We’re back! Break out the cake for this marvellous occasion! Ah, sweet civilisation…the Internet! Electricity! A door that closes! It is all so very glorious.
In case you didn’t notice our unseemly disappearance from the world of blogs, we went camping for 5 days in the bush. I also realise the term “in the bush” doesn’t make sense to our American friends. So! I will explain.
This is the bush:
We went camping at a National Park, which is a term (in Australia) that means: Thou Shalt Not Touch the Native Sticks And Burn Them For Purposes of Marshmallow Deliciousness. I mean, look at all that bush. They couldn’t spare a few twigs for a fire?! Least to say, we did not have marshmallows or fire.
Because our parents are wonderful, we camp in a caravan. But don’t worry, we know what tents and roughing it is. We’re personally super glad our parents like things like caravans.
Mime particularly loves this because she is opposed to all things The Great Outdoors. But wait! Let me tell you about The Mime Vs. The Ant story! This is a fabulous tale for which Mime strangles me when I retell. So appreciate what I’m going through to bring you this tale, alright?
The campground had these huge ants. They were at least the size of a human finger, all red and ferocious with long legs and beady eyes. I stepped on a few, mostly because I don’t watch where I’m walking when it comes to ants.
But Mime came face to foot with an ant. She raised her foot to step on it. The ant faced her with its incredibly large red body.
And Mime backed away and ran.
I laughed and laughed and laughed. This story basically sums up Mime and the Great Outdoors.
Giraween is basically full of rocks. I like climbing rocks. Mime does not. She’s scared of heights apparently. Hiking is enjoyable, but scaling rock faces is. the. best.
There was one hike called The Pyramid. You are all intelligent blogglings, so I will leave you to assume that The Pyramid was in fact, a) incredibly steep and b) kind of pointy at the top.
The Parentals made it halfway (Mime stayed in the caravan), so I struck for the top alone. I would like to note, though, that it was extremely steep. And because it was so steep and scary, it wound around the top so you didn’t have to walk straight up. Naturally, on the way back, I went straight down the front.
Mum, I honestly promise you, it looked scarier from below. As I was doing it, I thought, “This is actually not that steep.” And I didn’t fall. Do I EVER fall when I’m rock climbing?
Then we celebrated Mime’s 16th birthday! Huzzah, Mime is of age to a) get a vampire boyfriend, b) turn into a werewolf, c) fight to the death in an Arena, or d) find the One True Love Of Her Entire Life. According to the books, that is. In the boring real world, she can get her Learner’s License. Aaaand…that’s about it.
Naturally we gave Mime lots of presents. She’s not overly fond of camping, as you might have picked up, so we worked hard to make her cheerful.
Obviously it worked. I gave her these fantastic fingerless gloves (she requested…I think they’re kind of useless). Oh, and chocolate. I gave her Willy Wonka’s chocolate. I am the best sister of all.
She also received other totally useless presents. AND NO BOOKS. HOW COULD THERE BE NO BOOKS?!! I offered to trim the sleeve of the incredibly impractical shirt for her. Have you seen those sleeves, peoples?! What are they for? Dusting?
We then fed her cake. Because we are an awesome family.
We played this board game called World Domination (fabulous title, I agree). Which was a cross between Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly. In order to conquer the world, you had to answer lots of questions like: Who named Victoria Falls? and Who started in such-and-such ancient film? to which I lost. I have NO memory for general knowledge and quirky facts. Mime and Dad, on the other hand, rivalled for World Domination for several nights.
I can’t see why knowledge makes you dominate the world. What about force? What about cake bribery?
It was a very successful holiday. To which we thank our parents for a) the caravan, and b) the delicious food.
What did I do during this time of celebrations of Mime and camping? Oh, oh, I’m glad you asked. I read 7 books. I TOLD YOU I WOULD AND I DID.
Plus, I beta-read for my friends Emily, Sky, and Miriam! THEN I also contrived ideas for 3 more books I need to write. No biggie.
