The Intestines of the World

The title for this post comes from the fact that Aristotle once called worms the intestines of the world. This will become relevant later when I talk about worms. But first! I want to let everyone know that I'm excited about and thankful for several belated birthday presents I received. I got a bunch of nail polish for my Fierce Fridays from Bone and her family and Bruno mailed me two bags of homemade chocolate chip cookies! I feel very loved.

Nailpolish from L-R: orange, black, royal blue, teal, white.

Two bags of cookies: Butterscotch chocolate on the right and Andes mint chocolate on the right. 

Ok. Now. On to worms. Today I also got a bag of red wriggler worms from a woman I met on a gardening listserv that I just joined. Apparently her husband is a teacher and these worms (or their wormy ancestors) were originally used as a school science project. If you know about worms you know that red wriggler worms are the ones you use for vermicomposting! I'm super excited about this! I've set them up in the unused vermicomposting bin we had hanging out in our basement. Woohoo!

The worms in the cool whip container I used to bring them home.

The worm bin sitting in the basement next to the chest freezer.

What is vermicomposting, you say? Vermicomposting (vermi = worm, composting = composting) is letting particular types of worms eat organic waste - in this case our kitchen scraps and junk mail - and then poop out compost that can be used as fertilizer. So I will be fertilizing the garden with regular compost from the bins outside and also worm poop, which sounds gross but is actually really cool. I promise to describe the process of vermicomposting more fully in a later post.

Triptych of cartoons: a puzzled looking chef with a pile of food scrap waste; a vermicompost bin with happy worms and food being tossed into it; a happy gardener using vermicompost to grow flowers.

'Tis The Season… For Garden Planning!!!

I am SO ready for spring. I've even put in an application for a community garden plot, since our backyard leaves a bit to be desired in terms of gardening space. *Fingers crossed*

Anyway, last year I was just moving in so I didn't have a lot of time to start up a garden. I pulled up a ton of established weeds, stuck in some herbs I'm hoping will come in this year, put in a few tomato plants, a squash plant, and some lettuce, and called it a day.

Because I'm nostalgic, I'll show you pictures of the garden at my old apartment. It wasn't a high producing garden but I was stupidly proud of it. I was given the 11ft x 4ft plot because it was a shady mudpuddle where my landlord couldn't manage to grow grass. To improve the complete lack of drainage I built a raised bed. To improve the lack of sun I trellised things and eventually added strategically placed mirrors to bounce more light where it needed to go. To be honest, that garden was a constant battle against slugs and powdery mildew. But! It was my baby and I loved it dearly.

Cucumber growing up the fence next to the garden.

Rhubarb.

Tons of marigolds in the front sidewalk plot.

Shiitake mushrooms.

Me planting things - you can see the mushroom logs behind me.

Chives in a mini box next to the garden.

Beans from the garden on the kitchen counter.

Acorn squash from the garden sitting on the deck.

Garlic from the garden hanging from the door along with the pizza peel. 

In that garden the best crops were the shade tolerant plants and fungi. Mushrooms, garlic, amaranth, chives, rosemary, rhubarb, asparagus, cucumbers, squash, lettuce, peas, and beans. Worst crops were the sun loving plants. Tomatoes were small and late and plagued by slugs. Eggplants and peppers were a no go. Corn would have been laughable so I didn't even try.

I'll make another post soon to share my plans for this year's garden. In my current back yard there's a raised bed that's almost the size of my old one, and there are some raised plant boarders along part of the backyard fence which I hope to expand so they border the whole fence. There are also lots of other spaces where I can put container plants. In general, this garden will be infinitely more sunny and well-draining than my last garden and its biggest garden threats so far appear to be kids and pets. Even if I don't get a community garden plot, this garden will make me happy. If I do get one, the sky is the limit!

Sewing and Geeky Cakes

Yesterday after work I went to Tea's house for a sewing date. I got a bunch of mending done and Tea completed her first sewing project - curtains!

Tea sewing a colorful curtain.

Tea with her curtain.

The curtain in its new home in the kitchen window.

Yesterday night I went to visit a friendly acquaintance that I'm hoping to make friends with -Aquafabulous, of Geeky Cakes fame. She's a software engineer, a mom, a fellow gardener, an amazing baker, and she's also really friendly! So last night she was hosting a mini party as the first year celebration of the discovery of aquafaba. Obviously I was in!

