The Walking Dead: 5 Huge Differences between the Comics and TV Show (spoilers)

1.) Daryl mother-trucking Dixon:

I don't think I'm posting any major spoilers here for non-comic readers if I tell you, Daryl doesn't exist in the comics. Neither does his brother, Merle. No motorcycles,. No sexy in a you need to shower type of way man-meat.  There isn't even a character I can think of to draw a parallel to here, other than possibly attributing Tyreese's much less aggressive tv show counter-part to Daryl's existence as Rick's right hand man. Daryl is a brilliant character, and I have fallen in love with him, along with most of the country, but I can't predict what's going to happen to him from reading the comics. Which is probably what the TV show producers were going for. 

 2.) Carol is a strong psycho killer, with a dead daughter:

I'm sort of bundling here. For one, Sophia is dead on the show and alive in the comics. She becomes Maggie's adopted daughter, much like Enid on the show. This is of course after Carol dies in the comics. Which happens pretty early on in the comics. In the TV show, Carol has turned into a stone cold pragmatist who thinks nothing of putting bullets into people who have been infected with a virus and threaten to infect the group at large. It’s a huge transformation, both from her Season 1 days suffering emotional and physical abuse from her husband and from the comics, where she is a bit of a looker (not the mousy, short haired and quiet character in the show), a total nut job and much feistier, flirting with and dating Tyreese and suggesting a threesome with Rick and Lori.

3.) Where the heck is Andrea? 

Oh yeah, dead. Andrea's initial indecision and emotional imbalance annoyed many viewers. Her decisions to relocate to Woodbury, to begin a relationship with the Governor and to leave Rick’s group riled many fans; it was tantamount to unforgiveable betrayal. But her death, or turning, in the TV show is pretty hardcore. This episode just doesn’t happen in the comics. Instead, Andrea becomes a sharp shooter and is central to the defense of the prison. What the heck TWD!? Andrea was hands down my favorite female character in the comics. Don't get me wrong, Michonne is awesome, but Andrea is a sniping badass who ends up with Rick, as Carl's Mom. She is the perfect for Rick. The lack of Andrea has brought Michonne and Rick together which is great and all, but is going to be interesting to the story arc since it cancels out any chance of Michonne developing a relationship with the "King" of the Kingdom. They've really rearranged the characters here. Which is confounding, but I'm excited to see where they take it. Who will the whisperers end up killing NOW?!

4.) Dale's early demise:

God love him and his penchant for open Hawaiian shirts, bucket hats, that trusty RV and moral philosophy. Dale dies sooner, and far more suddenly, in the TV show than in the comics. In the former, a few walkers ambush and disembowel him as he takes an ill-advised walk through fields. In the latter, Dale’s demise is a more prolonged affair, involving two bites and an amputation to stymie the first. This has a few major plot affects. For one, he and Andrea never date. I know it seems weird and creepy but Andrea and Dale were totally in love in the comics. This also leaves an opening for Bob, the alcoholic medic, who in the comics was a white guy who falls in love with Lilly Caul and helps out the Governor. That was a really weird twist. 

5.) Morgan's super weird story line

So... on the show there's a goat and a homemade jail cell mixed with a zen buddhist attitude. All very strange. In the comics he leaves his crazy booby-trap infested home with Rick and makes his way to Alexandria with the group after the jail is blown up. He's with Rick when he goes all zombie crazy and bites a dude who's threatening Carl. He is one of Rick's main men. The change could be partially attributed to Daryl's place in the show or could have just been a scheduling conflict. Who knows?

Interested in catching up on the comics. Get started here!

So what do you think? Am I on point? Did I miss any HUGE differences you would have mentioned? Let me know in the comment section. 

5 Best Pacey and Joey Moments

Let's be honest Pacey and Joey are the best couple from Dawson's Creek, and possibly TV in general. Mostly because Pacey is the best character of all time.

#5 When Joey Leaves Capeside with Pacey on True Love

In the last episode of Season 3 all the Pacey/Joey/Dawson drama comes to a head and Joey has to choose (in one of many choices) which boy she wants to be with. For obvious reasons, she chooses Pacey, and a summer aboard the True Love. It also gave birth to the crying Dawson GIF, for which the internet will always be thankful.

The Scene I'm referring to starts at around 6 minutes and it is pure Joey and Pacey gold. 

#4 When Joey Tells Pacey That Touching Him Makes Her Feel Alive

And then Pacey is adorable and basically says, if you want me not to kiss you you'll have to stop me. Because he's basically the king of asking for consent in the sexiest most masculine ways possible.

#3 Pacey bought Joey a friggen WALL

If you don't remember this scene then you aren't a Dawson's Creek fan

YOU BOUGHT ME A WALL?!

Yes Joey, he bought you a wall because he is male perfection.

#2 When Joey Finally Kisses Pacey 

I'm just gonna let you watch this one for yourself

#1 is a tie, so you'll have to let me know which one wins 

THE FIRST KISS: 

Or

PACEY REMEMBERS EVERYTHING

And here are some honorable mentions in the form of someone else's opinion on the subject: 

So what do you think? Am I way off or totally on point? Are you one of those weirdo Dawson/Joey shippers?

Let me know in the comments.

If you love Dawson's Creek as much as I do, consider buying it on DVD with my affiliate link.

