Category: Curiosities

My Goomba! (First Tattoo)

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I got my first tattoo today! It’s a goomba on my ankle.

Isn’t he adorable!? I got him from Devon Greig At Alchemy Tattoo in Nashville, Tennessee. She did an amazing job. He even looks better than the fake ones I was sporting for a while! She did the outline all in colors darker than the pixels they surround (except for the grey surrounding the black).

The pain wasn’t as bad as I expected. However, I had seen people tapping out of tattoos and heard stories of people screaming and taking lots if breaks. This one took just barely over two hours of tattooing. I didn’t need a break or anything. Just to shift twice because I my other leg was falling asleep.

It felt like a skinned knee. And the lines were the worst part. She did the grid first and then went back and colored in the many many pixels (“so many little squares,” as she put it). So yeah, the fine lines were more painful than the coloring in. And it hurt worse towards the back of my leg for some reason.

Now I’m ready for my sleeve. Bring it on. (In Fall, after pool season).

K went with me to Nashville. We made a lovely day of it. Traffic was light. We went to the studio early enough to grab lunch there. So I google mapped “restaurants near me” and it suggested a hole in the wall BBQ joint — well, when in Nashville… It looked shady as hell, but they also had a food truck parked behind it. I love some food truck food. Yall, that place was fucking awesome. Everything we had was delicious. Pork, Sausage, Bologna, Brisket quesadilla, Fries, Cole Slaw, White Beans, and Banana Pudding. All 5 stars. K said she knew it was going to be good when she saw grandma behind the register. And it seemed like most of the people in there were regulars shooting the breeze with the smoke master.

The bathroom was out of soap and paper towels. Usually that would be a no go for me — but fuck, that food was so good. I’ll go back when I go for some of my sleeve, I’m sure. Thanks to K for joining me on my adventure!

It’s a Good Thing: Pentel EnerGel RTX Retractable Liquid Gel Pen Review

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How about a product review? I just reordered some of my absolute favorite pens. I’m pretty possessive of a good pen. I covet them. You will not take my good pen. And ever since I found these Pentel EnerGel RTX Retractable Liquid Gel Pens (Amazon Link), the purple one has been my precious. I’ve ordered a set of just purple and now I’m ordering another set of the multi-colored package because almost all of them have run out.

Here is my original Amazon review (I’m a whore for Review “likes” — so feel free to hop over and mark my review as “helpful”) :

I signed into a meeting Monday with a brown pen — the color was meh (brown) but the ink line was fantastic. It flowed perfectly. Perfectly. I wanted it. I asked whose it was and it belonged to the meeting coordinator — he was not going to let me have his pen. So I asked to borrow the pen and wrote down everything about it. Then I went home and ordered a pack of my own. Now I have purple and dark green (and 7 other colors since I gave three to my husband). They arrived last night. *SQUEE*

Purple is my favorite color of pen to use at work. I’m an engineer so I have to keep it semi-professional. This pack has a lovely dark purple, a dark green (looks lighter in the picture — there are two greens, one is lime and one is dark), 3 of 4 blues (I’m counting the turquoise here), black and brown. I consider all of these seven colors professional enough for work purposes. There are other lovely colors here but those will stick to home use. The Navy pen looks almost black when you write with it. I prefer to avoid black and similar pens at work because I need my writing to pop on printed pages. So this multi pack was an awesome choice for me. Next time I might just order a set of purple. However, I wanted to try all the colors first.

I’d consider getting a nice metal version of this pen and just switching in these ink wells. However, then I’d be even more possessive of my amazing pen. I might develop a tick when someone asks to use it.

“My precious…”

Review: Just Crack an Egg

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I finally got around to trying one of these egg cup things. These “Just Crack an Egg” cups were in the cooler at Publix across from my fake milk. I saw this protein one that didn’t have any potatoes in it so I picked some up.

First: I love that I can mix it all in the cup and not waste a dish. Second, look how loaded with fillings it is! The cup was actually full, not just a misleading size. I used two eggs and it was still well loaded. Pretty sure you could do three eggs with this many mix-ins. I think the one egg suggestion is just to keep the calorie count and macros on the package down. This is way too much extras for just a single egg.

Basically, you scramble the eggs in the cup, stir in the additions and pop in the microwave. Halfway through, you stir it again and in about a minute and a half you have a crust-less quiche! It’s really good too.

