sweet

The video I originally put up here was taken down, so here it is from the source. Enjoy.

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (and some other stuff)

In case you're out of the loop (the way I usually am), here's the scoop about the Obamas' new vegetable garden. Here's the layout of the new vegetable garden at the White House. Yum. I want to eat there. Aside: Except the rhubarb part. I'm still convinced that that stuff is poisonous. My mom told me repeatedly not to touch it when I was a kid (I guess the leaves are toxic or something?), and I'm still listening to her. Of course, you know, when she offered me some of that rhubarb pie she made, I wouldn't touch that either: I mean, come on, she just said it was poisonous. (Yes, I'm still six. Logic will not rule in this instance.) They were pretty smart to put the mint in a patch by itself. That stuff will take over otherwise.

And I'm a bit jealous. I really want to have a real garden here. I get paralyzed by all the choices and by the lack of choices.

and the letter is...

I got this meme from Jen on the Edge. Name 10 things I like, all beginning with the letter she assigned me: H. I think this is the first time I've been given something so specific to work with, so here goes.

1. hibernating OK, I haven't actually hibernated yet, but right now, on a Sunday night, I'd really like to hibernate and not go in to work tomorrow morning. Where did the weekend go?
2. hippos They look like such gentle creatures, although I've heard that they're not. Whatever. They're still cute.
3. hiver Yeah, I got stuck, and so if you don't speak French, it means "winter," which I really do like love, although I'm getting a little tired of it right now. Unless of course, we can have a snow day tomorrow....?
4. Hungry Caterpillar, The Very That little guy (girl in French!) is so cute, and I love reading it (over and over and over).
5. heating with wood I lived in a house once that had a woodstove as its primary heat, and I loved the whole process: chopping and stacking the wood, carrying it into the house, starting a fire, and enjoying that wonderful heat. And waking up in the morning in a 50-degree house.
6. holidays Especially three-day weekends. Four-day weeks are so civilized. (How many do I have now?
7. hips that don't hurt Self-explanatory. H is hard! (Did Jen give me a hard letter on purpose?) Of course, if this meme were of things I liked, I could have said Hart to Hart. (Uh-oh, I think I'm dating myself.) I thought of this because I see Remington Steele on the TV playing James Bond.
8. honesty (tempered with kindness)
9. hot coffee in the morning, especially when prepared just the way I like it and served to me in bed... aah, the good old days
10. huddling under a warm down comforter with my sweetie(s)... time to do that right now

Good night all!

an old favorite

I don't know why, but I never get tired of this book:



As a youngster, I loved this story, mainly the part with the dogs all heading for the tree. What is up on top of that tree, anyway? Oh, the anticipation!! I also loved the page with all the dogs asleep, except for one. (What I realize now is that maybe that little dog is asleep, too, just with eyes wide open.... A little scary, but whatever.)

I've been reading it again (a lot) the past 8-12 months, give or take. Mostly because I enjoy it, and it's long enough to be reading for a while. And my little one seems to be fascinated by (the idea of) dogs.

I've been noticing lately that the dogs with hats:

"Do you like my hat?"
"I do not."
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye."

really provide some comic relief and break up the reading and tie it all together at the same time. Clever.

And I still love that dog party! What a cool dog party! And what's up with that dog that's sleeping up there in the tree in the middle of the party??

Fu of the week

Hey, don't ask me what "fu of the week" means, but I thought this was pretty cool. Sustainable Dave is pretty cool, if you ask me.

new look

Just a quick update to say that I chose a new template because with the addition of my new Blogroll (ta-da!), it looked too crowded. I wanted something that I could use the larger window for. I didn't spend a lot of time choosing it, so I may choose something else soon. But I really like the new Blogroll feature (another plug). It allows for a snippet of each newest blog entry, plus you can choose to have them show up in order of the most recent update. I think it's a cool feature, although I had a hard time getting it to work at first. No idea why.

UPDATE: UGGHHH! it's not working again. Grr.

more baby stuff

Dee asked some questions about cloth diapers, and I thought I'd put this out there in case anyone else is thinking about this or knows someone who just had a baby.


I bought Bummis Super Whisper Wraps from somebody on the internet. I also got some nice, thick cloth diapers. I think I've bought them from two or three places so far. I can't keep track of them, either they go out of business or their websites just don't look familiar anymore.


I bought (unbleached) prefolds the last time from Zannadu, as they prewashed the unbleached diapers several times for me for an extra charge... it's 35 cents a diaper now. It was worth it for me. All that time, hot water, washing and drying. Really good customer service, and even though I had to wait (a little bit) longer to have the diapers washed, they were pretty fast nonetheless. And it looks like it's a flat-rate shipping fee, which is good when you're buying a lot, or the things are heavy. I would recommend this website for cloth diapers and such.

