Crunch

I am feeling quite sheepish and rather…swollen as I sit here. I had one of those "How did…what just HAPPENED to me?!" Last night, we had small group and it was amazing as per usual but it was SO late. Sunday nights are usually about a four hour night for me, which I cope with in my typical way on Monday: bad mood, copious profanity and solitude. Have to admit, all of those things were hugely exaggerated today. 

Last night, as I was setting up everything that I was going to need in the morning outside the bedroom, I set some stuff down on one of our dining chairs and then rotated in an easily achievable occipital movement. I obviously did so a little bit faster and more drastic than was necessary because the left side of my nose met swiftly and disagreeably with the door frame of our bathroom. And it made the sound of splintering wood. Mega gross. I spent about thirty seconds waiting for my nose to start bleeding (which it didn't) and trying to figure out whether my nose was broken. I have no idea how much force is necessary to break a nose. I really hoped that being a doofus couldn't supply said necessary force. I hit my nose hard enough to break the skin on the outside, so I have a nice, bloodied divot on the bridge of my nose. Of course, at this point I'm crying just because I hit myself in the face and my eyes are making me pay for such aggression in their near vicinity. 

Matt is trying to understand WHAT JUST HAPPENED and I almost wouldn't tell him out of sheer embarrassment. I iced it for about twenty minutes before going to sleep. I woke up and the 'bullseye area' on my face is so swollen. It hurts to chew, laugh, frown and certainly do anything related to my nose's intended function. I don't have a black eye. Yet. But of course I also don't know what kind of force is necessary to get a black eye either. Any time I've achieved one in the past it has been due to being RETARDED. Being hit in the face with a rolling rack, hitting my face on the side of the bathtub trying to wash my hair, etc. It's a hard knock life, you know, being clumsy. I get points for effort though. 

This has been inspirational. It has also supplied me with bursts of unmitigated laughter in situations like riding the bus, sitting in lecture, and sleeping. 

How did he do that!?
This and Bulleit Bourbon are my official sponsors* during this week leading up to midterms. Coping mechanisms are a situational necessity. Baby Duck champagne was a running contender for sponsorship but  eventually lost out due to the fact that half of it is bubbles. Bubbles don't help.

Found another girl with serious game. Her voice is just delicious. Lianne La Havas. There are times that I hear stuff like Adele's first album. A little bit of Joss Stone. Little bit of Amy Winehouse. And she's cheeky which is a always a bonus. On her FB profile she says that she's nothing like Corrine Bailey Rae or Andreya Triana "but we have similar hair". And amazing hair it is. I have sincerely prayed that the Lord would give me her hair in another life. (*It's easy to get her, Andreya Triana and Corrine Bailey Rae confused. They are all British, biracial and have smokin' voices. Their styles are so different though. I heard a version of Que Sera by Corrine Bailey Rae at Glastonbury-an 8 minute version mind you- and was mesmerized nearly the whole time. I may have been mesmerized by her jumpsuit at one point. Not gonna lie.)

Her song "Lost and Found" is so heartbreaking. It's simply just how someone can so easily break into your brokenness and fuel it. Her voice is so beautiful you almost miss the meaning of the song but then you listen and then you feel sad. But you're still groovin'.

I am repeating with The Civil Wars what I did with Adele's album last year. I wake up singing it. My dreams include it. I encounter random trigger words that remind me of one of their songs. Try it out.

*Bulleit Bourbon is not actually an official sponsor. Come on now. That would be awesome though.

As promised...

Hmmmmm.

The goal:

via Smitten Kitchen. 

 The result: 

I would not put cream cheese on that. 

So the artisan bagels haven't kicked ass like the artisan bread has. They came out looking a little, dare I say, flat. And they were still doughy in the middle. I should have listened to myself the three times that I looked at the dough and said "That looks a little wet." Having wet dough and then boiling it in water doesn't foretell anything that contains the adjectives, "light", "airy" or "cooked" really. Unless you're cooking spaetzle I guess. I am determined the find a good bagel recipe. Man, it is an involved process to make bagels but I have a deep appreciation for freshly baked bagels and I am not hindered by these things that more resembled a toddler's teething ring. The above picture is Smitten Kitchen's bagel recipe and they look definitely worth a shot. 

I really want to continue with yeast breads. My friend Beej made an impressive looking challah from Smitten Kitchen. I don't' know why I had this ridiculous perception of challah that it was a ridiculous recipe and required almost a full day. Smitten's looks approachable enough. I'm going to give it a shot before Yom Kippur is over.

