Fishy, I am giggling at the magnetic locks, those must be pretty funny to watch adults try to get into! April! I am so sorry, I didn't congratulate you on your new walking baby! Congratulations! That is great news! Well, except for you needing her to sit still right now, lol! Letha, Mmmmmm, cookie dough body butter, sounds really yummy. Careful now, those little men may try to take a bite out of you! No big plans for me this weekend. My girlfriend might be coming over to visit tomorrow night. Both of us are so busy anymore it is hard to find time to get together like we used to. Might take the kids to see B Movie on Sunday. Medo, I have been wanting to have a greenhouse ever since I saw Ed's cousin's. He built one for his wife. He's an electrician and installed the mechanical windows that are hooked up to the thermostat. Installed a sprinkler system and tons of racks. It attaches to their family room by sliding glass doors and she can just step right in from the house. Her garden is amazing! She has the most gorgeous yard. They have giant pampas grass, elephant ears, a pond, arbors, gorgeous perennials. Absolutely beautiful. She is able to start her plants so early in the greenhouse and they are so big and healthy come spring. Lucky duck!

I'm a little skittish about committing to the time, but I'd like to be in. This is great timing to learn new burgers. I don't have any good burger recipes to start with. The only good burger I've made was regular old beef burger with cheddar - cooked on my new grill. My daughter who is a ridiculously picky eater, just said yesterday that it's too bad she doesn't like cheeseburgers like all her friends - bc. it's so hard for us to find food she'll eat (other than pasta with butter, and pizza - she's even sick of macaroni and cheese - and peanut butter). I thought that if I could develop some stuffed burger - or some variation she would like, that we'd all have a better time when we have company for grilling. Riverrat - I noticed you got a new grill. What kind? Having a new grill that cooks evenly has definitely helped. I'm off to check out the recipe thread. Great idea Michelle. Lynn.

My DD has been involved in pagents since she was 2 1/2 (she is now 4 1/2). We do roughly 4-6 pageants a yr and recently took 6 month off. Here is why we took off... DD made it the the national finals for a pageant system. We had ot stay the weekend. The fist day she had a lot of fun. The second day (the day of the competition)she didn't want to go onstage until after her time was up. I really thought the only problem was no family could make it and she as always use to having DH, DS and my mother in the audience. While we were getting ready for the party that evening she fell asleep and it was apparent she was not feeling well (it wasn't until this itme she started showing signs of not feeling well). In her 3yr old mind it was the pageant that made her sick (she had a mild UTI). I waited 3 months and she still wasn't interested so I was preparing to sell all her pageant wear. Just sop happened one of the talk shows was having a show on pageants one morning and she walked in as I was watchign it. Well she had the "pageant bug" again and we have started out slowly. This past weekend our only goal was for her to smile on stage (she won best smile). The pageant beofre that is was just to get on stage. Her next one is in Feb and our goal is for her to not look at her feet, me etc during her "walks". I have learned what peageant lines are good and schich are not. The last one we did is a scollarship fund. 2 of the judges were former winners attending college thanks to the pageants. One line we do does not allow false eyelashes, hair extensions etc (nor does the scollarship one). the 3rd does allow them but for 10 and up (not that we would ever use them). Our typical pagreant wardrobe cost less than what some of the mothers spend on one dress. I buy second had (usually Ebay) sew it myself or buy something plain and decorate it myself. I avoid the pageants that are more "copetition" than fun. DD does get a lot out of them. She was (and still is ) a tomboy. She can now at least act like a little girl when needed (ie church). Many systems do a lot of comunity work such as going to nursing homes, animal shelters etc. Just like all little league teams aare not bad neither are all pareants. You just need to do a lot of leg work and find the good ones. BTW the pageant DD went to nationals...In the pageant she won to qualify to go to nationals she beat 2 "big name girls" from the very glitzy pageants. I kept DD away from the nastiness of these 2 women who were so upset their daughters didn't the went after the director and the judges (verbally). I believe they were banned for "life" from this system. DD also participates in gymnastics and soccer. If she wanted to drop pageants then we would no questions asked. Her stuff would soon go up on E bay and that would be that.

I agree with you bob. Because the locations are so far company owned, I don't think In n Out wants to be nationwide. They have a pretty dense presence throughout California, especially in the south. It is absolutely a regimented and formulaic operation but I think that's a necessity as a business grows. It's also something customers like, they know what to expect at a new location of an old favorite. It's anything but fast food, as I mentioned before. People are willing to wait. For their food, I'm not. Somewhere I am willing to wait is at Pinks, the place mentioned before. It's a low density urban location. I grew up in the city where it's located (and ate there as a kid) but I don't live there anymore. I'm willing to wait. They use a serpentine queue on the sidewalk like at an airport check-in or waiting for TSA security, with stanchions and rope (or belt) lines between them. I once waited nearly an hour. Yes it's worth it for me but I go when I can afford to spare the time. It's not right off a freeway and its aficionados know when the wait is shorter and when it is what it is.