#treat YOSELF friends

[maximura]

I cannot believe that the internet hair community taught me more in three videos than a decade of going to a high end hair salon. Who knew I had low porosity hair? Who knew I just needed specific hair care for this? Who knew it virtually fixed my hair in a month? WHO KNEW? THOSE HAIRDRESSERS THAT’S WHO. They chose to gatekeep this fucking information for years.

[banqanas]

even when they laugh together whh kids sounds sO Good - title of this tiktok

[bluefurpinknose]

thinking about if i should get me the furreal friends pony? i had no new stuff in ages, time to treat myself i think 🐴

[battle-of-alberta]

Cities opinions on soup.

(dips spoon into the ask box I feel like I've been ignoring for two months)

i didnt really know how to answer this ask so i went with the first reaction i had (a statement for another statement? lol). Pencil crayons were on sale last week and I replaced a few prismas that I've been wearing down for the past 19 years (aah) so I figured this would be a good time to get back into it.

I don't think any of the cities would say no to a warm bowl of soup, especially on a cold day like today. There are two staple "Alberta" soups that I make for guests, beef and barley stew and "Ukrainian" borscht, which I will provide a (loose) recipe for below.

This borscht isn't an ancient/authentic family recipe or anything, just something that my dad and sort of tried and tested that we like and that pays some dues to ye olde heritage (and that doesn't break the bank or require a lot of special stuff for poor students like I was when I was perfecting it. It can also be made vegetarian.)

Hapo's Not Authentic But Pretty Nice Borscht That Friends and Family Say is Good

Sorry for the vague directions and measurements. Measure with your heart and the size of your pot. In Western Canada, red beet soup is basically the core of what borscht is, although in Europe red borscht and green borscht are entirely different beasts which do not share beets as a commonality.

you will need:

big pot

big knife (sharp)

cutting board

vegetable peeler if you want

frying pan (for cooking meat version)

ingredients

beets (i usually use 3 fist-sized beets, you can use more small ones)

red meat (optional) (i usually use ground beef/pork but if you can get a kubasa you should use that. you can use mushrooms instead too.)

onion

garlic

carrot

turnip and/or apple

tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

water or soup stock of your choice

salt, pepper, sugar to taste

lemon juice, sour cream, dill to serve

optional: celery, potato, cabbage

instructions

If you are using meat, cook with the onions in a frying pan until no longer pink and onions are translucent. Add some garlic in there if you want. Drain and set aside.

If you want to make the beets easier to peel, you can boil them in water before peeling. Keep the water as stock for all those good beety nutrients. I usually skip this step and just peel and chop the beets and make the kitchen look like a murder scene without pre-boiling.

Peel and chop the carrots, turnips, etc. and put them in your big pot on medium heat with your chopped beets, beef, and onions and garlic. If you are using celery or mushrooms or tomatoes, you can put them in at this stage. I also will occasionally add an apple to boost the sweet/sour flavour.

Add in a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and stir to coat, letting it caramelize a bit. You can deglaze with a bit of red wine or red wine vinegar afterwards or just use some soup stock to get everything off the bottom of the pot. Add some more garlic, treat yoself.

Add in your soup stock and bring the pot to a boil. Simmer for at least half an hour (or all day if you feel like it).

In the last 15 minutes of cooking, you can chop and add a potato if you feel like it and have room in your pot (just because russet potatoes tend to get mushy if left in too long). This is also the stage to add shredded cabbage (which I hate doing so I usually skip). I also recommend if you have them to put in some frozen pierogies (tiny and filled with cottage cheese yum) and boil them right in the soup because it really elevates the experience hehe.

Season with salt and pepper and about a tablespoon of sugar or so. You can also add in something like oregano if you want.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a splash of lemon juice, and maybe some fresh dill if you have some.

[freesiriusblack]

Babe talk to me about 17, 26, and 36 please 💜💜

Aw babe, I love you, ty ❤️

17: Talk about someone you want to be friends with.

I'm getting the impression you guys think I need friends, someone else asked this too. I don't know if this counts but I'm gonna pivot this question. There's a good few people I've gotten to know on a certain discord recently, and I'd already consider them friends, honestly. But what I want is for that to last, in whatever form it can.

26: Talk about things you do when you're sick.

I'm a miserable sick person. I'm touchy and clingy. I groan and grumble when I'm conscious, I sit in the shower and use all the hot water multiple times a day. I complain and literally whine constantly. I get terrible Blahs. I don't know if I just get dramatic or if I'm just like that and I don't have the energy to filter when I'm sick.

