Tag Archives: quartz

Sunday Reading 09-18-15 #74

September 18, 2016

074

These past two weeks…. oh man have they’ve been something. My blog was being hosted by my lovely friend Jamie. Sadly she decided that she wouldn’t be able to keep her hosting services since of various things including money and poor hosting service. I stress the poor hosting service because it has been causing a headache for me. The company she used is slow to reply to help requests, goes down often (which I think more international readers have been at the end of that stick), and general crumminess. The server went down, no big deal, except I freaked out that it was 100% gone forever since Jamie mentioned getting rid of the hosting service (I know I was being irrational, but couldn’t shake that thought.) Then when I came back up, I backed my XML posts, and tried to connect to the FTP… and just couldn’t get it to connect. Turns out, my password was wrong, and the program I used wasn’t compatible. So my IP was blocked, and I couldn’t see anything from my computer. Worse it seemed all Mac FTPs were being blocked as well. So weird. So I had to ask so many favors from Jamie about backing up my files, sending them over, etc. And I felt bad because I had over 2 GB of images for the blog!

Good news? We are moved to our server, and has given my husband a boost in interest to help my blog out more. He is helping me compress my photo files, which means faster loading times for you guys. I am also hoping to improve my search engine crap and work on a new layout that won’t be too boring, but a little more mainstream. Bad news? If you go into our older posts you might find some broken images. I am slowly fixing that

But since it has been so long, I have a bunch of links to share. Some are quick reads, some are opinion pieces, and some are total fluff. Hope you guys enjoy them and I will have more new posts coming up soon next week.

laura-izumikawa-joey-instagram-uyurken-cosplay-750x400

Laura Izumikawa on Instagram

Let’s start with the fluff! I am not going to be one of those people who will flood you with ooey-gooey Mom stuff, but I need to share this. Even if you don’t like kids, you’ll love these photos. Laura Izumikawa takes photos of her cute baby while she’s asleep. There are some athletes, cartoon characters, anime, nerdy stuff, and pop stars. If you haven’t already seen all the news articles featuring her photos, check out her instagram.

Black Health Matters

Nothing makes my blood boil more than hearing people make gross racist remarks like “oh black people don’t exercise” or “people on welfare just eat garbage.” What makes it worse is they never seem to care to make a change about that. So when I read about grassroots movements of trying to get free exercise and wellness programs for low income or people of color, I get really excited. If you want more inspirational reads you can check out this Mosaic Podcast episode about the diabetes epidemic in Harlem.

there-will-be-blood-e1471963640267

The best 100 films of the 21st century, according to 177 film critics around the world

I don’t talk too much about it but I am a film nerd. I love movies, and I rarely get off my butt to watch them. Why? I am not interested in blockbusters… like at all. In fact my husband and I have lots of debates over stuff because I think his “greatest films” are kind-of just fluff. *cough* steven spielberg *cough* If you didn’t already picked up that I am pretentious art school ~~student~~ graduate, you now officially know. Anyways, even people who love blockbusters are getting sick of all these sequels and “reboots.” So if you are looking for something new but different, check out this list. I am wanting to watch the ones we haven’t seen before… which is a lot. I’ve only seen about a quarter of the list but here are the films I think everyone should check out (when you have night to really watch a movie) Note- these are my favorites from the list or ones I think that are a little less known, so you know keep that in mind.

Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)
Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)
Her (Spike Jonze, 2013)
A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009)
City of God (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002)
Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)
WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)
No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

1mofo16

Vegan Mofo 2016 Returns

Vegan Mofo will be returning this year! The announcement was made while I was blocked from my server and transferring files so at first I was overwhelmed with the thought of doing it again. I think I will be trying it out again this year with Alexa’s help. But truthfully we will see how often a post since it will be during the 9th month of pregnancy (yikes!) But I had so much fun doing it in 2015 and 2014 that I just had to.

veghomefounders_wide-c0cf7a1ca2d40a587b43daffaa7045659f093edc-s800-c85

These Folks Went Vegetarian Back When It Was Way Uncool

This is a brief look at the first vegetarians restaurants in the world. It is interesting to see how vegetarianism have evolved over the years, and how Hitl has stayed the same. I would love to visit it sometimes, but I wonder if they have many vegan options (it seems to have a lot of eggs and dairy in the recipes). Still a fun slice of history.

08-workout-class-w710-h473-2x

Exercising Regularly Saves You Money, Assuming You Don’t Have ClassPass

I’ve always been one to recommend people go out and get some exercise. I don’t think you need to go to a gym, but I know some people thrive with the direction (especially early on.) This study shows that maybe health insurance companies should cover gym classes. It does show to save some money. Even still, walking 30 minutes a day still does the body some good.

