Weekend Linkage: Pens, bombs, cats, dinosaur robots and a plea for your help!

You guys, I need your help! I am always looking for blogs to read and share in my Weekend Linkage posts. However, I don't always have as much time as I'd like to look for new things. I mean I do, but if I just roam out willynilly into the internet looking for stuff, pretty soon it's 2am and I'm watching videos of cats with smooshed faces and nothing has been accomplished.

I love you guys and I appreciate so much that you share my stuff on the intertubes, so obviously I'd like to return the favor when I can. I try to keep track of the links I get from comments, but if you have or know of a blog you think I'd like, do me a favor and send it to me here? I can't promise that I will immediately link to everything you've written ever, but I will check it out.

This is some of my friend Lauren's amazing work. You can view more in her Etsy shop.

Onward!

BIC recently released the completely laughable "For Her" line of pens. Just take a minute to let that sink in. Pens for your delicate, porcelain ladyhands! Finally, a pen for us! Oops, pardon me, I barfed some glitter. The upside to terribly inane marketing is that we all get to read the hilarious Amazon reviews!

"I was recently given a box of these as a gift from my husband, but I have no idea what to do with them! They're too thin to make a good rolling pin. I can't ladle out my soups with them. And the tiny point doesn't even make a dent when I try to use one to chop veggies! I don't get it. If I can't use it in the kitchen, what the hell am I supposed to do with one???"

If you missed the President's AMA on Reddit yesterday like I did, the Frisky has a roundup of all the Q's and A's.

WWII-era Bomb Detonated in Downtown Munich — Did you know that they're still finding an average of 15 bombs a day in Germany? {The History Blog}

BECAUSE AWESOME — Fake Grimlock, the giant robot dinosaur, talks content marketing. {Copyblogger}

Shakespeare, But with Cats — Well, that's it. I've finished the internet. Nothing else to see here. {The Mary Sue}

Vote With Your Money — "We all get to vote, every day, on how we think businesses and corporations should conduct themselves." {Adulting}

Camping Never Looked So Good! — Super cute and stylish camping supplies! I want them all! Except the backgammon board. I never understood backgammon. {Apartment Therapy}

An Attack on Grameen Bank, and the Cause of Women — Despicable.  {New York Times}

4 Fun Updates + Photos — I am in love with Tammy's photography and totes jealous of her tiny, stylish house. {Rowdy Kittens}

This is obviously relevant to my interests. The Cats of Mars Meet the Toy Car:

You were wondering what RENT would sound like in Klingon, right? Of course you were!

Tiny camper charm available here!

Mr. Spock's Poetry Corner: A Lifetime of Love

So we own this book.

And I was thinking, hey, I like Star Trek and poetry and the internet. And everyone knows that taking things you like and mashing them together is always awesome.

So I will be reading to you from "A Lifetime of Love — Poems on the Passages of Life" every so often, until I finish the book or get bored of googling Spock pictures. Enjoy.

A Lifetime of Love

by Leonard Nimoy

I am an incurable romantic

I believe in hope, dreams and decency

I believe in love

Tenderness and kindness

I believe in mankind

I believe in goodness

Mercy and charity

I believe in a universal spirit

I believe in casting bread

Upon the waters

I am awed by the snow-capped mountains

By the vastness of the oceans

I am moved by a couple

Of any age — holding hands

As they walk through city streets

A living creature in pain

Makes me shudder with sorrow

A seagull's cry fills me

With a sense of mystery

A river or stream

Can move me to tears

A lake nestling in a valley

Can bring me peace

10 things you can do in 5 minutes to reclaim your sanity

I’m a person that gets easily overwhelmed. I'm the source of my own suffering because, as a serial To-Do List writer, I take on more tasks than any human could possibly hope to accomplish.
Pretty soon, I don't have any clean clothes left, the dishes are piled high, I haven't started writing the thing that's due tomorrow, cat hair is rolling through the room like tumbleweed and I'm eating takeout while I re-watch Battlestar Galactica because I turn into the Queen of Work Avoidance when I feel like I'm in over my head. It's sort of A Problem.
Accomplishing one thing, no matter how small or unrelated to your "Big Deal" to-do items, is sometimes enough to provide a little relief. You get to cross something off the list, which is deliciously satisfying, and sometimes it gives just the injection of motivation needed to tackle something bigger.