The only possible negative is that I wouldn’t eat it straight out of the cup. I like salt and pepper on my eggs and there’s no way to do that in the cup full of eggs. That’s barely a thing though as most other ways to get such good eggs involve mixing bowls and pans and a lot more time. I’ll buy these again.

Tubing!

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I finally got to go tubing! It was just as awesome as I expected it to be. We had 7 people linked in a circle, so steering to avoid obstacles like hanging tree limbs was a thing. We had loads of fun though.

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I found a great deal on the mesh-bottomed River Run tubes at academy. 100% recommend the mesh bottomed “River Run” tubes. I’ve used them before at the lake at Mr C’s Aunt L’s house on the lake. So I knew they were exactly what we wanted. So I spread it around the group and we all had the same tubes. Why does that matter? Because they all interlock. So we were able to lock together in a big floating circle and chill out and easily chat.

A few things we learned: Tips on tubing, you could say: or for SEO optimization: how to prepare for tubing, tubing tips:

  1. The bigger the group tied together is, the harder it is to get that snaky circle to avoid obstacles like trees and water weeds. It’s easy to move one person. Not so easy to move seven.
  2. The double floats suck. Two friends went with the double float. It was pretty cool because it had a cooler in the middle. That’s where the pluses end though. They were too high out of the water to help steer. Also, carrying that thing was a beast. Two people walking in tandem like you’re moving a couch. Also didn’t fit on the shuttle, had to go in a pick-up truck. And while all the singles stack up nicely for lunch and shuttle rides, that behemoth is taking up a lot of space. Would not recommend.
  3. Grilling food is delicious, but unpredictable (it was a windy day) and takes a lot of time. Time you could have spent on the water. Next time we will brown bag it.
  4. I thought this was obvious, but you need strappy shoes or water shoes that are gonna stay on your feet when you’re walking through a muddy creek bed. Flip-flops and slip-ons aren’t gonna cut it. That said, prepare to have shoe tan lines.
  5. Bring the sunscreen with you on the tubes. We sun-screened up so much before each float, and still got major sun.
  6. Wear a hat. Hats protect your face from the sun.
  7. A water proof phone bag is a must. Even if you don’t use it for your phone, your car key fob probably doesn’t wanna get wet.
  8. If you don’t plan to pay to get your tube inflated, for fucks sake — make sure you have the right attachments to blow it up with your pump. These river run tubes have the awesome fast release valves — which is great, but requires the appropriate fitting for inflation. However, the back rest requires a regular pool float valve. Be prepared.

Sugarfree Keto Orange Creamsicle Jello Mold

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TLDR: I’m just here for the recipe, bitch. Get some boxes of sugarfree jello. Replace half the water required with heavy cream that’s been whipped to stiff peaks.

I made my first jello mold! I’ve been obsessed with this orange creamsicle jello lately. Obsessed. It’s keto friendly, fruity, summery, and extremely refreshing. I’ve been just making it in a ceramic bowl with lid. However, for Fourth of July, I wanted to make it into a more presentable molded dessert. So I ordered a bundt pan! Look at that beautiful baby. It’s jiggly and perfect! I’m pretty sure I ate 90% of it, but whatever. That shit was delicious.

RECIPE: Sugarfree Keto Orange Creamsicle Jello Mold

Ingredients:

  • Jello (Sugar Free or for keto, regular works too)
  • Water
  • Heavy Whipping Cream

Directions:

  1. Math. Each jello box needs 2 cups of water according to box directions. We’re replacing HALF of that water with cream. So each box needs 1 cup water and 1 cup cream. I used 4 boxes which ended up fitting perfectly in my 12 cup bundt pan. (Remember, whipping the cream will add volume). So I need 4 cups water and 4 cups cream.
  2. Boil water. You want to be able to cool off this water with ice before you mix it with the cream, so only boil half of it. I boiled 2 cups water in the microwave.
  3. Melt Jello powder in boiling water. Mix well.
  4. Mix Jello with the remaining amount of ice water to cool it off. Set aside.
  5. In another bowl, whip heavy cream to peaks.
  6. Add Jello to whipped cream and whip until completely mixed.
  7. Pour into GREASED Bundt pan or bowl or your choice. Refrigerate until set.

