You know things are getting bad when....

......................You need a coupon to buy Top Ramen.

A diet by any other name

You're a vegetarian, aren't you???    ...My diet has been an avoided topic lately, and it really shouldn't be. I've been responding to questions like that with "It's complicated", mostly because the average person doesn't actually want any answer to a question that takes more that 1-2 sentences. I've been a vegetarian twice, for over a year each time, and would be one today if I was single. Cold turkey does not work, and the last time I went full veg I had weaned myself off of meat product so slowly in fact that my boyfriend did not even notice until an awkward shopping trip to Costco where not wanting any of the suggested products resulted in him calling me out forthright "Did you go Vegetarian!?!?!" ...So, that lasted a year, until what I like to call, The Great Compromise.  I agreed to eat grass fed and pasture raised meat if he agreed to only eat the same. Honestly, I made out like a bandit. Due to cost constraints, we each eat meat maybe twice a week. He came down MUCH more that I went up into the meat direction. He learned a lot of new and interesting recipes to boot. 


...But the point of this post is, what do I call my diet?

-I would rather not eat meat at all, but you can not preach that farm animals should be treated with respect and not buy the products that meet your standards. There is no motivation for change without a market, and I seem to notice the food market changing every day in my favor:) That is the reason for buying and eating grass fed beef and pole caught tuna.
-I do not buy processed food that contains foods likely to be a GMO. That means nothing with soy, corn, or canola, except for salad dressing, unfortunately, until at least one brand stops putting it in there.
-I do not eat gelatin. Sorry, that's just gross, above and beyond the fact I wouldn't eat a factory farmed meat by-product.
-I try to garden to the best of my ability and to the extent my tiny backyard will accommodate. This is really the only way to ensure your food really meets your standards. I'm not a saint, but I only want poisons that I intentionally ingest in my body.
-I will eat organic when I can.

I know I shouldn't need a label, but people seem to need a label on you or they feel uncomfortable for some reason. I was thinking Eco-tarian? Is that taken? I feel very similar to when I discovered I was an anarcho-capitalist. I really thought I did not have an identity, as I was outside of the 2 established boundaries. I thought I just wasn't political. then I realized not only were there other options out there, but they had labels too. I really just want coworkers to stop staring at me trying to figure me out. Why is food/ diet so important to people that they ostracize you when you don't fit in? Who cares if I don't want any of the smoked whatever everyone chipped in for? What are they scared of?

Do Ladybugs eat Milkweed bugs? Yes they do!

In addition to a minor aphid problem on my anise, I had hoped and guessed that ladybugs would help me with a milkweed bug problem that was forming again this year. Last year they completely DEVASTATED my milkweed, and that milkweed was for the monarchs, not the milkweed bugs:( There were some extremely sad and undersized caterpillars eating what few leaves remained after the infestation. I bought 2 tubs of ladybugs today and sprinkled a few on the milkweed as a test, and ha! I caught 2 humping while the one in front was eating a milkweed bug, with another eating one right beside the happy couple. Check it out!

Note: I apologize for the less than perfect photo. My camera was not really intended for macro shots, and the ladybug instructions said to release them after ideal lighting conditions when it is cooler.

Hoarding: Not just for Hoarders anymore.

I've always been a hoarder......

• First baby toy-got it. 
• The sweatshirt I was wearing when I told my mom she wasn't allowed to wash my clothes anymore-got it. 
• The stuffed dinosaur I received as a gift the year I discovered there was no Easter Bunny-yup, got that one too.

I even admit that sometimes, when stuff comes boxed in an exceptionally nice box with a cool design, or the folded paper part of the packaging that is stapled to the item containing bag below just looks too cool to throw away, I've stored it away to look at later. I've even kept shirts with holes in them if I can remember something I did while wearing them or......well, you get the picture.


Now that I'm a "prepper", as people are terming us these days, hoarding is OK! and I've put my finely tuned skill to good use. I've directed all of my hoarding potential towards materials, food, supplies and tools for useful skills when it all breaks down. It's as if I've been training my whole life for this: Learning to tetris those cases of beans ever so neatly in the closet, leaving maximum potential for more. Pretending I don't have an internet shopping addiction. How can my boyfriend be mad when our very survival may depend on my ability to hoard??

Offensive Product Warning!

If you watch late night infomercials, you have probably seen this product. It's Tria!  The home laser hair removal system. For $395 you can zap yourself hairless, just as God intended you to be. 

I admit, I have often dreamed of hairlessness, and decided to bite on this one. I waited patiently at the mailbox, and when it arrived.......

WTF?? "Activation"? I called the number, and well, long story short, the "purpose" of said activation is to make sure the user is medium to light skinned, since the product is only approved for those people. My big question was, "How exactly do you activate it? Is there a mini cell phone in there? How in particular is the company able to zap this product active, and what other creepy properties or abilities does this product have by default? Can it track my location? Record and transmit me talking? I don't know!!! The lady on the phone was neither amused, nor helpful, and simply said "Ma'am, this is a medical device. We have to verify some information about you before activation." Repeating the questions did not help. By the way, the bottom of the device has a window you are supposed to press on your skin to verify you are medium to light skinned before it turns on (which was easily fooled in testing by a nearby bedsheet). I'm not sure who they think they are fooling. Anyone can claim to have the correct colored skin over the internet and by phone, so the creepy satellite induced activation must serve some dastardly alternate purpose. I likely will not take the laser out of my house traveling with me, and as soon as I am hair free it is to be shipped elsewhere. 

Creepy!!! Anyone else agree?