Photos From Thanksgiving!!

Click Here!!

Another Blogger Bud!!

CM has joing the gang!! Go visit him here!

Sanctuary

Now, this is a place I'd like to visit.

It's good to know there are congregations out there where we can feel safe.

Thanks for sharing the story STB!

Ramblings...

So, the Holiday Season is in full swing and Carlos and I celebrated by HUNTING down the movie 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'. Now, this should be a VERY easy movie to find during this time of year. However, this is not true. Target, Best Buy, Sam Goody, and Suncoast did not have it. Best Buy swore up and down they had it, but they didn't know where it was... I KNEW there was a reason I didn't like that store...

Borders books in Richfield is my new favorite merchant. They came to my aid and delivered to me my very own DVD copy of my movie, AND it was on sale!! I also bought a GREAT Celtic (not the basketball team) Christmas CD... Listening to it right now in fact...

So, Carlos and I watched it, ate Pepitos, and then I snuggled with my puppies. IT IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIE EVER!!! It makes me laugh, cry and yes, I even sang along!

I need to get my shopping done. Payday is Friday. Hmmm...

Work @ Target on Saturday was kinda weird... The morning was VERY slow. Almost eerie. Then it got CRAZY busy and the day FLEW by. I had made mention to Penny (the woman who works the electronics counter) that the game Tales Of Symphonia for the GameCube was at a REALLY low price for out 2-day sale. I mentioned I should but it just to have it and get a GameCube later... When I was leaving she said, 'Don't you think of even buying that game. Merry Christmas to Mikey.' She smiled big and so did I. She cracks me up!! Now I need a GameCube and I have to think of a present for her. Hmmm... She like P.F. Changs...

I think I miss my Playstation 2 more than my GameCube tho. I had so many COOL games to play on it, but the GameCube is more affordable. They also packaged the GC with a game and an extra controller this season... hmmm... Maybe I'll get some gift certificates for x-mas.

Anyway, you all have a great day and I'll amble some more later!

Turkey Day!

Thursday morning, the goodship 'Jazz' will be leaving South Minneapolis and headed for the lovely megalopolis of Zimmerman, MN. I'll be driving, Mikey will be DJ and Carlos will be the animal tamer. Yuna and Akima will be the animals. :-)

My sister is going to be throwing the T-day bash and I'm in charge of bringing the alcohol. This may sound like a bad thing, but I LOVE to get my Mom a little 'loopy'. She cracks me up. Besides, any other member of my family can WALK home to their respective houses within 5 minutes... It's like a Smith plantation but without the tobacco and fancy houses. We promote slavery, however most people refer our slaves as kids, nieces or nephews... *shrugs* To each, their own I guess. :-)

So, I'm fairly certain my sis will whip up the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry goo, and pumpkin pie. She'll throw in brussel sprouts or something so Terry (my brother-in-law) and I can bitch about how much we HATE them and that they taste like little balls of tin-foil. It's TRADITION!!

Sometimes, my Dad and Terry will protest the traditional turkey and deep fry one... I'm not sure I like this option, but I'll have regular turkey to satisfy me... And my own bowl of stuffing... And 2 pecan pies, one for me to eat then and one to take home and eat by myself. :-)

Can I tell you I just LOVE Thanksgiving??? Eat, play with the pups (there will be 6 there this year), nap, beat on the kids, eat again and then nap again... What could be better???

What are all y'all going?

Yumm #7 -- The MIGHTY Edition

Mighty's favorite man:

Jude Law

Clarification

The YUMM I have been posting comes in no particular order... just in the order of obsession for that day...

Yumm #6 -- The 'Back-off Bitches... he's MINE!!' Edition

Blaine Wilson has my permission to molest me, ANYTIME!



Have to link this one because of formatting...

Yumm #5 -- Australian Edition

Ryan Kwanten

Getting ready for snowboarding...

So, my sister's in-laws have spent the past 5-6 Thanksgivings with our family and they wanted to return the favor to my family. They took us out to Buca in Maple Grove. We were in the 'Pope' room and had an INCREDIBLE meal... Lots of wine too!! :-)

Afterward, Mikey and I headed over to Sportmart and looked at the snowboarding stuff. This winter we both want to learn how to snowboard and we're hoping it something we'll love to do!!

