We've Got Grass, People!

Yes, it's official. I have grass showing in spots in my yard. You have no idea what that does to me.

In fact, it's got me dreaming of summer and warmer times to come which goes just fine with these posts on beauty tips:

How to cut bangs (I so needed this)
Tips for the French pedicure
And Caring for Your Heels (mine aren't quite that bad but I do need help)

And finally, this video just cracks me up. I keep wondering how the whole thing came about and it must have been that one of the guys saw the ad in the NY Times advertising the exhibit and thought, "Hey, that looks just like Jeff!" and so great comedy was born.

What cracks me up the most is the guy that stops them at the end--if he'd been smart he would have hired them right there on the spot. I can't think of a more brilliant publicity stunt than this. I would have gone to the museum that day just to see it all go down.

Where Am I?

Let's see . . . where have I been? Well, most recently I've been scrambling for a last-minute prom dress.  No, not for me silly.  For Grace. The good news is that she's got a date but the bad news is that it cost me $20 in overnight shipping. And I mean that in the nicest, happiest-mom sort of way.

She has beautiful taste though--see her selection? It's a vintage 1950s dress from Etsy that will fit her perfectly (sigh . . . to have a figure that size again) and will go great with her strawberry-blond locks.

I've also been reading like crazy.  A few books on ancient history (go ahead and ask me about the Sumerians--I'm all over it) then True Grit (loved the movie) and The Eagle of the Ninth (ditto) and now I'm working on a biography of Napoleon by Paul Johnson.  If you're ever into history Paul Johnson is the way to go--I'm just hoping he gets his biography on Socrates finished before he . . . uh . . . shuffles off this mortal coil (he's about 105 I think).

The snow is showing signs that it may not be a permanent fixture so everyone is in good spirits. We ran up to the cabin during spring break last week to check out the snowmaching and enjoy the sunshine and got a bonus in a gorgeous display of the northern lights.

And I've been knitting.  Finished this Rosebud cardigan from Berroco's free pattern stash and started on this adorable Carli ribbed cardigan from Cocoknits (which has the most beautiful sweater patterns). Love how you can adjust the button hole to different places, including no button then belt it.

Oh, and I've been consuming very large quantities of hot chocolate.  Lots.  Here are some new recipes that I've been meaning to try for the stuff:

Thick Hot Chocolate (i.e. "fondue for breakfast")
Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Or maybe I'll try baking:
Brownies in a Crockpot
Lemon Curd in the Microwave
Or Vanilla Pear Jam (doesn't that just sound amazing?)

The other thing I'm toying with is this quilt-block pattern creator where you can upload a photo and turn it into a quilt block pattern.  I've uploaded a bunch of photos from our India trip last year (I've been feeling nostalgic as the anniversary of the trip has approached--we left a year ago today) and think that making a quilt top from the pixelated photos would be pretty darn cool. Whose with me?

Really?

I got my latest Athleta catalog yesterday. Yes, I like working out (even more if I've got spiffy workout clothes) and yes I do a bit of yoga here and there but when I got to this picture my mouth fell open.

Are they kidding me?? Do they really think that this is going to get me to buy their clothes? All I can think about is the feeling of tearing and ripping and intense pain.  It totally took me out of the spending-money-on-workout-clothes mode. Completely.

It Pays to Be a Fan

If you have ten minutes to spare I suggest you use them to watch this video. It's a presentation by Prof. Philip Zimbardo that is visually fascinating and intellectually attractive on the subject of time. Hats off to my husband for sending it to me.

And if you find yourself with even more time on your hands here are a few more worthy sites. I've posted all of these links previously through Facebook and Twitter and if you haven't already done so I suggest that you follow Scribbit there--when I come across good stuff I always share it through Facebook and Twitter so it can pay to be a fan, right?

• The Wall Street Journal writes in "'Vanity' Press Goes Digital" about how digital self-publishing is catching more and more attention. Yea for ebooks!


• Art for Small Hands has a gorgeous project for Paper Mache Birds that I'd try myself.


• Looking for a good breakfast recipe? Here are 100 Ways to Break an Egg (and when they say "break" they mean "cook").


• This Sushi Cake looks so much better than actual sushi I'd absolutely have a piece.


• Instructables has a recipe for 5 Minute Ice Cream that sounds fun as an afternoon treat.

Sponsored by Sorella Jewelry Studio for fine personalized jewelry.

Happy New Year!

