#but I need those fruits and veggies and flowers for the store

[victorluvsalice]

We’ve made it to Spring Saturday in the Chill Valicer Save, and today you get a slightly shorter update (seven posts instead of nine) featuring the gang out and about again! Aren’t you glad? :p This time, though, there’s roughly two distinct “halves” to their adventures, with the first half being:

The Race To Complete Alice’s New Year’s Eve Resolution! Because while Victor and Smiler managed to complete their resolutions (improve a skill and complete an aspiration milestone) over the course of the first week of Spring without much issue, Alice ended up lagging behind on hers to get fit. It’s hard to fit in exercise around everything else they have to do! So I decided to take Saturday to have her work out at an actual gym lot and see if she could slip it in at the last minute --

Only to discover, when I checked the timer visible in her Simology panel at roughly 4:15 AM, that she only had about eight hours to complete the resolution. I thought she had all day, not until noon! O.O At that point, I admit, I was like “Well, she’s probably not going to complete this resolution. . .but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try!” And so I planned out the gym trip anyways --

Well, er, after everyone had completed all of their chores. ^^; Because there’s always loads to do around the Valicer Farm, that’s for sure! Smiler spent their morning fixing broken turbines, searching for parts in the resultant garbage piles, cleaning out the chicken coop, and helping hatch another chick before heading upstairs for a much-needed bath. XD Alice, for her part, woke up and promptly started doing push-ups (as if she herself realized the need for immediate action) before heading downstairs to greet Shadow and grab a nice breakfast of steak tartare, while Victor got up and proceeded to do the most important job of all --

Harvesting all the produce in the greenhouse before they left, because otherwise a good chunk of it would end up in the household inventory! Yeah, this is an annoying little glitch that happens if you leave unharvested plants on your lot while traveling -- there’s a decent chance the game will auto-harvest them upon your return and stick them in the household inventory, where they cannot be easily retrieved (as there’s no way to mass-remove them). I didn’t want that to happen, so Victor braved a bee attack and ignored all the weeds investing his plants for the moment to get all the fruits, veggies, and flowers safely into HIS inventory for later. Better there where I can mass-move them into the fridge if needed!

Anyway -- with that taken care of, there were just a few last things to do -- Victor magically fixed the busted downstairs bathroom sink before getting his own steak tartare breakfast to have on the porch; Smiler snuck in some computer time while the house actually had power; Alice got in a pre-workout shower before coming downstairs to mop puddles; I learned that Victor already knows Copypasto (checking the “Magic” options on his dirty dish) when I thought he didn’t and smacked my head because I’d WANTED HIM TO LEARN THAT SPELL FOR THE STORE --

*shakehead* And cue me deciding to worry about that later and getting the gang off to the gym before any more time could pass! Specifically, to Del Sol Valley to check out Pectoral Fitness Refurb by Maydussa! Because we all know Simmer-made lots are superior to the EAxis-made versions. And this lot was definitely nicer than its vanilla counterpart. . .

[cindol]

if ur requests are open can I request earthy black girl! reader x jjk men i love ur writing lots

jjk men and their earthy black gf !

jujutsu kaisen x black fem reader

incl — nanami kento , sukuna ryomen, gojo satoru, geto suguru and shiu kong .

cw + — established relationships, slightly suggestive with gojo, reader has locs, cult leader geto,

| NANAMI KENTO

he originally met you when saving you from a curse on your shoulder before it could develop and kill you in his usual bakery. It confused you when he tapped your shoulder and got you turning to him but he made up the excuse of swatting a fly away and ever since you developed a relationship with you.

Nanami’s favorite thing about you was how in touch you were with your roots and how you weren’t someone very big on technology, a simple tv and android does good for you and that’s just how he liked it with you.

Nanami's usual activity with you was to stroll through your garden with you just picking any fruit or veggie and in season flowers.

You always refuse to let him go without a meal after work. You always saw how drained he looked after work and tutted at that while prepping to cook.

“aye, just stay there baby. You’re crazy if you think I’ll let my boyfriend just go to bed without a meal.” saying it while getting ready to chop up some veggies and greens for a soup.

Your relationship with plants is what impressed, hearing you coo and sing at your venus flytrap while plopping a bug into it’s trapping mouth made him curious and intrigued.

“if you don’t mind me asking dear, what makes you sing to it?”

you were still humming while feeding the plant their bug of the day then stopped to answer.“a venus plant is a living thing, kento and living beings need some love and words of encouragement to grow, don't cha’ think?”

| SUKUNA RYOMEN

sukuna’s old school, always has been and always will be so your earthy nature wasn’t something he was bothered by. How natural you were with everything you did reminded him of his childhood in a way, always seeing his mother in their garden.

As earthy as you are he refused to let you garden in dirty gloves, he actually scoffed in disbelief seeing you in the gloves.” you needed a new pair of gloves you could’ve really told me woman.’’

You abruptly stopped to chuckle at your boyfriend.’’i’m not a materialistic person ‘kuna, these gloves of mine have done just their job for years.’’

Anything you say goes out one ear and the other for him.”nonsense, i refuse to have you garden in those unruly gloves, i’ll call uraume to pick up a pair of gardening gloves the nearest store i’m sure they won’t mind.’’

sukuna likes to see you in your most natural state. You liked to do some little glam, a little eyelashes and lip gloss but he liked when you were all natural. To him, seeing your brunette colored locs in a ponytail and you in your dark green robe showing some cleavage was his favorite sight of you when you entered the kitchen.

sukuna not being careful of his own health doesn’t slide around him. a simple cough or wound makes you immediately take any herbs and first aid kit out.

“uraume won’t be here always to take care of you ‘kuna, you gotta let me take care of you.”

when you try to put an evil eye necklace around his necklace a loud roar of laughter comes from his mouth.“No damn necklace will protect me of all people from any bad spirit.”

| SATORU GOJO

After a long day with his students he enjoyed being with you. When he enters your house you shush up whatever ranting he’s gonna ramble about the elders.

“Let's just forget all of that, yeah? I think a nice fresh water bath would do you some good today.” whilst shutting him up and taking off his black blindfold.

gojo enjoyed bathing with you just to have a front row to see how you untie your locs and see them drop down to your back along with your towel to show your….assets.

gojo liked how natural you were down to your hair. When he asked for you to dye your hair the same color as his he was excited to see your once brown locs now a snow white color in your black headwrap.

“thought hair dye went against like, the earthy thing?”

a small tittering sound came from your mouth at that.“Henna hair dye. The earth has many resources satoru.”

| SUGURU GETO

suguru appreciates how down to earth you are, he sees it as a good influence on his girls. Being a cult leader can be taxing and takes up much of his time so when you’re around to remind them they’re not so alone when geto’s on cult leader duties it makes him happy.

when you both are alone in his master bedroom hearing how you spent the day with the girls picking tender plump fruits from the family garden and putting them into your hand made wooden baskets to bring home.

geto isn't one to restrict how you choose to dress. He’ll gladly wear his yukata with a gold kasaya garment while you walk around the place in a strapless knitted olive green dress and knitted white long sweater, and whoever has an issue with it can take it up with him

[elminx]

Witch Tips: 8 Ways To Advance Your Kitchen Witchery

Note here: as always, not all of these tips will work for everyone. Take what resonates with you and leave the rest. Where you are in life (how old you are, your budget, and where you live) will influence which of these are available. That’s okay.

One of my biggest frustrations with Kitchen Witch spaces online is that they are (almost always) simply a list of recipes or general kitchen correspondences. Sure, these are parts of kitchen witchery, but there’s more to it than that. I’ve decided to compile a list of things you can do to up the practical side of your craft. You’ll notice that these are not magical tips, per se, but tips on how to deepen your connection to the food you eat and craft with.

Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farmshare

I’m starting with the big guns here. A CSA is a way to buy a share of a local farm. You give the farmer money ahead of the season (often in the fall, but you can sometimes sign up year-round), and then you get weekly or monthly pickups of their produce all season long. There are so many ways this supports kitchen craft: you are supporting a local farm in your community, you are guaranteeing yourself local seasonal produce, and it’s a great way to save money.

CSAs tend to be a big investment up front, but the payoff is great – pound for pound, you don’t get those prices in a store. With some CSAs, you can go directly to the farm and choose some or all of what you take home, while others give you a premade box. Some deliver or have pickup points in major cities all over the country. Some come with pick-your-own herbs, tomatoes, and flowers. This is a better choice for an adventurous eater – you will encounter things you’ve never eaten! (If you’re a pickier eater, the next tip might be more your style) Some places have CSAs that include more than just vegs, too. In my area, I could sign up for a meat share, a fruit share, an egg share, and even a flower share!

Visit Your Local Farmer’s Markets

If you like complete control over what you eat but also like the idea of supporting local agriculture, farmer’s markets are a great place to start. You will find anything from in-season fresh-picked produce to eggs, meat, local honey, and more! They are also a great place to find fruit seconds during canning season. When you buy directly from a farm, the money goes into the farmer’s pockets, and the food is often cheaper without the grocer’s markup. Plus, you may get to talk to the people who grow your food, which is a big win in my book. This option is great because it does not involve a big investment like a CSA, and you can buy only what you will use.

Grow Your Own

If the above two options aren’t available to you, or you want to try out your green thumb, why not grow your own herbs, fruit, or veggies this season? I’m not suggesting starting a whole-scale garden if that’s not something you have ever done before – start small and manageable. Pick one thing you KNOW you will eat and grow that. This takes more planning because you must consider your space and time constraints. All plants need soil, light, and nutrients, but each has different needs. Most herbs, tomatoes, and peppers can be grown in containers in smaller spaces, while other plants need a lot of room to grow. A lack of outdoor space can be remedied with a few grow lights. If you’re starting for the first time, this is a list of herbs that are very easy to grow for beginners so long as you give them enough light to thrive: basil, cilantro/coriander, garden sage, lemon balm, mint, lavender, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and thyme.

This can be a really budget-friendly option, too! Many areas have active plant groups with friendly people who are very willing to donate an old grow pot and a start to a newbie gardener. Plus, if you’re growing it yourself, you don’t need to purchase it in a store.

Can, Freeze, Dry, Dehydrate, and Save

If you end up with a CSA or grow your own, there will likely be a point in the season when you have a bounty too large to consume. When we have enough, we share or save for later. This isn’t a manual on the best ways to preserve your harvest, but you definitely can preserve it for a later date. And, I promise you, nothing is more rewarding in the dead of winter than pulling out something you preserved in the height of summer. Your preservation methods will change depending on what you have an excess of. If you want to get into water bath canning, I suggest picking up any version of the Ball Blue Book, which gives you directions on safe canning methods. If you live in a dry climate, you can dry your herbs by hanging them, but if you’re like me and live in a humid zone, a dehydrator is a safe way to avoid pesky mold issues. Many fruits and vegetables can be frozen, cut up, or whole. Do some research here – you’ll be surprised by what you find.

