Ssss-Aaaa-Fffff-Eeee-Tttt-Yyyy. Safety Dance.

Last weekend DoodleBug had his first sleepover at Aunt Ro and Uncle SuperHusband's house! It was a huge success, despite the fact that we stuffed him with junkfood and kept him up too late (sorry, sister!). But that's what aunts and uncles are for right?

We spent the week before racking our brains to think of activities that would be fun (and appropriate) for a three-year-old, and came up pretty empty. So...we went with the obvious choice that people with no kids make - Chuck E. Cheese. Let me tell you...I now know why parents roll their eyes when the rat trap is mentioned. That place totally sucks.

When I was growing up, we had Showbiz Pizza Place and it kicked ass. I mean, the place was huge - you didn't trip over people while playing skee ball or have to wait 15 minutes for a 30 second "ride." Plus there was a show and everything (Remember the Rock-Afire Explosion??)!

Chuck E. Cheese, on the other hand, is outdated, dirty, crowded and run down. But the thing that shocked me most was what we saw in the toddler section. DoodleBug was riding the Bob the Builder tractor for the 39th time and SuperHusband pointed out something near the little slide-jungle-gym thing:

I know you can't see it really well, so here's a closer look...check out the floor underneath the school bus part at the bottom:

Yes, kids...that's an electrical socket - sans socket guards - just sitting there out in the open waiting from a kid to shove a penny or a tongue or something in it! And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Everywhere we looked there were open outlets - at kid eye-level!!!

Now I'm no expert, but even I have heard of baby-proofing and it's my understanding that keeping kids out of outlets is one of the most important things you need to do. And I would imagine that socket guards are pretty inexpensive. So what the fuck?? Nobody else seemed concerned about this. Am I just overreacting?!?

Today's title selection: Safety Dance - Men Without Hats

And I'm hungry like the wolf...

So I bought this book a while back, Hungry Girl - Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World. It got a respectable four-and-a-half stars from Amazon reviewers and I'd already tried the delish Lord of the Onion Rings which, despite the cheesy-ass name (and the fact that you use Fiber One cereal to coat the rings) were pretty darn good.

So I bought the book, knowing I'd probably try 4 recipes max. You see...SuperHusband and I are creatures of habit. We eat pretty much each the same 5 things every week:

1. Tofu corn dogs for me/baked chicken nuggets for SH, baked french fries or sweet potato fries
2. Spaghetti and low-fat Caesar salad
3. Baked chicken, rice, veggies (my least favorite)
4. Steamed artichoke for me/grilled pork chop for SH, veggies, salad
5. Frozen dinners and some fruit/veggies (this is our Wed. night dinner because I am usually at derby practice from 7:30-9:30)

We recently threw this vegetarian Taco Bake recipe into the mix, which is AMAZING. Even SH doesn't mind the tac-faux filling. But beyond a new recipe here and there...we don't branch out very often.

Oh...before we move on, now would be a good time to mention that, lest you think we are somewhat healthy all the time, weekends are usually a free-for-all that totally negate any "good eating" we've done throughout the week. Taquitos and fries at 2am after an evening of drinking....pizza delivery when we're too hung over to cook or go get anything...you get the idea.

Anyway...I ordered the book and it's not bad. I haven't actually tried anything yet, but any "diet" book that devotes a whole chapter to light cocktails is alright by me. Sure, the writing is pretty cheesy most of the time:

"The average cookies and cream shake packs in a ridiculous 900 calories and 55 grams of fat. How embarrassing!"

"Strawberries are the only fruit that have their seeds on the outside. Fancy!"

But I got past that. Well...until Hungry Girl totally crosses the line on page 207. That's where she recommends foods for a "jet-set snack pack." (In the interest of not violating any copyrights and such...I've paraphrased):

Something fruity - bring napkins!
Something crunchy - pre-popped low-fat popcorn
Something protein-packed - a single serving can of tuna

Yeah...you heard right. A single serving can of TUNA. On an AIRPLANE.

WTF?

Has this Hungry Girl never flown before? I don't know about you, but aside from a screaming kid, the last thing I want next to me on a 3 hour flight is some jackass eating TUNA FISH. I don't particularly want them spitting grape seeds into their tiny drink cups or crunching a bunch of popcorn in my ear either. But how on earth can anyone actually recommend smelly ass tuna as an appropriate snack for someone eating in a closed tube with recirculating air?

I am not going to give up on Hungry Girl yet...I just need to be sure I'm not seated next to her on my next flight.


Today's title selection: Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran