#i'm married to a mikey and donnie type anyway

[brightlotusmoon]

(Kyle Y

@KylePlantEmoji

"the secret scientists don't want you to know!!" Dude have you ever met a single scientist? My scientist friends are desperate for me to know about the changing mating habits of Brown marmorated stink bugs. They're screaming at the top of their lungs to tell you EVERYTHING. )

[brightlotusmoon]

Husband, about to make his infamous herbal tea mix: Let's get the little scale and actually measure out my reckless seasoning.

Yikes Energy Tea

Adam Tea

Weird Power Tea

It's Like Cocaine Tea

Path Of Least Resistance Tea

What The Fuck Is In This Tea

Approximations

Yerba Mate 75 grams

Hibiscus 25 grams

Schizandra 5 grams

Licorice Root 15 grams

Prunella Vulgaris 5 grams

Gunpowder Green Tea 5 grams

Cordyceps Sinensis 3 grams

Haw berry slices 10 grams

Goji berries 10 grams

Honeysuckle dried 1 gram

Whole Bayberry dried 11 grams

Ginseng root preserved in honey 3 grams

Lemon juice 1/4 cup

Lime juice 1/8 cup

1 cup sugar

Herbs may vary depending on availability

Pour boiled water over the mix in a pitcher, mix with immersion blender to break up and shred.

Steep til cold. Strain into second pitcher back and forth a few times until the liquid is fully strained.

This is a large batch of concentrate that I will water down, of course.

Sometimes we include chrysanthemum, which is extremely anti-inflammatory and makes me think of tomato juice.

Husband: Beyond managing your ADHD, have you considered weaponizing it with plant chemistry?

[brightlotusmoon]

Husband made me remember that story about him when he was in his 20s, at a party, practicing Kendo. And then a friend decided to challenge him by throwing knives at him from the kitchen. Husband grabbed a soup ladle and knocked the knives out of the air using fencing moves. He quoted "Anger! Aggression! These are not the ways of a Jedi!" Which annoyed the other guy, who called my husband a hedonistic Jedi brat.

Not wrong.

[brightlotusmoon]

Before Medical Cannabis: Seizure twice a week.

After Medical Cannabis: Seizure maybe once every month.

Mmmm, dendrite building neuroplasticity.

Anyway, the edible took away the pain. My system didn't know how to handle not having pain, so it gave me spasms leading into a seizure. Then the edible stopped the seizure and the spasms rode out. Also, husband grabbed my left arm and hit some pressure points to distract and redirect my brain. It worked.

Now I have to lie down and coast through 20 mg THC induced euphoria.

[brightlotusmoon]

Husband is setting up booths at the Warren Buffet convention center in Omaha. He's extremely proud of himself because this year it went much more smoothly.

I love learning about all the backstage work that goes on when you have trade shows with video walls everywhere.

These folks doing stagehand work, engineering, lighting, and especially the guys putting down the gaff tape, they're vital. Gaffers are important!

Husband has construction level knee pads because he's spent over 20 years figuring out his very unique job needs, including crawling around hotel floors hiding all the wires and cables. Nobody can wrap cables like him.

[brightlotusmoon]

Husband is soon leaving for ten days of work. So he made brownies for me. On top of the gumbo, pastrami, herbal tea, smokey chicken, baklava, pizza, avocado salad, quesadilla, and let's not forget the date night at that sushi place.

I feel spoiled. He loves to cook for me, and I feel spoiled. His cooking saved my anorexic ass twenty years ago.

[brightlotusmoon]

My husband carrying four cases of soda plus a jug of cat litter, casually, with a skip in his step: We're Batfamily groceries shopping!

Me, with an exaggerated glower: Yeah, you Clark Kent motherfucker balancing a gallon of milk on his pinky finger over here.

Roommates, used this: By the way, Thing needs fixing!

Husband, bouncing in place: I'M ON IT.

[brightlotusmoon]

And here's to 22 years out of 23 having lunch at The Corner Bar in Sag Harbor. Happy Anniversary to our relationship.

