monday mondays 10.10.16

Lately, I’ve been letting my creative juices flow in other areas besides my blog. I’ve made a few small decorating changes to my home, although, they weren’t quick by any measure, worked on a painting of my dogs, done a little sewing here and there, and spent some long overdue time organizing our Europe pictures into books, some slide shows, and even a few fun little things.  I’ve got about 4 blog posts mostly finished, but it seems like when I show up here, I tend to start and end with these Monday posts. Probably because I spend way too much time on the internet looking at things I really shouldn’t be spending time looking at.

Does that ever happen to you?

I mean, someone tells me that they used to annually visit “Eugene,” a homeless, mummified body that was kept on display in a small Ohio in the hope that someone would recognize and identify him, and next thing I know, I’m researching it for an untold and unnecessary period of time.  But that’s just one (rather odd) example.  Because I waste more time looking at things I don’t need to look at on the W.W.W. and probably need to spend more time cleaning my baseboards or something more productive.

There’s always a silver lining to everything though, so in this instance I choose to think that:

1.  One of these days I’ll use my vast and bizarre knowledge on Jeopardy
2.  I’ll actually have some random factoid I can amaze my children with, because while I’m not exactly stupid, my children think I am
3.  I might get all 6 pieces of the pie collected a little sooner next time I play Trivial Pursuit

One of those is definitely going to happen, just when, and which… who knows?

All that to say, I’ve rounded up a few interesting – and maybe not so interesting – tidbits for you to read this Monday.  Have at it and maybe you’ll be able to impress someone you know with a bit of knowledge this week!

• Trying to decide to go out or stay in?
• Best ways to freeze your food
• 20 ways to use epsom salts around the house  – wash your hair?  Who knew?
• This shirt is me in every way
• What to do if you lose your phone while traveling
• How Waffle House helps with recovery efforts during a natural disaster
• What the M’s stand for in M & M’s
• More and more are deciding that they don’t like motherhood
• The one lie you should tell while traveling
• Jimmy Stewart drew on his PTSD while filming “It’s a Wonderful Life”
• Handy dandy list of free wifi passwords in airports around the world
• It’s that time of year again… slow cooker apple cider
• This is what pure joy looks like
• This is one after my own heart – an architect breaks down McMansion features
• Colleges use DJ’s to get students in the stands at football games.  Um, what about dropping the price of tickets?
• Emily Freeman has a way of saying what I need to hear.  I’m pretty sure this was meant for me… and maybe you too….
• While I’m a big fan of the bullet journal, I like this idea for prioritizing my “to-do” list
• How to get sharp photos when shooting wide open
• 11 plants that grow well in low light
• 99 underrated feelings most of us have in life
• A bike path that is charged by the sun so it illuminates at night
• Do your joints crack? What causes those pops
• Gluten free pumpkin bread
• YES!  Hosting a crappy dinner party.  In other words, enjoy the company and don’t stress over making it perfect.
• This wedding had Disney-inspired table settings
• Italian lemon pound cake 
• What classic food pairs with your personality type?
• Turn your bathroom into a personal spa with these DIY recipes
• Chain restaurants are struggling 
• We don’t all eat french fries with ketchup… how the world eats them
• We use words to communicate with others, but why do we need them to think?  Wrap your brain around this one…
• The case for – and against – designing with books.  (Count me as for.)
• All this connectedness… and it’s becoming harder to unplug