I've mentioned the Squirrel's Nest before, because it is a favorite source of mine for Feingold-safe baking supplies and treats. But, it is worth a mention again, because we're gearing up for a season-of-treats.

The whole organic and all-natural food movement lately has meant that I have local stores in which I can purchase some of the baking supplies that I used to only order online, but I still go to the Squirrel's Nest for things like dark-chocolate covered marshmallows or chocolate solids, like this crispy pumpkin candy that is a fantastic all-natural, no-preservatives substitute for those nestle crunch lovers in your household. Most of the cute Santas, Chanukah Gelt, and Thanksgiving turkeys and other such things in the grocery stores are mass-produced and have things like BHA, BHT, TBHQ, and vanillian in them. But Nancy's confections at the Squirrel's Nest are free of these preservatives and artificial ingredients. (Can you resist these adorable chocolate mini ears of corn?)

When I was younger, I really got into my ancestry. Ironically enough, I'm now helping my mom with an ancestry project, but that isn't what I had in mind when I was ten and hoping that my Swedish genes would make me suddenly turn blue-eyed at puberty and kick off an impressive growth spurt so I could finally be long and lithe. Even though my hair darkened and my eyes remained a muddy brown-green, I ordered "Uff-Da!" sweatshirts and "Learn How to Speak Norwegian" cassette tapes because of course someone out there would appreciate my Scandinavian heritage.

(For those who want to know, I'm German, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian. And I got the worst parts of each of those, without the best. Heh. I'd love to be a tall blue-eyed blonde like the stereotypical Swedish gal, or a super-fast runner like Norwegian Grete Waitz. But at least I can sing funky Norwegian folk songs! And apparently folks "over there" have pig-noses just like me. At last!)

My youngest son loves tofu. He has a favorite marinated style that he frequently brings as a snack to school, which drew questioning glances from his preschool classmates, but now elicits some satisfied smiles from his fellow first-graders who became accustomed to his tastes in kindergarten.

And I adore tofu. I am not a vegan nor a vegetarian, but I'll frequently order a vegetarian dish during conferences or at restaurants, primarily because they end up tasting great, and I've lacked confidence in making my own - so prefer to order from "real chefs." I recall one amazing roasted red pepper risotto that I wish I could replicate. And one of my favorite restaurants when we lived in New York served a fabulous peanut tofu stir fry. More than once a month, you can find me at the burrito place ordering a thai-world-burrito, always with marinated tofu. And my favorite sandwich at our local grocery store is... yes, marinated tofu.

It was therefore with tremendous pleasure that I accepted an invitation to learn more about Nasoya Tofu's "Tofu U" at San Francisco's amazing Plant Cafe Organic. I was particularly intrigued to go to this event because "Skinny Bitch / Healthy Bitch" (who is nowhere near a "bitch") Kim Barnouin would provide instruction on how to cook with tofu firsthand. (I was thrilled that we received a copy of Kim's new book Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.)

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending an event at zeum, an interactive computer, television, and animation space for children. (It is actually the San Francisco Children's Museum, morphed to keep up with technology.) I was there to learn about a computer game for preschoolers, but remained in only one room of the actual zeum facility. My boys were in school during that time, so didn't get a chance to see the space. Thankfully, we were invited back to actually delve into the zeum experience itself, so my boys and I spent the afternoon today on our zeum adventure.

At first my oldest was hesitant. He wanted to stay home on his vacation day to play video games. But, I explained that he'd be producing things on his own at zeum. He loves creating his own video game levels, so it made sense that he'd enjoy creating his own animation. Once he saw zeum, he agreed that the excursion was worth it. (He's even considering holding his birthday party there.)

My youngest was game from the beginning. I had told him about zeum right after I saw it in October, so he's been eager to go ever since. He's quite the "ham" so I knew he'd be interested in putting on a show.

Okay, so when I was invited to a "pearltrees" event, I envisioned something like bath beads, or - the obvious one - jewelry. I thought of an ornate wire tree sculpture upon which to hang my beautiful pearl necklaces (of which I have zero.) But, the Clever Girls Collective said that pearltrees was going to somehow help me shop, and since the event was co-hosted by Beth Blecherman of TechMamas and Cool Mom Tech, I knew it had something to do with technology. But how?

