I hope you had a nice Christmas, if you're a Christmasser, and/or are having a nice Hannukah! I do both. Christmas was ok. It was fun to give V her toys but I found myself missing my family and generally just crying a lot. Someone suggested that Vivian and I take a road trip to OK and I am considering that and trying to think about what it would take to make that happen. Hannukah is plugging along. It was with great relief yesterday that I moved the furniture back into regular position and began organizing the house. I've got another 4-day weekend coming and I'm going to use it to get better organized. There's just so much STUFF everywhere. I think some streamlining will help my mood too.

ETA: Last night I found one of Viv's teeth! I have one of Rudie's baby teeth and I had hoped I'd find one of Viv's, and I did! I stepped on it, in fact, hahaha.

Did a little minor housekeeping on the ole F-list, mainly people I never interact with or who haven't posted in more than a year. Also deleted all RSS feeds - there are 4 of you, and you all have LJ accounts, so I left those.

This journal is generally Friends Only.
Please announce yourself if you add me to your list,
or if you would like to be added to mine.

Lovely layout courtesy of spring_625, used with thanks!

Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Dill and Feta

Serves 6
1/2 red onion
1 pound tomatoes, about 2 large, 1 red and 1 orange
1 clove garlic
Flaky sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4 pound cucumber (approximately 1/3 cucumber), thinly sliced
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Finely slice the red onion and put the slices in a bowl of cold water while cutting up the rest of the vegetables, 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized chunks. Drain the onion and pat dry.

Place the garlic, a pinch of salt, and the vinegar into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking.

Add the red onion, red pepper, cucumber, olives, and herbs and let marinate for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and feta, and toss gently to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lift out of the bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving juices behind. Place on a large platter and serve immediately.

This recipe has been updated from a recipe originally published June 2009.

LOW-CARB, VEGETARIAN, GLUTEN-FREE, WHEAT-FREE, EGG-FREE, PEANUT-FREE, TREE-NUT-FREE, SOY-FREE, FISH-FREE, SHELLFISH-FREE

Per serving, based on 6 servings. (% daily value)
Calories 209
Fat 16.8 g (25.8%)
Saturated 5.3 g (26.5%)
Carbs 11.3 g (3.8%)
Fiber 3.1 g (12.4%)
Sugars 7 g
Protein 5.2 g (10.4%)
Cholesterol 22.2 mg (7.4%)
Sodium 434 mg (18.1%)

Have y'all seen the story on HuffPost entitled I Wore A Bikini and Nothing Happened? It's great! Excerpts below the photo.



"This year, I made a New Year's resolution that confused some people. By confuse, I mean conversations about it usually went like this:
Me: "Next summer, I'm going to wear a bikini."
Them: "What a great goal! What are you doing? Weight Watchers? Jenny Craig? Are you going vegan? Paleo? Are you having the surgery?"
Me: "I said I was going to wear a bikini. I didn't say I was going to lose weight."
Them: Face melts off like they're staring into the Arc of The Covenant.

I'm not stupid; I know why people didn't want to see me in a bikini. But apparently, I seem stupid to the people who tried to discourage me. I wasn't supposed to see through their excuses, or realize that the connections they were making were flawed. Our cultural discussion of fat bodies and how we clothe them has nothing to do with health concerns, the obesity epidemic or the comfort of fat people. It has everything to do with what we expect from women, what we've been told by the fashion industry and the value we place on "perfect" bodies.

The reason these people do not want to see a fat body in a bikini is because traditionally, that garment is something a woman earns by proving herself attractive enough to exist.

As a society, we need to be more honest in our discussions of other's bodies. If we can't avoid those totally unnecessary conversations, then we should at least admit the truth to ourselves: That this has nothing to do with health, and everything to do with the control we believe is our right to exert over others."

Edit: her response to the responses which have been overwhelmingly positive, except for a couple, one of which was from a middle-aged white dude...

"The current record holder is the guy who left simply, “No thanks.” No thanks? Are women just on offer to you, and you deem them worthy of humanity based on whether or not you’d grace them with a fuck?"

Valid point. Everyone is entitled to their preferences. But if it was a skinny girl in a bikini, or a black woman, would people feel as free to say "no thanks"?

http://jennytrout.com/

What's more fitting than declaring your independence from bras which don't fit properly?? (heh heh heh) Ok but really. I thought I was a 36D for years, but it turns out I am a 34F. Who knew. P.s. Re: cup sizes. I am a normal-looking lady. I do not have porn star knockers. Do not be alarmed if suddenly you learn you are, say, an F cup.



Anyway, I'm going to try on some bras in this new-to-me size and will report back. Also, this video is actually really good and the woman in it is charming.