Teeny Manolo

Yesterday my husband went grocery shopping.  He came home with approximately fifteen items.  The bill came out to over one hundred dollars, yet there was no filet mignon or fresh crab legs on the list.   More like apples, bananas, and whole wheat bagels. 

According to this lovely table from the Beareau of Labor Statistics, the year-over-year increase in inflation of food and beverage prices from March of last year to March of this year was a whopping 4.4 percent.  But as I stated above, I didn’t need that graph to tell me that the daily cost of living, from food to gasoline, has risen.

Some of the most enjoyable times spent with my son have been the two of us baking in the kitchen. We chat, I try to teach math concepts, he tries to crack eggs without pieces of shell falling into the batter, it’s all good. I have been thinking that it is perhaps time for my budding little chef to fly a bit more solo, and that means a good kids cookbook.

Simple recipes, easy prep, and most of all, recipes that taste good are prerequisites for a cookbook that will be utilized for a long time. As always, I’m here to do the heavy lifting and here are some of the best cookbooks that I could find.

Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual. For younger cooks, easy to follow recipes and great illustrations help out the beginner. And measuring spoons, too!

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up. 17 easy recipes for your preschooler. Each recipes is printed twice, once in writing and once in pictures. An instant classic.

Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Cooks Ages 8 & Up. Vegetarian recipes make this book stand out. Recipes that are nutritious and easy to make will have your child wanting to make all of them!

Pink Princess Cookbook. If your little girl is enamored of all things princess-y, then this book filled with yummy tea-time snacks should do just the trick!

BatterUp Kids: Sensational Snacks!. This cookbook is great for kids just getting into the whole cooking thing.

Everything Kids’ Cookbook: From Mac ‘ N Cheese to Double Chocolate Chip Cookies-All You Need to Have Some Finger Lickin’ Fun. A little light on the pictures so better suited for children 9-12, this book has everything from lasagne to smoothies. Also has games and craft ideas.

New Junior Cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens). When I was a youngster, I had my own Better Homes and Gardens Cookie Book, and it was awesome. This one has lots of recipes, you’re covered from breakfast to to dinner. Also has a Cooking Basics chapter which explains about everything from cutting up vegetables to how to read nutrition labels. Also has diabetic exchanges.

Kids Cook!: Fabulous Food for the Whole Family. Detailed instructions, “real” food, also gives nutritional info for the over 150 recipes featured. No color illustrations, but the cook can color while the food is cooking!

Here’s a little something to sustain the grownup in you through the umpteenth viewing of The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, or Insert-Kid-Fave-Disney-Flick.

Remember that tip to help nervous people relax and enjoy public speaking? The one where you’re supposed to imagine the audience in their underwear? Well, it works pretty well for Disney films, too, as you will see if you click onward. (more…)

With warmer weather already arrived in my neck of the woods, flesh that is perhaps not quite ready to be bared is having to be bared.  So, I headed off to find a fabulous exfoliating soap, because those wimpy microbeads just don’t cut it for my skin.  With my unbridled love for lotions, I need all the help I can get.

Enter L’Occitane Grape Exfoliating Bath Soap.  Made with grape seed oil and grape juice from Provence, it is shaped nicely to fit in your hands.  It uses apricot kernels as the exfoliating agent.

I have lots of things to say about this soap.  It smells nice and clean, for one.  For two, I’m thinking that Medieval monks that were into that self-flagellation thing would have approved of this soap.  Kidding, kidding! Well, sort of.

It is not for the faint of heart, because you feel the exfoliation happening.  Make no doubt about it that your body recognizes that a layer is being taken off.  I wouldn’t say it was pain, exactly, but definitely a lot of sensation going on.  Because of this, I don’t recommend it for use on your decolletage.  For those with very sensitive skin, I would only use it on areas such as the elbows, knees, feet, and back.

Now, having gotten all that out of the way, this soap is fantastic.  My skin literally feels like satin.  I’m completely addicted to it, and I would be willing to hock some of my jewelry to keep myself supplied.  I keep touching myself, it feels that good. Luckily, it is only supposed to be used once or twice a week, so the sting of a ten dollar per bar price tag is lessened a bit.  This would be unbeatable as a prep for self-tanning lotion. 

You know how it works, so work it in the comments. And yes, technically this deserves the tag “Baby Clothes.”

It’s finally Friday again, and you know exactly what that entails.  You having to choose which of two hunks is hunkier.  What a tough life you lead.

Hugh Jackman can apparently do no wrong.  He has handily beaten McDreamy by almost twenty percentage points.   Who knew he had such staying power?

So I have decided to pit him against a man most of you know well.  At least I think you do.  And if you don’t, you need to crawl out from under that rock.

To wit:

vs.

more at twiigs.com…

via WanderingCoyote

Okay, so it’s not Beethoven. You think Beethoven’s Fifth would calm a crying baby? Behold the power of the greatest pacifier known to humanity, the ever-reliable Rickroll. I wonder what would happen if they played Rick Astley in Helmand; the entire region would break into a soporific version of the Hustle, shake hands, and declare peace. You doubt? You watch!

via Defamer.

I offer you the above illustrations from the new modern fairy tale ”My Beautiful Mommy.”*

It’s the heartwarming story of a sad Mommy who thinks she isn’t good enough the way she is. Why, she’ll never be crowned Mrs. MILF America if her tummy is so flabby and her boobs so droopy!  So in comes the big, buff Plastic Surgery Fairy to make Mommy all better. 

But, Mommy and the Plastic Surgery Fairy want to make sure that the little girl knows that Mommy coming home all bruised, bandaged, and unable to move doesn’t mean that she got hurt!  Oh no!  It just means that Mommy got prettier!

This book is a must-read for all Mommies who care about their impressionable young kids!

*Currently being sold at all finer plastic surgery offices nationwide.  Pick up your copy today!

That was then:

This is now:

from eBay via HawtyMcBloggy
Comes with free matching assault rifle!

You know, I keep reading about how insecure teenagers are about their bodies.  About how fashion models have made them feel as if they fall far short of the beauty high water mark.

Well, you certainly wouldn’t know it to look at this season’s crop of prom dresses.

These little numbers are a far cry from my choices in 19(cough, cough) where I pretty much had Jessica McClintock or miles of taffeta ruffles and nothing much in between. 

Let’s take a look-see at what is hot for Prom Night ‘08.  Columns are in, and apparently so is an eyeful of flesh. If these dresses look skimpy in the front, you can be assured there is even less in the back. Mind you, these are dresses specifically made and marketed for the prom, not the go-go dancing or club crawling crowd.

This one reminds me of Jeannie on acid or something.  Maybe it’s just all the pink.  Make it stop.

Sure to be voted “Most Likely to Become a Pole Dancer.”

This one just makes me hope that those laces are tied verrrry tightly, or the date might very happily receive a free show.

At this point, why not just wear a skirt and a bikini top?  Why bother with the superfluous fabric in the middle?

Because yes, prom night is all about fun and innocence.  Right?

And the last piece de resistance is a favorite of mine, which I have dubbed “The Milk? Yeah, it’s For Free.”