[brightlotusmoon]

Husband made a couple of freshwater pearl necklaces. I think he might be back on his Make Jewelry Out Of Gemstones hyperfixation.

[brightlotusmoon]

We went to the local Eastern European market, where we got saffron, a Georgian spice mix, seabuckthorn juice, seabuckthorn jam, and Phylo dough.

Husband made baklava without walnuts for me, and added sea buckthorn jam to the glaze. He took the remaining phylo and made several cheesy meaty mushroom souffle dishes.

This is what happens when you couldn't afford that half scholarship to the Culinary Institute Of The Arts in the 90s and you marry a recovering anorexic who loves exploring flavors.

[brightlotusmoon]

Husband made me the grilled cheese sandwich I wanted:

on two heels of brioche, a mix of cheddars, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, weed butter (the strain is Lifesaver), a sprinkling of powdered Ranch, his own garlic olive oil basil pesto, in a cast iron skillet, with labneh for dipping.

I'm gonna be satisfied and very high.

[brightlotusmoon]

So, my husband just revealed that his gaming group, which is mainly in Red Dead Redemption 2, is a genuine safe space. Many girl gamers have joined because not only does the group not allow any form of bullying or harassment, they will specifically note any griefers, destructive hunters, bullies who cheat or go into god mode, etc, and they will hunt them in the game and take them down. It's apparently really interesting. If the bullies come back, the group kills them and kicks them out. No bullshit. They protect girls, guys, trans folks, enbies, autistics, everyone. The group actually has a lot more non-men players than most groups on PS4. Husband will often lead discussions on social justice and history. Happy birthday to him!

[brightlotusmoon]

Went shopping at Gabe's, formerly Rugged Warehouse. Husband met up with me in the juniors section and helped me look for cute soft hoodies. An older lady was thrilled to see "a guy like that helping you shop for clothes, hang onto him!" So we told her our story of falling in love over the baby internet in 1999 and how he was already deemed qualified for girl talk way back then. She had the most joyful, happiest smile, telling us to cherish each other exactly as we always have, hoping to see more couples like us.

Wound up with soft adorable clothes decorated with cupcakes and cappuccinos and cats.

[brightlotusmoon]

I suddenly have very strong memories of meeting my spouse's family for the first time and learning I "didn't seem to have a personality" and that I faded easily into the background. My spouse, on the other hand, was happy to point out that my eccentricities and ability to fade while at the same time being a beacon was something he cherished. "The rest of us will sit at a table but you'll sit under the table just because. It's beautiful."

Later, I was diagnosed with ADHD, just instead of Primarily Hyperactive I was Primarily Inattentive. Much much later I would finally be diagnosed autistic, and would then pin down my spouse as autistic.

I never considered it insulting or distressing, to be thought of as having no personality. It's a very neurodivergent thing, very autistic, to move through the world on tiptoe, trying to mimic even if you don't know why. To suddenly attract people who are themselves masking hard enough to crack a little, although none of you know it at the time.

[brightlotusmoon]

Welp, these lyrics are giving me flashbacks to the beginning of my relationship with my husband where we considered each other dangerous because we were falling in love so quickly over the phone and AIM and Hotmail back in 1999 and I'd never been in love before and he'd been in love too many times, etc. Can you believe we confessed over the phone? Two months before we saw each other again, this time as lovers. *shakes head*

And here I am realizing I was demisexual the whole time. Good for him for breaking down all my walls.

[brightlotusmoon]

Husband slid into the bedroom and spun stiffly in place for two minutes while yelling, "ADHD!!!!!!"

"Yup," I agreed. "That's what you look like on the posters for ADHD."

"Wheeeeee!" he slid into the kitchen. "No more yerba mate for me tonight! More weed!"

"Yes, for the love of autism, more weed for you," I said, patting his head then getting distracted with combining my fingers through his hair which is as long as mine now.

"ADHD," I whispered.