Do I really want to know if my food is GMO?

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It can now be viewed on my blog, Take It or Leave It.

Snow's--a-coming this Winter!

We haven't officially passed from Autumn to Winter yet, but I read an article recently that says we should be ready for a lot of snow this year!  The kids will be ecstatic, me, not so much.  I've been sort of researching freezer cooking, and I think I need to get serious about it in case we get snowed in!

Find a Food Drive and Donate!

I know many of us are already in Christmas mode, but lets not forget that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, too.  If you're like me, you can day dream about all the yummy Thanksgiving dishes in our future.  I look forward to dressing and turkey the most of all.  And the chocolate pie.  And, well, all the other comfort food that make this meal so special.  Oh, and the dumplings!  Love the dumplings!

Hold on, I know I had a purpose for this post and I think my hungry stomach made a detour somewhere in that first paragraph!  My goal is to encourage everyone to find a food drive and make a donation this year.  If you don't know a place accepting food item donations, look no further than your local school.  Specifically the Family Resource Center.  If you have school age kids in your family, ask if their school is sponsoring a class challenge with the winning class receiving a prize for the most donated items.  At Patty's school, the winning class will be awarded with a popcorn party!  How fun does that sound?!

Here are my top three things to remember while shopping for a food drive:

1. Check the expiration dates; the further away, the better
2. Items have to be "shelf stable"; no items that need to be refrigerated or frozen
3. Double check with your child's bus driver in case there is a policy about bringing the donated items on the bus.  Remember, don't over pack your child's back pack!

1-Hour Photo Copyright Release

So, I loathe the copyright release forms at the 1-hour photo labs.  Just can not stand them.  And, I'll tell you why.  See this picture on the right?  It's a picture I took and edited for my cousin's upcoming wedding.  I printed two sets of photos without any mention of a copyright release.  Went to pick up my third set and got presented with the good ol' copyright release.  It's not a big deal.  I did take them and I do give myself permission to print them! 

But, seriously, these days you can't reasonably tell the difference between professional pictures and photos taken by an individual.  For starters, who has the right to hold a copyright?  Can I just snap a picture with my camera and automatically have a copyright?  I kind of doubt it would hold up in court. 

Plus, it kind of weirds me out that anyone is looking at the pictures I'm printing.  Not so much with these pictures, but when I print photos of the kids, I just don't like the idea of a stranger going through them.  I want an expectation of privacy.  I think there is a warning when you order your photos online about having the permission to print.  If I proceed with the online order, the photo lab should assume I have permission and leave it at that.  I have never gotten a copyright release from MPIX or Shutterfly, for crying out loud!

Site to Store

While the rest of the house is asleep, I am up early doing a little Santa shopping and trying desperately to figure out why doll clothes are so darn expensive!  And why are those "american girl" dolls so expensive, too?!  Holy cow! 
Thank goodness you can get comparable dollies at Target for under thirty bucks.  But, the clothes are just too expensive everywhere.  I think I'm going to have to learn to sew, like really learn to sew. 
I was happy to stumble upon these two sets of doll shoes at Walmart.com and ordered them for Site to Store because I love some free shipping.  Well, little did I notice that I only changed the pickup location for one of the two items.  Santa is off her game today.  Note to self: change location for EACH item in the cart!

Happy 5th Birthday, JT!

We got out his album of "first" pictures the other night.  My absolute favorite picture is the very first picture of my kids after they were born.  You know the one where the doctor is holding the ewey-gooey baby up for everyone to see just before the nurses whisk him away for a his first checkup?  If it wouldn't gross out my guests, I'd have that picture framed and hanging on the wall!

Happy Birthday, JT.  You can  have cheese for supper, if you want to!  We love you so very much.

Happy Birthday to my Cousins

Just a quick post to wish a very Happy Birthday to my cousin Amy and my other cousin Katie who share the same birthday!  Gosh, you guys are getting old!  Hope you have a great day!  ;-}