A few months ago, I started stashing away a few of my favorite internet finds in a folder on my bookmarks toolbar in Firefox. These were things that I intended to share on Tumblr or via emails to friends or whatever, but let's face it: I'm lazy. And a perfectionist. And a procrastinator. So in order to clear the visual and virtual clutter (and save myself some future guilt about never sharing these delightful finds), I'm going to get this over with as efficiently as possible. Behold.

FUNNY:

How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell, by The Oatmeal
How #FollowFriday is SUPPOSED to Work, also by The Oatmeal
this Halloween quote from one Tumblr person as quoted by ShoesOnWrong, another Tumblr person
Truthful Tuesday [Regarding Kissing], by Best Girl Betty

THOUGHT-PROVOKING:

Getting Over Perfection, by Finslippy
Speculative Comforts, by A Cup of Tea & A Wheat Penny
this really pretty picture of a palace, by All Things Europe

IDEA-GENERATING:

Models I Met And Liked (Journal) and other similar journals, available for purchase from Fred Flare
100 Skills Everyone Should Master, by Mighty Girl
DIY: Cupcakes in a Jar, by Hrrrthrrr
DIY: Colorful Holiday Branches, by OhHi Shop

First of all, thanks to all the people who have been regularly or occasionally responding to my rambling blog posts via the comments section, email, Skype, time travel, etc. You're a cool group of people, and I would gush about how great you are if I ever had the chance to talk about the internet in a face-to-face conversation. (I imagine it would go something like this. Stranger on the street: "Oh, I love your hair! Did you get it highlighted?" Me: "No! I stood under a very weird cloud at the beach! Pull up a chair and let me tell you why I love my little corner of the internet!")

Second, delurking is great for the skin. You should try it sometime, shy people.

On a related note, drinking water (instead of pop) has proven to be more effective at making my skin look great than any disgustingly expensive face wash system I have tried. It also cuts down on the number of nosebleeds I wake up to, which is saving oh so many trees from becoming tissues. That leaves (pun not intended) more trees for propping up hammocks, where I can rest while I read on my tree-friendly Nook from Barnes & Noble! I am the Earth's BFF!

The moral of this story is that commenting on blogs is environmentally friendly and/or a cure for acne. The other moral of this story is that I shouldn't put sentences in public when I haven't been sleeping in a long time. The other other moral of this story is that I am going to hate this in the morning.

Long story, but I did not attend my "Cinderella ball" of a holiday party at Chicago's Art Institute this evening. (I did, however, get all dolled up for the event, as is barely evidenced by the above picture.) My rockstar hair was bummed about the decision, but the cat lady in me was a bit relieved. Instead of wandering out in the subzero temperatures to enjoy beautiful art and fancy cocktails, I stayed home and watched House Hunters reruns with my parents, drank coffee from our new-to-us Keurig machine, ate pizza from Giordano's, and tried not to dwell on the fact that I could have skipped the shower after all.

You're never too young to become a hermit.