Happy Monday

Well I saw this household tip a year or two ago and I'm not sure why I finally got around to trying it (maybe because I ran out of dryer sheets?) but it completely works like a charm.

Instead of dryer sheets, crumple a bit of aluminum foil into a four-inch ball and toss it in with your laundry to control static.  You have my word that I tested it myself just this week and it really does work.

Of course it doesn't give you that wonderful fake-flower, manufactured-perfumy, sickly-heavy, synthetic smell like a dryer sheet does which is a down-side for those of you who love that scent (can you tell where I stand on the issue?) but then nothing is perfect.

And the best part is that it's reusable. 

No need to send me flowers in appreciation, just knowing that your laundry is static-free and economical is thanks enough. Though I've always thought it would be nice to have someone name a child in my honor. . . .

And in unrelated news, this weekend Andrew and I saw The Eagle (mostly because it was the only thing that looked remotely interesting--there is so much junk in the theaters right now I don't know how the industry stays afloat) and it wasn't a bad movie at all--quite fun in fact.

We hadn't heard a thing about it before going to see it but it turns out that it's a movie version of the famous historical novel The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutliffe that I coincidentally had just checked out of the library in an effort to interest the boys in manly fiction. They weren't interested because it was an "old-looking book" (sigh) but maybe after they see the movie they'll be more interested.

Taking place in 140 AD during the Roman conquest of Britain, it's the story of a young man (at least in the book he was young, this guy in the movie is closer to 35 than not which is practically at death's doorstep in Roman years) who arrives to avenge his family's honor. His father had lead a regiment of 5,000 men into the north 20 years before, never to be seen again (true story) and now Marcus Flavius Aquila is going to find out what happened and bring back the preciously symbolic brass eagle that the company had carried as a standard, because "It's not just a piece of metal, darn it, that eagle is Rome!"

Think of it as the greatest game of capture-the-flag ever played.  Of course he needs a faithful sidekick so Jamie Bell plays Esca, his British slave with a definite chip on his shoulder and a lot of modern philosophical tripe about how evil expansionism and imperialism are (though as for myself, I'm pretty grateful for the Roman Empire which really did civilize a lot of the world and allow us to enjoy the fruits of all sorts of great things from our democratic republic to Christianity to pizza).  Still, it's fun.  Probably because it's one of the few movies I've seen lately that seems to realize that CGI and blue screens have their place in the movie industry but shouldn't be a replacement for actual drama.

See it for the heroic feats, see it for the beautiful scenery (please tell me it wasn't filmed in Toronto or Vancouver--I want to believe that it really was Scotland) or see it for the ferociously savage blue men that make you grateful the Romans were the victors in that little neighborhood skirmish.  It's like Gladiator meets Braveheart, only cleaner (yes there are lots of battle scenes and talk of brutality but the actual blood and gore is done mostly out-of-shot) and I'd give it a solid B+.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Remember our little nest in my secret garden in the back? I had thought the nest was abandoned but quite the contrary--each day a new egg appeared until there were five white and brown speckled eggs and a mother bird happily keeping them warm.

It's kind of a nice set-up, the back side of the playhouse faces the little hidden garden and there's a window overlooking the nest so the kids run to the playhouse to look out the back window whenever they want to see a bird update without upsetting the gestation.

We'll keep you posted.

But in honor of our little squatters I'm sharing some of my favorite gardening tips.

1. Garden Bed Weed Control
If you want to keep your weeds in check the best way is to cut strips of newspapers. Once you've planted your flowers wet the strips of newspaper and layer them around the plants then top with your mulch. No weeds will get through that stuff plus it has the added benefit of keeping in moisture in the soil.

2. Cheap and Gorgeous Fences
If you want a natural looking border to your garden my favorite way is to cut willow branches and bend them into a low running fence. See my post on the willow borders for more details and a picture.

3. Eco-friendly weedkiller
For a quick, cheap and environmentally happy weed killer pour boiling water on your weeds. It will boil them to death but if you're squeamish about your weeds' pain threshold you can pour lemon juice on them instead. They'll shrivel in a few days.

4. Slug Control
And lastly, here's a tip I haven't yet tried but would be curious if anyone else has had experience with it. I have slug issues in a couple of my beds and I've read that if you want to control the little beasties you can bury a small jar full of beer up to the rim in your garden. The slugs will be lured in for a drink but won't be able to get out.

Is this really true? Are all slugs inebriates? Is there something else that works as well as beer? I must know!

Sponsored by Storkie.com for baby birth announcements

How to Throw Things Away

I typically hate spring cleaning and starting in March I begin to groan as I think about it. Then, as the weather warms and we slide into April, I find myself noticing winter cobwebs more and more until something snaps and I go on a cleaning binge for a week, working room by room, until everything is completely clean and fresh again. This time it took me a little longer with my gimpy leg but after two weeks of work the house feels great. The yard is raked, my flower beds are clean and sprouting and all that's left is to weed out the dead canes from my raspberries.