The next time I buy diapers, I'm going to look further into organic ones. I got so overwhelmed when I did the research. There are just so many options. How to choose "the best"? So many decisions: which diapers, which covers, which seller, bleached or unbleached, washed or unwashed, which size, how many????? This is one of my problems... I get so caught up in what the "best" idea, thing to do, etc., is that I end up feeling paralyzed. So, maybe there isn't a "best," or maybe there is, but what we ended up with was good, it works for us, and Baby still hasn't had diaper rash. Which is definitely a good thing. We could have done worse.

I need to buy more, and I just saw on the site that they're having a 5% discount until May 7... just enter SPRINGBREAK as the discount code.

gotta love having time off

So this is one of the things that I've been "working" on the past couple of days...

I noticed that FreeRice seemed to have added some new levels as well as new vocab words. So I decided I would beat my previous high level of 50. I got all the way to 55! Woo-hoo! Yup, I'm proud of myself.

I also saw in the options that you can have it remember your level and the number of grains you've "donated" via their website. So, even though this doesn't include my earlier attempts, you can see I've been spending way too much of B's naptime playing FreeRice.



Hey, at least I'm doing something good while goofing off.

Which reminds me...

Here's another way I started goofing off occasionally: The ESP Game.

Basically, the computer matches you with an anonymous partner, and you get a set amount of time to agree on words to describe photos. I read about this in a Smithsonian magazine article about young innovators. The magazine was interesting... something like 25 people under 25 who are changing the world (don't quote me on the exact title, but you get the gist).

It's set up as a game, but the people who "play" it are basically doing a task to help all internet users: cataloging the internet's photos/images. The article said that people who play get "attached" to their partners, which seemed weird to me at first, I mean, how can you get attached to someone that you can't actually communicate with, don't know their name/username/nothing. All you are doing is typing in words to describe photos. But I will say this: some people are much better partners than others. Funny, it's obvious when you change partners: some people will hit pass immediately for every picture (annoying!), others will try for a while, sometimes I get a partner who really thinks like me, and we get lots of bonus points.

OK, I feel kind of nerdy, but it's fun. And it keeps me off the street.

Hallelujah!

I feel silly, but I'll admit it, I've been watching American Idol (off and on for the past few years), and this guy is my pick...

He's cute and he's got a nice voice. But the thing I like about him the most is that he's not cocky, and he seems kind of nerdy and uncomfortable with all the attention and everything.

I keep thinking I'll actually vote for him, but I haven't done it yet. Either my phone needs to be recharged, or I get sidetracked at the end of the show.

But I hope he wins. He seems sweet.

I still remember this ...

Here's the first part ...

I really like this...

She reminds me of Regina Spektor.

I love Apple

The clever folks at Apple have come up with a new version of their operating system. Go watch the guided tour of Leopard and tell me that you're not convinced. I am completely amazed by their uncanny ability to come up with ideas that are so amazing. I wish I could come up with ideas like this. I am astounded. How do they do this? Go ahead and watch it. I can wait. Then we can discuss.



Seriously, using Cover Flow (like on your iPod) to be able to preview all your documents??!! How cool is that!

And Time Machine, to back up everything automatically on an external drive every hour, so you can go back and find anything you've lost, thrown away accidentally, etc. Love it.

Spaces and Stacks are kind of cool, too. I like how they're trying to keep me organized. Because I really need some help here.

The built-in stationery in Mail is pretty cool, too. (I was snookered in by the birth announcements, which we haven't sent out yet. We did send emails to people to let them know, to everyone whose email addresses we have. But my mother-in-law kind of took me to task for not having sent out real ones. When do people have the time/energy to DO that? Seriously.... I guess I could have done it rather than starting a blog, but...should I feel guilty? I DO feel guilty about not having started the thank-you-cards yet. But I will. Really. At least I have them, as well as a list of what & who to send them to.) Oh, and they have a very cool way to easily send out e-postcards. You can just drag & drop your own photos into the template, then position and re-size them in the postcard!

Back to Leopard:
The only thing I don't like (and this is admittedly small) is that they name the operating systems after big cats. Not that I dislike big cats. I understand why they do it, they're powerful, fast animals, sleek, cool. Fine. But I can never remember which one I currently have. I think I have Tiger. But that's only because I can't think of the other animals' names: was there a Jaguar maybe? I don't think there was a Lion. There was a Panther, I'm pretty sure.

In any case, now it's Leopard, which must be 10.5. And I HAVE to have this. Really, I was convinced the first time I saw the guided tour. Yes, I actually watched it more than once. The first time, I got distracted. Maybe the baby needed something. Or the phone rang. Or my attention wandered. But I went back when I got the second email from Apple. Then I watched a second time when I made J sit down and watch it.

