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Jennifer Garner sent 10 boxes of books to a teacher in need, just in time for back-to-school

'Here is to your best year, yet!'—Jennifer Garner

jennifer garner, teacher school supplies, erin fuller-wellman
via Wikimedia Commons

Jennifer Garner in 2010.

It’s back-to-school time for a lot of folks in America and that means getting the kids ready for another year in the classroom. For teachers, it often means forking out a lot of their own money to give the kids in their class the tools necessary to learn.

A 2018 study found that 94% of teachers spend their own money to stock their classrooms. The average teacher spends $479 and 7% of teachers spend more than $1,000. This comes at a time when, in inflation-adjusted terms, teacher salaries have declined by almost 4% over the past decade.

According to Newsweek, this unnecessary burden placed on teachers inspired entrepreneur Erin Foster, who has more than 600,000 followers on Instagram, to put out a story linking to teachers’ Amazon wishlists.

Erin Fuller-Wellman, a first grade teacher at Buffalo Elementary School in Wayne County, West Virginia, needed books for her classroom so she posted her wishlist on Foster’s “Clear the Lists” and Facebook, but she never believed the response she’d receive.

"The CRAZIEST thing just happened to me," Erin Fuller-Wellman posted on Facebook. "I go outside to see literally 10 boxes laying on my porch. I open the first box and it's full of books. I think, ‘I wonder who sent these?’ At the bottom, there's a note, ‘Here is to your best year, yet! Thank you for choosing to teach, you have the most important job in the world from @jennifer.garner.’ My jaw literally dropped. Every box after was from her."

Fuller-Wellman believes that Garner saw her list on Foster’s post and sent her some books because the actress knows how difficult life can be in West Virginia. Garner was born in Houston, Texas, but moved to Charleston, West Virginia, at the age of 3.

“When I saw the first note, saying it was from her, my jaw dropped and I thought I was imagining it,” she told Newsweek.

Garner has in the past spoken out about the importance of teachers. Last year, at the start of the school year, she shared her support for teachers at a time when COVID-19 was making their profession even more challenging.

“Thank you teachers, thank you administrators, thank you school staff — for being on the receiving end of a year and a half of feelings (kids’ and parents’) — big and loud, quiet and deep,” she wrote.

Garner’s donation to the teacher was a fantastic show of support for the people with the most important job in the world. It was also a savvy move in the social media age. She has to know that word would get out (we’re writing about it!) and it would inspire others to help teachers as well.

The actress has spoken out about the challenges that rural kids in West Virginia face so that’s probably a big reason why she chose to help Fuller-Wellman. Garner didn’t grow up impoverished, but she saw it all around growing up in West Virginia.

“We were surrounded by generational world poverty, so when I suddenly found myself with a little bit of a voice, I just said ‘who was helping kids in rural America?’” she said on Kerry Washington’s “Street You Grew Up On” show. “Who’s giving them a leg up in West Virginia or Mississippi or South Carolina?”

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Joy

Adorable Golden Retriever absolutely loses it when he runs into his vet at a bar

No one has ever been this excited to see their doctor.

@cosmo_andtheoddparents/TikTok

He wuvs his vet.

Not every dog might jump with joy after seeing their vet out in public. But for Cosmo the Golden Retriever, it was practically Christmas all over again when he spotted his own vet, Dr. Jones, at a brewery.

In an adorable clip posted to TikTok, we see Cosmo in pure, unadulterated bliss as he snuggles with an equally happy Dr. Jones, who, considering he’s still in his scrubs, might have just gotten out of work to grab a quick pint.

Watch:

@cosmo_andtheoddparents When you run into your vet in public #goldenretrieversoftiktok #vetlife #animallovers #petparents #goldenretriever #goldenretrievers #doglife #dogmom #dailyfluff #charlestondogs #doglover #charlestondog #brewerydog ♬ original sound - Cosmo

Ugh, the cuteness is too much to handle! People in the comments could barely contain their secondhand joy.

“He looked over like, “Mom, do you see who this is?” one person wrote, while another said, “What in the Hallmark movie? Adorable!!”

One person even joked, “Did we all check the vet’s hand for a wedding ring? (Said as a married woman. Looking out for you all, or something.)”

