And just a note: I successfully got to work at 6:35am yesterday, which meant I worked until 5pm, which meant I got home a bit earlier than I’m normally used to (which was nice!) I am up early enough to do so again today.

Yay!

But since I didn’t change the clocks in my bedroom, it actually seems like I woke up thirty minutes late!

This does mean I’m going to bed earlier, of course. I can’t have everything.

Oh my. I unpacked it. I think I need to watch the video, and then just stare at it for a little while. It’s really a lot bigger than I expected! And heavier, too! But nice. I will play more tomorrow.

(I am getting used to the new camera. I am resizing pictures via Photoshop when they don’t need to be so big. It’s working out well so far.)

I wanted one like this because it has a free arm, differential feed, doesn’t need different needleplates for rolled hems, and is supposed to be pretty easy to thread. So we’ll see.

Wow. Yesterday, I got my new Greeting Card software (a one day turnaround, since it was shipped on Monday.) Today, I got the majority of my Target order (in one huge box!) and some of my Amazon order (see, they can ship quickly!) and my serger!

The only box I haven’t opened yet is the serger. And that might wait until tomorrow night. Maybe. It’s really still early enough to open it tonight, but probably not to actually set it up and use it.

One thing I did buy at Target.com was a rice cooker. I had asked for one for Christmas, just because I’d been intrigued with them for a while now, and also because I kind of don’t like the way the Pampered Chef one works anymore. It seems like it’s not working as well as it used to. I’m not sure why.

So anyway, while buying a couple of things for other people on my list, I stumbled across this rice cooker, which was on sale for $11.99. A far cry from the $99 one I’d put on my Christmas List. I got it today with the other stuff, and had to plug it in to try it. It makes 6 cups of rice, and has a steamer basket too, so that’s really nice. It’s also tiny, and by tiny, I mean tiny. It’s also very cute, if appliances can be cute.

I made 4 cups of rice as a first try, which means I have lots of leftovers, but boy am I impressed! It’s really nice! And it makes the rice so much better than the Pampered Chef microwave rice cooker. (Sorry, Pampered Chef.)

According to the manual, you can even bake a cake in it. A quick search on the Rival website netted me with absolutely nothing (although the manual did say to check the website for a recipe), but I did find one for Rice Cooker bread somewhere else. And a couple of mentions that people have cooker quick breads in it as well (which makes sense to me, actually; more sense than yeast bread, at least.)

To make up for my elimination of the expensive rice cooker from my Christmas list, I added three things from the King Arthur Flour Baking store, two of which I really could use. A dough whisk, which would be wonderful with the No-Knead bread, since it’s rather sticky (and if I don’t get this for Christmas, it will be #1 on my after-Christmas list.) A Baker’s Bench Knife, which would also be very useful, and the set of 4 mini bakers, because they would be great for sample loaves of bread (not to mention they are cute.) So we’ll see.

OUCH. OUCH!

So my credit with Duke Energy is gone, because I turned on my heat. I’m expecting that after I pay this bill, I’ll have to go back on budget billing. Although it seems kind of silly to go back on budget billing if I’m just going to pay extra anyway, and if I expect a $400 bill like normal one month and $250-$275 each month for the rest of the winter.

Anyway, I was curious to find out how much I’d have to pay this month, since I figured turning on the heat would eat my credit. I got the bill today. It’s $15.21. That means my actual bill was a little over $100, since I had $90+ in credit left from the summertime.

I did use my stove a lot, too, for what that’s worth.

Ouch! Okay, a painless ouch. But I really expected it to be higher.

I am having a hard time getting going this morning. I think it’s the weather–it felt so nice to just lay in bed and listen to the rain this morning, although I didn’t really sleep in.

I’m glad I have nowhere to go today. It’s a stay-at-home kind of day. I’m going to go write until noon, and then head downstairs to clean up the kitchen, start my bread for the week, and get going in that respect.

And enjoy a quiet day. (So far!)

I’m getting glimpses of the sequel to Full Moon, and I don’t even know the ending of this book yet.

There wasn’t supposed to be a sequel. But evidently there is going to be one. I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry.

But I am glad it’s going well, finally!

Whew. My eyes are starting to cross.

However, I have a good portion of my Christmas shopping sitting in my Amazon basket–I’m waiting for an okay from a couple of people before I go and actually order anything–and I also put in my order at Sierra Trading Post (Dad, don’t click on the link!) for mostly these. Every person on my list is getting a pair, except for Ethan. (I have a pair, and they are really nice!)

Other than the mushroom kits, which Dad and Em still have to pick out, I’ll be done once I get word. Completely done except for what I’m making, which, at the moment, consists of napkins for Mom (pending the receipt of my serger), earrings and a hat for Bekah, and a pair of slippers for Ethan.

Jess needs to get with me and let me know what she wants/needs, but otherwise, I have everyone else pretty much wrapped up. Which is nice, for once!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I woke up this morning to the smell of rising bread dough. Hmm. I will have to do this overnight thing more often, I think.

I made a double batch of regular No Knead bread in my big bowl and a single batch of Maple No Knead bread in a smaller bowl. That will be only two loaves of bread, because I wanted to use my big dutch oven for the double loaf. It’s just about ready to go.

And the sweet potatoes will be put in the crock pot in a bit here, and then I’ll be off to Mom and Dad’s house. If the bread gets done early enough, I can actually go there early.

And here, of course, is Ethan, being silly.

I took a picture of the moon last night, and decided to make it into a cover for Full Moon.

That’s really a photograph of the moon. Really honest!!