Day 3

I'm thankful for my parents. They are wonderful people and I'm very lucky to have them.

Thankfulness, day 2

I'm thankful for my husband.











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Thirty days of thankfulness

It's always a good idea to remember why we are thankful, especially when things have been less than ideal.

Day 1: I'm thankful for our daughters.



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Respecting each other - is that the answer?

I fully support blaming the rapist and not shaming the victim. No is no, and men should be held responsible for not respecting that. I do NOT think that men cannot control their urges, nor that seeing a provocatively dressed woman will cause them to lose their minds and attack her like dogs chasing one in heat. Humans are separated from the rest of the animal kingdom by our intellect, and our ability to control ourselves.

However, having a teenage daughter makes me not so comfortable with the opposite extreme, either. Should women be able to walk around in however little clothing they choose without fear of getting raped? Absolutely. But should they?

I've been torn about this. But, I'm not just a feminist, I'm an equalitatist. Men should respect women enough to not rape, and women should respect men (and themselves) enough to expose their bodies so much. How respectful is it to dress up in ultra-sexy clothes, and parade around men basically saying "You can't have me?" It isn't at all.


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Fun with Siri

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Boo!

Last night we went to our favorite Halloween event, Boo at the Zoo. Since we had visited the zoo twice already earlier in the month, Sophie had seen all the preparations and was super excited about going. The only problem was narrowing down a costume! She wanted to be Ariel, Belle, a pink princess, and a superhero. All at once. We finally decided on Doc McStuffins, and E was a ladybug. E's boyfriend also joined us, dressed as a soldier.

Many of the animals were not out, but we saw elephants and zebras enjoying the crowd. Parts of the zoo were blocked off to keep patrons on the trick-or-treat trail, but there were so many things going on we didn't miss seeing them. The city had a police car, a fire truck, and a big tractor for exploring, the minor league baseball team had their bouncy house there, and there was face painting, dancers, music, and a big Monster Mash dance party in the party tent at the end. The carousel is also "haunted" for Halloween - it goes backwards! We had a blast.

The girls with Thing 1 and Thing 2

Bouncy!

Trick or treating on the trail

Doc McStuffins!

There were costumed characters throughout the zoo for pictures.

We all got masks, too!

E's favorite movie

Fire truck!

Mediterranean breakfast quinoa

It's no secret I love quinoa. I keep a lookout for new recipes, and recently found several good recipes in various cookbooks on my kindle. Two were breakfast recipes, and I tried one yesterday.




It's not a sweet breakfast, but it's tasty and OH so filling! In general, 1 cup dry quinoa yields two cups cooked. I split this into two bowls and could only eat half of one. I was so full!

Recipe:
1 c quinoa, rinsed
2 c milk
1/2 c chopped almonds
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp honey
1/4 c raisins
3 dried apricots, chopped

Combine quinoa, milk, & cinnamon in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

When I made this, I didn't have almonds so I omitted those. Next time I make this, I'll use more apricots and raisins, though. It didn't seem like enough fruit to me. Probably more honey, too, as it seemed to need more sweetness. The extra fruit would probably be enough, though.


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What I'm listening to lately

My favorite song right now - Royals by Lorde. This is one talented teenager.

*****

Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Ray

*****

Applause. Yes, I still love Lady Gaga.

*****

Same Love by Macklemore. I love this song so hard.

*****

Roar might be the first Katy Perry song I download.

Breathe.

A friend shared this picture on Facebook today. I love this.
Just breathe.

Hi, stranger

Hello again.
I know, it's been a while. I've been having a hard time lately, mentally. I'm always tired, and I've had no interest in writing anything. Blog, fiction, freelance, nothing. I'm hoping to pull myself out of this though.
It's been a rough year. A lot of huge things have happened, and a situation we expected to be short-lived has continued. Basically, our family needs a break.

