Because I don’t have a whole lot to say today, here are some links I’ve recently fallen in love with.
1. Crunchy Betty. I happened across her blog from another blog – I truly don’t know which – and the first post I read of hers was this one, regarding the Marie Claire “OMG FAT PEOPLE EWWWW!” brouhaha. (You can read more about the Marie Claire bullshit here at Big Fat Deal, or Google it up, I know a lot of blogs have covered it in one form or another. My opinion is that it’s a desperate cry for attention on Marie Claire’s part (“Write something controversial! Sales are slipping!”) and it doesn’t make me sad that I canceled my subscription to MC a few years ago because aside from being a completely obvious bid for attention, the article is poorly written WHY IS NO ONE POINTING OUT HOW TERRIBLY WRITTEN THE GODDAMN THING IS, and I’m surely not missing anything from not reading the magazine).
I liked what I read, so I looked around on her blog, and holy crap. I LOVE THIS WOMAN. She tells you how to cover up any, uh, bathroom smells (TRY IT I SWEAR TO GOD IT REALLY WORKS!), she’s doing the No ‘Poo thing (I am seriously tempted in trying this, but I am skeered), she makes her own deodorant, she tested homemade glass cleaner to find the best recipe, tells you how to make your own hand sanitizer, and tells you how to make the best homemade bathroom cleaner! I’d tell you more, but why would I? Get your ass over there and see this fabulous woman for yourself! Did I mention that I love her?
2. Zenni Optical. I don’t know how I stumbled across this site, because it’s been in my bookmarks list for months. MONTHS, I say. You should see my bookmarks list, it is absolutely ridiculous. I come across a site I might want to check out again in the future, and so I bookmark it, and do I ever go back and look at it again? I do not – I just do a fresh Google search. Then every few months I clear out my bookmarks list, and I think “Why the fuck did I bookmark this?” three thousand times. Anyway. So I’ve been wearing these ugly, unflattering glasses for about three years now, because (a) they cost $150+ and (b) I didn’t want to deal with getting another pair. So when I saw that the glasses at Zenni Optical are dirt cheap, I figured I’d give it a try, if they didn’t work for me, I’d only be out a little money, and I’d tell y’all that they suck.
They don’t suck. I ordered the glasses – these, to be exact – and they fit really well, they’re comfortable, and what’s best is that they aren’t scratched, and I can see better out of them than I could out of my old glasses. The bad part – which is not the fault of Zenni Optical but rather my inability to figure out what glasses would look good on me – is that they are horribly unflattering. But I don’t care because did I mention they were dirt cheap, they fit well, they work great, and besides, I wear contacts all day long and only wear glasses for about two hours right before bed.
Note, though, that if you’re blind like me (my prescription is something ridiculous like -6.50) that there’s an additional charge – I think it was $19.95 extra. Also, you’ll need someone to help you figure out your pupillary distance (a painless maneuver that involves you looking straight ahead and someone else holding up a ruler to figure out how far apart your pupils are and then mockingly calling you ““Marty Feldman”).
3. Recently on Facebook, Lori mentioned Pioneer Woman’s Crash Hot Potatoes and said they were amazing. Naturally, I had to give them a try, so on Friday I bought potatoes. And then on Saturday I bought chives to put on them. I intended to make them to go with Sunday dinner. Come dinnertime, I looked at the recipe and realized I needed to boil them first. Since it was practically dinnertime, I put them off for another night. Last night, I boiled them, I mashed them (with a glass, since apparently I don’t have a potato masher. What the hell?!), and then I could not find my fucking chives ANYWHERE. I still don’t know where the fuck they are. Did you take my chives? Since I didn’t have any other fresh herbs on hand, I just brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper. I baked them for 20 minutes, sprinkled shredded parmesan (not the powdered stuff) on top, and put ’em back in the oven ’til the cheese melted.
HOLY GOD were they good. And really, once you have your shit together, SUPER easy to make. We’re having them again tonight (well, leftovers from last night, really, which I will warm in the oven) and I think they’ve become an instant favorite in our house.
4. 20 Awesomely Untranslatable Words from around the World. I was looking for the correct spelling of l’appel du vide (French, which translates to “The call of the void”), which is the instinctive urge to jump from high places. This is NOT an instinctive urge that I myself have ever felt, but Fred’s mentioned it to me before and KATG listeners, correct me if I’m wrong – hasn’t Keith mentioned it also? I don’t feel the urge to jump from high places; rather, a little voice in the back of my head says “Wouldn’t it suck if you went stumbling over the side of that mountain (or wherever) right now?” I guess rather than the instinctive urge to jump, I feel the instinctive fear of high places, or maybe the instinctive knowledge that life’s a bitch and if anyone suddenly went windmilling over the side of the mountain (or wherever), it’d be ME.
My favorite from that list: Tingo: “the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.” I find it highly amusing that there needs to be a word for such a thing.
5. I grabbed this picture off someone’s Facebook post (I don’t remember who, or I’d credit them) and sent it to Fred, saying “This is you” because it made me laugh and laugh. That’s Fred – he just wants to be left the hell alone, damnit!
6. I sent Fred the link to this video and said “This would your reaction if I told you we were going to Disneyland!” What can I say? He’s a homebody.
Now tell me what links/ pictures/ videos you‘ve fallen in love with lately.
These two, I’m telling you – wherever I am, there they are. If I’m in front of the computer, they’re in the bed to my right. If I’m in the kitchen, they’re sitting at my feet howling about how they’re pretty sure they’re starving to death. If I’m on the couch watching TV, they’re sitting on me, sound asleep. They are just the sweetest little monkeys!
Starsky does not care for the vacuum cleaner.
Note that first Hutch sinks his front paws into my foot to push himself along the floor, then he pushes his back claws into my foot to propel himself along further, and THEN he grabs for the camera. Why actually get UP and walk over to the camera when you can sink your sharp little claws into my foot?
The Reacher creature, in the back yard. All the Bookworms love to run over and flop at my feet.
And asleep atop the canning cabinet in the dining room.
Sleepin’ Sugarbutt. About 50% of the time he’s flopped out on his back in Fred’s computer chair. 25% of the time he’s in the back yard watching for squirrels. The rest of the time is spent eating, using the litter box, smacking at kittens who get too close, and making sure there’s not another place to sleep that’s more comfortable than on his back in Fred’s chair.
Previously
2009: We actually left the house after dark on Saturday AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW THE EARTH REMAINED ON ITS AXIS.
2008: No entry.
2007: Stupid bossy car.
2006: “Damn pansy-ass city folk.”
2005: as a customer and a HUMAN, I outrank the computer, and I’d like a little RESPECT, thank you.
2004: All this cleaning is making me lightheaded.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Little things make me happy.
1999: Guest entry by Fred.