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Work continues to be nutso, leaving me completely unthrilled about using my computer on evenings and weekends. This means I’m no longer responding to all blog comment emails. I’m sorry. I wish I could. But I just can’t manage it anymore. 🙁

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Congrats to Midia, who won Ascending Hearts (Tempting Tales #2) by Keira Andrews and Leta Blake!

Congrats to Carla, who won Light the Fire by JL Merrow! Light the Fire will be released January 20 by JMS Books.

Congrats to Jess1, who won Love Means… No Limits (Farm #9) by Andrew Grey! Love Means… No Limits will be released by Dreamspinner Press on January 21.

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Contests

• Kay Berrisford is giving away an ebook copy of Second Chance Sam by Bren Christopher. Closes January 22.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away Backstage Pass, Rock Hard, and Double Time by Olivia Cunning. Closes January 22. US & Canada.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Literary Escapism (UF/PNR) and Fiction Vixen (romances).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Charlie Cochet’s doing a series of posts on writing historical romance: Introduction and how to write characters in historical m/m romances.

• Becky Black discusses Amazon’s recent ban on authors writing reviews for other authors’ books.

• Barklesswagmore shares her thoughts on what authors shouldn’t do when they get negative reviews.

• 12 authors who also wrote some children’s books… such as James Joyce?!

• Bill Cosby explains how to improve your reading speed and comprehension.

• Some benefits of writing by hand.

• Part II of the Smart Bitches’ Romance Reader Workout.

• Yet another bookshelf completely unsuited for the OCD reader.

• Katana sword bookends.

• Explaining reading to an excessively plugged-in child.

• Writer’s Tears Whiskey. (via Tor.com)

• X-Wing book scupture. (via The Mary Sue)

• Puns on the names of famous authors (such as the Brontesaurus Sisters). (via The Mary Sue)

Learn, Think, Make, Do

• “The no-nonsense, non-alarmist, essential guide to the flu“.

• The woman behind Dear Abby has died at the age of 94. Check out some of her memorable columns – particularly #4 on the list: “Can a boy be normal and knit in public?” (via The Mary Sue)

• Make your own Altoids-style mints in the flavors of your choice… (via Lifehacker) (Sinus-clearing wasabi mints, anyone?!)

• Turn your to-do list into an RPG via HabitRPG. The site might be a bit overwhelmed, so you could go figure out how to “gamify your life” instead.

• The debt ceiling as a choose-your-own-adventure.

• “From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be fully cooked when it hit the ground?“

• Cliff houses.

• Tips for cheap travel.

• Take a minute to make sure Java’s disabled in your browser.

• The year’s most unhealthy restaurant meals…

Cookity

• 7 energy-boosting foods.

• 10 non-soup foods made with lentils.

• 12 cauliflower recipes.

• 15 ways to eat greens in winter.

• Shrimp puttanesca. (via The Kitchn)

• Chipotle salmon burgers. (via The Kitchn)

• Homemade sriracha. (via The Kitchn)

• Guacamole deviled eggs. (via The Kitchn)

• Mexican tomato-bean soup with corn dumplings. (via The Kitchn)

• Butternut squash and coconut curry.

• Braised lentils and chard, topped with an egg.

• Chickpea radicchio wraps. (via The Kitchn)

• Stir-fried cabbage with fennel seeds.

• Kale pesto.

• Flourless hazelnut, carrot, and date muffins. (via The Kitchn)

• Tetris cookies. (via The Kitchn)

• Chocolate cookies.

• Samoa bundt cake. (via Smexy Books)

Drinkity

• Nutella latte. (via The Kitchn)

• Pink paloma cocktail.

Crafty

• Knit some gorgeous fingerless mitts.

Cool

• A phone in a TARDIS. (via The Mary Sue)

• Adjustable TARDIS ring. (via The Mary Sue)

• What happened to everyone after The Deathly Hallows?

• Nesting dolls for geeks.

