Elephun Wednesday

It's Elephun Wednesday!  This week we bring you a picture of the rare were-elephant.  It's a little known fact that each month on the night of the full moon all the were-elephants come out and trumpet at the moon.  They are usually pretty harmless.  Just don't get between a were-elephant and his food.

Mexico for Lunch

quesadilla

Since our pickiest eater was on vacation the Monkeys decided to go to Amelia's Taqueria.  Over all it was a hit.  Between us we tried the burrito, the quesadilla, and the tacos.  The fillings included were steak, carnitas, grilled chicken, and al pastor.  You get to choose from a bunch of different things to add, some are free and some are a little extra cost but the prices are reasonable and they don't skimp on filling.  Just beware that the quesadilla is not typical.  It is the same thing as the burrito except that it is grilled.  Most people were very pleased with the food.  We got large.  Which might have been a mistake.  Because they were big.  I think the small would have been plenty for lunch.  All the ingredients were fresh and delicious.  I was a little disappointed with the lack of heat.  I got the hottest salsa on mine and still there was almost no heat.  Henry felt the same way.  It didn't help that

fried plantain

they forgot the lettuce on his.  He declared that Taco Bell was better.  Now, I think that was a little harsh, but I understood his disappointment.  I was a little scared when I opened the fried plantains because they did not look good but they turned out to be sweet and delicious.Everyone except Henry decided it was someplace we would try again.  We might have to wait until Danny...Boy is off again, but maybe we can convince him to try it.

Swag!

Look what we scored! It fell out of one of our shipping bags.  This awesome pen is all ours now.  What makes this pen so awesome?  It writes.  Isn't that great?  Well, maybe not to some people.  But us Monkeys have learned to find joy in the little, some would say tiny, things.  So, thank you to whoever dropped this in the bag and made this accidental gift to us.

Elephun Wednesday

Nine out of ten people pick Wednesday as their new favorite day*.  Do you know why?  That's right.  Because Wednesdays are now Elephun Wednesdays.  And this week we are giving you a picture that is sure to cause quite a splash.  Get it?  Splash.  Ha ha.  Okay.  So that's a joke only a Babbit could love.  Sorry.




*People polled consisted only of the Shipping Monkeys.

My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World Book Review

My Cat, The Silliest Cat in the World written and illustrated by Gilles Bachelet

An owner tells you all about his very strange cat that happens to look a lot like an elephant

I’m not a huge fan of the illustrations. In fact, I think the elephant is actually ugly.  But it is still the pictures that make the story, as they should in any good picture book.  The owner of this strange ‘cat’ describes his behavior as you see him perform perfectly ordinary cat activities.  So you see his ‘cat’ sleeping on top of the TV (Remember when TVs were deep enough for cats to do that?), licking himself clean, and using the litter box (this, of course, is the Monkeys’ favorite page.) All while the owner in completely convinced that this huge grey animal with a trunk is a cat.  It’s sure to get giggles from most kids.  It sure got a lot of laughs from the Monkey.  And if you ever want to know what an 8-year-old will think of a book, just hand it to us.

Our favorite subject - FOOD

On Thursday Fishy Fishy got us pizza from Galleria Umberto.  We  love Umberto's pizza.  It is cheesy and greasy and delicious.  Umberto's never has a bad day.  They only have cheese pizza and once it is gone it is gone.  So if you want some get there early.  And bring cash.  They serve other things too but you can't go there and not get the pizza.  The best part are the edges where the cheese gets all brown and crunchy.  But for some reason they give you these little plates and tiny napkins.  Don't even try to use just one plate to support a piece of this pizza.  Two might do but they will quickly be soaked through with grease so you might want to use three.  And you will need about eight napkins for each slice. You will also need a nap after eating a couple of slices.

And since Fishy Fishy paid for the pizza we had money to go out for lunch on Friday too.  So we went to Five Guys. (We were supposed to get another free lunch from Shake Shack but Alan backed out of his promise.)  Five Guys is our go to burger place.  I've mentioned Five Guys before and you can read my comments on it here.  But I forgot to mention last time that you should not get the grilled cheese.  I don't know why you would go to a burger place and get the grilled cheese (silly, Babbit) but if you are ever tempted, just don't.  It's no goody.

Kudos

Kudos this week goes to Fishy Fishy who not only went and got Umberto's pizza but paid for it as well.  You are officially the best, Fishy Fishy.

Elephun Wednesday

The boys were on their own today, and not only did they remember that it was Elephun Wednesday they even thought to send me the picture in my email so I could post from home.  So you have a remote Elephun Wednesday this week.  (Yes, it is sad that this is what I do with my day off.  I don't want to talk about it.)