Well, here is how. Below is my very own pearl - and its little offshoot-pearls - containing my birthday and holiday wish-list. Yes, I'm one of those lucky-ducks that has a birthday in the midst of the holiday season, so I get all my gifts at once. Once I set up my (completely free) pearltrees account and downloaded the little toolbar add-on, I was able to just "add a pearl" whenever I found something I wanted to include in my list. It was really easy to learn how to do.

If I add items to this tree, it will update above. So, if you read this post in a year, I probably will have deleted some pearls and added some others. Just mouse-over each item to see a little pop-up preview of the website. You can navigate to similar lists by clicking the little black pearl to the left of my face. You can even navigate backwards to see some of my other trees.

As it turns out, I've gone totally wild with pearl-ing. No, not like knit-and-purl, but rather quickly identifying and organizing websites within pearltrees' visual structure. This type of layout definitely makes more sense to me than straight-up bookmarks.

'Tis the season for lots of work - and also for kids to be on vacation, home from school. As such, I was wearing these beauties all day today - both to enjoy some tunes as I typed, and also to block out the various brother-bickering, video-game cheering, silly-song chanting behavior of my sons. Oh sure, they are good kids - but on Day #3 of having them at home ALL DAY LONG it was definitely time to go into my own space a bit. This was definitely do-able with my Agent CMYK headphones.

Don't worry, I didn't pump up the volume too high.

--
Disclaimer: I received these excellent headphones while at BlogHer this summer. I was eager to try them out, but my youngest son declared them his - because they are awesome - and uses them while doing homework on the computer. But I stole them back because they are pretty. I will not receive any compensation or commission as a result of this quick shout-out.

Oh, I didn't know of your existence until mere months ago. It was not until Nutella November that you made your way into my shopping basket. But now I've eaten you every day, spread upon a slice of whole-grain-whole-wheat bread: that's healthful, right?

My sons may not like you - they think your added hazelnut essence is "strange" - but I gobble you up gladly. You retain your texture even without refrigeration. You aren't as fickle as peanut butter, with its varying consistency. You aren't as slippery as chocolate-frosting-out-of-a-can. And, because you say you are a nice breakfast, I'mma-gonna pretend that you are super-good-for-me. After all, chocolate has antioxidants!

Oh, Nutella, I like your name. It ends in "ella," just like "Cinderella." And I'm a bit of a nut, too, so it is totally fine with me that your name begins as such. But why not "Choconut" or something like that? Are you attempting to deny your chocolate roots, or is the chocolate within you so far removed from cacao that you really don't think it is appropriate to acknowledge it in your name?

Fear not, I am not really judging. After all, I love you so.

I bet you'd be good on bananas.

--
Disclaimer: It is nablopomo. I gotta post every day. And I love my Nutella. (No, they would be horrified if they knew I was posting about YOU. And no, I will not receive any compensation/commission for this brief brainstorm.)

I am thrilled that the Cool Mom Picks Holiday Gift Guide launched today. Sure, some of my glee is purely because I'm a code-wrangler there, so finishing a big project is always rewarding. But more of my excitement involves the actual picks. Although I had a list-in-progress of things that I thought I might purchase for my various relatives and friends, the CMP Gift Guide made me change my mind on a few, and certainly filled in the blanks as I considered difficult-to-purchase-for people.

I expect I'll reference the Guide way past the holidays, too. I always do. When folks have new babies, decide to grow a year older, or just need a little "pick me up," I know that I'll find an appropriate gift on one of the Guides. Of course Cool Mom Picks has fabulous ideas every day, but having the Guide all laid out all purdy (I did that!) makes it easy to pick something at a glance.

I'm not going to lie - I emptied my wallet today - but I'm pretty sure that there will be some happy faces when they open their presents from me (if I do say so myself!) I bought gifts for a bazillion people, so definitely appreciated the "under $15" and "under $10" picks on the guide. You will do.

Get shopping!

--
Disclaimer: I'm on the Cool Mom Picks staff, but loved them even before I started working for them. No joke, the majority of the presents I purchase throughout the year are from a CMP guide or post.

