Family Vacations.

Up until last weekend, I had my doubts about family vacation spots and vacationing with children in general. I love traveling, and I love exploring off the tourist track. I usually try to avoid places that are overflowing with souvenir shops and filled with everyone and their family reunion. Kid-themed attractions also top this list.

Now that I have my own child, I have different expectations. I don't think I can take Mugga backpacking across Thailand. I for one, am not up for that sort of thing anymore. (Hostel hopping has never been my thing.) I also don't see us dining in gourmet restaurants in NYC (Mug is really into chucking things off the table lately) or shopping for hours at Piccadilly Circus in London (it might interfere with nap time).

There are times when I have thought, "Man. My days of real traveling is so over. Now I'm stuck with a kid, and she's gonna slow me down."

But after taking Mug to the beach for the first time in her young life, my perspective is changing. She was afraid of the water at first and shrieked when the wave licked her toes. After a few minutes, she was loving it. She loved, loved, loved the beach. Absolutely fascinated by the sand, Mug spent about 45 minutes shoveling it into this yellow bucket:

(Notice the lack of swimming suit. Like everything else in her wardrobe, it was left at home.)

Seeing Mug's reaction to her first real elephant at the wild animal park was also completely priceless. She got one look at the giant Asian elephants and screamed to go inside their gated-off home.

"Ed-di-die! Ed-di-die!" she pleaded. ("Ed-di-die" is her word for "elephant.") Mugga almost feel over when she came face-to-face with a stray duck in the park. She's seen ducks before, so a second encounter was a real treat.

There were other kids in the park experiencing this same wide-eyed captivation, and it touched my cold, traveling heart. My reservations melted away, and I too, became fascinated again to see a lion up close. Wow, those things are scary.

It's interesting how everyday, my outlook on life changes now that I'm a mom.

I love to travel and explore the world because I like to expose myself to new and different things. I feel like it opens my horizons and helps me be a better person. I thought that vacationing with a child would limit this experience. I would be stuck visiting contrived kiddie attractions with absolutely no interest to myself.

But traveling with Mug isn't as bad as I thought it would be. If fact, it's actually better. To see my little one experience these new adventures, to touch the ocean for the first time ever, see a real giraffe, listen to the laughs of a spider monkey -- these are the greatest explorations. Her eyes are opening to new things, and at the same time, mine are too.

Whisper lamé tiered skirt.

I love this outfit from J. Crew. It's positively ethereal.

Flower Child Double Strap Footbed.

I cannot believe the Birkenstock look is back.


Flower Child Double Strap Footbed by Free People

No!!!

I hate that these two are together. Man, do I love this show.

Flowers to Go: Favor Bags.

I've mentioned before that I've been helping my sister plan her wedding. This is a cute idea for favors: waterproof bags to hold flowers from the reception. The personalized message printed on the bag is adorable.



via Martha Stewart

Butterfly Appetizer Plates.

Right now, Mug freaks over anything with butterflies. She absolutely loves them, it's so weird. I bet she would love these Andy Warhol butterfly appetizer plates. Mom loves Warhol too, and at $1.95 a pop, I bet even dad would approve.

Animals at the Park.

While we were in Southern California, we took Mugga to the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park. It was extremely hot that day, I think it was close to 100 degrees. When we arrived, there were actually paramedics on scene. I heard someone tell their kid that some child must have gotten too close to the lions, but I think the ambulance in the enterance was for heat stroke causes. The boy looked really scared though.

I of course, was paranoid Mug was going to burn in the hot sun or get dehydrated. I lathered sunscreen on her every 45 minutes or so and made sure her sippy cup was filled with cool drinks. It was so hot, despite her love for animals, I think her favorite part of the park was playing kiddie-sized water park:

{Mug with her Auntie Juan}

The elephants, giraffes and monkeys were all exciting for Mugga. But by the end of the day, she was a pretty tired, grumpy and hot. So was I. On the tramp ride back to the parking lot, she was telling everyone on the tram about her discomfort. In other words, she did a lot of screaming.