Happiness is a clean house. But today we're going to discuss something that might be a little personal to some of you out there. Something that might hurt a bit but that's nonetheless necessary. Today we're going to work on throwing things out.

Yes, I'm a big believer in throwing things away for three simple reasons:

• It fosters organization, order and cleanliness
• It helps you not be so attached to material possessions
• It benefits other people

How can this be? you say--well, I'm glad you asked. Every spring as I work my way through closets, shelves and cupboards I consider whether I should get rid of each object I find by asking myself the following questions:

How to Throw Things Away

You may find something that it kills you to throw out, sure that someday you'll need it or that someday it'll justify the spot you kept for it in your home all those years but trust me, just throw it out. It's just one less thing you have to keep track of, just one less thing to worry about using and one less thing to clean--and strange as it may seem when you throw out more and keep less you end up buying less because you realize you need less to be happy.

There's nothing so liberating as not needing something to survive and nothing so precious as extra closet space.

***

Updated to add some links my father sent after reading this post: see the New York Times "One Man's Trash . . ." and the accompanying NPR interview "When Too Much 'Stuff' Causes Grief."

Sponsored by Dimples and Dandelions for Serena and Lily baby bedding.

East Meets West

Okay maybe I'm a sucker but this is brilliant, just brilliant.

You know if the Chinese had come up with this idea we'd all be speaking Chinese and eating rice for breakfast because they'd be ruling the world.

As it is I'm a doofus when it comes to chopsticks.

Which is probably a good thing because it slows down my eating--kind of like a speed bump when it comes to scooping calories into my mouth.

I should use them at every meal.

Uptight and Outta Sight

Do you hear how the word "tight" is back in vogue? Though it's acquired a slightly different meaning than it had when I was using it in high school. To be tight back then was not good but now it seems it's something to be highly desired, perhaps influenced by the Botox phenomenon.

You want to be tight folks. Work for it.

Speaking of tights . . . when I went to BlogHer last summer and Heather Armstrong (aka Dooce) was the keynote speaker I had a front row seat which put me at the table under her nose and at about knee height.

I was perfectly positioned to see her rockin' tights, which I stared at for most of the event. She had on this blue and yellow striped dress and hot purple tights that were so wild and fun that I ended up buying a pair for myself when I got home.

As with most clothing, nylons and tights have some distinct rules which I carefully researched before test driving my own Pair of Purple Hotness and if you're looking to update your wardrobe and be a little out there while not being TOO out there I suggest you give it a try.

Matching Is Good
As you see from the Smurfette in the photo (which look I really love) you can match your tights with your outfit. Wearing all one color is a slimming technique as it is and if you're concerned about drawing too much attention to your legs by having them one color while the rest of your body is another then matching everything might make you feel better.

Not Matching Is Better
Personally I really love the look of contrasts such as you see in the second catwalk shot. Mustard yellow, purple, burgundy, blue--take a color and pair it with an interesting texture and contrasting color like you see above. If you've noticed trying to have all your ensemble matching from a specific two-color palette is soooo 80s-90s (as my daughter says).

However, you have to be careful here. If you're going to go this route the payoff is better but it's riskier. Don't bring in too many colors, keep it simple. Two or three maybe. You don't want a blue shirt, brown skirt, turquoise earrings, purple tights, plaid scarf and yellow shoes screaming at every one you meet on the street do you? And solids are a safer bet--or at least use prints and plaids in moderation. If you cross over into gauche you won't look hip, just uninformed.

NEVER Wear White Tights
You can wear magenta or gold or orange but NOT white. Unless you're under the age of 10. Or a ballerina. Then you can pull it off, otherwise no white tights or nylons period.

Don't Wear Peep Toes with Tights
Or with nylons. Though in my mind this rule seems very very wrong. If you've got sheer-to-waist hosiery and can hide the toe seem then why not? (This is coming from a woman with the whitest albino legs you can produce so not wearing nylons at all isn't so attractive on me. Let's just say "varicose veins" and leave it at that shall we?) Regardless of the unjustness of this law there it is. Ballet flats can work, or mary jane pumps would be cute. Even short boots but not peep toes, sorry.

Colorful Tights Are Better with Shorter Skirts
If you go to all the trouble of picking out funky tights then cover them up with a long skirt what's the point? Then they're just a distraction. If you want them to be an accessory then flaunt them with frilly, flouncy skirts or maybe a short, straight skirt.

And as a final word, I saw a fabulous link yesterday to a page on Burda Style where you can take a pair of white tights or nylons and with a little dye make a smashing pair of ombre tights (ombre is the new "it" look).

In fact the only thing possibly more hip than colored tights would be colored tights with a gradient.

Holiday Hair--How to Do a Modern Curl

We've got two holiday parties on Saturday. Isn't that the way it is? Nothing for eleven and a half months then BAM! two on the same night so that you can't really do either one properly. Oh well, it'll be fun getting dressed up.