DIY Natural Easter Eggs

So with Easter and the Spring Equinox around the corner I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite traditions with you. I don't hide candy in my yard because well we still have a bag of candy leftover from Halloween. I don't eat it. My kids don't eat very much of it, and overall it ends up being a waste of money. So in keeping with our sort of Unitarian, respect for all cultures, vibe I like to do crafts that respect the origins of Easter.

What You Need:

• 1 Dozen (or more) white eggs (brown will not work well for this project)
• Large pots (2 or more for dyeing, 1 for boiling eggs)
• 1 head of red cabbage (blue, purple dye)
• 1 beet (red, pink dye)
• Jars for dyes
• Distilled white vinegar
• Old panty hose
• Twist ties (optional)
• Leaves, flowers, stickers – whatever you’d like to imprint on the egg

Step 1: Make Your Dye

In a large pot, mix 2 quarts of water and 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar. Then add 1 head of chopped red cabbage. This will make purple and blue dye. Bring the mixture to a boil and then let simmer for several hours until you get desired color. In another pot, mix 1 quart water 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar with 1 chopped beet for a red and pink dye. You can try other fruits and vegetables for other egg dye colors.

Step 2: Boil Eggs

After your dye is made, you’ll want to make hard boiled eggs. In a large pot, add cold water and your eggs. Then bring to a boil over medium heat. Once the water comes to a hard boil, let your eggs boil for 10 minutes. Take out and cool.

Step 3: Put Egg in Hose with Leaf

Take your panty hose and cut 4-inch squares – the hose should be flat – not doubled. Then lay your leaf down on the hose. Lay your egg on top of the leaf then cover with the hose. Make sure it is tight! Then use your twist tie to secure. You want to make sure your leaf is tight on the egg, if not, the dye will seep into the spots and bleed color where your leaf print should be.

Step 4: Dye Eggs

Put your eggs into the dye and let sit for at least 30-45 minutes – or longer if you want darker colors. For the darker eggs let them sit for four hours. You can use several jars to have more eggs dyeing at once.

Step 5: Dry Eggs

Let your eggs dry before taking off the hose! If they are still wet, they can drip into the imprinted spot. Being wrapped in the hose longer also makes them darker. You don’t want them to dry for too long or your egg will pick up imperfections from where they are laying. Make sure the leaf side isn’t touching anything when drying. The perfect time for drying is about 45 minutes to an hour. Unless they are super wet and in that case, try an hour and a half. 

Step 6: Let Leaf Dry

Once you take the hose off, you’ll want to make sure the rest of the egg is dry before pulling off the leaf. This only takes 10-15 minutes, unless your egg is completely dry already.

Step 7: Take off the Leaf

After everything is dry, gently pull off the leaf and see your imprint!

If you're more of a visual learner this YouTube video is a GREAT tutorial.

Mama Megan's Meatballs

So unfortunately for you guys I'm one of those horrible people who doesn't measure anything when cooking my own recipes. I apologize in advance but honestly you're going to want to mess around cooking these a few times before you find your own personal sweet spot.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

Italian breadcrumbs (between 1/2 cup and 1 cup)

Mozzarella cheese (to taste)

Parmesan cheese (anywhere from a 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup)

Basil (to taste)

Chives (to taste)

Minced onions (to taste)

Red pepper flakes (to taste)

One egg

Garlic (I use both powder and fresh minced)

Parsley (to taste)

Oregano (to taste)

About 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce or A1 sauce (or both) 

1 package mozzarella cheese sticks

Your favorite pasta sauce. I usually mix ragu with something a little more "Italian" like prego or Aldis brand and add sugar and red pepper to taste.

Step 1: Plug in your crockpot and fill it with pasta sauce. Set it on low. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

Step 2: Mix the rest of the above ingredients except for the mozzarella cheese sticks in a bowl.

Step 3: Chop the mozzarella cheese sticks into cubes, and roll the meatballs around the cubes.

Step 4: Put the meatballs in the oven for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes depending on the size of the balls and how long you plan on leaving them in the crockpot.

Step 5: Transfer the meatballs from the pan to the crockpot and set it to medium heat. Let them simmer for as long as you have til dinner time (the longer they stay in the sauce the more it will seep into the meatballs and the more flavorful they will be)

Serve with pasta or on subs.

Need a slow cooker? Check out this programmable one!

Essential Oils: Lemon

So while Lemon was not my second ever Essential Oil, it is my second most used oil. Partially because of how great it smells, and also because of it's many uses.

Medicinal uses:

• Immune Support: Lemon oil has a high vitamin content, which makes it a wonderful booster for the body’s immune system. It further stimulates white blood cells, thus increasing your ability to fight off diseases. Lemon oil also improves circulation throughout the body.

• Skin care: Lemon oil is a good remedy for increasing the luster of dull skin. It is astringent and detoxifying in nature, and rejuvenates sagging or tired-looking skin. Its antiseptic properties help in treating pimples and various skin disorders. Lemon is also recommended for reducing excessive oil on the skin.

• Stress: Lemon oil is calming in nature and therefore helps in removing mental fatigue, exhaustion, dizziness, anxiety, nervousness and nervous tension. It has the ability to refresh the mind by creating a positive mindset and removing negative emotions. It is also believed that inhaling lemon oil helps in increasing concentration and alertness. It can therefore be used as a room freshener in offices to increase the efficiency of the employees.

• Asthma: It is believed that lemons are also useful for treating asthma, since inhaling the aroma of lemons can clear the nasal passages and sinuses, promoting good air flow and steady breathing.

