What made me happy today?
- Thread starter big soft moose
- Start date
Huzzah! 
I'm very glad your cat is on the mend, Luxuria.
Cats will save civilization. (Or replace it with their own). All hail their feline majesty!
I'm very glad your cat is on the mend, Luxuria.Cats will save civilization. (Or replace it with their own). All hail their feline majesty!
Thank you! He seems much more cheerful and happy. Which is wonderful.Huzzah!
Cats will save civilization. (Or replace it with their own). All hail their feline majesty!
That sounds like a very cuddly world. I want to visit.
I GOT 200/200 ON MY FINAL HISTORY TIMED EXAM.
OMFG. It was a ride. I submitted with 2 minutes and counting down left. It was a lot. So, all I have is 1 more little paper assignment and I'm done for the semester. But thank the Gods I know so much about Rome. Because I sprinted through those questions. It was a lot. But I did it and did it well!
OMFG. It was a ride. I submitted with 2 minutes and counting down left. It was a lot. So, all I have is 1 more little paper assignment and I'm done for the semester. But thank the Gods I know so much about Rome. Because I sprinted through those questions. It was a lot. But I did it and did it well!
200/200 is literally excellent. That's really hard to achieve. Congrats!
Thank you!!! It was really down to the wire.
It was never in doubt.
Congratulations!I have one last day of work today ... and then it's Christmas holiday!
Two weeks of resting from work. Yay!
I still have a couple of days to go. One of the module tutors put out a super easy assignment that I naturally had an easy time doing, which confused the hell out of me and caused me to think that I was doing something really wrong for a week straight. MT later confirmed that it really was supposed to be that easy.
I'm just getting some reports finished at this point and then I'll have some time off. I really need it. All I've been doing these past couple of weeks is stay up late every single day staring at computer code!
I've forgotten how much I like to cook but have done it every day this month except for one or two. It's gotten me to optimize my home kitchen to prepare for 2026, when I plan not to work for its entirety after the first week in February. I'm touching every piece of food we have in stock, donating what I can, ditching what I can't, and slating the rest for consumption. I've created inventory sheets for the dry goods and freezables and will adjust pars as things develop. In theory, aside from restocking the shelf-stables, I will only need to shop for produce and meal-specific ingredients as they come up. The idea is have the ability to produce a dozen-ish bad ass meals in 20-30 minutes flat with no shopping or prior preparation needed.
Shrimp Scampi: shrimp, butter, garlic, capers, cooking wine, EVOO, and pasta: all of which are shelf stable, dry, or freezable. No reason I should ever not have those on hand at all times. We keep these frozen pizzas around that we really like. 10 minutes for the oven to preheat and 12 minutes to cook it. 22 minutes all in. I can get the scampi on the table in 19 and that's with me messing around on my phone for a few minutes waiting for the pasta water to boil.
Amatriciana: an onion, pancetta (freezable), a can of tomatoes, pasta. Impossible to run out.
Chicken Milanese: chicken (freezable), flour, eggs, breadcrumbs, spices, shaved romano, lemons, arugula. For that, I need to go the store to buy arugula. Everything else, including the lemons, is essentially shelf stable.
Irish Sausage and Peppers: sausage (freezable), onions, peppers, potatoes, spices. Okay, I will have to buy peppers within 4 days prior.
Burgers: beef (freezable), onions, beer, condiments. We usually do them without the bread. I get my carbs from pasta.
Those are the easy ones. I'm working on more. Going to make my own salsas, so as long as I have tortillas (shelf stable) and literally any kind of protein (freezable), there's something Mexican a few minutes away. I have dual ovens and an air-fryer, so I can be braising something to be quarted and frozen, roasting something else, and quick firing anything (like potatoes) in the air fryer. Two fridges, two freezers (and I might add a third)... I think I'm ready!
Shrimp Scampi: shrimp, butter, garlic, capers, cooking wine, EVOO, and pasta: all of which are shelf stable, dry, or freezable. No reason I should ever not have those on hand at all times. We keep these frozen pizzas around that we really like. 10 minutes for the oven to preheat and 12 minutes to cook it. 22 minutes all in. I can get the scampi on the table in 19 and that's with me messing around on my phone for a few minutes waiting for the pasta water to boil.
Amatriciana: an onion, pancetta (freezable), a can of tomatoes, pasta. Impossible to run out.
Chicken Milanese: chicken (freezable), flour, eggs, breadcrumbs, spices, shaved romano, lemons, arugula. For that, I need to go the store to buy arugula. Everything else, including the lemons, is essentially shelf stable.
Irish Sausage and Peppers: sausage (freezable), onions, peppers, potatoes, spices. Okay, I will have to buy peppers within 4 days prior.
Burgers: beef (freezable), onions, beer, condiments. We usually do them without the bread. I get my carbs from pasta.
Those are the easy ones. I'm working on more. Going to make my own salsas, so as long as I have tortillas (shelf stable) and literally any kind of protein (freezable), there's something Mexican a few minutes away. I have dual ovens and an air-fryer, so I can be braising something to be quarted and frozen, roasting something else, and quick firing anything (like potatoes) in the air fryer. Two fridges, two freezers (and I might add a third)... I think I'm ready!
I'm a big fan of the slow cooker. Total recipe time 8 hours 5 minutes. 5 minutes "prep" (chop things and chuck them in), 8 hours cook time. The dishes take more work than the meal.
Or do they?
Today is my last working day of 2025. Two weeks off and returning to work on Monday 5th January. The past few months at work have been manic, so looking forward to getting some meaningful writing done. 
.
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I finished my errands in the outside world and don't have to venture back into the wilds of civilization until Monday.
Louanne Learning
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Winner: 4th Contest August
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Right now I’m sitting in front of the lovely fire in the Chiminea playing Scrabble with my brother out in the Canadian winter air and it doesn’t get much better than this
That does sound so pleasant. I am wistfully and gently envious. Winds here are around 45 miles an hour right now. The chiminea would be on its side and the tiles would be on their way to South Dakota if we tried that.
Louanne Learning
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Winner: 4th Contest August
Winner: June Flash Fiction
A side note - it was several turns into the game before I realized that I had labeled the score sheet columns with my name and my late husband’s name instead of my brother’s name who is the person I am currently playing
Finished off a major project this afternoon, so I’m done with work on this contract, and more or less done with all work for the rest of the year. Biscuits turned out excellent, I’m cozy under a blanket, and OU vs. Alabama is about to kick off.
It’s been an excellent day
It’s been an excellent day
After two weeks and a bit of my back hurting and giving me gyp, the pain finally (and inexplicably) went away on its own. I'm puzzled but not complaining.
Also, after two weeks of not thinking about my WIP because of the back pain, I finally had an idea of how to resolve a problem in my WIP. Yay. I'll have to develop it some more and think about it, but the basic idea is there!
Also, after two weeks of not thinking about my WIP because of the back pain, I finally had an idea of how to resolve a problem in my WIP. Yay.
I'll have to develop it some more and think about it, but the basic idea is there! 