08-yogurt-bowl-w710-h473-2x

Women Who Eat Full-Fat Yogurt Are Happier, So Don’t Believe the Smug Lady in Yoplait-Light Commercials

Okay, so I find the title of this article more interesting than anything else. A quick summary is that women who eat full fat yogurt have less depression than women who eat the light stuff. There isn’t any direct correlation with fat consumption and depression. It could be because there is more sugar added to the low-fat stuff or could be that women who are depressed are more concerned about weight gain. I take it as better body image equals better mind.

14physed-master768

Why Fidgeting Is Good Medicine

And if you made this far- congrats! This is a surprising article about fidgeting. We all know sitting down for long periods of time can be bad for our bodies. So scientists wanted to see if fidgeting would help counter the negative effects. And it kind-of does! Sure it better to not sit down for several hours, but it is a great way to counteract it if you have no choice.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: laura Izumikawa, new york times, npr, quartz, science of us, sunday reading, sunday reads, Vegan MOFO, vegan mofo 2016

9 comments

Sunday Reading 08-21-15 #73

August 21, 2016

Boy I am pooped this weekend. I haven’t really done THAT much but again, the heat. Thank goodness it is going to start cooling down a little again. I am most excited about it being cool enough to open the windows at night. Jon and I had a crib sitting in our living room, but we took it apart and now we are painting my dresser since it got all dinged up during the move. So we now have a big blue dresser in the living room. We are also in the process of figuring out our fire alarms…. which might need to be replaced. Ugh. I just can’t wait to get our new office and nursery set up and have some organization back in my life.

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
2 cantaloupe (FINALLY!)
1 watermelon (either yellow or orange fleshed)
1 pint blackberries
9 oz green beans
7lb 4oz cherry tomatoes (golf ball sized)
10lb 8oz slicing tomatoes
1lb green peppers
1lb 8oz poblano peppers
3 red italia peppers
2 small eggplant
5 white onions (very small)

What I’m cooking:
BBQ Sauce (9lbs of tomatoes cooked down and frozen for future use)
blanche green beans and save in freezer
Blackberry Muffins (modified from Protein Ninja)
Chickpea Eggplant Hemp Veggie Balls in a Tomato Sauce (from Protein Ninja)
Bhindi Masala from Isa Does It (to use up the rest of the okra from last week)
Stuffed Poblano Peppers (using up the peppers mostly)
Tomatillo Tofu Burritos (using up tomatillos from last week)
Jajangmyeon Spaghetti Squash (cuz I never made this last week so I still have spaghetti squash)

Most of the meal planning this week was trying to use up things from the week before. This week was light on veggies, but man we have so many tomatoes still. It’ll only get worse because next weekend we will picking up our in-law’s share from the farm. o____o I will probably ask if my friend Justine wants to come with us and take whatever she wants. I just have a hard time saying no to things. XD But I know I will be eating all that melon IN THE RAW!

Why running is the world’s most egalitarian sport

I am not a huge fan of watching running parts of the olympics. I did enjoy watching the women’s 10,000 meter when I was sick last Friday, but otherwise I get bored with all the heats and such. But I am trying to watch it regardless after reading this article. I have noticed the largest range of nations being represented by running events. The Olympics is a pretty white sporting event, but it is awesome to see it start to diversify.

Vegan Eats and Treats: Olympics Kickoff Party!

I love reading Amy’s blog, which I am a little surprised about. She rarely features recipes, but instead usually posts recipes from various cookbooks. And she loves to throw a party. I love this idea of an Olympics Kickoff Party where there are foods made from different countries and “sports” for everyone to compete in. Maybe this is something fun to do next summer Olympics.

Rio 2016: how British athletes are challenging the Olympic tradition of junk food peddling

I thought this was pretty interesting. Junk food gets lots of advertising because there is a specific brand. For blueberries to get a commercial it involves several farmers banding together for form an advertising committee. So it is nice to see another way to get publicity for fresh produce! Especially when being promoted by athletes.

Gastropod – Kombucha Culture

I love the podcast Gastropod. If you haven’t checked it out yet, it is a podcast all about food usually talking about it from a scientific and historical context. Their most recent episode is all about kombucha. It is really interesting to hear about it’s roots in the United States, and I can safely say I would NOT be drinking kombucha in the 90s… way too pseudosciencey. But it is interesting to hear how kombucha has changed over the years, and it is nice to hear about safe it is to make. It really makes me wish I still had my old mother culture to start brewing again.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: gastropod, quartz, sunday reading, sunday reads, Vegan Eats and Treats, Vox

6 comments

Sunday Reading 08-08-15 #71

August 8, 2016

Hey guys! Another Sunday Reading list that didn’t get out for Sunday. Surprise! There are lots of reasons for this, the main two being really busy and then my husband had to work some over the weekend so I spent more of my free time looking up information about baby mattresses. Enthralling right? I know you are dying to know more about how to buy a baby mattress, but I won’t go into the those details today. I’ll just jump right into the posts. Oh, and for anyone who wants more food posts, there should be three restaurant reviews coming up and possible *crosses fingers* a recipe! Yeah, I think I might of finally nailed the savory zucchini muffin.

