All The Ones You Tell Your Troubles To, They Don't Really Care For You

Yesterday my blog disappeared.

Bam. Gone. About 5 minutes after I responded to a comment on my last post. In place of the shambled ramblings you currently see here was a note that said that this blog had been removed. No explanation or instructions. Just a "hey dumbass, yer blog's gone! HA!".

Hmmm.

Angry? I'm not angry...

It wasn't like that time I accidentally deleted a blog, freaked out, and then found the un-delete button. I promise. This one was outta nowhere.

So the only way to get any help is in the blogger forums (Yes, I'm still on blogger. No, I don't care that you feel it is beneath you. I'll change when I wanna, and have the time.) Some posting and investigating ensued and eventually ye olde blog was back up.

While they still didn't offer any real explanation, there's signs that someone's been trying to access my account, and apparently someone may also be copying all of my content and using it on spam sites. So if you're the dickface in question, fuhgeddaboutit. My secret special agent detectives (who double as male model man-servants) are onto you. They shall beat you and feed you your spleen. Mmm. Spleen.

All's well that ends well, and your home of boredom is back to its non-glory. Huzzah.

(In other news, our Ricky's Big Scoop contest from awhile back just ended and the winner was announced here. Didja win? Huh? Didja?)

If this site suddenly "disappears" again... lemme know. Tweet me awake or sumthin', and I'll  be on the case like Nancy Drew.

Gumshoe - out.

You Had A Temper Like My Jealousy; Too Hot, Too Greedy

Back in Toronto after spending Christmas in good ol' St. Kittykats.

I'm certain that more pics will surface. They always do.

In the meantime, here's a brief holiday photo purge to ease my bloggin' mind.

 

Dogs 'n booze. Quite a mix.

Had a great few days. Amazing food, gifts that made me stupidly giddy, fun family times and all that jazz.

Ok, so maybe there were 4 or 5 dog brawls. And maybe seeing both dogs upset and bleeding made us all sad and frustrated at the time. But... we're over it. They're alive.

All's fine 'n dandy now.

The power of nap compels you.

Can't Make It Out Alone, I've Built My Dreams Around You

Here's a short but sweet(?) message for the holidays - it's not like the one from last year, but it's the thought that counts.

Right?



And, as I do every year, here's the usual song for ya:




Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, folks.

I'm off to Niagara to get crazy with the family. xo

Sinatra Was Swinging, All The Drunks They Were Singing

I've been too busy with work to pay much attention to Christmas shtuff, but I decided to throw up a few decorations throughout my casa to get me into the "spirit" of things.

I used to have a Christmas tree that I'd put up every year (see here, and here), but there was nowhere to store that big sucker in my wee li'l apartment. So I sadly had to get rid of the tree, which was my favourite part of  the Christmas decorations.

I did, however, keep all the damn ornaments. With no tree to put 'em on, I decided to dress up my tall bookcase instead - complete with a star on top. It's like a Nerd Christmas. Kinda fitting, really.

Add a couple of beer bottles on that there thang, and you've got something that's pretty much as Kris as can be.

Yeah. It's a little sad.

But kinda fun in a way, cuz I got to "decorate" some of my favourite things.

An old pic of my grandpa with my cousins and I when we were tiny li'l brats?

Now Chrismafied! Alongside To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare's complete works, no less.
 

And where else can Little Women and Hunter S. Thompson celebrate Christmas with a grade-school punkass Kris and her best friend Vicky, posing on the baseball diamond?

Nowhere, dude. Nowhere.

I was about to make some kinda 'Jim Morrison is Jesus' comment, but one of 'em I believe in... the other I don't. So - my backup choices are:

He is the Christmas King, he can do anything.

or

Mr. Hoho Risin'.

Meh. Ah, leave me alone...

 I see stars.

I threw random Christmas decorations around the place.

Though it still feels (and is) half-assed, it helps.