Yup, I'm checking out again for a couple days (what a slacker, huh?) It's nearly New Year's eve and that means staying up way too late, eating way too much and doing so many things besides blogging. If you're wondering what we'll be consuming you can see them here:

Garlicky Baked Fries
Pizza in a Bite
Cheese Bites
Diablo Verde Shakes
Bittersweet Chocolate Caramel Cracker Cookies

Yes, we're fried food junkies.

I figure you'd welcome a bit of a break, right? But do not despair, rest assured I'll be back on Saturday with another giveaway, this time it's a scrapbooking treat (retail value $75) followed by more posts Sunday and next week (I'm already working on the line up if you don't believe me).

But for now, I'll share one of my favorite clips that still cracks me up. If you go to YouTube there's a whole series by the same production crew and you can find your day's allotment of laughs there.

Hope you have a wonderful New Year, see you January 2nd!

Sponsored by Color Incorporated Digital Prolab for your digital printing needs

The Ultimate Geography Question

It's been a long week and I'm to the point where I can hardly speak coherently let alone write in complete sentences--this starting up a business thing feels like its kicking us around pretty thoroughly. I told Andrew I'd truly be manic depressive if only I had more time for it. . . .

So I'm going to leave you with a thought, one we spent quite a while discussing while in the car yet came to no solid conclusions on.

Pretend that you were able to drill a hole through the entire earth. Right through the middle, creating a big straight tube that ran completely down the center and out the other side. Now say, hypothetically, that you were to fall into that tunnel.

What would happen??

Of course, aside from burning up in the heat. Pretend the temperatures aren't an issue. You'd fall of course, fall for thousands of miles toward the center but once you got to the center what would happen to you? That's the part that's stumped us.

You wouldn't fall clear through and out the other side because gravity pulls you to the center. But the center is drilled away so there's no place to land. Would you just stay, suspended in the center of the earth once you reached it? Would you overshoot the center with the momentum of the fall then spring back as if you were on a big bungee cord? Would you stick to the inside of the tunnel as if it were flat ground? Someone out there must know. The truth is out there.

Spencer was the one to pose the question and it gave us a good brain squeeze.

P.S. Sorry Canada about drilling a hole practically in the middle of Halifax. Nothing personal, really.

P.S.S. If you feel you've been cheated and not recieved enough post for your money, try these great links instead:

The Best Geography Game in the World
How to Travel by Cargo Ship
How Not to Look Like an American Tourist
How to Travel the World on $35 a Day

Sponsored by Forty Fish Eggs

I'm Out and About Today

I'm on hiatus today, I'll be speaking at the Twitter conference here in Anchorage at 10:15 am so if you happen to be downtown this morning drop on by the Snow Goose restaurant and say hello. But catch me quick because it's also parent-teacher conferences this afternoon so I'll be on the road again by lunch.

Which reminds me . . . if you're not doing anything in February I'll also be speaking at Blissdom 2010 the first week of the month in Nashville--I believe the topic they asked me to hit is "Modern Mommy Blogging" which will be a great one. Never been to Nashville and I cannot wait, I have always wanted to go to Tennessee. See you there!

And besides this, I've got a few items for your attention:

It still hasn't snowed . . . just in case you were wondering, so the snow contest marches on without a winner yet.

What do you think about the new Speed-Writing Craze? (Or should I say "Crazy" and give away my own opinion on the matter?)

Think it's expensive to get married? Check out the list of all-time Most Expensive Weddings. Then laugh.

Check out the instructions on making your own bath tub paint--we used to do this ages ago.

I know it's not anywhere near Christmas yet but I love the simplicity of this wooden block Nativity set. I imagine I could try and make one myself if I had some patience.

Check out this two-in-one desk/bed that I covet.

Make up a batch of this Rhubarb Nut Bread or these Grasshopper Squares . . . thank you . . . don't mind if I do!

Sponsored by Pak Naks--decorate your stuff!

Okay Tell Me You Don't Laugh At This Too

Every once in a while I'll find something that tickles like this one. But not often.

But if that doesn't make you laugh then check out Leslie's post titled (and I love this):
Almost As Funny As The Woman Who Asked Me What Sock Monkeys Are Made Of, Then Said, “Shut Up!” When I told Her, “Socks.”

Or Amber's post: Bladdering on--Mass Destruction by Night. It'll make you check your faucets.

Or possibly this Oregon Trail skit. It gets me every time.

Any of them will do nicely.

***

Congratulations to Shelly, Janet, Holly and another as yet unnamed winner for winning this weekend's Shutterfly Giveaway. Start making those books!

Sponsored by Wedding Paper Divas for wedding invitations.

