"8 Seconds Is All You Need"

As I mentioned before, I have recently become a student of an entertainment phenomenon: the infomercial. Some seem to go on and on. Some are entertaining. Some make me question, "Who in their right mind would want that product?"

The one infomercial product that has most caught my eye - for some reason - is Tater Mitts. (You may see the infomercial on the official web site.) It may be because the commercial for Tater Mitts is the most frequently run advertisement between 12 midnight at 5 a.m. on the weekends here in our area. And, it may be because I've inherited the family fascination with kitchen gadgets. (Yes, we are one of those families who had the food dehydrator... among other curiosities.)

The point of the Tater Mitts? To avoid peeling potatoes: the risk of cutting a finger while carrying out the task, the waste sometimes created when peeling, and the torturous, I-must-sit-down-and-rest-between-spuds hard work.

"8 Seconds Is All You Need." That's what the infomercial and web site claim. And, with an 8 second rub-a-dub-dub with the Tater Mitts, your potato is supposed to become skinless.

I must admit I have been pre-occupied with the thought of this product and have wondered what crazy creation is glued on those rubber gloves to make the potato skins come off so easily. (Yes, I have even had a dream about it.)

Today, the mystery vanished. I saw behind the curtain. And, after viewing the lower right hand side of the web site home page, I have felt tricked. Betrayed. Disappointed.

*Potatoes must be blanched prior to peeling with Tater Mitts

WHAT?!?!?!?!? BLANCHED?!?!?!?!? That isn't advertised in the infomercial. There isn't one single mention of this fact. The ad should state "8 seconds plus 20 - 30 minutes is all you need." Tater Mitt Makers, do you know how long it takes for me to boil water??? (That's probably because I'm always watching the pot.) And, what if I am making a big batch of potatoes for something? I'm sure most of you could imagine it... me there in the kitchen with a full load of slippery hot potatoes. Some would be on the floor. I'd find some new way of burning myself, I am sure. It wouldn't be pretty.

In short, it seems it would be a ton of extra trouble to use the Tater Mitts with the blanching step compared to the regular way. I think I could probably just get down to work and get the entire bag peeled before my water was ready. I guess I might order a set if I were a person prone to cutting herself - Wait! I am that exact kind of person! I should probably get on the phone and order some Tater Mitts right away.

What do you think? Have any favor kitchen gadgets that you wouldn't want to live without?

Beautiful Snowflakes, Part Two

I'm not one to waste a lunch hour, so I did it! I went ahead and made a 3-D paper snowflake. It took less than 20 minutes. Mind you, my huge snowflake has 6 branches instead of 8, but I like it. It is now hanging on the office door of my friend Laurie. Maybe we can sneak them in and hang them up in covert missions so that a little winter cheer can be brought into the office.
I can just imagine a gorgeous winter dance being decorated with these... hung from different lengths of sparkly string from the ceiling. Or, if I had children, it would be fun to spend one day making their room a winter wonderland. One co-worker even thought they'd be great for baby showers if made in light pink or light blue paper. Tracy and I thought maybe we were way out of the loop because we had never seen these. (We probably are!) Have you seen or made these?

Beautiful Snowflakes

Last night, I attended Tressa, Abi and Rian's pre-school program, and the three girls were the most adorable little snowflakes. I was distracted by the pouring rain, so I accidentally left my camera in the car. But, I hope to have some pictures I took with Jeff and Tracy's camera very soon. Stay tuned.

The programs are always entertaining, and the evening focuses on literacy. Besides the musical story presentation, they have special reading/teaching tips for parents, story time for the children, and yummy cookies. The night ends with the opportunity for the families to pick out books from tables and tables and tables of them. All FREE! Even I was allowed to pick out a couple so that some good books could stay at Auntie Em's house for the girls.

Throughout the halls of the school were these lovely snowflakes. The teachers gave me a couple, and I brought them to work to decorate my office. I had never seen homemade snowflakes like these before. Tracy is going to learn the process from the teachers this next week, but I think I found similar directions on the internet here. I always loved cutting out traditional paper snowflakes, and I've found that coffee filters are perfect for that. Even though I won't have a lot of time this week to make either kind of snowflake, look out next year!

Birthday Girl: ABIGAIL!

Time has sure flown lately. It seems Christmas is coming way too quickly - even though Thanksgiving was early this year. I guess that is a sure sign I'm getting older. The moments and hours and days and weeks are zooming past me.

Little Abigail is just another reminder. She is now two... and has been two for over two weeks. But, with time moving so quickly, the HR Manager visit, several meetings and all of the holiday festivities, I've failed to make a post about Abi's excellent party. It's hard to believe that two years have passed since we first saw her. She really celebrated the occasion, and, as usual, her mom and dad included the finishing touches that made the party wonderful - Blue's Clues style. Here are some more of Tracy's wonderful cakes which feature Blue and Magenta, some fun blue jello jigglers and punch (with Shovel and Pail in the background), and Mrs. Pepper and Mr. Salt who were holding balloons in the middle of each table.

Around the room, we could also see Tickety Tock, Mailbox, and Periwinkle, Blue's cat friend. (I'm learning more about Blue's Clues than I ever thought I would.)



When Tracy started painting Blue's paw print on the cheek of each of Abi's friends, Auntie Em couldn't help but join in the fun. I finally convinced Isaac to do the same... and gradually, everyone else joined in. Some needed more coersion than others.









Here, Sister Barb and Brother Chris escort each other to the painting station to see who (between the two of them) would get their face painted first (rather, last. You go first! No, you go first!)

Brother Dale got a special stamp of approval. Below, the table full of reluctant gentlemen show off their paw prints. Even if their faces tell a different story, our group sure likes to have fun! :)

Tracy gave Abi a little lift to help her blow out her two candles before the guests enjoyed cake and Abi opened her gifts.


At the end of the party, the girls gathered in the big red Thinking Chair. As you can see, it had been a long day, and a nap was long overdue for each of them. But, we had a fun time celebrating Abi's birthday. Before I know it, it will be time to celebrate Rian's first birthday, and once again, I'll wonder where the time went.

Word Sweep Answers

Warning: If you didn't see the puzzle clues here, you may want to check them out before viewing the answers below.

Sweep One
exhale
exhaust
exhibit

Sweep Two
ballet
balloon
ballot

Sweep Three
caramel
carat
caravan

Sweep Four
killing (as in 'I made a killing')
killjoy
kiln

Sweep Five
masterpiece
masthead
mastiff

Sweep Six
oracle
orange
orangutan

Sweep Seven
stymie
styptic
suave

Sweep Eight
enable
enamel
enamor