Maybe not hilarious as the "Cookie Monster Cupcakes" but still a good exercise in humility. Ha!

"The fabric of your flesh, as pure as a wedding dress…"

I've been listening to "Howl" by Florence and the Machine for probably a half an hour. It's like when I listen to "One" by U2 and Mary J. Blige. I'm pulling a Mary J, ya know breakin' it down. Moozh always get a hefty laugh out of that because he doesn't understand the fierce bitch inside me, all locked up inside an awkward white girl. All good. At least Florence is white too. She's a ginger even! But the beats in her music matched with her howling (Ha! No pun…well yeah pun intended), practically rearranges my heartbeat. And makes me want to take my shoes off and dance on the lawn. And we have to share our lawn. Awkward.

Moozh and I took in the sunset last night playing chess and having wine and bread for dinner. Because we can. And because I grew up on the prairies and I always feel a little bit guilty when I don't take advantage of the waterfront, especially when the sun is OUT. It has been remarkably sunny lately, I will concede.

And because it sounds like a cool thing to do. There I said it. Sigh.

Made soup and popovers for dinner from the Moosewood cookbook lent to me by a lovely new friend. We swapped cookbooks after we had had too much wine. It's the female version of "I love you man."
"Make this cake. Oh my gawd, it's so good. But it's so easy. Seriously, I'm not kidding."
And so I did. No cake yet, but "Gypsy Soup". It just kinda sounds like I'd want to eat it. And popovers are always yummy. LIke puffy muffins. Puffy muffin biscuits. Puffinscuits…..new word.

I found this blog called "The Daybook" through Pinterest. She taught some of my first Photoshop photo processing. But she has this fun portion called "Awesome and Awkward" where you categorize what happened in your day. My days would be a tad one-sided methinks. IN THE AWESOME CATEGORY. Obviously.

Here goes:
Awesome -

• Handing out resumes like I was on a paper route. Let's get us a fine job!
• I didn't get beaten at chess every round last night. I never won but I managed enough stalemates to stay above water. 
• We saw someone walking their dog on the beach and the dog was a dead ringer for Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. It made me seriously want one. I think it's a French Bulldog. "I got a dog! It's a collie…that was hit by a truck." Cutester. 

Awkward -

• When it gets hot my hair gets all droopy and my bangs look like Nick Carter from The Backstreet Boys. You know, when the 90's where the 90's (said with a serious sad face). 
• Standing in my pyjamas in the sunlight pouring through our front windows, drinking my coffee and being thankful when a painter who's here because our building is being painted walks past my window and stares at me in my pjs. Awkward. 
• Giving people the 'death stare' when they stand in my way as I wait for the crosswalk. There is no way I could be in that much of a hurry. 

Happy September! Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day long weekend. I realized today…that it was yesterday. This is what happens when you're unemployed. You have absolutely no need to keep track of time. Unless you have to volunteer at a farm.

Question for today: What would your ideal meal be? Ritzy? Chill? Alone? With company?
I know mine would be a loaf of crusty bread, a chunk of cheese, a bottle of wine and my Moozh. I could eat this meal on the side of a highway and would still be beyond content. Mmm-mmm.

I'm going to start doing this….

I found this on Pinterest. And I am going to start posting the fails. Because at least then I can laugh about it.

I hope it eventually gets this funny. 

"And have you tell me that wherever I choose you go…"

Here we go y'all. Twelve hours from now I'll be butt-skipping into Cowtown, groggy but ready to party. I get to see my sister wear a bow or something similarly outrageous on her head and open presents. My sister gets married in a week! Makes me smile.

This week is going to be packed with family stuff and wedding stuff. Bombaniers here I come. It's all candy covered almonds and tinted cellophane for me this week. It's all good. I love crafts.

I hope that the next four weeks are filled with lemonade, and tanlines and hopscotch and sunsets. Mine will be. And there are rumours of a sister blog to this one in the works. A travel blog! And by rumours, I mean my brain is tinkering away at it. 

Happy  Friday!

P.S~ Go Canucks!

"Sing out loud, gonna get back Honey. Sing out loud, get away with me…"

Jesus is my best friend.

