Friday Fonts - Mobile's Font (again)

Not to be confused with the other Mobile's Font I made because I didn't name it first.

You can get it here, at 2tff.

GF Experiments - Cookie Fail!

I found a recipe for home made GF flour blends that was basically 40% whole grains and 60% starch, and I had a few random stuff on hand, so I thought "What the hey" and decided I'd make a blend and test it out with cookies because of reasons.

So I mixed two parts oat flour and two parts cornmeal for the whole grains, and the only starch I had on hand was cornstarch, so that was six parts cornstarch. I used the basic Tollhouse cookie recipe because I know it well and I wanted to compare results. The batter was tasty but super thin, more like pancake batter or something.

And the cookies looked like this:

Not like cookies! Also, this pan was a bad choice, because it always sticks and I keep trying to use it because it used to be so wonderful, but this is what resulted from that:

Which is tasty, but not like a cookie. It's sort of just a little corn-flavored, it's very sweet, and it's too moist. Like, it wouldn't cook in the middle without burning the edges. I'm glad I made a half-batch! 

I think I need more grain and a heavier starch--or a glue-ier one! I'm going to get to the Asian market after the holidays and pick up rice flours and some other grains, and I bet they have tapioca and stuff too, so I'll try again. And the rest of this flour that I mixed up will be used for something else, maybe crepes? Maybe...something that doesn't need to be thick or puffy?

Monday Mani - Pinks and Blues

As seen on my Instagram over the weekend! Sinful Colors' Savage with Spoiled's Shrimp on the Barbie on the accent nails, and Accio Lacquer's Space Hippies on the middle fingers!

I contributed some of my polishes to Mish at Accio Lacquer's big giveaway, and as a thank you / Christmas surprise, she sent me Space Hippies! It's so different from the colors I make myself and yet so lovely and perfect, so expect to see it probably more than once over the next few weeks!

What'be you got on yo tips this week?

Dear My Future Husband #2

I'm sure I'll expect a lot of you. I was raised on rom coms and epic tales of love that beats all the odds, and I just don't see why real life expects love to be lame. I hate those commercials that seem to be everywhere where they lady just puts up with the guy being a total ass just because they're presumably in love.

That's not what love looks like.

And I don't put up with anyone treating me badly, so don't think you'll get away with being a jerk--even a low level jerk--just because you're a dude. That's stupid and immature, and I expect you, if you love me, to act like it. I mean, all of society expects me to take care of you, and if I love you, I will, but there is absolutely no reason that means you don't have to take care of me, too. Love is a two way street, buddy. If I'm not appreciated, it tells me this isn't really love, and you're meant to be my Future Husband, so you'd better act like I mean as much to you as you mean to me, okay?

Friday Fonts - IIii

Mine again! You can tell because it has a ridiculous and random name. Also because it's my handwriting. Shh, don't tell.

You can get it here, at 2tff.

Currently...

Feeling:

• Like I'm too light on the world, like I might just sleep all day and basically have.

Doing:

• Not much. Thinking about something crafty.

Reading:

• The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made
• Why Does E=mc2?

Wishing:

• I had my own place and a very pretty English boyfriend to read books with.

Thinking:

• I might not make it through all of Dec without writing; BORN TO THE ROAD and EMBER are clamoring, and SEAKING'S DAUGHTER keeps flirting with me.
• Something about straightening my hair last night made it feel like someone else's hair, and it sits differently and is it possible that it has a different weight than usual?
• Today is such a tea day.

Drinking:

• Vanilla Chai black tea cut with Sugar Cookie herbal; feeling like I should have a bottle of wine in the house, but I don't.

Missing:

• The San Sebastian Winery
• A house with more halls and rooms to wander through than this one
• The moors
• Cake and cookies--I have to think about what goes into them much more now than I used to
• Spring sunlight through chestnut trees

Dreaming:

• About a future where I live in a nice cottage somewhere cool in the summer, and I can write or sleep whenever I want because I don't have a strict schedule, only daily wordcounts and whims.

Munching:

• On trailmix
• On rice crispies

Current:

• Weather: Icky as that super-cold-front moves in and brings snow tomorrow, but no snow yet
• Mental state: Shaky
• Motivation: Low
• Whimsy-level: High
• Mood: Hedgehog

How're you feeling right now?

Thankful Thursday - Second week of Dec 2013

1. I now have a valid medical reason to eat as many potatoes as I want.
2. Ditto on rice.
3. We're getting out cold weather back this weekend and it might even snow!
4. That A2 is such a cutie-patootie.
5. My weather-change headache is nowhere near as bad as it was last time we had a drastic shift like this!

What're you thankful for?

Wednesday Weigh In - 163.4! On a food-based holiday week!

It's only two tenths of a lb down from the previous weigh-in, but you know what? It's two tenths down in a week with Thanksgiving and three birthdays--and the birthdays all had cake which is a) one of my main weight-gain weaknesses and b) off the GF diet. I'm basically only making exceptions in the diet for cake these days, and it seems to be doing alright! I didn't lose much, but I most definitely didn't gain!

My bro and I decided that we were going to check out the local Korean market, and when I was there I bought a tub of miso--delicious, delicious, live-food, protein-and-umami-filled miso. Which makes rice even more delicious!

You know, I used to say that I could live off rice. I guess I'm proving it!

Friday Fonts - IIiiiI

Hi! I really need to think better about spelling the fonts before I name them.

You can get it here, at 2tff.

Babysitter Tales - Long weekends

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, all three of the kids are home all day. Which means nothing but madness. Like, Lovecraftian sorts of madness. I swear they all have three mouths and too many arms, judging by how often I'm telling them stop throwing things and to tone the volume down. 

