supposed

My sister is throwing us a 'baby party' - we're deliberately not calling it a shower because we want the emphasis to be on celebrating, rather than on giving us gifts. It'll be co-ed, with booze, no games, and really good food. We have lots of artist/crafty friends, so we're having a onesie decorating station. We just want to get together with friends and family and celebrate the impending birth of our first child.

That said, we realize that most people will bring gifts.

My partner doesn't want to open the gifts at the party, as she thinks it is tacky. She's been to a few baby showers in the past year where gifts weren't opened. She said it seems greedy to open gifts at the shower, and will refuse to participate. She also says it's really boring for people.

My family however thinks it is tacky to not open the gifts, and that we'll be seen as selfish/greedy if we don't.

Thoughts? I know usually at showers people open gifts, but we're trying to have this be more of a casual party than a traditional baby shower.

Sadie or Mirah?

Middle name will be Rachel, and last name will be hyphenated and sounds similar to Marshall-Smith.

We're debating between River and Elliot.

Middle name is to be determined. Last name will be hyphenated, and sounds similar to Marshall-Smith.

We live downtown, and do not have a car, so we use public transit and/or walk everywhere (and biking, but obviously we can't do that with the baby until she or he is 1 year old). We're hoping to do a lot of babywearing too (carrying in a wrap or carrier) but I think a stroller will still be useful for some situations.

What stroller would you recommend? It needs to be relatively small and lightweight (to be able to get it on and off streetcars/subways).

I work for a not-for-profit organization. We have offices in Shanghai, Mexico, Canada and South Africa. We have a conference call with all offices around once a month. As you can imagine, it gets very expensive. We have been using Bell Canada. My managers are wary of VOIP as they have not had good luck with things like Skype/etc. So has anyone used any traditional conference calling companies other than Bell? Any that are great (ie. good international rates) or any to avoid? Thanks!

i'm trying to replicate it - it's so good!

if there's anyone here from san francisco, i'd love to find a recipe that is similar to the marinade used at asqew (the restaurant with all the skewered food).

if not, just a really good marinade for tofu. also, i drained and froze my tofu - should i thaw it before marinating it, or just put it in the fridge with the marinade on it for a day to thaw?

i've cooked with tofu lots before, but my wife is really picky about tofu, but loved the stuff from asqew, so i'm trying to replicate it as best i can!