Last night at small group each of us prayed for a 'simple blessing' that we wanted to ask the Lord for. Some people asked for new clothes, some people asked for a nice bottle of wine (we're mostly all students so we have really simple pleasures). Me, I asked for a sunny day. It was the simplest, most rewarding gift I could think of. And guess what? Today. Was. Awwwwweesome. I was, with all of the other wheedling Bankybear-ites who have been so deprived from Vit D, out on the beach in my bathing suit. Sunglasses, the smell of sunscreen and the glistening condensation on the side of iced drinks peppered the lawn. One of my favourite things to do is to lay back in the grass and read. The wind was just cool enough and the sky was cloudless. On my run, I was brought to near tears because I was SO happy. In so many words, I loved today. And God is good.

We have such great friends. This week Matt and I had dinner with a couple different friends of ours. They each had us over for dinner and made a point of mentioning celebration that I got into my program. So sweet! I have fallen so in love with many of the friends that the Lord has brought into Matt and I's life. So many diverse people with so many different gifts and passions and going after many different things but each of them have been such a blessing to us.

I fly out to Cowtown a week from tomorrow. Whoooa! I feel like I've been anticipating this for months and now it is nearly upon me! We're getting everything sorted out with packing and tickets. I have my outfits for the weddings. Moozh and I are figuring out our emcee magic for my sister's wedding. Lots to do but I'm so excited to head out and have time with my families. My sister in law's lingerie shower is tomorrow so I will be sending her positive vibes.

I love tats! Check this one out. So beautiful and intricate. Found it on Pinterest.

Another great song. She has such a beautiful, simple voice.

Also check out The Golden Age by The Asteroids Galaxy. It's on a Heineken commercial right now which is how I found it but she's adorable and it gets stuck in my head every time.

I found this on Pinterest too. I love the quote. It just keeps spinning in my head.

Saying Images

I hope it is sunny where you are and that you have a slurpee in your hand. If you don't have the latter, rectify that.

P.S ~ Book of the Moment: Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King.

P.P.S ~ I've decided that I'm going as Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for Halloween. Kick ass character. Bitchin' style. Rooney Mara had her lip, eyebrow, nose and nipple pierced for REAL for the role. Commitment.

W Magazine

"Lift your eyes and let me, cuz baby I'm an alien like you…"

Yo y'all!

My, my, my it's been such a long time. I finished my class on Friday and then had to whip up a presentation on Archibald Lampman in 36 hours. I have been weaning myself off of the escapism of blogs. It's for the best. It's all about school until we leave for the weddings (which for me is 11 days -wheeeeeeeee!). I make it into town to catch my sister's bridal shower, so I don't miss ALL of them. Fun gifts and even more exciting is that our sisters are marrying great men!

The lovely BJ turned me onto this wicked website called, Pinterest, which is just a new danger to me. You can pin stuff from all over the place so you get to see what other people have pinned and also pin some of your favourite stuff for other people to see. I have discovered so many new things that I will have to relegate to the back of my mind so that they don't distract me from…life. It's like StumbleUpon. Geez.

I have to make specific mention of how blessed I feel by our church. Moozh and I were getting really discouraged with the whole 'church shopping' thing. We had tried out so many churches that didn't feel right. We didn't want to be those people that look for the 'perfect' church or a church that is customized to them. That church doesn't exist. But there was something about the churches that didn't…feel right. But the minute we walked into UTown, we felt like something just clicked, or settled rather. We felt at home in a way. I think I've cried every Sunday (which is a good thing). I've spent time one on one with three gorgeous women of God from the UTown community. Prayer, community and worship have taken  on entirely new meaning, and almost a fresh light.

Fun stuff!
This chick is a UBC grad. They sell her stuff at the UBC bookstore. Check out her blog because her designs are hysterical.

vckystxx.com

New song that I think is such a great love song. The lead singer, Sebastian Pigott, has a really cool voice. Like Moozh's friend Kimmy would say, falling in love is finding someone who's sin is compatible with yours. Feeling like we are alien to everyone else, Love is the safe place where you not only feel like you can be the alien you are an be completely loved in it, but also that you've found the alien that you are meant for. You can love them for who they are. I'm blessed by my Alien everyday ;)

Happy Tuesday!

"I'm only good at being young."

Wowz. I feel like I woke up and it was Monday morning and I'm going to sleep and it's Friday. (Yeah I'm going to sleep at noon on Friday. Don't ask questions.)

