Before you all get the wrong idea, I am not a proponent of affirmative action or anything like that. But… It is great to see a gathering of this many software women! Soon I will write a post on women in software but today I just leave you with this!
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MiniLand
Just a couple of shots from MiniLand at Legoland.
Apparently, We Have a Winner
Britain has a new Prime Minister! Here Cameron makes his announcement. According to Hot Air, Cameron wants to draw closer to India and his Deputy, Clegg, isn’t to hot on the US. So this could be an interesting time period regarding our relationship with Britain.
A Little About My Mother’s Day
I am always torn about Mother’s Day. Of course, I want the big fancy Mother’s Day but in reality I think it is kind of dumb.
Did you know that Mother’s Day is supposedly the biggest restaurant day of the year? So is it a shock that I don’t want to go out with my 4 kids to crowded restaurant?
Then you get to all the super expensive gifts like spa trips, diamonds and more. Well, it is still my money too!!! If I won’t spend it on that every other day of the year why would I want NerdDad to spend it for Mother’s Day? All that said…
I am a spoiled girl! First off NerdDad got all the kids up and dressed for church. But I am super blessed because he usually does that;). Then when we got to church the boys got me this pretty corsage! The Fresno-Madera Right to Life sells them every year at church as a fundraiser and this is the first time one has been given to me! Isn’t it sweet?
After that we had a wonderfully layed back day! Fast food after church and then a delightful nap! I also got some gifts! I got my first coupon book from a kid! NerdPie gave me a wonderful collection of coupons for things like playroom cleanings, helping with her siblings and help cooking. I love the fact she gave me a coupon saying she would “help” with her older brother. NerdBug gave me a coupon for dinner but I am not sure what his plan is;). NerdDad got me a collection of movies with Hello Dolly, Pride & Prejudice, Annie and a few more. Then NerdDad made spaghetti for dinner and we started watching Hello Dolly!
Over all it was a wonderful and simple Mother’s Day!
Meal Plan Monday
My freezer is starting to get empty so I might be doing a little freezer cooking soon! But until then I think we will eat fine;). I have a fairly busy week so I am going to keep is simple.
Tuesday: Homemade Spinach Gnocchi with Chicken in a Garlic Butter Sauce
Wednesday: Chicken Kiev, Buttery Rolls, Broccoli
Thursday: Corned Beef, Broccoli, Fried Potatoes
Friday: Chili Mac and Cheese
Monday Mingle!
Here are the answers to this week’s Monday Mingle questions! Head over to Eighty MPH Mom for more!
AppleCheeks Review
I admit that I was traumatized as a child by cloth diapers. See when my closest sister was born I was about 8 years old. My mom decided to use cloth diapers with her and even had a diaper service. But there was still a lot to traumatize me. I remember the rubber pants, the diaper pins and rinsing the diapers out in the toilet (which was my job). I remember when these super wet diapers would be taken off the baby they were these huge sopping messes which led to diaper rashes. I also remember my sister getting poked with the diaper pins and there being tears both from the poker and the pokee. But that was 25 years ago.
I had been hearing for about 8 years that cloth diapers have so much so I was stoked when I got an opportunity to review AppleCheeks. I got the Mini Test that has an envelope cover and 3 bamboo inserts. I decided to use this on my 2 year old during her nap time. Let us start with this cover. Nerdpud really gave these a good test because she had been holding it all morning (because we are potty training). Putting it on her was a snap. Literally. They have adjustable snaps on the front where I tightened up one side more that the other to give her a custom fit. But when I picked her up I wasn’t sure that she had even wet it at first. Not only was there not a drop that got out but also the insert wasn’t clumpy (but soaked). Then I just slipped out the insert and it was ready for another. The microfiber lining seemed perfectly dry. So if we were doing this system exclusively we could have totally put it back on her. Then the insert just got thrown into the washer and dryer.
My final verdict? Cloth diapers seem pretty awesome. They have come a long way from rubber pants and pins. The AppleCheeks system works beautifully! I would totally recommend it! I love the fact that they sell sets (Mini Tests, Starter Kits and more) so they make great baby shower gifts! It is time we all give cloth diapers another go with the AppleCheeks system!
(This is a Family Review Network review. AppleCheeks provided the product for my honest review!)
The Issue of Asking and Telling
A friend on FaceBook asked all his friends on our views of the Military Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy and if we think it should hang around. Well, I decided to take my life in my hands and post about it.