Use Those Scraps

If you want to be frugal and more environmentally friendly, start keeping your kitchen scraps. Bones and leftover vegetable ends can be frozen and later turned into broth. Citrus peels can candied, dried, or infused into vinegar or vodka. Apple peels can be turned into pectin for jam or jelly making. The ends of tender herbs like cilantro, basil, and parsley can be pulsed into pestos and sauces. The rinds on parmesan cheese can be saved to add to soups or sauces for some extra umami. I could go on, and I’m sure there are a million uses for kitchen scraps I’ve never heard of. If you are interested in this, there are many folk magic resources about using what you already have, and that would be a good place to start. Being frugal saves money and keeps unnecessary waste out of landfills.

Compost

Speaking of landfills, how about keeping your vegetable scraps out of them altogether? Many improvements in composting have allowed it to be done in much smaller spaces. I have a postage stamp-sized backyard, but I have two large compost bins that I rotate using yearly so that one is always curing while the other is being filled up with new produce. Plus, I have natural fertilizer for my garden that came from my kitchen! If you don’t have outdoor space, devices on the market now can compost your kitchen scraps in a few hours. Some seem to be rated for bones, which is pretty cool. They still seem to be pricy, but it’s an option if you can afford it.

Make Your Own

Are you into baking? Did you know you can make your own vanilla extract by putting a vanilla bean into some vodka? It’s virtually eternally reusable because you simply refill the bottle every time you use it. (Sidenote: for a deeper flavor, sub in your favorite dark liquor for the vodka here) Now, you have vanilla extract, which is also vanilla vodka. This also works for other extracts (mint, coffee, and almonds come to mind), but you should research how long to infuse them. Do you love pies? You can make and can your own pie filling while the fruit is in season. Do you love tacos? Make your own salsa. This can really level up your witching because it gives you an extra chance to infuse your magic into your food – once while you prepare the base ingredients and again when you cook them into your meal.

Pick-Your-Own

There is nothing quite like making a strawberry shortcake from start to finish. For me, that starts in the strawberry fields. Picking the berries myself guarantees the best and freshest berries! And it creates a great link between me and the plant where it was growing. In my area, I can pick herbs, flowers, salad, tomatoes, and beans at my local farm share, but depending on the season, I can also find you-pick strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and apples. I try to take advantage of every one. This weekend, I’ll be staying near a you-pick lavender farm and will definitely be visiting there, too! Since you do the work to pick your own, the produce prices tend to be lower, too. This is a great way to get outdoors and connect with what you are cooking with where it is growing.

Wild Harvesting

This comes with several caveats: You ABSOLUTELY need to do your own research and be 100% sure of your plant identification before you eat anything you harvest from the wild. A mistake can literally kill you! If you have known food allergies, this is not the tip for you—trying any food you haven’t had before is a risk of an allergic reaction, so don’t risk it. Additionally, some wild foods are protected or endangered. Know before you harvest. Take only what you’ll use and leave some for the animals. Practice safe wild harvesting, too – avoid taking from places near major roads, cemeteries, or known hazardous waste dumping grounds for your own safety. On the other hand – harvest invasives to your heart’s content!

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There are, of course, a million ways to kitchen witch and this is simply some of the ways that I like to connect more deeply with my food in all stages of its journey. How do YOU kitchen witch? I'd love to hear more about it - feel free to send me asks telling me what you like to do.

Do you like my work? You can tip me over on Kofi, commission me to write an astrological report for you, or signs up to be a monthly supporter of my writing.

[m4iya]

ᝰ.ᐟ✮⋆˙ Matchup #5 @cannibalsrider ˙⋆✮ᐟ.ᝰ

Hello! This is the lonesome, last matchup sitting in my inbox :3

This will probably be my last one for a while! I have another event coming soon..!

And so, after reading your submission, I’ve come to the decision to match you with Koushi Sugawara!

Let’s start with one of the first hobbies that you listed; drawing! In terms of drawing, you might use Suga as your reference. I’ve imagined a little story that goes like this:

As a first year in high school, you can find yourself easily overwhelmed by the jump from middle school. At times, you become distracted by things other than work in class and end up forgetting to take notes.

It was a warm autumn afternoon, and you were listening to your teacher talk about some complicated equation. It was the last period, students were tired, and you were beginning to lose focus completely. Flipping to a blank page, you click your mechanical pencil and begin drawing little stars across the page, thinking of what to doodle.

In the row in front of you to the left, sat a boy with grey hair. Suddenly, his elbow knocked a rubber off his desk, bouncing behind him. He shifted slightly out from his chair, bending over to grab it. His body slightly faced yours, and you caught a glimpse of a beauty spot under his eye. Soon after, you found yourself sketching your view of him from your desk. You couldn’t help but smooth out every stroke of his hair and define every crease and fold in his T-shirt.

Now, two years have passed, and you’ve become much closer to him than you imagined, frequently hanging out together. You’ll sketch him as he enjoys a slice of cake at a café, or when he rests his head on your lap after a picnic. You’ve even done the ‘paint each other’ trend that’s been floating around. He always teases you, saying “Theres so many other things you could be drawing, but you always choose to draw me!” You giggle, cheeks pink, unable to explain why.

I’d imagine you might make Pinterest boards of outfits and send them to him. He’d tell you what he thinks, and you’d try to make a piece from it using online references. If you can make it, you can save money on a whole outfit! (that is, if the material needed for it is in total, cheaper than the outfit, but I don’t design clothes so I wouldn’t know ^-^) You might even send him photos of clothes in the store that would remind you of him (sweaters, long cardigans, turtlenecks, y’know, that stuff). In return, he’d do the same, except in his case, he’d be out, grabbing something from the shopping centre when he finds one of those knitted/crocheted/handmade item stands. He’ll take a photo of matching keychains (bees, or strawberries or something like that) and send it to you. (I’m assuming) It’ll catch your eye, and you’ll say something along the lines of ‘How cute! Where did you find these??’ to which he won’t reply; an hour later, there’s a knock on your door, and a chirpy Suga presents the keychains, one for you and one for him.

And finally, in terms of gardening! I’m not sure if you plant fruits, veggies or flowers or everything! But I can imagine you gardening together with him. He’ll come over on a warm Summer morning, and the two of you would work on organising your flower bed together. He’d picked up some seeds from the store on the way there, and said that they reminded him of you, asking you to plant them. Though, the packet of seeds he had given you had its label torn off. You agreed, and the both of you spent the day tidying up your garden together. In the end, dirt seemed to cover you more than the seeds underground.

Skipping forward a while (I’m not sure how long these flowers take to sprout and grow..) your flowerbed was definitely flourishing. You had daisies, tulips, hydrangeas, zinnias, and.. sunflowers? Where did those come from?

Taking out your phone, you send a picture to Suga, asking him if the sunflowers were his doing.

‘Oh, they finally grew!’ he replies.

‘They’re really pretty’ you write back.

‘I thought you told me these flowers remind you of me; how does a sunflower do that?’

‘Well, it’s sort of because you’re so big and bright – kinda reminds me of a sunflower’

‘How am I bright? I’m not super loud or anything’

‘You don’t always have to be loud to touch someone’s heart!!’

[spod3]

if the bees forgo my garden, will i need to manually impregnate each flower? my watermelon is much too young to even think about flowering, but the man on youtube told me that q-tips might be a necessity to actually ensure my labor bear any fruit. does one hire bees? i've seen like three bees in as many years, regarding the surrounding area.

my watermelon is absolutely fucked. or not, lol. anyways, the poor thing went absolutely bonkers in it's germination box. i went to check on my cucumber seeds [also batshit crazy; they're growing like it's going out of fashion] and nearly had a heart attack when i noticed green tendrils had begun breaking through the gladwrap i put over it's container. tomorrow. i'll find a nice patch in the garden tomorrow. the man on youtube broke the news quite harshly: my watermelon will need a buttload of space. i do not have said space. we have an annoying dog who tramples every living thing in sight! the courtyard is truly the safest place to harbor some veggies. otherwise i'll need to break out the shovel and start uh shoveling away the grass on the front lawn to make space for my melon-patch.

in other news, my mango is enjoying her new jar. it's much larger and my uncle had some rehydrated sphagnum moss that i don't loathe* to use. it's not a lot, but it fed my mango, so i'm content and will put off sending woollies nasty emails for another month. though, if i can't find their moss in a store in the big city, i will have to start drafting my scathing remarks.

*my avocado is residing in some builders warehouse sphagnum moss and i can see how the poor thing absolutely hates it.

these bees are in warlords and i really like them. i'll only need to start worrying about my watermelon and male and female plant-parts in roughly a years time, hopefully, and by then i might just take the whole thing out for a day trip to the farm and hope for some bees to be intrigued. i've read that spiders and other insects might act as pollinators at times? we have loads of those! i'm sure the process won't be hindered. i'm fretting.

anyhoo, toodles <3

[princessgemma12]

some great small-scale ways to enjoy our world, bodies and minds allowing:

touch plants. literally. just gently pet your mom's petunias, or the little shrub planted outside your workplace. Like a very small kitten--little pats and pets.

dirt! get it on your fingers. is your dog good with the boundaries of your yard? never had an issue with them trying to dig out but they like to dig in innane spots IN the yard? help them. Don't like dirt on your skin? use your shoe--I find it fairly easy to use just my toes and scoop like my puggy girl does. they'll love it and it's good into the ground sometimes.

Keep a potted plant to consolidate both of those. You can also get flowers, fruit, herbs, or maybe veggies down the line, which is like. the most primal "I did good" shot of dopamine I've ever had and it doesn't really "taper off" like other repetitive accomplishments do. Like, I have to revamp my writing process every few months because hitting my writing goal gets too easy and the dopamine hit just kinda... lessens because it's kinda the same thing over and over. It's not like that with gardening because you always have to put something new into it or observe a new development.

This is for those who are in more secure places in life, financially and their homed status, but small pets--cats, fish, toads, reptiles, gerbils, etc.--anything you can swing taking care of properly. Having something that really depends on you can also get you out of bed when nothing else will. ADOPT don't shop unless you have a reputable breeder and can't find the same breed already out there waiting for a family.

Do you have friends that live in a greener neighborhood, or even just their place is more environmentally rich? ask to help take care of their yardwork, hang out with their dog, chat while they garden, have a bbq, anything like that. you can double up on your socialization quota and your "ah, nature" quota.

watch a nature documentary or something like that "Oh, Baby!" show--something nice and chill that focuses on animals or plants or something. It doesn't need to be about climate change or activism--it can be--just about our world.

