Utter Failures

I love Christmas. Since I was a kid I love everything about it. However, because my younger (middle) sister Sarah has asthma, we couldn't get a real tree growing up. Of course I got over it, but I did miss out on the scent of pine in the house. When I got my own place, I knew every year I would have a real tree in my home. For 3 years I did. And then... the fail. This year, it seems like Thanksgiving was later... and then BOOM it's Christmas right away. Time got away from me. I've been really busy, and Jeremy has been working long hours trying to finish the lighting for a home so the owners can be in it for Christmas.All that to say, we made the difficult decision to skip the Christmas tree this year. Fail. I didn't do away with all decorating though. We have a little Christmas cheer. If you know me well, you know I absolutely adore Peanuts comics and have collected memorabilia since I was little. Hence, our Christmas tree this year is a Cha

by: Alicia Anderson My husband wanted a sonic screwdriver that he could use as a functional pen-light.  He uses pen-lights to check people’s pupils on the ambulance, so it had to have certain features: Useful: Bright, white pen-light lightbulb Long-term: Replaceable bulb/batteries Safe: Not going to poke anyone’s eyes out The fourth requirement for this light was that it also had to be within my budget. I am buying him some reasonably expensive stuff this year, so “free and or cheap” was also ideal. Before we get started, you need to know what sonic screwdrivers are supposed to look like. They are devices that are frequently used by the Doctor on the BBC television series, Doctor Who. Like the actors who play the Doctor and the control room of the TARDIS, the screwdriver goes through changes and iterations over time.  Here's one:  Particularly the most recent, 11th Doctor’s (played by Matt Smith) There is no such thing as a usable pen-l

This is less a post about failing, although I certainly had those moments. It's just something I'm sharing. I hope it helps someone in some way. It started back in May of 2011. Around the time of this picture on the lake. I randomly started having trouble breathing and realized I was coughing a lot. Of course, working at WebMD, I began a long process of self-diagnosing. (Something I try to never do now.) My symptoms seemed to point to asthma, although I imagined a dozen worse scenarios. The doctor thought it could be severe allergies so he gave me some medications to try. It didn't help.  I went back and he gave me an asthma test. It did not indicate asthma but did show some improvement in breathing with a breathing treatment, so he put me on inhaled steroids and a rescue inhaler. That did seem to help a bit... but when I say a bit, I really mean that. It was minimal improvement. I spent the whole summer barely able to breathe and unable to be outside for more than

By: Sarah Munne I'm a newlywed and a first year teacher. I don't have a lot of classroom decor, but I try to be creative instead of spending a lot of money for bulletin board supplies. I'm not complaining! I just want to set the scene for what you are about to see.  Back in October, I was spending my free hour browsing Pinterest for a DIY Christmas tree for my classroom. I wasn't about to tell my husband that I needed to buy TWO Christmas trees this year. I really couldn't find what I wanted, so I combined a few ideas and came up with this concept drawn on a post-it note.  I was so excited! All I needed was some spray paint and some fishing wire! Way to go, Sarah. You are so frugal and creative. Your husband and students and fellow teachers will be in awe! Welp, I spent hours measuring and cutting cardboard, spray painting them in compatible green colors, and generally feeling very proud of myself. Today, Josh and I went to hang this Christma

I'll let the video do the talking today. Ah leaves, my arch nemesis. Intro: Leaves: P.S. I do not know how to rotate this video. Sorry. Consider that another fail.

A lot of you have probably already seen this flop. Still worth a watch. In my defense, ... well, I don't know. Just watch it.

I'm not obsessive about things being in certain spots and all lined up a la Adrian Monk, but I do usually keep things sanitary and mostly tidy. My home is comfortable and, I hope, welcoming! Now, Jeremy and I do differ on some preferences here. He likes things to be in their proper place, straight, organized, lined up. I like things to be mostly there. This has led to certain interesting discussions over the years. "Um, why is your purse on the couch?" "Oh, because I just put it there when I got home." "Is that where it goes?" "?" *picks up purse and places in bedroom "But now I can't get to it easily." *stares Now on this particular issue, we've reached an agreement. I put my purse on the floor in the living room out of the way. It's not in our room, but neither is it on the couch. There are other fun discussions I could post, but I digress. Let's discuss how somehow this week has just gotten away from

This will be a post of rambling. It's something I've thought about though, and I think it's weird. I'm weird, I know that, but I wonder if anyone else has issues like this. It's nothing huge. It's just that I get really uncomfortable when I'm at an event where someone is performing live or when I'm watching a reality-type competition show. Let's preface by saying I don't like reality TV. I watched the first season of Survivor and that was it. I don't find the topics enjoyable or even interesting for the most part. But the problem I'm talking about is different. I actually get very nervous watching reality TV. Like, I get anxious. I do the same with competition shows. Again, I usually don't even enjoy those, with the exception of my favorite show FaceOff . But I actually get physically anxious watching shows like American Idol, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Biggest Loser, etc. I also have this problem when I'm at a restauran

This post wouldn't be possible without my dear, sweet husband who, since we met, has delighted in taking pictures of me while I sleep. Jeremy then rejoices in posting these pictures to Facebook. What a blessing. I look like a derp when I sleep. It's hard to explain. Let's just take a look, shall we?