Thank You to the Academy...

So apparently following other more awesome bloggers is inspiring me to be a better blogger myself. Nah, actually, I am totally just kidding! I mean, what would my probably nonexistent fans do if I started putting out way more posts per week/month? I think you might actually just drop dead of shock. To be honest, I might drop dead of shock and then...well, your daily entertaining blogger (I'm being optimistic here, don't laugh) wouldn't be around to amuse/irritate/other emotion inserted here anymore so that would be...counterproductive. In the meantime, in the battle between myself and law school, law school is, as I so colourfully told my sister-from-another-mother (also known as my god/facebook sister, totally legit and maybe legal?), is beating me down and then blending me into a healthy smoothie made of my tears and dreams and eating me. I am definitely not winning that death match. I did, however, get a wonderful 1.5 weeks with Heath over spring break which was exactly what I needed. Upon return to Law School City, though, I have no inclination to really do anything. At all. Mostly, all I want to do is go home to Heath and phone in law school. And, also, possibly, open my own bakery called FOOLS Bakery (acronym for Failed Out of Law School) and sell all types of wonderful baked goods. Because we all know that I would be a way better baker than I would be a lawyer. I also signed myself up for way too much (once again) by going in to Moot Court. I have told my partner that we are going to do 100% mediocre so that I am not forced to present an argument for a case that I a) really don't care about; and 2) will edge into my long easter weekend with Heath. Uh-uh. No way.

What really inspired me to write was that I was nominated by my super lovely god/facebook sister over at http://www.wideeyesquickfeet.com/ for a Liebster Award. Because this post was definitely supposed to be dedicated to the upcoming RockStar Mayhem Festival. I believe, however, that an award trumps that in importance. Plus, if I don't respond to it now, I will forget all about it and then, in, like, a year, I'll realise that was one of those things I should have responded to/addressed.

If you're like me, you have no idea what a Liebster Award is. About five minutes, a reading of "I Liebe You," and a quick Google search later, I finally understand. Huzzah. It's given to cool, funky bloggers- I may be adding a couple of spontaneous adjectives there, but artistic license is freaky awesome- who have less than 200 dedicated followers. I am a cool, funky blogger. I have less than 200 followers. My syllogism dictates that, provided I have a wonderful, lovely sister (You're awesome, Leen, super shout out to you!) who nominates me, I am deserving of a Liebster nomination. Sorry, I just learned how to make syllogisms, thank you, Marbury v. Madison, and plus, syllogism is such a fun word. I mean, seriously, say it and it just makes you laugh. Or is that just me? Oh, well...

But the requirements of the Liebster are that:
      1. I tell you 11 random facts about myself.
      2. I answer the questions that have been laid out for me.
      3. I nominate other super cool bloggers. I've heard 11 and 20 tossed around as magic numbers,  
          however, I shall nominate the number of blogs that I actually know. Which is not many.

So...11 random things about me, preferably things you don't already know.

1. Criminal Minds is my favourite tv show. I feel like it's actually working because it's in my academic field,

area of interest, and future work. So, generally, I can make up any and every excuse to watch it/buy the DVDs for obscene prices (or beg Heath into buying them) from Best Buy. Or Wal-Mart. Or Ebay. Or really anywhere for that matter. Also, my father knows somebody who knows somebody who knows Joe Mantegna so I have a signed Criminal Minds photo.

2. My very favourite animals are polar bears and leopards. I don't know why. But they are like the bestest, cutest things ever. And I want one. (Un)fortunately, saner minds, i.e. Heath, prevail and we are not in possession of either. Heath does, however, pick me up leopard and polar bear paraphernalia whenever he sees something he knows I would love.

3. I am engaged to the love of my life, Heath, who puts up with my ridiculousness, eccentricities, and makes me laugh even when all I want to do is swear violently, punch things, or cry.

4. When I was little, my ballet teacher kicked me out of her ballet class, telling my mother that she couldn't do anything with me because I had all the grace of a baby elephant. I have now developed the grace of a rhinoceros with an equilibrium problem. I feel that this is an improvement.

5. My dream car is a red Mini Cooper with black roof + moon/sun roof. Originally, I wanted the classic, rally looking Mini. Then I saw the Mini Coupe and the Paceman and decided that I might want one of those two. Mostly because they're super cute. It appears, however, that once Wolfie the Rabbit ten toes ups it, I will be getting a Mini Cooper Countryman with its four doors and stocky, long body because it's practical. And no, I'm not the one who used that word...it's definitely at the top of my least favourite words of all time list.

6. I have the memory of a very absent-minded goldfish. Be it keys, a blog, directions, groceries, I will forget it. I also have an issue with placing down books in random places around houses. Fortunately, most people find this habit endearing, rather than annoying.

7. I hate snow when I have to drive in it. Like, hate it with a fiery burning passion deep down inside my soul. Also, the ice. Basically, if it's precipitation that comes from the sky in any other form than rain, it is on my dislike list. I do, however, love snow days.

8. My top five favourite bands are Evanescence, Korn, Nightwish, Rammstein, Slipknot. All of these bands are on my "to see before I die" concert list. As of this moment, I have seen all but Slipknot...Guess I need to start seeing them again!

9. A few of my fave writers are Lauren Willig (she of the Pink Carnation series wonderfulness),Lewis Carroll, the before-her-time Jane Austen, J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown, Maddy Hunter, J.R. Ward and Kresley Cole.

