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Joy

Couple takes cabin living to the next level with their seriously epic cabin designs

Behold a real-life, hand-built fairytale.

cabinland, cabin pacific northwest, cabin airbnb
@sara_underwood/TikTok

Jacob Witzling and Sara Underwood's Cabinland stretches across 15 acres of land they own in the Pacific Northwest.

Living in a whimsical cabin surrounded by trees and woodland creatures might be a fairytale fantasy for many, but for one crafty couple, it’s a dream made into a reality.

Back in 2019, influencer couple Jacob Witzling and Sara Underwood revealed plans to build their own cluster of 10 artistically crafted cabins across 15 acres of land they own in the Pacific Northwest, which they would fittingly call Cabinland.

Since hatching their plan, Witzling and Underwood have documented their cabin-building journey on Youtube and TikTok, captivating viewers with next-level architectural creations that seem straight out of a Tolkien novel.

One particularly popular project was a fully functioning hot tub made out of a repurposed 73-year-old tree stump that fell due to record rainfall.

The process was undeniably involved, requiring hours of cutting, drilling, sanding, digging trenches for plumbing, and building a wooden path on top of that so they could walk to the tub without shoes.

It might have been a major effort, but at the end of it all, these two can be seen soaking in the dreamiest hot tub ever.

@jacobwitzling The Stump Tub at Cabinland #tree #diy #hottub #woodworking #nature ♬ original sound - Jacob Witzling

Another fun tidbit—Witzling explained in a subsequent video that once they're done using the tub, they attach a garden hose to the end of a drain pipe and use the remaining water for plants across the property.

If that’s just an amenity of Cabinland, imagine what the actual living situation looks like.

Better yet, just check out some of Witzling and Underwood’s TikToks, which includes a truck cabin (their first project ever), a gorgeous diamond shaped cabin (my personal favorite), a cabin just for wardrobe (excuse me?!) and their piéce de rèsistance: Castle Cabin, which is every bit as majestic as it sounds.

@sara_underwood The Truck Cabin 🤌🏻 created and designed by @jacobwitzling & me 💁🏼‍♀️ #truckcamper #vanlife #diy #cabin #roadtrip ♬ original sound - Sara Underwood
@sara_underwood Reply to @brynnemarieeee Let’s go inside! Cabin by @jacobwitzling and me #cabin #realestate #architecture #tinyhouse#diy ♬ original sound - Sara Underwood
@sara_underwood Reply to @awkwardincarnate it’s my walk-in cabin closet and I wouldn’t change it for the world 💕 #closettour #diy #cabin #clothes ♬ original sound - Saint Hoax
@sara_underwood Think of it as 3 small cabins connected by hallways 😎 cabin by @jacobwitzling & me, with help from family and friends. #cabin #realestate #architecture #diy #interiordesign ♬ original sound - Sara Underwood

Of course, Cabinland can be more than just a one-second virtual getaway. Witzling and Underwood’s goal is to be able to rent out their creations.

Plus, they’ve already expanded the operation. Check out their desert cabin in Arizona, which has an entire cactus garden on top, aka their “living roof.”

@sara_underwood

Traded in the PNW for some much needed Arizona sun. We’re down here getting to work on Cabinland 2.0. Time to pick up the tools again and get started building 🔨 the next cabin now that we have a comfortable place to lay our heads

♬ original sound - Sara Underwood

Witzling and Underwood’s magical Cabinland and the overwhelmingly positive response to it reflect a more widespread desire to strike a balance between the natural world and human advancement. The organic architecture movement, which prioritizes building structures around the natural setting versus the other way around, is still a fairly new concept, having only gained popularity in the 60s and making a bigger resurgence during the pandemic. But there’s no denying the absolute beauty and visceral harmony that emerges from it.

In other words: Great things happen when we treat Mother Nature as a valuable collaborator.

See even more epic builds by following Witzling and Underwood on TikTok here and here.

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Science

The longest — and probably largest — proof of our current climate catastrophe ever caught on camera.

It was the largest such event ever filmed.

Exposure Labs

All GIFs and images via Exposure Labs.


Photographer James Balog and his crew were hanging out near a glacier when their camera captured something extraordinary.

They were in Greenland, gathering footage from the time-lapse they'd positioned all around the Arctic Circle for the last several years.

