Slow News Day?

Family see Jesus image in Marmite
BBC NEWS

The family said they found the image comforting.

It may not be immediately obvious to everyone, but one family are convinced they can see the face of Jesus on the lid of a jar of Marmite.
Claire Allen, 36, said she was the first to notice the image on the underside of the lid as she was putting the yeast spread on her son's toast.
Her husband Gareth, 37, said he could not believe his eyes when he saw it.
Mr Allen, of Ystrad, Rhondda, said: "The kids are still eating it, but we kept the lid."
He explained: "Claire saw it first and called her dad to come and take a photo of it.
"When I first looked at it I wasn't sure, but when I moved it away from me it started coming out. I thought yeah, she's right - that's the image of Jesus.
People might think I'm nuts, but I like to think it's Jesus looking out for us
Claire Allen
Mrs Allen said her 14-year-old son Jamie had also remarked on the likeness.
She told the South Wales Echo: "Straight away Jamie said 'that looks like God', and my other boys (Robbie, four, and Tomas, 11) even said they could see a face.
"People might think I'm nuts, but I like to think it's Jesus looking out for us.
"We've had a tough couple of months; my mum's been really ill and it's comforting to think that if he is there, he's watching over us."

My take?

Marmite needs all the help it can get ;-)

Winner of the Waiting Contest announced!

And the winner is...

with a whopping 107.5 points..... JAYYYYYYYYYYYY-MOMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! Woo!

Here is the YouTube video of "Do They Know It's Christmas" and as J-Momma mentions in her comments, it's worth a look-see just for Boy George. And nostalgia reasons. Interesting that Bono was already involved in African famine relief 25 years ago. It's also worth a glance at Sting, who was quite a hottie back then.




As far as J-Momma's win goes, I think we all saw the writing on the wall a few days ago.... but I can't think of anyone who deserves it more. You should check out her blog and you'll see what I mean.

The prize J-Momma will be receiving, to welcome her newest member of the family, is an Adoption Baby Book called "My Family, My Journey" which comes highly recommended by APs on Amazon and elsewhere. It has pages specific to adoption, which most baby books don't. Here's what Amazon has to say about the book: "For the growing audience of adoptive families, Chronicle Books is proud to offer a baby book that suits the wide array of experiences and choices that bring a family and their new child together. This lovely keepsake album contains sections to record all the joyful milestones and cherished family moments that mark a new baby's life, pages to chart the adopted child's unique journey, as well as a sturdy pocket in which to store important documents and memorabilia. Inside the pocket are over 60 stickers you can use to customize the family tree pages. As the pages of the journal fill with memories, My Family, My Journey will stand as a lasting testament of love for the entire family."



And the final tally of scores are as follows:
J-Momma: 107.5 points
Danicuz: 99 points
Michelle J: 72 points
Cathy: 50 points
Missy: 50 points
Single PAP: 47.5 points
Samir: 25 points
4EvaMom: 21 points
Camil2: 20 points
Tami: 20 points
Angela: 15 points
Kiki: 15 points
Bridget: 10 points
Chrissy: 10 points
Ruthanne: 10 points
Charmaine: 5 points
Danni and Tommy: 5 points
Sarah: 5 points
QueenDiva: 5 points

I think Samir earned a few extra points for his painstaking and torturous search for meaning in tha one line and perhaps he should return to University to complete a dissertation on the song. What do you all think? *grin*

And Dani, there is no "deep meaning" to why I chose that song, other than Bono sang that line and I had posted the U2 video "One" for my final waiting day. Well, and the link to starving Africans, of course, which runs through much in this blog. You were so close, so close! Maybe next time.

Yay! I had a lot of fun hosting this contest and I'm thinking about hosting Part Deux, to get me through 'til travel time. Anyone up for it?

So, shall I start a new contest, allowing everyone (except J-Momma who has stepped down) to keep their points? This time we can go to 200 (which should allow those with 5 points to catch up or new people to start playing) and I will post the winner on the day before travel? Please let me know in the comments if you are interested so I know whether or not to do this again.

