Millennials are no longer the youngest generation on record. After years of being media darlings, it looks like someone is here to steal Gen Y's thunder...their younger siblings, the Plurals. In a press release issued...
Twenty Something
-
Most Topular Stories
-
Move Over Millennials, Make Way for Plurals
Sharalyn Hartwell's feed1 May 2012 | 12:10 am -
Two Lessons about Millennials from their name
Sharalyn Hartwell's feed31 Mar 2012 | 11:43 amIt seems like every time we turn around some one or some company is dubbing Millennials a new name. This is usually to denote a behavior Millennials tend to exhibit, but really marketers and employers need not look any... -
Audrey Marie: A Birth Story
Five Blondes24 Apr 2012 | 6:20 pmNuzzled into the crook of my arm is the latest addition to the Five Blondes family, Audrey. Seeing as she’s been part of the family for over two months now, I’m horribly behind on sharing info and, of course, pictures! I’m going to kick things off with the birth story and a few pictures. Audrey’s Birth Story (warning, may be TMI for some. I tried to be modest but it’s a birth story. Modesty is an afterthought while in labour.) (Also, it’s long. 2000+ words long. Want a TL;DR? Audrey was born.) My birth “experience” and Audrey’s… -
Stay In The Conversation
WordPress.com News15 May 2012 | 6:01 pmIt’s now much easier for you and your commenters to keep track of the conversations you’re involved in across WordPress.com. Some recent tests have shown that by subscribing commenters to new comments by default, they are more likely to stay engaged and come back and comment more on your blog. With that knowledge, we’ve changed the default comment following behavior to help you get more conversations going on your blog. We made the initial changes last week and after great feedback from you we just launched an update. Here’s how it works: By default, posting a comment… -
Stay In The Conversation
WordPress.com News15 May 2012 | 6:01 pmIt’s now much easier for you and your commenters to keep track of the conversations you’re involved in across WordPress.com. Some recent tests have shown that by subscribing commenters to new comments by default, they are more likely to stay engaged and come back and comment more on your blog. With that knowledge, we’ve changed the default comment following behavior to help you get more conversations going on your blog. We made the initial changes last week and after great feedback from you we just launched an update. Here’s how it works: By default, posting a comment…
-
Five Blondes
-
Audrey Marie: A Birth Story
24 Apr 2012 | 6:20 pmNuzzled into the crook of my arm is the latest addition to the Five Blondes family, Audrey. Seeing as she’s been part of the family for over two months now, I’m horribly behind on sharing info and, of course, pictures! I’m going to kick things off with the birth story and a few pictures. Audrey’s Birth Story (warning, may be TMI for some. I tried to be modest but it’s a birth story. Modesty is an afterthought while in labour.) (Also, it’s long. 2000+ words long. Want a TL;DR? Audrey was born.) My birth “experience” and Audrey’s… -
St. Patrick’s Day DIY
21 Mar 2012 | 4:58 pmSo this St. Patrick’s day I was thinking about what I was going to wear like a month in advance. My friend Leah offered me a shirt she wore last year, but I had seen a lot of fun tshirt DIYs on my pinterest and on the craftgawker app, which I recently uploaded onto my iPhone, so I decided to make my own shirt! Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the process (which was crazy, because I had no idea what I was doing), but I have a couple of after pictures which should do just fine! I’m kind of loving the ombre trend, especially with hair, even though I would be way too… -
Figuring it all out and finding your spark.
3 Mar 2012 | 11:26 amThere is no doubt that one learns a lot in their post-secondary education. But it’s not until your career do you really start figure it all out. There is a world of difference between the two events, but they are not mutually exclusive. I graduated from University in 2008 with a bachelors in Gerontology with a lot of knowledge, but not a lot of specific direction. As Lauren knows all too well, the dreaded ‘what are you going to do when you graduate?’ questions starts getting pounced upon you about six months before graduation. Sometimes, you don’t know. You just… -
27 Feb 2012 | 12:11 pm
27 Feb 2012 | 12:11 pmI’ve always dreamed of becoming a homeowner. When I was little I pictured myself living alone in a tiny little white home with a white picket fence and a huge shaggy St. Bernard (which is odd because I am not even a dog person at all. I was terrified of all dogs when I was growing up, I think what I really wanted was a protector). In the past year a home kind of fell into my lap but I never really did get to experience the excitement of open houses and choosing a house that is perfect for me. I love my home though, when I am there I don’t ever want to leave it. Two and a half… -
Vegas, Twitter, Pinterest. Also known as ‘What All The Cool Kids Are Doing These Days’.
25 Feb 2012 | 2:14 pmI’m often told that I should blog more, and I am always telling myself to blog more. At this point in my life, as I told my cousin Em in an e-mail this week, I feel like I have a lot to say but not enough energy to say it! Life is good, life is hectic, life is busy and I DRIVE A LOT. Silly long distance relationships, so very … well, so very long distance all the time. I’m still in TO and Tim is still at the farm. My job ends in May so I better enjoy the city while I can! Tim and I recently went on an incredibly fun and amazing trip to Vegas which was a blast. It was the…
-
WordPress.com News
-
Stay In The Conversation
15 May 2012 | 6:01 pmIt’s now much easier for you and your commenters to keep track of the conversations you’re involved in across WordPress.com. Some recent tests have shown that by subscribing commenters to new comments by default, they are more likely to stay engaged and come back and comment more on your blog. With that knowledge, we’ve changed the default comment following behavior to help you get more conversations going on your blog. We made the initial changes last week and after great feedback from you we just launched an update. Here’s how it works: By default, posting a comment… -
Look at These Gorgeous Blogs
15 May 2012 | 1:05 pmWe’ve added a user showcase where you can view stunning customizations made by people just like you. From complete redesigns with CSS to adding pizzazz with Custom Fonts to clever use of options like background and header, this showcase will spark your imagination and inspire creativity. Discover details about what each showcase blog is doing with WordPress.com themes and customizations by clicking a thumbnail to see a colophon-style list of credits on the left. We’ve also updated footer links so blog owners can show off the types of customizations they’ve made and visitors can… -
Photo Blogging 101, Part 1
14 May 2012 | 10:00 amSpring is in the air. With the weather warming up, now is a great time to get started on a photo blog. Creating a photo blog is a wonderful introduction to blogging on WordPress.com or an opportunity to refresh your current site. Ready to get started? You can sign up for a new blog right over here. Getting started Photo blogs, sometimes called phlogs, use pictures instead of words. While many photo bloggers choose a type of photo that they want to focus on, such as portraits, others use their photo blog to document their life’s events. Photo blogs come in a variety of styles, including… -
New Themes: Just Desserts and Oxygen
10 May 2012 | 8:11 amHappy Thursday! We’ve added some exciting new themes to our ever-growing collection, and we’re happy to tell you all about them. First out of the oven is…Just Desserts. Yep, that’s a theme! Designed by Andy Rutledge, Just Desserts is a deliciously stylish premium theme that’s perfect for blogs centered on food. With its responsive, single-column layout and unique presentation of images and posts on the front page, Just Desserts gives you a delectable canvas on which your mouthwatering photos and text can really shine — even when viewed on smaller mobile devices… -
Find Friends Who Use WordPress
1 May 2012 | 2:32 pmAre you curious to see how your friends are using WordPress? Give the new and improved Friend Finder a try to connect with your Twitter, Facebook, and Google contacts who have WordPress sites! After authorizing WordPress.com to use your Twitter, Facebook, or Google account to find your friends (don’t worry — none of this account information is saved!) you’ll see a list of people you know who have WordPress sites. Click Follow and each time your friend publishes a new post it will show up in your Reader under Blogs I Follow. If you have multiple blogs, make sure to set the…
-
Sharalyn Hartwell's feed
-
Move Over Millennials, Make Way for Plurals
1 May 2012 | 12:10 amMillennials are no longer the youngest generation on record. After years of being media darlings, it looks like someone is here to steal Gen Y's thunder...their younger siblings, the Plurals. In a press release issued... -
Two Lessons about Millennials from their name
31 Mar 2012 | 11:43 amIt seems like every time we turn around some one or some company is dubbing Millennials a new name. This is usually to denote a behavior Millennials tend to exhibit, but really marketers and employers need not look any... -
Why We Are Called Millennials
29 Feb 2012 | 9:20 amIf there is a prize for being rediscovered and renamed every five minutes, we have surely won. But, everyone listen up. We already have a name and it’s pretty fitting. We’re the... -
Facebook Profiles Reveal Gen Y Work Trends
9 Jan 2012 | 11:24 pmTo understand Generation Y workplace trends, look no further than Facebook. The social networking giant has always been home to a smattering of information about the social activities of young people, but new analysis provides insight into their... -
The work-life balance double standard
9 Jun 2011 | 9:11 amThese days most companies are understanding and even supportive of an employee’s need to fulfill family obligations. In the 21st Century, Generation Y thinks companies should be understanding and supportive of an employee’s life...
-
WordPress.com News
-
Stay In The Conversation
15 May 2012 | 6:01 pmIt’s now much easier for you and your commenters to keep track of the conversations you’re involved in across WordPress.com. Some recent tests have shown that by subscribing commenters to new comments by default, they are more likely to stay engaged and come back and comment more on your blog. With that knowledge, we’ve changed the default comment following behavior to help you get more conversations going on your blog. We made the initial changes last week and after great feedback from you we just launched an update. Here’s how it works: By default, posting a comment… -
Look at These Gorgeous Blogs
15 May 2012 | 1:05 pmWe’ve added a user showcase where you can view stunning customizations made by people just like you. From complete redesigns with CSS to adding pizzazz with Custom Fonts to clever use of options like background and header, this showcase will spark your imagination and inspire creativity. Discover details about what each showcase blog is doing with WordPress.com themes and customizations by clicking a thumbnail to see a colophon-style list of credits on the left. We’ve also updated footer links so blog owners can show off the types of customizations they’ve made and visitors can… -
Photo Blogging 101, Part 1
14 May 2012 | 10:00 amSpring is in the air. With the weather warming up, now is a great time to get started on a photo blog. Creating a photo blog is a wonderful introduction to blogging on WordPress.com or an opportunity to refresh your current site. Ready to get started? You can sign up for a new blog right over here. Getting started Photo blogs, sometimes called phlogs, use pictures instead of words. While many photo bloggers choose a type of photo that they want to focus on, such as portraits, others use their photo blog to document their life’s events. Photo blogs come in a variety of styles, including… -
New Themes: Just Desserts and Oxygen
10 May 2012 | 8:11 amHappy Thursday! We’ve added some exciting new themes to our ever-growing collection, and we’re happy to tell you all about them. First out of the oven is…Just Desserts. Yep, that’s a theme! Designed by Andy Rutledge, Just Desserts is a deliciously stylish premium theme that’s perfect for blogs centered on food. With its responsive, single-column layout and unique presentation of images and posts on the front page, Just Desserts gives you a delectable canvas on which your mouthwatering photos and text can really shine — even when viewed on smaller mobile devices… -
Find Friends Who Use WordPress
1 May 2012 | 2:32 pmAre you curious to see how your friends are using WordPress? Give the new and improved Friend Finder a try to connect with your Twitter, Facebook, and Google contacts who have WordPress sites! After authorizing WordPress.com to use your Twitter, Facebook, or Google account to find your friends (don’t worry — none of this account information is saved!) you’ll see a list of people you know who have WordPress sites. Click Follow and each time your friend publishes a new post it will show up in your Reader under Blogs I Follow. If you have multiple blogs, make sure to set the…
-
Rhi in Pink
-
Mother’s Day is my New Favorite
14 May 2012 | 3:49 pmI was so excited about Mother’s Day that I had actual butterflies in my stomach on Saturday night. It wasn’t because I expected any lavish gifts or a huge to-do. I was just excited to celebrate almost exactly six months of being a mama. (Fun fact: we brought Henry home six months ago yesterday) We woke up early on Sunday to drive to wine country for brunch at the super fantastic Allison Inn & Spa where I thought that Dungeness Crab Benedict might not be enough food, so I went ahead and ordered appetizers. (Speaking of eggs benedict, this is hilarious.) Proscuitto Arancini with… -
Friday Bullets
4 May 2012 | 1:04 pmI still have not written Henry’s 5-month post. I really need to get on this as he turns 6-months old next Friday. One of my besties is coming into town this weekend and I’m ridiculously excited to see her and introduce her to Henry! Guess what? I went to Baby Bootcamp last week! It was haaaard. But, I felt great afterward. We’ve had stuff going on the past few days and haven’t been able to go back just yet, but we for sure will next week. I have approximately 5,000 (or 400) prints from our wedding and have been looking for an album to put them in. I bit the bullet and… -
Rhi in Pink (and Green and Purple…)
24 Apr 2012 | 10:03 pmMy wardrobe choices have changed quite a bit in the 13 months or so. This time last year, I was trying my best to wedge my growing belly into my existing clothes and now I’m trying to wedge my (slowly shrinking) hips into those same outfits (I’m having a bit more success this time). I’ve been a bit reluctant to buy a ton of new clothes as the plan is (hopefully) to fit back into some of those clothes, but with my recent career change, I’ve purchased a few things to tide me over. My two rules for new clothing are that it must be comfortable and it must be easy to wash. -
Get (Back) In Shape, Girl
19 Apr 2012 | 10:44 pmI’m ridiculously proud of the fact that I exercised regularly up until my 36th week of pregnancy. I gained (I think) about 45 pounds during my pregnancy (including a SUPER IMPRESSIVE 9 pounds in 4 weeks) and I’m truly frightened by what that number may have been had I not worked out. I had what I consider to be the most fantastic labor experience ever and I believe that keeping in shape during my pregnancy helped with this. I’m not ridiculously proud of the fact that I’ve not done any sort of formal exercise since then. Through the magic of breastfeeding, I’m… -
Friday Bullets
13 Apr 2012 | 11:46 amI gave in to peer pressure and started The Hunger Games trilogy. I loved the first book and even read it in bed with a flashlight after putting Henry to sleep a couple times. I’m about 150 pages into Catching Fire and I’m a little sad that it’s not as exciting as the first book. In an effort to keep ourselves busy during the day, I signed Henry up for a baby sign language class. Our first one is on Monday and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m sure Henry is too. Have you all heard about Jessica Alba’s company, Honest? We were faithful Huggies users until…
-
"20SB-Awards" via 01203887482075235036 in Google Reader
-
Two months
15 May 2012 | 11:49 am31 and a half weeks. Two months from today is my is due date. I think I’m in denial about it. I’m not really stressed; as a matter of fact if he came a little early, I’d be totally ok with that. It’s not like last time where there were so many questions that come from going through birth the first time. I basically know what to expect, assuming it goes as “planned”. Where I find myself denying the fact that another human will be coming out of me in just 8ish weeks has to do with Owen. I wrote about it last week, how I was starting to get emotional about the time left with just… -
Working with a Control Freak
13 May 2012 | 2:41 pmSome of us have managers who micromanage the heck out of us. This can be rather annoying because this person second guesses you or shakes up your confidence. Leaving your job isn’t always an ideal choice, especially in a time of high unemployment. Here are some tips to work around the micromanager at work. Be Reliable The micromanager would be very happy if his or her team shows up on time and delivers on time. Of course that doesn’t always happen in real life, so it’s important for your staff to be extra reliable. A control freak loves to be in control. In order for the manager to not… -
Weekly Instagrams
11 May 2012 | 8:01 amIt’s a parent thing to save your kid’s art, right? I get it. I mean, I don’t want to save EVERY piece of paper my kids ever scribble on, but the special stuff. I’ll save those. I kept Owen’s first-ever drawing, and while it looks remarkably similar to the one below, I’m saving that one too. Because see that black blob on the bottom right corner? He told me that’s a “choo choo train”, so clearly he is a brilliant artist-to-be just budding with curiosity and talent. Or maybe he just watched an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine that day. EITHER WAY. Summer is coooooming. I’m… -
GenPink Picks: Mother’s Day
10 May 2012 | 9:53 amStill looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift to buy? Mother’s Day is coming up just around the corner (Sunday, May 13). Forget the overrated flowers this year. Below you will find a list of items that will surprise any mom. Don’t forget the card! Rose Green Tea Interested is giving your mom a different type of flower this year? Kusmi Tea’s Rose Green Tea is a green China tea scented with rose petals. This tea has a natural, tasty flavor and smells like a bouquet of roses. You can check out additional tea flavors online. Accessorize at Movida Boutique Here are a couple of items from… -
Gay rights in the US, state by state
9 May 2012 | 6:22 pmGay rights laws in America have evolved to allow — but in some cases ban — rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people on a range of issues, including marriage, hospital visitation, adoption, housing, employment and school bullying. The Guardian has done a great job visualizing the various rights, state by state. Timely and well done.
-
GenPink
-
Working with a Control Freak
13 May 2012 | 2:41 pmSome of us have managers who micromanage the heck out of us. This can be rather annoying because this person second guesses you or shakes up your confidence. Leaving your job isn’t always an ideal choice, especially in a time of high unemployment. Here are some tips to work around the micromanager at work. Be Reliable The micromanager would be very happy if his or her team shows up on time and delivers on time. Of course that doesn’t always happen in real life, so it’s important for your staff to be extra reliable. A control freak loves to be in control. In order for the manager to not… -
GenPink Picks: Mother’s Day
10 May 2012 | 9:53 amStill looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift to buy? Mother’s Day is coming up just around the corner (Sunday, May 13). Forget the overrated flowers this year. Below you will find a list of items that will surprise any mom. Don’t forget the card! Rose Green Tea Interested is giving your mom a different type of flower this year? Kusmi Tea’s Rose Green Tea is a green China tea scented with rose petals. This tea has a natural, tasty flavor and smells like a bouquet of roses. You can check out additional tea flavors online. Accessorize at Movida Boutique Here are a couple of items from… -
Can women in business make it to the top?