When you need to get your act together, try knocking off some of these easy tasks:

1. Grab a laundry basket. Sweep everything in the room that doesn’t belong there into the basket and return it to where it belongs.
2. Open up your closet. Sort everything into groups: tanks, short-sleeved shirts, long-sleeved shirts, jackets, pants, skirts. Put all empty hangers in one place.
3. Do a cursory cleaning of your refrigerator. Throw out anything funky, combine duplicate items and put things on appropriate shelves.
4. Clean out your social networking or email contacts. If you’re keeping people around that you don’t actually know or can’t stand, give ‘em the boot. 
5. Gather up all the receipts and papers you’ve been meaning to shred and do it.
6. Renew those things that need to be renewed, like your driver’s license or registration. It’s 2012. You can do it on the internet.
7. Collect all of the things that need to be returned to the store or taken to Goodwill and put them in your car. In the front seat. None of that hiding it in the trunk and forgetting about it crap.
8. Go through your email inbox and respond to or sort everything in there that you've been putting off. I am the worst at this. Gmail labels and filters are great for this.
9. Walk through the house and pick up any laundry, dishes or trash and deposit those things in the appropriate places.
10. Go through your medicine cabinet, vanity or pantry and pitch anything that is dried up, expired, the wrong color, ugly, gross or any other adjective that renders it undesirable.

Do you have any "quick fix" things you do when you need to feel like you're not a complete wreck of a slacker? I'm always looking for suggestions. Share?

Weekend Linkage: How Much to Tip Your Mummified Pancake Princess

Friends! How was your week? On Saturday, we took a wine making class as a follow up to the beer making class we took last Saturday, and I spent pretty much all week chugging coffee to stave off naps because I have been trying to wake up earlier and so I'm just not sleeping at all. Ugh. But the links must go on.

Lady Anne Clifford vs. the Patriarchy — Lady Anne's nearly lifelong struggle to reclaim the family inheritance she was duped out of by her D-bag father when he changed his will only 11 days before his death. Fascinating! Or maybe I've just been watching too much Downton Abbey. {The History Blog}

Dogshaming — "I don't give a single $@#$ about anything that is not a used tampon." Ohhhh dogs. {Dogshaming}

Rainbow Street Art — Lovely! Someone come paint a drippy rainbow on my house? {Plenty of Colour}

Stand Up For Your Damn Selves — "Because no one will respect your heart if you don't. No one will protect your emotions if you don't. No one can say "yes" or "no" for you." Right on, Lady. {The Naked Redhead}

How Much to Tip (and to Whom) — In bars and restaurants, I'm good. Anywhere else and I'm never sure. This helps! {Get Rich Slowly}

Mummified Siberian Princess Found Covered in Impressively Preserved Tattoos — Gorgeous. I'd like her artist's number. {The Mary Sue}

That Dreadful Pancake — A young girl has no flower petals to throw at the First Lady, Frances Cleveland. So she chucks a pancake instead. Gets arrested. Naturally.  {Weird Shit}

Artist Beili Liu Embroiders Underneath Hundreds of Suspended Scissors — I get uncomfortable just looking at this. {Colossal}

If Star Wars Was an 80s High School Movie — The one of the Storm Trooper, Vader and Boba Fett is my favorite. {Fashionably Geek}

Octopus Dresser — I don't care if they're trendy now. I want octopi on ALL THE THINGS. {Apartment Therapy}

Rape Fatigue: When There's Just No Anger Left (NSFW) — This nicely summarizes what I've been feeling pretty much all week. Le Ugh. {Jezebel}

A Social Experiment: What if Feels Like to be a Freelancer:

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros — "Man on Fire":

Happy weekend! (Srsly OMFG.)