And if you want to do something fun with your hair for the holiday try a "modern" curl. Why is it modern? Well as opposed to the Shirley Temple or Diana Ross look these curls lay flatter at the crown of your head and are more of a natural-looking cascade of waves.
My own hair is long and straight with a tiny bit of a wave to it (I'm the one on the far right in case that's not obvious). Not really enough to get me anywhere, just enough to cause problems when I want it straight but when I'm dressing up this is how I curl my hair and I get a lot of people asking me if it's naturally curly. When they find out it's not they then want instructions so I plopped Grace down in the chair, turned on the video and curled her hair up for you to see how it's done. She's a good sport, that one.

It's best with long hair but you can still give some fun waves to shorter hair as well, all you need a small-barreled curling iron, about 1-inch in diameter, and a clip to keep your hair clipped up and out of the way. Other than that all you need is a bit of practice--you might burn yourself once or twice at the beginning but it gets much easier the second time you try.

How to Do a Modern Curl Hairstyle

And if you look closely you'll see me put in a plug for my Suave freeze spray that I now use regularly--talk about your product placement!

Sponsored by Dimples and Dandelions--for the Serena and Lily Bedding Collection for Children.

Technorati tags: hair, style, fashion

Lukaro Salon in Beverly Hills

So here I am in Los Angeles and Sunday night after I flew in I was on the phone with my mother, talking about Monday's planned trip to Lukaro Salon in Beverly Hills.

Suave had arranged for us to spend the morning at this famous Hollywood salon run by celebrity stylists Luke and Rona O'Connor. Yes I said celebrity, as in Debra Messing, Lucy Liu and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

"Well what are you going to do if he wants to cut your hair?" Mom asked.

"Oh he's not touching my hair," I said. I expected that the trip was to be more of a consultation and besides, you have to be in a certain mood to switch hair styles--you know, kind of a depressed, I-need-a-lift, pass-me-the-Ben-and-Jerry's kind of mood. With the prospect of four days away from a chaotic house to play in sunshine and glamor I'm about as far from depressed as you could get. Life and hair are good--and I had no intention of coming home with anything remotely new.

Our driver (yes I said driver--he's chauffeured us around anywhere we'd like to go) dropped us off about 9 am and after walking through the beautiful wrought iron gates of Lukaro and up the tiled stairs into a light, open Spanish-style courtyard complete with a fountain, cushy chairs and a table of food I kind of lost all perspective on reality. I walked around thinking "Is this heaven? Is there anything better than this? Is that freshly squeezed orange juice? "

Somehow I ended up first in line and Luke grabbed me, plopped me down in the chair, whipped his fingers through my hair several times and said "You don't mind if I trim it do you?"

"Not at all," I said with this stupid, star-struck smile. Maybe it was the orange juice talking but I was sucked in by the glamor of the moment, he could have offered me a tattoo and a bagel and I would have taken both.

He had his lovely assistant shampoo me all up then he went to work, snipping and trimming and shaping all while he chatted nonchalantly about the previous day's photo shoot or his work with Julia Louis-Dreyfus' ever-changing hair or cast members of various t.v. shows that he'd talked with recently.

The funny thing is it seemed all so natural and unpretentious and while I didn't have a lot to say I was quite content to soak it all in, listening to him talk while the Suave team sat around us in the room to record and comment on the whole procedure.

He trimmed the ends, leaving me my length, then shaped it more around my face and in my layers that had grown out a bit but the thing that made it fun was that he used all Suave products.

Now I know what you're thinking, I was slightly skeptical too--I've had friends who are stylists who say over and over that you should use professional products on your hair but honestly? Twenty-five dollars for a bottle of conditioner is crazy--and if you're like me you're looking for ways to avoid wasting money.

I quizzed the Suave reps that were there to welcome us, I asked them about whether they really thought the products they were pitching were as good as the salon brands and whether they used them on their own hair and I was surprised to hear that not only do they use them themselves but I was surprised at how much effort Suave puts into research and development to test their products against the professional brands. According to what they're telling me you really are getting a quality product for a fraction of the cost.

Anyway, I haven't looked at the data but after Luke was done with my hair I was impressed. Impressed with the cut, with the feel of my hair, with the way the products held up and with how fast it all went together. Total styling time: fifteen minutes. I can do that!

See for yourself-- here the steps he took for styling.

1. Wash with Suave Healthy Curls Shampoo, Conditioner.

2. Work Suave Healthy Curls Mousse through hair, focusing on applying the product to the roots.

3. Blow dry front of the hair first, going from the roots to the end to avoid creating a frizzy, flyaway look.

4. Blow dry as you run fingers through your hair until it's about 90% dry.

5. Finish drying with a large round brush, rolling the hair in a section that's as wide as the brush, wrapping it around the brush and blowing heat on it. Start with the front and roll upward and away from the face to create a gentle wave away from the face in an updated modern look (picture 1 and 2). Roll the rest of the hair under and up high on the crown of the head (picture 3) for volume.

6. To finish with modern waves once the hair is completely dry take a large curling iron and wrap the hair in 1 or 2-inch sections around the barrel.

7. Finish spraying with Suave Shaping and Finishing Spray, holding the can far away from the head and allowing the mist to settle on the hair gently to avoid clumping.