Also I slept. Peoples, I have a terrible time sleeping. Usually I sleep about 6 hours, and spend the rest thinking of every thing I’ve ever done. But there’s something about camping…I slept for 11 hours at night and then a few more in the day and then I walked and then I came back and slept some more. Gosh. I don’t even know how to function with this much rest behind my eyelids.
This post is colossal in length, but one more thing! Huzzah for our new blog design! It’s hand drawn by Mime and put together by me. There are still a few glitches I’m working on (like the pages don’t work, so don’t bother clicking on them…or do. You little rebel.) If you’ve got any critiques or suggestions for the design to make it easier for YOU, do let me know! Tell me all in the comments.
Obviously we don’t have a sidebar, which is a bit sad. But other things like:
– can you find everything as easily as you used to?
– is the screen too wide?
– do the links work?
– is anything seriously annoying for you on your computer/phone/iPod?
– can you tell which is Cait and which is Mime in the header? this is very important obviously.
Cait is much relieved to have her Goodreads fixed. She was temporarily locked out which resulted in a) a frantic frenzy from her and b) the discovery that Goodreads has incredible customer service and they’re so very awesome. She is not reading, because, quite frankly, she is tired of reading.
OMG hahah, awesome ant story! Glad that you two girls had a great time out in the bush. And happy belated birthday to you, Mime! 🙂 Love them shoes.The blog design is brilliant! I think the screen is a little too wide, but it's not anything major to worry about. Love your header so much though! 😀
I'm going to see if I can get the screen shrunk again…because I'm kind of in agreement. It's a lot movement for the wee eyeballs (imo, anyway). x) I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT.
Wait wait, what did Americans think the bushes were? Loved this post so much! Literally had me sitting here laughing out loud haha. The stories were amazing! Happy birthday as well! Favourite part of this story: the teacup. I don't know why but people standing in large things always give me a big kick. :PI love the blog design! The header looks fab. And the drop shadows give it a really cool feel. Like Melanie said though, I think it's a bit wide as well. I kind of lose my spot sometimes since the line length is so long but it's not that bit of a deal. I also clicked on a few pages. Because I'm a rebel. 😉
I don't know! But whenever I say "we're going bush" I have people ask me what I mean. x) There is a startling truth behind that pot/teacup though…they were only standing behind it. My dad is a fabulous photographer like that. Ah, rebel. I like you. But SEE?! Why are the pages like that?!! I'm a bit frustrated but hopefully I will get them fixed.
Those pictures made me absolutely laughing out loud! Congrats to Mime! Cait, you absolutely need to brush your hair… ;-)The 'total view' looks a bit… messy. But boy, do I like the header!!!!
My hair? *pats head* But. but. It's my ELECTRIC SOCKET LOOK. If I stuck a knife in a toaster, this is how it'd be, right? ;)And, what o you mean by "total view"?? Agh, I should know what you mean! It's probably very obvious…but??
I mean: When the post appears on the page. It didn't feel really accessible, or not as accessible as it was. 😉 But I'm sure I'll be going to like it when I see it more often. Maybe it's just the… novelty 😉
Love this post 🙂 so nice to hear about your camping trip! I think I'm with Mime on the ants thing though. Me + outdoors = not good. Congrats on reading 7 books. I read 9 over the week I was away, and they were a lot shorter. But we all know you're a reading freak :)Since I have internet again, I very much am looking forward to reading BLOOD. People will be like, what are you reading, Emily? And I can be all, I'M READING BLOOD. As for the other stuff that happened, I guess you'll have to wait to tomorrow when I blog about it 🙂
YOU WIN. YOU ABSOLUTELY WIN. My books were, mm…averaged on 350 pages I guess. I was surprised at how long Cracked was actually…now to decide which reviews I'm going to post. ARGH. Bookworm troubles, right? haha!!Ohhh, you're making me nervous. VERY VERY nervous.
I just forgot to say: don't forget to add some chocolate! arendedewit.blogspot.com
THE WORLD IS ALWAYS BETTER WITH CHOCOLATE.