• Insomnia: Health benefits of lemon oil include providing relief from sleeplessness. Using lemon oil ensures good sleep and helps people that suffer from insomnia.

• Stomach ailments: Since lemon oil is carminative, it is used in the treatment of various stomach problems, including indigestion, acidity, upset stomach, and cramps. 

• Hair care: Lemon oil is also effective as a hair tonic. Many people use lemon oil to get strong, healthy and shiny hair. Lemon oil is also used to eliminate dandruff.

• Weight loss: Lemon juice is very helpful in reducing weight, and satisfying appetite to reduce the chance of overeating.

• Fever: Lemon oil is effective against infectious diseases such as fever, malaria and typhoid.

Other Uses in your home:

As you’d probably expect, there is a laundry list of lemon oil uses in addition to all of these medicinal effects. Here are some of my favorites:

• Laundry – In case you leave your laundry sitting in the washer too long, just add a few drop of lemon EO and your clothes won’t get that nasty smell.
• Teeth Whitener – Mix lemon essential oil, baking soda and coconut oil and rub on your teeth for 2 minutes and then dense as a natural teeth whitener.
• Clean Hands – Got greasy hands from working on your car or bike and regular soap isn’t doing the trick? No worries, just add a couple drops of lemon EO with your soap and get your clean hands back!
• Natural Disinfectant – Want to steer away from alcohol and bleach to disinfect your countertops and clean your moldy shower? Add 40 drops lemon oil and 20 drops tea tree oil to a 16-oz spray bottle fill with pure water (and a little bit of white vinegar) for a traditional cleaning favorite.
• Face-wash – Lemon essential oil uses for skin can can improve your complexion and leave your skin soft and supple.  Lemon oil benefits skin by deeply nourishing.  You can make lemon oil with baking soda and honey for a natural acne free face wash.
• Wood and Silver Polish – A lemon oil-soaked cloth will also help spruce up your tarnished silver and jewelry!  Lemon oil for wood cleaning is also great.
• Goo-Be-Gone – Un-stick the sticky goo your kids leave behind with stickers and gum with lemon oil.
• Promotes Fat-Loss – Putting 2 drops of lemon oil in your water 3x daily can support metabolism and weight loss.
• Improves Mood – Diffusing lemon essential oil in the air can lift mood and fight depression.
• Perfumes - Lemon oil has a distinctly refreshing aroma which makes it a good ingredient for perfumes. Many scented candles contain lemon oil, and it is also used in potpourris.
• Beverages - Lemon oil is used in various artificial drink concentrates to give them the taste of lemon juice.

Lemon oil blends well with many other essential oils including lavender essential oil, rose oil, neroli essential oil, sandalwood oil, geranium essential oil, ylang ylang essential oil, tea tree essential oil, making it a popular oil for herbalists and those who practice the healing art of aromatherapy.

So what about you? What do you use Lemon Oil for? Did I miss anything?

Elvenar review

So I used to be a huge fan of these "build your kingdom" games. It all started with Evony years ago and now every couple of years an ad, or friend, hooks me back into the madness. I HATE everything about these "pay to win" scenarios where spending any amount of time involved in the game requires a major investment but the game isn't completely awful.

Elvenar is a city-building strategy MMO set in the fantasy world of Elvenar, ancient and untouched for centuries. Players pick from Human or Elven civilization to build and support a grand city as its ruler, managing resources and training up an army to grow a great new empire. Going beyond typical city builders, Elvenar has a culture system that must be balanced by placing decorations and upgrading buildings.

Elvenar claims to offer "build, encounter, and fight...but it quickly becomes "log on, sit and watch".

In terms of "just the facts":

THE GAME 

Elvenar’s primary gameplay revolves around city/base building mechanics and resource acquisition and management to build up a working village, exploring a tech tree and ultimately expanding their land (the competitive Ranked aspects of the game focuses on the culture and populous of a village to determine who the top players are).

The game also focuses on a more hands-on combat system shying away from the more automated battle mechanics seen in other MMO’s of this nature, in Elvenar players will directly control their units in battle, choosing where they move, when they attack and what strategy to employ to find victory.

BUILDING A VILLAGE 

Players begin with an open plot of land where their Town Hall has already been constructed and from which they must raise a settlement to house their people. Constructing new buildings requires both resources and time, construction can take anything from seconds, minutes to even hours, though can be sped up by acquiring and spending premium Diamond currency.

Buildings serve a number of different purposes, everything from increasing population (that leads to gaining gold resources from villagers), workshops to create food and tools, barracks to train up new units for combat, culture buildings to increase the villagers’ happiness and much more.

BUILDING AN ARMY 

Each faction has access to 5 different units that are unlocked at various stages throughout the tech tree, whilst the factions have different units many of them follow similar base roles such as the Human Axe Barbarian and the Elven Sword Dancer being the primary melee troop, whereas the Elven Sorceress uses powerful ranged magic to reduce enemy damage the Human Priest focuses on using his divine abilities to lower an enemy’s defences.

Each unit as well as having its own style of combat and attacks will also have its own movement range when manoeuvring around the hex based combat maps, units can be moved and positioned to block access to their weaker units, take cover behind terrain features and use all manner of strategy to outflank and outsmart their opponent. Currently the game does not feature a PVP element and instead focuses primarily on combat against AI opponents.

