spooning - leads to forking

Last night I started my new part-time job for the holidays and to pay for my laptop, which I just order last night (more on that later). My part-time job wasn't bad, actually. I kind of liked it. It is very easy and the time goes by really quickly, just the way I like it.

Samantha and her crew went out last night to their favourite hick bar. They went out several nights ago and when they came back, the upstairs reeked of alcohol. I wanted to puke. This morning, the upstairs reeks of alcohol and is a pig sty. *shrugs*

As previously mentioned, I ordered my new laptop last night. I called Toshiba Direct to get more information about the particular laptop that I configured. I was in luck, because I talked to an English-speaking person, which is always nice. He helped me out with all of my laptop-related questions and told me that he would take a discount off the price of the laptop equivalent to the tax, effectively taking off the tax. I was excited and immediately told him that I would like to purchase the laptop. Tax on a purchase of that price is a quite a bit of money, so I definitely had to take advantage of his offer. Now, I just have to wait!

Frank is back at home with his family because his grandmother passed away earlier this week. This time of year (Thanksgiving through the New Year) is probably the worst time that it could have happened, but they are dealing with it as any family would. The viewing was yesterday and the funeral is today. I know it is tough to lose someone, especially someone that has a large role in family functions. I lost my grandparents (on my mother's side) several years back and I know it was hard on my mother and her brothers/sisters. It sucks. :o(

Just like last year, I am making the Coconut Custard Pie a second time. Last year, however, I didn't know to put aluminum foil on the crust to keep it from browning too quickly under the high temperature. This year I managed to over-brown the crust. It didn't burn; it was browner than what I had hoped for. So, I got up extra early this morning so that I could bake another pie before leaving for work. Let's keep our fingers cross that this one comes out perfectly. I can't show up to Thanksgiving dinner with a pie that looks worse than last year's pie!

I've been baking for most of the evening since I got home from work and I'm beat. First, I attempted at a Pumpking Coffee Cake recipe, but that flopped. In no way did it resemble or taste like a coffee cake. In fact, it was flat and carmalized. I'll have to see if I can find a decent coffee cake recipe and modify it! I moved on to make the Pumpking Crumble Cake that was requested by several people. I made it last year for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. Why not again, right? Right now I have a Coconut Custard Pie in the oven. It is the same recipe as I made last year for Thanksgiving. It was also requested for this year. To add something new this year, I am going to make a Peaches 'n Cream Pie. It is SO good, but it doesn't travel well. So, I am going to make it Thanksgiving day and hopefully it turns out; I'll only have one chance!

I'll start by recapping this past weekend. I had Saturday off, which is always nice. I relaxed at home with the dogs and watching some TV. Amy wanted me to meet her for lunch but I was showering when she called, so I missed out on that opportunity. After she got out of work she came over to my house and we hung out. Cole (a.k.a. Dexter), Frank, and Ashleigh were already here by the time Amy got out of work. I fell asleep while we watched The DaVinci Code.

Sunday, I didn't do a lot, either. I had to work a short afternoon shift from 1:00pm to 5:00pm so that put a kink in my day. But, at least the shift was short! Afterwards, Amy met me at work where she picked up some things to make English Muffin pizzas. They weren't too bad, actually. I picked Frank up from work just before 7:00pm and he had some mini pizzas, too. We started to work on a jigsaw puzzle of the "Las Vegas Strip" in Las Vegas, Nevada. We didn't finish by the time Desperate Housewives was over, when Frank and I left. I'm not sure what Amy did with the puzzle because the last time we left a puzzle on her dining room table. One (or more) of her cats decided to eat the pieces!

That brings us to Monday! So far I haven't done much of anyting other than eat a bowl of cereal, put a load of laundry in the washer (and now the dryer), take the dogs outside to do their business and tidy up the kitchen from Saturday's get-together. I'm eagerly waiting for a check to deposit into my bank account so that I can order my new laptop. I'm so excited. Once ordered, then comes the painful wait for it to be built and shipped. Blah

Amy doesn't want me to come over to her house.

Edit: She does want me to come over to her house. She doesn't want me to come over to her house with me yet-to-purchase laptop.