Just by the description of those ants I totally recoiled!!! HAHA I'll probably run and scream too. (I am such a loser sometimes)Happy Birthday Mime!! And this post is really funny. Lol. The way Cait told the camping experience and caption the pictures totally cracked me up! :DI wish we could go camping too. Never tried ever. Sad. Btw have you seen Heir of Fire's cover? HELLA COVERGAAAASM!!
And I love your new design!!! And that header….. =)
Eeeep! SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT, ABBY. The ant story is now my personal favourite. I like to tease her about it…*snickers quietly in the corner* But they were pretty vicious looking ants, I'll give them that. But wait…you've NEVER EVER BEEN CAMPING?! It's definitely an interesting experience…I've got to admit I do like the cushy version. AND I HAVE. OMG I HAVE SEEN HEIR OF FIRE'S COVER AND I'M DYING IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL. I NEED IT ASAP.
THE HEIR OF FIRE COVER IS AMMMMMMZZZZIIIIIINNNNGGGGGG. IT just makes want to read MORE. WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT TILL SEPTEMBER? WHY CAN'T I JUST READ IT NOW???That would make a good Waiting On Wednesday post, Cait!
OH MY GOSH I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER. I LITERALLY. CANNOT. I NEED IT. BADLY. PLEASE.
Happy belated birthday, Mime!I very much like the new look. I think the pictures look Tim Burton-esque. Your hair looks kind of like mine does this morning, Cait.~Robyn Hoode
I just noticed that the Boybots page is glitchy. And when I come here on my phone, there are no pages except the posts and two home-screen selections.~RH
I like to refer to my hair as the Electric Socket Look. It's awesome, obviously. 😉 And YES I know all the pages are glitchy!! They're all crushed to the left on my computer, and I haven't linked up the rest until I figure this out.
I love this post so much! And I love the new design. I totally know who's who in that header. 🙂 Also, great ant story, though I'm sorry you suffered much to bring it to us. 😛 Also, I knew what you meant when you said "the bush", but I am a fan of lots of things Aussie so I might be an exception. What am I saying? I'm ALWAYS the exception. 😀 I kind of adore that even in Australia, your camping involves an RV — what we Americans call that caravan of yours, stands for recreational vehicle. 🙂 Looks like you had a nice trip and got some serious rest, but I'm glad your back!
YOU ARE THE BEST, OF COURSE, JEN. I was very surprised that "the bush" isn't common language. I've figured out not to use ones like "thongs", haha…yup, that was awkward at first. >.< OH. But I didn't know you called caravans RVs! That makes sense now…from the books I've read.
I DIDN'T GET ANY BOOKS FOR MY BIRTHDAY EITHER. I'm thinking I may have to stage an intervention with my loved ones and ask what the bleeding hell is going on, because I didn't get any books for Christmas or my last birthday either, and this is UNACCEPTABLE. And Mime – I would have been backing away from the ant too. But that's probably because I'm somewhat allergic to bullant bites. The first time I got bitten, it was on the sole of my foot and my leg got all swollen to just below my knee. The second time was just below my ankle and the side of my foot got so fat that I could hardly get my hiking boots on. In short, the outdoors is evil.
WHAT IS THIS?! THIS SHOULD BE FIXED IMMEDIATELY. I got books for my birthday (few months ago now) because I specifically said, "If you wish to make Cait happy, buy her books". Apparently my family values my inner joy. But Mime wanted shoes! Clothes! WHAT. NO.Ohhh, that sounds so painful. OUCH. I swell up pretty fast for bee and wasp stings (but I'm allergic to honey, so maybe that has something to do with it?) but YIKES. The outdoors IS evil…
Yay I love the new look! The pics of you and Mime kind of remind me of Tim Burton's animation (Corpse Bride and others). And I'm super impressed you read all those books! AND LOOK AT THAT IT'S THE BUSH. I've always wanted to go to Australia, but I'm scared of the animals/ants there. 😛
Hehe… x) I do love some Tim Burton. And I LOVE Mime's drawings. Gah, coming from the person who can't even draw a straight stick-figure? Mime is quite good. The animals in Australia aren't NEARLY as scary as they seem. I mean, I never see ants that big (well, I once had some fall on my back at my house, but you know, I survived after much screeching).