• Conan the Barbarian cross stitch.

• Great response from the White House on the petition for the US to build a Death Star. Alas, suddenly the minimum number of signatures required for a petition to get an official response is now 100,000… but apparently there’s a loophole. (Also, the Empire responded to the official White House response.)

• Skull ice mold.

• Pig lamp.

• Amazing crocheted rainbow fractal. (via CRAFT)

• The entire Toy Story movie filmed with people and real toys.

Cool or Wha…?

• Crocheted dwarf helmet and beard.

• Hobbit pancakes. (via The Mary Sue)

• Extremely geeky furniture.

• If Arnold Schwarzenegger was the voice of Darth Vader…

• Princess Leia baby costume.

• Gingerbread Ponyville.

Wha…?

• Pepsi Marinated Chicken Wings potato chips… and even more flavors.

• USB drive in a shovel.

• Knitted security camera.

• Moisturizing jeans.

• “Robotic spider-shouldered dress“.

• Putter pool – the strange intersection of golf and billiards.

• 18 human heads were found in a duffel bag at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

LOL

• It’s distressing when you do the math here. (Hover your cursor over the comic for additional text.)

• It’s not that hard to reach this point when you work from home.

• Mary Poppins’ screen tests. (Thanks, Cheryl!)

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Kitten! Kitten! Sand cat kitten! Porcupine! Kitten! Lynx and babies! Baby lions! Kitten! Kitten! Pallas cat! Porcupine and baby! Baby lions! Cat! Kitten! Baby lions! Cheetah and babies!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics!! 🙂 (Although I am actually reading a non-hockey fic right now.)

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 Check out the awesome pillow I got from a friend! (I photographed it in the plastic because I knew thousands of black cat hairs would rush to it the minute the plastic was removed.)

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Congrats to Wanda, who won Under the Rushes by Amy Lane!

Congrats to Jen B, who won Cardio Conditioning (Work Out #7) by Andrew Grey!

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Ok, maybe I won’t ever get caught up on email and blog reading – work’s been and is going to continue to be crazy.

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Contests

• Joyfully Jay’s giving away an ebook copy of Show and Tell by Kate McMurray. Closes 11:59 EST, January 13.

• Rarely Dusty Books is giving away an ebook copy of How to Save a Life by Sloan Parker. Winner announced January 15.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Prince of Power by Elisabeth Staab. Closes January 20. US & Canada.

• Blodeuedd’s also giving away a copy of The Officer Breaks the Rules by Jeanette Murray. Closes January 23. US & Canada.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fetch Me My Fainting Couch (m/m romance and more), Fiction Vixen (romance), Tor.com (PNR), and AAR (romance).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Find out more about the 2013 UK Meet for fans and writers of GLBTQ fiction.

• Tips on reading faster.

• Becky Black shares writing links.

• Tam ponders male facial hair, with particular emphasis on m/m romance.

• “15 undeniable truths about book nerds“. (Thanks, Bron!)

• If you’re a book blogger, you can take a survey about book blogging’s cost and value. Survey closes January 20. (Thanks, Expy!)

• Darth Vader reading in bed… (via The Digital Reader)

Ebookity

• Freebook Sifter is an easier way to find Kindle freebies. (via Emma)

• How to easily add custom fonts to the Kindle Paperwhite.

• Takedown notices and blocking pirate sites don’t do much to stop piracy.

• Dear Author’s list of must-have Android apps.

Think, Make, Do, Learn

• Why men have useless nipples.

• Does your lip balm contain ingredients known to dry out lips?

• What if? on death rates.

• Australia had to add new colors for heat to their weather maps.

• Giant squid (aka a kraken) in its native deep ocean habitat.

• 45 bits of trivia.

• “21 emotions with no English word equivalents“.

• 11 quotes from Stephen Hawking.

• How to easily get at the good stuff in a pomegranate.

Cookity

• 15 whole-grain salads.

• 5 suppers with white beans.