Learn how to bake with fruits. Learn how to make jams and jellies. Cook a meal that's mostly veggies, or mostly fruit. Veggie broth. If you enjoy animal-based foods, learn to make coffee creamer,* bone broth, perfect your chicken and beef stocks. Regardless of your diet, the foods you use, and what you do with them, all the wonderful meats, diary, plants, juices and coffees and teas, that we all have is because of the earth--sit with that for a while. If you're the type, maybe meditate on it, idk.

When you can, go for that hike, walk, or trip to the zoo/aquarium. Help your longer-distance friend rotate their crops or clean out the invasive plants in their yard. Go fruit picking or foraging--it doesn't matter if you need to be the designated basket holder, you're still there and you're still doing it. Ask a dear friend if you can just sit in their yard for a few hours and watch them play with their dog or kids.

Anything is better than nothing.

*A simple recipe: 1 cup whole cow's milk, 1/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla extract to taste. In a small pot (I use my stovetop carafe), add milk and sugar, simmer for approx. 30-40 minutes, stirring only to prevent sticking and burning on the bottom. It'll become a nice golden color and reduce to closer to 3/4 of a cup of liquid. It will be a thicker consistency. If a foam or film builds on top, gently scrape it away with a spoon and discard. When done, add vanilla to taste, allow to cool, and add to coffee. It's not as thick as store-bought, but most of single pot goes into 1 cup of coffee for me, but it mixes well. You could try it with different extracts, but I don't recommend the syrup flavors used for lattes.

Not to sound like a fuckin hippie but please for the love of god start noticing and appreciating the natural world around you. You don’t have to go hike the entire Appalachian trail or anything and I get that not everyone has access to the outdoors for various reasons, but just fucking … look around you when you’re outside. Notice the sky and the sun and the birds and creatures. Start caring about them. I’m begging you.

[felidthing]

oh my goddgdgd i did so much shit today not even a lot of individual things but i did also post Four Hours Ago while deep in one stop so. ive been out since like 5 i think. this is a fun time yay yippee recounting btw nothing to complain about yay :] :] im so tired tho.

we went to old navyyyy because i needed some specific shirts and my brother needed shorts for work ya know. my surgery scars are all up in my armpits so literally just having my arms down was causing discomfort/pain bc of skin to skin rubbing and also the glue/residue being annoying. so for the first time in all of history i was explicitly looking for a shirt that was snug around my arms/armpits. gasp. and i found Exactly that!!! incredible! its an athletic shirt! one that just the right size rather than the usual comfortably loose fit i go for in normal shirts. so its a stretchy soft shirt that hopefully is also good with sweat because. its Right Up In My Arms. i got 3. i also got three button downs/"hawaiian" shirt i guess?? never know how to refer to those. when does it become a hawaiian shirt. what does that even mean. but regardless i got some summery all-over print short sleeve button downs. they are awesome. one is very green with macaw-looking parrots but theyre very pink toned, also got a black with white flowers and a white one with a lot of summer fruits and crabs. i love them all sm. and then i ALSO also got a graphic tee with a photo of some california poppies because i Love those flowers so much theyre everywhere in washington (lol) i love em.

the old navy we went to was in a mall so we ended up going to a few different anime/gift type stores.. teehee... and i got THEEESSEEE THEY ARE. SO CUTE I LOVE THEM

i spent uh. 52 dollars. they werent even both $25 like tbh i would be okay with them being $25.. or maybe i just think that bc i was primed by them already costing more but idk i feel that way cant help it.. they were FOURTYYYY EACH but all the plushes were buy one get one 75% OFF?? THATS SO MUCH OFF. they got me. i could have just bought the pig but the allure of a simulated $10 stuffed animal that "would have been 40 otherwise"........ they got me -_- being aware of marketing tactics does Not make me immune to them. but look at these thangs... theyre delightful

less exciting last stop was GOCEY SHOPPINGGGGG i love grocies. but even though its a wednesday night it was so weirdly busy.. we had to get so much shit i spent $294. kill. and me and ridley were so goddamn tired and both of us are already incapacitated on some level AND we had NOTTT EATEN ANYTHING REAL TODAYYYY HELL HELL HELL so we were fighting for our lives to get everything baggded and then into tha house and THENN. THEN, THERE WAS STUFF MISSING we looked one thousand times in every bag and checked the car and it was straight GONE so we were like.. we are going to go back to the store and see if we can get this stuff back Because it was all on the receipt i pieced together that we must have left a bag at the store. so my brother took me back and i approached the self checkout attendant bc they were closest like hello... i was just here and i have some stuff missing its on the receipt.... and they were like oh yeah there was a bag left at that checkout! it had some ice cream and i was like YES its just some frozen stuff and they sent me with another employee that took us to a cart of stuff and they gave me MY EXACT BAG OF MISSING GROCIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY SAVED IT YAYYYAYAYAYAYAY i was literally so happy i wanted to Cry i felt Shaky i was Overwhelmed With Relief And Joy MY GOSHIES!!! it was ice cream and forzen veggies and pizza rolls and MEATBALLS I GOT FOR MY FWIEND bc they forget to get them and we GOT EM BAAVCK HELL YES

triumphant grocery rescue mission. got clothes and Touys. spent so much money like that was most of All my money. hell. but we Won

[swirlwineconsulting]

What am I supposed to smell in this wine?

Your eyes are shut tight and your nose is dipped genteelly into your glass, seconds later your head lifts and you ask “What am I supposed to be smelling here?” “What do you smell?”. Alas, what I smell and what you and your table mate(s) smell are rarely the same, and guess what? It doesn’t matter.

Your wine came with a list of tasting notes including words like: Bing and dried cherries, tropical fruits, cedar, black raspberries and melon, even wet stone, leather, pencil lead and barnyard. You spend precious time that could be spent enjoying your purchase trying to find the experience the reviewer told you to expect. Are you confused, disappointed that you couldn’t discern what you were supposed to? Let it go and let’s move on to all you really need to know to “sacar todo el jugo” as the saying goes in Spanish- “get all of the juice out” of the experience.

Like most passionate students of wine (especially those seeking certifications and advanced degrees), I spend a great deal of time sniffing through spice cabinets, ethnic grocery stores and farmers market stands, blooming flowers and fruit trees, freshly mown grass and hay, the ocean breeze, the wet pavement after summer rain (petrichor), the earthy smell of an open field after a heavy downpour (geosmin). I smell the differences between Oolong, Earl Grey and Lapsang Souchong teas; between Italian espresso roast and Cuban coffee; between uncured and smoked bacon. In other words, I stick my nose into a lot of places where it doesn’t necessarily belong-also looking for signs of faults in a wine like: locker room, dirty laundry, geranium, rotten egg, burnt rubber, cooked garlic, or skunk.  I volunteer at a local farm to smell freshly-dug earth and the growth stages in the lifespan of heirloom tomatoes. I grow seasonal veggies and herbs on my patio so that I can enjoy the scent of my Meyer lemon tree in bloom and the lingering smell of tarragon on my fingers at harvest. Many wine lovers are also great cooks who recognize the variations in aroma of a ripe vs an unripe ingredient, uncut vs sliced, raw vs cooked or a fresh vs fermented one.  I recommend that anyone looking to more fully understand the vocabulary of wine begin by learning to smell, as many of the aromatic characteristics also reveal themselves on the palate.

For example, some well-ripened cheeses smell pungently of dirty socks. Not very appetizing to those who don't enjoy Époisses from France or Dutch Limburger but make sense to those who love them. The nuance of animal fat is especially prevalent in Syrah from France's Rhône Valley. A stone-like scent and flavor (some of us diehards have even licked the stones) are the hallmarks of Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley, Champagne and Chablis. Many southern French reds hint at licorice. German Riesling often smells faintly of gasoline – in a good way.

The Wine Aroma Wheel is a helpful tool for learning to describe the complexity of wines by categorizing their characteristic aromas in relation to fruits, vegetables, flowers, minerals, animals, wood, oak and yeast, etc. However, none of this is very useful to someone unfamiliar with the aromas listed. Sadly, today’s supermarkets offer little help in identifying the scents on the wheel as most fruits and vegetables, especially imported tropical fruits (mango, papaya, guava, starfruit) were picked before prime ripeness and lack smell as well as flavor. I once told someone who didn’t like papaya that they most likely hadn’t had a local, fully ripened one. How many of us have access to fresh gooseberries, green almonds, persimmons or quince whether unripe or ripened? What about boysenberries and dragonfruit? Was that lychee fresh or canned? How many have plucked a fig or olive from the tree, can differentiate between the scent of iris, jasmine or lilac? Ever ride a horse or wear Granddad’s old leather bomber jacket?  Do you smell your shitake, oyster and maitake mushrooms? See what I mean? This is not a game for everyone.

Having a common language for winetasting allows people of diverse backgrounds to communicate fluidly. Learning the basics is desirable and can add fun when sharing wine with others; but should not be stressful for the average consumer. At a recent tasting of wines from Bourgogne and Bordeaux, a heavily Aussie accented presenter swirled the glass before handing a juicy red Burgundy to me. He raised his glass to his nose as I did mine and we both said, almost in unison “Horsehair!”. The scent took us both back to the memories of saddling up a freshly brushed horse, while also hinting at the wine’s age and vineyard location.  A connection was made. A Jamaican-American wine and food writer I know often refers to Barbados cherries, Marionberries, Hibiscus or Sorrel flowers and sea urchin. Do these hold any meaning for you? If so, enjoy these bonus associations when they occur, if not move on.

Detecting aromas is not a parlor trick or for showing off. Your server at a restaurant should be able to detect most faults in the wine before pouring.  Let them examine the cork and discreetly sniff for off odors. If an off-putting aroma or bad taste slips by them, let them know, trust your judgement that the wine shouldn’t smell like a wet dog or taste like your kitchen sponge. A faulty wine is generally identifiable, so if this occurs with a bottle you open at home, cork it up and return it to the vendor, if possible. For this reason, I never tell attendees in my classes what to smell or taste; rather to “feel the sensations” of the wine. The important elements of a balanced wine are in its acidity, tannin structure, residual sugar level, alcohol by volume (ABV%), mouthfeel – assets that most people can detect - tartness, sweetness or the lack of it, the heat of alcohol and the thin or thick texture on the palate. After all, what the average drinker wants from a glass of wine is enjoyment.

If you fancy yourself “not average” by all means join me in exploring all the good and bad smells associated with wine – otherwise, as my class descriptions advise “Smell, Sip, Taste, Enjoy” and leave it at that.

