Can you believe that August is nearly upon us? There are loads of great reads coming to a bookstore (or reading device!) near you and I'd love to see what you're most excited about reading. Barnes & Noble has a good list to begin with. It features several favorites, including Stephen King, and there's bound to be something of interest there.
If you're a parent who owns a million toddler games but nothing suitable for grown-up game night, have you ever thought about using your kids' games for fun with your own friends? It can get pretty hilarious and you would never expect how much fun is possible by playing Twister or Connect Four with your friends.
Plenty of us have bad or even nonexistent growing years. I know I have years where I'm just too busy to plant and I end up doing the bare minimum--a few easy veggies like tomatoes and peppers, maybe some cucumbers. Even if you're having one of those years (like me!) there's still plenty of time to get in on some fast-growing crops if you plant by August!
It's same old, same old when we see another frog species listed as endangered or gone forever these days and it breaks my heart. I'm sure it does the same to yours. That's why news like this makes me giddy: the Eastern Spadefoot is getting a new home that will hopefully change its status from being endangered to a more stable condition.
There's thankfully no shortage of indie Grateful Dead products on the market these days so we can always be kept in style, but there are also lots of corporate pairings of The Dead with various companies. Levi's is releasing a new Grateful Dead collection featuring several different designs featuring the band's most well-known looks.
Sweet tooth cravings can be satisfied so sweetly at Sweet Mickey's in Seattle, where you can get homemade fudge and other goodies. They have so many flavors of fudge to try, from plain fudge to praline, peanut butter, chocolate sea salt caramel and many other delightful combinations!
While it's been years since I've seen an episode of South Park, the other day I ended up running across one and I remembered how much I loved it in my 20s. I think the sheer ridiculousness of it speaks to me; people are destroyed in one episode only for it to not even be mentioned in another, everything is completely absurd while still giving relevant social commentary, and sometimes it's just so surprising that you can't help but laugh.
My teen and I are setting up our annual learning goals and last night we discussed what types of literature we'd like to do. We are thinking of doing a poetry unit for the second semester and got a little lost in a theme discussion. There really are too many themes to just pick one so we are even thinking of doing a different theme each month.
Some are calling it smart business, but to many of us it's really just low behavior, especially in a pandemic. People are making a huge profit by buying all of a store's stock of hot items and reselling them online at much higher prices. This is especially popular with Halloween goods, which are rolling out right now. Many stores are already out of their hottest items on day one after people buy them up.
Every day I read about current events and racist issues in America in the Anti-Racism Daily email. You can subscribe and learn so much every day--including ways to take action. This email included information about civil forfeiture, which occurs when police seize property and then either keep or sell it. This happens all of the time, even when someone isn't charged for a crime, and results in much more property loss than generic shoplifting, yet we let them get away with it.
Snacking may or may not be helpful depending on your personal needs and fitness goals, but it sure is fun to do, isn't it? Finding a great crunchy snack can be difficult depending on those factors as well as personal tastes, but I ran across these Daily Crunch snacks that I thought we should check out.
Blueberries might be a superfood on their own, but they're also an easy way to add some tartfully good flavor to your drinks. For me, they almost always have to be paired with lemon to make the perfect flavor combination, but there are lots of other fun ways to implement blueberries into cocktails, smoothies and teas.
In a state like mine where far fewer than half the population is getting vaccinated, it's just as important as ever to mask up and protect yourselves and your fellow neighbors. Back when I got vaccinated I remember feeling such a relief--until the CDC announced that you could go mask-free if you got the vaccine. I knew most people in my state were already not listening to mask orders, so why would that change anything? The sudden feeling of almost-okayness evaporated with the order lifts.
Peanut butter lovers may want to check out the latest Blizzard from DQ. The REESE's Extreme Blizzard is hailed as Dairy Queen's "most extreme Blizzard yet." It's not only made with peanut butter cups, but it also contains REESE's Pieces candies as well as a peanut butter topping. To give it even more flavor, it also features a chocolate topping.
If you're one of the people who really missed Starbucks's S'mores Frappucino this year, I'm right there with you. I loved the new Strawberry Funnel Cake one but I definitely missed the S'mores. Starbucks just released a bunch of this fall's drinks and it sounds like those of us who love chocolate drinks might have another disappointment on the horizon: the replacement of the Salted Caramel Mocha with the new Apple Crisp Macchiato. Man.
For years Millennials have heard that we're going to be the first generation that's not better off than the previous generation. On the surface I'd argue that's so not true, and that we're much better off--in some ways, at least--than the feudal generations of Europe. But if you compare us with the past 100 generations, I'd have to agree, at least in many respects. Our generation has more acceptance, diversity and equity than previous generations did, after all, and I think Gen Z will only improve that aspect of our lives.
Have you heard of the game Wayfinder? It's a beautiful game filled with luminous imagery and pieces of poems. Players are meant to collect the pieces in short gaming sessions to build the poems and complete them, which is such a great idea! The only game I can remember that's like it is that creepy Layers of Fear one where you find notes around the house that lead you to how some guy painted his partner's death. This one is definitely more beautiful and calming.
Like South Park and The Simpsons, Family Guy has a myriad of products up for grabs based on the show. From koozies to fuzzy dice, t-shirts to action figures, you can find just about anything themed with the Griffin family and their neighbors. There's never a shortage of Family Guy products to choose from, which comes in handy during birthdays and holidays.
The chytrid fungus has been around for a while. It was discovered back in 1993 and since then it has wiped out at least 90 populations of frogs. This deadly fungus, which causes Chytridiomycosis in amphibians, has also resulted in the dwindling populations of many other species, making it a pandemic for frogs. The fact that it's still raging is so concerning, especially given how many frogs have been rendered extinct because of this fungus.
Hopefully you didn't get your hopes up thinking we were discussing an actual ghost that haunts Cracker Barrel stores! In all of my Halloween and gothic decorating groups, the Cracker Barrel ghost is the rage right now. It's a resin ghost holding a lantern and while I think it's cute, it's not my favorite item by far. It's sold out just about everywhere, which doesn't bode well for those of us who are looking for Halloween deals.
