From an AP article:

WASHINGTON (AP) – The National Zoo says panda mother Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) is showing a spike in hormone levels, a sign that she might be pregnant again.

But there’s no reliable pregnancy test for pandas, and this could be a false alarm.

Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March with semen from Tian Tian (tee-YEN tee-YEN), the zoo’s male giant panda. Test results Thursday indicate Mei Xiang will either give birth or come to the end of a false pregnancy in mid- to late-July.

Oh how I hope this is true. The entire reason I fell completely in love with pandas was because of the Panda Cam at the National Zoo. I drove across the country, alone, to see Tai Shan on his first birthday. And before you think I’m completely insane, I did actually go to see the sites in DC and have a lovely vacation as well, not just to celebrate a panda’s 1st birthday. (Or at least that’s what I tell people. )

How exciting! I hope Tai Shan gets a new little brother or sister! Eeeep!

I’ve made a poll so you can choose which charity will receive the first $100.00 in ad revenue from the site! The poll is in the sidebar to the right. —->

I’m so excited that we’ve finally (almost) made it to $100! It’s nice to be able to make a tangible difference, no matter how small, by doing something I love. Basically, we’ve raised money from nothing, and that’s awesome. Congratulations, and thank you, to everyone who endures and clicks the ads. It actually does ad up.

Make sure to vote, and if you have another charity suggestion, leave a comment here or email us at suggestions@perfectpandas.com!

These little wooden drawer pulls would look adorable on a chest of drawers in a child’s room. Or a dainty little bathroom.  Available for only $3.00 each at Amazon.

I’m lusting over this fabric I found at ETSY (can you tell I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time there lately?). FromJapanWithLove has 1/2 yard of this listed for $14.00. Though a bit pricey, I’d be more than willing to pay it if I could think of something adorable to make with it. But, being a poor student, I can’t really justify spending that much on half of a yard of fabric I don’t have plans for. Grr!

Snatch it up before I change my mind. Please?!

Isn’t he cute! He’s doing a little dance!

So, I’ve heard tons about panda mating lately and I don’t know why. The newest? Panda ‘Sex”ercise!

An apple is dangled from a string above the panda, luring it to stand on two legs as it tries to reach the treat. The exercise helps the panda to walk on its rear legs, thus strengthening the pelvic and hip muscles and better equipping it for sex.

Read more about it here.

I saw this adorable panda photo in a story on metro.co.uk about the Olympic pandas. Such a cutie!

I want to snuggle you beyond words little panda cub.

Coco Wang has a wonderful website with comics about the China Earthquake. It’s very respectful while trying to keep a lighthearted overtone. You can check it out here.

From the creator:

I am back home in Beijing now. Thousands of heart-breaking stories are happening 24 hours non-stop everyday, some are so sad that you can hardly bear, some are incredibly moving that you just can’t stop crying… I wanted to go to the front to help with all those people, some of my friends have already gone there, but I heard that the traffic needed to be kept totally clear for rescue transportation at the moment, people like me without knowledge of first-aid and experience of rescue operations going there now would cause choas and trouble… but I can’t just sit at home and do nothing, I have been crying my eyes out in the past three days, I have never felt more proud of my country and people… their love, courage and kindness rock me to my core! I have decided to tell these touching stories by drawing comics. I am going to send you comic strips almost everyday from now on, I hope you could know something about the earthquake in China, although you don’t have to do anything, but I hope you could feel our love and hope.

Here’s a quick little fact I didnt’ know about pandas:

The male panda can only mate for at most 30 seconds at a time and hence the chances of getting the female pregnant are very low.

To help increase birth rates,  researchers are testing the effectiveness of Viagra on captive pandas. They’re hoping it will increase the male’s desire to breed as well as prolong the actual act. Read more about it on BBC News.

I’ve recently become obsessed with all things crafty – painting, sewing, quilting, paper crafts, etc. Craftster.org has become like a second home to me, and I wanted to share this panda project that was posted by forum member funiscool. There is no tutorial, but it seems pretty straight forward: cut out little shapes and glue them down on a piece of cardstock, then frame. I think I might try something similar soon. That place is so inspiring! If you join, add me as a friend!

This post is dedicated to OragamiPanda who requested more crafty posts!

This comes from lovely reader polkadotz. She found these awesome party supplies at OrientalTrading.com. They have absolutely EVERYTHING Kung Fu Panda related you could ever want for a party.

You can buy everything all at once in an Ultimate Party Pack for $109.95, but it doesn’t really give a description of what’s included – just a photo. There’s a piñata at least!

How about some Kung Fu Panda PEZ dispensers? $17.95 for a dozen.