Well, I missed my post yesterday. At the expense of a several week period of missing NOTHING, even making a saturday post, in fact, I have faltered. To be fair, I was dead tired after a week of enduring fun and friends till five in the morning. I've written about it all here, and so help me, every minute of it was worth it, but... I was really ready for a break. I slept a long time last night, and I still felt a little short changed. I could use some more tonight, so I'll try to get home fairly fast after meeting Zac for his birthday. I really think that I may do almost nothing this weekend, just for a breather, next weekend should be back to normal for another year, though. Either way, I missed my blog.

Wednesday, was George's birthday, and I have yet to give him a present, though I feel I earned my delay, in that he has not yet gotten me one, and two, I did cook chicken for him on wednesday using more and more fresh ingredients from my garden. Sage is a beautiful flavor, and fresh cayenne pepper really adds something. Everyone liked the chicken, even Mike had good things to say. Chris was unable to make it, and he left yesterday morning to fly to his next post.

1/4 cup paprika
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp ground mustard
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp ginger powder
1 tbsp minced sage, can be fresh or dried
and, based on your taste... a little bit of cayenne pepper.. 1 1/2 tsp can be good.. but if you dont like hot... go for less.

Sprinkle it onto the chicken... pretty liberally, till it's got a nice coat, get both sides, then cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes to an hour, the longer the better within reason... then cook it till it's done, if you're doing something simple like boneless skinless breasts (best to use skinless meat or to get it under the skin of meat with the skin) you cook it for about 10 to 15 minutes per side, then flip it over and brush it with honey for 3-5 minutes on either side... if you overcook it, it will be a little dry... so use your best judgement, it will still be awesome though.

Next time I make chicken though, I think I'm going to change up the entire recipe and maybe go for a tea leaf rub and use some basil and lemon thyme to give it more of a cultured kick rather than the southwestern touch. Lemon thyme is going to be the theme though, it should match the chicken really well, and I really can't wait to give it a try.

Dad is coming over tomorrow, so we're going to get my herb garden set up where it will get plenty of sunlight, and then we're going to have some ice cream and chat for a while.

Tonight, I will be finding out what is happening for Zac's birthday party. I think he may just want to play Star Wars Galaxies all night long, which, frankly, is fine by me, I can do that from home. The Dharma of Star Wars is turning out to be really good, I am loving it. I really enjoyed the bits about mindfulness most, they made me contemplate how well I focus on the things I am doing, and made me wonder how often I am carelessly damaging something or hurting someone. It made me really want to be more mindful of my actions and strive to be better in all that I do.

Scott has been giving me some good lessons lately about problems, specifically NP-Hard problems and problems of NP-Completeness. It's really fascinating stuff, but given the hectic nature of the week, the lessons have been split up.

Anyway, suffice to say, all my gaming has been put on hold, but tonight I might just be playing Star Wars Galaxies all night with Zac online as he is not going to have internet for a while after tomorrow, so, I say, get the most out of it while you can, after all, it is your birthday!

Anyway... I'm going to cut out saying, I love my herb garden, it is so much deliciousness to use with anything.


As the blood dried on his face, crustin in the gashes across his nose and down his cheeks, the soldier stood firm while the dark man in front of him painted. The yellows and blues and greens mixed with the crusting red of his own blood as the preparation continued. The night was dark, and the only light was the brightness of the torch laying symbolically in the short grass at his feet. Somehow, his own name seemed lost, and he was unable to recall who he was. The dark man spoke words that seemed to transcend language as they floated through the air. There were spirits in this place, in this dark field.

We are what we do, the dark man said, his features made bright by the light of the torch, the whites of his eyes seemed alive amid his mud caked face. He told the soldier that a name is at the very best a reflection of what all living beings find inside of themselves. His lips moved with grace as he told the soldier how when he knew his true self, he would again know his own name. The soldier understood none of these words, and yet the meaning seemed to ring clear through him.

The dark man took up the torch and extinguished it into the earth, blinding the soldier with the sudden absence of light. In less than a moment there was a searing hot pain in his right thigh, in its most sensitive spot close to the hip, the heat and pain spread and his vision began to become spotted before he fell to his knees, the torch removed from his flesh but the pain still so strong as a fever overtook his mind and he passed from conciousness.