Wednesday, March 30, 2011

WWW Wednesday

Whine:  Hooray!  The sun is finally showing its bright, beautiful face these days!  It's still cold, but I can live with that if it means getting a little Vitamin D via sunny rays!  So what's the whine?  I hate to do it for fear Mother Nature reads Ad Bits and will take my sunshine away for all my ungratefulness.  It's just that... well... with all the sun shining into my home, the obscene level of dust in  my home is reeeeeaaalllly noticeable.  Embarrassingly noticeable.  I guess I could just dust, but it may be easier to somehow place mirrors strategically about to create the illusion of a clean home.

Wish:  Oh geez.  I wish the TWO GIANT bowls of ice cream (it was low fat!) I just ate could just not count.  Do you hear me Fat Fairy?  Could you just let that slide?  Thanks.

Woo-hoo!  Dancing With the Stars is back!  I only started watching at the end of last season, so I'm a newbie, but I'm pumped to be watching this season from the get-go.  I haven't picked my faves yet, but I think I've decided on my least favorites.  Wendy Williams for instance?  Is a bit too abrasive for me.  Plus every time she so much as swings a hip I'm worried her giant knockers are going to pop out of her dress.  I mean they're impressive, yes, but they stress me out.  Likewise, Kendra Wilkinson just makes me uncomfortable when she does things like sniff her armpits on live national television.  I can't get behind that.  It didn't break my heart to see Mike Catherwood go (sorry, SPOILER) last night (mostly because I had no idea who he was).  But I was sad to see Lacey Schwimmer leave because I think she's the best female dancer.  So there's my DWTS recap.  Are you watching?  Who are you cheering for?  I'm in the market for a favorite.

I know I JUST did a Starburst commercial yesterday, but really.  They are so funny I think they deserve a two day spread.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Putting Out Fires

Molly told Jim and I she wants to be a firefighter when she grows up.  A noble profession, Jim and I agreed.  Jim pointed out she will be saving people's lives and that's cool.  While I was feeling all proud of my little hero-to-be she clarified, "I only want to get cats out of trees."  Oh.  Ok, still cool- my little animal lover.  "I'll save girl cats only," she added.

Ok, what?  Now you're just being snobby Mols!  Lately she's been all about girl power, which is fine, unless she's dissing boys.  Where would she get that?  Isn't it too early for cooties?  I point out to her regularly that Daddy is a boy, her uncles are all boys, and she has plenty of boy friends she loves playing with.  What's with the sudden cynicism toward the opposite sex?  Moms of girls?  Are you running into this?  Will she outgrow it and learn to like boys again?  I mean, stupid question- of course she will and then I'll curse the day I ever wanted her to like boys, right?  Right?
A firefighter who picks and chooses who and what to rescue.  That's seems so contradictory.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Craniummmm, "rollin' in my 4.0"?

I was up north over the weekend.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you haven't been to northern Michigan, go!  Preferably in the summer or fall, but whenever is fine.  But this is not a post about the majesty of northern Michigan.  This is a post about competition.

Cranium competition.

As in, Team "Me and My Dad" smoked everybody else Friday night. That's right, on occasion we like to nerd it up with a little board game action. Here are a couple pictures:

My dad holding our first place winning little guy.

My brother and sister concentrating on spelling horoscope backwards (alternating letters between them).
My dad and I won thanks to his mad artistic skillz (he can draw a mean wine charm with his eyes closed), and NO thanks to my mad NOTHING skillz.  Truly, he carried me.  The one question I undoubtedly should have known the answer to?  I totally fudged.  It was Ice Ice Baby lyrics for Pete's sake.  That's practically my theme freakin' song and I froze (haha).  I redeemed myself (hardly) by drawing a phone booth.  But really it was just a rectangle that my dad somehow, inherently knew was a phone booth.

Fun times were had by all (but mostly by my dad and I).  In other weekend competition news, my March Madness bracket is keeping my competitive ego in check.  I'm in sixth place of 11, with no hope of getting any more points.  And oh yeah, two of the five people below me are 3 years old.  So. 

Speaking of competition, I love this commercial right now.  This is sort of a wintery, ski lift version of how I landed Jim (by asking my friend/his ex if it was cool for us to go out, knowing full well I didn't care what the answer was).  This was pre-cell phone era so she had no expensive technology of mine to chuck.  Hooray for me!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Flashback Friday!

