What-What?! Week of March 9th

Had an ant apocalypse earlier this week:  The husband had gone to school, so I was home with the children.  I ate dinner, we did crafts at the kitchen table, the kids drove cars on the floor, and so on.  It gets to be bed time, I get them ready and all put down.  I had started to clean up toys on the table, when, for some reason (kicked a toy maybe?), I looked down at the floor.  That's when I realized that there were about a trillion ants all over.  Words were said.  It took me a long time to get everything cleaned up, and there were still ants the next day.  Bother.

I wrote an article -- it's in submission limbo, though, waiting for an editor to review it before it is published.  I'm quite pleased with it and excited for when I can post a link next week (maybe the week after, depending).  You might have also noticed that I added a "Movie Reviews" tab at the top, where I list all the reviews I've done so far.  I've got it divided into children's and adult films, so that way you don't have Ripper Street comingling with the likes of My Little Pony.

News:  Wal-Mart Investing in USA Made Products via MSN Money

This is one of those things that sounds better than it actually is.  Wal-Mart is expanding the amount of made in America products they sell by about $5 billion a year over the next ten years.  It sounds like a big number, until you remember that we're talking about Wal-Mart; $5 billion only accounts for a paltry two percent of what the company spends on stock at American stores each year.  On the other hand, according to an interview with Wal-Mart's Senior Vice President, the company currently spends two-thirds of merchandise costs on domestic products (for U.S. stores).

Geeky Stuff:  My Little Pony -- Petite Pony Prancing Pretty Carousel Playset

Now say that five times fast. :P  Last week, while at my parent's house, I unearthed some old toys of mine, with the intention of letting my kids play with them.  Well, besides my Playmobile, I found my Petite Pony Carousel set.  This is a hard to find item that Hasbro made in 1989-90, which my parents bought for me at a garage sale, I think.  I don't have the complete set, but I really loved it as a kid, and was overjoyed to find it now.




(img via MSN Money)

What-What?! Week of February 9th

Crafts:  Painting a 'Mech in Five Minutes via YouTube

This is a great quick tutorial on how to paint battlemechs quickly, while still looking pretty good.  I plan on using this method on some of our cheapie plastic miniatures, because why not?  I do particularly like how the man in the video refers to washes as "instant skill".  Too true!

News:  Why Walmart is Getting Too Expensive for the Middle Class via Yahoo! Finance

This article makes kind of a funny point: Walmart is now becoming too expensive for its main clientele.  Even though the economy is growing, jobs are being created, and unemployment down, the recovery has been pretty hollow.  Disposable income keeps ticking downward, and this is especially apparent in the dropping incomes of the middle and lower class.  This article seems to infer that most of the bump in retail spending has been by those in the upper class  While it's old news that dollar stores have become fierce competitors for discount retailers, it'll be interesting to see how Walmart reacts to all these factors.  I don't really expect it to turn into a more premium store, because that would take a lot of infrastructure improvements, like making the stores look nicer, hiring more employees, and so on.  No, I expect that Walmart will just become more hardcore in its low cost strategy.  I can't say I envy Walmart's suppliers, because you know those are the ones that will feel the pinch first.  Time will tell, I suppose.

Cooking:  Hot Cocoa Oatmeal

We ran out of other things to eat, so I made this.  I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it is, while still somewhat healthy (there are oats, so...).  Simply make however many servings of oatmeal you'd like, then add the same number of hot cocoa packets (or scoops from a tin).  I added a little bit more sugar to mine, but otherwise it was plenty delicious.  Some cinnamon and nutmeg would make a lovely spiced cocoa oatmeal.  I suggest topping with marshmallows, sliced banana, and a splash of half-n-half or milk.

Don't forget to check out my husband's blog, A Wizard's Rambles.

(img via Wikipedia)