August Randoms

wishiwaspreggo

Thanks, @kels0091 I decided against wall hangings because I don't really like the look of hooped pieces, and framing them is expensive so I decided a cost-effective and unique option would be to make decorative pillows. I spent forever making a design of Donald Trump's face and stitched some stupid shit he said underneath it and I found this faaaaaaaaaabulous fabric from Spoonflower called "Swamp Thing" that's a pattern with him and his band of clowns he calls an administration swarming around murky water. It's just amazing. So I'm going to use that to frame the piece and get some basic fabric for the back to make the pillow. It's large-ish but even so it wouldn't cost much to ship because it'll be light.

Anyway, I picked fabrics based on my designs and I'm doing a series of IVF pillows that'll be small. I'm thinking of making special ones for retrieval and transfer and filling them with lavender so women can take them to their appointments for good luck. I'm also stitching the names of various medications because they sound so scary on paper but something about seeing them cross-stitched on fabric makes them less intimidating. I dunno, maybe that's just me. My mom thought it was weird but she doesn't always get my sense of humor, which tends to be dark.

I also just have stupid and offensive things I stitched out that will look really, really funny paired with the other fabrics I picked. It's tons of fun. I'd crank things out faster if I didn't have my pesky day job to worry about and cross-stitch takes forever but I've been working on things all summer so as soon as I have the time to dedicate to making the pillows well, I'll be able to get those (and my bags) up on the shop.

kindbytealikat

Seriously BUMP, you  keep making mobile use more and more miserable. I’m having trouble posting now as there is an add over the post button. I haven’t figured out how to get rid of it to post except by random luck such as with this post.

suzycupcake

I got a little tea pot and these teas for my birthday from someone. These teas are so delicious! I'm an avid black tea fan but this vanilla rooibos red tea has become my favorite. I've never had red tea before and Mmmmm!

nitnat007

@suzycupcake I grew up drinking Rooibos tea back in South Africa and love it. It is by far one of my favorites too. 

suzycupcake

@nitnat007 Is it a tea native to the continent? I've always needed some sort of sweetener in my tea, mainly honey, but with this one, I don't need it at all. It tastes like it has its own hint of cream and sweetener. 

nitnat007

@suzycupcake Yes it is. Rooibos translated from Afrikaans (a mixed Dutch/German language spoken there) means red bush. I know, not very original. The tea is delicious though. Tazo has a lovely tasting Rooibos and Chai mix too. 

jrm_14

@nitnat007 I drink mass amounts of the Tazo chai rooibos in the water!!!!  So good. 

wishiwaspreggo

@suzycupcake Yum!!! I'm so, so, so jealous of everyone who has a Trader Joe's nearby. I live in a town that literally has every organic market available - EXCEPT Trader Joe's. I love their grapefruit prosecco. I went to the one near my parents' house and stocked up on frozen food recently. They have the best palak paneer frozen entree. It's *almost* as good as my favorite restaurant's but instead of paying $13 for take-out it's only $3 at TJ's. I was whining to my wife about how badly I wished I could just go down the street and buy the meal whenever I wanted and she said "just write down the brand name and buy it somewhere else." It's Trader Joe's brand :P they're not gonna sell that at Lucky's or Fresh Thyme.

riff323

@suzycupcake what a nice gift! That looks awesome!

@wishiwaspreggo I hear you on having every other single store available except TJs!!! TJ is my all-time favorite and it's not THAT far away but it's far enough away, you know?

suzycupcake

@jrm_14 and @nitnat007 Okay, what is Tazo? I feel like I'm missing out now. 

@wishiwaspreggo I've seen the palak paneer before but have never ventured to try it. Tell me what you love about it. I went to India, to Bombay and Mumbai in 2007. The food was glorious. I really enjoyed eating with one hand because they thought the right hand was dirty. We ate what seemed like ten times a day but everything was organic and whole. My stomach didn't agree with it at first, but then I felt the healthiest I had in awhile.I've only found one restaurant that almost cuts it for me but man, do I miss the food there.

The coolest thing about my trip was playing with the orphans. It was crazy because they all had AIDS but the younger ones weren't told until they reach a certain age. One of the times I want, my dress was blowing up because they had no doors or closed windows. I walked across the street to buy some shorts and a shirt so that I could play with them without a distraction. When I came back in a new outfit, it was INCONCEIVABLE to them that I could just walk across the street and buy a new outfit which by the way was only about 900 rupees, or about $13. 

The other thing I loved was the bidets. At one point, af arrived and that was like the most glorious thing ever. I think that all US bathrooms should have them. It was really interesting to have the showers go all over the place in the bathroom because everything is connected and open. 

The worst parts were seeing the slums, the people who had to use the bathroom in holes in the ground, and the children who had their limbs removed to get people to feel sorry for them and give them money to buy magazines. Actually, the worst part was the $15M apartments on the queens necklace while so much of the country is in poverty.

