Things I Like Thursday- Episode 6

Things I Like Thursday is a weekly link up where we share the fun stuff you've found on the internet this past week. You can create a round up post, as I have, or you can link directly to whatever you want: a blog post, a pin, a video, a story, whatever. Keep it semi-clean and keep it fun.

 Since we are in the midst of graduation season, I thought I would share this fun story: Congratulations, Grads! You Don't Know Anything, By The Way. It pretty much sums up what every adult thinks about new graduates. It's basically, "Hey, you done good kid, but this smile means I am laughing at you."My favorite piece of advice:

"Say Yes To Everything." Seriously. (this is me talking now, though the gist is the same) Take every meeting, every interview, every job that comes your way. Sure, keep looking, but you're never too good for anything, and you're so green, you have no idea what you're even turning down anyway.

Next up, an awesome piece on the relationship between readers and writers. If you love reading, and don't know how to really help out the authors you love, this is a great read. (yes, this is the same blogger I recommended a few weeks ago. SUBSCRIBE NOW.) 

I'm pretty sure you have to be living under a rock to have missed this in the past week, but here it is for you anyway. Not only is this marriage proposal EPIC, but I pretty much just love the girl's reaction to the whole thing. That means this guy did something big, and he did it PERFECTLY. That's a tough balance to strike, and he deserves all the attention he's getting as a result.


There you have it, folks. The Things I Like this week. I know, I've been posting pretty much only on Thursdays lately, but I swear to you, I will return to regular blogging soon. Moving across the country is a pretty time consuming thing. Apparently. Anyway. Link up. Tell your friends. Be awesome.

Cross country moving

I've been moving across the country for the last several days, so my thoughts are a little spacey today. I am blogging mostly because tomorrow is Thursday, so Things I Like Thursday is going up, but I have blogged only on Thursdays for the last couple weeks, and I need there to be some evidence that I am, in fact, capable of original thought.

So, today you get bullet points.

Hey, I said "original thought" not "amazing blogging."

- I accidentally bought "Va Va Vanilla" scented deodorant, which smells like candy-flavored deodorant, which is weird. However, it also does not last as long as the typical deodorant, so by the end of the day I smell a little like sweat, candy and deodorant. It's lovely.

- I got my Arizona driver's license today. Since I tend to over-prepare for pictures, I have REALLY shiny hair in the pic. I have yet to decide how I feel about it.

- I spent forty three hours straight in my car, with my three kids (ages 6, 3 & 1), my mother and one of my oldest and dearest friends. One instance of puke, one pair of peed pants and somebody pooped in a grocery bag. It was necessary, I assure you of that, but it certainly wasn't my idea of a good time.

- I have been invited to a book club here in Phoenix. I don't have high hopes, since previous book clubs have turned out to be food clubs. But, for the first time in my whole life, I have not read the book for book club. And I just don't have time to care.

- I do, however, have time to watch more episodes of "How I Met Your Mother." So there's that.

How's your week going?

Things I Like Thursday - Episode 5

Things I Like Thursday is a weekly link up. Give us your best blog post, or you can do a round up like this one, heck, you can even link to a pin, tweet or video. Keep it at least semi-clean and keep it awesome.

This week things are going to be brief, since I am blogging from my iPad while in the midst of moving across the country.
First up, I have to share this story about a prank pulled by a group of high school teachers. They told the graduating seniors to record heartfelt end-of-year messages on video. Then the teachers danced like idiots in the background. It is as awesome as it sounds.
Next, I want to share this post from the LDS Writers Blogck about managing your time and setting goals. I know it's not my usual goof-off stuff that I normally post here, but that's sort of the sweet irony of it, don't you think? Anyway, it's well written and comprehensive, and I just think they deserve a shout out for it.
That's all I have for this week, catch y'all on the flip side. Which means next week. When I will be blogging from Arizona instead of Florida. Yikes.

Things I Like Thursday- Episode 4

Things I Like Thursday is a weekly link up. You can link to an awesome blog post out there or create a round up post. Keep it semi-clean and keep it awesome.

This week I am keeping it pretty simple.

This week, I am presenting you with The Avengers: A Questionnaire. I'm going to go ahead and call it, this is pretty much the best use of the internet, ever. Okay... maybe not "the best"... but it's funny.