10. I have a very inappropriate love for Robert Carlyle (in anything at any age. At all.), Top Gear's Richard "Hamster" Hammond, Heath Ledger (who actually looks a wee bit like my Heath), and Stuart Townsend. I want to meet all of them, but embarrassing fangirl-ing would ensue.

11. My idea of a perfect vacation would be going with Heath to Paris, Venice, Dublin, and New Orleans and getting to spend like a month in each place...maybe someday when we're billionaires?

Now that I've given you all my super lengthy facts about myself, I shall answer the questions that I've been given.

1. What's your favourite movie of all time?

    Well, this one is just super unfair. I have, like, ten favourite movies. I shall, however, contrive to limit myself to...five. Five seems fair. Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, The Phantom of the Opera (with Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, and Patrick Wilson, not the 1920's one), House of 1000 Corpses, Braveheart. Moulin Rouge and Across the Universe are tied for fifth place.

2. What do you do as soon as you walk in the door from work?

    I usually open my laptop and log into Skype.

3. Do you put your toothbrush in a drawer or toothbrush holder?

    A toothbrush holder designed to look like a Parisian home.

4. Which veggies do you love/hate?

     Love: brocolli, cauliflower, asparagus (with way too much butter), celery, carrot.

     Hate: tomatoes (allergic to them), any sort of allium-based vegetables (also allergic to them), mushrooms, spinach, and green beans.

5. What is your favourite go-to outfit for a Saturday?

     Comfy stuff. If I'm staying in, usually I'm in yoga pants or sweat pants and a tank top. If I'm going out, typically jeans, a cute shirt if one happens to be available, and sandals.

6. What's your favourite workout?

    Ha! That's really cute, you think I work out? I do zumba on, like, an every other month basis so...zumba, I guess?

7. What does your Tupperware cabinet look like?

     I have Tupperware?

8. If you had to choose one thing you couldn't live without, what would it be?

    As far as things, caffeine. But my books run a really, really close second.

9. What's your favourite thing to order when eating out?

     Typically, cheese pizza with light to no sauce- you know, the whole evil allergy thing. I also love orange chicken, General Tsao's and teriyaki beef.

10. What's the temperature outside when you're happiest?

       If I'm staying in with Heath, my favourite weather is snow and like 32 degrees. If I'm going out, a day with less sun and about 50.

11. If you could pick anywhere in the world to be right now, where would you be?

      So long as I was with Heath, I really absolutely would not care.

Wow, that is...a lot of information about myself. If you actually read all of that and you're not Heath, family, or one of my friends, then thanks. You made typing all of this madness up worth it.

Now, for my nominees. If I nominate somebody who's rocking their blogosphere and doesn't really need help, sorry! But here's some Liebester-love (redundant, but not I'm just being finnicky) for y'all! And since I'm kind of new to the blogging scene, I only know of a few of you, but those that I do know are totally worthy of a Liebster.

1.Suger Beams and Other Half Baked Adventures

2. Bizzy Biz Blog

3. The Frosted Cupcake

4. The Cupcaketologist

5. Bond-tastic

6. A Rob Zombie Film

Now, after all of that, I finally say au revoir. We will be back to our regularly scheduled programming...eventually. Y'know, when I decide I need to actually blog again. Which could be tomorrow, next week, or two months from now. You never know. Either way, Harley Quinn, over and out!

La Belle Nouvelle Orleans

Well, hello, all! Alas, my inability to actually remember to blog came and bit me again...it has been two months since I last blogged for all of my (probably nonexistent) lovelies. I would like to say that this stems from a very good reason like I was working or I was actually devoting my time to law school or something along those lines. That would, however, be a...lie (insert dramatic music here).

My absence is mostly a result of my extreme absentmindedness and complete inability to remember stuff. You know, little things like I have a blog. When one has guinea pigs, one should not buy rabbit food instead. If you leave food in the fridge for longer than a certain period of time, it will be doing creepy, crazy, potentially toxic things. Little things like that just slip my mind pretty regularly. Oh and also where keys are. I don't know what crazy voodoo happens each day, but my keys just vanish with the regularity of Dane Cook dropping the f-bomb in his stand up routine.

My realisation that I am a truly atrocious blogger steams from my sister-from-another-mother's starting of her own blog (and here I put in a plug for her blog- read it...it's funny and she loves fennec foxes- http://wideeyesquickfeet.blogspot.com/). She started it yesterday and already has two posts. In two days. Hell, it took me two months to get two posts. See, terrible blogger. But when I do blog, it's like reading Jane Austin and Dracula and all of the greats just smushed into one. PS- I know that is an untruth, but just let me have it.

So I was trying to figure out what to blog on for this post and am having difficulty coming up with stuff. I super baked for the people I bribed to witness for mock trial, but that was two weeks ago and, terrible blogger/foodie that I am, I did not take photos. I have the recipes but that seems less interesting than giving you beautiful photographs of White Russian Cupcakes with Kahlua and Vodka Buttercream, and Reese's Brownies, and Cookies and Cream Brownies...the next time I bake, I shall take photos of every beautiful moment of the baking process I swear. And while I did create two Chocolate Pudding Pies last night (for Heath and his father), the process to create one of those super-chocolate-y bad boys is way too easy to merit the attention of an entire blog post.

So what this is actually going to turn into is a travel blog post. Mostly because I have been on a super-binge of all things New Orleans and so, until Heath and I can visit (ps- his parents are going for four days in April and I am super jealous), I live vicariously through photos on the internet and descriptions of food.