My bangs are a little short and need to grow into blending with the rest of the shaping on the side of my face but you get the idea. I liked how fast it went together and how easy it was to style--I'd have to try it again on my own and see if I could duplicate it.

Anyway, if you've got long hair give it a try and see what you think. If you want some other tips for other styles and lengths you might check out a couple of the other bloggers that were here with me who had completely different hair and their own wonderful looks. Liz Thompson at This Full House, Dawn Meehan at Because I Said So, Beth Feldman at Role Mommy, Amy Clark at Momadvice.com and Liane Farbes at The Makeup Girl are a couple of the other great bloggers I've been able to meet--check them out because I bet they'd have their own styling tips from the hands of Luke.

***

Congratulations to Tracie of Carlsbad, New Mexico, the random winner of the selection of books in last weekend's giveaway--there are enough books to keep them busy for quite some time.

Sponsored by Beauty Products Compared--Looking for the best wrinkle cream? Search the reviews.

Technorati tags: Suave, Glamour Reel Moments, celebrities

Organizing Your House: Garbage in, Garbage Out

When you're talking about organization there's a rule to live by that will save you all sorts of hassle: Garbage in, garbage out. You might have heard in other contexts but what I mean here is that once you bring something into your home something else has to go.

We all have a finite amount of space and if you're like me every closet in your home is being used--I've never known anyone to have extra storage space because it's human nature to fill whatever closets and cabinets you may be blessed with to capacity. Think of gold fish, who will eat and grow as big as their tank allows--my junk kind of follows the same principles, absorbing any space I'll allow it.

SO . . . since everyone has a limited amount of storage and I'd bet money your shelves are full every time you bring anything new into the house something else has to go or else you'll have be overrun by stuff and that means clutter.

For example: It's easy when it comes to food because we're constantly consuming whatever I buy but clothing? If you buy a spring wardrobe you need to purge the closet of the things you don't use. Toss those shoes that you haven't worn for a year. Get rid of the stuff your kids can't wear anymore. If you really will use something again--such as baby clothes--then pack them away properly until that time when you really will need it. If you probably won't use it again (and play the odds people, if you're 67 and still hanging onto the box of onesies you're living in denial) then donate it to charity--that way not only are you doing something good for your closets you're doing something good for someone else.

If your children get birthday presents or holiday presents then that's a good time to clean out the toy box and get rid of a corresponding amount of junk that they don't play with anymore. Once again, you're doing good to yourself and to the charity of your choice but it's also good for your children. When children have a build up of toys not only do they not appreciate them they leave them lying around. Seriously--just get rid of their extras and enjoy the space it creates. It's completely liberating.

If you find a great book sale and come home with a stack of books then find others to donate away. Once you read a magazine don't let it linger in stacks in the basement but toss it out to be recycled. Think of it as reincarnation for the reading material you love: the magazine you toss today will come back to bless you as the magazine mailed to you tomorrow. Garbage in, garbage out--or maybe I should say good stuff in, good stuff out.

It's a good rule of thumb and helps keep the sanity going--and it help to remind us not to become too attached to "stuff."

***

Here are two other organization posts from my archives that you might have missed:

Handy Shopper for Palm Z22
Another Good Use for Ziploc Bags

Technorati tags: homemaking, motherhood, organization

Organizing Your House: Mint.com

There's a new website making headlines that you might find useful. Mint.com is a site that takes your financial information--bank accounts, credit card accounts, mortgages, etc.--then puts them together so you can review and understand what your money is really doing.

It's free, it's getting a lot of press right now and Andrew gave it a peak to see if he thought it was worthwhile. It's easy to navigate and it's easy to set up but it's important to remember that though you set up your account by giving Mint.com access to your personal accounts Mint.com is not an on-line bill service. It doesn't pay your bills, it doesn't accept payments, it's strictly a place to get an overview of where your money is going and how it's working for you.

The major benefits are:

1. You get a sense of where your money is going. Pie charts, lists, it's really perfect if you're trying to set up a budget because it will track your spending habits by tracking the vendors and bills.

2. You get better deals. You get options where you could save money--another credit card with a cheaper rate, a different rate of return on your accounts, whatever. Mint.com lists alternative places for your money to be and how much money you might save by going that route.

3. You get warnings. If your bills are coming due you get a warning so you don't pay late and get charged those fees.

Of course there's more to it than just this--more benefits, bells and whistles but give it a try and see what you think--as I said, it's free. No harm in trying right?

Technorati tags: finance, budgeting, Mint.com

Organizing Your House: The Family Council

So after last week's post everyone's now got their very own cute little inbox, right? Everyone's throwing their receipts and shopping requests in just like they were told and in every home, bliss and contentment now reign, right?

As a follow up to the inbox suggestion I'm going to mention something we do in conjunction that has been helpful: The Family Council. Now this is really a broad term for anytime a family (no matter how big or small) gets together over a topic but I'm going to be a little more specific about those councils and how we use them.

