AOL compiled a nice list of their favorite user submitted food tips, a lot of them I’d never heard of. My favorites:

“So you’ve been out at the beach, and you are fried lobster red. Don’t panic — just take a potato and grate it (leaving peel and everything on it) and put it where you are burnt. Wait 30 minutes and remove the potato. Take a cool shower. Not only is the heat gone, but the next day so will be the pain and most of the red — if not all.” — Juliana

But what helps bread stay fresh? Joy Taylor says, “To keep bread longer place a carrot in the bag. It will freshen bread like it was just baked.”

“Put some cola in your coffee pot let it soak. Add some ice cubes, swirl them around the coffee pot and most stains will rinse right out.” — Rhonda

“I spilled red wine on cream carpet, I immediately covered it with a box of salt. The next morning, I vacuumed it up. No stain was visible.” — Patty (Note – this also works for Kool-Aid stains.)

“If you’re having trouble with mosquito bites, put a piece of raw onion on them for about 2 minutes. It stops the itch, and takes the redness away.” — Cher

“Cats HATE the smell of citrus, so lightly rubbing your wood furniture with orange or lemon rinds or oils will help deter cats. It doesn’t do much for dogs, though.” — Jenni

“When you move a piece of furniture and the area is all matted down, put a few ice cubes on the spot and allow them to melt. Then vacuum and voila! The spot looks as good as the area around it.” — Nicole

“Take a small bag of Fritos corn chips with you hiking or camping as a great fire starter. They are loaded with oil and will easily burn long enough to get a fire started.” — Mark

“Cinnamon works for repelling ants. If you find where they are coming in, sprinkle cinnamon on the trail and they will not go over it. It worked for me and I had no more ants in my kitchen.” — Raelene

Read tons more here.

Nobody will see my feet under my wedding dress anyways right? :)

OMG, this website is awesome. I loooooooooove food blogs. The pictures always look so yummy. The recipes are usually tried and true and by people who really know food. Now when I feel like making something I can turn to this search engine to find a great recipe.

Food Blog Search

Like chocolate chip cookies!

by Megnut

Fried Rice

by Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen

Linguine with Clams

by Cookbook Catchall

A lot of the recipes have step by step instructions and cooking tips/tricks. Much more personable than browsing around AllRecipes or Epicurious.

DROOL!

A few questions:

Food – which is better….pan fried scallops or shrimp with walnut (the one with the mayo)?

Flowers – What flowers are pretty? I’m not much of a flower person so I really have NO preference. We looked at flowers this weekend and I’ve always been drawn to orchids. In fact, those are the only flowers boyrobot has ever given me! So I am thinking of that…but they are pretty pricy and kind of simple. Like if we use them as centerpieces, will it look too bare?

Colors – Still debating on a color theme. Sigh…any combos you like?

Entertainment – We’ll most likely have karaoke (at our friends’ requests! haha), but what else is fun to do at weddings besides dancing? We will also have an open bar.

favors – yes or no on edible favors? i’ve heard both sides…what do you most people think? right now we have edible favors!

hair/makeup – man, to get this stuff done professionally it costs quite a lot! should i hire a professional to do it or ask my cousin who works at a makeup counter to do it? i saw her work on my sister this past weekend and i was happy with the result! i might have to find someone pro to do my hair though. a part of me thinks i want a pro to do the whole thing since i NEVER wear makeup and this is probably the one day where I will so I should just go all out. But it seems like such a waste of money! Even the makeup/hair trials are expensive to do!

lastly, from the weddings you’ve been to…what did you care/remembered/enjoyed the most? what should i spend my money on? what should i not bother with?

(I know I asked a lot of questions, feel free to answer 1 or all! any help would be appreciated :))

Anteater pics on flickr – I had no idea people kept anteaters as pets and is it just me or do they look a bit creepy!
10 insights about working at google – interesting read for people who want to know more about google
5 common body myths debunked – like reading in dim light does not ruin your eyesight!
More on the frat boys that trashed two motel 8 rooms
Fake doctor notes – “somebody” i know got their doctor to say they were too stressed/depressed and got 6 months off of work!
Article about John McCain’s superstitions – old but still interesting to read
Stanford offers free tuition to families who make less than 100K – this is such a sweet deal!

