Late Night Update Because I Saw A Giant Bug In My Room And Can't Sleep Now

1. My ukulele came in! It's wee and green and I love it. I can almost play happy birthday, but I'm having issues getting my fingers to make chord changes easily. And I can strum!
2. I'm having one of those things where I should have been asleep a while ago and now I'm worrying about old friends who I'm pretty sure I pissed off the last time I talked to, and have only just now realized it's been ages since I last heard from them.
3. I made a list of new posts I want to write to get this blog rolling again, and closer to the heart of how I see it. Those'll start coming soon. 
4. This weekend, I'm starting work on a Journalling ebook! I'm excited. 
5. I spent too long on BuzzFeed earlier tonight, and now I want to live in a treehouse and cook everything in a waffle maker and make everything else over so that it tastes like cake batter.
6. The girl on HouseHunters just now is really prissy about the weirdest things. And she keeps talking about stockpiling, which is making me uncomfortable, and I can't pinpoint why. Maybe it's just the way she talks about it?
7. The book I'm reading just got really sad and I put it aside yesterday...and I don't want to pick it up again yet because I know it's still in that sad place, and I just can't bring myself to skip pages on the books I like.
8. School has hit yet another hitch, which is annoying to say the least.
9. I could really go for some Good Ramen (the kind at the Asian market, with five flavor and sauce packs, not the Top Ramen 10c-a-pack stuff), but I've used up my calories for today!
10. ...I can't remember what #10 was going to be...

Tipsy Tuesday

The best-looking recipes right out of my very own Pinterest account!

For this week, I bring you:

• Home made banana-cream liqueur
• Elderflower cordial
• Rose-scented lemonade, which doesn't actually have alcohol in the recipe, but would be wonderful with a little vodka or white rum, I think.

Enjoy!

Top Ten Tuesday - Things Peasants Randomly Do In Monty Python And The Holy Grail

1. Debate anarchist governmental models
2. Not die yet
3. Farm mud
4. Crawl inside baskets for no apparent reason
5. Clop coconut shells together
6. Get knifed by Lancelot and his idiom
7. Hit walls with cats for no apparent reason
8. Get repressed
9. Disobey the King of the Britons with very little consequence
10. Fail to remember their orders

Foodery - Elise Blaha :: enJOY it.: small diet changes.

Elise Blaha :: enJOY it.: small diet changes.:

In which Elise Blaha talks about switching to real foods. And in which I have the realization that yes, this is what I mean. I'm going to launch into a better-food compaign when I'm done with all the school stuff at the end of next month. It's a way of launching my post-school life in a better place than where I am now, and I think having good food around will do a lot about controlling the panic attacks, the weight issues, the lack of motivation, the constant fatigue that I've been dealing with these last few years. Food is slower than medicine, but I've found on more than one occasion that food works better for me than anything else--I just have to stick to what works. Which is more expensive. And requires more attention. And that's why I fall off that wagon.

But I'm also getting good at getting back on. It helps the writing and it helps my life, so I'm getting back on with intention this time.

'via Blog this'

Dichotomies are killing us

I'm just going to come out and say it: there are more options for faith than fundementalist or atheist. Gay or straight. Healthy or not. Smart or not. Democrat or Republican. Good or bad. Rich or poor. Normal or damaged.

I try to avoid news, because it's depressing, slanted, sensationalistic and whatever else, but it seems like everything everywhere is telling me that there's only two options for everything. Either you're all the way on one side, or you're all the way on the other, and that's just stupid. It sets up an antagonism that doesn't need to be there, and makes everyone feel like they have to strive to be one side or the other, when the better option is usually closer to the middle.

I hate to tell the One-Option-Only-ists, but there's middle-of-the-road Christianity, and there's Agnosticism, and there's any number of other choices between fundie and atheist. There are people who sometimes fall for the opposite of their usual orientation, and people who have no preference, and people who have specific requirements for attraction that don't depend on gender. There are people who are works in progress, and health, especially, is a constantly-moving target, something always in flux. There are people who are very smart in one way and not at all in another, and there are people who know a lot and test poorly, and people who have other scales entirely that they value. There are political affiliations that aren't the Two Big Parties, and that's what it's supposed to be like. There are people who strive to be better than they are, and those who don't know yet that they can be, and those who consider themselves very ethical inside their particular worlds, regardless of how the rest of society sees them. There are still middle class people out there, and people who don't buy into the class thing at all, and people who are on their way up or down, and people who don't really care one way or the other.

And there is no such thing as Normal. It's a false ideal.

The point is that people trying to fit one side or the other, more often than anyone wants to believe, wind up lopping off or denying or hiding large portions of what matters to them and who they are, which destroys all attempts at personal authenticity and self-knowledge. In fact, it makes even attempting authenticity an issue and a struggle that keeps people from even trying.

Worse, it sets up a world where everyone is always at war and no one is trying to find peace, and that gets amplified into a culture that butts heads with everyone and can't meet in the middle, into a culture where people never learn to get along with others, where children grow up radiacals and reinforce the separation that isn't necessary and is actually damaging everything.

