Procrastination is my friend. To make it less friendly, I have a new method of getting things done.

So you all know that I am in the death throes of this phd. And there are lots of things that need to be done in order to complete this degree. In order to make it clear, I made another pie chart. I may be slightly addicted to these now.

To help me manage all of these things, I have found a super awesome tool that has gamified my life. It's called Habit RPG. I love it for many reasons, which I have totally detailed in (shocked face) another pie chart along with reasons you should join too.

For example, I grabbed a screen shot of my task list a little bit earlier today. There are four columns. In order, they are Habits, Dailies, To-Dos, and things you can buy with gold/spells to cast. The colors mean different things. Blue means I've been really good at keeping up with something in the Habits and Dailies columns. The grey in the Dailies column means I've done it for that day already. The red in the To-Dos means that that has been there for a while.
When I check things off, I get xp, gold, and sometimes loot. The loot is usually in the form of pet eggs, potions, or food for the pets. It's been incredibly motivating and fun to play with. I highly recommend it for keeping yourself on track and getting things done. ESPECIALLY with all the fiddly things I need to do to make sure I get this PhD done on time. I've used it for getting results, for writing sections of papers and my dissertation, for remembering to send things to my advisor/committee members, to apply for my degree... anything you need to remember to do can be put on your list of to-dos. And then you get to check it off. AND THEN YOU GET GOLD. I mean, that is just awesome.

Like I said above, I've been recommending it to everyone. It's an open source work in progress, and the tireless volunteers are working hard to add features and fix bugs. Once I have some free time, I plan to contribute to the site. It's been that helpful.

Bonus picture of Lois and a puppy dog:

My orchid bloomed, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Last year sometime, Jeremiah bought me an orchid. It was big and pretty and covered in blooms. I put it on my desk and appreciated the heck out of it. I think it felt my appreciation and used it in place of water because I am bad at plants.

Well all the blooms fell off eventually, as happens. The poor orchid sat, bloomless and neglected all winter. I watered it every once in a while, when I remembered.

Imagine my surprise when this happened:

The orchid made it! Who knew?! Apparently it should now bloom for most of the summer and I should repot and fertilize it in the fall. If it survives the move.

Speaking of moving, moving is contingent on graduating. And graduating is why I have grey hair. Well, actually I have grey hair because Lois seems to thing flinging herself off things is fun and games, And I think it's an exercise is mass-production for my adrenaline glands. So far, so good, she hasn't seriously hurt herself. Yet.

This is a short post because I have dissertating to do. I'm trying to get back into the habit of posting, and you may get some short posts. Short but witty. Or short and boring. I guess that's an individual thing. In other news, I saw this somewhere and I like it. Therefore I share. You are welcome.

Pie charts are my friend but I'd like them a LOT better if they were actual pie.

Reasons I have not updated this blog:

Reasons I now want to update this blog:

Also: Jeremiah hates the map song from Dora. "I'm the map, I'm the map, he's the map, he's the map, I'M THE MAP!" So just now, being the kind and understanding partner I am, I tried to get Lois to sing it. It didn't quite work... she only spend the next 5 minutes going  "Map map map map mapmapmapmap."

Jeremiah thanked me for teaching Lois a new skill. I'm not sure he was sincere.

Heard in our house this morning:

These jokes are eggsellent,

Hey! The jokes don't just lay themselves, you know!

Stop poaching my jokes!

What, scrambling for a comeback?

I've got jokes by the cartonful over here.

These jokes are just too over-easy.

That was grade-A, honey.

Something something WHITE!

Yolk, yolk, yolk.

...

You know you're jealous.

Holy crap, Laura. What's with the picture spam? Also, we went on a trip. And I made cheesecake.

Is this the camera lens, mommy? This right here?

Hello, my loyal blogstalkers! I know you all have been eagerly awaiting the next installment of As The Munchkin Turns. Well, wait no more! This edition includes a car trip to Georgia, a trip to the park, and mommy's first foray into making cheese cake.

And magnets. Because we always need more magnets, right? Right. Glad you agree.

Reddit has random gift exchanges every so often. The theme of this recent one was magnets. While I wanted to buy magnets and wrap them up all pretty and send them in a really cool box with a nifty poem, I had to face facts and realize that was just not going to happen any time soon. Especially when by "any time soon" I mean "ever before I die." So I had the magnet exchange store send my selections along: little wooden rabbits, frogs, and mustaches. They were cute, and the recipient loves the mustaches the most. Win!
My Secret Magnet Sender sent these --->
Bacon poetry magnets, an I <3 <3 the doctor, and this really great sticker. The world needs more stickers. Especially of monkeys.

Onto the good stuff: We went on a trip to Cleveland, GA. If you don't know what's there... well... join the club. I didn't know either until we got there. It's the headquarters of the Cabbage Patch Kids company.

They had some GORGEOUS flowers outside. These are them, although I don't know what they are called.

There were some bumblebees flitting around too, and it was a beautiful day. These flowers just looked so luxurious! I was tempted to take one and bring it back with me, they were so healthy-looking.

Um... I'm not sure anyone has told you, but did you know
you have broccoli sprouting from your head?

These... things were all over the lawn as we walked up to the main building. There were several varieties, with and without broccoli-hair. I thought it was odd that they weren't painted in any real way. We later saw parents sitting their kids in them for pictures and decided it was so that the kids wouldn't burn when they sat down for the pictures, but it was still really odd. On the way in to the place, on the veranda, we found these cute little baby birds. Momma came by and fed them, and they piped up and let their needs be known.