Haha, I loved hearing about your trip! It sounds like you guys had so much fun! And happy belated birthday Mime! Also, your new blog design is amazing! I love the illustrations and I agree with Val, they're very Tim Burton-esque which is so cool!
YAAAAAY! SO GLAD YOU LIKE THEM. I feel super proud and I didn't even draw them. XD Hehe!
Mime is of age . . . hahaha! Happy Birthday, Mime! Fabulous job on the sketches. I'm so glad you're back.
She is of age. Worrying isn't it? I'm thinking of doing a post about all the things she can do now that she's 16.
YOU'RE BACK!!!! YAY!!:D We went camping too:) Headed home at this moment, actually:) The hiking there looks amazing! I love hiking! I must come to Australia one day and you have to take me hiking!;D
Hiking is GREAT. Although it can get a little tiny bit monotonous…but still! Rock climbing is my favourite thing of ever. I absolutely LOVE thrills. Hehe…guilty pleasure. (My mother has many heart attacks.)
I can't even see your gorgeous new design in the mobile version. I have to go to the bottom, click View Web Version and oh, there's Cait and Mime. I love it though. Just get the sidebar working!
Yay! So glad you like it!! We're not going to have a sidebar (for now, anyway). If it proves too horrible, I might change the look…but it's a set template so it'll ALL have to change. So we'll see, eh? 😉
Welcome back 🙂 And I see you are rocking the new design too!! Like Mime, I'm never fond of camping, but if camping happens in a caravan I might change my mind 😛 (mostly I'm just so anxious about bugs crawling into my sleeping bags, ewwww) And good job on reading so many books! But at the same time, ONLY 3 STARS FOR THE WINNER'S CURSE???? Nooooooooo. I have such a high expectation for that book right now, you need to review this one asap so I can know what I'm getting into. <3
Bugs crawling in sleeping bags…ewwwww NO. But yes, I'm sorry. *sobs quietly* I thought The Winner's Curse would be a 5-star read for sure. I WILL be putting the review up soon, so…hehe. Watch this space. 😉
Hooray, you're back!Fingerless gloves are VERY useful. Well, speaking as someone with wrist problems who wears them to minimise pain, anyway. THEY HAVE FUNCTION.
OKAY OKAY! Everyone is telling me how useful fingerless gloves are…*sigh* I believe you all!!
Awwww I missed both Cait and Mime's lovely posts (: I'm so glad the trip went well! Camping in the bush seems like something I'd quite adore, I'm actually a pretty avid camper. I've never done it not in a tent though, lol it seems a lot more comfortable doing it in a caravan. Alike Mime, I would have totally ran away from the ant though. BUGS ARE NASTY. Sleeping on the ground? I can handle that. Climbing up super fun and steep things, like Cait? Sign me up. But a whole bunch of six legged (OR MORE EWWWW) creatures? Just no. It's too much for me haha. They're just so nasty. Happy belated birthday Mime (: I love the boots you got. I don't really understand the concept of fingerless gloves, but they look cool. I also never seem to get books for my birthday which tends to be quite disappointing.WOW CAIT! I can't believe you actually found time to read that many books O.o I always say that when I go on holiday I'll read lots of books. I usually end up reading 3, at the most. BUT OMG YOU READ TIGERLILY AND LOVED IT. Good, I may have had to never speak to you again if you didn't. Kidding…somewhat [; Hehe. You've made me want to read that book again, I just adored the characterization and the beautiful prose. I also find myself in agreement with The Winners Curse, though I gave it 3.5 stars and rounded it up because all the four and five star ratings had me feeling left out [; It definitely wasn't a perfect book though and maybe I'll write a review for it someday. Moment Collector and Scan seem a little disappointing though, I was very much looking forward to those two. They both have interesting premise and I have read books by both of the authors and adored them. LOL, I'll definitely be staying away from Goddess.I quite adore this new design, it's so unique! I love that Mime actually drew the banner. I have no artistic ability so I'm jealous. The only thing that's not really doing it for me is the bottom section. It just seems a little cluttered with the archive, search, labels, etc. Really though, that's just a small quibble. Everything else is wonderful. Again, I'm so glad you guys are back <33 The pictures in this post were wonderful and I totally enjoyed the commentary of the trip ^.^
Don't worry, I have ZERO artistic ability as well. Mime has all the talent to herself. x) I hear you with the bottom section! I'm a bit annoyed that I have no sidebar, BUT I'm always up for a change, so I'll see if I can handle it or else I'll change the layout completely. :)Scan was SUCH a disappointment for me. I was dyyying for it and then, yeah, a bit of a meh. But you and me both for TWC. Gah. I feel SO bad because everyone is raving about it and I'm like, "meh". BAD ME. x) Goddess, though…*shudders* TIGER LILY WAS JUST AMAZING. I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT IT. ^.^ Seriously, could it get any more beautiful??!!