Fall in Alaska

This is what I'm seeing right now on this dark and stormy day--see those leaves? See them? Yes, they're turning brown. You also see my phlox to the left there, which always is the last thing blooming in my garden but the crab apple trees are dropping their leaves and the birch are turning yellow (though some of that is from the infestation of leaf miner beetles all over town).

I'm staying inside, baking banana muffins. Partially to be a good mom and partially to cover the smell of halibut leftover from last night's dinner. I hate it when dinner smells linger too long. Especially the fishy ones.

I'll leave you with a few fun things--first, here's a great article from the Wall Street Journal about the future of the novel. I found it interesting, good for some speculation.

Second, here's the trailer for the new movie The Men Who Stare at Goats. I have no idea what it's going to be rated but it looks like a movie I would love. George Clooney can be the funniest thing when given the right script.

Then here are a few recipes worth reviewing:

Cookie Cocktails from Rachael Ray--just what I need. Dessert and drinks combined.

Clam Cookies from Craft Gossip (cutest cookies in the clam bed!)

Grown up Pop Tarts from Little Acorn

And Panda Bread from Perfect Pandas

Sponsored by Pak Naks--decorate your stuff!

Fast Track to Success

Our doorbell just rang and when I went to answer it there were two young people, a girl and a boy around 17 or 18 years old, bouncing slightly on the balls of their feet and dresed in rather tight jeans. They made a remark or two about how odd our house was (because apparently I wanted to know their opinion) then launched into a sales pitch loaded with over-the-top pseudo confidence and slick, pre-packaged jokes designed to "loosen me up."

I've had this happen before and I knew exactly what they were doing. They were selling something, and the routines always start with an introduction to some group they're a part of (usually one I've never heard of) followed by how they're supposed to go around and "talk" to people for practice in some communication skill they're trying to develop.

Now I'm a pretty reasonable--some might even go so far as to say nice--person. But I'm not stupid. They were selling something and the only thing that kept me at the door was the entertainment of watching them try to be as smooth and winsome as the people they'd seen on television in hopes that I'd be putty in their hands. Because I'm only a housewife, right? I ought to be an easy sell.

They tried the chit chat ("What does your husband do for a living?" "How many kids do you have?" etc. etc.) they tried to high five me (no joke) but finally they hit the punch line. They were selling magazines, the typical drug of choice, and if I already had my earthly share I was welcome to buy subscriptions for someone who may not be blessed to have Snowboarder World in their life. Such as perhaps a poor homeless Sudanese refugee?

"I'm sorry but I'm not interested."

They tried more pleas and "Come on, we're on our way to a trip to Paris--I bet you've been to Paris already"

"Actually no, I haven't."

"Well we've got more points than anyone else and we're about to win that trip. You don't want to keep us from Paris do you?"

Heaven forbid. Because it's written in the rules somewhere that every kid should see Paris before they complete a semester of college. I'm sure it's there somewhere and my parents just didn't read that part of the instruction manual.

The young man tried one more line of "Pretty pleases" but I wasn't budging on this one. If I've cut out my children's piano lessons (see yesterday's post) then I'm not buying Animé Unleashed from someone on my doorstep who brags about having once met a Playboy bunny (oh, did you miss that part of the conversation? Too bad, because it was precious).

"Look, I'm not interested," I said, then added what I had hoped was a kind let-down, "My husband just started up a business and everything we have is going into that. I'm sure you'll understand, maybe you'll have the chance to do something like that for yourself someday."

To which he replied (and I quote): "I doubt it. I don't really like to work very hard."

And they turned and walked away while I picked my jaw up off the front step.

Hey, at least he's honest. I figure for the amount of time he's spent panhandling from my neighbors he probably could have got a real job and earned enough for several trips to Europe. With or without a Playboy bunny.

Good luck, Sonny, you're going to need it.

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Hummingbirds and All Sorts of Good Things

This is the point at which I would wow you with a picture of the beautiful little hummingbirds that visited my garden this summer.

Except they didn't come. I'd heard a piece on NPR about hummingbirds in Alaska and did a bit of research and discovered that yes indeed, rufous hummingbirds do migrate as far north as Alaska. Usually southeastern Alaska but often venturing up into the southcentral area where they've been spotted in south Anchorage gardens from time to time.

So Lillian and I got a little hummingbird feeder, stocked it well with nectar and hung it by the window because as we all know . . . if you build it they will come.

