Blender Baby Food

Long before Little Bear came about, I happened across a book by Nicole Young titled "Blender Baby Food." This wonderful book has over 125 recipes for making food at home rather than buying the little jars from the stores.

I am happy to report that both peas and green beans are happily devoured by my little one. I am also quite happy about how much cheaper it is than buying the jars. We were in Target today and saw the regular jars on sale for $.89 and the organic at $1.49 a piece.

Now the wife and I made a decision a long time ago about trying to have him (and her while she was pregnant and breastfeeding) eat organic foods. So looking at the costs involved (not counting the blender which was a gift) 1.49 per jar x 2 times a day. $3.00 for one day (plus cereal and formula now) But for that same $3 I was able to buy frozen organic peas and those make enough for 8 or more meals. That is just $0.38 a meal. Today I made carrots. Spent a buck on organic carrots and that will be about 5 meals (assuming he eats them, which I dont doubt he will) So that is $0.20 per meal whereas that same $1 wouldnt even buy a single jar.

So not only do I get to save money I also get to know exactly what it is he is eating. No worries, no wondering. Just pure whole foods that I can tailor to his tastes. If you have a baby and you dont have this book, go check out the link at the top of this post.

A note about organic foods: Organic foods taste different! It seems obvious but often it isnt thought about. Dont believe me? Grab some Quaker Oats and some organic oatmeal and you will find the organic is sweeter. I have heard numerous times that organic milk tastes better but as I dont drink milk I will leave that up to y'all to test.

Ghost In This House

I don't pick up the mail
I don't pick up the phone
I don't answer the door
I'd just as soon be alone
I don't keep this place up
I just keep the lights down
I don't live in these rooms
I just rattle around

I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm just a shadow upon these walls
As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls
I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
It took my body and soul
I'm just a ghost in this house

I don't care if it rains
I don't care if it's clear
I don't mind stayin in
There's another ghost here
She sits down in your chair
And she shines with your light
And she lays down her head
On your pillow at night

I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm just a shell of the man I was
A living proof of the damage heartbreak does
I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
It took my body, my soul
I'm just a ghost in this house

I'm just a ghost in this house

~~Shenandoah

F1 Boat Racing

I used to love watching these races as a kid. Part of the fun was seeing how incredibly fast they go (they barely touch the water at all) and of course the fantastic crashes! Of course, growing up in Washington near the Peugeot Sound certainly fed boyhood fantasties of participating in such races.

How True!

THE SKY IS FALLING!!!

This is it! The world is coming to an end! Bring your children inside and baricade the doors!

!!!THE APOCALYPSE IS NEAR!!!

Yes, it is true, G.W.Bush has finally vetoed a bill.
Surprising, but from initial reports GW has indeed used the veto. This is only an initial report at this time. There is yet the posibility that this impossibility hasnt actually happened and is a hoax.

Official Citation

You never know who notices your blog. It isnt even possible to cover a quarter of the possible search terms so there is simply no way to know. Well, while checking the sitemeter logs, I noticed that the Colorado State Parks Dept has a link to me on their page about Castlewood Canyon.

It isnt even much of a post by me honestly. But I remember that day. I remember the good looking girl hiking beside me. I remember how much fun we had bouldering and exploring the trail-less depths of that park. I wish I still had those pictures.

The Impending Death Of The SUV

This from the latest Mogambo Guru column:

- Larry Edelson of MoneyAndMarkets.com asks, "Where’s oil headed next?" ... "I think it’s going to at least $100 a barrel by the end of this year. And unleaded gas could hit $4.00 a gallon. In my view, the combination of strong economic growth around the globe plus the most recent plunge in the value of the U.S. dollar - virtually guarantees it. In 2007, I expect even more upside for oil and gas: $120 a barrel for crude (perhaps even higher), and $5 a gallon at the pump." And that sounds right to me, too. Maybe higher.

I know someone who works as a consultant to the Oil Industry (He does lots of traveling to really cool places) and he is convinced that we will be seeing $100 a barrel very soon. And he also believes it will stay above $100.

At the very least this will put a serious crimp in SUV sales. As reported in todays Colorado Springs Gazette, local sales of motorcycles are up 30% over the same period last year.

developing...

Star Trek Personality Quiz

Take the Star Trek Quiz
Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Always in control, you are a great leader, deligator, and diplomat. These qualities attract people to you, and this sometimes annoys you.

Aloof, introspective, and philosophical; you enjoy quiet time in solitude.

I dont understand...

Life.

Don't know that I ever will.

Wild Turkey

I've decided this is pretty decent stuff. But I am out and I am stuck at home. Anyone care to drop a bottle by?

Prayer

Hey guys

My little family could use an awful lot of prayer right now. We're having some real tough times right now.

Energy Conservation

If every home in the nation replaced just one light bulb with one of the high efficiency bulbs, it would save enough energy to light 7 million homes. The equivalent of taking one million cars off the road, pollution-wise. On top of that, you'll save $20-$60+ over the life of that energy efficient bulb.