[taimio]

The Art of Vegetable Harvesting: Mastering the Correct Techniques

Kick start your journey into reaping the rewards of your hard work by learning the best practices for harvesting vegetables. This comprehensive guide is packed with all the essential tips and tricks you need to know, whether you're a green-thumbed guru or a budding beginner. From identifying the perfect moment to pluck, to preserving the freshness, get ready to step up your gardening game. Immerse yourself in a deeper understanding of the lifecycle of your favourite veggies. Discover techniques for growing bigger, better, and more bountiful harvests that will make your neighbours green with envy. Unlock the doors to sustainable and healthy living by honing your vegetable harvesting skills. Unlock the joy of gardening and savour the satisfaction of eating fresh produce from your backyard garden. Continue reading to get more value from your garden while enjoying the therapeutic activity of gardening.

How to Harvest Vegetables the Right Way: A Guide for the Wise Gardener

There's something magical about growing your own vegetables, isn't there? The anticipation of a bountiful harvest is enough to make any gardener's heart skip a beat. But wait, before you grab that shovel and start digging, let me share some wisdom I've gathered through my own gardening adventures.

First things first, timing is everything. It's like waiting for the perfect moment to pop the question or to tell a joke – you want to catch your veggies at their ripest, their most flavorful. Trust me, they'll thank you for it. So, how do you know when it's time? Well, each veggie has its own secret signal. Some will be plump and glossy, others might be slightly softer to the touch, while a few will just scream pick me! right out of the ground.

Once you've mastered the art of timing, it's time to get your hands dirty. Literally. Digging up those carrots or pulling up those onions requires a gentle touch. Treat them like you would a delicate flower, with the utmost care and respect. Remember, these veggies have been working hard to bring you joy and nourishment, so handle them with love.

Now, picture this: you're standing in your garden, a beautiful bundle of freshly harvested vegetables cradled in your arms. You feel like a proud parent, and rightly so. But the work doesn't end there, my friend. Your veggies need a little clean-up before they're ready to grace your plate. Give them a gentle rinse to remove any dirt or bugs that may have hitched a ride. I promise, it'll be worth it.

When it comes to storing your newly harvested treasures, remember three little words: cool, dark, and dry. These veggies are like vampires – they thrive in a cool, dark environment. So, find a cozy spot for them, away from direct sunlight and excessive moisture. Whether it's a basement, a cellar, or a cool corner of your kitchen, give them the perfect home to stay fresh and vibrant for as long as possible.

Lastly, my fellow gardening enthusiast, never stop learning. There's always something new to discover about the art of vegetable harvesting. With every season, you'll gain more knowledge, face new challenges, and reap even greater rewards. So, embrace the journey, experiment, and above all, savor the delicious fruits of your labor.

Remember, gardening is not just about growing veggies; it's about nurturing life, fostering patience, and finding solace in nature's embrace.

Now, if you're itching to dive deeper into the world of vegetable harvesting, I highly recommend checking out the related article How To Harvest Vegetables (The Right Way). It's packed with invaluable tips and tricks, written by someone who clearly knows their cucumbers from their zucchinis. Happy harvesting!

Learn more about gardening with Taim.io!

[tinyshe]

Garden Report & Frugal Living 23.07.22

Note to self: do not dry cherry plums with pits still in (you know better!).

It has been a cold, damp type of summer and all of a sudden signs of autumn are creeping in. The ginkgo tree leaves are moving towards the yellow colour spectrum of green. Just this week I found a couple of leaves on the walkway.

I need to work on the sewing machine’s tension to see if I can balance it myself. I do miss my old treadle machine -- it never had a problem. I really need to assemble the ancient hand machine I had shipped (a year? two years? maybe more? i’m winding down like an old clock not being able to keep the correct time). The sewing projects and mending needs are piling up and there is not good storage/holding area for these. I need better organizational. This includes yarn and other fibers plus the tools. Wouldn’t an old fashion work room be lovely?

This was the first time we couldn’t get the laundry bar /soap from the hardware store so we had to order that. Its taking a couple of weeks to arrive but its in bulk so we can make our laundry sauce for a bit then. A little bit of an investment but it will ‘keep’.

In the garden I got the peas planted. I pre-spouted some before planting. It was interesting to see some just turn to goop or fall apart while others developed a healthy eye root. Hoping that will give them a head start before pest arrive. Planted some leeks, red amaranth and more kale. Needing to rework the grow boxes as needed. The garlic we planted in the autumn/winter is closer to being harvested but due to weather, its not ready (still!). This week the fog was so thick, I actually thought its was rain with the way the flow off the roofs was happening -- maybe it was and that weatherman is just lying (again/still). I know some people are just pulling their garlic and onions up impatiently but I want full heads, not just a bulbous clove. I have some other garlic that is just begging to be put in the ground.  I might just put them guerilla gardening style in the front garden. Still need to get the root crops in but ... circle back *check notes*, need to rework the grow boxes.

Since the season is putting out an autumn vibe, I feel the need to prep the aviary. Its a little early but I don’t think the hens mind -- it means more out time to run amuck and get into trouble.  Its been slim on the greens this year. Usually I can grow enough for our table and scraps for the chickens, supplemented by other people that will save their green veg for them but this year we are down to slim pickings solo. They are adjusting to getting nettles (the grass i let go in the front for them is done) so i am thankful that those give me three croppings. By the time I get across the patch, I start again at the other end.

Because of the veg and fruit shortages and in addition to me not feeling energetic, I am putting most of the pantry goods through the dehydrator. I hesitated to do cucumbers but I did try a small handful of an old english variety of cucs and made cuc chips. They have an interesting earthy flavour. I think they will be a fun crunch on winter salades, like veggie croutons. There are probably other uses but right now watching the grocer warehouse as to deals coming through and trying to plan accordingly. Roma style toms are just about at a price point that I’m agreeable with. I hope to get a case tomorrow. Green bell peppers are coming in at a very low price but blueberries will be coming to an end and only have the one dehydrator since Kat has my other one. The grocer is also getting ready to dump frozen berries at a cheaper price than fresh (making room for new stock) so I am tempted to buy bulk and turn into fruit leather. Fingers crossed that utilities aren’t diverted since the drier is electric. We don’t get enough sun to lay things out in the car to dehydrate!

Flowers: its was a slow start. Most of the roses had a spectacular show. Not to be outdone, the dahlias, daisies and other flowers are really doing their best. It is really nice to have enough to have cut flowers in the house. There was a great flux of bees this spring and early summer but of late, there isn’t very many (except for that super swarm I drove through -- now that was sad!) . It could be just not enough for them in my garden or they visit when I’m out and away.

Hope you all are getting out and gardening and doing something awesome.

[victorluvsalice]

Hi folks -- we're back with the Chill Valicer Save this week, working our way through the trio's Spring Wednesday! And this one proved to be a bit busier than anticipated, so let's get straight in --

-->First things first – picked up with the gang just bumming around their house at about two in the morning, as they do. As Alice needed Fitness skill to help fulfill her Renaissance Sim aspiration (and thus her New Year's Eve resolution), I sent her off on a feral run, while Victor got to go back to bed for a little more sleep, and Smiler –

Got put on weeding duty. Because, despite cheating the glitched plants from the previous episode to be weedless, the minute I checked the greenhouse, I saw that the weeds had resprouted! I hoped that maybe now they were non-glitched weeds and would go away when vacuumed up, but nope, Smiler once again got stuck in a loop when they tried to weed them. *grumble* And when I tried resetting the weed growth state again later on, the weeds disappeared...and then just grew right back again! What the hell – what’s even the POINT of letting me get rid of the weeds if it won’t ACTUALLY let me get rid of them?? *shakehead*

-->Anyway – once I saw that Smiler was stuck in the loop, I canceled the action and instead had them go lecture Surprise about playing in a trash pile that was next to the garden sink (from when Alice repaired it last time). The cat didn’t exactly know what she was being lectured for, but at least she stopped making a bigger mess! Smiler scavenged the pile for parts, put it in their inventory, then went back to their robotics bench to make more mechanisms and computer chips for that Servo project I’d like them to start at some point (you know, to help around the house and the store). As they were doing that, Alice returned from her feral run, and I had her pick up the mail –

Which contained a giant plush bunny! Their reward for finding all those decorative eggs, I presume! :) I decided it could go next to the knitting basket and rocking chair in the séance room – only to discover the darn thing was not live draggable, unfortunately. So Alice had to go there manually and put it in the world herself. *shrug* I figured while she was up there, she could get some meditation in (helps keep the Fury at a manageable level, after all), and had her plonk her butt down on the stool for a little while (at least, until she started levitating). Not only did she end up getting Wellness level 6 during her little Zen session, she ALSO got a pop-up stating she’d thought of a hilarious joke while meditating and got Comedy level 5 out of it too! Two skills for the price of one, I love it! :D

-->While Alice was getting her chill on, Victor got up, used and Scruberooed the toilet, then popped down to the greenhouse to do some tending (and get stuck in a few weeding loops of his own on those glitched plants *sigh*) before grabbing some honey out of the bee box, picking all the grown over-sized crops (the big mushroom wasn’t QUITE ready), and super-selling everything else because, well, they don’t really need any more fruit, veggies, or flowers JUST at the moment. XD Smiler, meanwhile, got put on livestock duty – feeding the chickens, cleaning the coop, telling them some jokes, and telling Surprise that she was not to play in the chicken feed either, before moving on to clean and chat with Moory. Moory didn’t think much of their attempts to talk about the weather, but did like their joke, so Smiler was able to successfully milk her, yay. We appreciate when the cow cooperates with us!

-->We also appreciate when the Sims decide to be cute on their own – case in point, Victor, having finished in the greenhouse, promptly went over to Smiler after they’d finished milking Moory and made out with them right by the cow shed. XD I then had Victor offer his wrist to a thirsty Smiler (his plasma is their favorite, after all), while I had Alice return to normal after her meditation session and go get the eggs. Once Victor was done being drained, he went over and had a little slow dance with Alice in front of the chicken coop – seems like farm chores encourage him to be romantic. XD Shadow came over and started whining at them for a walk midway through, though, so I had Smiler go over and play with her a bit to keep her occupied. Cute family times are cute! :) Anyway, with the chores done and everyone having gotten their adorableness quotient for the day fulfilled, I tried to have Victor set up the trip to the store –

Only for him and Alice to get obsessed with playing with the clay blob, with Victor insisting on walking all the way to the living room even when I canceled the action in favor of them going traveling. *shakes head* Sims sometimes, I swear..

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Dont think this has been requested yet so headcannons for the diasomnia members on a picnic date with mc? i can imagine lilia spying on his adoptive sons in the distance as either moral support or just to secretly take pics for their family album

Curiouser and  Curiouser...

Malleus, being a prince, has never really gone through the motions of making his own meals before, so you’ve been tasked with the bulk of picnic preparations. He did offer to help cook using his dragonic flames, but you had to quickly shut the idea down to avoid a fire hazard (besides, most picnic foods can be served cold or at room temperature)!