They were also there to shoot scenes for a documentary. And while they were hoping to capture some cool moments on camera, no one expected a huge chunk of a glacier to snap clean off and slide into the ocean right in front of their eyes.


science, calving, glaciers

A glacier falls into the sea.

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ocean swells, sea level, erosion, going green

Massive swells created by large chunks of glacier falling away.

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It was the largest such event ever filmed.

For nearly an hour and 15 minutes, Balog and his crew stood by and watched as a piece of ice the size of lower Manhattan — but with ice-equivalent buildings that were two to three times taller than that — simply melted away.

geological catastrophe, earth, glacier melt

A representation demonstrating the massive size of ice that broke off into the sea.

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As far as anyone knows, this was an unprecedented geological catastrophe and they caught the entire thing on tape. It won't be the last time something like this happens either.

But once upon a time, Balog was openly skeptical about that "global warming" thing.

Balog had a reputation since the early 1980s as a conservationist and environmental photographer. And for nearly 20 years, he'd scoffed at the climate change heralds shouting, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

"I didn't think that humans were capable of changing the basic physics and chemistry of this entire, huge planet. It didn't seem probable, it didn't seem possible," he explained in the 2012 documentary film "Chasing Ice."

There was too much margin of error in the computer simulations, too many other pressing problems to address about our beautiful planet. As far as he was concerned, these melodramatic doomsayers were distracting from the real issues.

That was then.

Greenland, Antarctica, glacier calving

The glacier ice continues to erode away.

assets.rebelmouse.io

In fact, it wasn't until 2005 that Balog became a believer.

He was sent on a photo expedition of the Arctic by National Geographic, and that first northern trip was more than enough to see the damage for himself.

"It was about actual tangible physical evidence that was preserved in the ice cores of Greenland and Antarctica," he said in a 2012 interview with ThinkProgress. "That was really the smoking gun showing how far outside normal, natural variation the world has become. And that's when I started to really get the message that this was something consequential and serious and needed to be dealt with."

Some of that evidence may have been the fact that more Arctic landmass has melted away in the last 20 years than the previous 10,000 years.

Watch the video of the event of the glacier calving below:

This article originally appeared on 11.04.15

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Family

Millennials love this grandma's take on disagreeing with her daughter's parenting decisions

Viewers are calling her a "breath of fresh air."

Photo credit: Canva

You don't have to agree to show support.

It’s great when families have involved grandparents to help create those oh-so necessary villages for raising kids. However, when disagreements as to how to raise kids—and the power struggles that follow—arise, it can make for a less-than-peaceful village.

Let’s face it, it’s hard for everyone involved. Parenting has evolved, and things that worked “back in the day” don’t necessarily work now. So many Gen X and millennial parents are painfully aware of things that didn’t serve them as kids, and don’t want to repeat that pattern for their own children. Plus, it’s really hard to instill some kind of structure when that structure is constantly being undermined.

But at the same time, it can be difficult for grandparents to just sit idly by while their adult children make decisions that could come back to haunt them later. After all, the parental instinct to protect doesn’t necessarily expire.

Still, one grandma has some pretty sagely advice for all the well-intentioned grandparents out there.

Maria, better known as “Mom-Mom Maria,” who regularly posts about her life as a grandma, recently shared her strategy for handling parental disagreements with her own adult daughter.

“If I don’t agree with every little decision that my daughter makes for the baby, I usually don’t say anything,” she said. Still she admitted that “sometimes I can’t help myself.”

For this Mom-mom (the common term for “grandma” in New Jersey), the one thing she couldn’t stay silent about was the sippy cup and straw her granddaughter Prue was given to drink milk before bed.

Maria was asked to put Prues’ milk in said supply cup while she and her husband were babysitting for the night. Though she at first resisted because she felt Prue was much too young to drink out of anything but a bottle, she recognized “it’s not my decision. I’m not the decision maker.”

“I’m not the mom: I’m the Mom-Mom, the privileged Mom-Mom that gets to babysit her,” she said.


@mommom.maria #mommom #genxtiktoker #babytok #toddlertok #millennialmom #babybottle #drbrowns #sippycup #grandparentsoftiktok #babysitting ♬ original sound - MomMom Maria


So, Maria did as her daughter instructed, and lo and behold…no problems. Prue drank her milk just fine.

