Anxiety, depression, laziness...Can the nameless wonder change? page 185

[Mud Flinger]

I have made lots of yogurt and sometimes it's creamier than others. Just give it a stir and eat it anyways. Half and Half or full cream yogurt is really good. I would make it for my daughter and she'd eat a whole pint for breaky. I like using plain greek yogurt for the starter as many of the other main stream yogurts have geletin and other crap in them to make them set. I microwave my milk in a mason jar that fits perfectly into my yogurt maker and then stir in the yogurt once it's cooled a bit. Make sure you stir it thoroughly too for a consistant end product. I can use my own yogurt for the starter a few times, but then it seems to dilute or something and a fresh plain yogurt from the store is needed to get me going again. Lots of trial and error, but eh - life's and experiment - expect to learn from stuff you do, but don't expect perfection

[namelesswonder]

You know, I was wondering if cream yogurt would work. I'd have to buy a bunch of small containers to make this much though! I think the 1/2 gallon of grass-fed milk at Whole Foods will be cheaper, so I'll stick with it for now. I've read about the dilution of using your own yogurt as starter, so I'm not even going to try that until I'm sure I'm doing it all right.

A yogurt maker will be a good investment, to insure controlled temperatures throughout the winter, I think, but not just yet. I'll have to price shop and read reviews first.

[WaylandC]

2 new pics and 2 short vids. I strained the yogurt for about 7 hours which turned out to be perfect today. Some days are different.

Yogurt pictures by wccrispy - Photobucket

[namelesswonder]

Thanks! I will take more photos with my next batch, and actually try mixing the whole thing together.

[namelesswonder]

Yogurt: After some mental waffling (and discovering that my second container of yogurt had turned entirely to liquid this morning, boo), I've decided to do this for my next batch: get a thermometer and do the first heating to 180F on the stove, but use the crock pot insert for the incubation. I'll buy/borrow an oven thermometer so I can get it warm in there, then wrap the crock pot insert (after I've pre-warmed it with just water, before putting in the warmed-then-cooled-to-110F milk) in towels and leave it in the oven, which will be off, all night with the light on. I might go to Whole Foods tonight for more supplies. I'm also going to use 2-3 tablespoons of store-bought plain yogurt for my starter, to make sure my starting cultures are good. I'd love to make the yogurt tonight, I'll probably have time, since the heating and cooling will go faster outside of the crock pot, but maybe I should save it for tomorrow.

TMI: Apparently, my yeast culture from 1 week ago showed no signs of yeast or anything else. WTF? So why the hell have I been itchy? Maybe just dryness or irritation? Who knows. This morning was the best morning yet, so I'm hopeful that I can call myself symptom-free by the end of the week. That means I'm just a couple weeks away from adding fruit back in to my diet (haven't yet decided what to start with)! Digestive symptoms are slowly improving, I don't expect things to be 100% overnight. At least I'm having bowel movements now, and my pelvic floor muscles seem to be recovering (some twinges if I don't focus when I go to the bathroom, but should be okay in a few days). I'm still on the fence about investing in Hydro-C...I think it would be a good investment, but I just bought that Vitamin C... Wasting money makes me sad.

Food: Okay, in the interest of all honesty here, I was VERY tempted to get some ice cream last night. I had some at my parents' house, and it was delicious, and I had no ill effects from it. I SHOULD NOT TEMPT FATE. I'm so close to eating fruit again, I just need to hold off a bit longer. I need to pick up some potatoes for starch-eating Boyfriend tonight, along with my yogurt supplies. I did some mental math about buying local meats. If I estimate for .5 lbs of meat for my lunches, plus 1 lb of meat for our dinner (.5 for each of us), that comes out to 10.5 lbs of meat/week (though it would ultimately be less, since I don't eat lunch every day). I think, once Boyfriend's job situation normalizes (soccer coach right now, might get a second gig which will be really helpful for our financial situation, then looking into a security gig for the rest of the year off till next Fall) and we're splitting grocery costs, I could pay for a meat share, and he could cover the rest of the groceries. I think that would be affordable, since produce and dairy are not that expensive. But for now, CAFO meat for the masses! Gotta keep pinching pennies Which means no delicious Native Forest coconut milk, even though I really want some for my chai.

Mood/brain: I got HYPER yesterday. That's pretty rare for me, without caffeine stimulus. I am bewildered and, honestly, it freaked me out a bit. I was so excited and just plowing through some last minute stuff at work, I felt energized and great, but at the same time, I was getting really frustrated when stuff didn't go right. It reminded me of when I was on Ritalin and took too much! I haven't been taking Tyrosine this week (did a couple times over the weekend, but it just gave me a headache), so I have no idea what that was about. Actually feeling a little bit like that today, which scares me, because I don't really have much to do!

Exercise: I'll probably be biking to and from Trader Joe's (for potatoes) and Whole Foods (for yogurt-making supplies) tonight. Hmm...I wonder if TJ Maxx would have cheaper oven/candy thermometers (it's next to the Whole Foods).

[namelesswonder]

Garrrrr I've got the hyper-active feeling again today! Why doesn't the nearby party store have Halloween stuff yet? I walked over during a lunch break last week and enjoyed the quick browse, but they only had a couple aisles worth of decorative stuff. Not enough to sate me. And still, too much for my poor wallet.