36: Talk about your guilty pleasures.

This is where I'm outed as a heathen. I really embrace the Treat Yoself mentality. I'm bougie when it comes to my weed, if I can splurge for a nice meal, I will every time. I like to spoil my dog because of her unbridled joy. I've got a soft spot for twizzlers pull apart cherry, GTFO with those strawberry MFers and Cheetos. I'm prone to the Fuck-its when shopping. LUSH. Both the body products and the adjective.

[sotwk]

OH! I just saw your post about it- happy birthday month!! Hopefully you have a nice and relaxing month and get your favorite treats to snack on on a regular basis, whatever they may be~!

Thank you so much, my always thoughtful friend! 🥳🥰 I am grateful for every year of life and I don't mind aging (I could do without the body aches, but there's no escaping that anyway), but honestly my birthday is just going to creep up on me because the July month is always SO busy. Relaxing is not in the cards I'm afraid.

It's the month my family takes their annual vacation, plus there's "active" outings every weekend due to summer, so I'm even more exhausted than usual. But thank you for reminding me that I deserve a bit of "treat yoself" time too.

That will probably be in the form of ice cream, cake, and fanfic binging. Perhaps a lot of staring at blorbos. 👀🤩😍

[melodymorningdew]

Like I said on BlueSky- Treat yoself

[senorabond]

NaNoWriMo 2023

Anybody else doing NaNoWriMo this year? We're just about a week away from Preptober and I'm already getting excited!

I'm going to approach NaNo a bit differently this year:

Word count. I've never gotten to 50k words, but that's not my goal this year. I just want to beat my word count from last year (16k). The whole reason I do NaNo is to write. I'm always wanting to write more, so why give myself an unrealistic goal that may only serve to discourage me?

Community. Last year I joined the Discord server for my local region, and having a network and community of other writers was a HUGE help. I'd love to find a "pack" of other Pedro fans who might also be doing NaNo or would be open to some virtual write-ins. One of my goals for NaNo this year is to attend at least one in-person write-in with my local group.

Story. I'm choosing to write TLOU fanfiction for NaNo. Every year I get distracted and discouraged by the character development and world building. Eventually I want to write a novel (potentially fictional autobiography) set in a post-apocalyptic world. Writing TLOU fanfiction would give me an existing universe to work within, as well as some amazing characters I can realllllly explore. I'll just call this practice.

Bad writing. I struggle with something a lot of other authors have trouble with: perfectionism and critiquing myself too harshly. I'm going to experiment with a bit of reverse psychology by telling myself that I'm going to write badly "on purpose." I just need to write one bad first draft - it becomes good in the editing process. If I go into this managing my expectations from the start, I feel like I'll be more successful.

Planning, Pantsing, & Pacing. I will use Preptober wisely to develop a plot outline, perhaps sketch out a couple of original characters, and plan my daily/weekly word count goals. I'll also use it to build writing into my daily routine. I'm one of those nerds who loves a good spreadsheet and graph. I'll use this time to find a good template for tracking my word count and storyline progress. I'll schedule rest and catch-up days, allowing for special events/dates and giving myself a buffer for the unexpected.

Defining Success. I will define what "success" means to me, and what it doesn't mean to me, before I even begin. To me, success is not reaching 50k words. I'll be working to identify what those markers of success will be for me. Failure is not an option - and I mean that in the way that success will be more intangible in nature (e.g., Do I feel like I did my best? Did I have fun? Do I feel like I learned something?).

Rewarding Myself. What motivates me? How can I embody the "treat yoself" mentality? I'll be figuring this out and planning ahead. Maybe I'll schedule special things to do solo, or with my partner, friends, and family. I could create a word count/story line "advent calendar" of sorts with little treats to celebrate my progress. I have a lot of options to work with.

If anybody is interested in forming a writing or support group, hit me up! Even if you're not doing NaNo, I'd love more writing friends in general.

The Countdown Begins!!

[marastriker]

Any HCs on Brandi/Belle the Bar Car?

If the "treat yoself" scene from Parks and Rec could be a life motto-

She's very self indulgent and usually doesn't actively think about others BUT it's not a purposeful thing. When reminded, she very quickly sees the error of her ways and tries to do better. She's an only child and was forced to grow up a little too quickly, so she's really just trying to do what's best for herself.

