File Under: Adorable

I see this every morning on when I drive into the University of Maryland, College Park entrance near the Greenhouse and the Comcast Center. I hope to witness dozens of feathery family crossings in the spring.

What NOT to buy for your garden-tending friends this holiday

$330 worth of pure idiocracy. Here's a funny article on the gloss about where to wear the Teva Stiletto.

Finale Fare

Fellow LOSTies at CheapHealthyGood are answering the big question surfing the interwebs this week: What should I serve at my LOST Finale party this Sunday?

CHG's answer: "We at CHG aim to please, sweet LOST fans. Here are a few Island entrees, appetizers, and Sayid dishes (say it out loud) for your viewing pleasure. We promise, they won’t make you want to Hurley."

Suggestions range from the oh-so-obvious Shephard’s Pie to a pleasant but ultimately depressing Sun Jin Fizz to unfortunately nutty E-Clairs for dessert. The "punnerific" copy accompanying these dishes falls short of any actual recipes but nonetheless, we at JustSaying appreciate CHG's creativity. Here's a few of our faves:

Miles to Go Before I Dip: At first, you won’t understand the function of this sharp, rather disagreeable onion dip. But it’s served in a bowl where you can see the ghosts of other onion dips, so that’s cool.

Juliomelet: This capable, attractive dish will quickly become your favorite meal, until it’s inexplicably sucked down a mineshaft. Then it will become someone else’s favorite dish on the show right after this one.Readers and fanatics are updating with additional ideas and giggles. Join the fun here.

If you're truly seeking recipes, Robert Irvine did an episode of Dinner Impossible in which he cooked local, sustainable fare for the Oceanic Six and some dudes with cameras who mysteriously landed on the island. Find his recipes for Rabbit Stew, Swordfish Mofongo, Beet Salad and Mussel Salad here.

Tee hee

Love Little Green Books

I had the pleasure of gifting and reading The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle to my little niece over the weekend and let me tell you, folks: it is adorably educational. The story about recycling follows the bottle from his beginnings as a blob of crude oil, through polymerization, construction, use, reuse, recycling and to his final form (spoiler alert) as a fleece sweatshirt. I mean, seriously... what's cuter than a spirited plastic bottle with googley eyes teaching our littlest generation important lessons about the processes that have become a huge part of our existence?

As you would expect, the books are printed on recycled paper and The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle is one of many in Simon & Schuster's Little Green Books series.

Other titles include:

I Can Save the Ocean: The Little Green Monster Cleans Up the Beach

This is Our World: A Story About Taking Care of the Earth

Don't Throw That Away: A Lift-the-Flap Book About Recycling and Reusing

What Do You See? A Lift-the-Flap Book abuot Endangered Species

The Adventures of an Aluminum Can: A Story About Recycling

Easy to be Green: Simple Activities You Can Do to Save the Earth

My First Garden

I Can Save the Earth: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

The Polar Bears' Home: A Story About Global Warming

Little Panda

Little Monkey

Simon & Schuster have even created the Little Green Blog: Where Your Green Ideas Grow. The most current post of theirs talks about Earth Hour 2010 which is only a few short days away and another great, green activity to do with the kiddies!

Clever Pete

JustSaying just discovered the fantastic blog from which this photo - displaying the greatest name for a pizza joint ever - was posted. Find it here. Thanks to Scott Lamb at Buzzfeed. A.Mazing.

"Chikin 4 Brekfust"

Eww... (again). But the cow in her footie pajammies is quite cute, no?

Slow Motion Doggie Goodness

My bro-in-law sent me this awesomeness this morning. Love it.



(thnx Troy)

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

Frogs and dinosaurs!!! A reconstruction of the dino-eating, beach ball sized armored devil toad (Beelzebufo ampinga) based on the fossils unearthed in Madagascar by paleontologist David Krause, is on display in the lobby of Stony Brook University Medical Center on Long Island in hopes to raise public awareness of science and draw attention to Dr. Krause’s non-profit - The Madagascar Ankizy Fund - that finances health clinics and schools in rural Madagascar.

Perhaps this isn't the kind of frog I'd like to find, bring home and snuggle for days on end but nonetheless - they were freakin' cool creatures.

The NY Times reports:

“This was undoubtedly the heaviest frog ever, we estimate about 10 pounds,” said David Krause... “It probably ate any available prey — lizards and snakes and mammals. It was large enough to maybe even eat hatchling dinosaurs.”