Oh, I am also curious, would you guys be interested if I wrote a series about framing? This blog has never been so much about DIY nor have I really talked much about my job as a framer. I mean, did any of your guys know that? I really don’t know how many times the word “framer” has been typed on this blog. XD I have been talking a lot with my bosses about how our customers are largely people who have had their parents teach them to go to custom framing shops, or serious art collectors. I might do a few posts about what to look for in a framer, how to do your own frames/shadow boxes, and how save money on framing.

Millions of Women are Injured During Childbirth. What Aren’t Doctors Diagnosing Them?

I’m kind-of glad to be pregnant during the age of the internet since there are a growing numbers of personal blogs talking about the complications about pregnancy. I can also quickly google a bunch of wives tales like not raising your arms up too high because the umbilical cord will choke your baby. BTW that is total bullshit. Oddly Cosmopolitan (you know that magazine giving all those hot sex tips) wrote a pretty intense article about how little we treat postpartum injuries.

This is clearly a problem with the medical industry in general where we treat injuries with surgeries before doing physical therapies. What makes this case a little more interesting is that the side effects here might be so embarrassing that it would prevent women from seeking the help they need. Or they get dismissed as just normal post pregnancy stuff like Sayward from Bonzai Aphrodite has written about.

rtr2hlbd-e1468965534360

The world’s most expensive coffee is a nightmare for the animals who produce it

When you go vegan you get asked a lot of silly questions. You mean you don’t eat meat? Not even chicken? Well, what about fish? Reptiles? Bugs? Not even silk? When I get asked these questions I usually talk about poop coffee or kopi luwak. If you aren’t familiar it is an expensive coffee fruit that is eaten by the Asian Palm Civit (an animal in the Feliformia suborder aka related to cats, ferrets, weasels, hyenas, and meercats) then pooped out and brewed. It is a product that seems to not hurt the animal to get, I mean the civits aren’t needing that poop, right? But it is hard to find enough of this poop to fill a bag to sell. So people cram these animals into cages like how we cram chickens into cages. Pretty much, it is an example that if there is a market for it, the animals will get exploited.

I am glad that a news outlet is picking up this bit of information. But even the picture they used is pretty misleading. Most companies put the animals in worse conditions. Some companies outright lie and say they “forage” for the beans, which should be a big old red flag of bullshit- or civitshit.

Hillary Clinton’s husband wore a fetching pantsuit to honor her nomination for US president

I thought this article was pretty funny. It goes through all the details of Mr. Clinton’s outfit in the same way we talk about the First Lady’s outfits. And if you are like my husband who said “I don’t get it, what’s a pantsuit? Don’t all suits have pants?” well I read up a little bit of the history of the term “pantsuit.” The term was first used for little boys who would wear blazers with shorts. As that style started to go out of fashion, women started to work more white collar jobs. Traditionally women would wear suits composed of a blazer and skirt, but slowly started to wear pants instead of skirts. To make a distinction from the traditional “suit” (read: skirt) from the newer ones with pants, they called them pantsuits (since they were already in the English vernacular.) So yes, pantsuits are just suits with a name that is more fun to say.

Is Watching Gymnastics Worse Than Being an NFL Fan?

Hands down my favorite part of the olympics is the women’s gymnastics. I loved it when I was a little girl and vaguely remember begging my mom to let me take up gymnastics. I wasn’t allowed to because of the whole stunts your growth thing, but I am sure a large portion was because of money. I remember always not wanting to go to my dance classes when I had them, sorry Mom for wasting your money! I did like the classes, I am just a little brat about time management ^__~. But there is something different about gymnastics than some of the other sports I liked to watch when younger like rhythmic gymnastics and ice skating- it’s the muscle.

Now that I am more about some light weight training (though I plan on amping up my game post baby) I have a lot more respect for these girls. I find myself like more sports like Football (er.. American Football), soccer, and yes, embarrassingly enough American Ninja Warrior. Heck, I’ve even started to get into watching the men’s gymnastics, even it means there aren’t any lamé or rhinestones on anything. WTF guys? Jazz it up a little!

What I don’t like about this article is that it doesn’t go too much in depth. You would think by the end of the article everything is perfect in the gymnastics world. Plus they criticize the femininity of the sport as being anti-feminist… which might be true for 2nd wave feminism. 3rd wave feminists would argue that the pink and sparkles aren’t preventing the girls from being their physical best, so therefore the only thing preventing their respect is that the idea that femininity is bad.