Everything about Malleus is refined and regal, from the way he gracefully kneels upon the picnic blanket to the way he delicately brings food to his mouth and pats away the excess with a napkin. You really feel like you’re dining with a king, so you try to copy his elegance too--only for Malleus to reassure you that you can be at ease around him.

He has a fondness and an appreciation for nature. Malleus likes to drink in his surroundings, look within himself, and reflect as he partakes in his meal. He encourages you to do the same, too! 

Malleus tries (and I do mean tries) to take one a “selfie” with you to remember the occasion (and to later show to his Diasomnia family), but he somehow managed to set up the camera timer to go off at the worst time. Because of that, he now has a picture of you with fruit salad chipmunked in your cheeks (while a panicked Malleus clamors to shut the timer off).

When the sun has lowered in the sky, his firefly-like magic will lead the way home. The two of you stroll in a meaningful silence, huddled close in the darkness. Malleus thanks you for the fun picnic and wishes you sweet dreams with a kiss on the forehead.

You had to beg (BEG) Lilia to not contribute to making and packing dishes for your picnic date. It had taken a TON of convincing to get him to agree, but ultimately he caved because you said you wanted to “treat him” this time (thank the Great Seven, you just managed to narrowly escape being poisoned by his heinous cooking for the umpteenth time).

You find the perfect picnic location in the shade of a tree. The moment you turn to put out your blanket, Lilia vanishes and reappears hanging upside down from a tree branch!

You feed him his share of food upside down, and Lilia swings back and forth to dust off excess crumbs and bits of food from himself. it’s such an odd sight, but it makes you giggle anyway.

He has some of the most interesting stories you’ve ever heard! One moment, Lilia will be telling you about an old tryst that occurred on the very hill you’re having this picnic on, and the next, he’ll be telling you some embarrassing tale about how baby Silver threw up in his lap from eating a bad applesauce!

The night settles in, and Lilia guides you home in the dark--well, to be more precise, his batty friends guide you home. A small cloud of bats trail ahead of you on a moonlit path, ensuring that you never stray. He sends you off to sleep with a kiss on the lips (claiming it is to “clean up stray crumbs).

Silver is forever grateful that you gave him an excuse to avoid his dad’s terrible cooking, if only for a day. He joins you in the kitchen to lend his aid, although the extent of his assistance is chopping up fruits and veggies. Silver’s very skilled with both the sword and a knife!

As you’re setting up your romantic little picnic with your boyfriend, a small congregation of wild animals collects at his feet. You make a passing joke about having “a bunch of unexpected guests”, and ultimately you two decide to let them stay. You take turns feeding the woodland critters (only the foods that are safe for them to eat, of course)! At some point, the animals scamper off and return with flowers as tokens of thanks! Silver tucks one of the flowers behind your ear and mutters that he thinks it looks good on you.

After you’ve both had your fill, you lean against one another and watch the animals frolic around in a flowery field. It’s cute, almost picturesque... like something out of a fairy tale. Before long, the food in your stomachs and the mild weather lulls you both asleep.

You wake up before Silver does during and catch a glimpse of his sleepy face. You gentle rouse him awake with a peck on the cheek, and together, the two of you pack up the remains of your outing. Hand in hand, you stroll back home against the sunset.

As soon as Silver gets home, Lilia bombards him with questions on how the date went, demanding to know if Silver took any cute photographs--and if he did, Lilia wants to see them! Silver practically has to fend his old man off before properly retiring for the night--a small smile on his face from the memories of the picnic.

Leave picnic preparations to Sebek! He loving spends a day (and a night) whipping up all sorts of delicious and nutritious dishes to share with his beloved! Why, he even spends several hours determining how to best optimize the space in his picnic basket (so he can store as many foods as possible) and what picnic cloth would be most appropriate for this occasion!

Sebek maintains a somewhat formal tone and even shows up in semi-casual business attire for your date. He greets you with a bow and presents you his picnic set up with a flourish, treating the ordeal like a servant showing off a feast to a royal.

He proudly announces each item he made and asks for your thoughts and feedback once you’ve sampled it. You can visibly see his eyes light up whenever you compliment him or his cooking. Like a puppy, Sebek is very eager to please!

If you make a bit of a mess while eating, Sebek leaps at the opportunity to lend a helping hand! He has several moistened towelettes ready in case you need them--and if those are not sufficient, he also prepared these handkerchiefs!

Sebek clutches onto your hand (and the picnic basket) very tightly on the walk home (he nearly snaps the handle on the basket). He wants to tell you that he had a fun time, but all that comes out instead is stilted laughter (which you silence with a kiss). Sebek practically melts when he’s home alone and shouts into his pillow out of sheer happiness.

[worldoffanfiction2021]

{Image Sources: Dong Hua: https://daydaynews.cc/en/entertainment/419895.html Fengjiu: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1196337391276429/}

The family of three deities had bid adieu to their relatives in Quingqui and taken the magical boat to Bihai Cangling. Dijun and Fengjiu had both managed to handle their respective duties and arranged for messengers to visit them here at their new place of residence, actually their real home, for the next few months. They were all very excited about it.

Fengjiu was remembering their last visit fondly. The last time she had been here, she had spent some magical time with Dijun.

Dijun was also remembering his last visit. But there wasn’t any fondness in those memories for him. He had been there was to build the Star Light ward. He had not expected to come back alive to this place, much less to come back alive with his wife and son. He looked at Xiaobai and marveled at her. It had been her who had saved him and saved his home. She was the best. He lovingly played with her hair.

Gungun saw that they were about to reach to a beautiful landscape, the likes of which he had never seen. “Father, your home is so beautiful. It’s even better than the Sky Kingdom!”, he exclaimed clapping excitedly.

“Gungun’s reaction to Bihai Cangling is just like yours when you came here for the first time.”, said Dijun smilingly to Xiaobai. "It's your home too, Gungun. It’s our home.", he added. He liked the sound of that very much.

Xiaobai noticed that a lot had changed since she had last visited. Row of fruit trees and vines had been planted - grapefruits, pears and grapes. There was a long corridor with an artificial hill. The hill really looked like a real rocky mountain, just smaller than a mountain. On either side of the corridor there were beautiful trees of foiling flowers. Spiritual birds danced to ‘paying homage to the Phoenix’ near by.

Then there was a pavilion overlooking a lotus pond. White and pink lotuses swayed gracefully in a cool breeze there. White sandalwood on each side of the pavilion gave the seating area a perfect cover from sun.

Xiaobai recalled her own words from the last time she had visited. Dijun had done everything she had asked for. She was transfixed.

When they walked a little further, her jaw dropped to the floor. Sitting atop a slightly raised platform was a house. Not just any house - the bamboo house she had drawn! Oh, Dijun!!!! She stood dumbfounded with tears in her eyes.

Dijun realized she had stopped walking and turned around. When he saw her face he asked with worry, “What’s wrong? Did I mess it up?” Forgetting about Gungun watching them, she ran forward and hugged him. She buried herself in his arms and said, “No, Dijun. No mess up. This is perfect. You made our home. Our home!” She choked on her emotions and couldn’t say anything else. Dijun smiled and planted a kiss on her head.

Gungun was watching all this and came running. “Mother and Father are kissing again. I want a kiss too.”, he giggled. Dijun picked him up and twirled him high. His giggles and Dijun’s laughter filled the space. And Xiaobai’s heart. They were home.

When they went inside, Xiaobai realized that all the basic things they had planned for, had been done. There was a study, a living room and a well-lit, well ventilated kitchen. The large kitchen window overlooked the fruit trees. There were two identical rooms - one for Gungun and another for his little brother/ sister, as Dijun explained, his eyes hinting mischievously. It made Gungun very excited to think that he would have a playmate. Then there were a couple guest rooms. Dijun and Xiaobai’s  room was a spacious suite with a large bed. A foiling flower tree was the headboard of that bed. They even had a nice little hot spring next to their room.

“Dijun, the house is great, but there’s still work to do. We have to set up the kitchen, the wardrobes and such.”, began Xiaobai. “If I do everything, what will you do?”, he interrupted her, pretending to be arrogant and tapped her forehead. Then he leaned in and whispered in her ears “But I have already done so much work here. You owe me big this time.  I will collect my dues from you at night.” Seeing her cheeks instantly color up pleased him.

There was a balcony behind their room. It overlooked a large playground with targets set up for practicing archery, an open space for sword plays and martial arts. On one side was another building. “That is a workshop where we can forge weapons. I have also placed all the weapons I have made or collected in a room in there. I am sure you will like it.”, said Dijun. She looked at him with pride in her eyes. Dijun felt that all his efforts had been completely worth it.

“I am so hungry, mother. When can we eat?”, asked Gungun. “You and Father can put your things in your rooms. I will quickly get food ready.”, said Xiaobai patting him. They all went their separate directions and got busy.

After some time they all got together in the dining room and ate a simple but delicious meal. Fengjiu had found that right next to the kitchen was a vegetable and herb garden. She had picked some fresh veggies to prepare rice porridge and mushrooms-vegetables stir fry. Some lentil cakes rounded up the meal. She had always been good in cooking. Her years in mortal realm had helped her perfect  the art of making do with whatever was available.

After they cleared up all the food, Fengjiu wanted to go to her room and take a nap. But Dijun insisted they go to the lotus pond and catch some fish. She almost suspected that he wanted to keep her away from their bedroom. “May be he has made a mess in there with all the stuff. I better not go in there or else I will end up cleaning everything myself.”, she thought to herself as she followed her guys to the pond. When they got there, she rested her head in Dijun’s lap and dozed off happily.

She woke up a little while later when tiny hands were trying to tap on her head. "Mom, wake up! Look I caught a fish!! My first ever fish!!!", Gungun was showing off with eyes wide with excitement. She couldn't help by smile at him. "I will make sweet and sour fish for dinner tonight with this. You both like it, don't you?" She said. Two heads full of silver hair nodded in fervent agreement. "Like father - like son", she chuckled.

She completely lost herself in cooking dinner. In addition to sweet and sour fish, she also made sticky rice and soup. "For Dijun and Gungun. They need this nourishment.", she told herself. All this was gobbled up pretty quickly between the three of them.

After dinner they took off for a long walk that led them back to the weapon forge. Dijun took them in and Fengjiu was like a kid in the candy store. She enjoyed designing and creating mechanical weapons. Among other things, this was something she and Dijun had in common. Gungun was quite curious and looked around with amazement. But he was slowly beginning to get tired and needed to get to bed. So they all returned homewards.

"You take him to his room and get him ready for bed. I will bring him a glass of milk. He will sleep well with that.", said Dijun. Fengjiu nodded and walked away holding Gungun's little hand. In his room, she helped him bathe and change. They both were happy they didn't need to dye his hair anymore. As she was settling him in his bed, Dijun came in with a glass on milk in his hand. He made sure Gungun finished it up. Then they both dimmed the candles, kissed Gungun sweet dreams and left the room.