Last week turned into One Big Teachable Moment. Or, I suppose more appropriately, it was several moments with a common theme.

I've always been relatively eco-conscious. I feel guilty if I can't find a recycling bin (and will sometimes carry an empty can around with me until I do.) I am always turning off lights in the house (except there are certain ones that I want on even though my husband turns those off!) I conserve water, and I donate items to "re-use" day.

But I know I'm not perfect. I have plenty of appliances sucking energy when they aren't in use, and sometimes I forget my cloth shopping bags when going to the store, or purchase bottled water because I neglected to wash out my re-usable bottle.

My eco-efforts are a work in progress. Similarly, the way humans harness energy and deliver it to the population is a work in progress. Last week I had the opportunity to learn about PG&E's smart meter from Silver Spring Networks during an event hosted through Mom Central.

I have been a tiny prints customer for years. I learned about this fabulous company in 2007 and promptly ordered my holiday cards from them. I received tons of compliments on our photo cards, and ended up starting a trend amongst my friends and family. Many sent tiny prints cards the following season.

Meanwhile, I didn't stop at holiday cards. I ordered personalized stationery for myself and for my boys. This past summer I ordered my business cards from tiny prints.

And today I got to take a tour of the tiny prints corporate office. It was quite a thrill to see where the magic happens, to learn more about the company's culture, and to receive samples of some of their hot new products for this year, such as the ornament card or the flip card. (There are many unique premium cards, as well as some beautiful budget-conscious options.)

Every time I see a light yellow piece of paper in one of my sons' backpacks, I cringe. These "lice alerts" let me know that a child in that particular classroom has lice. Sometimes I only receive one paper. Other times, both boys bring home papers and I hold my breath. We received these notices through preschool and now during grade school. It seems as though lice is always traveling around the school.

But... knock on wood... knock HEAVILY on wood... the lice have not taken up residence in my house or on my boys' heads. (I'm seriously going to knock on wood a few more times here.) I remember dealing with lice a few times during my youth and it was absolutely no fun. I can only imagine how much worse the "mother" role is in the whole scenario.

If I were confident, I'd sing it out: "Not a louse in the house! Oh yeaaaaaah!" But I really don't want to get a puffed-up chest about this, because I fear by simply typing this post I'm welcoming the inevitable.

But for now, we're good.

Uh, HUH. Well, today is Saturday - which could be a race day, except I slept in instead. Nothing like a little laze to start out the Thanksgiving holidays, eh? (I'm thankful for the ability to sometimes sleep in, especially because my kids are old enough not to completely burn down the house if I'm still snoozing.)

But if I were racing today, you'd better believe I'd be wearing my sparkle skirt.

I got my first team sparkle skirt while running eat. blog. run. I loved it so much that I purchased another. I am the proud owner of both turquoise and pink sparkle skirts.

I've worn a sparkle skirt on trail races and through Disneyland. I've sparkled through a 6-hour endurance run and while doing San Francisco's wacky "Bay to Breakers" race. I always get compliments on the skirt. People have to smile when they see the sparkle. Sure, I can look sweaty and labored everywhere else, but if I'm sparkling, that's what people see.

I am pleased to announce that Team Sparkle can now ship your order immediately! No more waiting for two weeks or so to get your skirt sewn!

Seriously - everyone needs at least one sparkle skirt. You cyclists out there can sparkle, too, you know.

--
Disclaimer: I got a free pink sparkle skirt during eat.blog.run. Two of the Team Sparkle founders were part of the relay team. I then purchased a second skirt using my own dollars. Wearing a sparkle skirt to run (or bike) is definitely worth the fun! I won't receive any commission/compensation for the shout-out - it is purely motivated by my love for the Team Sparkle gals and their product.

Except, you know, it doesn't exist.

[image from freecarshowcom]

One of my favorite race-bag additions is popchips. I'm fortunate that reps from popchips are often handing out free bags in the post-race area after some of the trail runs from my favored organized running company. Just as I crave a little salt, the popchips are right there. And yet, I'm not completely sabotaging my diet by partaking. You see, popchips aren't fried. In fact, they aren't even baked. They are popped!

I know what you are picturing - rice cakes, anyone? - seriously, this is much different.

