#is it a quokka in the bottom corner??

[mrsyuoni]

like everything about this picture

[theunstuffedpepper]

Tagged by @losingitinvirginia - thanks, friend!

Rules: Answer + tag 9 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with!

Favorite Color: Green

Last song/album: When I'm not listening to the best podcast in the world, Armchair Expert by Dax Shepard & Monica Padman, John Legend's Bigger Love is on repeat all the time over here.

Last Movie: I am way more a TV person than a movie person. Does a comedy standup count as a movie? No? Too bad. :) B and I watched Douglas by Hannah Gadsby, who was previously unknown to me, and it was SO, SO FUNNY. Highly recommend!

Currently Reading: I haven't actually started it yet, but I picked up The Comfort Food Diaries by Emily Nunn from the library the other day.

Oh! Real quick, funny library story. I had picked up two library books last month and kept them tucked under my sofa end table in the living room. I spend most of my downtime on that end of the couch, and it's easy to just grab a book and read a few pages when I get a minute. I was trying to quickly scarf down a big ol' plate of pasta and meatballs one night so I could help with the baby, and balanced the food on the arm of the sofa, like I've done a million times before. Except this time, I stabbed a meatball and the ENTIRE PLATE went bottom up... all over the library books. I was MORTIFIED. I cleaned them up as best I could (LOL, because marinara ain't coming out of those pages) and sadly brought them back to the library. Rather than shamefully leave them in the book drop and drive away, I walked them in and told them my son had spilled food on them, apologized, and wanted to make it right. (Ha, the perks of having a kiddo?) The woman helping me was so kind and gracious and told me the charge for these two books would typically be $50, but she so appreciated me coming in and letting them know because that hardly ever happens, so she asked if it would be okay if she charged me $20 instead? YES. What a nice moment that ended up being.

Okay, back to it.

Currently Watching: The 4400. Just finished season 3 of Virgin River. Also just watched Crazy, Not Insane on Hulu, which was a really interesting spin from a psychiatrist who has studied childhood trauma/brain injury as it relates to the violent acts committed by serial killers.

Currently Craving: A good night sleep, which has been rare this week!

Coffee or Tea: Lately it's coffee, but a hot cup of tea is so comforting.

Tagging: @momsgotwine, @whathappenshappenswithpurpose, @beenjen, @modern-montessori-mama, @boo-badger, @angesaurus, @adventuresasmrsfindley, @katiegirlwanders, @funnybutnot

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In other news, my babe is somehow 6 months old already. How did this happen?! We took some cutesie 6 month photos and in one, me and pep are making literally the SAME face. It cracks me up every time. B created a version of said photo which includes a quokka in the corner, because apparently we look like a family of quokkas.

I've been losing some sleep these past few days mostly due to my impending return to work on Wednesday. When I left in January, everything was a hot mess, and the culture of the team in general has been tanking for the last year. They're restructuring a lot of teams, demoting or otherwise moving long-time members to other roles, and bringing in new outside hires for management of the teams. Who knows what I'll be returning to, but I don't think I'm long for this company. We shall see.

I now need to go catch up on all of your lives and blogs to see what I've been missing!

[helloyojo]

Test your memory about some of the Australian stories denounced below the line as ‘that’s not news’ this year (includes bonus New Zealand material)

Pubs in Darwin were hit by a counterfeiting scam involving fake $100 bills. What first aroused suspicions about the notes?

Their 3D watermark was only 2D

They had “not for circulation” written across them in large pink Chinese script

The picture of Sir John Monash “looked more like Dennis Lillee”

The word “Australia” was misspelled

A streaker carrying an Australian flag interrupted the broadcast of Eurovision. What country did he come from?

Russia

Slovenia

Slovakia

Ukraine

In March pedestrian traffic signals using female figures were installed in Melbourne. Who said in response: “You know what is coming next, don't you?”

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts

Radio presenter Steve Price

Sky News commentator Ross Cameron

Australian Christian Lobby head Lyle Shelton

Some potential record breakers made the news in 2017. Which one of these was from Australia?

Omar, reportedly the world’s longest cat

A 5.7-metre piano, believed to be the longest in the world

The world’s smallest spacecraft, known as Sprites

Simon, expected to become the world’s largest rabbit until his untimely death while in international transit

There were calls to rename Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena after she made comments attacking gay tennis players and opposing same-sex marriage. Which singer weighed in on the debate in November?