One lady sitting in front of Axel and Mug turned her head slightly towards the sound of my daughter and snarled, "Cool it!"

I was sitting further away, so I didn't hear exactly what she said till Axel told me later. I did hear the meanness in her voice and I shot back with a sharp, "Hey!" I then complimented Mug till we reached our stop, saying what a good girl she's been and how great she's been the whole trip.

The mean lady made no other remarks but I was furious. Here we are, leaving a family friendly attraction and some woman snapped at my child. Axel was pretty shocked too. He was much too polite to say anything, but I know he wanted too. Since moving away from California, I think we lost some of our edge.

Walking back to our car, here are a few things I had wished I had said:

"You cool it!"

"Don't talk to my child that way you animal!"

Or, I would have talked to my girl directly (in a very loud voice so that the mean lady could hear):

"Mug, that woman may not realize how rude she was right now. She may be tired after a long day walking in the hot sun around smelly animals with her own loud grandchildren. She's probably gotten too much sun and not enough water. She probably doesn't realize you are not even two years old, and you've had a long day too."

A little more passive aggressive, but with tons of sarcasm. I've never had someone snap at my child before, and I was caught off guard.

I don't expect everyone to love my little girl, but I guess I was naive with the amount of kindness people show towards children. Man, I'm still furious.

Back Home.

As much fun as it is to travel, it always such a relief to be home again. Especially if I managed to clean the house before we left. Returning to a clean house after a long trip is one of the greatest feelings ever.

We had lots of fun adventures on our Southern California trip. We try and get down there once a year to visit family and to eat delicious food (where we live, dim sum isn't the best).

Probably one of the most memorable things happened about 4 hours into the drive. This is the point when Mugga exploded in her diaper and needed a change of clothes. We stopped the car and I went straight to the trunk in search of extra pants. As I was rumaging past the portable crib, the stroller, my own clothes bag, it occurred to me that my daughter's bag was not in the trunk. It was actually sill sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

What kind of mother am I that I forget my daughter's clothing? The same kind that was even more bothered that my makeup bag was also left on the coffee table back home. In my mind, replacing a few days worth of children's clothing isn't that big of an investment. But my makeup? I am very particular about everything I put on my face. From my SPF 30 face lotion to a certain eye lash curler, the contents of my makeup bag is much more costly. Yes. So whatever kind of mother I am, I am this one.

We ended up buying Mug a few cute summer things from Target (so cheap!). I also swallowed my pride and just bought more foundation. Luckily I still had some lipstick in my purse.

Now that we are back home, it's nice to remember all the fun we had in California. I'll probably post more about the trip later. It sure is nice to sleep in my bed again. Put Mug in her crib. And use my favorite eyeliner.

Late!

As always, we are behind on schedule. We should have been out of the house 38 minutes ago. Yup, blame the toddler.
I'm headed off for a long weekend in SoCal. See you Monday!

Back to the 101.

In tribute to my road trip to Sunny Southern California tomorrow, here's a video that I love so much because it makes me laugh. Also, doesn't Albert Hammond Jr. kinda look like Thom Filicia?

Strawberry-Soy Milk Shake.

This tofu milk shake looks delish. I'm always looking for ways to sneaky in something healthy in for my little Mugga and myself. Also, I want that spoon.

recipe and photo via Cookie Magazine.

Plastic Baby Bottle Safety.

Here is another reason why I worry as a mom:

Wal-Mart to Pull Bottles Made With Chemical BPA (not till next year. I guess Canada and European countries have already banned them from shelves)

Bottle Maker to Stop Using Plastic Linked to Health Concerns

Yet the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association in the U.S. still considers them safe. Read here.

*update* here's a great blog with information on BPA free bottles, sippy cups, tableware, etc. There's even a download for a wallet-sized info card:

Z Recommends

I appreciate blogs and news articles like these that help consumers stay informed. When manufactures see the response of concerned parents and the decrease in sales, I think they are more likely to make changes.

