FizzyLizzy

Mrs. Bickerson's post today has inspired me to write about a couple of my "fast food" suggestions for the busy holiday season. Both can be prepared in the time it takes to make a pot of rice.

1). Trader Joe's frozen Mandarin Chicken. So well-liked that I use 1 1/2 bags per meal. I serve it with plain white rice...you could buy the frozen rice too and make it even faster. But I need to feel like I'm doing some of the cooking. ;-)

2). Tikka Masala simmer sauce from Whole Foods--it's in the refrigerated section. Just cut up a pack of chicken breasts, simmer with the sauce for 10-15 minutes. (TK, I think you liked it quite a bit when you were here last summer.) I serve it with basmati rice and Trader Joe's frozen naan (heated up, of course). The naan is huge with the kids and the Trader Joe's is the best we've found so far.

Wondering what to get your man for Christmas? How about this item from the Sharper Image catalog:

It's the Bodygroom Shaver for Men. The copy in the catalog reads, "...life could be a whole lot sweeter with a hair-free back, well-groomed shoulders, smooth chest, tidy underarms and neatly-kept areas...well, elsewhere." I don't know about you, but I'm o.k. with my man's "elsewhere" just the way it is.








Once you're done perusing the catalog, pass it on to your man with a special mark next to this "massager":

It's a "bath-friendly vibrating beauty. Every inch of FORM 6's organically curvaceous surface is designed for delightful, omnidirectional sensation. This massager's seamless silicone contours are continuous, the options limitless. There are six intensity levels.... Measures 7" long." Confused? Don't be. If you visit the manufacturer's website, you'll find that it's exactly what you think it is.

I'm thinking there must be some pretty raucous times in the Sharper Image catalog copy room.

Why would a fifth-grader choose to write about Casimir Pulaski for her report on a Revolutionary War figure? Because he's Polish. Katherine loves her uncle who lives in Poland.

So who is Casimir Pulaski? Enough of somebody to find a few pages about him online. But when she told me last night that she had to bring a book source to school the next day, I was not pleased.

Enter two of my eccentric habits. The ownership of an excessive amount of books and my compulsion for lists. As some of you may have noticed, I've got a Librarything widget on my sidebar. I've been using Librarything to catalog the excessive amount of books I have purchased along with the excessive amount of books Paul has purchased, combined with the excessive amount of books we have purchased for our children. (Here's a fun game: guess which books belong to who!) But I digress...

So last night I was able to search my Librarything catalog and locate our American history books (including the fascinating read Minutemen and Their World). The verdict: a no-go on Casimir Pulaski except in a 1952 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia. Which she proceeded to leave on the dining room table this morning.

Remember this post from last year? Or this one (scroll down)? I am sad, but also slightly relieved that there is no new Playmobil Advent Calendar this year. I am running out of room for the calendars (and had insanely contemplated buying special folding bookcases just for the purpose of displaying them). I also can spend about 15-20 minutes each day setting up the calendar scenes. And some days in December there's not an extra 15-20 minutes. Nonetheless, I'm a little bummed. It had still been something to look forward to each year.

“I felt like an archaeologist who had just stumbled on a dinosaur,” said Mrs. Longone

In other words, she wouldn't know what to do? To clear up a common stereotype, archaeologists dig up people-related stuff, paleontologists dig up animal-related stuff.

Katherine is participating in this GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math, and Science) program at school this year. Because she is in GEMS, she had the opportunity to apply to be part of a group from her school traveling to the Tirimbina Rainforest Center in Costa Rica over Spring Break. I knew she must really have wanted to go because she had six days to write an essay and get two letters of recommendation. She did not balk or procrastinate about either. She turned in what I thought was a nice application yesterday. Her teacher called last night. She was accepted. I am alternately very proud of her and very freaked out. So, what kind of parent lets their daughter go to Costa Rica on a school trip but doesn't let her get her ears pierced?

While at the school carnival today, we stopped by the Duck Pond game where a friend of ours was working. Paul asked if she had had her hair done. I looked and noticed maybe two inches of salt and pepper roots (though to be fair, heavier on the pepper). She made a quip about her grey hair and laughed it off, but I was thinking, "What did he say that for?" Most of us have young children and probably don't get to the salon quite as often as we'd like.

Later I half-jokingly asked Paul if he intended to insult her. He was completely clueless. He thought that she'd had her hair painted at the carnival "hair salon"--you know, the spray paint and glitter type--and thought he was being nice by noticing her hip 'do. He said it hadn't even dawned on him that she might have grey hair and is now quite mortified. So ladies, if your men aren't hip to the concept of "roots" already...do them a favor and clue them in.

Even an 11-year-old can see one of the myriad stupidities of this ad: "How did he pay her?"

They didn't trick-or-treat together. I still thought it was cute that William wanted to "match" Katherine and that Katherine didn't mind.