Doesn't this just max out your cuteness meter?

There are certain things that just max out my cuteness meter. Certain things almost always engage my "Awwwww" factor: Animals in Human Clothes

Pitbull Puppies (and all puppies)

Babies with Animals 

Close-up shots of animals

Children in costumes

I guess you can say my cuteness preferences can be boiled down to children and animals lol.

What gets your cuteness meter maxed out?

Stop Being Derailed by E-mail and Get Productive

E-mail is an every day party of life. I don't know many people who go a day without checking their e-mail, and most people check it at least once an hour, even on the go with their smartphones. In most cases, people feel like checking their e-mail when they begin work in the morning is a part of productivity, but it can also completely derail you from your tasks. One click leads to another, and you're working on a project that you meant to work on after a more pressing project, or you've found your way onto social media, shopping websites, or just have gotten completely distracted. 
Yes, there are things in our inbox that need attending to, but I feel like we need to break away from the inbox to actually get more work done. I've decided to STOP checking my e-mail first thing when I get to the office. Instead, I take an index card, write down things that MUST be completed in that day, work on those first, then check e-mail, which will undoubtedly add more items to my to-do list. This way, I know I'm getting things done that I need to get done, before working on whatever needs have sprung up over night. 

I got this index card idea from Rosetta at Happy Black Woman who suggested this technique for being productive every day. Combining the index card list, with not checking e-mail right off, is helping me get more done and stay focused. 
How often do you check your e-mail?

Complete 30 Before 30 List

Alright, I've done it! I have completed the MAKING of my 30 Before 30 List! Now, full speed ahead to crossing things off: 
1. Pick fruit at an orchard 2. Elaborately decorate a pumpkin for my porch 3. Zip line 4. Horse-back ride 5. Visit my best friend from high school in Massachusetts 6. Grow something edible in my garden 7. Spend 30 days developing a good habit 8. Wear a crop top, in public 9. Host a dress up dinner party 10. Take a graphic design class 11. Meet a blogger I haven't met yet - COMPLETE 11/8/13! I met the lovely Lorelei of Suggestivetongue 12. Get my license 13. Visit a restaurant from Diners Drive-ins and Dives 14. Play a home game of Chopped 15. Make a really decorative cake or cupcakes 16. Go shopping and recreate a whole outfit I found on Pinterest 17. Become a paper towel-less household 18. Play a video game until sunrise then go to sleep 19. Complete a juice cleanse 20. Have a pottery party 21. Make a vision board 22. Have a professional photoshoot with friends 23. Dress my dog up for Halloween 24. Have a Halloween costume with extensive makeup. 25. Journal every day for a month 26. Go to a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York 27. Go to Philly's Thanksgiving Parade 28. Volunteer somewhere 29. Have blowup Christmas decorations in my yard 30. Try a manicure with pointy nails *Bonus* 31. Blog every day for 30 days

Hello December, Thanksgiving Recap

Doesn't it seem like November just started? It feels like Halloween was just a couple weeks ago. December is HERE. Christmas is just around the corner!
Thanksgiving went extremely well. I don't think I could have asked for a better day. I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade while making breakfast. Once the parade was over my mom and I got to cooking. Everything came out GREAT and around the same time thanks to my spreadsheet. 
Table: 

Food: 

Now it's full speed ahead to Christmas, which is very exciting. I'm doing pretty well with my Christmas shopping and looking forward to more food, fun and festivities with the people I love. 

My Tree (thanks Pinterest): 

How was your Thanksgiving?
Are you ready for the Christmas season?

Thanksgiving Dinner in a Spreadsheet

Well, it's three years since my first Thanksgiving and I'm moving into the big leagues. By big leagues I mean cooking Thanksgiving dinner for someone other than just my husband and I. I'm actually REALLY excited about being able to spend the day in the kitchen cooking with my mom and having a nice group of people around the table. 
The menu has been fluctuating all week, but I think we've finalized it. I have this thing about really, really liking my food to be hot/warm, and everything being done around the same time. It's not the same experience when everyone has to heat their food up in the microwave before the feast begins. For the first time, I've needed a SPREADSHEET to help plot out Thanksgiving dinner. Both for the timing, and to take inventory of what serving/cooking dishes we may need. We're good to go on the dishware. When I learned my mom and her husband were coming I invested in this set from Rachael Ray. I'll probably pick up a few of her serving dishes in the same color as well and find a complimenting tablecloth. 
Here's my spreadsheet! I'm pretty proud of it: 

(click to enlarge)

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

That time my grandfather invented the Frisbee

Grandparents always have stories. When we hear them, they are endearing, and we weigh the fact vs. make-believe quality of them. 
My grandfather has always talked about how he and his siblings invented the Frisbee. The way his story goes, there was a pie company in the neighborhood that would sometimes leave empty pie tins around. He and his siblings would take the tins and toss them back and forth to each other as a game. 
One day I decided to do a Google search on the origins of the Frisbee. Wikipedia says: 

The Frisbie Pie Company was founded in 1871 by William Russell Frisbie in Bridgeport, Connecticut, when he bought and renamed a branch of the Olds Baking Company. The company was located on Kossuth Street in Bridgeport's East Side, where nearby schoolchildren tossed the plates around and yelled "Frisbie" so they wouldn't get hit by the spinning tins. The game the children played made its way to nearby college campuses.

So I read that and I'm like: My grandfather and his siblings grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut... near Kossuth Street... on the East End... and they were school children.
So I am now completely convinced that my grandfather and his siblings did indeed invent the Frisbie. 
What's one of your favorite grandparent/parent stories?

Goodbye Coffee

I've given up coffee. 
For a while now, coffee just hasn't agreed with my body. On any given day it could make my stomach upset, give me a headache, or actually make me more tired than before I drank it. 
I'm really surprised at how easy it's been for me to cut coffee out. I quit right before going to Portland, a total coffee town! I quit before going to a conference, which usually takes multiple cups off coffee to get through the hours of sessions. 
I've been drinking teas, and getting chai or decaf lattes to have that "I'm walking around with a warm cup of something in my hand" feeling. 
I've been wondering why it has been so easy to give up coffee, while other things that I know I shouldn't eat (processed things, fast food, french fries, etc.) take so much willpower not to have, and I fail often. I think in the end I could literally feel coffee hurting my body after I drank it, whereas when I eat bad food, it's not as definitive of a physical response. 
Have you given up eating/drinking something you formerly had often?