Sunday nights we hold special Family Councils where we plan the upcoming week. Why Sundays? Well because we're usually all there in one place and are relaxed after the weekend. When Andrew and I were newlyweds we picked Sunday for the day when we'd sit down in the evening and go over any items that needed to be calendered for the upcoming week.

Once we had children we decided that it would be wise to bring them into the operation and it's worked well. We get together and find out if anyone has anywhere special they need to be that week--any concerts? Any activities? Award ceremonies? Games? That's the time to bring it up and get it on the calender.

I go through that inbox I mentioned last week and pull out anything that would affect the calender and bring it up. If there are conflicts, that's the time to work it out and get it resolved instead of waiting five minutes before takeoff when you realize that both parents had meetings to be to and no one is available to drive the kids to the game.

When there are special events like a holiday season or family vacation ahead Family Councils take on a special significance, we use them for planning the together time. We do some brainstorming and make a list of everything anyone can think of that they'd like to do during the summer or accomplish during that holiday and then each family member gets to vote on what they'd like to do.

When we went to Florida we made the list of all the things we wanted to do then each person got two votes, that's it. That meant we had 12 activities we were going to do and it was democratic enough that no one could argue. Then we schedule those activities in right there on the calendar so we could prepare appropriately. Once it's on the calender the chance of the activity falling apart has dropped by a drastic 80%. According to our highly scientific calculations. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

Here are a few other great ideas for organizing your home from some other organized bloggers:

By I'm an Organizing Junkie:
* My Secret to Staying Organized or At Least One of Them
* If It Bothers You, Change It!
* Remove, Sort, and Purge!
* Small Tackles Can Lead to Big Results

By Organizing Queen:
* 7 Ideas to Organize Art Projects
* My Best 4 Ways to Tame the Magazine Monster
* Organize Your Magazine Clippings
* Frugal Organizing with Cereal Boxes

Organizing Your House: The Box

As promised, this month I'm posting tips on household organization. So much about being organized is establishing habits that work over time and many of the things our family does are things we've done so long that I don't even recognize them as habits anymore, they're just things we do.

BUT--here's something I've just picked up, a brand new habit that I can't believe I didn't know about before and it's all my husband's doing. He was reading a book titled Getting Things Done and one of the suggestions it makes is to get yourself an inbox.

If you work in an office you've got an inbox and my house operates like a small business with me as CFO and COO so you'd think that I'd have thought of this years ago. Apparently I'm proof that there's always room for improvement.

This is how it works (and stick with me here, it's not as obvious as it sounds): Get yourself some kind of a box or basket where you can collect things, ours in on the wall in the kitchen above the phone. Be careful--this isn't a place to throw your junk mail or unopened bills, this is a special contained place, accessible to everyone, where people can put things that will need attention in the next week, maybe month.

My husband throws his receipts or ATM withdrawal slips in there for me to enter in the budget, that way the receipts aren't lying on the counter where they can be knocked off or accidentally thrown away. My children use the paper and pencil I keep nearby and write down things they need for school, things they'd like to see on the menu or places they need to be during the coming week. They write them down as they think of them rather than yelling to me while I'm simultaneously on the phone, cooking dinner and running the garbage disposal: "Hey Mom I need a dozen cookies for the Valentine's Day party next week!"

I use it for things that need to be taken care of--not my bills, they go in a separate area--but things that I need to address like making calls about an insurance issue, mailing a letter, or reminding myself that I need more rice and oregano. Right now there's a CD I need to give back to my sister, a slip of paper asking that we have Cheetos for dinner (as if!) and a few miscellaneous receipts yet to be entered into my budget.

The great thing about it has been that it's an easy way for the kids or Andrew to coordinate things with me without putting them off to the last minute. They think about something they need, they write it down and stick it in the box--it's that easy. The kids come to me and start with: "Mom, I need you to . . . " and I just say, "Stick it in my inbox." And it deals with it right then.

It cuts down on the verbal reminders and last minute panics when those verbal reminders were forgotten. Less hassle, less mess, more peace. Can't beat a deal like that.

Technorati tags: organizing, parenting, WFMW

Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas

We've hosted a few Thanksgiving dinners here and I really enjoy entertaining friends and family but I'm always looking for fun ways to spruce up the dinner and make it a little more memorable, meaningful or entertaining.

Here are a couple things I've done that have been successful:

One year I researched some of my family history. As it happens, my father's family has thick roots on the Mayflower with many direct lines coming across on that famous ship so I read up on our ancestors that were listed as passengers and then made folded 2 x 4 inch place cards with each guest's name on the front and the name of a corresponding Mayflower ancestor along with a short biography on the inside.

I matched husband and wife ancestors with husband and wife guests. For example, Francis and and Sarah Eaton would have been matched with my brother in law and my sister. The biography would have included any details about their life or history and where details were sketchy (as with many of the women) I painted a general picture of life for someone who would have been in their position. There may not have been details about the woman's individual history but there is plenty of information about what women did on the voyage in terms of cooking, cleaning, giving birth, etc.