UNCOVERING KNOWLEDGE 

Knowledge is power and by advancing through the tech tree players will gain access to new features, units, buildings and other means by which to improve their village. The tech tree itself is a long branching list of available technologies were players must determine their own preferred route, choosing the elements that are most important to their settlement and picking up prerequisite technologies to reach them. Players must earn and spend Knowledge Points to acquire their new technology, which can be done in various ways.

EXPLORING THE WORLD 

The world map is broken down into various locations/provinces that can be uncovered by spending gold to send out a Scout. Each province has eight relics that players can try to acquire, either through peaceful negotiation (costs gold) or through force and by fighting the defending inhabitants. With each relic acquired from a province players will gain a Knowledge Point to spend towards the technology tree and, once all eight relics in a province have been uncovered, the player may settle the area to expand their buildable land within their village.

The main element the game is really missing is the social aspect. There's no chat functionality, and the factions are completely useless to you. In my opinion Innogames dropped the ball on this one, but I do have faith that it could be fixed with some updates and tweaking.

Overall I give it a 2/5 and I feel like I might be overly generous at that.

Child of Light Review

So essentially, if you've ever read a review about this game you already know it's amazing. I've heard nothing but glowing feedback since the game came out. I was ignoring the buzz until Steam put it on sale for less than $4. You can't really lose at that price point.

This magical side scroller has the BEST animation I've seen in years. The artwork is beyond incredible. It's a little... awkward to call a video game "elegant" but when the shoe fits.. 

With earthy, hand-painted art style and charming character designs, it deftly sidesteps the tropey land mines that have littered the RPG landscape for the better part of a decade. Yet it still pays loving homage to what's come before it with enjoyable exploration and puzzle solving, and a combat system that's second to none. The intelligent simplicity with which it's been crafted makes it both easy to grasp, and rewarding to master in a way that very few RPGs can match.

The game focuses on a young girl named Aurora who’s trying to save her father rather than the other way around. There’s also a travelling jester who can’t figure out how rhyming works, a love-sick mouse archer. None of them adhere to the overly worn, widely accepted conventions of powerful men and sexualized women, and the motley cast is all the more memorable for it. Aurora’s transformation from a frightened child to the hero of her own story is framed relatably by filial strife, making her journey feel deeply personal despite the broad strokes it’s painted with.

Aurora learns that it is her destiny to recover the sun, moon, and stars from the evil queen who has stolen the light from the land. At first, she is understandably reluctant and even petulant about having this responsibility thrust upon her shoulders when all she wants to do is wake up back in Austria and hurry to her heartsick father's side. It's the way that she grows over the course of the game that makes her journey meaningful. She befriends a diverse group of characters who all have struggles of their own and who find their strength in each other, and her journey is empowering, but not altogether joyous. Child of Light is a richer game for the ways in which it acknowledges the hard decisions and the inevitable sadness that are part and parcel of leaving childhood behind.

You travel through Lemuria from a two-dimensional side-view perspective, and though you're bound to the ground like an ordinary girl when the game begins, early on you gain the power of flight. There are plenty of treasure chests for you to discover and optional side quests to complete, giving you an incentive to venture off the beaten path, soar up into the skies and explore every nook and cranny of these lands. Many areas also have environmental hazards and traps for you to avoid, and though these never pose too much of a challenge, they make navigating the world a bit trickier and more involving than it would be if it didn't have any dangers.

The only negative I can come up with for this game is that the story arc can get a bit tedious at times. The Shakesperean Iambic Pentameter can be a bit... offputting to say the least 

As one of the only turn based RPG's on the market I just HAVE to give this one a 4.5/5

Nerd Boxes, The Good The Bad and The Ugly (From My Personal Experience)

In this review I plan to go over what I consider to be "the big three" nerd/geek boxes. Lootcrate, Nerd Block and GeekFuel.

The first box I ever subscribed to was GeekFuel and to be honest, my husband and I both loved it. GeekFuel offers a "monthly mystery box of geeky goodness". They advertise a $50 value in every box. While this is the retail value of the products that ship like with any mystery box what the products are worth to you may vary. Every box ships with a t-shirt. If you bill monthly the box is $17.90 and costs an additional $6 in shipping. Making for a recurring payment of $23.90/mo. Below are a few of the GeekFuel boxes I received.

The pillow case pictured here has an "It's a nap" quote on it. Not gonna lie one of my favorite items to come in a GeelFuel Box.

This was the last GeekFuel box my husband and I received as part of our 6 month subscription and it made it REALLY hard to leave GeekFuel. I loooooove Firefly so the Jayne hat was amazing, and I'm also a huge Deadpool fan. So the keychain and shirt were big hits as well.

Another GeekFuel I received. I friggen LOVED my pac man salt and pepper shakers, Fallout poster and Star Wars shirt were also key. Oh, and my official vault tec badge. This was a solid box for me.

So I'm a huge fan of useable geek items. The Star Labs mug pictured here was a hit with me and I also really loved this time travel shirt, but with the exception of those 2 items this particular box wasn't super exciting for me. 

This was the first box we ever received from GeekFuel and let me tell you I was STOKED on those ice cube trays. I literally did a happy dance, and I loved the T-Shirt as well. 

Overall I have to say GeekFuel always had atleast 2 items in each crate that I would have gone and bought in a retail location. Which means for me I about broke even on what I would have spent shopping for these items. I'll add that GeekFuel usually ships with a steam code for an indie game and for some computer gamers that is a HUGE plus. I tend to game more on my consoles personally so it wasn't a big selling point for me. Overall I would definitely suggest GeekFuel to my friends, especially if they're big PC gamers.