Jewelry Box for Mom.

Speaking of Mother's Day presents, I love this red Ningbou Jewelry Armoire. It has tons of storage space and I love the Asian flair. The sides have necklace hooks, and the top opens up to a mirror. (Plus, it's on sale!)

Slow Cooking Summary.

Well, on Friday I decided to stop being fancy with my slow cooker and just try something simple. I opened up my Betty Crocker Cookbook and tried this Slow Cooker Potato and Double-Corn Chowder:



Once again, what I made in my pot looked nothing like what came out of the test kitchens. The chowder was okay, a little unremarkable. It still looked gross to me, and I didn't want to eat it (luckily there are husbands, who out of the kindness of their heart, will eat any kitchen disaster).

This might have been the worst challenge I've ever done. Everything I made turned out awful. I mean, I don't even think I'm that bad of a cook, I guess I just can't slow cook. I don't think I'm ever trying again. And now I no longer want that beautiful All-Clad Slower Cooker. so maybe there is something good that came out of this experiment after all. Oh well, I'll just have to hint at something else for Mother's Day.

Skirt Tugging.

Despite the frustrations of crock pot cooking (i had no idea I would be so horrible) there have been some great highlights in my kitchen this week.

Example:

As I scrambled eggs for Mugga's lunch yesterday, she did the amazing thing. She stood next to me and tugged at my skirt. My toddler has never done this before, and the small little gesture surprised me.

It wasn't a nagging pull, like a "Hurry Up With My Eggs Mom" pull, but sort of a flapping dancing motion. She clutched my hem in her little hands and moved it back and forth. Her body swayed from side to side and she gazed up at me. To whatever imaginary song she heard in her head, we both bobbed our head to the music.

Mug was so cute right then, dancing with my skirt to some song only she could hear, I couldn't help but laugh. I scooped her up in my arms and we danced and stirred the eggs together. 

Having her in my life is so fun at times. But honestly, Mugga was probably just happy I wasn't slow cooking anything. 

Another One Bites the Dust.

Yesterday's crock pot adventured was awful! I'm not sure what it is that is causing me to blunder so much. Maybe I'm trying all the wrong type of recipes in a crock pot. Since I have no experience in slow cooking, I don't know what works and what does.

I attempted the Cheesy Spinach-Artichoke Dip, and l just couldn't bring myself to eat it. The dip look like regurgetated puke, and it smelled even worse. The reek of melted feta cheese was way overpowering -- seriously. It smell was like something out of a baby's diaper.

Just on scent alone, I am not touching that dip. Of course the sight of it also makes me shudder.

After this week, I maybe never crock pot, or eat feta cheese again.

Cast Iron Pans.

A lot of my growing up years, my mom would subject Nazi-like enforcements on the food we ate (and how we cooked it). Anything with the words "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" was banned from the kitchen cupboards. We also were givens strict instructions on never cooking food in the microwave with plastic.

Mom even threw away all the Teflon pans one day (to read possible health risks associated with Teflon, read these articles here, here and here).

I used to laugh at her and call her crazy. I noticed though, when I started caring for my own family, I took her advice a little more seriously. I mean, people are getting cancer from somewhere right?

Last year I chucked all of my Teflon coated pans. My thinking is, better safe than sorry.

In their place, I bought a couple of cast iron beauties. I was skeptical at first. Cast iron was strange to me. The whole you-can't-soak-this-pan-in-soap-and-water bit made me nervous. But my husband, the great cook that he is, talked me into them.

Cast iron is amazing. It browns beautifully. Eggs slide of easily. Best yet, no Teflon!

Lodge makes a great inexpensive skillet, you can get it at Williams-Sonoma for $27 for a 12 inch. Sure it's no Le Creuset pretty, but it does the job just fine.

(Best Buy: I picked up a pair of Lodge skillets from Costco for around $20 something.)

Missing In Action.