You may not have such an easy family history to research, or one that relates so beautifully to Thanksgiving, but you could do this with your own ancestors. If there isn't much known about them, assign ancestors to the guests anyway and use it as dinner conversation. "What did you remember about Grandma Nelson?" and that kind of thing. It's a wonderful way to bring family closer together.

Another thing I did that wasn't nearly so beautifully historic and family-promoting was that I told each guest to come prepared to tell a joke. At first they thought I was a little batty but all agreed to it and it was a great part of the meal to stop and say, "Okay, tell us your joke." You'll never believe what Uncle Joe thinks is funny or how Grandma can't tell a joke without reading it off of her paper. I still remember Carinne's joke about "Why did the chicken cross the road?" and chuckle to myself about it.

Any ideas that you've had for spicing up the Thanksgiving dinner?



Technorati tags: Thanksgiving, holidays, entertaining

Tips for the Perfect Cake

You'd think I was trying to make the world a fatter place the way I'm posting the calories here lately. But Grace made the cutest-ever Jungle Cake for my birthday a while back. Can you guess what those cute little monkeys are made of?

Get a load of the carnage after Andrew got through cutting them, it was a Jungle Massacre I tell you. What it is about men cutting things? Slicing bread, cutting cakes, whatever the task it looks likes it's been accomplished with a chain saw.

Here are a few tips that make baking a cake from scratch easier. Though box mixes are fine (I've never met a calorie I didn't like) the taste of a homemade cake is really superior and worth the effort. Some of the tips are rather obvious but it seems that making a cake from scratch is becoming uncommon so I’m taking a gamble and going back to basics.

1. Grease and flour the cake pans. When you’re preparing your cake pans you can use whatever oil you wish to grease the pans. Shortening has a stronger flavor and is good for chocolate or spice cakes but margarine or butter or spray oil work fine as well. When you dust the pans to keep the cakes from sticking you can likewise use either flour or cocoa, depending on the type of cake you’re fixing. Aluminum cake pans work the best for heat distribution.

2. Use sifted cake flour. There are two different types of basic cake: the heavy, dense, moist cakes like carrot cake, and devil’s food and then there are the lighter, more delicate textures that are used for white, yellow and some chocolate cakes. If you want a light, fluffy texture use sifted cake flour because it has less gluten and will therefore form fewer protein strands to toughen things up. If you’re aiming for a real dense and meaty delight there’s no problem in using all-purpose flour. But regardless always spoon the flour into the measuring cups then scrape a knife across the top to level it off. If you scoop up the flour and shake it to settle it you’ll end up with more flour than the recipe requires and the texture will be compromised. Too much flour equals yuck.

3. Mix the fat and the sugar together thoroughly. This is called creaming and coats the sugar with the fat, improving the texture, whether you’re using butter, margarine, shortening or vegetable oil. The fat you use will affect the flavor. Cakes with a strong flavor like fudge or spice can use shortening because it incorporates well but the flavor of the cake covers the taste of the fat. Lighter, vanilla cakes often call for butter to improve the flavor.

4. Mix all the dry ingredients and all the wet ingredients separately. As soon as the gluten in the flour mixes with the oil or wet ingredients it begins to form protein strands. To keep the cake from getting too tough it’s important to mix all the dry ingredients together and begin adding them alternately with the wet ingredients starting and ending with the dry ingredients. This is standard cake making procedure and makes sense once you understand why.

5. Use real vanilla extract. Imitation vanilla is cheaper but there is a significant difference in taste and quality. Splurge on the real stuff and don't look back.

6. Bake 30 minutes at 350 in middle of the oven. Every cake, with few exceptions (sponge cake, pound cake, angel food cake) is baked at 350 for half an hour. It’s just a given. If your pans are glass or if your oven cooks slowly or if you have a larger pan the time may be lengthened but it’s almost always half an hour at 350. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven and refrain from checking it until you’re fairly certain it’s done then check by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, without crumbs clinging to it, then it’s done.

7. Loosen the sides and cool. If you're using round cake pans when the cake comes out of the oven immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the sides then let it set for 10 minutes to cool before attempting to take it out of the pan. If, after ten minutes, it doesn’t come out easily then set it back in the oven for a minute or two before trying to remove it again.

8. Let the cake cool upside down with dusting of sugar. Sprinkle a bit of granulated sugar on a towel, invert the cake onto the towel then remove the pan. Let the cake cool completely before trying to frost it and allow it to cool the entire time upside down because that will produce a flat surface and make it easier to decorate. I always decorate the bottom because it’s so nice and flat.

9. Use a cake stand. Cakes are fine and delicious in big 9 x 13 rectangular pans but if you make it in two round 9-inch pans and set them on a cake stand you'll feel as if you’ve done something really special. Cake stands are inexpensive and make everything look lovely—cupcakes, hors d’oeuvres, pies, everything. Put a roll of toilet paper on a cake stand and even that looks lovelier than it did before.