(Photo by Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times)

somewhat topical...

Apparently the sales of CJ Corporation's snack sausages are on the rise in South Korea because they are close approximations of the human finger and therefore make for a great stylus for iPhone users unwilling to remove their gloves in cold weather. Ew. Real all about it on kottke.org

Product Plug Time

As you all know, it is JustSaying's policy to encourage minimal consumption on multiple levels. Whether in the realm of food, packaging, or purchasing - the best option is to stay local. Shopping at farmers markets, yard sales, and opting for lightly used and  re-purposed items from friends and family (instead of the latest "Made in China" choice that claims greenliness) is not only eco-friendlier, it's cheaper.

Having said that, every once in a while a sparkling green gem pops up in the market and I feel it is my duty to share it with you folks. That gem is: Kinetic Go Green Premium Food Storage Containers

They are remarkable. Any fresh fruit lover knows the short shelf life of berries - particularly organic ones. That icky white mold creeps in within days and a sizeable portion of the fruit goes to waste. Well waste no more! These BPA free containers and their FDA approved, Nano Silver Technology, kept store-bought blueberries, raspberries and pomegranate seeds perfectly fresh in the fridge for more than two weeks. Probably even longer had I not used them in my smoothie this morning. Apparently the containers are infused with Nano-sized particles of silver that reduce the growth of mold, fungus and bacteria. The brand also makes glassware that - like the premium plasticware - is airtight and microwave safe. Find it here.

My sister gave me a set of these for Christmas and I absolutely had to leave one at her house to help fruit stay fresh for longer for my little niece. I highly, highly, highly recommend these for yourself, for wedding gifts, for house-warming gifts, etc. They are obviously a tad more pricey than regular tupperware but I assure you they will more than pay off their investment. They also have a Baby Safe line of products for the moms out there (although I haven't heard any complaints about the popular Born Free brand).

Raccoon Crasher!

So the hours of my life I spent watching/LOLing The Bachelor last night weren't a total waste thanks to adorable the raccoon crasher popping up at the end. Keep your eye on the rock behind the blond around 42:07.

Doggie DNA Results Arrived!!

I know you folks are just as eager to know the breeds present in the little furry one as I am but - in an effort to boost blog traffic to an all-time high this week - we won't be posting the results until Friday. Isn't it more fun to get everyone's predicitons?!? I'll go first. I predict: German Short-Haired Pointer, Pit Bull, Jack Russell Terrier, and Dalmation. I believe the test will reveal the top breeds present up to ten.

I'm posting a photo of Jack for those of you who may not know him personally but would like to participate in the fun (and because he is so gosh darn cute!). Jack is considered a medium-sized dog, weighing in between 38 and 43 pounds since he was adopted when he was approximately one year old in March of 2004. He has two other large spots like those on his face - one on his back hip and one centered around his stubby, seemingly-clipped, tail.


****UPDATES****

6:16 PM - AF has opened the results and will be keeping them a secret until Friday so that I may continue to guess along with readers. Here is what she has shared with me: Two breeds make up about half of Jack. Three breeds make up the other half. This does not mean he has five parents, but just that neither parent was a purebred.

6:18 PM - AF has shared with me that NONE of my guesses are in these top five dominant breeds. Wowsers.

6:28 PM - AF shares: "Out of the five, there is one that I have no idea what it looks like and three that I'd be able to draw." "Does the length of hair matter? Cause I am surprised he doesn't have longer hair."

6:32 PM - BioPet VetLab disclaimer: It is important to remember that the physical and behavioral traits of the breeds desribed in your analysis may not necessarily be evident in your dog. Hmph.

7:34 PM - Made it through dinner but not dessert before convincing AF to tell me the results. All I will say is: I may seek out a second opinion. The three lesser-dominant breeds make sense, but the most dominant are quite surprising. Keep guessing guys!

9:40 PM - Text, BBM, FB, email and Tweet at me all you want, folks. The results are top secret until  Friday. Without revealing AF's identity (for fear she will be overwhelmed by texts from inquiring minds), I will share this picture taken as we opened the envelope:

Unfortunately, frog friend, you're not alone...

Balance?

For the Indecisive Diner

Pretty cool. And it seems that the designers attempt to keep fast food and chain restaurants off the wheel. Now... if we could just get them to add "Make it Meatless." Click here to spin.