Another Time-Wasting Site...But This One is Beneficial!

In yet another procrasination session (i.e. my daily blog reading schedule), I learned about a site guaranteed to satisfy even the most hardcore time wasters. Stretch Mark Mama posted a link to Free Rice. Free Rice is a not-for-profit site maintained by the United Nations World Food Program. You can take strangely addicting quizzes on vocabulary, grammar, math, chemistry, geography, art, and several languages. For each correct answer, the UN World Food Program receives a donation of 10 grains of rice. The rice is paid for by the site's sponsors. So, go forth, procrastinate, and answer questions!

Incidentally, hunger isn't just a remote problem. I saw an OB patient yesterday who hadn't eaten in almost two days. The refrigerator is empty in the apartment where she is staying. Luckily, we had some sandwiches left over from a meeting that I was able to give her. Where will she get her next meal? How will she take care of a baby if she doesn't have enough money to feed herself? According to the USDA, one in eight Americans is at risk for hunger. Our local food bank encourages the following donations:

Dry Soup

Rice

Powdered/Canned Milk

Macaroni & Cheese

Cereal

Peanut Butter

Beans

Canned Fruits and Vegetables

Tuna

Canned Meats

Stew

Soup

Pasta

Fruit Juices/Sip-sized Juices

Even if you are on a tight budget, you can donate a can of vegetables and help a hungry family for less than $1.00!!

Back from Florida

We're back from a whirlwind trip to Florida! Here is our itinerary:

Thursday night: fly into the St. Pete/Clearwater airport, drive to Tampa
Friday: Busch Gardens in Tampa and dinner at our hotel
Saturday: Florida Aquarium in Tampa, drive to Englewood Beach, spend time on the beach, dinner at Howard's, Matt's baseball game in Venice
Sunday: Beach time, Matt's game in Punta Gorda, more beach time, dinner at the Gulfview Grill
Monday: Beach time, drive to St. Pete/Clearwater airport, fly home

Pictures coming soon!
(Next trip: Hilton Head, SC...counting down!)

Lauren's Tongue Twisters

Straight from the horse's mouth..."How much could a woodchuck chuck chuck, chuck chuck chuck some wood? Does that have a lot of chucks?"

Lauren: What are you typing?

Me: Lauren's Tongue Twisters

Lauren: I don't like tongue twisters. Not at all.

(left: Chocolate Monster with a Chocolate Face)

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had another birthday celebration for Zachary today! We took Zachary, Lauren, and three of Zach's friends ice skating downtown. Then we came back and had pizza and cupcakes (pictured on the left). We also had heart-shaped brownies in honor of Valentine's Day. His actual birthday was Wednesday the 11th. A mid-week birthday is a great way to get multiple birthday parties. We celebrated with family on the 7th, took Zachary out to eat on the 11th, and we celebrated with his friends today. We brought Zachary home from the hospital on Valentine's day in 2000, so we had an extra reason to celebrate today!

A Gazillion Activities Packed Into One Little Weekend

* Saturday morning Zachary had his last two basketball games of the season. His team went undefeated this year! David's coaching debut was a success. We have about a month off before baseball practice starts.

* After the basketball games, we had family members over to celebrate Zachary's 9th birthday and my dad's 58th birthday. Zachary's birthday is actually this Wednesday (the 11th) but the weekend was a good time to get everyone together for a celebration. We served brunch, including a ham and egg casserole, sausage, bacon, pancakes, cheesy potatoes, muffins, bagels, and fresh fruit. After the party, we laid around in our carb- and calorie-induced comas.

* Saturday evening, we went to the high school basketball game. They won handily. Zachary was correct in his prediction of a 16-point victory. Lauren was happy to munch on popcorn, down an entire 16-oz bottle of water, and draw during the game.

* Sunday, Zachary's church choir sang in all three services. After being thrice blessed with the word of God, we headed home to work on Zachary's assignment (which I later pronounced "ridiculous" and more). He had to make a diorama depicting a book scene in which the characters are using life skills. Ugh.