Pretty Things on Etsy and a Discount for You!

Because you guys are some of the nicest, funniest, best looking readers that a gal could ask for, I wanted to give you a little something to say, "Thanks for being Awesome."

From now until probably forever, you can use the code "BLOGFAN" for a 15% discount on anything from my Etsy shop. That's redeemable in my shop only, not just anywhere on Etsy. Believe me, I'd give you that if I could.

I'm adding new items all the time, and I have a lot of new prints that will be going up a few at a time over the next several weeks. I also have a giveaway coming up, which I'm super excited about.

Here's a taste:

I hope you'll stop by!

In case you were wondering what to get me for Christmas this year...

Nick Offerman is auctioning Ron Swanson's mustache for charity.

You're welcome.

So You Have to Feed a Vegetarian, Part 2: Home Cookin'

In Part 1, we discussed what to do when you have to find a suitable vegetarian-friendly restaurant. So what do you do if you actually have to feed a vegetarian, like, right there in your own house?



So a vegetarian is coming over for dinner and all you have in the kitchen are some lunchables and the makings of a BLT. Crap. What do we do?

Don’t hyperventilate. It’ll be ok. I promise.

First, ask some questions.

As in Part 1, the first thing we need to know is what kind of vegetarian this person is. Are they a standard Ovo-lacto vegetarian, a vegan or just a Pescatarian/Flexitarian?

The next question is: What sort of dinner are we shooting for? Is this a classy, four-course sit-down thing, a holiday meal or a one-pot dinner and movie night? The degree of fancypantsness is going to factor into your food choices. Jot down a quick list of the types of dishes you need to locate so you have some guidance when you actually start looking for recipes.

A good formula to follow is: one protein + one grain + one green.

It’s worth noting that if this is a big, multi-dish meal like a holiday dinner or a pot-luck, you might not have to change a thing. At those events, I find that there are usually already enough meat-free sides for a veritable vegetarian feast. I am always appreciative when someone thinks to have some veggie burgers on hand at the barbeque, or when a friend’s family bought a Tofurky for me to have alongside the turkey at Thanksgiving. But it's rarely necessary.

Next, look at some recipes.

So let’s talk resources. There are thousands upon thousands of websites dedicated to vegetarian recipes or with large vegetarian sections. Some of the ones I frequent are Allrecipes, Vegetarian Times, VegWeb, Happy Cow, Food Network, VegKitchen, Budget Bytes, The Kitchn, and Oh She Glows (vegan). I could literally spend all day coughing up links to sites with loads of meat-free recipes.

Prepackaged meals are also an option. If you’re not a prolific cook, or if your recipe of choice calls for it, your local grocery store probably has oodles of boxes and frozen mixes for things like stir fry, chili, stews, soups and more that are vegetarian by default or can be made vegetarian. You can substitute vegetarian “beef” crumbles in a chili recipe that calls for meat, tofu or vegetarian “chicken” strips in a stir fry, etc.

Finally, let’s check our ingredients.

If your recipe calls for something prepackaged, or you’re buying a prepackaged meal, have a look at the ingredients list and make sure that there aren’t any non-vegetarian things lurking in there.

Protip: Don’t try to pull one over on us and assume that your vegetarian won’t know that there’s an animal product in their food. A) We might. We have lots of practice. B) That’s a dick move and just generally not nice.

If something you’re making contains ingredients that you don’t recognize (Sodium Caseinate, anyone?) a quick google search should tell you if they’re animal-derived. Happycow.net also has a great list of Animal Ingredients.

Make substitutions where necessary. Olive oil or olive oil spread can usually be substituted for butter, Agave can often be substituted for honey and almond, soy or coconut milk can usually be substituted for cow’s milk, etc. Here's a list of some common vegetarian substitutions.