I will be rooting for team USA, duh. But I am pretty excited to see Oksana Chusovitina who qualified to compete for the vault exercise for Uzbekistan. This is her 7th Olympics, and she is 41 years old. There is also Cătălina Ponor (Romania) who is 28 and has qualified for beam. I am excited to see these older women compete.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: Cosmopolitan, gymnastics, New York Magazine, olympics, quartz, sunday reading, sunday reads

4 comments

Sunday Reading 07-25-15 #70

July 25, 2016

070

Another week has gone by and I feel like nothing has gotten done. I blame the weather. I’ve just been so unmotivated. I just want to stay glued to the first floor where the air is the coolest. At some point it will get cooler and I won’t have that excuse anymore. Bummer.

desk

Actually my husband has been busy working on our new computer table. He and his Father have been working together on making a custom desk for our oddly shaped third floor (or rather our normal room with an oddly shaped exercise equipment). Our current desk is 43 inches (109 cm) by 20 inches (50 cm), and doesn’t have much space for our computer. The monitor takes up 25 inches, which is pretty much half the length of the desk top, leaving little room for office stuff. So we are making a desk that is 6 feet (72 inches/182 cm) by 24 inches (60 cm), so MUCH bigger. We are most likely to stain the desk, and are looking for some matching shelving so we can get a pinterest worthy work area (yeah right.) Naturally I will be making some posts about our home updates of our finally finished bedroom, office/workout room, and hopefully nursery. Why? Because I assume you guys are just as interested as I am about looking into other people’s homes, best part of looking for a new house btw.

Anyways, I forgot to post this yesterday, so I hope everyone enjoys these articles for the week.

20CSA1-WEB-master768

When Community-Supported Agriculture Is Not What It Seems

I’ve written about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) before, and if you aren’t familiar with the idea, I recommend you quickly read my post before this article. To do a quick summary, it is when the consumer has a direct connection with the farmer, and pretty much pays a share/pays up front for the produce for the year. This New York Times article talks about how the term CSA is being used in situations that is very far from the original definition. If you are thinking about joining a “CSA” it is important to read this article as it helps educate people about what they are actually signing up for.

12455023_1466865545.8104

Go Fund Me for Hillary Lawson

I’ve been reading Hillary’s blog My Cat Loves Daiya for awhile now. She is very active on many vegan blogs, usually commenting under the name Vegan Peace. Basically, after a bunch of circumstances, Hillary found herself loosing her apartment, and having to share space with a person who doesn’t want to keep her cats around. She brought her cats to an animal shelter and is scrambling to find money for a new apartment (you know, down deposit, first and last months rent, all that stuff.) She has a great connection with her cats, and have been writing about them on her blog. Basically, she took in a stray cat who was pregnant, and kept all the kittens. If you have a few bucks spare, that would be great. Hillary has already been overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity.

beerlabels_custom-ca5ffe3c80ec0d637cb8b69961112187cefff507-s800-c85

Beer Bottles Will Soon Include A Reality Check: A Calorie Count

I’ve got so many emotions about this. I love booze. I love the history and complexity of the flavors. I know so much about alcohol that I think many people who meet me think I drink often (not really, more like 3 drinks a week overall? usually less.) As a vegan, I get really annoyed by the government’s viewpoint that alcohol shouldn’t be required to list nutritional information as that would imply it is food. Well, that makes for a lot of confusion for people with dietary restrictions. I had a friend who was allergic to hops, and drinking new beers was a little bit of Russian roulette. But it seems that focus is just on calories, and I don’t like that. It really doesn’t paint a full picture of people are drinking, and unlike hard liquor, beers can have nutritional benefits. Am I saying you should have a beer just to get some b vitamins? No. But there is probably more in a beer than a Kool Aid.

Screen Shot 2016-07-24 at 2.41.27 PM

Watch: Bubbles and balloons pop at 10,000 frames per second

And now for something fun and visually awesome. There is a short video of scientists filming different kind-of bubbles being popped with a high speed camera. Yeah I guess there are facts in there, but let’s face it- it is mostly just cool to watch.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: beer, csa, go fun me, my cat loves daiya, new york times, npr, quartz, sunday reading, sunday reads

2 comments

Sunday Reading 07-04-15 #68

July 4, 2016

068

Another day late to the game but I guess that is fine. I was getting a little bit of cabin fever last Saturday night, and maybe a little sad that we never did anything really special for my birthday or our anniversary (I said we were going to have a nice dinner together, but it ended up being an emergency at my hubs work and he pretty much worked all night T__T) So we headed into Philadelphia to go to the art museum not noticing there was a big event going on that night at the oval (the park right in front of the museum) or that it was the first Sunday of the month so admission was pay what you want, so there was a long line snaking around the museum. Luckily we are members and got to by pass the line *phew*

As for today, feels a little like I’m trapped. Most stores are closed for the 4th of July, and Jon’s back hurts too much to do much. But I guess I shouldn’t complain since tomorrow I will be driving all the way out to Intercourse, PA. Flattering name right? Well, it is very close to Lancaster, which means it has a very high Amish population. For international readers The Amish are a religous group that live a very simple life. From an outsiders point of view, they live in a time capsule, the don’t drive cars, they don’t use health insurance, don’t drink, still wear traditional clothing, etc, etc. But it isn’t as simple as they don’t use “modern technology.” Whenever new inventions come about, they often decided whether or not to adopt it by deciding how it can enrich or tear apart their community. ANYWAYS, this is a long way for me to say I need to buy some cheap fabric for a quilt I am working on. Normally good quality cotton fabric can sell for $14 a yard, and in Amish country you can get it for $6 a yard. Much cheaper right?

