The geekboy has a half-day today so we’re going to catch a movie matinee. Our Sophie’s Choice — Tropic Thunder or Pineapple Express?

Check out this week’s bounty from the farm. Amazing! We’re taking recipe ideas…please share yours in the comments. More photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday afternoon, when I came home from the doctor, I entered the house and my nose immediately detected the unmistakable smell of cat pee. It is nearly 24 hours later and we still haven’t located the source. We’re pretty sure it’s either in the dining room or in the kitchen, but we CAN’T FIND IT AND IT’S MAKING ME CRAZY.

Oh, I found it. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m sitting here at the Toyota dealership, getting my car serviced in preparation for our trip to Canada next week. WOOT! I’ve got my cheap Sony earbuds in, listening to Stern, and I am realizing that they are SO EFFING UNCOMFORTABLE. Consider this a call for recommendations. I’d like a nice, small, comfortable and relatively cheap set of earbuds. Buds I can wear for a long time (like an airline flight) that won’t make my ears start to ACHE fifteen minutes in.

Hey Toronto peeps! Reader Nora needs your help:

I’m getting married in Toronto in August and am looking for a restaurant at which to have an after-ceremony dinner. We’re looking for something that will be fancy enough for a big day, but also someplace that will welcome kids (5 under six years old). We’d love someplace that has a private room/alcove for our group of about 15 people total. Near downtown would be nice, but not a requirement.

List your suggestions in the comments - with links to websites if possible. Thanks!

Does anyone know if there’s a brand of tonic that doesn’t contain High Fructose Corn Syrup? It’s something I’m trying to avoid. I know they make diet tonic, but I’m trying to find something that isn’t all chemical. Or just a tonic alternative? I love my G&Ts in the summer, but after a while, the thought of all that HFCS gives me the willies.

As the weather gets warmer, I’d love to be able to line-dry our sheets, towels and clothes whenever possible. Makes ‘em smell good AND saves energy. However, I’m having trouble finding a portable or temporary clothesline. We live in a townhouse and have a back patio, but we’re limited as we’re not supposed to attach things to the side of the building. Although we might be able to sneak something in…Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions on a clothesline solution that would be easy to hide/store when not in use?

We’ve found a couple of these bugs (a beetle, I think) in our bedroom over the past few weeks. Does anyone know what it is? Photo after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

So, New Jersey recently instituted a cellphone ban while driving - it’s now cause to be pulled over, so we all need to be hands-free. I do have a hands-free device, but it’s a pain in my ass; it’s wired and gets all tangled up and stuff. What do you use? Bluetooth? Something else? Tell me all about it - tips and tricks, best brands, best prices, etc. I’m not on my phone all that often in the car, anyway, so I don’t need anything super-fancy.

I have one of those horrible pimples right on my face, the kind that is more cyst than zit. It hurts, it’s red, it’s a big lump and I don’t know how to make it go away. I can cover it up but it doesn’t hide the fact that THERE IS A GROWTH ON MY FACE. I’m afraid it’s never going to leave. I don’t want to leave the house. Help.

I recently purchased some new mascara and decided to switch up from the reliable old pink and green tube, as it was sometimes thick and clumpy. Instead I purchased some Full ‘n Soft Waterproof. It went on neatly and wasn’t too heavy and looked great. I have to use waterproof because I sometimes wear contacts and I rub my eyes a lot. At the end of the day I looked a TRANNY MESS, you guys. Waterproof, my ass.

What’s your favorite, smudge- and water-proof, everyday mascara?

I won’t be around for most of the day, so here’s something to chew on. The other day my iTunes software did one of those automatic updates…I usually don’t update right when the new software comes out, but I was distracted and clicked OK to update. Whatever. This morning I opened iTunes (I wanted to do a few things before syncing my iPod), and an alert came up and asked me where my iTunes library was. WHAT? Not once since I started using iTunes have I ever seen that question.

I keep my music on an external drive, not the C: drive where it usually lives. So I searched around and found an .itl file and selected it. iTunes opened up a library that is several years old and obviously INCORRECT. Now I don’t know what to do. I’m certainly not going to sync my iPod. And my mp3s are all safe and sound where they usually are, but I can’t get iTunes to find them or any of my playlists.

Does anyone have any advice? Because I am pissed as hell. By the way, this is on my PC.

Somebody please tell me - what is the difference between leggings and tights? Aside from the “tights have feet” thing, of course.

At the supermarket a while back, while searching for cornmeal, we discovered TVP (textured vegetable protein). I haven’t used it yet (kind of scared), but I’m planning on it tonight. We have a vegetable soup mix and I’m going to add in some of the TVP to give it a hit of protein and make it a bit more filling. I’ll probably doctor up the soup a little as well. Are any of you readers familiar with cooking with TVP? We’re not vegetarian, obviously, but I like to go lower fat/higher protein whenever I can. I’m wondering if I should just dump the TVP into the soup, or if I should rehydrate it in some broth to give it more flavor. Thoughts? Recipes?