According to Hannah Dweikat, Cosmo’s owner, the two actually share quite a history. She tells Upworthy that when Cosmo was but a wee pup, he “gave a scare” after eating a Sago Palm seed, which are highly toxic to dogs, from a plant in their backyard, which of course resulted in him being rushed to the animal hospital and staying there over the weekend.

While that’s every pet owner’s worst nightmare, and certainly a scary situation for the poor fur baby, Dweikat says that “the calm and patient demeanor” of Dr. Jones and his staff put Cosmo at ease. And because of this, “Cosmo has always loved going to see his friends—especially because they give him lots of treats and snuggles.”

Cosmo and Dr. Jones’ buddyship has also blossomed thanks to proximity, as Dweikat only lives down the street from the clinic. “Which means we get to see Dr. Jones and his staff out in public at times and Cosmo takes every chance he can get to say hi,” she explains. This time, however, she was able to capture it all on video. Yay for us!

What makes a good vet?

While not every vet, however gifted, will be able to elicit this type of reaction from their patients, having a calming presence like Dr. Jones is certainly a good sign for pet owners to be on the lookout for when shopping around for their own vet. But that’s not the only quality a good vet needs. According to Saint Matthews University, a vet also needs to have high stamina (both physically and mentally), as well as an ability to tolerate unpleasant situations (you can’t faint at the sight of blood or vomit), a high level of emotional intelligence (maybe all doctors should possess this skill, but especially those who work with animals), adaptability, a sense of enthusiasm, and finally, excellent communication skills.

Dr. Jones seems to have these attributes in spades, and his patients clearly love him for it. None so much as Cosmo, obviously.

By the way, if you’re in need of even more content featuring this precious pup, you can follow Cosmo on both TikTok and Instagram.

This article originally appeared in February

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I accidentally discovered the perfect houseplant for people who murder houseplants

I thought I had a fake plant for months and cared for it accordingly.

Photo by Annie Reneau

Get yourself one of these babies if you can't keep plants alive.

Confession: I am a houseplant serial killer.

I don't want to be a plant murderer. I adore plants. Greenery is my thing. I'd have a whole house full of lush houseplants if I had any shade of green thumb, but sadly, I do not.

People who know this about me have tried to gift me plants that are supposedly low-maintenance. I can't count how many times I've heard, "Trust me, you can't kill it!" while someone hands me a beautiful plant that I absolutely, positively can and will kill. Yes, even succulents. Even cactus. I can kill anything that grows in dirt. I'm exceptionally skilled at it, in fact.

As a result of this regrettable reality, I have just a few real plants in my home that have miraculously survived my deadly presence over the years. The rest of my plants are fake to satisfy my desire for greenery without triggering my murder shame, which leads me to how I accidentally discovered the perfect houseplant for plant killers like myself.

bird's nest snake plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, Hahnii, houseplants, low maintenance plantsWhen I got this plant, it had such perfect leaves, I genuinely thought it was fake.Photo by Annie Reneau

I bought this cute little fake plant some months back thinking it was a fairly realistic dupe. The green color was a little bright, but the dappled effect helped offset the boldness of it. It sat on the shelf in my kitchen next to the window, and I'd occasionally take it down to dust it.

But one time when I took it down, I noticed that the tip of one of the leaves seemed to have a little imperfection in it.

"Huh," I thought. "They really made this thing look real, didn't they? Impressive."

bird's nest snake plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, Hahnii, houseplants, low maintenance plantsMy "fake" plant started drying up on one leaf after months of neglect. Photo by Annie Reneau

Then I pulled back the bottom leaves and saw that there seemed to be real dirt in the pot.

"Huh," I thought. "That's…odd. Why would they bother to use real dirt for a fake plant?"

Then I noticed that there was some dry-looking light brown stuff at the base of the leaves.

"Huh," I thought. "Now, wait a minute…"

bird's nest snake plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, Hahnii, houseplants, low maintenance plants, fake plantFake plants don't look like this, but I'd never bothered to look underneath the leaves.Photo by Annie Reneau

I ran my fingers over the leaves, which felt waxy and fake and looked nearly perfect. There was no way this was a real plant. I'd had it for months—I don't know how many, but at least two. I had never watered it. Not once. It had remained the same that whole time. The leaves felt like plastic. The green was so very green.