Fluttery Heart Syndrome

I have a correction to the post below this one.

This morning when I was writing it, I was feeling calm and zen-mama-like. However, throughout the day I have been experiencing the weirdest symptoms of a fluttery heart, a compulsion to email my agency social worker (which I avoided up until 5 minutes ago), and a need to remind all the colleagues I crossed paths with that this time tomorrow I "may or may not be a mother" and asking them how to deal with that. "Umm..." was their usual response! Well, that is a tough question, especially when you may not have been thinking about it for the last 5 months.

So I take it all back. I am just like the other PAPs: anxious, worried, and tired of waiting.

Sorry for the misleading portrait I painted earlier!

Some judge has my heart in his hands. Be gentle, your Honor.

I also found out in perusing some blogs that at least 7 other PAPs have their cases being heard tomorrow. How many children get adopted each day??? I wonder how long each case is. How many judges they have? Hmm. Anyone know?


Oh, and don't forget, American Idol finale tonight! Here's a picture of Glambert as a blond. I think he looks MUCH better as a blond, what do you think?

ONE. MORE. DAY.

Please take a moment to visit here and look around a bit.

Today an email arrived from my agency "sternly yet sympathetically" reminding us that passing court is not a given, that there are many things that can happen to delay, that a case might pass one day and a very similar case may not pass the next. Great timing! Basically, there is no way ahead of time to figure out if you will be passing or not. Recently court dates for a whole class of orphan have been indefinitely frozen. Any child found "abandoned" in Addis are not being adopted as of a week ago. There are concerns about corruption. Too many children being found "abandoned" by the same police officer or in the same location. I'm glad they are aware and looking into this, internatonal adoption needs to be 100% above board. But boy do I feel for the adoptive moms who thought their court date was tomorrow, and now have no idea when they will be picking up their children or IF they will be at all. And meanwhile the child remains at the care center, without parents, as they continue to age.

The email also warned us not to tell the whole world when our court date was "as that will make it so much harder if you don't pass and have to repeat ad infinitum why you didn't pass to everyone you know."

Wellllllll.....*backs away from computer surreptitiously* it's a bit late for that warning for me, innit? What with the countdown contest and all! If I don't pass, I'll have to blog and also verbally tell a hundred people and it will be awful. But hopefully whatever caused the failure will be resolved quickly. Who am I kidding, it will be devastating, but we get through things we have no control over. We have no choice. I'm powerless really. At this point, it's totally out of my control.

Up until now I have been pretty calm throughout this process. I've asked myself if this was a form of denial. But then I'm getting the nursery ready, I'm buying Charlie's clothes, setting up a registry, talking about the adoption to everyone who crosses my path, whipping out her pictures everywhere... So I'm not behaving like I"m in denial. I don't know where the relative calmness comes from, but I'm grateful as I read other PAPs blogs and some sound so worried, anxious, and at the end of their tether with the waiting. If I don't pass though, I do believe at that point I will feel anxious and impatient and sad.

A few days ago, while I was driving to work, I was daydreaming about the moment I get the call from my agency that I passed court. Initial thoughts of the way the message would travel to me: the judge tells my attorney who calls the agency who calls me. A message traveling through the airwaves, cell towers connecting, satellites perhaps, Internet. Good news or bad, it will travel thousands of miles over land and sea (and moutains on both ends) to get to me. How long will it take? Does the POA leave the court room and make calls after each family's case is heard? Or does he wait until the lunch break? And when the moment the news arrives, if it's good news, what would my reaction be?

Having been to film school for undergrad, I often daydream in "scenes", "cuts", "fade to blacks". So here's the scene:

Office, noon time: Phone rings or "You've Got Mail" voice pops up. Listen/read the news, run out into the hallway at work, yell out "I'm a mom!" and doors fly open with colleagues rushing out to congratulate me! There's tears and hugs and then everyone starts dancing and singing:
We go together like
rama lama lama
ke ding a de dinga a dong...
Wait, the movie kind of morphed into the ending of "Grease" there! Ok, so it probably won't be quite so.... musical. I'll call my family first, then tell those around me, send off emails, then take a lunch break at the library so I can tell all you readers. I have it all figured out!

