My Own Little Neat Freak

On any given day in my house you can expect to find the following:

• A stack of remote controls and game components on the couch
• A stack of coupons waiting to be clipped
• At least 3 dirty socks (I'm never certain why those only show up in odd numbers!)
• Jackets on the floor
• Shoes in really weird spots ("Why is there a shoe on the back of the toilet?")
• Smushed graham crackers
• A pencil, pen, crayon, or set of dice laying on the floor.

And yet, there's usually far more than that lying about.  It really is shameful and I don't like having a ton of guests over.

Chaos, although he's now 7, LOVES to play with Doc's toys.  Doc is 2.  You'd think we never gave Chaos toys as a baby as fascinated as he is with stacking rings, pretend cameras, and toddler video games. 

Doc, on the other hand, prefers his brother's toys.  HotWheels sets with loops and launchers are popular. 

Doc loves to play.

So, imagine my surprise today when I look over to the classroom area and watch Chaos struggling with his schoolwork.  (He declared it boring and therefore refuses to do it.)  Behind him, Doc is putting away Chaos's toys.  He'd pull one out, play with it, see another toy, put the first one away, then get out the second one.  He did this over and over.

Who is this strange, alien child? 

Real Simple: 77 Surprising Expiration Dates

Be honest with me.  You have a jar of SOMETHING in the fridge that you bought a few years back, only used one teaspoon of, then set on the shelf waiting for it to magically use itself up.  (In my case, it's a jar of habanero honey mustard.  TASTES FANTASTIC...)

Real Simple recognized that most people are like this and put together a handy list of expiration dates for their readers. 

A handy keep-or-toss guide to 77 foods, beauty products, and household goods.

by Maya Kukes and Lisa Smith

 

Certain items in your house practically scream “toss me” when their prime has passed. That mysterious extra white layer on the Cheddar? A sure sign it needs to be put out of its misery. Chunky milk? Down the drain it goes.

But what about that jar of olives or Maraschino cherries that has resided in your refrigerator since before the birth of your kindergartner? Or the innumerable nonedibles lurking deep within your cabinets and closets: stockpiled shampoo and toothpaste, seldom-used silver polish? How do you know when their primes have passed?

With help from experts and product manufacturers, Real Simple has compiled a guide to expiration dates. These dates are offered as a rough guideline. The shelf lives of most products depend upon how you treat them.

Read the full article here...

I WILL Wear a Slave Girl Bikini Someday

I'm such a Star Wars geek.  (Ok, I'm such a geek in general...)
However, until I lose the *ahem* pounds I need to fit into a Leia-esque slave girl bikini, I'd be ecstatic to be nomming away on pancakes like these:

 

photo courtesy of Williams-Sonoma.com

There are no rules.

     I subscribe to a ton of email based newsletters.  I read some of them and think, "WOW... I really wish I could post that to my blog.  But, since that's not what my blog is about, I'm not gonna do it."

     You know what?  It just hit me last night that this was MY blog.  I can post whatever I want on it.    If I want to post a list of 10 time saving devices, I can do it.  If I want to post a picture of a cat eating a cheeseburger, I can do that to.  Who made the rules that declared that I have to blog a certain way or only stick to certain topics?

So, I'm making a promise to you, my readers:

If I find something I think is interesting or worth sharing, I'm going to share it.

Content (or Lack Thereof)

You might have noticed that I'm missing a bit of content this week.

After battling a cold for several days, it's finally branched into bronchitis.  So, while I'm recovering, keep an eye out for next week's posts.