That imperfection at the leaf tip didn't convince me at first because I figured maybe I just hadn't noticed it before. And I didn't want to break off a leaf to check for sure because 1) I didn't want to ruin a perfectly good fake plant and 2) As a bona fide plant murderer, surely my breaking off a leaf would be a bad omen of some sort if it were real.

I took a photo and did a Google image search, and that's when I discovered that what I thought was a fake plant was, in fact, real. A genuine, living plant in real dirt. Barely affected by the months of my outright neglect. Impressive and hardy, despite my absolute best accidental attempt to kill it.

bird's nest snake plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, Hahnii, houseplants, low maintenance plantsBird's Nest Snake Plants are the best plants for plant killers.Photo credit: Canva

The Bird's Nest Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata "Hahnii")

Yes, I know, I know. I'm an idiot when it comes to plants. You can see why I kill them so often. But the Bird's Nest Snake Plant is seriously the best plant I've ever had. This is the plant everyone should have been giving me, saying I couldn't kill it. Now that I've started watering it very, very occasionally, it's even started to grow a bit. It's almost like it just sat there in a dormant state for months, not dying but not growing, waiting for me to notice that it was real (part of me wonders if maybe I loved it enough for it to become real—The Velveteen Houseplant, if you will).

Snake plants are succulents, but unlike most succulents, they don't require a lot of sunlight. They do just fine in indirect light, which is why my shelf next to the window seems to work well for mine. Like other succulents, they require little water and the soil should be allowed to dry out completely between waterings.

bird's nest snake plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, Hahnii, houseplants, low maintenance plantsI thought both of these plants were fake, so they sat here together sharing the neglect.Photo by Annie Reneau

In fact—and this is the best part—they "thrive on neglect." They are drought tolerant and more prone to overwatering than underwatering. Though the recommended watering schedules is every 2-4 weeks, if you forget for longer than that, it's probably not going to hurt it. That was 100% my experience, and yet, it's still as beautifully green as any well-watered normal plant. And it's a good plant for air purifying to boot.

If, like mine, your murderous tendencies are a result of neglect and not overzealous watering, the Bird's Nest Snake Plant might just be your perfect plant, fellow plant killers. You don't even have to know it's real to keep it alive, apparently, which is exactly the kind of plant I need.

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A nail salon made an ad so funny that people are taking road trips just for a manicure

Nailed it.

Representative photos by Wonderlane|Flickr and Aris Leoven|Canva

This Canadian nail salon has people packing their bags for a manicure

There are a lot of nail salons out there and, without word of mouth recommendations from people you trust, it can be impossible to know which salon to visit. Thanks to social media, though, many businesses have pages where they can advertise their services without having to spend a lot of money on traditional marketing practices like television, billboards, and radio. Doing their marketing using pictures and videos of their amazing work can help keep a steady flow of customers coming—but one Canadian nail salon is going with a slightly different approach.

Henry Pro Nails in Toronto, Canada is leaving the Internet in stitches after creating a viral ad for his nail salon. The video takes the beginnings of several viral video clips but instead of the expected ending, Henry pops in completing the viral moment in hilarious different ways.

It opens with a familiar viral video of a man on a stretcher being pulled by EMS when the stretcher overturns, flopping the man onto the ground. But instead of it ending with the injured man on the ground, Henry seamlessly appears laid out on the floor of his salon and delivers his first line, "Come to my nail salon. Your nails will look beautiful."

nails, nail salon, manicure, henry's pro nails, adsRihanna Nails GIFGiphy

In another clip, a man holds his leg straight up and somehow flips himself into a split. When the camera cuts back to Henry, he's in the splits on the floor of his nail salon promoting loyalty discounts. The ad is insanely creative and people in the comments can't get enough. Some are even planning a trip to Toronto just to get their nails done by the now Internet famous top nail artist in Canada. This isn't Henry's first rodeo making creative ads, but this is one is without a doubt his most popular—and effective.

