#anyways this is coming from someone who gets 70% of their sugar from fruit. like i know

[transcarcinization]

i’ve blocked this person because there is no winning an argument with someone who clearly has such a warped view of nutrition they should just shut it down and start over. but it is aggravating that the pop culture understanding of nutrition is so fucked up that you can say stuff like ‘humans don’t need salt, sugar or fat to live’ and write books on it. even if you claim fruit sugars don’t count (why?????)

[basscannonjack]

1-100 SPEED RUN

Ama. How could you do this to me

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

Lactose intolerant, only eat cereal dry

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?

yes, but not for too long

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

i just try to remember lmao

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?

don’t like coffee, drink tea plain or with some sugar

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?

not as much as I used to be!

6: do you keep plants?

I have one (1) cactus that I haven’t killed in the 9 years I’ve had it

7: do you name your plants?

sometimes!

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

music or writing

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?

ALWAYS

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

I generally fall asleep on my stomach and wake up on my back

11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends?

I HAVE YOU NOW

12: what's your favorite planet?

Neptune, probably!

13: what's something that made you smile today?

my SON asking me ALL THE QUESTIONS

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

oh god, probably a bit of a mess

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

the ISS was launched on the day of my birth, so it’s been in space *literally* my entire life

16: what's your favorite pasta dish?

just plain ol’ chicken alfredo

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

keeping it silver baybeee

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

oh man, there are so many, but i’ll go with the time that Roman got coke to fizz through my nose by making me laugh too hard

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?

no journal, only very similar looking notebooks to doodle and write in

20: what's your favorite eye color?

hazel!

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.

my Bag of Holding! snapped the clasp on it a few years back though

22: are you a morning person?

not at all!

23: what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?

SLEEP

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

Ashe, of course

25: what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into?

I had to break into my own safe at my old job, does that count?

26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit?

I’d say my boots, but I just got a new set, so the older ones

27: what's your favorite bubblegum flavor?

Spearmint or wintergreen

28: sunrise or sunset?

Sunrise

29: what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?

I just love seeing my friends blush

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?

yes, I won’t go into detail

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.

SOCKS SOCKS SOCKS I used to collect weird socks, now I just have a bunch of fun dress socks lmao

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.

driving everyone home at 4 am and seeing other people on the road and going “you should be in bed!” at them

33: what's your fave pastry?

lemon meringue pie

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?

Teddy a winnie the pooh bear that I still have!

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?

I adore new pens

36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now?

uhhhh I’ve been listening to a lot of Rise Against and ABBA lmao

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?

messy

38: tell us about your pet peeves!

nearly anything my brother does 

39: what color do you wear the most?

black or blue

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you?

my claddagh ring from my grandmother, i don’t have much else from her

41: what's the last book you remember really, really loving?

not the last book but there was one about a girl having a single dragon finger that I remember reading so many times that I unfortunately don’t know the name of, or the Tamora Pierce Lioness series

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!

Don’t like coffee!

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?

James <3

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?

I do not :’)

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?

not as much as I probably should

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.

I’ve been changing my username to a different halloween themed pun for all of October, I’m all burnt out

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?

Balut, it icks me out

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?

heights, and yes :’)

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?

I got a record player fairly recently, I have some P!atD ones, Foo Fighters, and Imagine Dragons

50: what's an odd thing you collect?

rocks

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?

Bitch by Meredith Brooks for my eldest sister

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far?

the ones we’ve made in our server

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?

all of the above except Pulp Fiction, I’m not really a movie person but I *am* a musical person

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?

my dad

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point?

Cotton Eyed Joe in six inch heels

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?

honesty and passion in an interest

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?

I just vibe and belt, y’know

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?

can they both be me

59: what's your favorite myth?

the soup with a rock in it!

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?

Where the Sidewalk Ends was always a good one

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received?

a coffee cup drinking horn for my dad, and some painted rocks from my brother

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?

it would be apple juice if I did

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?

not at all

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?

greyish, the sun is just about to rise

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?

My eldest sister

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?

ROSES

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?

give them to me, I love them

68: what's winter like where you live?

COLD

69: what are your favorite board games?

Monopoly and LIFE

70: have you ever used a ouija board?

no thanks

71: what's your favorite kind of tea?

raspberry or orange for fruit and mint

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it?

no, but I do write things down anyways

73: what are some of your worst habits?

I lose things all the time

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.

STARDUST SOULMATE

75: tell us about your pets!

I have a Min Pin named Lily

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't?

Sleeping

77: pink or yellow lemonade?

pink

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?

*insert ick emoji*

79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?

decorated my band locker to celebrate my birthday

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?

beige, but I hung up a bunch of posters!

81: describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.

when the sun hits very rich dirt where a tree used to be

82: are/were you good in school?

best in class in math with a 101.8 but I also rarely did homework so uh

83: what's some of your favorite album art?

Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?

Dragon on the shoulder blade, roses on the left arm, Exalt on the right

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?

webcomics! Barbarous, currently

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?

:? not sure what that means

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?

TREASURE PLANET

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?

nope!

89: are you close to your parents?

my dad!

90: talk about your one of your favorite cities.

don’t really have a favorite, in all honesty

91: where do you plan on traveling this year?

I was supposed to go see Ashe for their birthday but maybe next year!

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?

CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE

93: what's the hairstyle you wear the most?

uhhh it’s usually short enough to do nothing lmao

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?

I have a friend’s bday tomorrow!

95: what are your plans for this weekend?

WORK

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?

bit of both

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?

INTP, Scorpio, Ravenclaw

98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?

last year? maybe the one before? I did! but my heart didn’t

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.

How Far We’ve Come, Matchbox Twenty

The Call, Backstreet Boys

I2I, from the Goofy Movie Soundtrack (lmao)

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?

the future! I’ve had my time in the past, no changing it now

[xwaywardhuntress]

You’re Not From This World (Part Six)

Summary: Imagine the boys get sent to an alternate reality again without you, which leaves you stuck with the Winchester look-alikes, Jensen Ackles, and Jared Padalecki.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x reader, Jensen Ackles x alternate world!reader

Warnings: Both worlds POV

Words: 2500+

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. This is fanfiction only. Please do not redistribute my writings on other sites, horrible or not. Thanks!

Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five

“So your first name on your birth certificate is…?” Dean questioned, more for verbal confirmation.

“It’s Y/N…”

“Wow, I was not – I was not expecting that.” Dean chuckled.

“To be honest, the character’s name is what caught my attention in the first place. I haven’t really told anyone, except for Jensen, but I think he forgot…” Cat took another bite. “You’ve probably noticed that I act awkwardly around you. And yes, it is because you look exactly like him.”

Dean played it off poorly, “No, not at all. We’re technically strangers to each other anyways.”

She smiled, aware that the older Winchester was trying to be nice about it. “I feel like we could be more acquaintances than strangers.” She commented with a smirk. “I’d say I know enough about you from the show that we wouldn’t be entire strangers.”

“Fair point.” Dean agreed. “Not sure if I know enough about you to say the same. The only thing I know now is that you have the same first name as Y/N.”

“Touche.” Cat chuckled. “What do you want to know?”

“Alright, why do you feel awkward around this Jensen guy?” He asked, a bit hesitant at first.

Cat sighed, “I had a feeling that question would be asked eventually. To keep the story short. I fell for him and I don’t know how to act around him anymore. When I first started on Supernatural, you could say we were two peas in a pod, but then I realized how I felt and it just..”

“…it made you overthink about everything?” Dean assumed the end of her sentence.

She looked up, a bit surprised. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Dean smiled at her, “As quoted by someone pretty smart…” He looked over at his sleeping brother. “Just tell him how you feel. Now I can’t confirm he’ll return the same feelings. He’d be stupid not too, in my opinion. But if he does, at least you didn’t waste years of pining over him or sleeping with other people when you could’ve been with him.”

“Someone got wiser.” Cat commented, finishing her Nutella sandwich.

“I also had a nagging brother but it was her that really made me realize how stupid I was all those years. Now, I can’t imagine my life without her.” He smiled at the thought of Y/N.  

“You two are goals.” Cat yawned. “I think it’s time to go to bed for me. Tomorrow…err in a few hours now, we’ll figure out a way to get you and Sam back to your world. Everything will be okay.” She smiled at him as she got up and then headed to the other queen bed that was empty.

Dean nodded his head and then went back to his sofa bed. Cat definitely shared the positivity that his Y/N had. He could only wonder how similar Jensen was to him as he drifted off to sleep.

- - -

Waking up to noises coming from the bunker entrance area, you stretched out in your shared bed with Dean. You weren’t used to how roomy the bed was with only a single person. Reaching out to check your phone for the time, it read almost 7am. Normally, you would’ve slept in longer but right now, you were technically working a case. You got up and changed into a t-shirt with flannel and some ripped jeans, as you shoved your phone into your butt pocket. Heading out into the war table room, you spotted Jared already up and researching.

Before you could ask where Jensen was, he appeared beside you, holding out a cup of coffee. “Coffee with sugar?” He asked.

You rose an eyebrow, taking the mug. “How did you know that?”

“Lucky guess.” Jensen smiled as he returned back to his seat across from Jared in front of a pile of books.

You followed him to the table where the boys sat at.

“Cat takes her coffee the same way. I took my chances and based it off of that.” The older actor admitted.

“Oh. I was about to say you two have grown quite accustomed here in the bunker. It’s almost like your actually Dean and Sam. It’s kind of creepy.” You shared, taking a sip of your coffee.

“We’re just doing what we would be acting out, except we’re actually doing it.” Jared stated.

Jensen looked at his friend with a did-you-hear-yourself look.

The tall actor shrugged in his chair. “What? It makes sense to me and she understood. Right Y/N?” He asked rhetorically as he continued. “Oh! I talked to Cas earlier. He said Remph might take a while longer to recover. Apparently, he didn’t just send Dean and Sam to another world, he also sent back the witch’s victims back to the worlds they came from too. Apparently, that’s what drained Remph’s energy yesterday. Also, there might’ve been something else, but I think that was the gist of it.”

You sighed, “Great. So Cas – ”

“Yes, Y/N?” The angel appeared beside you.

You almost spilled your coffee from his sudden appearance. “Cas, what have Dean and I said about popping up out of nowhere?! And you couldn’t just walk through the bunker to come here instead?”

“Sorry, I heard my name spoken twice and thought it was urgent.” Cas responded. The angel wouldn’t admit it, but watching over Remph wasn’t the greatest.

“Well since you’re here. What’s the ETA for the angel’s recovery to be able to get Dean and Sam back and these two back to their home?”

Cas’s eyebrows creased together. “I’m not sure. Traveling through different universes takes a huge amount of energy without using spells or other means.”

“It’s never easy for us, is it?” You muttered, more to yourself.

“What about Rowena?” Jared asked casually.

Jensen had an idea of where his friend was going with his question as he spoke hesitantly, “I don’t know man. Usually, in the show, she only helps if she gets something in return.”

“I have also been unable to locate her lately. I believe she must be using some kind of spell from the grimoire to hide.” The angel chimed in.

The boys continued chatting, debating if they should reach out to Rowena and if they did, how would they contact her.

You knew from the moment Jared brought up Rowena that Dean would’ve said no right away. However, desperate times called for desperate measures. To make the choice easier for everyone, you actually had a way to contact Rowena. You set your cup of coffee on the table and pulled out your phone from your back pocket. “Guys…” You spoke aloud, but the boys were too busy in the discussion. This time you cleared your throat. “Boys! I have a way to contact Rowena.”

All the boys looked over at you as you held your phone up.

“I have a number I can try calling. She gave it to me a while back and told me not to tell Dean and Sam. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep it, just in case.” You confessed.

“If you think it’s the right move, I trust you Y/N.” Jensen shared. Jared agreed.

It surprised you a bit to have both boys have that much confidence in you. If it were the Winchesters, Sam was usually the one to back you up most of the time. Dean’s need to keep you safe played a huge role in decisions from time to time, which would lead to you two arguing. However, 70% of the time the team still ended up going with your idea.

Castiel looked skeptical. “Y/N…Dean wouldn’t  – “

“I know, Cas. But he’s not here right now.” You stated as you searched through your contacts and pressed the call button.

The phone rang a couple of times before a Scottish accent answered. “Hello, dearie. And what do I owe for this pleasantly nice unexpected call?”

You sighed. “I need your help.” You admitted. Just get straight to the point and get it over with. You thought to yourself.

“Oh my. The Y/N in need of my help? How could I say no?” Rowena teased.

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. “Rowena.” You answered sternly.

“Alright dear, enough of the games. Is it just you or the poor boys too?” The redhead asked nonchalantly.

You looked over at Jensen and Jared. “Me…” Turning to face away from staring eyes, you walked over to Castiel. “…but it concerns Dean and Sam too.”

“What sort of trouble have you and the boys brewed up this time?”

Y/n went on to explain the situation of the Winchesters being switched with alternate versions of themselves, keeping out certain details such as the angel that was currently resting in one of the bunker rooms. When asked what happened to the witch that Rowena acted ignorantly but was curious about, you shared you killed her. Rowena never mentioned the angel, to which you were glad you didn’t mention him either.

“I may be able to help. I may recall a particular spell that could create portals to other realities. However, the ingredients are…” Rowena paused for a moment on the phone. “…interesting.”

“What ingredients do we need exactly?” Y/N asked.

“Oh, a fruit from the tree of life, the seal of Solomon, the blood of a most holy man, and an arch angel’s grace.” The witch listed.

“That’s great, I have no idea where to get any of those items without researching.” You shared, knowing that those items all sounded like they would be difficult to find, especially an arch angel’s grace.

There was silence on the phone for a moment before Rowena let out a breath of air. “Bullocks!” Rowena expressed aloud.

You stayed silent on the phone, waiting to see what the witch’s outburst was about.

“You’re lucky I like you more than the Winchesters, dear. I know of someone who was collecting those items. I don’t know why, but I suppose if you take care of her, then that is one less wee witch in the world to worry about.” The redhead shared.

“One witch, to take care of? That doesn’t sound too hard. How does this benefit you?” You asked cautiously.

“Just make sure to tell your loverboy that I helped you get him back. This should make up for my part in the witch’s actions.” Rowena finally admitted. She continued to give an address, which you wrote down next to Cas.

Before hanging up, Rowena shared she would head to the bunker while you went to gather the ingredients. She also warned you, “Be careful not to mention that you just killed her daughter. A mother’s wrath is something you want to avoid, dear.” And then she hung up.

Of course, it would be Remi’s mother that you had to get the ingredients from.

The boys were looking at you as they didn’t quite understand what happened in the conversation. Before they could ask, you spoke up first. “I’m going out for a while. There’s another witch that I need to go collect ingredients from. Rowena should be here in a couple of hours.”

“We can go with you.” Jared offered.

“No, you two are staying here with Cas.” You looked from the actors to the angel.

Immediately, Jensen and Jared were opposed to staying. They both wanted to help as they felt slightly responsible for bringing up Rowena in the first place.

“Whatever favor she asked of you, we should help. We brought her up.” Jensen tried arguing.

“This time she didn’t ask for anything. And I think it’s because she knows we know she helped Remi. I also think she might be a bit worried that Dean will want to go after her when he gets back. So, her doing this as a favor to us is basically for her own survival purposes. Look, witches aren’t the biggest fans of the Winchesters. Once they spot you two, you guys will be targets. I can’t watch out for myself and you two.” You explained.

Castiel was about to suggest that he should come instead, when you continued speaking, “Cas, you need to keep an eye on Remph. You may need to hide his presence once Rowena shows up as well.”

“I don’t like this.” Jensen stated, which reminded you a lot of Dean.

You smiled at him, “It’ll be a piece of cake. I’ll be back before you guys know it.” With that said, you left to go pack your things. Then you took your car and drove off by yourself.

The boys knew how capable you were to take care of yourself, but they were still worried. It seemed too easy of an errand to collect ingredients for a spell. Not to mention with Rowena involved, who knew what kind of witch she had sent you off too.

As if thinking the same thing, Castiel appeared before the boys dangling the keys to the Impala. “Just watch from a distance. I agree with Y/N that you two shouldn’t be front lined against another witch. However, I’m aware Dean will be upset that we let her go alone. Call me if anything happens.” The angel handed them a piece of paper with an address, “This was the address I saw Y/N write down earlier.”

The boys thanked Cas as they left to pack a few of the Winchester’s belongings in a duffel. They had some sort of idea of what to bring based on what they did when they were acting.

Reaching Baby, Jensen and Jared couldn’t help but admire her. Despite riding in the car before with Y/N driving, being able to drive it now was awesome.

Jensen drove out of habit in the show. The two did get a lost, which added unnecessary road trip time, but eventually, they reached their destination, or so they assumed. Pulling up near the address, they parked a fair distance under a tree.

