Hello world!

I am not so sure you are still here, but - I thought I'd stop by anyway because I haven't been here in such a long time!

You may already have figured that I totally failed NaNoWriMo this year, as so many times before. Admittedly, it was a little worse this time around. I only got about 1/5 of the way. But you know, I think if I could choose the most hopeless month to decide to write a novel it would probably be November - or December, obviously. Because of all the Christmas-business. November pretty much wraps up the semester, and we just got one thing on top of the other and then I happened to have three concert tickets (to Phoenix, Prodigy and Kings of Convenience, respectively) and family birthdays and father's day and long hours of sale at work. It's all excuses. It's different to have the time and take the time - we all know that. But I have to admit that NaNoWriMo didn't catch me as much this year, I was to busy to give my brain room to think of any good plots. What I managed to get down was mostly random situations and dialogues that lacked much sense.

I've been real occupied with all the deliverables, especially writing that damn script, oh, and sculpting a level using the Gears of War editor. What a software nightmare! Well, right now I am stuck with writing a fictional DLC (DownLoadable Content) for Fallout 3. And because I haven't played any of the Fallout games, it is proving real hard. I dream of this assignment in the night, it's awful.

It would've been better if we had more time, but unfortunately, we don't! But it's coming along, if I wasn't working Friday through Tuesday I would have three more days (like everyone else) but I only have today to make sure everything is done. Really it is quite alright, I could think of more dreadful ways to spend my Thursday. And I'm pleased to confront a challenge!

You might (like me) be quite unfamiliar with the setting of the Fallout games, but the little I have discovered wasn't that impressive, to be honest. Oh, except the soundtrack! Man! Packed with calm, jazzy classics of the 1940's. Awesome! Well, right, as a helper along the way, and to get into the mood of the setting - I've been listening a lot to Billie Holiday! God bless she's available on Spotify. It's centering my chi alright, really warm and soothing - just what we need this time of year! I need to like SOME part of Fallout, as the post-apocalyptic, nuclear holocaust is the opposite of appealing to me.

Typical of me to decide to come back and dump another load of garbage into the blogosphere when I definitely don't have the time to. Haha! Yeah, and I need to learn to do things even though I don't want to. It's a hopeless attribute.

Oh, and here's my map of my DLC! Quite plain, but all the action happens in that underwater dome in the middle of the bay. It's a fallout shelter containing an entire city!

NaNo - update!

I'm getting there!

You can follow my profile on http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/158878

Please give a listen to Bombay Bicycle Club. In particular their track "Always Like This".

His voice appears annoying at first, but I like it!

Lovely!

Redy, set - GO!

It's the first of November today, and I have now cuddled up in the sofa with a nice blanket and my trusted laptop for some serious, ridiculous NaNoWriMo-writing. I have absolutely no flippin clue what to write, but it'll probably work out. It usually does!

If there's anything you think I should incorporate in my novel - bring it on!
All dares are welcome!

Surprise me.

Oh, and wish me luck!

Buchanan's Fairtrade Assorted Toffees Review

Today I am reviewing these fabulous Scottish hard fairtrade toffees. And when I say hard, I mean hard. When you manage to get through, they become the kind of chewy variety that has you going for a good five minutes and then for a good week picking it out of your teeth. Yum!

The treacle toffee has a dark, burnt colour which reflects in its enticing and seductive treacle taste. It diverts from a toasty sweetness to the fruity delight of brown sugar. It's not an instant hit, quite an aquired taste, but the lovely sticky texture and the waves of flavour makes it an interesting and worthwhile experience.

The Rum & butter toffee has a light, pale toffee colour and a similarly light rum flavour. The butter, however, is drastically more present and introduces a wall of fatty, creamy, mouth-filling flavours. I liked it, I did, couldn't have too many of them though, and disappointed in the pathetic lack of rum.

Similarly, the coconut toffe had that very light golden, pale toffee colour - but smelled rich and heavy of coconut shampoo. But as with the rum - there simply wasn't enough nuttiness, the butter came in like a donkey in a poncho - stealing the entire show. Butter, butter, butter - though rich and creamy, not so nutty. It was o-kay.

The Devon Toffee is also light in colour and has a mild, buttery vanilla scent. These features are definitely reflected in the flavour as not only is the vanilla protruding, it bathes in the butter until it has a bright, almost fruity flavour. Don't get me wrong, because this is still a heavy toffee, but its mosaic of sweet vanilla flavour makes it very sophisticated.

