The most un-assuming, tastebud tickling snack...ever...EVER.

I love popcorn.
But...popcorn may be evil.
I try not to eat things that stab me in the gums over...and over...and over.....it's sooo tasty and yet those sharp little hulls get jammed between my teeth every time. I can think of no other snack that's as dangerously delicious to eat. Unless I started playing Russian roulette with my chocolates by hiding a choking hazard in every other one...which I won't because, like I said, trying to avoid evil snacks.

Behold the puffed wheat snack.

It's like one of those people that are a secret agent and knows how to maim OTHER people with one finger and yet blends so effortlessly into normal society that they may very well have been the bloke who bagged your groceries during your last trip to the super market. (he handled my frozen spinach in a way that made me suspect he could speak a dozen languages fluently and diffuse a bomb with his teeth whilst rescuing the President, of any country)

This is a brown wrapper sort of snack.

It's also delicious. It punches you right in your tastebuds, in the good way!

One bowl of puffed wheat berries, found in your cereal aisle, is drizzled with olive oil, then Tabasco. While it's still recovering from the shock of spicy hot vinegar raining down all over it's rather plain jane surface you start going Emeril all over it. Bamming it with sea salt, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese and ground flax seed.

Then you eat it...with a spoon.

p.s., I imagine this could be made with the puffed grain of your choice, be it rice or millet. I'm not gonna stop you...heck if you're looking for a little excitement, a little dangerous thrill in your life, make it with popcorn. See if I care.

Art Doll Quarterly Magazine Feature (my favorite words)

So, pages 79, 80 & 81 are now my NEW most favorite page numbers of the awesome Art Doll Quarterly Magazine. Specifically the Winter 2011 edition that gets released this Nov. 1st.


Question: Could this sudden love with those page numbers be because YOURS TRULY has her work featured on them?
Her work, her photos, her story...?

Answer: YES!!!!!

I'm really pleased and proud to be included in this issue. And if you think I'm happy, Algar the Elf (the featuree) is both baffled and amused. Being an elf, he doesn't totally get a human's fascination with photos of his sweet n' fierce face.

Art Doll Quarterly is available in oodles of stores but in case it's sold out or not in your local book shop the issue can be purchased directly at the Art Doll Quarterly's site.


My feature in the magazine includes part of Algar's back story that I wrote for him. But there's much more to it.... you can read all about Algar's nemesis in life, why he looks so fierce and even why he has a fist raised, on Algar's page on my website.
There's also a zillion and a half more photos of Algar there. For a shy little house elf he certainly didn't mind me snapping away with my camera....lucky me....

(Susie cat, Algar's nemesis stares with longing and hunger at the elf who got away...again....)

Yet another post about my garbage.....

Moving means many changes, including setting up trash removal services with a new company at our new residence. Ya know, because I'm guessing having my much loved EDCO from California come all the way out to Arizona might be a bit costly and nuts, but mostly costly.
No worries though, we have a lovely new company to haul away our shame.....I mean garbage. The only catch though, they didn't DO recycling, at least not here in our community.
Upon hearing this I quickly checked the date to make sure it was still 2010 and I hadn't somehow fallen into 1981, but no, it's true. They don't currently have a curbside recycling program in our area....
Picture me flabbergasted. It's sort of a cross between my *just seen a snake* face and my *I just ate cashew by accident and am going to regret it later* face.
However, thanks to the power of the internet and my own googling skills I quickly found out that there was a very nice and easy to get to drop off recycling area right next to one of the grocery stores we'd be shopping at now!
Now picture my joyous *just saw Häagen-Dazs on sale* face!
I'll admit it's not as convenient as curbside, but I'll take ANY recycling services I can get over no recycling at all....you don't want to see me when I can't recycle. I won't describe that face to you, you don't need the nightmares.
I am a glass half full kind of gal, unless the glass is half full of coffee in which case my caffeine addiction starts kicking my nerve endings and whispering slyly that the coffee is half gone....but for the rest of my life, I am totally half full. I see the positive.
I get to recycle, I get to recycle all of the same things I did with the curbside services from our previous home PLUS they have a bin for electronic junk, yay!
Not only that, gathering up all those recyclables (which admittedly grow into a rather huge pile by the time I get around to packing them in the car) for my feel good, saving the world, drop off at the bins, trip is really good for the soul. Seriously.
There's something about seeing 3 weeks worth of garbage that isn't destined to be garbage that gives me goosebumps.
I jam my car's trunk full, stuff more in the back seat and the whole while grin ear to ear because there's THAT much stuff I can recycle...looks like it's 2010 after all folks!
Not only that, I've decided this non-curbside, do-it-your-self recycling drop off actually burns more calories than the old curbside method. Ha! Didn't think of that one did you?
And as I mentioned the recycling drop off is in a grocery store's parking lot....
Excellent opportunity for immediate rewarding of do-gooding, calorie burning and general all around frozen dairy craving assuaging. Meaning ice cream. Yay!
Glass most definitely half full, and it's with Häagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Brittle ice cream....saaaaaaweet.