“Is that the house?” Jared asked.

“I think so. Did you look it up on google maps street view?” Jensen replied.

“Uhh, I did not. Was I suppose too?”

“How else are we going to know if we’re at the right address?” Jensen questioned looking over at his friend.

“I mean the dot on the navigation aligns with the spot of that house?”

Jensen sighed, “We’re pretty bad at this in real life.”

Jared countered his friend’s statement. “Hey! In the show, we don’t act out google mapping the location using street view! How were we suppose to know?”

A laugh appeared beside Jared’s open window. Both of the boys looked in the direction of where the laugh came from.

It was you.

You had just finished your reconnaissance task of walking around the neighborhood during the day and scouting. As you were leaving to head back to your motel that was walking distance from the neighborhood, that’s when you spotted Baby. The very recognizable 1967 Chevy Impala.

Bending over by the open window, you greeted the boys. “If it isn’t Scooby and Shaggy…” You teased.

Both of the boys looked embarrassed that they were caught.

“Hey Y/N…what are you doing here? We were just going on a drive, getting some well needed fresh air and...” Jared started lying, very poorly.

“Cas sent you, didn’t he?” You interrupted, getting straight to the point.

“Yes and no.” Jensen was quick to answer. “Look, we were all worried about you going alone, so we thought we’d just check up on you and Cas may have let us.” He shrugged as if he didn’t just throw Castiel under the bus.

You sighed as you straightened your back and then made your way to the back seat. “I had a feeling this would happen. Alright, let’s head to my motel and talk about this there.”

Part Seven

YNFTW Tag:

@chloe-skywalker  @darkswanordie   @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @aomi-nabi @damn-sassalecki @right-til-the-end @wingedcatninja @the-real-witch @toews-a-peek @lokilove3112 @tftumblin @calaofnoldor @monkeymcpoopoo @cassiopeia-barrow @nickyrose3123 @icequeen206 @winchester-marvel-girl @liviaolivia @rathersuspiciousbumblebee @rainflowermoon @rainflowermoonlibrary

[astralshipper]

Get to Know Me Tag

Hey guys! I got tagged by @mariposalass thank u so much for the tag!! :DDD

Favorite colors: blue, sea foam green, red, and black! not all together, though. that would be. yikes. sea foam green and red together sounds horrifying

Last song I listened to: it was either Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson or War Crimes by Waterparks,,, i genuinely Dont Remember and it was like five minutes ago adhd hell brain says fuhk u astra

Last film I watched: Iron Man 3, last night. good stuff. a god tier movie. i dont care what anyone says, that movie is a masterpiece and im proud to say that

Last TV show I watched: ... what do yall think it was. take a wild guess. an absolutely wild guess that no one could ever possibly guess. anyways someone needs to take Supernatural away from me

Favorite TV show: this honestly bounces around a lot. my go to is actually usually Netflix’s Daredevil. when it comes to acting, story line, and cinematography all in one, I feel like Daredevil just nails every aspect so well. spn, doctor who, legends of tomorrow, and the flash are all very close behind. 

Favorite OC: oh gosh. they r all my children,,, but maybe,,, austin lazarus??? i know i dont rlly talk abt my ocs much but hes an absolute cutie that deserves the world. he’s technically from the novel i’ve been planning out for a few years now but it’s probably never coming out and i constantly want to infodump abt it so if anyone wants to hear abt any of it or abt austin lemme know!!

Sweet, savory, or spicy: ok this depends what mood im in. a lot of the time it’s sweet. other times all i want is literally Anything that has salt in it, preferably it should be composed of at least 70% of my recommended daily salt intake. do not give me spicy things i am small tiny fragile child ,,, seasoning is fine but like pepper spice that has no flavor and is just heat i cant STAND

Sparkling water, coffee, or tea: r yall gonna kill me if i say none,,,, im a soda, fruit punch, lemonade, and hot chocolate mfer. coffee is too bitter for me, no matter how much sugar is in it. i’ve never had any tea other than sweet tea bc i live in the south and i Dont like that so idk if i like other teas. the only sparkling water i like is the Ice brand kiwi strawberry and cherry limeade. so probably sparkling water, since i like some of those??

Pets: i’ve had so many throughout my life,,, every kind of pet, i’ve had them all. currently i have four dogs and a cat. two chihuahuas (11 and 12 years old, names are latte and mocha), a chihuahua dachshund mix (like,,, 4 years old?? idk hes a rescue, his name is dallon), and an australian shepherd (9 years old, name is bristol). my cat’s name is boo!!

Tagging: absolutely anyone that wants to do it!!!! if u see this, ur tagged, have fun!!!!

[injeok-blog]

Roh Suha: Survey

What is your character’s name? Nickname?

Birth name: Roh Suha English name: Susan Roh Nickname: Sue/Su

Does your character have any birthmarks? Scars? How did they get them?

No birthmarks. A few moles on body: back of right calf, left ankle, hip, ring finger. Only scars to note are a burn the size of a kidney bean on her knee, several mosquito bites on her legs, and scratch-marks on her left wrist from a minor fall she’d taken off the back of her second boyfriend’s bike.

Who are your character’s family? Are they close?

Father: Roh “Jimmy” Joohyuk, 74. Chairman and Co-founder of Oh+Roh Architects. Member of the Architectural Institue of Korea and the Korea Institute of Architects. Lecturer at University of Seoul. Warm persona despite tight-lipped face and towering disposition. Level-headed, with the comportment of a monk. Suha is very close to him and admires him most.

Mother: Heo Yeeun, 70. Recently retired anesthesiologist. Practical but emotions are in constant flux. Known to hold grudges. Spends most of her time these days hiking and photographing nature. Hopes to see one of her photos published in the National Geographic someday. Suha is fairly close to her, but they do butt heads from time to time.

Younger brother: Roh Suhyun, 32. Hair stylist. Unabashedly outspoken. Bright, feigns idiocy. In a long-term relationship with boyfriend from university—they had been fellow pre-law students (before Suhyun dropped out to pursue his current line of work). Scares Suha because his intuition is always fuckin’ spot-on. Suha is very close to him.

Describe your character’s closest friends/types of people they surround themselves by.

Suha keeps a large circle of friends around her at all times but the majority of her friendships are superficial/prolonged only by some lingering sense of obligation and because sometimes you need to get out of the house and see someone other than your whining kid or your husband’s dumb face. Regularly lunches with work friends (current coworkers, former employees who moved on to start their own practices, clients she clicked with) or classmates from SNU and Cornell. Suhyun is her best friend. Her neighbor, Heesun used to work alongside Sewon until she decided restaurant business was more her flavor please don’t mind the pun. Together they bitch about him with reckless abandon.

Where was your character born? Where have they lived? Where do they call home?

Born and raised in Seoul. Father was just starting to get a name for himself, mother had just started residency at the hospital. Home was a small apartment in a well-to-do neighborhood south of the Han. Six years later, family moved to a slightly larger unit just a few streets away, to accommodate for another little one. Family’s final move took place after Suha’s matriculation to SNU, to a single-story home in Yongsan-gu designed by Suha’s father.

Lived in NYC for a few years after graduating. Lived in Ithaca, New York, to finish a master’s program. Returned to Seoul and lived with family for another two years until engagement in 2010. Commissioned a fellow architect/former classmate to design a small house in Hannam-dong, where she stayed with husband until their separation in 2016. Currently living in a two-bedroom loft in Daechi-dong.

Where does your character go when they’re angry?

To the office. To the gym. Work and working out are the only two things that will take her mind off her boiling rage.

Does your character have any phobias?

Gets squeamish at the sight of blood.

Describe your character’s most meaningful past relationships.

Wouldn’t consider any of the relationships that came before her marriage meaningful—just necessary learning experiences.

Age 17: Her first boyfriend. Stupid attractive and otherwise completely vacuous and unable to hold a conversation. 3 months.

Age 20: A heartthrob (none of her friends agreed with her on that) from Busan. Stoic, short of words. A truly fear-inspiring face, with a protruding jaw, high cheekbones, and long monolids. Emotionally unavailable unless drunk, which was most of the time anyway so maybe in retrospect he was actually very emotionally present. Helped her mature. 2 years.

Age 23: A go-getter. Felt like she was constantly in competition with this guy. Unhealthy relationship, but did get her past her career slump/minor existentialism. 1 year.

Age 27: An Asian-American guy from Denver, Colorado. Enthusiastic, spontaneous, and fun-loving—but a total smart alec. 7 months.

What’s in your character’s refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? On their nightstand? In their bag/wallet? In their garbage can?

Fridge: Two tupperwares of banchan: kimchi and pan-fried potatoes with pepper. A carton of eggs. Leftover shrimp vindaloo from yesterday’s lunch. A drawer full of vegetables: cucumber, radish, spring onions, kale, broccoli, asparagus. A drawer full of fruits: strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears, grapes, melons. Whole milk plain yogurt. A carton of coconut water and two bottles of sparkling.

Bedroom floor: Hardwood floors and a pewter cowhide rug.

Nightstand: A lamp and a Byredo candle, Tree House scented.

Bag: iPhone, keys, wallet (+ daughter’s photo at eighteen months), two pens, a pack of mints, tissues, two hair ties, Sensai lipstick in #16, Garrett Leight sunglasses, ibuprofen, hand sanitizer, a fine-tooth comb, a few spare pads, her business card, a compact, hand lotion, band-aids, tweezers, and two flash drives.

Garbage: Banana peels and other miscellaneous food compost.

Look at your character’s feet. Describe what you see there. Does your character wear dress shoes, gym shoes, no shoes? Ratty socks, or slippers knit by grandma?

Manicured toes unpainted thank you very much under white socks under The Row white lace-up sneakers.

When your character thinks of their childhood kitchen, what smell do they associate with it?

Sesame oil comes to mind first and foremost—mom had always been liberal with it. Spice did not feature heavily in the diet as both her parents and brother had a low tolerance for it (much to the chagrin of Suha’s bolder palate), so chicken soup and other clear broth-based meals were customary.

Your character is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for them to throw out? What’s difficult for them to part with?

No sweat: most everything printed on A4; tabloid magazines; Christmas cards; anything that’s been relegated to the Reject portion of her closet; discolored/damaged cook and bakeware; museum pamphlets; airplane tickets; electronics; gifted perfumes

Second thoughts: cookbooks that she’s been meaning to flip through; kid’s crafts projects; baby shoes; high school mixtapes; polaroid photographs; dad’s handwritten letters, sent during her studies abroad; vintage hand-me-downs from mom

It’s Saturday at noon. What is your character doing?

Finishing up a morning bikram yoga class; picking up Saeeun from Sewon’s for some wholesome mother-daughter grocery shopping; fixing a simple lunch or cutting up fruit while Saeeun’s occupied with the iPad.

Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What do they wear? Who will they be with?

Likely checking out the opening for a new shop or show—alone, now. Black’s the easiest and the first thing she’ll reach for until she remembers that Maison Margiela dress she’d plucked off the off-season rack last Sunday.

What is your character’s greatest regret(s)?

Not speaking up for a girl who’d been ostracized from her third grade class for having cleft lip. Not being able to provide a full family for Saeeun. Letting her marriage break down—not having done more.

Is there anything your character was/is currently obsessed with?

Speed-walking on a 5% incline on the treadmill; using her milk frother for perfect vanilla lattes; (dancing to) old bossa nova records.

What is the trait your character likes most about themselves? Likes least?

The good: integrity. Probably her guiding principle. The work relationships she fosters, the foundations for a new plan, the flatware on her table, the food she puts into her body, the specs on her car, the hairstyle she decides on for Saeeun. Everything requires a heavy dose of intentionality and integrity.  

The bad: impatience. Her tendency towards perfectionism manifests in other, less productive (re: destructive) ways. Has a hard time keeping that fuse unlit.

Does your character have any medical problems?

Suffered some hair loss back in university thanks to a crippling case of clinical depression (lost another good chunk from the anxiety wrought by the hair loss itself), but the time’s passed and her follicles are in tip-top shape along with the rest of her health.

What kind of car does your character drive?

2015 BMW 3 Series Sedan in black.

What fragrance(s) does your character use?

Imaginary Authors’ Saint Julep (2017) is the current casual go-to—sweet mint, tangerine, bourbon, and sugar cube. Her classic pick is MEMO’s Moon Fever (2007)—bitter orange, lemon, sage, vetiver, leather, and tonka bean.

Does your character own any pets?

No. But her brother and his partner own a massive chow chow named Diablo, who also happens to be the sole reason she never visits. It’s essentially wild. How they manage to keep it on a leash is beyond fathoming.

Describe your character’s educational and work background.

Education: Public school, then foreign language school. Always kept to herself. Selfishly smart, why don’t you share, kids used to say. Finally took a peek out of the shell over the course of her short-lived first relationship. Crawled out of it for good and let all hell loose after getting The Acceptance Letter, i.e. the crowning achievement of her childhood. Nearly flunked out of SNU her first year but cleaned up her act and just barely made it to Dean’s List. Her reputation at work/shining referrals thereafter landed her a place in the graduate architecture program at Cornell.

Static work history: Oh+Roh (Seoul), Partner, 2014– Oh+Roh (Seoul), Senior Manager, 2012–2014 Oh+Roh (Seoul), Senior Architect, 2009–2012 Oh+Roh (Seoul), Architect, 2008–2009 Richard Meier & Partners (NYC), Architect, 2004–2006 Richard Meier & Partners (NYC), Architectural Intern, 2003–2004 Oh+Roh Architects (Seoul), Architectural Intern, 2002–2003

What did your character grow up dreaming of becoming?

An ice cream store owner. Then a rocket scientist.

How good of a singer is your character? Dancer?

She can carry a melody, but there’s no technical finesse to her delivery. Never had time to humor afternoon noraebang trips. Solid dancing skills. Took ballet as a kid and picked up dance again after grad school as a fitness hobby.

What is your character’s political affiliation?

Left-leaning. Voted for her girl Sim Sangjung in the 2017 election.

Which countries has your character been to?

For school: USA For work: USA, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Brazil, Mexico For leisure: USA, Japan, China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain

What cuisine is your character’s favorite? Dish? Dessert?

Cuisine: Mexican, Indian, Sichuan Dish: Galbi-jjim Dessert: Mango sticky rice

Does your character have a sweet tooth?

Unfortunately. Has to keep herself in check.

What genre of film does your character enjoy?

Animation. Must have been Saeeun’s doing. Before her, it’d probably been crime or action or thrillers but she also could just be making this all up.

What are some of your character’s pet peeves?

People who interrupt (hypocrite), bad table manners, slow walkers (especially the ones that refuse to walk in a straight line so it becomes impossible to pass), “irregardless” and “I could care less”, humble bragging.

What are some of your character’s bad habits?

“I told you so”, never admitting that she’s wrong or apologizing when it’s too late, pulling out her phone at any given moment.

[veecubed]

Warning, this is going to be a long post. It’s going to be about a struggle I’ve always encountered with my body and my weight. So, now you know what it’s about, you can make a decision as to whether you want to spend time reading it.

I’m 6 months pregnant. I’m sharing a picture of me with a 24-week pregnancy belly. My husband has been receiving pictures like this for about a month, but I have been asked about my belly by others for quite some time and I just say it’s bigger than I’d like it to be at this point. I’m finally posting because I’m giving in to the pressure of so many requests. But it doesn’t come without real hesitation because I’ve had issues with my body and its shape and size for as long as I can remember.

Maybe it’s because I’ve heard comments about my size and shape from my family since I was a child. There was always talk about how skinny I was as a young kid (think elementary school years). Back then I had a great-aunt who I still remember to this day making a comment about “the hole” there was in the middle of my chest. I also became self-conscious of how my rib cage would stick out, which I just found out is called flared rib cage (I still call them my spares-as in my spare boobs), or how my hip bones would stick out, which I called my “guns” as in the guns you’d find on a holster. Then all my family could talk about was how much weight I had gained around the time I went into middle school (my timing may be off), which wasn’t much, but because I was so thin previously, I guess it was something you noticed. And so this type of roller coaster with my body shape and size went on and on as I grew up. Not to mention all the messages I received from society and the media about beauty standards and how I WAS NOT IT. My family would ask you why I  didn’t eat all my food but then also talk about how much weight I gained.

This still happens, by the way. For example, I need to make sure I eat, because I’m creating a baby, BUT DAMN my belly is HUGE! Seriously, these are real comments made by the people who love me unconditionally.

