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Post them in the Free or Pets sections of Craigslist. Bunnies love them.

There's a sweet housewarming tradition from It's A Wonderful Life. Get a pretty basket, line it with a pretty kitchen towel, and include the following: bread, that this house may never know hunger; salt, that life may always have flavor; and wine, that joy and prosperity may reign forever (and write that part out on the card so the gift makes sense.) Get a box of herbed bread mix or the like, a nice salt in a grinder, and a bottle of wine or sparkling grape juice. Cost is less than $20, and it's a dear little gift.

It's never the same as real bacon, but I always look for the "South Beach" turquoise emblem on the package and get that one. It was Louis Rich for a while, now it's something else I think. That's how I pick.

I live here in Fort Myers... can't say that much is really notable, unfortunately. And I'm not a fish-eater, so that doesn't help, either. My mother enjoyed Three Fishermen Seafood, just south of Colonial on the west side of 41 (Sam's Club plaza). If you're going down to Naples, Randy's Fishmarket always gets great reviews. A typical vacation-y place for a family is Cheeburger Cheeburger (various locations), but only because of the choices of sizes of burgers. Their shakes are excellent, though. If I were you I'd venture over to Sanibel Island; breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe (call ahead for seating), lunch at The Hungry Heron (huge homemade portions), and a nice dinner at The Green Flash on Captiva.

I'm sad to say that we eat at chains most of the time. But if you're looking for a fun non-food thing to do, either rent Jetskis from Island Watersports at the Holiday Inn on Fort Myers Beach, or go on a dolphin cruise out of Sanibel Harbor (which is, ironically, not ON Sanibel, but just before). Feel free to email me if you need more suggestions. Oh, and bring your sunscreen! The sun is at its closest right now.

I think the true test of a good beef stew is not just what's in the stew, but what you do with it. Here's my best recipe. If I wasn't married, my husband would propose over it.

For two
Into the crock pot goes:
1/2 lb beef for stew (cubed beef)
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/2 lb baby carrots
1 heaping tsp Better Than Bouillon beef base
Twice around the pot with soy sauce
2 T Soy Vey teriyaki sauce
A couple of glugs of worcestershire sauce
Water to almost cover

Let that cook on low all day (8 hours or so).

When you get home:
Add a slurry of 1 T cornstarch/1 T cold water to crock pot to thicken.
Make mashed potatoes (I use flakes. Don't judge me.). Add garlic salt for a little kick.
Nuke 1 cup french fried onions for one minute.
Pour shredded colby jack cheese into a bowl.

To assemble, in individual bowls or plates:
1.) a layer of mashed potatoes
2.) a layer of shredded cheese
3.) a layer of beef stew with onions and carrots
4.) a generous sprinkling of french fried onions

You're welcome. :)

Ooo, I LOVE mine. It's a Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven

http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=506&item_id=617&cat_id=15

and it's wonderful! We use our more than we use our regular oven, it's so great. The convection makes things cook evenly, thank goodness, so we can even bake in it. (No, I don't work for Cuisinart. I'm just really in love with my toaster oven.) It's a bit pricey at $179 on the Cuisinart website, but you could probably shop around online a bit and find a better deal.

It's a lesser-known brand, but we love our ScanPans. Lifetime warranty without the crazy All-Clad or Calphalon price. They're non-stick with a baked-in ceramic coating, not a Teflon one. And they're super-easy to clean-- run the hot pan under cold water to steam the residue off. I researched All-Clad and Calphalon before deciding on this brand. I got them at Cook's Warehouse--www.cookswarehouse.com.

I did this! We had a Sunday morning wedding with a brunch afterward. It was a buffet with an omelet station, breakfast foods, eggs benedict, etc., but also carving stations with meat and potatoes for lunch people. It went over very well. We also had a big dessert buffet instead of wedding cake, and that went over very well, too.

We did this on purpose-- most of our guests were traveling in from out of town, so we had a big barbecue on Saturday where we got to spend time with our guests, and then the wedding was Sunday, reception over by 3 so people had time to get home. It worked out really well! Feel free to email me (orangemiles at gmail dot com) for more details.

How about the Today show on Tuesday? Anthony somebody from an Exotic Foods show had brains, roasted cockroaches, all sorts of exotic foods... unfortunately they made me, a grown woman, gag out loud and involuntarily, and then I had to change the channel for fear of losing my breakfast.

I get a tickle in my throat when I think about the whole caterpillar I found in my bagged salad years ago. Triple washed, I think not.

My favorite place nearby is Bandera. It's on Michigan Ave just about a block or two north of the River. It's on the second floor, above Andriana Furs, on the east side of the street. Great rotisserie chicken, burgers, etc., with a sophisticated twist. Even the kids' grilled cheese is on special thinly sliced bread-- very cute. They have nightly jazz and seats by the window overlooking Michigan Avenue. Prices are extremely reasonable for such a great location. After dinner cross the street and head north a block to Grand Luxe Cafe for a dessert to blow your mind.

Bandera is a great restaurant just south of Ohio a few blocks on Michigan. It's on the second floor above Andriana Furs, on the east side of the street. Comfort foods with a sophisticated twist. Very affordable. Live jazz every night, seats at the window overlook Michigan Avenue. It's my favorite spot in Chicago. Then go across the street and up a block to Grand Luxe Cafe for a monster dessert.

To pass the time on your free day, take a free trolley around the city. Go to visitors center at Water Tower (north on Michigan Ave to Chicago Ave) and get a map of the trolley routes. Get off wherever you like (Shedd Aquarium, Planetarium, Sears Tower, Art Institute, etc.) and hop back on. Just pay attention to the time of the last trolley so you're not stranded. Even so you could catch a cab. I recommend the Art Institute-- even though many of their paintings are on vacation in Texas, there's still a lot to see. Also, get drinks in the Signature Room on the 96th floor of the Hancock. The best view is actually from the ladies restroom up there.

If you're interested in architecture, google the Chicago Architecture Foundation-- they have walks and boat rides which are lovely and interesting. Also google the mayor's office of Chicago to find out what festivals are going to be going on while you're there. There's often music or movies playing in Grant Park or Millenium Park, a nice evening activity. Enjoy!

JoyTheBaker did a little experiment on this. Check out her blog if you want to see her results: www.joythebaker.com/blog

I can't think of anything else I like more than The Wooden Spoon.