* Finally, with the last scrap of construction paper glued on the shoebox diorama, we all went up to Lauren's room and started peeling wallpaper off the walls. We sure know how to plan fun family activities--ha! Lauren decided (rightfully so) that her wallpaper is too "babyish" so we're in the process of peeling off baby bunnies, bears, and cats. She has already picked out two Disney paint colors for the walls: Princess Bouquet and Fairytale Pink. Alas, she has outgrown her cute little toddler bed so we'll soon be shopping for a big girl bed.

* Next Saturday we're taking Zachary and three of his friends ice skating for his birthday. (Birthdays seem to be week-long events in our family.) It's kind of hard to picture ice skating when the news is predicting a 60-degree day tomorrow! Hopefully we'll be able to post pictures of Lauren's completed room soon!!

Enjoy the week!

Breakfast casserole recipes, please!

Zachary's 9th birthday is coming up soon! We're planning on celebrating his birthday (and my dad's birthday) on February 7th. Since Zachary has an early-morning basketball game that day, we're planning to have family over after the game for brunch and cake...a perfect combo! I think a breakfast casserole would be easy to make for a crowd for brunch. Does anyone have any good recipes? If so, please leave your recipe in the comment section. Thanks in advance!

Fun Ways to Waste Time on the Internet

I had an Internet-savvy music history professor in college who gave us an Internet-based assignment (waaaaay back in 1995). She actually gave us written instructions on how to use the Internet for the assignment because some of us had never even opened a web browser. Now, like countless other Internet addicts, I use it multiple times per day. In fact, I have come to realize that the Internet is a haven for procrastinators such as myself. The Internet has some very practical purposes but the entertainment value of the Internet ranks quite high in my book. (That said, all of those patients who read the Internet and come to me with notions that they have strange and unusual diseases need to quit surfing.) Following is a list of some of my favorite sites to visit. Enjoy these procrastination opportunities!

1. Cake Wrecks - The site's author describes it best: "When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong."

2. MyPoints - This site allows you to earn points that can be used toward a gazillion different gift certificates. I frequently get Barnes and Noble gift cards. You can get points by clicking on email links to various web sites or you can shop on the Internet to earn points. It is easy, doesn't take a lot of time, and doesn't lead to a bunch of spam.

3. Jay Leno's Headlines - Whether you watch The Tonight Show or not, this site is LOL-worthy. One misplaced letter can completely change the flavor of a newspaper headline!

4. Cupcakes Take the Cake - The cupcakes on this site are amazing. If you weren't a cupcake fan before, you will be. The site is updated almost every day with new pics and commentary.

5. People.com - Interesting if you follow celebrity gossip or want to know which celeb couple named their twins Garlic-Marie and Snowkapt Mountain.

6. Advance for Nurse Practitioners - I had to include a medical site since I spend 3 1/2 days a week immersed in medical issues (e.g. doing patients' exams, writing prescriptions, ordering labs and diagnostic tests, reviewing patients' labs and ultrasounds, yada yada yada). I use this site for news, continuing education credits, and occasionally random entertainment.

7. Amazon.com - This site has everything! It even has products you don't know you need but probably can't live without once you discover the existence of said products.

8. Barnes and Noble - This is my faaaaaaaavorite book and music store. (Not just because they sell Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake.) In fact, I have a Barnes and Noble package waiting for me on my front porch. The UPS truck just pulled away.

9. Facebook - Beware. This site is addicting. In addition to reading updates about people I knew back when we walked to school uphill both ways, I also spend way too much time playing Pathwords on the site.

10. Webkinz - I've mostly listed this site due to the frequency with which our household visits it. If you're not familiar with Webkinz, they are little stuffed animals that come with codes. You can use these codes to access your pet's online community. You can feed and clothe your pet, play about 30 different addicting "arcade" games, and decorate your pet's bedroom. You can also earn fake money (aka Kinz cash) to buy more food, clothes, and room decor. David says this site is just preparing children to become eBay and Amazon addicts. I know there are parents out there who are secretly playing Webkinz arcade games and feeding their children's virtual pets at night. :-)

These are only a small portion of the sites I visit frequently. I didn't even get to the individual blogs I scan daily. Does anyone else have a favorite site that is worthy of a daily visit?