I posted to the list-serv for parents and grad student parents at work and disposed of an infant car seat, crib, and bouncer in about 3 hours, and had at least 6 people waiting as backups. Pregnant grad students LOVE free baby stuff.

It's legit. The catch is, of course, that you have to pay for the trip somehow.

Yeah, figured as much. And of course, they would invite her to Australia. What I can't figure out from a cursory search of the site, is what criteria they used to invite her (if there is any). From what I can see, most kids can just apply to the program, but this came out of the blue, as an actual invitation, on really nice linen-weave paper.

Or (to go old-but-goofy)Uptown Girl by Billy Joel?

ahahahahahah. I would be MURDERED by my best friend. There was a pet boutique in our neighborhood for a while (really out of place...it wasn't even a pet store! Just fancy pet clothes) called Uptown Dog. And every time we went past I'd sing Uptown Dog to the tune of Uptown Girl to make my friend NUTSO!

What about Crazy by Gnarls Barkley?

hmmmm I wonder if I could do it justice?

Well, you've managed to replace "Fish Heads" with "Welcome to the Jungle" as earworm of today, so thank you.

Eat em up, yum!

Wordplay just came up on iTunes. I could see that working well for karaoke (although I'm currently partial to "Butterfly" right now. I love that he wrote that song about a stripper.)

There's always Jimmy Buffet too-- Fins is always popular karaoke material around here.

From what I can see, most kids can just apply to the program, but this came out of the blue, as an actual invitation, on really nice linen-weave paper.

I think kids are nominated, but then still have to go through an application process of some sort. [link]

We learn about many of these students through recommendations from teachers, school administrators, and Student Ambassador alumni. We find out about others through national academic listings. These are the same listings that top colleges and universities use to find their applicants.

Invited students are asked to submit letters of recommendation and participate in an interview with local delegation leaders to gain acceptance into the program.

Annoyance of the day: I came back from lunch to find an email from my seatmate (we cover each other's phones for lunch and are supposed to never be gone at the same time) saying:

I would appreciate you sending me an email or writing me a note going forward whenever there are instructions and I'm on the phone. Thanks.

Which is a reasonable enough request except that... SHE WAS ON HER FOUR THOUSHNDHT LOUD PERSONAL PHONE CALL OF THE DAY. Seriously. Dude. Fuck off.

AND she had already left by the time I got back (two minutes early tyvm). This whole "phones always covered" thing isn't a bug in my ass, its a firm policy. They make these coverage groups for a reason. She and I had talked about my extending lunch a bit on my birthday (trading off a quarter h our here and there is pretty normal) but now I'm thinking I'd better not do it. A NOY ING.

Hivemind: what do you bring as a symbolic gift for a bachelorette party? I'm going to my first one this weekend, and I have no idea what to bring.

If you bring penis-shaped pasta maybe you can anwser the age-old question: Which is less horrifying, red sauce? or cream sauce? (Or pesto!)

One fitted sheet is not a present!

It is if the thread-count is high enough! That shit is redonkulous. And heavenly.

don't know if I could call him Sambo without stumbling over it.

Maybe but the emphasis on the second syllable? Pretend it's French... Sambeau.

I am truly awful at remembering to do thank you notes, so my mother has already bought the thank you notes as a gentle reminder that it is expected of me this time.

When we threw my Sister's shower I made her a set of thank you notes with addressed envelopes (heck, I already had all the addresses on labels). I gave them to her when I gave her the list we made of the opening. She luuuuved me for that.

But then I realize there are people who DIG the chance to see every. single. gift. the bride gets, whether to live vicariously or to judge how their gift measures up.

I just think its fun.

I was always bummed as a kid when someone didn't open the present. The whole idea was to make them happy, not to fill up their car for the drive home from the roller rink. And as a child thank you cards were no comparison to someone reacting to something I'd been really excited to get them. As an adult it bugs me less because the gifts are generally more practical, I like thank you notes, and I understand time constraints now... but it's still sort of disappointing.

I think I found the perfect sugar cream pie recipe. This one uses heavy whipping cream instead of half & half and less sugar. I like the texture of this one better and the taste isn't nearly as sweet.

Pie crust is still a win. I'll have to wait until DH weighs in on the pie, though before I stop researching.

I'm having some Sprecher lo-cal root beer and I can't be sure if I like it or not. It's definitely not-sweet, which is something I sort of admire in a root beer.

I think kids are nominated, but then still have to go through an application process of some sort.

Heh-- I was just reading that. I'm trying to figure if Abby's teacher last year might have nominated her or if her grades/FCAT scores brought her to their attention (kid freakin' smoked the FCAT-- considering she'd never taken a standardized test before in her life, I was floored).

Only thing I worry about is that Nate'll be pissed that Abby got singled out like this, but then again, maybe it'll serve as incentive for him to work harder. Sometimes, it's hard to tell with him.

From the news stories I was looking at, Barb, it seems like the cost to you might be 5-6K. Please tell me they don't address those letters to the students and leave it to the parents to say, "we can't afford it."