Favorite Things: December

Happy New Year! I was going to do a "2013 Favorites" but I figured it was probably easier for me to link to my favorites archive... it's not easier for you though because you have to do all the work. Sorry. So instead I'm doing the usual. I'm a sucker for regularity.

Stuff I Saw That I Liked on the Interwebs
38 most haunting abandoned places- Some great and eerie photography.

46 most iconic LGBT moments of 2013- I may or may not have cried while reading this/ watching the videos. People should stop cutting onions near me.

Abandonded Star Wars sets in the desert- I love Star Wars and it was cool to see the remains of the desert sets.

Games
Quelf- Ridiculous, ridiculous game that leaves you without dignity. Alcohol is most likely required.

Cards Against Humanity- This card game makes you feel like a terrible person. A terrible, hilarious person. It's kind of like a dirty Apples to Apples. It's a simple concept and it's easy to play but it is so FUN!

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I also just wanted to thank you, whoever you are, for taking the time to read any silly thing I've written. It always astounds me when I see any page views that aren't my own. However you found your way here, thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fantastic new year!

I'm A Little Frantic This Holiday Season

As you can probably tell from the title I'm getting stressed out already about Christmas. Mostly because I don't know what to get anyone and even if I did I don't exactly have a lot to spend.

I decided the best thing to do was to get crafty and make some stuff. This could either turn out well or people are going to think that I'm not only cheap but that I give horrible gifts. I'm aiming towards "quirky" or "creative". So here are some ideas for crafts I already made (in case you're wondering) and other gifts I'm going to try this year. I do have to warn you that I go a little loopy here. I'm not apologizing or anything I'm just giving you fair warning. The holidays make me crazy.

Burlap & Canvas

I made my sister-in-law a canvas picture of her kids and burlap table runner using stuff I found at Walmart.

For the burlap runner: Burlap, black fabric paint, stencil (or make one using a piece of plastic, a X-Acto knife, and a google image search), sponge paint brush

Directions: I cut the burlap to the appropriate size and made a stencil. Then I put it where I wanted it to go, sponged on the paint and bam! Done! Just let it dry.

For the canvas: 8x10 canvas, transfer paper, printer, iron, Mod Podge (I used matte finish), small paint brush

Directions: Find a picture you like, print it on to transfer paper, and iron it on. Once cool, brush Mod Podge over it. I'm not really sure why I did that last part so you could probably skip it. It worked for me so... I'm just guessing here. Give it some rational thought and decide for yourself. I'm not the boss of you!

Other Stuff You Could Totally Make

I got the idea to make some food and drinks to hand out as gifts. They sound like they could be difficult but I don't think they will be. I'm mostly excited for the infused vodkas because alcohol.

Country Living has a slideshow of 29 Homemade Food Gifts that I'm interested in. Specifically the flavored salts and maybe some Espresso-Flavored Sugar Cubes or Tart-Cherry and Dark-Chocolate Bars. I'm going to look like Martha F-ing Stewart!

Speaking of Martha Stewart, there were also some ideas on her website. Like infused vodka. It's happening, bitches, and I don't even like vodka! I'm going to buy some vodka and throw some strawberries in that shit!

Photo from marthastewart.com

Sorted (British Youtube channel) also has some ideas for food you can give as gifts. I like the recipe for Spiced Nuts and Marinated Olives. They have other great ideas, too!

As I try these I'll try to remember to let you know how they turn out. I'm hoping they turn out well! If you try any let me know how they turn out for you!

Favorite Things: November

I know I'm a couple of days late (December 2nd isn't that late) but if I date this post for November 30th does it still count? I mean, it's a lie but it would still be dated for November... but I was really busy doing stuff and things!

Games
Clumsy Ninja is adorable and clumsy and some more adorable. You help train him so he increases his skill level and gets different colored belts. Plus he'll high-five you after training and that's kind of awesome. I just feel bad when you're supposed to throw him around, but he doesn't seem to mind. Check it out in the iTunes app store or NaturalMotion website.

 Just look at that adorable little face!

Things that amused me

Buzzfeed
There were 2 posts I read recently: 50 Things You Will Never Be Able to Forget (awesome!) and Strange and delightful facts about Britishhistory. I was horrified by # 18! You're welcome.

Creepy Crickets!
I'm not sure if you knew this, but Crickets slowed down sounds really creepy. It's like they're singing to you with their little creepy angel voices.

This guy's Tweets
Elan Gale live tweeted his feud with the lady in 7A. It was Thanksgiving and the flight was delayed and apparently it was only Thanksgiving for the lady in 7A and nobody understood how they were messing up her day. She didn't find his actions funny but I certainly did.

