Unicorns poop cupcakes.

I started my new job today. My boss said “Hiring you was one of the best things I’ve...

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:24:46 -0500

I started my new job today.

My boss said “Hiring you was one of the best things I’ve done in a long time.”

Sweet.

Grillin’.

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:21:12 -0500

Grillin’.

Hanging out on the patio with friends, food, and multiple styles...

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:17:11 -0500

Hanging out on the patio with friends, food, and multiple styles of beer. Going to start my new job tomorrow. Woo! Happy Sunday!

Somehow I got roped into hiking. Not my cup of tea. What IS,...

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:04:00 -0500

Somehow I got roped into hiking. Not my cup of tea. What IS, however, is the almost 500 calories I burned doing it. And the descent. I can handle those two things.

Out for a few beers with friends in town- nice day to not be...

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:09:23 -0500

Out for a few beers with friends in town- nice day to not be working!

Chair’s done! It has new life and Husband likes it....

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:23:26 -0500

Chair’s done! It has new life and Husband likes it. Success!

The Anti Bridezilla! ^_^: TAB Travel: The Essential Flight Travel Kit!

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:05:51 -0500

The Anti Bridezilla! ^_^: TAB Travel: The Essential Flight Travel Kit!:

theantibridezilla:

With my Tokyo press trip looming around the corner, I thought it’d be good to take a moment to give a peak into my “essential travel kit” that I take with me on flights. I’ve been flying since before I could even sit up straight! And ever since I can remember, my sister and I used to always…

I like to bring those things plus a refillable water bottle, trail mix, and some fruit!

It looks like this picture didn’t post, and it’s the...

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:38:02 -0500

It looks like this picture didn’t post, and it’s the most important one because you can see the cleared garden bed and the pile of rocks in front of it. Mind you, there are two other piles about half the size on either side of the garden.

Oh and I’m majorly sunburned. Wtf sun.

I can’t even tell you how sore I am from digging out this...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:14:22 -0500

I can’t even tell you how sore I am from digging out this entire garden bed, and if you can see it, there are hundreds of rocks that lines the entire bed. After ripping out the old plants, and tossing the stones aside, I tore up the semi-permeable layer and now it’s ready to dig the rest of the soil out and start a completely new garden. I can’t wait!

Had a nice walk today with pups- he enjoyed the stream, the...

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:44:15 -0500

Had a nice walk today with pups- he enjoyed the stream, the dandelions, and I found some double-daisies (which I always think are amazing). I was going to pick them but stopped myself since they are living happily where they are and don’t need to be plucked for my own limited enjoyment.

An early morning repairman visit means I’m out of bed...

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:40:16 -0500

An early morning repairman visit means I’m out of bed earlier than in recent days- and I get to enjoy a gift from my mother-in-law: a teapot of sorts made to use with loose leaves. It steeps in there, then I sit it upon the top of my cup and a valve opens and it flows into the cup, leaving the leaves in the pot.

Looks awesome.

letsbuildahome-fr: New Orleans Nightscapes I (part 1) by Frank...

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:14:00 -0500

letsbuildahome-fr:

New Orleans Nightscapes I (part 1) by Frank Relle

These are gorgeous!

It’s totally no fun to watch my Cubs play the Rockies in a Denver bar when the Cubs are losing...

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:31:12 -0500

It’s totally no fun to watch my Cubs play the Rockies in a Denver bar when the Cubs are losing 7-0 in the 5th inning.

Catching up on Sunday Morning… The moment of nature was...

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:22:45 -0500

Catching up on Sunday Morning… The moment of nature was Canada geese and Blue was intrigued.

If only it were so easy… But this is a decent way to...

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:01:02 -0500

If only it were so easy…

But this is a decent way to start. Though, before you book ANYTHING I suggest getting quotes for EVERYTHING that’s big (venue, catering, photographer, flowers, music, etc.).

We made the mistake of booking a venue before getting quotes for catering, and it turned out the catering cost was an enormous amount, so we canceled and booked in an entirely different state. So… just keep that in mind.

Guest entry: How to Share Your Cause or Beliefs Without Being a Total Jerk

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:12:11 -0500

adulting:

Hi everyone! So the book came out last week and it’s been kind of a whirlwind since then, although I will say that I have achieved a life-dream, which is to utter the phrase “go look at pictures of baby otters” live on Fox News.

I’m sorting through all the book giveaway entries, and will have some winners announced by Wednesday; in the meantime, go check these answers out because oh man, you guys are so wonderfully adult and are slaying it out there.