Welcome back little chickadees. Looks like you had an awesome time camping with the parental Notebooks and happy belated birthday. That top has bigger wizard sleeves that a Hogwarts classroom. I wouldn't use it to dust though, you'll never get that musty mister sheen smell out. I luuuuuuuuuurve the new design, super funky. Haven't seen it on the PC yet, but looks fanfriggintastic on the Kindle. Talented little munchkins <3
The parental Notebooks are fabulous and give us nice holidays and good food. THEY ARE THE BEST. And that's exactly what I'm saying about that shirt of Mime's. She's ignoring me too. Seriously, she could rob a bank and hide the entire contents in those sleeves. (Not that I'm advocating that, of course.)
Love, love, love, love, love the new blog design! <3 So impressed by both of your talent and creativity putting this together! Giant high-fives to both of you! :DGlad to see you had a great time camping! Love the pictures too BTW! And Mime…happy birthday! You're officially old enough to save / dominate the world now! Although I am not quite sure I agree with the whole "no-books-for-your-birthday" extravaganza. ;)And yeah! Looks like someone got a lot of reading done! Haha…wow Cait! I'm impressed! 😀 And – even though I already told you this, I'll tell you again – I'M SO DARN GLAD YOU LIKED TIGER LILY SO MUCH! :DAnyways, welcome back girls! <33
HUZZAH!! THANK YOU ZOE. I told her I'd wrap up a few of my old ARCs for her, but she kind of glared at me…so I bought her chocolate instead. I LOVE books for my presents. I obviously have the best taste of ever. TIGER LILY ROCKS. IT DID AND I AM SO HAPPY IT WAS SO GOOD. HUZZAH. X) What can I say? You just have extremely epic taste.
I giggled over this. Full on *giggle-age* Mime and I share the opinion of the great outdoors. I dislike it if I have to sleep out there. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIME, BY THE WAY. Cait, fingerless gloves are not pointless. They're great for when it's too cold for bare hands and too warm for full-on gloves. …. Also, you can play instruments when you wear them. Also, you can still operate iPods, which is rockin' awesome. Also, they're a cute accessory. So there. lol. I actually kind of like the new look. (surprise, surprise.) It looks quite professional. FIGHT THE FAIRIES. (oh wait, you're not there yet. Just yell "you fight those fairies" back at me, and we'll call it good. PEACE OUT, GIRLS. I dunno. I'm feel really weird tonight.
