Shades of Gray

OK, I know I said I'd post these ages ago... but I got hung up on the steam particle script for the bath, shelved the whole project and moved on to other things for awhile. I finally got back on track and finished it this week so I thought I'd share. Some of you have heard me talk (a lot) about second life so here's a sneak peak into my virtual reality.



... the palace that started the whole project.



... the interior of the palace with completed furnishings to date.



... a close up of the Sultan's throne. They certainly had a much better idea than the stiff, solitary thrones of Europe.



... the finally-completed Zaheb Turkish bath.



... all that hard work deserves a good massage. Wait, shouldn't I be the one getting the massage?

And that's what I do with my playtime and creative energy.

Someone please tell me why I thought adding taking calls from home while the boys are asleep for a little extra income was such a fantastic idea again?

You Are Chili Peppers

You are smokin' hot, and you can't help heat up everyone else around you. It's not unusual for you to make people flushed and excited. You flaunt your sexuality. You awaken primal urges that people didn't know they had. You bring out the inner wild animal. When it comes to seduction, you just go for it. You have no fear.

Soooo not a good morning.  I decided to try to get Leo back on track with his potty training today but my timing apparently could not have been worse.  He just happened to decide to play with the flush handle on the toilet while sitting on his own potty and the toilet just happened to be plugged...

I had absolutely disgusting toilet water flooding the bathroom into the hallway and leaking down through the floor to drip on the filing cabinets and carpet in the basement.  Not to mention two little boys who had to have the pants and socks changed because the oldest of course couldn't help but come investigate.  I spent three hours soaking up water and sanitizing every hard surface I could wipe as well as anything else that could be dumped into a sink and scrubbed.  Despite my best efforts I don't think I'm going to be able to look at certain parts of my house the same way for a looong time.  And my poor busted foot hasn't been particularly happy with me since all the activity.

I did at least get a good gyro and onion rings out of the deal as there was entirely too much nastiness to be cleaned up for me to stop and make lunch.

I bought this book a year ago and am only just now getting around to reading it.  It's so full of thought-provoking ideas I'm finding it difficult to get through the first  chapter even.  I've read it about three times so far.  So I thought I'd start sharing a few of the concepts that interest me.  Feel free to leave your own $0.02.

Work alone is your privilege, never the fruits thereof.  Never let the fruits of action be your motive; and never cease to work.  Work in the name of the Lord, abandoning selfish desires.  Be not affected by success or failure.

For those of you who read but don't know, I spend a lot of time in a virtual world called second life.  In that world one of my favorite things to do is build and I'll build just about anything that strikes my fancy from buildings to furniture, fountains, clothes, plants... whatever comes into my head or someone asks me to make.  I also get to toy with scripts and animations to bring my creations to life.

My latest project has me really excited and digging through all sorts of information online.  It started when one of my favorite texture stores released a set of textures for a Turkish style palace. Limestone tiles, lattice windows, shiny gold glass mosaic... absolutely gorgeous.  But in building the palace and accompanying furniture I wanted to be authentic and have spent some time looking on the net for inspiration.  For example, I discovered that a Turkish bath isn't a bath at all.  It's more of an oversize sink.  You sit on the ledge and ladle water over yourself from it.  Than an attendant scrubs you from head to toe in sort of bubble massage.  Sounds heavenly doesn't it?  So besides putting in the basin I'm toying with wearable bubbles (to preserve the modesty of those few in sl who actually have any) and a mat with massage animations.  Maybe a matching Turkish tea set to sit and sip from after.  I might try posting a few pics when it's all done.

I've also been expanding my photo editing skills modifying textures to suit my needs.  I'm using GIMP because I just don't have $700 for photoshop but free works fine for me.  Since when did playing games become so darn educational?

I got in the mood for some white chocolate macadamia cookies so I bought the ingredients and started looking at various recipes.  This one was on the back of the Nestle white chocolate chip package.  The dough is a tiny bit stiff so it works better if you squash the cookie dough just a little after you scoop it onto the cookie sheet.


White Chip Island Cookies:

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) white chocolate chips
• 1 cup flaked coconut, toasted if desired
• 3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts or walnuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels, coconut and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Your result for Serial Killer Profiling Test...

Not Serial Killer Material

Sorry, you only scored 54% killer, you'll never make it.

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OK, so I'm not serial killer material. That's really good to know. I still scored higher than 79% of my piers. ^^

So it occurs to me that I should probably do a follow up on my Christmas rant.  It is very hard to be disappointed when two little boys are having so much fun.  Admittedly, it took Leo a bit to warm up to it but only because he is not a morning person and wasn't really awake.  They liked the toys so much they barely even paid any attention to the candy.  Even the two dollar fuzzy posters were enthusiastically received.  I think the best part for them was getting mommy and daddy to participate; helping to figure out how to put the legos or the car tracks together or sitting to read the books.  It's hard for Christmas not to be magical with kids in the center of it all.

I'm looking at the modest pile of neatly wrapped gifts and having very mixed feelings.  They are nice gifts, legos, hot wheels, a few small games, crafts and fuzzy posters.  We could have afforded more.  We don't have a lot be we aren't as tight on funds as so many I know.  So we spent some of what we have to help others instead and kept our own Christmas modest.  And for the most part I'm proud of that.  And I hope our choices will help our sons to grow up to be kind, giving people and that they toys we've chosen will be educational as well as fun.

