Dungeons and Diamonds

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

RIPLEY _ _ _ has joined your party!

So last post I mentioned that we had a new addition to our household. Behold, Ripley! (Yes, like the lazy video-gamer, we kept the name she had when we adopted her. We'll just pretend its a reference to Alien.)

At the adoption event when I first met her.

Chillin in the shade at the adoption event.

DERP!

Look at those Yoda ears!

She's just resting her bum is all.

We adopted Ripley (aka Professor Longbody) from a rescue organization in DC called K-9 Lifesavers which is based out of DC/Southern Maryland. We saw her first on Petfinder.com and I was smitten with her 2 different color eyes. I drove to an adoption event to meet her and the rest is history. After 2 weeks she can already sit, shake and lay down. We're taking her to obedience classes starting July 12 to help teach her a few more "dog manners."

Having a dog has been a big adjustment to our schedules, but she is my crazy little furball and I love her. It's also increased our activity like crazy, and I'm sure my waistline approves. We've found a local dog park where she can socialize and run her little heart out, which is great, considering we don't have a yard.

Iif you are interested in getting a pet, I encourage adoption! There are lots of loving animals out there who need a good home.

Do you have a pet? (Hint: If the answer is yes, post a picture. I want to see!)

If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

"Shot Through the Heart...and you're to blame"

Greetings readers! I am back from my slightly unexpected absence. We have a "new addition" to our family, in the way of a very precocious little black and white dog. (More on her in an upcoming post!) She has taken up a lot of our time recently, but D&Di has returned with more geeky goodness than ever! More on her in an upcoming post!

Today I bring you a very simple modern day vampire hunting ensemble. Where are the silver bullets and the UV Ray guns you ask? Well, I thought about it, and the things I highlighted here can be purchased with ease on the internet, and a lot of brick and mortar stores. (And in the case of the stakes, procured from your own back yard!)

As Buffy showed the world, there is no need to let style fall by the wayside when battling the creatures of the night.

1. Joie, "The Pepper" suede messenger bag, (here) $265.00

2. Low Luv x Erin Wasson, cross pendant necklace, (here) $113.00

3. Lars Enander, Gransfors Bruks Ancient Collection Battle Axe, (here) $876.99

4.Barnett, Panzer V Crossbow package, (here) 189.99

5. Puma, tank top, (here) $60.00

6. KRMA, "Dean" leather jacket, (here) $598.00

7. The Green Dragon, curly walnut vampire stake, (here) $27.00

8. Enzo Angiolini, "Zoot" boot (here) $99.00

What would you include in your vampire hunting kit?

Also, check out my newest article over at Loremaster.org. : "Challenge your Self/yourself"

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Friday Favorites

Here is a quick re-cap of some of my favorite things this week.

Coffee

I really want to find a decent way to make iced coffee at home for the summertime.(But really, I'll take it any way I can get it.) Do any of you readers have any suggestions, or recipes? I used to work at Starbucks, but their ice coffee brewing method never seems to work quite right at home

(This mug makes a bold statement. Get yours here.)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

I was (pleasantly) surprised by this Nickelodeon cartoon. Marius and Sitara have actually been singing its praises for a while now. I had caught commercials here and there but dismissed it as another "lowest common denominator" anime. But during a cleaning spree in my apartment last night, it happened to be on when I was looking for something to put on TV in the background. After ONE episode I was hooked. It is actually NOT an anime, but a really smart, well edited, mature cartoon.

And let's keep it real, I <3 this weird animal companion from the show (Which has a name but I lovingly call "flying bison thingy")

Making Wedding Arrangements

We finally found a venue!!! I have actually started to get excited about planning, rather than getting frustrated that I had made ZERO progress. We are about 6 months out now, so I figure I should probably start dress shopping soon. (Thank jeebus p90x just came in the mail today!)

http://www.eventsatregency.com/

Puppy
Our new puppy will surely get her own post this weekend, (we pick her up on Saturday) but here is a teaser.

Pet-Finder.com - An awesome resource for adopting a rescue.

Late Night Vacuuming
Every night this week I have gotten the urge to vacuum way past the time when any normal person would want to vacuum. Have I mentioned yet that I love to clean? I also love fresh laundry, no dirty dishes, and clean floors.

Martha Stewart's Spring Cleaning Checklist

I think that's pretty much as random as it gets. That's what keeps life interesting though.

What were your favorite things this week?

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Welcome to the Jungle

In the past few months, my fiancee has introduced me to the wonderful world of Warhammer.
Warhammer is a miniatures game created by Games Workshop, whose HQ is based out of the U.K. (They even have a Warhammer themed pub called Bugman's Bar where you can order a pint of your favourite brew and play a quick game, or discuss battle reports with the local nerds.) As the title suggests, it is essentially a wargame in which two armies built with an equal number of points, go head to head on the battlefield. It is equal parts skill (building your army, deciding which attributes to give your soldiers) and luck (roll of the dice.)