“So I guess my daughter was right and that’s really what I wanted to say to the other grandmothers,” Maria concluded. “You don’t have to agree but you have to do it.”

Down in the comments, so many parents found Maria’s stance to be a “breath of fresh air.”

“Say it louder for the generations that think we don’t know what we’re doing as ‘young’ parents,” one person wrote.

Another quipped, ““I was getting ready to tussle but glad I’m on the grandma’s respecting their kid’s decisions side.”

Even fellow grandparents commended Maria’s take. One wrote, “thank you! Wish more grandparents understood this. I thought the perk of being a grandparent is that you don’t have to make any parenting decisions. You just get to enjoy the grandchildren.”

“That’s right,” echoed another. “Their kids, their rules. I’ve raised my kids, their turn. And yes, blessed to be grandma!”

And perhaps this was the best comment of all: “And the only thing your kid and grandkid will feel is love, support, and respect…and it’s that easy. And we all wish we had someone like you in our lives.”

So true. It might feel uncomfortable to let go of control, but the payoff is a stronger, healthier, more empowered family unit. In the end, it might be a pretty small sacrifice.

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Community

Mom breaks down in tears after receiving call from another parent about her daughter's lunch

"Well now we're all crying."

Photo by Katerina Holmes|Canva

Mom in tears after another parent calls about daughter's lunch

People say having children is like having your heart walk around outside of your body. You send them off to school, practices or playdates and hope that the world treats them kindly because when they hurt, you hurt. Inevitably there will be times when your child's feelings are hurt so you do your best to prepare for that day.

But what prepares you for when the child you love so much winds up accidentally healing your inner child. A mom on TikTok, who goes by Soogia posted a video explaining a phone call she received from a parent in her daughter's classroom. The mom called to inform Soogia that their kids had been sharing lunch with each other.

Soogia wasn't prepared for what came next. The classmate's mother informed her that her son loves the food Soogia's daughter brings to school and wanted to learn how to cook it too.

That may seem like a small thing to some, but the small gesture healed a little bit of Soogia's inner child. Growing up as a Korean kid in California, Soogia's experience was a bit different than what her children are now experiencing.

"I guess I just never thought that my kids would be the generation of kids that could go to school and not only just proudly eat, but share their food with other kids that were just so open and accepting to it," Soogia says through tears. "Knowing that they don't sit there eating their food, feeling ashamed and wishing that their fried rice was a bagel instead or something like that. And I know, it sounds so small and it sounds so stupid, but knowing their experience at school is so different from mine in such a positive way is just so hopeful."

Soogia's tearful video pulled on the heartstrings of her viewers who shared their thoughts in the comments.

"Soogia! It will never be small. Your culture is beautiful & the littles are seeing that every day. You've even taught me so much. I'm grateful for you," one person says.

"Beautiful! I can see your inner child healing in so many ways," another writes.

"Welp. Now I'm sobbing at the airport. This is beautiful," someone reveals.

"These Gen Alpha babies really are a different, kinder generation. I love them so much," one commenter gushes.

You can hear the entire story below. You may want to grab a tissue.

@soogia1

These kids, man. They’re really something else. #culturalappreciation #breakingbread #sharing #

This article originally appeared on 3.23.24

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Mom shares the often unlisted back to school items to help save the sanity of other parents

“We go through this every year so I don’t know why you’re not even thinking about it.”

Photo credit: Canva

Mom shares unlisted back to school items to save parents' sanity

The start of school comes around every year at the same time and yet it never ceases to feel like a surprise when it's time to go school shopping. Parents go walk the aisles at big chain stores holding the magical school supply list that's supposed to detail all the things needed for your child's grade.

Four plastic pocket folders in red, blue, yellow and green, but they have to have the prongs. Three large pink erasers, a 24 pack of Ticonderoga number two pencils, glue, scissors, composition books–the list seems to never end. But it seems just when you've gotten everything checked off the list, including the optional things, something comes up to remind you that elementary school isn't done with your bank account yet.

Andrea Kirven recently uploaded a video in hopes to help parents out so they're not frantically shopping at the last minute for last minute items by sharing items that aren't on any school list but absolutely should be.