Last night I had the most hilarious time in my science class. For real. We are in this unit "Personal Genomics" right now and it's…way over my head. It's a junior high level science class and there are times where I coach myself, "Just nod. Don't think. Just nod." Anyways, yesterday we were doing this lab to perform a DNA fingerprint assay. I thought we were actually going to be dealing with fingerprints. Pssh. I mean -I totally knew I was going to be playing with my spit for two and a half hours, I swear. My friend Jenn, who is lovely and funny and makes me feel like being clueless at science isn't so bad, was there to do it all with me. "Doing" being laughing hysterically at our ignorance and incompetence. We had to use this pipetteman thing to pull out a very small amount of our spit and I had to get the teacher to help me. Made me feel sixteen again. "Dave…" as my voice cracks "Can you help me? I can't…see it. I can't see the spit."By the end of the class, I had the hang of "pipetting" liquids. Just in time for me to never have to do it again. I will just add it to the list of skills I have that won't come in handy.

This week is finally over. I have Russian practice tomorrow. (That almost makes me sound like I play a sport. Then again, Russian sort of is a sport. Or at least I go through it with the same lack of coordination I do most sports.) My Russian oral exam is on Monday. We got to prepare our own dialogue but now we have to present it in front of our class. My friend Jelsi and I practiced it yesterday. She brought her handy-dandy Russian boyfriend for editing purposes. One of the words I was mispronouncing was 'whale' when I was meaning to say 'beside'. It'll be a long road, but one day I will make sense.

My allergies are on me like harpies. All the way down my throat is itchy and my eyes always look like I've been punched, all heavy and swollen. I woke up this morning and my eyes looked like that part in Black Swan when Nina pulls the feather out of her back. The bright side is, I have drugs. I can just soup myself up on Benadryl and go about my day feeling groovy. I can't be held responsible for anything I do. I'm under the influence.

My sandals and beach towel are poised and ready as soon as Bankybear catches up and realizes it's spring. We have had some staggeringly beautiful days in the past few weeks so I can tell that the weather is trying. It hasn't quite materialized yet. but alas it has just been yucky lately. I haven't taken my mukluks off in weeks because I am officially acclimatized to West Coast, pansy weather. I used to be made of tougher stuff. Not anymore.

Happy Weekend! Moozh and I are going to a BBQ tomorrow. BBQ's always make me think of summer.

P.S ~ *Language note: When you say 'my husband and I' in Russian, it sounds like "smooshem".
P.P.S ~ I have a countdown on my phone for both of the weddings this summer and I check them every morning. 78 days until Ariesmell's! 95 days until Sasa's! Weeeee!
P.P.P.S ~ Picture of the day. Trash the Dress! I would totally do this! Check out the rest.

"Sit back and watch the bed burn…"

Best Birthday Bazaar! (I will really do anything for a satisfying alliteration.)

This weekend really was hysterically fun. Friday I drank hot chocolate and ate bread in my pajamas all day while I conjugated perfective genitive sentences in Russian. And then I jazzed myself up for dinner. Moozh made me this delicious dinner and I sat and ate and ate and ate in my tiny dress and then….PEOPLE SHOWED UP. Which was a hilarious and wonderful surprise but I was in a tiny dress. So I put on something more…appropriate. And then proceeded to have So. Much. Fun. This is awfully biased of me but our friends are the best in the world. They are sweet and generous and they know how to have a good time.

And then we met with our lovely friends Marcus and Meghan of Blue Bird Creative on Granville Island for pictures. Marcus and Meghan are based out of Winnipeg but are currently in Vancouver for Regent. If you are in either place or are desirous of a photographer or web designer, just go look at their site. Just go look. You will lose all restraint, I promise.

And then Saturday evening, Moozh took me to see Blue Valentine which I have been wanting to see FOREVER. It was a heavy, heavy movie but the way it was handled, it felt so authentic. One of those movies where you're sitting there next to each other thinking, "That totally happens to us." **Proviso: The relationship in the movie is not my marriage. But it feels real and it feels true.
After that we went to a tapa bar I've seen downtown called Red X Red Tapa bar. With all of the Russian insignia and imagery, I expected it to be…Russian. But I think they saw the hammer and sickle and used it as more of a jumping off point. It had three different kinds of perogies on the menu and over 100 different varieties of vodka to choose from, but beyond that there was nothing distinctly Russian about it. I was getting very excited (and somewhat anxious) about what would happen if I could speak in Russian at the restaurant. But that was not necessary. I had a very tasty dirty vodka martini and Moozh and I enjoyed sweet potato perogies and a charcuterie platter.

