So, it's decided re: Keira's Halloween costume. We'll be making her Maggie Simpson....Joe's request as he had a bit of a hissy when I said I was thinking of making her a chicken for Halloween. That would have been a warm costume...plus, I have tons of white boas, and to have her wear a long sleeved white onesie, orange and black striped tights and those feather boas, the only thing I would have made that may have been "labor intensive" would have been the comb of the chicken. I would have made it out of an old beanie cap of hers and just attached some sort of combage to it.

I just have to find blue PJs, and figure out how to make her headpiece. Should I use felt or fun foam and make it into a headband? Just wondering....what do YOU think?

Plus, if you happen upon a good pattern online or otherwise for a baby bonnet, let me know please!

BTW, how are your Halloween costume plans coming along? Let me know as well!

Anyone watch "America's Test Kitchen" on your local PBS station?

I am a HUGE foodie! I have Food Network on all the time, I am about to gain the balls to get some recipes together, tape it and send it in as an audition for "The Next Food Network Star" as I do think I have the chops to be the next Sunny or Rachael; I am always experimenting with recipes, deviating a bit from what was actually called for in a recipe then adding my own twist. In regard to baking you really can't do that as baking is...science. I mean, you can't remove baking soda and use baking powder because it just won't work. Now adding a bit of vanilla extract to something like that is different. I've experimented with box cake mix and added an extra egg especially in yellow cake mix and the cake comes out thicker, like a pound cake. I've also added lemon extract to said yellow cake mix and you'll get a remarkable lemon pound cake that you don't even have to frost!

So aside from Rachael's "30 Min. Meals" and Sunny's "Cooking for Real" I am a huge fan of PBS's "America's Test Kitchen."

I love how the host Chris Kimball from ATK literally tests everything in the kitchen, from methods and techniques of cooking to actual products; food or otherwise. Machines, pans and grinders have been tested, potato chips and olive oil, ways to remove rust from an iron skillet and the "actual" method to wash dishes was demonstrated. One of my favorite episodes was when coffee was tested and to be honest I was a former Dunkin Donuts junkie, but after ATK tested big name grocery store coffees(IE, Starbucks, Peets, Caribou, etc..) with one of the least favorites being Dunkin Donuts due to it having a sour taste to it, I am a changed woman. After that episode I noticed the foul and sour taste of the coffee and haven't had any since. The reasoning behind that is quakers were in the coffee beans.

Quakers, aside from being a religious order are actually underdeveloped beans that make their way into coffee while it's being roasted, manufactured, etc.... They're small and shrivled up dark bean and are usually picked out, thus explaining the high prices for Starbucks, Caribou, etc... which have very minimal amounts of quakers. Dunkin Donuts had a really high amount of residual quakers that weren't picked out, resulting in a sour tasting coffee.

Ever since that I have had issues with DD and haven't even had an iced coffee since recognizing this.

Great show, great tips, the website is great although a bit tricky and busy. I even enjoy the magazine which is a bit pricey but if you really want a great resource to your kitchen, cooking or otherwise, to me, it's a wise investment.

Check your local PBS listings for schedules.

So what are YOUR favorite cooking shows?

Aprica strollers....one of the WORSE strollers EVER made for city streets.

YUP! They are horrible! They're sharp looking, lightweight and convenient when you have to walk the baby in winter as the Calais Royale/Super Zap Prestige version(which we own and if you see the image, that is the exact one we have) has a mechanism where you can make the handle flip to the other side so baby is facing you and not the biting winds of Chicago. Along the lines of a carriage, or pram. It's also kinda cool in regard to when you fold it up it will stand upright without having to put the brakes on the wheels, or having to lean it against something, like the wall. Pretty cool actually.....

That's the only plus....

This is the flimsiest stroller I've ever used.

I have two umbrella strollers(which are actually sturdier than the Aprica if you can believe that!), a jogging stroller and a huge monstrosity of a stroller that has a cup holder and a huge basket at the bottom for carrying a diaper bag, purse, even the dog can fit in there. We call that one "the beast" as it's huge, it's clunky, it's awkward, but it's sturdy! The handle feels like I'm riding a Harley or something classic like that and I have no stress on my hand or arm(as I have chronic tendonitis). And it can hold my coffee cup no problem as it has a nice, deep and sturdy cup holder right at the top for me to grab my homemade lattes no matter what mug I use.

Well, obviously if I use the enormous ceramic mug it won't fit..duh. But...you get the idea.....

My baby can recline and snooze while I run about and manuever over the streets/sidewalks of Chicago effectively and not worry about disturbing her as there are shock absorbing springs atop each wheel. I don't worry about the stroller falling apart like I felt about the Aprica. The plastic on my Aprica Calais Royale feels so fragile I felt as if it was about to break after rolling over every crack on every sidewalk and over every curb; the wheels have those adjustable brakes that come undone constantly, leaving me in an uncontrollable mess; the mini basket at the bottom can barely carry a loaf of bread and is always coming undone with every single trip we make with the stroller. The handle is stressfull to my tendonitis and there is no cup holder.

And I cannot BELIEVE they sell this piece of garbage for over $200! I swear, ya just slap on a fancy name and state how it's made in Italy near the pope, you can dupe everyone.

And there isn't a cup holder either!

My only problems with the "beast" is it's quite heavy, it takes up too much trunk space in a car, and the shade is minimal, thus I have a bonnet on the baby's head on sunny days.