The most important tip: If you're not sure, just ask your vegetarian. You know how people in other cultures are appreciative when you attempt to use their language, no matter how much you suck? Same deal. Most vegetarians will be just tickled that you’re learning to cook vegetarian food. How considerate! And if, for whatever reason, you can’t ask your vegetarian for guidance, feel free to ask me instead. I’d be glad to point you in the right direction.


Meat eaters, have you ever had to cook for a strict vegetarian? Vegetarians, how did they do? Tell me!

Lettuce Turnip the Beet wood cutout available here and veggie print available here!

You Are Cordially Invited to Like Me

Hello my smart, witty and unbelievably good looking readers!

I would like to call your attention to a few things.

Firstly, if you're on Blogger, I now have a Google Friend Connect gadget over in my left sidebar. It is very, very lonely looking at present and and I would love it if you would follow me.

<---- Right over here.

If that's not your thing, I'm also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.

That's all the things. That's enough things, right?

I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend!

Weekend Linkage: A Game of Bubs

Sup internet? This week, we did some much needed household DIYing, I made some bangin' jalapeño jelly and we celebrated a friend's bday at York's newest brewpub. Tomorrow, we're taking a wine making class, which I am absurdly excited about.

This is Bub. Bub is a girl. Bub is a real animal. Bub is the most amazing animal on the planet. {LIL BUB}

A letter to Winston Churchill from his wife.  TL;DR: "No one likes you. Stop being a dick." {Letters of Note}

#MAKEASTAND! —Vivienne is 8 years old. When she found out that slavery is still a reality in many parts of the world (and right here in the US) she decided that the best way she could help was to open a lemonade stand and raise $150,000. Obviously! Go give this girl your money. {Make a Stand Lemonade}

"Olive" is the first feature length film ever shot entirely on a smartphone. Ok, it wasn't exactly shot entirely on a smartphone. They attached lenses and stuff. But it's still pretty rad, and the movie looks super cute. Here's the trailer and the behind the scenes.

The Blandito — For those nights when you'd like to sleep inside a giant burrito. {Lost at E Minor}

Disney Princesses Re-Imagined as Women of Color — And they're way more interesting. Different facial features from Princess to Princess. Imagine that! {The Mary Sue}

Little Free Libraries are these totally adorable boxes that people build outside their homes, and people can swing by to borrow a book or leave a book. It's pretty much the best idea ever. {Little Free Library}

Why I'm Teaching My Son Manners, Even if Adults Have Given Up — I am so guilty of the head down/no eye contact blow-by when I'm tired or having a bad day. I'm not proud of it. {XOJane}

Lucy Lawless is Guest Starring on Parks and Rec — Yayayayayay! {The Mary Sue}

Game Of Thrones Houses As Cute But Ferocious Animals.

Smart Girls at the Party is Amy Poehler's feminist website and web series for girls, but frankly, I've been watching it for an hour so I can safely say that it is awesome if you're a grown woman, too. I love everything she does. Bring your daughters. {Smart Girls at the Party and Youtube}

Dragon Noodles — On the agenda for this weekend! {Budget Bytes}

Grungy Garage to Handsome Home in Bordeaux:

Have an awesome weekend!

Ginger Beach Baby

I remember a lot of things from when I was two and three years old. I use "remember" in the loosest possible sense, because the stuff I remember is mostly limited to specific scenes and moments that made an impression, and I'm not the greatest at recalling in what order the events took place. I guess that's understandable. Because I was two.

I've actually never been good at reckoning time. I can tell you who said what, where they were standing when they said it, and what tone of voice they used. But I can't tell you if they said it two weeks or two months ago. It's like my brain simply won't measure time in reverse.

So I was looking through some photos from 1985, trying to figure out which of them I actually remembered and, of the ones I remembered, which of them were the oldest. And I think it was this.

What a goober.