Aquafabulous got her name because she was/is one of the first people to pioneer the use of aquafaba ("water bean") in vegan baking. What is aquafaba? You know that slimy liquid in a can of beans that you probably pour down the drain? The same slimy liquid you can get by cooking beans? That's aquafaba. Turns out it works incredibly well as a vegan egg replacer. The beans of choice to use are chickpeas because they're mild-tasting, but any bean liquid works. There's even a website about it - www.aquafaba.com - where you can read about the history, science, and nutrition of aquafaba. And while I'm at it, here is an article about aquafaba - the first picture is one of Aquafabulous's cakes and one look at it will explain why I was so excited to eat more of her desserts. Here's the spread of deliciousness:

The amazing spread of desserts at Aquafabulous' party (photo taken by Aquafabulous).

New Housemate!

This is a quick post to say that we've added two new housemates to my co-op! I need to figure out pseudonyms but they're a mother and daughter and they're basically a perfect fit for us.

Line drawing of four people drinking together on the couch that says "Happiness is housemates becoming a family."

The mother is a 30 year old black bisexual single mom and a student with her own event planning business and several part-time volunteer gigs. I have no clue how she manages to balance all of that but I plan to find out so I can imitate her level of industriousness. Anyway, she's super friendly, likes crafting, knows how to cook, has great taste in lipstick, and is psyched to live here. Her daughter is adorable and is clearly being raised well. She was a little shy at first but quickly made friends with the kids and cats. I don't think it's possible to exaggerate how excited we are about having them live with us. Even the kids are psyched.

Fierce Friday - Orange Style

Today I'm feeling orange. I used to dislike orange because it felt too bright and gaudy. Now I really like it. To me, orange is a joyful color that reminds me of fall and harvest moons and Buddhism.

Anyway, you may remember that a while back I doctored up the cuffs on one of my pairs of pants. With orange fabric. So because they are in theme I'm wearing them today. Just to remind you - here are some examples of my inspiration:

Black pants with roses on the cuffs.

Khaki pants with blue and orange flowered cuffs.

I paired my doctored up jeans with a bright orange sweater, orange and grey multi-strand necklace, orange nail polish, and my maroon Dr. Marten's boots since I didn't have any orange shoes. Yay orange!

Me posing for the camera.

My lower body.

Necklace and coordinating nail polish.

Cuffed pants and maroon boots.

Working Out!

It has been about two weeks since I posted about working out so I thought today was a good day to share the workout structure I've settled into. If you remember, I had some structural changes and some specific fitness goals.

The structural changes are going well. Taking the bus to work was an easy switch, as was taking the stairs all the time. I would like to note that both Texas and Morning live on the fourth floors of their respective buildings and I underestimated just how many times I'd be running up and down four flights of stairs in a day. But it's still less annoying than I thought it would be. The change that has been the most annoying is walking or biking everywhere under five miles.  Specifically, when visiting friends. When I made that resolution I was thinking about running errands in town and I forgot that both Tea and Surrogate Mom live under five miles away. Which means I'll be walking or biking to them from now on. Whoops! At least the weather is getting nicer…

Homer Simpson acting out how I feel after climbing stairs all day (he is dragging himself up by his hands and whining)

In terms of my specific goals, I have made no progress on the ballet, yoga, kickboxing, or rock climbing goals. I have attempted to do cartwheels with hilarious results and I think I'm going to save cartwheels and handstands for spring/summer. I've been doing stretches in the hopes of improving my flexibility for the splits. So far no splits, but my right leg which had been hurting constantly since I pulled it after surgery has finally stopped hurting. I'd say that in itself is a worthwhile accomplishment. The pushups, sit-ups, and squats are going swimmingly. I've started lifting weights to help me with my pushup and handstand goals and also because lifting weights makes me feel like a badass. I started doing leg workouts with weights too since I figured why not?

Lois Lane in a short dress and heels doing arm curls.
Clark Kent says "Ready to go Lois?" and she says "Whenever you like Kent."

What else? Running. My friend Karaoqueen has agreed to do a 5K color run with me when I'm ready. Now all that remains is to find an appropriate run and train for it. I've started the Couch to 5K training schedule laid out on this website. I'm modifying it though by allowing myself to stick on a week if I need to instead of pushing myself on to the next week whether or not I'm ready. I'm midway through week one right now and I'm already starting to think I dislike running. Which is unfortunate, because I really am enamored with the idea of running triumphantly across a finish line. I don't suppose it'd have the same feeling of joy if I just set up a finish line in my back yard and ran across it. At any rate, I plan to keep it up until I reach my 5K goal but I may retire from running after that. There are so many more enjoyable types of exercise out there.

