head around it helped a lot. However, having said that, this is by far not at all my favorite episode. In fact I think I'd place it down there as 3rd place on my list of Least Favorite Episodes, right after The Voyage of the Damned and Planet of the Dead.


( But here are my thoughts on some key points. )

(Note: This concludes the Advent drabbles. Everyone who left me a prompt at the Advent drabble post should have received a drabble in return. If I missed you, it was entirely inadvertant and please, please let me know. 'Tis the season for giving, after all.

There are 11 days left of Christmas. I hope each day brings you and your loved ones joy, peace, and delight.)

 

( Theatre (requested by greenkneehighs) )

~~~

 

( Smile (requested by tribalmink) )

 

I really shouldn't post anything until I sit down on my own and watch this episode a second time, but I'm gonna just say a few things until then 'cause I can't resist. So here we go, in bullet points, my main three thoughts throughout the ep:

• What the heck????  (And not in a good way)
• Master LOL.  (Again, not really in a good way)
• ...I hate it when speculation/rumors I hate come true.
• (did I say what the heck?)

Will come back and say more maybe once I've watched it again and collected my thoughts. Maybe. In the meantime, I do have to say that Ten was very yummy all throughout, and you can just never go wrong with that. x)

It was a good Christmas--lots of fun, lots of food, lots of family time--but I think I'm glad it's over. Now I can just enjoy my vacation. And no tree to take down and put away, because I never did put one up! :D

I got quite a few lovely gifts this year, and one thing in particular that I'd asked for: A Wii Fit! Wii Fit PLUS, to be exact, which has a few more bells and whistles than the ordinary Wii Fit. Yay! That makes my exercise routine a lot easier to do, since I can do it in one spot (or at least a small space) in my living room. :) I'm tempted to start it up now, but as it's 10:30 p.m., I doubt my downstairs neighbours would be happy with me, so I'll play with it tomorrow morning, I guess. Oh! And I got a really nice lap desk for my laptop, too; I'm using it right now, and I REALLY like it. It does help keep my legs from getting overheated by the computer. And it's got an LED light on an adjustable gooseneck, too, so if I'm reading or writing (on paper, that is) or something like that, I have plenty of light for it. :) Yay! I made out like a serious bandit this year.

Tomorrow afternoon, my sis and I are going to see Avatar. It looks pretty good, and friends I trust have said it's worth seeing on the big screen, so that's cool. Might hit a couple of the after-Christmas sales, too, though I tend to avoid the stores right after Christmas. Crowds, as I've mentioned elsewhere, are Not My Thing. (I have to admit that seeing Wal-Mart's parking lot utterly deserted is a bit creepy. There are really only three days a year you see that: Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I'm sure they'll make up for it tomorrow, though.)

Ok, off to bed with me. G'night! :)

ETA: Oh, yeah! DW, too. Guess I'll watch it tomorrow sometime; I'm too tired to see it tonight.