When they reached the doorstep of their bedroom, Dijun gestured Fengjiu to stop. "What's wrong?", asked Fengjiu puzzled. "Close your eyes.", ordered Dijun. "Why should I?", replied Fengjiu more puzzled. "Please, Xiaobai. Do as you are told.", Dijun coaxed her. So she sighed and closed her eyes. "You are acting very weird tonight.", she said.

She found herself being lifted in his arms. She felt the door opening and he walking in with her.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Feng Jiu asked. "Not yet, just a little bit longer.", Dijun replied. She could feel the smile in his voice.

"What's going on? I am opening my eyes now." She nagged him anxiously as she felt herself being lowered on something extremely soft.

"Wait. Just a few more moments.", Dijun replied as he adjusted her clothes. "Okay, you can open your eyes now.", he said.

She was so not ready for what she was seeing. The room had been transformed. It looked like a bride's chamber on a wedding night. There was an altar placed for heaven worship ceremony. Gold, white and purple lanterns adorned the ceiling. Matching candles, flower arrangements and curtains hung everywhere. Every seat in the room and the whole bed was covered in foiling flower petals. She was draped in her wedding gown. And then as she turned towards Dijun she saw that he himself was looking extremely handsome in his wedding attire. Nothing in the room was nearly as mesmerizing as the sight of the regal man himself. He took her breath away and she could not help but stare at him open mouthed.

"I never gave you a proper wedding. I have regretted that very much.", he said huskily as he walked towards her with a purple veil. "Tonight, let's get married, Xiaobai.", he said softly as he came close and arranged the veil over her hair. She didn't know what to say or do. She was completely under his spell.

He led her by her hand towards the altar. They kowtowed to the heaven and earth. They remembered her parents and kowtowed for them. Then they bowed to each other. Very carefully he lifted her veil and took her hands in his.

"In all three eternities you are the only one who has moved my heart, Xiaobai. You, little fox, will always belong to me.", he looked deeply into her eyes and promised possessively.

She smiled with stars in her eyes and promised him back, "In any eternity I will bring you in my life. Because I love you the most Dijun, you will always belong to me."

He leaned in and planted kisses on her face. He kissed her hair, her forehead, her eyes, her nose and then covered her lips with his. He felt her respond to him and deepened the kiss. She trembled and moved closer in his arms. Slowly he moved to her ear. "Ever since I have had this dress made for you, I have imagined so many ways I would like to undress you from it.", he teased huskily. "Um? So you got this elaborate and extravagant dress made only so that you could undress me from it?", she asked pulling back and squinting her eyes at him. "HHmm.. ", he pursed his lips and nodded solemnly. "You are so... ", she started to say, but completely lost her train of thought under his hot, hungry gaze. He claimed her lips again and started undressing her.

[prinxlyart]

Could I ask for some more of the wonderful fluff that is Wilumity domestic headcannons? Or, possibly if you have any, some Camileda headcannons?

*GASPS*

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS

Willumity:

Willow is the early-riser. She’s developed a habit of waking up early to check on her plants and do her workouts. Luz and Amity have no idea how she does this every single day (they often complain because she’s also a huge source of warmth and how dare she leave their little warmth cocoon).

Amity has Routines™️ that cannot be disrupted or she will freak out. It’s an autism thing for sure, but it’s also something Luz gets. Because Willow gets up so early they tend to have their own little morning routine together; stay in bed and cuddle for maybe another half hour or so (depending on how early Willow wakes up), then they get up and do their bathroom routines. I think.....Luz is the type to do night time showers due to having such short hair, so Amity showers while Luz brushes her teeth and washes her face. Luz is usually dressed by the time Amity gets out of the shower and she gives her a quick kiss on the cheek to let her know she’s headed to the kitchen to get coffee/breakfast started. There have been a couple times Luz has forgotten to give her her after-shower kiss and Amity was so thrown off that by the time she made it out to the kitchen, her eyes were red from crying because A) Did Luz not love her anymore??????????? (incorrect, but their routine had been broken) and B) Trying to continue with your routine with a step actively missing is hell and she’s been upset ever since. Luz has usually just been too tired to remember and will immediately cover Amity in kisses to make up for it (after they go through whatever process they need to to help Amity calm down). Amity hates that she gets so upset over something so small, but Luz reassures her that her routines are important to Amity and it’s okay to be upset when those routines are disrupted. Whenever Willow catches them like this after her workouts, she requests a kiss from each of her girls on either cheek before she goes into the shower herself (usually to lighten the mood because it always makes Amity happy when Willow mimics Amity’s routine habits [it always works]).

Surprisingly, Luz is the one that does the grocery shopping. Willow knows what fruits and veggies they can grow to add into meals and how to prep food for the plants that actually eat, but she’s not especially well-versed in like. Meals. Amity has like 3 meals she knows how to make properly because they’re her favorites. Luz, with her mom’s recipes in her arsenal along with whatever wild dishes Eda’s made for her over the years while she lived in the Owl House, has the largest repertoire of Human/Witch meals under her belt. Plus, she always ends up getting little treats for her wives while she’s at the market that they adore. (Luz both loves and hates when her girls ask to go with her to help; she loves spending time with them, but she hates that they don’t know Luz’s system. She’s got a pattern that she follows and they’re just all over the place whenever they come with her.)

Every Saturday night is Date Night and one person is assigned with coming up with what they do that night. They take turns every week; Willow enjoys quiet nights in at home with them, romantic dinners with candle light and soft music while they chat about their day // Amity enjoys taking them out for romantic picnics if the weather allows, they have a few Favorite Spots they picnic at, but sometimes they just climb up on the roof. Luz always asks them to tell her about the Demon Realms constellations and their history because she loves hearing them talk. // Luz enjoys taking them to the Human Realm to visit some of her favorite restaurants and walk around a local park and watch the stars afterwards. She’ll tell them about all of the constellations she can remember (Percy Jackson phase anyone? Yeah, we all knew those shits names and constellations when we were in it, huh?). She’ll tell them her favorite stories behind each kind of constellation and tell them which ones remind her of her girls.

I 100% do not know what kind of jobs these girls would have as adults. I mean, Willow more than likely has a public garden she maintains, but I have no idea with Luz and Amity. I’ve seen a lot of headcanons in fics and art about Luz going into politics after defeating Belos but like. Luz? Luz Noceda? In Politics???????? Even in the Demon Realm I highly doubt that would happen. I think she might want to continue researching magic and how she’d be able to find glyphs for specific kinds of magic, creating new magic, etc. She might write books? Both fiction and non-fiction. I think she writes some memoirs about her life before coming to the Boiling Isles and before defeating Belos, but she’s been wanting to be a fiction writer since she was 7 years old. She’s got her own fiction series for sure. Amity might get into politics but I also doubt that. She might just be the editor and publisher for Luz’s books. Or she might work at the Library. I really don’t know. But Luz Noceda, ADHD extraordinaire, going into politics? I’d sooner expect that of Willow. And she’s already got her girls and her gardens.

They’ve got a Wednesday night book club. But it’s just them in their living room reading their own separate books after dinner until they get tired. They’ll all cuddle up together either on the couch or the floor or in bed or wherever and just sit and read in comfortable silence. Often times one of them will start absentmindedly start running their fingers through one of their partner’s hair and cause that partner to fall asleep. It is not uncommon for them to wake up in the same spot they were in for their book club with their books laying about and cramps in their necks. It’s one of their favorite things they do together.

Camileda:

Camila likes to sneak pictures of Eda in the morning cuz she thinks she looks especially cute when she’s not fully conscious yet.

Camila has no idea what the fuck is up with Eda’s hair. She’s tried asking both Luz and even Lilith but neither were able to give her an answer. They both only have theories. Eda always spouts some new ridiculous thing whenever anyone asks (she actually has a small, contained black hole at the back of her head that she uses to just store random shit // she cast an enchantment on her hair years ago to be able to use it like a Bag of Holding so she didn’t actually ever have to carry a bag // she was just born with hair that can hold seemingly anything and has never questioned it // etc.), so one day Camila just asks her. Eda tells her the truth; she doesn’t know either.

Regardless of the fucking enigma that is Eda’s hair, she still enjoys helping her wash and maintain it. Eda refuses to admit in the few first months they start dating, but she adores when Camila plays with her hair. Her hair is an integral part of who she is and it’s shockingly more intimate to her than anyone would guess when the allows others to touch her hair. She loves listening to Camila talk about her day while she braids tiny details into her hair. One day, Camila was so angry about something that had happened at work that she ended up braiding some super intricate flower designs into Eda’s hair and actually used all of it. Lilith and Luz are both in shock and awe that Camila was able to tame Eda’s mane into something so gorgeous and Eda maybe didn’t take out the broads for a few days afterwards because she loved it so much.

They love learning about each other?? Their lives up to this point have been so culturally different that all of their stories have an air of magical mystery to them that the other is always dazzled by. Eda loves learning about how Camila grew up and how she decided to become a healer (a ‘nurse’ she insists but Eda doesn’t really know the difference). Camila loves listening to Eda’s many tales of mischief of her school days and after her school days; although she does get worried when Eda mentions that she’s been to jail (Eda insists that it was only for a little bit before she figured out how to bust out! And she made off with some extra cash to boot, so it was a double victory).

It’s one thing to hear about Luz’s accomplishments from her own daughter and from Eda; it’s another to hear them coming from her teachers. Camila goes with Eda to a Parent-Teacher conference at Hexside ready to hear about how much trouble she gets into and how she needs to sign off on different kinds of detention slips and reports of damage and whatever, but is pleasantly surprised to see all of the teachers actually praising her? Some are ecstatic about her presence in heir class? They’d all been taught that humans had no magical ability at all and Luz had come into their classrooms and proved them all wrong and even helped them understand some of the nuances of their own subjects they’d struggled with on their own. By the time the conference is over, (including an incredible review from Principal Bump that left even Eda feeling moved) Camila was clutching o Eda’s arms as they left the school and crying in happiness. Her daughter was doing so well in school. All of her teachers loved her! They didn’t have any complaints about her inattention or disruptive behavior because they knew she was learning her own way. And Eda had fought for Luz’s ability to attend the first school that made Luz actually feel good about herself. Let’s just say there were a lot of heartfelt kisses that night when they got home.

I personally like to think that Camila likes to dance. Like, profesional-levels of dance. Like she maybe minored in dance in college before buckling down on her medical degree. I like to think that sometimes Eda will find her humming along to some song playing from her phone and dancing an entire routine in tiny movements while she goes about doing whatever else. Sometimes Camila will just drop into a fucking perfect split while she’s trying to reach for something that rolled under a table or whatever that catches Eda so off guard that she has to leave the room to collect herself. (It’s Camila’s love for dance that made Luz want to try cheerleading at her human school. Her school didn’t have a formal dance team, so cheerleading was the next best thing. It’s also how Luz knows how to drop into a perfect split when she first tries on that Hexside uniform despite not ever attempting it before.)