8 May 2012 | 10:24 amRecent statistics show businesswomen are climbing up the corporate ladder but are still far from reaching the top. Here are a few interesting facts, below. 20% more women are starting businesses as opposed to 10 years ago Women are pursuing higher education in record numbers. Women now hold more bachelors and graduate degrees than men. 40 percent of large corporations have zero women on their boards What’s the reason for this gap? Powerful businesswomen, as mentioned below, share their thoughts on what characteristics women need to embrace to help them rise in a business or organization. -
GenPink Picks: The Complete Idiot’s Guides
4 May 2012 | 11:23 pmIf you’re picking up a new subject to learn, The Complete Idiot’s Guide series (publisher: Alpha Books) is where to look. This series carries an array of books for beginnings of almost any subject. Photography, gardening, fitness, history…you name it, they got it! I took a look at the Linked In and Pilates on the Mat books for review. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Linked In, written by Susan Guenlius, serves as a guide for not only beginner users, but experienced ones as well. Many of us may think we know everything about Linked In, but this book will show what you may have missed. It… -
Where to Find a Mentor
30 Apr 2012 | 10:44 pmAccording to a new Linked In research, nearly one out of every five U.S. women does not have a mentor. As a young professional, I think having a mentor around is part of our career growth. A good mentor is there for you to ask questions about your career and even those “dumb questions.” There’s nothing wrong with having more than one mentor either. Here are suggestions below on where to find the right mentor for you. At Your Office If you are looking for valuable long-term career advice, a seasoned professional is the way to go. This mentor can be a boss, supervisor, senior account…
-
Young Upstarts
-
Say What? Five Quick Scripts For Responding To Customer Complaints
16 May 2012 | 3:30 amBy Ron Kaufman, author of “Uplifting Service: The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues, and Everyone Else You Meet” The last thing a customer with a complaint wants to hear you say is: “You’re wrong.” What they want to hear is that you understand them, appreciate them, and agree with them on the importance of the value they have cited in their complaint. Here are a few quick scripts to use when responding to customer complaints: Customer Complaint: Rude Service Your customer says: “Your staff was rude and totally unprofessional.” You say: “You are right… -
5 Traits Of Successful Entrepreneurs
15 May 2012 | 10:30 pmby Abby Evans Starting your own business doesn’t happen over night. It takes hard work, a leap of faith and a lot of heart. During the beginning stages of your business you will have to wear multiple hats: innovator, marketer, accountant and even custodian. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur, but if you think you have what it takes, read the traits below and decide how you can utilize them: Resourceful. Unless you are blessed with a wealthy background, most entrepreneurs are forced to build something out of nothing. Being resourceful is a must in the entrepreneurial world. How… -
Pure Fix Cycles – Fixated On Fixies
15 May 2012 | 9:30 amMany businesses start as an idea in the dorm room – one of the more popular examples is social networking site Facebook, whose inception by founder Mark Zuckerberg was immortalized in the movie The Social Network. Other examples may be more humble, but no less inspiring. Let’s take the example of the founders of Pure Fix Cycles. The four childhood friends in one college dorm room could have been up to plenty of mischief, but instead Zach Schau (24 years-old), Austin Stoffers (23), Jordan Schau (23), and Michael Fishman (23) were discussing the cycling phenomenon in Europe. They… -
Steps To Making Your Own Business Successful
15 May 2012 | 1:30 amby Candace Hobson The idea of being your own boss is appealing to most of us. Beyond the obvious financial rewards that come with creating a successful business, there is also that added benefit of accomplishment and freedom that working for someone else rarely provides. You can also have the pleasure of working from home if you choose. However, there are several important steps that you should take before embarking on the path to starting a new business. While any new business is a gamble, you can stack the odds in your favor by observing these key steps to success: Capital. One of the… -
TalentSplash.com, Your Virtual Talent Manager
14 May 2012 | 1:00 pmIf you’re a musician, actor, songwriter or any other kind of creative talent (yes, even comedians), you’re probably painfully aware of getting booked for work (even if you, like, really really good at what you do). This being the case, you may want to check TalentSplash (www.talentsplash.com) – it’s a talent network that aims to help you launch and build your professional career. Launched in Fall 2011, TalentSplash brings together talent and those who need such talent. For talent providers, there’s a suite of tools necessary to help talents manage their careers;…
-
WordPress.com News
-
Stay In The Conversation
15 May 2012 | 6:01 pmIt’s now much easier for you and your commenters to keep track of the conversations you’re involved in across WordPress.com. Some recent tests have shown that by subscribing commenters to new comments by default, they are more likely to stay engaged and come back and comment more on your blog. With that knowledge, we’ve changed the default comment following behavior to help you get more conversations going on your blog. We made the initial changes last week and after great feedback from you we just launched an update. Here’s how it works: By default, posting a comment… -
Look at These Gorgeous Blogs
15 May 2012 | 1:05 pmWe’ve added a user showcase where you can view stunning customizations made by people just like you. From complete redesigns with CSS to adding pizzazz with Custom Fonts to clever use of options like background and header, this showcase will spark your imagination and inspire creativity. Discover details about what each showcase blog is doing with WordPress.com themes and customizations by clicking a thumbnail to see a colophon-style list of credits on the left. We’ve also updated footer links so blog owners can show off the types of customizations they’ve made and visitors can… -
Photo Blogging 101, Part 1
14 May 2012 | 10:00 amSpring is in the air. With the weather warming up, now is a great time to get started on a photo blog. Creating a photo blog is a wonderful introduction to blogging on WordPress.com or an opportunity to refresh your current site. Ready to get started? You can sign up for a new blog right over here. Getting started Photo blogs, sometimes called phlogs, use pictures instead of words. While many photo bloggers choose a type of photo that they want to focus on, such as portraits, others use their photo blog to document their life’s events. Photo blogs come in a variety of styles, including… -
New Themes: Just Desserts and Oxygen
10 May 2012 | 8:11 amHappy Thursday! We’ve added some exciting new themes to our ever-growing collection, and we’re happy to tell you all about them. First out of the oven is…Just Desserts. Yep, that’s a theme! Designed by Andy Rutledge, Just Desserts is a deliciously stylish premium theme that’s perfect for blogs centered on food. With its responsive, single-column layout and unique presentation of images and posts on the front page, Just Desserts gives you a delectable canvas on which your mouthwatering photos and text can really shine — even when viewed on smaller mobile devices… -
Find Friends Who Use WordPress
1 May 2012 | 2:32 pmAre you curious to see how your friends are using WordPress? Give the new and improved Friend Finder a try to connect with your Twitter, Facebook, and Google contacts who have WordPress sites! After authorizing WordPress.com to use your Twitter, Facebook, or Google account to find your friends (don’t worry — none of this account information is saved!) you’ll see a list of people you know who have WordPress sites. Click Follow and each time your friend publishes a new post it will show up in your Reader under Blogs I Follow. If you have multiple blogs, make sure to set the…
-
Schaefer's Blog
-
Imagine: How Creativity Works
3 May 2012 | 3:08 amI finally got around to reading Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer after having it recommended by multiple people, including a great review by J. Scott Shipman. As soon as I finish up my MBA (1 week left) I’ll get around to posting my own write-up. Until then, just buy it – I’ve read quite a few books on creativity and this one stands above them all. TweetNo related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. -
PotteryPrint Update: Thank You & Looking Ahead
17 Apr 2012 | 6:12 pmPotteryPrint didn’t end up making its funding goal on Kickstarter – never fun to miss the mark, but we had a ton of fun testing a new concept and received a lot of great feedback. Thank you (really, I’m humbled) to everyone that helped us out, it made me realize how many amazing people I’m blessed to be connected to in a myriad of ways. Creating something new and substantial is hard – sounds obvious, but it’s why so few people make a living doing startups…or even try for that matter. Just after the end of our campaign a friend sent Shlok, Brian… -
PotteryPrint Update #1: Ponoko Partnership + Campaign Update
18 Mar 2012 | 5:20 pmHey friends, below is a quick update on PotteryPrint, the project I mentioned last week. If you haven’t back us yet we could really use your help. Even a small donation would be greatly appreciated and help turn this idea into a reality. Click here to donate We’re excited to announce that we’re partnering with Ponoko, one of the world’s leading 3D printing companies, to do the actual fabrication of the pottery pieces developed within PotteryPrint. In doing so, we will be able to connect our app to their high-quality order and delivery system, making the entire… -
PotteryPrint – What I’ve Been Up To the Last Two Months
5 Mar 2012 | 2:02 amIn the last two months I haven’t finished any books, I haven’t done much blogging, tweeting, Facebook-ing, gardening…all because I’ve been working on a really fun, challenging project with a few good friends, Shlok and Brian. And now we’re finally ready to share it with the world. PotteryPrint is an iPad app that lets young kids express their creativity by designing pottery pieces that they can have printed in 3D. We just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the development of the app and I’d love for you to check it out. The Kickstarter page… -
Hello Future
3 Feb 2012 | 2:42 pm———————– TweetNo related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
-
things i know | thingsiknow.net
-
Test
7 May 2012 | 11:20 pm -
On Friends
31 Aug 2011 | 3:19 pmLesson of the year is that no matter how "so right" things seemed at one point, they probably weren't since obviously shit didn't work out. But it's a testament to kickass friends how quickly my story turned from self-pity and regret to strength and resolve in the aftermath. -
On Long Distances
24 Jul 2011 | 11:55 amIt's funny how things shake out. A few months ago I was coping with a somewhat long-due end of a long-distance relationship with half of my energy, and packing up my belongings to move across the country for a job with the other half. Among other reasons, neither of us saw ourselves moving to the same city so that we could have a proper functioning life together, and yet here I was leaving I city I loved for 6 years so that I could take a chance on a brand new company, that I was head over heels in love with. And the use of that romantic terminology is key. Because that's where the taboo lies… -
courage to be vulnerable, strength to pull through
29 Apr 2011 | 12:29 pm- things that it takes to survive caring about someone and yet not be together, because to be together would require sacrificing those bits of what you admire so much about each other, the drive to succeed, the curiosity to explore, your hopes and dreams for the future. -
The 404
27 Apr 2011 | 10:49 pm
-
It's Like I'm...Mmmagic!
-
You’re Different, Just Like Everyone Else
5 May 2012 | 11:53 pmGrowing up, I was friends with two really interesting twins. While I was rocking a mushroom cut and Club Monaco sweatshirt, these two girls were shaving their heads and wearing lots of mesh, camo and elaborate necklaces with snake charms. While my mom gave me tylenol for a headache, their mom practiced Reiki and ancient herbal medicines to curb body pains. My home was a standard homage Pottery Barn, their house was a collection of Star Wars collectibles, exotic pets and crystals the size of pre-schoolers. Sleepovers were an exercise in restraint as I practiced acting nonchalant as they fed… -
Make Your Failures Epic
30 Apr 2012 | 6:37 pmAt the beginning of the year I always tell my kids a story of me in university. The story of how after busting my ass, I got 17% on my midterm and my professor scrawled “Great Improvement!” on my paper because it was. Math was foreign to me and that 17% was like a solid A in my math deficient mind and a huge improvement from the secure 6% I had got on my last assignment where my poor professor had taken to just writing smiley faces beside my work. I whooped it up after class, passing that midterm around like I had received a gold medal in “Equations that Make Sense To… -
20 Things To Stop Apologizing For
22 Apr 2012 | 6:04 pmInspired by Ashley who a) re-did my blog (and never once laughed at any of my horrible passwords) b) is wonderfully talented and c) who reminded me that not knowing computer design makes sense if I’ve never been taught COMPUTER DESIGN. 1. Not blogging enough. 2. The music on your ipod. 3. The behavior of anyone but yourself. 4. Not understanding anything you haven’t been taught. 5. Buying Us Weekly. 6. Photos you publish on Instagram. 7. Explaining how you feel. 8. Buying movie tickets to Nicolas Cage movies and thus encouraging him to continue acting. 9. Forgetting. 10. Choices… -
Push
4 Mar 2012 | 8:53 pmSay you are sitting in Starbucks and you see a woman with a stroller who is struggling to open the door. You have a choice. Either return to your issue of Glamour newspaper while using your stealth peripheral vision to see who goes to help the woman or you go and hold the door open for the woman. Say you decide to help the woman. Your morals, your belief in how to behave in any situation, requires you to act. She will say thank you, you will reply with “Oh, it’s no problem!” but inside you are secretly full of glee at having a captive audience of Starbucks drinkers notice… -
Why I Don’t Need Your Vote
29 Feb 2012 | 11:47 am38 days ago I entered an essay contest that asked me “How do you live life on your own terms?”. 38 days ago I sat down at my computer and wrote the hardest words I ever wrote. 38 days ago I told the story of the night I decided to finally end everything- including my life that felt too full with all the things I couldn’t handle, the feelings that were anything but good, feelings of suffocation and panic, regret and despair. I wrote without stopping, editing or thinking. I wrote the night out exactly as I remembered it, gently peeling off the layers of time to recall a night…
-
Du Wax Loolu
-
Recovery
11 May 2012 | 9:58 amThe surgery went well. The gallbladder was apparently quite inflamed, and quite stuck, so the procedure was a bit more complicated than originally expected, but they were still able to do it laparoscopically and Torsten was able to come home last night. Also, we were both reassured by the poor state of the gallbladder because up until they actually went in there, everyone had been telling us that his problem was "probably" the gallbladder; after they saw it they were able to say that it was "definitely" the gallbladder, and it's always comforting to know that you didn't just let someone cut… -
Gah. (Gall?)
10 May 2012 | 10:15 amSo. Looks like May will be another eventful month for us. After a couple weeks of increasingly severe pain after eating (including one doctor's appointment that he canceled the day of because OF COURSE he started feeling better that day, only to feel much worse again two days later), Torsten ended up in the ER on Monday night with agonizing abdominal pain after a small meal (scrambled eggs, if you're curious). Five hours later and he left with a diagnosis of gallstones, a prescription for pain meds, and a mandate to meet with a surgeon the next day.We met with the surgeon on Tuesday and he… -
What happened in April
7 May 2012 | 8:01 amSo, uh. Looks like I accidentally took the month of April off from blogging. My bad. It was totally not intentional, but you know what really gets in the way of blogging? Grad school. Especially when you use your infrequent one-week breaks from school to travel.Seriously, school is not quite as life consuming as I was expecting, but the thing that it really eats into is my down time. I work, I spend time with my baby, I spend time with my husband... and the time I had left over, the time for blogging and reading and generally futzing around doing what I wanted? That's my school time now. So. -
Is everyone here? No, not yet.
27 Mar 2012 | 8:01 am(Note: I'm not pregnant. Remember that whole grad school thing? So settle down; for the moment this is a purely theoretical discussion.)Torsten and I have always sort of vaguely planned to have two kids, knowing that we wanted somewhere from one to three kids total. We definitely knew we wanted kids in general, so deciding to have Callum wasn't a big deal for us--it was just a question of when, and not if.But a second kid. Oh man. It's so much harder. Specifically because Torsten doesn't really want a second kid, and I really, really do.What's funny is that I totally, TOTALLY get where… -
Politi-baby
23 Mar 2012 | 10:37 amToday is my birthday... and it also happens to be the birthday of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act!This particular piece of legislation is very near and dear to my heart. So, in honor of the occasion, I present to you:
-
These Little Moments
-
Two months
15 May 2012 | 11:49 am31 and a half weeks. Two months from today is my is due date. I think I’m in denial about it. I’m not really stressed; as a matter of fact if he came a little early, I’d be totally ok with that. It’s not like last time where there were so many questions that come from going through birth the first time. I basically know what to expect, assuming it goes as “planned”. Where I find myself denying the fact that another human will be coming out of me in just 8ish weeks has to do with Owen. I wrote about it last week, how I was starting to get emotional about the… -
Weekly Instagrams
11 May 2012 | 8:01 amIt’s a parent thing to save your kid’s art, right? I get it. I mean, I don’t want to save EVERY piece of paper my kids ever scribble on, but the special stuff. I’ll save those. I kept Owen’s first-ever drawing, and while it looks remarkably similar to the one below, I’m saving that one too. Because see that black blob on the bottom right corner? He told me that’s a “choo choo train”, so clearly he is a brilliant artist-to-be just budding with curiosity and talent. Or maybe he just watched an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine that day. -
I Pinned It So I Did It – Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Loaf
9 May 2012 | 8:15 amI’ve unofficially begun a Biweekly Baking tradition during the week. It’s usually cookies, but Owen and I have a playdate today and I think it’s nice to bring a little snack for the moms and/or the kids if someone is hosting you. Cookies didn’t really seem to fit the bill for that. I recently got around to reorganizing my Pinterest boards a little to make it easier for myself to find recipes. I had almost 300 (!!) compiled in one big food board, and it was getting chaotic. During this process, I stumbled across a recipe for yogurt cake that I had pinned and forgotten… -
The luckiest
8 May 2012 | 6:52 amThis weekend the clouds parted and graced us with two days of sun, the first in a week. We celebrated by spending as much time outside as possible. Our front and back yards are two of Owen’s favorite places to play, but the beauty of where we live is within minutes our toes can be in the sand. We explored. We discovered rocks and shells and the feeling of sand falling between our fingers. We threw rocks in the ocean and chased seagulls. Yesterday, in an effort to combat Owen’s afternoon crankies, I grabbed a bucket, plopped our butts in the sand and spent an hour hiding and… -
Randomness
2 May 2012 | 10:17 am- Last weekend I hopped on a train and headed down to New York City. It was going to be a whirlwind trip — I’d actually end up spending more hours on the train than in the actual city, but I’m so glad I went. My blogging buddy from way back, Jess, was going to be in town with her family, and we had never met in real life. What a perfect opportunity to join up with the lady formerly known as Clink (Alena) for an old-school blogger meet-up. It was lovely, to say the least. They were kind enough to tell me otherwise, but Pregnancy Face is back and in full effect. Yaaaaay. -…
-
Beyond Megapixels
-
Composition – Leading Lines
14 May 2012 | 1:00 amHave you ever observed a scene you thought was beautiful so you photographed it only to have the photo turn out to be very mundane? I know I have and I suspect that if honesty were to prevail we would all say we’ve had a similar experience. Remember that the camera doesn’t see as much as our eyes see. The camera’s vision is limited by the focal length of the lens and the size of the sensor in the camera. Our eyes see what’s in front of us but they also see peripherally around the entire scene. To compensate for the vision limitation of the camera we have to employ… -
Composition – Rule of Thirds
9 May 2012 | 1:00 amIt’s important to be very knowledgeable about the technical aspects of your camera. Otherwise you won’t know the best way to maximize your camera’s capabilities to capture the best images you can. This is true regardless of the make or model of your camera. Unfortunately, being an expert in all of the camera’s features and capabilities won’t guarantee that you’ll take great photos. The key to good photographs is composition. Because composition is so important, we are featuring a series of articles on composition beginning today with the Rule of Thirds… -
Is It Photography?