Our flight is delayed. A woman on here is very upset because she has Thanksgiving plans. She is the only one obviously. Praying for her

— elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that nobody got hurt on Black Friday (I'm scared to go out that day- here's why)! Now we can all be hit over the head with Christmas until that's over with.

Happy Thanksgiving, I'm Scared To Go Out!

There is something about turkey that makes people ravenous for savings/shopping. All of these Black Friday deals that have people up at 4am just to go to a store to get some money off some stuff because it's a deal. This makes me a little afraid to leave my house. I like to call it the "Black Friday Madness" because people get crazy. Just a couple of years ago some lady pepper sprayed people at a Walmart in California... I'm not joking, the story was on CNN. My favorite quote from the story is this:

"I tried to get away as quickly as possible because I didn't think it was worth it. No deal's worth that," he said.

I was slightly amused. A deal is worth being surrounded by shoppers that will flip if you try to reach for the same thing as them, but at least they draw the line at pepper spray.

From cartoonaday.com

That's why I'm staying in and shopping online. Because at least they can't reach through the computer and stab me. Amazon is having some really good deals on Kindle books right now so I was really excited. Plus ThinkGeek is having a 40% sale... so I'm tempted to order some geeky Christmas presents. Happy Thanksgiving! And remember not to pepper spray anyone unless it's worth it!

Why I Hate Movember

No Shave November or "Movember" is this month and while I don't mind (actually I appreciate) a good beard or mustache, having my husband growing facial hair is driving me crazy. But that is mostly because he grows the scraggly facial hair of a teenage boy just starting puberty. I argue that you shouldn't be allowed to grow facial hair unless you can do it right. He was mildly insulted when I told him this.

His facial hair is patchy and will never grow into the glory that is Tom Selleck's mustache or the beautiful beard of Joe Bereta (Youtuber and SourceFed host). It's not his fault- genetics are just a bitch sometimes. I would know because instead of getting my dad's darker skin I have the pale skin of my mom's side of the family. And also their thyroid issues.... sorry, moving on...

That mustache is glorious

I also can't kiss him this month. Not that I literally can't kiss him, I just find myself unable to comfortably kiss him with his awkward teen wolf face. It feels weird and I hate it. So I guess what I'm saying is I hate Movember unless you can grow a good looking beard or mustache. Or something.

I Know It's In There And Now I Can't Drive Home

I had a slight panic attack this morning when a spider decided it wanted to hang out with me in my car as I was driving down the highway to get to work. I'm OK when the car isn't moving but when I'm going 70+ MPH I somehow forget normal brain functions and instead my only thoughts are holy crap don't crash a spider is in here how do I get it out what do I do I don't want to die! It may have just wanted to drive since it was headed towards my steering wheel but for obvious reasons that wasn't happening. But mostly because I wanted to kill it.

It's dreams mean nothing to me

(Picture from Drawception)

So, rather than killing the spider with one of the many napkins or receipts in the center console, I decided in my moment of panic that the best thing to do would be to fling it away from me to the passenger side of the car. This creates another issue. Now I know there is a spider somewhere in my car that is alive and probably wants to seek revenge. I mean, I probably killed it's dream of driving a car or something, but I have my reasons. But since spiders don't understand rational thought I had better check to make sure my break lines aren't cut or anything before I leave work today.

And then when I actually stopped the car to look for it, I found myself whispering as I looked over at the passenger side of the car "come out so I can kill you". I realized after I said it how creepy that actually was and the whispering made it worse, I think. But I truly meant it. Please show yourself, spider, before I start driving again. I won't feel at ease until I either find and kill it or the weather drops below freezing and I can assume it froze to death. Either is acceptable but I would prefer sooner rather than later.

Or maybe I'll just buy a new car and never drive that one again. Or since it's winter I'll invest in sled dogs. Or a snowmobile? Those options will be cold but at least there won't be spiders.

P.S. Want to know why I hate spiders so much? This is part of it. Also, because it's normal and people who aren't grossed out by spiders worry me.

Out Of The House... For Shopping!

I had some fun times over my birthday and I have had way too much cake over the last 2 weekends. It was all excellent and even though I do love cake, I've had a bit much in too short of a time span. Somehow, though it pains me to say it, I am all caked out. I know, I'm surprised, too. Plus on top of all of the extra Halloween candy I did something I rarely do... I turned down a cookie. I think I'm sick, guys.

TARDIS cake by Ashley; HP cake by Heather

My Birthday weekend I went to Birch Run, MI to do some shopping with my family (Mom, Aunts, Cousin, & Grandma) and we took a quick trip over to Frankenmuth so I could be forced into the Christmas hell that is Bronner's. If you don't know what that is, it's a HUGE store that is full of Christmas decorations and other stuff. I think a good 85% of it's stock is ornaments. It was cool at first, but after my Mom made me follow her around for 3 hours on our first visit, I never wanted to go back. I'm still slightly traumatized.