Many of the jackets we looked at didn't have liners... I really wanted to have one with a liner. I don't know why, but I like them... The ones with liners were up in the $300 range. We DID find some Columbia snowboarding pants on sale for about $60... That's $140 LESS than the ones we were looking at online. WOOT! I LOVE good deals!!

I had also heard that REI was having a winter sale so we scooted down there as well. I found an AWESOME pair of boots but the Voice of Reason (a.k.a. CM) mentioned that I should see if I like snowboarding first before buying boots. :-)

I also found a board that had Optimus Prime on it... I WANT THAT BOARD!! Even if I don't like snowboarding... :-)

We found some Columbia Parkas on sale for $160 but they had fleece liners and no snowguard (the thingy that keeps the snow from going up your back when you fall). We found another that was a bit more, but has a down liner and a snowguard. They were ALSO on sale so we made out like bandits!! I also got a pair of mitts because I have NO winter gloves.

Everything was on sale and this was some of the BEST deal shopping I've done in a while!! I'm so happy with my selections!!

SIDE NOTE: The little shots of 'goo' you can get from PowerBar are NASSSSS-TAY!! We each tried one and ewww... EWWWWWW!!

Now... The only thing I need for Snowboarding are goggles... That's it!! I'll rent the board, bindings, and boots and I'm hoping I fall in LOVE with it!!

My little babies!! 

I'm not sure who is more odd... me taking the picture or Carlos for having the Mickey ears with the Sorceror's Hat... 

Yumm #3 and #4...

Jeff Timmons... Yummy!

Marcus Blucas... *DROOL*

Random Thought/Observation #2

There is something profoundly hilarious about 7 old Asian women doing aerobics to the song 'Freak Out.'

I had to stop and watch for a little while after my work out.

*side note* giggling and stretching are difficult to do at the same time...

Random Thought/Observation #1

Boxer briefs must make my package look HUGE. I have caught over 30 people (men/women) blatently checking out the package in the past 2 days... (No my zipper wasn't open and I haven't wet myself recently...)

Friday Fun!!

Which Disney Princess are you?

Apparently I'm most like Jasmine... blah... I think i'm more like Mulan... Kicking ass and taking names!!

Dominic Purcell makes me moist!!

Had to link to this pic because it hoses my formatting. (UPDATED!! I linked to the wrong pic before!!)

Smitty's First Edition of YUMM!

A Kiss

This morning CM and I drove into work together. He's wearing a SEXY sweater today and jeans that accentuate his already incredible behind. (He's a HOTTIE... I'm SO incredibly lucky!) We're walking through the skyway, discussing what's on the agenda for the day/evening. We get to the elevator bank in my building and I stop to let CM finish his story about a lesbian at work that throws out some rather colorful phrases toward him and other people...

Once he was finished, I didn't even think twice and leaned in to kiss him. He leaned in at the same time and we shared a sweet goodbye. As I went into the elevator lobby, I noticed 2 women just chatting about 4 feet away from where we kissed. They didn't even bawk at the smooch nor did any of the people coming from the office on the way to get their morning coffee. In fact, I even caught an eye of one of the girls and she gave me a little smile.

It's moments like these that fill me with hope for the future.

W

I love this!

Uneventful...

I had a pretty uneventful weekend... nothing crazy to report, except that Yuna seems to have an affinity for fried rice...

Anyway... I guess Mikey needs a new computer because his is hosed, so we're headed to Best Buy tonight and I need to leave ALL of my cards and cash at home... That place is NOT good for me!!

But I'll go. Maybe I'll bring my $20 gift card and buy myself Muppet Christmas Carol on DVD. I LOVE that movie!!

My Game a.k.a Geeking Out #2

So... for the past two nights (since CM needs to be at his house with Niblets -- bonding time, ya know) I have been playing my game.

In this game you can have different jobs which give you different abilities. Some of these jobs you need to complete a quest in order to be allowed into the order.