I ramble a lot but your food dish reminded me of the time I spent there. I was supposed to be there for two weeks but I didn't last a week and when I came home on the plane, I legit kissed the ground because I was so thankful to live in the US of A. 

nitnat007

@suzycupcake Tazo is a brand of tea. Most grocery stores carry it. They have some really interesting flavors. 
Oh and love your story of traveling to India. Sounds like a once in a lifetime kind of trip. 

wishiwaspreggo

@suzycupcake - Palak paneer is a spinach curry with cubes of fresh cheese (paneer). Absolutely delicious! I have no idea if it's even an authentic Indian recipe (TJ's claims it is) but no complaints from me because, yum!

I have never been to India before but I've heard stories about the poverty and slums I don't know if I could handle that. I went to Beijing for a short trip several years ago and they had the same situation with extraordinary wealth surrounded by extreme poverty. Kids without limbs. It was gut wrenching. I heard sometimes the rich kids in India will beg for money because American tourists wouldn't know the difference. It's a whole different world. The only other time I've spent in Asia was Japan (studied abroad in college for a year) but, socially and economically, it's pretty similar to the US. Culturally, very different, of course lol... it was interesting.

lillywonderland

I love the Tazo Zen Green Tea! It is my favorite kind of green tea. It has a hint of lemongrass and spearmint which makes it sooooo refreshing!!

Thanks for sharing your stories @suzycupcake and @wishiwaspreggo! I've traveled a bit, but I've never really gone anywhere with that kind of extreme poverty. I can only imagine some of the emotions you feel when you witness something like that firsthand.

meri-mac

I'm not sure if it has made it to the US, but we have a great tea place called David's Tea in Canada. You can get any flavour tea hot or cold as well as buying the loose tea in various sizes. My friend swears by Mother's Little Helper when he is sick. 

jrm_14

@suzycupcake @nitnat007 I also love this brand:

@lillywonderland The Tazo zen is one of my favorites, too!

wishiwaspreggo

@jrm_14 - That looks delicious! Is it already sweet when you steep it?

There's a spa in Wisconsin that serves something called jaggery tea. It tastes like the milk you have leftover from Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal only hot. The herb is naturally sweet. Maybe that doesn't sound appealing but when it's cold outside and the snow is falling on the pine trees and you're sitting in their relaxation room with the soft music in one of their big rocking chairs by the fireplace... doesn't get any closer to heaven than that.

jrm_14

@wishiwaspreggo You can for sure taste the sweet undertones in it. However, sometimes I add a very small bit of local honey. 

lillywonderland

@wishiwaspreggo You had me at Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Never been to WI, but now I have a reason to go!!

I went to a "Tea House" for 2 of my recent birthdays. It was awesome. I love tea so much! It makes me sad that the US doesn't do tea like they do in the UK. That was prolly one of my favorite things about living there. TEA!! Also, it was hilarious to hear multiple gentlemen I worked with jonesing for tea. Not many men here drink tea.

jrm_14

My latest add on TB- 

suzycupcake

@lillywonderland Have you ever had milk tea or boba tea? Omg *mouth watering* 

You're right about the mens. I don't know why that is here. My husband says it tastes like dirty water to him. I tried to have him try again with some fruit tea instead because he loves fruit. He just said it tasted like dirty water with mango in it 

holly321

I made a resolution to myself to cut back on coffee, and then I read all about chai, and now I have every intention to go get a dirty chai, my second today. 

Which, I love chai, but I can not make a good dirty chai.

riff323

Does anyone else just feel SO ACCOMPLISHED after a trip to Costco?! I am such a dork.

lillywonderland

@suzycupcake I've had boba tea and thai iced tea (which I think is like a milk tea). I'm not the biggest fan of those. The boba balls are weird, IMO. I think the men don't like tea (or won't try it) because here they associate tea with tiny girls in frilly dresses playing tea party.

WildMagelet

@holly321 That's awesome!  Good for you!  I love fantasy novels.  Fantasy Young Adult Fiction is my go-to for guilty reads.  I'm pretty sure I own everything ever written by Tamora Pierce.

@hestia14 Where do you publish your fanfiction at?  Also, what's your favorite one you've written?  I've been reading again (for the first time since high school) and have been considering getting into some of the daily writing prompts I see around to get back into writing again.  Most of the ones I follow are on FF.net or AO3, but there's a few on Wattpad too I guess.  

@coco2787 No kidding!  

@kels0091 Congrats!

@wishiwaspreggo - Congrats!  Where did you order your custom fabrics from?  Your bag is super cute!  Also, the jaggery tea sounds amazing!

