Today is Matt's birthday.

Yay! And for that birthday, I managed yesterday to bake what might be the most perfect lemon meringue pie I've ever created (lemon meringue being his favorite, you see). I managed to add just enough water to the crust so that it would hold together, but not so much it became sticky. It was... well, I suspect perfect. We'll see today. I ended up using a new filling recipe and I'm not sure I like the curd portion as well... I'll have to see what it's like and whether or not it warrants experimenting further. I don't remember using that much cornstarch, for one, though I'm probably wrong about that. Definitely the order of ingredients was new, as was cooking it over gas. Have to incorporate those things next time into my planning. Also, we have a new micrograter, and it works SO MUCH BETTER than the old ones for zesting. I finally feel like I've successfully put zest in something. Go me!

I find myself this morning lightly boggled at where I am and how I got here, and that I have this person with whom I'm sharing my life. He is not perfect, but then neither am I. That said, his imperfections are things that I can deal with, and seemingly vice versa. And his virtues... his mere existence makes the world measurably better, whether he'd admit that or not, and his strengths make my own life immeasurably better. I cannot contemplate life without him -- he has turned my world upside down and made it more vibrant, more real, than it ever had been before. For better or worse, he puts himself out there and does his best to see the good and act accordingly. That alone makes him a better person than I am. He can embrace change when he needs to, even when it makes him uncomfortable, and when he sees something that needs doing, he does it. His writing makes me get goosebumps, and his cooking makes my struggle to lose weight just a little bit harder -- but God, do I ever know I'm loved. :)

I'm grateful that this man is here in the world, and that he turns another year older today. I'm grateful that he's in my life, and well, and healthy, and happy with his family and my family and how life is going. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to be here and see him grow and change and become more himself, and be happy about all of that. Happy birthday, love. You are my Orpheus, and I'll never forget it. :) *hug*

Character Creation: Leverage!

I love this show. Watching it makes me happy. I've addicted Matt to it as well, so now we slowly make our way through the seasons. :) At GenCon we picked up the Leverage RPG after having our eye on it for a year or so. Today, therefore, we'll be making characters. Sometimes the bad guys make the best good guys, you know. Matt and I are making characters together, and his hacker is over here.

Game: Leverage RPG
Publisher: Margaret Weis Publishing
Books Required: Just the core. There will be supplements out later, but not right now.
Level of Familiarity: Lots with the show, not much with the game. Matt intends to run it once the summer winds down, but I haven't even had a chance to read it yet. Wheee!

Step 1: Get a Blank Rap Sheet
I'm going to be a Mastermind. I debated Hitter or Thief, but I couldn't get away from it, really. Eeeee. :) I therefore have a printed "Mastermind" rap sheet.

Step 2: Consider Your Background
My character grew up on the South Side of Chicago. She was the daughter of a cop, the granddaughter of a cop, and the sister of a cop... so when she ended up in Internal Affairs, it was a shock to everyone. She stayed with it until she couldn't stand the internal corruption any longer, much to the relief of her family. When her brother was made the fall guy for an internal scandal, though, she came out of retirement -- along with some connections she had. Det. Alexandra Roarke is her name.

Step 3: Primary Role:
She's a Mastermind, duh.

Step 4: Secondary Role:
I was torn between Hitter and Hacker, but since Matt's making the Hacker, I went with Hitter instead. Grifter is especially inviting, but honestly I'm trying not to make Nate here -- and there's no reason for her to be a Grifter, much less Thief.

Step 5: Assigning Attributes:
There are two options here -- Focused (2d8, 2d10, and 2d6) or Versatile, which is 1d10, 4d8, and 1d6. I went with Focused, and have d10s in Intelligence and Strength, d8s in Alertness and Willpower, and d6s in Agility and Vitality.

Step 6: Distinctions
So, apparently you normally come up with one distinction, and then play through the first job and the other players give you two more. I'd enjoy that. Not feasible here, though, so instead I'm choosing them. You get three total, all of them things about your character (past, personality, etc.) Mine are Ex-IAD, Quick Tempered, and Strict Vegetarian.

Step 7: Talents and Specialties
So, there are talents for your role and there are talents that aren't assigned and there are talents you can make up. For her, I chose Sea of Calm, which lets her help her team in tough scrapes, and Threat Assessment, which lets her size up an opponent accurately. The first comes from Mastermind, the second from Hitter. Then there's specialties... these are a little odd -- you assign them to a role, which gives them context. Alexandra has "Soccer" under Hitter and "Drinking (strategic)" under Mastermind. This means, for example, that she can fake a drunk well, she can hold her liquor, and she knows what to drink for what kind of Mark. Soccer in the context of Hitter means she's got sort of a full-body, no-holds-barred, dirty street approach to fighting. She fights like an aggressive forward playing soccer, and gets a lot of her moves from that background.

And that's Leverage! She'd be fun to play... I may hang onto her. :)