The baby (who is now almost three, but is still the youngest kid in the family and so is still the baby), has decided that every time I go to the bathroom, I must need help. In this case, 'help' usually means holding the door open and rearranging the toilet paper and getting soap all over the place. But he's so cute about it. He busts in the door and goes "ya nee help?" and looks like he really thinks that he's doing something helpful. I want to encourage this impulse; one of the kids has to be the sort who helps out, right?

We were watching one of those Disney Channel shows the kids like--the one about all those kids who were adopted from all over the world. It was the one little girl's Gotcha Day, the celebration of the day she was adopted, and it was very sweet. I think if I ever adopt kids, I'll do something like that for them. I've already decided to celebrate half-birthdays, too; mostly because I always wanted to celebrate mine and no one ever would play along, and partly because a year is a really long time for a kid to wait. Especially if, like the baby, you're birthday is way at the end of the year. He's had to go to everyone else's birthday all year, and it's only just now getting to his.

Also, you never can have too many things to celebrate, just in general.

Big Sister just had her birthday this past weekend, and her mom got her a keyboard. She seems to be doing alright teaching herself how to play. It was so much harder for me to learn; I was about the same age when I learned piano, but I didn't have nearly her crazy-confidence, and I was so shy that the performance part of the class I took was like torture. And I have so little natural coordination! It took forever to learn each song. But I loved it, and I practiced after school almost every day. I hope she loves it as much. Every kid should have things they love to do.

Wednesday Weigh In - Right before Thanksgiving!

I'm down another pound! Rice-and-veg-based, wheat-free diet for the win!

If I survive Thanksgiving without getting all of it back I think I'll be okay until Christmas, and then after New Years I have some plans for tightening up again and getting back on track.

How're you guys?

Memery - What is Your True Color Aura? Quiz

My results on the  What is Your True Color Aura? Quiz:

Green
 
Your Aura is Green!
Personality: Most people associate green with money, which green is one of the least materialistic auras around. Comfort is most important to them and they like to feel as relaxed as possible in any situation. Greens also like to try to make others feel at ease. Greens tend to shy away from aggression and anger, and are usually the peacemaker. The one thing that ticks greens off is when people can’t get along; they wish everyone was kinder to one another. They always have a fresh perspective on things and are very innovative and smart. Greens tend to embrace change and growth, and are always excited about what’s on the horizon. They are very driven, competitive, and even a bit jealous. However, they seek out balance in their lives and usually achieve it. Greens are a natural healer and persuader. They always find it easy to get what they want in life, whether it is material success or just making a difference in other people’s lives. A strong Green individual lives in a world of intangibles where hopes, dreams and emotions are most important. You look at the big picture, are not detail oriented, and like to explore possibilities and alternative ways of doing things. You march to your own drummer and frequently find it difficult to get on the same wavelength as others. This often puts pressure on your relationships. You have a rich vivid imagination and thrive in an atmosphere that encourages the use of your creative abilities and talent. Your intuition is highly developed and you seem to be able to sense what others are feeling. You are practical, down-to-earth person. You are stable and well balanced You are kind, generous and compassionate. You have a great need to love and to be loved and you tend to wear your heart on your sleeve- you are an open book. You have a need to belong. You are at home in any social situation. You have high moral standards and doing the right thing is important to you. You like to be accepted,appreciated and admired for the good you do in the community as well as in your family life. You are a loyal friend and a faithful partner, gentle but not passionate. You are strong-willed and do not like to be told what to do by others. You do like to win arguments and do not concede defeat easily. You are not a risk-taker and not action orientated, rather more of an observer. Detail bores you. You process information quickly and prefer to develop an idea, organize a plan and then delegate the rest to someone else. The ability to put yourself in the shoes of others is one of your true talents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love Life: Picky with high standards, it's hard to find your match. You need someone as driven as you are!
Yellow: Greens may be attracted to yellows but KEEP MOVING ON!!
Red: To cruel to even consider greens needs
Pink: Very Quirky but not something greens take an interest into
Orange: You had a crush on an orange for the longest time now its time to move out of the “Friend Zone”
Blue: The perfect mate for a green aura they are very loyal and meet your standards to their highest.
Purple: Purples never even seen of a green aura before they are way to high maintenance for a green
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Perfect Color Love Match: White: Your long lost soul mate is definitely a white!
Friendship Color: Orange,  no matter what they will always stick by your side
Color Opposite: Your color wheel opposite is Red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

Words that Describe Green: Balanced, Relaxed, Flexible, Compassionate, Philosophical, Humble, Loyal, Inventive and Unique

Purpose of Life: Inspiring Others to Be Great

What'd you get?

Dear My Future Husband - #1

I just watched the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, and if you were here you would have seen me kicking my legs, flapping my arms, screeching like some trapped banshee, gasping and squeaking and watching most of the second half with my hands alternately clapping in inarticulate glee and clapped over my mouth so hard I think I left marks on my own face.

You'll have to be able to cope with reactions like this.

You see, when I'm a fan of something, I'm a fan all the way, and I fall right into that cliche of active emotional involvement. Hopefully, you'll be the sort who will sit next to me and scream and kick and cheer and cry with me; this means we're on the same wavelength with the shared things we love. I try not to get so involved, because caring that much means there's a lot of disappointment, but it also means there's days like this--days when everything goes right and the Story makes sense and surprises me and I could just kiss the world.

Wednesday Weigh In - 164.9

I broke the 165 barrier! Just a little, but enough that it counts!

I think it's the wheat thing. When I stick to the diet, the scale ticks down, slowly but surely. I mean, Halloween was full of candy and I've been living off of chocolate-covered potato chips the last two days, but I've been better about checking for wheat and it's going down. I don't know if that'll work forever, but it's working now!

Font Friday - Extras

Another one of my own! Free for you, my lovelies!

You can get it here, at 2tff.

Monday Mani - Tealery

Two cheapie brands and my own blue duochrome that is half of both Horsehead Nebula and Eagle Nebula. And can I just say? I love love LOVE this Fresh Paint flaky topcoat. I've been using it over every color I have and it looks fab on all of them.