about me

1. I am a really talented procrastinator.
2. I used to be vegetarian.
3. I love bright colors, but I tend to wear black.
4. I can't function without my glasses.
5. Good coffee = a happy morning :-)
6. I love accents (well, most accents).
7. I'm a really slow reader, but I still love to read.
8. I'm easily overwhelmed by too many choices.
9. I like chocolate a lot more in adulthood than I did as a child. Maybe I eat better quality chocolate now.
10. One of the things I love about owning a house is being able to paint the walls any color I want.
11. I hate getting my teeth scraped at the dentist's.
12. I loved being pregnant.
13. I love Indian food.
14. I love sleeping outside.
15. I hate to sweat.
16. I love to get mail. (Letters, postcards--not bills or junk mail.)
17. Sometimes I bother to call annoying companies that send me catalogs even though I have no idea how I got on their mailing lists.
18. I am usually late sending out birthday cards/presents...I'd like to improve and be on time/early.
19. I like to swim, but I hate getting water in my ears.
20. I try not to wear uncomfortable shoes anymore.
21. I don't organize things on my computer very well.
22. I like to rake leaves and to weed.
23. I've never had poison ivy.
24. I love listening to NPR, especially in the car.
25. People who don't recycle annoy me.
26. I want to learn how to take better pictures.
27. I like doing laundry.
28. I hate mowing grass. I think I hate the smell that lawnmowers make.
29. I hate how when I'm watching TV, the commercials get so loud that I have to push the mute button.
30. I like having a mute button on the remote.
31. I like cats.
32. I prefer savory over sweet.
33. I don't understand why anyone would prefer a PC to a Mac.
34. I love watching game shows, old sitcoms, and Stargate SG1.
35. "Cash Cab" is one of my favorite current shows. In fact, I want to go to NYC just to get on.
36. I would love to be in a Biosphere experiment.
37. Giraffes are one of the coolest animals to see up close.
38. I've seen the Northern Lights, but only faintly.
39. I'm deathly afraid of diving.
40. I tried to ski once, in unfavorable conditions, and I've never wanted to again.
41. I do like to snowshoe.
42. I build igloos when there's enough snow.
43. I dig holes in the sand when I go to the beach.
44. Snails fascinate me. I'm not crazy about slugs, though.
45. I love babies. Especially my own.
46. It annoys me when people confuse "its" and "it's." Ditto with "you're/your" and "they're/their/there."
47. It also annoys me when people use "I" when they should say "me": "Let John or I know."
48. I really like office supplies.
49. Music from the early '80s is nostalgic for me.
50. I would have made a good detective (I like to think).
51. I'm a really good proofreader.
52. I find written mistakes all over the place.
53. The TV show "Dead Like Me" reallly intrigued me.
54. I like doing things on the computer, but I think it sucks too much time out of my life.
55. I lived without a TV set for nine years of my adult life. (I was much more productive then.)
56. I love little boxes/bags/things for organizing stuff.
57. I wish I could be a professional organizer, but I'm just not organized enough.
58. I love the idea of Ikea more than I actually like Ikea.
59. Aung San Suu Kyi is one of my heroes.
60. I don't really like team sports, and I really dislike watching them on TV.
61. Writing with a fountain pen feels luxurious.
62. I've studied nine languages (including English).
63. I love autumn.
64. I don't get enough exercise these days.
65. I want to travel to New Zealand, Bhutan, and Switzerland.
66. I've already travelled to Canada, England, France, Spain, Italy, Iceland, and Germany (well, only through the airport in Germany). Not in this order.
67. A neighbor taught me how to crochet when I was little.
68. I taught myself how to knit when I was young because I thought it was impossible. (How can you manipulate yarn without any hooks?)
69. I like to knit, especially baby things, because they're small (and faster than adult things).
70. I want to have my own pottery studio one day.
71. I used to weave rugs, but I sold most of them. (I think I sold them too cheaply, and I miss them.)
72. I want to make the world a better place.
73. Every year since I was a teenager, I've wished for world peace for my birthday.
74. Last year, I wished for a house and a baby for my birthday, and they both came true.
75. I love making lists.
76. I have only read a small fraction of the books that I own.
77. I take sugar and milk or cream in my coffee.
78. I get anxious about things that didn't bother me when I was younger.
79. I have way too many bookmarks on my computer.
80. I regularly run out of memory on my computer.
81. I love hanging out in bookshops.
82. I like to leave really good tips when the service is great.
83. I used to wait tables once upon a time.
84. Sometimes I even tell the manager/owner of the restaurant when our waiter is really great.
85. I think the word "waiter" is fine for describing either a man or a woman, and I prefer "firefighter, mail carrier, and police officer."
86. I am a feminist.
87. I think language matters very much.
88. I want to read more of the classics.
89. I like having houseplants, but sometimes I forget to water them. I feel guilty when they die.
90. I like Baroque music.
91. I wish I had a lovely singing voice.
92. The laundry detergent aisle has always been my favorite in the grocery store.
93. I've never voted for a winning president, unless you count Al Gore.
94. After reading the book, the movie is always a letdown (unless you count Harry Potter, but that's only because they follow the books *to the letter*).
95. I want to have a big vegetable garden--organic, of course.
96. I'd prefer to have a flower garden rather than a lawn.
97. I hate going to the doctor.
98. I want to see an iceberg, before they all melt and there's no land left to live on anyway.
99. I think I have too many books.
100. I don't have nearly enough time to read anymore.