Some friends over at Childhood Trauma break down the Avengers, one by one, and tell us which ones are hot, and which ones are not. (hint: they're all hot, to some degree. some are just more republican than others)

What's happening

I don't have enough coherent thought to put together a post that's any more interesting than this:

- I can't exercise for four more weeks. No yoga, no pilates, no lifting weights. I can walk, so long as I don't exert myself. Since I was cleared to return to a normal diet, this is going to be bad. I can now eat fat (for the first time in seven months) but can't exercise. How much non-exerting walking do you think it would take to burn off a Chipotle burrito with guacamole...? A lot?

- My house is 80% packed. I had to decide TODAY what I am going to wear to my husband's graduation this Saturday, church on Mother's Day, Disneyworld with our friends next Friday and every single day in between. Plus I had to ration and plan my shoes. For the next twelve days, I have only fourteen pairs out. I think I've made progress.

- Actually, I know I'm not making progress. Don't tell my husband.

- Though I did eat cookie dough, so there's that.

- Oh my gosh, I love cookie dough!!!

- My kids are all quietly and calmly watching* Cars 2, so I better go get to work. I am a packing machine!!!

- By "packing machine" I, of course, mean "A person who packs two boxes** and then rewards themselves with cookie dough and some time on Twitter."

I'll be back in a few.

EDIT: They are asleep. That's why they're being so quiet. 

EDIT #2: One box. 

Fill in the blanks Friday

1.  My bedtime routine includes Brush teeth, face cream, hair treatment, lip gloss, lotion on feet (in socks). Say prayers. Take sleep aid. Read a novel until I fall asleep. You know. The simple life.

2.   I am A little bit high, honestly. These pain meds make me lightheaded and randomly woozy.

3.  I can't stand inattentive & rude drivers    because they're taking other people's lives in their hands, and it's NOT THAT HARD to just PAY ATTENTION while you are controlling a 3,000 pound piece of metal with a combustible engine inside.

4. My idea of relaxation would be Naaaaaaaaaap. But, ultimately, a kid-free vacation on a beach someplace. I love my children. But they are not relaxation-inducing.

5. If I had an extra $50, I would   Go out to a real dinner  with my husband. Since every date we've been on for the last several years has included Chipotle and a gift card to the movie theater...

6. The best thing about a bloggy friend is    They aren't actually involved in your day-to-day "real" life. They can give you an outside perspective, a chance to vent and a chance to escape the rat race you run every day.

7.  A recipe I've been dying to try is Nothing. I try recipes as soon as I can, so there isn't anything sitting there, waiting to be tried. And frankly, I mostly fly by the seat of my pants in the kitchen anyway. So... no. Sorry. 

Things I Like Thursday- Episode 3

Sorry this is a little late. But, as always, it's time for Things I Like Thursday. You can link to a cool post, create a round-up post (as I have done) or just link to something awesome. Keep it semi-clean, keep it funny and/or useful, and tell your friends!

Thing I Like #1: "Movie: The Movie"

Featuring Daniel Day Lewis as you've never seen him before: As Tyler Perry, as George Washington...

You can click that link and watch a ten-minute trailer to the "greatest" movie ever "made," courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel. It has every big star, every storyline and every genre in it. It is hilarious and awesome, and I highly recommend viewing it at least twice for full potency.

Thing I Like #2: Middle School Mondays
I follow Braden Bell, a fantastic Mormon Daddy Blogger, who also happens to be a pretty fantastic author and a middle school choir teacher. In case you didn't know this, there is a special place in heaven for people who happily take care of pre-teens all day long. I know this because I've been devouring every word in Braden's Middle School Mondays series. I don't have middle-schoolers, but I will someday, and I will be grateful that I read through this advice. It's honest and useful and kind. I highly, highly recommend for all parents, teachers, or people who might need to interact with a twelve year old at some point. It's gold. 

Thing I Like #3: Slush Pile Hell
If you follow me on twitter and are paying close attention, you might realize that I am nearing the completion stages of my first novel. This means it is time to query. A lovely twitter friend by the name of Molly Harper sent out this link: Slush Pile Hell. It's basically a What Not To Do In Your Query Letter blog. And it makes me feel infinitely better about myself. Because while I know virtually nothing about queries, I know better than to do any of that crap.


