Password Pick-Me-Up

As I was recently changing my Facebook password, I saw that, like many other websites, Facebook assesses the strength of your password: weak, medium, or strong. I’ve noticed this before because I feel surprisingly affected by it. I am familiar with characteristics of strong passwords and am no novice when it comes to making strong ones. As you might be able to tell, this is apparently a point of pride for me. For example, when a website suggests what would make a strong password, such as including symbols, letters, and numbers, I’m like “yeah, duh.”  

The other thing seeing this on a website entices me do is purposefully type a variety of passwords, especially what I think are weak ones, to see what the site will say. Like, my initials and birthday, at first I’m like well it can’t be that easy, “weak.” So I’m a little surprised, but not too much because that’s like classic new password thinking, right? Like don’t use personal information. Then a random word and numbers, “medium.” Also, not shocking. Using complete words seems to be frowned upon. My all-time best password that has received the greatest success in turning out “strong” ratings is actually the password that I received at the beginning of college to log into my related accounts. I made the fateful decision to just memorize it then and have been all the better for it. Highly recommend. 

This Blog and Charles Darwin

I stepped away from this blog for a very long time and in doing so also experienced one of the wonders of the internet, which is that nothing ever really goes away. And like, I know everyone knows that, right? Like Snapchat, WHICH DIDN'T EVEN EXIST WHEN I STARTED THIS BLOG, #old, (hashtags also weren't a thing, they were merely pound signs at the time), everything is still somewhere or something or whatever. I don't know that much about it.

In a creative fit, I deleted all of my blog posts. Those ones you see below, I thought they were no more. It should go without saying that I was wrong (and now I've obviously said it). With them, I found this NPR link, that I noticed I originally posted in October 2012, which totally makes sense because I had just begun teaching high school science that fall. If you're willing and able to click the link (though I will save you the trouble), you'll see that Charles Darwin, who has ultimately become a pretty big deal household name type of guy, once had a bad day and he expressed his feelings in a surprisingly 21st century, modern, and common way. Accordingly, he said "I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything."

Great minds get frustrated with apparently not only themselves, but also humanity. And as NPR points out, we've all felt that way, right? Sometimes I do hate everything or at least I feel like I do. When I tried to delete those blog posts, I must have felt that way. The language is weirdly all encompassing and comes from self-reflection and doubt. Which I also feel a lot as a teacher. Fortunately, the internet has saved me from myself in regards to the blog. 

So, regardless of your feelings on evolution, it's likely that you and me and Charles Darwin all have something in common, which I think is nothing short of fun, and somewhat life affirming.  

Decisions

I am an extremely indecisive person. Yet, I love variety and whenever a choice is presented, I like to choose both. Given the option, "Ranch or blue cheese with your wings?" I will quickly respond, "Both, please!" Unfortunately, making decisions isn't confined to condiment choice and creepy crawls its way into other facets of life as well, such as desert.

Since I'm new to this blogging biznass, I sometimes forget to capture staying in on a Saturday night and baking the cool things I do. Repeatedly plagued by the all-to-common choice between cookies and brownies, I seized the opportunity to punch that choice right in the face when I saw this boxed treat ON SALE at Target or somewhere. So while waiting for a special occasion, I decided WHY WAIT? and made it tonight.

 

In addition to the mixes and chocolate chips that came in the box, the recipe called for 1 measly egg, 9 (NINE! Like that's even a lot) tablespoons of butter, and 2 tablespoons of water. I don't think I've been clear in explaining that what can be found inside this box is the makings of both brownies and cookies begging to be baked into harmonious union. BEHOLD.

I have been, and continue to be, very bad at using "cling" wrap. My wrap just doesn't cling. Though I'm not really into hashtag statements or the idea of trending on twitter, I would be down with #clingwrapproblems. Do you feel me?

Out of the box, this treat is super simple and provides easy inspiration for a from scratch version. You could even switch up the dough. I'm not great at astrophysics, but I have a feeling that the possibilities are literally endless. Two great treats in one, how fun is that?

Bling Blinggg

I was lucky enough to find what I think may be the perfect pair of black flats. These flats however, are peep toe. With the commencement of winter in Chicago, thus began my search for pair of close-toed black flats. I wasn't liking what I was seeing until I went home for the holidays and found a pair of black flats WAITING FOR ME IN MY BEDROOM. But why stop there? I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, or whatever, so I decided to jazz things up.

Behold many scattered gems, my parent's carpet, and hours and hours of my life's work. Just kidding, this DIY was simple, life-affirming, and kind of fun, in that glue stuck to my/your fingers way. I set the gems I used (purchased from Wal-Mart, also most likely where the shoes themselves are from, what can I say? I'm a classy lady) on the shoes before using a standard craft glue to get em stuck.

I don't think I got enough gems...

This is probably what the shoes will look like when I/you wear them out to a sweet club (because it's dark) that has soft carpeting. Hopeful that these suckers reflect some lights, camera, action, knowhatimsayin?

I'm really excited about these. I think they will be a really fun addition to any outfit, adding a little spice to a standard, in what I'm expecting to be a practical and easy to wear way which makes them pretty fun, right?

All That Glitters...

French manicures have some mind-boggling qualities. Why paint the already white part of the nail white again, and the already light/skin color part another light/neutral/skin color shade. Why spend inordinate amounts of time tracing the white part of the nail rather than just paint the entire nail? WHO SAID LIFE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EASY? Regardless, I have always liked french manicures. Not only are they super classy, they provide a great opportunity for creativity and personalization. Because, when creatively personalizing a standard french manicure into a snazzy, nontraditional frenchie, you get a little unexpected in a lot of good ways. I reworked the classic white-tipped french manicure buy using a gold/copper color on the tips and leaving the base of my nail natural, using just clear base and top coats. Though this wasn't my inspiration, this look reminds me a lot of nice glass stemware with gold rims. Any color would look cool on tips, but this time of the year just begs for metallic shades. I also had a little shimmery glitter left on my nails from my previous polish, which I don't mind as a supplement to the tips. Tis the season, you know, and the reason for the season, it's sparkle. The color I used is called Copper Penny by Revlon. Fun, right?