Knitted dolls. I don't have an easy way to get the fabric I want/need for sewn plushies.

I would say I'm 90% planner and 10% pantser
Like I plan it all out, but if the characters wanna do something different then we do something different

number wise, i'm about 7% planner and 93% pantser.

try it this way. think of a river, or large body of water, or even an interstate. my novel is a bridge across it. on the one side is the beginning of the story, the other side is the ending.... but i'm kinda stranded in the middle, but usually closer to the beginning side. i'm building the bridge back to the beginning to contruct my foundation, but i'm also building it across towards the ending.

at some point, i look across, and see a spot i want to build to, but i need to figure out how to get there. so i pants it to get there. then i see another spot, and figure out how to get there. all the while, i'm also pantsing my way with the background and figuring out how i got to where i started in the first place.

finally, just when i think i can see the ending in site, some weird stuff happens, and my bridge has now taken a detour and i have to figure out how to get it back on track to get to the ending.

yeah, it's like that.

I want to get into cooking. But my kitchen is super small and is shared with two other people. Who, don't like to clean up after themselves.

At least I've got painting, drawing, and embroidery to keep me cashless!
Now. Who has room in their kitchen so I can attempt baking macarons?

I'll let you use mine if you share the macarons in return. Haven't had some in a while, they're ridiculously expensive here.

i've been contemplating getting a slow cooker.... but then i find almost the same meals i can make that don't need a slow cooker. i guess that's good - i don't have room for more stuff.

I love cooking!
I used to cook for my family all the time.

But in 2015, I became vegetarian and my family is not vegetarian.
So I've been cooking less and less for them. I'll sometimes cook something basic like baked chicken for them, but mostly I don't really cook much anymore unless it's for myself.

I have an egg allergy too, and unfortunately a lot of food I used to like has eggs in it. Things like fried rice, pad thai, and sometimes even baked mac and cheese can make me feel sick and my hands break out in hives. Which, is weird because I used to tolerate eggs just fine. I don't know what happened? ;-;

Someone commissioned me to make a big white fluffy plush so that'll be fun. 8D

Egg allergy is your body telling you to go vegan?
Allergies do like to be all "k imma show up now" on people tho

I’ve tries going vegan a few times.
I think the longest I’ve been vegan has been about three-ish months?
But I’ve been vegetarian since 2015.

It’s hard too because eggs used to be my primary source of protein.
;o;

Legumes are a good source of protein.

I mostly eat a lot of tofu and tempeh these days...

I've been trying to find ways of getting protein.
I eat beans and lentils occasionally. I'm not a fan of nuts and this was a huge reason why I couldn't stick to vegetarianism before...

It's getting easier now, as I'd been veggie for three years
And it's easier here in SoCal than it was in MN. There's actual restaurants here that are entirely vegan/vegetarian!! OuO

Yeah, it's difficult to go vegetarian/vegan in the midwest. partially because it's just not a cultural norm, and partially because there are a LOT of food deserts in the Midwest (I technically live in one).

I like steak, chicken, fish and pork,
but I'm picky about them. >-> Unhealthy meat and fish preparations are all too common, and if I could, I would only eat the freshest and safest meals with them in it..with veggies, because I need those too.

I've tried vegan meals, and though they are, digestive-wise at least, agreeable with me, I often don't like the taste half the time. >->; At best it's tolerable, and at worst, I spit it out like a rude toddler.

I know several good vegan recipes due to my cousin being vegan (usually it's stuff that just happens to not include any non vegan ingredients... other recipes that have been deliberately converted to vegan tend to be more of a disappointment in comparison). But I just could not go 100% vegan - I'd miss Spicy Eight Treasures or grilled salmon too much. Not even to mention the best ice cream flavors usually still include dairy.

I have a cousin who is vegetarian
I don't know why, but she isn't one of the obnoxious ones who gives them a bad rep
When there's a potluck and mom makes taco salad, she omits the meat. My cousin loves said taco salad, and did even before she stopped eating meat

Given my tendency to get anemic if I'm not careful, I can't go 100% vegetarian/vegan. And like I said, food desert. I don't have a lot of options for vegetarian stuff that isn't kinda pricey.