7 May 2012 | 1:00 amToday I’m going to take a somewhat different approach than what Tiffany and I usually feature in our articles. I’m going to showcase the work of a single photographer. Then I’m going to ask a question about the work. The question will admittedly be a value judgment kind of question and I recognize there isn’t any uniform correct answer. I will give my answer and why but I really want you to answer the question for yourself. Once you’ve answered the question for yourself think about why you answered the way you did and apply that thought process to your… -
Super Moon!
4 May 2012 | 12:42 pmIn honor of tomorrow’s anticipated “Super Moon” event (Saturday May 5th), here is a rerun of Steve’s article on photographing the moon from last year. ———- Whether you’ve photographed the moon numerous times or have just thought about doing it, Saturday evening, March 19, 2011 May 5th, 2012, is a must do evening. On that evening the moon will be at its perigee (closest to the Earth) and according to one article I read it will appear 14% larger than normal. This event, the full moon at its perigee will not occur again until the year 2029… -
Yes, you can shoot at midday!
2 May 2012 | 9:51 amWe’ve all had the “golden hour” concept drilled into our heads – those times around sunrise and sunset when the light is long and lovely, creating beautiful conditions in which to capture our photographs. So does that mean your camera has to languish in its bag during the midday hours? No, it does not! All you need is a circular polarizer, and tiny bit of tweaking in Lightroom. When my husband and I go on our weekend Jeep adventures, we leave the house at around 8:00 in the morning and usually get on-trail at about 10:00 for a four- or five-hour journey. That puts me…
-
Forum Discussions - 20 Something Bloggers
-
Let's Discuss: Obama vs. Romney Commencement Speeches
14 May 2012 | 7:13 pmToday, I watched President Obama's entourage drive by Amsterdam Avenue as he made his way toward Barnard College, an all women institution,to address its 600 graduates. In his empowering speech, Obama said, "“Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.” While Mitt Romney during his address at Liberty University one day ago said, "The home is the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose, and that is to support the ultimate career," while reasserting his disapproval of gay marriage. I don't want to… -
Looking to Follow Diet and Fitness Blogs
14 May 2012 | 3:39 pmHey there, does anyone else out there write diet and fitness blogs? I would like to exchange "follows" with others with similar interests. My blog is primarily about diet and fitness, but it also covers topics like thrift shopping, motherhood and writing. My blog can be found at www.boun-see.blogspot.com. Let's connect! -
The Best Post You Read This Week...
14 May 2012 | 2:09 amI was catching up with my Reader after nearly a month away from any serious blog-reading time. One of my favourite blogs touched on a lot of things I've been thinking about, worrying about. Things I've been assessing and feeling and wondering about. I shared it with a number of people over e-mail and over facebook- it's what we all do, right? It was the best thing I'd read all week (and I'd read some seriously brilliant stuff) and the simple act of sharing the post reminded me of all the other brilliant posts out there that I'm missing out on, that aren't being shared as widely as they… -
Post Graduate Blues-Attention post grads
12 May 2012 | 7:22 pmSo I finished all my courses for my degree in Political Science (Social Sciences) and am currently looking for work. The only jobs that seem to be available are administrative type jobs. I worked as an administrative assistant as a student for about a year and a half and am looking for something different, something that will build my resume. Policy work, project coordination, communications officer positions, research analysts positions are all things that interest. Basically I will take anything where there is lots of research or writing involved (i.e proposal or grant writer) or even a… -
I want to feature your blog, on my blog (Love vs. The Economy showdowns)
11 May 2012 | 6:55 pmHey, I just posted a blog called "Love in the Time of Less" and I'm looking for other blogs that feature thoughts about romance even in rough times, whether that is how you and your Lovah made it work after job lay offs, or creative dates on the cheep, or even if you've chosen not to get involved with ANYONE until you get your shit together. I'll do a big ol' link love list and the writer of my favorite post can even do a guest blog if they wanna, get some of my readers all up on their page. A little about me: I'm 26, I'm a musician with no real idea of where to go next career wise paying…
-
Amanda's Journey
-
How to Talk to a Doctor
4 May 2012 | 10:33 amI think this article, How to Talk to a Doctor, by the Cleveland Clinic, is so important. Our health and well-being can sometimes really depend on what our doctor pr practitioner tells us or does for us. With insurance and hospital regulations these days, your doctor likely only has 15 minutes with you before he or she is due to see the next patient. She is probably running late to begin with, so both of you feel rushed. Combine that other factors, and a visit to your doctor just may not end up living up to its potential. This article will help you understand ways to change that, and I think… -
Give the Gift of Life
2 May 2012 | 10:33 amIn honor of April, Donate Life Month, I wrote a Letter to the Editor to the Akron Beacon Journal. They published it on April 15, 2012. It states: Give the Gift of Life As April is Donate Life month, I would like to thank the family that provided me with the greatest gift of all, the gift of life. Nineteen months ago, at age 23, I was given a new liver by an organ donor. Because of this generous gift, I have been able to return to nursing school, volunteer for Lifebanc (our area’s organ donation and procurement agency) and travel to Ireland to study health care. I have truly learned the… -
Important: Moving
29 Apr 2012 | 6:22 pmHi everyone, Please change your bookmarks and feed subscriptions as I am moving this site to a new address. It will be under construction for a little bit and will have a new address, but all of the content will still be there, and it will hopefully be a little bit more organized. You can always use http://www.crazymiracle.com to get to the site, and its official address is now http://crazymiracle.wordpress.com Unfortunately, Amanda’s Journey was not available. :( I hope to deliver the same content you’ve come to expect, as well as more insight into my life dealing with… -
28 Apr 2012 | 1:30 pm
28 Apr 2012 | 1:30 pmChoosing joy doesn’t mean denying our struggle but instead saying, ‘God I trust you have my good and your glory in mind.’ (in)courage, inspired by Sara Frankl -
Aaron Shust – Carry Me Home (Album)
17 Apr 2012 | 7:31 amhttp://assets.tumblr.com/swf/audio_player.swf?audio_file=http://www.tumblr.com/audio_file/21265206586/tumblr_m2misjCI9Q1qc81o3&color=FFFFFF (song takes 10 seconds to load after you hit “play”… sorry?) Lord bring me home again I’m no longer able To bare the bitter winds Or the heavy rains I’ve long been settled Lord without comfort Just a man on an earthly throne Headed for the grave Carry me home Sweet Jesus lift me Until I’ve flown The shadow of shame Your love alone Lord Jesus mends me Lift me up Oh Lord carry me home Lord I’ve been branded A loyal sinner Seems like…
-
ミラートレードならシストレ２４
-
セブンインベスターズ
3 May 2012 | 1:12 am… -
ＦＸＣＭ
3 May 2012 | 1:11 am… -
フォレックス・ドットコム
3 May 2012 | 1:09 am… -
アヴァトレード・ジャパンＦＸ
1 May 2012 | 11:29 am… -
ミラートレードで資産が変わる！
1 May 2012 | 8:30 am…
-
Thoughts from Meggie Poo
-
Bachelorette Emily Fantasy League
14 May 2012 | 12:12 pmLove the Bachelorette and want to make it even MORE fun? Join our Fantasy League! The Bachelor Facebook page used to run it, but since they're not this season... we can do it on our own! How does this work? Before the first episode airs on Monday, May 14 at 9:30 p.m. EST, select three "gentlemen" as your team. You can pick your favorites OR you can pick based on the point list below. If one of your three team members does any of the below items (or has them done to them), you'll get the points. I know that you may want to change your pick as we go along - so that is… -
#NeverLetGo - The Amina Dream Story, Chapter 1
19 Jan 2012 | 12:48 pmRSS to Meggie Poo. -
#Thankfulfor 11.29.11
29 Nov 2011 | 2:32 pm- Blood donors, helping my momma out with transfusion. Today she said she felt like she had Superman's blood in her. Thanks Superman. - Good doctor news from family. - My hilarious Dad. He wanted to join Facebook so he could see what we were doing and was so open and honest about it. - Post-It Notes. We should be thankful for these on a daily basis. - The Internet - truly making my wedding plan easy peasy. - My fat pants, reminding me that I need to stop eating so much because they are now my normal pants.RSS to Meggie Poo. -
Future Mrs. McMahon
20 Nov 2011 | 1:29 pmMy BFF, Mallory, made me this for my wedding dress. How awesome is she??? This will be perfect for photographs of my wedding dress and a sweet keepsake. Maybe I can dry the flowers from my wedding bouquet on it and keep it as a wall decoration? So many possibilities. And yes, I will soon be Mrs. Meghan McMahon. M-squared. Meggie Mac (Hubs hates this one). So many nickname possibilities!RSS to Meggie Poo. -
#ThankfulFor 11.15.11
15 Nov 2011 | 12:52 pm- My work is sending me to Vegas tonight. How cool is that? I've never been and I'm so excited and definitely thankful for this opportunity! - Google Calendar that integrates with my phone - lifesaver! - iPods and Kindle's for 8 hour plane rides. - Not flying with anyone I know so when I inevitably fall asleep and grind my teeth/ snore, I won't care (also I won't really know either). - My family and fiance were so happy and excited for me! I love knowing I have their support :)RSS to Meggie Poo.
-
random mel
-
Review: Invitation Only Pop Up Event
14 May 2012 | 3:07 pmA couple of weeks ago, I received an invitation to attend a pop up event being hosted by Invitation Only in BECCA Boutique, South Kensington. Having just been paid, my friend and I decided that it would provide the perfect excuse for an afternoon of luxury… so along we went. I have to be honest, I’d never heard of Invitation Only before and so I had no idea of what to expect. As we entered BECCA, we knew that it was going to be something special as we were greeted by huge smiles and ushered into the downstairs area of the boutique where we were greeted with a lovely glass of… -
Update on Saskia’s Kitty
14 May 2012 | 8:34 amWow. That’s all that I can say. I’m totally overwhelmed by all of the support that I’ve received from everyone to help Saskia save her kitty, Taffy. Together we raised over £750 in just a few days, more than I ever could have imagined. The vets have agreed to do the surgery for a reduced price and Saskia’s family have managed to raise the rest of the funds, so Taffy will be having the surgery tomorrow to save her poorly leg. Words can’t tell you how grateful myself, Saskia and Taffy are to everybody for your generous support. You guys just proved how much you… -
Reasons why Pinterest is better than sex…
10 May 2012 | 8:05 amOK, by now, you’re bound to have been subjected to my addiction to Pinterest. You’ll also be aware that I’m single. Therefore I guess, the following video will come as no surprise. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, dudes and dudettes, I present to you the reasons that Pinterest is better than sex. Click here to view the embedded video. I know, I really need to get out some more, but pinning is so god damn good! Stay awesome. M xox p.s. thank you so much for all of your support in raising funds for Saskia’s kitty. We’ve been totally overwhelmed! -
Please help Saskia’s kitty…
9 May 2012 | 11:02 amLet me start by saying that asking for help is never something that I’d ever do on my blog. I love you guys, I want to bring you funny (hopefully) content that keeps you amused. However, you will also know how much I love cats. Yes, I have been called “Cat Lady” once or twice. Sadly my friend Saskia’s cat, Taffy, fell from the third floor of an apartment building last week. Having rushed him to the vets, he has a temporary cast but needs surgery. Poor tyke. Then came the news that the surgery is going to cost £2,500 (expensive kitty, tsk!) and Taffy isn’t… -
The secret reason it takes girls so long to get ready…
2 May 2012 | 5:25 pmYou know how your girlfriend doesn’t wear any makeup and yet it takes her so long to get ready? She promises you she’ll just be another couple of minutes but she’s still in the bathroom after an hour? Today I’m letting you into the biggest kept secret… welcome to the club. Just don’t tell anyone you heard it from me! Click here to view the embedded video. You’re very welcome. Of course, if you want to show your appreciation, flowers, wine, chocolate or Hob Nobs are always appreciated. Much love and stay amazing. M xox
-
Jen-ology
-
Lena's Birth Story
11 May 2012 | 4:19 pmIt's a very very long post!Feel free just to skim and look at all the pictures! :)Wrap-up of PregnancyI always thought that the more babies you had, the better your body would get at being pregnant/having babies. I think (for the most part) that is true for labor, but it is the furthest thing from the truth about pregnancy. Your body doesn't get stronger, it gets weaker, at least mine does. Each pregnancy has been harder than the last. There are minor differences, but with each one I have been more tired, more uncomfortable and have many more and worse aches and… -
Adelyn's 1st Dance Recital
5 May 2012 | 9:53 pmAdelyn had her very first recital this morning and this mommy could not be more proud. I was so afraid I would be in labor and not at the recital but it all worked out and Lena got to go on her first outing to support her big sister at just 3 days old.Adelyn did a ballet number and a tap number (both in the same costume) and she did so great and was beyond beautiful.Mommy, Daddy, JR, Lena, Nana and Auntie Kari all came to watch. Baby Lena (and JR too actually) slept peacefully the whole show.We're so proud of our big girl!The Ballet NumberThe Tap Dance(these ones are bit blurry)The Curtain… -
Introducing...
3 May 2012 | 9:49 amLena Grace Romneyborn May 2, 2012@ 11:07am7 lbs 4 oz, 19.5in longBaby and Mom are doing great!Pictures and details to come. -
Dance Pictures
1 May 2012 | 11:08 pmAdelyn got her first professional dance pictures at class today (they took them a couple weeks ago) and she's adorable. I'm going to the hospital to birth our next baby girl in about 7 hours so instead of scanning the pics into the computer like a real person I took a picture of a picture! So awesome quality, maybe I'll do it for real after baby is here.Next time I blog will be to introduce our new little girl! I'm excited, nervous, scared, so so so excited and nervous. -
Take Over
1 May 2012 | 8:20 amThis picture was taken two nights ago. It's hard to see what's really going on but Adelyn is sideways in my spot, JR is upside down in Jared's spot and Jared is laying horizontally across the bed. Needless to say I didn't stick around, I went and slept in Adelyn's bed. I'm already uncomfortable enough just trying to sleep with this giant sore body plus terrible heartburn. They sure look cute though!
-
Woo!
-
Scenes from Japan
24 Apr 2012 | 12:41 amI went to Japan and fell in love. Photos taken with Instagram. Follow me @woopics. -
Going to Japan!
27 Mar 2012 | 8:46 pmWe’re off to Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto!), where we will slurp ramen, taste weird Kit Kat flavors, try to navigate the subway system, gaze at girls in maid outfits, buy adorable useless things (okay, that’ll just be me), take pictures of cherry blossoms, and basically get lost in translation. This is the one place I’ve wanted to visit more than any other place in the universe, so I’m pretty excited. P.S. Hello Kitty phone booths! -
Happy Valentine’s Day!
15 Feb 2012 | 12:10 amHappy Valentine’s Day! Matt and I celebrated the occasion by going a Korean BBQ restaurant since it’s the most unromantic (read: uncrowded) place you can go. (Your hair reeks like meat and you must unbutton your pants the moment you get in the car to go home. Sexy.) It was awesome. We’ve definitely become an old married couple. I’ve been noticing it more ever since my younger sister started living with us temporarily. She’s 26, single, and always has some exciting event to attend. Every evening, just as she’s about to leave the house, she cheerily asks us,… -
The View
12 Feb 2012 | 5:39 pmEven after living on this peninsula for nearly a year, I still act like a crazy tourist, making Matt pull over so I can take an Instagram shot of the view. It’s so pretty and I’m so lucky. It always reminds me of that good ol’ Ferris Bueller quote: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” -
More Me
30 Dec 2011 | 10:48 pmThe truth is, this blog has been giving me anxiety for the past year. I loved this blog, it was my thing, my happy place, my baby that I would dress up in fun little outfits and sing songs in the car with, but now, it quietly haunts me. A reminder of yet another project that I’ve let slip away. Much of has to do with the job — they pay me to write all day and having money lets me … have money, so yeah, see ya homes. But it’s not just that. I don’t want to post just to post. And it seems that every time I sit down and tell myself, “Okay, write something,”…
-
by teresa wu
-
Treat your ears right. Listen to Anna’s album! My personal...
14 May 2012 | 12:35 pmTreat your ears right. Listen to Anna’s album! My personal favorite: “Over Ourselves.” -
Our apartment is rarely without a couch-crasher, but this...
14 May 2012 | 12:33 pmOur apartment is rarely without a couch-crasher, but this weekend’s guest also happened to be a talented musician - last night we got to see Anna play at the Living Room (after a preview in our actual living room :) Check her out at annasumusic.com. -
I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve neglected my...
9 May 2012 | 6:33 pmI’ve been so busy lately that I’ve neglected my little Tumblr for the past few weeks. But a couple of weekends ago, my study abroad BFF Emma returned from her year abroad in South Africa. Gabi, Brit, and I hopped on the Metro North, and all the girls reconvened from six different states for some good ol’ throwback fun in the ‘burbs of Connecticut. More and more these days, I’m finding that time is my most precious resource… the older I get, the less I seem to have of it. So I’m really proud that three years after we fell in love on a little island in the Mediterranean, we… -
Lucky Strikes! Bowling! My favorite “sport.”
27 Apr 2012 | 8:17 pmLucky Strikes! Bowling! My favorite “sport.” -
Best post-brunch weekend activity: Puppy shopping. !!