Finally, yesterday was the Superbowl. Sadly, the Steelers couldn't quite pull it off but it was a great game. So close, both played hard and I got to eat corn chips and guacamole ALL DAY LONG. We got to meet a whole bunch of new people and had our ol' reliables. Overall, such a great day. And I'm beginning to understand the rules a bit more so I'm not THAT GIRL: "What? What happened? Why did that man do that? Did they win -I mean score? It's a home run, babe! They got a home run!"

One more week of school until Reading Break. And four days until I fly, fly away. Five days until Cinderella, and alligators, and warm weather.

Happy Monday!

P.S ~ To all the lovely people who leave comments on my blog that I do not find until later: You. Make. Me. Smile.

P.P.S ~ I have a problem with the use of commas. I feel like I use commas when I don't have another key to press.

"It's these failures and faults that hold us together..."

Okays.

So remember how I mentioned that I was a tad over my head in a science class I was taking. I finagled my way out of that one in preference of maintaining my sanity. People have called me a tad idealistic at times but the expectation that I could figure that stuff out was deluded. So, I've been harassing the prof of another science course that targeted towards doofy arts kids who need to fulfill their science requirement (namely me). It all worked out and I was all geared up tonight to go to it. I had add/drop forms and I had cancelled plans so that I could go tonight and figure this thing out. I am going to include an excerpt from my text conversation with Moozh (in the style of autocorrect fail):

Me: I feel SO stupid
Matt: Why?! Don't like this class either?
Matt: Can you drop with a 100% refund?
Me: Not that. It's Thursday not Tuesdays.

There were literally fifteen "ahaha's" in Matt's response, which after I finished slapping my forehead saying "so stupid, so stupid" helped me to laugh at myself a little. Whyyyyyyyyyy do I always do these things?! The miraculous thing is if you were to look at my academic abilities you would have a totally different expectations set. I think I pretty much butt-skip my way across the finish line. SO RIDICULOUS. In my morning pep talk, I convince myself that there are other people just like me out there. I need to find them so I 1) know I'm not crazy and 2) we can figure out a support group kind of thing. Or electroshock therapy.

By the way, I found this gorgeous song by, again, Brooke Fraser. Her newest album, Flags is uh-mazing.
                 "And better or worse
                              I am tethered to you."

And she sings with Aqualung!

I am convincing myself that in real life this would be unwise and perhaps not as cute as it is here.

I pretty much can't even handle this. Hey Bloglovin', you've totally taken over my life.

New Shutta shutta!

Two words: Bush League. I will catch up to you Sasa Dempsey.

We tried out the flash. Did we ever. This is probably what it will look like when we get hit by an atomic bomb. I'll be sitting on my computer, looking at food blogs, minding my own business and then BAM! Nuclear Annihilation.

The paper lamps from Ikea give a cool soft light.

This is my favourite because the pawns from our chess set remind me of Matt.

The aforementioned chess set. They've got the front seat on most cool things that happen in our house.

About a dozen of over three hundred books. Totally absurd but they work when it comes to decorating.

Knicky-knackies.

And Petiheh. I'm thinking of making her my mascot. She benign, not as chipper as other mascots, but that is where we have an affinity. And she's cute.

Sreydah (Wednesday)

My mom sent me this email which was was more interesting than the prompt for today. T minus two days until Ground Zero.

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die. Agreed.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. My God, this happens in marriage all the time.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger. I don't think this ever happened to me as a child.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font. This is for all of the people that read incorrect tone into text messages and emails. We should not enable these people.
5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? You don't. You ball it up and stuff it into the bottom shelf of the linen closet. At ball them up uniformly.
6. Was learning cursive really necessary? It totally made my writing messier.
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. You do, but there is a whole demographic impervious to natural selection who don't.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died. Yes! But this is directly related to #1.
9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. Trueness.
10. Bad decisions make good stories. And most don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. I know this too well. University.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again. Yes. And VHS are never making a comeback.
13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. So true.
14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. We're ALL in on the joke.
15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. Because you can't binge on ice cream in the middle of the night without a light.
16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. And transit "Trip Planner!"
18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said? Especially if they're just making small talk. Speak up!
20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. "Black pants, they never get dirty, the longer you wear them the stronger they get."
22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. I do that even with my cell phone.
23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time! It's worse when it doesn't even wake you up.
24. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important. (Ladies.....proof that there's only enough blood in a man's system to operate one head at a time!) This is called "looking out for number one."

