Oh, Internet... {75}

It's naptime on a Saturday- the perfect time for Mommy to catch up on her blog reading.  Here are some of the best things that happened on the internet this week:

I quite literally laughed out loud at this // *by XKCD*

Shayla shared a beautiful reflection on gardening and life over on Northern Exposure.  This was pretty timely for me, as lately I've been struggling with the need to better provide for my family, and stressing out because it's just not happening fast enough.  Perhaps I should take a deep breath and just grow where I'm planted.

Hallowe'en is right around the corner, which means it's time to blow the dust off my sewing machine and whip up some costumes.  So of course, I'm getting distracted by all sorts of awesomely simple crafting tutorials on the internet...

My little one loves wearing skirts, but she needs to wear shorts underneath.  Enter: this tutorial on Make It and Love It for a simple skirt with shorts attached.  Freaking.  Genius.

Also on Make It and Love It: this elastic bookmark with a big adorable bow!  I know several ladies who would probably appreciate this as a Christmas present...better get to sewing!

Bean in Love (who, by the way, was on the cover of Mobile Bay magazine, what??) shared this genius solution for a temporary change-up to a lamp shade.  (Spoiler alert: it involves elastic.)

And finally, the single best thing that happened on the internet this week (well, for me, anyway):

Catholic All Year shared an absolutely incredible post on How to Raise Good Little Catholics.  If anybody reading this blog is looking for gift ideas for my daughter's birthday and/or Christmas, literally any of the things Kendra links to in this post would be welcome.  Any of them.  (All of them!)

So what happened on your internet this week?

Much love,
The Geeks

Wordless Wednesday: Celebrations

throwback to this little girl's Minnie Mouse 1st birthday party

Today I'm linking up over at Focused on the Magic for the Wordless Wednesday Disney blog hop!  Today's theme is Celebrations.  Way back in November, we threw a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party for somebody's 1st birthday.  It was quite the celebration!  Click the button below to join in on the blog hop!

 

Much love,

The Geeks 

Breaking Up With Kate

Last year on my birthday, Mr Geek got me a watch, which he let me pick out.  I asked you to help me decide between a metal Betsey Johnson watch and a leather-and-vinyl Kate Spade watch.  Y'all picked the Kate, so I went for it.

Within a month, the vinyl design on the leather band started to peel.

it's supposed to be black with tan polka dots

I decided that the next time I bought a watch, I'd avoid a leather band and just stick with all metal.

This year, for Mother's Day, Mr Geek surprised me with a new watch- another Kate Spade, this time a tortoiseshell and gold band.  We had to take it to a jewelry store to get a link removed so it would stay on my narrow little wrists, but that's pretty normal for me.

And then, as if on cue, after a month, it started to fall apart.  It's a little difficult to see in the below photo, but one of the pieces that attaches the watch face to the band pops up from time to time.  I can always pop it back, and it will stay put for a while, but inevitably it will pop back off again and expose a rather sharp edge.

The metal bit on top of the watch face keeps coming undone

I'm not particularly rough on my jewelry.  I work a normal desk job, I don't get my hands dirty on a regular basis.  Whenever I do need to work on my car or do the dishes or give Chief a bath, I take off my jewelry.  More importantly, I've owned much cheaper watches from non-"luxury" brands that lasted years without falling apart.

Clearly, with these watches, we weren't paying for quality, we were just paying for the name.

I don't think I'll be paying for this name ever again on any other clothing or accessories.

Has a favorite brand ever disappointed you?

Much love,
The Geeks

Oh, Internet... {74}

Yeah so I didn't blog at all this week.  Oops.

But lots of other people blogged this week!  And they wrote things that are way more interesting than anything I could come up with anyway :-P  So check 'em out!

Kendra at Catholic All Year talked about things she doesn't do with her newborns (anymore).  I really think our culture has turned pregnancy and child-rearing into cute hobbies or fun status-symbols as opposed to, you know, life, and as such, we've made it into a high-maintenance exercise full of specific do's and don't's that just don't fit every family.  They say babies don't come with instruction manuals; in reality, there are thousands of manuals out there, and it can be overwhelming to pick the right one, so it's refreshing to hear that you really can just write the book yourself.

Better than Eden gave some wonderful tips about breastfeeding she's picked up in her 8 years of practice.  I think the major takeaway here is, once again, books and doctors and the internet can provide you with a wealth of information, but you have to figure out what's right for your child.

Carrots for Michaelmas hit the nail on the head yet again when she wrote about how you should totally take your kids to places where you're not supposed to take kids- because children are people, too.

A Knotted Life talked about why she is a Mrs Mom and not a First Name Mom and it really made me pause and think.  Growing up, my mom was sometimes Mrs LastName and sometimes Ms FirstName depending on the context (my friends from school tended to call her Mrs and she introduced herself as Ms FirstName as a Girl Scout leader and band mom) and I think that when Chief is in school, I'd like her friends to call me Mrs Geek (well, you know, my real name).  Right now, at daycare, all of the teachers are Miss FirstName and so it's sort of easy to stick with that naming convention- I've introduced Chief to my friends by their first names, because that's what I call them in her presence.  But they don't seem to enforce the honorific at school, so she calls her teachers Amy and Stephanie and Trina and Cathy (well, Amy and Samedi and Tweena and Caddy) and I really do think it's important to show respect to these adults by at least adding the Miss at the front.  I think I'm going to make more of an effort with the way I introduce Chief to people (although my friends don't seem to care and would probably be a tad weirded out by having a toddler call them Mrs, even if that is how they've chosen to be known as married women).

And then on the not=baby-related-front:

When's the last time I raved about Jamie at Petite Panoply?  I feel like I don't do that enough... (I mean seriously her hair.  It's like I need a little eyedropper tool in real life so I can just steal her exact hair color and plop it on my head.)

A Beautiful Mess talked about the purchases and decor in their various houses that they have no regrets about- since it's easy to have regrets when making bold decorating choices.  I cannot wait until we buy a house (you know, a century from now, when we can afford it) so we can make our own bold decorating choices...

What awesome things did you read on the internet this week?

Much love,
The Geeks

Oh, Internet... {73}

I'm sitting here on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon when there are chores waiting for me that are not going to do themselves...

But first I wanted to share with you some of the best things I found on the internet this week:

A Beautiful Mess shared a simple and delicious buttermilk biscuit recipe.

A Pinch of Pixie Dust made me want to stay at the Yacht Club Resort in Walt Disney World next time we go...

Kaelah Bee looks adorable, as always.

And most importantly: Catholic All Year wrote everything you need to know about Cecil the lion and moral relativism.

Much love,
The Geeks