I found the ornament that fits me, somehow.

It also has weird elves that welcome you. And a room with display cases full of tiny, creepy dolls. And Christmas patterened toilet paper! It did have some cool decorations though.

 
And a sexily posed Santa!

 He tried to seduce me with Christmas cheer

See what that place does? It even somehow made this post Christmas themed. I felt bad for the people who work there because of the constantly playing Christmas music. I imagine it might be one of those things you can tune out after awhile... or it will drive you crazy and you'll end up quitting. One of those.

The only thing about the hotel that made me nervous was that the corner of the bathroom had been on fire at some point.

What happened here?!

But over all I was glad I got to go and see some of my family members I don't see often enough. We are all hilarious when we get together and a lot of fun was had. Plus we got to take a carriage ride. So, you know... it was extra awesome and stuff.

Favorite Things: October (Birthday Edition!)

I had a birthday this past weekend filled with fun times and a lot of food. Seriously... a lot of food. And cake. It was wonderful and I'm probably going to blog about it soon. And since this is my blog and it was just my birthday, I'm going to talk about things I like... because I can! So here are some things I liked that I got either around or for my birthday.

Things I got that just happened to be around my birthday

Lootcrate
This month's Lootcrate theme was "Survival" and it came with this spectacular "Ewoking Dead" shirt from GraphicLab Tees! They have them on the site still but they're limited edition so hurry and get one!

 I love both Ewoks & The Walking Dead

so I was gleeful to get this! GLEEFUL!

It also came with the Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks (who also wrote the book World War Z).

Mental gifts to myself

Go Mighty
There is a lot of stuff I want to try and this helps me keep track. So now every time I think "hey I'd like to try/do that someday" I can just add it to my list- simple! Plus I can remember to blog about it after I check it off! Check out my list here and offer suggestions!

Organization
Buttoned Up is a great website for organization! They even have free printouts so I can get all organized without having to buy things to help me get organized. I love free things.

Things I'm buying myself

Books
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh came out on October 29th (which I'm hoping to get in the mail soon). Allie Brosh is a blogger and the great thing about Allie's stuff is that I liked it even before I knew what it was. Allie is the creator of the "ALL THE THINGS!" meme I've seen all over the interwebs. Her blog is hilarious (the drawings really make it) and I can't stop myself from giggling every time I read it.

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft is a graphic novel I've heard a lot about so I finally decided to check it out- I ordered it the same time as the other book mentioned so I hope it get them soon. It's supposed to be creepy and since it's Halloween time and I like to read scary stuff, it seemed like a good time to read it.

Video Games
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. I get to be a bad-ass pirate. Isn't that enough!? Seriously though, I just started playing it yesterday and it's awesome! I'M A PIRATE!

I'm on a boat!

Stuff I got from other people

Doctor Who
My sister knitted me the 4th Doctor's scarf, which will be extra warm in the winter but nearly impossible to wear (it is, like Tom Baker's scarf, ridiculously long). She also sent me a TARDIS mug that will be kept full of warm liquids this winter. It's shaped like a TARDIS and everything!

My friend at work (Thanks, Ashley!) also got me a TARDIS travel mug (among many other cool things) so I can take my warm liquids to go!

T-Shirts
My husband ordered me a couple of shirts from shirtwoot! that I was very happy with. One was the "Wishful Thinking" t-rex and "It Came Out of Nowhere" (car from Back to the Future crashing into the TARDIS).

Wishful Thinking

Happy end of October! Now I have to prepare for the dreaded "No Shave November". I hate it so much.

How Chucky Ruined My Childhood

Once when I was younger my parents were watching Child's Play. I'm not sure why since it still doesn't seem to me that it would be something they would enjoy. But it was the late 80's so I'll let it slide. I was supposed to be in my room being a good child while they sat uncomfortably (I would say entertained but I don't think it's accurate) through the movie.

I, being a curious and daring child, decided I needed to see what this weird doll movie was all about. So, peeking around the doorway from the hall to the living room, I watched parts. I got caught a couple times and was told to go back to my room. But I would not stay there... oh no, I had to watch it. Sitting quietly on the horribly awesome green, yellow, orange and brown shag looking carpet, I peeked around the corner again to watch more. Which is when I'm assuming (my memory blocks that part from me) someone was horribly murdered by a doll.

Horrified with what I had seen I ran to my room that, much to my dismay, contained a massive amount of dolls. You can imagine my terror at this point. I was surrounded by possible murderers!