I chose to chase after the Summoner job. A Summoner is a character whose life is devoted to connecting to the elemental beings that govern the powers of Vanad'iel. Instead of casting magic they call upon these beings to fight by their side and as the character gains in experience, so do the summons. They get special powers and enhanced attacks. They become a VERY powerful ally.

So, the quest requires you to be at least level 30 in one of your jobs and then you need to find Carbuncle's Ruby. It's a VERY rare item that certain leeches around the world will drop. These leeches are EXTREMELY stingy when it comes to these Rubies, so it's a difficult and time-consuming task.

I set-out on my own with my White Mage/Thief combo to try and get a ruby. I chose some leeches that we're fairly easy and fought for about a half hour. The battles took WAY too long and then I'd have to heal after every one. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't get ANYTHING to drop from those bitches...

I asked a level 45 Thief to help me out. Higher-level Theives have a skill called Treasure Hunter 2. This makes rare items drop more often. Not only that, she could sneak up behind the leeches and kill them in one shot!!

I was SUPER lucky that she wanted to help!! She had a couple friends online that she talked into helping us out too! A Dark Knight who would take 2 swings and kill anything in the area and a level 65 Thief who could take on multiple leeches at one time!

After about 45 minutes of fighting Poison Leeches on the beach, a Ruby finally dropped. I about crapped my pants!! I had heard stories of people fighting for DAYS to try and get these things...

Once you get the Ruby, you have to go to the Home of the Hero and he tells you how to unlock the power of the Ruby. He tells you that you need to collect the 7 'lights' of the world before the Ruby can be useful.

This part was easy: I just had to enter areas that had a weather effect going on. Raining, sunny day, scorching heat, windy, dusty day, thunder and lightning, and ice...

I was cruising around and getting the 'lights' VERY quickly... and then came ice. To get the last 'light' I had to travel to Beaudicine Glacier. The Pass to the Glacier is probably one of the most difficult areas to get through in the entire game.

Now, I know what areas to go through to get there, but I do not know the EXACT path... again, I need help. I asked for help in town and no one replied... I waited... I asked again and two small Tarutaru responded. A level 44 Red Mage named Mango and 45 White Mage named Spot who have both been on the quest before.

Spot teleported us to the Crag of Holla and we continued via Chocobo (giant yellow chicken) to the Pass. Here we had to cast Sneak and Invisible the ENTIRE way through the cavern because everything was so difficult. The travel took about 15 minutes.

Once we reached the Glacier I anticipated having to wait for the ice weather effect to happen, but I didn't have to. It was already in effect when we got there and I got my last 'light'!! The Ruby told me to go to La Thiene Plateau and find the Stone Circle.

I had thought I would be on my own at this point and had purchased a scroll that would take me back to town and I'd have to travel ALL the way back to the stone circle on foot. Spot insisted on teleporting me to La Thiene Plateau and taking me to the Circle.

I placed Carbuncle's Ruby in the middle of the circle and a GREAT cut-scene ensued. I become a Summoner and I now have the ability to call upon Carbuncle (he looks like a big, blue squirrel) to fight by my side!!

WOO HOO!

I don't even know if I'll ever use this job, but it sure was fun doing the quest!!

Peace!

A Draft

Hey, I've got an idea!!

Let institute a draft for the next war that 'W' gets us into. However, the only 'draftable' people are those ages 18-45 who voted for Bush in the last election. I think it's fair!!

Niblets

So, I got some pictures forwarded to me of CM's kitty. See the cutie-patootie in the posts below:

Serious Niblets 

Cute Niblets 

Curious Niblets 

Slavery?

Special thanks to SparklesMpls for this comparison. Shocking! OK, not really...

Geeking out

Bear with me here:

Ok... So last night I was playing Final Fantasy XI and I'm almost TOTALLY broke. I had just recently reached level 32 with my Bard, bought a Centurtion's Sword (which kicks MAJOR ass), Some GREAT armor, and some shoes called Air Solea (even Nike gets some props in the game).

I had taken my Bard (and used my Thief as my sub-job) in a place called Palbourough Mines. It's CRAWLING with creatures called Quadavs. They are bipeds like humans, but look like BIG turtles with THICK armor.