I'm doing my best to stay in the gray areas in between.

How about you?

Gardenation - 10 Great Gardening Websites You Must Read : TreeHugger

10 Great Gardening Websites You Must Read : TreeHugger:

Look at all these great links I have for you today! And all because I was looking for ways to control aphids that I just found on my roses.

'via Blog this'

Gardenation - Florida's Finest Fruit Trees & Edible Gardening Specialists! - South Florida Fruit Trees and Garden Supplies.

Florida's Finest Fruit Trees & Edible Gardening Specialists! - South Florida Fruit Trees and Garden Supplies.:

These guys sell all sorts of the tropical plants that I want--starfruit, guava, acerola, mango, even lychee!

'via Blog this'

Gardenation - 10 Online Gardening Communities You Should Join : TreeHugger

10 Online Gardening Communities You Should Join : TreeHugger:

Good links! And a great place to look for other gardeners!

'via Blog this'

Currently

Natural Remedies For Allergies

I have allergies that seem to be getting worse as I get older, so I've been looking into ways to actually fix them more than just over-dosing on antihistamines all spring and summer long. Here's what I've found:

ACV
Apple Cider Vinegar, that health-fiend's favorite liquid, breaks up congestion throughout the whole body, and gets stuck-in mucus to release. Since I started taking it, I can breathe better, I can sleep better, and I can smell the whole world--I didn't even realize how little I was smelling until I started smelling again!

Also, it loosens up lymph nodes and gets them flowing again, so that gets your immune system working better, which means it reacts less violently than it could if it was all out of whack anyway. Also also, it's a natural anti-inflammatory, so that any reactions you do get are less of the swelling-sort like clogged sinuses, puffy eyes, swollen lymph nodes and the like.

A lot of the literature I found on the web says that you should use the natural, unfiltered ACV because it still has live cultures in it like yogurt and is probiotic because of it, but I've just been using the $1 bottle of the standard stuff and it's done miracles. If I can scrape up a little extra when it's time to refill, I'll give the fancy stuff a try and see if it works differently.

Local Honey
I've been using this one for years. The idea is that if you ingest the raw, unfiltered honey from the plants that upset your system, your immune response learns how to handle them without overreacting. Since most of your immune system is in your gut, this seems to make sense to me. And it seems to work.

I take a teaspoon to a tablespoon every morning. I get my honey by the half-pint at the farmer's market or the flea market, where I can talk to the people who handle the bees and I can be sure that it's local, unfiltered and cold-processed so that all the good stuff is still in the honey.

And as a bonus, I've become sort of a honey connoisseur. Did you know that different sorts of honey can taste wildly different, and that there are hundreds more varieties than the three or so that you can get at the grocery store? I didn't, until I started using it this way!*

Herbs
There are tons of good herbs to use during allergy season. Nettles are an overall good tonic for everything; the tea tastes green and herbal in a nice way, and has a little eensy-weensy bit of zing from the leftover stinging stuff, but shouldn't bother you more than that. Peppermint tea can help ease breathing, and also rebalances the body in general, so that reactions to allergies are lessened.

I haven't tried Angelica, but it's supposed to be a really good way to train your body that allergens aren't going to kill you, and get your system to calm down. Usually found in tincture form, but if you're a gardening type, you can find the seeds in herb-heavy seed shops and catalogs. And Licorice is supposed to act like a steroid, but without the steroid side-effects (though it can mess with potassium and blood pressure, so don't use a whole lot). Ginko is meant to be a natural anti-inflammatory and and antihistamine, and has lots of other health benefits, too.

This link has a list of herbs to avoid if you have allergies to Ragweed, Latex or Aspirin, since there are herbs that can make those allergies worse instead of better!

Echinacea was the old go-to, but it can build up and get poisonous, so don't take it for a really long time, and for me, it didn't really do anything anyway.

Supplements
From Mother Earth News:

"Quercetin also is a natural antioxidant that helps mop up molecules called free radicals that cause cell damage, which can lead to cancer. Citrus fruits, onions, apples, parsley, tea, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce and wine are naturally high in quercetin, but allergy sufferers will most likely need to use supplements to build up enough of this compound to prevent attacks. The recommended dosage is about 1,000 milligrams a day, taken between meals."

The article also says that foods high in Omega-3s help fight allergies, and that foods that naturally clear the sinuses like horseradish, hot mustard and chili, can help.

Lifestyle
The best way is to probably avoid the allergens to begin with. Drive with your windows up; keep your windows closed in your house until the worst of allergy season is past; install really good filters, like HEPA or some other high-filtration filters, in your house to catch any that get inside; avoid hanging out in places that produce pollen, like fields and forests and such, until the worst of it passes; use neti pots or other nasal irrigation tools to get the gunk out of your airways.

And always make sure you pay attention to how the remedies affect you. If you feel worse, or if you have other reactions, don't use them. If you're on medications, talk to your doctor before you use anything new, and even if you're not, add one thing at a time so you can see how your body reacts.

If you have any other allergy treatments or cures, let's talk about them in the comments!


