So that's what the cat does all day...

I've always wondered what Nibbler, my adorable yet evil cat, does while I'm off at work, slaving away over computers to pay for her kibble and Tidy Cat. I even set up a webcam in my basement to try to see what she does, but except for the occasional nibble and poop I rarely see her.

Well, since I'm home due to the snowpocalyse, I found out what she does all day - nap on my Poang chair. I think it must be in sunbeam range...

The chair, like the cat, is kind of special (and like the cat, was free). I got it back in 2003 when Ikea opened their store in College Park, MD - they had a promo where the first 100 people in line at either Maryland store got a free chair. I got their around 10:30pm, driving straight from work - I worked nights at the time - and camped out overnight to get it.

Can I get a cup of cake, please?

Since I'm snowed in, bored, and running critically low on my cookie stockpile, I decided to make a batch of cupcakes - I had a box of mix and a can of frosting that I bought over the summer with the intention of making a birthday cake for a friend as a joke. I never got around to it.

If you are wondering why they have a patriotic theme, well, it's because I love this country and the freedom and opportunities that it's citizens enjoy. Well, that and because I bought the frosting on clearance at Target after the 4th of July - it was cheaper than the normal frosting, and I figured I could throw out the sprinkles and still be ahead financially.

Ranger extraction..

Spent a couple hours today getting the Ranger from out of it's blanket of snow. Took a few hours - got a little help from some neigbors who shoveled around my truck and my neigbor's van - the spot they plow all the snow into is right next to our spots, so we had a ton of snow to get out from.

The biggest problem was finding a place to put all the snow - I ended up carrying a bunch of it pretty much halfway accross the parking lot to an snow-filled spot. My arms are sore from carrying it all...

I thought I had a walkway somewhere...

Well, since it finally stopped snowing I decided to at least get the walkway shoveled today. I figure I'll deal with the truck tomorrow. There was so much snow I couldn't tell where the walkway was - a few times I thought I was shoveling sidewalk, only to discover I was actually shoveling a patch of my front lawn.

The first pic is what greeted me when I opened my front door...

Do you know the muffin man?

On Wednesday I looked at weather.com and realized that I was probably going to be spending the weekend snowed in. I'd been wanting to make muffins for a while - ever since my fairly successful Christmas cookies - so I bought the ingredients for this strudel-topped muffin recipe. I made them last night and had a couple this morning for breakfast. They are pretty good.

I bet the flames add like 10 hp...

I spotted this early-90's Ford Explorer in the parking lot of a diner where I was grabbing dinner with a friend. Nice flame job!

Good, if slightly out-of-date, stuff cheap

Thanks to my night class getting preemptively canceled due to impending snow, and assuming the gym would also be closed, I actually drove home at 5pm tonight - which meant taking the back way to avoid Beltway traffic. Since my route brought me near Good Stuff Cheap, an odd-lot closeout store in Parkville, MD, I decided to stop by.

They sell a bunch of stuff - everything from expired food to dollar-store type items to logo merchandise from defunct businesses. I usually buy food items, which are hit or miss - sometimes they are good, which sucks because they usually aren't there the next time, sometimes not so much. They have a sign reminding people that it's safe to eat stuff after it's sell-by date.

I spent a grand total of $12.77 . I walked away with a fancy shopping bag (probably also from a defunct retailer) containing:
-4 small packs of peanut butter sandwich cookies
-3 cups of stove top instant stuffing
-4 small bottles of Starbucks syrups (labeled "not for individual sale")
-a 1 pound package of Target Honey Smoked turkey breast, frozen
-a package of frozen cream cheese filled pumpkin rolls
-a box of herbal tea
-a bottle of oriental mustard
-a Starbucks logo travel mug (14 oz, red, sadly not dishwasher safe)

A Hardee lunch...

So I had a hamfest today in Odenton. Didn't make nearly as much as I hoped. Afterwords, I went to Ollie's, an odd-lot discounter, and then grabbed some lunch. Pasadena is home of one of the few Hardee's restaurants in Maryland. I don't think I've been in a Hardees since I was a kid on vacations with the parents.

This is the "portabello ThickBurger" combo meal. It was pretty good - definitely better than, say, McDonalds - but not quite as good as, say, 5 guys. It also was a little more expensive than other fast food places, and not as fast - they actually bring the food to your table. They also have a pretty diverse menu, including fried chicken, a bunch of burger and chicken varieties, and hot ham sandwiches. They also had signs advertising their breakfast menu, including a fried bologna and egg sandwich.

I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, but maybe I'll stop by next year...

My new $140 coffeepot...

So I like coffee. A lot. I'm so addicted to caffeine that I get headaches and go through withdrawal if I don't get it. It's like crack, except there isn't free crack in the break room at work, unless you are a drug dealer.

So last weekend my Cuisinart Grind and Brew was giving me trouble - I couldn't get the basket out. So I decided it was time for a new machine, and that I was going to splurge. I'd read good things about Capresso grind and brew machines, so I looked for one. It's normally $200 but I found a refurb at J&R for $140.

Finally hooked it up last night and used it this morning. I'm impressed - it looks cool and makes a great cup of coffee. I don't usually like thermal pots since I can't see how much coffee is in it, but this is growing on me. The main basket swings from grinder to brewer by itself, which is cool. Programing controls aren't the most intuitive, though.