Tam | Stumbling Over Chaos

Apparently exercising first thing in the morning, before you eat anything, is the best way to ramp up your metabolism to burn fat. (But… I’m too hungry to exercise first thing in the morning…)

If you’re trying to find answers online and Google isn’t doing the trick, check out this list of ten other options.

Words matter. Think before you speak.

Gift Ideas

Book gift ideas for geeks from Tor.com.

Last minute gift ideas from Carole Knits, CRAFT, kmkat, and Paperback Writer.

DIY gluten-free gift ideas.

Gizmodo gift guides for anglers, college students, freshly graduated college students trying to feed themselves, and the rock musically inclined.

You could probably sew a parliament of these adorable owls in time to give them as gifts.

Holiday

Tips for staying gluten-free at Christmas.

Don’t forget that Christmas trees are very, very flammable. Then go listen to Holly Golightly sing Christmas Tree on Fire.

Big cats enjoy opening Christmas presents!

Who lugs around those 300 million holiday packages?

Ten over-the-top Christmas lights and music displays.

Make really cute Santa and elf cookies.

Very cool Chirstmas tree made from bottles.

Holiday LOLs

Hyperbole and a Half remakes the Nativity!

Barbie’s letter to Santa…

Santa changing with the times?

Holiday sweaters… (NSFW)

Star Trek gingerbread men…

Tech gifts you hope you won’t get. (Thanks, trek!)

Gifts you shouldn’t get for werewolves.

Construct a holiday card from Google’s “blacklisted” words… (NSFW)

Cool

Watch the periodic table get etched on to a hair.

Hmm. Finding 19 minutes that were cut from 2001: A Space Odyssey – cool? Or not?

For several months in 1969, no water flowed over Niagara Falls.

Composition notebook MacBook Air skin.

The perfect set up for a college student’s room? (Thanks, Jase!)

Huh

Armadillo purse…

Little outfits for your phone?!

Bacon belt…

Straitjacket purse…

Hat with a built-in beard? Or neckwarmer with a mustache?

I’m not sure what I would do if I saw someone actually wearing this raincoat…

LOL

Ah, the difference between how parents and strangers perceive the same child.

The safety instructions for Google’s new laptop are very funny.

Oh oh…

Life without a cat.

Busted!

Teh Cute

Kittens! Awwww…. Kitten! Chinchilla rabbit! Young reindeer! Castle siege! Kitten! Kitten! Kitten! Panther! Lions! Melly! Moose! Kittens!

Reading Update
A Shifter Christmas (Lost Shifters, Book 8 ) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m holiday romance mostly focused on Noah and Seth, but moving other parts of the story along, too. If the next book is what I think it will be, things are going be very interesting!
Chasing Alex by Em Woods. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about two guys who’ve worked together for several years and have both wanted more, although neither realized the other felt the same. Both of them seemed to spend too much time jumping to conclusions and overreacting, which I found frustrating.
Secret Santa Surprise by Tam. free ebook short. Very good, very funny short m/m holiday romance about a guy who works for a sex toy manufacturer and discovers that he has a son he didn’t know about.
The Christmas Throwaway by R.J. Scott. ebook. Very good m/m holiday romance about a throwaway, a nearly eighteen-year old whose abusive and controlling father kicked him out for being gay, and about the young cop who finds him half-starved and half-frozen, trying to sleep in a churchyard. I hadn’t read anything by RJ Scott before, but I’ll definitely need to read more from her.
In the Wind by Wren Boudreau. free online short. Very good short paranormal m/m holiday romance about a wolf shifter finding his true mate.
First Christmas by Diana DeRicci. ebook. Very good short paranormal m/m holiday romance about a cougar shifter/wolf researcher who rescues an injured wolf shifter, then provides a safe haven for him to recuperate from not only his physical but also his psychological wounds.
Christmas Wish by B.G. Thomas. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday paranormal romance about an ordinary guy who becomes obsessed with a hunky leatherman and wishes he was hot enough to attract the leatherman’s attention.
Batteries Not Included by J.L. Merrow. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m holiday romance about a guy who goes to bed with a doll of his favorite singer on the other pillow and wakes up with a naked man in his bed.
Pop-Ups by Clare London. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about a workaholic who’s suddenly left without anywhere to go for Christmas.
Fishbowl by Dawn Kimberly Johnson. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about a guy who’s working as window mannequin for the holidays and who becomes enamored with a man he sees through the window several times.
A Reason to Come Home by Justine Currie. ebook short. Pretty good short m/m holiday romance about a guy who’s afraid to get involved with anyone after having his heart broken. Then something happens on a business trip that scares him even more…
Comfort and Joy by Selina Brody. ebook short. Ok short m/m holiday romance a guy who goes overseas to pick up the baby he adopted and meets a handsome Peace Corps volunteer. This one just didn’t grab me.
Revelations of the Heart by Lori C. Hawkins. ebook short. Ok short m/m holiday romance about a florist who suddenly meets two intriguing guys on the same day… and then things get a bit confusing for him. This was another one that just didn’t work for me, possibly because there was an awful lot of story packed into not many pages.
Christmas Tail by D.J. Manly. ebook short. Ok short m/m holiday romance about a guy who’s been naughty (too much “boinking”), so Santa takes him to Christmas Land to be punished with chastity. Of course, it doesn’t quite work out like that…
‘Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas: Manlove Edition by J.P. Barnaby, K.C. Beaumont, & Troy Storm. ebook. Pretty good m/m holiday collection focused on Santa’s elves. JP Barnaby’s story was good, KC Beaumont’s story was very good, and Troy Storm’s story was ok.
The Perfect Gift by Jade Falconer. ebook short. Sweet (a little too sweet for me) short m/m holiday romance about a guy who takes a homeless man with amnesia home to feed him and give him a warm place to sleep.