Cute, hilarious, and so totally American--
My friend who won her election to the state legislature was born in India, but moved to the US while she was still a baby pretty much. So she does not speak Hindi at all, knows how to read her name, but that's it.
But, apparently this is super big news in the area of India her family is from, so she's being tagged in all these news stories, people are sending her newspaper and FB new articles about her, ect. and she doesn't know what in the hell any of them are saying about her, it's other people that know her that are translating for her what they're saying (I mean her parents could too, but she's getting quicker translations on her personal FB). Since they're pulling pictures from her public facebook, lots of her RL friends are showing up in these news stories too. It is super funny.
This makes me smile so hard. And get even more excited about the next round of elections because we have a ton of candidates that we've been recruiting/working with who are first gen Americans, first potential office holders in their entire family history, young people, old people who never saw themselves running for anything before, you name it. Every time I feel sad or tired, I love to spend time hanging out with these folks, and it makes me believe everything's gonna be ok in the long term.
I am jet lagged af. My body thinks I should still be on another continent. I keep reminding myself its Saturday here now where I am.
In past times, I would have bought myself a pity pizza from feeling tired and cranky and shitty and slightly disconnected from reality from the three other things and then been kind of shitty to myself about it afterwards.
I made the decision to cut sugar about 6 months ago. I know, I know I've become one of those people who is one or two lifestyle choices away from irritating the fuck out of everyone I know about crossfit. But honestly, I feel better. I sleep better. I lost weight though I wasn't really trying.
Instead of ordering a pizza and getting into a wretched body image argument about it after the fact, I made sugar free french style custard (I got a ice cream machine for the holidays) and now I'm sitting on my couch, eating chocolate chocolate chip sugar free ice cream and not having a body image freak out.
@gangofdolls What sweetener did you use? I've also had to cut way back on sugar and carbs-- not for the weight loss, but to try to get my blood sugar under control again, since hammering away at it with insulin has only helped so much. (I have been incrementally losing weight, but goddamn the steroids from chemo fucked me up.)
I use a few kinds, switch them up depending on what I'm using them for:
Swerve - available on Amazon but its lately been showing up at Walmart
Lankato Monkfruit - Amazon also carries this but I've only ever seen it in brick and mortars at Whole Foods
There's also Xylitol which I haven't tried but I've read that of the three it has the least amount of aftertaste. The others have a very slight one but some people really dislike it.
Sorry for the delay, the boards don't always show when I have replies.
@gangofdolls Thank you for responding. 
I might look into monkfruit. Xylitol won't happen because I have pets. I already get erythritol in some of the stevia sweeteners I use, how do you use swerve and monkfruit?
Monkfruit has less of a 'chemical' taste to it - however small. I tend to use it as a brown sugar substitute in recipes that call for it, otherwise.
Swerve comes in a confectioner and granular form. I tend to use the confectioner form as erythritol requires a higher heat point to melt than regular sugar so in some recipes, the granular form doesn't fully melt and you can taste the granular texture. It's not terrible and some people like the texture but sometimes you just don't want that. The confectioners version doesn't have this issue.
I personally hate the aftertaste of Stevia, I find it to be too bitter. For the most part, I find that Stevia doesn't bake well for that reason but it depends on how you're using the substitute.
@paris Monkfruit sweeteners tend to be either liquid or powdered. They tend to have directions on the bottle when they come in liquid form. 
I usually use Stevia for tea, sucralose for everything else. I don't bake. Both as liquid. Thank you both for the infos. :3
Fair. I bake a fair amount. Partly as I enjoy the chemistry and ritual of cooking and I like to try out new things. Also, I travel a fair amount of work and finding things I can eat without going too far off the wagon in airports is a challenge. It end to bake/make snacks that are adhere to the way I'm eating now.
I also make them for the movies as we have the AMC A List Stubs thing and watch a lot of them and it's a much cheaper alternative than spending 20 bucks on a box of candy and a soda.
@gangofdolls I have to keep a really tight rein on carbs (because of my diabetes), or else I get extreme binge cravings, and there's enough flour even in sugar-free stuff that it's just better to keep it out of the house.
@paris Oh, for sure. I use a lot of almond flour and coconut flour - with gelatin or xanthum gum, you generally get the same neighborhood of textures. There's also this: Carbquik
Pasta is harder to have/find when you're trying to cut simple carbs and sugars. That's the part I don't love because I love me the shit out of some Olive Garden.
I'm a simple girl with Bellini tastes when it comes mid-range fake Italian food chains.
@gangofdolls Spaghetti squash is your friend.
I love having a full pantry and 'fridge.
I spent the first few years I lived on my own struggling financially and sometimes buying things my kitty could also eat (like tuna) when money would be super tight. Then I was married to an addict and would often go without food as I made sure bills were paid and the animals were fed.
So having both bills paid and a kitchen regularly full of food to where I could have guests over and feed them is just... a nice feeling. Sure, I never really have money spare for 'fun' stuff or eating out (I can do that mebbe twice a month and only v. cheaply) and I don't have a savings, but I have enough food. I'm never worried about being able to eat and that's a great feeling.
@ortallus I wish 
I hate, hate, fiery rings of hell haaaaate squash.
I have found luck with black bean noodles, Palmini noodles, and kelp noodles. Of these, I like kelp noodles the most. Shirataki noodles are just okay to me.
@ortallus said in RL things I love:
@gangofdolls Spaghetti squash is your friend.
Spaghetti squash is a lie. A watery, mushy, stringy lie.
@paris We went to a Spanish tapas place that had a sort of brown sugar baked spaghetti squash thing that was fantastic.
I haven't gotten even close to it at home, so sweet potatoes it is.
@ortallus I have to agree with @GangOfDolls . Having prepared spaghetti squash a number of times... the consistency and flavor is a terrible substitute for pasta. And it pairs horribly with sauce and grated cheese. >.>
@GangOfDolls I've found lentil pasta works really well too. I've had the best luck with red lentil pasta, though the black bean pastas I've tried have turned out pretty well too! I can't say I've ever found kelp pasta, but I am SUPER intrigued. Do you know have a brand you favor?
@misadventure said in RL things I love:
@paris We went to a Spanish tapas place that had a sort of brown sugar baked spaghetti squash thing that was fantastic.
I haven't gotten even close to it at home, so sweet potatoes it is.
I think treatment like that is ok, because it's not pretending that the squash is pasta, especially when it's properly baked. Which is a pain to do with spaghetti squash.
@paris Someone share me that recipe then! I need anything to get my spouse to eat fruits and vegetables that have fiber to slow down the sugars.
Also, it was tasty. >.> <.<
I love spaghetti squash prepared certain ways.
But it is not actually a 100% 1-to-1 substitute for pasta. There's still some pasta-ish things you can do with it: butter & garlic, meat and tomato-based sauces, but you gotta adapt shit.
@gangofdolls I have to keep a really tight rein on carbs (because of my diabetes), or else I get extreme binge cravings, and there's enough flour even in sugar-free stuff that it's just better to keep it out of the house.