This lead me to two different conclusions. 1- that I was done with dolls and didn't want them in my room anymore. They were to now live in a garbage bag (or a safe if we had one... we did not) in the basement; And 2- Dad was terrible at making me feel better. This is the fun part, kids...

He gave me a scenario and asked what I would do. This scenario did not help lessen my fear. He asked something along the lines of "what would you do if the cat (who I was sitting by at the time) kept coming back to life, etc" and he basically proceeded to tell me the plot of Stephen King's Pet Sematary. Really, Dad? How is that supposed to help in this situation? Of course, I didn't realize what he was telling me until many years later when I was actually old enough to watch scary movies. And then I felt a little upset because Dad had ripped off the plot of a Stephen King movie.

I think he's forgotten he did that but I am still afraid of Chucky and have yet to go to him again when I was scared of a movie.

Happy Friday!

Homeowner Anxiety

We closed on our house this month! And now I'm having anxiety... I'm going to give myself an ulcer or something. Most of it comes from the fact that it's a duplex and we're renting out the other side. There were renters that were already living next door that decided to tell us the night before closing that they were moving out. Great! After 2 years they decided to leave when we need renters the most. Ugh.

 I'm freaking out!

On the plus side (trying to be positive) we get to start fresh. The expensive part is that the rent we got was going to cover mortgage payments and there is a lot (A LOT) of work to be done because they weren't exactly easy on the place and it has needed maintenance for a while. We have to completely gut the bathroom. Down to the studs! EEK! And we also need to get some newer kitchen appliances... and flooring... and every room needs paint. So hopefully when we're done it will be one f*#king FANTASTIC looking place!

So if my blog posts start to look like I'm spending way too much time watching HGTV, it's probably because I am. Or if I don't post at all it's because I'm elbow deep in paint or other projects. I feel like I'm going to get crazy with stress until the work is done and the place is rented. I'm seriously losing my mind, guys. I about had a breakdown picking a neutral paint color. Why are there so many shades of white?! So I just gave up and picked a white because my brain was going to implode if I thought about it too much longer. And funnily enough the paint sample I brought back matches the color that's there almost exactly- so now I'll know what to get to refresh it the next time we need to. The stress fun of home ownership has begun.

Real Life Is Scary Enough Thanks

October is the month that a lot of people want to be scared because of Halloween and all that fun nonsense. But when you think about it, as you get older certain stuff just doesn't scare you anymore. I mean, spiders still scare me, but we have a history so that makes sense. And then there's zombies... I love/hate them.

You want some real life scary stuff? How about this: Taxes & audits! Mortgages! Late periods! A weird looking mole! Gray hairs & wrinkles! A dirty house and my mom is coming over!!! The horror! The HORROR!

So I don't watch a lot of scary movies, which these days seem more gore and violence than mental or anticipation. But Child's Play (click here to read about how Chucky ruined my childhood) and The Dark Crystal used to scare me so I'm not the best judge of what is scary. Except The Dark Crystal. Stupid freaky puppets.

Seriously... look at this thing!

Horrifying!

The weird part is, I like to watch and read scary(ish) stuff sometimes. The Walking Dead, Supernatural, and Resident Evil are some of my favorites, though those seem more suspenseful to me than deep-down terror that won't let me sleep at night. Then again I don't want that, so it's fine with me.

What scares you this time of the year? Mine is mostly the number of scantily clad young women on Halloween. It's cold out! You could get sick! Does your mother know you're leaving the house like that? What will the neighbors say? At least take a jacket with you, young lady!

Favorite Things: September

I'm slacking this month so I want to apologize for the lack of posts. I've been distracted and stuff lately. I blame work for making me so tired I want to do nothing but sleep and watch TV when I get home.

Throwback Gift
It was my husband's birthday recently and I wanted to take him back to his childhood so I got him a Big Trak. This was a toy he played with a lot as a kid (I had never seen one before) but when I saw that they had been made again I new I needed to get it for him. They are similar to the originals so even though they do cost a bit (about $60) I thought it was worth it to see the look on his face. Ah, childhood nostalgia...

Throwback Tees
Sticking with the "throwback" theme, check out 80s Tees- I'm a big fan of the 80's Movie section. Check out this awesome Uhura shirt! There's even 80s Superhero Shirts! I want them all!

Shopping
I love Sanshee for the accessories but they have a lot of great geeky stuff there too.

Early Christmas Shopping
And then of course I'm on Etsy a lot looking for unique presents for people. Christmas comes quick so I want to start shopping early! I'd tell you want I want to buy but I also don't want anybody to buy all the stuff before I can... so maybe after my shopping is done. I'm sorry, it's important! But I can tell you I'm buying more nerdy candles from Frostbeard Studio because they're awesome. So there you go... you get one.
OK, also check out my Pinterest Board for other cool stuff I want... mostly for me, though so I'm not sure what other people would like. Either way it's still cool.