So sorry about being M.I.A. yesterday. I had a post all ready to go, but you know. It was one of those days where nothing really gets done.

So much, that my husband Axel actually took over the crock pot cooking. He made the Spicy Country Ribs and they were good. So, maybe it actually isn't the recipe or crock pot. Maybe it is me.

{Real Simple photo}

Chocolate Mud Cake.

{This post should have been blogged yesterday, but it never made it to the web. Sorry for being a day late with my updates!}

For my recipe yesterday, I put off my Spinach Articoke Dip and made a Chocolate Mud Cake from the FamilyFun web site. I figured chocolate cake would be a more encourage recipe to try for my second day. Iwas terribly dissapointed. My cake was not molten-like at all. Half was fudgy and moist, the other half was chocolate water.

The reviews for the recipe were all positive, so maybe it's me. It's one of the easiest forms of cooking, but maybe I'm not meant to be a crock pot cooker. This slow cooker thing is discouraging. Maybe I didn't cook my cake long enough. I'm beginning to not want that All-Clad cooker.

My cake looked nothing like this (from the web site):

Puffalumps.

Here's another nostalgic toy for you:

The Puffalumps are back! One of my sisters had the white cow one, and she loved, loved, loved it. According to the Fisher Price web site, they are sold exclusively at Target (I have yet to see one at my local store).

Pout Cheek Stain.

I don't know if this cheek stain good or not, but I really like the packaging:

I've never tried cheek stain, I mainly use blush. Although, in a crunch, I have used a little lipstick for cheek color before.

Slow Cooking Blogs.

After dinner last night (which happened at exactly 8:02 p.m.) I decided I need to change around some of my recipes. The Chicken Stew in White Wine was great. The chicken was super tender, the stew really flavorful. But it might have been better if it wasn't 72 degrees outside.

While compiling my recipes this week, I didn't take in the seasonal appeal of the dishes. Eating a hearty stew in almost-summer weather wasn't ideal. For this reason, I'm scratching a few recipes off the list and trying something else.

Right now, I searching around for lighter summer recipes (if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know) and stumbled across numerous blogs based soley on crock pot cooking.

Here are a couple I found interesting:

A year of CrockPotting

A Crock Cook

Man, there are blogs for everything.

I'll be back later with updated recipes. I never thought slow cooking would be this time consuming.

Slow Cooking Update: Day 1

So far, the slow cooker and I are already at odds. It's only day one, and already I want to quit.

I picked a recipe today that only requires 5 hours of cooking time. Axel doesn't get home today till 7:30 p.m., so I figure I've got all time in the world.

After rummaging through my pantry this morning, I realize I am missing garlic, a yellow onion and white wine for today's recipe. Okay, no problem. A quick trip to the grocery store will take care of my culinary needs.

At the supermarket, I manage to find all items except the wine. So I hit another grocery store. Then another. Puzzled, I finally remember to ask someone for help.

"Excuse me, do you have any wine?" At this point, Mugga is lunging for a bottle of Izze.

"JUUUICE!" she screams. I patiently tell her Izzes are not juice. At least not 100 % juice. They do however, have no refined sugars and are made up of 70 % percent juice. So maybe one day Mugga, I'll give you an Izze instead of a soda. Unfortunately for you, that day is not today.

The grocery store employee looks at me with pity. Maybe she thinks this mom needs a good stiff drink right about now. Oh, and Mugga also has snot running down her face. I have no tissues on hand, so I wipe her nose with my shirt.

"We don't carry hard liquor," she says. "You have to go to a liquor store for wine."

Turns out, absolutely NO grocery stores in my area carry wine. This is a fact I did not know, since I am not an alcohol consumer. Maybe it is a nation wide rule, but I feel this is unfair.

Actually, I'm a little bit annoyed at this point. Trader Joes always carried wine. Why can't other grocery stores carry wine?!? Why can't other grocery stores be like Trader Joes? Then I begin to feel sorry for myself that I live in an area with no Trader Joes. I also realize this also means another trip with my tired hungry toddler in the car, and I feel even more sorry for myself.