My husband is the only person (well honestly none of the men I’ve ever been in a relationship with have ever made me feel bad about my body, not one. Not one.) who has never sent me a message directly that my body was not OK or acceptable. I say directly, because, let’s face it, he’s a product of the same society that I grew up in. He and I saw the same music videos with the thin women, with big boobs as the sex symbols that all the guys want. I’ve seen his Facebook and Instagram feed, I see the kind of women that are featured, there isn’t a ton of body variety. He’s told he has to be muscular to be the definition of male beauty, so he gets his share of distorted messages. And like I told him the other day “as if your life would be so much harder, if my body was more toned or less fat”. Like, who are we kidding? We grew up in the same world. We got very similar messages about what attractive men and women are supposed to look like. Now, that doesn’t mean we are all looking for this in others, but let’s be honest, the leading men and ladies in most of our TV shows and movies and voted sexiest don’t EVEN remotely resemble someone like me and my body type.

Then I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. One of the results of which is weight gain due to a slow metabolism because my thyroid doesn’t work properly and as such cannot regulate my metabolism the way it should. Also, low energy and lots of fatigue which really hinders the whole “eat healthy and exercise more” mindset, since you are always too tired to cook for yourself or to go work out. But whatever, that’s a whole other post about having a thyroid condition.

I’m not sure anyone truly understands the constant struggle I face when it comes to my weight and body image. Well, actually, I know others can relate. What I mean is that I don’t really talk about it to others so they probably have no clue how I feel.  My husband comes close. He’s seen me at my absolute worst with this. He’s seen me cry and lose my shit because I was so tired of the weight gain, the mixed messages about my body and what I eat, the lack of education I truly have regarding nutrition at all and feeling like I have no control and have to choose between being happy and being thin which is so fucking complicated I can’t even begin to describe.  But here’s a try. In January 2017, I decided to give weight loss ANOTHER try. I started working with someone who would describe himself as a nutritional coach. Really he was telling me what I needed to eat in order to lose weight and because of my thyroid, I lost weight MUCH slower than many who don’t have this challenge. For example, most people lost twice the amount of weight in the same time as I did. I also had to eat A LOT less than most people on his program. I know this because he shared this with me. So It’s not my imagination or assumption. But, I stuck to it, for about a year. And I lost 30-40 pounds. My lowest weight was 117 pounds right before my wedding. This program required that I weigh myself every day, eat 5 meals a day, 2.5 servings of protein spread out over the day, 2 servings of starches (or carbs) only in the morning, 2 servings of dairy also just in the mornings, 3 servings each of fruit and veggies, 2 servings of fat, low sugar, low sodium, and as much water as possible (on most days I had about 90-100 ounces).  Oh and I had to send him a picture of what I ate every time I was about to eat which was every 2.5-3 hours. I made all my own foods every day. It became everything I thought about all the time.  But I lost the weight. It’s a lifestyle change, not a diet. These are healthy habits, not a diet. But the problem is, I was miserable all the time. I was obsessed with not gaining weight. I was SCARED to gain the weight back because I knew I was going to get bored. See, I was eating so little, and I had such a limited menu because of my lack of exposure to food that I got sick of the same shit, every day. Cut to the honeymoon and I weigh 125 pounds upon my return. Because I tried to enjoy myself, I gained almost 10 pounds in 10 days. I was never able to get back to 120 or less. And at one point, I was told “Rosemary is not 128 pounds, that’s not the new Rosemary”.  That kind of hit me. But, what if I am…why would that be so bad?

Let’s get back to this baby belly picture, one of the struggles I experienced was not knowing when I was “showing” because when I found out I was pregnant, I was weighing 135 pounds, which for a 5 foot tall individual, that’s being overweight, and well, that’s I guess accurate, because my stomach wasn’t flat and so I already had a few layers of fat on my belly before a baby belly would start showing. So here we go, the first thing I have to think about with my changing body---I won’t really know when I’m showing because I’m already flabby to begin with. Next, look up recommendations for weight gain. Well because I started out overweight, the recommendation is basically 15 pounds. FIFTEEN POUNDS?!? For the whole pregnancy?!? 10 MONTHS?!? The other recommendation is 25 pounds for someone who doesn’t start out overweight. Listen, I’m already stressed out at being 135, now I have to try and remain no heavier than 150pounds, and if I want to give myself a break then no heavier than 160 pounds! Cue the waterworks, the anxiety, the self-hatred, the panic, the fear. What do I do if I can’t control it? What do I do? What if my eating habits hurt my developing baby? UGH! And to make things worse, let’s add the holidays into the mix. I stop weighing myself because honestly, I just can’t stand to see the numbers anymore. Every time the weight goes up, I think, “Is it the pregnancy or is it that I’m just getting fatter”. I keep researching experiences by other women and I see how some complain about losing weight when they got pregnant or how others gained 60-70 pounds. Honestly, the thought of gaining 60-70 pounds makes me want to disappear. I can’t even. I don’t know what I’d do with myself. The thought makes me cry right now as I type it.

Let’s take a step back, about 6 months ago, I started to look for other ways to relate to food and my body. You know there is this whole movement about mindful and intuitive eating. In short, anything mindful and intuitive is attractive to me. Here’s what I’ve gathered so far about this movement: If we can get back in touch with ourselves and our natural hunger cues, we can determine what we need and when we need it. If I’m hungry, I should eat, but I should be tracking when I get full so that I don’t overeat. When I’m full, I stop until I’m hungry again and then I eat again. All the while making the best choices I can make and honoring what my body is needing. The idea is that your body will let you know, but the challenge is that because of the many years of terrible learning about food, we will have trouble figuring out what our body is really needing and how to nourish it correctly. Now, this is what I’ve gathered, I’m not an expert in this area. I do have a friend who might read this and is an expert and can give you more info if you’d like it. I don’t want to mis-represent anything. Anyway, I reach out to this friend at one point, and when she told me that she doesn’t focus on weight gain or weight loss, I retreated. I wanted to lose weight. And the idea that if I listened to my body and eat what’s right for it, then my weight would shift according to where it’s supposed to be, this is called set point theory, terrified me. Set point is the weight range in which your body is programmed to function optimally. Set point theory holds that one’s body will fight to maintain that weight range. Oh my god what if my set point is 150 pounds?! I can’t even fathom that. That’s not who I want to be. That’s where my thoughts automatically go. So I backed away from the idea of mindful and intuitive eating. Let’s complicate this further by mentioning that I grew up with a mom who was and is overweight, I guess for her weight it’s considered obesity. I can’t imagine what my being afraid to gain so much weight, must say to her. Although, she is one of the people who talks about my weight, too. Nobody is safe, I guess.

Honestly the first person to ever even mention something close to this was my husband, back when I was doing AIP and losing my mind. He said “but what if this is the weight you’re supposed to be” and that shit just bothered me to my core. The idea that I had to accept that who I was, was someone who was always going to be over 120 pounds even though, for my height, I should be between 100-120 pounds.

Flash forward again, over the course of the last 6 months, I’ve gone back and forth between I have to lose weight, I can’t gain too much weight, I’m ok at whatever weight I am, I’ll be OK no matter what, my weight doesn’t define me, I just can’t gain so much weight, and so on and so forth. I can honestly say that EVERY day my thoughts go through a variety of those ideas.

Thanks to the stupid idea of the new year and how we all want to lose weight, I’ve had 3 websites open over the last week which are about meal plans. I’ve decided to try another approach. What if I learned to eat nutritional options (expanded my experience with foods) so that I can make better decisions when I do get hungry? This is a real challenge when you grow up considering potato, lettuce and tomato to be the only options for vegetables. When every meal includes tons of rice or other starchy options such as bread and over the years those items have become known as a problem. So, I’ve decided to curate my Instagram: No accounts that focus on weight loss. No accounts that only show thin women as the standard (let me be clear, I said ONLY, because thin women are not a problem at all!). More body positive accounts. As a side note, I’ve noticed a real lack of diversity in accounts that focus on nutritional eating vs. weight loss as well. Where are my people of color?!? Again, a post for another day.

I’ve decided that I owe myself and the alien growing inside me the opportunity to eat more nutritionally, expand my variety, and TRY not to worry about what my weight and my body actually look like. Instead, I want to feed it the things it needs to work optimally. And not punish myself when I stray from that. That I want to finally accept myself no matter how I look. But, when you’re someone who is thin and that’s your set point, it’s a completely different reality from being someone who takes up more space in a world that punishes and judges taking up more space. It’s a different experience to love yourself when you fall into the weight range the doctors say you’re supposed to fall into and not just an idea of what you want to look like. I’m not saying it’s easier when you’re thin, I’m saying I just want it to be easier period. For any size.

The thing is, after 3 pages of writing, I want you to realize that, when I share a picture like this one, it’s not something that happens thoughtlessly. It’s something that I battle with (and probably others do as well) and that requires all of this thinking and feeling! Sometimes it’s just easier not to post it. You know? But, that’s not in line with my new body positive value that I’m working on developing.

Also, please don’t think that I need any feedback at all from any of you! I’m not looking for compliments. This isn’t a pity party. I don’t need anyone to make me feel better. I can do that on my own. Just ask my husband who is constantly TRYING to make me feel better and knows I do a better job than anyone at that task, although I love him so much for trying anyway. If you want to comment, go ahead, but don’t do it because you think that’s what this post is about. This post is more about challenging myself, being vulnerable, and sharing my experience, because you never know who can relate or who might need it.

[peacefulheartfarm]

Canning Peas

Canning peas is great fun. We have been shelling peas for several days. That is also quite fun. I’ll be talking all about that and more in today’s podcast.

I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. I appreciate you all so much. I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week.

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

It’s a beautiful time of year. Summer has arrived in full force. The days are often sunny and hot. We could use a lot more rain, but again, it is summer. The rains will be few and far between for the most part. That means watering the garden and orchard a lot. We really need to get that irrigation system back up and running. Oh well, it’s on the very long list of stuff we would like to do. Right now, life is all about canning peas. But first . . . how about some animal updates?

Cows

Surprise! Hansel and Gretel, the twin calves, have a new home. Each day I went out there to give them their bottles I looked and them and mused about what we were going to do with them. Then God provided. A man called out of the blue. He actually lives relatively close, about an hour away. He was frantic for a calf. Just that morning one of his cows, a Holstein, had lost her calf. I was happy to say that we did have a calf he could buy. In fact, we had two and the cow being a Holstein, she would produce lots and lots and lots of milk. He could probably use two calves.

It all happened so fast. Before nightfall, this wonderful man and his wife were here picking up those two calves. It was such a win-win situation. Again, it all happened so fast I didn’t have much of a chance to think about how much I would miss seeing those baby faces every day.  

Artificial insemination is in progress. It is less than a week before we see if the AI took. We look for signs from any of the cows coming into heat. If so, we do it again. Fingers crossed all seven cows and heifers are pregnant on the first try.

Donkeys

Scott got all of the donkeys spiffed up with their hooves trimmed nicely. They are going to the sale barn. If you would like one of these great animals, let us know soon. Their purpose on our homestead was livestock protection. Now that we have decided to use livestock guardian dogs for that task, their jobs no longer exist and they will have to move on to help out someone else.

I will miss them, especially Daisy and Cocoa. Well, Sweet Pea and Johnny will also be missed. It was a hard decision but we have to do the best we can for all of our animals and the coyote pressure was too much for them, I think. They are miniature donkeys. Perhaps if they had been full sized donkeys, the job would have been an easy one. In any case, we are moving on with the next plan. It’s how we roll on the homestead.

Sheep and Goats

I just checked the possible delivery dates for the sheep. We couldn’t find the day that we put Lambert back in with the ladies, so we guessed based on the log entries for when the animal predation stopped. Our best estimate indicates we could have new lambs the last week of October. That would be such a blessing. We really have no idea how it will go as we’ve never tried to breed the ewes for a fall lambing. Many sheep and goats will only breed in the fall for spring lambing. The katahdin breed is supposed to be able to breed year-round. We shall see.

Orchard and Garden

Just before I started this podcast, I went to the spare bedroom and looked out the window to see if Scott might be in the garden. It was not likely but you never know. He has been working on fixing the deer fencing that was annihilated a few years back during a particularly difficult thunderstorm. Trees were down all over and one took out some of the deer fencing.

The game cameras we have out there indicated to Scott that there are two deer that are regularly invading the orchard. That’s why the blueberries disappeared. Likely the blackberries will be next. Something was also chomping on the green beans. I knew that would be deer. They love green bean plants.

Deer are Dear

Anyway, I’m looking out the window for Scott and what do I see? There is a deer pacing up and down outside the garden. She is looking for a way to get in and steal more of our bean plants and fruit. I watched her for a little while. Then she laid down right in front of the gate into the orchard. Just plopped down. A half hour later, I looked again and she was still laying there in front of the gate. Of course, if I opened the door and looked out, she would hear that noise and likely run away. I let her rest. It seems Scott has her fenced out. No need to upset her even more.

Tomatoes

The tomatoes are doing well in the garden. Again, we have to water nearly every day. Fertilizer needs to happen as well.

The tomatoes were planted just in front of the green peas. Green peas produce a whopping amount of peas and then die off pretty quickly. I had two 70-foot rows of peas. One was a shelling variety and the other were those lovely sugar snap peas. My original plan was to take them to the farmer’s market. Then life happened. They came on so quickly and there were far too many for me to pick, clean and package in time for market. I did pack up two 5-gallon buckets full and sold nearly all of those. But there were so many.

Green Peas

Because they ripened so quickly and it was hot and they were drying out quickly, I simply pulled up all the plants. There was a lot of green material along with the peas. But I needed to get them out of the sun quickly. The living room floor was filled with lots of greenery for a few days. Each evening, we went through the plants and pulled off the peas.

All together there were five more 5-gallon buckets of peas in the pods. These were too far gone to sell fresh at the market so the next challenge was getting the peas shelled out so I could can them. That is still a work in progress. And that brings me to the topic of the day, canning peas.

Canning Peas

Within a couple of evenings, my 3-gallon stainless steel pot was full. In quart jars, that is a nice even dozen. I figured with leaving head space and all that I could stretch that to 14 jars and fill my American Standard canner. It is tall enough to hold two levels of 7 jars each. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Shelling Peas

Scott and I have spent three or four days so far shelling peas in the evening after chores and dinner. We are re-watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. When Scott saw what I had picked for entertainment while we shelled peas, he commented something along the lines of, “I guess you are expecting this take a while.” And indeed, I did . . . and do. We are nearing the end of the extended versions of the movie. I don’t really know many hours that entails. I’m thinking three plus hours for each film, so that would be somewhere in excess of nine hours so far.

We have three of the five buckets of peas shelled. I have one canner full from the first two buckets and enough peas for another seven jars from the third bucket of peas. That leaves two more buckets for tonight and tomorrow night. That should make another 14 quarts. All together I will likely have 35 jars of canned peas. That should last us a while, don’t ya think?

Canning is the Easy Part

Canning the peas is the easiest part of this whole scenario. I know that some of you may be hesitant about canning. But once you know and understand how it is done, it comes down to what size jar you use and how much time will that be at 12 pounds pressure. Well, twelve pounds for us. We are over the 1,000 feet elevation mark. The standard is 10 pounds of pressure for canning just about anything that requires a pressure canner.

I have a nice gauge that allows me to bring that pressure up to 12 pounds. If I use my smaller canner, I end up using a pressure device that just wobbles and spits steam when the pressure is reached. I use the 15-pound pressure gauge to make my canning safe. And I’m ahead of myself again. Let me give you the basics of canning in a nutshell. Hopefully, you will see that it is not as onerous a task as you might think.

Experience Develops Confidence

I used to think that canning was really, really hard and I dreaded the late summer as I would have to begin canning the harvest. That was years ago. After the first couple of years, it became second nature to me. You can get there as well. When canning peas, beans, carrots, corn, greens and so on, the steps are the same. The time to hold the jars at pressure is the only thing that changes. I simply bring out the Ball canning book and check the time for the vegetable I’m canning.

The steps are simple for cold pack canning. That means the vegetables are not cooked or otherwise heated. The jars are supposed to be heated, but I never actually do that.

Step One – Get Your Equipment Ready

Step one is getting your equipment ready.

The Canner

I set up the canner on the stovetop, fill it with three quarts of water or just enough to have about an inch and a half of water from the bottom of the canner. I add about a tablespoon of vinegar to the water. It can be detrimental to the rings, making them rust, but it makes keeping the inside of the canner clean a breeze. That’s a tip I picked up a couple of years ago. The inside of my canner had become dark and discolored. Then I saw a canning video on YouTube and the Youtuber added vinegar to prevent that. I started doing that and my canner now looks like new inside.

Anyway, get the canner set up. I turn the burner on low and slowly heat that water and vinegar. It will be just about at a boil by the time I get everything else done.