Notes:
* My favorite-tasting honey is Gallberry, but the honey I use daily is wildflower because it has the widest range of pollen-sources. I like the darker varieties of honey the best.

May Garden Update

May is almost done, and I have a free minute and a lot of enthusiasm, so here's the update!

After the fiasco of moving everything outside, where most things died, those that didn't came back like powerhouses. The nasturtiums have gone mad.

They're huge and trailing all over the place, and as of yesterday, there's a flower! (the yellow one up above). This morning, I found a bud for what looks like a red or orange one, too, and that's great--even if I never have enough to eat daily this year, I'll get seeds and then I can grow more!

The roses, that were barely sticks last month, when they came in the mail at the end there, are all leafy and there are buds on them, too! Two on the one that should be yellow and orange, and one on the red one. If I remembered which ones they were. It might be the reverse; we'll see soon enough! The greener-leafed one is well over two feet high now, and the red one is smaller, but just as leafy and sturdy-looking.

The basil is getting a little chewed on by some bug I haven't caught in the act, but is responding by putting out more leaves, so I'm happy.

The strawberries never did come up.

Of the peppers, two survived. They should be either baby bells / gypsy peppers, or carnival peppers, since that's all I planted, and they're about eight inches tall now. They'd stalled out for a while, but we had a lot of rain this week and last week, and they've started growing again. And just under the leaves, one of the other sprouts seems to be a tomato plant! The only tomato I planted was Tiny Tim, so the fact that it's only four or so inches tall doesn't bother me.

The lettuce looked really sad when I put them outside, but they've since gotten quite lovely, and almost fill in their bucket. I added more seeds to cover more of the dirt there, since they'll be sheltered by the bigger ones' leaves, and they're starting to sprout, too.

The jade plant didn't like living inside--too dark and dry, I think--and looked really sad, but perked up almost immediately upon going back outside, and now you can't even tell that it lost most of its leaves and some of its branches this winter.

All in all, a pretty great start on a garden, I'd say, since I haven't actually kept a garden in years now.

Up next:

- For my birthday, I'm going to buy myself some tomatoes and maybe some citrus and / or berries if Big Lots still has them super-cheap

- I might look into getting another rose bush, if I can find a cheap enough one that looks interesting

- There's honeysuckle blooming ALL OVER this city--the whole five mile radius that I live in and move through just wafts with it--and I took some clippings to see if they'll root

- I also took some camellia clippings that had great flowers this past winter, to see if they'll root

Beautiful Breakfast - Greek yogurt and perfectly fresh strawberries

And after I took these pictures, I added local wildflower honey for my allergies, and it was perfect.

This is also known as Sami Standard Breakfast, when I have enough brains and money to plan out what I'll be eating during the week!

This week...

I looked up some of the health issues I've been having and learned that they're totally normal and easily fixed, and started fixing them. Previous to this, I'd been afraid to look them up because I'm a hypochondriac and I didn't want to make things worse, but I'm now glad I did--I didn't realize how much worry I'd been carrying around.

I worried a lot anyway because of other people, but those things are being studied and fixed, too, so I can relax a little on that front.

I learned that keeping a daily yoga habit is Really Hard, but I tried anyway. Also, that Moon Salutations are a lot harder than Sun Salutations.

I learned that prickly pears are also Really Sticky Pears when you crack them open to show a kid, then decide to take them home and plant their seeds, and then forget to get the seeds out of them for three and a half days. But they're drying now, and I'm going to plant them in the hanging basket where the strawberries didn't grow.

I realized just how close my birthday is! Next Tuesday!

I had all sorts of motivation issues.

I loved the rain, but never quite felt awake while it was raining.

I ordered my ukulele! I decided that I wasn't going to wait anymore; it's my birthday present to myself. I ordered the absolute basic one, except that it's green instead of standard wood color, and I'm now counting the days until it arrives.

I found out I have to deal with a few more issues concerning my freaking graduation, though these are issues that are not about me, even as they affect the crap out of me, so there's that.

I passed my second mentor's critique, so I'm officially graduating!

I told everyone I'm going to try being vegetarian once school is done, and everyone thought it was a good idea.


What did you do this week?

Top Ten Tuesday - Things The Baby Says

Seh-seh - Superman
Spai Mee - Spiderman
Buh-bee - Bumblebee
Au Pai - Optimus Prime
Ai Mee - Iron Man
Bobart - Poptart
Maa-maa - Max and Ruby
Yumiyumiyumiyumi - Team Umizoomi
Breh - Bread
Cha-Chichi - Chocolate cookie

Monday Mani - Other One Blues

This is onebof those schmancy Nicole by OPI Modern Family colors, and it's fab. This is two coats, with a matte duochrome topcoat on the ring finger that I made and haven't listed yet.