10 Apr 2012 | 6:11 pmBest post-brunch weekend activity: Puppy shopping. !!
-
Allison Jones
-
Where Can I Find Non Profit Jobs? 5 Tips to Consider #npcareers101
30 Apr 2012 | 10:00 amNow that graduation season has started, many grads–if they havent found one already–are anxiously looking for a job. For folks considering a career in the non profit sector, job hunting may feel especially daunting as the sector remains a mystery to many (hence my non profit careers 101 series). With focus and preparation, you can find a great non profit job. 1. Understand what a non profit is. One of the reasons folks struggle with a nonprofit is that there is little understanding of what a nonprofit is. The sizes and types of nonprofits range from your local soup kitchen… -
Shifting the lens on the millennial generation’s activism
21 Apr 2012 | 7:53 amAmi Dar, Executive Director of idealist.org, recently wrote about the language problem facing the social sector. Rather than acknowledging the full range of actions people take to make a difference, we often use limiting generic words to describe what we’re doing (think “I am going to serve.” Vs. “I am going to build a playground.”) While he focused on how the language we use often hides the great the work we do, I think our word choice also reflects the lens we use to examine, encourage, and respond to activism. Unfortunately, our lens, like our language, is narrow. We see the… -
Can I Live on a Non Profit Salary? #npcareers101
12 Apr 2012 | 8:06 amThis by far the most common question I get about working in the non profit sector and understandably so: according to Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey, non profit managers and administrative staff make less than their peers in the government and for-profit sectors, leading many to wonder if taking a non profit job means taking a vow of poverty. At the same time, I think the narrative around salaries ignores the complexity of compensation. We should certainly strive for better salaries for non profit employees, yet we should also be mindful of the limitations of… -
Five Common Questions about Non Profit Careers #npcareers101
11 Apr 2012 | 10:30 amLast week I spoke on the Creative Good: Breaking into the World of Nonprofits panel at the New School, hosted by NYC Creative Interns. What I love about these types of events is that they give me a sense of the big questions young people are grappling with when it comes to nonprofit careers. While conversations around passion and purpose are important, I find that young people are equally concerned with the nitty-gritty of professional life such as writing resumes, networking, and paying bills. To that end, I am launching a short new series—Nonprofit Careers 101—that will explore some… -
Sh*t Nonprofit People Say
29 Mar 2012 | 8:48 pmHow can we better engage our email/twitter/facebook supporters? They have really bad Founders Syndrome. You know that grant’s due in 10 minutes, right? ANY FOOD LEFT FROM THAT BOARD MEETING? (all caps because the food is often delicious and is the best part of meeting) I’ve heard these plenty of times and they are captured in the following funny video: Sh*t Nonprofit People Say There are some things that aren’t captured in this video–no mention of best practices?!–but I love being able to poke fun at ourselves. What also stood out to me is the difference in…
-
Geoff Campbell
-
Yesterday
15 May 2012 | 2:24 pmYesterday I graduated with a B.A. Honours in International Relations at Mount Allison University. Today, I travelled from there back home to Boston. It’s tough leaving a place I’ve called home for longer than anywhere else since I a little boy. It was an incredible experience. I learned, read, and wrote more than I thought possible and I matured and improved as a person by an incredible amount. Most important of all were the friendships I made. I really can’t explain in words how much I appreciated meeting and really getting to know some amazing people. I miss you all… -
Goodbye Mount Allison University
15 May 2012 | 8:21 amI’m leaving Mount Allison University and Sackville, NB today. I don’t know if/when I’ll ever be back. I’ve called this place home for 1356 days now. That seems like an insane number. Four years of laughs, stress, exciting nights, restless nights, days in the sun, days in the library. At times it’s been incredible to be here but other times it’s been incredibly frustrating. In the end though, I’m glad I came here because I wouldn’t trade all of the experiences I’ve had here for anything. That includes the times I didn’t have fun or… -
Finished Work at Mount Allison University
10 May 2012 | 5:21 pmMy co-workers are pretty awesome. This afternoon I finished up my last day of work at the Marketing and Communications Office at Mount Allison University. I finished the video “Why Consider Mount Allison University” as my last project. If I’m able to end up somewhere with co-workers half as supportive, funny, and generally great to be around I’ll consider myself lucky. For my part I did a extensive research of best practices on using social media for higher education and worked to integrate them into Mount Allison’s ongoing communication strategy. For this field… -
Why should you consider attending Mount Allison University?
10 May 2012 | 2:12 pmI’m graduating from Mount Allison University on Monday. Today is my last day of work at the Marketing and Communications Office at the school where I’ve worked full- and part-time for over a year. Here’s my last project, a video of current students discussing why you should consider attending Mount Allison University. I hope you enjoy it. Filed under: Mount Allison University Tagged: Video -
Mount Allison University Convocation (Graduation)
7 May 2012 | 11:24 amThe information for the 2012 Convocation ceremony at Mount Allison University is now available online. Below are more details. View this document on Scribd View this document on Scribd View this document on Scribd Filed under: Convocation, Graduation
-
Temerity Jane
-
What it all comes down to is that I had to make my own jello.
14 May 2012 | 3:51 pmNo time for pleasantries. - Remember when Penny was in the hospital in August and I was all cryptic about what was wrong with her? That was because I didn’t want your reassurances. I know, that makes me sound like an asshole. But the thing is, I had (and have) genuine concerns, and sometimes a person just needs to worry them through without being told “oh, my aunt had that and she’s fine so obviously your kid will be fine!” Anyway, we worried through it all, and now I’ll tell you – Penny has vesicoureteral reflux – or VUR – or kidney reflux. And… -
We’re back from Pennsylvania, and this is the best thing that happened.
6 May 2012 | 8:32 pmFUCK YEAH, CAKE. -
This is all there is – not this is all there IS?
20 Apr 2012 | 12:19 pmBy now, you may have figured out that I have a rather loose definition of the word “tomorrow.” However, did you maybe think that I COULDN’T post something for all of the Internet to read, even though I was just totally desperate to do so? Did you think of that? Did you think that maybe I was in the HOSPITAL? I bet you didn’t. And you know what? I WAS. So don’t you feel like a sack of cracks now? Okay, so, I was only in the hospital from this past Sunday to Wednesday, but you couldn’t possibly have known that. So, you, sack, cracks. You couldn’t… -
Planning my return to the Internet.
2 Apr 2012 | 11:31 amLet’s break the ice with some videos of my baby being ridiculous, and meet back here tomorrow. If you’re in a reader and don’t want to click through for the embedded videos, here’s a picture of Penny instead. If you shake your head back and forth really quickly, you should get the basic effect. -
Wanted: map, headband rear view mirror, onesie made of Swiffer.
1 Mar 2012 | 12:10 pmUm, why is the zone of infant neglect empty? Excuse me! How did you get there! You’re immobile! Out your accomplices, immediately! How are you — are you STEERING? Are you STEERING while you scoot BACKWARDS? I can’t even back out of the driveway without falling into the yard. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME COME BACK HERE BABY. Do you even know where you ARE? Did you think to bring a MAP when you abandoned your HOME? DID YOU EVEN THINK TO SCATTER SOME OF THOSE BREADCRUMBS JAMMED IN YOUR NECK FOLD? PROBABLY NOT. And, okay, I kind of recognize that as a failure on my part, we should…
-
She Takes on the World
-
The Benefits of Becoming a Blog Contributor
15 May 2012 | 9:16 amReady to start building a solid web presence through blogging? Being a contributing writer to well-renowned blogging websites has a series of benefits that give back to you, your business, and to the audience reading making it a triple threat (and a necessary one at that!) to have tied to your name. You Gain Credibility Want to prove yourself as an expert within your field? Offer to write a guest blog post on a topic that you have years of experience with. People love to read about the journey to success, particularly when you’re just starting out in the business world, because… -
Video Presenting vs. Stage Presenting
11 May 2012 | 7:00 amIn my experience, many people who are used to presenting on stage (or in front of a room), are not aware of how they need to adapt their presentation style to the technical requirements and demands of the video camera. This includes; ♦ body positioning, body language and gestures, body movement vocal range ♦ eye-contact with the lens ♦ camera framing and camera angles ♦ backgrounds and setting the scene – to mention a few. Stage vs. Screen Presenting on video requires the presenter to “pull people in” (screen presence) whereas stage presenting requires the presenter to… -
10 Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Are Facing and What WE Are Doing About It
7 May 2012 | 9:00 amNatalie Sisson and Natalie MacNeil in LA A Grand Vision for Women Entrepreneurs When I started She Takes on the World I had a big vision for women entrepreneurs. That vision has been unfolding before my eyes and I’m pleased to say that as of Friday She Takes on the World Inc. raised its first round of funding! We’re ready to play a bigger game. One of the problems I’ve been working to tackle is this: Of the 40% of businesses owned by women, 70% of these earned less than $50,000 in revenue last year. I really want to see more women entrepreneurs earning what they’re… -
Ask a CEO: How Can I Make a Totally Unreasonable Request (When I’m Sure They’ll Resent Me for Even Asking)?
5 May 2012 | 9:04 amA female CEO we love! Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo.This is the second in a monthly series in which we ask women CEOs a burning question, and they answer. Be sure to check out the first post in the series if you haven’t already. I’ve been interviewing more than 100 CEOs and exploring the relationships between their success and effective requests. These women all own companies with revenues of 1MM and up. Want to ask a CEO? Email your question to annette@irresistiblerequests.com. They’re not feeling it. You haven’t even asked yet, but you can tell they’re not going to like this. And you… -
5 Empowering Words for Women
1 May 2012 | 12:31 pmAs we wrestle with life’s challenges, gain new awareness, and learn more about ourselves, words can take on new, deeper meanings. Words like forgiveness, love, boundaries, and joy, become attached to personal experiences that make them rich and meaningful. Mary Cox Garner, author of The Hidden Souls of Words: Keys to Transformation Through the Power of Words, says words can stimulate us to make powerful transformations in our lives if we let them. These five words have empowered and transformed mine. My hope is that they will inspire you to identify the five words that have…
-
Black Marks on Wood Pulp / by Corey Vilhauer
-
Where the Wild Thing Is
8 May 2012 | 8:35 amOn one hand, you have childhood: the years in which we are children, when we do the things children do. And then there’s youth: the years in which we are shaped, in which we begin to learn and understand the world, when we recklessly soak up art and critique and influence. The difference is subtle. One defines us by our age, while the other defines us for the future. One is dominated by developmental growth, while the other is defined by a growth of taste and intellect. We’d expect one to come after the other. But sometimes, childhood and youth collide. Sometimes, we’re able… -
Star Wars, Pop Up Video style
26 Apr 2012 | 12:00 pmI don’t know when I became a Star Wars nerd. Truth is, this was never supposed to happen. I saw the films in their entirety for the FIRST TIME in the theater as they were re-released in the late 90s. Until then, I was THAT guy. The Never-Saw-Star-Wars Guy. Now, it’s different. I’m into them, and my kids are into them. But while they’re into the stories and the characters – Sierra, bless her soul, loves those damned Ewoks – I’m more interested in the story behind the story. The slow march from original trilogy to remastered trilogy to expanded trilogy… -
3:30 AM
25 Apr 2012 | 3:30 amThere was a time when, if I was up at 3:30 AM, I was among friends. I was at a sleepover, high on Mountain Dew. I was at my senior party. I was heading home after a night at the Red Carpet to grab a slice of leftover pizza from the fridge. I was standing outside a sub shop after working late, finally finished with bar rush, discussing the rest of the night with my fellow sandwich makers. At these times, 3:30 AM was merely a suggestion. When I moved back to Sioux Falls, 3:30 AM became a time of peace. I worked late every night at a call center, and would spend an hour each night reading. It… -
Scared
10 Apr 2012 | 10:23 amI popped up from the ground and ran. I was bleeding. A lot. My face was a mess, mashed into god knows what. But I couldn’t think about that. I was only half a block from my house, so I ran. I just ran. Behind me lay my bike, left behind in an awkward angle, its front wheel released from the frame and its front fork jammed into the grass. The reflector lay strewn across the parking lot. My friend, who shifted from laughing to not laughing to genuine concern, ran behind me, trying to catch up. I would later recount the scene to my father, my mother, an admitting nurse and a reconstructive… -
On landing
29 Mar 2012 | 11:43 amIt’s not the takeoff, or the flight itself. It’s not the fact that I’m sitting in a metal bird, flying at hundreds of miles per hour and weighing much more than any thing I’ve ever encountered, a feat of physics that, despite understanding I still struggle to comprehend. It’s the landing. I still remember United Airlines Flight 232 – the failed-landing-turned-fireball at the Sioux City airport. I was 10 years old. I watched footage on the nightly news in Jackson, WY, where I was spending the summer with my grandparents. The connection to a place that was…
-
1, 2, 3... ELEVEN Petals
-
Riverside by Agnes Obel – haunting, captivating… oh and Homeslice helped
7 May 2012 | 1:52 pmI talked to Homeslice today. His call was perfect timing. So much on my mind – TOO much on my mind. He keeps accidentally rescuing me. He gets me. He sees the way I work. He can follow my trains of thought and he knows where I’ll go with them, mostly. This would be great and fantastic and all but you’re not supposed to stay friends with former teammates – ESPECIALLY ones with bipolar baseball disorder!! BUT his heart appears to be bigger than the DOUCHE rooted deep in his psyche, so I’ve decided to accept and acknowledge he’s a douche,… -
BIG! no, moderately, ok, maybe only semi important decision made today
6 May 2012 | 1:53 pmTwo days in a row? WHOA!!! Am I out of my mind? Yes. Probably. Or at least it would seem so based on the pretty big decision I made today. a CRAZY decision. One of ALMOST mind blowing proportions. As in, it would blow your mind if your mind was kinda weak and surprising thoughts were like human size grenades. It’d be like “omgosh that is so surprisi”**BBBBOOOOOOOOM**** your mind just blew up. And someone should clean that up STAT (obviously YOU can’t because your mind is gone) because Dog #1 might accidentally run through it, splattering vomit ON THE WALL… -
Homeslice turns K. Pete into a Grumpster
5 May 2012 | 1:54 pmI keep telling myself I’m going to start blogging again. like for REALZ blogging. like do it on a regular basis like I used to blogging. And then I think about all of the back story, the new people, the __fill in the blank with whatever word delights you__, and it OVERWHELMS ME! AH! where do I begin? So I’m just going to start with today, right now, this moment. I’m here (you don’t say…) and although I still have all of the YAY HAPPY PEPPY RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES AND TWINKLY WHITE LIGHTS STRUNG IN PRETTY BLOOMING TREES in me – I ALSO have, at least in… -
I never finish anythi
23 Jan 2012 | 12:13 amRemember the time I said I was going to teach the world to sing? And I was so excited and dedicated? But instead of teach I said blog about stress reduction because I can’t sing? And then I only wrote like 3 blogs about it? Or what about the time I said I was going to take a self-portrait every single day for a year but ended up only doing it for about 90 days? Yeah… umm… about that. In other news, I was super pleased and excited to learn that the kids I teach in church adore me. :) YAY! Happy days! -
Once upon a time she learned to embrace her individuality
21 Jan 2012 | 3:12 amOnce upon a time there was girl who really liked to start stories in her mind with the phrase “once upon a time.” *happy sigh* ”Once upon a time” is so romantic. :) There’s really no other way to start a story I think – unless of course you want your story to be a cold, heartless, bitter, tragedy. But even then, it’s prolly better to go ahead and give it a good ole “once upon a time” to start, JUST IN CASE at the last second you decide Dexter is going to swoop in and save the day by murdering a bad guy. Or Detective Morgan!!
-
Young and Frugal
-
The Enemy of Success
14 May 2012 | 9:37 pmSuccess means different things to different people, but no matter your definition of success, there is only one uniform enemy to it. It doesn’t matter if you have reached success or are far from it, you should be very scared of one thing; you should be scared of becoming complacent. Complacency happens when you reach “a good place,” that place where everything is nice; when there are no pending deadlines and it feels good to just coast…that is complacency. It will quickly sneak into work life and personal life if we let it, so we must remember that we have to… -
The Art of Being Ageless
9 May 2012 | 11:09 pmA few years ago I was featured in Forbes Magazine for being a “Savvy Shopper.” As you can imagine I was pretty darn excited about it, so I told the world, including my boss, that I was going to be featured in this prestigious magazine. When the magazine came out I rushed to the store in an effort to see a large photo of myself gracing the pages; it was pretty cool. The next day, my boss, who had been traveling when it came out, brought in a copy she had purchased and started showing people at work. I was thrilled that she was bragging about me, but little did I know that our once… -
Pack Less
7 May 2012 | 8:32 pmThere is a fundamental flaw in taking a vacation: having to pack. Packing causes us to lose site of the freedom of a vacation in an attempt to solve any future problem that might arise. What if we go to a nice restaurant and I don’t have the right clothes? How many pair of shoes should I bring? How many days do you think we will workout? All these questions lead you to question and doubt your vacation before you even leave; they have you envisioning “what if” in a negative light instead of in a positive light, and they yield undue stress (did we pack everything?) and… -
Role Models
2 May 2012 | 10:05 pmWho do I want my son’s role models to be? Lately this question has been bugging me because it’s honestly kind of hard to think of some. I understand that no one is perfect, but when I look around I can’t help but skeptically think of what a potential role model’s dirty laundry is and when it will be front page “news.” Maybe it’s because I always think of Mayberry when I think of my parents growing up, but I imagine that for my parents and grandparents generations it was pretty easy to look around to find a role model. One might think that with… -
How To Slash Your Cell Phone Bill
30 Apr 2012 | 11:03 pmAs Mary and I have been continuing to slash our monthly expenses we turned to a place that didn’t seem likely; our cell phone bill. Last June, after being with Sprint for 8 years, our contract was up, we shopped around, and came to the realization that while we were in our last contract, cell phone plans had gotten REALLY expensive. We felt trapped, but we needed phones (more like we needed wireless communication devices; as they are not used for talking very much), so we went with the cheapest option, which meant staying with Sprint. We got our new smartphones and signed our new…
-
Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates
-
Being a Grownup
15 May 2012 | 8:00 amI spent the weekend on Long Island with my mom for Mother’s Day. We had a great time…we cooked dinner, did a little shopping, gardened, and just sat around talking. At one point, she was nudging me about something she thinks I should have done differently. This is a repeat nudge that I’ve heard many times before. Although I respect her opinion and input, I’ve decided not to follow her advice in this particular instance. So, when she mentioned it once again this weekend, I politely responded, “You can tell me what you think I should do as much as you want, but… -
To Life
9 May 2012 | 8:25 amLast night, when I checked into my gym, foursquare informed me that this is the 18th straight week that I’ve been there. Most weeks, I’m there are least twice, if not three times. I have nearly flat feet and a related bad knee, so I’m not supposed to run. But, I rock out on the elliptical and the bike and the strength training machines. Back in January, when I got back from my honeymoon and looked at the pictures I’d taken, I didn’t like what I saw. A routine visit to the doctor that same month (and the necessary height and weight measurements) confirmed what I… -
Where Nerds Rule
3 May 2012 | 8:41 amThis post could also be titled “Why the Internet is Awesome!” Remember when you were growing up and nerds were highly uncool? If you were smart, into computers or liked to play video games, you were inevitably picked on. Every coming of age TV show had a token nerd or geek. They were always self-deprecating, trying to fit in and be “normal.” Nerds were the victims of atomic wedgies, broken glasses that had to be taped, and unfulfilled fantasies of popular girls saying hi. The be-speckled ones with their high waisted pants always dreamed of getting back at their… -
Undercover Fashionista
1 May 2012 | 8:31 amIt’s no secret that I love to write. I started writing stories when I was a little girl. I chose my college because of the prestige of its School of Communications. Writing was a central part of every internship I had during college, and I’ve made it a part of every job since. This blog is approaching 400 posts. So yes, I love to write. But, what you may not know is that one of the first stories I wrote was about Paula Abdul’s shoe. In elementary school, I took sewing classes in which I made clothes and was part of a fashion show. I even made my then little (now almost high… -
New Experiences Are Good (and all that stuff)
26 Apr 2012 | 8:00 amI’ve been wanting to try Zumba for some time now. The times of classes at my gym were never convenient, so when I saw a good deal for two classes at a local studio with a class right after work, I decided to go for it. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous, but I’d heard good things and was looking forward to a fun and different workout. So, I bought the deal on Monday and went to my first class on Tuesday. I got to the studio early…and preceded to go in the wrong door. I should have taken that as a sign. The place was smaller than I had expected, but they had little…
-
Justin + 1
-
40+ Gay Boys Singing in Their Underwear!