So after all that if I don't pass, it will be highly disappointing. But I'm a big girl and I will handle it.

Meet me back here tomorrow afternoon. If I pass, I will post pictures of Charlie!

Final contest question: 10 points, winner announced tomorrow after court. Who sang the line: ""Tonight thank God it's them instead of you" , in which song, and what was the meaning?

Careful, it's a 3 part question :-)

I'm thinking about having another contest where I would tranfer the points of people in the middle now, and let them keep what they've earned so far. What do you think? Interested in playing again?

Breaking the sound barrier

Ok, trivia question for the day, for 10 points, answer and points posted this evening:

What was the first man made inventon to break the sound barrier?

No Googling allowed! I will have to use the good old Honor Code for this!

(Clue: the picture is not the answer)

ETA: The whip is the correct answer. congrats to J-Momma (who is mere points away from wining) and Kiki. I'm thinking about having another contest where I would tranfer the points of people in the middle now, and let them keep what they've earned so far. What do you think? Interested in playing again?

"Just the two of us, we can make it if we try..."

Two days left until court!

Who sang the title song, for 5 points?

Yesterday I spent my morning in a "Safe Babies" class. We went over all kinds of ways your child can kill itself. Yikes. I'm much more aware of the millions of things that can go wrong now.

Of course we went over the things that everyone knows, like how babies like to lick outlets and stick hard round pellets as far up their noses as possible. We also went over some things I would not have thought of and I'm going to share some of those with you today.

* Bath time: Obviously don't leave your child alone, but here are 2 interesting safety items that were not obvious to me. One, turn the "cold" tap off last so the faucet is not hot. Two, when you are checking the water temperature, move your hand back and forth through the water to check for hot spots.

* 911: You can use a land line to call 911 even if you don't have a land line active. I only have a cell, as many of us nowadays. 911 doesn't get an automatic address with cell phones. But if you have an old phone, you can plug it in to the socket and call 911. It's also good for when you have a babysitter, to have that added line to 911 just in case. This is handy and I might bring out my old phone just for emergencies. Oh wait, I just free cycled 4 old phones. Oops.

* Make sure electrical cords are out of baby's reach. They make lousy chew toys.

* Cook on back burners (you know, the clean burners?) and if you have to cook on front burners, turn handles to the back. Get knob protectors for stove knobs. (I already had these because my dog Boo turned on the gas one day when she was checking out the items on the stove.)

* Make sure kitchen cords, like to the toaster and Mr. Coffee, are not within reach. Those loops hanging off the counters are tempting and could result in a clonk on the head or a severe burn.

* Windows: Screens are made to keep bugs out, not to keep babies in. Only open windows 4 inches unless you want baby falling or climbing out. Roll up blind cords and hang them on hooks up high.

* Toys: The "3 and under" restriction on toys is not because your child is not smart enough to play with that toy. It's because somewhere on that toy there is a part that might be a choking hazard.

* If it can fit through a toilet paper roll, it's too small to play with. Choking hazard.

* Latex balloons, even fully inflated, are a choking hazard. Who knew?

* Toy chests should not have lids that seal shut. Kids like to hide in there, or make their younger siblings hide in there and sit on the lid. If you have a toy chest with a lid that seals shut, drill holes in the sides so at least the kid can breathe while his brother is sitting on top of him. The instructor suggested the best toy chests are laundry baskets. Portable, light, and full of holes already.

* Garbage cans: Try to get one that is tall and difficult to open (I already have $120.00 space age contraption that is completely impenetrable, due to my dog, Boo, who can open almost anything that smells like rotten food.)

There's a veterinarian in town who does a "Dogs and Babies" class that I'm thinking about taking. I'll post tips from there too.

Ok, contest for today: (5 points) What is the number one killer of children age 0- 14 in the U.S.?