Anyways, hopefully I will post updates on my quilt making, because I think it should be fun. I haven’t made a quilt, like ever. But I figure how hard can it actually be? I mean it is just cutting and sewing straight lines right? Famous last words right? XD Anyways, here are some articles from this week.

13-man-food.w536.h357.2x

How Years of Macho Marketing is Killing Men

This is a nice article summarizing the concept of gendered foods. I posted one about how food targeted for women are pretty much made to starve us. While men get foods that are pretty much killing them. It is an interesting read, and I am sure most vegans have had that major eye roll moment when a man shuts down veganism because it isn’t macho enough.

unicorn

Samantha Bee is going where Jon Stewart and John Oliver never did

I think this article hits on the nail what I really like about Samantha Bee’s new show Full Frontal. At first I hated but loved what she was doing, but I argued it didn’t give an argument for people who apposed her views. But this article argues that Samantha Bee does alienate people with different views from her, but she holds her viewers to a higher standard. After watching some of her sketches I do feel much more motivated to actually do something about the situation at hand, or to at least get a conversation going with people I know. Not to mention, I feel a little like we don’t want to offend anyone with apposing political views that we never talk about it period. Maybe not giving a damn about how “neutral” you are shouldn’t matter? I am not sold on the idea that we should give up on trying to be impartial, but I am curious on what other readers think.

ap_16110079123461

The oldest library on Earth was started by a woman, and finally everyone can visit it

I just found this generally interesting. I love libraries. I love to browse, books, movies, whatever. And this looks like such a cool library, the place looks amazing, and hell, I would come there just to read a book I already own! And I found the history pretty interesting as well.

f5a76f00068e4b2eb7dbdf23ad05762e_a1b212fa22d54a35b405f4609958d3b1_1_post

What the Amish Can Teach Us About Modern Medicine

Since I talked a little about the Amish I thought of this article that I debated sharing a few weeks (months?) ago. Pretty much the article talks about how the Amish community survives with no health insurance in modern America. It is pretty interesting, using a mix of self sufficiency, maintaining good health, haggling, and community support.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: amish, digg, gendered foods, healthcare, libraries, New York Magazine, quartz, samantha bee, sunday reading, sunday reads, Vox

2 comments

Sunday Reading 06-21-15 #66

June 21, 2016

066

Yes, I know this isn’t Sunday, it’s Tuesday. But most of these articles were about pregnancy which might of seemed fishy if I posted it before my formal announcement. If you missed it- I am 15 weeks pregnant and just hit my 2nd trimester. It is also the reason why I have been blogging much. But my energy levels are back, and I have the time as well, so it all works out.

Last Sunday Reading I mentioned that I’ve been busy but couldn’t actually think of anything I was busy with. Looking back that is a BIG LIE! We have been very busy. Here is just a list of the many many things I’ve been busy with the past month or so

My friend Justine lived with us for about 2 weeks since she started a new job in Philly (she has happily found an apartment to stay in though)
A big summer thunder storm went by and ripped off our storm door so I had to take it down
My nieces had their first ever ballet recital which is a big deal for dancers
Hubs and I painted our bed rooms (colors are featured in my belly shots if you are wondering)
Went into Philly to visit my friend Chrissy to eat at Grindcore House for 3 hours!
Been busy brainstorming with my Mom about sewing quilts and clothing for my new tummy
Planning on redoing our third floor office/workout room to make room for a nursery. I might share details on the blog (mostly info on how to make a cheap desk)
Our CSA started up at the end of May so now every Saturday morning is occupied by picking our food share. Maybe I’ll start up a weekly food plans from it?
We got our first super adult purchase- A NEW FRIDGE!!! Actually Jon cared more about the specs but I have been enjoying the extra space. And we already spilled a bag of curry leaves in the freezer to make it very very dirty

With that being all shared and updated of my busy adult-life, on with links that almost exclusively involve stuff about babies and pregnancy. I think they are important to share even if you aren’t thinking about kids, as they are important social issues.