15 May 2012 | 1:55 pmI am very proud of my latest video project that I did in my spare time. And it seems like people are enjoying it, too!I asked over 40 members of my international gay Facebook group, GG20, to submit a self-made lip sync to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."I then spent about 15 hours cutting them all together into one single lip sync video.Views are coming in, as are likes and shares. And it was a ton of fun!It even got played on all the screens at XL Nightclub in NYC this past Saturday for the thousands of party guys in attendance!Okay. No more chatter. Enjoy the boys in their underwear.xo… -
Max Ryder and Darren Richard Get Naked for Gulliver Takes Manhattan!
9 May 2012 | 9:03 amWhile I would LOVE to post these photos in my public Facebook gallery "Gulliver's Gay Boys!" I'm just too afraid of Mark Zuckerberg bitch slapping me off of my account permanently.So instead, I'm posting them here!Thanks to Darren for snapping these hella sexy pics. There's NO better ad than this!Oh, and if you're in the mood for something EXTREMELY Not-Safe-For-Work, stop by the official website of Cocky Boys exclusive model Max Ryder to see how much HE loves Gulliver Takes Manhattan.Click here... NOT SAFE FOR WORK.Oh, and if you'd like to nab your OWN pic of you and my novel (clothed or… -
SMFD: The Four Reasons People Work in Gay Nightlife
2 May 2012 | 1:20 pmHave you ever wanted to get into nightlife, gay or otherwise? I'd like to ask you why. I'm very, very curious.From my past 3+ years of experience in this colorful and blaring loud world, I think I've figured something out: the FOUR core reasons that people get involved in it. From what I can tell, EVERY person in nightlife is involved in it for TWO of these reasons. One is the CORE reason, and the other is the SECONDARY or SUPPORTING reason.Want to debate me, and add another? Leave a comment or write to me. I'd love to discuss.THE FOUR REASONS PEOPLE WORK IN GAY NIGHTLIFE(S)EXIt's very… -
Gulliver Takes Manhattan TOMORROW!
30 Apr 2012 | 10:21 amTwo and a half years ago I sat down at a laptop at my local Upper East Side Starbucks on November 1st, 2010, Day One of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).I had done no planning, no preparing (it's against the rules).All I had was a blank screen, and a panicking brain.WHAT would I write about? Well... uh... gotta make up a character, right? But who? Well, my good friend Chris had just landed at JFK yesterday, suitcases in hand. He was moving to NYC to "start over" after spending many years in Los Angeles.Okay, I thought. My main character just moved to NYC from LA. Why? What would he… -
Haters Gonna Hate (And Post 1-Star Reviews)
23 Apr 2012 | 9:27 amIt is only a mere week until my new novel, Gulliver Takes Manhattan, is internationally released.And I thought I was nervous before when I self-published the original version, Gulliver Travels.As I'm sure someone once said: "Daaaah you ain't seen nothin' yet!"Let me level with you, folks. This has been a scary and challenging time. A bittersweet one. There's the sweet victorious bit: my dream came true! I'm finally ACTUALLY published! There's a legitimate publishing powerhouse behind me and my book will be in the hands of thousands in no time!But, then there's the tougher part: Oh shit...
-
The Rest Is Still Unwritten
-
Ask And You Shall Receive. Or Ask Again, Louder.
23 Apr 2012 | 2:47 pmFigure out what you want and learn how to ask for it.A simple concept, but one that many people struggle with. From love to business to everything in-between, figuring out what you want and learning how to ask for it in life is vital to getting what you want. And of course your happiness!Most people don't ask for what they want in life because they fear hearing no or feel like they aren't even worthy enough to ask, let alone receive.People are so fucking scared to say how they truly feel! Because doing that would require courage and the only way you can muster up courage is allowing yourself… -
An Unexpected End To An Untold Story
21 Mar 2012 | 10:51 am"It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world." - Chaos TheoryAll of these years, from the first time I was able to write my name, she has held on to every letter and every card I ever sent her. She says she sometimes re-reads them as if they were stories. They're stacked in a shoebox along with a small collection of other sentimental keepsakes, like the rosary beads Pope John Paul II blessed and handed her inside the Vatican. She enjoys re-telling that story.With nearly 100 years of living under my… -
Listen To The Whisper, Or Get Hit With The Brick
29 Feb 2012 | 1:12 pmI say the Universe speaks to us, always, first in whispers.And a whisper in your life usually feels like…"Hmm, that's odd."Or, "hmm, that doesn't make any sense."Or, "hmm, is that right?"It's that subtle. And if you don't pay attention to the whisper, it gets louder and louder and louder.I say it's like getting thumped upside the head.If you don't pay attention to that, it's like getting a brick upside your head.You don't pay attention to that, the brick wall falls down.That is the pattern that I see in my life and so many other people's lives.- Oprah(Soak that in because that is the first… -
Vulnerability Is The New Black
14 Feb 2012 | 8:21 amI believe vulnerability is the new black. You should try it on. Give it a spin. See how it feels.Adele recently cleaned house at the 2012 Grammy Awards where she was nominated six times and took home all six awards, including Album Of The Year.No one would argue that vocally she is incredibly talented! You can hear the pain in her voice and feel that same pain in your bones when she sings. However, I don't think it's solely her voice that has catapulted her to the top of the music charts. No, I think it's something else. That something else can be summed up in just one… -
Born A Mistake
25 Jan 2012 | 11:18 amMy Mother once told me I was a "mistake."In that moment you can imagine how I felt.I assumed she was defining the word "mistake" as me being unwanted. However, what she really meant by "mistake" is that I was unplanned, but a welcomed surprise. There is a HUGE difference!Perhaps her poor choice of words are to blame, or perhaps me jumping to conclusions and assuming the worse was my fault. In the end it doesn't matter. What matters is that I was conceived out of love and was loved from birth. I hope everyone in this world is as lucky.As a man, I'm in no position to speak even remotely…
-
[Super Duper Fantastic]
-
Wordless Wednesday – Silicon Valley Modern Home Tour 2012
16 May 2012 | 2:20 amRelated posts: Wordless Wednesday – Chicago Churches, A Walking Tour Wordless Wednesday – Oops! Wordless Wednesday – A Friendsgiving Wordless Wednesday – Umami Burger -
Wine and Love #37
10 May 2012 | 2:12 amHappy Thursday! Wine and Love is a blog series created by Walking With Nora and now hosted here. The concept is simple – each Thursday, list what’s driving you to grab a glass of wine and what you’re loving. Grab the button and join in, especially this week because every participant is entered in the giveaway! Wine… * Allergies. With the amazing weather we’ve been having, pollen, dust and all those other goodies have been flying through the air and invading my sinuses. NOT fun. * Similar to how socks almost always lose their match, I’ve had a hard time… -
Wordless Wednesday – Cow and the Supermoon
9 May 2012 | 11:48 amRelated posts: Wordless Wednesday – Elk Wordless Wednesday – Masked Wordless Wednesday – Vancouver : Cliffwalk Wordless Wednesday – Sled Dogs -
Las Vegas and #BiSC – T minus 10
7 May 2012 | 2:12 amUnbelievable! When I bought my ticket to Bloggers in Sin City in January, it seemed so far away. Now that Las Vegas is less than two weeks from today, I have come up with a list of ways I am getting ready for this blogger extravaganza. 01. Redefine “pool-ready” body! I considered doing a bunch of sit-ups and start hula hooping, but having the discipline to actually carry it through? Not so much. With all the pool time, I can only hope to pick out a flattering swimsuit and cover-up, and stock up on sunscreen! A floppy hat for pool time is also essential. 02. Learn to gamble. -
Green machine x 2
4 May 2012 | 9:51 amNot too long ago, I wrote an article on readying your car for dog-friendly travel. I talked about installing a backseat barrier and using a hammock in the backseat. To be honest, it was actually readying Ryan’s car and not my own. With Sasha’s tendency to climb up on the center console and that one time she managed to pull up the fabric with her nails, I decided that she wouldn’t be riding in the Prius any longer. I didn’t want to put my upholstery through the Sasha cyclone. Most of our outings with Sasha were in Ryan’s car – a 2004 Escape. Anytime we took…
-
Everyday Adventures (of Me in the City) -- Chicago, IL
-
Balancing the life trifecta
14 May 2012 | 8:35 pmWhile catching up with Nic last week, I explained my crazy concept of the “life trifecta” and how mine is slowly getting back in balance. The life trifecta are the three things that keep you sane and stable in your life. Mine are: Work, friends/family and apartment These are the things that keep me grounded, balanced and feeling like I’m in control of my life on a manageable basis. When drama or issues arise in one quad (e.g. moving, being disinvited to a wedding/bachelorette party or work stress), I can handle it because the other two quads are stable. I am then able to… -
Sharing the same boob vision
9 May 2012 | 8:06 pmIf you’ve met me in real life or seen photos of me, you know that I have a set of knockers. Yes, I mean boobs. It’s hereditary and my genes gave with two hands of tissue to create mine. Lucky me. My small-chested friends say they’re jealous but really the grass isn’t greener on the other side. More boobs, more problems. One of these problems includes finding supportive bras and, well even just fitting in some clothes. Some button down shirts make me look like I’m “hulking” out of them in the chest. So, in talking to a fellow big chested friend, I… -
Advice to myself
7 May 2012 | 9:30 pmAmy recently did a post about giving herself some advice and, well it inspired me because I need to do the same thing. Here’s my advice to myself: Take things one step at a time. When things pile on my plate, I tend to feel very overwhelmed and start to shut down because the list seems infinite. I need to take a step back, look at the list and start with step one. It will all get done, I just have to take it one piece at a time and ignore people demanding more Remember what you can and cannot control. When I get stressed, I tend to feel this huge weight on me. I feel like the emotional… -
Cleanin’ out my closet
2 May 2012 | 8:38 pmI can admit that I have some…hoarding tendencies. I’m not buried in stale food or cat carcases (GROSS) but when it comes to my closet, I tend to hold on to things. And not even for sentimental value. It’s because I’m a) too lazy and b) think I’ll wear it again. What if I NEED this one shirt and I’ve donated it?? So I hold on to it and thus, my wall of closet is completely jammed with stuff. Half of which I don’t even wear. So while dabbling with a bout of insomnia, I got tired of staring at my full closet, wondering how much stuff I don’t wear. -
When the last friendship strand snaps
30 Apr 2012 | 8:05 pmIn the last week, I’ve done a lot of thinking. About friendships, and one in particular. In friendships, I tend to give, and give a lot. Sometimes, I get burned and when I do, I pick myself up, dust myself off and keep trying. I don’t want to give up on the people closest to me, even if they disappoint me. I want to keep trying because they mean that much to me. But sometimes, something happens with that friend and I feel the last thread between us snap. And that’s it. I have to walk away, for now. And that’s what happened recently. The last thread between me and…
-
Writing to Reach You
-
I’ve Been Busy (Selling Moon Pies)
12 May 2012 | 12:00 pmDear Moon Pie people: I'm available for hire. My lack of blogging this week is further proof that I cannot read a lot and write a lot at the same time! It seems like there’s some kind of balance to strike, but I go all or nothing in one direction, and for once it has been reading. It started when I decided to re-read Just Kids. When I was in Nashville a few weeks ago, I finally got to meet Danielle who just happened to be home visiting at the same time. Danielle and I have talked a lot about reading and writing, and she has been super supportive of me, sometimes when I really needed a… -
This Serial Killer Knows A Lot About Justin Timberlake
3 May 2012 | 2:21 pmI have mentioned several times over the years that I am really organized. The thing is that I’m not HGTV-style organized. I’m more may-be-a-serial-killer organized. I don’t have an Erin Condren planner, but I have a lot of lists and you may find me putting things in straight lines while we talk about, for instance, how great Justin Timberlake looks in a top hat. Dear Justin, please do not read the last two sentences as a threat on your life. At this point, I have things down to a science. Though I am really well-organized, I am also efficient-minded, and over the… -
How To: Deal With Writer’s Block
30 Apr 2012 | 11:32 pmI am always reluctant to use the term writer’s block, because I am not entirely sure it’s a helpful concept. Sometimes naming a problem makes it easier to deal with and sometimes naming a problem gives you an excuse not to deal with it. Whether you make it a thing or not, writing is hard sometimes. Here are my thoughts on writing when it’s not easy. Recognize writing as a thing you are choosing to do. First, people are generally most successful at doing the things they like to do. If writing is really not your thing, but you have somehow convinced yourself it should be, then… -
I Have Been Here Before (Also, hi!)
29 Apr 2012 | 1:59 pmI spend a lot of time sitting in front of my computer writing and listening to music, but sometimes I do it in such a way that it reminds me of all the other times I have done this same thing, and then I feel nostalgic and happy. It’s Sunday and almost noon, and even though I have been up for hours, I’m still in my pajamas and drinking coffee. I was in Tennessee and then home, but busy and still sick, so I got far away from this place where I face a blank screen and try to put words on it. But I like wandering away for a while, because then you get to come back, and it’s like being… -
Extend That Generosity
18 Apr 2012 | 11:52 pm“Let me think about the people who I care about the most, and how when they fail or disappoint me, I still love them, I still give them chances, and I still see the best in them, and let me extend that generosity to myself.” –Ze Frank There’s a hidden post on this blog that I wrote several years ago about how I’m the annoying person who is always defending strangers. What I mean is that I am incredibly generous with people I don’t know, and will usually assume the best in them, but I hold the people close to me to a really high standard. When I was in the throws of…
-
your wishcake.
-
on some mommyhood musings...
14 May 2012 | 8:15 pmIs it weird that I still have a little bit of baby fever? I don't sleep much (the wee one tends to sleep well for three days and then goes back to her old tricks for a solid month) and there is always so much on my plate, but I'm already looking forward to having another baby. Silly me, right? I guess that as overwhelming as life can be right now, it's also so full of bliss. And I can see that what I'm doing truly matters. It matters to me, to Jay, to my daughter. It matters now, and it matters five, ten, twenty years from now.I celebrated my first official Mother's Day and it was a sweet and… -
on comfy shoes, thoughts on blogging, and and other miscellany...
7 May 2012 | 5:52 pmHey, look! I'm a cool kid! I won a pair of TOMS from Rachel and they are, quite frankly, the best thing. I get it now. I do. It's like they were made for my feet, and my feet are eternally grateful. The day I got them, I went for a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood (I like to pretend house-shop) and I didn't even have to break these shoes in. Glorious!In other news, I keep trying to come up with something decent to post, but I'm just out of words for the time being. Odd, isn't it? I keep thinking that maybe this is a season of life during which I should rediscover my written journal and… -
on a few of my quirks...
19 Apr 2012 | 1:59 pmIf I haven't cleaned the kitchen before going to bed the night before, I have to clean the entire thing before making breakfast in the morning. I was thinking about how ridiculous this is (while washing a few pots and pans and wiping down the stove this morning), but it's like I can't enjoy breakfast if the kitchen isn't up to my standards of cleanliness. Simply stated, I'm a very organized cook and typically clean while I go along. Also, Jay makes a huge mess whenever he makes something—even as simple as a fried egg and hashbrowns—so, if he made a big breakfast before work, there are… -
on a wordless Wednesday...
18 Apr 2012 | 5:47 pm -
on playing catch-up...
5 Apr 2012 | 12:44 pmThings have been a tad bit hectic around here for the past few weeks. Mostly due to Eisley's sleep schedule being a living nightmare that has left me an emotional, dirty, crabby, and frustrated human being (I'm nothing if not dramatic, obviously). It is difficult when you feel like no matter what you do, nothing is getting better, and you feel like you're failing fast.After not getting more than two consecutive hours of sleep for a few weeks, you start slowly transforming into Kate Gosselin (not so much the haircut, but more along the lines of angry, emotional demon woman) and realize that…
-
Our Little Apartment
-
My First Half Marathon.