One of my dreams has been to stay in the French Quarter. Yes, I know that it's tourist-y and loud and full of people, people, everywhere, but it's le Vieux Carré. The old square. How can you pass up something like that? Rhetorical question because the answer to that is...you can't ever.

There are three things that I desperately want to do while in New Orleans. The first is, you guessed it, the French Market. One of my favourite things while I was living in Rome and France were the open air markets. They're just some of the coolest things around because you never know what you might find. It's not like with a mall where you know exactly which stores you're going to get and, with some room for error, exactly what that store might sell. At open air markets, it's anybody's guess. You might know exactly who the next vendor might be but their product will always be new and spunky and different. It's like a Renaissance Faire that's been time-warped to modern industry.

The French Market has been in operation since 1791 (I'm not so great at the maths, but that's more than two centuries, and how awesome is that?). It's open seven days a week, from essentially nine to six every day. It's a combination farmers market, retail sellers, flea market, and dining car. There're candy factories (anybody else hoping they're not manned by little people called oompa-loompas who have a hankering for some cacao beans and like to remove naughty children from their candy shoppe?), art exhibits of New Orleans based artists, home accessories, and apparel of every sort. And that's just the retail side of things. You'll also find delicious food, from beignets and coffee at the Café du Monde to gumbo and étouffée at World's Famous N'Awlins Cafe and Spice Emporium, the oldest spice emporium in the French Market (which segues quite nicely into the second thing that I want to do in New Orleans).

The next thing that I desperately want to experience in New Orleans is the food. The mind-boggling, super tasty food that seems to leave everyone who wants to try it wanting more. Although I am what some might call (indeed, have called, if I'm being entirely honest here) allergic to onions and garlic, tomatoes, oranges, and other citric acid-heavy food, it would be amazing to experience the food of New Orleans. The place that stands out most to me and I've want to try for the majority of my natural life is Café du Monde. Growing up, beignets always had a special place in my heart. I don't know if it was because 'beignet' sounds far more elegant than 'donut,' because they were a family tradition, or because they're just so likeable (it is impossible to eat a piece of fried dough smothered in powdered sugar without laughing because you have managed to make your entirely black outfit a work of white art). I remember eating these in Paris and trying to remain calm and dignified as powdered sugar flaked off onto my carefully chose outfit. I failed. Miserably. And pairing beignets with coffee or hot cocoa with whipped cream is one of the most delicious experiences that you will ever have. It's just breathtaking how amazing they are. Once you go beignet, you never go back? Wait, that's not right... Although for those of you who aren't able to 
get away to NOLA immediately for some delicious 

beignets and café au lait (read: Heath and myself), they do have Café du Monde products at World Market. They do require work and, unfortunately, do not come with a chef to make them for you and a waiter to serve them to you, but they are delicious and work well to tide you over until you can make the trek to New Orleans. Then, for all of you foodies out there, there is Emeril's NOLA restaurant in the French Quarter or the New Orleans restaurant in the Warehouse District. What most sucks me in on both menus is the crème brulée trio and the vanilla bean crème brulée, respectively. Sounds super delicious. Then, for those of you who actually want a full meal and can't exist solely on dessert, there is Jacques Imo's. Yes, it's a wee bit expensive, but, from what I've read, it's a brilliant, tasty treat with great ambiance. Just looking at the menu, you'll see foods that are at once foreign and intriguing. Such is the shrimp and alligator cheesecake. There are also Cajun/Creole classics, such as shrimp creole, shrimp étouffée, the Cajun bouillabaisse, the crabmeat stuffed shrimp, amonst delicious others, all of which look like they would make your mouth and stomach very happy.

We have finally reached the third, and final, of my "desperately hope to see" destinations of New Orleans. And this is the purported tomb of Marie Laveau. Also known as the Voodoo Queen. I know, I know. It's a tourist trap, may not even be her tomb. But still. This is something that I've also wanted to see since I was young and wrote a report on Marie Laveau. I still have the primary biography that I used somewhere around here. Basically, Marie Laveau was a strong independent woman who just happened to, y'know, be a voodoo priestess. One of her daughters (of the same name) would hold elaborate public voodoo rituals, although many believe that, of the two, Mommy Laveau was the more powerful. Because it would probably be boring (for you) if I gave all of you my geeky rendition of Marie Laveau's life, I refer you to A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau by Carolyn Morrow Long (http://www.amazon.com/New-Orleans-Voudou-Priestess-Reality/dp/0813032148/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363370093&sr=8-1&keywords=marie+laveau) or The Mysterious Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau (http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Voodoo-Queen-Laveau-ebook/dp/B009Z41RIG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363370463&sr=1-1), which, I swear to you, when I read it was a real book. Her alleged mausoleum (a few naysayers have claimed it's not actually hers) is located in St. Louis Cemetery, #1. Visitors go to see it and sometimes request the Voodoo Queen's good wishes and blessings by writing on it. I don't want her good wishes and blessings; mostly, I just want to accomplish a long seated geek dream of mine by being able to see it.


And now, after much ado, many pictures, my top three "wants to see" in Nola, and much pining for the chance to see la belle Nouvelle Orleans with Heath, I feel it would only be humane to finally be quiet. Harley Quinn, saying bonne journée et bonne chance!

