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 From the photographer: I was lucky enough to spot this praying mantis while visiting my dad in California last week. And it was nice enough to stay posed long enough for me to get several photos. This one was taken with a Canon 40D and a 60mm macro lens. So obviously the focal length was 60mm, aperture: f/2.8, exposure: 1/400, ISO: 400. This photo was selected by members of the altdotlife 52 Weeks photo project as the winner of Week Eight - Depth of Field: Shallow. Week Nine - Exposure: High Key ends today, so stay tuned for the winner next week. Week 10 of 52 Weeks is up next , and the theme is Exposure: Long Exposure. Image credit: zela
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 Ryan is out of town. As much as I love him, sometimes that makes me really, really happy. It means I can do whatever I want (sadly, this meant scrubbing the apartment from top to bottom), watch whatever I want (Sleepless in Seattle) and of course, EAT whatever I want. You see, we eat together just about every night. A real meal, cooked from scratch. We go out or take out once every few weeks, and Ryan certainly does some of the cooking, but cheating around here is frozen ravioli. And that probably only happens once every few months. So secretly I get really happy when I can make whatever I want for dinner. Even if that's something Ryan would strongly maintain is NOT dinner. Last night, I made a little variation on Welsh Rabbit. Mmm. Yummy. So what do you do when the cat's away?
WELSH RABBIT
for one
INGREDIENTS:
2 pieces of good bread - I used a loaf of french country
1/2 a large tomato sliced thick
3/4 - 1 C sharp cheddar cheese shredded
1 t Worcestershire (I would have used 2 but my bottle ran dry. Alas.)
1 t dijon mustard
teensy pinch cayenne
salt and pepper
Most recipes call for some beer - I skipped that. If you want, add a T.
DIRECTIONS:
Cut your tomato slices and remove the seeds. Then sprinkle with salt. Lay them on a wire rack, or a pad of paper towels to dry out a bit. Grate your cheese, mix with the other ingredients. Turn on your broiler (I use my toaster oven's broil setting). After 5-10 minutes, pat the tomatoes dry and place them on the pieces of bread (you can toast your bread first if you like). Then cover the tomatoes with the cheese mixture. Put in a baking dish or on lots of foil or on an oven proof plate if you're working with your toaster oven. Broil for 3-4 minutes until you have a melty cheesy mess. About the author: This post was written by Carrietracy at The Hungry Hippo. 
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 At five, power is illusory. Someone tells you when to go to bed, what to eat (and please leave your toys in the playroom when you come to the table), and sometimes even what to wear. When I look at it in that light, it's not surprising that my daughter's favorite toy is her sword.
For the last two weeks, she's been travelling around the house and yard entirely via acrobatics. She can turn a cartwheel and stick the landing while picking up her sword mid-turn. Warriors need to train rigorously, so we've rigged a complicated fighting machine in the front yard. It involves rope, milk bottles, and water-filled buckets. She can make that water bucket bleed out in 2 minutes flat.
Our biggest argument recently? I'm refusing to promise her a real sword and a ticket to Paris on her seventeenth birthday, so that she can be a musketeer.
This is the part where I cringe, and admit she's been watching Barbie and the Three Musketeers* almost daily. And when she was sick? Twice in one day. Move over, She Ra, Barbie has come to town.
If you'd asked me five years ago, I might have told you that Barbie would never darken our doors. (OK, maybe not. I'm pretty sure my mom has my old Malibu Barbie packed under a guest bed somewhere.) But my shaky feminist cred makes me think that I should have banned Barbie. After all, her measurements are all wrong. And she'll make my daughters afraid of math. And creative play? Right out the window. Right? Let me tell you about the engineering involved in the three draft attempts at that fighting machine, 'mkay? Not to mention the duct tape.
And even though I cringe about the movie, I'm making a mental note to call around and find out how old you have to be to start fencing lessons. Or maybe Aikido. Because my daughter? She is powerful. Even if she can't bring her sword to the dinner table. About the author: This post originally appeared on Zen Martha on August 30, 2010.
*Disclosure: like most links to amazon.com here on altdotlife, this is an affiliate link. Proceeds keep our server running!
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In the annals of Girl Drinks, no drink is more girl-y, Spring Break-y, Cancun-y than the frothy, white, creamy Pina Colada. It is without a doubt a delicious drink. But. But. That song. Also, after a couple you do start to feel...well, white and frothy. The Painkiller is a more grown up take on the Sorority girl favorite made with dark rum, traditionally it should be Pusser's Navy Rum (don't you feel more serious already?). It's also the National Drink of the British Virgin Islands. A whole semi-independent country can't be wrong!
Painkiller 2 oz Pusser's Navy Rum (or sub good dark rum, no Meyer's please)
3 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Cream of Coconut
Shake with ice, strain drink into a glass with fresh crushed ice. Garnish with pineapple wedge and freshly grated nutmeg. Enjoy with all the dignity of the British Navy.
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 From the photographer:This photo was taken while out for a drive with my little one, in an attempt to get her to nap. Taken with a Nikon D5000, 18-55mm lens (with a polarizing filter), f/10, 1/400 sec, ISO 200.
This photo was selected by members of the altdotlife 52 Weeks photo project as the winner of Week Seven - Depth of Field: Deep. Week Eight - Depth of Field: Shallow ends today, so stay tuned for the winner next week. Week 9 of 52 Weeks is up next , and the theme is Exposure: High Key. Image credit: emiween
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