"I will fly to Canada to get my nails done here just because of this hilarious video. You win this trend for sure," one woman says.

"Get yourself a passport and make a road trip! My bf and I are legit getting ours and its only a 4 hr drive from where we are in Pennsylvania. Their prices are a lot better than other places I've been too," another person says while convincing a fellow American citizen to make the trip.

"Omg, where are you located? I would fly to get my nails done by you," one person writes.

"The pedicure I had at Henry’s was the best I have ever had. Unfortunately made all other places disappointing and I don’t live close enough for Henry’s to be my regular spot," someone else shares.

To keep up with demand, in late October 2024 Henry's announced another location was coming soon in Vaughan, Ontario. Though there's no word on when the new "more spacious and professional facility" is opening just yet, customers can keep an eye out for Henry's next ad on social media.

It just goes to show that creative advertising can get people to go just about anywhere, but great service is what gets them to come back. If you're ever in Toronto (or Vaughan!) and find yourself needing an emergency manicure, Henry's Pro Nails is apparently the place to be.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Her husband mysteriously brought home bananas and tuna, then she found the note explaining why

“Marry him again, sis."

@jaethefade/Threads, Photo credit: Canva

This is so, so thoughtful.

Actress Janaé Basemore recently shared (via Threads) how she found it perplexing that her husband bought what she called “an obnoxious amount” of bananas—not that she minded, per se, as she was eating them daily—and tuna fish, which she found strange. Not only that, but the hubs offered to cook trout for dinner, which wasn’t exactly a dinner staple in their household.

Lo and behold, the oh-so endearing motivations behind this perplexing grocery haul became clear once Basemore was cleaning the house and found copious notes on her husband's desk.

The subject of these notes? Each phase of her menstrual cyle—and how best to support her through them.

View on Threads

Basemore’s husband seemingly left not stone unturned—from jotting down which foods are best for each phase (trout and bananas are particularly great for the follicular phase) to anticipating what her moods would likely be (“follicular phase=likes me,” “luteal phase=hates me”).

Down in the comments, people called this an undeniable “green flag.”

“Marry him again sis,” one person quipped.

“I’m gonna need a copy of this for my husband,” said another.

clapping, praise, green flag, woman clapping, good jobThe greenest flag. media1.giphy.com

This list is especially helpful considering that Basemore is diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a more severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) where symptoms like extreme irritability, depression, anxiety, and other symptoms like fatigue, sleep disturbances, and changes in appetite typically start in the week or two before menstruation and usually subside a few days after menstruation begins. However, those symptoms can be managed by a diet that helps to restore hormonal balance and manage inflammation.

But really, even if a woman doesn’t have PMDD, a diet that helps restore balance during each of their phases can be extremely beneficial. That, and a little emotional support from their partners.

Granted, this kind of intel (along with most aspects of the female body) aren’t exactly well known even to many women, much less to the men who love them. That’s kind of what makes this whole story so sweet. Her husband clearly made an effort to learn something that wasn’t common knowledge. Some folks murmured that the handwriting in his notes looked like it belonged to a female…but, even if that were the case…who cares? It was still him applying those notes in real life. The trout, people!

And for those guys (and gals) looking to learn more about how to best support each menstrual phase, here’s a quick general rundown, courtesy of London Clinic Nutrition:

Menstrual phase: Day 1 to 3-7

This is the ‘period’ stage of your cycle, when the uterine lining sheds causing you to bleed and estrogen/progesterone levels are low.

Foods to eat:

  • Shellfish
  • Pork
  • Pumpkin + flax seeds
  • Black + kidney bean
  • Red: Beets, berries, grapes, peppers
  • Seaweeds

Avoid: heavily processed foods, alcohol, spicy foods and sugar as these can contribute to inflammation which may cause painful period cramps to be more severe. That said, it’s okay to slip in a couple of comfort meals.

Follicular phase: Day 3-7 to 12

This phase begins on the first day of your period (overlapping with the menstrual phase) and finishes when you start to ovulate. Energy levels might increase during this phase, making it a good opportunity to add some more vigorous exercise. This is a time to up magnesium-rich foods to reduce heavy periods and PMS symptoms.

