Monthly Archives: March 2008

What’s your best April Fools’ Day prank?

March 31, 20086:15 p.m.

woman laughingAre you ready for April 1? The day for salt in the sugar jar, Vaseline on the refrigerator door handle and crank calls.

To celebrate, we want to hear about your best April Fools’ prank.

Have you slipped a funny fortune into someone’s cookie, changed every clock in the house or sewed the bottom of Dad’s favorite pajama pants closed?

Here are a couple more funny (but harmless) ideas, from the Denver Post:

  • “Nervous eggs: Use an indelible-ink pen to draw terrified expressions on all the eggs in the carton.
  • Deceptive cake: Use canned or homemade frosting to coat an unwrapped roll of toilet tissue or paper towels. To make it even more appealing — and convincing — add sugary embellishments.”
By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Random thoughts | Comments (13)

Have you found a meaningful friendship online?

March 28, 20084:40 p.m.

online friendsIt’s not difficult to find a friend online. Adding a friend in Facebook takes just a click.

But here’s the real question: Have you found a platonic pal on the Internet who now is a close friend who you spend time with — in person?

With the help of the Internet, I’ve certainly grown friendships. When you regularly read people’s blogs, twitters, Web sites and other digital life reports, it’s hard not to. But I can honestly say that I’ve never made a friend online that I didn’t already have.

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Relationships, Web stuff | Comments (3)

Editing digital photos just got easier with Web-based Photoshop

March 27, 20089:18 a.m.

woman with cameraThis morning, San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc. released a streamlined — and free — online version of Photoshop, according to an Associated Press story.

I have a photo editing program on my home computer. But when I travel and want to edit photos for immediate Web sharing, I often wish I had access to a quick and easy Web-based program like this.

Check it out at the new program and let me know what you think. Do you have other photo editing software you’d recommend? (Bonus points if it’s free and Web-based.)

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Photography, Web stuff | Comments (0)

Wedding after-parties on the rise

March 26, 20084:56 p.m.

bride and groomFirst comes love, then comes marriage.

Then comes the reception, then comes the after-party.

Check out a story in Thursday’s WichiTalk that explains a new wedding phenomenon, the after-party.

It’s nothing new that family and friends who congregate for a wedding may hang out after the festivities at the hotel bar, the bride’s parents’ house, etc., to catch up with people they may not see often. But now brides and grooms are joining the fun.

When my cousin got married last summer in a small Iowa town, the celebration featured a traditional Irish Catholic wedding and reception with a crowded ballroom, full meal and lots of dancing. Afterwards, the newlyweds accompanied many of the guests to a local bar. Still in their gown and tux, they mingled with people who had attended the ceremony and reception as well as friends and acquaintances who hadn’t.

Do you think wedding after-parties are just another unnecessary cost and extravagance? Or do you love the idea of spending more time with friends and family? Have you attended a wedding after-party?

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Relationships | Comments (5)

Two Wichita events let you bring along your pooch

March 26, 20082:16 p.m.

woman and puppyFor a change, it might be a good thing Saturday if your date is a real dog.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, CityArts will host its annual Dog Gone Party, part of its Art Show at the Dog Show. (The event is free.)

And Yappy Days are here again. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Kansas Coliseum, people and pups can check out dog-related businesses, contests and more. (Admission is $5 a person, free for children 12 and under.)

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Pets | Comments (0)

We want to hear about your simple wedding

March 24, 20085:17 p.m.

brideAt a time of extreme weddings, WichiTalk wants to hear about local weddings that cut the excess and kept it simple.

Have you said “I do” at the Sedgwick County Courthouse in the presence of a couple of close friends? Are you planning an uncomplicated backyard summer ceremony?

Did you have a wedding that cost you next to nothing, with an afternoon that featured your favorite homemade cake, a stylish — but simple — sundress and your brother, the amateur photographer?

We want to hear about local couples that have bucked — or plan to buck — the ever-rising costs of weddings.

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Random thoughts, Relationships, Shopping | Comments (8)

Battle of the sexes at the kitchen table

March 20, 200812:53 p.m.

woman with appleHe prefers a big juicy steak. She’s happy with her baby spinach salad. Sound like you and your significant other?

An AFP article points to a study that indicates that men and women like different foods, “with men favoring meat and poultry, and women fruits and vegetables.”

I’m by no means a vegetarian, but my husband has me beat in the carnivore category. Here’s my question, though: Does this truly reflect tastes? Or do women tend to be more health-conscious and aware of their intakes of calories, natural vitamins and cancer-fighting produce?

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Food and Drink, Health & Fitness, Relationships | Comments (2)

Where do you put your $1 to good use?

March 18, 20082:00 p.m.

dollar billIn addition to dollar stores (we have at least 37 in the Wichita area), several area stores (Targets included) have an aisle, an endcap or a place devoted to $1 merchandise.

Have you found an area store where your buck has a lot of buying power? What’s your best $1 find?

At a local dollar store, I once found adorable baby socks, bibs, lotions and other baby supplies. At a baby shower, I gave a friend who was expecting her first baby the items in a laundry basket, which I also found for $1. She was able to use the laundry basket to transport her many gifts home, and then later in her nursery.

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Shopping | Comments (4)

Music for babies

March 17, 20085:21 p.m.

babyChristina Aguilera told People magazine that she plays Metallica, Bob Marley and the Stones for her new son, Max, according to McClatchy-Tribune.

What music do you love to play for your infant or young child? Beethoven? John Mayer? Poison? Do you think it makes a difference what music babies listen to?

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Music, Relationships | Comments (4)

How do you keep your teen safe online?

March 14, 20083:50 p.m.

teen girl onlineThe number of tweens and teens online is estimated to be around 21 million, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project 2005 study.

How do you keep your tween or teen safe online? Have you set up specific rules about where and when they can get on the Internet? Do you keep your family computer in a common room?

Click on “comments” and tell us about the boundaries you’ve established.

By Lori O'Toole Buselt | Filed under Relationships, Web stuff | Comments (2)