Grab a Cuppa Joe, Hold the Filter

You made need them for something else. Check out these other handy uses sent to me by a friend. I've actually used them to strain used oil before and you'd better believe I'm going to try one next time I wax my lip.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China. Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.

4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

12. Why use expensive strips to wax your eyebrows when you can use strips of coffee filters instead.

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc. on them. Soaks out all the grease.

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

Some People Just Shouldn't Have Parties

I'm one of those people. Parties just stress me out from start to finish. From when to have it, who to invite (even though most people don't care one way or the other - which also stresses me out), and what to serve to why people aren't RSVPing, who's going to show up and what time is everyone going to leave (it used to bother me if the parties ended too early; not so much now that I'm a sleep-deprived mom).

Before the day of the party, I'm stressing out trying to figure out the menu, the bar and the set up. I'm also running around trying to decorate, particularly in the case of our most recent shindig, the Ornament Exchange Party. And wondering why people aren't RSVPing.

The day of the blessed event, I'm stressing out trying to clean up and prepare food up to the minute people arrive. At least 3 trips to the store are made between me and my husband, Rick, picking up last minute items, those things I forgot on a previous trip or to buy paper plates (since the plates I thought I had turned out to be napkins). And I stress out wondering if anyone's going to show up, but hoping that no one shows up too early because we're not ready.

During the event itself, I stress over the food (do we have enough? is it staying hot? do people like it? why aren't they eating [insert item here]? ), the beverages (do we have enough? are we running out of ice? what happened to all the cups?), and the guests (are they having fun? are they interacting? do they need anything?). It's enough to drive a gal crazy.

So bottom line: parties stress me out. But I love being a hostess, so I guess I'll just have to deal. Hope to see you at my next get-together. Just ignore me if I'm curled up in a corner somewhere, trembling.

Redneck Seafood Dinner

My friend Suzi just sent me this picture in an email. I've seen it before and love it, but keep forgetting to make it for my beano. At 19 months, he probably won't think it's too cool, but maybe you and yours will. Since we're currently out of hot dogs, thought I'd post a real picture and inspire you, dear readers, to take the challenge and whip up something special tonight. Let me know how it goes.