However, the hummingbirds didn't seem to get the memo and we never saw even one bird though the bees did seem to enjoy the snack shack. At first we were hopeful, then we were worried, then disappointed, then Lillian got rather disgusted. I hope you're happy hummingbirds because you've pretty much disillusioned my child, probably scarring her for life.

So while I'd planned on being able to share pictures of our aviary success instead I'm sharing a picture that's made me nearly as happy as having hummingbirds in my garden--my jasmine. I got it months ago and it sits in my kitchen window where it fills the air with the most amazing fragrance. It's particularly strong when I come down to fix breakfast in the morning, you can smell those little white flowers through the whole kitchen. I'm really hoping that it survives our dark winters because it's what's got me past that whole hummingbird-fiasco-betrayal thing.

And I've collected a few other interesting items for your enjoyment. So enjoy!

***

Unless your name happens to be Tom Marvolo Riddle you may have never seen an anagram of your name but this little anagram generator spits out the funniest anagram for any words (or names) you insert. I saw it at The Short Years. I may not be Lord Voldemort but apparently "I'm the Inclement Role." And that's with my REAL name so feel free to sleuth it out.

Amy swears by this easy pot roast recipe and I have to say that since I am a complete pot roast moron it is right up my alley. Plus, the picture is darn effective as a sales pitch.

Plum Pudding has a way to make a green cleaning kit with your own homemade household cleaners. Cost effective and simple.

This "all natural" swimming pool is soooo cool! I have this phobia of swimming in lakes and oceans where I can't see my feet and things bump into me but with this you get the fun of swimming in a pond without the creepy crawlies.

Baking Bites has a recipe for those evil little Girl Scout cookies. Not evil little Girl Scouts, just their cookies. Specifically, the Samoas.

Simply Recipes has a post up about Tomato Pie. And before you turn up your nose just think: cheese bread married to pizza. Yea. So what do you think now?

And get a load of this futuristic bicycle posted at Hypebeast. They say it's the future of cycling with a built-in anti-theft, finger-print identifying alarm system and puncture-resistant tires. I'm thinking they've found Captain Kirk's bike.

Sponsored by Wedding Paper Divas for wedding invitations.

Because I'm Your Link Slave . . .

I'm giving you my favorites around the web from this past week. That's what happens when my husband's out of town. I sit up watching dumb movies and spending too much time on Stumbleupon.

But when I saw these I was caught in two conflicting emotions: reverence and laughter. I mean, it's bacon right? Who would have the audacity to take something as healthy as a salad then encapsulate it in pig fat? But then there's the other half of my brain that says "Genius!"

If you want details for making these mini myocardial infarctions then please see Not Martha. And bring the Lipitor.

Then I also follow this flower arranging site which had this pretty little idea for some fresh cut flowers. My garden is ripe for cutting and a simple idea like these beaded bracelets around a tin can is well-timed.

Do you ever look at those "Flower Arrangement of the Month" features in Martha Stewarts' magazine and roll your eyes like I do? In my mind it takes absolutely no skill whatsoever to pull out four dozen roses and make them look nice. Or 28 peonies or whatever. What impresses me far more is to find cute creative arrangements for just a few blossoms. Now that's something.

Then there's this link I found that defies description. Click on it. It's completely pointless and is a huge waste of time but yet strangely intoxicating while being subconsciously disturbing. Like being chased by a room full of daddy long legs. And if that description doesn't pique your interest I don't know what will.

Oh and there's this cute little table top soccer game someone made for their kids out of little wooden pegs . . .

And this sandwich made to look like a rubic's cube. Only out of processed deli meats. Again with the bacon. What's wrong with me?

Sponsored by Unique Wedding Invitations by Dependable Printing.

Sayonara

At least until the weekend. As of now I'm officially incommunicado.

As you read this I'll be somewhere in the wilds of Alaska hiking and camping and kayaking and enjoying my 39th birthday covered in bug spray.

No really, it'll be fun.

Actually, all sarcasm aside, I do think it'll be fun--the weather has been great and I've got all my gear. (The key to happiness is layers, my friends, and layers I have got.)

A wicking layer, a layer for warmth and a layer for wind/rain protection. I'm so well protected I could stop a bullet. Or at least a raindrop.

You'll hear from me when I get back, complete with pictures. As for now, I've got a few here-and-there posts lined up for the week and then you're always free to browse the archives. Here are a few of the places outdoor adventures I've mentioned:

Belgua Point
Winner Creek
Tangle Lakes
Ninilchik

Have a great week!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

And before Andrew and I leave town for the weekend I wanted to leave you with a few extra pictures I've been drooling on . . .