My husband received his first LootCrate this month. I actually sent in an email to request the February "dead" box because I missed the cutoff by a day or two and they honored my request which is a HUGE plus for me. The T-Shirt is amazing. We got a walking dead character (ours was Daryl) and so overall we were super happy with the box. I personally also subscribed to the Firefly Cargo Crate but haven't received the first one yet, but I will definitely update once it arrives.

I'm glad LootCrate is offering some variety in their crates now. They offer an anime crate, firefly cargo, are launching a star wars crate soon, and offer both a standard and leveled up general crate. They also have a lootcrate specifically for gamers and one for pets.

The Standard LootCrate boasts $45 worth of loot in each crate and is $13.95 plus $6 shipping, so you pay $19.95/mo. They do now include a t-shirt in each crate which is awesome. They do offer a level up option but personally I wouldn't do it. It's costly although you do have the option to add and remove it month by month if you see they're offering something you want. 

NerdBlock has the choices we all crave!! Seriously if you want to go through one company to get boxes for the whole family NerdBlock is the way to go. My first "block" was the comic block and it came with 3 comics plus a rad t-shirt. ABSOLUTELY worth the $19.99/mo especially if you factor in that they are GUARANTEEING you atleast a $60 value. If you love comics this is definitely a must have.

Pictured here is the "stuff and things" that came in both my Sci-Fi NerdBlock and my classic NerdBlock, minus the t-shirts. Which were both pretty cool.

NerdBlock offers Classic, Arcade, Sci-Fi, Horrow, and Comic Blocks, all for $19.99/mo and they all include t-shirts. They also offer a Jr option for both boys and girls at $13.99. If you check RetailMeNot there are almost always coupon codes. I used the code SUBBOX for 10% off, but check the site because they're always changing.


Overall I loved literally every subscription service I tried, but in terms of value, and overall selection I really think that NerdBlock  is the "winner". LootCrate is a close second and unfortunately although I loved every box I received GeekFuel ranks last. They're the most expensive and only offer one option. Any one of these crates is a good option and if you're a PC gamer like I stated earlier GeekFuel is the way to go. But if you're just a collector looking to have something added to your collection each month without having to go to the store or surf the web, NerdBlock or LootCrate are better options. If you have the extra cash I suggest giving them all a try, and please click on my referral links found in this blogpost. It will get you a credit and me a credit. That's a WIN-WIN.

So what's your opinion? Which block/crates/boxes have you tried? What's your favorite? Do you have a favorite item you received? Am I on point or off base? Let me know in the comments.

And if you have a subscription service you want me to try/review send an email to megan@megan-killion.com with details and I'll try to help you out.




Happy Friday!

How to make unique address change announcements/house warming invitations

The awesome thing about this project is that most of the materials are free. Paint sample chips are the basis for the whole thing.

I picked up some large ones and small ones so that I could hole punch and tie them together with ribbon.

There are a ton of paint chip sample moving announcement card ideas on pinterest so you don't have to do it exactly the way I did. I tried to pick up samples that mostly jived with the colors we picked for our house.

Step 1:
Pick up as many paint swatches as you can! You can find a variety of FREE (yes, FREE) samples at any Home Depot, Lowe’s, or local paint/hardware stores. You need to pick up a stack of the large multi-colored swatches and another stack of the smaller, single colored swatches.

Step 2:
Pick up the remainder of your supplies.
- Adhesive Labels (or name tags)
- Ribbon
- Scissors
- Hole Punch
- Envelopes & Stamps if you plan on mailing these out

Here’s the scoop on the labels, or name tags. You can pick up these cheap, sticky labels at any local office supply store. I bought mine for less than $4 at Wal-mart. I bought one package that contained 80 labels. (You don’t necessarily have to use this size, but make sure your labels will fit on your single colored paint swatches). I’ll let you do that math.

I prefer to use Avery labels because you can use the model number to download the template onto your computer. Once you’ve downloaded your template, it is easy to plug in your text, copy this text onto each label and press PRINT. Yup, it’s that easy! You don’t have any excuses; you can totally make these! I used one size for the front "address announcement" and another size underneath for the "party invite" for those we wanted to invite to our housewarming. The label sizes I used were 25395 and 5422.

Step 3:
Use the downloaded template to type in your message. Once you complete one label, simply copy and paste this same text onto each of the remaining labels and… PRINT!

Step 4:
Put it all together!
Take these new labels and stick them on your small paint swatches…
Stack a multi-colored paint swatch (bottom), with one or two smaller swatches and add a hole punch…
Tie them together with a little ribbon. The biggest decision from here- bow or no bow? You decide.

Step 5:
Add your home announcements to an envelope and send these bad boys out to make your new purchase official!

Photos coming soon.

How to make an AWESOME Fallout Gift yourself

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1af2/

Label, for a Nuka Cola Cherry wrapped around Jones Cherry Zilch

Cram Label wrapped around a can of spam

Radaway Label slapped on a bloodpack energy drink can also be used for blood pack. Alternatively this would also work.

