My apologies to those comments and watches I haven't responded to over the past, well, while I think it's been. Thank you for them though, I do appreciate it!

Also apologies to those watching for a lack of recipes. Lately I've not been cooking a whole lot beyond salads and very simple chicken and vegetable dishes of not very photogenic material.

I have though been doing really well in the Fit N' Furry weight loss challenge that  quaylak is hosting over on LJ. ( http://fitnfurry.livejournal.com/ For the page ) and have managed to loose 19 pounds so far in the past three weeks! I'm very happy with this... in fact I was able to put on something today I haven't worn in like ten years.

About ten years ago I went to a ren faire and got some garb at the time and some really nice, wrap around laced up black leather boots that almost up to my knee. Not only do they look nice, but they are comfy, VERY sturdy, and very durable. Sadly I had gotten to big to fit my legs into anymore... well, on a whim I tried them on today (I had been wanting to do a bit of out door exploring, and boots are handy for that) and I squeezed into them... Huzzah! They are tight, but they were tight back then too. Quite comfy though and useful for my exploration walk.

A coworker of mine who visits the neighborhood for one of her best friends lives in the same building I do told me how she walked around and found a trail to what she told me was a nature preserve. I thought, very cool, I must go investigate! I love going out and nature walking... It had several lakes, easy to follow trails, some signs of trucks passing through but beyond that not much else. Lots of trees, I took some photos, lots of animal tracks. Though when I'd gotten about thirty minutes into my walk I hit a dirt road and a couple of SUVs coming down it and then off the road, of which two people in hunter's fatigues got out and one had a talk with me, flashing a police badge.

Seems it is not a nature preserve, or public property at all. He was a nice guy though and didn't even give me a written warning as I was quite obviously just out for a walk and exploring, and had been informed wrong of the area as well. One of the guys even gave me a lift back towards where I came in at and talked a bit about the area. It's private property and they come out there periodically to check for illegal hunting in the area, and generally ask those on the property to get off. I just had my camera, a bottle of water, and my walking stick with me. They found me when I was taking photos of one of the lakes and a few closeups of some of the smaller flowers I found on the water's edge. Glad I didn't get in trouble, though kind of makes me sad I can't walk back there, it's very nice. I may try sneaking just to the closest part of the lake sometime when I just need to get away from civilization. I felt a bit like an explorer back there, walking through trails that one even looked like it was a dried up water path... it was fun, and nice to get out.

I'll have to try the rest of the garb on sometime, perhaps when I loose some more weight... hopefully by Furloween. I'll definitely be going to Furloween, though I still debate if I'll stay the night for the event and attend the picnic the next day. I'd enjoy figuring out a place to stay for the event, and while debating a hotel not fully sure. I'll think on it more as it gets closer, Sunday does have a nice picnic they say!

Still feel like I'm adjusting to being single. I still talk more in we and our, though I suppose I could simply be referring to the cats, heh. It frustrates me a tad since I do want to be my own person after all, though I'm not a fan of being single, but at the same time I'll be very careful about getting into a relationship too.

Work has been nice and busy and well. I enjoyed being the United Way Coordinator for the store once again this year. The store managed to raise almost $18,500 from the associates which is really great! I'm proud to see that and happy so many were so giving. I visited the local United Way and several agencies aided by them to find out about there support, even how much of the money actually goes to places, and was quite happy with what I found out. It's just something I can do to help support others and I enjoy in that I can help be giving to the community.

Back to mostly 5am shifts at work again as well now. Not to bad in that, lets me improve in the bakery, and work on my will power! Heh, I still crave those hot donuts! Mmmm, Hot Apple Fritters. Hot cookies... but I've been good and not snacking on such! Still having plenty of a variety of nutrition though, and that's most important.

Been playing some Single Player games as well. With my Hatchday having happened back on September 7th and I got a little money from it, and a few other little kitcheny things, I got a couple of single player games on the computer. Bastion is one I got from Steam, very good game and one that definitely is awesome for a replay through. Though it definitely isn't long, but I LOVE the fact it's narrated and the narrator's voice is just so great. Picked up a game Avadon: The Black Fortress and if you like game worlds that are very well developed, have a BIG plot and story, and if throughout the whole time you wonder "Am I the good guy, or the bad guy?" It's got a lot of dark aspects to it, a lot of subterfuge and is very well written. It also has turn based combat and tactics really do matter. It's not badly priced at just $10 either, and Steam says I managed FOURTY hours on it... before I beat it, so that's some decent bit of play time there. It won't wow you with graphics, but it's all about the story and the many different choices you have in the game as well are great. Haven't played WoW much lately except occasionally when I've been poked about certain events happening and I'll show up, that's about it for that though.

And following here, some Geeky D&D related stuff!

I've been playing D&D again, usually on Sundays after my work and then on Monday or Tuesday, both being different games but quite the bit of fun. The Sunday game being in a bit of a homebrew world of the DMs making, a low magic world where Alchemy is the basis for the existence of magic. I currently play an Alchemist named Benjamin Tenabrous who is a beast morph specialist for alchemy which makes his mutagens give him more animalistic traits and he gains animal abilities when he uses them. His normal self is a gentlemanly fellow who is a hunchback, pale skin, and half of his face is partially melted and scared over in nasty ways. He is fairly timid, apologetic, and easy to get lost in his work. ((Only a 9 Charisma)) When he drinks his mutagen, in the long run at least but even some now, he turns into his alter ego simply named "Slither" where he becomes covered in red scales, gaining a lizard like muzzle, more muscle, and a lizard like tail, and loosing the scaring and hunchback. His personality becomes brash and course and he speaks with a hiss. His current companions know little of this side beyond seeing it once in a combat. During it he was saving the day and using a Claw / Claw / Bite routine to great effect and tanking down a Flame Drake and her Hatchling while one member was unconscious and the other trying to keep him alive. During the time he is cursing a lot in Draconic and insulting the drake, which neither of the companions know Draconic, nor is he going to translate. It's a very much sort of Jekle and Hyde sort of transformation.

In the Monday / Tuesday game we have less people so we each play two characters, initially being just two players we just gained a third so it might get cut back slightly at some point. Though given how one person plays his second character it's more like having a half character as they just exist as a healing battery, heh.

I play a pair of mated kobolds. Both look almost identical when not in armor, but one is a dual wielding dextrous fighter who usually fights defensively and has a very high armor because of it, and doesn't miss to often either. Though her damage is very low, she can stand toe to toe with most things very effectively.

The other kobold is a draconic blooded sorcerer. So far there main claim to fame is at level 3 I can make them have a 26 AC on short notice so they often can be a tank for the group, though they are quite horrid in actual melee. Level four should make a bit more difference as they'll have another point of Charisma and get access to Flame Breath the spell which should hopefully up there combat deadliness.

The two kobolds are both servants of a large red dragon in a nearby mountain area. He rules over a kobold warrens there and the chieftain had this idea of sending some of the worst of his people out into the world to get killed... course, he told them to go out, get stronger, and come back to be better servants to the glorious master! These two just happen to actually be succeeding.

They currently follow one of the player's characters who is "The boss" they call her for now, and this is an "Evil Lite" game of sorts, heh, which is quite amusing. This game itself is happening in the Pathfinder universe. The newest person brought in two Goblins... so "Shimmer" (Our boss) truly has minions now! Two Goblins, Two Kobolds, and a Goblin Snake who all follow an Elf whos goal in life is to become a drow and bind a succubus to her whims. Such a fun group! The Goblins? They are a Ninja and a Titan Mauler Beserker (A Barbarian who wields a pole arm in each hand.) The Goblin hits really, really hard, he just doesn't hit very often!