I pick up some chicken from the deli for Mugs, and we are off to the liquor store. At this point, she is almost 2 hours over her regular nap time. The folks are the liquor store are nice. They help me find a nice inexpensive white wine. They are patient with Mug when she wipes her greasy hands on the credit card machine. They even smile at my kid when she offers them a bite of her drumstick. Bless you, people who know liquor.

By this point, it is 3 o'clock. Mugga goes down for a nap, and I get busy in the kitchen. I cut the potatoes, browned the chicken, chopped the bacon. All is going according to plan until the time comes for me to simmer the white wine. I realize I have no idea how to open up a bottle of wine. I stare at this foreign object on my table, and it stares back.

There's a cork. I have no cork screw. I peel off the sticker around the neck thinking maybe there is another trick to this bottle, but no. Nothing else. The 2 inch cork is separating me from the wine and completing my dinner. I have absolutely no idea how to get to it. I am stumped.

Even after all the hassle it's taken me to obtain the alcohol, I want to give up. I want to smash the bottle over the counter. I just need a cup and a half. Surely I can get that if I break it open. This is so frustrating. Crock pot cooking sucks.

Then, a miracle happens. My younger sister walks through the door. She listens to me sob about my horrible day. How the crock pot is in conspiracy with the wine to foil my dinner. I just know that stupid slow cooker is laughing at me.

My sister picks up a butter knife, hammers it in to the cork and saves the day. She's only 18 and I don't know if she should know how to do this.

So right now, my meal is cooking. A nice slow simmer. Dinner should be done around 8 o'clock. If we lived in New York, this would be early.

I'm just crossing my fingers it's worth it.

Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone.

Today at Target I spotted this toy:

Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone

It took me back to when I was a kid. My grandparents had one in their basement, but it was never in good condition. I think they might have had an original 1962 version. 

I might have to go back and get this for Mugga.

Challenge: Crock Pot Cooking.

I know. You're probably thinking, "A challenge for slow cooking? Really?"

Yes, really. For me, slow cookers/crock pots are super intimidating. I didn't grow up using them. The concept of leaving a meal to cook on it's own has always been strange to me. You just throw things in a pot, leave it for awhile, and everything turns out? Seriously?

In the (almost) three years I've been married, I've used our wedding present crock pot, like twice. Both times making chili that's already been cooked (so basically I'm just keeping the food warm).

I also cringe away from crock pot cooking because of my recipe mind block. When I think of slow cooker recipes, stuff like pot roast and stews come into mind. I didn't think anything else was possible. The whole planning-a-meal-6-hours-in-advance almost never happens in my kitchen.

Well, a trip to Williams-Sonoma reformed my fear. One day, I spotted the most gorgeous appliance I've ever seen:
The All-Clad Slow Cooker. It's stainless steel. Six and a half quarts. White ceramic insert.

I suddenly pictured myself making the most amazing food in that slow cooker: Beef Bourguignonne, Braised Lamb Shanks, Pulled Pork Sandwiches. I could be the most amazing crock pot cooker, if only I had that All-Clad machine.

My husband Axel saw me eyeing the shiny cooking gem and immediately puts a halt to my daydreaming.

"You never use a slow cooker," he says disapprovingly.

"But I can." In my mind, I've already measured how much counter space it would need.

"Okay then," he replies. "Use the one we got."

Daydream fades. Oh those husbands. So practical.

Well, fine. For the next five days, I'm dedicating my cooking to all things crock pot. I'll show my husband I can be a slow cooker. Maybe he'll take one bite of my Spicy Country Ribs and be blown away. Maybe he'll realize we need a slow cooker with a 6 1/2 quart capacity. Maybe he'll remember the All-Clad beauty when he also remembers that Mother's Day is right around the corner.

So, here are the recipes I'm trying this week (picked from some of my favorite food magazines/web sites).