The Mint Toffee smells like a bright peppermint and has that same, light and pale toffee colour. The flavour is very fresh for being captured in butter-hell, and though the sweetness is overpowering, the mint cuts through beautifully. This is an interesting symbiosis that works... I think, even though it occasionally has a slight resemblance of toothpaste.

The Butter Toffee has a mellow, rich and sweet smell, it is hard to catch but, when you do - it is like walking in to a candy store and being overwhelmed by how sweet a scent can be. The flavour is, not surprisingly - very buttery. Every time you chew it is like the warm, buttery juices are being massaged into your mouth. Unforgivably rich, it will sink your ship like the kraken on drugs. I am not exaggerating. This toffee seriously takes butter to the next level, and we pray we never have to go any further than that.

The Licorice Toffee is pitch black with an upbeat licorice smell. In fact, both the scent and the taste is so fresh it is almost fennel-like in its buttery licorice-fusion. This sounds weird, I know, and it is weird, but it really works. This is a delicious toffee that explodes with interesting flavour and I enjoyed every second of it. One of the best ones.

For some reason the Treacle Toffee and the Licorice Toffee really struck the right chord with me, they were weird, I agree. But they were also both delicious in an original way. This bag of funky toffee shouldn't be what you hand out to the kiddies trick or treating this weekend, they certainly wont like it.

I'd recommend you these if you enjoy your toffee, but don't fret if it's a bit weird and different. I'll always want to try things I haven't tried before, and though I doubt I will try them again, at least I enjoyed them while they lasted, and there's still some left if you want some too. Have a great weekend!

Must haves!

Tink was over tonight, we made pizza and watched "Cashback", we also had some lemon jelly that I bought on sale. Very lovely. Superlovely!

Frost has arrived, and there are iceroses on all the parked cars on the street. I suppose you call them ice patterns or something, but we Norwegians call them "isroser". That is what it looks like, so I think it is a much better word for it.

Aaaand ---Hi, I'm here to give you this months' must haves, baby!

Movietickets for Disney Pixar's "UP" - I truly adored this film, even though Helge said he would never take me to see a Disney film again. I guess he has the right as I was crying my heart out after about three minutes. Still loved it though!

Kings of Convenience newest album "Declaration of Dependence". Definitely. Even though you will say; heard this before, this sounds just like all their other songs. True! But wrong! It does, but doesn't! This is something new, there is something very different about their sound that I have not yet been able to put my finger on. But it's still there. And you need to have it.

First season of British series "Skins". I am extremely hooked on this right now - while you're at it you should probably get the following two seasons as well. It's brilliant!

Mittens, kitten! It's cold right now. Keeping your hands warm makes every day brighter. Guaranteed.

Other than that - have some orange juice and snog your toes into a pair of warm slippers before you go to school or work. Never fails. Don't forget to brush your teeth!

Keep dreaming of the dogs

I miss the dogs soo bad. How people can live without them at all.

IIh, and my jaw hurts so bad! It even hurts to talk and eat, my two favourite things! It's that darn tooth growing through my gums, I can see why babies have a strong need to inform everyone about their pain. Uaah!

But anyway, that doesn't really matter, a bit of warm water and some wok sorts it out for a bit. And anyway I don't really have the time to think of teeth when NaNoWriMo starts on monday and I still have no clue what to write about. To save time and energy I might have to take one of my previous stories and just rewrite it. But how dull is that? Any ideas? Sci-fi was excellent fun last year, but I don't really think it is my genre as I had to research a lot - and seeing it's NaNo - there's no time to! Anybody else joining this year? 30 days of literary abandon? It is magical, I'm freaking out and looking forward to it at the same time.

OOooh, and on friday it's Halloween, what'cha all going to dress up as? I dreamt I had the best idea ever and I was so relieved, but I've forgotten what it was so I'm back to square one again. Iih. But we have a party to see to on Friday and we definitely have to go out on Saturday as well, I love dressing up - Halloween is like my second Christmas!

And Sigrid is coming home from Singapore for a brief encounter (read: brunch) at my mums place on Saturday - whiii! And on Sunday I'm going to do absolutely nothing. Maybe I'll go for a walk up to the church, it's lovely there, all the autumn colours, and then go vegetate in our sofa with a blanket and just relax for once. Odds are - it wont happen. Not a chance. But I don't really mind, we can rest in the grave!

Look at Ulla, look how small she is! My, has she grown fast!