Top Ten Tuesday - Ideas that would make the world better if we implemented them

1. Teachers are super-important to the future not only of our children, but to the world the children will build
2. We aren't the bosses of everything; it's our responsibility to make sure we don't use everything up now, and that we make it easier to live lightly on the world in the future
3. Communities support communities, and it's up to the community to build the community it wants to be
4. Kids really can do stuff for themselves sometimes
5. We aren't the police of the entire world just because we have more guns; that's not really all that great a way to judge actual progress and usefulness
6. Smart is better than conformist or strong in this modern world; focus on making people smarter
7. Public transportation. Across the board.
8. Urban gardening can feed almost everyone it's needed to feed in a city
9. Buying local and supporting local business could totally change the economy and make the collapses we're weathering much less likely to happen again
10. Everyone in the world needs to travel to see how other people live at least once in their lives

What ideas do you think could change the world?

Tuesday Tea - Pumpkin Spice Brûlée

http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/oolong-teas/p/pumpkin-spice-brulee-oolong-tea

I usually don't buy Teavana tea just because it's so very, very expensive, but we stopped by to look at the pretty tea tins and they had it brewed and waiting for me. It smells buttery and tastes like a mildly sweet and mellow pumpkin spice--not all cloves and cinnamon, thank god! It's also made with oolong tea, which is my fav of the teas!

And it's perfect for fall.

Gardenation - November Planting Reminders!

This month, according to various emails and websites (linked below), we can plant:

• Angelica 
• Asparagus 
• Beans - broad beans, fava beans 
• Beet
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cardoon 
• Carrot
• Celery
• Corn Salad (also Lamb's lettuce or Mache) 
• Cauliflower
• Collard
• Endive
• Garlic
• Jerusalem Artichokes (also Sunchoke)
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce
• Mustard
• Onion 
• Pak Choy 
• Peas
• Potato starts
• Radicchio
• Radish
• Rhubarb
• Salsify (also Vegetable oyster)
• Shallots (also Eschalots)
• Spinach
• Spring onions (also Scallions, Bunching onions, Welsh onion) 
• Swedes (also Rutabagas) 
• Swiss Chard
• Turnip

All of them outside, since I guess they're the sturdy things that can overwinter without dying or get better with a little cold. 

Inside plantings:

• Papaya seeds, for new plants; older plants in for the winter
• New herbs

Harvest:

• Sweet potatoes and remaining regular potatoes
• Citrus
• Remaining tropical fruit that wasn't harvested before
• Camelia flowers will be opening up this month and into next; get some for vases and displays inside

Garden Tasks:

• Prune berries if they've finished fruitingm and roses
• Start early varieties of spring veggies if you have a greenhouse
• Rake up leaves and dispose or compost (do this a lot)
• Dig up non-wintering bulbs; plant out spring-flowering bulbs
• Cut back and clean out the dead summer plants
• Remulch trees and beds
• Switch birdfeeders to the fattier winter blends
• Preserve / Dry remaining herbs for the winter, or bring the potted plants of the tenderer ones indoors
• Plant out any trees and shrubs you're putting in
• Plant out most herbs that are grown and sturdy, or put up new ones inside to wait for spring
• Water regularly, but not too much; plants are going into hybernation and don't need as much water
• Prepare for freeze protection
• Put away the tomato cages and summer trellises
• Fertilize once
• Take cuttings of plants and trees you want to root for the spring
• Check acid-balance of garden soil and adjust as needed
• Sow cover crops if you have big fields to do so
• Make sure potted plants have space underneath so they don't get waterlogged
• Divide perennials, houseplants and hanging bakets
• Check that houseplants get enough light and moisture during the winter

DISCLAIMER

Not all plants will work in all areas; this is a guide.

Sources:

• GardenGate.com email
• http://www.the-gardeners-calendar.co.uk/news/story.asp?nid=3636
• http://www.walterreeves.com/seasonal-gardening-calendar/november/
• http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-10-27/features/os-tom-maccubbin-gardening-chores-1026-20131027_1_vegetable-fruit-gardening-older-herb-plantings-vegetable-and-fruit-plantings
• http://easttexasgardening.tamu.edu/homegardens/monthly/nov.html
• http://gardening.about.com/od/fallinthegarden/a/NovGarden.htm
• http://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/gardening/

Font Friday - Hey

Like the previous Hey2, but with more brush-stroke-like lines. I think it's very pretty.

You can get it here, at 2tff.

Top Ten Tuesday - Things that make life better

1. Repainting your nails any color you want
2. New haircuts that you love
3. Collectibles
4. Vacations--even really short ones
5. Cats who like you
6. Tea, all of it
7. Chocolate, all of it
8. Sleeping in because you don't need to be up yet
9. Babies laughing
10. Finding the exact thing you need to bring the room together

Top Ten Tuesdays - Places I want to visit

1. Ireland
2. Slovenia
3. All the places I used to live
4. Macchu Picchu
5. Sweden
6. The Redwood Forest
7. Stonehenge
8. The Moon
9. Tuscany
10. Skara Brae

What about you guys? Where do you most want to visit?

Seven things that are annoying me right now:

1. My computer somehow got 113 bugs on it and almost wouldn't run enough to clean them out--and I'm not sure where the gap in coverage is.
2. I didn't even see that the Maybeline ad for the Hunger Games inspired make up totally did what the Capital does--divide and distract--and now I'm wondering what else I've missed lately.
3. My bedroom is dark and I don't have a spare lightbulb for my lamp.
4. Being poor.
5. Wanting cake.
6. This pervasive feeling I'm having right now that I don't have enough time to do things--and the certitude that this is a lie my brain is telling itself.
7. That smudge right in the middle of my glasses that I just can't seem to wipe off.