Although, this is only a minor character flaw, as she does genuinely love her friends. She's incredible at giving genuine life advice, but due to her independent nature, it's probably best you don't go to her with relationship troubles because her immediate solution is DUMP HIS ASS, YOU DESERVE BETTER

Which, hey. That can be true sometimes, but she fails to realize the delicacies of a long term relationship plainly because she's never been in one. The right person really just hasn't come along yet. But she does casually date and hook up.

[andybondurant]

New Post has been published on Andy Bondurant

New Post has been published on https://andybondurant.com/2023/03/21/habit-hint-3-treat-yoself/

Habit Hint #3: Treat Yo’Self

Hearing God is a habit. We like to think of it as some sort of esoteric, spiritual exercise. Hearing God is not a random, happenstance occurrence. We put ourselves in specific places in specific ways to hear God. These ways will vary for each of us, but it is a habit none the less.

The last two weeks, I’ve introduced you to two different habit hints to help you create a regular way to hear God daily.

The first is to determine the Who before the Do. You need to know who it is you desire to become. When you have that picture in mind, then you know what it is you need to do, and why it is you want to continue to do it.

Second, you want to start small – let your habit begin as a seed. In practical terms, I call this the 2 Minute Commit. Develop your habit of hearing God through small commitments of reading scripture, meditating and praying two minute at a time.

So today, I want to introduce you to the third and final habit hint – Treat Yo’Self.

Parks and Rec

One of my family’s favorite television shows is Parks and Rec starring Chris Pratt and Amy Poehler among others. The show is a political satire about a small town parks and rec department. Two of the characters, Tom and Donna, are both a little diva-ish who like the better things in life. In one episode, Tom and Donna determine one day out of each year is their Treat Yo’Self day. 

Image by Jenna Day on UnSplash

If you don’t already have a picture in your mind of what that mean, let me fill you in. On that day, they visit the spa for massages, manicures and pedicures. They head to the mall to buy the things they want – no matter the cost. The eat at the finest restaurants, sparing no expense. 

They treat themselves – no matter what the cost may be – for that day. 

Treat Yo’Self

I’m not suggesting you cut loose one day a year, however, I am encouraging you to use this concept to help you develop habits in your life. The idea is to find rewards that will reinforce and encourage the habits you want to develop in your life. Let me give you two quick examples:

Habit Hint: Elliptical Energy

When I began working out a few years ago, I tried to walk/run on the treadmill or elliptical to music. I would pick out the most uptempo music that I could find and run along with it. It helped to give me energy and boost my mood as I ran, but honestly, it wasn’t something I would look forward to preparing for my workout.

At some point, I noticed other people toting along their iPads with them as they worked out. I noticed they were watching movies and television shows as they ran, and it hit me — this is the encouragement I’ve been looking for. Now, I pull out my phone, click on the Netflix app, and pull-up a sitcom. Over the past few years, I’ve worked through Seinfeld, The Office, Parks and Rec, parts of Cheers, Frazier and now the Simpson’s. 

It has become a reward for me to look forward to as I work out on the elliptical or treadmill machines. 

Habit Hint: Media Blitz

That is my workout routine. What about my habit to hear God? 

5-6 mornings a week, I wake up between 6 and 6:30 to practice my habit of hearing God. My day begins something like this:

alarm goes off.

Get up and take care of the dog (feed, bathroom, etc)

Make coffee.

Begin reading scripture

In that 10-15 minutes I’m taking care of my dog and waiting for coffee, I really want to check out the latest news on my phone. I want to check the ESPN app for what’s happening in the sports world. I want to check Google News for the latest on the world stage. Sometimes I want to scroll through my Instagram to see what I’ve missed from my friends. 

I save that for a reward for fulfilling the habit of putting myself in a place to hear God. I read, pray, meditate, journal. After 30-45 minutes of this practice, I allow myself the reward of checking out the media apps on my phone.

First Things First.

I put the most important habits first in my life. Then I give myself space to indulge in the less important habits.

One important note: When you choose a reward for fulfilling the habit you want in your life, make sure it doesn’t undermine the habit you want to build. 

In other words, don’t make your reward for working out an ice cream sundae each day. Or don’t reward yourself with several hours of media — this will teach you to listen to the media but not God.

What can you reward yourself with for putting the most important habits first in your life? 