One piece of their armor can fall off when you defeat them. It's called a Quadav Backplate. I'm not sure why they are popular, but I think you can break them down into their original components (one of which is Darksteel Ore) and make other things with them. They sell for 500 - 800 Gil (the currency of Vanad'iel) which is a pretty good turn around for simply killing stuff.

Anyway... I took my Bard/Thief combo into this cave and started to Train the Quadavs. What is Training, you ask? Palbourough Mines is a HUGE maze. There are gates you can look through, but cannot pass. I can play a song through one of gates to a Quadav on the other side. This pisses them off and they come running to kick my ass. As they pass other Quadavs along the way they, too, get pissed and want to join in the ass-kicking. Once it's all said and done I can have anywhere from 1-20 Quadavs trying to beat the stuffing out of me.

Yeah... A Bard/Thief doesn't have much healing power. The only benefit Thief give me is it increases the chance that I'll find treasure on the bodies after the battle. So, needless to say I go my ass kicked and had to start over.

Last night I changed jobs to be a White Mage (healer) with Thief as my sub-job (to increase the treasure drops). I SO totally kicked ass!! Even though my White Mage is two levels lower than my Bard (and wears less armor) he was able to Train the Quadavs more efficiently. He was UBER-POWERFUL healing spells (helpful for obvious reasons) and a spell called Banishga. This spell casts light magic and hits all creatures within a certain area. Well... White Mages excel in White Magic. Yeah... I OWNED those bitches!!

So in about 30 minutes I filled up my inventory with these Backplates. A task that has taken DAYS before... It's SO freakin' cool!!

But, as I was hunting I got a message from a character named Frynoz. He needed me to Raise (once you get defeated you can wait for someone to raise you or go back to your Home Point which could be across the world in some situations) his wife Christana (they're married in real life). HA HA! My White Mage comes in handy AGAIN! He also offered me 2000 Gil to do it. THAT'S UNHEARD OF!! Usually it's 500 Gil.

So I take off running... And I find where they are. I Raise Christana and they ask me to powerlevel them. A Powerlevel means that they form a party and fight creatures that would normally OWN them, but because I'm outside their party healing them, they do A LOT better and get TONS of experience points. They offer me 5000 Gil per level.

*double take*

Excuse me?? That's A LOT of money for a simple task! Of course I agree because Gil is sometimes hard to come by. I devote an hour to them and I end up making 20,000 Gil!!

All I have to say is: last night was a GOOD night for Mykal from Bastok (that's me :-))!!

Now my character is in the process of selling of all of the Backplates he found during his hunting. I need to cross the globe a couple of times in search of new songs for him to sing. I'm a little behind on those... And when you're behind it's SO hard to find a group of people who want to fight with you. Finding a party is essential for increasing your job levels.

Aiight... I'm done for now... Maybe I'll try and screenshot my character and show him to you guys... HE'S HOT!!

OK... At least I'm not THIS pathetic!!

Ciao!!

New Addition

CM and his roomie decided the expand the family by one. They've added a a SUPER-cute kitty into the mix. Her name is 'Niblets' and she's a dark orange 'tiger' kitty. I'm not good with cat breeds, but she's a very unique color.

She spent the first 5-6 hours running away from anyone that tried to get her... it was a game for her. Then she decided she go 'hide' in another room and meow until someone would come then DART into the other room and go 'hide' again...

And last night she climbed up on my chest and played with the hood-strings from my sweatshirt. She is SO adorable but has this ability to look SO cute then stick her ass in your face... I don't think I like that part.

We also found a laser-pointer for her... it drives her CRAZY!!

I'll see if I can get a picture of her for y'all to see.

I'M SO EXCITED!!

Shrek 2 comes out today on DVD!! I can't wait to get home and watch my copy!

"I'm Puss... in boots."

He he he!

I LOVE Antonio Banderas' character!!

So...

I guess the question of the hour is: Vancouver or Toronto??

220 pounds

I am a cow. Karma is coming back and biting me in the ass for calling my dogs little cows. I know it...

I can't see any more muscle development, but I'm gaining... this cannot be good. I'm working out everyday, trying to eat healthier (but more) and upping the cardio I do... hmmm...

I think I need more sex. :-)