The Jars

Prepare the jars. That means making sure they are free of cracks and knicks at the rim. They need to be clean and sterilized. Lots of folks immerse them in boiling water, I use bleach water. It’s faster and that means a lot to me. The canning is not hard to do but it can be time consuming waiting for this to boil and that to boil and so on. If using soapy bleach water to clean and sanitize my jars is not safe, someone let me know in the comments, along with why. My mom used to put her jars on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven for a few minutes. That was her method of sterilization.

Large Pot of Boiling Water

You will also need a large pot of boiling water to pour over the vegetables once they are in the jars. Go ahead and prepare that now. There is no set amount. Guessing is my method there. Twelve quart-jars filled to the brim will hold three gallons. The peas take up lots of space so I figured no more than a cup or two of water per quart jar of peas would be plenty. In the end, I used less than a gallon and a half of boiling water for 14 jars of peas.

Canner set up, jars cleaned and sterile, water to pour over the veggies. Equipment is all set up.

Step Two – Prepare the vegetables

Step two is getting your vegetables ready. For canning peas, that means shelling them out and cleaning them up. That has been the hardest part so far. It was much harder than shelling them out. That just takes time. Getting the little bits of shells, twigs and leaves out was a real challenge.

Step Three – Fill the Jars, Put Lids in Place

The next step is filling the jars. Oops! Almost forgot. Add salt if you desire. I always do. One half teaspoon for pints and one teaspoon for quarts. Again, it’s the same for all vegetables. That’s why this gets easy. After a while you don’t even have to think about it.

Add salt to the bottom of the jar. Loosely fill the jar with vegetables, don’t pack them. I fill mine to just below one inch of headspace below the rim.

Next fill each jar with boiling water to one inch below the rim. I’m making sure the veggies are covered under the hot water.

Wipe the rims with a damp paper towel or washcloth. Place the lid and ring. Screw lid on to finger tight. Put the jar in the canner. After all jars are in place, put the canner lid in place and secure it according to manufacturers instructions.  

Step Four – Bring the Canner up to Pressure and Start Timing

Now that everything is in place, turn up the heat on the burner. Leave off the pressure gauge. That’s the big weight that lets you identify when the proper pressure has been reached. Because I have the analog reading on my big canner, I use the 10-pound pressure gauge. It will actually come up to about 12 or 13 pounds of pressure before that gauge starts dancing and letting out steam. It should dance around a few times each minute. More than that, and you have too much pressure. Turn down the heat.

Once I get that dancing pressure gauge, I turn down my heat to medium low. That is three on my stovetop dial. After doing a few batches, you will know exactly where to set your stovetop to maintain the proper pressure. Again, mine is at three. Set your timer for the recommended amount of time. For quart jars of canned peas the Ball Canning book says 40 minutes at the recommended pressure for your altitude.

Step Five – Remove the Jars

When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and wait until the pressure gauge has completely returned to 0. If you don’t have the analog dial, what you will have is a pressure relief button. Once the button falls back to its resting position, the pressure is zero. If you are ever in doubt, just wait 15 more minutes.

Remove the Gauge

Once the pressure has returned to zero, remove the gauge. Some steam may come out still. Do not do the “quick release” like you would do with your InstaPot. Let the pressure return to normal without any help. If the pressure comes down too quickly, the water will bubble up out of the jar. You will lose liquid leaving your veggies partially out of the liquid and you may have jars that do not seal well if bits of the veggies got under the lid. Let all return to normal naturally.

Remove and Cool the Jars

After removing the gauge, a waiting five minutes to ensure all pressure is normalized, remove the lid. Using the special tool for removing jars from the canner, gently place each jar on a towel or wooden cutting board. Do not adjust the lids. Let them cool naturally.

At this point you are all done. And what a great job you did. Once the jars are completely cooled, label them and store them with your other canned foods.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today podcast. I hope you enjoyed hanging out with the animals on the homestead. Sharing it all with you is a blessing for me and I hope it is for you as well.

I boiled the steps of canning down to five. Get your equipment set up, prepare your vegetables, fill the jars and place the lids, bring your canner up to pressure, and then a proper cool-down afterwards. That’s it! I hope I’ve inspired you to give canning a try if you haven’t already. And I know you probably have lots of questions if you are just starting out. Feel free to contact me if you would like me to answer your questions. I’d love to assist you in developing your homestead skills.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts or whatever podcasting service you use, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. If you like this content and want to help out the show, the absolute best way you can do that is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Let them know about the Peaceful Heart Farmcast.

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

To learn about herd shares:

Visit our website Herd Share page

To share your thoughts:

Leave a comment on our Facebook Page

Share this show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

To help the show:

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW for Peaceful Heart FarmCast on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music, TuneIn or Spotify

Donate on Patreon

Website

www.peacefulheartfarm.com

Patreon

www.patreon.com/peacefulheartfarm

Facebook

www.facebook.com/peacefulheartfarm

Instagram

www.instagram.com/peacefulheartfarm

Locals

Peacefulheartfarm.locals.com

Check out this episode!

[winchesters-love]

Get To Know Me!!! A Little Too Well

1. Name: Nicole 2. Nickname(s): Nik, Nikki 3. Birthday: June 21 4. That makes you: 18 5. Where were you born: Nebraska 6. Location right now: Same place 7. Shoe size: 7 8. How many piercings?: None 9. Tattoos?: None, but I'd love a few <3 10. When you wake up you're: Confused and even more tired 11. When your about to sleep you're: Wide awake 12. Zodiac sign: Cancerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr/Gemini 13. Chinese sign: Rabbit 14. Righty or Lefty: Righty 15. Innie or Outie: Innie 16. School: Out of school :P Section Two: Looks 17. Nationality: White 20. Weight: 110 lbs 21. Height: 5'6 22. Braces? No 23. Glasses? Yes Section Three: Private Life 24. Do you have a boy/girlfriend? I do! 25. If so, who? The love of my life, Nate 26. If not, do you have a crush on someone? My boyfriend 27. Who has a crush on you? No one haha 28. Ever cheated on your bf/gf? Nope 29. Who was your first kiss: Nate, he kisses pretty good 30. Who was your last kiss: Nate <3 31. Are you a virgin? Yes 32. Ever had a threesome before? No 33. NQ- Ever been swarmed by ladybugs?: Nope 34. Have you ever been in love? Yes 35. Broken any hearts? Not that I know of 36. Got your heart broken? Quite a few times 37. Ever liked a friend? Yea 38. What happened? We started dating

Section Four: Past Relationships 39. How many relationships have you been in? 1 40. How many were serious enough to count: I'm in it 41. Who were those serious ones: I've only been in 1 42. NQ- Who USED to be your best friend: Well, he's still my best friend so 43. What made them different: Nothing 44. What happened: We started dating 45. Best boy/girlfriend: The one I'm dating 46. Worst boy/girlfriend: N/A 47. Ever been kissed: Yes 48. Who do you want back: No one 49. What do you regret: Focusing too much on guys 50. Why? Because I would've done so much better in school Section Five: Favourites 51. Song: Sound of Silence 52. Movie: Zootopia 53. Food: Anything really 54. Drink: Apple Juice 55. Store: Gamestop and Hot Topic 56. Television show: Stranger Things and Mom 57. Holiday: Christmas 58. Book: Grace Lost Series 59. Ice cream: Mint Chip 60. Sweets: Chocolate 61. Crisps: Doritos Jacked 62. Type of music: Pretty much every genre 63. Artist: Singer is Luke Bryan, Painter is Bob Ross 64. Word: Loquacious, vernacular 65. Time of day: Evening/night 66. Dressing: Ranch 67. Alcoholic drink: Don't drink 68. Colour(s): Blue, Red, Black, and White 69. Piece of clothing: Beanie 70. Character: My fursona 71. Smell: Fresh rainfall 72. Shampoo: Fructis 73. Soap: Fructis 74. Smiley: >3 75. Board game: Too many tbh 76. Sport: Soccer 77. Number: 5 78. Quote: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Franklin D. Roosvelt 79. Animal: Wolf 80. Actor: Ryan Reynolds/Chris Pratt 82. Vegetable: Sugar snap peas 83. Fruit: Grapes 84. Place to be: In my room 85. Thing in your room: Pictures 86. Gum: 5-gum 87. Shape: Circle 88. Country: Europe 89. Mall: Any mall 90. Car: 67 Chevy Impala 91. Boy's name: Christopher 92. Girl's name: Chrissy 93. Family member: My brothers and my dad 94. Restaurant: Johnny Carinos 95. Movie place: The theater 96. Person to go to the movies with: Myself 97. Noise: Falling rain 98. Brand of Shoe: Airwalks 99. Brand of clothing: Aeropostle 100. Body part of a chicken: Thigh 101. Swear word: Asshat 102. Month: December 103. Possession: My ring 104. Team: Don't have a favorite 105. Season: Winter 106. Radio station: Pop station 107. Magazine: Don't read them 108. Favourite grade: Senior year 109. Least favourite grade: 5th grade 110. Teacher: Kindergarten 111. Least favourite teacher: Math teacher in 5th grade, he was a douche 112. Subject: Art/Choir 113. Subject to talk about: Anything and everything Section Six: Family 114. Who's your mum?: Not here 115. Who's your dad?: My role model 116. Any step-parents?: Yea, had a few 117. Any brothers?: 2 118. Any Sisters?: Nope 120. Coolest: Older brother 121. Loudest: Me 122. Best relative: My cousin 123. Worse relative: No one 124. Do you get along with your parents? My dad, yea 125. With your siblings? Mostly, we game with each other 126. Does anyone understand you? Yea 127. Do you have any pets? Nah 128. If so, what kind and name? 129. If not, what do you want as a pet? I want another dog, we had to get rid of ours Section Seven: School 131. Are you still in school? Nope 132. Did you drop out?: 2.75, I didn't pay attention freshman and sophomore year 133. Your current GPA: No thanks 134. Do you buy or bring lunch?: School bill paid for it 135. ABC's?: Know them 136. Favorite class: Choir and art 137. Play any sports at school?: Played soccer 138. Are you popular? With the outcasts 139. Favourite memory: Being the only girl good at soccer 140. Most humiliating moment: Falling in front of my close guy friends 141. Most funniest moment: Hitting someone in the face with a soccer ball 142. Most scared moment: Graduating Section Eight: What do you think of when you hear 145. Chicken: Bawk bawk 146. Dog: Soft puppy 147. Christina Aguilera: Music 148. Ricky Martin: Who? 149. 50 cent: Rapper 150. Poop: Emoji 151. Beach: Sand 152. Dessert: Cactus 153. Water: Blue 154. Osama: Bin Laden 155. Love: Life 156. Your little brother: Xbox One 157. Butt: Nice 158. Clowns: Pennywise 159. Wonder: Over Yander 16o. Brown: Pants 161. Banana: Yum 162. Sex: Rope 163. Parents: One 164. Homosexuals: Jensen and Jared 165. God: Father Section Nine: Do you believe in 166. God: Yes 167. Heaven: Yes 168. Devil: Yes 169. Hell: In a sense 170: Boogey man: No 171. Closet Monsters: Nah 172. Fortune telling: Nope 173. Magic: Nuh uh 174. Love at first sight: Depends 175. Ghosts: Nope 176. Voo-doo dolls: Nah 177. Reincarnation: Nope 178. Yourself: Ehh, not really Section Ten: Do you 179. Smoke: And kill my lungs? No thanks 180. Do drugs: Pfft, why would I? 181. Drink alcohol: Again, I'm not trying to die at a young age 182. Cuss: Yea 183. Sing in the shower: Sometimes... 184. Like school: Yea, it was the best place to be! 185. Want to get married: Mhmm, and I'm glad I found someone 186. Type with all of your fingers: Not really 187. Think you're attractive: Most days 188. Drink and drive: Fuck this 189. Snore: Sometimes 190. Sleep walk: Nope 191. Like watching sunrises and sunsets: Best place to be honestly Section Eleven: Have you ever 192. Flashed someone: On accident 193. Gotten so drunk til you threw up everywhere: I don't drink 194. Told that person how you felt: Yep 195. Been arrested: Nope 196. Gone to jail or juve: No 197. Skateboarded: Yes 198. Skinny dipped: In a bath 199. Rock climbed: Do it every summer 200. Killed someone: Nope 201. Watched porn: Nah 202. Gone on a road trip: Kinda 203. Went out of the country: Nah 204. Talked back to an adult: Yes 205. Broken a law: Nope 206. Got pulled over: Don't drive 208: Cried to get out of trouble: I don't usually do anything bad 209. Let a friend cry on your shoulder: I'm supposed to, I'm there to listen 210. Kissed a brother's or sister's friend: No 211. Kissed a friend's brother or sister: No 212. Dropped something on the floor and let someone eat it anyways: Nah, I usually eat it 213. Mooned someone: Yes, once 214. Shop-lifted: No 215. Worked at McDonald's: No thank you 216. Eaten a dog: A hot dog! 217. Give money to a homeless person: Yea, I've fed them too 218. Glued your hand to yourself: Yes 219. Kissed someone of the same sex: Playing Pocky 220. Had a one night stand: I have two right beside my bed 221. Smoked: Nope 222. Done drugs: No 223. Lose a friend because of your ex: I don't have any exes 224. Slap someone for being stupid: Yes 225. Had cyber sex: Sexted?? Kinda 226. Wish you were the opposite sex: A lot more often than I should sometimes. But for completely different reasons 227. Caught someone doing something: Yea 228. Played a game that removes clothing: Strip truth or dare ;) 229. Cried during a movie: All the damn time 230. Cried over someone: It's hard not to when you can't have an actor love you 231. Wanted to hook up with a friend: Yea, and I did 232. Hooked up with someone you barely met: Nah 233. Ran away from home: Nope 234. Cheated on a test: Once Section Twelve: Would you 235. Bungee jump: Nope 236. Sky dive: Hate heights 237. Swim with dolphins: Yes 238. Steal a friend's bf or gf: That goes against girl code 239. Try to be the opposite sex: No 240. Lie to the police: Hi officer my real name is Nicholas... Cage 241. Run from the police: No 242. Lie to your parents: Done it before 243. Backstab a friend for your own well being: That's just plain rude 244. Be an exotic dancer: Only for my boyfriend <3 245. NQ- Kill the president: Nah Section Thirteen: Are you 246. Shy: Yes, especially around new people 247. Loud: Extremely 248. Nice: I try to be 249: Outgoing: I fake being outgoing haha 250: Quiet: Yea 251. Mean: Depends, I'm mean to those I like 252. Emotional: Sad to say, but yea 253. Sensitive: Mhmm 254. Gay: I'm very happy 255. Strong: I wish, need to start working out 256. Weak: Yea 257. Caring: Yes, especially towards animals 258. Dangerous: Well, does this include caving? 259. Crazy: Uh huh 260. Spontaneous: I am the most random and spontaneous thing out there 261. Funny: I try to be, I fail at it 262. Sweet: To eat ;) 263. Sharing: With most things, but not my food 264. Responsible: Most of the time 265. Trustworthy: Definitely, if you want a secret kept come talk to me 266. Open-minded: Depends on what you mean 267. Creative: For the most part 268. Cute: Um, not even close, no matter how many of y'all say I am 269. Slick: They don't call me Nik the Slick for nothing 270. Smart: Yea 271. Dumb: I act like it 272. Evil: No 273. Ghetto: If only 274. Classy: As in sassy 275. Photogenic: Nope 276. Dependable: Only on a few select things 277. Greedy: Only with food 278. Ugly: Yes, 100 times over 279. Messy: With my life 280. Neat: With everything else 281. Perverted: You can say cookie and it'll go bad 282. Silly: Yea 283. A B****: I can be if you want me to be 284. A Good Listener: Mhmm 285. A Fighter: If you make me mad enough 286. A Party Animal: I'd rather read, thanks 287. A Game Freak: YES 288. A Computer Freak: I literally want to work on computers Section Fourteen: Future 289. Dream job: Animation 290. Dream house: Somewhere out in the country 291. Husband/Wife: My sweet redheaded boyfriend 292. Kids: 2 293. Names: Something with Ns 294. Pets: Literally so many 295. Car: Anything that gets me places 296. Age you would want to get married: I wouldn't mind getting married in the next few years 297. Best Man/Bride's Maid: My best friend Elena 298. Honeymoon: Anyplace that has a bedroom Section Fifteen: Your friends 299. Best friend: Elena, Nate, Jasmine, Kelsey 300. Known the longest: Nate 301. Craziest: Elena 302. Loudest: Elena and I 303. Shyest: Jasmine and Kelsey 304. Best hair: Kelsey 305. Best eyes: Kelsey 306. Best body: Nate 307. Most Athletic: Me 308. Hot-Tempered: Elena 309. Most impatient: Me 310. Shortest: Nate 311. Tallest: Kelsey 312. Skinniest: Me 313. Best singer: Me 314. Funniest: Literally all of us 315. Can always make you laugh: All of them 316. Wish you talked to more: Elena 317. Wish you saw more: All of them 318. Who drives you insane after a while: Elena, but in a good way 319. Who you can stay around forever and never get sick of: All of them 320. Ever lose a friend because you took it to the 'next level': Nah, I'm dating Nate 321. Whose always been there when you need them: All of them 322. Who is like your family: All of them 323. How many friends do you have?: Quite a few, and I love each and every one of them 324. How many are really close? About 10? Section Sixteen: The last 325. Thing you ate: Poptarts 326. Thing you drank: Apple juice 327. Thing you wore: My hoodie 328. Thing you did: This meme 329. Place you went: The store 330. Thing you got pierced or tattooed: Nothing 331. Person you saw: My dad 332. Person you hugged: My dad 333. Person you kissed: Nate 334. NQ- Person you beat to a juicy pulp: I wish I had done that to a couple jerks 335. Person you talked to online: Nate 336. Person you talked to on the phone: Nate 337. Song you heard: Vulnerable by Secondhand Serenade 338. Show you saw: Mom 339. Time you fought with your parents: Um... about a month or two? 340. Time you fought with a friend: Haven't for a while 341. Words you said: Fuck you is what I said Section Seventeen: Now 343. What are you eating: Poptart 344. What are you drinking: Apple juice 345. What are you thinking: About my boyfriend 346. What are you wearing: My hoodie 347. What are you doing: Writing this up 349. Hair: Down 350. Mood: Tired 351. Listening to: Spotify 352. Talking to anyone: Yea 353. Watching anything: Nah Section Eighteen: Yes or No 354. Are you a vegetarian: Mostly 355. Are you a carnivore: Nah 356. Are you heterosexual: Yes 357. Do you like penguins: Yes 358. Do you write poetry: Yes 359. Do you see stupid people: Yes 360. You + Me: No 361. Do you like the Osbournes: Yes 362. Can you see flying pigs: No 363. Do you sleep with stuffed animals on your bed: Yes 364. Are you from Afghanistan: No 365. Is Christina Aguilera ugly: No 366. Are you a zombie: No 367. Am i annoying you: Yes 368. Do you bite your nails: Yes 369. Can you cross your eyes: Yes 370. Do you make your bed in the morning: No 371. Have you touched someone's private part: Yes Section Nineteen: This or That 372. Winter or Summer: Winte 373. Spring or Autumn: Autumn 374. Shakira or Britney: Britney 375. MTV or VH1: MTV 376. Black or White: White 377. Yellow or Pink: Pink 378. Football or Basketball: Football 379. Mobile Phone or Pager: Mobile 380. Pen or Pencil: Pencil 381. Cold or Hot: Hot 382. Tattoos or Piercings: Tattoos 383. Inside or Outside: Inside 384. Weed or Alcohol: No 385. Coke or Pepsi: Pepsi 386. Tape or Glue: Tape 387. McDonald's or In-n-Out: In-Out Section Twenty: Opinions 388. What do you think about classical music: I like it 389. About boy bands: Nah 390: About suicide: Talk to someone if you're thinking about suicide. It is a very real thing and should not be joked about. I don't want to find out that any of you are no longer here because of suicide. I've lost 2 very close friends that way. 391. About people who try to force their opinions on you: They can kindly fuck off 392. About teen pregnancy: Only if they know they'll be able to take care of the baby 393. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years: With my husband in some country town 394. Who do you think you'll still be friends with in 5 years: Nate, Elena, Kelsey, Jasmine, hopefully all my friends 395. About gay men: They're human too Section Twenty-One: 396. Do you have a website: I'm working on building one 397. Current weather right now: Cold as balls 398. Current time: 7:00 399. Last thoughts: Byyyye