Feeling really FUCKYOUIWANTTOSPEND about money. I want to check out this small chain, Buffalo Exchange, which I guess is a consignment shop. Wish I'd thought of bringing my red dress there, I probably could've gotten better money for it, or at least, no shipping charges. I wonder if they'd take my old tap shoes. I'm still on the fence about this dress (see below). I wore it for my Junior year prom in high school. It's a size 2, so it's pretty snug on me now. Really lovely, but unlikely that I'll ever fit into it again. Sometimes, I wonder if I should save these things for a potential future child, but I hate holding on to things.


This photo is from 3 years ago, the only other time I wore the dress (organized a dress-up day on campus, got some other people to wear former prom dresses and such with me).

AAAAAAAAAAAAnd one of my co-workers has set up a standing desk at my former desk area and I'm super jealous. It's the perfect height, I was so comfortable over there. My cubicle wall is quite low so it would look very strange if I set up a standing desk. I don't feel like peering out over the entire office, I'd like a wall to separate my view.

http://namelessw0nder.blogspot.com/2...currently.html

[honeybuns]

Could you turn that dress into an awesome tank?

My cousins daughter is rocking the pink hair and is doing some modeling. I forget who for. Her name is Devon Duarte. If you Google her you can see how much you guys look alike (to me, anyway)

DANG! I just did a Google image search and there are so many Devon Duarte's! She is THE ONLY ONE with pink hair and it is a crappy picture anyway.

models for Love and Zeal clothing

[namelesswonder]

The dress is too tight now to be a tank, but I could totally imagine it as a shorter dress now, maybe with some tassles. 1920s inspired. I wonder if I could wear it if I install a zipper on the side.

I think I found her on Facebook. Love that pink, so much brighter than mine! I don't think I could pull off the neon shade, but it's pretty badass.

Full disclosure: I could barely stop myself from eating 3 squares (2x2" probably) of some kind of peanut butter & chocolate fudge my mom made. It made my stomach hurt and my teeth itchy (usually happens with too much sugar), but it was so good. Hopefully Boyfriend will finish off the last 2 for me so I don't eat them tomorrow! I was very happily full tonight though.

Didn't get to the grocery store. See Fitocracy link in signature for random exercises I did.

[namelesswonder]

The squares are still in the fridge. Fortunately, I was too stuffed after a big bowl of yogurt and two eggs (I guess the yogurt is filling, because I normally scarf down 3 eggs, but those were the last 2) to be tempted this morning, and my teeth are still bugging me. After work, remains to be seen.

TMI: Digestion still seems to be improving. Big relief there. Still feeling some irritation, and still spotting. Wondering if I should go ahead with that douche (raw ACV and water, I forget the ratio for the mixture) to make sure there's no garlic residue hehe, but I don't want to throw off the pH, if it's okay now! The doctor said last week I shouldn't have sex for a week once the infection clears up... so I guess technically I can have sex now, but I don't want to irritate anything more! Hrmph. Guess now is not a bad time for my sex drive to be kaput.

Sleep: Been sleeping crappy lately. Keep waking up during the night, and early. Wondering if it's related to low-carb, since I'm taking magnesium citrate at night and that's supposed to help. I could be in ketosis, which would explain my absurd brain power lately, but I think I'm eating too much protein for that to be possible.

Exercise/Food: I know I keep saying this, but it's really exciting to realize little things that indicate I'm getting stronger. I'm much more comfortable riding the scooter and trudging up the stairs with my backpack (heavily padded, so it's not light, plus the weight of the laptop). The overhead presses I did with the kettlebell last night were easier than in the past. I haven't done any for a while, but I did 4 on my left side straight off the bat (forgot to do more later, d'oh). I think I could've done 5. I think that was even after I did some plank-holds. Tonight, I have to get eggs (and milk! for yogurt! I got a candy thermometer on the way home from work yesterday) so I can have breakfast tomorrow! Ideally, I'd get two cartons, but I don't want to risk smashing any in my backpack via bicycle.

Mood/brain: I need to get out of my head more. I had a hard time falling asleep last night because I was planning journal entries here and thinking about writing a blog post. On my way to work, I started doing it again! It takes a lot of effort to keep myself focused on the "here and now", which is obviously important when I'm on the road. It's not like I'm not noticing things while I ride, but I know me and it's not entirely safe for me to be drafting pieces of writing when I should be more intent on checking my mirrors. I'm not sure how I'll accomplish this, getting out of my head. Keeping busy will help, so that I don't feel like I didn't accomplish things come bedtime. I will get done today some of the things that kept me awake last night, like some Pinterest board organization. I'm dreaming about tattoos again...

Speaking of dreams, I had a scary one a couple of nights ago. Someone had kidnapped me and was planning how to violate me for their pleasure. He made me call Boyfriend, but I didn't know how to ask for help without getting killed or alerting the bad guy. I just kept saying awkward things and Boyfriend sounded bored and distracted. When I woke up, I wanted to pick a safe phrase or word that would alert Boyfriend if I was ever in trouble and couldn't directly tell him, that wouldn't sound suspicious to anyone else. I forgot to ask him about this. I guess it's a pretty silly precaution, but I have a tendency to have really vivid nightmares so it would make me feel more comfortable to have that in my head.

Ramblings, Ravings and Rants.: Link dump

[namelesswonder]

A Whole Foods might open in my town. I haven't shopped at the grocery store (local chain) it would be taking over in a long time. They have cheap meat, but not sure if would have been cheaper than BJ's Wholesale. I should bike over and price shop sometime. I know their produce selection is pretty meager, and I don't think they have a great variety of eggs, so it's probably not worth shopping at very often.

If Whole Foods expands to more smaller markets, I wonder if they prices will go down, and where they will focus on in terms of departments. I imagine a lot of packaged stuff, and smaller perimeter departments (aka. what I'd shop for).