June

Well, I haven't necessarily been busy, but yet there's a lot going on around here.

We had our little "gender party" for sibling no. 10 who's due in early November. All of us kids knew the gender of the baby, so we made the cake for Mom and Dad to reveal what it was. Pink for a girl, blue for a boy.

Can you guess what it is?

Yes, I am VERY excited!!!!!!!!

We had quite the time making that cake. Em and I were with KT at her apartment when we made it. But the blue coloring mixed with the yellowish batter made it GREEN!

We wondered if it would change color when it baked so an unnamed member of our party put a glob of batter on a plate and stuck it in the microwave.

By the time we remembered it, the blob was a toasty brown, rock hard and smoking nicely.

AND STILL GREEN!!

But, there can be no doubt that, after we put a LOT more coloring in the batter, the cake is BLUE!

Maybe more of an "acid blue".

We're wrapping up school, though I'll be doing math throughout the summer. I'm working desperately to finish my math book so I can hopefully start algebra in the fall (finally!).

Hmmm...What else?

I've been learning resourcefulness, that's for sure. For instance, what do you do when your dog smells like dog/penguin exhibit/fish/pet shop x 10?

Those expensive shampoos and odor treatments are all fluff.

Dry Pet Shampoo

• 2 cups raw oats
• 2 Tbs. dried lavender buds
• 2 cups baking soda

In the blender, blend oats and lavender until fine. Add soda, mix well.

Rub this into your pet's coat, let it sit for a few minutes (or until your pet shakes it out) and then brush out thoroughly.

Takes the smell away like magic!

I was recently introduced to Ehow and it has become a lifeline! Wikipedia has once been described as the greatest source of knowledge man has ever known.

Ehow is the 2nd greatest source.

So I have used it to enrich my life with valuable skills, such as how to make a decorative hair net or headband, how to cut a side-swept bang, how to fix my bike's breaks and how to counter into an arm bar.

I tried to learn how to darn my own socks (since I am extremely hard on them!) but that was a total flop.

I do have one other minor announcement, for those readers who may not know yet...

But I'll save it for another day.

Bwahahaha!