Gluten Free Me - What I've been eating

Somewhere on one of the GF blogs, I read the best advice ever: the easiest way to be gluten free is to eat stuff that naturally doesn't have gluten. So that's what I've been doing, mostly. Recently, we've had:

- Potroast and mashed potatoes

- Pork and sweet potatoes with applesauce

- Roast chicken with baked potato and cheddar-broccoli topping

And when something normally has a wheat-based starch, like tonight's hotdogs and beans, I usually just skip the bread. Last night, when we had barbecue beef sandwiches, I had mine over rice.

Lunches are more in my control than dinners, which everyone shares. I eat a lot of soups at lunchtime; it's fairly easy to find GF soup, and ones I make myself are guaranteed to be GF. Plus, home made soup makes use of bones and veggies we have lying around and freezes real well for later.

One of my fav lunches is at the top of this post: toasted corn tortillas with tuna and veggies. I use mostly the pre-flavored tuna, and I find that I don't need to add sauce or mayo or anything because it already tastes good. Then I top it with whatever veggies we have around and nom away! Less that 300 cals, naturally GF and delicious!

I do eat a lot of the standard GF pancakes, and I'm starting to get tired of them; I think I'll try the Bob's Red Mill pancake mix soon. And I do miss cupcakes, muffins and cookies, so I think I'll also try Bob's GF all-purpose flour soon; I found out yesterday that WalMart has it for almost $2 cheaper than Target, where we usually shop.

Day 27 and I'm doing pretty well!

Font Friday - Versa

Mine. I made it. With my own hands and my own iPad.

You can get it here, at 2tff.

Do any of you make fonts? Share them!

Top Ten Tuesdays - Some of my favorite songs

1. "What the Water Gave Me" - Florence + The Machine
2. "Little Talks" - Of Monsters and Men
3. "Karma Slave" - Splashdown
4. "Soul Meets Body" - Deathcab for Cutie
5. "Be My Wife" - David Bowie
6. "Blinding" - Florence + The Machine
7. "Love Is A Battlefield" - Pat Benetar
8. "Broken Wings" - Mister Mister
9. "Once In A Lifetime" - Wolfsheim
10. "Lullaby" - The Cure

What about you lovelies?

Tuesday Tattoo Inspiration - Nesting dolls for sisters

What a fantastically cute way to share a tattoo with your sisters! And a versatile idea, too, since you could add as many nesting dolls as you need, or as few as two!

Top Ten Tuesday - Geeky items it would be super-useful to have in real life

1. Sonic screwdrivers
2. Tricorder
3. Spaceships that can fly faster than light
4. Ubiquitous supercomputing that you just have to talk to to get whatever you need
5. Holograms
6. Heads-up displays in our actual vision
7. Phasers
8. Scanners of all sorts
9. Replicators--the kind that make food and clothes, not the kind that take over the planet and kill everyone
10. Little robots who maintain things, fix things, plant things, etc

Top Ten Tuesday - Art supplies everyone should have in a box that's always on hand

1. Sketching pencils
2. Colored pencils
3. Watercolor pencils
4. Paper--a nice selection of it
5. A clipboard or other hard surface
6. Sharpies
7. Gel pens
8. Whichever paint you prefer and basic useful brushes
9. Scissors
10. Glue

I'm convinced you can make anything if you have these things.

Top Ten Tuesday - Things We Need In Sleepy Hollow

1. The obligatory shopping scene that next week pretty much promises us--but in the end he decides to keep his own clothes, and just have a tailor copy them so he has the ability to change his clothes.

2. Abby allowing just a little bit of fondness to show through, and Jenny jumping on it as proof that she likes him--then Crane walking in on that conversation and protesting that he's married, which shuts Abbie down and doesn't even faze Jenny.

3. Flashbacks of Jenny and Corbin working together to extract magical items from dangerous parts of the world--and doing their best to help people. Crane sharing some of his own adventures, A bid feeling left out--until he points out that these are her adventure stories.

4. Abbie agreeing to that other cop's attempts to rekindle their spark, but finding him boringly ordinary after everything she's seen; he decides to win her back though, and doesn't give up just because of one tepid date.

5. Modern Templars.

6. Also the Illuminati. 

7. Possibly Nazi Occultists.

8. Others who aren't on the side of either witch coven, but who wind up like Jenny and Abbie and Corbin, studying and dealing with this stuff, and surviving it. Both good ones and bad ones.

9. Other contacts in the supernatural world--seers, researchers, freelance witches, lesser spirits that don't want to kill the world, other ghosts...

10. Ichabod really feeling the loss of everything he knew and everyone he loved, and a moment quiet enough for him to really deal with how he can't go back and how strange and alien this world is now. Preferably before he has to lose Catrina again, because I want it to really feel like it comes from him.

Gluten Free Me - Two weeks in!

You guys, I don't even know what to say about this whole thing other than wow.

I mean, I thought maybe something would change, but this was almost immediate. As of now, my face is way cleared up, and that usual dry grittiness that I've always had on my upper arms and back is greatly reduced. The psoriasis on my scalp is almost gone. I hardly itch at all! I'm used to always itching!

There are days when I feel cruddy, and I think that's a combination of my seasonal allergies kicking in at the same time as my body chemistry is shifting. The last, like, two days, I've been feeling the lack of cookies and cupcakes a lot but I'm going to try making GF brownies to sate that, and I have some Halloween candy for when I get a sweet tooth--which so far is much less than it was before, though not gone.

I'm feeling more motivated and more clear-headed, too, more often. Which is great since I'm just figuring out how to get an agent and get my book published and that needs me to be sharp. It's not all the time, but it's more than it was.

And all of this is more than I was expecting!

Quote - | Inspiration for the new week.

| Inspiration for the new week. :

'via Blog this'

Font Friday - Gifffff

Yes, with five 'f''s. Another one of mine! I'm getting to really like making fonts; it's sort of...zenlike, going through the alphabet like that.