Why Women, and Doctors, Are Turning Away From The Bubble-Wrap Approach to Pregnancy

I think most people know that you aren’t suppose to drink when pregnant. But depending where you live, seeing a pregnant woman drink a glass of wine might seem not so odd, or it might send irks down your spine. I have mixed feelings. The research shows having a glass once in a while probably won’t do anything to the baby’s development, but most doctors (especially in the USA) will say to just avoid the stuff to be safe. Which might make sense, but pregnant women take socially okay risks all the time. Maybe scooping the cat litter while the husband is gone for a weekend, eating raw vegetables, or even driving the car (there is always the risk of getting hit by another car.) Pregnant women should weight the benefits with the risks, we need to get places so yeah, we will be driving a car. But what about booze? Some women end up binge drinking in the last trimester, which to me is a sign of stress. So wouldn’t it be best to balance it out and have a few drinks to take the edge off rather than binge drink which clearly shows to effect the fetus? But even still, the idea of me drinking a beer while pregnant still rubs me the wrong way. It is so embedded in our culture that I feel weird doing it. Or worse, I would be more afraid of what other people would think of it.

1 in 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Why?

I wanted to first tell everyone on the blog when I got pregnant. I didn’t care about the idea of miscarriages. I figured I would be honest if it happened, even if it took a few weeks to be able to emotionally write something. They happen fairly often, though most people wouldn’t know that. I had a girl from my high school wrote about having a still born and the emotional toll. For anyone who doesn’t know the difference is that a miscarriage is defined as the termination of a fetus before week 16-28 (depending on state laws), anytime afterwards would be a still born. The article talks about how little we actually know about them, which can be very frustrating to the women who have repeated miscarriages.
lead_960

Why Whole Wheat Is Better Than White

This is a very horrible name for an article (stupid age of click bait titles!) as it never REALLY explains what makes whole wheat healthier than white. But it talks about a very interesting thing- the many different ways that wheat’s glycemic index varies. It kind-of blew my mind, and made me wonder if I just swallowed pasta whole if that would make the glycemic index even lower (which is probably a very very bad idea XD)

The weird history of vitamin D — and what it actually has to do with sun

Super interesting article about vitamin D and the history of it. What I love about learning about the history of vitamins, you learn about all the different foods that get fortified with vitamins that we kind-of assume are natural. Like I never knew that milk is fortified with vitamin D, I just kind-of assumed when I was younger it was just made that way.

The “parenting happiness gap” is real, new research confirms

Another interesting article about kids, parents, and social issues. There is the “parenting happiness gap” where people who don’t have kids are happier than parents. Some countries have this issue and others don’t. Apparently there is clear cut and easy data that shows that the gap can be explained by how much government and work support parents have. I am fairly certain many of the issues about reproductive rights with women revolve around the fear that women wouldn’t want to have children because well, there isn’t much help. No paid leave. Bad vacation time. And lots more. I joke with friends that there is no logical reason to have children since there are so many disadvantages when it comes to money.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: pregnancy, quartz, slate, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, washington post

4 comments

Sunday Reading 06-05-15 #65

June 5, 2016

065

Hey everyone. I would love to say I had a busy week, but it is was mostly spent trying to stay cool or me trying to get over headaches all week. Since the weather has been all over the place this past week, my body just isn’t digging it. Luckily the temperature seems to be mellowing out a little more (keeping between 70 and 80) so I won’t be roasting all day. Though I am not sure if the humidity will be going down this week.

I am sure there was fun and exciting things I was going to share with everyone today, but I am more concerned with trying to get my to-do list done for today. So I will just jump into the links.

MalePeacockSpider

A scientist’s love story with the eccentric and largely unknown peacock spider

This was a pretty interesting story about a man who has been filming and photographing the peacock spider, bringing it forward into popular science. He has even discovered new species, but isn’t being formally paid to do the research, talking about doing what you love.

metab

Most of us misunderstand metabolism. Here are 9 facts to clear that up.

I think these are great facts to commonly misunderstood concepts about metabolism. Some of which falls under the whole “speed up your metabolism” section that we hear often in blogs and fitness books. I am not going to say these are bad suggestions, like building more muscle, or eating more raw foods, but it isn’t altering your metabolism.

sugar

The FDA just made the most significant changes to the nutrition label in years

I love the idea about listing sugar in two ways- added sugar and natural sugars. I hear so many people who get confused about the idea of sugars, like me explaining to my boss on several occasions that you don’t need sugar for bread to rise since there is natural sugars in the flour for the yeast. I don’t eat too many pre-packaged foods, but it is always something good to be paying attention to.

exercise

Exercise Research is Ignoring Female Athletes

Add this to stats I just don’t get. I feel like women are more likely to fit exercise in their daily routines than men. But I guess when we look at athletic research we think the people who are going to benefit are professional athletes, which makes majority of the population think of men. This is bad.