I used to have very heavy periods and I was anemic because of them...
I used to take iron pills for a while, but I guess it sorted itself out.

I've been on and off vegetarian since I was 14, but I finally committed to it around 2015.
I never tell people what they should or shouldn't eat, unless it's like someone I love and they are eating unhealthy all the time and it's getting to the point where they are eating themselves not an early grave... That is the only circumstance in which I would suggest they eat something else. Even then, I won't try to force someone to go vegetarian, I would just suggest they eat healthier.

I'm not anemic anymore, but I have to get my blood drawn once a month because of my medication and my results have been showing that I have low iron. Thankfully, my iron isn't low enough to count as anemia anymore

I wanna practice animating but I don't wanna pay for software and I don't really like the few free ones I've tried. Feels bad man

Edit: I'm sorry to hear that Ava. I've had a similar history with anemia. Been on birth control to regulate my period for a few years and it's been great.

I used to think I wanted to be an animator!
But I realized right away that I didn't like drawing *that* much, and I really wasn't a fast enough learner when it comes to computer software. :(

I'm glad birth control has been helpful for you!
I don't know why my body does weird things. xD
If a person takes birth control to regulate periods, do they still need to take iron pills if they are anemic? Or does the BC do all the work? :o

They still need to take iron pills to help with the anemia. I'm at a healthy level of iron now, but I still take the supplement just in case. I'm kind of paranoid about it because three years ago, I was hospitalized for severe anemia (normal levels are around 12-14. I was at 4).

Oooh! That sounds really scary. :(
Have you been doing better since?

Ohh!! I didn't know that!

I drink tea almost every day!
Does it matter the type of tea? Like green vs. black vs. white vs. herbal?

My iron is pretty low usually because I'm vegetarian, but it's not been so low that it counts as anemia, though...

Oh, yeah. haven't had an issue with that since 2016.

That's good to hear! :)
Also, is your avi in mourning? :( Did someone pass away?

That sounds delicious!
I haven't made black bean burgers in a hot minute. Right now I live in Southern California, so there's an overabundance of vegetarian/vegan friendly places haha. Also so many more options at grocers for vegetarians/vegans :D

I still have to work on meal prep, though.. ^^;

naw, she's dressed as La Llorna. I'm starting off the Spoopfest subtly this year.

Yay for incoming spoop season

I have no idea what my iron levels are at
I think I run on the low side tho, family history stuff

Oh good!!
:D

I have known people to dress their avatars to match how they feel IRL sometimes. :o
Spoop is much better than sad! OuO

yaay for spoopy season.

for me, every day is halloween, so... XD

I'm super happy that it's October now!
I love Halloween <3

And then there is me. Impatiently waiting for Christmas.
TRA LA LA LA LA! LA LA LA LA!

Eh-hem.

Boo.

Christmas isn't the same anymore for me..
I grew up in Minnesota, where it snowed a lot even in October.

Now, here in LA, there's no snow. So it doesn't feel like Christmas. :(
We don't even put up a tree anymore. There's no point

I don't know what to say to you Ava. ):< Christmas is always a glorious time no matter the conditions. On a random note, I always felt that celebrating Christmas during the summer was somehow wrong. It confused me that the countries in the southern hemisphere would celebrate new years at the same time the northern would. Even to this day, it hurts my brain.

But I bet it's super nice to have your holidays during the summer. Going swimming with Santa would probably be so much fun!

I have a spectacular loathing for places that start playing Christmas music in OCTOBER. I personally don't start playing it until Black Friday, because of working retail, and having to listen to the same songs every fucking day.

I guess since I grew up and spent nearly my entire life in snow, it feels like blasphemy to celebrate Christmas in the summer lol

It gets annoying sometimes when it drops to 60F here and everyone thinks it's cold!

Back in Minnesota, when it got to 40s people would wear shorts and tank tops and flip flops..
Even thought the snow hadn't even completely melted lol

I'm in the midwest, and my boyfriend lives in California. If the winter didn't make my body HURT so much (or at all), I'd be more fond of snowy Christmases. as it is, I prefer Christmas out in California, partially because of the warmer weather, and partially because his family makes me feel valued as a person.