10. Try something easy for frosting. After going to all the work to make a real cake if you want to fudge a little, save time in the frosting (not the cake) by using pudding, whipped cream, cherry pie filling or a dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa. Not only will it still feel elegant it will taste wonderful as well. I prefer whipped cream over frosting myself any day and will sometimes sprinkle toasted coconut, chopped pecans or chocolate shavings on the top to add an extra touch of pretty.

***

Here are some of my cake recipes from the archives:

* Sour Cream Coffee Cake
* Pecan-Cream Sponge Cake
* Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake
* Pumpkin Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
* Dutch Oven Mississippi Mud Cake
* Sour Cream Pound Cake
* Pumpkin Molasses Cake with Orange Frosting

Technorati tags: household tips, cakes, baking, birthday cakes

Sack Lunch Ideas: Put First Things First

Nothing says cool like doing something off limits--like having dessert first. One of my kids' favorite things for dinner is to have breakfast for dinner. Anything at all: pancakes, waffles, cereal, French toast . . .

So why not surprise your child with breakfast for lunch? The next time you're making up pancakes or French toast or another breakfast delight, make a little extra to freeze and stick in their lunch. An Eggo waffle with jam, a tiny little stack of pancakes with cream cheese and fruit, a "pig in a blanket," breakfast pizza, scrambled eggs in a tortilla, even a cup of cold cereal to munch on straight from the cup would be fun. You could even try the standard PB&J between two pancakes, waffles or French toast and see what the reaction is.

I imagine that the kid who brings Lucky Charms will officially be The Coolest Kid at the Table.

***

Did you hear? The Winter Bazaar is starting next Wednesday--get those Halloween ideas ready!

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

Technorati tags: WFMW, sack lunches, bentos, school lunches

Sack Lunch Ideas: Give It a Theme

This week's sack lunch tip is all about creativity. Lunch time will be more fun if you give your lunches a theme. You could even make it a game and see if your family can guess what the theme is but here are some ideas to get you started:

* An international day such as Mexico, Japan, Thailand, the Middle East, etc. and fix sample foods from that country or region. This doesn't have to be fancy, try guacamole and chips with salsa, spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce with a fortune cookie, hummus and a pita with olives and dates.

* Foods that all start with the same letter: bananas, blueberries, bread, biscuits, biscotti, bangers (sausages), braeburn apples, butter or beans.

* Foods that are all the same color: spinach leaves on a pesto-tortilla with guacamole and fresh peas, bell peppers and lime yogurt.

* Foods that are all the same shape: melon balls, oyster crackers, slices of hard boiled eggs, slices of banana, slices of salami, a bagel, a tortilla or uncut pita.

* Foods for a pirate: cannonballs (grapes) and cannons (carrots), a dead man's chest (dip), a bottle of rum (juice box), goldfish crackers, Swedish fish and serve them with a little plastic toothpick sword. Include a "treasure" map and tattoo.

(see this post at Design Mom for more pirate-inspired lunches)

* Foods for an astronaut: dried fruit, beef jerky, moon rocks (granola) a Capri sun and . . . of course cheese. Serve some extra jet pack fuel (a yogurt) with a straw to drink it like the astronauts.

* Foods for an undersea explorer: tuna on fish-shaped toast (cut with a cookie cutter), goldfish crackers, pasta shells, seaweed (lettuce or spinach), sunken treasure (fresh fruit in a little box) and gold chocolate doubloons.

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

Technorati tags: WFMW, sack lunches, bentos, school lunches

Sack Lunch Ideas: Keeping it Cool

For this week's tip on making a better sack lunch you have probably already heard about the easy little trick of freezing a juice box overnight to include as a drinkable ice pack in the lunch. But let's just take this one step further shall we?

You can freeze all sorts of things to be edible ice packs: pudding cups, fruit cups, Jello cups, yogurts or cups of applesauce. Things with a high sugar content won't freeze as thoroughly as water will and smaller containers thaw more quickly than a large juice box so you don't run the risk of having your edible ice pack still frozen come lunchtime. Having to thaw your dessert tends to guarantee that you'll eat it last--an added bonus.

One word of caution however, because these frozen items will sweat as they thaw you'll need to include them in a plastic bag to catch all the water. I learned that lesson after complaints of soggy sandwiches. Learn from my mistakes I beg you.

***

Have you entered this month's Write-Away Contest yet? The topic is learning.

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

Technorati tags: WFMW, sack lunches, bentos, school lunches

Sack Lunch Ideas: Some Entertainment Please

Lunch isn't really the most exciting meal of the day (that honor would probably go to breakfast). With daily sack lunches for three kids and one husband I figure I've made approximately 6,785 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my lifetime with no sign of the trend abating. If you too are stuck in a rut and are looking for some new ideas, I'll be posting sack lunch ideas for the next few weeks the likes of which are guaranteed to bring happiness to your universe--or at least to your children's lunchtime.

Sack Lunch Idea #1: Give them some lunchtime entertainment.

I bought a joke book, a stack of index cards and a pen I keep in the kitchen. Sometimes I write a joke out on a card and included it in the lunch to brighten their meal. Here's one to get you started: What yellow and highly dangerous? Shark-infested banana pudding! Ha! That one gets me every time. Every time.