I don’t care if you are gay and in the military. I don’t think that it will effect what type of soldier you are and I just don’t care about your private life. That said, I think that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell should stand. But with better implementation than is currently used. I don’t think it is the ideal solution but I do think that it helps. But why you may ask…
There are reasons that we separate out the sexes in barracks and other things. Many of those reasons circle around dating, sexual attraction and the like. By filtering out those issues it allows people to be more focused and less self conscious. Now, I am not worried about the homosexual people hitting on the straight people. That isn’t it but overall issues of dating, attraction and the like. We know that overall this is a huge issue in the military. That is why there are so many rules about fraternization.
We put men and women in separate barracks to isolate them from those the would be interested in. Not all the time but during the times that they are bathing, changing, in bed, etc. But with homosexuals how would you do that? 1 gay guy for every 100 women in a barrack and 1 gay girl for every 100 guys? I can say that doing that may mess with the 100 women or men who are attracted to that person and want to turn them (not the gay person’s fault but a reality).
So what can solve this problem? Who knows. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is far from perfect but what would be the better logistical solution. Now I don’t like some of the things I hear about its implementation and how some people use it as a weapon but on its face, what would be better? I’m open to ideas…
Awkward Questions About Jesus
So cute! Of course I think this is scripted a bit but still super cute.
Let the War Begin!
We are now jumping into the Champion’s Round on Top Chef Master! We are going the awesome route because it is Wedding Wars! That is always an awesome challenge to begin with. Bring in great chefs, it will be great.
The Quickfire splits them off into 2 teams. We have the tag team cook off. They will make 1 dish, each cook for 10 minutes and (the kicker) they are blindfolded while they wait. The winning team will split $10,000 between them.
Red Team is Marcus Samuelson, Tony Mantuano Susur Lee, Carmen Gonzalez
Blue Team: Rick Moonen, Jonathan Waxman, Susan Feineger, Jody Adams
I was shocked that both teams seemed to be pretty similar in the end. I don’t know if the proteins were limited or not. They both created a seafood stew but the red team had a piece of fish on the side. Jay was the judge. The blue team ended up winning.
No one seemed happy when they found out that the elimination challenge was going to be wedding wars. They get 12 hours between 2 day to prep for 150 guests. Both teams have to make a wedding cake. The groom is a steak and potatoes guy. And the bride likes French and Asian. The blue team chose the bride so the red team was cooking for the groom. The groom is Jewish so no pork. The bride doesn’t like shell fish or lamb. Her favorite dessert is Bananas Foster while the groom wants carrot cake. Jodie decides to make lamb even though it isn’t the bride’s favorite.
They get 6 hours to prep the night before. I think the blue team is going the safe route doing fish, chicken, and lamb. Of course Rick is doing the fish. The blue team is doing 2 desserts so they can also do the bride’s favorite, Bananas Foster (which Jodie has never made before but is responsible for). The red team is making shrimp, pasta and beef as their main dishes. Susur is making his first carrot cake. Carmen is the time cop for the red team. The blue teams wedding cake is kind of scary looking while Susur on the red team has this pretty creation.
The blue team’s appetizers went over pretty well. But many thought Jonathan’s potato cake was too big. The red teams also went well. Then we went to the chaos of the main dishes. The red team’s lamb and chicken went over very well. But Rick’s fish was over cooked and his sauce was too sweet. The blue team’s potatoes and shrimp went over well. But the pasta was over done. Marcus’s meat was a little hit and miss. Then we get to dessert. Susan’s cake for the blue was ugly;). Susur made a beautiful croque en bush. So not only was the blue team’s cake ugly, apparently dry. But their Bananas Foster were great. The red team’s (Susur’s) desserts were all a big hit.
The blue team was slammed for the bad cake. But the red team got hit for being light on entrees. The blue team’s entrees saved them because they won! Jodie was the individual winner. So then we get to see the groom’s team on the block. Marcus got hit for mushy meat. Carmen got hit for only doing an appetizer and a corn salad. But Carmen didn’t think her flavors would have pleased the groom. Tony got hit for over cooking the pasta. They didn’t really like Susur’s carrot cake but his dessert table over all was good. The bottom 2 ended up being Marcus and Carmen. In the end Carmen went home. It wasn’t that her food was bad, just not enough dishes.
So Carmen is out, who will be out next week?