Caturday

Things I Love - The Hyppo - Artisan Ice Pops

The Hyppo - Artisan Ice Pops:

I used to live about a mile from here, and this was one of my favorite places to go downtown, even when I worked there and didn't want to be downtown anymore! They have hand-made, gourmet, all-fruit Popsicles in a range of really cool flavors. According to their website, right now they have:

Mango Habanero
Key Lime
Coconut Coconut
Champagne Mango
Datil Strawberry
Strawberry Basil
Pistachio Coconut
Cucumber Lemon Mint
Sangria Plum
Riesling Pear
Papaya Pineapple
Ginger Pineapple
Orange Cream
Jackfruit
Mamey
Banilla Vanana
Elvis
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Watermelon
Pineapple Cilantro
Pistachio Rosewater
Pink Grapefruit
Honey Honey Dew
Straight-up Strawberry

Since I'm no longer there, I think I'll have to take this list as a starter and make me some 'cicles this summer...

How about you? Have you made any or found any in interesting flavors? Share!


'via Blog this'

Pic Post Quote - Grace is Overrated: Perspective

Grace is Overrated: Perspective:

'via Blog this'

What's Eating My Brain Right Now - Wk 20 2013

1. I'm almost saved up for my trip to Tallahassee to see my twin-from-another-skin, H! I lived with him for almost a decade, and it's been almost a year since we parted ways, and I MISS HIM. Come July, I'm'a be a happy camper.
2. I get to see a preview showing of Star Trek Into Darkness tonight because of my brother's magnanimity in buying me a ticket! I've been thinking about this all week, and about My Future Husband Benedict Cumberbatch*, and about how ST is probably my very first fandom, going all the way back to marathons showed during typhoons when I was living in Japan at age five. And what a great experience the first reboot movie was.
3. Once I get my bus ticket**, I can buy my ukulele! What I really, really want is my Woodrow, but I love the idea of working up to the hand-crafted stuff, and I like ukes, and they're cool now, so they're easy to get my hands on. Think of all the new brain-pieces I'll be building!
4. Season finales are killing me into tiny pieces - I don't do well with cliffhangers; they're conversations that haven't finished, like when you're on the phone and the signal drops you, and you can't get back to them.***
5. I don't know how I'm going to pay for my storage, where everything I own is, next month, and it's kind of wearing on me.
6. ACV! I was looking up what to do about swollen lymph nodes and came across an article that said Apple Cider Vinegar helps to break up mucous and cleanse lymph nodes, and so I was like, it costs almost nothing, why not give it a try? So I did yesterday, and today there's almost no swelling, next to no pain, and I'm sold. I've also been using it as toner on my face, which so far has done wonders for my rapidly-changing complexion****, it's about fixed my heartburn, it's supposed to help with weight loss, and it actually tastes pretty good when you dilute it down*****.
7. I need to get more bottles for the nail polish shop so I can make the May colors, but I'm Short of Funds there, too******.
8. I'm considering going vegetarian for a month or three after graduation and before the holidays to see if I can kick start the weight loss and the re-healthening, if the ACV doesn't cause a miracle to happen there--or maybe even if it does. I feel like I've been eating too much meat, fat, starch and salt, and not enough veggies, greens and cleaner protein. This might also be a good time to try going back to seasonal eating, as seasonal veg are cheaper!
9. I have 40 new books to read from a Library Book Sale, and I'm just wallowing in the good fortune of so many pages I haven't crammed into my head yet. It's like living in a miniature book store!
10. The Doctor Who season finale is this week, and the previews show Bessie and a tree from the Pertwee era and Clara might finally make sense--and then it should lead straight into the 50th, if all goes well. And then I have to wait another flippin' year for actual episodes, though we do get two specials this year between the 50th and the Christmas Special, so it's bittersweet in several directions.

Notes:

* David Tennant is and always will be Number One Future Husband, but the cloud of other Future Husbands around him has grown from four others a few years ago to about six or eight others now. Future Me is going to be busy! ~;)

** Because it's cheap, mostly, but also because it'll be an adventure. I haven't been on a road trip in ages, and I've been craving adventures in my life, so there's that.

*** Will Bones and Booth get married anyway? Will Jane get closer to Red John, and will the threats that imply Lisbon make them make out?? Will Deeks have to have his teeth drilled for four whole months before we see him again and will Kensi be able to help him past the trauma with her love??? Will Tony and Ziva freaking get married already????

**** My skin doesn't know what to do with North Carolina. It's been going bonkers since I moved up here, and it's taking all sorts of extra effort I didn't used to have to do to keep it from looking like a rosacia-blotched oil slick every day.

***** For toner, 1 part ACV and 2 water; for various drinking purposes, 2 tbsp in 16 oz water.

****** Which is why it's taken me eight weeks to save less than 100$ for a bus ticket, and another three weeks for 25$ to get my uke!

Late Monday Mani - Flea Market Find

This is Yu Xian #81, a sort of silvery, sagey green that I really love. I found this for a buck in a big box of Chinese nail polish leftovers at the Daytona Flea Market a couple years ago, and I never did manage to get back to get more.

Coverage is great; this is two coats. Drying is a little on the slow side, and I know from last time I wore it that removal is a bit of a bitch. And it smells exactly like that model paint my dad used to use on his miniature military planes when I was a kid. I'm guessing it isn't 3-free, but I haven't had any weird skin reactions either, so there's that.