Inspirational, and a little bit scandalous, women

So, alas, I took about a month long break (okay, fine, a month-and-a-half, you caught me) to attempt to pass classes, spend some much needed time with Heath, his parents, my parents, and the rest of my family. I am slightly bitter that I only know half of my grades at this point...because, of course, it does take a professor a full month to grade four short answer questions. Oh, wait, it doesn't? Then why is it taking my $190,000-per-year making professor a month to grade it. Also, tangent-ing here, is that not an absolutely obscene figure for a man teaching two classes over the course of a semester? Heath and I had tenured, Ph.D'ed professors at our alma mater that read and graded 55-68 page theses in a week and made less than some cashiers. Oh, and they commented on them too. Good comments. I'm sorry but I fail to see why a man who receives massive incentive to grade in a timely manner can't take less than a month to post grades. It's just ridiculous. However, aside from the nonsense of waiting for grades to decide whether going back to that law school city is even worth it (only slightly kidding on that one), the vacation has been not only relaxing but absolutely wonderful. I've gotten to spend three weeks solid with Heath and a week-and-a-half with my parents and family. Heath even got to make his way down to spend a few days with my family before we made our way back home where we're spending some time with his family. The holiday has consisted of fudge, various breakfast cakes, marzipan...oh, and my Grandmother's lengthy stay at the hospital and surgery for her freshly broken femur. That definitely threw a wrench in the holiday plans. Fortunately, though, she is doing well, in spite of the break. She's just as stubborn and talkative as ever and I'm sure she'll raise hell for people at rehab. Also, I find it quite amusing to say that my...older grandmother is in rehab (can't say her age...even though she doesn't know her way around a computer, probably couldn't even turn it on if you did it for her, if word got out, she would skin me alive). But, sadly, winter break is coming to a swift end, spring semester is about to set in, and life is about to go back to overstressed and missing Heath...awesome. Plus side though? One-sixth of the way through law school, actually retaining information, and I get to take criminal law this semester. Super cool to all three of those things.

However, enough of my life. I'm sure anybody who might be reading this has something way better to do than listen to me gripe, be positive, gripe some more, and then ramble on about something completely nonsensical. But, if you have made it this far and are at least a little entertained, I thank you for making my shoutings out into the internet world at least a little bit reasonable and valid. The book for today is Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women, penned by one Elizabeth Kerri Mahon, also known as the blogger of the wondrous blog, http://scandalouswoman.blogspot.com/ (a small plug for you there, Ms. Mahon, because you are freaking awesome). I received this book as a stocking stuffer from my future mother-in-law either as an insult (you are not suitably scandalous), a compliment (you will become/already are scandalous), both, or just because it's interesting. I could definitely be reading way too much into this gift but I figure...eh. No harm, no foul, and I haven't yet figured out what or whether she was trying to say anything. Regardless of any hidden meaning on the part of Heath's mother, I'm thrilled that she gave me this book.

It is basically an accounting of thirty-five women who changed the course of history, as well as women's place in history, by way of adventure, misbehaviour, misconduct, strategic maneuvering (which was frequently called manipulation in earlier days), and making a general ruckus as Ms. Mahon calls it. It is an inspirational telling of how one woman can change behaviour by flouting societal norms and conventions in what the men of those days would call misbehaving. In it, there are mini-biographies ranging from Cleopatra to Mata Hari to Amelia Earhart to Mary Wollstonecraft to Calamity Jane to Frida Kahlo (to name but a few). To be frank, when I first opened the wrapping paper, all I could think was, "It's a book! But, oh god, it's a history book. I hate history books. I might be a book lover but, oh god, I hate history books. But I have to read it or I might hurt Heath's mom's feelings. No..." This inner monologue did not stop me from smiling and giving Heath's mom a hug and thank you but I did dawdle quite a bit in starting it, even though the cover does have a woman's extended leg with a garter on it- that has to be at least a little bit interesting, based on the cover art. However, I have been let down by many a book with a cool looking cover. I put off reading it as long as I could (all of a week...I can never say no to a book) but, within pages, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down. Ms. Mahon makes history interesting by speaking of interesting women, most of whom reasonable women nowadays would aspire to be like, interesting events, and not making it boring! I can't emphasize that enough. She has a fun, quirky way of writing that gives life to women who already had more than enough character, gumption, and much-ness. Hell, in Joan of Arc's mini-bio, Ms. Mahon paraphrases Journey...is that not the top of the cool-board right there? It can't be easy to merge a medieval French warrior teenager who allegedly heard saint's voices and Journey. And yet...she does it. And she does similar things with many of the other women in the book. The incredible thing about it is that it's not shoehorned in or awkward sounding. It feels like a fresh retelling of history that isn't the same old thing that sounds the same old way as it did when your centuries old, decrepit, male history professor who actually must have survived the Hundred Years War said it. To those who might be reading who had young professors or female history professors who are reading...you are obviously excluded from the decrepit history prof description and you just skyrocketed in brownie cool points with me (which are not made up...at all).

For those of you who, like me, are spunky females who have a strong desire to leave their mark on history or just want to do something that changes things, either now or for women to come, you should read this book. It's such an enlightening and fun read and it has a little something for everybody. If you're the woman who wants to inspire a man in his writing or art or what have you, there's a section for you where you will hobnob with Zelda Fitzgerald and others.

If you want to be that strong woman who changed history by way of actions (their own) and conquered kingdoms by way of war and strategy as well as men's hearts, there's a spot for you where you can rule with Cleopatra. Even for those of you who want to be adventurers who travel the world and conquer it, either one record at a time (first woman to fly solo around the Atlantic) or seeing all the sights and recording them for future generations, you will be in good company with Ms. Amelia Earheart...although I do hope that your journey goes a wee bit more successfully than hers did.