I don't remember what beach it was, but I remember being there with Mama Ginger. And I think that's probably when it became etched on my brain that the ocean was the biggest, most amazing thing I'd ever seen. And still, at almost thirty years old, none of that wonder has worn off. Every time I stand on a beach, I stare out over the endless expanse of the ocean and think, "Holy shit, dude."

"Holy shit, dude."

What's your earliest memory?

6 Items You Should Keep in Your Bag to Ward Off Travel Funk

Sometimes, a girl finds herself in a place where issues of personal hygiene become somewhat complicated. Whether you're kicking around third world countries or crashing at your grubby college buddy's stinky flat, there are a few items that you can keep in your purse to help to lessen the gross.

Hand sanitizer

For bathrooms with no soap, for a cut you need to sterilize, for your sticky hands after you've gorged yourself on delicious street food or when you've gone against all rational advice and played with the adorable street dog anyway... hand sanitizer. In a pinch, you can shmear a dab on your face to dry up oily skin or under your stinky pits. Just don't use too much. It's very drying.

A roll of substantial toilet paper

Travel guides will tell you that, through Westernization, most public bathrooms in India now come equipped with toilet paper. I found this to be true. What they fail to mention, however, is that it is a single ply of the thinnest, wimpiest, most ineffectual toilet paper you will ever have the misfortune of using. And if you're indulging in the aforementioned street food, it's practically certain that you're going to find yourself in a situation where that's just not good enough. You will thank your lucky stars that you packed a roll of serious business toilet paper from home.

Makeup removing wipes

Rather than trying to locate water that you'd feel safe washing with, carry a giant pack of makeup removing wipes. And guys, I know they say "make up" and "face" like right on the package, but you can use these even if you don't wear makeup, allllll over your body. Like in case you're smelling funky and need to freshen up, or if you have a horrifying bathroom situation. I like these wipes from Burt's Bees.

A travel sized stick of deodorant

Before I started travelling carry-on-only, I went to work in India and my luggage took a six-day excursion to Singapore without me. I had to try to replace my things with what was locally available. I quickly learned that they're not big on solid deodorant over there. You'll probably find an aerosol can, you might find a liquid roll-on. The more likely situation is that you will find a confused stare from the drug store clerk.

An extra pair of skivvies

During my luggage's Singaporean vacation, I found myself with only one pair of underthings and at the mercy of the hotel's laundry service. And as much as I tried to work up the nerve, I could not bring myself to hand the sheepish, adorably polite Indian laundry man my Victoria's secret thong. So instead, I washed my ladythings in the sink every night and hung them over a lamp to dry. Which they almost did by the time I needed to wear them. Almost. If you can rock it Commando, more power to you. Otherwise, bring an extra pair. Because you never know.

Talc (baby powder) and a hair tie

Skip the overpriced dry shampoo and pick up a travel sized shaker of Talc at the grocery store instead.  It works for swamp-ass from those hot, vinyl bus seats and when you've got greasy, unwashed hair, just sprinkle this directly into your hair close to the scalp and run your hands through to distribute. It's the next best thing to a proper hairwashing. When it's too dirty even for Talc to help, well, that's what the hair tie is for.

What are your non-standard must-haves for travel?

World Map Tote Bag available here!

Bonus Links: Symphony of Science

Symphony of Science is a project by musician and producer John D Boswell. His goal is to use music, in the form totally sweet remixes, to bring a little science and philosophy into your life. They're also my new Favorite Thing Ever.

Morgan Freeman, Michio Kaku, Stephen Hawking, Brian Cox, Richard Feynman, and Frank Close... This is like the NBA All-Star Rap of science jams.

The Quantum World:

The World of Dinosaurs:

The Greatest Show on Earth:

Children of Africa (the Story of Us):

Lots more on the Symphony of Science website!

Weekend Linkage: Quirky Martian Burritos

In case you've been living under a rock, I would like to inform you that we landed a thing on Mars this week, and it was OMFG AWESOME. Did you watch? I watched! I had nerd goosebumps for a mile. HIGH FIVE, SCIENCE!