In the meantime, here is a great guest entry from LeotardSanity:

The Internet is a great place to learn how not to have a meaningful discussion. Rather than respectfully sharing our point of view, any lengthy conversation on sensitive matters such as politics, religion, race, sexuality, or the Oxford comma quickly devolves into a lot of mudslinging and comparing those on the other side to the Third Reich. If you’re wanting anyone’s opinions to actually be swayed by the argument you present, whether on the Internet or in real life, here are some tips to remember:

Read More

Good points.

“Expect probing and even inappropriate questions. Expect slip-ups. Expect that the person you’re talking to will unintentionally say something offensive. Do not respond to genuine confusion with an indictment of the responsible party.”

theglasschild: “Finish each day and be done with it. You have...

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:01:51 -0500

theglasschild:

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

I was getting a drug test for a new job a few years ago, and I started chatting with the guy who checked me in. He was telling me how when he first started courting his wife, he’d take her out to nice dinners, charter planes to take her to Europe for a few days, surprise her with all sorts of things. He made a comment that was to the effect of, “If I knew what I know now, I’d have done things differently and better.”

So I said, “Well, do you think you did your best at the time with what resources and knowledge you had?”

And he said, “Well, yes.”

And I said, “Well then, don’t sit and worry about how you could have done better. Clearly it made her happy, and you did the best you could, so enjoy it and move on.”

He was surprisingly happy to hear my advice, and I like to think I bettered his day a little bit.

"The research arm of dating site OKCupid looked at 500,000 first contacts and concluded that..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:58:03 -0500

“The research arm of dating site OKCupid looked at 500,000 first contacts and concluded that “netspeak, bad grammar and bad spelling are huge turn-offs”. The biggest passion killers were “ur”, “r”, “u”, “ya” and “cant”. Also damaging to online suitors were “luv” and “wat”.

On the other hand, correct use of apostrophes was appealing. Using “don’t” and “won’t” caused better than average response rates - 36% and 37% respectively, according to the research.”

- Apostrophe now: Bad grammar and the people who hate it
Read: BBC News (via brooklynmutt)

You should try semi-colons.

(via caterpillarcowboy)

If I were online dating, I would have to say that yes, grammar is a must. Especially considering that I’ve never been a fan of “netspeak” and don’t use it myself. Whenever someone uses it, it knocks them down a few pegs for me.

I’m repainting a chair. And by that, I mean I’m...

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:39:16 -0500

I’m repainting a chair.

And by that, I mean I’m spray painting a metal farm chair that I bought in college at the Salvation Army because currently it’s white and husband doesn’t like it.

In some places it’s orange (where I tried to spray paint it while living in my Chicago apartment and I stopped quickly so I wouldn’t get an odor complaint).

And some places it’s red (where I sanded away the white to the metal and saw red under there.

Now, it’s got a few coats of primer on it, and soon it will be blue, so all those colors are memories, waiting for someone to sand them down in many years and see what’s underneath.

kittengettingmarried: How far in advance does one create a gift registry? Anyone know? Google is...

Sat, 11 May 2013 21:56:22 -0500

kittengettingmarried:

How far in advance does one create a gift registry? Anyone know? Google is giving me conflicting advice.

There are a few factors to this, but I don’t think there’s any hard and fast rules.

If you’re getting married within a year of when you got engaged, I would say at least start a registry or two within three months of getting engaged. This especially goes for if you’re having a wedding shower or engagement party (sooner if you’re having the party closer to when you got engaged). People want to be able to buy you gifts for any parties, and your wedding of course, but there’s not a huge point to having a registry sit there for months. Plus, if you’re doing traditional items at big box stores, their inventory is seasonal and what (seasonal items) you add to the registry in February most likely won’t be there in June.

If you’re not getting married until a year or more after you get engaged, you can probably wait 6-9 months to start one. Again, same rule on seasonality.

We got married about 18 months after we got engaged, and had an engagement party (but no wedding shower) a few months before the wedding (and over a year after we got engaged). I didn’t want to have a registry sitting there for a year so I think we started it a few months before the engagement party.

Before you do them though, see if there are any registry parties (Crate + Barrel and Bed, Bath & Beyond do them for sure, perhaps Macy’s too?) because you’ll get the store to yourself for an hour or so (and a few other engaged couples) and perhaps some champagne and a door gift.

Hopefully that helps!