Evil-slaying activities for Sunday, Feb 27

Here's a list of my activities today - could you all be awesome and assign me some points for each of these activities?  Thank you!

-Worked for 3 hours (yes, on a Sunday, stupid site was supposed to go live tomorrow but is delayed AGAIN because of technical difficulties, ugh)
-Played cello for 30 minutes
-Did one load of laundry
-Went out and bought a stick blender so I can make more smoothies and blend veggies easier
-Submitted an abstract for my paper to the International Digital Media and Arts Journal

I think that's it.... so what's my point total for today?


Also, I thought of a few non-monetary-related rewards, but I could still use suggestions.  I'm drawing a blank!
New ideas:

-An afternoon "off" - to read, play video games, whatever without feeling like I "have" to do anything
-A drive somewhere to take photos
-Trip to a bookstore

Fighting the Wolf

In my experience with people who have been infected by the Beast, I have found there are two paths to keeping the monster at bay.

First, you have to calm the Beast. Rage isn't only an Abiding Evil trying to turn you into a man-rending animal, it is a force that can slowly corrupt you into seeing people as prey, even on a slow burn level. The Beast can manifest itself in your flesh in several means... ulcers, hypertension, inflammation disorders, insomnia. Calm the beast to reduce the heat. I like music to this end, a historic remedy for the Beast. What music calms you? And I don't mean "satisfy", I do mean "calm". Is it baroque organ music, Italian opera, new age Windham Hill synth music, trance, Buddhist chant, or even the pipes and drums? Feed that into your body, and put the fetcher to sleep.

Second, you have to feed the blighter. A pet will turn on any master once it begins to starve to death. Likewise, to keep the rage from overtaking your humanity, keep it from forcibly lashing out and taking more than it can eat out of your hide. Recognize the anger that is human, and give it a place to exist. I'm biased, but I like music towards this end as well. Give it the hard metal, the brakes, the two-step country-western shuffle, the belt-out-loud Broadway. Choose the music that tends to make you physically move... this feeds it just enough to keep it from lashing out.

Food for thought...

LOOT: Broccoli Barley Soup

Coming home from the store yesterday, I walked in my house and saw the weirdest thing. One of my cookbooks was glowing. Right there on the bookshelf in the living room, just shining at me like the sun. I took the book off the shelf and it opened to a recipe I've never seen before - a nourishing soup with broccoli and barley. I wasn't sure at the time what was going on, but now it all makes sense...

LOOT: For using the Wild Berry Potion to defeat the vampire yesterday, you've earned a new recipe.


Broccoli Barley Soup
from Sunset's "Vegetarian Cooking: Nutritious Recipes with Flavor & Imagination"

3 Tbs Butter
2 medium Onions, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 pounds Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp dried Rosemary
1 cups Vegetable Cups
3/4 cup Pearl Barley
1 pound Broccoli
2 Tbs Cornstarch
1/4 cup Water
2 cups Milk
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Parmesan Cheese (I use Cheddar)

In a 5 quart pan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft (about 5 minutes). Add rosemary, stock, and barely and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until barley is tender (about 45 minutes).

Meanwhile, remove broccoli flowerets and cut into bite-sized pieces. Peel stems and thinly slice. When barley is tender, increase heat and add broccoli stems and pieces. Cook, covered, until broccoli is just tender and still bright green (about 10 minutes).

In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and water. Add to soup long with milk and cook, stirring, until soup boils and thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle each serving lightly with Parmesan cheese.