11 Angriest Cities in America

Okay so this is a fairly click-baity article but I couldn’t help but love it. I just that I am from New Jersey so I have a lot of anger, or that my humor is fueled by irritability. My life has centered around two major cities- New York City and Philadelphia and surprise! Both cities have ranked on this list. I do have to say the “anger” is different from both cities, though I feel like Philadelphia is clearly the worst as it seems almost completely sports based (hello Phillie riots!)

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: metabolism, New York Magazine, peacock spider, quartz, science of us, sunday reading, sunday reads, thrillist, Vox

4 comments

Sunday Reading 04-03-15 #62

April 3, 2016

062

Hey guys. This week I am all thrown off. Last weekend I went to Ocean City with my husband since we got invited to a friends beach house. We went on Monday and came back Tuesday, for a little mini vacation. Then we went into Brooklyn to visit my sister on Friday night and came home late Saturday night. I have a bunch of cool posts to do about Brooklyn, a little tour guide of things to do in Williamsburg/Bushwick if you will. I went to Ocean City during the off season… so I really don’t have many good vegan tips of places to go there. I don’t know guys, the Jersey Shore isn’t my thing. Maybe I will make a travel guide about the beaches near Fair Haven where I grew up (and where Alexa is now).

It is really windy here. Some of the smaller trees have been uprooted, and the power went out while shopping! It was very weird going shopping at Target and Wegman’s with only the emergency lights on. There were also weird little things that weren’t working. Espresso machines were down, the conveyer belts at the registers weren’t working. And I feel like everyone was in a panic because of the power being out, at least I felt a little bit like there was something severely bad going on. Oddly my power is doing just fine so I can make this post of the top reads for your Sunday.

Jazz singer Nina Simone is shown in London on Dec. 5, 1968, photo. Simone’s deep, raspy, forceful voice made her a unique figure in jazz and later helped define the civil rights movement. (AP Photo)

Nina Simone’s Face

I might be a little late in the game with posting this article, but it is still something good to read. Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a great article about why we should care about the casting choice for Nina Simone. Many people who read about social justice is probably aware of the issue already, but Coates write beautifully and I think explains the situation that is understandable to anyone new the topic.

fitness

Fitness Trackers Reveal the Damaging Pitfalls of the Modern Approach to Self Improvemnt

As someone who loves to track their health stats, I found this article interesting. I use MapMyRun, Ovia, and have downloaded a pedometer app in the past. Then I like to combine them all together in my Apple Health app because I love graphs. But the article points out that you can’t keep topping yourself, and that might drive some people nuts. I don’t want to say FitBit and other fitness trackers are pointless, but we need to be careful about how to we sell them.

Stern-Candid-Food-Network-Recipe-Reviews-690x517-1458761835

Excessively Candid FoodNetwork.com Recipe Reviews

Am I outing myself as a New Yorker fan? You betcha I am. I found these hilarious, and plausibly real.

Controversial Post: Who Can Clap for That Wrap?

Emileigh from Flashback Summer has really been crushing it lately. Some of you may not know, but I love vintage clothing. I’ve largely stopped blogging about fashion mostly since I haven’t been spending much on new clothes. But I’ve showcased some vintage articles of clothing on the blog (both dresses, vintage hat, and dress). As many may know, vintage clothing has a lot of styles that might be called out today for cultural appropriation- the squaw dress, the tiki bar craze, blackamoor jewelry, and now Emileigh breaks down whether or not is culturally appropriate to wear a wrap. I like how she quotes various people with different ethnicities and background and does some historical research, and urges that if you aren’t doing the research yourself, don’t wear it.

gastronomista_arsenic and old lace 8

Arsenic & Old Lace

I rarely make cocktails from Gastronomista, mostly because I am cheap and have a poorly stocked liquor collection. But the photos of the Arsenic & Old Lace is amazing. Naturally I don’t have any of those liquors- and finding creme de violette might be hard but I will keep it in the back of my mind when looking around.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: cocktails, cultural appropriation, flashback summer, gastronomista, nina simone, quartz, sunday reading, sunday reads, ta-nehisi coates, the atlantic, the new yorker, vintage

4 comments

Sunday Reading 02-21-15 #59

February 21, 2016

059

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves! It is unseasonably warm over here and I am loving it. Our windows are open giving the house much needed fresh air. My husband and I replaced our old fluorescent lights that were in the kitchen and replaced it with cool/neutral toned lights. It is so nice and bright now. I have no clue why people keep using warm toned bulbs because the daylight colored bulbs just give a nice fresh breath of air in our house. I think it is now making Jon think about replacing our lights throughout the house, since the last owner had pretty much all the cheapest fixtures up.