P.S. If you come across any cool stuff you think I should include next month contact me!

I'm Suspicious of Chinese Vampires

I saw a news story on Yahoo this morning about a Chinese hospital wanting virgin female blood for research.

Quote from the news story:

"A Chinese hospital's request for blood from healthy female virgins for use in medical research has been condemned as insulting to women, state-run media reported Monday.

The Peking University Cancer Hospital said it needed the blood of 100 female virgins aged from 18 to 24 years old for studies on the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is usually transmitted through sexual contact, the China Daily reported."

So I read this and got all conspiracy theory and was like "what if that really isn't what the blood is for? Who requests the blood of young female virgins?! Wait... Vampires!" I mean, what would be the best way for vampires to get a certain type of blood? They can just fake "medical research" and have an in!

And speaking of vampires, I hope they look more like Jonathan Rhys Myers Dracula than Johnny Depp or 30 Days of Night vampires because 1) he's hot & 2) the others are creepy. But no Twilight vampires because they're all sparkly and weird. If I can't kill you with sunlight or a chunk of wood to the heart then you go against the vampire rules and should not exist you sparkly freak of nature! Whoa... sorry about that. I also get upset about fast zombies.

I was terrified by 30 Days of Night... nope nope nope nope

nope nope nope too scary I am crying!

So now I'm going to be questioning the motives of places that collects blood for any reason. Hello "blood research facility", are you using my blood for science or "science"? Because if you're using it for "science" I want to meet them so I know how afraid I should be and stuff. China got a bit too risky requesting virgin blood and gave themselves away. Everybody that has read any kind of vampire novel knows virgin blood tastes better or whatever because they believe in the myth that only virgin blood is "clean" blood. What a bunch of snobby vamps.

But of course U.S. vamps would buy from China because that's where most of our goods come from anyway. Why would blood be any different? Besides, we eat way too much fast food in this country. For example, I would probably have a slightly McDonald's flavor with a hint of Taco Bell. You don't want any of this, vampires. Plus I'm married so my virgin flavoring is all gone.

I'm still wondering how I went from possible Chinese vampires to convincing said vampires I would taste gross.... oh well. Happy Monday!

That's Not An Injury... That's Called Getting Older

My knees make noises sometimes (and then hurt) when trying to walk up stairs and at first my reaction was "oh my gosh I should go to the doctor! Something is wrong!" and then I remember that I'm not injured... I'm just getting older.

It's a depressing thought- my body is already starting to destroy itself. I'm literally starting to crumble, as all of us do with age. I know, I know... Way to start the week off with a depressing thought, Laura. I'm sorry but it's been on my mind! I'm not even 29 yet and I already have some grey hairs!

And it's not even that I necessarily mind getting older... the number doesn't bother me (yet). It's the fact that our bodies are like, "yeah I think I'm done with certain things, like letting you sleep thorough the night without making you get up to pee. And remember when you could stay up all night and not feel like death in the morning? That's over too. And by the way? Wrinkles and not being able to hold in your farts!" Because that's what's next.

But then I see those people who obviously don't give a shit. When I went to the store today, there was a guy in front of me in the checkout line that was in a motorized chair, using an oxygen tank, and he bought a pack of cigarettes. Guess how many fucks that guy gave... the answer is zero! Good for him I guess if he doesn't want to prolong his life at all. But I want to see more stuff so I think I'll avoid where his life has lead.

Holy shit am I cheery today. Yay, Mondays!

Favorite Things: August

Tees!!!

I have a bad habit of collecting t-shirts. I almost have more than I can wear in a month (mostly because I have to be a professional and can only wear them 3 days a week tops) and yet I want more. There are a couple of cool websites I look at a lot. One is bustedtees and the other is J!NX.

Kickstarter
Albert Einstein: Time Mason (comic) by Tony Donley.

Albert Einstein travels through time and looks like a young Tom Selleck. It looks funny and quirky and that's just the kind of comic I can appreciate! For as little as $1 you can get the first issue in PDF format. For $12 you can get the print version plus a signed 6.5/10 print and a couple other perks. Hurry up and check it out... The Kickstarter ends August 31st!

Loot Crate

This month was my first time getting Loot Crate. I heard about it from a couple of YouTube unboxing videos last month and thought it looked cool... every month I'll get a geeky present. From myself. Plus if you get it right now and enter the code "ANIMATE" when you check out you'll get 12% off! There are some pros and cons with it, though.