Rad-X label around a Flintstones gummies bottle should do nicely

Here is a tutorial on how to make a Stimpak

Need: Locktight super glue

10mm syringe with plunger

A nail

Pressure Gauge

Strip of Brass 1/4 inch wide completely flat, 8.5 inches long

2 mm craft foam

Exacto knife

Ruler

11/16 outer diameter washer

Kwik Seal

Pliers

Secondary tutorial just in case. I'll probably end up making some combination therein.

Both Jet and Addictol are basically just inhalers, with red handles. Which means I will somehow have to find my inhaler(s)

Med-X is just a metal syringe with purple (or teal) liquid

Nuka-Cola Caps seem easy enough, because deviants before me are amazing. These New Vegas caps are extra awesome

Sugar bombs label goes around a cereal box. I'll have to print it before I decide which cereal box.

Fury/Psycho looks extremely complicated to make, but maybe I can figure it out.. or commission one.

Mentats label should be wrapped around some altoids resulting in something like this

I can't find any x-cell tutorials yet, but hopefully that will have changed by April

Looks easy enough to make an irradiated blood label if I bother buying a green blood pack. I could use that one for all of them, I suppose.

Now all I need is a purified water, deezer's lemonade, dirty water and bobrovs best moonshine label and I should be ready to roll. 

I think I'll pick up an ammo box to put it all in. This particular one would need some green and yellow paint.

Throw in some cases of ammo with labels probably wrapped around match boxes

And maybe some Grognak comics , a you're special book, Tesla Science (on a science journal?), guns and bullets (on a gun magazine?), and a massachusetts surgical journal or 2

Ah a tumblr dedicated just to fallout props *dies*

This girl did a particularly amazing job with hers.


< br /> If you don't want to do it yourself there's someone on etsy who sells them.

Some of My Favorite Quotes from Firefly (the best television show ever) and Serenity

YOU CAN'T STOP THE SIGNAL!!!!

So I don't know if y'all are aware, but Firefly is just about my favorite show on the planet. I've rewatched the one and only existing season so many times I have it pretty much committed to memory. So, from my personal database enjoy my favorite quotes:

Mal: "Jayne, your mouth is talking. You might wanna look to that."

River: "I can kill you with my mind."

Mal to Jayne: "Well, my time of not taking you seriously is coming to a middle."

Wash: "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal."

Jayne: "Let's go be bad guys!"

Jayne: "Ten percent of nothin' is ... let me do the math here ... nothin' into nothin' ... carry the nothin' ... "

Mal: "I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you."

Mal: "If you can't run, you walk, and if you can't walk you crawl, and if you can't crawl... if you can't do that, then you find somebody to carry you."

Jayne: "You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin charge here."

Jayne: See, I married me a powerful ugly creature.

Mal: [in disguise in a dress and large bonnet] How can you say that? How can you shame me in front of new people?

Jayne: If I could make you purtier, I would.

Mal: [gasps] You are not the man I met a year ago.

Shepherd Book: "If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater."

Mal: "Someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill 'em right back!"

Zoe: "If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skin into their clothes ... and if we're very, very lucky, they'll do it in that order."

Mal: "If anyone gets nosy, just ...you know ... shoot 'em. "

Zoe: "Shoot 'em?"

Mal: "Politely."

Wash: "I've been under fire before. Well ... I've been in a fire. Actually, I was fired. I can handle myself."

Mal: "Next time you want to stab me in the back, have the guts to do it to my face."

Shepherd Book: "Captain, you mind if I say grace?"

Mal: "Only if you say it out loud."

Wash: "Man walks down the street in a hat like that, you know he's not afraid of anything ... "

Mal: "You're welcome on my boat. God ain't."

Mal: "We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

Mal: "We're not gonna die. We can't die. You know why? Because we are so very pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die."

Wash: "Sweetie, we're crooks. If everything were right, we'd be in jail."

Badger: "Crime and politics, little girl: the situation is always... fluid."

Jayne: "The only fluid I see here is the puddle of piss refusin' to pay us our wage."

Wash: "Can we maybe vote on the whole murdering people issue?"

Jayne: "Time for some thrilling heroics."

Mal: "I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you."

Mal: "And I never back down from a fight."

Inara: "Yes, you do! You do all the time!"

Simon: "I'm very sorry if she tipped off anyone about your cunningly concealed herd of cows."

So what about you? What's your favorite quote from Firefly? Did I miss anything important? Use the comment box to let me know!

First post in my Essential Oils Series: Lavender

Lavender was my first essential oil, and I discovered it while googling how to get rid of fleas naturally. I have to say, I'm so glad this is where I started. For one I love the smell of this particular oil, and if you're only ever going to use one essential oil this is it!!

Medicinal uses:

• Antioxidant Protection: Researchers from China have recently discovered that lavender essential oil helps your body produce three of your bodies most powerful antioxidants, glutathione, catalase, and SOD within 22 hours of using lavender essential oil! Romanian scientists have seen similar results after just seven days of inhaling lavender essential oil vapor for 60 minutes a day.  They found that diffusing lavender oil protected cells from damage that can lead to cancer.

• Treatment for Diabetes: In 2014, Scientists from Tunisia set out to complete a fascinating task: to test the effects of lavender essential oil on blood sugar to see if it can help diabetes. During the 15-day study, the results observed by researchers were absolutely amazing. In a nutshell, lavender essential oil treatment protected the body from the following symptoms of diabetes: blood glucose increases, metabolic disorders, weight gain, liver and kidney antioxidant depletion,  liver and kidney dysfunction, and lipoperoxidation.