30 Apr 2012 | 11:00 amI did it! I wish I could tell you how great the spectators were, how much fun I had, how wonderful it felt to finish my first half marathon. But, Ive gotta be honest: it wasn’t as euphoric or as easy as I’d expected it to be. All of my long runs during training were surprisingly easy, so I had hoped my race would be relatively easy and enjoyable, as well. It so was not. I worked hard to train and created a routine for long runs – peanut butter GU, water, and Joy the Baker podcasts. I thought I knew what to expect. I thought I could handle it. It was much, much different… -
Running, A Love Story.
27 Apr 2012 | 3:00 amI am a runner. I started running 10 years ago as a junior in high school. (Well, I ran track my freshman year, but that was so awful I don’t even want to talk about it.) My junior year, I decided to try using the treadmill in the basement of our apartment in Malaysia. When I discovered that Friends episodes played every night at 7 pm, I had a reason to run. I could escape endless hours of Lizzie McGuire that my younger siblings subjected me to and watch Friends. I relished my alone time on the treadmill. I blasted the air conditioning and the television and learned how to run. I was… -
Project 333 : 3 Weeks In.
25 Apr 2012 | 7:00 amThree weeks ago, I packed up most of my clothes and carefully picked 33 items to wear. I felt nervous, excited, and a bit crazy all at once. How’s it going? [The Results] When I was a sophomore in college, I packed two suitcases and left my dorm room for the paradise of Hawaii. For four months, I lived without access to a car and with just the items in my suitcases. It was a transformative time in my life in many ways big (I became a vegetarian and my relationship with Mike blossomed from a afar) and small (I ran my first road race and went skydiving), and I think it was in large part… -
My Recent Food Obsessions.
23 Apr 2012 | 7:00 amThings I’ve been obsessed with making and eating lately :: Rosemary-Cheddar Quiche with Peas Peanut Butter Pudding Green Smoothie Gabe Homemade tortilla, a la Mike Whole Milk Yogurt with Agave Scrambled Tofu on Toast. Gabe's food obsession. Uhh... Pan au Chocolat from Trader Joe's (OH MY WORD IN HEAVEN) Sweet and Savory kale with Onions and Almonds. So delish. BBQ Tempeh and Sweet potatoes - if you've never had tempeh, you're missing out, man. German Chocolate Cupcakes and Blueberry Iced Tea Not pictured: mint chocolate brownies. YUM. See the comments from My… -
Ads in April: Who Are They?
22 Apr 2012 | 12:47 pmHello and welcome to the April advertisers! This month, we’re chatting about careers. I’m always curious about how people came to decide their career – so I was all nosy-like and asked these lovely ladies! Deanna | Soul Like a Spider Tell me about how you got into your line of work. My Dad came home on night after I turned 16 and said his company was looking for interns for some basic coding stuff (he works at a software company) and I immediately said yes. Been there ever since! And I also am an Assistant Editor for The Good Men Project, and I ended up there through avid…
-
curly su
-
"Hey! Nice to see you. Are you feeling better now?"
2 May 2012 | 11:06 pmAm I supposed to feel better already? It has been 2.5 weeks, and no... I don't feel better.I realize we would need to be different people in order for it to work. I'm trying to concentrate on the differences (the aspects of the relationship that will never mesh) so that I avoid thinking about everything I miss.I'm getting a lot done. I'm perfectly functional. In a lot of ways, I'm much better now than a month ago. But, I still feel numb. And underneath the numbness? A whole lot of aching. I prefer the rainy days. I'm lonely, and a little bit scared.I realize I'm catastrophizing when I say… -
His toothbrush is still in the cup by the bathroom sink.
28 Apr 2012 | 10:40 pmHis loofah is still in the shower.Today, the subletter is gone, and my apartment is once again mine.I never should have moved in with him. All I wanted was a set of keys and a 'you're welcome anytime' invitation. I should have kept my own place, and perhaps our so-called domestic bliss might have actually become a reality.We could have been okay. I think that, even if we had just lived in the city, where I felt like my life resided, we could have been fine... happy. But, living 22 miles from friends and music made me depend on him too much.The worst part is, [I think] I knew all that from the… -
Potential
17 Mar 2012 | 8:14 pmThis may come across as conceit, but it's actually the opposite:I'm impressed with myself. I'm impressed that without really training, I can run a half marathon in 1:54:02 (8:42min/mi pace), putting me in the top 10% (or so) of my age group, the top 11% of females, and the top 18% of all finishers.I'm not saying I'll ever be rock-star-fast. But, it does make me realize that, with concerted effort, I could actually be a decent runner. Most of the time, I'm self-deprecating about my athletic abilities and accomplishments to the point where they might as well not exist. But, today reminded me… -
Use Your Words
7 Mar 2012 | 9:30 amOn the heels of a multi-hour [calm/rational/thought-through] conversation, I feel so much lighter.I admit: I've been a conflicted, insecure, hormonal lunatic over the past couple of weeks.I know you can't undo actions with an apology and I know a conversation doesn't solidify a new way of being. But, it does do a great deal toward avoiding the knee-jerk sprint in the other direction (from either partner). And right now, with a couple of tweaks regarding learning how to live together and communicate effectively, I feel like there is possibility of a happy future together.I've never had this… -
Normalcy, please.
5 Mar 2012 | 1:37 pmWhen did I become one of the fringe?I just want to sip a cup of coffee with my husband on a Saturday morning, knowing that we'll go for a bike ride together sometime during the weekend, and that we'll watch a movie Saturday night with a glass or two of wine. I don't need a picket fence, but I do need [lots of] stability and security and sexuality and dammit I need [a little bit of] fun.I feel so damn judged... unappreciated, unwanted, discredited. Yet, I wonder how much of it is actually his fault. He's certainly never pretended to be anyone he's not, but can I say the same about myself?He's…
-
A Chase After Wind
-
7 Quick Takes - 5.4.12
4 May 2012 | 12:56 pmI think I am going to try getting back into doing the 7 Quick Takes Friday. But instead of doing 7 random things, or 7 things with a theme, I am going to try to do 7 things that happened that week.- 1 -I started watching Doctor Who this week. I watched one episode. Then another. Then anotherandanotherandanotherandanother. I just started the second season with David Tennent, and so far I prefer Christopher Ecclestone. He was goofy, I will concede. And some of his lines were groan-inducing. But he seemed to have more complexity, more (for lack of a better word) humanity. He inspired more… -
Before I Depart
29 Apr 2012 | 9:59 pmBe it corny or cliche, I do have a life list. A bucket list, if you prefer. Things that I would like to do before I pass on to bigger and better things. My list includes:1. Visit: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, the Holy Land, China, Japan, the Alps2. Run a 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon, Marathon3. Summit a Fourteener4. Work as a Girl Scout Camp Counselor for a summer5. Sew a quilt6. Walk some portion of the The Camino de Santiago de Compostela7. Ride on the Orient ExpressHmm...I feel like this list needs to be longer. Any suggestions? -
To Cover or Not to Cover?
23 Apr 2012 | 3:09 pmNot sure that anyone is still going to read this, but I feel compelled, at long last, to write something! And I kind of hope there are at least a few readers left who are there to take it in. And I want to write about, of all things...head coverings!But before diving into that fascinating topic (pfff), I guess I also want to fill in the blank of the last three months.Right after my last blog post, I found out I was pregnant.Three weeks later, I found I was no longer pregnant.Subsequently, I went through a few difficult, sad, dark weeks.Then, suddenly, I can't even remember how or why,… -
Making My Excuses
2 Feb 2012 | 9:26 pmOh hi.So, its been over a month.And not only have I not written on this blog in over a month, but also for the first time in years and years and years (How many years since I started blogging? Could it be 10 years?! Wow.) - I haven't even wanted to write.Normally my writing dry spells are accompanied by guilt and hand-wringing and mental compositions.But not this time.This time I have just been too much involved in living and working and fretting and loving and distracting and enduring.I haven't been taking many pictures either.My life is in a weird space and I guess I just don't feel like… -
2011 in Review
30 Dec 2011 | 12:56 pmComing out of hibernation to do my annual look back at the year. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOURS!! *Answers the same as last year.1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?Served as a doula three times! Yeah babies!2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?I made one last year, but I can't remember what it is because I didn't write it down. So I am thinking I didn't keep it. I do have three/four resolutions for this year: 1) to run a 5K, 2) to run a 10K, 3) to lose 20 pounds, OR 4) have another baby, in which case 1-3 will…
-
The Hungry Twenties
-
Capturing Katelyn: Is the blog real?
15 May 2012 | 8:29 pmThe post I put up this morning left me thinking. Does this blog really represent me as a person and how I am feeling at any particular time? This morning my friend Kristen and I started a conversation about people who write sad or emo-esque messages on Facebook and Twitter. I admitted to her that I am often tempted to write “woe is me” messages on Facebook when I am feeling down or struggling to stay positive. Just last night, I was having a particularly rough night working late, struggling to fight off the urge to binge eat, and feeling down in general about… -
Tulipfest 2012
15 May 2012 | 7:00 amThis past weekend was Tulipfest in Albany, which is usually one of the most fun weekends of the year. We got especially lucky this year with one of the most BEAUTIFUL days of the year. It was perfect for grilling, drinking beers, hanging out outside and catching up with friends. We started the day early, around 1:00 p.m. and the burgers, beers, and laughs kept going throughout the night.Unfortunately the warm-then-cold-then-warm weather we've had this spring wasn't the best for the tulips and they were past their prime for the actual Tulipfest this year, but we didn't let… -
Upstate New York Bucket List revisited and revised!
14 May 2012 | 7:00 amAbout a year ago I put together my "Upstate New York Bucket List" that ended up getting a bit more attention than my usual ho-hum post (thank you All Over Albany!) I had put the list together as a motivator when I was thinking that I was going to be moving out of the area in the next year. Well, as I've mentioned before, I took a new job, and it is right here in the Capital Region, so sorry to disappoint, but I am not going anywhere any time soon :)With that in mind, I wanted to revisit my Bucket List, see what I've checked off in the last year, what I have left to do, and see… -
Eat everything in sight.
13 May 2012 | 10:31 amA few weeks ago I was doing some research into the analytics of this site and I learned a fun little fact about the small piece of the Internet that I have created. When browsing through the search terms that drive traffic to my site I learned that the number one search term in Google that directs people to The Hungry Twenties is "eat everything in sight." Yes, that is correct, if you go to Google and search "eat everything in sight" -- the #1 result that pops up is my blog. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself.So let's put this into perspective. Pretty much,… -
Don't worry -- I am still alive!
8 May 2012 | 9:53 pmHello my faithful readers-- if you are still out there!!I need to apologize for my neglect of this space lately. I am not sure if I ever mentioned it here, but I began a new job on March 5th. I'm now a big settled in with 2 months on the job, but man is it time consuming! I've been working really hard to get settled into the role and I blame a lot of my blog neglect on that position. I hope as we get into the summer months I will be able to spend more time with you because it is something that you know I love so much :)Before I try to return to a regular rhythm I've…
-
Kayla Aimee
-
Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie
15 May 2012 | 7:00 amOnce upon a time I made a chicken pot pie. And it was delicious and we all lived happily ever after, the end. And also, Jeff took it to work for lunch. Which is a sign that when he said “dinner was good” he actually liked it and didn’t secretly mean “I’m just trying to be a supportive husband because this tastes like glue.” So anyhow, this small act of him taking a slice of chicken pot pie to work started some sort of lunchtime competition with his co-workers. I think the story is that he made the break room smell good and then wouldn’t share. I… -
Nestlé Summer: $100 Walmart Giveaway
14 May 2012 | 8:30 amWhen I was a little girl, my cousins and I would spend our days playing outdoors, anxiously awaiting the jingling melody that announced the arrival of the most important part of summer: the ice cream man. I have no idea what the ice cream man offered because, creature of habit that I am, I always got the same thing: a Nestlé® Drumstick® cone. Once, I fleetingly entertained the idea of a multicolored popsicle shaped like a rocket, but I didn’t go through with it. My dollar was reserved for a Drumstick. Twenty-odd years later, I don’t wave down the ice cream man every day… -
52 Reads | INSURGENT
12 May 2012 | 7:00 amINSURGENT by Veronica Roth INSURGENT is the much-anticipated sequel to Veronica Roth’s bestselling book DIVERGENT. If you haven’t read Divergent yet, stop reading because this review will totally spoil the first book for you. And also, why haven’t you read Divergent yet? I would like you to rectify that immediately. I tried to check this out at my local library because enjoy it that they will give me books for free but the wait list was three months long. What?! So I used my swagbucks to buy it on Amazon. And y’all. It is so good. I was nervous because a lot of the… -
What I Love | 15 (More) Fun Free Fonts
10 May 2012 | 6:15 amCODE BOLD | MTF CUTIE PATOOTIE | OSTRICH SANS | LAVENDERIA DELICATE | CK CURSIVE | MATILDE | QUICKSAND DASH | BOHEMIAN TYPEWRITER | FREEHAND 591 | FIVE MINUTES | CLEMENTINE SKETCH | QUEMPELLKA NO. 12 | BALLPARK | AQUARELLE | POMPADOUR NUMERALS | CLIPPER SCRIPT I’ve been super slammed between finger painting sessions with Scarlette and trying to meet deadlines for a few different website and blog design jobs I am currently working on. I tend to use these fonts fairly often and since the last compilation of my favorite free fonts was so well received, I thought I’d put together a… -
How To: Install Free Fonts
10 May 2012 | 6:13 amHere is a quick tutorial on how to install all of those cute, free fonts you’ve downloaded to your computer! STEP ONE | Click on the font that you want to download and then click OK in the dialog box to open with the default program STEP TWO | It will automatically open a new window. Click on the EXTRACT button and then choose where you want the file to open in the drop down menu (I typically choose DESKTOP) and click OK STEP THREE | Go to your desktop where you’ll see the file. Now open up your FONTS folder by going to CONTROL PANEL > FONTS or C: > WINDOWS >FONTS. Click…
-
http://alanajoy.tumblr.com/
-
That’s what’s up. #bbq (Taken with instagram)
13 May 2012 | 10:25 pmThat’s what’s up. #bbq (Taken with instagram) -
Dear little baby girl,
13 May 2012 | 4:22 pmThis is our first Mothers Day together! Well, sort of. I’ve been calling it our “.5 Mothers Day”. You’re pretty active today, actually! Kicking and backflipping or whatever it is you’re doing in there. We’re now 117 days away from my due date, which means we’re 23 weeks and 3 days in. At 20 weeks we were at the halfway point and on that day (April 20th, to be exact) I found out you are a girl! That made me so happy! I would have loved you either way, but deep down I wanted you to be a girl so bad. I’m still trying to figure out what to name… -
"It used to be about trying to do something. Now it’s about trying to be someone."
12 May 2012 | 12:30 am“It used to be about trying to do something. Now it’s about trying to be someone.” - Iron Lady -
Out of Many, One
11 May 2012 | 4:30 pmOut of Many, One -
http://make-everything-ok.com/
10 May 2012 | 3:16 pmhttp://make-everything-ok.com/: Finally!
-
Subtle Nuances
-
The New Art of Selling: Mobile Location and Payments
1 May 2012 | 2:57 pmI recently wrote a post on the DDB Canada Blog about mobile location and payments based on a few things learned at DX3 Canada. As Canada’s first major tradeshow serving digital marketers, digital advertisers, and digital retailers, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some of the latest technology and give them a test run. Check out the highlights here -
Celebrating Centro’s 25th Anniversary
1 May 2012 | 2:42 pmWe were recently at the inaugural 25th Anniversary party for Centro, one of Toronto’s top fine dining destinations. Check out the fun and exclusive interviews here -
French Cooking in The Loire Valley
1 May 2012 | 2:26 pmAs you know I was just in the Loire Valley, France enjoying our pre-wedding honeymoon. While there, we had a wonderful time cooking and enjoying the chef’s table experience at our Loire Valley Retreat, Chateau de Charge. Enjoy! Loire Valley Retreat Chef\’s Table -
Join the #DefineTO Movement!
21 Mar 2012 | 8:04 amWant to make a difference, connect with the online community and party with your favourite tweeple IRL? Check out DefineTO April 12th at the Fifth Social. Brought to you by some of the Twestival organizing committee, this event showcases local causes and organizations that help youth, Gen-Yers, and really the entire Toronto community find their passion and define their own path. That’s a mission we can all get behind. The launch event (read: PARTY!) will be on April 12th at the Fifth Social in support of the Remix Project. Their goal is to fundraise $20,000 through ticket sales and… -
Get Sexy
1 Mar 2012 | 3:01 pmWith Socially Sexy Deals Recently, I was chatting with a few colleagues who told me they stopped using a few of the big Group Buying websites because it felt like they had become saturated with lazer hair removal or home cleaning services. To them, it wasn’t what they had signed up for. Oppositely, a conversation with some close friends over a few bottles of champagne revealed that, while they would never publicly admit to it, the majority of the group had some sort of cosmetic enhancements preformed in the past year. In fact, the botoxers of the group started botoxing with deals…
-
HTML Lessons Will Begin Shortly
-
barackobama: On a pillar in HQ.
10 May 2012 | 4:59 pmbarackobama: On a pillar in HQ. -
Introducing...
27 Jan 2012 | 1:43 pmhttp://teamspringer.com! My husband and I have registered for the 2012 AIDS/LifeCycle! Follow our progress, trials and tribulations as we prepare! -
Tori Amos//Silent All These Years This may be the best version...
14 Jan 2012 | 1:02 pmTori Amos//Silent All These Years This may be the best version I’ve ever heard of my very favorite Tori Amos song. Years go by Will I still be waiting For somebody else to understand? -
This is pretty brilliant.
11 Jan 2012 | 12:32 amThis is pretty brilliant. -
lovemakesafamily: With love from San Francisco. Equality for...