Artists, fear not...you are not shunned in this book. Frida Kahlo welcomes you into the group of artists. And for those of you who aren't sure how you want to change the world...well, then, you're right at home here too because none of these women knew how drastically they would alter things when they started out on their road, either. Regardless of who you are or where you are in life, you should read this book. It is an excellent tribute to women of the past and a good inspiration of what we ourselves can do in the future.

And I now (finally) come to a close. Hope you enjoyed. Harley Quinn, out.

Be Still My Heart for Real, Manly Vampires (Who Are Warriors)

So I realise that it has been pretty much forever and a day since I actually posted and I figured...it might be about time to do so again. Since the last time I posted, I've been pretty much up to my eyeballs in law school, trying to get to see Heath, and, as of two days, trying to get ahold of one of the much coveted judicial internships. Sure, they pay you nothing, you become a judge's whipping girl (or boy), and you realise how much exactly you do not know about, well, everything but...the payment is the experience. Far be it for me to point out to anybody that experience, at least as of now, does not put food on the table...well, I guess I actually did just point that out but- shh! Keep it on the down-low! I can't have future judges know that I'm thinking these blasphemous (read: smart) thoughts!

I also have had absolutely no time to bake, clean (the apartment, I mean- I have absolutely kept myself clean), or really feed myself anything substantially healthy. My diet has currently downgraded to beef Ramen, eggs (when I remember to buy some), and copious amounts of caffeine. To be fair, though, I only have one caffeinated beverage a day because most of them are just unnecessary caloric intake. However, typically on eight o'clock class days, that one caffeinated beverage is a Monster: Rehab (iced tea and lemonade!). While it does have less caffeine in it than coffee, I still feel like the first thing I drink in a day should absolutely not be an energy drink but, unfortunately, it is. Undergrad killed my sleep habits and made me a caffeine addict, now law school is destroying my diet and only making those caffeine habits worse. At least for me, my only over-indulgence will be caffeine. Definitely makes me feel a little bit better about myself.

However, with the early death of Halloween (I mean, c'mon, they already had Christmas stuff out? Geesh, let us Halloween-ites enjoy our holiday!), the celebration of the 165th birthday of Bram Stoker, and my love of all good things vampiric (and I do mean good...read: not Twilight), my attention today shall be towards a, well, series to say the least. At this point, I'm pretty sure it's just an entire freaking world. If you're prudish, mildly or otherwise, or, well, a guy, I would probably stop reading at this point because, while I will turn my attention to non-smut vampire books and movies later, I'm in the mood to talk about smut- wow, that really doesn't sound right. Either way, today's entry is about the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward.

It's very difficult to give a synopsis of this series because it's ten books in...and counting. It's about a band of warrior vampire brothers who are fighting lessers- the big, supernatural, baby-powder smelling baddies created by the Omega, the source of all evil- in order to protect the ever-dwindling civilian ranks of the vampire population and typically finding their mates while they're at it. The core group of Brothers are Wrath, Rhage, Zsadist, Butch, Vishous, and Phury, big, powerful, very masculine vampires. The books take the reader through their fight with the lessers and their finding of their mates who are, quite literally, their soul-mates for life. If a mate dies, it destroys the male left behind. That is the Black Dagger World in a very, very hollow nutshell. To fully appreciate these, you have to read them.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that these are absolutely hard-core smut. J.R. Ward really leads you by the hand through everything- the violence, the sex, and, well, the rap, since they don't listen to rock'n'roll. For all those women out there who were fanning themselves about 50 Shades (and I will save that rampage about those horribly inaccurate, just all-around-bad books for another day), these take it to the next level. And if you want to read about BDSM that is not just "oh, I tie your hands with my tie, how kinky is that?" and more "I tie your hands with leather cuffs that you are absolutely not getting until I release you," and that's actually written well, please read Lover Unbound. However, you do have to read through the first four books to get there, so there's your enticement. To start you all off, the first book is Dark Lover and it is Wrath, the king of the vampires and the head of the Black Dagger Brotherhoods book.

I discovered this series when I was about 15 and flouting the restrictive parental guidelines of what I was reading. I got involved with the series really, really quickly and have not fallen out of love with this series. She's now had to expand the world to include others because, well, five is just not enough. Another wonderful thing about this series is that the books are interactive. It's not necessarily sequential in the way they occur. Each book takes those things that happens previously and grows it in such a way that the world is always expanding, is always growing, and by the end of book two, at the latest, you are just incredibly involved with these characters. Also, the books are multi-perspectival. So things characters say and do are always getting filled out and getting new life breathed into them as the perspective and focus shifts. If it sounds like I love these books, it is absolutely because I do. Not only were they my first REAL smut but J.R. Ward makes it more than just that. Each character touches your heart and their love stories are...romantic, sweet, funny, and odd, all at the same time. For me, it's just a very special series that has stuck with me through the years.

Also, J.R. Ward graduated from law school so I feel like I'm doing work...kind of. Just let me have my moment of incredible self-delusion that I am not slacking on my work because I'm reading books that are not law-related. In the slightest. Oh, well, I refuse to let law school take over my life! Similarly, my favourite author of all time (tied for first with Lewis Carroll) who will be the future of the (possibly distant) next blog post also graduated from law school so I feel little bit better about my voracious out-of-school reading.

