LMNOP

[I'm in Costa Rica on vacation until the 25th, but here's one of my favorite sites for you to visit if you're bored.  Check back Monday for another fun link.]

Etsy is like the hand-crafted version of eBay--just a bunch of people selling their crafts and other handmade items.  We're not just talking about crocheted oven mitts, either; you can get everything from candles and soaps to cool jewelry, clothes, and even stuff for your pets.  Etsy is THE place to get cool, quirky, cleverly-designed stuff, and if you make just one purchase there you will be addicted forever.

I bought many things on Etsy in recent months (like this, this and these), and all have them shipped extremely fast and were packaged beautifully.  Here are some recommendations to get you started on your own Etsy addiction:

• Monogram cuff by Katie Q033, $28
• OMG Robots pouch by splityarn, $10
• Owl wall graphic by oneupdesigns, $15
• Portobello stripe dog collar by FidosFashionCollars, $11:50
• Let's Just Sit Here Together for Awhile print by laurageorge, $20
• Cantaloupe lime and wasabi soap by adorationsoap, $2.50
• Do You Ever Think We're Starting to Look Alike print by ashleyg, $20

[I'm in Costa Rica on vacation until the 25th, but here's one of my favorite sites for you to visit if you're bored.  Check back tomorrow for another fun link.]

BuzzFeed is a great little site that tracks interesting topics and trends throughout this crazy Internet of ours.  It's edited by humans, not some algorithm or something, which means that each entry is accompanied by a little blurb of contextual info and a set of hand-picked links.

How do I know Buzzfeed is relevant, accurate, and of-the-moment?  Well, they've linked to me a handful times, so they must be doing something right.

In five hours I will head to the airport for a delicious 9-day trip to Costa Rica.  While there, I will be relaxing a LOT.  Even more than I usually do.

Although I lacked the wherewithal to write nine posts in advance of my departure, I wanted to keep the site at least somewhat updated in my absence, so I've come up with a quarter-assed solution.  While I'm on my heavenly tour of Costa Rica, this blog will present you with a (decidedly less-fun) tour of the Internet.  For each day of my vacay, I've scheduled a brief post linking to one of my favorite websites, along with a description of what it is and why I like it.

See you when I get back!

4th of July weekend

Softball team pics

Doug's birthday

Also, I finally got Photoshop on this computer and as a result was able, at long last, to update the banner at the top of the page.  Hallelujah!!

Seriously?  Get a dog.  They're fun.

My whole family spent the long Independence Day weekend at the beach, which means Pancake got his first taste of the good life.  However, he was pretty suspicious of sand--

--And even more suspicious of waves.

So, after several unsuccessful attempts to coax him into the ocean, we accepted the fact that it was Not Going to Happen, and instead went to play in a big, somewhat nasty, puddle-y area further up the beach.  This murky puddle was where I took one of my new favorite pictures of Ben and Pancake:

Um, totally my new desktop background at work.

Those who do not click on the World's Saddest Pug link will be punished.

• These pictures of the World's Saddest Pug were by far the best thing I saw all week
• Apparently losing your sense of smell is a lot worse than you would think.
  
• Best graphic ever?
• Video of a Family Guy episode being recorded
  
• This Candy Bar Identification Quiz was harder than I thought it would be.  I got 14/20--that's barely a C!
• TTM
  
• Site that compares "based on a true story" movies to the actual true stories behind them.  From the Hoosiers writeup: "In the film, Coach Norman Dale is hired to replace a well-liked Coach who dies . . . In real life, Coach Marvin Wood was hired the previous season to replace Coach Herman "Snort" Grinstead, who was fired for ordering new uniforms against the superintendent's orders."
• Nine facts you may not know about the Statue of Liberty
• The girl who played Curly Sue has a band
• Really cool illusion

Hasta la Monday!

Just this morning, less than a day after posting this, I received an e-mail advertisement containing the following:

Lipsticks with QUANTUM PHYSICS ENERGY.  Awesome.

Am I the only one who hates product advertisements boasting "space age" technology?  Hello: the space age was the '60s. Unless you are advertising 40-year-old technology, find a new adjective. (If you are advertising 40-year-old technology, find a new product.)

Actually, I am not a huge fan in general of advertisements that throw scientific words around in the hopes of making a product sound better. Unfortunately, the cosmetics industry happens to be one of the biggest sinners in this department, and lately it's been even more ridiculous than usual.  Just walking through the aisles of Sephora now requires knowledge of terminology I haven't heard since AP Bio; it wouldn't surprise me to learn that their employee training now includes a Lab credit.

Here are some lines from product descriptions on Sephora.com:

"It's nutrient-packed with 60 bio minerals (including energizing gold), and a breakthrough Invisiskin™ technology that delivers time-released antioxidants, peptides, and brighteners to perfect your complexion." (product)

" . . . offers a unique fiber technology that combines silky-smooth building fibers and long extending fibers to instantly extend and lengthen lashes." (product)

 

"An extraordinary age-fighting moisture cream that has it all, including MMP Inhibitors, Wrinkle Reduction Peptides, Visual Facial Fillers, Cellular Respiration Boosters, Hyperdermal Destressors, 7-Day Hydrators, Barrier Repairing Ceramides, Wrinkle Relaxers, Multifruit Complex, and Vitazyme A." (product)

"Cutting-edge adaptogen technology fortifies skin . . ." (product)

Bio minerals?  Vitazyme A?  Adaptogen technology?  Clearly that's all bullshit, and frankly I'd rather believe that I don't need that much technology going into my makeup.  Am I so ugly that the only face cream that can help me is NASA-engineered and certified by Nobel Prize-winning chemists?  I would like to think things have not gotten that bad.  And if I ever do become so unattractive that such products are the only thing that can mitigate my ugliness--well, maybe that's when it's time to give up.

All you need to entertain yourself tonight: 50 pictures of animals squished against glass.