What?! Blog Post!
It is getting realllll in here.


Or something.

So it is almost Halloween, last time I blogged was March. I think I need to either give up or put more effort into this. One or the other, this on again off again thing is for the birds.
It is fall, I have not gotten into ADD PUMPKIN TO ALL THE THINGS mode yet, probably because it is still damn near 70 and sunny everyday. I need a chill in the air to feel like fall, maybe a little frost. Alas, the rains are starting at the end of the week so I will probably get into that mood quickly.

Seriously, for you guys who don't live in the Pacific Northwest (by the way what do they call southwestern Canada  I mean it is sort of part of what is referred to as the Pacific Northwest but it's southwest if you are Canadian...unless you guys just block out that northern half of your country cause no one lives there since it is too damn cold, then it is just west.) you have no idea the dread with which I think of the rains returning. Once they start they will be here (or at least threaten to be here) for the next oooo 8 months. I love that they make Oregon so lush and green, I hate having wet feet.
I ended up making a Great A'tuin cake by the way, for Skull's birthday party, in case you were curious.

I just had my grocery budget slashed by $200 so I have had to get frugal. Lots of Asian dishes, they use little meat and lots of noodles and rice. I am making Korean Beef tonight, pretty sure it is in no way Korean but it tastes pretty good. I made Koshari, an Egyptian rice and lentil dish yesterday. It was pretty tasty, much better than the first time I made it. I still can't seem to make enough onion for it though. All the "authentic" (I have never been to Egypt, so I gotta take their word on it) recipes say that you have to BROWN those onions, not a little bit, but a lot, like for French Onion soup only you want them a little more on the fried/crisp side then just caramelized  I used 5 smallish onions and I think I had maybe 1/2 cup when they had cooked down, it doesn't help that I had to uhm sample them as they cooked.
I think I am doing well though, I am half way through the month and half way into my grocery money, I don't really have any meat to buy since I had a good stash in the freezer. I am consistently saving around $30 a week on my groceries (typically actually spending around $75) through shopping sales and using coupons. I know this isn't a ton but I also don't buy many prepackaged products and that is often what has the biggest sales and coupons.
Niko has started school, she loves it so far. I think listening is where she struggles the most but she is adapting well, she seems to be making friends. I will admit I was a little worried about that, I was always kind of the weird girl in class and while I had a few friends (and especially by high school I wouldn't have traded my few awesome friends for all the popularity in the world) I always felt like a bit of an outcast, anyway I could kind of see the same thing happening to Niko. She is a little bit of a show off when it comes to her knowledge, she gets a little too excited about things and she hasn't been around a lot of other kids so she can be a bit awkward. Basically she is already a huge geeky nerd.  (Case in point? She is not being a super hero or a princess or a witch for Halloween  she is being Monarch X, the butterfly who taught us how far Monarch butterflies migrate each winter.)  I love her for it, but will her classmates? I guess time will tell.

new blog post

Posty post.
Ok it is almost 2 am, I am bored and on the internet instead of being asleep, why? I don't know because I can.

Uhm. So I realized I am really bad at this whole blogging thing, I blame facebook...it gets all my inane posts before I get a chance to expand upon them and turn them into full blown posts here. Also, I get more attention there, I like attention...
Also I like ellipses...and I use them incorrectly, we all have our flaws.
Today I made french onion soup, it was good..there are no pictures, this isn't one of those goddamned highfalutin food blogs you know. It took me approximately an hour and a half to brown the onions all the way...too much stirring I think, but I have had such an issue with things burning lately (including myself unfortunately.) that I didn't want to trust it. Only Skull and I ate it anyway...
Skull's birthday is next week, no idea what to get him. We are going to have a few people over to a friend's house (since we live in the middle of nowhere for now) to play board games and eat food. Any suggestions for a menu? Also, someone tell me how to make a Ratchet and Clank themed cake...how do I get myself into these messes?? Oh..right..they are self imposed.
*whistles*
Soooooooo.....
Niko is sick again apparently...so far just a cough so I slipped her some medicine (yes, it makes me feel like a wonderful mum to drug my kid...seriously though, hiding it in her juice is the only way to make her take it even if it is awesome purple flavoured dimetapp...she's a weird kid, also I want grape koolaid again). The little darling turns 5 in a month, where has the time gone? I am not nearly organized enough to have a school aged child yet. Also I need a sweet supply of bento stuff before September.
*gets distracted by internet again*

Also, pinterest makes me feel lazy. Also I am starting to develop a slight loathing towards people who pin recipes like "Thai Tofu scramble with homemade chili and basil oil and yam onion dumplings" god damn it, what happened to meatloaf? Let's keep shit real.
Also I think women's feet look ugly in high heels, maybe their butts look awesome but their feet look gross...ladies can we go back to wearing stockings please? And not in aqua...we aren't Aquaman.
Ok one last thought before I go to bed
I really want a sausage mcmuffin, someone make this happen for me first thing tomorrow.
That is all...

