Category — Microblog Mondays

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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It’s that time of year when whatever we struggle with comes to a head.  Blame it on the presentation of the unattainable, perfect life.  Blame it on unrealistic movies, commercials, and social media feeds.  Blame it on the fact that we get sucked in even when we know it’s as fake as snow at Disney World.

If you’re feeling completely down about a problem you’ve been chipping away at forever, psychologists have found the secret to getting motivated again: give advice to someone who is struggling with the same problem.  It’s a really brilliant study, pointing out that people who are dealing with the problem are experts on the problem.

The post points out: “If you’re completely clueless about the resources or strategies necessary for progress, asking for help is probably the best first step. But if you (like most of us), know what you need to do, but are having trouble actually doing it, giving someone advice may be the push you need.”

So what advice do you have to give?

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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While we’re on the topic of other places (at least, we were yesterday), I was cracking up over this Business Insider post of 24 things that are normal in the US but weird to the rest of the world.

There are some that I find weird, too.  Why is our money all one colour?  But a chunk of the other ones didn’t seem (1) unique to the US or (2) something widespread in the US.

We’ve tipped in every country we’ve ever visited.  Not as Americans acting American, but because there was a note on the receipt about leaving a tip.  That’s what bathroom stalls have looked like in many public places around the world.  And enormous portions have been the norm every place I’ve traveled — from hole-in-the-wall restaurants in small towns in the Middle East to restaurants in European capital cities.  On the other hand, while I’ve certainly seen Solo cups used at parties, it’s more plastic cups in general.  People are happy to use blue ones or clear ones or red ones.  I’m not sure where they only use red Solo cups in the US.

But the ice thing.  Yeah, we love our ice.

What do you think of the list?

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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My friend just told me about a game: Kill Dr. Lucky.  It’s like Clue except instead of trying to figure out whether Mrs. Peacock used the candlesticks in the library, you’re trying to commit the murder.  As is everyone else at the table AND not get caught.  So you try to get Dr. Lucky alone and kill him off with one of the weapons you collect along the way before anyone else can do the same.

That sounded really dark once I wrote it out.

I love board games.  I hate trying to teach myself new ones from an explanation sheet, so I keep going back to the ones I know well: Yahtzee, Mahjongg, Backgammon, Chess, Sorry, and Monopoly.  I need to find people to teach me the rules to new games in real time.  There’s a board game cafe nearby, and if they’re not busy, the staff will sit down at your table and teach you new games.

Which games are your favourites?

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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Being totally immodest: My ability to get stuff done is one of my best traits.  If I tell you that you will have a document on Thursday, I will likely have it to you on Tuesday.  You will not need to send me a reminder.  In twelve years of being a freelance writer, I have never missed a deadline.

I have great sitzfleisch.

At least, I thought I had great sitzfleisch because I am able to put my bum in a chair and get to work.  But I just read the other meaning for the word on the BBC:

It can also mean, in some cases, that one simply sits still and waits for a difficult situation to resolve itself. In that scenario, it’s still about endurance but rather the endurance to sit tight than the endurance to push through with hard work.

That is not me at all.  I do not have the endurance to wait, sit tight, or not nudge.  When I’m waiting for an answer or something to happen, I may not externally let the deciding party know that I’m fretting, but, believe me, I am Googling, journaling, or worrying as if it were my second job.

Are you someone who likes to move things along or wait and see what happens?

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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My brilliant costume idea fell through.  Last November, I decided the whole family would get animal onesies from Target this year.  Josh swung by the Target a few weeks ago and reported they were all out of animal onesies.  Yes, I’m aware that there are other places we could try to make our onesie dreams come true, but we all gave up when they weren’t at the first store.

I went on Facebook to gather Halloween costume ideas (thank you, everyone!), and an old friend reminisced about how I used to make my guinea pig amazing costumes and take him around the neighbourhood trick-or-treating.  He went as Batpig one year, though he kept trying to twist around and eat the cape.  He went as a 15th century minstrel, complete with a tiny felt lute strapped across his powder blue tunic.

Just a few years ago, I was making ornate costumes for the kids.  I took over the dining room table to make a Lady Vastra mask!  I made a sonic screwdriver out of toilet parts!  I cannot tell you how many Queen Esther costumes I made over the years.  But somewhere along the way, I got really really really tired of costume making.

What will you be for Halloween this year?  Or what costumes did you make?

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.