Flashback Friday!  I'm not around today, so we're going Ad Bits retro.  I forgot about this commercial!  They didn't air it enough- it was so great!
~~~~~~~


Why is this commercial so awesome? Because throwing punches is almost always funny! I particularly love the pregnant lady slugging her husband (that's probably just the first of many until that baby is OUT) and of course the Amish punch. I'm pretty confident hitting of any kind goes against their core Amishnisity (and I think I'm completely entitled to comment on Amish principles because an Amish dude stood up in my wedding), but the beauty of having Amish in your advertisement is that you can portray them however you darn well please and they'll never know! Likewise, you can say whatever you like about them in your blog! (Although that's totally a moot point, since nobody ever has anything bad to say about the Amish, except maybe if you get stuck behind a buggy on your way to buy the darling capris that are on sale today only, or if you ate an entire loaf of their dang irresistible sourdough bread, thus ruining your low-carb diet for the day).

And let's talk about Stevie Wonder for a second. First Aretha Franklin shows up in a Snickers commercial and then Stevie Wonder lands a role in a VW spot? Let's hear it for Motown! It's good to see your faces again My Cherie Amours! Especially in comedic roles- I love that Stevie slugs T. Morgan as if it's a Superstition. It's truly a Wonder he would know the make and color of the car driving by, right? Ugh, those are stretches I know. I'll wrap this up and put you out of your misery. This post is hereby Signed, Sealed, Delivered. I'm Yours, Jules.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

WWW Wednesday

Whine:  We had an ICE storm last night!  An ice storm!  Just when I get used to driving the speed limit and not panicking every time I need to leave the house, we have an ice storm.  I was just mad enough to drive in it anyway (that'll show YOU Mother Nature!)  Know what else?  I'm going out again later!  In your FACE ice storm!  Kick ice!

Wish:  Not to belabour the point, but I'm still sick.  I know, I know, I just squandered my whine on the ice storm.  This is not a whine, just a little wish that the store hadn't been out of the lotiony Kleenex.  The ultra soft are soft enough for say, a mid-grade sneezing fit, but they are NOT up to par for this cold from heck. 

Woo-hoo!  Going out in the ice storm was SO worth it because I went to visit my girlfriend and her kids and she sent me home with homemade cheesecake from heaven above.  Additionally, book club tonight is at Michigan Brewing Company- maybe I can drink myself healthy?  It's worth a try.  And here's my big Woo-hoo.  Jim and I booked a vay-cay!  For just the two of us!  To Seattle and Vancouver!  We've never been, we haven't been on vacation together since the Pre-Molly era, and we are pumped!!!!  Like, four exclamation points pumped!!!!

Once it was booked I danced a happy dance like the guy in this commercial:

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

I forgot who I was yesterday.  I lost myself in a moment of dumb bravery.  I watched Pretty Little Liars.  And not just any Pretty Little Liars.  The season finale.  The scariest episode of the season.  The fearful climax.  Stupid Jules.

I made Jim watch with me and mistook his presence for a free courage pass.  Nightmares ensued the entire night.  Seriously, I dreamed of every possible creepy scenario the PLL writers could go from here.  ABC Family?  Are you reading?  I could write for you guys literally, in my sleep.  From my REM to your storyboards. 

But this happens every now and then.  Every once in a while I fall off my nut and like to play make-believe I'm a brave.  Another recent example is my book selection, The Tale of Halcyon Crane (see sidebar).  Scary freakin' story (for me, mind you.  It could be all marshmallows and bunnies for you).  You'd think after 31 years, I'd know I'm a pansy and not put myself through the ringer like this (haha.  Ringer.  If you saw PLL last night you know somebody else got put through "the ringer" so to speak), but alas!  I still confuse myself with a person who has a spine.

Speaking of confusion, I was terribly confused when this commercial turned out to be for Dodge.  I mean, am I crazy or are those Twix candy bars in the spotlight there at the beginning?  I was all pumped up for a Twix commercial.... I don't get nearly so excited about vehicles.  Unless they come with a free Twix.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Our Germ Factory