On the other hand... I'm kind of sad and... well... pissed off actually.  The person we spent the most to help was my sister.  We payed her reinstatement fee to get her driver's license back.  Not cheap.  Today I drove down there and took her food from myself and the church and took her kids to Wal-Mart for some desperately needed clothes which Dad also helped pay for.  There was a nice little stash of gifts from another church there already.  There was literally a half gallon of milk, a plate of leftover rice and a half a paper cup of soda from a restaurant in the refrigerator.  But you know what she got them for Christmas?  An Xbox 360, a surround sound theatre system...  so we all skimp on our Christmases to help feed and clothe her kids so that she can spend her money to buy fancier, more expensive toys than my own children got?

Snerched from </a></b></a>tringasolitaria

The 100 top grossing films of all time (not adjusted for inflation): bold what you've seen, underline what you own.

Titanic (1997)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
Shrek 2 (2004)
E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Spider-Man (2002)
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Jurassic Park (1993)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Forrest Gump (1994)
The Lion King (1994)
Shrek the Third (2007)
Transformers (2007)
Iron Man (2008)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Independence Day (1996)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Home Alone (1990)
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Shrek (2001)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
The Incredibles (2004)
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Jaws (1975)
I Am Legend (2007)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Batman (1989)
Night at the Museum (2006)
Men in Black (1997)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Cars (2006)
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Twister (1996)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Cast Away (2000)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Signs (2002)
Hancock (2008)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Rush Hour 2 (2001)
WALL·E (2008)
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
King Kong (2005)
Ghost (1990)
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Aladdin (1992)
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
X2: X-Men United (2003)
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
Back to the Future (1985)
300 (2006)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Ratatouille (2007)
Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Batman Begins (2005)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Exorcist (1973)
The Mummy Returns (2001)
Armageddon (1998)
Superman Returns (2006)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Happy Feet (2006)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
Madagascar (2005)
Toy Story (1995)
Men in Black II (2002)
Gladiator (2000)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

SEEN: 68 out of 100
OWN: 1 out of 100

Stars, have I really seen that many?

The joys of being bipolar and unpredictable. The only laundry I've gotten done so far is the sheets. I went into my oldest son's room to get his laundry and stopped in my tracks. What a disaster! And when I saw the shirt sticking out from under his bed... so I've spent the last three hours doing a complete overhaul on his room. Literally dumped every single item in the middle of the floor and sorted it by what should be in the trash (an entire drawer full of empty business envelopes?) what belonged to other people (mostly his little brother) and then everything else by type of toy so I could see how much of each he had before deciding what storage space to put it in. And it still isn't clean. I didn't do glass or dusting or anything like that. And we won't even talk about the pencil and crayon marks on the walls or the dust bunnies that I swear are alive and multiplying under his bed. So long as the bunnies don't start talking back to me I won't worry about them. (And if they do I daresay I have bigger problems than household chores.) Oh, well. At least now when I do get around to doing the laundry I'll know I've got it all to wash.

Dh took the boys Christmas shopping which gave me the opportunity to take a very long, hot shower. Exactly what I needed before tackling the eight or so loads of laundry in various stages of dirty, washed, dried and sitting in heaped baskets waiting to be ironed, folded and put away. At least my pandora station will get an education while I work. Thanks, Becky. :)

It's never too late to have a happy childhood.

These things are so addictive. *gives ms dollymop a mock-dirty look*

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

NBPC - The Daydreamer

Nature, Background, Big Picture, and Color

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy

At 32 years old I finally did something I've been wanting to do for a long time... I got my first tattoo. OK, yeah, I know.  But I have really wanted one for as long as I can remember.  Just, between the people who wouldn't approve and the fact that I really couldn't decide what I wanted to have done... Getting a tattoo is apparently one of those things where you just suddenly know when the time is right.  My journey the last few years or so has been quite a roller coaster but I've learned a lot about myself along the way.  And suddenly I knew what my tattoo was.  It was just a matter of finding someone who could bring it to be.

And so, with recommendations from a friend of a friend, I found myself last evening on the table of Charon Hennings (http://www.oddangel.com/) at Marlowe Ink in Fairfax, Virginia.  Despite all of my internet research I really hadn't been able to give her much to go on during our e-mail communications but the design she showed me was just amazingly insightful.  It was a bit larger than I had originally intended and higher in placement but she has a much better understanding of the shape of a body and how to make the tattoo work with that so I went with it.  Yes, it hurt a little.  Maybe more than a little.  But most things worth having, that help us grow, require some sort of pain or sacrifice be it physical, mental or spiritual.

I don't generally wear revealing clothing so, other than here, very few people will ever see it.  But I didn't get it for them.  I got it for me. 

I read this and couldn't help thinking of my friend, Tringa.  I've only ever seen a few episodes of Due South myself but I like the way this one worked out.

http://legoline.livejournal.com/676777.html

********************

You were barely more
Than a hope in our hearts
But you were loved

By a young brother
Not the baby anymore
You were loved.

By an older brother
Who hoped for a sister
You were loved.

By a father
Who never held you
You were loved.

By a mother
Carried near my heart
You were loved.

You are gone
But never forgotten
My little one.

she stands
eyes closed
her hands raised to the sky
form clad
in shades
of cloud and sky and rain

dark hair
in waves
cascading down her back
sea spray
leaves trace
on clothes and hair and skin

bare feet
they dance
and beat on cold gray stone
she moves
in time

You scored as Dragon, Dragon: Now talk about a legend. These magnificent creatures are of many species. Some can be as large as the Earth itself, while others are as small as a mouse. One image that comes to everyone's mind is the large, fire breathing Dragons that loathed humans and loved to sleep on massive piles of gold. Not all dragons have a bad reputation. Most dragons are very wise, caring, and protective. It would make a person very lucky indeed to meet a dragon. Especially if they walked away untouched. I admire your wisdom, for you are the Ancient Dragon. Dragon 75% Angel 58% Mermaid 58% Faerie 42% WereWolf 42% Demon 25% What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!) created with QuizFarm.com