A few things you should know right now...

Sassy ruby slippers!? Yes please!

Annnd we're back! Another manic Monday, but hey, another day closer to all those lovely holiday days off right!? I am so full of excitement for family visits, friend get-togethers and time off at home with my favorite Dr., that waking up this morning, despite not nearly enough sleep* was a pleasure. I feel like I'm full to the brim with good good stuff... like:

Did you know that Beyonce dropped a whole damn album, a visual album (14 tracks along with 17 music videos to compliment them) on Friday!? No hype, just a whole lot of "here I am, Queen B, Sasha Fierce, hottest mama (and I brought my baby and epic husband along for the ride)" in your face-ness. The album is ridiculously good and though I've only watched some of the videos at this point (Dr. H and I may need to have a screening tonight) it is clear that this woman absolutely owns life. Talented, business saavy, beautiful, powerful, everything. Download the full fierceness HERE and for some more info on this unique approach to rocking the music industry, check out THIS article.

Last night I made my own version of this delicious dish for dinner. I've been re-motivated to get back to eating better/cooking more recently (after several weeks of rock bottom laziness and indulgence) so I prepared this tasty one-pot dish more healthfully by swapping in chicken chorizo, whole wheat pasta, skim milk, and low fat cheese. The result was Merry Meri tested and Dr. H approved! (Pin it HERE, full recipe via Damn Delicious HERE)

Have you heard about Unroll.me? I don't know where I first heard about this great new email service which helps clean your inbox, but I'm in lurve. As a big online shopper, contest enter-er and activist, I get about a billion "junk-but-I-kinda-want-it" emails a day (think coupons, GW alumni updates, Gilt sales, Amnesty International newsletters). Using (the totally free!) Unroll.me, you plug in your email address and it identifies all your subscriptions (I had over 200!!) Then you either unsubscribe or "bundle" the subscription into a daily Rollup which you have sent to you at a time of day of your choosing. Now I get 1 email a day with thumbnails and the subject line of each subscription I elected to keep and the chance to add any new subscriptions to my roll with just the click of a link. It is like a daily housekeeping service for my inbox!! Though still a work in progress, I highly recommend you give Unroll.me a try!

Lastly, this sassy little lady who signed to her deaf parents throughout her Kindergarten concert will absolutely melt your heart:

* Funny story: Yesterday morning at about 8am I sprang bolt upright in bed and said "F*CK I had physical therapy at 7:30! I overslept!!!" until I looked around (in particular at a completely bewildered Dr. H), remembered it was Sunday, and passed the hell out again. Well that over-sleep anxiety apparently didn't go anywhere because I had the most fitful, in-and-out sleep last night. 4 hours 40 minutes total (thanks Jawbone Up). On the bright side, I was 10 minutes early to my PT appointment :)