The pros: You get cool stuff and the total amount of the items in the box would cost you more to buy them individually, so you're going to get your moneys worth.
The cons: You may not always like what you get. It's a chance you have to take if you get it every month.

If you like surprises and want some cool mail every month, I recommend this! Plus it makes a great gift!

The shirt: Caffeine Power Up from Shirt.Woot
The vinyl zombie: Walking Dead Blind Box Mystery Minis

I Have a Dirty Mind: Trucks and Unicorns

I keep seeing things on top of other things that makes me start giggling. For example, I saw some trucks the other day that were very happy to see each other.

Not in public, trucks!

And then I saw some unicorns in the store that looked like they needed a room.

There is nothing more beautiful than unicorn love!

But in my mind these unicorns love each other and will soon be separated by shoppers unwilling to bring them both home. They will be forever torn apart and will fall into a deep, deep unicorn depression until they meet another stuffed animal they can develop a relationship with, though it will never compare to their true love. They will spend the rest of their stuffed and furry lives with the knowledge that they loved deeply once and that their true unicorn love is out there somewhere never to be seen again. So they're taking what they can for however long they have together.

Wow... that just went from something dirty to a sad unicorn love story. I would apologize but I wouldn't mean it. Have a great weekend!

I Will Not Be Ignored...

The husband and I were in the grocery store the other day getting a few things for dinner. As were were getting ready to check out he saw someone he used to work with and decided to say "hi" while I checked out. After about 10 minutes of waiting in the car I decided to start bugging him until he left.

And then he finally got in the car.

Fictional Character Fun!

Just something fun for a Monday!

I was bored this weekend and found this! And.... Go! My choices:

1. Hermione Granger
2. Steve Rogers (Captain America)
3. Tony Stark
4. The Doctor
5. Sam Winchester
6. Dean Winchester
7. John Watson

This would be the best dinner ever! The genius at this table (plus the hotness) would be awesome. Who would you choose?

Apparently I Think About Hookers A Lot

Last week I made a couple of analogies that just happened to be about hookers. I'm not sure why I thought about them but they were fitting.

At work my boss was talking about the local Farmers Market and how people were getting angry if people had their booth in "their spot".

Me: They have spots? Like how hookers have street corners?
Her: You know that is actually very true!
Me: Huh. Who knew?

 You want to buy some tomatoes?

My husband and I were talking about Afghanistan and how the government wants to extend its presence there past 2014.

Me: Weren't they supposed to be getting out of there?
Him: Yeah it's going to cost a lot more to keep troops there.
Me: It's like a hooker. The longer you're in the more it's going to cost you.
Him: I suppose.....

And then I realized that I could probably make a lot more analogies about hookers. There is probably a better use of my time...

PS It was super awkward to Google image search for clip art prostitutes. I worried about what would show up. Image searches can be risky. Just thought you should know.

Favorite Things: July

Kickstarter

Nerdy candles for nerds from Frostbeard Studio.

I recently ordered Ravenclaw (House pride!) and Sherlock's Study candles from their Etsy store. I can't wait to get them! The nerdy smells! If smells can be nerdy that is... at least the candle names are nerdy. Close enough. They also have the packs of wax if you like to use a warmer instead of a candle.

They're trying to buy some new stuff for their shop, hence the Kickstarter, and as perks they have some awesome new candles with themes like Doctor Who, Zelda, TMNT, Pokemon, and Adventure Time! It ends August 6th so hurry and check it out!

Music
I've been loving the new EP from Emma Blackery- Distance EP (itunes). I've been watching her videos on Youtube for awhile and when she said she was putting out 4 songs I decided to check them out... and I love them. I listen to them all 1 or 2 times a day- more the first couple days I downloaded the songs but I didn't want to over do it. Check out her video for Go the Distance!

Geek-wear

I want both of these things

They have some seriously awesome clothes/accessories/figures and more over at Superhero Stuff. As an added bonus, you can search by superhero if you're looking for one in particular. They have a crazy amount of stuff!

Comic

 

Mr. Lovenstein is an online comic that I like to check out from time to time. One of my favorites is Awkward Superman.

TV/Movie
If you haven't seen SyFy's Sharknado yet, you are missing a horrible yet awesome movie. It's one of those movies that are so bad and ridiculous that they are good.

*Note: Nobody sponsors me (not that I wouldn't mind) to mention their stuff. It's just genuinely stuff I like that I hope you will like too!

And Then They Forgot To Invite Me To The Class Reunion...

Nothing makes you feel good about yourself like being forgotten when invites are sent out for the 10 year High School reunion. Especially when you graduated with a class of 23. Yup, this JUST happened. They celebrated without me this past weekend. And it was a Facebook event page so it's not like they couldn't find my address.