Even the Salt and Pepper guys got decorated. They creepily look like carolers at the moment. Maybe singing this? (Go Dee, GO!):

It's officially winter. Keep warm (not like you have a choice in this weather).

Ho ho ho, hosers.

You Wanna Know Why You Feel So Hollow? Because You Are.

Everyone reads and re-posts those Damn You Autocorrect links. I always figure some of them are made up... but then again, I used to own a Blackberry.

No auto-correct. No idea how magically evil it was.

Well, the Samsung Galaxy has the weirdest auto-correct of all. And, for me, they seem to have a pattern.

For example: when I was trying to text the word 'married', it was changed to 'naked'. So my texts could potentially be sent like this:

"Yes, he's naked! I was there, I saw it for myself. Nothing big, a lot smaller than you'd imagine. His mom couldn't stop crying."

or

"We've talked about it before, but I really think that you and I should get naked. Our families would be so happy!"

Then I was trying to type my name...

But no. It changed 'Kris' to 'period'.

Oh, good.

"Get ready for Friday - some quality time with your ol' pal Period!"

and

"He said it's going to be The Year of Period. That's a lotta period!"

Those were amusing enough for me.

But this next one wins, hands down.

I typed the word 'relationship'. And that one, my friends, was changed to 'fellatio'.

The possibilities are endless with that gem.

"I'm tired of dating. I'm just looking for serious fellatio."

and

"That fellatio went on for way too long, and it ended pretty painfully. It was ugly."

I know you perverted, wonderful people likely have better ones in mind.

Go for it; post 'em.

Entertain me. I demand it.

She Gave Away The Secrets Of Her Past, And Said I've Lost Control Again

 Ah, Friday.

The day of the random blog post - for updates and extra junk that spills outta my wee brain, with accompanying pictures that are mostly dog walk-related.

Is that not exciting for you?! Come on.

Considering it's about a week before Christmas and I'm not at all ready, I went to the good ol' Dufferin Mall last night to look for some proper gift-age.

Found nothing, other than groceries. Although there was free dinner for my buddy and I at Teriyaki Experience (merci Slam Buy). So it wasn't a total loss.

Speaking of Christmas, I guess it's time to announce the winner of the Sobey's contest...

The gift card is going to you, J. Reynolds - your heartstring-puller of a comment was a hit. So send your mailing address to shambledramblings@gmail.com, and it'll go out to you right away.

Congrats!

Now don't forget to enter the other contest from Ricky's Big Scoop. Cuz dude... it's food. Awesometastic food. I'd never steer ya wrong.

So win that thing, cuz I can't.

I think there are mozza sticks there. And anyone who has read this blog long enough (or met me for more than 5 minutes) knows how crazy nutbar I am for mozza sticks. I'm having memories of late-night FGPs with the old St. Catharines Booze Crew...  Fat Girl Platter Reunion, anyone?

Since today is the 16th, I have to give a birthday shout out to my dear big seester Steph, cuz the anniversary of her exit from our lovely mother is tomorrow.

So happy birfday, Steph! (Now, everyone else wish her a happy birthday... do it!)

And for my fellow beer lovers (Steph, this may also be of interest to you), the awesome Indie Alehouse folks will be featured at The Brewery Market event on Sunday.  So, you should go. Because it's delicious. And it's Christmas themed. What more do you people want?

Happy weekend, pigdonkeys! Til next time...

Without A Care In This Life, It's What You Take That Makes It Right

Some weeks, the ol' rambling blog has a food theme. This is one of those weeks. But the other theme right now? Contests. Yessir.

The Sobey's contest from last week is still going (you have til Friday to enter), but today... oh man. Today I'm gonna tell you about a little place that has such magical creations, it's enough to make a hungry chick like me tear up a bit due to sheer joy.

Ricky's Big Scoop is, because of the name, known for ice cream and ice cream cakes. But it should probably be called Ricky's Place of Food Awesomeness & Other Superfun Things because he's also got poutine (including an onion ring poutine... seriously), sammiches, award-winning chilli, chowders, fresh-baked bread, brownies, cookies (sometimes with bacon in 'em. Ah, bacon.)