Women, seriously stop hating each other!!

Alright, listen. People are all sorts of shapes and sizes, there are some naturally VERY thin people who are very healthy, there are some unnaturally very thin people who are NOT very healthy (and some naturally thin women who aren't healthy, like me..I am super out of shape), there are some naturally fat women who are very healthy, there are some unnaturally fat women who are NOT very healthy? Notice how there can be positive and negative aspects on both sides of spectrum??
Alright so lately everyone has been freaking out about this woman:

 OK, so uh sorry about the bondage-y picture, it is the first one I found where she wasn't wearing something over her midsection.
Anyway, everyone is whinging because she has a 20 inch waist. Yes, she is extremely thin, yes she has a tendency to wear corsets in pictures to play up her very thin waist (also they are pretty common in photo-shoots these days), and yes that does look...frankly, alien. However, people are being really mean and saying that she is a bad influence and that she shouldn't be allowed to be a model because this is the kind of thing that gives people Anorexia and/or she is clearly anorexic herself. The woman says that she eats nearly constantly, but just a little at a time because she gets full very quickly, she also claims to have been to several doctors who cannot help her gain weight. Her rib cage doesn't jut out like it does in women who starve themselves. I believe her. I think it is ridiculous that everyone feels like they are allowed to be mean to her because she has a very unusual build, but women who have a similar build but aren't as skinny (as in a very tiny waist in comparison to the rest of them) are often complimented on their shape. Does this seem hypocritical to anyone else? Why is she
less acceptable than her:

Just because you don't think it is attractive, doesn't mean that you get to be mean to another person because of how they look. You don't get to call another person "disgusting" because of how they are shaped. Why do we think it is OK to tell skinny girls "eat a cheeseburger" or call them toothpick but anyone who calls a woman overweight is a monster?  Why is it okay to big and beautiful but not skinny and beautiful? Why are women with "curves" allowed to talk about how sexy their curves are but skinny women are made to feel guilty if they talk about being skinny (unless you are a fitness nut, then it is kind of OK? but you don't get described as skinny but "fit" "healthy" or "lean"). Not all skinny girls starve themselves (and to be factual, many people who are suffering from eating disorders are overweight when they get treatment, you don't have to be skinny to be starving to death) and not all fat girls eat too much. Again, from a health standpoint neither extreme has a leg to stand on (with few exceptions, some people are otherwise healthy but weigh too much due to meds or medical  and genetic conditions, some people are otherwise healthy but very skinny due to things like hyperthyroidism or genetic conditions) since being overweight is bad for you and so is being underweight. Why can't we just accept that women come in ALL shapes and sizes, some of them are pretty fucking weird, some are unattractive to most people, but none of them are "wrong" and worthy of ridicule (yea ALL shapes, start putting some skinny chicks in those "real women campaigns"). Some people would do better to lose weight, some people should try and gain it, but last I checked unless it is your body or that of someone you are genuinely concerned about, it is none of your damned business.  Worry about you, eat healthy, be strong. Being skinny doesn't make you beautiful and neither does being fat. Don't we all have enough shit to deal with??

Took a little break?

So I have been gone for a while I guess, I mean it's not like it matters since pretty much the only people who read this are related to me (except for that poor soul who came across it trying to find a picture of a dress form).
It has been an insane year, I worked very briefly at the zoo, lived with my parents for like 4 months and now I am back in Portland(ish) and trying to find work. Niko is just growing like a weed and starts school in the fall (which seems like a hundred years from now and strangely like next week), I want her to go to the science school, but we will see. She also has developed the habit of saying strange, strange things, which I will share with you! Aww, everyone wins.

Right now she is watching Beakman's world, I am trying to figure out how many steps I need to go through to get her enrolled in Kindergarten and my cats are sleeping on the bed, snuggled up together...I wish I were a cat. Also my hair smells pretty...I bought new conditioner because I liked the stuff that came with my hair dye so much, mostly I like it because it smells pretty much my hair is also super soft, but that is probably because of using apple cider vinegar (seriously! that shit works).
Man, I should probably not write stream of consciousness...
Also I got a new game from my kindle. I think it's purpose is to help me expand my vocabulary but mostly it just frustrates me, but in a fun kind of way?
Oh! and I decided I am going to become a Dietitian, which means I should probably be less lazy about what I eat.
That is about it...