We've had the Creeping Crud over here.  Complete with strep throat, ear infections, and all the joy that comes with these, including my personal fave: irrational irritability.  I am sick, which makes me super cranky (I was of the school of thought that moms don't get sick!?) and ill-(ha! sick pun!) equipped to care for my whining (albeit with legit whines) babies.  There were a lot of conversations that started with incomprehensible whining and me yelling, "WHAT?!" and then feeling guilty because they're feverish and pathetic, backpedaling, "What?  What is it sweetheart?  Mommy hold you?  Ok."

Friday I took the girls to the doctor (we're on antibodies now and not contagious so lean closer if you like).  The waiting room does not separate the well-visit kids from riff-raff like us, so the girls were asked to wear masks.  Ha!
Molly: No thanks.  I don't want to wear that.
Me: Yes!  They're funny!  Look how silly Adrienne looks!
Molly: Not putting it on.
Me: Look, you'll look like a little bank robber!  Isn't that fun?! Sick 'em up! (my pun was lost on her)
Molly: shakes head.
(Parents of less sickly kids are glaring at me: "Lady, you better cover up your kid's germy face!"  I glare back, "I'm freakin' trying here!")
Me:  Molly, put this thing on!  You're infecting everybody in here!
Mercifully, the nurse called us in at this point.  Note to self: for quick admission to the doctor, have kids refuse to wear hygiene masks.

In honor of the 8 bajillion tissues we've gone through, a Puffs commercial.  And then, the only characters cuter than the Puffs kids are the Pop Tart kids.


Saturday, March 19, 2011

I'll Meat You There

I love food shaped like stuff.  Pats of butter shaped like shells, pancakes with a Mickey Mouse resemblance, those fancy fruit baskets with the star shaped pineapples, cookie bouquets with stroller shaped sugar cookies, little marshmallow chicks.  And oh!  Chocolate bunnies and eggs.... shoot, I'd eat chocolate if it were shaped like a giant toilet.  You get the point.  I like food shaped like stuff.  With one exception.  Meat.

Is there anything grosser than an image of  raw burger sculpted into anything besides a flat circle?  Here are a few examples:


I mean, in a way these are impressive (to a Degree*), but still.  I'll take my mini Americas in a dark chocolate please.
All this talk about meat reminds me of the Friends episode where Monica made a faux uh... piece for Joey so he would appear uncircumcised for an audition.  And in the commercial below we see meat vests.  What have you guys made out of meat?  Anyone get proposed to with a giant meaty ring?  Or announce a pregnancy with a meat shaped crib?  Add your meatso story here!



*That was a pre-pun.  It wasn't quite funny yet, because you hadn't seen the Degree commercial, but I couldn't resist.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

WWW Wednesday

Whine:  Please, please don't get strep Mols!  She's battling a little cold, but fighting it off like a champ.  Yesterday she came home from school with a note:  "Your child may have been exposed to _______(there's a blank here where the teacher can fill in anything they want- a mouse? a Michael Bolton song? kids who say f-a-r-t*?) Nope.  Strep throat.  Well, it's not lice and I think that's my worse case scenario.  So this is a thankful whine.  Thankful she wasn't exposed to lice; whine that now I've got strep stress.

Wish:  April would hurry up and get here!  I have such a fun April schedule!  Bridal showers, bachelorette parties, weddings, M's b-day (on Easter this year!), a couple mini-trips... not to mention I'll be enjoying all this in warmer weather!  I have an additional wish to dominate my college b-ball bracket this weekend (does it just last the weekend?  I don't even know. I'm a pathetic March Madness fan.)  I have Michigan State winning it all (highly unlikely, but what kind of fan would I be to knock them out in the second round as I was tempted to do?)  I should mention we aren't playing for money.  My loyalty does not expand into the old pocketbook. (that's right, I said "pocketbook")

Woo-hoo!  Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day!  Wear your green, readers, or suffer an e-pinch from this blogging leprechaun! (gross.  I wish I hadn't just called myself a leprechaun).  Another woo-hoo: I'm visiting my parents, which means help with kids, free food, brand name hand soap, darker window treatments (that equals more sleep for me and the kiddos), and fluffier towels.  Luxurious.

I love this ad.  Please start your day with a Guiness tomorrow.  Or, ok, a shamrock shake at the very least.  Promise?  Awesome.


*This is quite possibly my least favorite word in the English language.  As far as I know, my girls have never heard it.  They wouldn't know what it is.  I intend to keep it that way. 

Monday, March 14, 2011

How To Make A House A Home

