You know what...

Not sad that this week is ending. Not at all.

I have been fighting a staff infection this week that has had me at the ER Monday night, Tuesday night and this afternoon. It is quite painful and my right arm is about as useful as a T-Rex's and has about the same reach right now. It is super uncomfortable. I am typing with one hand.

I have been promised Kick-ass Cupcakes, and that better be a deliverable promise. Because 1) today is Friday and the s'mores cupcakes are available and 2) Mr and I deserve a cupcake.

Seriously. And tomorrow I will have fried oreo's at the Acton Fair without guilt.

Wow.

I can't believe how great vacation was. But it began with a great piece of news. Remember when I said "Vote for me"? People actually listened....and I won!

What does this mean? Well, I earn the title ENnies Judge for 2011. I get to read and review the latest and greatest in the gaming industry. And most of all, along with my fellow judges, we will decide on the nominees for next years awards. So excited!!!!

It also means a lot more gaming talk. But do not fret my non-gaming friends, I have syphoned the gaming chatter to a separate blog.

I am happy to introduce The Lore Mistress Chronicles : my one stop shop for a look into my ENnies year, chatter about gaming and reviews of the products that I play test, read or purchase.

So if you are interested.... follow me over there, and if you are interested in everything else...stay over here. Or both!

Ryan Reynolds makes a kid's day at San Diego ComicCon

This is a great video and the appropriate follow-up to my last blog post!

In Blackest Night...

I am a Batman fan... err... well more of a Robin fan than Bats himself. We have been reading the current storyline like two twelve year olds spending their allowance on comics.

And while we are enjoying that, we are also enjoying another DC hero that has been wonderfully written by Geoff Johns.... Green Lantern.

Someday I will go into detail on what I think of the new Batman arc and Red Robin and Damien Wayne as the new Robin.... but let's just focus on the awesome of the Green Lantern, shall we?

The latest story arcs for all of the DC universe are Blackest Night and Brightest Day. This is an ode to the Green Lantern battle cry. The world is facing yet another crisis. Batman is dead. Final Crisis has left the world broken... and now Black Green Lantern rings have been forged and sent to the dead to bring them back to life. (And the Batman inclusion issues were some of my favorite issues ever. Grayson and Drake facing their dead parents was a great idea, but the way it happened blew my mind.) This is Blackest Night. They even brought back dead titles for one last go round (1 issue). I am reading the compilation now.

Brightest Day is still ongoing, so I will not go into this in full detail. White rings land on specific heroes fingers, why? And who can pick up the white lantern that recharges their power? I am totally digging it.

Another reason to get excited is next December, the world will be treated to Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan in the Green Lantern movie.

I can not wait to see Hal Jordan on screen reciting the oath I know by heart:

In brightest day, in blackest night

No evil shall escape my sight!

Let those who worship evil's might

Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!

Recipe Corner: Capri Salad

Capri Salad is a gorgeous plate of yumminess that will appeal to those who don't like a normal salad. (Shhhhh.... it is totally a salad.) It's origin is on the Island of Capri off the coast of Naples, Italy. Most of Capri restaurants have gardens in the backyard or in another place on the island, so all the ingredients are super fresh!

This recipe is simple, easy and refreshing on a summers day like this.

(Photo Courtesy of myrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

2 Tomatoes (medium/large)

2 Balls of fresh Mozzarella

Whole Basil Leaves

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt

Pepper

Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and arrange on a plate with the whole Basil leaves. Add a dash of salt and pepper and drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar. Grab a fork and enjoy!

See? How easy is that?

Missing GenCon... but still discovering awesomeness!

So over the weekend we attended BisbeeCon and as has been the trend this year... I have discovered a new to me game that I HAD to post about here.

The game was called Umlaut: Game of Metal. If you like heavy metal music and kicking ass... this very well could be the game for you. It was for me.

You form a band, and give them ranks in stage mechanics, power, showman (or woman) ship. Then set off to earn fans, cash and hope. But lose a "roll" (the turning of the cards) and you earn ego, and that is both bad and good, as it is the basis to earn cash.

Along the way you challenge other bands to a gig, break bands up, earn cash, practice and do promotional stunts (like streak through a mall).

The mechanics are simple. There are no dice or a GM, which works out better than I thought they would. Success or failure are determined by the flip of the cards. You can be pulling up to an unlimited amount of cards, depending on what you are trying to do. The horns to indicate that you are ready to battle is a great touch!

In the end there is a Battle of the Bands (of course, how could there not be) to see who comes out on top. Then based off of fan base and ego, you determine whether or not the band makes it long term or whether they die out!

It is not hard to put together a great soundtrack for a game like this. Our GM was kind enough to allow me to keep the music, which I was headbanging while making sauce on Sunday night.

In our game, I came out on top with my band HellKatt. It was a great time, and I totally loved it.

And will be purchasing it to run at future game days...