For this Monday mornings...

I saw this and thought how many of my dear friends and family would find it valuable. I of course would recommend sending the kid to find the alarm clock, thereby keeping him entertained and me asleep.


LONDON (Reuters) - Can't get out of bed in the morning?

Scientists at MIT's Media Lab in the United States have invented an alarm clock called Clocky to make even the doziest sleepers, who repeatedly hit the snooze button, leap out of bed.

After the snooze button is pressed, the clock, which is equipped with a set of wheels, rolls off the table to another part of the room.

"When the alarm sounds again, simply finding Clocky ought to be strenuous enough to prevent even the doziest owner from going back to sleep," New Scientist magazine said Tuesday.

Pinewood Derby

We finally had our pinewood derby. Our entry was in the shape of a shark. It had fins, google eyes, and sharp teeth (made from a soda can). It wasn't the fastest, but it did win for "funiest" car. I know for a fact that there were several categories that the judges wanted to give it (most creative, most original), but they were limited to one category per car.

We had a blast. I think the scouts liked it best when one of the cars had a blow out on the track. It actually spun out (if you have ever seen a pinewood derby track you know this is tough to do).

Back to the grind part II

Hmm. now Tim wants to charge me for the free sample he sent, at least for the postage. He hasn't sent me a total yet. Other vendors send samples all the time. I think he is just mad.

Back to the Grind

So how was my vacation you ask? Exhausting. Back to work today and I am thankful for it.

One of the silly things I've done recently is volunteer to be coordinator of my son's upcoming field day. This actually isn't too bad, the most stressfull part being the ordering of the giveaways for the event, made more stressful by my going to the wrong company.

I was told to visit company A on th einternet, to just type in a few prompt words and it would be the only site that popped up under those words. I did that and started working with a joyful fellow named Tim who listened to me, didn't pester me with phone calls, sent me a free sample, and just was fun to work with. Then I find out last Friday, after I call him to tell him I am ready to place our order for 1000+ pieces of merchandise that there is actually another company which has the same name, supplies the same materials and is actually the one I am supposed to be using. Gulp.

I had to send an apologetic email to Tim, explaining the situation, and now I feel like the stuff you scrap off your shoes after wandering through an active cow pasture. I have yet to hear back from him since it was the weekend, but I'm sure he will not be happy. So, let me give props to his company, www.appleadvertising.com , and I recommend that you check them out for company give aways, school gifts, etc.

I'm so excited - I get a week off from work while every one else still has work/school. Ahh, time to myself.
Well, not exactly. Yesterday was spent nursing my son back to health from an attack of Strep. Today will be spent redoing a neighbor's downstairs (I owe her since she watched my son over spring break while I had to work. Her son is the one who gave my son Strep. Tomorrow I have to go to my son's school to work on organizing his field day. Thursday I wait around all day for the air conditioner repair guy to come, along with (hopefully) the plasterer to fix the hole in my ceiling from a water leak i hd over the weekend. Friday is my scheduled day to volunteer at my son's school.

Hmmm....I seem to have lost track of where my time is! :)

cannoli

I went to an "Italian" restaurant which goes by the name of "Johnny Carino's"with a group of co-workers the other day. I put Italian in quotes since the food is rather tepid at best.
One of the group had never had a cannoli but having recently seen a television commercial that kept mentioning them, wanted to try one. I knew she was not going to get the full experience when it came to the table bathed in chocolate, in a shell that was strangly looking like a Mexican churro. Unfortunately I was right. After every tried it we all agreed that it was not a true representative of Italian desserts.

Now I'm on search for a good cannoli recipe, one that includes how to make the pastry. Anyone have a suggestion?