Monday: Chicken Stew in White Wine -- Williams-Sonoma

Tuesday: Cheesy Spinach-Artichoke Dip -- Cooking Light

Wedsnday: Spicy Country Ribs -- Real Simple

Thursday: Sour Cream Cheesecake -- Food & Wine

Friday: Beef Provencale -- Food Network

As always, you are more than welcome to join me. Let me know if you decide to try a recipe or two (I always appreciate reviews).

Happy slow cooking!

Over and Over -- Hot Chip

Say what you will about this video, but I absolutely love Hot Chip and this song:

My Smart Barrier.

There are times when I think motherhood has zapped away the majority of my brain cells. I was terribly forgetful when I was pregnant, but I seems like raising a little girl has further dumbed me up (if "dumbed" is even a correct use of the word). I consider my absentmindedness appalling, the other day I didn't remember the currency of Japan. This is ridiculous, because I have lived in Japan.

I have stupid moments like this that depress me all day. I'm a college graduate for crying out loud. I read. I write. Yet my brain is still mush.

Then there are times like yesterday. I have a break though -- a moment of genius clarity -- and I think, "Okay. So maybe I'm not so dumb after all."

As I've mentioned before, my little family is out of town camped in a hotel room. I say "camped," because being in a luxurious hotel room with a king size bed is not a treat. It's almost a punishment. We have a tiny fridge that barely fits all Mugga's juice and yogurt. In haste to stock up on things for my daughter, I failed to buy myself water bottles. Instead of coughing up $3.50 at the hotel for 12 oz. of water, I chose to drink it from the bathroom tap. Yuck.

Taking naps has been so difficult. Sleeping in the same room? Even worse. Imagine sharing a room with someone who goes to bed at 8 p.m. You, on the other hand, like to live a little more at night. You know, do crazy things like watch TV.  Unfortunately you know that even the smallest noise will awaken your moody roommate. She can even hear the typing clicks of a keyboard.

This trip has been hell.

The main problem of sharing a room with my daughter is that she will not sleep if she can see her parents. I've left the room and stood in the hall while she drifts off to sleep, but eventually sometime during her slumber she'll stir and look over. She sees me, she's awake. 

Last night she went down fine. When she woke up at 2:30 a.m. and realized she was in the same room as mom and dad, she was upset. "I should be in that beautiful king size bed too, and not this lame crib," she says with her cries.

It's been hard, so hard. 

But today -- today -- my brain cells worked. As I was getting Mugga ready for her afternoon nap, a genius thought came into my mind. I need to make a barrier.

In the closet I found an extra blanket, draped it across the TV armoire and a tall lamp (unplugged), and wha-la! Instant parent blocker. She couldn't see me in her crib, I couldn't see her on the bed. I read a book for two complete hours with absolutely no interruption.

So maybe sometimes I forget what 8x9 is. Maybe I run to the grocery store and forget to grab fresh basil for dinner -- even if I brought the recipe with me. But maybe, sometimes maybe, I come up with solutions that even MacGyver would approve off. And today, this makes me a genius. 

King Size Save.

When Axel and were engaged, one thing I wanted to register for was a king size bed. I am 5'11''. He is at least 6'2''. I didn't think there would be any way we would fit in anything smaller.

On our honeymoon, we got to sleep in a number of beds. Most of them kings, one or two queens. We definitely had more room when we were in a king, but it felt like too much room. Unless I snuggled up in the very center, I could barely touch my new husband. I would have to stretch my legs across what seemed like miles until my toes connect with any part of his body. I might as well been sleeping by myself.

I decided then that a queen would be just right for us. No wide separation and cheaper prices in bedding. We received a comfortable hand-me-down queen from family, and the free bed became the size of choice.

Well, at this moment I am contemplating changing my bed size decision. My little family is out of town, camped in a hotel room while Axel attends a conference. In our room, there is a beautiful king size bed. Last night it did not matter that I could not touch my husband. The miles of seperation was replaced by one squirmy sick little girl. She woke up at 6 a.m. and puked right in the middle of her parents. If we were in a queen, it would have hit me.

