Domestic Geek

Two weeks from now, a lot of us Americans are going to be busily preparing our yearly turkey feast. I was poking around the Internet looking for new recipes to try and I came across a site with the most wonderful Thanksgiving Treats. I would love to serve this Brandy Pumpkin cake. It sounds so yummy:

It's a rich blend of pumpkin, cream cheese, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves that has been gathered together and then soaked in brandy to give this decadent dessert a spirited richness with spicy undertones. And talk about moist, you can eat an entire piece without ever having to reach for a glass of milk.

I probably can't swing one in time for the big feast this year, but I'd love to get one of these Spirited Eggnog cakes spiked with rum for Christmas.

Hey, today is my dad's 71st birthday.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My neighbors over on the next street put up their Christmas decorations today. IT'S ONLY THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER, PEOPLE! I get to go by there everyday as they live on the street that accesses our cul du sac. Plus, they're right across from the mailboxes. Not cool. I can understand excitement over Christmas, but you shouldn't put stuff out until Thanksgiving weekend. As if living in a mobile home park isn't bad enough, you have to go and do that kind of crap. And people wonder why you get burned out on the holiday by the time Christmas comes. *sigh* I wonder if they're really going to light it all, too.

I wrote several weeks back that I was going to make and send Holiday cards this Christmas. If you'd like one, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) your snail mail address and leave a comment that you've done so. I'd like to get them in the mail the first week of December.

This all started when I saw this Joy of Tech comic last week:


I really wanted to do this, but since I have no money I couldn't buy myself a pumpkin, I wasn't. Marcus offered to get me one on Sunday (we passed by a church on Yale that was selling them for their youth group), so I accepted his gift. Almost as soon as we got home, I started carving. He took pictures along the way and you can find them in the Pumpkin Carving 2006 Gallery. I used some helpful hints I found reading Nitrozac's Mac O'Lantern Tutorial and at The Carving Dude. I just finished it about 5pm this evening.

May I present to you, the:



Wow, this thing was HARD! All those tiny little details around the eyes. But hey, I did it. I like it. That's all that matters. I can't wait for Marcus to see it when he gets home. The only bad thing? There were only seeds from one pumpkin. I went ahead and roasted them because I LOVE ME SOME ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS! It's my favorite snack in the whole world.