My daughter wants to be a robot for Halloween. This was her costume last year as well. Last year we took a box, painted it gray, and decorated the outside. We also used dryer duct for arms. She wore it for all of five seconds. She did enjoy playing in the box but never did wear the robot costume.

This year we are trying a different approach. The main problem with the box was that she couldn’t move her arms much.  I found a costume on Family Fun that used aluminum roasting pans to make the costume. Hopefully it will turn out OK. Our first trick or treating event is tomorrow night, so I have got to get this thing together soon.

We do have a backup if the robot doesn’t pan out. Let’s hope this year she actually wears the robot costume instead of just playing with it.

Last night my husband made him some popcorn. I noticed that he used my mixing bowl to hold the popcorn instead of one of the three popcorn holders that are right by the microwave. He had to open up the cabinet, bend down, and reach for the mixing bowl. He might have even had to take a kitchen gadget or two out of it. He did all of that work instead of reaching right by the microwave and getting a popcorn container.

The night before when he made popcorn, he used my large(8 cups) measuring cup. Again, he could have used the popcorn container. Why does he do these things? At least with the measuring cup he was able to pour us some popcorn into a bowl with ease. Other than that, why does he have such a hard time remembering to use the popcorn containers?

We love our popcorn holders. I’m not sure why he insists on using everything but those containers to hold popcorn. If I asked him about it, he would probably say something like he didn’t think about the other containers or didn’t know where they were. Or he might have done it so I would say something. He loves attention. Good. Bad. Indifferent. It doesn’t matter as long as you are talking about him. That is probably the real reason he did it. He knew I would blog about it.

It’s really not a big deal but just one of those “what the heck are you doing?” moments. With my husband, we have those daily. I really shouldn’t be surprised by his latest antics.

It’s that time of year when I sort through all of our summer clothes to pack them up for winter. I keep a few out since even in the winter, around here it can be pretty warm. I do like to pull those ragged t-shirts out of the mix. Usually I just use them for dust rags – although I would love to crochet with some.

My mom was getting her greenhouse ready for winter when I noticed how she recycles t-shirts. She cuts 1-2 inch bands and uses them over the wood beams to hang plants. She does it because it is easier to do that than putting a hook into the wood.

My parents are pretty frugal, so they think of lots of ways to reuse items until they completely fall apart. It’s a good example and has really helped me reuse a lot of items. Next spring I plan on having a small garden and will definitely use old t-shirts to help hang some plants.

When my daughter told me she wanted a panda cake for her birthday, I wasn’t sure how I would pull it off. I got some advice from my sister-in-law and did one before the birthday party. It turned out cute. Luckily I have a niece who is both a fan of Challenge(Food Network especially when they showcase cakes) and is an artist. She had some suggestions, so I let her decorate the one for the party. It turned out really cute.

She cut out some of the round cake for the ears and replaced it with cupcake holders filled with Oreos. She painted the foam board with bamboo and bamboo lettering for the birthday message.

The panda cake was a hit. Raegan really wanted to decorate it though. I made an extra round cake that I let her decorate, so she was happy. You can see it in this picture. I bought regular candles because I couldn’t find a number 5. The day before the party I finally found a 5 and got it. Where’s the fun in blowing out just one candle anyway?

Rae exclaimed that this was the birthday ever – it makes all the effort worth it.

This weekend Rae had her birthday party – or as she referred to it – Present Day. I noticed that nearly all of her presents were ‘wrapped’ in gift bags. She will grow up where wrapped presents are not the norm. Wrapping presents will seem like such a waste of effort and time. Just put that gift in a bag and be done with it. Why all the fuss?

But to me, presents are still better when they are wrapped. I did wrap her present because that is always half the fun of getting a present – opening it. Just pulling a present out of a bag is less exciting. Still I get why using gift bags is so popular. In fact I use them for other people’s gifts all the time. Some gifts I haven’t bought just because it would not fit into a gift bag.

The gift bag is like a secondary gift for mom. She can reuse the bag for the next birthday gift. Pay it forward. Reusing gift bags is very green and can usually be re-given more than once.

In the frenzy that is opening presents, I guess it really doesn’t matter if the gift is wrapped or in a bag. Gifts bags are much easier than wrapping gifts. Still it’s still fun to rip into a wrapped gift.

