Read with Caution

One of the kids I babysat today wanted me to read a book about reptiles with him. Accompanying each reptile's profile of the expected facts and stats was a gruesome and graphic tale of reptilian horror. I snapped some pictures on my phone and have included some samplings below. Please remember that these are not for the faint-hearted. Proceed with caution.

The Life-Ending Lancehead

A fisherman ventures on to the island to pick bananas, but as he wanders through the forest a golden lancehead strikes his ankle. Panicking, the man stumbles back to his boat, suffering several more bites from lanceheads hidden along the track.

Racked with pain as the terrible venom eats away at his flesh, the fisherman casts off. As he drifts out to sea he cuts the bite wounds and tries to suck out the venom, but soon collapses into unconsciousness. He bleeds to death long before anyone spots his boat, and is found sprawled in a pool of his own blood.

Mangrove Massacre

A mangrove snake is lounging on a bare branch above the waters of a mangrove creek, soaking up the tropical sunshine beaming on its exposed perch. But the splash of paddles nearby gives it a rude awakening. The snake fixes a wary eye on an approaching boat that has a fisherman and his son on board.

Intent on navigating their craft between the trees, the two do not notice the reptile. The boy grabs the snake's branch to steady his craft, and tugs the beast into the boat.

The lad grabs the snake's tail and tries to fling the animal overboard. But the angry serpent whips round and clamps its jaws over the child's arm, pumping venom deep into his tender flesh.

Viciously Venomous

In the forests of Costa Rica, a farmer treads a shady path. Watching the uneven ground, he fails to spot the eyelash viper resting on a low branch overhead. His head brushes against the reptile.


The disturbed snake whips round and plunges its fangs into the intruder. It hasn't eaten recently, and its venom glands are full--and the man is doomed.

Who comes up with these horrible anecdotes? This book was surely meant for little boys, who would probably think that these tales of vicious snake attacks are really cool, but I'm slightly horrified.

Old School

Taking the Reins

I've spent my whole life watching my Mom. I watch her many tricks and talents at work in the kitchen; I watch her make careful grocery lists and I go the Sam's Club and King Soopers with her and watch her play the coupon game. I'm watching and learning for when I'm the boss, and last week, I had the chance to put my years of apprenticeship to the test.


Mom had a hair appointment for last Wednesday night, so she put me in charge of the encharitos. (Enchiladas made with flour tortillas and pinto beans. Mmm.) Delighted, I donned my apron, put all the ingredients for encharito assemblage on the butcher block, and went to town. The meal was a success, and I was giddy the whole night with my domestic success.

Accumulations

After a year in the dorms, eating out of vending machines and whatever else I could get on my meal plan, I am ready to be in an apartment next year. Granted, I won't have the Bosch mixer and fully-stocked kitchen I dream of having one day, but at least I'll have a kitchen, with a few pots and pans and mixing bowls. My game plan for the summer is to go thrifting every couple weeks (preferably on Saturday, when almost everything is 50% off) and slowly building up my personal stash of kitchen tools and accessories. I've also benefited from donations of used items from others, and a couple garage sale bargains!

Here's a sampling of my stash so far:

Featured above are:
-a waffle iron, crock pot, and small mixing bowl, donations from Grandma's recent garage clean-out
-a set of four cute heart motif desert plates, which were a Valentine's gift from Susan many years ago
-a strainer from the dollar store
-a package of napkins, donated by Mom from a recent bulk package purchased at Sam's Club

This is the mixing bowl I bought new at TJMaxx last week. It was a good price and it's a great size for everything from biscuits to cookie dough. Plus, it came in about every great color imaginable.

Though not a thrifting find, this flatware set is maybe my favorite find so far. I got two sets, each containing service for four, for the low price of:

each. Yup, I got flatware service for eight for $16.00!

We went thrifting twice this last week, and I came away with a couple more pots and a collection of black and white dishes. I'll snap pictures of those later, because they are super cute. We found a few plates in two or three coordinating patterns, all black and off-white. We picked the color scheme because it will be easy to mix in pieces from different sets and designs. Documentation of thrifting bounty to come!

Ch-Ch-Changes!

This is how my hair has looked for the last few months.

This is my hair now!

Jacquelyn changed up my 'do' yesterday, and I love it! I've been wanting something new for a while, and my life-long friend and hair stylist extraordinaire Jacquelyn is the only one I trust with such decisions. I put decision power in her shears, and she went to town. Thanks, Jacquelyn!

Oh, and I was freezing, so I grabbed my scarf and created this look. I think it says, "I'm going a little Arab today," or, "I'm ready for a ride in a convertible with Grace Kelly." When Sarah asked me what I was doing (a question my siblings often pose to me) and I told her I was being Arab, she asked me, "Who's Arab?" That gave me a laugh.