Chaos in the Kitchen has Pizza Bites and this is only the first of the photos--the second one pretty much sends me over the edge into pure pizza bliss.

WikiHow has the instructions for making a plastic crane out of a drinking straw . . . just in case all you sculptors out there get bored while waiting for your burger to come at McDonald's.

You've had ice cream cones, you've had waffle cones, now try Bread Cones from the Bread Blog. Oh the stuffing possibilities! Cream cheese, ham and chives, a bit of chicken salad or even green salad . . . too bad it's not water tight and you could take your tomato soup on the go!

Southern Plate promises Melt in Your Mouth Donuts (though to paraphrase the great Wimpy "I'd gladly pay you tomorrow for a donut today!").

The running joke around here is that someday Andrew is going to build a sailboat and sail around the world. I found a site where you can buy a wooden boat kit and build your own classic pirogue and I'm hooked. It's a great deal, though I bet the shipping to Alaska is tons more than they're advertising for the rest of the U.S.

We have a shed in our backyard that we turned into a playhouse for the kids and while it's fine like that after I saw this shed on Shellterrific I'm already making plans for when the kids outgrow it. That baby is coming down and I'm building this . . . you can get the plans from the link on the website.

The Idea Room has instructions for building not only a mini Marshmallow Gun from PVC pipe (looks easy enough--the boys would love it) but the safety goggles to go with it. Because kids all over the country have lost eyes to a vicious marshmallow fatality. Though I love the idea I'm thinking my boys would prefer a big gun. "More Firepower" is the code word here.

And thank you again to those mentioning the ebook this past week:

The 6 o'Clock Stitch
Heavenly Homemakers
Happy Harper Stories

Just a Few More Things to Share . . .

I really should be getting on with my work today but there were so many cool things I found in my feed reader I had to share some more. Check out my photos:These were made from a site called Tilt Shift where you can upload your photos and turn them into miniatures! Totally useless, completely fun.And Swiss Miss had some great things today.

Awkward Family Photos will make you chuckle.
Madsen Bikes will make you drool.
and Markus Georg will make you do a double take.

And if you missed it on CNNBC--here's the announcement that I won the 2009 Mother of the Year Award. Thank you so much to all my adoring fans. Especially you Janet!

Apparently they didn't hear about that pesky incident where I left a child at the grocery store.

Just Had to Share . . .

I've been stumbling around lately and have found some fabulous food blogs and recipes and while I am busily cooking up a storm I wanted to share some of them with you

And don't tell me you're not as in love with that picture as I am but you're going to have to click on the link to find out how it's done.

• Spaghetti Hot Dogs from Plum Pudding (She saw it at Boing Boing but her picture kicks Boing Boing's fanny across town).
  


• Quick Cinnamon Rolls from The Big Red Kitchen (these look so fun and I LOVE all breads)


• Chocolate-Caramel Cookies from Su Good Sweets (I've used saltines in sweets before and they're good).


• Dandelion Syrup from 5 Orange Potatoes (yes you read that right. Dandelions. Come on, you're curious right?)


• Grilled Cheesecake from Cakespy.com (I'm noticing these are all sweet things here. Where are my vegetables I ask?)


• Moroccan Cinnamon Oranges from A Bit of This and a Bit of That (okay at least that's rather on the healthy side).


• Homemade Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup from Becoming Janel (If it's anything like the stuff at Quizno's I'm there).

And then I have been terrible, horrible and completely lazy about doing memes or answering the nice awards I've been handed so I can at least say thanks, right? You guys are all wonderful you know?

Littlemummy
All Rileyed Up (and her meme here is fabulous. Completely love it)
Sandier Pastures
Compost Happens
Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors
Wise Herb's Random Jottings
The Second Half of My Life
Random Thoughts of a Great Granny Grandma

Items of Note

Can I say that this past week has put our whole state in one fabulously good mood? After our horrible, drippy, cold summer last year I was ready to file a complaint but this past week we've been drenched in sunshine and temperatures that climbed to 70 in time for May Day. I could not be happier.

But before reading today's guest post about Chicago below I had a few other things to mention:

May's Write-Away Contest
If you missed the announcement on Saturday, I finally got the topic up for this month's writing contest. The topic is spring and our guest judge is the wonderful Teresa Hirst posting as TJ Hirst at TJHirst.com. I've admired her writing from afar (as she lives in Minnesota) and thought her recent post "Will Fear or Faith Wash over Our Children" to be very appropriate and well written.