Wednesday Weigh In - 166

Up again! Which is why I've decided to switch methods. I'm drinking apple cider vinegar for clogged lymph nodes, and it's meant to help burn fat, too, so there's that. I'm cutting out and reducing the number of snacks during the day--it's gotten out of hand again. I'm getting more activity already, so that should start paying off soon. And I'm doing what I can to get back to yogurt breakfasts and soup and salad lunches. All things I know have worked for me in the past.

Stay tuned!

Tipsy Tuesday - The Prince of Wales

(pic / recipe credit: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Prince-of-Wales)

Look how beautiful that cup is! I want to build my whole home around that particular cup, and the fact that it has a delicious-sounding drink in it only makes it better.

Here's this week's lovely:

MAKES ONE COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1 1-inch cube of pineapple
1/4 oz. simple syrup
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. maraschino liqueur
1 1/2 oz. rye whiskey
Champagne, to top
Lemon twist, to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the pineapple, syrup, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, and whiskey. Add ice and shake well. Strain into a coupe, top with Champagne, and garnish with lemon twist. 

Top Ten Tuesday - Stereotypical RomCom Scenes for Mindy and Danny To Experience

1. The kiss-to-hide-from-someone-else scene
2. The Christmas-party-mistletoe scene
3. The dace-until-you-realize-things-are-heating-up scene
4. The separated-in-a-crowd-and-needlessly-worried-and-then-hug-on-reunion scene
5. The stop-them-from-talking-by-touching-their-mouth scene
6. The I-didn't-know-it-was-you-but-I'm-glad-it-was scene
7. The O'Henry-secret-sacrifice-for-the-other-to-have-something-special-but-they-already-secretly-sacrificed-for-you scene
8. The show-up-at-your-house-without-any-real-reason-to-be-there-but-you-let-them-in-anyway scene
9. The oh-my-god-I-just-realized-we-can't-do-anything-by-ourselves-anymore-and-I-need-space-but-now-I-miss-you scene
10. The I'll-help-you-over-this-breakup-let's-do-something-fun-they'd-never-do-anyway scene

So this music kick...

Ever since I found that Woodrow, I've been thinking and thinking about it and all its other stringed cousins, and I've decided that I don't want to wait the approximately seven million years (or, like, a year) it'll take to save up for the woodrow with my super-limited current budget, so I'm going to stair-step it. I'm still getting that woodrow, but I'm also going to get other, cheaper stringed instruments in between! I'll be a strings virtuoso. At least for a minute before I catch another passion.

Here's the plan:

1. Ukulele* - I found one for 25$, which I can probably get in another week or two. It's a pretty green one, good for beginners.
2. Dulcimer - About 50$ for a basic one, and they're so neat looking and sound beautiful. Plus, I get to be a damsel playing a dulcimer, so there's that. This would be an Appalachian Dulcimer, so it's played like a lap guitar, but it's still a dulcimer!
3. Mandolin - Around 80-90$ is the best price, and they're so pretty. I could play cool modern stuff, or I could play really old-fashioned stuff. It'll be great.
4. Fiddle - I've wanted a fiddle for AGES and just never got around to actually buying one, so I just dropped it into the plan. I want to learn Celtic fiddle, but the fact that it's the same instrument as a violin, just played differently, makes it a bonus piece! I can get a nice green beginner one for around 100$, it seems.
5. Woodrow - They're 150$ if I can catch the makers that showed me them at a show, and 185$ if I order one off their website. They're based here in North Carolina, and they hand craft each one, and they have five models starting with this little baby and going up to one that's almost a guitar around 300$. I like the bottom two priced ones the best, though.
6. Psaltery - Have you heard of this thing? It's a triangle box and strings, and you bow it like a violin and it's got a sort of creepy, sweet, drony sound I really like**. It's a medieval intrument I first saw at a rennfaire and have been wanting for ages but forgot about until recently. They run somewhere around $200-250.
7. Hammered Dulcimer - The classic dulcimer, played like a xylophone, or the inside of a piano, and a gorgeous sound. Expensive, though, at over $250 unless there's a cheaper one I couldn't find somewhere.

With possible detours along the way. I found a super-beginner's xylophone for about 45-50$ while looking up stringed instruments, and I've just discovered an array of AMAZING sounding prehistoric Celtic horns that I don't think I can buy anywhere but maybe I can find a way to make or have made for me...though that'll probably put it after the Hammered Dulcimer in timing and price, so...

And there's lap harps, and this ancient Scottish harp that someone reconstructed and I'd probably have to have specially made, and the Norwegian Hardingfele, a folk-music fiddle with a second layer of resonating strings and gorgeous inlay work all around. And a hurdy-gurdy! And not to mention the non-stringed instruments I'd like to get--a concertina, various variations on flutes and pipes, a cistrum, that xylophone, hand-drums...And a piano. I've wanted a piano since I learned to play one when I was thirteen, and my house won't be complete until I get one.***

Man, I have a fantastically musical future ahead of me, and I can't believe I never committed to it before.