Here's the important bits.

NASA Explores the Red Planet — NASA's main page for the Mars Science Laboratory Mission. {NASA}

7 Minutes of Terror — Team members share the challenges of Curiosity's final minutes to landing on the surface of Mars. Spoiler: it's intense. {NASA}

Rover Curiosity lands safely: 'Wheels down on Mars' — NASA's control room team celebrates. Look how cute they are! {LA Times}

History of Mars Exploration (in pictures) — Subtitle: Russia fails at space. A lot. {LA Times}

Ok, so here are some other things.

Undone — “Don’t worry about getting things done. Just be.” {Miss Minimalist}

Number of the Day: $3,392.77 (and counting) — 9-year-old Detroit resident starts a lemonade stand in order to raise money to help his ailing city, has crazy success. Go Joshua. {Shakesville}


Quirky Planters for Your Fall Garden — Muffin tins! I never would have thought of that. {Apartment Therapy}

To serve (wo)man burritos — The Burritob0t food printer is a project designed to explore questions regarding the food industry. And it makes a killer burrito. {Cnet}

This is What a Gender Neutral Toy Store Looks Like — Harrod's groups their toys by theme instead of gender. Looks pretty good to me. {The Mary Sue}

The Chick Fellatio: stuck in the craw — I have avoided commenting publicly on the Chick-fil-a extravaganza because ugh, barf, etc. This article nicely articulates the issue much better than I ever could. {Owldolatrous Productions}

How to Be Friends with Another Woman — If you feel like it’s hard to be friends with women, consider that maybe women aren’t the problem. Maybe it’s just you. {Roxane Gay}

10 Easy Silk Scarf Styles For Summer. Love!:


I sure do miss me some Bob Ross:


Enjoy your weekend, friends!

So You Have to Feed a Vegetarian, Part 1: Dining Out

This is Part One of a two-part series on feeding a vegetarian, where I'm showing you how to pick a vegetarian friendly restaurant. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I discuss what to do if you actually have to cook for your vegetarian.

Maybe you’re hosting an out-of-town guest. Maybe you’re taking your new Special Someone out to dinner. Maybe you’re treating the new hire at work to a getting-to-know-you friend-date.

Whatever the reason, you have been charged with feeding a vegetarian and you have no idea what to do.

Relax. I'm here to help.

I know that to an omnivore, vegetarianism can seem really complicated and restrictive. It’s not, but you’re going to need to find out a few things if you want to successfully feed your vegetarian.

First, ask some questions.

What kind of vegetarian is this person? I'm a “regular” vegetarian, the technical term for which is Ovo-lacto. I do not eat anything that was part of an animal, but I do eat dairy. Because mmm... cheese.

Some people refer to themselves as vegetarians, but they still eat fish or poultry. This isn’t really vegetariansm, but that’s a discussion for another day. These people are sometimes referred to as Pescatarians or Flexitarians.

And then there are Vegans, who do not eat meat or dairy and most avoid animal products altogether (honey and leather, for example). This is certainly the trickiest scenario, because it means you'll need to worry not only about the food, but also what it's cooked in (no butter!). Still, this is nothing to panic about.

Do they like ethnic food? Some of the best vegetarian options come from Asian cuisine. Indian restaurants especially are very vegetarian friendly, as are many Thai and Chinese restaurants. Even sushi restaurants typically have a few rolls that are vegan. Find out if your dinner companion has any special affinity or aversion to any kind of cuisine.

Next, look at some menus.

Jump online and google up menus for some local restaurants, or check out Happycow.net and see if there are any listings for any veg-friendly eateries in your town. I have walked into dozens upon dozens of restaurants sight unseen and have literally never in fifteen years of vegetarianism had a situation where I could not find something to eat. But since you’re trying to be a super considerate dinner companion and make sure their choices are actually good, do your homework and make sure the places you’re considering have a few promising options.