Foods to eat:

  • Trout
  • Chicken, eggs
  • Pumpkin + flax seeds
  • Lentils, mung beans
  • Berries, grapes
  • Green: Broccoli, lettuce, zucchini, avocado
  • Citrus, pomegranate
  • Fermented foods
  • Barley, oat, wheat

Ovulation: Day 12 to 16

Estrogen levels reach their peak in this phase, so eating foods high in fiber can help to reduce those levels and avoid estrogen dominance.

Foods to eat:

  • Salmon, tuna
  • Lamb
  • Sesame and sunflower
  • Red lentils
  • Berries, grapes
  • Spinach, tomato, eggplant, dandelion, brussels sprouts
  • Apricot, cantaloupe, fig
  • Chocolate, coffee, alcohol (in moderation)
  • Corn, quinoa

Luteal Phase: Day 16 to 28

Unless a woman becomes pregnant, this phase is commonly associated with premenstrual symptoms as the body prepares for the next period. Again, foods high in magnesium can help mitigate pain, low energy, and low libido that can occur during this phase.

Foods to eat:

  • White fish
  • Red meat, turkey
  • Sesame and sunflower
  • Chickpeas, navy bean
  • Berries, grapes
  • Cruciferous + bitter veg: garlic, ginger, onion, sweet potato, cauliflower, cabbage, dark greens
  • Apple, date, pear, peach
  • Mint + greens powder
  • Brown rice, millet
This is just a starting point, but hopefully it helps women (and their partners) navigate the never-ending adventure that is the female body.
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Joy

Comedian makes a musical about the most insane Facebook Marketplace transaction ever

Where is bed?

via ABC iView

Lou Wall performs "Facebook Marketplace: The Musical."

Buying, selling, or simply giving away an item on Facebook Marketplace can be a harrowing experience because you’re dealing with strangers. After posting an item, it’s common to come across people with terrible communication skills, hagglers, and those who love to complain, even if you’re giving it away for free. In addition, many scammers on Facebook Marketplace will try to send you fake payment confirmation requests or take the conversation to a less secure platform.

Aussie comedian Lou Wall had such a bizarre transaction with a woman named Eileen on Facebook Marketplace that she turned it into an epic PowerPoint slideshow musical with incredible twists, tons of bad grammar, and elaborate crime. To top it all off, Lou tried to give the bed frame away for free.

Lou is a comedian and composer who has earned critical acclaim for her solo shows, That One Time I Joined The Illuminati (2022) and The Bisexual’s Lament (2024).

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Recently, Lou performed the musical slid show as part of her Breaking the Fifth Wall performance at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Warning:The video contains strong language.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

It all began when Lou put a bedframe up on Facebook Marketplace for free, and a woman asked if she could “negotiate the price.” Yes, really. Amazingly, the woman kept pulling out all the stops to get a discount on the free bedframe. Lou probably should have found someone else to give the bedframe to at this point, but then, we wouldn’t have this amazing story.

After the price was figured out, they made a time to meet up, but the woman didn’t understand that Wall meant 5 p.m., not 5 a.m. Who would be giving away a bed frame at 5 a.m? Lou told her to leave because moving a bed frame out of her place would disturb her sleeping roommates.


Eileen then sent Lou nasty messages before asking the big question that would become the hook of the entire bit: “Where is bed?” The pair then failed to meet again when Eileen showed up at 8 p.m. instead of 8 a.m. Even though Eileen clearly has a terrible grasp of time, she accused Lou of being unable to understand the “concept of time.”

The story takes a dramatic turn when Eileen shows up at the wrong apartment, enters through an unlocked door, and steals Lou’s neighbor’s bed while messaging her through the entire process. “Hi all, we have just been robbed. Our bed and sheets were taken from the front room. Please lock your doors!” the neighbor wrote. It had to be incredibly strange to have your bed—one of the largest pieces of furniture in the house—missing and your valuables untouched.

The story is hilarious, but also a great reminder to be careful who you hook up with on Facebook Marketplace, even if you are giving something away for free. Inviting a strange person to your apartment isn’t just dangerous for the people selling things, it could put your neighbors in danger, too.

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