In a bag of hand-me-down books Molly found a Pound Puppies story.  She loves it and we read it every day.  The other day she asked me if all the puppies in the story live at the pound.  When I explained they do, she agreed with one exception.  "He doesn't live at the pound, he lives at a home" she said pointing to the PP leader.
"Why do you think that?" I wondered out loud.
"Because he has a TV and a chair.  If you have a TV and a chair, it's your home."

I'm happy our house is a home in her book (with our multiple chairs and 1.5 TVs).  It's cute, but I can't mock her because don't we all have ideas about what makes a house a home?  I make an apple pie every time we move into a new house because I don't think a house is home until you've baked an apple pie in it.  What makes your house a home?  No obvious answers please, I know all about the importance of love, laughter, and blah, blah, blah.

P.S.  Who's getting pumped for St. Patty's Day!?!?!?! 

Fun Drop

What an exciting weekend!  You already heard all about my fun Friday night in Detroit; Saturday we had friends from college over (they are trying to talk me into going to my 10 year (?!?!?!?!) class reunion in September, but... I don't know... did you guys attend yours?).  We get together every few months or so and it's so fun.  I am very lucky that my girlfriends married guys who are awesome.  The husbands have (almost) more fun than we do.

The next day came quick (about an hour quicker) than normal and I hauled my hiney to church to teach Sunday School.  I expected lots of people to forget to spring forward, but I don't give my four year old pupils enough credit because we had a full house.  Sunday also included fabulous events such as: grocery shopping by myself, a nap, and learning to French braid (thank you to YouTube and Molly, who was a model model).  Even Jim was happy to see me learning to French braid when I explained what it was and pointed out that any female athlete worth her cleats wears French braids.

The zenith of Sunday of course, came later when the Sister Wives season premier came on!  It's just as polylicious as I remember.  Someone on Twitter pointed out S.W. is on at the same time as Big Love, which I didn't know.  Sunday night must be a great night for polygamy in America!

In hindsight, I'm a little embarrassed I started this post with "What an exciting weekend!"  Maybe "fun" would be a better adjective, but really?  Honestly?  For me, that was an exciting weekend.  And now you know.  Also exciting?  Nikki Woo- The Home Guru emailed me this commercial, which I adore and never would have seen if it weren't for her because we (sadly) don't have Sun Drop in these here parts.  I love so much about this commercial: soundtrack, dance moves, fashion, redheadedness....

Saturday, March 12, 2011

A Journey to Detroit

I spent yesterday evening in downtown Detroit.  I'm in the suburbs of the big D fairly often, but rarely have any need to go downtown.  Here are a few notes on Detroit:

~ It's on the water, a really beautiful location.
~ It has a well-deserved, but awful reputation for its obscene crime rate. (That is, the rate is obscene, but I imagine some of the crimes are too).
~ The architecture is old and gorgeous.
~ Mo-town baby!  Detroit rocks!
~ If you want to be technical, it's my hometown- I lived there the first 8 months of my life!
~ It is not, in fact, the Michigan state capital.  A common misconception.  Probably because it's home to the state's only Ikea.

Jim and I went with some friends to Greektown and enjoyed a dee-lish meal at Pegasus (our goat cheese was on fire!  On purpose!), then we went across the street to oh-my-gosh-I-can't-believe-I-didn't-note-the-name-of-this-amazing-bakery where I got a black and white cookie that I was too full to eat, but managed to push through the stuffness to finish (that's what I call dedication!), then we hopped on the People Mover (no, I did not expose myself for a small-town girl by tipping over when it started moving, nor did I throw up!) and zoomed to the Joe Louis Arena where we caught a crazy exciting Red Wing game!
Here's proof (that we were there, not that it was exciting- you can get a recap of the excitement at espn.com ok?)


So, Detroit has it's problems, but I'm here to tell you it also has its strong points.  You should visit if you ever get the chance.  Swing by Ikea, Costco, and the other stores they have (that we over here in the state's actual capital don't have), enjoy the beauty of its history, architecture, music, athleticism, and diamond in the rough Detroit pride.



And for the fun of it:

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

WWW Wednesday

Whine:  We have some baby trees around our yard.  Like 80 of them.  And we're talking baby baby trees... maybe a foot and a half tall at the most.  I love them (but not as much as Jim does, truthfully- he nurses them with all the love of a new mama).  And the other day some snowmobilers ran a bunch of them over.  They crushed their teeny tiny frames and our spirits.