You can get it here, at 2tff.

Wednesday Weigh In - 166!

I'm down almost four pounds since ten days ago when I started this new diet! I knew that I was feeling less puffy, but four pounds! That's way more than I was expecting!

Yesterday, my brother bought my mom and I lunch at his favorite bagel place. I decided to test it; I was nine days without gluten, lunch was free for me, and it looked amazing. It was delicious. I ate half a sandwich. And then I had a stomach ache and was queasy for the rest of the night. So I guess there is some real sensitivity!

But I also guess it's working and doing good things, so I'm re-committed!

Top Ten Tuesday - Reasons to journal

1. It lets you clean out old pains
2. It preserves current daily memories that would otherwise be forgotten
3. It also preserves great triumphs and the best days, as they are when you live them
4. It shows you the inside of yourself so that you can better understand yourself
5. It's a holistic view of your life, so you can see the patterns you miss when you're living it
6. "the unexamined life is not worth living" and this is exactly examining
7. Anything you put in your journal is journaling
8. A planner is really just a stripped down journal, and journaling can reclaim that day-to-day aspect
9. Have you seen all the awesome people in history who kept journals? You could be part of that group.
10. Clearing out your brain helps you sleep more and worry less

Monday Mani - Aquas

As you can tell, I prettied this one up, but I also color-corrected so the nail polish looks true to life. 

This is NYC Tudor City Teal with Pure Ice Oh Baby all over thumb and ring finger, and Confetti Ice Ice Baby on the tips of the accents.

What're you wearing this week?

Gluten Free Me - Day 6

It's still too early to tell, overall, but I think I'm doing well. I feel less puffy already, and my cravings for sugar and starchy things are starting to lessen--I gave in and had a candy bar the other day and it was way too sweet and then I felt sort of queasy for hours, and this was just a Three Musketeers, something I eat all the time because it's lower in calories than other candy bars and doesn't have HFCS, which I try to avoid anyway. I'm wondering after that if it's sugar that's the problem, but that will take a doctor to check so I'll add it to the list of things to talk to him about.

I really like the Three Ingredient Pancakes. I made another batch of the banana variety with riper bananas, and I added more cinnamon and just a tablespoon of brown sugar for a double recipe, added flax meal, and cooked them in a muffin tin, and they came out lovely. I have them sitting on the counter so when I'm feeling peckish, I see them and remember to eat them. I'm not feeling hugely peckish though. Not like when I go on a typical diet, and I'm hungry all the time. I'm hardly snacking at all!

Slightly in TMI territory, I noticed this morning that there was almost no gas in my intestines--I hadn't even realized how much I burped and rumbled before, and now that's almost all gone! In less than a week!

The only time it's been hard, this week, is when mom made chocolate-chip muffins and I couldn't have any! I think the next batch of GF-pancakes is gonna have chocolate chips.

Are any of you on a new diet? How're you doing? Or, did you go GF? Any advice?

Tuesday Tattoo Inspiration - Abstract back thing

Another one from Pinterest that's just a picture with no link, but this one is titled "Abstract by Amanda Wachob", so I found this link: her personal website.

This is just gorgeous. It's geometrics and loose, painterly lines and watercolor-y color. I think maybe something like this was what I was going for when I got my back tattoo, but I didn't know at the time that things like this existed. Maybe I'll have it redone more like this!

Top Ten Tuesday - Reasons why cats are awesome

1. They can just flop over wherever they're standing and take a nap, and people think that's cute
2. They're easily amused by things like laser pointers and a fly in the room
3. Like Jupiter, they put out more heat than they absorb
4. They purr at the exact frequency that helps bones heal and keeps them strong in old age
5. Look at those little paws!
6. No matter how they land, they always totally meant to do that
7. They're easily befuddled and therefore very entertaining
8. They let us pet their soft-soft fur
9. They used to be gods
10. They're essentially the same as a Tiger, but much more portable

Problems I have with Apple devices

I finally have an iphone, and I love it, but every now and again, I run into these issues--and they're the same issues I had with my iPad and my various iPods, and it's annoying.

1. The design is amazing, but it leaves it so that there's no way to upgrade--what I wouldn't do for an SD slot. Or even, like, a well-designed apple-alternative to SD even.

2. You ALWAYS need to upgrade. -- Everything is outdated almost instantly, and there's always the new version, and so you're always needing to get the new version, which is fine if you have piles of funds and really crap if you're poor like me.

3. A lot of the upgrades aren't really all that nifty, which means you're basically paying a whole lot of money for something that's highly disposable, but not made at all of disposable, reusable, or otherwise thoughtful materials. It looks great, and it's meant to be tossed or passed down the tech stream in, like, four minutes.

4. The whole backup thing only really works smoothly if you have an Apple computer, which makes it, like, two or more times as expensive as a Windows PC, with NOTHING on it when you get it. This, here, has been a burr under my saddle since the 90s when I got my first computer. It always comes down to the cost, and I can never afford an Apple.

5. Apple is super-protective of their patents, so there's not really any comparable competitor tech, though it's better than it was--it's like extortion: if you want this phone, you have to buy it at these crazy prices, mwahahaha.

If they just would bend a little--give us a way to get more memory on our devices without having to buy a whole new device, primarily, and give us something that costs less if they're going to insist on making it buy-new-to-get-better, I'd be 100% happy with my iPhone. I hate juggling space. I just hate it. And the fact that there's no way to get more space cheaply and simply just totally annoys me.

How about you? Do you use an iPhone? What are your peeves?

Gluten Free Me - Day 1

Breakfast today was the famous / ubiquitous GF banana pancakes! It was super easy: mash up one banana, mix well with two eggs, add cinnamon, a half teaspoon baking powder, and four tablespoons quick oats and cook like any other pancakes!