As you pass down the veranda, you come upon these doors. Beyond them (and unpictured) is a stereotypical nurse's desk with a woman dressed as a nurse behind it. You have to sign in, and if you bring in any dolls with you, they all need visitor stickers. The people who work there are all dressed in scrubs and they do not break character, treating this like a real hospital.

Yes, Warhol!

Just Chillin'

On the walls, they have a few of these Warhol paintings. It's pretty impressive, actually. I had no idea that Warhol had done these kinds of paintings, but after a moment's reflection, they made sense. They were huge parts of popular culture in the 80s.


A little further in, you find this awesome cabbage leaf chair. It is nice and roomy, big enough for the whole family to sit in!
In a fit of terribly appropriate parenting, we dressed Lois in a onsie that proudly proclaims her to be a "Little Monster." This prompted almost everyone to assume she is a boy. The line to get to sit in the chair was impressively







They also had a bunch of cute stuffed animals all over the place. I took a picture of this one specifically for my friend Tina. They had all kinda though, and a lot of them made by Ty! Not just beanie babies anymore.










Ok, so this blog post has languished in my drafts folder for a week or so. Maybe more. I am not going to have time to properly finish it, but these pictures demand the light of day! So, here they are in all their uncommented glory. And I have at least 2 more posts I want to write!

We saw a movie!

There was a disturbance in the force recently. I was feeling kind of bruised, so Jeremiah declared last night to be Movie Date Night!

We went to see Pacific Rim. This. This is a fabulous movie. It has guns! Big ones! It has robots! Big ones! It has monsters! Big ones! It has plot holes! Big ones! 

But in the end, it is the perfect summer action movie, an excellent escape into another world.

When we were getting ready to leave the theater, Jeremiah and I were talking about the movie.

Him: That was a great movie. I really liked it.

Me: Yea, me too. I think we need to acquire this movie when it is released.

Him: I only have one problem with it.

Me: Only one?!

Him: Yes, only one.

Me: You are NOT an engineer!

In other news, Lois is still the Cutest Baby Evar.

She's been in a growth spurt recently, waking up in the middle of the night hungry, being extra fussy and needy during the day. And eating. OMG the eating. Where before she was eating about 6 ounces of food mixed with baby cereal, she plowed through 8, plus half a bottle. I am taking bets on which leg she was stuffing the food down as she ate it.

I don't always kiss my duck, but when I
do, I make mommy uncomfortable.

Mine!!

I'm FABULOUS!

Mommy, you're so silly.

I love this toy. Thank you Aunt Cynthia!

Oh ducky ducky ducky.

I am not amused.

There was something else I was going to share with you, my loyal blogstalkers, but I don't remember what it was. Next time! For now, enjoy the picspam.

Ta-ta!

You Lie!

We have just returned from visiting some of our very best friends in Ohio. I mentioned having this blog to my friend, who cried out: "You Lie!" Apparently he knows of and reads this blog and feels I do not post nearly often enough. He is right, of course.

SO

Lois has some new tricks. First off, we have her new sleeping position:

Awww, aren't I adorable?

She used to just sleep flat on her back, as recommended by damn near everyone to prevent SIDS. Then the little stinker learned to roll over. She slept on her side then, or her back, but not on her belly. Then one day we walked in and she was all curled up with her butt in the air. It. Was. Adorable.

BUT WAIT! What is that on the side of the crib?

Apparently she wanted a light snack
consisting of varnish and stain.

Yes. The little stinkpot decided to gnaw ON HER CRIB rather than nap one day.

MMM Fiber.










As you can see, she has blessed two rails with the marks of her love.

Now, I suppose you can take this a few ways:

"Hey babe! I think we need to feed the baby more!"
or
"It's nothing to worry about. A little teeth sharpening is good for her."
or
"Congratulations, honey! It's a woodchuck!"


Me, I'm just going to watch her carefully for signs of tail growth. I mean, hamsters are sweet and all, but I don't want my adorable baby turning in to one.

IN OTHER NEWS:

We had a friend come to visit. For kicks and giggles, we went up to Mountain Lake (of Dirty Dancing fame) to check out the lake. I am pleased to report it seems to be filling up again:

Mountain lake is a pretty nifty place. The meadow is dammed by an ancient rockfall that blocked up the natural outlet. And voila! A lake was born.

However, since rockfalls aren't exactly watertight, if there isn't as much water flowing in as is leaking out, the lake will drain. Recently it completely dried up, leading to the discovery of some human remains of a long-lost guy named Samuel Ira Felder from 1921.

Read all about it here!

 Mountain Lake Resort is beautiful, and eventually I want to spend some time staying there and exploring all the awesome that is nearby. When the lake refills, it'll be great swimming and canoeing, but for now it is mostly a hiking area.

They have orienteering there, and that is something on my list of Things To Learn How To Do.

 This is Lois in her new strolled. Sorry about the orientation of the picture, but I want to get this written and posted and not spend any more time on it. I have to do some work! Eventually...

And I'll leave you with this. Conversations in our house:

"What'd you do with the bottle of Vitamin C, woman?!"
"I put it right in front of you."
"Oh."
Then he drank all my milk to wash them down.

Also:

As Jeremiah climbed into bed the other night he told me that my toothbrush was mad at him. I looked at him suspiciously for a moment, and then resignedly asked why.

"It bristled at me."

And, just now:

"A winky-face makes the mention of genocide that much softer."

Thanks folks! We'll be here all week! Tip your waitress!