Other ideas along the same lines would be to include a brain teaser, riddle, funny fact or--for my football-obsessed son--a piece of sports trivia on a card. You could buy a small inexpensive activity book with pages of mazes, crosswords and puzzles that rip out easily and include a page from the book and a small pencil in their lunch and give them something to look forward to.

I sometimes include a handwritten note to the children "I love you and hope you do well on your test. Love, Mom" or something like that though I try to be careful not to embarrass them by writing something mushy that might gain unwanted attention from lunchtable companions.

Occasionally (and this is a good idea when it's rainy or too cold and they're guaranteed to have indoor recess) I'll leave a sticker or tiny trinket--such as a plastic ring, a tiny card game, Chinese handcuffs or sliding-tile puzzle. Just a little something to let them know I love them.

Using my custom search engine I found some other good links:

* The Daily Tiffin ("tiffin" is a British/Indian word for a light noon meal) for menu ideas.
* Life in a Box: Building a Better Bento (Bentos are Japanese lunch boxes and if you haven't been introduced to the World of Bento yet you'd better get busy!)
* Vegan Lunch Box has meat-free ideas.
* Laptop Lunches is a Flikr group that will make you salivate.
* Choice.com has an interactive lunchbox where you can drag and click items into a lunch box to see the nutritional value.
* A Peanut Butter and Jelly tip of mine from last year. It's still good.

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

Technorati tags: WFMW, sack lunches, bentos, school lunches

Have a Little Honey

Whenever I cook with honey I usually zap the honey bear bottle for a few seconds in the microwave to warm it up so it is less viscous and pours easily.

Also, if I need to measure the honey into a measuring cup or spoon I will--if possible--pour the honey into the same measuring cup I used to measure any oil the recipe calls for. This makes the honey slip right out because of the greasy non-stick surface. If I'm using a recipe that doesn't call for oil, I will often lightly grease the measuring cup or spoon with a shot of cooking oil spray. Works just as well.

***

Using my custom search engine for momblogs I found the following related posts:

* New York's unique flavor of honey in Rooftop Honey by Shelterrific
* Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey by Milk and Cookies
* Field Trip to Bee Farm by Spirriteebee
* Baked Brie with Honey and Garlic by Scribbit (sorry, it's a great recipe)
* Sopapillas with a Side of Honey by Homesick Texan
* Honey and Lemon Two-Pot Chicken by The Passionate Cook
* New Bee Hives after One Week by Birdchick Blog

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

Technorati tags: WFMW, honey, household tips, baking

Decorating Children's Rooms

When Spencer and David were younger I decorated their room on an antique train theme with dark reds for the patchwork quilts, tiny toy trains on the shelves, posters of trains on the walls and red iron train handle pulls for the chest of drawers.

But when I wanted pictures of trains to frame for the walls I couldn't find anything that suited. I like black and white pictures and didn't want cartoon trains.

I found instead a website that deals in rare postcards of every variety imaginable and there found vintage and antique postcards of trains suitable for framing. Even with the cost of shipping they were less expensive than buying a print (about $1 or $2 a card) and had the rugged, rustic look I was going for.

The boys have outgrown the train theme and I'm getting rid of it all so knowing that I didn't spend a fortune on wall art is a comforting thing. Anyone need a set of antique train postcards?

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

Technorati tags: WFMW, decorating, children's rooms, trains, antiques

Handy Shopper for Palm Z22

For seven or eight years I've used a Palm to organize my life. Calendar, contacts, to-do lists, it's on there--if I lose the thing I'll be toast. Doomed--do you hear me? Doomed.

But you'll rejoice when you hear about one of the terrific pieces of software I have on this thing, it's called HandyShopper. It's a program that organizes all the items in the grocery stores you frequent so you can create shopping lists and estimate your expenditures with a mere touch on the screen.

When you open HandyShopper you can create a shopping list for each store you might visit. Me? I've got my Costco, Walmart and Fred Meyers lists. Then you can enter each item that you might buy along with the price and the aisle where it is found and the program organizes all the items by aisle and then alphabetically. When you wish to create a list, you select "All" and all the items in the store are displayed by aisle and you merely scroll down the list, selecting the items you need. When you've finished and your list is complete, if you touch the dollar sign at the top of the price column HandyShopper displays the exact total of the selected groceries.

When you're ready to shop you merely change the setting from "All" to "Need" and it gives you your composite grocery list, store by store. As you place each item in your cart you can "cross" it off your list by gently touching the item on the screen and it crosses off, moving to the bottom of the list.

No longer do you have to go to the store with your grocery lists written on the backs of napkins or envelopes, no more will you wonder how much your groceries will come to. If you use HandyShopper (and stick to it) you'll always stay on budget.

Oh, and by the way, the software is free. My husband found it for me years ago and it was free, they might now charge $10-20 to download it but I've used it so long and have become so attached that I'd pay any price to have it on my Palm. I can't live without it.

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

Technorati tags: WFMW, shopping, Palm, software, HandyShopper, handhelds