A lot of restaurants today have several menu items that are already vegetarian, if not a whole section of the menu. If they don’t, look to see what they have that can be easily vegetarianized.  Don't be afraid to ask for a change to something on the menu. There are almost certainly items where the meat can be left out or substituted for a vegetable.

For example: I ate with friends a few weeks ago at restaurant near the beach. The place specializes in seafood and literally the only non-meat options were fried appetizers. Luckily, they had a black bean burrito that came with chicken and a delicious mix of vegetables. I asked them to leave out the chicken and add some extra beans and veggies. They were happy to oblige and it was bangin’. They also took a few dollars off the bill because what I was asking for was a cheaper meal. Protip: Vegetarians are cheap dates.

If you want to be really thorough, call the restaurant and ask to speak to someone about their menu. Hopefully this will be the Chef, but you may end up speaking to a host or server. Be very specific about what you’re asking, and if they can’t seem to help, ask to speak to a Chef or Manager. Most people in the food industry will understand you, but you don’t want to leave anything to chance.

For example: “My friend and I would like to have dinner at your restaurant. He’s a vegan, so he doesn’t eat any meat or dairy products. Is there anything on your menu that you could recommend to us?”

Any Chef or Manager worth their salt will be glad to make suggestions or offer substitutions to fit their guests needs. Afterall, they’re business people and they want you to have a great meal so that you come back. If you run into someone who stonewalls you and offers no help, no sweat. Just tell them to have a nice day and move on to the next restaurant on your list.

So you've picked a restaurant? Awesome! Run it by your vegetarian and watch them be overwhelmed by how incredibly thoughtful you are.

If you're a meat eater, have you ever had to choose a veg-friendly restaurant for a friend? If you're a vegetarian, are you constantly amazed that people think this is hard? Tell me!

Vintage labels available here and cute vintage Valentine available here!

10 Desert Island Foods - Because stressing over worst-case scenarios is kind of my hobby

If you were stranded on a desert island and could choose only ten foods to eat for the rest of your life, what would they be?

First of all, internet, this is a stupid question. I watched LOST, so obviously I know exactly what goes on when people are stranded on islands. Polar bears, that's what. You know what doesn't happen? Someone doesn't come by and take your lunch order.

But even though the prospect of eating only ten things forever and ever is completely horrifying, I'll play along, because I love food and thinking about food and writing lists of foods. I'm interpretting "ten foods" to mean ten individual foods. Which is why I didn't choose Pizza.

1. Avocados

Everything is better with avocado. Salad? Check. Sandwich? Check. Nachos? Check. Burrito? Check. Mash 'em and smear 'em on toast or just shove whole chunks into your greedy face. It's all good.

2. Sweet potatoes

The sweet potato is not only a nutritional powerhouse. It's also my favorite tuber, and I'm a girl who loves her tubers. They are also, like the avocado, perfect for mashing and smearing on other things. Need comfort food? Butter two pieces of whole wheat bread and shmear a mashed sweet potato in between. WALLA! Sadness sandwich.

3. Black Beans

There is definitely a pattern here. If you can mash a food and smear it on another food, I'll probably eat it. Black beans are amazing.

4. Quinoa

Pronounced "Keen-wah", this stuff is like rice but with actual nutritional value. It has a ton of protein and makes an awesome base on which you can pile any other delicious things.

5. Flour

Because you can make a tortilla with only flour and water. See what I did there? With 1 through 4, I just built a burrito. Ha!

6. Blueberries

I think I've mentioned that, when given the opportunity, I will shovel fistfuls of blueberries into mah face like it's mah job. Also, antioxidants. Yay!

7. Almonds

Protein! Dietary fiber! B vitamins! Plus, they're tasty and will (usually, mostly, kind of) sate your craving for chocolate.

8. Dark Chocolate

Duh. In case the almonds aren't good enough.