Duuuude, weird is relative. I mean, LOOK AT WHAT WE WATCH ON TV. *ahem* I am in pain, atm, by the way and will be emailing you about it shortly. Okaaaay, I take back my malicious finger-less-glove comments. I was quite proud of the pair I found her online (and the fact that I had brains enough to order it EARLY so therefore she did get it in time…go me!)Waaaait. Fairies? We get fairies?! WHY DO WE GET FAIRIES. WILL MY FEELS BE ABLE TO HANDLE KILLING FAIRIES?….either way YOU FIGHT THOSE FAIRIES. (I'm obedient, see?)
oh my gosh, I love those sketches at the top. I don't think one is cuter than the other, they are both adorable. Ahhh, and all the pictures!!!! I hate camping. I did it once after prom. Not that night, but the following. It was a whole weekend of fun, until we got lost on our way to the camp site and then I couldn't sleep at all that night because the ground was hard. I LOVE BEDS!!! Happy Birthday Mime!!! 16 is such a great age. I wouldn't want to do it again, but I"m sure it will be better for you!! lolI'm so glad you loved Tiger Lily. I <3 that book! Oh and I saw this morning that you commented on Jens Weekly post mentioning my cruise! I didn't have time to reply to it this morning, I was going to but we ran out of the house.. one more week till we leave.. crazy hectic. We are going to Bermuda and the little one is super excited. heck we all are. 🙂 I will miss being online though.. unlike you I won't be in a bush, but the middle of the ocean. And I am sooooo not paying what they charge you to go online. #Fthat I'll rough it. :oPSo glad you guys had a great time on your trip!! And I love the new design. <3 it's great.
Eeeep! SO happy you like them, April! XD I'm allowed to brag and show them off because Mime drew them not me. Hehe. (I'm horrible at drawing. Like, my one-year-old niece draws better than me.) Tiger Lily was amazing right??! I'm SO glad I loved it because I had super high expectations for it. Ohhh, but your going to Bermuda?! YAY. That sounds epic and awesome and just a little bit worrisome. lol Don't go missing! x) I did end up enjoying my time offline. Hah! I thought I'd be really pining for it, but instead it was kind of nice to just chill and sleep. 🙂
Lovely new design ladies, it's so totally adorable and quirky, really suits your blog! Of course Cait is the one on the right and Mime is the one on the left. Happy birthday Mime, you have an awesome family! I'm glad you guys had fun camping, but I am even gladder that you are back. YAY!
Yaaaay!! I think it's a bit more personalised than the owls, anyway…(suddenly owls are super popular in the blogosphere, right?!). And you're RIGHT. x) Although, I promise, I do brush my hair. Sometimes.
Sounds like you had a great time away. I prefer to caravan when camping too, way, way better!Happy Birthday Mime – keep your eyes peeled, a vampire/faery/werewolf/insertothersupernaturalboy may turn up at school any minute ;)Love the new look, can't see any problems with it.You read Tiger Lily! I absolutely loved it. And wow, 7 books! If I have a week away I'm lucky to read 3 but then again I am the gown up and have two kids to look after when I go away. Great post, thanks for sharing ")
I am protecting Mime, don't worry…I have salt. I have iron. x)Tiger Lily is fantastic isn't it?! Gah! I was happy, so so happy. Although the ending kind of made me cry. Ah, yes, I usually am the family babysitter of small children, so when the Small Fry aren't around I get a super relaxing holiday too! Gah, I can't believe I read so many books. >.< I'm having a reading break now.
I LOVE the design. So cute! It sort of reminds me of Tim Burton, especially Cait. (I have to admit, I sort of love that sketch more because of the hair! :P)And wow, those ants don't sound like any fun. Don't worry Mime, I'd probably run too. Oooh 7 books read, all none that I've read. I can't wait to see what you think of them all 🙂
I LOVE ME MORE TOO. Oh…wait. That sounded incredibly…vain? LOL Sorry but not sorry…*ahem* MIME is an incredibly talented drawer, right? I love that kind of Tim Burton-ish style too. And let's just say I'll have toooons of reviews for the next few weeks.