NOTES:

  • You can use a hair dryer to heat up the bundt pan and slip that baby right out. I used wet paper towels that I kept warming in the microwave until it released. Hair dryer would have been easier.
  • How much you whip it determines how fluffy it will be. You can optionally not whip it at all and end up with a jello/yogurt texture.
  • Use whatever flavor Jello you want! Don’t like orange? How about Strawberry? Lime? Lemon? Cherry?

Animal Crossing: Buying Love: Success!

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After months of bribing my fellow Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers, I have all of their love. You see, when you give them gifts, they like you. When you become friends, they give you things back. When you reach maximum paid-friendship, they might even give you a photo of themselves. YES. At top-level friends, you can get your own photo of them to remember how much you love them.

After over a year of playing, I have all of their love! Yes, all ten of my villagers love me. I have photographic (do screenshots count?) proof! Look below to see every villagers house which has a little table out front with their own photo on it.

Here’s is Eugene’s house. He’s very hip and gives a fake-beach vibe. So he has fake palm tree lamps outside his house. And there’s Fauna. She seems really prim and proper so she grows hybrid orange roses.

And here is Ankh’s house. She’s an Egyptian cat. So she has fancy hybrid roses and lilies along with a pyramid and statue. Then there’s Maple. She’s a bear so she has log furniture. It makes sense in my head.

Here’s Mint. She was a bitch of a holdout. It took me forever to get her photo. She has a table and chairs because, well, I was uninspired by her. Savannah here was a late comer to my island. She has a swing.

Lucky! Lucky is a zombie dog so he has Halloween colors in his yard flowers. Also I have DOUBLE LUCKY PHOTOS. Hell yeah, I got his photo twice! He was the first one to be my paid-friend. So I go his photo. Then I accidentally let him move away from my island. I was heart broken so I borrowed D’s amiibos and got him back. But it was an imposter Lucky. He didn’t love me. So I had to work my way up to get fake Lucky’s photo too.

Also there’s Hopper. He’s a cranky old penguin and I love him. Since he’s a cranky old man, I gave him a lawn that is permanently in a state of maintenance.

Lastly, we have Apple and Roald. Apple has an Apple tree and pink flowers. The pink flowers are a hold-over from the previous resident who was a pink gorilla. Roald is a “jock” type penguin. So he has a basketball hoop and pool.

It’s impressive isn’t it! They all have perfectly lined up houses in the little 8×5 plots of land so they all have their own little yards. Feel free to take inspiration for your own island.

Games, Games, Games!

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Since my brother-in-law visited, we’ve been playing so much Terraforming Mars. All the Terraforming Mars. Which is great in a lot of ways. Firstly, tonight I came in second to Mr C. I’ve been getting my ass kicked pretty hard, but I had a solid showing tonight. Second, we’ve dropped a lot of on this game. Between the actual game and every single expansion including the new “big box,” I’m easily into this game for $250. With optionals like board trays and new game markers, might be closer to $300 or $350. No regrets.

You know we collect board games? Well, if you didn’t know, we collect board games. We love having friends over for games. I designed our house and we specifically made room for a large dining table with loads of room around it for moving around. In our old apartment, everyone was trapped. God forbid someone have to get up to go to the kitchen or bathroom. Here, you have all the room you could want. We can even set up extra card tables for shit like Eclipse. Eclipse is too much for me.

Terraforming Mars, however, is an excellent game. It’s won awards for best game. Check it out on Board Game Geek (clicky). It has lots of awards in languages I don’t even understand. That’s because it’s a hell of a solid game. It takes a few hours (which go by so much faster with experienced players like M & A tonight). It looks crazy confusing and a lot of work, but it’s not really once you learn it. I also like games where there are loads of ways to earn points so you’re not sure, until the end of the game and all points are tallied, who actually won the game. Tonight we were all sure A had it in the bag, but nope! Mr C won and I came in second. It was a big twist ending when everything was added up.

I’m also loving the Big Box expansion. It was $99 and Mr C thought it was worthless, but we’ve been glad to have it. I actually love the 3D tiles. They’re so much more fun than the cardboard chips. Also, the organization is top notch! Getting the game out and putting it away is so much quicker. Card holders with tabbed organization, cube holders, money boxes (even one for each side of the board!) – all the organization. Also means all of the expansions are in one box. A huge box, granted, but better than 5 or 6 smaller boxes with 20 million little zip lock bags.

