Photo Credit: Flavorwire.com
Flavorwire: 9 Weird Subculture Holidays You Didn’t Know Existed
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Some of these are just plain ridiculous! But hey, any day to party works for me!
Happy Friday & Geek Pride Day All!
Author Archives: Palm Trees & Bare Feet
Daily Question: Influential Reads
Daily Question by Thought Questions
A:
The one book that has had the biggest influence on my life is The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Photo Credit: Goodreads
I was probably around 13 years old when I first “discovered” this book. I found it in Lexington, Michigan (where my family’s cottage is) at a small fudge shop. Yes, at a fudge shop. It was on a shelf by itself, and I remember picking it up and instantly became drawn to it. I purchased it immediately, and over the next couple of years I continued to read it over and over.
I don’t know if I related to the protagonist, Charlie (I know I definitely fell in love with him!), or if I related to the whole story in general, but something about this book has become a part of me.
*Note: I know there’s a movie coming out based on this book, but I will NOT be seeing it. I do not want to ruin my own vision and love for this book by seeing a movie that will probably do it no justice.*
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What book has had the greatest influence on your life?
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*Don’t forget to leave a link of your own answers to the daily question in the comments section below! The photo was taken from thoughtquestions.com.*
Coking the Drain
In our Spanish apartment, we do not have a garbage disposal. Actually, I don’t think I have ever been to a Spanish household with a garbage disposal, and when my boyfriend came to the States the first time, he was fascinated with the gurgling, food-grinding contraption in my mother’s kitchen sink. We also do not have a dishwasher, so I must hand wash the dishes on a daily basis.
I don’t mind washing the dishes. It seems to relax me, and I do a lot of daydreaming while scrubbing those suckers clean. However, I must be very careful not to let food go down the sink so as not to clog it. Sometimes though I do get lazy, and instead of walking to the garbage can I allow some food to slip down the drain figuring the water will wash it down to where ever those pipes lead. Unfortunately, my laziness has come back to haunt me and now our pipes are clogged. The water will not drain, but instead slowly rises with each rinse of each dish, causing my dish washing experience to last longer as I have to wait for the water to slowly drain until I can continue.
Finally fed up, especially since my boyfriend refuses to do the dishes so the task is all on me, I demanded we get some pipe cleaner to clear out the clogged mess that is making my usually 20 minute chore into an hour one. Yesterday, when the boyfriend got home from work, we went to the panaderia and asked if they had any pipe cleaner. The sweet old couple who own the bakery, and knows everyone’s name, said they did not but instead suggested we should try using Coke. I doubted that using Coca-Cola would work, but politely listened to their instructions and purchased a liter of Coke.
“I highly doubt this will work,” I told my boyfriend as we both looked down the kitchen drain.
“I don’t know, but we could at least try it,” he said.
So, as I am the matriarch of the kitchen, I began the process of declogging the sink with Coke.
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Step 1: Pour an entire liter of coke directly into the kitchen sink’s drain.
Step 2: Wait for an hour and let the coke do its thing.
Step 3: After the hour is up, turn on the faucet and let hot water run for about 5 minutes
Step 4: Wait another hour before using the sink.
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Now, like I said before, I was a little skeptical about using Coke to actually declog a drain. I have heard that Coke could be used for some crazy things, but just thought it was all a myth. However, when I ran the water an hour later, directly down the drain the water went, not filling up the sink. I couldn’t believe that a 2 and some hour process, with one of the most popular drinking products, could declog a sink.
After witnessing this, I decided to research what other uses Coke had. Some included:
- Stripping paint off furniture.
- Dissolving a tooth.
- Cleaning a toilet bowl.
While I don’t usually drink Coke, or really any kind of soda because I get massive headaches from the caffeine, I definitely will not be drinking Coca-Cola any time soon. I mean, if it is used to declog a sink, imagine what that does to your stomach!
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*Note: The photos were taken from Google Images. The three Coke uses were taken from wisebread.com, and you can click the link to see more. The opinions, thoughts, phrases, and words in this post are my own: © Kalie Lyn, 2012.*
Link of the Day: Discovering California’s Past
Photo Credit: Marc Shur
Flavorwire: Photos of Vintage Signs Documenting California’s Past
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I am absolutely fascinated by old signs. Whenever I go to garage sales in the States, I am always on the look-out for signs. I LOVE Marc Shur’s signs of California here, so definitely check them out!
Happy Thursday All!
Daily Question: I Never Get Tired of _____.
Daily Question by Thought Questions
A:
I seem to never get tired of driving.
I love being behind the wheel (I do get bored if I’m not the one driving), and one of the best things in the world for me are road trips. The feeling of being on the road, with my best friends, and seeing new places and sights is so exhilarating for me. One of my biggest bucket list tasks is to take a giant road trip around the United States.
Unfortunately, for the last 4 years I have been living in Spain, I haven’t been able to drive. My boyfriend, bless his heart, has never gotten his drivers license. Actually, no one on his mother’s side has ever driven in their life. Because of this, we have to take public transportation everywhere and that unfortunately limits where we can travel to. The only good side of this is that when I go back to the States one month a year, it really makes me appreciate the freedom of having a car!
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What do you never get tired of?
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*Don’t forget to leave a link of your own answers to the daily question in the comments section below! The photo was taken from thoughtquestions.com.*
Link of the Day: Honoring a Beautiful Woman Today
Photo Credit: gwenfrostic.com
Michigan in Pictures: Happy Gwen Frostic Day!
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I have been a fan of Gwen Frostic since I was a little girl. My mother visited the Gwen Frostic studio with her parents, and she has taken my sister and me where I started my collection of Ms. Frostic’s beautiful stationary and greeting cards with her iconic nature designs.
Since today is Gwen Frostic day, I thought it was only appropriate for the link of the day to be from one of my favorite blogs here on WordPress: Michigan in Pictures. Click on the link above and check out the honoring of Gwen Frostic, and make sure to check out the interview with this amazing woman.
Happy Wednesday All & Happy Gwen Frostic Day!
Daily Question: What Every Child Deserves
Daily Question by Thought Questions
A:
I think that every child deserves to dream big.
I know that some parents try to encourage their children to stay out of their heads and focus on reality, or to stop drawing in their room and to make some friends, or to get their nose out of a book and go outside to play. Of course, children need variety, and drawing, reading, and daydreaming all day is not healthy or ideal, but allowing children the option to dream is very important. One part of childhood is believing in magic and things that most adults have grown out of, and children are beautiful because of this ability. I think it’s important for parents to encourage creativity, imagination, and unrealistic goals.
As a kid, I had a wild imagination and unrealistic dreams of the future (and still do). And because of that, I have adapted the mind set that nothing is impossible, and with enough work, anything can be achieved. Dreaming big has also allowed me to be a more open-minded person, which also helps me be a better writer. I’m the girl, at the age of 22, who still believes in unicorns and mermaids, has trust that good people will stay the same and bad people can change, and that each one of us has the ability to make an impact on the world. Realistic? I don’t know, but it allows me to sleep better at night.
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What do you think every child deserves?
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*Don’t forget to leave a link of your own answers to the daily question in the comments section below! The photo was taken from thoughtquestions.com.*