• Quinoa and black bean salad with orange-coriander dressing.

• Black bean, roasted zucchini, and goat cheese enchiladas. (via The Kitchn)

• Gluten-free baked stuffed shells.

• Rainbow root roast. (via The Kitchn)

• Broccoli slaw. (via The Kitchn)

• Cauliflower soubise. (via The Kitchn)

• Lemony spinach hummus. (via The Kitchn)

• Creamy-yet-light fish chowder.

• 10 chicken soups.

• Blood orange Bloody Mary. (via CRAFT)

Crafty

• Make a very low budget yarn winder. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• TARDIS tote. (via The Mary Sue)

• TARDIS jewelry box.

• Hobbit cake. (via The Mary Sue)

• Leonard Nimoy narrates a NASA video about asteroids.

• Movie maps.

• Big cats in slow motion.

• Animated amigurumi gif called Free Unicorn Rides.

Cool or Wha…?

• Plush electronic components.

• Pseudo-mobius chair.

Wha…?

• Dog sculptures made from bicycle chains.

• Fork that tracks every bite and sends the data to your iPhone.

• Kama sutra cookie cutters. (NSFW)

LOL

• One Grain More – a Les Miserables food allergy parody. (Thanks, Cheryl!)

• “Dramatic readings drastically improve all Yelp reviews“.

• Autocorrects or Freudian slips?

• “Penal code violations” from Cake Wrecks. (NSFW?)

• Hobbit Downey Jr…

• Stupid onions.

• If you’ve ever wondered why scorpions exist…

• Pavlov’s cat.

• Cats that look like pinup girls… (Thanks, mrspao!)

• Could be Chaos.

• Cat logic.

• To remember when thinking how cute a new kitten would be…

• Fear the fully dilated cat eyes.

Teh Cute

• Bun! Bun! Kitten! Kitten! Kitten! Kitten! Kitten! Baby otter! Otter! Baby panda! Polar bear and babies! Baby polar bear! Baby penguins! Harpy eagle and baby! Tiger! Hedgie! Baby foxes! Cygnet!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics! 🙂

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 “Turn around? No, I’m fine like this, thanks.” -Chaos

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Congrats to Tracy, who won Dead in L.A. (L.A. Paranormal 1 & 2) by Lou Harper!

Congrats to Azure J, who won Analyzing Emory by Lily Grace! Analyzing Emory is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Fehu, who won Something to Believe In by Sloan Parker!

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I am spectacularly behind on email and blog reading. Don’t give up on me! 🙂

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Contests

• Joyfully Jay is giving away an ebook copy of Sinner’s Gin by Rhys Ford. Closes 11:59 pm EST, January 6.

• LA Witt is giving away two ebooks of the winner’s choice from her backlist. Closes midnight CST, January 7.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Rarely Dusty Books (m/m romance), Pants Off Reviews (m/m romance), Elisa Rolle (LGBT), Fiction Vixen (various romances), and  Tor.com (genre-benders, scifi, fantasy)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• orannia’s hosting the 2013 Big Book Challenge.

• Daily Writing Tips has 10 basic writing competency tips.

• What were the most overused words in 2012?

• Goodreads 2012 infographic.

• Smart Bitches presents their first Romance Reader Workout.

• Strangely similar book covers. (via TeleRead)

• Book-themed cards from someecards.

• Bookworms’ hierarchy of needs.

• Batman bookshelf – not recommend for OCD readers. At all. (via The Digital Reader)

• 20 photos of famous authors partying.

Ebookity

• Dear Author’s “must-have” iOS tablet apps.

• What else can you use an ereader for?

• Predictions for digital reading.

• While there are definitely authors writing great m/m out there (you know who you are!), jmcbks neatly sums up my frustration with far too much m/m lately:

I think I’m going on an m/m hiatus for a while, because the stretched-thin plots, the overdone sex, the clumsy issue-handling, and the lack of editorial polish that I’m seeing in what’s out there are boring to me as a reader and offensive as a consumer.