I promised myself to make an effort, though. I can't guarantee my posts are going to be of spectacular quality for a while, but I'm focusing on quantity for now.

Right now, though, it's bedtime.


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Millie love

Last weekend, we added a new pet to the family. Sophie is now the owner of Millie, a red female betta fish.

Millie lives in Sophie's room, high enough to be out of reach. Soph LOVES to feed Millie, and Millie is happy to show off. Twice a day, I take the lid off the bowl and Millie swims to the top. Sophie drops the food pellets in one by one, and laughs delightfully as Millie ears them. She presses her nose against the side and watches the fish swim around. "She's so cool!" "She's awesome!" "Millie is so much fun!" I love seeing the joy she is getting from the experience of having a pet of her very own.


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35

The year I was turning 30, I found a tiny line under my eye. I waged war, calling my Mary Kay representative and ordering the anti-aging cleanser and moisturizer and eye cream. I used them religiously - for a week or so. I didn't like the way the eye cream felt on my face.

Today, I turn 35. A lot has changed. I don't care so much about that tiny line. To be honest, I don't even look for it any more. I haven't "given up" but some things don't matter any more. My skin is still oily. I have weird hairs that come out of strange places (my throat? WTF, biology?). I wear less makeup. I still pluck out random white hairs but I no longer look for them. Not frequently, anyway. I've learned to let go. Not let myself go, but let go of the little things that don't matter. Will my family think less of me if I have tiny lines around my eyes? Will my friends stop being my friends if I have shiny skin?

No.

At thirty, I had lots of anxiety about my age. At 35, I have peace.

My problem with Miley (and it isn't what you think)

Whether it was a symptom of a Britney-style meltdown, or a brilliant marketing strategy, Miley Cyrus has everyone talking about  her again. And yes, her VMA performance was outlandish, gross (that tongue! Ew!) and hard to watch. But one thing I've noticed with that performance and her latest two videos is lacking: originality. Everything she does lately is a copy of someone else.

First, there's the video for the song from the VMAs, We Can't Stop. The outfit, hair cut and color, the bright red lips - they scream "Gwen Stefani." Even the giant dancing bears have been done before, too many times to link here.

Then, there's the live performance itself. Her outfit, or lack of one, was heavily criticized. Instead of being her own idea, though, it was a direct reflection on the Blurred Lines video. (Note: This links to the second-released video, where the models have actual clothing on. In the original video I didn't link here, the women are all wearing only nude colored thongs and heels.) Even the infamous foam finger is from his video. Sure, she added her own raunchy twist with her dancing, but nothing she did was new.

Then, yesterday I saw her new video for Wrecking Ball. This could actually have been a good song. Almost. But I couldn't get past the "I've seen this before" feeling. Remember Alanis Morissette? Her Head Over Feet video from 18 years ago (eighteen???!!!) was eerily similar - close up on the face, the tears. Alanis has also already done the naked in a video thing - in Thank You.

Miley, I know you are desperate to stay relevant. I understand you are trying out different personalities to find yourself. But please, find your own style. Get your own artistic ideas. Stop copying artists who are still around and making (good) music.

Pretty please?

Lemony quinoa & squash

I love quinoa. Seriously, I could eat it every single day and be happy.

Yesterday I made this dish for workday lunches. It. Is. Delicious.

First, I started one cup of rinsed quinoa cooking in two cups chicken broth. While it cooked, I chopped a zucchini and a biggish yellow squash into bite-sized pieces. I sautéed them in some Wildtree Zesty Lemon grapeseed oil, and a little garlic powder, black pepper, and parsley.

When everything was finished, I stirred the quinoa into the squash. That's it, easy peasy!


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Spider

Spider
In my car
Crawling across my hand
As I was driving!!!
Hit the spider
Killed it instantly
Hurt myself
I did just slap my own hand
Miraculously, no car crash
Creepy-crawly feeling
Itchy all over
Imagination overdrive
I can't believe this happened again!


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