• Improves Mood and Supports Brain Function: 2013 was the year lavender was put on the pedestal for its unique ability to protect against neurological damage. Traditionally, lavender has been used to treat neurological issues like migraines, stress, anxiety, and depression so it’s exciting to see that the research is finally catching up to history. Just last November, for instance, an evidence-based study was published by the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice.  The study found that supplementing with 80 mg capsules of lavender essential oil alleviates anxiety, sleep disturbance and depression. Additionally, in the study there were no adverse side effects from using lavender oil to treat anxiety, insomnia and depression.  Whereas we know pharmaceutical drugs like prozac have dangerous side effects. And according to research, lavender essential oil benefits don’t stop there, it has also been shown to reduce symptoms and development of Alzheimer’s disease! Last year, the journal Phytomedicine published a study which highlighted that inhaling lavender essential oil vapor for 60 minutes a day was shown to prevent brain oxidative stress in rats with dementia. Another study published in 2012 took 28 high-risk postpartum women and found that by diffusing lavender in their home they had a significant reduction of postnatal depression and reduced anxiety disorder after a four-week treatment plan of lavender aromatherapy. Also in 2012, the Swiss journal Molecules printed the results of a study that shockingly proved that lavender is a viable treatment option for stroke. Yes stroke! Another study proving that lavender aromatherapy improves mood was done on people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results revealed that just 80 mg of lavender oil per day helped decreased depression by 32.7% and dramatically decreased sleep disturbances, moodiness, and overall health status in 47 people suffering from PTSD.

• Heals Burns and Cuts: Widely known for its antimicrobial properties, lavender has a rich history of being used to prevent various infections and combat bacterial/fungal disorders. In fact, almost 100 studies have been conducted establishing this truth over and over again. For example, in a study evaluating how lavender’s antimicrobial ability is enhanced when blended with other essential oils like clove, cinnamon and tea tree oil. Specifically, a 1:1 ratio of these oils was found to be the most effective in fighting against Candida albicans and Staph aureus, which are both common causes for many fungal and bacterial infections that lead to respiratory pneumonia and skin funguses.

• Dermatological Benefits: Most likely due to its antimicrobial and antioxidant characteristics, lavender essential mixed with aloe or coconut oil has profound benefits on your skin. Just 10 drops per 1 ounce of aloe vera or oil will sooth the worst sunburn and bring rapid healing to dry skin, minor cuts and scraps. Research has even proven its ability to speed recovery from canker sores and can prevent allergic reactions. Want to reduce age spots?  Try mixing lavender oil with frankincense essential oil and put it on your skin first thing in the morning, right after you shower and right before bed.  Success stories of these two oils improving age and sunspots are numerous.

• Helps Cure Headaches: According to a study published in the European Journal of Neurology people struggling with migraine headaches saw a significant reduction in pain when they inhaled lavender oil for 15 minutes. Probably the most effective natural treatment for headaches is combing lavender oil with peppermint oil and rubbing these oils on the back of the neck, the temples on the lateral side of the forehead along with inhaling it. Typically 2 drops of each oil in the palm of your hand then rubbed into the areas works perfectly.

• Improves Sleep: A study on college students found that using lavender oil improved the overall quality of sleep by 60%. This included length of sleep, time it took to fall asleep, restfulness and reduced symptoms of insomnia. Another study published in the Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine found that lavender oil showed immediate improvements on 5 men and 5 women who struggled with insomnia. If you are trying to improve your quality of sleep diffusing lavender before or during sleep can help. Also, you can rub it directly on your neck, chest and temples which is also effective. If you do struggle with sleep I have found that making a mixture of lavender oil, roman chamomile oil and magnesium oil is the best overall combination in improving sleep. And finally, taking a healing bath by adding 15 drops of lavender oil and 1 cup of epsom salts to the bathtub is another effective way to use lavender oil to improve sleep and relax the body.

• For a Bee Sting: Put a drop of Lavender oil on a bee sting or insect bite to stop itching reduce swelling.

• To help with motion sickness: To alleviate the symptoms of motion sickness, place a drop of Lavender oil on end of tongue, behind the ears or around the navel.

• To Stop a nose bleed: To stop a nosebleed, put a drop of lavender oil on a tissue and wrap it around a small chip of ice. Push the tissue covered ice chip up under the middle of the top lip to the base of the nose and hold as long as comfortable or until the bleeding stops (do not freeze the lip or gum).

A few additional medical benefits include, soothing chapped lips or skin, deterring hay fever, removing and limiting dandruff, and reducing the redness and swelling of a cold sore.

As Pest Control: The following are just a few of the pests Lavender Oil can keep at bay:

• Bed Bugs
• Fleas
• Lice
• SilverFish
• Ants

How should you use Lavender Oil as pest control? One way is to get a pistol-grip squirt bottle. Mix a few drops of the oil with some water, shake it up, and start firing. If you have bugs on your plants, like aphids on your roses, you can squirt the leaves and drive the bugs away with no harm to your plant. You can do the same with the other pests. As for bugs that crawl into your home, you can smear a line across your kitchen counter or floor and the buggies won’t cross it. If you already have a line of these bugs invading your house, just draw a line of oil across them and they will turn back. It is fun to watch. And as for flying insects, you can knock them dead right out of the air with one shot from your pistol grip. When you go into the woods and fields, put a little lavender around your ankles, wrists, and waist-band and you won’t have to worry about chiggers or ticks (or Lyme Disease of Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever). Lemongrass, sage or thyme would work, too, but might irritate your skin so put it on your pant cuffs and shirt sleeves. 

