Web Time Wasters

What you get up to this week, friends? This weekend, Kenny and I are in Superior, WI, staring at the lake and eating our fill at some of Wisconsin’s best supper clubs. I mean, who wouldn’t want to eat au gratin potatoes at a place with a sign like this!?

Links for you

I normally extremely don’t care about gift guides, but even I liked this ‘We love the 90s’ round up of gifts.

For my fellow bloggers: 8 end-of-year tasks to make next year your best year yet.

One of the members of my Money & Happy Facebook group shared this interview and it made me so anxious I had to stop reading two paragraphs in.
Kate: We have an insurmountable amount of debt. I’m not even exactly sure how much it is anymore. We have $60,000 in credit cards, $18,000 in a loan, and then there’s our mortgage and the second mortgage we took out, which is about $360,000 all together. And that’s not even counting our student loans. How much are those, Tom? Are you at home? Can you look it up?

Tom: Yeah, I’m at home, but I have no idea how to even look it up. The only time I go on the site is to ask them to push back when we have to start paying it. I know that’s irresponsible and horrible, but that’s really, truly what I do. I think it started at about $90,000.

Speaking of debt: An Arm And A Leg podcast delves into the insane-o cost of healthcare in America. A recent episode on choosing the right insurance plan (and why most of us won’t) was super helpful.

I was thrilled to be on the Jumpstart Your Joy podcast this week, talking about building joyful, intentional habits. Listen here!

Related: If you have a podcast, I’d probably love to be on it! Drop me a line at [email protected] and let’s chat.

If you live in Northeast Minneapolis (or you love someone who does) this is the perfect sweatshirt.

A horrifying fact I just learned: When food rots in landfills, it releases methane, a gas that contributes to climate change. Globally, if food waste could be represented as its own country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter, behind China and the U.S. So here’s a counter-top compost bin that’s cute and doesn’t smell!

And if you’re in Minneapolis, here’s how to sign up for municipal compost collection.

A script for calling your senators about the US’s tear gas attacks on asylum-seeking refugees.

I loved this article reviewing … Paula Abdul’s most recent tour.
The show opened with an overture that featured a bigger-than-life-size, onscreen Paula literally dancing around her achievements, then falling helplessly in a horizontal position as words like “EATING DISORDER RUMORS” and “MEDIA DRAMA” floated upward, and then finally fluttering down vertically with her arms out in a Christlike fashion as words signifying her pop cultural resurrection (“AMERICAN IDOL JUDGE” and then, in slightly smaller letters, “SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE JUDGE”) flooded the screen.

“Ancient forgotten animal vines to watch when you’re depressed af”

Also: as you’ve probably noticed, I’m been posting here a bit less. That’s because I’ve been putting more time and energy elsewhere. This week on Instagram, I talked about how Kenny and I manage our different social needs (I’m an INTJ and he’s an ENFP) and the questions I ask myself to avoid buyer’s remorse. Let’s be friends over there!