Ugh. He needs a Toronto location, just for me. Beside my house, maybe. He's located in Niagara - I know a lot of you folks are from there, or visit a lot, so here's a contest just for you. Ya ready?

To win a gift card to Ricky's Big Scoop, plus a t-shirt to remind you of the deliciousness, here's how ya enter:

1. 'Like" Ricky's Big Scoop on Facebook, then mention on your status (making sure Facebook links it to the page): Hey @RickysBigScoop - I'm hungry! I wanna win your contest from ShambledRamblings.com.

or

2. Follow RickysBigScoop on Twitter, and tweet: Hey @ShambledRambler - I'm hungry! I wanna win the @RickysBigScoop contest!

Do both, and you're entered twice. Simple, oui? Oui. ( edit: Because apparently some people don't have Facebook or Twitter, you're allowed to enter by commenting on the blog post. Just let us know why you should win, and what you're excited to eat.)

Aaaand if you don't win, it's ok. Really. Because he'll still give you 25% off of your first visit, as long as you mention Shambled Ramblings or The MediaHaus.

BAM!

So ho ho ho, hosers. Eat & be merry. (If you win... get me a poutine. Ok?)

Rainbow powers - activate! Form of... delicious contest.

G'luck!

The Kind That Won't Wash Away, And Then Leave You In The Dark

The other morning, while lying in bed, a kinda morbid thought hit me.

I live alone. I work from home. 90% of my life takes place within the confines of my apartment.

If I were ever to choke on something and die (or if some other type of freak accident were to occur), how long would it take for someone to notice?

Yeah. A freaky, stupid thought. I know.

Blame Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon for putting it in my head long ago.

But seriously.  

Is this something anyone else thinks about?

I suppose Daisy would start barking due to hunger after a day or two (hopefully before that), and maybe a neighbour will come try to shut her up and discover whatever shit went down in my apartment. So, really... the dog could potentially save me, if it wasn't too late.

Help me, Daisy Wan... you're my only hope.

Ah. Happy thoughts on a Monday.

You're welcome.

(Might be high time to nab a boyfriend, non?)

I Sell Souls By The Side Of The Road, Would You Like To Take A Number?

The folks who do PR for Sobey's know that I'm always ready to blog about food. This time, it's all about perfect stuff for holiday get-togethers. Or... stuff that I wish to shove in my face at all times.

Which, in this case, meant mini cheesecakes that are covered in chocolate.

I have a weakness for cheesecake. I can't ignore it; it's stronger than I am.

So when I got these, it was a serious act of willpower to not eat all of them right off the bat.

 

Yes, I made myself quite proud. The pack lasted two days.

A record for me. WHERE IS MY REWARD?! Oh, right. Cheesecake.

They're meant to be shared, but I shared with no one.

I'm a selfish cheesecake-eatin' bitch. I know.

It's bad when even your dog is judging you. And she was. Trust me.

This is pretty much what it looks like when I'm talking to myself in my head.

"You can do this, you don't need to eat them all right now. But they ARE small... and freakin' delicious..."

Sigh.

Anyway, you can try 'em out for yourself. Along with the other Sensations by Compliments goodies that kick ass for the holidays.

Yer hostess gift/ surprise drop-in problems? Solved. Cuz I'm giving away a gift card to Sobey's.

Just comment on this post and tell me why you dig the holidays.

Speaking of holidays...  my mom came up to visit and we ventured to the Eaton's Centre with my sister. I never go there. I also tend to refrain from shopping because I'm horrible at it.

But these monster mall reindeer are kinda fun.

And look! This one's a girl. Good on ya, chick reindeer!

So don't forget to comment & win - I'm trying to make your holidays a bit easier, and possibly more cheesecake-full.

And now I'm hungry. Again.