koyaniskatzy's Profile

Me: I will definitely cancel the DVD plan and stick with the other one.
Son: But weren't you going to order the weeds dvd's?
Me: You're right... maybe I'll order them and right after that I'll cancel.
(2 days later, me, overflowing from the couch after trying to watch a movie to finish an exhausting day... 12-ish am)
Son: Look!!! It's on instant!!! Weeds is on instant!!!
Me: No more huge book of kids' dvd's eternally sitting on the coffee table?... weeds on instant?... no more pointless strips of paper and useless red origami cranes I keep folding out of the even more useless tear off half of the envelope??? Yes, please. I'm staying with instant streaming. With only one tv set in the house, taking turns to use it makes my $7.99 worthy :)

If I know I'll be working mine or somebody else's garden I won't shower, until I'm done playing in the dirt. in the meanwhile I advise people to approach me with knowledge that I don't use deodorant or antiperspirant to work in the garden, and that I might indeed be a little stinky. Usually people understand after taking a second look at my muddy knees and crusty fingernails. Nor do I use those products to sit at home in front of the computer. I reserve the toxics to special ocassions, let say a meeting, a party, a long day at a festival, etc. But living in Central Florida there isn't much one can do really to keep the heat from taking its toll.

@ cloneboy: as long as you hang your laundry early in the morning while humid weather is on (june-august) you should be fine. I installed a thick wooden courtain rod in the laundry room so I can do all the laundry on Monday nights while I check my emails and do my paperwork, and early on Tuesday morning out goes everything to dry while I work in the garden, when I come back inside for dinner the clothes come in, or earlier if it storms, but by 2pm it's pretty dry and what isn't dry goes back to the rod in the laundry room, where I also had a tiny (30") ceiling fan installed.
The way I see it, $50 off our monthly energy bill far outweights a little bird poo, sometimes we get spiders, ladybugs, even dragonfly eggs, but it's all good. The Mama (Earth) dries our laundry for free, so no complains there.

peanuts and fruit (I know, allergies, but, what can I say? I'm mexican and that's what you put in pin~atas, along with mandarines, sugar cane cuts, jicama and tejocotes (mexican hawthorn fruit). I liked all the ideas you gave, they are indeed very succesful and you can get A LOT of tiny goodies from stores like oriental trading. My only complain is the incredible waste of plastic, because this toys have to be so cheap that they are just that, and don't last. It's a good idea if your party is very crouded, but if you have 12 to 15 kids, maybe invest in something prettier like crayons tied in bundles, fabric hats, masks, tails, ears on headbands, pirate eye patches, etc. I know many people just don't have the time, but THEY DO. There is an incredible satisfaction in making all these goodies with your own hands for your children. Something that has worked for us really well is little musical instruments, you can buy them in bulk online and can even find some made of wood. Your local music store has tin kazoos for a little more than a dollar and kids AND ADULTS love them (just don't share them). Pier one always has inexpensive noise makers and good looking finger puppets. I can just go on and on with ideas, but mostly I love handmade parties, starting with a really cool homemade pin~ata.

GREAT POST, THANKS.
If you don't have fresh corn (therefore neither the husks) you can visit a south american foodstore/market and buy frozen plantain leaves. You'll be able to make A LOT of tamales with one package and they keep really well in the freezer. In the pacific coast of Mexico (Oaxaca through Chiapas) they make the tamales in plantain husks and the flavor is far better thatn those made with con husks, with a few exceptions. Prepackaged corn husks are bulkier and keep ok in the fridge, plantain ones come in a flat package. Also try using an herbal infusion instead of plain water. Use epazote or hoja-santa for example (sorry, I have not yet found the english name of the later).
You can also use fruit and sugar and a tiny bit of food coloring to make them as dessert. Pineapple is great for this.

IKEA did crossed my mind but my jaw is still dropped. VivaTerra was my first guess but soon remembered they're not that creative with their catalogs. Anthropologie was my 2nd guess.
IKEA? really?

It depends: If you're eating in the kitchen you can keep a "comal" (griddle) in warm and lay 2 or 3 at a time, the con is that you have to keep getting up to get the warm and lay more cold ones. If you have a feast on the d-room table waiting for soft tacos: wrap the in a kitchen towel and heat them up in the microwave 15 seconds/tortilla.
My best advice is that you buy fresh tortillas from a mexican market if you can. If you have no other option but to buy the bagged ones at the supermarket probably the warm griddle is your best option, with those tortillas it doesn't matter what you do they'll get tough and chewy. You couls also make your own, just enough to get you through the week (1-2 dz.), with these ones you cannot only make tacos but sopes and chalupas as well becuase they'll be thick enough. Suerte y buen provecho!