The good news was that my Cousin was getting married so I had somewhere else to be anyway. However, nobody likes to be left out. It was like recess in Elementary school all over again. Nobody can claim I'm not a geek when I spent so many recesses by myself. I once spent an entire recess organizing the class library in alphabetical order by author. Take that self-righteous geeks!

I think I need this shirt

Now that I think about it they may not have forgotten at all. Maybe at some point they came across my blog and were like "she's weird, can we just not invite her?" Or they saw my blog and were so impressed by it that they were self-conscious and my awesomeness makes them feel bad. In that case, my apologies. I have to admit that my awesomeness is hard to contain and it can be overwhelming. But that awesomeness is also pretty restricted to the internet. It's confusing, I understand. I promise I'm still as awkward now as I was in school, but I only do that to make people feel better about themselves. Because I am a caring person. Yup, that's why.

Insecurities

I don't know why, but it seems like I transfer a lot of my insecurities on to other people. Not that I'm making them feel insecure, but I'm imagining them thinking things about me that are making me feel insecure. This is my messed up mind working here...

For example, I went to get lunch today and a guy in the restaurant was staring at me with a scowl on his face. At first I thought, "well that's weird" but then it turned in to "do I not look ok? Why would he be looking at me?" And even if he was staring and thinking bad things about me why would that even matter? I've never seen him before and will likely never see him again, so why was I putting the blame on myself?

In honor of Billy Madison

I think part of the reason is that I'm not the skinny young girl I used to be. When guys stared at me up until about 6 years or so ago, I felt good about myself. Now I start to squirm and get uncomfortable. I'm just glad I can remind myself what matters and I can work my way out of that kind of thought.

So to counteract the weird feeling I get when people look at me, I've decided I can do one thing: smile. This has benefits. 1) If they do think I'm cute and not a monster like I'm imagining, they might smile back and then I'll feel awesome. 2) If they are annoyed by me and I smile at them it might annoy them more. And that would be awesome. Because you don't know me, man!

My Introversion Does Not Need Fixing

Warning: This post is a rant

I was more than a little ticked when I read the article "How an Introvert Can Be Happier: Act Like an Extrovert" written by Sumathi Reddy of The Wall Street Journal.

The study sited does not seem at all valid. Especially to someone who is an introvert. I feel better when I have quiet and I recharge my batteries with alone time. I am not "just shy" and there is nothing wrong with being introverted. That being said, there are times when I do go outside my comfort zone but it does not necessarily make me "happier" to have done it.

At one point in the article it says:

"Introverts kind of underestimate how much fun it will be to act extroverted," said Dr. Zelenski. "You don't think you want to go to a party and then go and have a great time."

I don't know what kind of parties Dr. Zelenski goes to, but unless it's a small group that I'm comfortable with, I don't have a great time. I leave with the feeling of more stress and wonder why I would put myself through something I knew I wouldn't be happy with.

 Thank you, Susan Cain, for explaining this so well!

Click here to view Susan's TED Talk (Youtube)

It seems like they are an extroverted person who is trying to tell us introverts "see how much fun it is! You're missing everything! You won't be complete as a person unless you go against what you are comfortable with because something is obviously wrong with you!"

"We didn't find a lot of evidence for…the idea that acting like an extrovert would wear out introverts," said Dr. Zelenski. However, he said: "We found acting like an introvert tended to wear out extroverts," who performed worse on cognitive tests.

I find this highly unlikely. Is it impossible to believe that if extroverts going outside of their usual are worn out, that introverts would feel the same? We are not broken. We are people happy with who we are and we don't need fixing. So in conclusion to this rant, to the people who wrote the study: You can take your study and shove it... thanks!

Happy Friday!

This Friday is extra happy because I'm actually doing something other than sitting at home and watching TV! I have plans! Of course, those plans are to go over to a friends house and watch many episodes of Supernatural so we can play the Supernatural drinking game (courtesy of tumblr). Or just drink a lot while watching the show... I'm guessing this will be more likely. I think there are some kind of "rules" to follow but knowing me, I'll get so caught up in the show that I'll stop paying attention to them and I'll just drink a lot anyway. But I won't be on my couch so technically it's still getting out of the house. Progress!

Thanks, Tumblr!

If you wanted to play it's easy... Google! Plus with the interwebs I'm guessing there is a drinking game for any show or movie you could possibly want. And on the off chance there's not, just make it up as you go. After Supernatural I'm expecting a lot of Ghost Adventures and Doctor Who. After watching Sharknado last night I can't wait until someone figures out a drinking game for that. Because I am too lazy to come up with something myself. Have a great weekend!

7 Years Later

Warning: This post contains marriage advice and occasional mushiness.