(5 points) Out of the following plants, which is poisonous for infants to ingest? Christmas Cactus, Geranium, Forsythia or Daffodil?


Answers and points distributed at 8 pm to give everyone a chance to answer. good luck! We are getting close and may have a winner by the end of the day!

Three is the magic number

Here I am at three days until court. Time continues to pass, and actually pass surprisingly quickly. It seems like it was just Monday, and here it is the weekend already. I suppose that's good, as long as time slows down once I get Charlie into my arms!

My social worker said I should hear the court news around noon on May 20th! Since Ethiopia is 7 hours ahead of us, they will be in court while I'm asleep and getting ready for work. That is, IF I can sleep that night. If I pass, I will post immediately and load up some pictures of Charlie as well so you all can see what a sweetheart she looks like.

On to the contest. We need a winner by Wednesday!

Name this painting (3 points)

Name this place (3 points)

Name this band (3 points)

Name this animal (3 points)

Name this fairy tale (3 points)

Name this nursery rhyme (3 points)

This is De La Soul. Name their song that includes the number 3 (6 points)

Good luck! I'll print comments and add up points at 8 PM EST.

What is this picture doing here?

5 points for EVERYONE who can tell me why I posted this picture today. Iwill keep comments unpublished until 6 PM EST to give everyone a chance to score without seeing the correct answer.

Answer: Well, Kiki got it right when she wrote: "That's Led Zeppelin's 4th album and you have 4 days left until court? You've been putting pictures of numbers up each day as you count down so I assume that's your picture for the number 4." So good for her for following along so well she got it right off the bat. She was the first person to comment as well. Easy-peasy. I'll have to make them a little harder next time. Now just curious, how did you know that was Led Zeppelin IV? That's not your type of music really.

Are your kids embarassed by you? (5 days til court!)

After reading this heartfelt/sad yet hilarious blog by a dad who realized on a camping trip that his son was embarrassed by him, I distinctly had a flash back moment where I remember being embarrassed by my parents. It was when I was about 13-ish. It didn't last long, but, it happened. Do we all go through this? Is this an adolescent rite of passage?

I needn't have been embarrassed. In fact, many of my friends probably like my parents better than they like me! They are frequently asking how my parents are doing and saying things like: "You're parents are so nice!" "You're parents are so cool!" "You're so lucky to have your parents." "Can I come over? Are your parents going to be there?" "They're not? Oh yea, well I just remembered I have a previous engagement."

So back on topic....

I daydream about raising Charlie. We go through the loving and affectionate early years, maybe some terrible twos, but generally we have a fabulous rapport. We make it through the grade school years, me helping her with homework and enjoying her friendships with other little girls. Driving her all over creation and encouraging hobbies. And then. ONE DAY.

The look.

The look that can only be translated as: "Mom, you are SO uncool/behind the times/dumbo."

I know it's way too early to be concerned about this, and I'm not "worried" per se, just daydreaming after reading that post...

Is there any way to avoid this, Moms?

I'd like to hear from some of you who have been through this, or avoided this. What set it off? Or how did you avoid it? Anyone experience it and manage to nip it in the bud ("You think I'm uncool now, kid? Just wait until I show up at your school play wearing my dashiki!") and how did you do that?

6 Days Til Court and American Idol Trivia!

Thanks for all your comments and support readers. I had over 400 hits in one day, the most I've ever had, and several emails offering to send gifts. I'll decline the gifts and ask for donations to Charlie's orphanage in the next month. But that is so kind to offer to send something to a person you only know through the Internet. Thank you. I don't think this has to do with Charlie being adopted... my family is not like that. I think it has to do with not realizing that this might be my one big adult rite of passage, and how important it was to me. I'm sorry to read from the comments how many of you have gone through this without familial support though, that is a real shame and must have hurt a great deal. So many of you commented on that it seems like almost a "norm" in adoption.

But enough about that. I'll let you know how the shower turns out.

And now back to my regularly scheduled programming: American Idol last night.