3 Jan 2012 | 7:52 pmlovemakesafamily: With love from San Francisco. Equality for ALL Families in 2012!
-
The Next Great Generation
-
Opinion: Marriage equality and the face of change
11 May 2012 | 1:10 pmObama may not be the one-and-done solution many of us same-sex marriage supporters wish for, but he is an instrumental piece to the movement. -
Mother Monster kicks off her tour in Asia
8 May 2012 | 1:10 pmDespite heavy-handed censorship in mainland China, Lady Gaga got away with metaphorical murder (of vaginas?) in Hong Kong. -
Nice Apps! Top 5 for Cinco de Mayo Fiestas
4 May 2012 | 2:12 pmBrace yourselves. Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday this year! Use these apps to enjoy your day full of food, flavors, and drinks. -
Thrift Like a Pro With Pinterest
4 May 2012 | 9:28 amBefore hitting the local thrift store or a swap meet, here’s how you can use Pinterest to thrift shop like a pro. -
Haute and Dangerous: The Day to Night Essential List
1 May 2012 | 12:09 pmWho knew day to night could be so black and white?
-
Miss Lulu Blogs
-
Motherhood : The Word DOES Have a Meaning
10 May 2012 | 5:02 pmTIME Magazine and Dr. Sears ask: Are You Mom Enough? Of course this question has sparked blog post after blog post. I am not offended by the photo, the article or anything other than the fact that women are criticizing one another and competing to be the “best mom”. What does that even mean? [...] -
Orange you glad it’s almost Summer?
10 May 2012 | 10:25 amI loooove that Tangerine Tango is Pantone’s color of the year! Orange (as it were) has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember. I actually had a pair of bright orange corduroy pants in the 8th grade that I wore with absolute glee. I don’t know if I pulled off that look successfully, [...] -
An Inside Look at Toyota’s Brand Culture
6 Apr 2012 | 9:36 amOne thing that’s made me shift to shopping local is the fact that when I interact with small businesses I’m able to learn about the culture and the passion behind the brand. International brands have a less accessible view of their brand culture, and my experience at TWIN Camp was an incredible view into Toyota’s [...] -
SPA WEEK Preview at Mammina’s: A Place of Health and Beauty
30 Mar 2012 | 9:55 amLast week I had the glorious opporunity to visit Mammina’s: A Place of Health and Beauty. It had been a while since my last massage and with all the stress I’ve been under lately, I was definitely excited to relax. My appointment was for a Therapeutic Body Treatment, and it was a truly [...]
-
The Everyday Opinionista
-
Black Rose Minerals No. 3 | Swatches
23 Apr 2012 | 2:48 pmI love me some Black Rose Minerals. This was my third order, though I received it about three months ago already. Like all of my other purchases with BRM, I was very happy with everything. Since I've gone over the specs in my previews two posts, I'll just focus on the swatches in this one. To read the other posts about BRM, check out order #1 {here} and order #2 {here}.::: THE SPECS :::I ordered the following:::: A set of six sample jars for $12 {two were for me — Dusty Trails and Unicorn — and the rest for a friend}. These each come with 1/4-teaspoon in 3g jars, and you… -
And More Darling Girl Swatches
22 Apr 2012 | 1:47 pmHappy Sunday! This was my third order from Darling Girl Cosmetics, so by now I'm sure everyone knows what I love about DG. This order was placed in January, shortly after "She-Bop" blush was released. Had to have it.::: THE SPECS :::In my first DG post as well as my second DG post, I listed the product details pretty thoroughly, so feel free to reference those posts as necessary. Just in case the information is still desired, here's what my order consisted of:::: Darling Girl Glitter Glue — 10mL squeeze tube for $6.75::: One full-size eyeshadow in Ethereal —… -
Dawn Eyes Cosmetics: Review | Swatches
20 Apr 2012 | 6:47 pmThis one is picture-heavy! :} I was directed to Dawn Eyes Cosmetics for an awesome Black Friday sale, along with a number of reviews courtesy of some lovely beauty bloggers. Black Friday seemed like the perfect opportunity to try Dawn Eyes Cosmetics {DEC for short}, so what follows is my order from back in November. Yeah, I'm a little ashamed of how long it took to get this up, but...you know, life happens.::: THE SPECS :::One thing I like about the DEC website is that they have a whole bunch of raw-format swatch images available if you need to see colors from more than one angle… -
NOTD: Zoya Elke
17 Mar 2012 | 1:10 pmThis isn't actually my Nail of the Day for today, as I'm going to be painting my nails with my new Essie Armed & Ready polish {which is awesome, btw} as soon as I'm done with this post. This was from about a week ago, after I had this color on my toes for a few weeks and absolutely loved it. The color is Zoya Elke, and it's layered over Sally Hansen's Insta-Grip Base Coat, with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat. Zoya's Elke is a lovely red that leans toward pink, with a fantastic gold shimmer that looks amazing in direct sunlight {which I don't have pictures of}. Disclaimer: I… -
Geek Chic | Swatches and Review
8 Mar 2012 | 12:10 pmI think the best way to describe Geek Chic Cosmetics is to look at one of the "Why Buy Geek" statements on their website: "At Geek Chic Cosmetics we have 2 main passions: all things geeky, and makeup." ... "Everything that we produce at Geek Chic Cosmetics pays homage to the geeky things we love most, and are made with the highest-quality ingredients we could get our D-pad blistered fingers on." That pretty much sums it up! Geek Chic offers some great products and lovely colors {though I admit, I'm not familiar with all of the geekery references, so it's probably even more awesome for those…
-
HTML Lessons Will Begin Shortly
-
barackobama: On a pillar in HQ.
10 May 2012 | 4:59 pmbarackobama: On a pillar in HQ. -
Introducing...
27 Jan 2012 | 1:43 pmhttp://teamspringer.com! My husband and I have registered for the 2012 AIDS/LifeCycle! Follow our progress, trials and tribulations as we prepare! -
Tori Amos//Silent All These Years This may be the best version...
14 Jan 2012 | 1:02 pmTori Amos//Silent All These Years This may be the best version I’ve ever heard of my very favorite Tori Amos song. Years go by Will I still be waiting For somebody else to understand? -
This is pretty brilliant.
11 Jan 2012 | 12:32 amThis is pretty brilliant. -
lovemakesafamily: With love from San Francisco. Equality for...
3 Jan 2012 | 7:52 pmlovemakesafamily: With love from San Francisco. Equality for ALL Families in 2012!
-
Life in Pink
-
Weekly Workouts
15 May 2012 | 4:56 pmYesterday morning we did a modified workout of the failed workout on Sunday. Which would have been a great workout except hubs and I both thought the bleachers were being used so we vowed to go back later…and never made it back. Whoops But yesterday we fit in a quick workout before work at the gym since it was rainy – 1 mi warm up run, 3 sets of 20 pushups, crunches, arm dips and tuck jumps and a quick .25 mi run home. Tuesday: rest (it was pouring this morning, and I stayed up late) Wednesday: 3-5 mi Thursday: 800m w/u, 1200m/800/400/200 w/ 400m rest 800m c/d (~3.5) Friday: run… -
Weekend Happy
15 May 2012 | 6:22 amThe weekend started out great. We got up early yesterday, ran down Bestgate/Rowe Blvd and watched the TriRock Triathlon. We grabbed a small bite to eat, and then walked downtown to Church Circle. On the way down, we saw one of my Junior League members (soon to be president to be exact!) running around mile 1! We kept walking and finally saw her looking amazing towards the finish. While waiting, we also saw Jess starting her 5k leg! Seeing all those awesome athletes totally makes me want to sign up for a tri. Maybe next summer…. Rockstars. All of them. I want to do this race next year… -
Happy Mothers Day!
13 May 2012 | 9:35 amThe hardest part about moving away when I was 23 was leaving my mom. My mom has been, most importantly, throughout my life, there for me always and I would definitely not be where I am today if it were not for her and everything she’s done for me and how she’s supported and encouraged me along the way. Thank you for everything Mom. You’re amazing and an inspiration and I love you more than words could ever say. Happy Mothers Day. -
Friday Date Night
12 May 2012 | 11:44 amAfter getting off work early on Friday, we were going to go for a run, but I compromised. Told hubs we’d have an early night in, run in the morning so we can go down and see the Triathlon, and then go to some wineries on Saturday afternoon. So we planned a Towne Centre date night. Dinner at the Paladar Happy hour ($5 plates/drinks – yes please!), walking around (I wanted to see what was new in lululemon) and then dessert at Menchies. It was quite perfect really – not too expensive and perfect to spend the beautiful evening outdoors. It was sooo beautiful out. Sangria and… -
Foodie Friday: Burgerlicious
11 May 2012 | 1:46 pmBefore trivia last night, hubs and I made a quick dinner. We’ve made it before, but I couldn’t find where I had ever blogged about it. Many thanks, as the credit is not mine, for the wonderful ladies at We Are Not Martha for this recipe – it’s a summertime favorite over in these parts. Spinach & Feta Turkey Burgers {via} 1 egg, beaten 1 clove of garlic, minced 2 ounces feta cheese roughly 5 ounces frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry) a dash of paprika (adjust to your liking) salt and pepper to taste 1 lb of ground turkey We modified and used 2 eggs, bread…
-
DC Dana
-
Morocco part trois
15 May 2012 | 10:00 amDay 3: Son is wearing Iron Maiden today. Precious Peter asks Angie: "Do you know where Alexandria is?"then, at some point later asks me "Did you know Abraham Lincoln's parents are from Wales?"..... Today we looked around the Imperial city Fes. Fes, like a lot of other Moroccan cities, has two parts: the modern part that looks like most European big cities complete with designer shopping and cafes, and the Medina - aka the Old City - which is walled in and feels like you step back into medieval times.Fes' Medina is incredible because it's the most confusing, labrynth-like place I've ever been… -
Morocco Part Deux: Snakes, Seniors, Socks and Sandals
14 May 2012 | 9:00 amI mentioned before that there are a lot of different languages flying around that country. And because of my "ethnic ambiguousness" it quickly became hilarious letting the salesmen in the souks (markets) guess where I might be from as I walked by: "Bonjour!...Hola!...Merhaba?....Buongiorno?...Hello!?...."(At one point I also got "Konichiwa!" but that was just because I accidentally got mixed in with a crowd of Japanese tourists which completely confused the poor locals...)I realize most of these salesmen just know one word in several languages, but a lot of people in Morocco do speak several… -
Morocco Part Un
12 May 2012 | 11:19 amHello Internet, I'm back from my latest African adventure! I figure this will take a few posts so we'll just start with Un (they speak French there...or Arabic...or Spanish ...or Italian....we'll get to that later but we'll go with French for now). So, for anyone who does not know, Morocco is here: www.worldatlas.comAnd… -
Gone To Lunch...
24 Apr 2012 | 10:35 pm....in MOROCCO!I keep meaning to post something here, like about the awesome weapons/driving course I just completed (where I accidentally shot a hostage), or about boys (like my latest BUB aka Break Up Blocker), or just random incidents (like when that stranger came across the room at that birthday event tonight to tell me she'd been staring at my butt and had to know where I bought my pants - yep, that just happened.),BUTI haven't been able to sit down and write about any of those things because:A. I have the attention span of a humming bird on crack cocaineB. I'm trying to… -
Insight Into My Mother's Obliviously Happy World
9 Apr 2012 | 10:51 amConversation with my parents while looking at a bird in a nest this weekend:Mom: Oh look at its little head! It looks like a kitten!Me/My dad: Kittens aren't in nests.Mom, ignoring us: Look at its markings! It looks like a Panda!Us: We guarantee it is not a Panda ...in a nest.Mom, still ignoring us: Just look at its little head though! It looks like a monkey!Us: I think its time to teach you which animals build nests.....
-
Hope Dies Last
-
Inappropriate crushes
15 May 2012 | 7:12 amHow is it possible that after all that I’ve been through and all that I’ve learned I still find myself attracted to unavailable men? Do you live on the International Space Station? Do you have a beautiful girlfriend you adore to pieces? Do you have emotional issues that have turned you into a commitment-phobe? Are you totally not into me? Then I, Eleni Zoe, being of sound body and kind of sound mind, hereby declare that I probably have had, currently have, or will have a crush on you. My therapist once said I was attracted to this type of man because I want to change the story of… -
Home
13 May 2012 | 11:44 amA couple of weeks ago I asked you to fill out a survey so I could better understand the reasons you stick around. While reading your answers I realized that I sometimes write as if you’ve known me forever. Many of you are confused about what I do, where I’m from, and feel like some of my posts are vague because of these gaps in knowledge. I get it. We all need certain facts about a person to ground them in our minds. I also ardently believe that we all need certain facts to ground ourselves in our own minds. But, I don’t really know where to ground myself. I don’t… -
This is the stuff I find interesting
12 May 2012 | 6:13 amJon Stewart succinctly explains the outcomes of the Greek elections. This is also the reason I’ve been so quiet this week. I JUST CAN’T DEAL. 15 Powerful Things Happy People do Differently. While reading this I realized that I have taught myself to think, do and act in this way. And you can too. You won’t be happy all the time, but you will be sad less often. Can a fictional character take you over? Did you know that sometimes we change our behaviour to fit the behaviour of a fictional character? I agree. I often find myself using expressions of various TV characters. -
Laundry tales
7 May 2012 | 5:16 amWhen I first got The Agoraphobia, or rather once I’d been in it for a while and progress was so slow that I couldn’t see past the end of my street, I’d pretty much given up on some dreams I’d always thought I’d live one day, even though I wasn’t actively pursuing them. To illustrate my point, over the last year I’d given up on finding love, getting married and having children. I gave up on travelling. I resigned myself to a small, but dignified life. We can’t have everything we want, I thought, I’ll adjust my expectations and I’ll be happy with what I do have. I… -
This is the stuff I find interesting
5 May 2012 | 3:20 amTomorrow, I have to wake up, walk the hundred meters to the school opposite my house with my National I.D card in tow and place my vote in Greece’s parliamentary elections. I’ve got one day left to decide between 32 parties. (Well, not 32 exactly. I’ve already vetoed the communists and the fascists. It’s 2012, people, can we get a grip on reality please?) Anyway, so between the rest of the non-extremists I’m at a loss. Do I cast my vote for one of the two leading political parties? Do I cast my vote for smaller factions of those parties? Do I vote for an…
-
The Caged Bird
-
explanation.
14 May 2012 | 12:49 amI'm not just here to play shows. If you knew me before you met me in LA, you know that. I'm on the verge of diving head first into eating disorder treatment for the shit that has literally been destroying my life for the past eleven years (half of my life, if you're working out the math), and once I'm in I have no fucking clue how long it'll be till I'm out. I'm staying here afterwards, doing the music thing like now, only healthier without all the late nights and abusive relationships and staying places where I can't even breathe without pissing… -
I never wanna die.
13 May 2012 | 12:49 pmThrough the eleven years that this nightmare of an eating disorder has dictated my life, my mother has had to watch as her baby girl literally destroyed her body on a daily basis. She had to stand by as I took in every crticism, hated myself, ignored her every word and plea and compliment, and she's had to pray her heart out for my safety on numerous occasions where I took things too far. She has seen me fall apart, she has begged and pleaded with me to eat, or to keep food down, or to remember that it HAS to get better. She has promised me that she won't leave, that she loves me… -
Polarized.
11 May 2012 | 5:06 amThere is something so incredibly unsettling and hard to handle about getting up to go to the bathroom, rounding the corner and seeing the door open, and your half-naked ex boyfriend, the one who just six months ago you would have crawled into that bed with and cuddled and watched Sports Center, and knowing that there is nothing in the world right now you would like to do more than get in your car, drive as far up the Pacific Coast as possible, and pretend the two of you never met. So, when you walk back out of the bathroom, you keep your head turned and pretend that it never happened. You… -
You wanna talk.
10 May 2012 | 8:11 pmI'm reeeeeeeally good at dealing with being ignored, as much as I hate it. I think it's childish and it drives me up a wall when that's someone's go-to response to any kind of disagreement, but I'm not gonna let your "punishment" mess up one second of my day, so you can go ahead and just keep your lips zipped. My problem comes in later when you wanna talk because you need me for something. It's cool, you had your little moment, hopefully you got it out of your system and you're not holding onto it to stab me with later, but you've…
-
20 Something Awesome
-
Netflix Instant Review: Jenifer
15 May 2012 | 8:20 pmThis is a guest post by Bryan James Dougherty. See below for more information about him. Jenifer (2006) Director: Dario Argento (Once Upon a Time in the West, Opera) Writer: Steven Weber (Wings, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) Starring: Steven Weber, Laurie Brunetti (Rampage, My 5 Wives), Carrie Fleming (Good Luck Chuck, Married Life) Genre: Horror, Thriller, Bad [...] Like this? Check out some Related Posts: Netflix Instant Review: I Saw The Devil (2010) Netflix Instant Review: The Way Back (2010) Netflix Instant Review: This Is England -
Song of the Day: I Break Horses – “Winter Beats”
4 May 2012 | 8:45 amI know it's a little late to be dropping some "Winter Beats" but once that winter beat pop it just don't stop. Not-so-easy-to-grab-snack (and terrible) jokes aside, the joint stakeholders (well one of us more than the other) of 20SA are hitting up downtown Detroit for a concert this weekend. We originally planned on seeing The Detroit Symphony Orchestra--I've [...] Like this? Check out some Related Posts: Song of the Day: Band of Horses – “I Go To The Barn Because I Like The” New Music Video: Bush- “The Sound of Winter” Song of the Day: Reptar –… -
Song of the Day: Band of Horses – “I Go To The Barn Because I Like The”
30 Apr 2012 | 8:00 amAlright, so the title makes no sense, so what. This song played a huge part in the Season 4 finale of the show Psych (Check out my site about Burton Guster's Nicknames). It is a real emotional sequence of events that had me in tears, as I'm sure it would leave you. Even without the [...] Like this? Check out some Related Posts: Song of the Day: Gabe Dixon Band- “All Will Be Well” Song of the Day: Frightened Rabbit – “The Loneliness and the Scream” Song of the Day: Bright Eyes- “At The Bottom Of Everything” -
New on Netflix Instant Streaming: Bob’s Burgers
27 Apr 2012 | 9:40 amBob's Burgers (2011) Creator: Loren Bouchard (Home Movies) Starring: H. Jon Benjamin (Archer, Home Videos), Dan Mintz (Crank Yankers, Human Giant), Eugene Mirman (Delocated, Flight of the Conchords), Kristen Schaal (30 Rock, The Daily Show) Genre: Cartoon, Comedy Episodes: 13 Network: FOX Why You Should Watch It: Being a new cartoon in FOX’s Sunday night lineup [...] Like this? Check out some Related Posts: New On Netflix Instant Streaming 11/3/2011 New On Netflix Instant Streaming: Breaking Bad New on Netflix Instant Streaming 11/23/2011 -
Song(s) of the Day: Atmosphere – “Your Glass House” and “You”
25 Apr 2012 | 8:59 amI decided one Atmosphere song just wasn't enough so here are two. Both are from the 2008 album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold which I have enjoyed many times. I hope you have too. Check out Atmosphere on their Website, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter. Enjoy the tunes! Atmosphere - "Your Glass [...] Like this? Check out some Related Posts: Song of the Day: Fitz and the Tantrums- “Don’t Gotta Work It Out” (w/ A Bonus Track) Song of the Day: Of Monsters and Men – “Your Bones” [Live] Song of the Day: Arcade Fire- “Neighborhood #3…
-
Frugal Beautiful
-
Frugal Confession: I Bought A Pair of $600 Louboutins. (You Can Too.)
