In the kitchen with Mel- Ginger bread house (Guest staring my 5 year old cousin, Xavier)

My 5 yr old cousin came over today, bringing with him a build your own ginger bread house from Ikea and 5 packets of lollies. I was up for the challenge and so I volunteered to become a construction worker, architect and exterior designer. I was of the impression that building a ginger bread house would be easy, I was sadly

mistaken. After demolishing one wall I enlisted the help of a professional (shall not be named). He took over my roles of architect and construction worker and managed to assemble the various panels into an approximate house shape. At this stage the house resembled a derelict housing commission, house.

My cousin Xavier

Reconstructed wall

After waiting for the mortar, icing, to dry I let my cousin loose to decorate the house in anyway he saw fit. Using our supply of sour straps, M&M, and two different kinds of party mix (Which had all been previously separated into colours) we created our magnificent creation.

It even had a flower garden.

For those wishing to attempt a ginger bread house, all I say is make sure you have a lot of patience and a cute little kid to help you out and if all else fails just get fat eating the lollies.

All I want for Christmas is...

Hey all, I'm back and to honour this momentous occasion I have found my top 5 gifts for the enterprising scientist. If anyone wants to buy buy me one or all of the listed gifts , please do :)

Gift number 1: Chemistry Cocktail Set

Found at: thinkgeek.com

For all those who want to play with alcohol and citric acid mixes these holidays.

Gift number 2: A Periodic Table table

Found at: boingboing.net

Finally, a practical periodic table

Gift Number 3: Petri Dish Giant Plush Microbes

Found at: Thinkgeek.com

Because who doesn't want to cuddle with some Flesh Eating Virus's

Gift number 4: Chemistry Cookie Cutters

Found at: sciencelabcookiecutters.com

Scientifically proven to be absolutely delicious

Gift Number 5: Lab coat Bling

Found at: etsy.com

The key to being cool whilst wearing a lab coat

Yet Another Chemistry Joke :)

And for todays chem joke...
What do you do with a dead chemists? Barium

In the Kitchen with Mel- Spaghetti Carbonara

Looking for a quick and easy idea for lunch or dinner? well check out my recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara, probably takes less time than cooking 2 minute noodles (almost) :)
Ingredients:

• Crushed Garlic
• 1 onion
• 2 rashes of bacon
• 1 and 1/2 handfuls of spaghetti (however you can use whatever pasta you feel like)
• Cream cheese
• Grated cheese
  
• Oil
• Salt
  
• Pepper

(no exact mesurements as I just used what was at hand)
Method

• Put a pot of water on the stove to boil, once this has boiled add the pasta and cook to your liking (do this as you do the other steps)
  
• Dice the onion and the bacon
• Put some oil into another pot and put it on the stove at high,
  
• Place approximately 1tbs of garlic into the pot of oil
• Place diced onion into the oil and cook until the onion is translucent
• Place the bacon in with the onion and cook through
• take the pasta off the stove and strain
• put the cooked pasta into the pot with the onion, garlic and bacon.
• Stir through the pasta
• Add approximately 2 tbs of cream cheese and stir through
• Finally add about a handful of grated cheese and stir through until melted.
• Season with salt and pepper and ENJOY :)

Science Week Joke-Day 8 & International Year of Chemistry Joke

For your delight and pleasure we have a double header today... two jokes for the price of one! The First is for the final day of Science Week :(
Q: What is the fastest way to determine the sex of a chromosome?
A: Pull down its genes.
Second is for the International Year of Chemistry

Two atoms are walking down the street.

Says one atom to the other, "Hey! I think I lost an electron!"

The other says, "Are you sure??"

"Yes, I'm positive!"

Science Week - Day 7

Joke for day 7... not the last joke, even though a week is only meant to last 7 days :)
Why did the bear dissolve in water??
Because it was polar!

Science Week Joke-Day 5 & 6

Once again Uni has caught up to me so here are 2 jokes to make up for it...

There were two elderly men talking. The first says "I guess you are never too old." The second asks "Whys that?" The first replies, "Well yesterday a pretty college girl said she'd be intersted in dating me, but to be honest i don't know why she'd want to." The second replied "Well women these days don't mind being the ones to ask the man..." The first replies "No, that's not it." So the other man says "Maybe you remind her of her father?" The first replies "No, it's not that either it's just she also mention something about carbon 14..."

Susan was in Chemistry, Susan is no more. For what she thought was H2O was H2SO4 :)