I can't settle on one blog topic today, so I'm just going across the board with all the stuff I want to share:

* It seems Mother Nature has taken pity on poor, frozen Erie and given us a reprieve from the bitter-cold temps of last week. Nothing like a week or two of single-digit temperatures to make me truly appreciate 40 degrees. I walked outside of the house today & thought..."Man, I don't even really need a coat." Which is hysterical because, come June, I'll be "freezing" when it's below 80.

* Went to a Tastefully simple home party last night. If you've never been to one of these, you don't know what you're missing. Their line of dip mixes, sauces, soup mixes, bread mixes and desserts make even a culinary-challenged, kitchen-fearing woman like me want to spend some time whipping up yummy things.

* Got an anonymous message on my office voice mail (by the way, we have caller ID people, so ... you're not so anonymous) from a woman who was upset about a story in our Feb. issue of Her Times about women's history. She was upset about the graphic at the bottom of the story -- a timeline of important moments in women's history. She thought it was wrong that we had included race in some of the "firsts" and felt it didn't belong there. After taking another look at the graphic, I see that there are only three events (out of 20) in which race is mentioned and that is because it is important to the historical moment -- as in "Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as a mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first black woman to serve as mayor of a major city." So, I'm not sure what the caller was so angry about (and, boy, was she angry).

* The Chinese New Year started on Sunday and this is the year of the pig. Never did I think I would ever be proud to call myself a pig, but, indeed, I'm a pig ... having been born in the Year of the Pig in 1971. The pig is one of 12 animals on the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, which follows the lunar calendar. According to Chinese astrology, people born in pig years are polite, honest, hardworking and loyal. They are also said to be lucky, which is why many Chinese like to have babies in a pig year (according to an AP article in Sunday's Erie Times-News). Want to find out what the Chinese zodiak says about you? Check out this really cool Web site (copy and paste into your browser) www.usbridalguide.com/ special/chinesehoroscopes -- they even include information on how you relate to your mate and your children based on their Chinese zodiak signs.

* Went to the Kid's Expo at the Ambassador on Saturday afternoon. My kudos to all involved. It was a great event with lots of fun things for the kids to do. EXCEPT that we couldn't do most of them because it was so crowded. If organizers are to continue this event, they definitely need to find a bigger venue.

* Jif and Skippy are eating Peter Pan's lunch. The store shelves were cleared of nearly all the p-bar at the local grocery stores this weekend -- no doubt the result of p-bar lovers restocking their pantry after dumping their Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter. I was comtemplating forking over $5 for a small jar of organic peanut butter because it was the only thing left on the shelves (and I live with two preschoolers who LIVE on p-bar)...lucky, I noticed a jar of Skippy hiding waaaaayyy in the back. It was creamy and we prefer chunky, but in a times like these choosy mothers can't be choosy.