There's so much more than school supplies that even seasoned parents forget about but thanks to Kirven, you can grab it before the demand kicks up.

“We go through this every year so I don’t know why you’re not even thinking about it. You'll need three additional shirts: college day, sports day, grinch. Don't forget the western outfit, crazy hair day and school appropriate PJs. They're going to ask you for a hat and a water bottle in the middle of the school year, go on and get it," Kirven says.

The list continues and parents are not only here for the reminder of this invisible school supply list but are sounding off on how accurate it is.



One person laughs about the accuracy of it all, "Oh how accurate this is, the constant last minute struggle to find the right shirt or thing for school. Thank you for this lol."

"My girls call the nice pajamas that are specifically for school, “Serious Pajamas” Anytime they see new pjs in their closets, they always ask if they are “regular” or “serious” pjs before they will wear them," a mom reveals.

Some people chimed in with additional items that will inevitably come up before the end of the year as a reminder to purchase them in advance when possible.

"Pink for cancer, Sports day t shirt, Blue shirt for autism awareness. Ugly ugly sweater shirt, Ugly t shirt day," someone writes.

A teacher chimes in saying, "I thought this video was for teachers then I realized she is talking to parents. Funny thing is teachers need all the same stuff. So darn expensive! As a high school teacher also get ready for them to ask for a donation for some club, event or activity every week, sometimes twice a week. Also buy club shirts etc. if I would have said yes to everything this past year it would have been thousands! I do what I can but definitely not everything."

The seasoned mom even received an informal nomination, "Ok where can we sign the petition - this QUEEN for National PTA President 2024/202."

School is starting around the country and while these things aren't required to start the school year, it will likely make a parent's life easier to slowly buy these things before school spirit gets into full swing. Pro tip: thrift stores are great for locating a lot of the things mentioned in the video for a fraction of the price.

Joy

Big brother steps in for his sister's father-daughter dance and then steals the show

“I don't know if he knows what an impact he's making as her big brother, but she'll never forget this.”

@patrice_thomps/Instagram

Best brother ever.

Even for the parents who prioritize showing up for their kids, missing an event now and then might be unavoidable. But certain occasions are more painful than others when a parent can’t show up, and fatherless father-daughter dances undoubtedly fall into this category.

Earlier this year, six-year-old Harper was nearly put in this situation when her dad couldn’t show up to her dance studio's annual summer showcase—which normally includes a father-daughter dance—because of a work commitment.

Thankfully, her 14-year-old brother Micah is the coolest brother in the world, and stepped up to take her dad’s place so she wouldn’t miss out.

In a now-viral video posted to Instagram by Harper and Micah’s mom, Patrice Thompson, we see the duo have a blast as they twirl in circles, fist bump and end with an adorable lift for their “Barbie and Ken” themed routine.

“Core memory for the team today,” Thompson wrote in the caption. “I don't know if he knows what an impact he's making as her big brother, but she'll never forget this.”

Micah didn’t just have an impact on Harper. So many people left comments sharing how impressed and moved they were by the kindness he showed.

“In a world of boys he is a gentleman,” one person wrote, referencing a Taylor Swift lyric.

Here’s a few more:

“As a man whose dad walked away from me, this makes me so emotional. You are raising your son to be the cycle breaker. He won’t end up repeating cycles of toxic masculinity like so many of the men we see today. he will be a better man. And his little sister will grow up knowing what a real man should be like, because she has her big brother to show her.”

“Bless his sweet heart. I know how big that is for a 14 year old to put himself out there. Major props!”

“Watching him lift her up at the end got me i can’t lie i teared up 🥲🥲”

“As a girl who had my older brother participate in my “father-daughter” dances for drill team in high school, this made me soo emotional! 😭 this is a special moment they will remember forever.”

“Does your son know he's a legend?”

In an interview with Newsweek, Thompson shared that while she is “so proud” of her son, especially since most boys his age “would rather do anything else than perform a routine in front of their peers and during summer when he could be off with friends,” she is “not super surprised” that he what he did.

“That's the young man he is!" she exclaimed, adding “he truly understands the meaning of being selfless.

To all the brothers who would show up for their siblings in this way—thank you. Your generosity and compassion really do help make the world a better place, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.

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