If you are going to buy a 20 gallon tank, make it a long and not tall 20. They both hold the same amount of water, but the longer a tank is in relation to capacity, the better. A longer but less tall tank gives a greater amount of surface for air, and more space for the fish to swim. They really do swim back and forth, more than up and down, and virtually all of the small tropicals kept in home aquariums come from fairly shallow waters. Rainbow sharks, of course, are not sharks at all, but highly territorial cyprinids, related to Danios, and are considered an aggressive species, but they really aren't aggressive so much as territorial. They are only "aggressive" because they ARE territorial. They aren't "mean", it's just their nature to chase other fish from "their" territory. Their usual problem, is being kept with too many other fish in too small a tank to allow them to stake out a territory and still leave plenty of DMZ for their tankmates to live in peace. However, they are also pretty much bottom dwellers, so the trick there, is to keep them with fish that swim middle to top, and for that, you might consider another member of the cyprinid family; one of the Danios. With good filtration in a long 20, you could keep a school of about 12 larger Danios, such as blues, or pearls and the Rainbow Shark, and because they swim at different levels, there should be no conflict. Mainly, the Rainbow would not view a SCHOOL of Danios as invaders and Danios are also among the most hardy of fish for any beginner to start with. Most of the fish commonly kept in home aquariums are naturally schooling and it's both cruel to the fish and far less satisfying to watch them, if you keep one or two of this, that and the other. It's such a tempation to want a few of everything, but you really should resist. You will be far better off maintaining a limited species tank, and the fish will benefit from your restraint as well. Rainbow Sharks are one of the exceptions to the schooling rule however, at least in home aquariums. Only those with really large tanks, say 125 gal. & up, can safely keep them in schools, as each would then have the space to stake out it's own territory. Fish keeping can be a lot of fun, and is a great way to relax, but your best experience in keeping them, is to do it with an understanding of their natural behavior, and giving them a chance to exhibit it, in as natural a setting as you can. Anytime a pet store sales person tells you that you can have a HAPPY community tank with one or two of this, that and another, is either a liar, or an ignoramus.

Linda, I love your idea!! I remember being very little and my father showing me how to decorate a cake. "It's just like caulking." It's a hard choice between what tastes best, what looks best and what sells best. The latter depends on the rules of the game. If this is the one that's a combo between musical chairs and a raffle, that is, where the person closest to the cake number called when the music stops gets the cake, then I'd think taste would be a big part of it. You want good looks so that when your cake is one of the few left people still want to try for it, but it's most important that people be happy to eat the result. If it's more like a silent auction looks are more important. My best cake isn't much to look at but is really yummy (chocolate-pumpkin marble). The brownies sound similar--yummy but not very colorful. Doesn't the cheesecake need to be refrigerated? That might not be a good idea. Sugar cookies with M&M's are colorful and popular. Maybe not as yummy as your brownies. So going for that kind of color look, have you thought of putting a few icing flowers on the brownies? For that neon coloring that Deee mentioned. Kids love icing flowers. I think they sound kind of revolting with peanut butter truffle brownies, but they'd pretty them up for the whole decorating contest thing, and the adults don't have to eat the flowers. :)

This was served in Carnival Freedom's steak house and was called Spinach and Fresh Mushrooms with Blue Cheese Dressing and Warm Bacon Bits This looks like one serving Baby spinach - 0.25 lb. Bacon - 6 strips Blue cheese - 2 oz. Olive oil extra virgin - 4 tbsp. Portobello mushrooms - 1 ea. Butter - 1/2 tbsp. Mixed chopped mushrooms - 1/4 cups Salt - to taste Crushed black pepper - to taste Lemon juice - 1/4 tbsp Pickled pink oyster mushrooms - 4 ea. Parmesan cheese - 2 oz. Chives - a few Method: Cut bacon in dices. Render bacon till crisp. Drain off excess fat. Keep warm till use. Clean, wash and dry spinach in a salad spinner. Remove the stem and gills of Portobello and peel. Cook them in brown butter with salt and crushed black pepper. Cut into rounds. Shred the left over trimmings and mix it with cooked mixed chopped mushrooms. Make a napoleon with mushrooms rounds at top and bottom and mushroom mix at center. Keep hot. Blend extra virgin olive oil, half the blue cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper with a hand blender. Adjust seasoning to liking. Finish and Presentation: Place a large cookie cutter at the center of a plate and place mushroom napoleon at its center. Toss spinach with blue cheese dressing and place it over the mushroom napoleon. Garnish with crumbled blue cheese, fresh bacon bits and a slice of pickled pink oyster mushroom on the top of the Parmesan crisp.

I agree with other posters who made the important distinction between a performance versus an activity. A school carnival is the equivalent of going to a movie or the mall, and even though the parent whose day it isn't would like to go, they are barging in on the other parent's time with the kid! That said...this is a "do as I say and not as I do" thing for our house, because even though my ex and I always divided things up like that, BM would have none of that, and we gave in. It is such a relief to have both SDs out of high school so there are fewer of those events where it was her, DH and me hanging around, sometimes all day, with the SDs, or even in events where the kids didn't really stay with the parents. And she wanted it that way on her time, too. She would always call DH to invite him to church events or things at her golf club, places we weren't even involved with. He would always say no; eventually she figured out that if she invited both of us, we were more likely to come. Which was true, but we really didn't want to do those things with her, where the three of us (or sometimes her DH too) had to socialize for long periods of time. The funny thing is, in desperation DH and I tried a tactic where I would go without him if it was something on our time and DH couldn't go. At first BM was mad (she chewed him out once in front of the girls) but then it seemed fine with her--DH called me her "new best friend." It was just so uncomfortable and I am so happy it is pretty much over. I feel like a newlywed.