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Tokyo Treat Jan 19

“We said burr, it’s cold in here and there’s some delicious snacks in the atmosphere! We got our cheer set to celebrate the upcoming New Year and winter season. To help set the mood for the upcoming year, we decided to help spread some happiness with a fun Winter Wonderland themed snack box! Expect to find a lot of fun snacks that will keep a smile on your face as you enjoy the winter wonderland weather that is coming up. Our idea was to find snacks that will keep you feeling happy and warm on the inside no matter if you are cuddling up indoors or are out enjoying the brisk weather!“

Parade Milkshake & Nerunerune DIY

As usual, I will be covering the DIY in a separate post; but for anyone unfamiliar, Nerunerune is one of the most popular and well-loved DIY candy kits one can find online or in Japan. It has come in many variations and has evolved over the years, and in this box we could get one of the most simpler kits they have released, featuring a fluffy whip-like candy fluff with candies.

Our main feature in this pic is the drink, the Parade Milkshake. This drink contains egg and milk, and is meant to emulate an actual milkshake, but with a thin milk consistency. Each can is only 47kcal.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Because it’s been in the fridge, the can has been extremely cold- it’s perfect for summer! The flavor sort of makes me think of winter (and pudding, and McDonalds ice cream)... but at the same time, I think it would have been “too chilly“ to really enjoy during winter. Unless you enjoy being cold, which I do.

It tastes really good, I was kind of surprised because I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I’m pretty sure I mentioned this before, but lately I haven’t been into pudding due to an “incident“ where I got sick for a week, and I’m not into milk either; but I really liked this. It didn’t bother my “milk sensitivity“ either.

Cotton Candy

This is probably the one item in the box that actually did give me “winter vibes“. You get that too right? But it also fits summer too since you see it a lot during summer at fairs and festivals.

Anyway, we have some kawaii cotton candy as our next item :3 Now, according to the package it did expire back in April, but it seemed fine. This bag of cotton candy is 46kcal.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I LOVE cotton candy~ But I’m pretty partial, I prefer it have some flavor other than just sugar. That and it’s white color just made me feel bored. Another hindrance is that like any other cotton candy, once opened it begins to harden to the point of being inedible- so you need to keep it closed up tight.

Meanwhile, the package is absolutely adorable~

Custard Chocolate Bar & Balanced Nutrition Chocolate Brownie Bar

Anyone whose been a reader of this blog will probably recognize both of these items/brands. But lets remain optimistic :P

Our first item is a Gudetama themed chocolate bar featuring a chocolate and custard flavoring. The bar consists of two tin wafers with layers of chocolate cream between them, a white layer on the top wafer, followed by the custard layer, giving the chocolate. Each bar is 115kcal.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I’ve been pretty tired of these since they always seem to be the same to me, but I didn’t really mind this one very much. It was actually pretty good, but that might have just been because the regular chocolate flavor overwhelmed the entire thing.

Our next item is the Kinosei (health snack) of the month, a chocolate brownie bar from Glico. This nutritional bar is packed with various vitamins and minerals to keep one feeling energized throughout the day. 

Each bar is 98kcal.

Rating: ♥ ♥

It was okay, nothing too special to me. It did remind me a lot of a brownie, but had an off-putting after taste I wasn’t very fond of. I also can’t guarantee the whole “energizing“ thing works since I ate it in pieces and I finished it now, half-asleep.

Lucky Taiyaki Snack & Giant Chocolate Bar

If you didn’t realize it yet, this box was filled with chocolate. Not necessarily a bad move or anything- but (as much as I dislike it) maybe they should have done white chocolate to fit the season more?

Our next item is a Taiyaki, which again you’ve probably seen on this blog numerous times. For anyone unfamiliar, taiyaki is a fish-shaped cookie or pancake-like dough snack filled with chocolate, fruit, cream, or red beans. These specific snack ones are filled with airy, bubbled chocolate to give it a very light and crispy texture that melts in your mouth.

The brand who made this one is Meito, and each fish is 88kcal.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love eating these, it’s a 10 out of 10 delicious would recommend snack. It has a light sweetness to it and the chocolate taste lingers in your mouth for a little while after eating.

Our next item is this very impressively size chocolate “puff bar“. It contains peanuts and is coated in both them and chocolate, so it’s not a snack for anyone with peanut allergies- I hate peanuts so I wasn’t too sure how I would feel about it personally.

The entire bar is 162kcal.

Rating: ♥ ♥

It’s actually not terrible. I love the crispiness and the chocolate is there, but it has a strong bitterness that I suspect might be peanut, and I can’t say I like it too much- but it’s not bad? But eating a segment of it was enough for me, and I found myself giving it to someone else.

Strawberry Tiramisu Kit Kats & Crunchy Panda Cookies

At this point we are now reaching the last of the chocolate products for this box. First up we have another party pack bag of Panda Cookies :3 I love these, they’re super-cute and they taste good. For anyone who may not recognize these, these are chocolate molded into various panda expressions (70 in total!), with a “panda-esque“ cookie behind the chocolate, giving it a crunchy and sweet taste. 

These are by Kabaya and are pretty common to find online. They even have DIY kits (which I did try before, it was pretty fun). The party bag consists of 6 packs, each featured various designs, puzzles, or comics. They also support protecting panda bears from endangerment.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’d like to say I was biased because I love panda bears, but they do taste really good too. You get crunchiness from the cookie, and the chocolate tastes like both milk and white chocolate. Again I’d recommend these.

Our other item (also a party bag) is the special strawberry tiramisu kit kat. This flavor is special as the #1 voted Want To Try Flavor worldwide to celebrate kit kats 45th anniversary.

Each pack is 64kcal, and features the sweet and sour flavors of a strawberry with a light, smooth coffee mixed in.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

First of all I’d like to say that as “charming“ as its meant to be, I kinda find the art on this pack to be repulsive. I don’t know why, it just looks so weird and goofy to me. I wish they had gone for something more... food-ish, to bring out the appeal of the flavors.

It looks like a white chocolate, but it tastes strongly of strawberries, so I love the flavor. But you just barely get the “smooth coffee“ flavor it describes, so I wouldn’t call it 100% accurate.

Savory Wheat Crackers & Cheese Umaibo

Now, onto the savories; there was surprisingly a handful of them. I say surprisingly because this is the second month in a row where the box had a balance of sweet and savory (not counting the drink or DIY), I really wish they kept this trend up.

Anyway, we have a pack of 2 wheat “crackers“, featuring salt and natural oils from Okinawa to give them a savory salt taste. The “Snack Menu” in the pamphlet says the bunny’s image plays a part in their “winter” theme. But to me the flowers automatically give me summer vibes. Again.

What makes this snack concerning is that for just 2 of these, it’s 405kcal.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’ve never been huge on wheat, but I grew up on it whenever I was at my grandmas so I got used to it. But these don’t even taste like wheat. They’re crunchy and salty, and kind of remind me a bit of a cone.

I like these, but the huge calorie count is a big turn-off. Only because I think for such a high count, you’re better off eating something filling; these aren’t enough to get someone through the day until their next meal, unless they eat really small portions normally.

The next item I won’t be reviewing because I’ve gotten it several times, and have reviewed it several times. I’ll make this short :P I’ve never been a big fan of the cheese umaibo, but I find the more I eat it the better it tastes oddly enough. It didn’t exactly taste like cheese to me when I tried it, but now I can say it actually does.

Salty Seaweed Puffs & Shrimp Sticks

The coloring for these two items actually look very different in person. First will be the Seaweed Puffs, made from salt and rice with a sprinkling of seaweed flakes to blend the flavors together.

Rating: ♥ ♥

The flavor is pretty light, I can’t say the salt taste is stronger than that in the wheat crackers. I was kind of disappointed that the seaweed flavor was really light too. They’re not bad though, the texture is pretty nice, but they are already kind of stale and it makes their appeal even... lesser.

Our other item is the share pack Shrimp Sticks by Calbee. These we’ve gotten before so I don’t think I’ll be rating them again; but I will say that each bag is 31kcal, and because of their small size you get a decent amount of them per-serving. I actually like these because the fishy taste is light, and I enjoy the crispy texture.

Black Pepper Chips

Our final item are these pepper-flavored chips by Koikeya, a popular chip brand known for coming up with some unique flavors. We’ve seen it a few times in Tokyo Treat, but this is a new flavor to grace our presence.

Each bag is 283kcal.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Seeing these, I was very excited to try them because when I was younger, I loved eating pepper chips (or salt and pepper chips, I don’t remember), and I really like pepper sauce, which the scent of these strongly reminded me of.

While they smell of pepper, they taste strongly of it too :D and instantly kick in the spice as you eat them. Strangely, I get a “jerky“ taste too from these, but I love jerky so I’m not complaining at all. The chips are crunchy and delicious~

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 4.5 out of 5. There was only one item I wasn’t very fond of, but I didn’t find it unbearable and could tolerate eating it. The drink was good, I love the DIY kit we got and am excited to make it next. There was some repetition in this box though...

Theme - 2 out of 5. I’m probably giving it pity points honestly, I feel bad in saying this but I can barely see the theme they were going for. A lot of it oddly gave me summer vibes- but it’s entirely possible that I’m feeling it because it is summer now...

Total Rank: 7 out of 10. The items were tasty but there wasn’t too much special about the box because I was used to so much of it already, I also kind of wished they had toned down the chocolate or given us something fruity- besides the DIY. I also failed to see the theme, which I feel a bit disappointed about. I’m really hoping next months box isn’t too chocolate oriented (and again I am a chocolate addict, so that’s really saying something), but considering its the Valentines Day box...

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. Pepper Chips - they smelled delicious and tasted even better! Extremely would recommend!

2. Strawberry Tiramisu kit kats - It might not contain both flavors described (at least to me) but I LOVE the strong, overwhelming strawberry taste~

3. Cheese Umaibo - Every time I eat this, I end up liking it more than last time. The first time I tried it I didn’t like it at all, and now I kind of enjoy it :P if you’re like me I’d suggest giving it a few tries and see if your opinion changes like mine did.

4. Panda Cookies - As much as I like these... a small part of me is kind of tired of them. Granted it has been some time since I last had them, but...

5. Taiyaki Snack - I love the crispy texture mixed with the melty chocolate~

6. Milkshake Drink - Going in, I wasn’t sure what to expect other than some kind of malty drink; but it wasn’t like that at all. It had a really strong vanilla-pudding-ice cream taste

7. Cotton Candy - I really like cotton candy but I’m not into the plain sugar variant. I prefer flavor. 

8. Gudetama Bar - Oddly the flavor was pretty good this time, usually I’m not too crazy about these bars. Maybe it’s growing on me.

9. Wheat Crackers - I liked these more than I thought I would, but they were still kind of boring in comparison to everything else.

10. Shrimp Sticks - I’m not huge on seafood (unless it’s sushi) but these are pretty good. As much as I complain about light flavors, I think here it works for the snack.

11. Brownie Bar - It was okay, I didn’t really have too much of an opinion...

12. Seaweed Puffs -  I was really disappointed these didn’t have a stronger flavor.

13. Chocolate Puff Bar - It wasn’t bad, but as I said, I’m not big on peanuts and I really didn’t find myself wanting more after a few bites.  

[suckitsurveys]

1. What’s the last thing you ate? Overnight oats with peanut butter and banana.

2. What’s your favourite cheese? Goat and cheddar.

3. What’s your favourite fish? Catfish, if crab doesn’t count as a fish.

4. What’s your favourite fruit? Pomegranates, watermelon, pineapple, bananas.

5. When, if ever, did you start liking olives? I don’t remember? I never liked the Kalamamamamama olives they have in greek salads, but I love black olives and green olives with pimento. That was always on my dad’s go-to tray of appetizers when we’d have Christmas at our house. 3 kinds of olives, some cheese, and salami or whatever. I always ate the green and black olives from there. I also like green olives stuffed with other things too, like bleu cheese or garlic.

6. When, if ever, did you start liking beer? I only like some beers really. I think I’ve been conditioned to like it at baseball games because my dad does, haha.

7. When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish? My whole life dude. When my parents would go out to dinner with us when we were little, they always just gave us stuff from there plates to eat. So if someone had lobster or crab legs or shrimp I would too.

8. What was the best thing your mom/dad/guardian used to make? My dad makes KILLER bleu cheese dressing. I could eat that shit with a spoon it’s SO GOOD. He also makes amazing spaghetti sauce and is pretty good at getting popcorn perfect everytime. My mom used to make really good beef stew, and her famous potatoes and eggs fr dinner. She also made the BEST potato salad, and that recipe has been handed down to me. Everyone claims it’s amazing, but I still think she made it better.

9. What’s the native specialty of your hometown? Deep dish pizza, hot dogs, beef sandwiches, caramel and cheese popcorn.

10. What’s your comfort food? Everything.

11. What’s your favourite type of chocolate? Milk chocolate. With caramel. 12. How do you like your steak? Medium rare.

13. How do you like your burger? Medium rare.

14. How do you like your eggs? In omelet form.

15. How do you like your potatoes? I ain’t got no type.

16. How do you take your coffee? I don‘t, really.

17. How do you take your tea? Green.

18. What’s your favourite mug? The one I use most often is just a plain red one that I got from Home Goods because it came with a tea infuser.