Wish:  Oops, I wish Molly didn't see her art project in the garbage.  I save the stuff that she's most obviously proud of, but I didn't get that feeling from this particular craft.  Then she saw it and cried as I frantically pulled it out: "Oh!  Oh!  How did this get in there?!  Molly!  I don't know how this got in the garbage! (I lied)  It must have been bunched in with some other stuff!"  She sniffled and I immediately taped it up in a place of honor.  Whew!

Woo-hoo!  Yesterday Molly launched into a heartfelt monologue (or a Mollologue if you will!) about God living in our hearts and loving us even when we make mistakes, etc.  What?!  Maybe she does listen to me (and oh, all right! her Sunday School teachers) every now and then!  I was pumped.  Of course, she was explaining all this to a dinosaur on a box of macaroni and cheese, but still.  I love it when I know I'm being heard! 

I'm feeling inexplicably overwhelmed these days.  Stressing over things I wouldn't normally stress over.  Perhaps I haven't been Binging enough?  Maybe a food fight would relieve some stress?  I'm not above that.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

JuNO Teen Pregnancy Allowed Please!

The other night Juno was on and I can't say for sure, but I kind of feel like it is maybe my favorite movie right now!  I'm sorry Zoolander;  I'm sorry Mystery, Alaska, but I think Juno has you beat! 

SPOILER ALERT!!  Seriously, this is a great movie and you should watch it, so for this one time only, you can not read every word of Ad Bits.
Do I laugh my hiney off at the opening scene between Rainn Wilson's character and Juno when she finds out her "eggo is preggo" and then buys a licorice rope?  Yes, I do.  Do I sob at the end when Bleeker crawls into the hospital bed with Juno?  I do.  I weep.  Does it make me want to barf when I think about my girls being in high school?  Um, big fat YES.  I swear if they every join a band* and request a hamburger phone, I'm sending them to boarding school.

This commercial is super funny.  I would be totally cool with my 'rents moving in because the more adult supervision, the less likely I'm a grandma at 40**.



*Just kidding!  I would love for my girls to be in a band.  Like a light rock or classical one, for instance.  Just kidding again; I fully embrace all music, but if they turn out to be singers (which would be a huge shock) they sure as fajibbities better have clean as a whistle lyrics.
**If you are a 40 year old grandma, no offense at all.  It's just that given my age, and the ages of my kids it would mean a painfully young pregnancy.  I understand that is not always the case with 40 year old grandparents. 

Monday, March 7, 2011

Small Fries

I am not a food sharer.  When we go to a restaurant, I do not want to split my entree and your entree.  Or dessert.  I want to order a complete meal for me and a complete dessert for me.  To be clear, I do not want to eat half of my meal and half of yours, nor do I want to give you a fry.  You should have ordered your own.  I'm willing to pay the consequences too.  I understand that if I screw up and order the salmon* and you order lasagna I am stuck with the salmon even if it comes out all overcooked and with 8,000 bones in it; the lasagna, no doubt will be cheesy and pasta-y and perfect but it's too bad, so sad Jules! 

My kids are no exception to this greedy rule.  I don't want them tasting my food either.  Yesterday after church we went to eat at a restaurant (exciting!  We don't do this often.)  I ordered for myself ("with a side of fries please") and then for the girls.  I try hard to feed my girls healthy food, but every now and then they can have fries, I think that's fair.  So I ordered their meals also with fries (to their grease-loving delight).  The waitress pointed out they could instead get a side of apples or broccoli or carrots.

I simultaneously wanted to kick her shins (for making me feel guilty) and mine (for ordering them fries, which incidentally were NOT healthy sweet potato fries).  The bottom line was if my girls didn't have their own fries, they were going to eat mine.  See Paragraph One of this post.  Unacceptable.  So I repeated the fry order, shrunk further into the booth, and wished it weren't before noon on a Sunday so I could also order a glass of wine to complete my rotten Mommy moment.

I laugh at this commercial, but really?  Do they make these Bo-Peep shockers?  Do you know where I might find one?


*Ew.  This would never happen.  I hate salmon.  And if you know anything about me, I would almost always order the cheesiest, pasta-y dish on the menu.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