Fund Raising

Well if that doesnt dovetail perfectly with what I wrote yesterday...

An Open Letter To The ACLJ

An open letter
To whom it may concern:

It seems that every letter I get from you is simply another letter asking for money. And if I dont give then the EVIL ACLU is going to destroy the nation.

But if I were to give, what do you offer? To fight a defensive war, where you are constantly losing ground. You lose ground because you fight a defensive war. You waste time on lawsuits that wont restore this nation to Christianity.

If you want to impact this country in a meaningful way, take a page from the Constitution Party's playbook.

"In addition, Article IV of the Constitution guarantees to each state a republican form of government. Therefore, although a Supreme Court opinion is binding on the parties to the controversy as to the particulars of the case, it is not a political rule for the nation. We affirm both the authority and duty of Congress to limit the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in all cases of abortion in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, Article III, Section 2."

Lobby Congress to remove this from the Supreme Court. This would immediately send the issue back to the Several States. No, abortion would not ever be banned in all the States, but it would be curtailed in many perhaps even outlawed in others.

Please go on the offense.

Sincerely,
(Emunda)

Funnies

Something a little different than my usual. An intentionally humorous post! Feel free to add your own in the comments.

It was a difficult subject to bring before his aged mother, but
Bert felt that he must: "Mom, you're no longer a spring chicken
and you do need to think ahead of what'll happen in the future.
Why don't we make arrangements about when...you
know...when...you pass on?"

The mother didn't say anything, just sat there staring ahead.

"I mean, Mom, like...how do you want to finally go? Do you want
to be buried? Cremated?"

There was yet another long pause. Then the mother looked up and
said, "Son, why don't you surprise me?"

-----

The teacher asked one of her young students if he knew his
numbers.

"Yes," he said. "I do. My father taught me."

"Good. What comes after three."

"Four," answers the boy.

"What comes after six?"

"Seven."

"Very good," says the teacher. "Your dad did a good job. What
comes after ten?"

"A jack," says the little boy.

-----

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood.
Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, "Now, class, if I
stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and
I would turn red in the face."

"Yes," the class said.

"Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary
position the blood doesn't run into my feet?"

A little fellow shouted, "Cause your feet ain't empty."

-----

A man in a Florida supermarket tries to buy half a head of
lettuce. The very young produce assistant tells him that they
sell only whole heads of lettuce.

The man persists and asks to see the manager.

The boy says he will ask his manager about it.

Walking into the back room, the boy said to his manager, "Some
bozo wants to buy half a head of lettuce."

As he finished his sentence, he turned to find the man standing
right behind him, so he added, "And this gentleman has kindly
offered to buy the other half."

The manager approved the deal, and the man went on his way.

Later the manager said to the boy, "I was impressed with the way
you got yourself out of that situation earlier. We like people
who think on their feet here. Where are you from, son?"

"Canada, sir," the boy replied.

"Well, why did you leave Canada?" the manager asked.

The boy said, "Sir, there's nothing but prostitutes and hockey
players up there."

"Really?" said the manager. "My wife is from Canada."

"Wow!" replied the boy, "Who'd she play for?"

-----

My church welcomes all denominations,
but really prefers fifties and hunreds.

Sociopath

Found at Birdies blog (she is only 8%)

You Are 36% Sociopath

From time to time, you may be a bit troubled and a bit too charming for your own good. It's likely that you're not a sociopath... just quite smart and a bit out of the mainstream!

Are You A Sociopath?

Attitudes on Breast Feeding

This post intentionally moved back in time so that it could be archived off the main page

Many Outraged by Breast-Feeding Magazine Cover
By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP

AP NEW YORK (July 27) - "I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one person wrote. "I immediately turned the magazine face down," wrote another. "Gross," said a third.

These readers weren't complaining about a sexually explicit cover, but rather one of a baby nursing, on a wholesome parenting magazine - yet another sign that Americans are squeamish over the sight of a nursing breast, even as breast-feeding itself gains more support from the government and medical community.

Babytalk is a free magazine whose readership is overwhelmingly mothers of babies. Yet in a poll of more than 4,000 readers, a quarter of responses to the cover were negative, calling the photo - a baby and part of a woman's breast, in profile - inappropriate.

One mother who didn't like the cover explains she was concerned about her 13-year-old son seeing it.

"I shredded it," said Gayle Ash, of Belton, Texas, in a telephone interview. "A breast is a breast - it's a sexual thing. He didn't need to see that."

It's the same reason that Ash, 41, who nursed all three of her children, is cautious about breast-feeding in public - a subject of enormous debate among women, which has even spawned a new term: "lactivists," meaning those who advocate for a woman's right to nurse wherever she needs to.

"I'm totally supportive of it - I just don't like the flashing," she says. "I don't want my son or husband to accidentally see a breast they didn't want to see."

Another mother, Kelly Wheatley, wrote Babytalk to applaud the cover, precisely because, she says, it helps educate people that breasts are more than sex objects. And yet Wheatley, 40, who's still nursing her 3-year-old daughter, rarely breast-feeds in public, partly because it's more comfortable in the car, and partly because her husband is uncomfortable with other men seeing her breast.