Courtney Barnett

Lorde

Tina Arena

Sarah Blasko

Whose daughter posted a message on social media supporting marriage equality, but also insisting “I love my idiot dad”?

Glenn Davies, Anglican archbishop of Sydney

Tony Abbott

Tony Overheu, who shoved a lemon meringue pie into Alan Joyce’s face

DJ Astro Labe

Who was a surprise announcement as a new presenter of Channel Ten’s The Project?

Peta Credlin

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Lisa Wilkinson

Jacqui Lambie

Audience member Patricia Fellows, 81, caused a stir on Q&A when she debated euthanasia laws with bioethics professor Margaret Somerville. Why?

She denounced the pope and all his works

She admitted importing Nembutal

She was wearing a Zaky Mallah T-shirt

She used the word “bullshit”

It was a magnificent year for local and international folk art. Which of these contributions was defended by officials on the grounds that “all art is meant to be a talking point”?

The bust of Cristiano Ronaldo unveiled in March at the international airport named after him in Madeira (above)

The controversial portrait of Princess Diana created with flowers in Chesterfield, UK, “using the ancient Derbyshire art of well dressing” in November

The ill-advised statue at an Adelaide Catholic school supposedly showing St Martin de Porres handing a loaf of bread to a small boy

The bronze sort-of likeness of Diego Maradona unveiled in Kolkata in December

The Beerepoot family of Tasmania were in the news in March for refusing to pay their council rates. What reason did they give?

They refused to bow down to a false god

They were making a stand against same-sex marriage

They were protesting against the AFL’s refusal to consider a Tasmanian team

They believed the apocalypse was due before the end of the financial year

The wine brand Yellow Tail faced harsh criticism in February for its Super Bowl ad featuring a muscular, wine-drinking, “unusually sexual” kangaroo. Which real person starred in the ad?

Miranda Kerr

Ellie Gonsalves

Sophie Monk

Elle Macpherson

When MasterChef judge George Calombaris was fined for assault, after a dispute with a fan at the A-League grand final, the magistrate mentioned how much he enjoyed a particular process on the cooking show. Which one?

Whipping cream

Caramelising onions

Barbecuing prawns

Tenderising steak

Participants in the women’s leadership forum run by the Albany Chamber of Commerce received an eyebrow-raising item in their conference gift bag. What was it?

An apron

A sewing kit

A hijab

A negligee

In January it was reported that a former mayor of Wellington, Celia Wade-Brown, had requested an unusual taxpayer-funded gift when she left the job. What was it?

A commemorative park bench with a plaque

A night out with the All Blacks

A coffee-table book of rejected designs for the New Zealand flag

A tattoo of a forest gecko

Which one of these slogans made it into the final list of 10 put to Canberra voters in January as suitable for their new numberplates?

We heart Floriade

Australia’s cool capital

Canberra – woke af

Parliament plus

Claims were made for a new submerged continent in our region. What name was given to it?

Macronesia

Pacifica

Eastasia

Zealandia

Which contestant in the Bachelorette complained that Sophie Monk swore too much?

Stu

Ryan

Apollo

Jarrod

Which of this year's elusive animals was named after Winston Churchill?

The cow that ran amok outside Western Australia state parliament in September

The camel that fled the circus on to a Darwin golf course in July

The orangutan that startled visitors by briefly popping out of its enclosure at Perth zoo in May

The quokka that escaped Rottnest Island in a rubbish bin in January

In January, what did Shayne Barwick of Cloncurry do continuously for 73 hours in the mistaken belief he was breaking a world record?

Play the pokies

Play the banjo

Play lawn bowls

Play Pokémon Go

The University of Melbourne student union council passed a motion condemning the Guardian's bird of the year poll. What was the students' objection?

The poll objectified another species for the gratification of humans

The poll was conducted using first-past-the-post rather than preferential voting

The poll encouraged bullying and prejudice against the white ibis

The selection of candidates favoured birds from the Sydney region

16 and above.

Excellent. Hope your workplace allows all that screen time

11 and above.

Solid. You're above average for useless knowledge

6 and above.

Fair effort. But you're still missing out on a world of nonsense

0 and above.

Poor. Try reading the bottom right corner of the website as well as the top left

Continue reading...#designguardian