Happy birthday Mime! :)I honestly LOVE the new blog design. Seriously, it's awesome. And five days without internet or electricity? *faints*
I WAS BRAVE AND STRONG. It was hard, but I survived. (Actually it was nice to just not be on the internet and to just sleep and stuff…I don't usually sleep. XD)
I love the new layout!!! Your header is fantastic, Mime is really talented. The design works well on my laptop, not too wide or anything like that. Happy belated Birthday to Mime by the way. Your camping trip looks amazing, I would love to do something like that with the caravan. I've done some camping with just a tent and it's not as much fun… especially if rain gets through the tent and you wake up soaking wet, with hair that would give a lion a run for it's money in the mane department. I would also be the person scaling The Pyramid alone, I like walking and climbing things so I would have to get to the top of that thing.Glad you're back and look forward to more posts! 🙂
Isn't Mime amazing? I am just in awe of her drawing-ish abilities. xD Tents are interesting…but you're right. CARAVANS FTW. Rain isn't fun when you're camping, no matter what. Ew. Mud and shoes in caravans? NOT liking. I absolutely adore climbing things. I usually freak my family out, but you can't have everything in life, right?
The new blog design is awesome! Don't have any problems with it whatsoever 🙂 Especially love the new header!Happy belated birthday, Mime! And I can totally relate to the ant story – ants are creepy, haha.Looks like you had an awesome camping trip! The pictures are great and make me want to go there myself, haha. Glad you're back, though!
YAY! I'm so glad it works for you!! I'm a bit nervous about the no-side-bar-thingy…but hopefully I'll get used to it. x) It was SUCH a good time away…gosh, but it's even nicer to be home. Bed. Warm bed and room with a door. And internet. Precious internet.
The Bush looks gorgeous and I'm glad you had fun! I've always wanted to get in a caravan. And yayyyy for the new blog design. It definitely looks much more organized than the last, and the small texts are easier to read. :)Belated happy birthday, Mime! You are so adorable and I love your hair. I want your chocolate and cake.
Eeeep…I'm SO happy you like it! x) Suddenly owls were VERY common on the blogosphere and I really loved Mime's drawings sooo it was a great mix. Haha!!*offers cake and chocolate*
and just so the world knows, she never falls!! B-)
WOW. A BROTHER COMMENTING ON MY BLOG? WHAT IS THIS WEIRDNESS???
1. LOVE the new look. 2. Mime ran away from the ant!! LOLOLOL :D3. Go you! with the reading and sleeping and steep incline climbing.
Eeep! I'm SO HAPPY THAT YOU DO, JESSICA!!
I laughed all the way through this post. I love the outdoors, so the ant story was rather entertaining. 🙂 I love the new header–Mime is a very talented artist! The one thing I'm not a huge fan of is the pinterest-like home page; I think it's difficult to see what each post is about. I prefer the old-fashioned scroll-through-all-the-text format, but that's just me. 🙂
Isn't Mime amazing?! LOVE her. Aww…sorry the Pinterest-like homepage doesn't work for you! I'm still struggling with no-sidebar personally. Hopefully I get used to it, though, eh? 😐 Thanks for the feedback, Serena!
It is so adorable I love it! Mime did such cute sketches! I love sketches sometimes I think i prefer them over over types of art. Gorgeous, glad you girls are back!
I LOVE art. I love it because I suck at it. So I just watch other people be awesome and be quietly jealous. 😉
Sounds like a wonderful week! Great blog design, too.
It was terrific! I'm so glad you like it too, Chrissy!
Beated Happy Birthday Mime, sounds like you had a laugh! The Ant story is H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S and the new look to the blog is beautiful, well done you!Thea @ Gizzimomo's Book Shelf
Cool Stuff. Apart from the ants. They sound freaky. I'm looking at my finger(s) and thinking "I wouldn't step on that…"Also: SERIOUSLY HOW CAN YOU READ ALL THOSE BOOKS AANNDD BETA AND EVERYTHING. I can't even Beta a single manuscript in that time. Or half. Or, or…I found out a little late that the pages don't work :P- can you find everything as easily as you used to? no- is the screen too wide? no- do the links work? I think so- is anything seriously annoying for you on your computer/phone/iPod? n/a (well, it's fine on laptop)- can you tell which is Cait and which is Mime in the header? Yes? I think I cheated, though, as I follow you Cait on Twitter. But you guys wear your hair the same in a lot of your life pictures. :POne random thing, though: I miss the yellowness of the author box (you know, the bit at the bottom where you say 'Cait is…')
Congrats on the new blog design, girls. It looks fantastic!And, happy birthday, Mime! It sounds like you had a wonderful time camping 🙂 Mands @ The Bookish Manicurist
THE ANT STORY ROCKS. She's still glaring at me about it though…but you know. Tough cookies.