Adam Glambert's rendition of "One" was so awful at one point I thought he was going to make himself throw up with that scream. I used to like him a lot, but that scream is finally getting on my nerves.

Kris did a good job with "Heartless."

Kara DiMyMouthIsStuckClosed has GOT. TO. GO. with her pointing and lock-jaw and pauses and inFLECtions. Grr... she is annoying.

Past AI Seasons Trivia: 5 POINTS FOR THE FIRST READER WHO GETS EACH CORRECT ANSWER:

1) Which song did David Cook NOT sing in his "American Idol" journey?
a) "Billie Jean"
b) "Hallelujah"
c) "Eleanor Rigby"
d) "Little Sparrow"

2) Within one season, Simon told two idols that they should lose a few pounds, saying it would help them in the competition. Who were these idols?
a) Kimberley Locke and Ruben Studdard
b) Vanessa Olivarez and Joshua Gracin
c) Jennifer Hudson and Amy Adams
d) Scott Savol and Lindsey Cardinale

3) Which of the following contestants has Simon compared to Jessica Simpson?
a) Kellie Pickler
b) Bo Bice
c) Katharine McPhee
d)Bucky Covington

10 POINTS ANY AND ALL READERS WHO PREDICT WHO'S GOING HOME THIS WEEK!

A) Danny Chokey

B) Adam Glam-berace

C) Kris "Look how cute my smile is. No really, look. Here, check out this angle" Allen

Cut off time for comments is 9PM.

Eight days until court!

I'm starting to psych myself out a bit. In 8 days I could be a mom. It's a weird process... there's no physical daily reminder to break through the denial....no huge stomach, no peeing every few minutes, etc., to tell you: "Yup, this is really happening."

This countdown is helping the reality of the situation hit.

This morning as I was making my coffee and feeding the dogs, I was pondering how on earth I'm going to fit in changing diappys and feeding Charlie as well. My world is about to get tossed UP.SIDE. DOWN.

It should be interesting.

Ok, question for today was submitted by reader Danicuz, (so she knows the answer, but I still need the answer!) so BEST answer (most detailed) gets 5 points: How do you get tofu crispy on the outside and scrambled-egg-like consistency on the inside?

And for the non-cooks: Submit a trivia question that I use and I'll give you 5 points too.

Also, your answers are put in based on the time you submit them (they have a time tamp in the comments section, there is no cheating on this). I can't check them from work, so just trust they are in order of submission and you will see your points once I get home this evening.

9 Days, 18 hours and 13 minutes til court. Plus Waiting Contest Questions.

Happy Mother's Day all you mothers out there!

Next year I'll be joining you in celebrating this day!

My friend and neighbor Sally had her baby shower yesterday and it was a lot of fun! They had activities for us to do which weren't "corny" or "gross". She is throwing me a shower (with the help of my mom and aunt) in June! Yay! I wasn't sure I was getting a shower and I would have really missed it :-)

One activity was using fabric paint and each guest painted a onesie. Some of them turned out really great and all of them are going to be memorable for when Sally dresses her baby in them. I painted an elaborate flower and the quote "Charlie is my BFF" since Sally hasn't revealed her daughter's name yet.

Another game was for each guest to write a special word on a piece of colorful ribbon. Each ribbon was explained and tied to a thin branch. The branch will sit in the nursery and can be used to "ward off" bad dreams, monsters under the bed, or just be decoration.

The last activity was for each guest to bring an item signifying 2009 (Obama stickers anyone?) and place the item in a time capsule to be opened on her daughter's 18th birthday.

I loved all these activities beause they resulted in a lasting item for the child, and they were not ridiculous games. I can "borrow" one of the activities. Maybe two. But really, we can't have the exact same shower, can we?

So for 5 points PER activity/game PER person: What are some fun yet not corny (not "tasting the diaper contents" or "pinning diapers on one's forehead") type shower activites? (with a cap of 25 points possible)

And for the shower theme I end up picking (10 points): What is a unique shower theme we can use? (Mom is thinking "elegant brunch" but I'm not totally sold on that yet.)