I hope you all enjoyed this most recent update and will give the Black Dagger Brotherhood books a shot- she's a clever, fun writer who actually also has really witty repartee. Also, if you have any requests, let me know! For now, though, Harley Quinn, over and out!

New Old Fairy Tales...and Robert Carlyle

Looking at this, you're probably thinking, 'holy hell, three posts in the span of one week? Somebody's apparently gotten herself together!' Well, I'd love for that to be true, but it is a blatant untruth. Instead, what I'm is doing is procrastinating. My fake midterms are coming up and I have no desire to study for them or actually do anything school-related so...I blog. Also known as throwing my thoughts out into the proverbial Internet stratosphere and hoping that somebody is amused, entertained, touched, all three, or none of the above. Also, I've decided to boycott Facebook until the Election Day because, while I know everybody is absolutely 100% entitled to their opinion, I have no desire to read a whole host of political posts, memes, notes, and article links. People embrace their right to engage in free speech, I embrace my right to find other avenues of entertainment until elections come and go.

This post is dedicated to Once Upon a Time, one of ABC's newer shows which, at least for me, is an absolute slam dunk (hopefully I used that correctly because I know nothing about basketball...but it sounds right). I started watching this show because I am a geek at heart. Like still get really excited about fairy tales geek. And I also had about ten friends telling me that I had to watch this show and, if I didn't, they'd boycott me. During one of many attempts at procrastination, I thought it would be a great idea to start watching this. And it paid off completely.

I shall start with the world's most general plot EVER. Basically evil witch casts mega bad spell as a vengeful act and what the spell did was tear everybody out of super happy magical world and thrust them into Storybrook, Maine in the real world- a place where people never leave and nobody ever goes. None of the magical beings remember who they were in the real world. But they have a savior- and that savior is Snow White's and Prince Charming's daughter, Emma, who was brought to Storybrook by her biological son that she gave up, Henry. Convoluted? Little bit. But then throw in flashbacks to various character's lives. And you have a whole host of characters, not the least of which are Mad Hatter, Rumpelstiltskin, Cinderella, Snow White, Prince Charming, Belle, Gepetto, Pinocchio, the Evil Queen, and many, many, many others. And, in fairy tale land, they all know each other. Like Cinderella and Snow White are friends, how awesome is that. It sounds slightly confusing but it is excellent, I promise, if a bit cheesy. 

However, now I have to tangent. I have a longstanding love of Robert Carlyle. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is Gaz from The Full Monty, he is Renard in The World Is Not Enough, he is Don Harris in 28 Weeks Later, he is brilliant. He is also Scottish, for those of us who adore Scottish accents. I don't know why I have loved this actor since The World Is Not Enough but there is just something about him. He is also Rumpelstiltskin in Once Upon a Time (haha, you knew I would get to the point sometime!). Part of the reason that I love this show so much is because of Robert Carlyle. That's not to say that everybody else isn't wonderful (they are) but there is just something that is extra wonderful about him. They also give him a really cool plotline that I cannot reveal without spoiling but, I will say this...it is wonderful. Like made him even more so my favourite character in the entire show. Also, hint two: for those of you who were raised on Disney animated movies released during, say, the Disney Renaissance (years- late 1980s to 2000-ish), you will be super excited on how they incorporate, quite unexpectedly I might add, Rumpelstiltskin into one of the storylines. But that is all I can say because to say more is to ruin how unbelievably unexpected and how exciting that incorporation is. Tangent complete and the gist of it is- I adore Robert Carlyle and will shamelessly root for any character he takes up (even the ones trying to kill James Bond).

This TV show definitely won't be for everybody. It's a...well, it's a...well, it's really difficult to describe what it is exactly. It's a love story, it's an action adventure, it's fantasy, it's just got a little something for everybody. I have yet to test it out on Heath so you're really just getting a woman's opinion here- however, from the comments on Hulu, there are lots of men who like it! I'm not sure that's an adequate sample of the average male population though, to be perfectly honest. But, although this show is infinitely cheesy, it is really good. It reintroduces fairy tales in a different light and that's something important. It would be easy to become disenchanted with fairy tales (see what I did there? Sadly, I'm probably more amused by that than any of you are) because we hear them over and over again from the time we're born. Until I was about eight, there wasn't a night that I didn't read my big blue book of fairy tales before I went to bed. Obviously, they become old hat and other things can take their place. But they have a startling ability to make us think and to teach us lessons and to remind us why women being allowed to become something other than housefraus is a good thing (sorry, I think that might be my own personal lesson....carrying on). And what Once Upon a Time does is take all of those old lessons and all of those old characters that we loved and give them a face lift. You know, Snow White, in both worlds, although idealistic and sweet, is kind of a BAMF. I mean, she kicks ass- she can use a bow and arrow like nobody's freaking business. And then Rumpelstiltskin- he's bad but he's not evil (you thought you'd catch me making a spoiler- uhuh. Not happening). And then Red Riding Hood? Yeah, she's Snow's best friend in fairy tale world and she has an awesome story line. I could seriously go on and on about this, which I kind of already have, but all of these are just examples of how they take these and modernize the stories while still rooting them in the fairy tale lore that made us love them in the first place.

So yeah...go watch it. It's amazing.

On a side note, I am pondering making pumpkin pie sometime this weekend after I get done with the make-believe midterms. Pictures of that amazingness- or whatever wondrous bake-stuffs I actually decide to make- will probably make their way up here sometime...eventually...down the road...maybe. No firm promises here! In the meantime, Harley Quinn, over and out!