Picture of the week at Time (Shot at London Zoo)

I’ve been trying really hard to eat breakfast lately. But usually I run out of time or I get bored of eating the same thing everyday. Saw this recipe for oatmeal breakfast cookies on Slashfood and it sounds like a yummy and easy way to eat breakfast every morning! MMMM.

¾ cup brown sugar firmly packed
½ cup butter
1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups ripe mashed bananas (about 2 medium)
¾ cup crunchy or regular peanut butter
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups uncooked oats (quick or old fashioned)
½ cup raisins or other bits of chopped dried fruit

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat brown sugar and butter until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Add bananas and peanut butter, beat well. Add combined flours, spice baking soda and salt, mix until blended. Add raisins.

Drop 2 to 3 tablespoon heaps of dough about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Don’t over bake. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Any twitter fans out there? I long ago abandoned mine. I just can’t keep up with updating it. But I still read them! Here is one of my favorites, the comedian Steven Wright (notstevenwright). His twitter is like a short version of “deep thoughts”.

When I was a little kid, I wished the first word I said was “quote,” so that when I died I could say “unquote.”

After they make styrofoam, what do they ship it in?

It doesn’t matter what temperature the room is — it’s always room temperature.

heehee. More here.

If you’re like me, one of the best parts of traveling is the FOOD. I love trying different kinds of food, especially the ones that are native to that particular country/region. The Guardian just put out an article on the top 10 foodie destinations:

1. The best sushi in Tokyo
2. The best pizza in Naples
3. The best burger in New York
4. The Best steak frîtes in Paris
5. The best seafood in Sydney
6. The best pho in Vietnam
7. The best oysters in Ireland
8. The best juice in Rio
9. The best dumplings in Eastern Europe
10. The best tandoori in Delhi

You can check out the link for specific restaurants to go to in each country. I’ve only had one on the list, the sushi in Tokyo at Daiwa Sushi. And yes, it was soooooooo good and fresh! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the rest of these places when I visit!

Well according to this chart, I’m not a douchebag right now but I do love my horizontally striped sweaters. :o/

Sorry this is late but I got in last night so had no time to post this but better late than never! The trip was a blast and I wish we had more time to see everything. Some highlights:

The White House (no sightings of Bush though :()

The Capitol

Supreme Court (yes that little black speck is boyrobot!)

Lincoln Memorial

Seeing the panda bears at the zoo…AMAZING. I swear they look like men in panda bear suits!

Another cool animal we saw at the zoo..the HIPPO! And we got to see it during it’s feeding time!

I lovedlovedloved the subway system in DC. Why can’t LA be like this???

I ate raw oysters and escargots (not pictured here) for the first time! I decided snails aren’t my thing though.

Washington Monument

Not pictured here:

Georgetown – hip area with tons of restaurants and shopping. We ate at Old Glory BBQ which had to die for cornbread…MMMM

Smithsonian – we loved visiting the museums, especially the air and space museum. Since we work in the space industry it was just cool to see everything. We also checked out an IMAX showing of a space station in 3D that was narrated by Tom Cruise. It was awesome. If you visit and it’s showing, definitely check it out! But skip the planetarium showing of Infinity Express….we both fell asleep.

Chinatown – I was really disappointed with DC’s chinatown. But it was interesting in that they have a lot of normal stores but with signs in chinese like Ann Taylor and Bed Bath and Beyond. But when I go to chinatown, I want to see REAL chinese stores….like the ones that sell cheap souvenirs! heeheh. Plus, it was way small.

Five Guys and Potbelly’s Sandwiches – Five Guys is supposed to be the best burger in DC. I thought it was good but that InNOut was better. Potbelly’s was pretty good! I would definitely eat there again.

You can check out my flickr set for the rest of the pics.