Moya Moozh idyot cmotreet televizor illi droozya

Matt sent me this halfway though my day.

This is why I love reading week.

Spent some time with the chicks of the RSN. (Chicks? Our foremothers would be so proud.) Good times. Good beer. Good ladies.

I feel that when I post transliterated Russian on my blog, I should translate it for all the people that don't speak Russian. Namely, everyone I know. "Idyot" could easily sound like...something else when it in fact mean "to go". Sorry Moozh. I've taken the blue pill. My communication skills are officially on the DL.

Happy Monday! What are you loving today?

Yes Happy Monday :)

I've got a new job and it totally rocks. I'm not doing anything profound or decidedly ambitious. I work at a natural foods market in the produce section. And every time someone asks me how work was, I can't help but smile and say, "I really like my job."

I really like the organic, whole attitude of natural grocery stores. I worked at Community Natural Foods in Calgary for a summer and I absolutely adored it there. I was in bulk so again I was doing stuff with a lot of heavy lifting. But those kind of places just attract a very cool kind of person. They also attract a self-righteous, picky kind of person but for the most part, they are just people who want to nourish the planet while nourishing their bodies, and want to play an educated part in the whole farm to plate process. I'm learning a lot and I have this brand-new, harkening-to-a-past-positivity excitement about it. I work with great people and a lot of the customers who come in are really sweet too. And I get to eat fresh fruit ALL DAY.

So one of my favorite blogs, Bluebird Baby, does this on her blog every once in a while and I think it is so cool. She posts a whole bunch of links that caught her eye that she thinks are great.

• I love these gloves but I think they are slightly beyond my skill set presently. I want to try them out. I tried these gloves but they didn't turn out because my hook was the wrong size :( I am an ambitious and persistent crocheter.
• I love this belt. I love this whole shop actually.
• And these :)
• This is soooooo delicious. Matt and I will make a hugeness batch of quinoa so that we can have it a couple times a week. You can improvise with the toppings but the toasted nuts are a must.
• The way she does this song is so cool. This Dutch person I work with said that they have a saying that says, "Better nicely stolen than poorly come up with." This song straight up. She has another song called, "Belly up". Such a lovely husky, delicate voice.
• Another lovely delicate voice is Priscilla Ahn. My favorite song by her is called "Rain", but this song "Willow" is great.
• I love this blog! I posted the "Mulligan" post earlier and he reliably comes up with such truly awesome things!
• I want to learn how to do this!
• Poppytalk is a cute blog too. And she also does "link-posts". But she posted these beautiful necklaces. And I happen to know that I have a very talented sister who could totally do something like this. Something like this for me!

That's the fun stuff!

Bri

1000 Awesome Things

Quickie

My mom told me about this site and it is (as advertised) totally awesome!

This entry makes me laugh, out loud everytime! This is quoted directly from his site. Careful, it's totally addictive and will make you feel so happy all day!

#521 Calling a mulligan on the day

Do you play golf?

Me, I’ve tried a couple times but it’s always the same: I lace up some stained sneakers, borrow rusty clubs from someone’s basement, and then scrounge around the parking lot for somedented balls for my once-a-decade tee shot.

Now, I’ve mentioned my athletic abilities before so you’ll understand why I love that golf rule which lets me call a mulligan. Have you heard of it? Basically, I swing and miss the ball a dozen times before eventually shanking itdead sideways into the dense forest.

But then I just yell MULLIGANNNNN! really loudly and everyone lets me try again.

It’s a great rule and it got me thinking: We should be able to call mulligans anywhere. Because hear me out.

What if you could call a mulligan on your driving test? Yes, after tire-punching the curb and hitting Grandma’s shopping cart you just drop the m-word and start again. Or how about calling a mulligan after anawkward side hug in the airport? Or after accidentally spitting a tiny piece of food on your date’s face?

It’s starting to sound good, am I right?

Now, my old college friend Mike is the master. See, he’s perfected the beautifully indulgent Weekend Mulligan. He often gets up and groggily stumbles around the kitchen, spills coffee grinds on the floor, and accidentally steps on the cat. But then he stares at his dark, hollow eyes in the mirror and realizes he woke up too soon.

That’s when he just calls a mulligan on the day and goes back to bed with a plan to give it another shot a few hours later.

People, life’s too short not to sleep when you feel like it. So take a page from our book and when your first couple shots land in the rough, just yell mulligan and start again.

AWESOME!

I love it -MULLLIGAAAAAAN!