I’ve always been of the understanding that one isn’t supposed to refrigerate leftovers until they’ve cooled off to room temperature. The geekboy has questioned this quirk of mine, but goes along with it anyway. So it was with interest that I read this on Home Ec 101, where they say that no, you do NOT wait for food to cool off before tucking it in the fridge. There are a couple differing opinions in the comments, though. So I thought I’d put it out to you guys - warm food in the fridge; yes or no?

A question from Lisa:

I think I’d like to get my nephew a magazine subscription for his birthday. He’s 14, plays the guitar and loves music (especially metal - gross). Any suggestions? Rolling Stone seems so blech, although to be honest, I haven’t bought a copy in years. I used to enjoy Spin. What about Blender?

Freaknation? Opinions?

This year I decided I would only send out about a dozen holiday cards. Then I look at my card list to get the addresses and somehow I end up with like 65 people on my list and I’m afraid to cut anybody out. So now I need more cards. I love getting cards in the mail, so I also enjoy sending them out. But I’m really weird about feeling obligated to send them to everybody. How do I get the card monkey off my back? Are people offended when they send cards but don’t get any in return? What is the etiquette? HELP ME I CAN’T LICK ANYMORE ENVELOPES.

Friday night, Lisa and I visited with my girlfriend and her kids. It was a nice night, made even more special because we watched Frosty the Snowman with the kids, and it was their first time seeing it. Magical! When I got home later, the geekboy was watching tv in the living room and I asked him why my laptop wasn’t where I left it. My old, refurbished, heavy, workhorse laptop that’s gotten progressively slower and more obnoxious with each passing year. He told me to look under the blanket. So I did, and guess what I saw? Read the rest of this entry »

A couple things that are running through my mind today:

– I have three skeins of red yarn. What should I do with them? Can I make a Santa Hat?
– We have had these kittens since Saturday, and they still haven’t cried. Not one meow.
– Can you freeze cookie dough? Are there any you absolutely shouldn’t freeze?
– I want a BLT. So much.

I am crabby. I am trying to organize my clothes into a summer/winter scenario and it’s doing nothing except driving me nuts. Obviously I have too many clothes, yet somehow I never have anything flattering to wear. Since I stopped working in an office, my wardrobe has gone completely crazy. I wear a yoga pants/tee-shirt outfit every day. I still need some professional clothes for interviews and whatnot, but, sadly, those interviews are few and far between. I have a huge problem finding pants that fit correctly and I still hang on to a stupid fantasy that I will one morning wake up two sizes smaller, so I also have some pants in there that don’t even zip up all the way.

Anyway, I moved my summer stuff to the office closet and my winter stuff to the bedroom closet and blarg, my winter clothes are fug. Am I too short to wear long skirts (down to the ankle)? I’m about 5′4″. Sometimes they look okay and other times I look like the side of a barn. My jeans are all too long and even though they’re all the same size, some are loose and some are not. My shoes and boots are in a jumble on the floor of the closet, mixed in with summer flip-flops and sandals. PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME.

I’m going to make some apple cupcakes this weekend for a family dinner. What flavor frosting do you think would be the best? Vanilla (which would add an a la mode feel)? Ginger? Cinnamon? Apple pie spice (cinnamon and nutmeg-y)?

Can someone please tell me why I would possibly have woken up today with this song in my head? I am unable to shake it. Read the rest of this entry »

The geekboy and I want to take a short trip to Baltimore. Tell us about Baltimore! We are thinking of staying in a Fell’s Point bed and breakfast. Advice? Recommendations?

I just took the geekboy’s carrot cake out of the oven. It smells good. As I flipped the first layer onto the cooling rack, it fell out of the pan faster than I expected, and broke into several pieces. After I just stood there, staring at the mess, in shock, I pulled myself together and shoved it all back into one piece. I’m really hoping it will be okay. Once I put frosting on it, it should hold together, right? RIGHT? The other layer came out fine. I really don’t know why I suck so badly at making cakes. My cakes fill the two pans, but when I take them out, they seem so thin. My cakes always seem so short. They look pathetic and flat. Hate.

I am at a complete loss as to what to do with Meena. Ever since I got back from Florida - WEEKS AGO - she insists on waking me up around 4:30-5:30ish each morning and initiating a reign of terror that continues to wake me in ten-minute increments until I finally just give up and get out of bed. She doesn’t do it to the geekboy - just me. I can’t lock her out because Long Legs sleeps under the bed and needs to be able to come in and out (although this morning apparently he tried to jump ON the bed while Meena was still on it, resulting in screaming and spitting, good morning). If we lock them both out, she will cry and scratch at the door. He’ll probably find something else to do, but he feels safe under the bed and I don’t want to take that away from him. I spray Meena with water and still she keeps up this behavior. I’m at a loss. I’m so tired during the day that I could just break down in tears. If I wanted something illogically waking me up and bothering me at random hours of the night, I would have had a friggin’ baby. What to do?