Think, Do, Learn, Make

• House Republicans blocked the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act because it included new provisions for LGBTQ, Native Americans, and immigrants. Grrrr. (via The Mary Sue)

• Which websites are violating your privacy?

• A scientific look at express checkout lanes.

• What’s the most annoying sound in the world? (via mental_floss)

• 6 tech myths that cost us money.

• 2012 movies with the worst science.

• An amusing look at leap seconds.

• 17 unusual January holidays.

• If you’ve ever been curious about the Northwest Angle, that little bit of Minnesota that’s the northernmost post in the 48 contiguous US states…

Cookity

• 5 recipes using winter greens.

• 5 cold-soothing soups.

• Fennel, avocado, and lobster salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Green Goddess grilled cheese. (via The Kitchn)

• Kale, walnut, and pomegranate salad.

• Banana cranberry breakfast bread. (via The Kitchn)

• Spicy gluten-free corn muffins.

Drinkity

• Hot buttered rum. (via The Kitchn)

• Grapefruit mimosas.

Crafty

• Franklin shares some lovely 70s knit and crochet pictures.

Cool

• LEGO axle sorter.

• Geeky proposal using Iron Man’s heart. (Not gory!)

• Really geeky proposal using actual DNA fragments.

• Handmade silver TARDIS. (via The Mary Sue)

• Doctor Who stamps in the UK. (via The Mary Sue)

Cool or Wha…?

• Crocheted police car sculpture.

• Pantone color swatch scarves.

Wha…?

• A 15-year old wanted so badly to go online after her internet curfew that she drugged her parents to do so.

• Hormel (maker of Spam) bought Skippy (peanut butter). Please, please, let there be no peanut-butter Spam…

• Reese’s Peanut Butter Christmas Tree.

• Chainmail shoes.

LOL

• A very useful medic alert bracelet… (via The Mary Sue)

• Completely different way to provide directions. (Make sure you hover your mouse cursor over the comic for additional text.)

• New Year’s resolutions… (Again with the hovering.)

• Remember this, speshul snowflakes…

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Baby zebra! Cat! Kitten! Lionesses and babies! Bun! Kittens! Cat and kittens! Baby sugar gliders! Lynx and baby!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics! 🙂

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“It’s like a box, only I have better visibility!” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Alder, who won Little Stalker (College Fun & Gays #4) by Erica Pike!

Congrats to Joanne B, who won Soups and Diners by Alex Whitehall!

Congrats to laurie, who won the Winter Warmers anthology!

Congrats to Paula, who won The Prince of Galerir (The Galerir Saga #1) by Anna Lee!

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No Misadventure on Monday and no post on Tuesday as I take a little break. Happy holidays! 🙂

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Contests

• Shawn Lane’s giving away an ebook copy of one of her backlist books to five commenters. Closes 5 pm PST, December 21.

• Joyfully Jay’s giving away an ebook copy of Countdown to Santa by K-Lee Klein. Closes 11:59 pm EST, December 21.

• Blodeuedd’s having a dual contest – you can enter to win a copy of Seal at Heart by Anne Elizabeth or one of two autographed copies of Anne Elizabeth’s graphic novel, The Power Play. Closes December 30. US & Canada.

• Sloan Parker’s giving away an ebook copy of her forthcoming How to Save a Life and a $25 gift certificate to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or ARe. Contest closes 11:59 pm EST, January 1, and up to six winners will be selected, based on the number of comments.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (various types of romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Reading options for people with vision impairments. (Thanks, kmkat!)

• Give someone in your life the gift of uninterrupted reading time.

• Jenre lists some things that she’s found annoying of late in her m/m reading.

• Book fort!

• 12 tattoos inspired by books.

• Author Jim C. Hines once again attempts to recreate some poses of women on fantasy novel covers.