19. What’s your biscuit or cookie of choice? Sugar cookies. My favorite ones are actually those Pillsbury pre-made-dough ones you break off and bake. I also love Oreos.

20. What’s your ideal breakfast? Lox and bagels.

21. What’s your ideal sandwich? ^. Or tuna on any bread.

22. What’s your ideal pizza: Very saucy, lightly cheesy, with pepperoni and black olives.

23. What’s your ideal pie (sweet or savoury)? Cheesecake. <– Same, and it’s been waaaay too long since I last had a good piece of cheesecake. <----CHEESECAKE IS NOT PIE YOU HEATHENS, IT’S CAKE. Anyway, pumpkin pie has been my go to since I was a baby.

24. What’s your ideal salad? I don’t really have an “ideal” salad, but I like spinach salads with various toppings.

25. What food do you always like to have in the fridge? Hmm. Eggs, soy milk, condiments and marinades, sriracha, pickles, olives, cheese, water.

26. What food do you always like to have in the freezer? Ice. :P And frozen dinners for Mark. We don’t buy a ton of frozen stuff.

27. What food do you always like to have in the cupboard? Oatmeal, Ramen and other soups, pasta, rice, flour, breadcrumbs, olive oil and other oils, tea.

28. What spices can you not live without? Celery salt, red pepper, and cilantro. And of course salt and pepper.

29. What sauces can you not live without? Sriracha.

30. Where do you buy most of your food? Jewel-Osco. We might start shopping at Aldi for boxed and bagged goods. I don’t trust meat and produce from there though.

31. How often do you go food shopping? Twice a week. Once on Sunday to get lunch things and snacks for the week and dinners for that night, Monday, and Tuesday, and then Wednesday just for dinner things for that night, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

33. What’s the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own? I mean, probably the fridge or stove? We don’t really own those though? Sooooo the food processor?

34. What’s the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen? It’s been a while since we’ve actuall bought something for the kitchen. A lot of our stuff is hand-me-downs or wedding gifts. So probably something from when we first moved in and needed basic things like plates and silverware.

35. What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without? Probably most of them? Like we need the fridge and stove for obvious reasons, so I guess next to that, the microwave?

36. How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients? We try to almost every night.

37. What’s the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients? Chicken and spinach last night, unless overnight oats count, which I made shortly after that to eat this morning.

38. What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig and poultry? I’ve had lamb, duck, goat, alligator, buffalo, and ostrich. Well I guess duck and ostrich are poultry?? Oh and a shit ton of seafood too since that wasn’t listed in the question. Way too much to name.

39. What’s the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor? Yesterday. I ate a chip that fell in sand oops. Haha.

40. What’s the last time you ate something you’d picked in the wild? Uh, I mean, we have a veggie and herb garden in our yard. I packed some cucumbers and tomatoes from there for lunch today.

41. Arrange the following in order of preference: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Sushi – Sushi, Thai, and Mexican are tied for first. Then Italian, Indian, Chinese.

42. Arrange the following in order of preference: Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy, Rum – Rum, Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy.

43. Arrange the following in order of preference: Garlic, Basil, Caramel, Lime, Mint, Ginger, Aniseed – I have no idea what aniseed is, but the rest are all tied.

44. Arrange the following in order of preference: Pineapple, Orange, Apple, Strawberry, Cherry, Watermelon, Banana. – Watermelon, pineapple, banana, strawberry, orange, apple, cherry.

45. Bread and spread: Um. My favorite bread is garlic bread, if that’s what you’re asking.

46. What’s your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order? Popeye’s. I get chicken strips and Cajun fries. If they are having some promotional thing with the strips I’ll probably get that.

47. Pick a city. What are the best dining experiences you’ve had in that city? Any city and any restaurant that has crab legs is a good dinning experience in my mind.

48. What’s your choice of tipple at the end of a long day? What the hell is a tipple?

49. What’s the next thing you’ll eat? Lunch. I made tuna and have cucumbers and tomatoes to eat with it. I brought bread too but I probably wont end up eating that.

50. Are you hungry now? I’m a little hungry.

51. Do you eat your breakfast everyday? Yes. I have oatmeal or cereal every day.

52. At what time do you have breakfast? When I work, it’s sometime after 7am. On weekends, it’s whenever I get up.

53. At what time do you have lunch? 11:30am on weekdays, whenever on weekened.

54. What do you have for lunch? I mentioned this above.

55. At what time do you have dinner? around 7.

56. What do you have for dinner? Obviously different things every night? Tonight’s dinner is up in the air because my cousin is coming in from Hawaii and we are staying with my dad so my he will most likely order takeout.

57. Do you light candles during dinner? No.

58. How many chairs are there in your dining room and who sits in the main chair? We don’t have a dining room in our apartment. We have a kick ass coffee table that pulls up to dining-table height and we eat on the couch at that.

59. Do you eat and drink using your right hand or the left one? I eat with my right and I don’t have a hand preference with my drinks.

61. Mention the veggies that you like most: Spinach, asparagus, zucchini, butternut squash.

62. What fruit and vegetable do you like the least? Apparently fennel is a vegetable, so that. And water chestnuts if that’s a veggie too. My least favorite fruit is blackberries and raspberries.

63. You like your fruit salad to have more: Watermelon.

64. You prefer your vegetable salad to contain more: Uh. Cucumbers, I guess? Is a vegetable salad just raw veggies thrown together?

65. What’s your favourite sandwich spread? Peanut butter, I guess?

66. What’s your favourite chocolate bar? Butterfingers.

67. What’s your favourite dessert? Brownies or cheesecake.

68. What’s your favourite drink? Root beer. Preferably Barq’s.

69. What’s your favourite snack? Chips and guac or salsa, popcorn, Goldfish crackers, Cheez-its, Chex mix.

70. What’s your favourite bubble gum flavour? WATERMELON BUBBLICIOUS. I haven’t had that in a hot minute.

71. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? Salted Caramel Butter Pecan. Only one brand makes it. I haven’t seen it in a while though.

72. What’s your favourite potato chip flavour? Sour cream and cheddar.

73. What’s your favourite soup? Potato. Egg lemon. Lobster bisque.

74. What’s your favourite pizza? Deep dish from Lou’s, thin crust from Marie’s, and 8-corner pan pizza from Jet’s.

75. What’s your favourite type of dish? Seafood dishes.

76. What food do you hate? I’ve kinda mentioned these throughout this survey. There’s not much I dislike.

77. What’s your favourite restaurant? Any place with crab legs.

78. Do you eat homemade food, food delivered from outside? Both.

80. Who cooks at home? Mark usually.

81. What kind of diet (e.g. low-fat, high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, balanced diet etc.) do you have? I try to balance it.

82. How do you keep yourself fit? I work out every day. I’m by no means “fit” yet, but I am getting there.

[simsstuffmarie]

TAG / 100 QUESTIONS NOBODY ASKED

I was tagged by the beautiful @yesdarlingsims. Thanks bean 

1. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED? I have no choice as its a built in wardrobe, and when the carpet men fitted the carpet they did it so the doors cant close!! 

2. DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS? Not usually, because they are awful on my hair

3. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT? Definitely out!!!

4. HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE? Does a traffic cone count....I wore it on my head like a hat

5. DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT NOTES? Only when I’m studying

6. DO YOU CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM? We don’t really have them in the UK

7. WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES? The bear only wants a cuddle

8. DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES? Only when the sun comes out....over my nose

9. DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES? Not a big toothy smile...I generally smirk

10. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? People with no manners

11. DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK? I wear a step counter at work to see how much I’ve done

12. HAVE YOU PEED IN THE WOODS? Yep!

13. HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS? Not that I remember

14. DO YOU EVER DANCE EVEN IF THERES NO MUSIC PLAYING? Yeah....when I get a song stuck in my head

15. DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS? I don’t chew them, but I suck the end

16. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK? I’m female....its not the right week for such activites lol

17. WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED? Double

18. WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK? Despacito....it keeps getting stuck in my head because its always on the radio

19. IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK? Yeah....if it suits them

20. DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS? American Dad and Family Guy....do they count?!

21. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE? I don’t really know tbh

22. WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME? That’s for me to know and you to never find out

23. WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER? Any liquid

24. WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN? Mayonnaise!!

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Macaroni cheese

26. WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE? Green Mile...I cry every time

27. LAST PERSON, YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU? William, my one and only

28. WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT I was in the rainbows

29. WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE? Nobody wants to see my body

30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER? Nearly every week at work

31. CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR? No, but I can change tyres

32. EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET? I don’t think you can get them by walking

33. EVER RAN OUT OF GAS? Nope

34. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWICH? A ham and cheese salad in garlic and herb pitta bread

35. BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST? A full english breakfast

36. WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME? When I’m tired

37. ARE YOU LAZY? Depends what I’ve been doing all week

38. WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN? Either a cat or a ghost

39. WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN? I think I’m an Ox

40. HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK? English and a tiny bit of Spanish

41. DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS? Nah

42. WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS? Lego....I have no clue what Lincoln Logs are!!

43. ARE YOU STUBBORN? Definitely

44. WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN? Haven’t watched either of them....

45. EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS? I used to watch Eastenders religiously, but I don’t any more

46. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? Totally! I cried on the London Eye

47. DO YOU SING IN THE CAR? That’s a must

48. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER? When nobody is in

49. DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR? Yep, because I don’t drive so I’m the annoying passenger

50. EVER USED A GUN? I used an air rifle when I was little

51. LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER? When I did this “modelling” thing

52. DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY? Totally, but they are so good to watch

53. IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL? Only if you’re not organised

54. EVER EAT A PIEROGI? What is that?

55. FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE? Cherry Pie

56. OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID? ballerina, vet, doctor, air hostess, night club owner, architect 

57. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS? Yep, a lot 

58. EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING? Quite often

59. DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY? I go out daily so I get vitamin D from that

60. DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS? Yep, because I’m cool!!!

61. DO YOU WEAR A BATH ROBE? Nope, they annoy me

62. WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED? Depends on the weather

63. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT? It was supposed to be a band called 5ive (Five) but they bailed and ended up being a band called Damage

64. WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART? We have none of them

65. NIKE OR ADIDAS? I have 2 pairs of Adidas Superstars

66. CHEETOS OR FRITOS? Cheetos!!! 

67. PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS? Peanuts will kill me and sunflower seeds are for planting...

68. EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN? Who?!

69. EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS? Nope

70. IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING? He wants to be an online games streamer

71. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? Nope....I cant even roll my R’s 

72. EVER WON A SPELLING BEE? We don’t have them in England

73. HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY? Yeah....when my best friends got married (they are twins and got married a year apart)

74. OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS? Yeah....they are hiding somewhere

75. OWN A RECORD PLAYER? Yeah

76. DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE? Not regularly.

77. EVER BEEN IN LOVE? Yeah....3rd time lucky

78. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT? Coldplay

79. WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW? I went to V Festival, so saw loads of different people

80. HOT TEA OR COLD TEA? Either

81. TEA OR COFFEE? Either

82. SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES? Cookies

83. CAN YOU SWIM WELL? Not overly well....I nearly drowned when I was younger so its kinda put me off

84. CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE? Yeah

85. ARE YOU PATIENT? Not if someone is being a knob cheese

86. DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING? Both

87. EVER WON A CONTEST? Nope :’(

88. HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY? No....but I’m not apposed to it 89. WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES? Neither....they are like salty balls

90. CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET? I’ve tried both and can’t do neither. I can cross-stitch

91. BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE? The front room

92. DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED? Yeah....I’m always making plans in my head

93. IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED? I’m not married yet

94. WHO WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH? Oh I changed them every month hahaha

95. DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY? No....I just do it anyway

96. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Not yet

97. DO YOU WANT KIDS? Defo

98. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Oranges, yellows, reds

99. DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW? William, and my friends....haven’t seen them in ages because of uni/work

100. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG TO DO THIS TAG NEXT? I don’t know who has done this yet but @edgypandasimmer @haleingsimblr @alwaysimming @coliemoon4sims4

[dreambot]

100 QUESTIONS NO ONE ASKS

Tagged by @batsysims thank u love

1. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED? OK SO listen my closets in the bathroom and at my old house i had a small room so my desk was in the closet sO

2. DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS? I ususally cant use them but yeah i take them anyways lmfao

3. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT? out ig

4. HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE? not yet

5. DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT NOTES? I used the online ones for a while

6. DO YOU CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM? No but i take them from those dispenser thingies in the market

7. WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES? bear maybe i can TALK SOME SENSE INTO EM

8. DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES? Yes i used to hate them now theyre ok lmao

9. DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES? I hate taking photos 

10. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? idk everything pisses me off tbh

11. DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK? If im walking rlly far ill start 2

12. HAVE YOU PEED IN THE WOODS? no

13. HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS? I dont do that

14. DO YOU EVER DANCE EVEN IF THERES NO MUSIC PLAYING? nah

15. DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS? yea but usually without noticing 

16. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK? wouldnt u like 2 kno

17. WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED? Queen?? i think or king. idk. 

18. WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK? Ive been diggin phantogram lately so probably “Black out Days” or “Same Old Blues” 

19. IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK? yeah wear whatever

20. DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS? me and my bf watch stuff sometimes, like adventure time and a few other chill ones

21. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE? SAW FUCKING SUCKED I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED AND YEA I KNOW IM LATE 2 THE PARTY

22. WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME? I have no idea

23. WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER? Lemonade/cerveza/ anything but water

24. WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN? I’m a vegetarian 

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? idk I drink a lot of coffee tho i know that dsnt count

26. WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE? Scott pilgrim or heathers

27. LAST PERSON, YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU? mi cat  ❤

28. WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT? no

29. WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE? If I was single

30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER? Oh gosh, probably never lmao

31. CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR? No im useless

32. EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET? not yet

33. EVER RAN OUT OF GAS? no but ive come very close

34. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWICH? just plain pb is fine 2bh i dnt get to eat fancy things

35. BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST? i love eggs and bagels eee

36. WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME? It changes ALL the time. Today I went to sleep at 6am

37. ARE YOU LAZY? Yeah i guess so i worked out fr a little while

38. WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN? It was always basic bitch things like cats and witches

39. WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN? Dragon

40. HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK? English fluently but I was learning Spanish and Russian

41. DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS? used to have gameinformers

42. WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS? legosss

43. ARE YOU STUBBORN? yes lmao

44. WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN? I dont watch either

45. EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS? nope

46. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? Yeah like rlly scared 

47. DO YOU SING IN THE CAR? yeah most of the time 

48. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER? nope

49. DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR? nada

50. EVER USED A GUN? No, but I wanted to go shooting. Due to certain circumstances I wasnt allowed by law to use a gun for some years

51. LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER? uhm do those school ones count

52. DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY? some of them r good, others r a little too much. Wicked was good, the one with green day and heathers is probably good but i nede 2 watch it

53. IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL? Yeah I hate buying ppl stuff

54. EVER EAT A PIEROGI? Noooooooooo 

55. FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE? IDK most of them i love pie

56. OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID? I wanted to be an artist than an animator for a long time but now im older i woudl like to be a forensic pathologist but an attainable goal would most like be a barista/pet groomer

57. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS? no srry

58. EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING? yes i had it at the sme time as someone else it was freaky

59. DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY?

I used to but i gave up

60. DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS?

no i wear socks all the time

61. DO YOU WEAR A BATH ROBE? no

62. WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED? whatever i wore that day lmao

63. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT? Marilyn Manson/ Smashing Pumpkins

64. WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART? Ive never been to a kmart i dont know where a walmart is but i luv target lmao

65. NIKE OR ADIDAS? IDK whichever one is more ~aesthetic

66. CHEETOS OR FRITOS? i like hot cheetos

67. PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS? sunflower seeds

68. EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN? Nope but they must be good im keepin @tickledsims and @batsysims response to keep the dream alive

69. EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS? Yes i was in dance lessons for a few years and performed a lot

70. IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING? whatever he wants 2 do lmao

71. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? no

72. EVER WON A SPELLING BEE? I thought they were fake honestly

73. HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY? i think

74. OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS? no but i rlly want 2

75. OWN A RECORD PLAYER? i plan on buying one soon

76. DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE? no I cant be arounf scents/ fragrance rip

77. EVER BEEN IN LOVE? im in love right now  ❤

78. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT? The front bottoms r my everything

79. WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW? only been to one so marilyn manson/smashing pumpkins

80. HOT TEA OR COLD TEA? hot

81. TEA OR COFFEE? coffee I LIVE OFF COFFEE

82. SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES? sugar cookies ive never had snickerdoodles

83. CAN YOU SWIM WELL? i can swim OK

84. CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE? yes

85. ARE YOU PATIENT? depends

86. DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING? band but i dont rlly care tbh i dnt like weddings

87. EVER WON A CONTEST? a few times and i cant remember any of them lmfao

88. HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY? not yet, maybe one day 89. WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES? black

90. CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET? i can knit but i cant crochet rip

91. BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE? living room?

92. DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED? Yes im in love w my boyf  ❤

93. IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED? negative none

94. WHO WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH? I didnt rlly have crushes 

95. DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY? kinda

96. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? god no

97. DO YOU WANT KIDS? no no no

98. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? blue

99. DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW? i dnt miss anyone rn i can talk to the ppl i care abt atm

100. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG TO DO THIS TAG NEXT?

any1 who wants to do this 

[thegloober]

The £12 powder that fixed my crippling IBS

Lucy Powell’s IBS had her running to the loo 15 times a day, avoiding intimacy and holding herself back at work.  Then an over-the-counter powder changed everything – Anna Magee reports

21 years ago, just after the birth of her first child Lucy Powell got a nasty bout of gastroenteritis, which included severe fever, vomiting, tummy cramps and diarrhoea.