Cupcakes, Egg Nog, and Extra Weight

And once again I prove how completely inept I am at staying up-to-date on the little things...such as a blog. What the hell kind of lawyer am I going to make? On the plus side, I did get to talk to Heath, eat fast food Chinese, and do hours of work for the PRACTICE mid-terms I have. When did something that didn't count take up so much of my stinking time? Ah, well, c'est la vie. On the plus side though, I get to see Heath in a little over two weeks which I am so freaking excited about I just can't stand it. Until that glorious day gets here though, I have classes, make-believe midterms, and outlines to do.

However, I do have fun things and they are called cupcakes. These are pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that are just everything that is good about fall. And for those of you who say Halloween is the greatest thing about fall, I agree with you. However, as a popular (to me) meme says, 'Halloween is a lifestyle, not a holiday.' This is a true statement. A true Halloween-ite has Halloween decorations hanging every single day of the year. I usually do this except when I can't figure out how to hang my Halloween lanterns because the apartment is conspicuously missing outlets in convenient places. That's not to say there are no outlets (there are plenty) but that the outlets that are around are really inconveniently placed.

Back to cupcakes though. These cupcakes are incredibly yummy and the frosting is worth just eating out of the bowl (even though I don't do that anymore because otherwise a certain person takes away my frosting and cupcakes without frosting are just no bueno). They're incredibly moist and slightly light but not like you're eating angel food cake moist. I lifted this recipe from somewhere, I have no idea where, but whoever it is, if you know them, then they totally get all the credit. If I had thought this through when I was baking them, I would've taken photos of the steps but...yeah, fail on my part.

Pumpkin Cupcakes
· 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sift before measuring

· 1 tablespoon baking powder

· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

· 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

· 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

· 1/2 cup butter, softened

· 1 1/3 cups sugar

· 2 eggs, beaten until frothy

· 1 cup mashed cooked or canned pumpkin

· 3/4 cup milk

· 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preparation:

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs. Blend in mashed pumpkin. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, blending until batter is smooth after each addition; stir in chopped walnuts or pecans. Spoon batter into well-greased and floured or paper-lined muffin pan cups. Fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

They're delicious, I promise. And then once you add the cream cheese, it's just kind of an out of body experience. For those of you who are super sweet cream cheese frosting people, this may not be the right one for you...or if you don't like cream cheese or are lactose intolerant. Although it does have two cups of powdered sugar, you can still very much taste the cream cheese. It also has a really unusual look to it once you get it on the cupcake. It does not look delicate or pretty- it just looks stinking delicious is all.

Cream Cheese frosting

1- 8 oz cream cheese

¼- cup butter

2- cups powdered suger

1- tsp vanilla extract (may use almond instead)

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla and then gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.













If you decide to use the almond, that tastes delicious as well. It's just extremely yummy in general. I tend to make these for parties or when I decide to eat my feelings or get bullied into it by my friends. Really, these're good just any time at all. Especially if you have one with egg nog. That does not need to be homemade though- I just do the lazy thing and buy a half gallon of it. Although there is something completely wondrous about an apartment or home filled with the smell of baking pumpkin and cinnamon. I don't know what it is about those two smells but when you do smell them it's just like everything else goes away and you think, 'opening a bakery...yeah, that sounds like a good idea.' Or maybe it's just me that does that? I sound like a future Maggie Gyllenhall Stranger Than Fiction law school dropout minus the sleeve tattoos and the height.

Either way, y'all should try these because, well, they're delicious. But don't take my word on it, just make them yourself. They're really simple and typically a hit with people who love pumpkin, cream cheese, or both. And now, at the end of this extraordinarily unhealthy post, signing off with a Julia Child aphorism (that really she just inherited from the French, the food extraordinaires)- Bon appétit!

A Not-So-Crazy but Still Fun Wonderland (Where One Does Not Play Croquet with Hedgehogs and Flamingos)

Well, hello again. Without intention, I took pretty much a two month break from blogging. One day I looked at the calendar and it was early August...next day is October 8. Time manages to do some strange, unusual, and horrific things when we really aren't paying attention to it, doesn't it? It really is a needy, clingy little thing.

However, I am not without my excuses for my two month leave of absence. The first is that I miss Heath and have spent the majority of my free time either talking to him or eating my feelings and watching trash-Netflix. I have not found the real soap operas on there to waste my time (example- did the evil twin kill his brother's fiancee, Miss Scarlett, in the study with the rope...oh wait, no, that's not right- that's not a soap opera, it's a board game). The second is the age old excuse that everyone bandies around when it seems like the best option. And that is, I'm in law school. It is a time-eating behemoth that's only happy when you burst into tears in an apartment (any apartment really, it doesn't even have to be yours) and end up cursing everyone from yourself for going to law school to your elementary school bus driver who told you that you would go places and everyone in between. I have not done this yet; many friends of mine have and all of them have required the proverbial talking-off-the-ledge which usually consists of a conversation much like the following. Friend (gasping, hiccuping, and just a basic all around mess): I shouldn't be in law school, I am just way too stupid to be here, and I think the admissions office made a mistake and I'm just gonna drop out because I'd probably be much happier in [insert grad program of your choice]. Response (said over the top of a Contracts book- your empathy skills really go to hell in law school): That was a lot of information to take in in 15 seconds. And don't worry, you're not going to drop out and if I'm smart enough to be here, you are too. Friend: No, I'm serious! You don't think I'm serious but I am- I'm gonna drop out, I swear! Response: Sure, you are. I'll see you tomorrow. Friend is then in class the next day. It's quite amusing. However, that's not to say that I have not had my hissy fits. They just have not involved tears and, I am proud to say, they have not been in public. However, they usually involve a veiled threat to drop out of law school, open a bakery, and go into a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology with a Forensic emphasis. I am nothing if not diverse.