• George Takei reading from 50 Shades of Grey…

Ebookity

• Jordan Castillo Price explains how to email files to your Kindle.

Think, Make, Do, Learn

• Maybe conventional hairball treatments for cats are all wrong. (Thanks,  Jeanne!)

• Holiday stain removal infographic.

• 24 photos of presidents with kids.

• Boeing uses bags of potatoes in place of people to test in-cabin wifi signal strength.

• Tau Ceti might have Earth-like planets.

• Science discovers that money can buy happiness… if you spend it wisely.

• Where would the Three Wise Men really have ended up if they followed a star?

• After much ado, Instagram reverts back to its original Terms of Service for the advertising section. If you’d like to get rid of your Instagram account anyway, here’s how to back up your pictures and delete your account.

• The Matrix is one of the films being added to the National Film Registry this year. (That makes me feel old…)

• Does The Hobbit work at 48 fps 3D? One film critic shares his experience.

• Mythbusters took on the myths in the movie Titanic.

Cookity

• Gluten-free holiday recipes.

• 6 gluten-free bars.

• Gluten-free sweet potato turkey pizza.

• Savory stuffed sweet potato with white beans and kale.

• Greek salad and seafood stew.

• Christmas party penguin appetizers. (via CRAFT)

• Vegan fudgy bonbons.

• 8 vegan cookie recipes.

• 10 chocolate cookie recipes.

Drinkity

• 16 festive holiday drinks.

• 5 warm and festive holiday beverages that go with cookies.

Crafty

• 10 last-minute gifts you can make.

• Knit a quick garter stitch gaiter. (via CRAFT)

• Crochet a robot lovey blanket. (via CRAFT)

• Crochet granny Christmas trees. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Life-size Hobit Bag End made from LEGO.

• Movie and TV scenes recreated from LEGO.

• Geeky gingerbread creations.

• Geeky paper sculptures.

• The Wheatons and the TARDIS. (via Tor.com)

• TARDIS needle gauge. (via knittyBlog)

• Star Wars art exhibit.

• Behind-the scenes with Simon’s Cat.

• 20 quotes from Mister Rogers.

Cool or Wha…?

• LEGO purse.

• Captain Jack Harkness bathrobe.

Wha…?

• It looks more like a deli tray than a pizza…

• Rechargeable espresso machine.

• Spock ear earrings.

• Sriracha lip balm.

• I took this photo in a shop in my neighborhood – click to embiggen:

LOL

• 21 British people problems. (Thanks, Jenre!)

• Gandalf’s little dwarf problem… (Heh.) (via The Mary Sue)

• I have to wrap all my presents the morning of Christmas Eve and stick them in the car immediately…

• Erm, yes – this is when both kitties tend to bring me their favorite fetch toys…

• From a cat’s perspective…

Teh Cute

• Klipspringer! ZooBorns’ top 25 posts! Hedgies! Baby panda! Dolphin and baby! Baby pandas! Black kitten! Baby jaguars! Baby otter! Lion and baby! Daisy! More Daisy! Baby panda! Naughty kitties in a Christmas tree!

Reading Update
Hockey fics, FTW!

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“I was totally here first!!” -Mayhem

“Whatever.” -Chaos

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Congrats to Vivian A, who won Turning the Tables (Sex Sells #4) by Kim Dare!

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Contests

• Over at Joyfully Jay, Daisy Harris is giving away a dvd of Weekend and an ebook from her backlist. Not sure when this one ends.

• Obsidian Bookshelf is giving away an ebook copy of Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Katie Porter. Not sure when this one ends, either.

• LC Chase is giving away an ebook copy of The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney. Closes 11:59 pm PST, December 7.

• Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of The Christmas Carol by Em Woods and Charles Dickens. Closes 11:59 CST, December 8.

• Bookwyrm Knits is giving away winner’s choice of any Decadent/Bono ebook. Closes midnight PST, December 9.