A Saturday Shorty

My friend Sara at Motherhood to Hollywood brought this ad campaign to my attention and I think it's hilarious, even if I don't know what it's for.  Take a looky-loo:

I think my fave is the jukebox guy.  If you're having a hard time seeing these pics, click here: http://www.dailydawdle.com/2010/09/10-best-lifes-too-short-for-wrong-job.html

Hope you guys are having a great weekend!

Friday, March 4, 2011

A Big, Burly Mystery

October 6th of 2009 I wrote a post.  A pretty weak post to tell you the truth.  Not some of my best blogging.  But whatevs.  If you like, you can read it here.  Here's what is killing me.  It gets a bajillion hits every. single. day.  I mean, somebody (bodies?) reads that dang post several times a day!  Why?  Why that post?  Is it BCF management rethinking their return policy?  Their lawyers preparing to hit me with a slander suit?  La Leche League forwarding the link to members as I vouch for BCF's supportive nursing bras?  It could be anyone.

If you are the person(s) clicking on that post, first of all, thank you?  I think?  Unless I was right about the slander thing, in which case back off!  I don't have anything you want.  But really, mysterious Burlington Coat Factory post readers: leave me a comment!  I'm dying to know what you like (or dislike) about that particular post!

In other mysterious news, I saw this ad with Whoopi Goldberg stomping for Poise incontinence pads today.  Not sure there's a right way to handle that subject matter, so I give them props for giving it a shot and succeeding?  Maybe?  What do you think? 

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

WWW Wednesday

Whine:  My March license plate sticker hasn't come in yet!  I haven't been pulled over yet, but hello!  I'm not willing to pay a bajillion dollars for an expired-by-two-days sticker.  So it better come today.  If you are an officer of the law in mid-Michigan, please forget you ever read this.  And do NOT be on the lookout for a gray Explorer.  Do not.

Wish:  Molly had a dentist appointment today.  I wish my dentist's office was as awesome as hers.  You can read about her kick-fanny dentist here.  And do a little compare and contrast exercise by reading about my last oral exam here.  I'm just sayin'.  I'd be much more likely to recommend my dentist if there were an aquarium there.  And a choo-choo train.  What?  You think I'm too cool for that?  Never.

Woo-hoo!  My sister is unemployed!  Of course, this is a woo-hoo for me and definitely not her.  She was doing an internship at the Chicago Bulls, but that's over now so here she is!  I'm pumped because I love having her around.  Right now for instance?  She's giving Mols a pedicure and I'm able to blog!  I hope she never finds a job!  Just kidding- she'll need money sooner or later to buy me sweet birthday and Christmas gifts.  You know anyone hiring?  She's smart and cute too if that's important to your workplace.  I'm putting her phone number* on Twitter today so follow me if you want it. (@AdBitsJules)

Woo-hoo for this little pug!  Victory tastes like delicious, cheesy chips! (side note: this guy is basically behaving how I do when I'm trying to get Adrienne (or any baby) to come to me.  Now I feel a little silly.)


*Are you nuts?!  I'm not putting her number on Twitter!  But you should follow me anyway!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Tangled Web

Today I had Molly's parent-teacher conference.  They don't seem to think she's ready to enroll in college Doogie Howser-style as I do, but they aren't kicking her out either so that's good news.  Maybe they got wind about her super gluing her face yesterday and deducted points.  (She wasn't super glued TO anything, just general smearage on her sweet little face.)

We also went to the library because I wanted to take out Charlotte's Web to read to M (but did not want to dig through a bajillion dusty boxes to find my old copy.)  Once I had it in my hands though I started to have second thoughts.  There's the whole spider dying thing (uh- spoiler alert), and I'm certainly not going to start picking up live spiders around the house just because they may be one of Charlotte's babies.  Then there's the whole topic of pig slaughtering.  And if I'm unwilling to save spiders' lives, I'm loath to prepare separate vegetarian dishes for my three year old.  I will be preserving her carnivorism as long as possible, thank you very much.

I hope you all had a wonderful Tuesday, in which you did not have to be laughed out of a preschool room for merely suggesting Princeton next year.  Or deprive your child of a literary classic for your own selfish purposes.

OMG!  It's Justin Bieber's birthday today!!!  Eeeeeee!  Anyone out there have the fever?!