Monday Manic Roundup * Yup. We're Trying Something New.

I don't know about you, but Mondays always seem to be off the charts insane.  Fridays can be a little nutty and I've never really been a Wednesday fan, but Mondays = Ugh.  Like today, for example.I had wanted to have this post out to you this afternoon like normal.  But, nooooooo - my day got filled up with unscheduled vet visits (dang Red Dog) and conference calls (dang real job) and other crap like eating lunch (dang stomach).  
Since Mondays are always such a nut job, I thought I would try something new.  A regular feature like our Friday Quickies.  Maybe then you and I both will look forward to Mondays a little bit.  So, until I decide to do something different, which could be at any time -just ask The Hubbs - on Monday afternoons I'm going to give you a little homework.  Not real homework, like back in high school.  Cool homework.  Like . . . . well, it's not like homework at all really.  
Every week I come across cool stuff that's not a big enough deal to write a whole post about, but it is still pretty cool and I feel like it's worth telling you about.  That's where our Monday Manic Roundup will come in.  Just a few tidbits to go check out, read about, try out, or buy.  Hence the reference to homework - you do have to click the links.  That's it. You'll get a gold star and an A for the day.  When was the last time homework was that easy?! There's no rhyme or reason to these things.  No theme.  Nothing connecting one to another beyond they're just some stuff that I thought you'd like.

To start off our new time together, I have a couple of things.  One, I was back home in Iowa this weekend with the fam and we went to eat my "all time favorite of anywhere in the whole world" pizza at Felix and Oscars.  I love it.  More than that I love it.  No, more than that still.  So much so, that when I still lived in Des Moines, I could call up, just tell them what I wanted to order and they'd say, "Ok, Wendy, we'll see you in thirty minutes."  It's kinda cool and kinda bad when your pizza place knows you buy voice.  In any event, these days, I'm on a gluten free, corn free, dairy free, just about everything but bacon free diet per my doctor, but I temporarily put all of that out of my mind to go have pizza with several friends and family members.  And it was AWESOME.  On the way, my long time BFF (since 1983 and counting) and I were riding together and came up with a fun new slogan (one or both of us may have been a bit frustrated at the time).  Then later I decided I needed a picture of our pizza.  And then I combined the picture with the new slogan.  So, I put it on a tshirt, belt buckle, iPad cover and a tote bag for you.  You need it.  Them. All of them.  Because pizza is awesome.  But come back after you go gorge yourself on pizza gear because I want to know what your favorite pizza is. We all want to know. So, leave it in the comments section below.

You know what else is awesome? Waking up and finding that one email in your inbox has all the news you need to avoid looking like a moron.  I've written about TheSkimm before but I thought it's worth mentioning again.  I don't know who these Skimm peeps are, but they're funny (and I know funny) and on top of things and it only takes me about two minutes to read their email each day.  And I like them.  Go sign up for your own TheSkimm email here.  

And last but not least (for this week, anyway) is my new current addiction.  We all relax in different ways.  The Hubbs reads about ancient Roman history (blech!) and one of my bonus daughters likes to go sing by herself in her room (makes more sense to me than the Roman history thing).  Myself, I tend to enjoy zoning out a bit. And what better way to do that (other than with wine) than playing a sort of mindless video game on my iPad?  I'm totally addicted and I can't stop.  I even downloaded it for my mom on her new iPad this weekend.  You should go download it too (for both Apple and Android products).  It's called TwoDots.  The graphics are darling, you can compete with your friends (via Facebook) and you can even order up yourself or someone else some really cute postcards as you move through the various levels.  
Alright, so to recap, we've got you covered on the news of the day so you look smart, cool new products in my store so you look smart AND funny, and a new video game to play while you should be doing other things.  My work here is done.  Annnnndddd. . . .You're welcome.