I love a good game adapted with a theme; my favorite version of Monopoly is definitely the Disney one, but I also own the Indiana Jones edition. That said, some games don't transfer well to different themes. Harry Potter Clue, for example, has some weird rules that are fairly different from traditional Clue. It's still fun, but it's really not Clue in my eyes!
Denny's and IHOP seem to have some competition when it comes to upcoming movies and themed foods that go with them, and it's so much fun to try both of the chain's wares. Not long ago Denny's had some fun Lord of the Rings items on the menu, and this year IHOP is featuring Addams Family themed foods!
As someone who's always loved Wynonna Judd, I've always felt like she could cover any genre and I love that she's performing Dead covers with Cass McCombs as their new duo, The Frothy Pit. This is incredibly exciting and I would love to see them in person--how about you?
American Horror Story: 1984 is only hours away and plenty of 80s fans nostalgic for even more horror after Stranger Things are ready for it! Are you one of them? Everything you need to know about this season of AHS can be found here, including who's coming back (and who's sadly not, including Evan Peters!), the various interviews and spoilers released and even clips from the season.
Stanford researchers may have discovered a cure for the common cold in both human and mice cells. It's not even as complicated as one might think: it's simply disabling a protein in cells that causes the replication of virus. These aren't even limited to colds. The potential here could impact everything from many different diseases if the protein can temporarily be disabled.
A baby white lion was born in Hungary this spring and the cub, named Sonja, is the cutest thing on the planet. White lions are very rare and not caused by albinism, like many white animals, but a completely different genetic condition. Her weight doubled within the weeks after her birth and she was born without complications.
Our world is becoming less and less private, and I for one am disturbed by it. I don't mind sharing photos with people I love, but between people believing they can just record anything (they pretty much can) without even asking to being not only photographed anywhere public to being recognized by recognition software and automatically tagged, it's a disturbing time to live, especially if your paranoia can get in the way of your mental health like mine sometimes can.
It may be September, but that's actually when Oktoberfest takes place, which means it's the perfect time to enjoy your favorite German eats and drinks. A German brewery would make the perfect date for the weekend, and there may even be German celebrations happening near you if you check.
One of the issues many people have with entering a 5K or similar contest is that the date doesn't work with their schedule. Luckily there are virtual runs to assist with this kind of issue, and with Hobbit Day coming up this weekend, it's a perfect time to enjoy some Pacific Northwest scenery while you imagine you're at the Shire, Rivendell or even Mordor with a virtual run!
When a show has been on the air as long as Family Guy, sometimes things get stale and need a bit of shaking up. Showrunners have definitely done that a time or two, but many fans still have things they really want to see happen on the show. In my case, I have always wanted better stories for Meg. Sometimes she gets them, but most of the time she's just kicked around and it irritates me because there's no real good reason to not like her.
We're always looking for ways to help the environment, animals and really anyone who needs it, but sometimes it can be really difficult--especially if you don't have unlimited time or funds. That's why endeavors like this one from the Oregon Wildlife Foundation are so important. By selling these special license plates to benefit frogs, they will give citizens the ability to pitch in a little to save a lot.
When it comes to storms and natural disasters, many of us feel rather helpless and only wish we could help somehow. Chella Phillips of the Bahamas knew she wasn't going to leave dozens of dogs in the path of a hurricane, so she took in 97 dogs to protect them during Hurricane Dorian. All of these dogs were strays that she took in on her own.
When it comes to cocktails, integrating superfoods into your libations isn't usually high on anyone's list of priorities, but it's definitely a possibility, and if you can do it and make it taste awesome, why not? Brandless sent me an email a few days ago describing how to do just this with some of their organic Moringa powder, which is a vegan, gluten-free superfood that you can add to just about anything.
Okay, I know how you can't love mums: if you have pets, it's hard to love them, or at least to have them around your pets, since they can be dangerous to pets. As a mom to cats and dogs, I know the pain of having to not bring these beauties indoors! However, I do have areas outside my house that are off-limits to my pets, like the deck off the side of my house.
Every fall brings with it a burst of fresh color and new opportunities for crafting. Jim Gaffigan has joked about how morbid it is that we rejoice the death of the leaves, but it's hard to not love those hues--or the sudden dip in temperature that many of us are craving so badly. In September, my family always makes fairy houses, and not just because it's fun. Our local Renaissance Fair gives free admission to entrants of the fairy house contest, so we always try to make houses to get in.
As much as Trump terrifies us (and the rest of the world), sometimes he does offer us such ridiculousness that we can't help but laugh. When he shared an obviously doctored photo of Hurricane Dorian, complete with a Sharpie swirl, the Internet went bonkers making fun of it and it was the most fun we've had since the day before he was "elected" in the first place.
Most people could spend whole days watching cat videos, but when cats snuggle up with animals much larger than themselves it's even more compelling. I still can't get over a video I saw once of a cat snuggling a dolphin! In our house, we like to joke that if we were smaller, our cats would just eat us, and maybe that's true, but maybe they really do just love to snuggle everything. Then again, maybe they just love to try and bribe any being into feeding them with cuddles!
Last week when we talked about how much fun poetic puns can be, I had no idea that my teenager had more in store for me. We played Periodic Table Battleship to practice their chemistry, and lo and behold the kid had many more puns in store for me! "Where in the world is Carbon Sandiego?" they asked with a grin. "Ruthenium Bader Ginsberg is the best justice in the Periodic Supreme Court," they tried with a spin.
While my birthday isn't until later in the fall, this month Fortune Cookie Soap is celebrating their 15th birthday with a themed collection, which has it on my mind. It's always a good time to sign up for deals for your birthday--especially in advance--so you can get lots of offers in your email by your birthday month.
Every year my family has a Halloween read-a-thon, which is similar to our usual monthly read-a-thons but with a Halloween theme! We spend a lot of time in the car so I usually read the book aloud while my husband drives. This is sometimes complicated when I get sick and can't read aloud, which is what happened last year. We managed to get through The Night Gardener, but we didn't get to any other books. Hopefully that doesn't happen this year!