As you can see, they came out browner than a regular pancakes, too, and they don't really have exactly a pancake texture, but it's close--remarkably close! And it's tasty, too! This recipe made six (well, five and a weensie one) pancakes and I ate three for breakfast and three for afternoon tea*, both times with a light smear of peanut butter--probably a tbsp total, each time.

They are a little bland; they'd probably had more flavor naturally if my banana was, like, two days riper and if my eggs were free-range and farm-raised and therefore already had more flavor, but those are expensive eggs. I think I'll add a pinch of salt, more cinnamon and maybe just a teaspoon of brown sugar next time.

And this recipe is so simple it feels like it should be wildly customizable-- I want to try it with other fruits instead of bananas, with other grains or none at all, with peanut butter inside or Nutella or almond butter, with a scoop of cocoa, with nuts... 

This is exactly the sort of recipe I love--one so easy it's more of a method than a real recipe and therefore way open for modification. And it's delicious!

First Attempt at GF Cooking = Rousing Success

You guys, this was the best thing I've had in ages. I haven't officially started the Plan until tomorrow, but I wanted to have sort of a dry run, to see if it's as easy as I want it to be--and this was the result:

And it was so good. I mean, I've never fried a tomato OR poached an egg, and both came out exactly how I wanted them to! How often does that happen? Not often, lemme tell you.

Here's what I did:

- While the water was warming up for the egg, I dry-pan-toasted two all-corn tortillas until they had crispy brown bits. When they came out, I spread each one with a little recaito.*

- About this time, the water was at a low simmer, so I made a whirlpool in it and dropped the egg in**, and let it just cook without messing with it for a few.

- When the pan from the tortillas was free, I threw in maybe a tablespoon of olive oil and fried the tomatoes with salt, pepper and oregano until they looked caramelized.I just thick-sliced a whole tomato because I didn't have any plastic wrap to save an uncooked half.

- About halfway through cooking the toms, I pulled the egg out and let it sit in the slotted spoon over the warm water while I finished.

- Then I topped the tortillas with the tomatoes and then the egg, threw a little more salt, pepper and oregano on it, took these pictures, and then literally cleaned my plate in about four minutes.

How had I lived all my life without this? It's so simple, it's fabulous, and it doesn't have a fried egg, which I don't like!

I made it sort of small because I wasn't sure how it'd turn out and if I'd like it, but it was so delicious I wish I'd made double the amount! I think next time I'm going to sautée some peppers and onions for between the tortillas, and maybe add some sour cream or a white-cheese crumble, but that all would just be gravy--this was damned near perfect as is!

Notice where I literally cleaned my plate.

Whether I stay GF or not, this is staying in my rotation.

Notes:

* If you don't know about recaito, you've been seriously missing out. It's a Hispanic wet seasoning mix of garlic, cilantro and piles of other stuff and it makes everything better.

** The second egg, since the first one was dumped out on the counter when I dropped the recaito knife into it and then had to clean it up. You know what's not easy to clean off a counter? Spilled egg! It wobbles and slides and doesn't absorb. Which is why the second tortilla was a little over-toasted. But that just makes it taste more like delicious delicious corn!

Font Friday - Mobile's Font (because I didn't name it first)

Another one of my own fonts!

You can get it here, at 2tff.

Wednesday Weigh In - 169.5

Being sick has messed up any headway I made, and when I was at the doctor, I had my blood tested; he says my thyroid is fine! Which is good news, but also troubling news, because I haven't been able to lose weight, and I still have all the symptoms of thyroid under-functioning.

So now I'm faced with a string of future tests to see if there is something else wrong with me and what that something is. But that coats money I don't have, so in going to get super serious with my diet. I'm going to see if all of it is a reaction to something, so I'm going to run some experiments--a month without wheat, a month without dairy, etc, and see if any of that helps.

I'm also going to keep careful records for my doctor (and I'll probably post the worksheets I make up for myself here or sell them in the Shop*). And I'll continue to talk about it periodically here on the blog, too, what works and what doesn't, how I feel, etc.

It's just frustrating, working so hard and not having any of it work. I'm just hoping I don't have some weird chronic thing that won't show up until the last and most expensive test!

Top Ten Tuesday - Nonessential things I'd spend money on if I had money

1. One of those full-room climby-things for Ninja
2. Full-body hair lasering
3. A personal hair stylist
4. A year-long trip around the world
5. An orchard with a selection of different fruits to eat
6. Weekly massages and spa days
7. A 1969 black Chevy Impala
8. A housekeeper, so I don't have to do it myself and therefore it won't get forgotten
9. A building to stock as my personal lending library
10. A computer that is top-of-the-line instead of second-to-bottom-of-the-line

Tuesday Tattoo Inspiration - Hello Sweetie in circular Gallifreyan

Found on Pinterest without a source, but I love it! I love circular tattoos anyway, and this one has a pretty pattern and a secret geeky meaning!

Top Ten Tuesday - The most likable characters in Game of Thrones Season 1

Which I'm rewatching late at night when I can't sleep. Which is fairly common.

1. Arya
2. Syrio Forell
3. Dany
4. Nymeria
5. Tyrion Lannister
6. Jame Lannister
7. Jon Snow
8. Rennly
9. Bran
10. Samwell Tarly

Better Living Through Better Thinking - Neighborland

Neighborland:

This is an idea I just love: a social network site focused solely on improving the lives of people in your own area by bringing attention to the stuff that needs doing. It's about as grass-roots as you can get: the site puts together all the people who locate an issue in their town, and then you go through and vote on other stuff people have noticed and had something to say about that town, and when things reach critical mass, they help figure out how to make it so.

It's brilliant. We need this to be active everywhere--a sort of community board for the digital age.