7 years ago I married a guy... and somehow we've managed to stick it out and we're still living in the same house. And most of the time we're happy to be there. I say "most of the time" because I'm realistic and believe in being honest about marriage. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, but that doesn't mean it's gloomy all of the time either. If I've learned anything in the past 7 years it has been about give and take. A partnership works best if things are well balanced.

I'm no expert here, but to be honest, sometimes balancing everything sucks. Sometimes I want my way and sometimes he wants his. Sometimes there are fights (stupid or not) and sometimes you still feel so full of love for that person that you just want to hug them so hard that you wish cartoon hearts and butterflies start popping up. Or maybe that's just me...

 We appreciate the humor in things like a law office with a name like

Ryder & Swogger (Swogger was particularly funny to us) and Nut Liquor

We have things that both of us appreciate: video games, humor, an occasional good cigar, etc. We also have things that one person likes but the other doesn't. He still doesn't understand my love of the original Star Trek and Star Wars and he complains about my constant reading of books and Walking Dead comics. And I don't get or want anything to do with some of the stuff he likes to do. But that's okay because it means we have things we can do together and we have things we can do separately so we aren't always around each other. We have our own lives that we are happy with, but we choose to live them together. And I think that's why we work.

P.S. I am no expert so please don't look to me for marriage advice. Last year I compared marriage to being stabbed in the face by a cute monkey. So, you know, grain of salt or whatever.

P.P.S. Nut Liquor is funny to me because I have a dirty mind. But seriously I'd never drink peanut butter flavored liquor... anything peanut butter flavored that isn't actually peanut butter is just gross.

Book Blogging Challenge

This part of my blog is being slightly neglected this month because I'm doing a 30 Day Book Blogging Challenge over on my book blog. There are posts coming but I'm a bit behind!

But in the meantime (if you're not interested in books) check out the blogroll for some other posts you can read in my absence.

Happy Birthday, 'Murca

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday 'Murca! I shall celebrate by eating grilled meat and watching things explode in the sky!
— Laura P. (@LolaLoop) July 4, 2013

 

Even though the movie was dumb, I love the song...

I like that some of us can make fun of ourselves. I, for example, love the whole "'MURCA" thing. I use it as a tool for humor. That's my thing. But I also appreciate the sacrifice of others and the history of my country.

Yes, there are things going on that many of us would like to see change, but today is a day when we remember how the country began and those who lost their lives fighting for our country. Have a happy and safe 4th of July! Careful with those sparklers and fireworks! Also, make sure your meat is grilled to a safe temperature. Because I care about you.

Favorite Things: June

Kickstarter
Want to help put a TARDIS in to orbit? Well the funding project ends on Saturday so hurry up and check it out! They're doing it for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who! It's already met its goal, so it's going to happen (YES!) but if you want your name involved or some other cool perk click on the link and back the project!

Books
I've been reading a lot lately (not surprising) and am looking for other stuff that I wouldn't usually read. Thanks to this flowchart from Upworthy and 14 Books To Read Before They Hit The Big Screen from Buzzfeed, I now have plenty to occupy my time with. Yay, books!

Makeup
Espionage Cosmetics is a makeup company based in the US that has some really awesome makeup collections with a geek/cosplay fan base in mind, but they're so cool it doesn't matter if you're in to geeky stuff or not! The Geeky Hostess (blogger, youtuber, etc.) recently came out with her own line that you can win! Click here to go to her giveaway post. The colors you buy are a base that can be mixed with their other makeups so you can use them on your hair, eyes, lips, etc! Some can also be purchased from ThinkGeek, so stock up on stuff (like the lamp below) and save on shipping!

Home Stuff
I found this by watching Liam Dryden's latest Youtube video. You can win it- watch the video to see how. But if you feel like you need it now instead of hoping to win, you can get it from ThinkGeek (they have the best geek stuff, I'm addicted). You can change the lamp around (just like Tetris) and each piece you add to the lamp lights up! I need this in my life.

I Was Scared by a Doll

I was babysitting yesterday and apparently my niece felt that her baby doll needed to take a nap... in my bed. She forgot about it and I was a bit startled when I went in to my room later and looked over to see a baby staring at me. I may have said something like "what the hell?" but I can't remember because it scared me so much my mind blanked for a couple of seconds.

I've been slightly afraid of dolls ever since I saw about 2 minutes of Chucky when I was a kid. Don't mock my fears... Chucky was horrifying. So much so that I put all of my dolls in a garbage bag and made my parents hide them in the basement. And that was the end of my wanting to play with dolls ever again. And that was also when I realized my dad was bad at making me feel less scared about stuff like that. I'll have to tell you that story at another time... it's awesome and terrible.

Stop staring at me