Eda’s never had any formal dance training; she’s a head-banger kinda girl. During some of her earlier escapades into the human realm, she’d sneak into many concerts and blended in perfectly with the other attendees in the mosh pit. She loves when Camila tries to teach her some more formal dances that aren’t just a free-for-all. Eda does her best to learn how Merengue works but she often gets confused as to what point she’s supposed to lean or step or spin and she usually ends up dizzy with Camila giggling at her. Camila always helps her come out of her dizziness with little kisses pressed to Eda’s temples; Camila adores that Eda tries so hard.

They love teasing each other. That’s the whole headcanon. Nah, for real tho, they love trying to get under each other’s skin with little teasing remarks and eyebrow waggles and sticking their tongues out at each other when no one else is looking like they’re little kids. It’s one of the easiest ways to get the other to laugh and they love each other’s laughs. Eda brings out Camila’s deeply-buried immature goofball personality that she’s had to push down for years just due to the nature of her studies and work, as well as being a single mom. You don’t have a lot of space to be an immature goof when you’re responsible for a whole other human being. Eda helps coax that back out of her. (Luz can’t remember ever seeing her mom so happy as she is when she’s goofing off with Eda.)

Camila’s constantly poking at Eda’s elbows and hip bones and shoulders and muttering about how bony she is; Eda replies in kind by digging her elbows into Camila’s gut or directly into her face and hip-checking her.

In a similar vein, Eda adores Camila’s curves, and not even just in a sexy way. She just loves how soft and squishy Camila is because hugging her is so comfortable; Eda swears she could fall asleep standing up if she’s hugging Camila. She also swears by this because she knows that under all that squish is some serious muscle and Camila wouldn’t let her fall.

Not really a Camileda headcanon so much as it’s just a headcanon: Camila and Lilith have the same eyeglasses prescription. It’s bizarre, that doesn’t happen really, but somehow they have the exact same prescription. This is discovered one afternoon when Camila and Lilith both arrive at the Owl house at the same time. Camila removes her glasses and sets them on the coffee table to just relax for a while while she and Lilith make small talk (Long after Camila’s reluctant acceptance of her). Lilith goes picks out a book to read and sits on the other couch to settle in while Camila takes a cat nap and she just picks up Camila’s glasses out of years of habit of picking up her own glasses. She doesn’t even notice they’re not her glasses until Eda and Luz come home and ask why in the hell Lilith is wearing Camila’s glasses. Lilith is confused but takes off the glasses and blushes because for Titan’s sake, those aren’t her glasses, those are her sister’s girlfriend’s glasses!!!!!!! She sputters out her explanation while Eda laughs at her and Camila wakes up. They end up actually properly testing it out by swapping glasses and yup; exact same prescription. They end up accidentally hoarding stockpiling spare glasses all around the Owl House for either of them to grab when they need glasses.

Please always ask for Willumity and Camileda, those are the keys to my heart 💖💕💝✨💘💞✨💖💖💘💕💝💞

[whentherewerebicycles]

You seem to be really amazing at executing planned changes with food and exercise (and also generally better psychological habits) - can i ask for advice on this? I’ve finished up studying for now and realise my body has turned into a twisted up, pudgy, weakened wreck! Exercise hurts and sugar/processed food feels so cosy and I can’t seem to get through this part where i have to feel discomfort for a while before i feel better!

What works for you? Should i read that atomic habits book you mention? I saw another one recommended - the Kindness Habit - do you know anything about it?

(I tried journaling btw - but it didn’t get me anywhere)

hello!! i can share some things that have worked for me when it comes to implementing longer-term changes in diet and exercise. these seem really simple but i think that actually making big lifestyle changes is much less about summoning up colossal amounts of willpower and much more about making small but important tweaks to the way you think about/approach diet and exercise. here are five things that have been helpful to me.

(1) don’t think of diet changes in terms of restrictions (i.e., “what delicious cozy sugary things do i have to deprive myself of today to be Good”). instead, approach diet changes as a fun little game of adding in as many good things as possible (fruits, veggies, leafy green things, nuts of all kinds, whole grains, beans, etc.). every single time you are preparing a meal or looking for a snack, describe it to yourself as a chance to be creative and resourceful, as you think about fun ways to add in small good things every time you eat. especially in the early weeks, don’t restrict foods from your diet at all. focus solely on finding a creative way to add in something healthy and delicious every time you eat. (i really liked using the daily dozen checklist when i was starting out—they have an app and it’s very satisfying and fun to see how many things you can check off the list each day.)

(2) narrate this “adding-in” game aloud to yourself. for example: “oh—what if i eat a big handful of berries on top of that ice cream?”, or “i’m hungry—ooh, there are carrots in the fridge, aren’t there? i’ll eat three carrots with hummus before i switch over to pita chips”). and every time you figure out a creative way to add in a good food, stop and observe yourself doing it, and let yourself feel a little spark of delight at how clever and creative you’re being. this sounds silly, but i swear it works! part of changing your habits is changing self-talk & especially changing the kind of running narrative you have in your head about who you are and what you do. you can change that narrative in part by repeatedly reframing the way you tell it to yourself, ideally aloud (or aloud in your head) to help you can better “hear” and internalize the new story. instead of “ugh... i ate ice cream again. why don’t i have any self-control? why am i someone who just eats like crap?”, you’re offering your brain an alternate story, one that focuses less on things you perceive yourself as lacking, or on things you ‘failed’ to do, and more on the creative, positive things you did do (“i wasn’t going to eat any fruit today, but wasn’t it great that i remembered we had those frozen berries in the fridge? that’s pretty creative and resourceful of me, and plus it’s a good way to use up something i’d forgotten i even had”).

the “noticing and feeling delighted” part is just as important. to successfully change a habit, you need to find creative ways to make the new habit pleasurable in and of itself. the more pleasure you feel when you do it, the more self-reinforcing the habit itself becomes. you might not experience eating healthy foods as intensely pleasurable (at least at first, especially if you are comparing them with the intense brain-hacking pleasure that super sugary foods give us). so don’t try! instead, focus on making the choice a source of pleasure and delight. "look at how clever i was! look at how creative i can be! look at what a good choice i made! look at how good i am at this game of adding in!” that act of stopping, narrating, and letting yourself feel genuinely pleased with what you’ve just done makes the choice to add something in pleasurable, which in turn can help fuel your sense that this isn’t about having iron willpower or about cruelly depriving yourself of delicious things, but is about playing a fun little game with yourself, creating little challenges or puzzles for yourself throughout the day and then giving yourself positive reinforcement when you figure them out.

(3) manage your environment to set yourself up for success. to paraphrase the atomic habits book: the people who seem to have the best willpower are the people who have to exercise it the least. and they have to exercise it the least because they’ve very effectively managed their environment, arranging things so that the desired choices are easy and “frictionless,” while the undesired choices or habits are more inconvenient or introduce more friction (it’s harder to get to them).

the easy starter version of this (from atomic habits): put the things you want to eat in highly visible places and/or in appealing arrangements, and put the things you don't want to eat in places that aren't visible or that are inconvenient to access. ice cream goes in the very back of the fridge, buried behind all the other stuff. nuts go in a bowl on your desk so that you can idly snack on them while you work. apples and bananas go in a big brightly colored bowl right on the counter, so that every time you pass through the kitchen your eyes are drawn to them. chips go in the bottom cupboard, the one below eye level that you don't use very often, and when you get them out you pour some into a bowl and put them right back in there (instead of leaving the bag out on the counter). make the choice you want to make easy, and make the choice you don't want to make harder to get to.

eventually, the most effective way of managing your environment is just to exercise total control over what comes into your own living space. for me, if i don’t want to eat it, i don’t have it in the house. i typically also place a curbside delivery grocery order so that i don’t have to go into the store—anything that comes into my house is something i made a deliberate choice about ordering, not something i wandered by a shelf and added to my cart because i wanted a treat. something i’ve learned about myself over the years that moderation is just not in my vocabulary—i’m an all-or-nothing person, and it’s SO much easier for me to just not have stuff i don’t want to eat in the house. no ice cream in the house. no alcohol in the house. no fried things, no chips, no candy, etc etc. if someone kindly brings me baked goods that i did not ask for, i genuinely appreciate the gesture, but as soon as they leave i give them to my next door neighbor or dump them in the trash. (SORRY TO PEOPLE WHO BAKE FOR ME!) if it's in the house i'll eat it. if it's not, i won't, and i also won't miss it.

i did do this pretty gradually at first, though! when i switched to a primarily whole food plant-based diet, i focused on playing the adding-in game for a couple weeks, and then when i started getting competitive about it i decided to use my grocery order as a way of creatively boosting my fruit/veggie/etc consumption even more, and in the process i started winnowing out things that took away chances to add in a good thing. i would say it took about three or four weeks to get to my personal ideal state of Nope I Don't Have It In The House.

it takes time, but i’d say that within a month of having only things you want to eat in the house, your cravings will be gone, at least within your own managed environment (going to restaurants or traveling DOES require you to exercise willpower, but there are ways to prepare for this in advance). the good news, though, is that 6-8 months or so of eating like this usually brings with it such improved sleep, mood, energy levels, skin, hair, GI function, etc etc that you start to be like oh my GOD why would i want to eat that horrifying thing?? I KNOW HOW BAD IT MAKES ME FEEL!! I WANT TO POWER MY BODY WITH PLANTS!!!!! in other words, the pleasurable side effects of eating well becomes positively reinforcing in its own right, while the negative effects you experience when you reintroduce sugar or fried things tends to reinforce the idea that those foods Feel Bad.