And there you have it, folks. Since I've been lying (laying?) reclining in bed all week, you'd think I have more to share. Apparently, my meds have made me forgetful, because this is all I can remember form this week.  Link up below and TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!

Accepting Compliments

Why can I not accept compliments like a normal human being?

Here are some real life examples of how I have handled compliments in the very recent past:

I was wearing a fabulous new Calvin Klein dress (obtained at Ross for $30, booyah!) to church last week. It looked totally amazing on me, except when I sat down. Then, all the buttons seemed to pop apart and look crazy. I had to sit with my legs crossed in order for it to not look like I was too fat for my dress, and sitting with your legs crossed is very hard to do when you have small children trying to sit on your lap.

So, when a friend told me, "I love your dress, it looks smokin' good!" what do I say in response?
"Oh, yeah, well, when I sit it looks ridiculous, so I have to sit like this" *insert insane pose here*

Why. Why do I do this? I couldn't just say, "Oh, thanks!" and move on? Or even, "Thanks, I got it at Ross!" and walk away, feeling good about myself?

Second example:

"Hey, your hair looks really great today!"
"Haha! Thanks, there's a sock in it!"
"What?"
"Yep! A sock!"


Again, why. Why do I feel the need to explain the nerdy information about myself? Why do I have to explain (to a friend's husband, no less) what a sock bun is, and make myself look like an idiot? 

I was talking to my friend, Kirsti, about this. At least she understood where I was coming from. I am always terrified that every compliment is a Mean Girls-style set up:

So, tell me, friends: Do you handle compliments well? Any advice? Or, if you're more like me, share your stories.

Best Comments of April

It's the first of the month, and you know what that means! It's time to round up the best comments from you, my readers, of the last month.

Now, before you get all out of hand and say, "Gina! There are only five comments on here!" Let me remind you all that you were incredibly chatty last month. I had a hard time finding comments that were less than 500 words. Which, to be honest, is AWESOME! (I love having real conversations with you all) but not so great for a round up like this. If I had actually posted all the awesome comments from last month, this post would be novel-length.

So, I've really whittled it down, picking the comments that are not only awesome, but really reflect the personality of each commenter. Enjoy!

Oh, and go link up at Jessica's blog:

Kirsti: I've had more than my share of whacked out dreams (the most insane was when a T rex was rampaging around Canberra eating rednecks, and it had pet animatronic velociraptors that acted like sheepdogs. The best was the one a few weeks ago where I was ruffling David Tennant's hair for no apparent reason other than that he has spectacular hair that needs to be ruffled!), but none quite as spectacularly brilliant as Barack Obama singing "Be Prepared". (Incidentally, I'm now sad because The Lion King was on TV here a few weeks ago and I recorded it on the DVR, but the file is corrupted and won't play *cries forever*) on Pain Meds

Megan: President Obama singing Be Prepared almost made me spit out my cherry coke zero. That sounds fabulous. LOL. on Pain Meds

Jessica: I see this all the time with blog posts, where the blogger says a bunch of things I think are really obvious and then in the comments there's 100 people going, "OMG this is so helpful thank you!!" It always makes me wonder if I should just start writing things I think are obvious because maybe they'll help someone. But thankfully I have really intelligent readers who hold me to a higher standard of writing than that :) on Lists of Ideas

M: If being nerdy and quoting nerdy things is wrong, I don't ever want to be right. The other day I was talking to a co-worker in the hallway and I made a really lame literary joke and laughed really loudly and high fived. The kids looked at us weirdly. Story of my life. on Oops. Is my nerdiness showing?

Mariann: Saw your post on Twitter, and was compelled to click on it. I'm an author, and though I write adult stories, I love to read YA books just as much as I love the adult themed ones. I have teenage children, and I can tell you from my own personal experience, that they feel everything, and feel it strongly. YA stories give them voice, it gives them the opportunity to discuss, argue and agree...to open themselves up to new ideas and ways of thinking that can and often do, expand their worlds as well as their minds. So, brava... I'm thrilled my teens have such choice in this world. Society no longer adheres to the outdated concept that youth should be 'seen and not heard', in fact, it's very much the contrary...and anyone who disrespects or condescends a category with such diversity, one that gives every young adult the opportunity to dream, is perhaps also, outdated. Either that or they're scared of the category and the audience to which it speaks...  on Why You're Wrong About YA