Man we’ve been playing so much of it though! I’ve been getting burned out on it, actually. However now that we’re back to just once a week, I think we’re good. I had a work friend over last night to play and that was fun but man, playing with new people is so slow. Tonight was better. It went fast — though I was super hot for some reason — am I hitting menopause!? Nextweek is K & A. That should be fun too.

On a random, lighter note: I haven’t given up on getting every god damned villager’s photo in Animal Crossing. I will get them all. Mint is the last hold out. But the light note: Getting all the villagers to curse is, like, the best part of the game. They all say “bitches” – Roald calls me “assbutt” and a few call me “motherf*cker” (yeah, working around their preset blocked words is hard). Gawd it’s funny though. I’m easily amused by such things.

Rhaegal: the Dragon of Majesty and Scams

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I got a good one for you today, folks. I got SCAMMED. I got scammed hard and hilariously. Meet Rhaegal:

I ordered Rhaegal from the scam website freshyness.com (*Clicky* but NOTE IT’S A SCAM SITE). He was to be K’s house warming present. A regal dragon to stand in front of her new house and be decorated for various holidays. An epic creature of grace and fun.

Instead I received Rhaegal: the Inflatable Dragon of Majesty and Scams.

I saw that Rhaegal was being delivered today on USPS’s delivery dashboard. I was so excited that I showed him off to people at work. I was going to hide him in the storage closet and have K fetch a pool float from the closet when she comes over Sunday. I was so excited! Then I got home and had this awesome pool float in my mailbox. I thought someone sent me a fucking sweet pool float as an anonymous surprise! It’s not unheard of, I send my friends little gifts and sometimes they send me little gifts. And I mean, look at it — that has me written all over it. But when I contacted everyone who might have sent it, they all denied it. That’s when it slowly began to dawn on me… this is Rheagal…

Jokes on those bitches because I love it! I would totally have bought this for the pool at a reasonable price.

Thank god for credit cards. I already contested the purchase and will have my money back in 15 days or less. FREE POOL DRAGON, bitches!

To be clear though, the website freshyness.com is a complete scam. It’s a chinese company that sells expensive awesome shit and sends you cheap, but still kinda awesome shit. Don’t buy anything from them. And always use a condom. I mean Visa card.

Review: AMMSUN 17″ Beach Umbrella Table Tray: A drink table IN. THE. POOL.

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Look at how perfect this is! I have an umbrella anchored in the middle of my pool and now it has a table on it! No bugs crawling on our drinks. No moving the drinks and tables to keep them in the shade — they’re always in the shade now! And it’s huge! It even holds my 32oz insulated thermos!

Five out of five stars. I am thrilled with this product! It even came with a completely unnecessary but high quality carrying bag. Let me tell you, this is PERFECT for the pool. I might buy more for my other pool umbrellas. It’s perfect for having coffee on the tanning ledge. It’s perfect for parking your cold water or wine while you drift on a float. Throw some extra sunscreen on there so you don’t burn. You never have to get out of the pool now! It’s perfect.

I’m even going to amp it up to 11. I got out my dremel to add drainage slots to the snack trays and am spray painting it lime green to match my pool furniture.

I’m so happy with this purchase (Amazon link — clicky clicky)! I was afraid it wouldn’t hold my favorite beverage containers, but everything fits great! It’s wonderful. Did I mention perfect for the pool? All the stars.

Some Things 5/19

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1) Someone called themselves an “art nerd” for knowing Banksy’s “Girl With Red Balloon.”  God, I hate people who think they know everything about art because they took one art course or know an almost commercial artist.  Fucking most people know who Banksy is.  HE OPENED A SHOP ON HIGH STREET (it wasn’t a real shop, it was another art piece).  You can buy his merch.  He’s not some obscure urban artist.  He’s in the (BBC) news all the time.  Even if he was obscure, fuck you for acting like a gate keeper. 

2) Yes, I have anger issues.  Especially since mom died, I kinda just want beat the shit out of someone.  Like, someone who deserves it, not a random person.  Can someone try to steal my purse so I can just beat the living day lights out of them and get this frustration and anger out?  Is that weird?  Pull a gun on me, I DARE YOU.  I will John Wick your ass with a pencil.  A FUCKING PENCIL. 

3) I ordered a Dammit Doll.  I also ordered three more Dammit Dolls for my besties (I don’t think M & D read my blog, they be lazy).  Cause sometimes you need to beat the shit out of something.  So we can just beat these on our work desks like Bob Ross beats his paint brush.