Rebecca texted me at some ungodly hour this morning to inform me that she can't leave to go back to Washington DC until she sees me. So I told her that I'm going to hide so that she has to stay here forever. But then she reminded me that if my goal is to keep her here so I can spend time with her, hiding so that she has to stay will undermine my objective. So I reminded her that she told me she can't leave until she sees me, but if I see her, that will have no effect on whether or not she leaves, WHICH MEANS (stay with me here): although I needed no more motivation for it, I have just discovered yet another benefit in my life to stalking.

And now, your Pictures and Distractions:

Eli and the Pantses at Survivor party. 





Matt installs Eli's canned lights without destroying the house. 


Matt and Cathie have a plot to get Eli to go to the fabric story 1 billion times before he dies.


The new canned lights in action. 


I painted this old nightstand with leftover paint. 


My friend Skylar at Oktoberfest. 


The Pantses!


Mr. Pants got stuck snooping in this bag (after he had been told not to 1,000 times). And it was amazing. 


I made the world's ugliest birthday cake for Troy's birthday.



Crap to distract you from whatever you're supposed to be doing:

I've started writing weekly Survivor recaps for this site.

Dogs hide and seek. Thanks, Valerie.

Graffiti artist tests the patience of local authorities. Thanks, Nancy.

An ode to sleep-deprived parents. Thanks, Juni.

A show-off chicken. Thanks, Juni.

On being poor. Thanks, Juni.

People pretending to faint to see if their dogs care. Thanks, Melissa.

Bizarre vintage Halloween costumes. Thanks, Becky.

The 50 states re-imagined as food puns. Thanks, Jen.

Google fortune-telling. Thanks, Tyler.

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If you would like to have something included on Pictures and Distractions, please email me at itjustgetsstranger@gmail.com.

~It Just Gets Stranger