"Men are very visual," says Wheatley, 40, of Amarillo, Texas. "When they see a woman's breast, they see a breast - regardless of what it's being used for."

Babytalk editor Susan Kane says the mixed response to the cover clearly echoes the larger debate over breast-feeding in public. "There's a huge Puritanical streak in Americans," she says, "and there's a squeamishness about seeing a body part - even part of a body part."

"It's not like women are whipping them out with tassels on them!" she adds. "Mostly, they are trying to be discreet."

Kane says that since the August issue came out last week, the magazine has received more than 700 letters - more than for any article in years.

"Gross, I am sick of seeing a baby attached to a boob," wrote Lauren, a mother of a 4-month-old.

The evidence of public discomfort isn't just anecdotal. In a survey published in 2004 by the American Dietetic Association, less than half - 43 percent - of 3,719 respondents said women should have the right to breast-feed in public places.

The debate rages at a time when the celebrity-mom phenomenon has made breast-feeding perhaps more public than ever. Gwyneth Paltrow, Brooke Shields, Kate Hudson and Kate Beckinsale are only a few of the stars who've talked openly about their nursing experiences.

The celeb factor has even brought a measure of chic to that unsexiest of garments: the nursing bra. Gwen Stefani can be seen on babyrazzi.com - a site with a self-explanatory name - sporting a leopard-print version from lingerie line Agent Provocateur. And fellow moms recognized a white one under Angelina Jolie's tank top on the cover of People. (Katie Holmes, meanwhile, suffered a maternity wardrobe malfunction when cameras caught her, nursing bra open and peeking out of her shirt, while on the town with fiance Tom Cruise.)

More seriously, the social and medical debate has intensified. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently concluded a two-year breast-feeding awareness campaign including a TV ad - criticized as over-the-top even by some breast-feeding advocates - in which NOT breast-feeding was equated with the recklessness of a pregnant woman riding a mechanical bull.

There have been other measures to promote breast-feeding: in December, for example, Massachusetts banned hospitals from giving new mothers gift bags with free infant formula, a practice opponents said swayed some women away from nursing.

Most states now have laws guaranteeing the right to breast-feed where one chooses, and when a store or restaurant employee denies a woman that right, it has often resulted in public protests known as "nurse-ins": at a Starbucks in Miami, at Victoria's Secret stores in Racine, Wis., and Boston, and, last year, outside ABC headquarters in New York, when Barbara Walters made comments on "The View" seen by some women to denigrate breast-feeding in public.

"It's a new age," says Melinda Johnson, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for ADA. "With the government really getting behind breast-feeding, it's been a jumping-off point for mothers to be politically active. Mommies are organizing. It's a new trend to be a mommy activist."

Ultimately, it seems to be a highly personal matter. Caly Wood says she's "all for breast-feeding in public." She recalls with a shudder the time she sat nursing in a restaurant booth, and another woman walked by, glanced over and said, "Ugh, gross."

"My kid needed to eat," says the 29-year-old from South Abingdon, Mass. And she wasn't going to go hide in a not-so-clean restroom: "I don't send people to the bathroom when THEY want to eat," she says.

But Rebekah Kreutz thinks differently. One of six women who author SisterhoodSix, a blog on mothering issues, Kreutz didn't nurse her two daughters in public, and doesn't really feel comfortable seeing others do it.

"I respect it and think women have the right," says Kreutz, 34, of Bozeman, Mont. "But personally, it makes me really uncomfortable."

"I just think it's one of those moments that should stay between a mother and her child."

07/27/06 18:23 EDT

Money

"Whoever said Money Can't Buy Happiness was probably right, but I'll bet he never had to cash in pop cans for gas money..."

I need it and am looking for a better way of getting it. At this point, just another job in addition to what I have would be great. In fact, needed. How to go about it is the question. It has to be close as I no longer have a car and cant do too many more miles a day on my bike than I already do. It also has to pay enough to cover a babysitter and still be worth it...

The Twinkie Cookbook

CHICAGO (AP) - Twinkies, they're not just for dessert anymore. The new "Twinkies Cookbook" has recipes for everything from a Twinkie Burrito to Twinkie Lasagna.

Theresa Cogswell compiled about 50 recipes for the book.

Many were submitted to Hostess, as part of Twinkies' 75th anniversary celebration last year.

Cogswell tells Illinois' Daily Southtown newspaper that one of her favorites is a berry-laden Patriotic Twinkie Pie.

It's red, white and blue.

Cogswell says it makes a great centerpiece for a Fourth of July picnic, which you can also eat for dessert.

Email Scams & Money Laundering

I finally got one of those emails that try to get your account info by giving some story about some person dying and leaving lots of money. The one where the banker is desperate to give away the money, some $25 Million in this one.

I am replying to him and going to see if I can mess with him. I'll give an update if there is anything to add.