9. Romaine Lettuce

Ok, I know this sounds boring but hear me out. Combined with avocados, blueberries, black beans or almonds, I could make for a pretty bangin' salad, and it would be pretty nutritious. Eh? Ehhhh?

10. Bellavitano Cheese

If I were to teach a class on "Fancy Cheese for the Everyday Dudeperson," the first lesson would be entitled "Bellavitano Cheese - Go Get Some Right Now." I have had the wine and balsamic rubbed varieties and they are both knee-weakening and, as far as fancy things go, totally priced for the cheapskate.

Bonus Item: Vodka

I realize there are no mixers on this list, but I stand by my decision. For being stranded on an island with only 10 other things to eat, I think I've earned this.

What are your top ten desert island noms?

Uhhhhmazing Quinoa, Avocado & Sweet Potato Timbale recipe available here!

Seattle Children's Brings "Cat Immersion" to Maga... And I'm a Little Jealous!

Seattle Children's apparently have some super awesome people on staff. When one of their patients was missing her kitty, they enlisted the help of their Facebook fans and created this great cat tent (with bonus purring!) to help her feel a bit better.

"Maga is a cat-loving teen patient with cancer at Seattle Children's Hospital. She's had to be in the hospital many times, and during her stays what she misses most is her own cat Merry. We asked our Facebook fans to share their favorite cat photos with us, and got an awesome response -- 3,000+ photos! We used these pictures to create this "cat immersion" for Maga -- an audio/visual experience to bring thousands of "virtual" cats to Maga's room."

 

I am slightly (very) jealous of your Cat Immersion Tent, Maga, and I hope you feel better soon!

Weekend Linkage: Get Thee to the Red Planet

Up until today I was pretty sure that this week would never end. But! Boyfriend's birthday is this weekend, so we're doing some delicious din-din and we bought a case of fancy beer. Also, I got him this! Lots of exciting homebrewing adventures in our future!

Gabby Douglas becomes the first woman of color to take home Gold in the gymnastics all-around competition — This girl is a badass. She flies, dude. {Clutch} and {Feministing}

Olympic Weightlifter Zoe Smith Tells Sexist Trolls to STFU — Eff yeah, lady! {Feministing}

5 Stupid Things You Do in Social Media — Solid advice! Of course, I know you're not doing these things, because my readers are much too savvy for that. {Make a Living Writing}

Don't Forget: We're Landing a Thing on Mars This Weekend — And here's Wil Wheaton and William Shatner to tell you allllll about it. {The Mary Sue}

Here's some perspective for you: 

"I was watching some Olympic highlights this morning when a Canadian swimmer said something like "swimming again after a bad race is the hardest thing in the world." I turned to my kid and said, "You know what is hard? Working in a coal mine. That is hard. Being hungry. That is hard. Swimming a race is hardly "the hardest thing in the world."" I think sport is great. It can teach wonderful skills, build confidence, and provides an outlet for all kinds of things. But one needs to keep this in perspective."

Your quote of the day about penises and vaginas comes courtesy of George R. R. Martin — And he makes an excellent point about the way our culture views sex and violence. {BoingBoing}

Threadcakes 2012 — Kittens! On a Copy machine! On a cake! {Cake Wrecks}

The Free Lunch Movement — We've all gotten one at least once. Yes, everyone. {The Art of Non-Conformity}

Traveling + Long-Distance Friends + Gold-Medal Caliber Packing — Way envious of Sarah's elite packing skills. I pack the same amount of stuff for only a week! {Yes and Yes}

Minimalist Hobbies — Because I'm always looking for things to do that don't come with 8 metric tons of paraphernalia. {Miss Minimalist}

9 Steps to Arranging a Well-Organized Kitchen — Can't say I agree with the "Buy two of everything" bit, but the rest is good advice. {Apartment Therapy}

This appears to be a really amazing movie that will be at least 12 hours long:

Guys, this pygmy goat is a total dick. I mean, really cute, but definitely a dick:

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

Sweet Brewing Process print available here.