Other Uses in your home:

• As a natural perfume
• As a non toxic air freshener
• As a natural chemical free lipbalm with mint, lemon, honey or just good old fashioned coconut
• As a remedy for stomach discomfort (put 1 drop in atleast 12 ounces of water and drink)
• As a secret flavor booster

Lavender Oil Side Effects to Consider:

For most people, using lavender oil is completely safe, however there has not been an extensive amount of scientific research done on lavender oil interactions with other medications, or for its use in pregnant women, so there are certain situations where you will want to use caution.

Medication Interactions

If you are already taking any prescription medication for sleep related disorders or for depression, be cautious of the fact that lavender can increase the effectiveness of these medications. Even if you use an over-the-counter sleep aid or any type of sedatives (even cough or flu medicine), keep in mind that lavender makes many people sleepy and even somewhat drowsy, so it’s best to not combine lavender oil with other medications or sleep-related supplements. If you are planning on having surgery or undergoing anesthesia in the near future, you will also want to avoid using lavender oil.

Pregnant Women and Children

There has not been enough research done at this time to show that lavender oil is completely safe for pregnant women or women who are nursing. Because it can have a relaxing effect on muscles and can also effect hormone levels, it’s not recommended that women who are in their third trimester use lavender oil. It’s best to speak with your doctor about use of any essential oils when pregnant, since it has not been guaranteed that these are safe at this time.

Lavender oil is considered generally safe for children to use, although there is some concern that lavender’s effect on hormone levels could be harmful for boys who have not yet gone through puberty. Although there isn’t strong evidence for lavender being a hormone disrupter (only 1-2 very small studies were ever completed), parents are told to use caution if using lavender oil frequently on young children.

Ingesting Lavender Oil

Studies to date have primarily looked at the effects of using lavender oil topically on the skin or inhalation. There have been no negative symptoms found when 3 drops of oil is mixed with a carrier oil and applied directly to the skin, however not much research has formally been done to look at the effect of swallowing the oil. Most people experience no negative symptoms when consuming lavender oil, but because of it’s high levels of anti-oxidants you would want to keep this to a minimum and be careful if you have a sensitive digestive system. There are no known food interactions of lavender oil at this time.

Megan's Essential Guide to Hilarious YouTube Videos

Ok so I realize a lot of these are old, so bare with me, because I am old. But these are the YouTube videos that in my humble opinion you CANNOT miss.

Llamas with Hats

All you young whipper snappers are lucky. You have all 12 here, when I became a fan there were only 3, and then 4... then I wasn't paying attention and suddenly a few months ago I was browsing the internet and BAM 12 complete episodes. An entire series. They can be better if you give em some time in between so don't feel pressured to watch it all at once. 1-4 are arguably the best ones

OLD GREGG Old Gregg is arguably the most essential YouTube video of all time... but I cannot for the life of me find the full version anywhere. So here are a few "essential clips"

OH MY GOSH I FOUND A BETTER VERSION... From the DailyMotion but you will just have to accept it. Love Games. Baileys.

My New Haircut

JAGER BOMBS!!!!!!

The end of the world

FIRE ZE MISSSILES


Ok guys, so what are your favorite videos. What did I miss? Use the handy comment field to let me know.

How to turn cube organizers into bench seats

So, when I bought my house I immediately hated the kitchen and we're going to be doing a lot of renovating in there over the next few months. There's a TON of space but most of it is wasted. So I thought I'd share my first real kitchen project with you all. I made my 3 cube organizers that I'd been using as an entertainment center into bench seats for an eat in kitchen.

What you'll need

• Cube Organizers. Walmart has cheap ones (that happen to be the ones I was working with)
• Measuring tape
• Paint to match your kitchen theme
• Upholstery fabric, I chose a vinyl from a local shop that I got for a steal. They're closing down their upholstery section so everything was on clearance. 
• Foam. I got mine from Walmart but ideally you probably want high density foam from Jo-Anns, but my local Jo-Anns had such sub par service I could NOT give them my money, and their prices were crazy.
• Either thick cardboard or thin plywood
• Staples and a staple gun
• Upholstery glue
• Carpet tape

You should be ready to start your project

1. Measure twice cut once. Measure everything. How tall, how long, how wide etc. Start with your cube storage.
2. Make a diagram, seriously this will help you out if you want to shop around for fabric and plywood. 
3. Cut your plywood or thick cardboard to the top of your cube storage. 
4. Cut a piece of 1-2 inch foam to fit on top of the plywood or cardboard. 
5. I suggest gluing it to the plywood but it's not truly necessary. 
6. Measure and cut your fabric to give you about an extra inch of fabric underneath the foam. You want to wrap your fabric around the foam and plywood and leave an inch underneath to staple on. 
7. Set your upholstery fabric with light gluing underneath the plywood, and let that dry. 
8. Staple the fabric to the plywood every 3-4 inches around the entire perimeter.
9. Add carpet tape around the inside of the fabric to prevent slipping (you can also use velcro on both the plywood and the cube storage)
10. Place the cushion on your bench and voila! You have a bench seat. 

Pictures are coming soon. I have to upload from my phone and it's being a little odd right now. 

I also did a similar project with my hope chest and I'll outline that in a future blogpost.