@suzycupcake That's an awesome gift!  I don't make it to TJs very often but I've heard good things about their teas!  Tazo Passion & Zen are my go-tos, but the tea selection where I live is super limited, LOL.

kels0091

@riff323
YASSSSSSS
I went today for like an hour, drive back home which took about 45 mins and unpacked and put everything away and felt SO accomplished. 

hestia-is-wearie

@WildMagelet I used to publish on FF.net back in like...2011, but I think I removed almost everything from my account. (I was unemployed and bitter when I first got into fanfic, and it showed in my writing  ) I almost exclusively write Harry Potter fanfic, and the one I'm working on now is an idea I hatched back in 2011 that I picked up again last summer, then again this summer. Once I finish a few chapters, I'll start an AO3 account and publish it there.  

wishiwaspreggo

@WildMagelet - I ordered from Spoonflower I love their selection. They have a ton of off-beat prints and patterns that you can't find at traditional fabric stores. If you type in what you want in the search bar you'll find almost anything! The prints are all made by independent designers and I think that's pretty neat.

kvh22

On a conference call and someone just abbreviated Cloud Management to "CM" and all I can think is Cervical Mucous"   

meatballs37

@kvh22 lol lol!

anyone else ready for fall? 

holly321

@meatballs37, I am!  I hate the heat of summer, plus we have so many fun traditions/festivals in the fall.  And I am ridiculously excited to decorate my new house.  The street we are moving too is really big on decorating for the holidays and I can't wait!

kindbytealikat

@meatballs37 I have mixed emotions about fall. I don't want to rush away summer because my life gets so much busier in the fall and I like the relaxed feel of summer. That said, I am so over the heat and I'm ready for cool evenings/mornings and sweaters, sad to say good bye to flip flops though

meatballs37

@holly321 oh a new house to decorate! How fun! We moved into a new house two months ago and are almost unpacked. But have so much we want to do with the house. I also hate the heat. I’m over it. I’d like to be able to walk to my car without feeling like I’m gonna melt. 

@kindbytealikat I will say flip flops are pretty convenient and are probably my only real love about summer. What do you do that fall is busy for you? 

kindbytealikat

@meatballs37 This fall particularly. I haven't worked in 3.5 years and this past spring I went back to work part time as a substitute/paraprofessional. So back to work this fall which is two days a week then Tuesdays and Wednesdays i'll be tied up  with my Bible Study program and training for a leadership position with them. That is only in the morning but one of the afternoons i'll be having a friend over. So that really only leaves Monday for me to do doc appointments, cleaning, running errands. I know to many that doesn't actually sound like much and it really isn't comparatively but it is for me going from not working to having commitments so many days. 

meatballs37

@kindbytealikat oh that does sound like a big change! I only work part time outside the home right now (20 hours a week). And if I had to go back up in hours it would feel drastic to me too. 

Definitely make sure you make some time for you to unwind! A bible study program sounds like a positive thing to add to your schedule though. 

kvh22

@meatballs37 @kindbytealikat I love fall! We live in California so it's flip flops year round here except for the 3-4 days a year it rains (might be exaggerating, might not, depending on the year). I miss seasons and feel like it's been summer forever so I'm okay with it cooling down soon. I love sweater weather, and it has been hot lately! Queue wildfires and poor air quality here.

wishiwaspreggo

I like fall... but I like summer more I'm getting sad because I'm noticing the mornings aren't as bright and it doesn't stay light as long as it used to in the evening. I don't like when it gets cold and dark outside. Couple that with the fact that I live in the Midwest and it gets so rainy and miserable. I hate those days when the temperature hovers at 40 degrees and the dreary, monotonous rain goes on forever. It makes me not want to do anything but sit on my couch, eat, and complain.

Contrasting with the summer where I can take wonderful walks outside, sit in the shade with a cold drink, enjoy the outdoor pool, garden, attend festivals and concerts, feel the sun warm me from head to toe, and experience the freedom of not being shrouded in heavy winter clothes and coats.

zamoraspin

I'm late to the tea talk - but for those of you who drink green tea Mighty Leaf Green Tea Tropical is really nice. It's kind of pricey but it's my favorite green tea, which I think is a bit of an acquired taste after growing up with black teas like Earl Grey. 

Not sure why but I already feel like fall is going to start any second - makes no sense because it's hot and humid here. 

@wishiwaspreggo That cross stick is really cute! All I can think of when I hear "Blessed be the fruit" is Handmaid's Tale, which probably wasn't the reference you were going for but might drive up business! 

wishiwaspreggo

Thanks @zamora_spin Yes, my bags are definitely a Handmaid's Tale reference - but also a bag you can bring to the store for your fruit so you don't have to use plastic. It's a double entendre!

suzycupcake

I'm starting to wonder if all of these drive bys are people who have already posted here and got shooed away. It just seems like a huge uptick as of late. 

holly321

@suzycupcake, I was having similar thoughts. One , I think it was last night, seemed especially fake.