But while the acute illness passed, along with the fever and vomiting, Lucy, now 43, soon developed nausea, diarrhoea, bloating and stomach cramping that continued to plague her for the next 18 years. The symptoms occurred virtually every time she ate and confounded her doctors.

Lucy 43, developed nausea, diarrhoea, bloating and stomach cramping that continued to plague her for 18 years.

‘I tried absolutely everything,’ Lucy, a community support team leader, remembers. ‘Going gluten-free, reducing dairy and then sugar. I tried to reduce the amount of salad and raw food I ate. I tried cutting out healthy foods like onions and apples because they would always set me off.

‘Nothing worked, and I would often need the loo up to 15 times a day with these terrible runny bowel movements – I was taking around six Imodium (anti-diarrhoea over-the-counter tablets) each day. It was horrendous.’

Things got so bad that Lucy’s work was affected, not to mention her confidence. ‘I was a support worker at the time and I would have to run to the toilet and leave someone with learning difficulties on their own out in the community.

‘Alcohol would set me off so I would have to take plenty of medication before a night out too.

‘Having a relationship and being intimate was difficult for me too, I was often so bloated that I looked pregnant and then constantly running to the toilet was awfully embarrassing.

‘I had every test going, coeliac disease, food intolerances, cameras put into each end.’

But everything was normal, so two years later Lucy’s doctors diagnosed Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and gave her anti-spasmodic medication.

‘That gave me some temporary relief, but the symptoms always returned and they stayed with me for almost two decades.’

Alcohol would set me off so I would have to take plenty of medication before a night out too.

If you’re one of the 13 million Brits that suffer with IBS, the very act of eating probably brings with it the anticipation of symptoms like Lucy’s including bloating, abdominal cramping, diarrhoea, constipation and trapped wind.

You may have tried exclusion diets and all manner of pill and potion to alleviate your symptoms.

But now, mounting scientific evidence – including one study published earlier this month – is showing that a simple powder known as a prebiotic, could alleviate such gut symptoms long-term.

How it compares to diet changes

The latest research, published in the October 2018 issue of Gastoenterology compared the effects of taking a prebiotic powder called Bimuno (£11.99 from health stores and online) to a low-FODMAP diet (an exclusion programme often prescribed by dietitians for gut problems) on patients with IBS symptoms.

It showed that taking Bimuno daily for four weeks was as effective as a low-FODMAP diet for the symptoms of IBS including bloating, gas production, abdominal cramping and constipation.

It was only four days after I had started putting it into my coffee in the mornings but I just felt so much better

But more importantly, the research also found that those who were treated with the prebiotic powder reported sustained improvements in symptoms two weeks after they had stopped taking it, while those on the low-FODMAP diet saw their symptoms reappear immediately when they discontinued the diet.

Three years ago, Lucy read about Bimuno in a national newspaper.

‘After changing my diet so many times, I had given up on everything and saw a story about a woman who had been so ill with IBS that she ended up repeatedly in A&E and I could understand why because I had had times when the pain was so severe, it felt like a real emergency. She found relief by taking this Bimuno powder – it was all-natural and not expensive, so I had nothing to lose.’

Just four days later Lucy’s diarrhoea had stopped.  ‘I had the first normal bowel movement I had had in years and my whole system felt calmer after I ate,’ she remembers.

‘I thought to myself, have I gone mad? Is this psychological? Some sort of placebo? It was only four days after I had started putting it into my coffee in the mornings but I just felt so much better.’

Long-term relief from IBS

In the study, researchers took a group of 40 patients with IBS and put half on a daily prebiotic supplement and asked them to follow a Mediterranean diet rich in fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grains and put the other half on a low-FODMAPs diet.

‘Then we looked not only at their classical IBS symptoms but also at changes in their gut bacteria [by examining their stools].

‘Both groups saw their symptoms alleviated,’ he continues. ‘But what really surprised us was those on the prebiotic powder [Bimuno] saw their improvements last a fortnight after they had stopped taking it, whereas those on the low-FODMAP diet saw their symptoms return.’

In the group taking the prebiotic, the researchers also observed an increase in beneficial bacteria in their gut, an effect not seen in the group on the low-FODMAP diet.

‘We noticed an increase in a beneficial bacteria called bifidobacteria in those taking the prebiotic supplement,’ says Prof. Gibson.

‘It’s very desirable to increase this particular species of bacteria in the gut as it has favourable effects on IBS.

‘Breast-fed infants for example have higher levels of this bacteria in their guts and its one of the reasons breastfed children have lower rates of asthma and eczema problems, as the gut affects such issues as well as contributing to more obvious gut problems.’

What are prebiotics, anyway?

You have probably heard a lot about probiotics in the last 12 months – foods and supplements that help re-colonise good bacteria in the large intestine.

What few of us know is that around 60-70 per cent of our immune system lies within our gut. That means that over half of our ability to fight disease is governed by our gut microbiota, the population of microbes or bacteria that grow in our lower intestine.

You’ve probably heard of ‘good bacteria’ that comes from probiotic foods such as sauerkraut, kefir (fermented milk), kombucha (fermented tea) and natural yoghurt as well as probiotic supplements. They come in species with Latin names such as bifidum and lactobacilli.

Read More: Fermented foods – are they worth the hype?

The explosion of interest in probiotics and gut health in the last 12 months has come as a result of researchers linking our gut microbiota not only to IBS and our immune system, but also to our mood (they claim a large proportion of the brain neurotransmitter serotonin, which is boosted by antidepressant medication is made in our guts), our risk of obesity, our sleep patterns and even autism in children.

But the supplement that was the subject of the research wasn’t a probiotic but a prebiotic, which is designed to feed the good bacteria that is already present in your gut.

‘Prebiotics are like a fertiliser for the good bacteria in your gut; a form of nourishment to help the good bugs grow,’ says Prof. Gibson. ‘But prebiotic foods are carbohydrates such as fruit and vegetables – many of the things you can’t eat on the low-FODMAPS diet because they cause fermentation and gut symptoms.

Other prebiotic foods include brown bread, brown rice, wild rice, linseeds, chia seeds, most fruits particularly bananas and vegetables, particularly artichokes and chicory, onions and garlic.

Prebiotics are like a fertiliser for the good bacteria in your gut; a form of nourishment to help the good bugs grow

These foods feed and increase the good bacteria in the gut, without feeding the bad and are also resistant to heat, oxygen, the body’s enzymes and acids so therefore not destroyed, digested or absorbed as they travel through the digestive system. The only trouble is, they ferment in the gut and can really exacerbate IBS.

‘The prebiotic supplement we used in the research contained the prebiotic qualities of such foods, without the effects of fermenting in the gut from other prebiotic foods that cause those with IBS such problems.’

That means prebiotics reach the lower part of the intestine – where the hungry microorganisms live – and feed the good bacteria there, helping them grow and multiply.

It’s how they can help decrease the fermentation in the gut that could be causing wind, bloating and other IBS symptoms.

Unlike some probiotics which can be affected by the digestion process and destroyed, prebiotics reach the colon intact and unadulterated, says Prof. Gibson. ‘That means they can feed the good bacteria already there, helping them proliferate, helping general digestive and immune health.’

So, is it safe to take a prebiotic supplement indefinitely? ‘This prebiotic is a food and it’s entirely safe to take long-term,’ says Prof. Gibson. ‘It’s always good to talk to your doctor before you change anything though, especially if your symptoms are severe’. You simply add the Bimuno powder to hot or cold drinks or cereal or have it as pastilles.

Three years after first trying Bimuno in her coffee, Lucy is still taking it – and life has changed immeasurably. ‘I have managed to get a promotion at work because I had the confidence to up my game and that was recognised.

‘I have met a lovely man and we have been in an intimate relationship for the last two and a half years – in the past I was so wary of intimacy as I was so embarrassed about running off to the loo every five minutes.’

Lucy with her partner David

While she still gets the odd flare-up, these are few and far-between. ‘If I drink too much or get under pressure at work, I might get a short bout of cramping or diarrhoea but these are short-lived and the bloating is very rare now. I just wish more people knew about this cheap and simple treatment for IBS. Compared to all the exclusion diets I tried, the constant medication, it’s a Godsend.’

What is the low-FODMAP diet for IBS?

FODMAPSs are a group of foods that aggravate gut symptoms because they ferment in the large intestine, causing trapped wind, bloating, abdominal cramping and constipation.

Up to about a third of IBS patients are recommended a low-FODMAP diet, says Glenn Gibson, Professor of Food Microbiology at the University of Reading and co-author of the study.

‘Trouble is, the list of FODMAP foods that IBS patients need to exclude includes otherwise healthy foods such as dairy, yoghurt, oats, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, garlic, apples and lots of other fruit and vegetables,’ says Prof. Gibson.

Up to about a third of IBS patients are recommended a low-FODMAP diet

‘While these foods ferment in the gut and cause IBS symptoms, they have other favourable characteristics including being rich in fibre, vitamins and antioxidants so in the long-term it’s not a good idea to cut them out,’ he explains.

Other current treatments to IBS

‘Current treatments for IBS tend to focus on low-FODMAPs diets. As well as medical treatments such as anti-diarrhoea medication, laxatives for constipation and anti-spasmodic drugs to help with spasms,’ says Prof. Gibson. ‘They treat the symptoms but they don’t improve overall gut health; they have no long-term impact on good bacteria to make a lasting improvement in symptoms.’

Indeed, studies looking at GP perspectives of IBS have found that an overwhelming majority view it as a psychological disorder.

Now, as increasing evidence suggests that in fact, IBS is a disorder that while it is certainly exacerbated by stress, has its foundations in just the place it manifests – the gut – more and more research is being done looking at treatments that can help our intestinal flora flourish.

Mounting research for prebiotics

Indeed, this latest study isn’t the first one looking at this particular prebiotic supplement’s effects on IBS. Professor Gibson’s team first created prebiotics in the early 2000s and since then, numerous studies have shown their beneficial effects on gut health and symptoms.

In another study published in April this year in the journal Neurogastroenterology & Motility the same prebiotic supplement was found to improve symptoms such as bloating, flatulence and abdominal pain.

Researchers took 83 subjects and split them into two groups. One group was given the prebiotic supplement and the other a placebo for two weeks and the group taking the supplement saw their symptoms improve within a week.

It builds on a mounting body of evidence for this particular prebiotic’s effect on gut symptoms both in animals and humans.

Bimuno Daily is available to buy from health stores and online, £11.99

Related Healthista Content:

What’s REALLY going on with your gut health?

‘My vegan diet ruined my gut health’

What’s your body trying to tell you?

Do you have stress belly?

Source: https://bloghyped.com/the-12-powder-that-fixed-my-crippling-ibs/

[fishermariawo]

Dear Mark: Tick Red Meat Allergy, Seventh-day Adventists, Magnesium and Carnivory

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering a few questions and comments from last week’s post on the carnivore diet. First, Dawn gives us the unfortunate but necessary information that it’s not just the lone star tick who causes red meat allergy. Great. Second, what are 7-Day Adventists so healthy? Is it all because of their tendency to avoid meat, or is there something else? And third, I give some more thoughts on magnesium requirements on a carnivorous diet.

Let’s go:

Dawn wrote:

It’s not just the lone star tick that causes an alpha-gal allergy, aka red meat allergy. Other ticks can cause it as well. https://ift.tt/2LC4Xfi The info about other ticks is about 3/4ths of the way down, under “Clearing up Misconceptions About Alpha-Gal.”

And to be precise, it’s an allergy to meat from non-primate mammals. Primates don’t have the alpha-gal carbohydrate, but other mammals do.

That is very good information. Unfortunate, but good to know. Thanks for the note.

Also good to know I can still eat my braised orangutan shanks even if I get an alpha-gal allergy.

Edward wrote:

The healthiest, longest lived people, now live in Loma Linda, CA. What is it that is unique about Loma Linda? They have a bunch of 7 day adventists that live there. Also, they have the highest density on earth of pure ‘vegans’ in their population.

Coincidence? Possibly, but highly unlikely.

By the way, if animal products is the only way to get vitamin B12 in the diet, where do cows, deer, zebras, great apes, ect……. get their vitamin B12? They get it from where ALL B12 really comes from……..bacteria in the soil and water. It’s just that we humans wash it off our produce and treat our drinking water.

I love the Adventists. Their diets get the most attention, but there’s a lot more to it.

Seventh-day Adventists follow Eight Laws of Health.

Eat a nutrient-dense diet. This is usually a vegetarian or vegan diet, but it doesn’t have to be.

Exercise regularly to improve mind, body, and spirit. Note the . They recognize that training is good for our cognitive and psychological function, not just for the body. That’s something that modern science is finally getting around to recognizing, and the Adventists have known for 150 years.

Drink plenty of water. While I’d take umbrage with “plenty”—just drink what you need, not some predetermined quantity—the fact that they’re drinking water and not other stuff is a point in their favor.

Spend time in sunlight. The benefits of this are numerous: vitamin D, nitric oxide, better endothelial function, sun-derived opioids coursing through their veins.

Don’t overdo the good things and avoid the bad. This rather open-ended law covers a wide range of inputs that can get in the way of health and happiness. Good things often become bad when we overdo them; bad things are, well, bad.

Breathe pure air and do so with proper technique. This is another law with double effects. It captures environmental health—you’re more likely to choose to live in a healthy, pollution-free area and spend as much time in nature as you can if you’re worried about pure air. Second, breathing properly, leading with the diaphragm, carefully heeding each inhalation and exhalation all tend to produce a state of relaxation akin to miniature meditations throughout the day.

Work hard and rest well. Not “work hard, play hard.” Not “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Not “you only live once.” Instead of those trite and frankly counterproductive slogans, “work hard and rest well” implores you to follow the most rewarding, fruitful, and sustainable path through life and work.

The final law is to “trust in divine power as you make choices and seek inner peace.” I’ve never been religious. Yet, in a sense I have a “religious” estimation of my own tendency to make things work out. When I had a wife and two kids to support, I left my cozy gig and started my own business. It was a risk. I knew it would work though. And it did. I can imagine having the confidence that a transcendent force is pulling for you would make for a similarly robust mindset.

As for the B12 question, I’m sure someone somewhere is working hard on edible soil for humans. And there’s certainly a market for “raw water.” But what does that mean for the average person avoiding animal foods?

Are they going to drink untreated water with the perfect balance of vitamin B12 and raccoon poop? Are they going to eat enough soil-caked spinach?

I’m skeptical.

“A recent paper showed that the majority of people following a “paleolithic ketogenic diet” with at least 70% of calories from animal foods and including offal had adequate serum magnesium levels. That’s a great start. But earlier studies show that serum magnesium may not be the definitive marker. A person can have normal serum levels but inadequate tissue levels—and in the tissues is where magnesium does its work. A person can have normal serum levels but still be deficient.” Dear Mark. First: “majority people”, in fact 99.9% Second. What you write, is not real. The magnesium function depends only on the degree of glycolysis. Tissue and intracellular magnesium also depend on glycolysis. If is ketosis, very little magnesium is required. Any magnesium supplement can make a cardiac complication, sinus tachycardia, extrasystole etc. But it can cause diarrhea, warmth, sweating. Also made increased intestinal permeability and changed membrane functions. Magnesium dosage is not a game. To talk about past investigations are a professional mistake because these study made not during healthy diet. Animal fat is important in nutrition. So it is better to say a meat / animal fat-based diet, a paleo-ketogenic diet as a carnivore. The only meat is not as healthy as meat and animal fat. Anyway, the real paleolithic diet is actually paleolithic ketogenic diet or carnivorous diet. This is important for magnesium.I apologize for the bad English, I hope you understand what I wrote.

