I made up a loaf of this this morning — and by made up, I mean made up.  I improvised the recipe with what I had on hand.  It’s a heavy bread, but good and moist and very tasty with a cold glass of soy milk.  (I’m lactose intolerant, remember?)  I’m pleased with how it turned out.  More importantly, the house smells divine.   

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3 T cocoa powder 

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 T instant espresso

1/4 c. egg substitute or 1 whole egg

1 cup banana, mashed

1/4 cup babyfood prunes

1/3 c. pecan halves

3 dark chocolate squares, chopped  

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan.

2 Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another, then combine. Don’t over work it.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

3 Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool before slicing.

• I’d really love to find a modestly-priced 3/4 sleeve bow-tie blouse.  Anybody know of one?
• Annie Ok twitters a link to Iron Man on SL (Flickr)
• Why do I find treasures on Bluefly when I have no business shopping?  (As a nursing mom, wrap tops and deep v’s are ideal.)  There are still 3 smalls of this nursing top in stock on sale.  I’m not spending right now, but if there are any left when I am, do you think I could pull off that drape?
• Prom tickets are now on sale.  I don’t know that we’re going to make it this year, what with the babe and all, but maybe.  I should check the calendar.
• How do you go about finding a local ebay reseller? I want to sell my road bike and get a mountain bike, but I don’t know from selling on ebay and I haven’t got the time or patience to learn.
• Fraction’s in GQ again! May 2008, p. 154.
• I bet there’s a way to add a field for TWITTER handles to ADDRESS BOOK, huh?

EDITED TO ADD: 

•  Niles is on the CNN!

http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/04/25/news.comiccon.darkhorse.history.cnnmoney

http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/04/24/news.comiccon.darkhorse.universal.cnnmoney

• I’m linking to this Spider-Man tattoo not because I’m passing judgment on the guy, but rather because I think the shredded skin technique is really effective.  (Confession: when I got my tattoo, I went in asking for something that looked like my skin had been scraped off and I had tiger stripes underneath.  The artist told me it couldn’t be done — which is how I ended up with the piece I’ve got now.  Perhaps she meant that it shouldn’t be done.  Who knows?  Part of me does look at this though and goes, “Aw, man!”)  (Don’t judge me.)  (Oh, like you’re perfect.)

Chick 6: Golden Laced Wyandotte?
Originally uploaded by QueenieVonSugarpants

More photos here. 

• For my Twitter pals, I’m cooking up those morels tonight.  I plan to rinse them twice, saute them in butter and serve them with sirloin.  They’re supposed to compliment red meat well.  (I’m still working on that baby weight, so I’ll just have a little.)
• I need to be drinking more water and I want to quit using so many plastic bottles.  Tap water doesn’t do it for me, alas.  We keep a Brita pitcher on the counter and a glass carafe in the fridge.  I just put some ginger slices in the carafe and I seem to remember stumbling upon some herbed water “recipes” at some point.  Blueberry and rosemary?  Am I remembering that right?  Anyone else have this problem?  Suggestions?  Lemon, mint and cucumbers seem the next most obvious choices.  
• I haven’t had much time to knit lately so I haven’t been too active on Ravelry, but I check in every once in a while to see how folks are doing and man, oh, man.  I’m so proud of Casey and Jess I could pop.  POP, I say.
• It looks like Jo Anne, a friend of mine from college, is going to be able to babysit for us three evenings in San Diego, so I think Miss April will stay here and housesit.  Problem: solved.  Whew!  I couldn’t bear to leave Henry for that long and as much as I’d like to take April to SDCC we’re not quite to the traveling-with-your-nanny tax bracket, you know?  Maybe one day.  Anyway, looks like we’ll get to go to the Eisners!  Woo hoo!  I’m going to buy a new dress, I think.  (I know, I know – I’ve heard they’re unbearably long and dull.  I don’t care.)
• I’m returning those jeans.  They just don’t wow me.  And I know the whole ‘cute little skater girl’ thing was meant as a positive, but I’m 37.  Teenager is not exactly the aesthetic I’m trying to cultivate, dig?  (Somehow the same jeans look terribly sophisticated on Hillary!  Oh, well.  I’ll find some jeans.  This is hardly a tragedy.)
• Uh… Henry’s asleep.  I should get back to work.  Also?  I need to eat something.  I’ve got the low blood sugar shakes.  I’ll add links to this entry later. 

Budgie answered my Fast Fiction Challenge here.  Well done, Lee! 

Well, okay… I’m not really.  But Iron Man is coming to Second Life (thanks for the tip, Annie Ok) and did I mention here that Fraction got nominated for two Eisners?  No? Well, he totally did.  I’m very proud.  Congrats to all the nominees.  

Bit of a braindump, this post.  Fair warning.  

• First, Fraction’s in NYC and you can see him on Monday if you like.
  

  Details: On Monday, April 14th, Hanley’s welcomes four of the biggest stars in the Marvel Universe; Brian Michael Bendis (Secret Invasion), Jeph Loeb (Hulk), Ed Brubaker (Captain America) and Matt Fraction (Punisher War Journal). With 11 Eisner Awards and 14 top selling books between them, this quartet of writers dominates the comic industry like none other. With special guest, editor Jen Grunwald, fans can meet these incredible creators from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

• Family Friend Craig Moorhead and his National Geographic colleagues are nominated for some Webby Awards.  How to vote for Craig and his fellows here.
• Fraction’s got a great interview on his new Iron Man book up on CBR here.  (Do me a favor and read the full interview at CBR and not the out of context quotes reposted elsewhere with a misleading and inflammatory introduction.) 
• Going to Heroes Con?  Fraction and I are!  All the cool kids are, I hear.  This panel ought to be a hoot:
  

  THE CREATIVE HOUSEHOLD | Room 219There are a surprising number of couples in comics where both partners are working in the industry in some capacity; and most of them are attending this year’s HeroesCon! Tom Spurgeon of the Comics Reporter sits down with three of them: Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick, Stuart and Kathryn Immonen, and Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer. This discussion of the ins and outs of where work and love meets is bound to be one of the most entertaining panels you’ll go to at ANY convention this year, so be sure and add it to your schedule!     

    More panels and the full schedule here.

• Aaaaand I wanted to talk about being a freelancer and a mom without a schedule and what dangerous waters those are, but the boy is awake and needs my attention.  So, more on that later, I guess.

Is anyone else taking babies or kids to San Diego?  Our nanny really wants to come with us — which would be great — but we’re trying figure out if it’s financially plausible.  If she could sit for more kids than just Henry while she’s there, it would help.  Anyone…?   

• The next time I buy pants, I’m going to try this: http://www.searchbyinseam.com/
• Merlin Mann and Antony Johnston both recommend Scrivener: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html, so the next time I have something terribly important that I want to avoid doing, I’ll check this out instead of trawling the internet for, I dunno, RealDoll pr0n or whatever. I also want to check out Bento. 
• Amber at The Darling Room pointed me towards luckyscent.com, where you can order little samples of expensive perfumes for $2-$6.  I got four and fell in love with one: Eau de Verveine by Heeley.  Mmm.  Spring.