• Joder’s also giving away an ebook copy of Subject 13 by Ethan Stone. Closes 11:59 pm CST, December 10.

• Over at Hearts on Fire Reviews, Ava March is giving away an ebook copy of O Come All Ye Kinky. Closes December 10.

• Armchair Reader Cole is giving away an ebook copy of The 7th of London by Beau Schemery. Closes midnight CST, December 11.

• Tracy’s Place is giving away Ripe for Seduction and Two Sinful Secrets by Isobel Carr. Closes 7 pm PST, December 12.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away Waltz with a Stranger by Pamela Sherwood. Closes December 13. US & Canada only.

• Tracy’s Place is giving away an ebook copy of O Come All Ye Kinky. Closes December 16.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Rarely Dusty Books (m/m romance), Tor.com (PNR), and Fiction Vixen (various sorts of romance).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Writing and m/m links from Becky Black.

• Tam’s curious whether continuity issues in books bother you. (YES.)

• I know you’re dying to find out who won this year’s Bad Sex Awards (for writing)…

• Mental_floss shares 25 words and phrases from 2012.

• Dream homes for readers. (via mental_floss)

• Lord of the Rings bookstore display. (via The Mary Sue)

• Smart Bitches bookish gift guide, part three.

Ebookity

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports on ebook buying and privacy. (via Chrissy Munder)

• How to give ebooks as presents.

Think, Learn, Make, Do

• Beer might have anti-virus benefits.

• Services that invade your privacy less than Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and more.

• 17 unusual holidays and anniversaries in December.

• Utilize your Tetris skills when moving.

Cookity

• Gluten-free Chex mixes.

• White bean and kale pesto dip. (via The Kitchn)

• Sweet potato casserole hash. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked sweet potato chips. (via The Kitchn)

• Yam and peanut stew with kale. (via The Kitchn)

• Spicy chicken soup.

• 10 simple suppers for the season.

• 10 recipes for marshmallows.

• Coffee mousse. (via The Kitchn)

• Cranberry bliss bars. (via The Kitchn)

• Caramel corn brittle. (via The Kitchn)

• Gluten-free lemon iced ginger thins.

• Whipped eggnog loaf cake.

• Spiced chocolate cupcakes with eggnog buttercream. (via The Kitchn)

• Chocolate fudge cookies with candy cane buttercream. (via The Kitchn)

• Golden snitch truffles. (via CRAFT)

• Peppermint coffee toddy.

Crafty

• Printable cross stitch wrapping paper. (via CRAFT)

• Crochet an amigurumi gnome. (via CRAFT)

• Knitty’s gift ideas for knitters.

• TECHknitting’s series on Kitchener continues with ribbing.

Cool

• New LEGO minifigs.

• TARDIS stocking. (via Bron’s Pinterest)

• Sir Ian McKellen on The Colbert Report.

• 10 geeky gingerbread creations.

• 12 quotes from Stephen Fry.

Cool or Wha…?

• Seasonal flavor offerings from well-known brands.

• Star Wars coffee makers.

Wha…?

• Wriggling usb tentacle… (Doesn’t contain a flash drive even.)

• Snake on a plane!

• Pizza Hut perfume.

• Bacon jello.

• White chocolate baby heads.

• 50 Menards employees are commuting from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to Minot, North Dakota, every week.

LOL

• Are you prepared for the alpacalypse?

• Grocery store map.

• Definitely not going to be enough coffee.

• Whoops!

• Just one of the many reasons Chaos isn’t allowed in my bedroom at night…

Teh Cute

• Baby cheetah! Baby lions! Ducklings! Baby pudu! Dog and baby tigers! Cheetah and babies! Kitten! Baby mountain zebra! Baby cheetah! Baby otters!  Baby penguins! Baby beaver! Baby panda! Baby tigers! Lynxes! Baby cheetahs! Polar bear and baby!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics FTW! 🙂

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“Hmm. I wonder if I can climb this blind?” -Mayhem