Also I want brag just a little about how I was able to get the new Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavors! So far my husband and I tried two of them, tonight we will try the other two and I will try and get a review up. So far my husband says it is his favorite vegan ice cream out there. The previous champ was Trader Joe’s chocolate cherry soy ice cream.

tumblr_lu2fzpspwm1r5kfelo1_500

Mimi no Kaidan / Junji Ito Index

As you might of seen in my book reviews, I am a huge Junji Ito fan. I was such a big fan I couldn’t wait until his newest releases to be translated and bought a copy of Mimi no Kaidan that was in Japanese. I haven’t been able to do anything other than look at the drawings, until now. I found a website that fansubs Junji Ito’s entire work. I am not one to really like reading fan subs other than when there is no legal way to read the story in your native tongue. I for one am just excited to read what I bought so many years ago.

ooyhgacaepakrbc55gyn

Expiration Dates on Your Food Mean Nothing

I always gripe when I see people toss food out because their food is past the expiration date. I mean BEFORE even opening it up. In fact in an episode of Dear Hank and John, the question of “I ate boxed powder mac and cheese that is a year past expiration date am I okay?” resulted in two different responses. Hank said yeah it’s fine, John was pretty avid about saying it would be bad. Whether or not John was joking I think it is really wasteful, and this article backs up Hank’s response, it might not taste as great, but it is totally fine.

18712231573_b66ab85e40_k.0

Ravi DeRossi Is Expanding Avant Garden and Going Meat-Free at Other Restaurants

This is super exciting to hear someone placing their ethics to their business. Ravi DeRossi has several restaurants in New York City and went vegan. He thought that the demand for vegan food wasn’t enough and went through many years of having his business conflict with his ethics. He finally said enough is enough and is converting all his shops vegan. He is doing it one at a time, so I am excited and would love to try all 15!

Period pain can be “almost as bad as a heart attack.” Why aren’t we researching how to treat it?

This is a great article spotlighting how the medical industry is a little male bias. Many women face painful periods and are often ignored. The scarier truth is that there are some diseases that are linked with period pain and we have no reason why periods are painful for some people but not for others. Periods are pretty taboo to talk about with most people, and especially with men. I have heard stories of guys who didn’t understand why we didn’t just “hold it in,” thinking it is something similar to peeing, and I have personally had a friend who didn’t know that girls had “three holes.” Point is that we need to be more open about this stuff.

Sex is Hard

If you had a crummy Valentines Day, maybe this will cheer you up. At least you don’t have guys stabbing your abdomen because they don’t have time finding your lady parts and you know how to have sex.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: eater, expiration dates, food, junji ito, life hacker, menstruation, pantry, periods, quartz, ravi derossi, scishow, sunday reading, sunday reads

4 comments

Sunday Reading 01-18-15 #56

January 18, 2016

Alexa is ready for the snow!

Hi everyone. I feel like I am failing blogging in 2016. The main two reasons is that one week I went to go visit my Grandfather in Florida. He hasn’t been in the greatest health lately, and even has been in a hospital for most of December with a bad case of clostridium difficile, which I read about in this article about feces enemas. Anyways, we booked a trip for the weekend to visit him once he got better. Let me tell you that trip was EXHAUSTING! I kid you not when I say it was non-stop socializing affair. It also was a humbling experience, I am so picky about the quality of my food but I had to take a deep breath and think about why I was there. I did NOT do any research about vegan friendly places. And I messed up. I eat out so little I forget what things are usually not vegan, like onion rings. But mistakes will be made, and I am just glad I don’t need to eat (crappy) salad again for lunch AND dinner.

All week I was trying to catch up on things from the previous weekend, and then the weekend after I went into NYC to celebrate Alexa’s birthday. It was tons of fun, except the karaoke bar that Alexa booked didn’t put in her reservation for the right day. So we had to book it to someplace different that wasn’t BYOB. Our bottles of soju got opened, and confiscated. No big deal, it was like $10. I was tipsy, and doing fine, then when we leave the guy hands me an open bottle of soju back… which was nice but I had no idea what to do with it. I was drunk enough to think chugging it would be a good idea. Uh… wrong. I quickly got super drunk, I am so glad Jon was with me because I don’t remember much from that night. And I had the worst hangover all Sunday, it even lingered into Monday morning. So let’s just say I was pretty frustrated with my very stupid decision. I should of asked that nice guy to just dump the stuff.

So I have a bunch of articles that I wanted to share over the course of several weeks. So sorry that the list is so long. But I need to break the silence on the blog. I hope everyone had a better weekend than me! I will also have some reviews on some restaurants from Disney and NYC.

Health

A cool study on the effects of ultra marathoners

Women’s health is being ignored because of fat-shaming

I have to agree with this article- don’t join a gym.

I was thinking about making an exercise post like this, but this person got it so right.

People are surprised that I am not anti-GMOs. This article kind-of breaks down why, it is hard to define GMOs.

Extreme health diets are not new. Not saying everyone doesn’t have a grain of truth to their statements, but always use your brain. There is a lot of room food various types of food in your diet.