This is a real opportunity to wrack up the points...

Thanks guys!

10 More Days Until Court & Waiting Contest

There are 10 more days until my court date!

Therefore, I really need to step up the trivia waiting contest in an attempt to get some lucky reader up to 100 points.

So each day from now until court I will offer a trivia question of 10 or more points. That means some of you in the bottom quarter still have a chance to win :-)

I have one prize in mind for expectant moms and new moms. I have another prize in mind for a winner who has already been a mom for awhile or isn't a mother. So there is a cool prize for whoever wins.

Ready?

Set?

Go!

This is for 10 points to the first person to answer accurately:

How long ago is Lucy estimated to have lived in Ethiopia?

And for 5 points (to a different reader than the first question):
Who was Ethiopia's first emperor?



Good luck!

Mother of the Year Award!

It's truly amazing how I"m not even legally a mother yet (11 days to go until court!!!!) and already I'm getting accolades! Check out the hype here.

"Mama, I'm a chocolate-holic"

When my niece Olivia was 4 years old, she realized she was powerless over chocolate and her life was unmanageable. She told her mom: "Mama, I'm a chocolate-holic". She got the terminology a bit wrong, but her mom understood the gist. Well, admitting you have a problem is the First Step. (Literally, it IS the first step out of "The Twelve Steps".) We all thought that was the cutest thing to ever come out of her mouth, but seriously, chocolate-holism in a 4 year old is nothing to sneeze at. That be some serious stuff. It can lead to a lifetime of surreptitious wrapper crinkling, vending machine rage, and finally... despair.

Fast forward a few years, and Olivia still has the chocolate problem, as do we all.

Here is a product newly released upon the market of choco-holics:

Le Whif Inhaled Chocolate


Le Whif is a revolutionary new way of eating chocolate - by breathing it! Imagine, chocolate without the calories. Be the first to try inhaled chocolate when Le Whif goes on sale later this month in four luscious flavors: mint chocolate, raspberry chocolate, mango chocolate, and plain chocolate.

Harvard professor David Edwards, lead inventor of Le Whif, says: "Over the centuries we've been eating smaller and smaller quantities at shorter and shorter intervals. It seemed to us that eating was tending toward breathing, so, with a mix of culinary art and aerosol science, we've helped move eating habits to their logical conclusion. We call it whiffing."

It's kind of like the "O'Douls of chocolate"...

Somehow I think this product is going to tank!

All those clothes I just bought in the previous post? GOING BACK!

Why?

EBAY!

Now why didn't I think of EBay up until now? I'm a veteran EBay buyer and seller, but it just never occurred to me. I checked last night and there a thousands of cheap baby clothes available. They are sold in "lots" for the most part, like "Huge lot 62 items 6 -12 months *CUTE* must see!"

So I bid on a few lots and won two auctions. Here's what I got:

For FIVE dollars (!!!!!):

I love the peach butterfly shirt and the retro 70's yellow shirt :-) Also the plaid overall shorts are adorable too.

An here's a lot of 29 items I got for 36 dollars, a little over a dollar per item:


Did I mention I love EBay? It's so much nicer than having to wake up early on a Saturday and get lost on some country road looking for a yard sale which may or may not have any appropriate items for your child. Now know a lot of people get into the yard sale thing, but I'd rather shop from my living room in my p.j.s and save some time and gas!

Edited to add: I just won 2 more auctions! One for 39 articles for 12 dollars and one for 52 articles for 30 dollars! I think I can quit now for awhile. So that is a total of 129 articles of clothing for 83 dollars... under what I spent yesterday for 10 items or so.

EBay is also a great way to "reduce, reuse, and recycle." I just saved 129 articles of clothing from the landfill!

So should I return the mucho expensive clothes I got yesterday and apply that money towards EBay items? I could get a lot more bang for the buck that way. The clothes are not brand new though, but as long as Charlie has a FEW items that are new and just her own, isn't that enough?

Wise moms, what thinkest thou?

Sock panic

Today I was hit with a moment of panic: SOCKS.