Lots of Food

We went to Wings Over Boston this week.  They never miss.  There are a bunch of flavors to choose from but we have a few favorites.  It's nice because we all like different ones and we get to mix them up.  This time around we got Honey Bar-B-Que, Buffalo (Cruisin Altitude heat - that's only 2 out of 5 since some of the Monkeys are wimps) and Cajun Blackened.  And, of course, waffle fries.  The waffle fries are awesome.  You can tell how good the food is by how quiet we get.  Lunch that day was practically silent because we were too busy eating.

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We also went to the Teriyaki House.  We got a variety of things, as you can see from the pictures.

Beef Udon

Pork Gyoza

Every thing was good.  We plan to convince Danny...Boy that he should try it so we can go back sometime.

Boneless Spareribs

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl

Vegetable Tempura

Kudos

Babbit has once again gotten kudos.  And you won't believe what he did.  He actually got his own lunch.  He left the building and walked to a restaurant to pick up his own lunch.  Unbelievable!

On a less impressive note, he also brought back some forks from two different locations.

Kudos also go to Danny..Boy and Bee Hee for having conflicting schedules.  Since they could not make lunch on the same day the rest of us had an excuse to go out to lunch twice this week.  Thanks, guys.

Save the Elephants!

As you may have noticed, The Shipping Monkeys have a fondness for elephants.  Our lives would be bereft without elephants.  So, please, help us save the elephants.  There are many places you can donate to the cause.

The Wildlife Conservation Society

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Burn the Ivory

International Elephant Foundation

Elephant Voices

Save the Elephants

The Elephant Family

The Amboseli Trust For Elephants - Here you get a chance to name an elephant for a donation of $2500.

The Save Elephant Foundation - They have a shop with cool elephant related stuff but the prices are all in a currency I don't understand so I have no idea how much any of it costs.

Tusk - They have a shop where you will find all the Tusk apparel you will ever need.

The Elephant Highway - If you donate $25 you get an elephant keychain, an elephant photo and an adoption certificate.  They also have a shop so you can show your support with some great T-shirts.

The World Wildlife Fund - If you adopt an elephant you get a photo, a species card, an adoption certificate, a gift bag and a plush elephant of your very own

But the very best way to help the elephants is to eat chocolate.  At L.A. Burdick you can get chocolate elephants and a portion of the proceeds will go to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Fund.  You can only get these delicious elephants for a limited time so you better hurry!

Beans!

Well, we all know that Babbit eats beans every day.  And I figure that can get boring after a while.  So I have found some wonderful bean recipes that I thought he might want to try.

We have Banana and Black Bean Empanadas from Recipe.

We have Yam and Black Bean Burritos from The Kitchn.

We have Hoppin' John (also known as Black-Eyed Peas with Kielbasa) from Epicurious.

We have Zucchini, Black Bean and Rice Skillet from Ready Set Eat.

We have Cucumber and Garbanzo Bean Salad from Food.com.

We have Beans and Plantain Pottage from Eating Nigerian.

We have White-Bean and Sausage Stew from My Recipes.

We have Roasted Eggplant with Sicilian Style Cannellini Beans from Rachael Ray Every Day.

We have Spinach and Black Bean Egg Rolls from Taste of Home.

I'm sure Babbit will find something he likes on this list.

Elephun Wednesday

It's Elephun Wednesday again.  This week's picture is another red elephant.  This week he is joined by his friend the funky monkey.  Notice how they both seem to be staring right out of the screen at you.  Their eyes follow you where ever you go.  Actually, it's getting kind of creepy.  I think I'll wrap up this post and move on now.

That Made My Day

Just when you thought it would never happen again, Babbit and Danny...Boy were once again asked if they were brothers.  So that makes about 8732 times.  Which is about the same number of people who have seen them together.  Everyone else just thinks they are the same person. I don't see the resemblance, do you?

Kudos

Babbit came back with a bang and made this an all Babbit kudos this week.

First, once again a package was delivered to us that was not for us.  This one said it contained medical equipment.  So Babbit found the number for the real recipient and called her.  Unfortunately she only spoke Italian.  But that didn't stop Babbit.  He somehow managed to communicate with her and got a very nice woman her (possibly) life saving package.

And he cleaned off the desk.  Well, maybe that's a bit grand since nothing in shipping can ever actually be clean.  But there is far less stuff junking up the place.  I think he might have even filed some things.  I'm proud of you, Babbit.

But, lest all this praise go to his head, I feel I must mention that he went to the cafe TWICE and didn't bring back a single fork.  WTF?

Elephun Wednesday

This week's Elephun Wednesday picture was picked by Babbit.  Who seemed to think that it was all fun and games.  But don't let the name fool you.  We take Elephun Wednesday very seriously.  Not just any elephant can be an Elephun Wednesday elephant.  We coached him through this week and I believe he now understands the importance of the task and will choose all Elephun Wednesday elephants with due reverence in the future.