Do you guys play any instruments? What do you play?

Notes:

* I like the popularity these babies have right now. It means I can find info on them and probably people to actually show me how if it comes to that. Side-story: I was watching a video of how to start playing a uke while babysitting yesterday, and the baby came up and watched it with me, and the whole time, he kept saying "And me play! Me play, too!", so now he wants to learn ukulele, and I think that'd be amazing. He could be an expert by the time he's four (he's two now). My brother also wants to learn, and he wants one of the bigger, deeper ones, so maybe we'll all learn and start a little uke session band. A weird take on the family bands in our Irish heritage.

** It turns out, I love a good drone-sound. Bagpipes? Ulean Pipes? Psaltery? Hurdy-gurdy? All of them drone, and I just adore the sound of all of them. Side-story: When we lived in Scotland, my sister and I used to plug our noses, hum through our sinuses, and 'play bagpipe'. It was great when we could hit that perfect moment when we harmonized. Side-side story: When my grandmother died and we were all in her house, mourning in the laughing-and-telling-stories way we do, my brother broke into song and sis and I started singing along. None of us have that great a singing voice, and even though Sister was in chorus, she had a bad teacher who was probably tone deaf and so got no real training out of it--but our aunt, who is a real musician, band and tours and all, heard us and said it was amazing. None of us were in the same key, and none of those were the right key, but we harmonized perfectly with each other! I think it's because of an early childhood with no TV and lots of tapes and records, and therefore a lot of singing.

*** Of course, right now, I don't have a house to put it in. And nowhere in this house to put it in the meantime. But I know for a fact that regular standup pianos go through thrift stores fairly regularly, and last time I wistfully checked Craigstlist, there were literally about twelve pianos either for sale or for free if you move it, so I don't really think it'll be all that hard to find one. The hard part will be getting my own place to put it, and getting it from wherever it is now to wherever I wind up living. But man, a piano of my own!

Beautiful Breakfast - Greek yogurt and perfectly fresh strawberries

And after I took these pictures, I added local wildflower honey for my allergies, and it was perfect.

Video - Movies I'm Excited About Right Now

Wednesday Weigh In

Only a day late!

Take Five - New Pizza Toppings I Want To Try

I'm a huge fan of pizza, but I get tired of a choice of, like, pepperoni or ham or veggie, you know? I've thought about making my own pizzas, and I still might. It's not that hard, and you can put almost anything you want on them. Here's some ideas the internets have given me:

Sources:
Fig and prosciutto: http://mymansbelly.com/2012/10/01/get-all-fancy-with-your-pizza-fig-and-prosciutto-pizza/ -- I think this would be especially good on a grill so it gets all smoky, with a whole wheat or sourdough crust and an unusual cheese.

Egg pizza: http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/unusual-pizza-toppings/ -- This looks ideal for brunch or breakfast.

Meyer Lemon Pizza with Fresh Rosemary & Lemon Thyme: http://www.figswithbri.com/?p=1818 -- This sounds truly unusual and so very summer-fresh.

Braised Fennel: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/top-this-how-to-make-a-braised-fennel-pizza-a-la-paulie-gees-anise-and-anephew-pie.html -- Oh, man, I love fennel.

Beet, Leek and Goat Cheese: http://www.spicysaltysweet.com/2008/04/16/beet-leek-and-goat-cheese-pizza/ -- What an amazing combo...

Tipsy Tuesday - Cardamom-Rose Cocktail

(pic / recipe credit: http://www.designsponge.com/2009/07/behind-the-bar-apothecary-cardamom-rose-cocktail.html)

I'm not normally a fan of gin, but I love cardamom and I love rose (as you've likely noticed by now, if you follow this blog), and I think I could get past my distaste for gin to try this one. And if it's really still like licking a tree, I could infuse rose and cucumber in vodka and go with that, I think.

Here's the recipe for this week:

Cardamom Rose Cocktail: 

Ingredients:
1.5 oz of Hendrick’s gin (this is a rose & cucumber infused gin)
.75 oz of Rose syrup (make at home with rose water and simple syrup or buy locally)
.25 oz of Fresh lemon juice
.75 oz of Fresh grapefruit juice (ruby red preferably)
2 dashes of Peychauds bitters (Peychaud is credited with first creating the cocktail)
1 Cardamom Pod 

Methodology:
1) Lightly muddle 1 cardamom pod at the bottom of shaker (not too much muddling or it will overpower the drink)
2) Add the rest of the ingredients
3) Add ice
4) Shake for 20 seconds
5) Strain over fresh ice to remove the cardamom pod
6) Add a splash of seltzer water
7) Garnish with rose petals or fresh lemon wedge (use organic if possible)

Top Ten Tuesday - Home Decorating Ideas That I Just Love

1. A full wall of windows looking out over a garden
2. A greenhouse between the front gate and the front door, so you have to walk through it to get inside
3. Original hardwood floors--new ones are lovely, but I actually like old scuffed up ones better
4. Sheer curtains
5. Vintage furniture from several times mixed in a room, bonus if it's all in jewel tones
6. Chandeliers in rooms that don't usual have them
7. Built-in shelving
8. Kitchen furniture instead of cabinets--tables, hutches, pie lockers, those European plate-drying shelves, open shelving for dishes, etc
9. Wardrobes instead of closets
10. Books in every room

What ideas do you love?