'via Blog this'

Creativity - 10 Paradoxical Traits Of Creative People | Fast Company | business + innovation

10 Paradoxical Traits Of Creative People | Fast Company | business + innovation:

"10 PARADOXICAL TRAITS OF CREATIVE PEOPLE: CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE HUMBLE AND PROUD. CREATIVE PEOPLE TEND TO BE BOTH EXTROVERTED AND INTROVERTED. CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE REBELLIOUS AND CONSERVATIVE. HOW CREATIVE ARE YOU?"

'via Blog this'

Better Living Through Better Thinking - Looking For Love Again: Abandoned Buildings That Ask Cities For Renewal | Co.Exist | ideas + impact

Looking For Love Again: Abandoned Buildings That Ask Cities For Renewal | Co.Exist | ideas + impact:


What a fantastic idea for what to do with abandoned buildings: ask the people who live with it and walk past it every single day! This is democracy at work, not big sweeping governmental things.

'via Blog this'

Better Living Through Better Thinking - 50 Creative Ideas To Make Better Cities, Presented On Gorgeously Designed Posters | Co.Exist | ideas + impact

50 Creative Ideas To Make Better Cities, Presented On Gorgeously Designed Posters | Co.Exist | ideas + impact:


This is an awesome collection of ideas, and some of them are so common-sense that there's no excuse for not having done them yet. I hope some of the new cities that are just building up now, and some of the old cities that are trying to remake themselves look at this list and take a few of the ideas to heart!

'via Blog this'

Natural Remedies For Sleeplessness

I have a lot of trouble sleeping. I've always been a light sleeper, and I think it's only gotten worse since I started living with another insomniac and a handful of people with a lot of different schedules. Here's some of the things I've found that help with sleeping.

1. Chamomile tea
I'm super-susceptible to whatever chemical it is in chamomile that makes you drowsy; this actually works better for me than some sleeping pills, and doesn't leave me groggy or addicted. It is, however, related to ragweed, so I avoid it when my allergies are acting up really badly, since it can make it actually harder to sleep while simultaneously making me so sleepy I want to even more!

2. Avoid caffeine
When I worked in that coffee shop many moons ago, I drank so much coffee. I think it damaged my system a little, I drank so much. I'm now really sensitive to caffeine, and so I gave up tea at dinner, and I do sleep better than I did before. I still drink whole pots of tea in the morning and afternoon, but I stick mostly to green and oolong, which have relatively small amounts of caffeine. In the evenings, I switch to decaf, or to herbals. Mostly, though, I drink water.

I avoid coffee all together unless there's a specific reason I need to be up--like when I'm at conferences or something. Even then, I don't drink more than six or eight ounces--one small cup. I don't drink energy drinks at all. They're so loaded with the caff that I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack when I drink them, and most of them taste bad.

And at that level, the caffeine becomes a trigger for panic attacks, which I don't need and am also managing, so there's one more reason to avoid it.

3. Stop eating at night
I'm not always good at this, but I try to eat a nice filling dinner, and then stop eating. It's easier to sleep when I'm not digesting. I'm naturally a late eater; I get hungry around eight at night more than I do at six, so I'm usually stopping eating at around nine. That gives me two hours before midnight, when I usually go to bed, and it seems to work for me!

4. Have a routine
It really is easier to sleep when your mind and body know it's time to sleep. I don't work past dinner unless I really can't avoid it--most things can be worked on the next day. I wash my face and do all the lotioning and everything maybe a half hour or and hour before bed. I try not to watch anything too upsetting close to when I go to sleep.

When it's bedtime, I'll read if I'm not ready to sleep yet, but I do it in bed, with the lights as low as my poor eyeballs will allow it to be. I sleep in the dark, with the blinds drawn so outside light doesn't get too much overnight when I'm meant to be asleep.

I try to go to bed at the same time, or near the same time every day. I try to wake up at the same time every day. I'm not good at either of those things, but I try!

5. Tire yourself out during the day
I think a lot of this modern plague of sleeplessness is because so many of us do the sort of work that's mentally exhausting, but doesn't do anything for the energy in the body. So when you're ready to sleep, you really want to and you really need it, but your muscles haven't had any effort and don't want to settle down, making you restless and unable to turn off.

I hate to be one of those people, but exercise really does fix that. So does walking around all day, even if all you're doing is running errands. So does having fun--dancing or shopping or going to a show or whatever. The point is that everyone has a lingering inner four-year-old and that four-year-old needs to be knackered before he'll sleep. So make sure you tire yourself out so that you can sleep when you need to!

---
Do any of you have natural cures, remedies, treatments or tips for sleeplessness? Share in the comments!

Font Friday - Hey2

I made this one myself! I'm pretty pleased with how it came out, too, so I wanted to share it!

You can get it here, at 2tff.

Wednesday Weigh In - 167.8 lbs!

Still unflattering, but over a lb down from last week, and considering that I've been sick the last three days and trying to finish a novel under deadline, and so haven't been exercising as much as usual. Maybe stress burns calories?

Anyway, still down on the chart, so still good!

Any of you trying to lose weight? How're you doing?

Monday Mani - Fallness

 

It's a bit of a mess, but it's gorgeous. The pictures barely do it credit, and it was sort of annoying trying to get a good one! The Nail Prisms Amber Ruby flashes between deep red and coppery orange, sometimes going just short of gold. The Luxe Effects flakie top coat adds green to the mix on the thumb and ring finger. 

But it took forever to dry and stayed easily dentable on all nails, which means this morning they were all lined from the sheets. If anything was an argument to shell out for a good quick dry top coat, this stuff is!

Wednesday Weigh In: 169.1 lbs

Wow, that first picture is blurry! But you get the idea.

Anyway, weight is up a little from last week, I believe, but I've been working out almost every day so I'm going to assume it's new muscle growth and not more fat. According to various fitness sites I did research on, it can take six to eight weeks before you get a real significant fitness change, so I'm not too upset about it right now.

