Bumble, you might be my DD's biological mom LOL. Her (self imposed) goal this summer is to cook more "real meals." She already bakes a lot, with some supervision, and makes pancakes independently. Her real obsession these days is duct tape. She has made a variety of wallets, purses, etc. She usually makes at least one a day. She has probably 25 rolls of various colors and patterns at the moment. I honestly don't think I could make one of those wallets myself, and I'm fairly crafty...or used to be! She has her own glue gun. Tish, like you say, she's not a great speller or much of a reader but she can read complicated directions or a recipe and figure it out no problem, so she's all set!

Probably they used light countertops in the ad because of the contrast with the black costume and to give an overall light/optimistic "feel." I am not a design or marketing person at all but (after several viewings) I can see how carefully the ad was constructed. You all do notice that it's a GIRL'S bedroom, right? Love it. OK, I admit, I didn't really notice the countertops until the second viewing. But still. LOL at all those TV kitchens. The "pre-reno" ones are still pretty nice compared to a lot of real life ones! (Including mine.) I bet all that color in them (walls, cabs etc) is for a reason. If I knew anything about design I'd know what the reason is...

"DD's theory is that due to the global financial crisis, fashion has come to a grinding halt. Nothing new. So the trend lag between here and Europe has collapsed and we're seeing the same stuff everywhere. This is from my 16 y.o. fashion analyst! :-)" Out of the mouths of babes... The Italians are over, this week, and are doing all they can to help the American economy. They came with huge lists from their family and friends. It's all Abercrombie & Fitch. That brand has taken Italy by storm, maybe the rest of Europe, too. They used to buy only Polo. I guess the lines at their stores go on forever and the prices are absurd. With the exchange rate...they're in heaven. We had a dinner last night and I forgot to ask what Italian brand was hot now. Last time it was Roberto Cavalli but his things are way too young for me. I'll stick with Armani if I'm still alive to see the dollar reign, once more.

I rarely replay the same game unless I made a stupid mistake. I only consider it winning if I get all 8 trains completed. I do that about 80-90% of the time. I don't get many yard jams; I'm almost always able to finish at least one or two of the trains. I finally broke down and paid so I can play the Train game whenever I want. Now that's dedication! Is there a 12-step program for the Train Game? I'm hopelessly addicted.