15 May 2012 | 12:35 pmI recently bought a pair of Christian Louboutin nude pumps for over $600. As I admit I own a pair, I feel a sense of elation: I finally bought the shoes I’ve been swooning over for nearly two years. Simultaneously, I feel a sense of embarrassment: I’m a frugality blogger and recent graduate and seriously spent over $600 on a pair of SHOES. WHAT? Here’s the deal…the shame comes from the fact that I spent nearly 2 months’ rent on a pair of designer shoes. Two months’ rent? Yep- that’s right, I live with two roomies in a less than ideal… -
Fashion Shannyn-igans: Roaming Around Chicago (& giveaway!)
14 May 2012 | 8:15 amI <3 Chicago when the weather gets nice. The neighborhoods just call to be explored, the cupcakes practically beg to be eaten, and retailers quietly call you inside to check out their colorful new springtime wares and dazzle you with their delicious new shoe designs- it’s a good time to be alive! I’ve been experimenting with new restaurants, new walking paths and trying new styles and brands of clothes to mix things up a bit…here are some of my adventures and musings! Just discovered the best wonton soup in Chicago & the fortune cookies are a win! / Margarita… -
Getting Summer-Ready: Swim, Sun, Sand & Swimsuits!
12 May 2012 | 4:26 pmI’m a new graduate and my one objective over the summer is to get some sun. My goal is to take lots of photos, catch up on my reading, and accomplish both at the lakeside all summer! The weather is just warming up here in Chicago and the lake isn’t too far- I’m already unpacking my sandals and getting ready for sunshine. I’ve also done some shopping…I’ve been in desperate need of brand new beach apparel and accessories since it’s been several summers since I’ve actually had time off. Oh, the life of a graduate! Getting Ready For The Sun:… -
I’ve Graduated! My Commencement Fashion & Personal Reflections
11 May 2012 | 3:41 pmGoing to graduate school was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I though, try not to regret my mistakes. Making mistakes means you lived, discovered, got your hands dirty and crossed things off my list. Answers can only be found when questions are posed and being able to say with sturdy conviction that you’re not cut out for something can only be done when you’ve actually tried your hand at a new and shaky venture. Academic life is not for me- I thought it was. I take this failure as a gift that though I failed, I failed quickly. I will not be resigning myself to an… -
Frugal & Fabulous: Staycation Spa Day (& giveaway!)
9 May 2012 | 4:12 pmBeing frugal doesn’t have to mean depriving yourself of the fabulous essentials. I just wrapped up graduate school so it meant my life was measured by three things: Low on time, low on money and high on stress. In my two years as a struggling student I perfected the art of the spa staycation- you can too! The Tennants of a Successful Spa Staycation: You’re saving money already, splurge a little on pretty nail colors & good products. You need to unplug for a day and rent your favorite, most cheesy movies. Stock up on good food or order in delivery. Champagne (even the…
-
Gyanban
-
Wind Beneath My Wings - II
13 May 2012 | 3:11 amRead Part - 1 Her family was small, a retired mother, and a younger brother still in school. Her father had passed away and since then the Gonsalves family led a quiet, almost reclusive... Special invite to read Gyanban's latest. -
Wind Beneath My Wings - 1
13 May 2012 | 2:50 amIf love is a trick, it would have a beginning and an end, but what lies in between is magical. Come to think of it, his love story was rather simple. A girl falling in love with a boy, how... Special invite to read Gyanban's latest. -
Timeliner
24 Apr 2012 | 1:09 pmLand Ahoy!’ young Wayne Roswald exclaimed. ‘How is that possible?’ Aileen McCarthy retorted. ‘Yes I see it too but it looks so different?’ ‘What re those tall structures?’ ‘I... Special invite to read Gyanban's latest. -
Viewfinder
20 Apr 2012 | 2:25 pmThe lens zoomed in on the curls arching over the forehead. His eyes waited patiently for that perfect moment, and as if the gods were listening, a gentle breeze brushed her forehead. The locks swayed... Special invite to read Gyanban's latest. -
Wassail
8 Apr 2012 | 6:08 amThe winged horse stunning white, Eyes glare under the shadowing hood The dark feather blends in the night. Flying hands and braclet wood, The magic conjured is never understood. And as... Special invite to read Gyanban's latest.
-
Newsvine - feed
-
VIDEO: Why I breast-feed my toddler
13 May 2012 | 8:29 amHow old is too old? Katie Hamilton says mothers should decide how long they want to breast-feed their children, not society. -
Alicia Silverstone -- I Feed My Baby By Spitting Into His Mouth (Video)
28 Mar 2012 | 2:49 amThis is how Alicia Silverstone feeds her 10-month-old son -- chewing up food in her mouth ... then spitting it directly... -
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter Bans Outdoor Feeding Of Homeless
15 Mar 2012 | 11:42 amThis week Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced a ban on the feeding of large numbers of homeless and hungry people on, or near, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and on all outdoor feedings of large numbers of people on city parkland. -
Why Can't We Be Permitted Our Right Of Choice? GMO In Surprising Places-The Public Gets Fed Up!
29 Feb 2012 | 9:27 amWashington continues to resist, despite the efforts of leading Ag Senators like Chuck Grassley, Tom Latham, and others the seemingly simple option of letting the American Consumer CHOOSE whether they want to eat GMO Foods or not. There's a preponderance of information on both si … -
Land-Ocean connections: Scientists discover how tree trunks, leaves and kukui nuts are indirectly feeding bottom fish in the submarine canyons off Moloka'i
28 Feb 2012 | 1:23 am...recently discovered that land-based plant material and coastal macroalgae indirectly support the increased abundances of bottom fish in submarine canyons, like those off the north shore of Moloka’i.
-
Gimundo.com
-
Paralyzed Woman Claire Lomas Completes London Marathon in Bionic Suit
15 May 2012 | 10:45 amWearing a ReWalk suit, paraplegic Claire Lomas walked the entire London Marathon in 16 days. -
6 Good Reasons to Buy Locally
10 May 2012 | 9:58 amCheck out these benefits for buying your fruit and vegetables from a local farmer or market. -
A Fallen Soldier’s Last Gift: Bruce Hays and the Apache Project
6 May 2012 | 9:09 pmAfter soldier Bruce Hays died in Afghanistan, his Wisconsin neighbors worked to restore an old truck that he'd promised to his wife Terry. -
Voytek, the Soldier Bear
2 May 2012 | 10:07 amVoytek may sound like an average (G.I.) Joe – but there are a few important distinctions. Voyek was quite a bit hairier than his fellow men. He could sleep for weeks at a time, eat every last bite of whatever sludge was being served at the mess hall – and did we mention he weighed nearly 500 pounds? -
Tama the Cat Is Station Master For Japanese Train Station
2 May 2012 | 10:02 amIn Kinokawa, Japan, you'll find a feline celebrity at the local train station – and no, for once, it's not Hello Kitty. The cat in question is Tama, a stray tabby who makes her home in the station.
-
Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror
-
Zuckerberg : The Musical
15 May 2012 | 9:52 pmvia Aggregate © Serge Norguard for Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror, 2012. | Permalink | No comment Post tags: facebook, satire, youtube, zuckerberg Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh -
Watch the UEFA Champions League Final in HD | 2 Double Invites for 2 Lucky People!
15 May 2012 | 4:53 amThe finals of the UEFA Champions League is coming this Saturday at 11.30pm and we have Chelsea against Bayern Munich. You know it’ll be epic and what’s even more epic is when you watch the final match between two giant on high definition and on a giant screen like a cinema screen with your football loving friend! Read the rest of Watch the UEFA Champions League Final in HD | 2 Double Invites for 2 Lucky People! (114 words) © Serge Norguard for Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments Post tags: bayern munich, chelsea, gardens midvalley, gsc signature, heineken,… -
Music Brought Us Together for Alda Evan Tan
15 May 2012 | 2:52 amLast Sunday, Serge rock out and nearly died at Publika. He was there to assist Team Alda in photographing their Come Together fund-raiser event. He spent close to 12 hours moving between three activity zones and even though he crashed and burn upon his return to the kingdom; the pleasure of helping out is just tremendous. For those who does not know, the fund-raiser was to gather loot to pay Alda’s medical bill as the man is still in a coma and the bill is running. Alda, we are not sure if you’ll read this… We want you to wake up man! Read the rest of Music Brought Us… -
Come Together 2012 - Pray For Alda Evan Tan [Flickr]
13 May 2012 | 9:04 pmDustyhawk posted a photo: Pictures taken by Serge Norguard of Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror . Follow him on twitter @dustyhawk. -
Thank You Mom – Happy Mother’s Day
12 May 2012 | 7:55 pm© Serge Norguard for Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments Post tags: appreciation, mother's day, thanks, youtube Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
-
Life After College by Jenny Blake
-
Guest Post: Why Successful People Are Crazy — and You Should Be Too — by Eric Lunsford
7 May 2012 | 5:38 pmGreetings from the road! The pictures above were taken at the Uluwatu Temple in Bali, a magical place filled with monkeys who will give you (and your stuff) the side-eye, waiting to pounce to steal what they can in exchange for peanuts that you buy in order to get it all back. Thankfully my phone stayed with me, and I could upload these pictures for you! Next travel stop: The Yoga Barn in Ubud, then Chiang Mai on Sunday. Quick shout-out to the amazing Adam for sending me off with a killer music playlist and list of places to see. Today’s post is from one of my rock-star coaching… -
Guest Post: Happiness. No Stuff Required. By Bryan Cohen
1 May 2012 | 10:00 amNote from Jenny: I’m excited to host Bryan Cohen on one of his 61 stops in 61 days (!!) for The Happiness Blog Tour to promotie his new book The Post-College Guide to Happiness. He’s giving away free digital review copies of the book and doing a giveaway for paperback copies, audio copies and even a Kindle Fire! Read on and check out the info below the post. Happiness. No Stuff Required. — By Bryan Cohen “Happiness is an attitude of mind born of the simple determination to be happy under all outward circumstances.” −J. Donald Walters When I left college, I… -
$100 Start-up Only72 Sale Starts Today! $1,000 Business Products for $100
30 Apr 2012 | 10:30 amHappy Monday everyone! I’m running around like a mad-woman today getting ready to leave for Bali & Thailand (eee!) but wanted to let you all know that the latest greatest Only72 sale starts today at 12pm ET! This one is based on Chris’ Guillebeau’s upcoming book release for the $100 Start-up, and features $1,000 worth of business products for just $100. What’s fun about this one is that everyone who purchases the package will get a hardcopy of the $100 Start-up book in the mail. The sale launches today April 30 (Monday) at Noon EST and goes until May 3 at Noon EST… -
JBE Travel Update: Heading to Bali & Thailand for the Month of May!
24 Apr 2012 | 6:30 amThat’s right . . . Jenny Blake Enterprises is going rogue! One of the big reasons behind wanting to work for myself was the freedom to travel and set my own schedule. So when I found out that my blogging-got-me-a-best-friend Elisa Doucette landed a job in Bali, one of my big travel goals that I had been tip-toeing around became a must-do. With a nervous feeling in my belly, I inched closer and closer toward making this trip a reality: I mentally (and a bit tentatively) confirmed that I’m ready to take another big trip, and that it’s worth spending my time and money on. Am I… -
You’re Invited! Start a Blog that Matters Webinar with Corbett Barr of Think Traffic
17 Apr 2012 | 9:24 amTip-toeing around the idea of starting a blog? Itching to be heard but nervous about how to get started and find your voice? Got something under way but not sure how to sink into the traction you’re looking for? Then I’ve got just the fix for you — I’m thrilled be hosting Corbett Barr and Caleb Wojcik of Think Traffic, one of my tip-top favorite blogs, for an exclusive Start a Blog that Matters webinar in two short weeks. If you read no further, save the date and enroll below! What: Start a Blog that Matters Webinar — exclusively for the Life After College…
-
Twenty Somethin'
-
“Blame the sliding on the AFL” – Sportsfever
15 May 2012 | 3:19 amOver the last two weeks the major talking point in the AFL has been sliding, that is, players leading with their knees/legs/feet when going for the ball. It is a difficult situation because it can be hard to judge a player’s intent when they decide to leave their feet. Are they trying to get the ball? Are they trying to put physical pressure on their opponent? Firstly this is my opinion on the three major decisions on the match review panel from the last rounds. The first, Adam Goodes. He deserved to be suspended, he went to his knees a long way before the contest and slid in with his hands… -
Soulmama and Relationships!
9 May 2012 | 5:02 amSingle parents and relationships…. or whatever you want to call them. Disney didn’t warn us about this. As you begin a new relationship, you’re naïve at the notion of ‘true love’ and will bear with so much until you fool even yourself to believe the justifications, through emotional abuse, physical abuse, disrespect etc… In no way am I saying everyone goes through this. Not at all. (youngens are more prone.) There are some who are lucky enough to nab the perfect (for them) Mr or Miss, and in the blink of an eye they find their happiness. Only through life experience, numerous… -
Weathering the Weather
8 May 2012 | 5:30 amI live in a city in the northwest part of Arizona. For those that don’t know about it, Arizona is a state known for its desert, its canyons in the desert and, oh yeah, did I mention the desert? Unless you have lived here, you may not know anything else about this place. A lot of my loved ones live in other states and countries. They always have the funniest questions about the culture around here (perhaps someday I will share some of them with you all, or answer any questions you may have about this place). They ask if there are cowboys and Indians everywhere and if the weather is hard to… -
What makes us a good friend?
6 May 2012 | 6:26 amSome of us find friends easily; some make friends easily but know this having friends, helps us get through life easier. Friends are there to pick us up when life seems down, they are the ones who make us cry tears of joy when we are crying tears of pain. They know what we like and they know what we don’t, they are the only person we can act like a complete weirdo in front of and they still find us utterly funny and amazing. Together we are inseparable from our best friends but sometimes we aren’t always the good friends they need too. Sometimes we just don’t think about being a good… -
Goodbye Sex!
4 May 2012 | 6:50 amWhen you break up with someone that means you don’t want anything to do with him anymore right? Every time you talk now, you argue and it makes you question yourself like “What the hell was i thinking during that relationship? Was i drunk the whole time?” You can’t stand the sight of them. You get so frustrated when you reminisce. Or hear his name. You stalk his facebook page 10 times a day just to find criminating posts. All his online activity multiply on the suss-o-meter. How dare he add that cute girl who is she?! Oh it’s just his cousin. Wait, she’s not! So how is it that…
-
Spillerena
-
DEDICATED TO THE BLIND FOOLS…
15 May 2012 | 1:30 pmOn Saturday afternoon Katie and I met our friend Kelsey for lunch. It was great to catch up. We talked about all sorts of things, one of which was stress and anxiety and how the older we get the more anxious we seem to become. Anxiety and I are old friends. I’ve struggled with it my whole life, but I’ve noticed a significant increase as I’ve gotten older. I have a lot more to lose now than I did ten, even five, years ago, and fear of losing any of it has led to a whole slew of new worries and fears that catapult into a huge ball of anxiety and stress. Many of the things I… -
Weekend Recap
14 May 2012 | 12:53 pmAs I mentioned before, my best friend Katie was in town this past weekend. We had a blast. On Friday we went to Don Pisto’s for dinner with our new friends Tom and Jamie. The night got a little more wild than we had expected, and on Saturday we were tired. tired Kevin After a nice day of wandering Union Street and watching a very cheesy movie (the vow), we were able to rally and had a fun girls night. I don’t know what we are doing in most of these pictures. Sometimes we are kind of weird. Yesterday, Sunday, was one of my favorite kind of days. We did… absolutely nothing! We… -
Happy Saturday
12 May 2012 | 2:34 pmHappy Saturday! Katie, one of my best best best friends in the entire world, is visiting this weekend. She is awesome. When we are together we just laugh and laugh and laugh. It’s like we speak our own language. This may drive some people crazy, but it just makes us laugh more. Last night we pretended to be elephants. Don’t ask. We also grabbed a random guy’s butt at the bar. (Kevin was not impressed. Nor was the guy.) But oh, how we laughed. Here is a picture of Katie busting a move at our wedding: She is very good at the worm. She even wore special underwear and brought… -
Love
11 May 2012 | 2:02 pmLOVE print from The Designers Nursery Etsy Shop Happy Friday! This week has gone by faster than normal, which is always nice. I love when Friday sneaks up on you. It’s a rare thing for me, and does not happen often enough. Usually by Tuesday morning I’m completely bewildered that it’s not already Thursday evening. I saw this article about love this morning, I thought it would be nice to do a little post about love on this lovely Friday. I love Fridays, and I certainly love Love, so what better combo?! I’ve always been good at saying “I love… -
Silliness is underrated
10 May 2012 | 6:06 pmimage from curly girl designs I completely agree. P.S. This made me so so so proud, especially in light of what just happened in North Carolina. Related posts: Wine + Good Friends = Happiness
