All posts by Nichole

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Friday links!

  • One of the first things that drew me to McSweeneys were the Reviews of New Food. Scroll down for the review of Dwight Yoakam’s Chicken Fries.
  • Simple Mom has a great list of Twaddle-Fre Books for Preschoolers. After reading this, I pulled out our copy of “The World of Pooh” and started reading it to the kids while the played.
  • I always get a kick out of it when the Fug Girls provide “transcripts” for the photos they feature. The JLo chronicles are some of my favorites.
  • Carol at A Second Cup made me think (and scared me silly) in Vision for the Future.
  • The Inhabitots make really cool silhouette T-shirt.
  • Linda at All & Sundry shares a few things she’s learned about diet and fitness. She’s whipped herself into incredible shape over the last few years, so I’m going to take what she has to say about this subject pretty seriously. One thing in particular really struck me: “It feels amazing to treat your body like a partner instead of an enemy.”
  • The daughter of Mark Rothko discusses the art cheats who betrayed her father. It’s a sad story.
  • Martha Stewart wants to see your blog! She’s having a contest. The prize? A review of your blog! Kind of an odd prize, but it’s sort of neat anyway.
    • Prayer

    Save Lori's house

    Three years ago, Lori Hall Steele and her son watched “Bambi.” The ensuing conversations prompted the freelance writer to pen an essay, which was published in June in the Washington Post. In it, her little boy asks, “Will you look after me when I’m a grown-up?”

    On the morning after his fourth birthday, Jack waits for an answer. There’s so much that can happen in this beautiful, crazy, too-mortal planet, and I know truth and its consequences are too much for a child. For my child. For this moment. He will learn the whole truth in time; he will learn that life is as capricious as it is constant. For now I want him to return safely to Neverland.

    I tell him I’ll always be here for him, one way or another. Always always always. Just like my mother is here for me. Just like I was there when he was 3. It is an impossible promise, a gamble with his trust. I secretly pray I don’t let him down, not on this.

    Lori had this talk with Jack and wrote this essay before she was diagnosed with ALS. Jack is 7 now, and his mom’s in the hospital. She’s on a ventilator and unable to work. She’s a single mom, and the bank is about to foreclose on their house.

    Please go to Save Lori’s House to learn more and, if you’re able, to help save Lori and Jack’s home.

    Domestic Blitz

    Let the free samples come to you

    Works for Me Wednesday logo

    I get a ton of free stuff in the mail. Over the last six months or so, we’ve gotten everything from toilet paper to household cleaners to snack mix in the mail. I love free stuff. Especially when it’s good stuff!

    So why are these companies sending me their products? Because I signed up to be a BzzAgent. I was a little hesitant at first — surely it had to be a scam! But it doesn’t seem to be. They send me the occasional goody, I tell a few people about it. That’s it. Oh, and as I try the new stuff and tell people about it? I accumulate points to trade in for more free stuff.

    It’s addictive, really.

    Want to give it a shot? You can sign up at their site, or if you’re feeling generous you can leave me your email address and I’ll have them send you an invitation.

    Visit Rocks in My Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday tips!