Thanks for writing, Dr. Csaba. Your English was perfectly fine. For those you didn’t pick up on it, Dr. Csaba is one of the researchers who ran the “magnesium on paleo-keto/carnivore” study I referenced last week.

You’re right that magnesium figures prominently in glucose metabolism, and that if you’re not eating much glucose, you probably don’t need as much magnesium for that purpose. After all, magnesium is used to treat many diseases and problems related to glucose metabolism. It’s effective against type 2 diabetes, protects against pre-diabetes turning into full-blown diabetes, reduces blood sugar levels, improves insulin sensitivity. Low levels seem to increase diabetic complications, and high sugar intakes do make low magnesium intakes more problematic. If glucose isn’t a major part of your diet, I can buy the assertion that you probably don’t need as much.

But magnesium does more than that. It also fights depression, reduces post-op complications, improves bone health, 

The number of people who find they need to increase magnesium intake when going ketogenic, and the number of ketogenic diet writers (including me) and researchers who recommend magnesium supplementation when going keto make me wonder though. Is there something different about carnivory that reduces magnesium requirements? It can’t only be the lack of carbohydrates, because basic ketogenic diets also lack carbohydrates yet still require magnesium.

Perhaps it’s the anti-nutrients in low-carb plant foods, like nuts and greens. Dietary phytate, lectins, and oxalates can reduce magnesium absorption. A carnivorous diet has none of these compounds, making any magnesium present in the diet far more bioavailable. I can see that playing a role. Yet, what of plant (or plant-like foods, like mushrooms) foods with low anti-nutrient levels? One study found that eating high-oxalate spinach reduced magnesium absorption, while low-oxalate kale (sorry, carnivores, I know kale is your favorite nemesis) increased it. 

Some people have suggested that the fiber in low-carb plants is inhibiting magnesium absorption, artificially elevating the magnesium requirements of plant eaters. While that may be true for other nutrients and different types of fiber—I’ll have to dig deeper in a future post—it looks like fermentable fiber increases magnesium absorption in humans. That assertion doesn’t really seem to jibe with the evidence.

Magnesium deficiency tends to increase low-level inflammation. To be on the safe side, any carnivores worried about magnesium deficiency and wary of magnesium supplementation could track their hs-CRP levels. If it’s elevated or begins trending upward upon going carnivore, you probably need more magnesium.

My point is let’s not be too hasty in claiming that all the benefits of magnesium supplementation are predicated on a glucose-based metabolism.

Dr. Csaba, I look forward to more research from you and your team!

Thanks for reading, everyone, and take care! I’m sure I’ll be covering more of the questions from the carnivore post, as you folks asked some good ones.

[cynthiamwashington]

Dear Mark: Tick Red Meat Allergy, Seventh-day Adventists, Magnesium and Carnivory

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering a few questions and comments from last week’s post on the carnivore diet. First, Dawn gives us the unfortunate but necessary information that it’s not just the lone star tick who causes red meat allergy. Great. Second, what are 7-Day Adventists so healthy? Is it all because of their tendency to avoid meat, or is there something else? And third, I give some more thoughts on magnesium requirements on a carnivorous diet.

Let’s go:

Dawn wrote:

It’s not just the lone star tick that causes an alpha-gal allergy, aka red meat allergy. Other ticks can cause it as well. https://ift.tt/2LC4Xfi The info about other ticks is about 3/4ths of the way down, under “Clearing up Misconceptions About Alpha-Gal.”

And to be precise, it’s an allergy to meat from non-primate mammals. Primates don’t have the alpha-gal carbohydrate, but other mammals do.

That is very good information. Unfortunate, but good to know. Thanks for the note.

Also good to know I can still eat my braised orangutan shanks even if I get an alpha-gal allergy.

Edward wrote:

The healthiest, longest lived people, now live in Loma Linda, CA. What is it that is unique about Loma Linda? They have a bunch of 7 day adventists that live there. Also, they have the highest density on earth of pure ‘vegans’ in their population.

Coincidence? Possibly, but highly unlikely.

By the way, if animal products is the only way to get vitamin B12 in the diet, where do cows, deer, zebras, great apes, ect……. get their vitamin B12? They get it from where ALL B12 really comes from……..bacteria in the soil and water. It’s just that we humans wash it off our produce and treat our drinking water.

I love the Adventists. Their diets get the most attention, but there’s a lot more to it.

Seventh-day Adventists follow Eight Laws of Health.

Eat a nutrient-dense diet. This is usually a vegetarian or vegan diet, but it doesn’t have to be.

Exercise regularly to improve mind, body, and spirit. Note the . They recognize that training is good for our cognitive and psychological function, not just for the body. That’s something that modern science is finally getting around to recognizing, and the Adventists have known for 150 years.

Drink plenty of water. While I’d take umbrage with “plenty”—just drink what you need, not some predetermined quantity—the fact that they’re drinking water and not other stuff is a point in their favor.

Spend time in sunlight. The benefits of this are numerous: vitamin D, nitric oxide, better endothelial function, sun-derived opioids coursing through their veins.

Don’t overdo the good things and avoid the bad. This rather open-ended law covers a wide range of inputs that can get in the way of health and happiness. Good things often become bad when we overdo them; bad things are, well, bad.

Breathe pure air and do so with proper technique. This is another law with double effects. It captures environmental health—you’re more likely to choose to live in a healthy, pollution-free area and spend as much time in nature as you can if you’re worried about pure air. Second, breathing properly, leading with the diaphragm, carefully heeding each inhalation and exhalation all tend to produce a state of relaxation akin to miniature meditations throughout the day.

Work hard and rest well. Not “work hard, play hard.” Not “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Not “you only live once.” Instead of those trite and frankly counterproductive slogans, “work hard and rest well” implores you to follow the most rewarding, fruitful, and sustainable path through life and work.

The final law is to “trust in divine power as you make choices and seek inner peace.” I’ve never been religious. Yet, in a sense I have a “religious” estimation of my own tendency to make things work out. When I had a wife and two kids to support, I left my cozy gig and started my own business. It was a risk. I knew it would work though. And it did. I can imagine having the confidence that a transcendent force is pulling for you would make for a similarly robust mindset.

As for the B12 question, I’m sure someone somewhere is working hard on edible soil for humans. And there’s certainly a market for “raw water.” But what does that mean for the average person avoiding animal foods?

Are they going to drink untreated water with the perfect balance of vitamin B12 and raccoon poop? Are they going to eat enough soil-caked spinach?

I’m skeptical.

“A recent paper showed that the majority of people following a “paleolithic ketogenic diet” with at least 70% of calories from animal foods and including offal had adequate serum magnesium levels. That’s a great start. But earlier studies show that serum magnesium may not be the definitive marker. A person can have normal serum levels but inadequate tissue levels—and in the tissues is where magnesium does its work. A person can have normal serum levels but still be deficient.” Dear Mark. First: “majority people”, in fact 99.9% Second. What you write, is not real. The magnesium function depends only on the degree of glycolysis. Tissue and intracellular magnesium also depend on glycolysis. If is ketosis, very little magnesium is required. Any magnesium supplement can make a cardiac complication, sinus tachycardia, extrasystole etc. But it can cause diarrhea, warmth, sweating. Also made increased intestinal permeability and changed membrane functions. Magnesium dosage is not a game. To talk about past investigations are a professional mistake because these study made not during healthy diet. Animal fat is important in nutrition. So it is better to say a meat / animal fat-based diet, a paleo-ketogenic diet as a carnivore. The only meat is not as healthy as meat and animal fat. Anyway, the real paleolithic diet is actually paleolithic ketogenic diet or carnivorous diet. This is important for magnesium.I apologize for the bad English, I hope you understand what I wrote.

Thanks for writing, Dr. Csaba. Your English was perfectly fine. For those you didn’t pick up on it, Dr. Csaba is one of the researchers who ran the “magnesium on paleo-keto/carnivore” study I referenced last week.

You’re right that magnesium figures prominently in glucose metabolism, and that if you’re not eating much glucose, you probably don’t need as much magnesium for that purpose. After all, magnesium is used to treat many diseases and problems related to glucose metabolism. It’s effective against type 2 diabetes, protects against pre-diabetes turning into full-blown diabetes, reduces blood sugar levels, improves insulin sensitivity. Low levels seem to increase diabetic complications, and high sugar intakes do make low magnesium intakes more problematic. If glucose isn’t a major part of your diet, I can buy the assertion that you probably don’t need as much.

But magnesium does more than that. It also fights depression, reduces post-op complications, improves bone health, 

The number of people who find they need to increase magnesium intake when going ketogenic, and the number of ketogenic diet writers (including me) and researchers who recommend magnesium supplementation when going keto make me wonder though. Is there something different about carnivory that reduces magnesium requirements? It can’t only be the lack of carbohydrates, because basic ketogenic diets also lack carbohydrates yet still require magnesium.

Perhaps it’s the anti-nutrients in low-carb plant foods, like nuts and greens. Dietary phytate, lectins, and oxalates can reduce magnesium absorption. A carnivorous diet has none of these compounds, making any magnesium present in the diet far more bioavailable. I can see that playing a role. Yet, what of plant (or plant-like foods, like mushrooms) foods with low anti-nutrient levels? One study found that eating high-oxalate spinach reduced magnesium absorption, while low-oxalate kale (sorry, carnivores, I know kale is your favorite nemesis) increased it. 

Some people have suggested that the fiber in low-carb plants is inhibiting magnesium absorption, artificially elevating the magnesium requirements of plant eaters. While that may be true for other nutrients and different types of fiber—I’ll have to dig deeper in a future post—it looks like fermentable fiber increases magnesium absorption in humans. That assertion doesn’t really seem to jibe with the evidence.

Magnesium deficiency tends to increase low-level inflammation. To be on the safe side, any carnivores worried about magnesium deficiency and wary of magnesium supplementation could track their hs-CRP levels. If it’s elevated or begins trending upward upon going carnivore, you probably need more magnesium.

My point is let’s not be too hasty in claiming that all the benefits of magnesium supplementation are predicated on a glucose-based metabolism.

Dr. Csaba, I look forward to more research from you and your team!

Thanks for reading, everyone, and take care! I’m sure I’ll be covering more of the questions from the carnivore post, as you folks asked some good ones.

The post Dear Mark: Tick Red Meat Allergy, Seventh-day Adventists, Magnesium and Carnivory appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Article source here:Marks’s Daily Apple

[lil-loucifer]

1-99 you ass

Yeah, love you too Hayds

1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?

They’re kinda stuck in No-Man’s Land, so… permanently open

2: Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?

Haven’t been to a hotel in years, so no

3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?

Out

4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before?

Y’know, at first I thought “How the FUCK do you steal a street sign?” because I was thinking you were including the actual pole the sign was attached to, but then i remembered that you don’t need the pole, just the sign. 

Either way, no

5: Do you like to use post-it notes?

Not really?

6: Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?

Nope. Everything goes to good use. 

7: Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?

I mean, I think if I’m clever enough and properly prepared, I could fight a swarm of bees

8: Do you have freckles?

Nope

9: Do you always smile for pictures?

Not always :c 

10: What is your biggest pet peeve?

Nothing comes to mind?

11: Do you ever count your steps when you walk?

Nope! I’m bad at math

12: Have you ever peed in the woods?

No

13: What about pooped in the woods?

Nope

14: Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing?

Sometimes!

15: Do you chew your pens and pencils?

Yeah, I guess?

16: How many people have you slept with this week?

I am and forever will be sad and alone

17: What size is your bed?

Average?

18: What is your Song of the week?

SING by My Chemical Romance

19: Is it okay for guys to wear pink?

Hell yeah! I’ve been trying to convince my mom to let me dye my hair pink for years

20: Do you still watch cartoons?

Yeah!

21: Whats your least favorite movie?

I try not to watch movies that’d disappoint me, so… 

22: Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?

In a park, probably 

23: If you’re a girl, bra size? If you’re a guy, pants size?

My pants are fuckin 38′’ or so

24: What do you dip a chicken nugget in?

Barbecue sauce or ketchup

25: What is your favorite food?

I don’t really know? Maybe spaghetti? Pork adobo? Something??

26: What movies could you watch over and over and still love?

Patch Adams, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Wreck-It Ralph, etc.

27: Last person you kissed/kissed you?

I’m a loser and I’ve never been kissed

28: Were you ever a boy/girl scout?

Nope.

29: Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?

Hell no, I have exactly zero sex appeal

30: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?

To my last ex, she found it kinda romantic-ish

31: Can you change the oil on a car?

No ;-;

32: Ever gotten a speeding ticket?

Can’t even drive, fam

33: Ever ran out of gas?

I try to keep a keen eye on the tank

34: Favorite kind of sandwich?

I don’t know tbh?? Chicken?? Bacon? Whatever?

35: Best thing to eat for breakfast?

Whatever, tbh. Probably last night’s leftovers.

36: What is your usual bedtime?

1:00AM lately 

37: Are you lazy?

Ashamedly so, yes

38: When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?

Ninjas. Every damn time. Also on at least one occasion, a bumblebee

39: What is your Chinese astrological sign?

Rabbit, I think?

40: Are you horny?

Unfortunately

41: Do you have any magazine subscriptions?

Nope

42: Which are better legos or lincoln logs?

Both are fuckin awesome

43: Are you stubborn?

Yes?

44: Who is better…Leno or Letterman?

…Who?

45: Ever watch soap operas?

Not really.

46: Are you afraid of heights?

Yeah, I think? I don’t normally go to high places, so…

47: Do you sing in the car?

Nope

48: Do you sing in the shower?

Yup! Well, rap, anyway

49: Do you dance in the car?

Not really

50: Ever used a gun?

Going to, soon

51: Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?

Photography class in high school

52: Do you think musicals are cheesy?

No. They can be pretty beautiful actually :D

53: Is Christmas stressful?

I don’t really pay attention

54: Ever eat a pierogi?

What the hell is a “pierogi?”

55: Favorite type of fruit pie?

Not??

56: Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?

Cop. 

57: Do you believe in ghosts?

A little bit, I guess?

58: Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?

No, not really

59: Take a vitamin daily?

Not daily, anyway

60: Wear slippers?

Nope. Socks

61: Wear a bath robe?

Nope, we get dressed in the bathroom or not at all. 

62: What do you wear to bed?

Whatever I was wearing as underwear that day, normally a tank top and briefs. Sometimes sweats

63: First concert?

Never really been ;-;

64: Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?

Wal-Mart?

65: Nike or Adidas?

Adidas?

66: Cheetos Or Fritos?

Cheetos for sure

67: Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?

Neither, bleh

68: Ever hear of the group Tres Bien?

No?

69: Ever take dance lessons?

Nope! I am an ungraceful piece of shit

70: Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?

I can’t even picture having a future spouse

71: Can you curl your tongue?

Yea

72: Ever won a spelling bee?

Never even been in one

73: Have you ever cried because you were so happy?

Probably!

74: Own any record albums?

Nope

75: Own a record player?

No

76: Regularly burn incense?

Nuh

77: Ever been in love?

Yeah?

78: Who would you like to see in concert?

I don’t really do concerts…

79: What was the last concert you saw?

Never really been

80: Hot tea or cold tea?

Coffee

81: Tea or coffee?

^^

82: Sugar or snickerdoodles?

Sugar??

83: Can you swim well?

I can’t even swim

84: Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?

Yea

85: Are you patient?

For most things, yes

86: DJ or band, at a wedding?

Either?

87: Ever won a contest?

Nope! I’m worthless :D

88: Ever have plastic surgery?

Nooo, not worth it

89: Which are better black or green olives?

Neither?

90: Can you knit or crochet?

No ;-;

91: Best room for a fireplace?

Bathroom.

92: Do you want to get married?

I don’t know, to be honest. 

93: If married, how long have you been married?

In a past life? Probably three years or so

94: Who was your HS crush?

Well, you, for one, and this girl in my Psychology class who I probably creeped out, and a friend of mine who somehow forgot to come out to me twice, this one guy who wanted to kill me, that last guy’s second girlfriend and her cute friend Matteo, aaaand, I think that’s it?

95: Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?

Noooo, crying is bad, me crying is bad

96: Do you have kids?

If I did, it’d be both a miracle and a travesty

97: Do you want kids?

Not really???

98: Whats your favorite color?

Blue and black!!

99: Do you miss anyone right now?

Yeah, you