(4) it's not exercise, it's movement. i too used to hate exercise and found it extremely painful and tedious and horrible. so instead of exercising i just started moving. i canceled my membership at the local dog bar, where i had been taking my dog almost every day to let him run off excess energy, and started talking short walks with him twice a day instead. if you don’t have a dog, offer to walk your friends’ dogs—trust me they will lose their MINDS with joy lol. i think that starting to build in regular walks is the best way to get active again, because walking is typically quite pleasant and it becomes positively reinforcing to like, wave at the same neighbors every day, and see the cute kids next door running around, and notice all the ways that the trees and flowers are changing, and so on.

if you do not find being outside inherently pleasurable (sometimes i do not lol esp if i’m grumpy about having to walk the dog), tie another pleasurable activity to your daily walk. i listen to about six hours’ worth of hockey podcasts a week and i am only allowed to listen to them on my walks, so i end up looking forward to the walk because i’m desperate to hear people talk about My Guys. you can also walk with friends, or call a friend while you’re walking, which is even better than podcasts!! social walks are so much fun and go by so much more quickly. i started out just doing daily 15 min walks, and over the past couple years have built up to walking between 60-90 min a day when i’m at home. sometimes i hate/dread my walk; sometimes i love it and look forward to it. but regardless of how i’m feeling, i do it every day and if i miss it once, i don’t miss it a second time. 

as far as activity goes, i think it’s totally ok to just be a person who walks a lot! but i’ve found that becoming someone who walked a lot helped change my own narrative of myself—I started to think of myself as a walker, an active person who moved a lot every day. and that made it easier to pick up other forms of activity too, or at least to adopt a curious, exploratory attitude towards other forms of movement. also once you start tracking your active minutes you tend to get quite competitive about it! or at least i do, lol. i keep a note on my phone where i write down the date + type of activity + total number of minutes I did after every burst of activity, then at the end of the week i add it all up and compare it to the previous weeks. it makes me want to do more, to beat my own numbers—or it makes me want to keep up a streak (like, if i have a five-week period where i’ve consistently hit a certain level of active minutes every week, i don’t want to break it!!).

my biggest suggestion for exercise, though, is to figure out what kinds of things you enjoy and what kinds of things you don’t, and then to spend all your time doing things you like. i HATE structured fitness classes and workout videos. i hate them so much!!!!!!!! but i love being outside, i love doing solo activities (as opposed to group workouts), and i love doing any form of movement that doesn’t feel like a Planned Workout, capital w. also becoming a hockey fan got me really interested in skating, so i picked up rollerblades and found that to be amazingly fun too (something i can do outside AND something that feels like gliding around effortlessly AND something that makes me feel closer to My Favorite Guys!!!!). you may not have passionate feelings about hockey fandom as i do, but i think it’s really just about being creative—finding a creative way to link something you don’t love to something you do love, or find pleasurable, so that you can start forging those positive associations. 

i spent my first couple years of being more active just walking walking walking, and then this past year during the pandemic when i really ramped up my movement i added in longer walks, hikes, and rollerblading, and i also looked for ways to “habit-stack,” ie attaching an activity i don’t much care for (running; exercise biking indoors; doing squats and lunges) to one i do enjoy (i take my tennis shoes when i go skating and then go for a run immediately afterwards, before i have time to talk myself out of it). there are still all kinds of things i don’t do—i really don’t love strength training + bodyweight exercises yet, and i hate stretching even though I Know I Should, and i know that if i want to get stronger and faster, or build up my endurance, i will eventually need to introduce some element of structured training into my daily movement.

BUT the idea of making those changes seems kind of cool to me now, instead of Horrifying and Dread-Inducing! i feel like all the positive associations i’ve forged have made me more curious and open to ideas i would’ve resisted with my whole being not all that long ago. i found a way to make movement pleasurable, and then (thanks to sports fandom + my tendency to go down research rabbitholes) i found a way to get myself intellectually and emotionally engaged in the general concept of being a highly active person. for me, that combination of real pleasure + intellectual/emotional stimulation is what i personally need to build & maintain good habits.

(also, just shoehorning this in at the end because i like it: the “it’s movement, not exercise” mindset shift was also really helpful to me because it stopped me from thinking of exercise as like, this highly structured, regimented, torturous thing you forced yourself through for a set period of time each day, and helped me instead think of movement as something that humans are designed to do & to naturally enjoy. instead of Forcing Myself to Exercise, i looked for more natural-feeling forms of movement that didn’t feel so artificially divided from my “real life.” i think that helped with reframing my self-narrative, too! it made being active feel more integrated into my daily life, which in turn made it easier to think of myself as an active person, someone for whom movement was just a normal part of daily life and not a thing i had to psych myself up to do every day.)

(5) it takes time to build good habits, but not nearly as much time as you might think, and eventually you stop thinking about how long you’ve been doing something and you just start enjoying it (ie it becomes a genuine change in your lifestyle/thinking, not an artificial thing you have to work hard every day to maintain).

i am not yet AN ATHLETE and may never be, but i often remind myself that it took me a little under 30 years to build up a PROFOUND aversion to exercise, so it’s actually kind of miraculous that in just two years i’ve become someone who genuinely, earnestly, enthusiastically enjoys being active and feels antsy/weird/restless when i can’t get out of the house and move. every small stride i’ve made has strengthened my trust in myself and helped me reframe the narrative i tell myself about what kind of person i am and what i do/don’t do. every time i do the thing (whether it’s exercising or making a delicious healthy dinner) & happily notice myself doing it, i reaffirm to myself that i’m the kind of person who takes care of my body and mind by eating well and spending lots of time moving outside. (as a side benefit, when i spend a lot of time happily noticing things and speaking encouragingly to myself, i also reaffirm to myself that i am a happy person who treats myself kindly and who is always eagerly seeking out experiences that feel joyful and life-affirming.)

plus, the more often you do something, the more opportunities you have to have positive experiences while doing it! not every walk is AMAZING, LIFE-CHANGING, DEEPLY FULFILLING, but like, if i am walking seven days a week, that’s seven opportunities for something cool or fun to happen on a walk (not to mention seven opportunities to reap all the physiological & emotional well-being benefits of exercise!!). and if i am really conscious and intentional about noticing and actively delighting in those positive experiences, i help wire in those positive associations more deeply, and my brain/body increasingly comes to associate movement with happiness, joy, and fulfillment. as the habit of being more active becomes fulfilling in and of itself, i don’t have to expend as much energy tricking or cajoling or bribing myself into doing it.

*

i hope this helps!! i am literally always happy to write extremely long essays in respond to simple anon questions, lol, so if you want to talk more about your own ideas for building better habits please do share!! i can also rec you specific books that i’ve found really useful—both for just like, helping me figure out how to make big changes, and also for providing that intellectual stimulation that gets me more engaged in wanting to eat well & be more active.

(also, on the extremely slim chance that you are also a hockey fan: over in my fandom sphere, we are organizing a fun summer thing inspired by one of our fave hockey players, where we’ll be planning lots of fun fannish community things to get ourselves moving this summer. it’s going to be a good time!!)

[luvdsc]

I think you’ve mentioned traveling to viet before and I know you’ve said you are viet so I was just wondering if you have any recommendations for someone going there for the first time in terms of food/places to go/things to do? I’ve done research but I always like getting second opinions from individuals, not just travel blogs or buzzfeed bucket lists. No pressure to reply fast or at all really, I think you’re still on a break (or semi-break?) from tumblr??? I just wanted to send in an ask before I forgot lolololol 🥰

hey, honey bee !! 🌸 yes, i've traveled to vietnam around three years ago? ooo omg okay, time to go back through my insta stories because i document everything about my trips on there aklsjdhfas but yes, i'll list a few foods/places to visit/things to do that i rec! and yes omg i always prefer hearing from individuals about their trips more too since i know them and if their personalities are similar to mine, i might enjoy the things they did? and travel blogs and articles online seem a little more commercialized and go for only the touristy things 🤧 also, this is gonna be all over the place and in different cities because i don't remember exactly where these places all are 😅 i hope this helps, and please let me know how your trip goes if you visit vietnam, sweetpea !!! 💕

also, please be careful of pick pocketers, and vendors will try to scam / jack up the prices on things - you have to haggle with them and be super firm when you don't want something or you're gonna end up buying stuff you don't need. everything is also super duper cheap there because of inflation 🤧

food places:

ngọc châu garden - i loved this restaurant, and we went there twice for lunch!

try the local fruits! i love love love the tropical fruits being sold on the streets, and they're super fresh and yummy

i don't know how brave you are or if your stomach is willing to take this, but truly, the best food would be the street food. it's definitely not the cleanest and would violate the usual health violations, but those asian aunties who settle on a random corner of the street and sell the food out of the baskets they carry around truly make the best, most authentic foods out there. we mostly ate like this, so i don't have exact names for restaurants unfortunately

places to visit:

hồ hoàn kiếm - this is just a really pretty lake in the hanoi, and you can take a nice walk around it. i saw some kids doing a lot of kpop dance covers nearby too :')

hội an - this is the oldest town in vietnam, and it's so so sooo beautiful. it was my most favorite place to visit in vietnam. the town is so beautiful, and they have lanterns hanging everywhere, and the hand made crafts being sold are gorgeous. also, there's a river going down the middle of it, and they light candle flowers and float them down, and aaaa i recommend visiting here the most 💛 we stayed here for a few days to just explore the town and walk around to different shops and such, and yeah, i highly recommend visiting! they also had a bar dedicated solely to mr. bean???

da nang - they have the prettiest beaches !!!! this is what they're known for, and i went to an bang beach and i got such pretty seashells and had a wonderful time relaxing there. they also have incredible seafood being sold right on the beach fronts too, and it's all still fresh and it's like in asian stores where the fish / shellfish are still swimming, but better since they literally just caught it, and you get to pick what you want to eat

bat trang pottery village - the dishes and pottery sold here are so incredibly pretty, and i had to stop myself from buying everything aksljdhfas

chợ bến thành - they sell literally everything here, like fresh produce? cute tourist stuff? random trinkets? super authentic looking luxury bags? you name it, they have it. you have to be really careful of people forcing you to buy things tho, like one lady grabbed my sister's arm and wouldn't let her go after she looked at one of her fake gucci wallets until i told her to let her go in vietnamese askldhf it was lowkey funny how vendors think my sister and i aren't vietnamese and discuss scamming us / jacking up the pricing, and then i speak with them in viet and they suddenly are offering discounts aksljdfa

things to do:

visit a floating market - there are a bunch of these in vietnam, and you usually have to get up early to see them, but it's so worth it! it is a literal floating market. vendors are selling super fresh fruits and veggies and other goods from their boats in the mekong river, they’re tossing the produce to one another across the boats, and it's amazing to see. and also buy some of the local fruit! it's amazing

thang an ninh binh grotto tours - you're on this tiny boat that's rowed by someone else, and they take you on a stunning ride through the caves and grottoes (if you're super claustrophobic, then i would not recommend the route that goes into the caves because it gets really low in there, like we had to bend forward and get down because the ceiling was that low). this was my favorite!

hạ long bay boat tour - this boat tour is absolutely beautiful as well, and the views are different from the one i mentioned above. i highly recommend this one as well! also, we did a bit of super easy kayaking at one of the stopping points during this tour, and it was this peaceful secluded water area surrounded by lush geeenery and cliffs, and it's just incredible

we visited one temple, and it's beautiful, but due to some political reasons and such, the vietnam history they tell during tours is not correct, and my family and i felt uncomfy about that, so we didn't visit any other historical places. but i would recommend visiting temples and pagodas if you appreciate architecture! they are super gorgeous, and the views from the top are amazing