A king bed sounds really good right about now.

{I love this bed, via West Elm}

Ticket to Ride.

We had lots of family in town this weekend and I ended up playing lots of this game:

I used to hate this game until I won once, and now I love laying down the tracks. After this weekend, I think I might be a little addicted. My brother-in-law (who is the board game guru in the family) told me about the online site where you can play Ticket to Ride for free. Click here.

Doesn't that sound fun? I have yet to try it. I'm nervous that if I do, I'll never get off the computer.

Log Off Summary.

Well, my week of online log off is over. Thursday I failed miserably. Friday I was extremely busy and spent maybe only 5 minutes online. All in all, I think it was a success. Even if I didn't keep my daily goal of 30 minutes online, I managed to use my time a little better. Which was the purpose of my challenge.

Thanks to everyone who took the challenge, I hope you did better than me!

Want to Go to Greenland?

Budget Travel is one of my favorite magazines. I like it so much I decided to spend a portion of my 30 minutes of internet time today perusing it online. What can I say? I like a good cheap trip (I'm constantly searching for a way to get back to Hawaii).

The magazine offers a contest for travel stories every month, and I've always had good intentions on submitting something. This month, the winning prize a trip to Greenland for two. I've never been to Greenland. Have you?

For contest, click here.

Log Off Day 3

Yesterday, keeping myself to 30 minutes on the internet was much easier. I didn't even cheat -- not once! 

The morning is probably the most tempting time for me, this is when I'm usually online. The downfall to my logging off is that I have not done any writing this week. Even typing on the computer is too much of a temptation. Oh well, this is why freelance works. I have an interview I will probably need to type up on Friday, but by the end of the week I should be much stronger.

Instead of being online yesterday I:

• Spent lots of time playing with Mugga. She loves her new baby doll and likes to put her to sleep, change her diaper and feed her cheese.
  
• Made risotto with shrimp in celebration of the Hell's Kitchen (You may notice that I like a lot of dumb TV shows). Risotto is something the cooks on the show always mess up, and I wanted to try it for myself.
  
• Did laundry. Folded laundry. Did more laundry (I'm always behind on laundry).
  
• Started getting the house ready for company this week.
  
• Remembered to bring my reusable bags to the grocery store (this probably has nothing to do with spending less time on the Internet, but I was really happy with myself. I'm always forgetting those darn bags).
  
• Poked around at my garden.
  

I know, the exciting life of the stay at home mom.

Thanks again everyone for joining me in this challenge. It puts more pressure on me to do better.

*Update: I just went 7 minutes over today. Stupid Facebook.

I Don't Know How to Quit You.

I really must be an internet addict, because yesterday was extremely difficult. So many times I wanted to check my blog. Look up a book on Amazon. Read someone else's blog. Man, those blog things are addicting.

I will confess, I did cheat. I saw that I got new mail on my computer mail box. I checked it. Read it. And replied. It was work related, so I don't feel that guilty. Work is okay, right?

Instead of being online yesterday I:

• Went on a walk with Mugga.
• Made dinner.
• Washed the dishes.
• Took Mugga to the store and finally bought her a baby doll.
• Spent time with my sister.
• Watched the Hills.

So maybe watching MTV wasn't productive, but um... I'm also addicted to the Hills. Can you believe Whitney got a new job? I'm glad she's more hands on with styling and I love that she worked fashion week, but really. All the girls at People's Republic look like walking zombies.

Anyway, I am wasting my internet time jabbing about the Hills.

I'm hoping today will be more productive. I'm not going to mourn my loss online. Maybe I'll even empty out the guest room.

P.S. Big thanks to Jill from ink*drop who's joining me on this challenge. It's nice to know someone else out there is doing the same. I'm adding a link list including anyone who's doing the challenge this week, let me know if you're in!