In terms of conundrums, I still can't do a pull-up. This, frankly, is unsurprising because I am fat so there is more of me to lift. I find myself wishing I had one of those assisted pull-up machines to help me work up to it. After several sad attempts I found myself despairing. How do you work on pull-ups when you can't do a pull-up in the first place? Luckily, I've found this article to help me. I have hope. I am determined. After all, who knows when pull-ups may come in handy? What if there's a zombie apocalypse?

Runner with a caption that says "Work out to be fit and sexy? Hell no… I am training for the Zombie Apocalypse."

Anyway, in all of my internet searches I've found that you are supposed to alternate what you're doing on different days. So here's my new daily structure:

Sunday - COUCH POTATO DAY!!!
Monday - Chest and Triceps
Tuesday - C25K and Abs
Wednesday - Back and Biceps
Thursday - C25K and Abs
Friday - Legs and Butt
Saturday - C25K and Abs

I usually do a tiny bit of cardio on the weight lifting days. My new favorite indoor cardio thing to do is the stationary bike. I play music I like and bike along, then when the chorus comes I pedal like crazy. So it's basically interval training but it keeps me amused. I also like setting up mini circuits for myself with squats and burpees and mountain climbers and stuff. Because I like to pretend I'm slaying it on one of those ninja warrior shows. To be honest, I've been thinking a lot about making myself obstacle courses in the backyard or something. I keep googling various obstacle courses for adults. Maybe this is my next project?

And last but not least, I should mention my swolemate. She's also doing well, and has been an excellent source of positive encouragement during this endeavor. I'm happy we're helping each other out.

How about you? Do you work out? What's your favorite form of exercise?

Fuck Your Body Policing

Friends, I was minding my own business getting lunch at work today when an acquaintance who works at the cafeteria made some unbidden rude comments about my dietary choices. Why did this happen? Because I am an unrepentant fat person who had the gall to choose to eat macaroni and cheese for lunch. So this person decided to "concern troll" me about my dietary choices.

Image of a fat woman's giving the finger with the words "Fuck Your Body Policing."

Because I am feeling more angry than articulate, I'm linking to an article with 11 Reasons Your 'Concern' For Fat People's Health Isn't Helping Anyone.

Friends, my diet is my own business. Put simply, if I want to sit around eating doughnuts all day that is between me, my doctor, and the good people at my local doughnut shop. I do not need to justify my diet to anybody. The size of my body does not suddenly make my dietary choices someone else's business. 

If I were a thin person, would this acquaintance have gone out of his way to criticize my diet and imply that I was unhealthy because of it? Of course not! He only felt he had the right to do so because of all the bullshit we're taught about fat people (which he has clearly bought into). 

I can assure you that pretty much every fat person over the age of about seven knows that being fat is undesirable in our society and that you are supposed to exercise and eat "healthy" food and lose weight if you are fat. I know I'm fat and I know that mac and cheese is a calorie-dense food. I also know that I'm expected to hate my body and want lose weight. But you know what? I'm not doing that. My body is awesome and I'm focusing on keeping myself as healthy as possible. Part of that is stepping off the horrid dieting merry-go-round that was taxing my emotional and mental health.

Here's the thing: Let's say I subsist entirely on junk food. That STILL wouldn't be anyone else's business. As long as what I eat is not hurting you, you have exactly no say in my dietary choices. When I start eating meat and buying my food from incredibly far away places and from farms that spray the world with toxic chemicals you can criticize me. Hell, if you're vegan feel free to criticize me for eating dairy (and then help me strategize since I'm thinking of making the switch). But unless you are critiquing the labor impact, animal rights impact, political impact, or environmental impact of our food choices your opinion is worthless to me.

If this dude cares so much about what I put in my body he can advocate for more vegetarian options at the cafeteria. The vegetarian main dishes today were pizza, macaroni and cheese, and grilled cheese. How about something sustainable made with vegetables and no processed ingredients? 

Friends, what do you do for self-care in times like this? And also - do you have any fabulous retorts I should store up for next time this happens to me?