Haha! Weeeell, I'm a fast reader? I only beta'd one WHOLE book, though, the other 2 were just partials. :))Aw, sorry you can't find everything as easily!! What kind of things are hard to find?? Maybe I can fix that! Haha…yes, I'm kind of proud of my pic atm, so it's up on Twitter and maaaaybe I'll stick it on facebook. But we'll see. 😉
Yaaay! I AM SO HAPPY THAT EVERYONE LIKES IT. Although, Mime drew it, soooo, if everyone hated it I could always just blame her, right? I am SUCH a nice sister.
Well, for starters, I don't like that the archives and the other widget-y things are at the bottom. It makes strolling so much of a pain, especially since I have to scroll loads anyway because – ALL OF THE COMMENTS. Also – colours. Wasn't your other blog brighter?
Oh my, could you guys be any cuter?!?! Welcome back!! And congrats on the new layout! 🙂
Can I just say how much I adore this post?! I have been reading y'all's blog for a while, but I've never been much of a comment-person. Also, I FREAKING LOVE YOUR HEADER. It is just the cutest thing ever (that statement is subject to change, however, if I happen to see a golden doodle puppy any time soon)! Happy birthday to Mime! That ant story is hilarious! =)~jaime
Yes! Rock climbing! I want to do this one day so much. Except I'd want to do it everyday.Happy Birthday Mime!The blog design is awesome. 🙂 I'm liking it very much.
You. Crack. Me. Up!I'm pretty sure most world domination happens through black mail and bribery, both of which you are good at so you don't have to worry your pretty little head. Perhaps you should move the caravan down the back and set up a permanent home?
– can you find everything as easily as you used to? Oui. – is the screen too wide? Only for the pages at the top – the "About" section and all that. They're still skinny, which doesn't match the rest of the blog. (But I don't know if that really even matters because I don't look at those very often…) – do the links work? Yes indeedy. – is anything seriously annoying for you on your computer/phone/iPod? Nope. – can you tell which is Cait and which is Mime in the header? I think so! Mime is on the left and Cait is on the right, right?It looks like your camping trip was really fun, and I'm impressed by all the books you read. :)Aaaaand last but not least, those hiking pictures remind me of some of my family's vacations… one time we hiked near Sedona, Arizona, and it looked pretty much the same as in your pictures. There wasn't really a set trail – you were supposed to climb all over the rocks to get to the top and IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.
Fabulous pics and great stories! I love seeing stuff like this on blogs. The only problem is that when I start reading about others' travels, I want to do my own traveling immediately!Was the area you were in pretty secluded? It's nice that the only people I see are you and your family. It's never as much fun when a popular vacation spot is overrun with people, especially when it's an outdoors-y type of vacation.I climbed a mountain in Arizona about five years ago. It was HARD going up, but it was SCARY going down! I kept losing my footing and started sliding!Love the new blog design, too. That's a great header!Stephanie @ Inspiring Insomnia
Again, I love the new design–and you are both adorable in your sketches–and I'm happy to hear you had such a good time camping. I grew up with a motor-home (caravan) for camping, too, although I've certainly roughed it plenty of times in a tent throughout my life. I personally love camping and would definitely hike up those gorgeous rock formations. The ant story was pretty hilarious. Glad to have you back!
Love the new design!!!! The pictures at the top are so cute. Mime's looks just like her! I love how big and clean the posts appear now. Great job girls! I've always wondered what "the bush" actually meant to you guys and omg I'm so jealous. That place looks amazing. Cait, I would totally be hiking up there with you! And those rocks are HUGE! Holy heck. So glad you girls had fun and are back 🙂 PS-how in the world do you get so many comments on each post?! I need to know your secret because my blog is like being inside a cave all by myself.