Ways to help; cat talk

I'm really only checking in today to hit you with a linkstorm of various ways to donate to local Harvey disaster relief:

Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, set up by the mayor of Houston

Houston Food Bank

Food Bank of Corpus Christi

Bastrop Food Pantry

Houston Humane Society

Texas Diaper Bank

BakerRipley (long-term hurricane recovery)


You can also support evacuees to the Austin area:

Austin Disaster Relief Network

Central Texas Food Bank

Austin Pets Alive



We were very lucky to be on the non-disastrous edge of this storm but I am hurting for my fellow Texans and I know the road to recovery is a long one.



****I don't have a jokey or thoughtful transition today****



But here is a sign that the early morning enthusiasm for school has faded a bit one week in.

The enthusiasm for cats and cat-related activities (Pusheen-drawing, Warrior-Cats-explaining), however, rages on.

Semi-wild night, G-rated version

Sleepy check-in this morning, as Regan keep me up irresponsibly late last night. That's right, Super Social Food League of Austin was raging, relatively speaking.*

*Relative to being in bed at 10:15.



First we ate some good food with some weird service at La Condesa. I think our waiter may have been doing some type of performance art? But there was lump crab in the guacamole, so, shrug.

Guacamole? Good.

Ceviche? Good.

Pork tacos? Good.

Giant slab of cauliflower? May have been part of the performance art, now that I think about it

After that we went to a Project Runway drag/fashion show, as one does. It made me feel mmmmmmmmvery old. I have only included a few of the more...family-friendly pictures (read: edited out some many butts). 

We got out of there very late by my standards, and we left early. The show might still be going! Bless you young people, I cannot hang, but I did enjoy all the sequins very very much.

Because I am still basking in this "all children at one school" situation, here are the second, third, and fourth day of school pictures, with a bonus argument re: appropriateness of unicorn horn inclusion.

100%

Hey there. Not accidentally blinding yourself yesterday took a surprising amount of energy, right? I feel you. Here, have a green smoothie.

Also some Jerk Chicken, why not?

This dish went over well in my house, mostly because the girls currently enjoy screeching "PINEAPPLE" at each other for some unknown reason. Living with children is weird. 

Anyway, got a couple of eclipse viewing boxes available here at a very reasonable price if anyone is in the market, just get at me.

Oh, I also sent both of the "PINEAPPLE"-shouters to elementary school today. Both of them!

The unicorn horn was just for pictures, it didn't make it on to the bus. I don't think.

I'm not nervous about how it will go at all, I'm 100% great. Great great great. Great. I think the cat might be a little bit worried though.

Managed to get an Erasure song in my head at the end there

Hi. I haven't really cooked this week. I have pretty big plans though.

It's not like I haven't accomplished anything, I talked my five-year-old into out of uncomfortable sparkly shoes and into somewhat practical shoes for P.E. days. 

If you do not think this is a week's worth of accomplishment, you have not spent much time with my five-year-old.

We are mostly doing fine with Dan out of town, although we are almost out of teeth.

Hope he remembers to pick some up on his way home.

Anyway, today is the last day to make sure your Wick Habit purchase goes fully toward the SPLC, and also here is a hero playing the Sousaphone to protest a KKK march. It is a good protest.

Don't give up, guys. It's hard to avoid moments of cynicism and exhaustion, but don't let them carry the day. Unless you think there were some "very fine people" in that tiki torch crowd. You are free to give up.

August all the way down

Hey, hi, so things are going...you know. Just as a heads up, I'm donating all of Wick Habit's profits to the Southern Poverty Law Center this week, as I am at a loss as to what else to do right now, other than to say: fellow well-meaning white people, we gotta do better. So if you want your money to go that direction but also want some candles, I'm your gal.

Also, this is...[exhales slowly].

Anyway, Dan is out of town this week, which sometimes causes standards to be lowered a bit, but I promise we are making very responsible purchases.

And even more responsible nutritional decisions.

Two topics that aren't nuclear winter

I am genuinely grateful to this Real Simple Magazine cookbook for just...pointing out that I can put various combinations of things on top of oatmeal. [remembers how much I love oatmeal] [renews helpful cookbook from the library]

Bananas, pecans, molasses

Yogurt and marmalade

Also for having a bunch of recipes with like five ingredients that have almost no prep time. Did they taste good? I don't even care.

Spaghetti with Ricotta and Tomatoes

Curried Broccoli Couscous

Anyway, if you have any questions at all about Warrior Cats, Anna is more than happy to help you.

Careful you don't half-ass your interest, though.

Can you tell there was a break in the weather

I'd like to start off by saying that on Sunday night I ate an entire cheese board by myself. I mean...am I proud of that fact?

Yes, why else would I mention it

I also got the girls to assemble cookies for me. If you've ever considered having children, I highly recommend you start with the 5-8 year models.

They run so much quieter than the newer versions

I'm trying out a library cookbook this week, Real Simple's Dinner Made Simple. I really like the layout. It's, uh, simple. For some reason I started off with oatmeal with cheddar, scallions, and paprika.

You are either intrigued or you have already x'd out of this browser window, sorry, have a good week guys

Conclusion: I am PRO savory oatmeal. Put it on the record!

I also made the spinach salad with eggs, bacon, and avocado, which is almost exactly the same as a meal that we had last week at my parents' house. Through some sort of grandparental magic, both of my children have now accepted spinach salad as a reasonable, non-horrifying thing to eat.

THIS IS WHAT A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN MY HOME LIFE LOOKS LIKE

Anyway, if these dog days have got you down, I recommend throwing a water balloon at your sister, it does wonder for one's mood.

(cont.)

We stayed on vacation all week. There were sno cones and more cobbler and some rainy day modern dance moves.