On the Remindered Life

I forget things. Like, everything. Like, all the time. Recently, I've forgotten:

• Whether I are breakfast
• That I have to actually save money to pay for my cap and tassel
• What day of the week it is
• To get shampoo
• Where I put my tea

And other stuff that I didn't subsequently remember. I have trouble remembering the details of my childhood in between the really specific random things I do remember. I don't remember what I did a month ago most days. I forget what I'm supposed to do for homework and when things are due.

So I've come up with something of a system to deal with this hole-filled memory that only seems to be able to properly hold onto things like the plot lines of every single episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, which episodes of X-Files are shippy and what it felt like to watch them for the first time, and what people are saying about Benedict Cumberbatch just now.

I keep a notebook on me. Well, actually, I keep a notebook by my bed, another in my purse and one on my desk (sometimes the same one as the bed-one). I keep ongoing lists of stuff I need to remember, and move them off the list and onto a calendar and a weekly planner (and sometimes also a daily planner, if I'm feeling really proactive) as they're needed. I constantly make notes to myself. I blog to I can cement details. I do guided journaling prompts for the same reasons.

And I've developed a network of tech assistance that I find helpful:

• I use the Cortex plug in for Chrome. It lets me post directly to Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, and I mostly use it on Tumblr, with a collection of tags I've made so I can find them again.
• I use Peabrain on my phone. If I'm somewhere where I can't write a note, I send it to myself by texting Peabrain, and it's available online on my own private page, or through various reminders I can set up.
• I use Everyday Me in email. It plugs into Twitter and Facebook and whatever and it sends me notes each day about what I was doing a year ago, or two years ago, or three years ago on that day, as far back as I have data for those things.
• I use Oh Life and Penzu to journal from email. Both are very straight forward, and Penzu sends me prompts to follow, and Oh Life sends me reminders of what I wrote before.

Through this network of reminders, I've sort of built an off-loaded memory that lets the internet remember things for me. I know that I really should just do brain exercises and remember myself, but I think it's not in me; even as a kid, I remembered things spottily at best, and remembered the stories I made up for things way better than anything else. It's just how I'm built.

I do it to remember. And the side effect is that I have this objective list and feed of things that I've done and ways that I've felt. I can see some of my emotional and physical cycles. I can tell that in the spring I tend to get sick a lot and I need to take care of myself, because I have the reminders telling me that at this time last year and the year before, I was feeling cruddy. I can look at my own life and I can see that if I'm feeling the same way I was last year at this time, it's because there's a pattern that I obviously couldn't see on my own--and then I can support the good patterns and I can work on negating the bad ones.

I sometimes feel like it's narcissistic, focusing so much on my own mind like that. But I also think that it's helping me to not be narcissistic. I don't have to worry about this stuff, and I can look at it without having to slog through my emotional-flavored memories to try to figure out what was actually happening, and it allows me to be aware of myself and how I work.

It lets me work on being a better person, even as it reminds me about stuff I would have forgotten.

How about you? Do you have any reminder services, or off-loaded memory-keepers? Share in the comments!

Monday Mani - Metebilis 3

Today, I decided to go with one of my own polishes: Metebilis 3, named after the crystals-and-spiders planet that it took a whole season for Doctor Three to get to.

Those square glitters are blue-green iridescent, which doesn't even show here, probably because we have YET ANOTHER gloomy, rainy day and the light is a mess. And I don't know why that pinky there looks like it's messed up--it's totally not!

But overall, I'm pretty pleased. This goes on way sheer on the first coat, but by the second it's almost opaque, and I like painting three coats, so it's solid. You can see the iridescent and the purple glitters on the nail if not in the picture, and it's nice and smooth.

There's a little glitter here on the left thumb, but I decided I didn't like it so it's only there.

What do your nails look like this Monday morning?

Monday Inspiration - Caroll

Caturday

That time Ninja went nuclear.

Fundraiser Friday - Things I Think Are Cool Enough To Get In On

I feel like crowdsourcing is the best way to get these awesome things funded and created and therefore, one of the best ways to get them out in the world, making it better. It's a way around the whole Shark Tank idea that you have to sell your passion to some rich dude to get anything made, or that you have to sell out to get it done; this way, creators create, and it's amazing.

Here's three Kickstarter projects I just found that I think are amazing:

The Book of Judith: An illustrated and illuminated manuscript that supports strong women.

I'm not religious, but I love illuminated manuscripts, and this looks like a work of art that's worth funding.


And now for something completely different:

DrunkQuest: The 90 Proof Seas - An expansion to the original DrunkQuest, which is a literal drinking game--a game where you drink as part of it.

I love a good card game, and like most good geeks, I also love a good drink...This looks fun!