But the reason I posted was most certainly not to bitch about law school. It's a great experience and I'm sure it'll all be worth it just like my undergrad with my doomed Victorian love affair with my thesis. That was worth it, I'm sure this is too. The reason I did post was because I stumbled across the world's best rendition of Alice- and this is the Canadian mini-series called, funnily enough, Alice (imdb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1461312/). Alice and her funky adventures in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter are completely sacrosanct to me. I've loved the books since I was a child, have a freakish amount of copies that I read multiple times a year, and, on my 21st birthday, Heath gave me the world's best birthday present, an early 1900s copy of Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There and a reproduced copy of the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland manuscript called Alice's Adventures Underground. These books are close to my heart and I am incredibly picky about the recent outflow of movies, TV shows, and other stuff that's been released about Alice, Wonderland, and the Mad Hatter.

Needless to say, I was hesitant to watch this because, well, what if they did something dastardly with the books. Well, they did. However, everything that they did drew me in and incorporated Lewis Carroll's vision in such a way that I just couldn't not love it. 

The story is the same-ish of the one that we all know and love and yet has it funky quirks. Alice is a black belt, for one. I do not remember that in the story. But it worked. Alice falls in love with guy in Real People World (from here on in known as RPW) named Jack. Now Jack's a sweet guy but receives a gloriously direct text message from someone we as the audience don't know saying, Run. He runs but not before he gives Alice a lovely, very large ring in a cool, cake-like box. I do believe we see where this might be going, except we don't. Jack then runs out and Alice chases him but loses him. She is then cornered by a man with white hair in pigtails in a waistcoat, demanding to know where Jack is. She runs but then falls through a giant piece of glass just randomly sitting in a construction sight. Meet Wonderland, Ms. Alice, where you are an Oyster who the Queen uses to suck out all the emotions that are foreign to the Wonderland-ites. Things like joy, laughter, all of these super-cool emotions that Wonderland-ites apparently don't feel, are stolen from the Oysters who are brought through the Looking Glass.

We then meet the Mad Hatter. So I will be perfectly frank here and say that I did adore Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. They gave him a nice, slightly unexpected backstory and he did well. I liked the movie, even own it actually, and liked how they made it a sequel. It was fun. If I compare it to the books, it's not even remotely close. I mean, they made an entire movie essentially out of a poem- good creativity, Tim Burton, and fun but definitely not spot on. Well, the Alice Mad Hatter is unexpectedly good-looking (Andrew Lee Potts for those of you that know him; if you don't, look him up) and runs a tea room where he sells the various emotions leeched from the Oysters. He agrees to help Alice look for and rescue Jack. Then he discovers that she has the Looking Glass Ring, the Ring that allows the Looking Glass to work as a portal, bringing in Oysters from RPW to fuel their economy with ill-gotten emotions. Searing for the ring ensues by the queen and Alice proceeds to do what Alice always does best which is turn Wonderland on its head. Alas, no spoilers because people who spoil should receive a thousand lashes with a wet noodle. If you want to know the ending, go watch it. It's on Netflix and Amazon.

I was having a really bad day when I stumbled onto this mini-series. This was the perfect cheer-er up-per...those're totally words. Although it is significantly different from the books, it was, for me at least, a really good Alice tune-up. It took most, not all, of the elements that I loved from the books and gave it a modern tune-up while still keeping all of the reasons that I loved the books. Probably not as child friendly as the books or the Disney movie are but that's debatable because the last time I showed the Disney Alice to a child, they burst into tears and kicked me in the shins. I was not pleased. The Mad Hatter is pretty much on point- yeah, he's not mad per se but the madness was inspired by the fact that he was a hatter and therefore had some close contact with mercury fumes which definitely are not too great for the brain. In this, he's not so much a hatmaker but a man who wears a hat and is a little quirky but not mad. It's an intriguing, unexpected spin that was a wee bit risky if you consider that some of the audience would be die-hard Alicers, like me, but it paid off. Kathy Bates as the Queen of Hearts was definitely some inspired casting there. She played the power-mad Queen so very well. In addition, they had some very unusual spins on, say, the Caterpillar, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (who are mind-twisting doctors), Carpenter, and the pink flamingos. Also, Tim Curry unexpectedly appears in all of his wonderful creepy glory and he is, as usual, quite good. The plot, even if deviating from the books, is fluid and you get drawn into it really easily. It is definitely quite addictive and very fun. So for those of you who are interested in seeing a fun, modern Alice that's not cripplingly different from the books (i.e. different in a bad way), you should definitely check into this.

On a side note, I spent my Sunday baking which resulted in pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Just because I am amused by them and they're quite pretty, I am going to post a quick write up and a picture of them tomorrow because...well, hey, it's my blog. I can do what I want- kidding on that one for the most part.

If anyone's interested in seeing a specific review of something, let me know. Provided it's not anime (I am anime slow; I just cannot get into it and not for lack of trying) I will do pretty much anything. Hope you all enjoyed the most recent update! Harley Quinn out.