One of our good friends "Marius" has been plotting a campaign for quite some time now, and we have spent the last couple of weekends play-testing in the jungle setting he has developed. I am interested to see where this campaign goes, and I want to pull out all the stops. I will be creating a blog based on yet-to-be-named campaign, where you will find background stories on all of the armies, profiles of the players, and battle reports after each session.

The armies disembark on the shoreline. I am playing Ogres, my fiancee has the Brettonians, "Eurydice" is fielding a sweet Dogs of War group (with a BEAR), Mike G. is playing Chaos Warriors, "Sitara" has the wood elves and Matt J. (of http://www.loremaster.org) is playing Daemons.

I only had my iPhone on me at the time, so the quality of the photos aren't that great, but you get the idea.

And naturally, when the concentration of nerd is high, you get stuff like this.

Brettonians Into the Fray from Alexis B. on Vimeo.

Beers, Burps, Battle from Alexis B. on Vimeo.

Are you currently running a warhammer campaign, or playing in one?

Are there any other Warhammer topics you'd like to see written about?

Monday, May 31, 2010

Be Prepared

First, D&D is back! (Can I even use those symbols together without getting sued?)

Second, Happy Memorial Day! My father served in the US Army for 25 years and my fiancee served in the Air Force for 6, and both say they're better people for it. To those who defend our country, (or used to) I say THANK YOU.

Third, I had a doughnut (spell check would not allow DONUT) this morning for breakfast, and boy oh boy was it tasty.

Survival of the Alive-est

A few weeks ago, before one of our weekend Warhammer sessions, Jon, Liz, Chris and I were pontificating on the subject of survival during a "hypothetical" zombie epidemic. Jon happened to hear of a brilliant item called a "bug-out" bag. This is a bag packed with gear that you would need to survive at least 72 hours in case you had to "bug-out" of your house quickly. In case you didn't already have one put together, I have given you some options below.

Your bug-out bag should be small enough for you to carry on your own, but big enough to store the essentials. They need to be durable enough to withstand the elements and a some "wear and tear." (Especially the "tear" part if we're talking about zombies.) The first style, is a backpack design which leaves both hands free, in case you need to carry weapons, children, or pets. (Or one of each?) The second is a messenger style, which also leaves both hands free. The last example is a hand carry, which if heavy enough, could also be used as a blunt weapon.

1. SPEC.-OPS."T.H.E. Pack", available (here) $179.99

2. UTG "Multi-Functional Tactical Messenger Bag", available (here) $28.50

3.Klein Tools 20" Canvas Tool Bag, available (here) $60.87

Even more important than the bag part of your BO bag, is what is contained within. As much as I would like to include lip-gloss, some instant Starbucks coffee, and a fashion magazine or two, the BO bag needs to be pared down to hold only the basics. (Although it's questionable how long I would survive without a cup of coffee.)

1. Rand McNally, "Map of Northern Virginia", available (here) $4.70

2. Morakniv™ " Forest Exclusive Model 311BB 4 1/4", available (here) $99.00

3. Adventure Medical Kits, "UltraLight/Watertight Medical Kit, available (here) $36.00

4. Surefire, "E2L Outdoorsman Dual Output LED Flashlight," available (here) $159.00

5. Eton, "FR400 Special Edition Pink Crank Powered Emergency Radio with AM/FM, NOAA and TV-VHF", available (here) $58.99

6. Glock "19 Pistol, 9mm," available (here) $459.00

7. Datrex, "2400 Kcal per ration Emergency survival food bar," available (here) $5.19/12 pack

8. Steri-Pen "Traveler Hand-held UV Water Purifier," available (here) $60.00

9. Evian bottled water, available (here) $34.99/24 pack

10. Ultimate Survival Technologies "StrikeForce Fire Starter," available (here) $24.00

11. Max Brooks, "The Zombie Survival Guide," available (here) $9.50

Is there anything you think I should have included and didn't?

Do you have your own version of a bug out bag?

Monday, May 10, 2010

On Location

With summer just around the corner, I have been day dreaming about all of the many exotic places I would love to go on vacation. I love the outdoors, so I would be happy on a beach, in a forest, in the mountains, and yes, even on a snow-capped mountain.

It's a big, beautiful planet so there are lots of choices for all of the aforementioned choices. If we're talking day-dreams though, you might as well dream big. And what could be dreamier than visiting one of the seriously amazing settings seen in some of the most epic movies and television shows.

New Zealand: Lord of the Rings

Nelson Region, NZ