Monday, June 23, 2014

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

So while I do love The Sound of Music, this post isn't exactly about that.  I just wanted to take a few words to tell you what I'm loving most right now.

theSkimm



From theskimm.com, "theSkimm is the daily e-mail newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day. We do the reading for you - across subject lines and party lines - and break it down with fresh editorial content."

I'm 23, a college graduate, married, with a full-time job.  I feel like I should know what's going on in the world.  But you know what?  Reading the news sucks.  Watching the news sucks.  I find it boring, confusing, and littered with opinions.  I just want to know the basics.  theSkimm gives me that.

Every morning Monday - Friday, I get an email with all the headlines in plain, sometimes humorous, English.  I've been receiving the newsletter for just over a week, and I love it!  I even can tell you what's happening in the Iraq right now.  Oh, did I mention it's free?

Hooked yet?  It's super easy to sign-up.  All you do is enter your email address.  theSkimm sent me a special link to have friends sign up!  http://www.theskimm.com/?r=3BTG5  Still not convinced?  You can access samples from the link too.  :)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Google Maps Engine

As many of you know, Drew and I are planning a trip to California this summer.  We're flying into Los Angeles, driving up the coast to San Francisco, and then back down to Disneyland.  As you can imagine, planning has been both exciting and a headache.  Using Google Maps Engine has been fantastic!

This site allows you to create custom maps, break up the points into sections, and share with other gmail accounts.  Below is a sample of the one I made.


I've separated our trip into three sections: SF, Coast, and LA.  I searched for specific things we wanted to see, like McWay Falls, searched for it, and added it to the map.  I can see all three sections or one section at a time.  It's been a great tool to organize our itinerary. 

Create your own map here:  https://mapsengine.google.com/map/

Doctor Who:  11 Doctors, 11 Stories



Last year was the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.  As part of the celebration, BCC commissioned 11 authors to write short stories about each of the 11 incarnations of the Doctor.  These stories were released as ebooks once a month  leading up to the anniversary episode.  This year they released all the stories in one printed volume.  I picked it up a few weeks ago and have been working my way through each story.  I'm much more familiar with the newer doctors, so I really enjoy exploring the personalities of the "classics."  Maybe this will make me finally take the plunge and watch all the original episodes.

Pick up your own copy from Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Doctors-Anniversary-Collection/dp/0141348941

I hope you enjoyed this post!  Let me know if you'd like to see more like this.  I could maybe do themed favorites too.  I'd love to know if you try out any of the things mentioned.