Popchips have actual flavor. It is amazing to me that a single-serve bag is only 100 calories and 3.5 grams of fat. The ingredients are natural - I can pronounce every word on the bag. This isn't a chemically-laden snack food. They start with real potatoes, and POP! them. They then add seasoning using the actual ingredients they want the chip to taste like. Remember, no manufactured flavors out of chemicals!

I've always loved the original potato and barbecue potato flavors, but when popchips sent me a whole variety of flavors, I found a new favorite: cheddar potato!

If I were penning a product review in the 1970's, perhaps I'd focus on Scotty's Donuts. Oh, those donuts were definitely a Sunday morning treat, and since the store was located next to the small-town liquor joint, it was easy to pick up a special-something for the adults of the family before watching Sunday Morning Football. Scotty's and the liquor store were later replaced by a post office.

And then my review in the 1980's would have been of "Upstairs, Downstairs," a quirky little stationary shop where I purchased stickers to trade during school recesses. I bought a moose embroidery project to complete for Mother's Day. I almost finished it. Alas, this fun shop, too, was replaced, first by a barbershop, then a dojo, and finally a Curves.

In the 1990's I would have shined the spotlight on Bugaboo Creek. Oh, they turned me on to calamari and those decadent garlic-mashed potatoes! They also turned me away from ordering an alcoholic beverage because they didn't believe that my CA license was real. In fact, it was real, but was the "old style" license that wasn't in their Big Book of Licenses, so they insisted it was a forgery.

In the Ought's, I lived many places, so it is difficult to really call out a singular special place or product that meant something to me. In the initial part of the decade, it was a variety of restaurants and bars in the Upper East of Manhattan, such as "Fire and Ice" and "Blue Moon." Shortly thereafter, products like Baby Bjorn and Orajel would have topped my list. As my kids have grown, I've gone from baby to preschool to grade-school. Meanwhile, I've had my own interests evolve: In 2000 I was still in grad school, doing neuroscience. But of course now I love things like Photojojo and Epipanie Bags since I'm giving my photography muscles a stretch.

I'm definitely feeling reflective as I enter the holiday season of 2010. I'm nervous and excited to see what places, experiences, and products will make an impression when I look back decades from now.

Disney's new animated film Tangled comes out today. I'm thrilled, because I'm sure it will be entertaining. I've had fun reading character bios and watching the various trailers. My kids are especially in stitches over Pascal the chameleon:

I was supposed to go to a screening of Tangled Monday night, but life is too hectic. It would have been great to have jumped into a fantasy world for awhile, but the real-world beckoned too strongly.

Hopefully my family can steal away for a bit this weekend to enjoy Tangled. In the meantime, my giveaway for a Tangled prize pack is still open for entries until tonight at 6pm Pacific. Good Luck!

Since today is Thanksgiving, I'm going to take a step away from the shiny new things and be thankful for what I have. Sure, that can be hard sometimes. Both not buying things and giving thanks.

Consumption:
The enormous wall of holiday packages in my living room shows I adore purchasing things. This season makes me giddy. I love buying things for others and wrapping them up. And I like to do some unwrapping on Christmas morning, too. Since I have a November birthday, I get a double-dose of "new" in the latter two months of the year.

Thankfulness:
I'm thankful for so many things, but a couple recent things have gotten me on edge. It is easy to think about the scary things, the "what-ifs" and the disappointments. It is so much harder to live in the moment. Just this morning, I was going to complete my eleventh month of Project 2010k. But, my back has gone out of whack, and it just wasn't wise to risk further injury. I'm sad, but I know that failing to complete an arbitrary fitness goal isn't the end of the world. There are much bigger fish to fry.

A couple weeks ago, Cool Mom Picks launched their annual holiday gift guide. I've already purchased several items from that particular list of excellence. And then on Friday, Cool Mom Tech launched its tech-oriented holiday gift guide - whoo! As full disclosure, I was part of this project, but had to laugh when I discovered that many of the items on there are already wrapped under my tree. Er, well, they would be if we had our tree up yet.

Go check it out - there are many items on there that you simply wouldn't have considered, but that will be just perfect for that special someone on your holiday gift list. (And yeah, that "special someone" might be you.)