Those little Facebook games can really suck up all of your time. I finally broke away from playing them and hopefully won’t get back into playing them again. I do enjoy casual games but prefer those that are installed on my PC.

Our hard drive crashed about a month ago, so we are working off an older one. It is missing all of our games and most of our programs. I forget how nice it is to play a game for 15 minutes during the day. Ironically it seems to help me get more work done. Playing games releases that nervous energy and anxiety. Then I can get down to work.

I may have to download a few of my favorites again. It is nice to have a break from housework that is totally mindless and isn’t as involved as television.

When I made the panda cake, I needed a few eggs. I checked the date on the egg carton and it was past that date by a few days. I wasn’t sure if the eggs were still good, so I do what I always do when I have a cooking/food question. I asked my mom.

She told me that besides from the smell, you can tell an egg is bad if it won’t stay together once it is cracked. The yoke will separate. She also said she always cracks her eggs in a bowl and then pours them into whatever she is making. This way she can check the eggs and also fish out any egg shells that may have fallen.

My eggs were still good and the cake turned out great. And I picked up a tip on how to tell if eggs are bad.

It doesn’t really surprise me that Amazon had a wedding registry. I did use of a directory when I had my daughter so excessive they would have a wedding registry. we have friends are getting married in December and I got a shower and wedding shower invitation that listed were they were registered Amazon in one of those places so I headed over to Amazon to check out what they wanted and get some ideas of what we can buy them.

I noticed that on their Amazon list, items were marked either “Like to have” or “Nice to have.” So I scanned the registry to look for the “like to have” items since that seemed to be priority for them. A lot on their list was marked “nice to have” with very few exceptions. The Wii controllers and nunchuks were marked as “like to have” and that was about it. I guess we know the priority of my geeky friends. Who needs dishes, pots or pans? That stuff is boring. Truth be known, they probably already have that stuff anyway. Anyway, it makes me happy to know that I have friends who priorities are right with mine.

I wished Amazon had been around when I got married. I registered for really traditional items like china and silverware. I’ve never eaten off my good china plates. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised that when I pass them down to my daughter that they are still wrapped in the original boxes. Maybe one day they will be put to good use.

It is really cool how today people have so many choices when it comes to registering for wedding gifts. I would have loved to asked for some video games and movies. That would have been really sweet and used a whole lot more than china.

Last night I made a panda cake. It was a simple design and took all of five minutes to complete. It sure is cute though.

I used my round cake pan for the cake. I used cream cheese frosting – the only kind I had in my pantry. It turned out a little off white. I used Oreos for the ears, eyes, and nose. I took a knife to make the smile. Actually my daughter made a bigger smile than the one I had done. I may add some small Oreos for dimples just to give more decoration to the cake.

The next one I make will be for the actual birthday party. It will look cute on the decorative board that my niece is making. This was a much easier project that I thought it would be a few weeks ago. I’m so glad my sister-in-law suggested using Oreos. It made this cake a breeze.

Today my daughter turned five years old. It has been an ordeal these past few weeks. She has not been happy about the idea of turning five. We haven’t been able to discuss her birthday much since she didn’t want to talk about it. So I didn’t know how today would go.

She woke up this morning and ask if she was five years old yet. I told her yes. She seemed in a good mood and after a few minutes said that being five was pretty good. Kids. If she is already driving me crazy at five, imagine her at fifteen. Now she is all excited about her birthday..and presents. Lots of presents. She wants everything she has seen today for her birthday. Her party will be next weekend, so I still have a few days to plan. Now I’m actually looking forward to it since she is finally excited about her birthday.

I have always made her birthday cakes. I asked her about a month ago if she would like a dalmatian cake since I already have a cake pan for it. She informed me she wanted a panda cake. She has an imaginary panda named “pandy.” So now the challenge it to make a panda cake – all for the girl who doesn’t eat cake but does enjoy the frosting. I’m going to attempt to make one tonight with a round cake pan and some Oreos. I always like to test out a cake idea a couple of days before the party just to make sure I can do it.

Tomorrow I will probably be sharing how my panda cake turned out as well as pictures even if the cake doesn’t resemble a panda.