I made a chart that covers eight weeks, and each day I note what I did and periodically how much I weigh, and then at the end I'll see whether there's any change.

I started doing some of the exercise routines on Blogilates.com. She has something set up for every day but I just can't handle every day; so far, it's been about every other day or every third day, and I do notice that I have muscles that show!

In between, I do yoga or the randomly-generated workouts in this app I have on my phone, and maybe twice a week I walk three or four miles with my mom and my sister, so I'm much more active than I was. I do feel like I could be more active, but I'm still at the point where I feel it the next day pretty strongly, so I'm easing into harder workouts.

How about you guys? What do you do to track your fitness? What's your routine look like?

Top Ten Tuesday - Favorite moments in my life

1. When expensive teas go on sale and I can get them cheap

2. When the cat decides of her own accord to cuddle up and be sweet

3. When my favorite shows do exactly what I always wanted them to do

4. Those conversations that are like sharing a brain with someone and that moment when you realize it

5. When I wake up early and the first thing I see is a beautiful day outside the window--and realize I can go back to sleep

6. Eating delicious food in a new restaurant

7. Finding a new song that I will love for all time

8. When the baby does something sweet and is so eased about it

9. Visiting old friends and snapping right back into the friendship as if you were never away

10. Tallying up the day's calories and finding that I still have 400 to spare and can therefore have seconds or dessert

What are your favorite moments?

Thankful Thursday - 8-22-13

1. Despite the constant flood warnings this month, nothing has flooded yet

2. We got to spend two whole days away from home-annoyances, just being a family

3. Binka did fine on her own those two days, even though I'm pretty sure she still hasn't forgiven me

4. There's still time on my garden for those new seeds to sprout before it gets cold

5. My motivation seems to be coming back, which is a relief!

What're you thankful for this week?

Wednesday Weigh In - 168lbs again

How annoying. And sort of embarrassing. I just got back late last night from a two day family vacation where I did not count calories and ate whatever I wanted because it was a vacation and that's what you do. 

But this comes after several weeks of not really sticking to my Thyroid Diet, and not walking or exercising as much as I was before, and the result is that I'm up two pounds from last week, which is three pounds from when the TD was working. And I'm all puffy. And I'm sunburned, which doesn't help me feel well and balanced!

But this is just another example of falling off the wagon and getting back up. I seem to be always falling off the wagon, but I'm also always getting back up, and each time, I try to learn something from my failures. This time, I now know that if there isn't a set schedule, I won't stick to one, and if there isn't accountability, I'll slide.

So I'm back to posting these terribly embarrassing pictures here. And I made a workout schedule to hang next to my writing / blogging schedule. I've found some new things to try, workout-wise, too, so I'll get back to you on that when I see if 1) I'm even capable of the proposed workouts and 2) whether they make me want to die or they make me feel better.

My friend Sy lost a lot of weight and is getting into fabulous shape and I'm inspired (and competitive) to do something useful with myself.

So lets get back on this stupid wagon.

Talk It Out Tuesday - That bad idea that your life stops when you have kids

I fully realize that I'm probably going to piss someone off, but this is something that's been bothering me, and that's what Talk It Out Tuesday is all about, right?

So here goes:

You've heard this before, probably all over television and especially in commercials--when you have kids, you can only do what kids do, and then when they're all moved out and /or you're retired, all of a sudden, you can do whatever you want again.

I think it's sheer BS and it's ruining people's lives by deferring all enjoyment for the indefinite time it takes you to get to a retirement that's unobtainable for a large portion of the country, or for your kids to move out, which is becoming harder and harder. My generation has as much as 30% moving back home right now; what about your retirement then? What about all the deferment you forced on yourself because of this really stupid cultural idea of what a parent is?

Here's how I see it:

• This idea supports the related and much more poisonous idea that the only purpose of a person is to create children. This is especially toxic when applied to women, who fought and still fight for the right to more, but it also hobbles men.
• Anything that supports the idea that you're only valuable in one way is a shitty way to live; what happens when you can't exist that one way anymore?
• Anything that requires that you give over your life entirely to something else is a slippery slope. You need to take care of your kids, but it's not a crime to have a life of your own, with your own dreams and interests and to go out and do those things.
• Living your own life sets a good example for those same kids, and broadens their horizons, avoiding these kids that have been catered to their whole lives and don't know anything or care to know anything about whatever the rest of the world has to say beyond the confines of their own tiny lives and experiences.
• Coddling kids only creates adults who don't know how to take care of themselves, and if they are the be all and end all of your life, they'll grow up believing that there is nothing inside them that matters--all that matters is being a mindless spouse, a way for more babies to get into the world.
• It is a documented fact that happiness comes from your own source. You can't expect someone else to fill all the gaps in your psyche and just hand you happiness; you have to live your own life and find your own meaning and seek your own happiness now, not push it off until your done being a parent.

See, compartmentalizing your life just means that you're denying yourself a full and rich life. You don't have to give up everything because you have kids--you have to plan better and ensure that you take care of them while you follow your dreams and fulfill your own happiness and enjoyment criteria.

I don't understand this idea that people can only be one thing at a time. How can you raise a successful child if you're not a well-rounded adult? Now, it's not an excuse to be a selfish git; that's going too far in the other direction. It's just something that I feel more people need to think about--how does making yourself miserable for the majority of your life possibly make situations for anyone involved better?

If you only ever wanted to be a parent, and you're a good one, then that's one thing. But if you had other dreams and you gave them up only because you had a child? That's soul-suicide, and I don't understand why anyone in their right mind would do that.

Those random bits of culture that support the idea that you can't have what you want because of your life circumstances are damaging and need to stop. Especially the ones that place kids in this impossible place where they're meant to simultaneously be the be all and end all of a person's reason and existence, and then also be this burden that must be gotten rid of before you can move on and get back to enjoying your life.

What do you think of this subject, readers?