The "beast" is sturdy, reliable, fit both car seats well even though the second and much bigger car seat was a totally different brand name than the stroller. It has a dual handle where you can either use one hand (like a single handlebar) which is in the middle of the stroller or both for the classic stroller handle.

I got the "beast" free from a Freecycler. The "beast" is an Evenflo.

What kind of stroller do you have? Which stroller do you think is the best? Let me know....

Would you believe....

....that I own a copy of this book?

You're probably like "of course you own a copy of this book, Ana. Why wouldn't you?"

OK, then.

It's compiled by Bill Adler, illustrated by Ernest Marquez; it's a first edition from 1966; it's teeny tiny and a weird dark orange color hard cover with about 35 pages, it's adorable...it's hilarious! Basically, if you don't know what this is; it's a book that shows letters written by kids all over the USA who have written to the Beatles back in the heyday of "Beatlemania" making insane requests and commenting on the funniest things, suggesting the goofiest suggestions and just asking for the moon.

If you think kids say the darnest things...then you'll surely see some of the darned-est written by some of the darned-est kids in America! Some of the funniest stuff you will ever read, trust me.

The cover of the book has this letter from Sylvia from NYC:

"Dearest John:

I would like a lock of your hair. Also, a lock of hair from George, Paul and Ringo. You know you have plenty of hair, so you can spare one lock each for me.

With love,

Sylvia M.

NYC

PS: Please write the name of the person on each lock, so I will know who the lock of hair belongs to, as it is hard to tell when it is not on a person's head."

Yeah, that's going to happen.

I love doing these things(IE, these little website thingies that let you build a Barbie, or a doll, or some sort of character that resembles you). Cracks me up!

Yeah, I know; get a life....etc...

Make your own baby at Luvs by clicking on the link above, and join Luvs online and get a couple of $2.50 off coupons on your next two purchases of Luvs diapers! Wooooooo, better than nothing, right?

Just above is my daughter's Luvs baby; hip and cool Keira...cute, no? Looks just like her! Yeah, really! Big round head, big ole' eyes, hair up like Ace Ventura pet detective...gray eyes...yup! My baby the cartoon....

I recently did a market research study on Luvs and all the other moms never used or knew of Luvs which I found interesting. They were all about Pampers and just didn't want to hear a thing about Luvs until the moderator presented us with a coupon for a free package of Luvs.

So now that I'm no longer breast-

feeding I can eat any-

thing I want, IE, garlic, broccoli, peppers, MORE chocolate, booze.....go on then! You name it! I can eat it! Cool thing is the baby can eat that stuff with me as well! Well, save the booze, she can eat pretty much anything...and will! She almost has an entire mouth full of choppers, with a molar or two on either side of her mouth to fill but she's already eating corn on the cob, like a pro, and loves it! She's just about 18 months now and wanting to crawl, run, walk, etc.. everywhere. I have the walker working full time and Cirque du Soleil baby loves to get up in her high chair and practically balance on one big toe reaching for the light, the remote, the dog, you name it. Aside from the usual IE, working with the kids, the old arsed dog(she's a 15 year old cocker spaniel) and goofball beagle, and my cranky ball and chain, same old same old. I am, however, about to work on my son's Halloween costume, which will be Buddy the Elf from the movie Elf w/Will Farrell(did I spell that correct?). That is Ian's favorite movie and he's always quoting from it. I have green felt galore and all I have to do is purchase a pattern or figure it out freehand, and buy a pair of girls white tights..nice and thick and dye them yellow. I will post images of the costume when I'm finished. I think Pinky will be a lady bug again, B&C will be Indiana Jones again and I will be Janis Joplin. It's been rough dealing w/Ian's transition from his old teacher who was with him since kindergarten to the new "special ed" teacher who doesn't seem to have a clue as to what to do with Ian. Not sure if I mentioned this but Ian has autism.

Anyway, we'll see how the year ends. Hopefully I'll be able to have more energy and I can get back to my clients with their costume needs and my other favorite thing; cooking and baking!

We went to Cantigny for the NWTA Revolutionary War reenactment, which is quite an event! Every year it seems to be getting bigger, and better! I have to see an even bigger event true to the era(IE, 18th century) in Southern Indiana called "Feast of the Hunters Moon" which I was told is the same thing as Cantigny, but better, and gynormous(as Buddy the Elf would say). I am so glad they moved this event(Cantigny) earlier in September as it used to be the second weekend of October where it can be quite cold, and rainy...and it usually is/was cold..and quite rainy. This past year it was the second weekend of September and it was gorgeous! 80 degrees, loads of sun, happy people everywhere including happy kid reenactors hanging around the small waterfall at the reenactment as you can see in this photo.

Speaking of festivals and whatnot, we were making plans to visit the Brazil Popcorn festival in Southern Indiana(near INDY) but it's this weekend and Bubba is on call, therefore, we cannot go. Alas, we're now making plans to visit a Renaissance Faire in Eastern Illinois. It's small and not too far(about 2 hours away from Chicago) and we can bring the dogs! It's at a KOA campground and it's next weekend. I am hoping it'll be somewhat warmer than usual or at least Indian Summer. Want info on the faire? Leave me a comment...

Happy autumn to you all and hope you're well! Off to watch a butchered version of "Analyze This" on AMC. Yup! Butchered. I don't care as I absolutely adore Harold Ramis!