[alyjojo]

Love Reading 💙 - January 2023 - Aquarius

Singles:

Overall energy: Ace of Cups

How you will meet: 5 Swords

How they will treat you: 10 Wands rev

Long-term Potential: 5 Wands

This whole reading is like…what are you doing? Even you know better, you don’t even *like* this person, much less looove them. You meet arguing and leave arguing, idk where romance entered the mix. It may not at all, you just entertain it. You like how they argue? You just don’t want to be alone, and The High Priestess shows you already know that & this person ain’t the one, you just entertain the idea quietly. Maybe? You never even think it might be *the* one, you just wonder if it would be a total disaster or could you maybe have some fun with it? 😆 They’ve got spunk, and probably are attractive. Doesn’t matter, they’re not that into you and you’re not into them either. One of you calls a truce, maybe agrees to be friends…only, and eventually you’re going to meet someone that’s worthwhile that makes this person like…bye.

Messages -

Their side:

- Not even tempted 💯

- I don’t deserve you.

Your side:

- Facial hair 🧔‍♂️

- Wise Spirit

Signs you may be dealing with:

Leo, Cancer & Sagittarius

Couples:

Overall energy: Queen of Pentacles rev

Current: 9 Pentacles

Challenge: Judgement & The Hanged Man

Potential: 4 Swords

The relationship itself is really good, but separately, both of you are stuck in a rut. Health could be involved, and if it’s something serious or tests are being taken, there’s a lot of waiting around energy related to that. You’re both happy, but you’re both just…lazy? Stuck? Unmotivated? It’s the energy of a vacation with none of the passion or fun. It’s just mehhh. You could be overspending on things in a *treat yoself* sort of way, but it’s getting to be too much and you kinda need to chill out with that too. If only one of you is in this unmotivated, bleh sort of mindset, the other person may try not to judge too harshly but it’s getting on their nerves, and will be addressed at some point. If it’s out of that person’s control, they’re more liable to hold back judging, but still they wait around for some sort of OOMPH to come back. Passion, excitement, fun. Probably not this month, 4 Swords indicates health issues, illness, or a time out from busyness. It’s anticipated that this will change, but for now there’s not much action except for day to day routines. There’s not much communication. Y’all need a change of scenery 💯 whenever that becomes possible.

Messages -

Their side:

- Other Half

- Unrealistic expectations

Your side:

- I want to grow with you.

- Forever Love ❤️

Oracles -

Their side: Face your fears. When you do, you’ll realize that they’re not real, but only what you’ve created.

Your side: Depression comes from being trapped. Spring the trap and change your life.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Capricorn, Aries & Leo

[blushyunjins]

[breanime]

My friends are starting a business! If you spend a lot of time on your computer (which I KNOW yall do), then you need to check this out!

There are a lot of FREE resources on how to find and purchase the best kind of chairs, mouses, keyboards, monitors, etc.

There's even a virtual assessment you can take to see what products or procedures are best for you!

Check it out!!!

[aquarianlights]

Really fun and EXTREMELY productive day with two very good friends. Got a great outfit to meet with my Tulane advisers and to use for future medical work study/internship/job interviews. Also just got a LOT of things in general that were long needed and a few things that were wanted (like the pins above). Today was a really good day. It's always a good day when I get to hang out with Chelle and Chara, just the three of us.

[lostlegendaerie]

today was a Rough day at work but it was considerably brightened by this commission of Throw Away the Key by a long-time friend @littlestpersimmon ! I’ve always adored their art (specifically in their comic @eeriecrests ) and this piece is no exception! Thank you sooooooooooooo much Bel! <3 <3 <3

[erin-bo-berin]

this is probably a stupid question but do you listen to djo? bc it took me absolute AGESSS to make the connect that it was joe (i also just spent $60 preordering the new merch as an early birthday gift for myself LMAO)

YES I DO.

I’m still reeling from the new song.

I obviously found out about his music after I found out about Joe from ST, but I went to listen just out of curiosity at first because I was like just because I like him as an actor doesn’t necessarily mean I have to like and support his music, but I did want to give it a chance.

And honestly? I was blown away. Because at first listen it’s definitely not my usual music taste but I liked how he does his beats, his backtracks, whatever they’re called (I know shit about the actual musical terms of it) I just know I couldn’t get the songs I listened to out of my head. So I went back and listened to some more and I got hooked.

(I literally made a reel of my bunny to Gloom I couldn’t stop listening to it after he first released it)

But also AYE MY FRIEND treat yoself! You gonna have the best birthday that’s for sure 😏