Don't miss the chance to get in on the fun and prizes (yes prizes, plural) with your entry! The deadline is the 20th!

The Scribbit Newsletter
The newsletter is in its third issue this month and should hit 1000 subscribers sometime this week--thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send me kind words about it and if you have things you'd like to see included in it shoot me a note and let's talk!

Bliss Living, who offered a wonderful giveaway here at Scribbit a little over a week ago, has offered another giveaway for newsletter subscribers and those who are on the mailing list are automatically entered to win a beautiful silver engraved double pendant valued at $95 in time for Mother's Day. They have popular and beautiful mother's jewelry and this is your chance to have one for yourself. The winner will be drawn on May 7th which will give you time to get your name in the hat if you haven't already.

Blogging in Pink: A Woman's Guide eBook Update
And I wanted to extend more thank yous to those who have been mentioning my ebook on their sites. I already linked to the first few who were kind enough to give it a shout out--here are the others that have come in this past week (hope I didn't miss any of you!) I sure appreciate all the sweet emails and messages I've got over last week with your thanks and compliments.

Extraordinary Mom's Network
Finding my Knitch
Dancing with the Daffodils
Omah's Helping Hands
Chilly North Academy
Michelle's Family Journal
The Scholastic Scribe
I'm an Organizing Junkie
Darling Domestic
Glamumous
Antique Mommy
On a Joyful Journey
The Drôle Corbeau
Nellbe's Scribblings
Laurie's Reflections
The New Frugal Mom

Thanks to you all!

Sponsored by Beau-Coup for unique baby shower favors.

A Thank You and a Correction

A couple things I wanted to mention--first, a big thank you to those who have been so kind as to mention my ebook Blogging in Pink: A Woman's Guide on their sites these past two days. I really appreciate the kind words.

If you'd like to see what they've said here they are:

Littlemummy
The Marketing Mama
Zakka Life
Metropolitan Mama

plus thanks to @crazycanuckblog, @thisfullhouse, @momofsixteen, @PeanutIsMyBoss, @ktcat, @mrshart03, @Nana Cheryl, @sandierpastures, and @Chrisbookarama for tweeting it. You guys are the best.

Second, it seems that gmail is out to get me because in the course of this month's Write-Away contest I missed two entries that were apparently sent to me but must have ended up as fodder for my spam filter (I've had terrible trouble with the filter the last few weeks). Anyway, while I do check my spam box for such possibilities I must have missed two and I feel horrible.

I've updated the entry list to include these two entries but I thought I'd mention them especially because I so appreciate those who participate each month and the guest judges--the contest wouldn't be anything without you all.

Diapers and Divinity with My Life Was an Inspirational Movie

and

My Thoughts on That with Not the Worst Day

Why Not?

Seeing this just made my day. Thanks to J. Chevais at No Place Like It (a longtime favorite of mine) for sending it to me after seeing it in one of the Paris English-speaking newspapers.

A Parting Word

As I check out for the weekend I wanted to leave you with a few of the fabulous things I've found around the internet lately.

Best craft projects:

• A fold-out lunch bag tutorial from Design Sponge. Now if only I could make it with Spiderman so my son would use it . . .
• Why didn't I think of this giant game of pick up sticks? Via Giddy Goat.
• The Toymaker is a website where you can download all sorts of paper templates for toys. Found through Zakka Life Crafts.

Best recipes:

• Playdough cookies from Sassy Priscilla. Rest assured folks they're non-toxic.
• Broken glass jello from Just Jen--and no, it's not dangerous. Just cool.

Best reads:

• I loved this post from Write-Stuff about intrusive thoughts. Funny and interesting.
• Simple tips for getting sponsorships from Adventures in Babywearing.
• Love the music, love the thoughts from Oktober 5 with Simon and Garfunkel's 10 Blogging Lessons.
• 12 Steps for Creating Non-Fussy Eaters. If only my mother in law had read this all those years ago . . .

Best shopping finds:

• I really, really want one of these sun jars. Wonder if I can make one?
• Coolest beds EVER!!!!!

Best activities:

• Ideas for kids birthday parties from Oh Amanda

Best blogs I've added to my reader:

• Audrey's blog-Her 365 days of fashion tips for moms has me hooked.
• Apron Strings Aflutter-Not that new to me, but the daily reads are great.
• Tangarang-Great crafts. Need I say more?

Best contests:

Anything listed on the Message Board! Eighty blog contests and giveaways to enter so take a peek!

Sponsored by Pink and Blue: for unique baby gifts to make them "ooh" and "ahh."