And something different again:

Glowing Plants! - Just what it says on the box--a plant that glows. To use as a light source that doesn't require electricity and is totally, literally sustainable.

This is some scifi shit here, and it's exactly the sort of thing Kickstarter is best at. I wish I had 40$ to spend on seeds; if I had it, I'd pledge in a second!

What about you? Any good Kickstarter projects around?

Video - Movies I'm Excited About Right Now

Geek History - May 3

5/3/1978: 1st spam e-mail is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing rep to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the U.S.

...what an anniversary!

10,000 Things That Make Me Happy - The world’s shiniest living thing is an African fruit that looks like a pointillist bauble : Not Exactly Rocket Science

The world’s shiniest living thing is an African fruit that looks like a pointillist bauble : Not Exactly Rocket Science:


The existence of this plant. Pollia condensata Click the link for details!

'via Blog this'

Things I Love - Trend Obsessed: Holographic Everything - Julep Blog - Julep Beauty Buzz

Trend Obsessed: Holographic Everything - Julep Blog - Julep Beauty Buzz:

This is my own screencap of the header picture on the link above, and all I can think is: "Why did I never know that there was such a thing as a holo-sweater????"

'via Blog this'

What? - Merida To Be Official Disney Princess, Gets Redesign | The Mary Sue

Merida To Be Official Disney Princess, Gets Redesign | The Mary Sue:


I dunno. I like that they're embracing a non-princed princess. I like her dress. But I feel like they prettied her up nedlessly, which is the same thing as normalizing her when she was neat for being something other than standard. And doesn't making her into dolls and stuff sort of go against her character as a girl who isn't girly?

'via Blog this'

10,000 Things That Make Me Happy - ThinkGeek :: Star Wars Chewbacca Messenger Bag

ThinkGeek :: Star Wars Chewbacca Messenger Bag:

'via Blog this'

Thankful Thursday - Week 18 2013

1. I'm grateful it's not me that needs surgery tomorrow, and that the one who does need it is used to this sort of thing, and it's not bad and that I can be of use while it's happening.
2. I'm grateful for the kindness of babies who know their mothers are hurt and try their best to be helpful.
3. I'm grateful for a bother who buys me IMAX movie tickets for opening night, because I probably wouldn't have done that for myself, even if I'd had the money to do so.
4. I'm grateful for the fact that I have at least a few things that people want to hear, and that I have the internet to say them through, because I'm not as good a public speaker as I am a public writer!
5. I'm grateful that I have finished my first book and that I know what to do in the next round of revisions and have a little idea of what to do after that.

What're you grateful for?

On New Passions

Recently, I discovered a musical instrument called a Woodrow. I'd never hears if it before, but it's not all that different from a banjo, or a mandoline, or a lute, really. Only it looks easier to play, and the one I want is made here in North Carolina by musical-instrument artisans and is gorgeous.

I have a guitar that I live but haven't learned to play yet. I also have about six flutes and a chanter that I haven't learned to play yet. So the arguement could be made that I don't need to save up for months and then buy and almost-two-hundred-dollar handmade stringed instrument.

But you know what?

I see this as in the same category as buying more books than I have the time to read. They enrich my life just by being there, and having them increases my chance of getting around to them later. They're potential, and art, and culture, even if I never learn what to do with them.

And they make me happy. That alone is worth it, I think, and since I'm saving up for these things instead of buying them outright, there's built-in buffer-- if I decide that I'm over this passion when im done saving up, then I have non-budget money to use somewhere else. But so far, its been almost a week and I still want it as much as I did the minute I saw it, so I think this one is sticking.

You see, I collect passions. I love starting new projects, learning new things, picking up new skills. I'm always looking for ways to make my life more enjoyable, and to improve myself. I'm always looking for creative things to do in addition to writing, because it uses other parts of my brain than wors-work does.

I think, whatever your passions are, they have these same benefits, and so I don't worry about whether or not I learn these instruments (I will, eventually), or when I do in relation to when I get them. The practice of passion itself makes my life better, and makes me aware of all the things I could be passionate about. A life of passion is so much better than a life without, no matter what comes of that passion.

Geek History

Today in #GeekHistory 5/2/2008: Jon Favreau's Iron Man Movie is released and becomes an instant hit

Geek History

TiGH 5/2/2003: X2, the sequel to 2000's X-Men, is released in the US, featuring a battle-to-the-death between Wolverine and Deathstrike.

Monthly Me - May 2013

Boozy News - 1 | The Ultimate Wine-Pairing Infographic | Co.Design: business + innovation + design

1 | The Ultimate Wine-Pairing Infographic | Co.Design: business + innovation + design:



Click through for a higher-rez version! And there's a link to get it as a print, too, which I think would be amazing for a kitchen or dining room!

'via Blog this'

Wednesday Weigh In - 166

Up a pound! I guess it's back to water-reducing tea, oolong, and salads! Which, to be honest, I really should be doing anyway. The salad part, anyway.

Goal for the next week: Get that pound back off, and get another one off, too. We walked three miles in an hour today, and burned almost four hundred calories, so I think that's a good start.