Charlie has NO. SOCKS.

So I had to RUSH out and BUY SOCKS IMMEDIATELY!

(Never mind that I only have 3 dresses and nothing else... it was socks that I was focused on right then.)

As you can see, $100.00 later, I have socks. Among other things.

This was a four pack of onesies. I need to start accumulating items that are useful, and not just cute. I also bought a six pack of white onesies, but I'll spare you the picture of them.



This is a bathing suit. How cute is this??? Of COURSE I had to buy it :-)


I try to be super conscious about recycling and not wasting energy or polluting, and I hope to raise a lil' environmentalist.

This is not that great, but it was a dollar fifty! How could I pass that up?

Ok, these shoes were all on sale and they are so fun, I also had to get them. I figure she's going to need something on her feet when we are traveling so it might as well be these cute shoes.



What do you think?

Enough pink yet????

Baby in a Bubble

Some enterprising germ-a-phobe came up with these little signs parents can post anywhere to keep others from touching their baby.

I remember playing in DIRT and touching BUGS and going barefoot in Africa (to my mother's horror: "You'll get WORMS!!!") I never did get worms or anything else really. I probably have a super immune system because of it.

Isn't it healthy to have to fight off a few germs here and there?

I'm imagining Charlie will already have a strong immune system. After all, she's been growing up in an African orphanage where I'm pretty sure they don't go around cleaning everything with anti-bacterial cleansers (which I consider a good thing). Charlie will probably have to get her immune system used to American germs and viruses, but I'm not planning on keeping her in a bubble like these parents who threw a "meet the baby" party for their newborn (below).

We took my newborn nephew to the diner 3 days after his birth. He turned out ok, and didn't die from the experience. Now, I know premies need to be protected, but I would think parents wouldn't throw them parties where signs like the above are needed in that case.

(5 points to anyone who can explain why we are being told to use the anti-bacterial hand wash to prevent swine flu spread... when swine flu is a virus, not a bacteria?)

Do you keep your baby from touching other people?
What about the 10-second rule when food hits the floor?

Dog hair: condiment or not?

Nom nom nom! Tuna tostadas...

Last night I had some friends over (working on #7 from this list) and tried out a new recipe. They all wanted copies of the recipe, which is the ultimate compliment :-) This was the first time I was trying this out, but it was delicious and definitely easy enough to serve again.

The prep:
Chop up tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce, onions, an avocado, a jalepeno pepper, and cheese. Put in a bowl. Also put some sour cream in a bowl.


In a mixing bowl combine 1 can of albacore tuna and 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce. Add tomato, cilantro, sour cream, lime juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt (all to taste, don't put the whole bowl in! Leave a lot in the bowls for fixin's later). Mix well and cover to chill.

With a spoon, scoop the avocado into a medium bowl and mash with a fork, add salt to taste.

Heat overn to 350 F. Spray tortillas on both sides with cooking spray. Cook on baking sheet for 10 minutes.

To assemble, spread 1 tablespoon avocado on each tortilla. Distribute 1/3 cup tuna mixture over avocado.

Then either top with tomato lettuce, jalepenos, cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream for the cold version.

Or...

Top with tomato, jalepeno, cilantro, and grated cheese and broil on high for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Both versions were excellent, with the melted cheese version winning by a hair.



And on another note, for my animal loving friends, guess what I found in my Balinese (cow) Bell? A bird's nest! They chose this huge bell that I have hanging on my front porch to nest in, rather than the 3 other types of "real" nesting milieus I have provided. Oh well! As long as they are happy :-)






(10 points to the first peron to tell me what the Balinese Cow bell is used for. It is way too large to hang from a cow.)

Word Art

I created this using the ImageChef website. Fun times. Having this image I can now go to CafePress and create T-shirts, coffee cups, tote bags, or whatever I want with this image on it!

If I can figure out how to print it out in top quality, I might even frame it for Charlie's room... I was able to match the nursery colors so it would look good, I think.



What do you think? T-Shirt or wall art?