It sounds dopey, but really, it's inspired by a movement called Slow Food.
Slow Food means - eating to enjoy food, being conscious of where it comes from, who grows it and how, why, and most importantly, what future impact will it have on the eater, the grower, and the preparer.

So Slow Fashion is in turn knowing where your clothes come from, who makes them, who designs them and why, and what future impact buying and wearing the clothes will have on all of these people.

For example, buying clothes from Forever 21 (fast fashion, churning out high volume, low grade, unsatisfying aka mcdonalds of fashion) is really bad. The people who make the clothes work way overtime, are paid like $5 a week, include children or young teens, and even worse, the clothes will fall apart in the first wash and then all that labor is for nothing.

On the flip side, buying ethically responsible clothing can be expensive. But really?
How many sweaters do you need?
I am still wearing clothing my mom bought for herself in the 60s.

So that's it. I draw the line.

My standards are as such.

It is made where it is designed. Period. I will buy a shirt from China if some kid said hey wouldn't it be neat to put my handprint on this and I paid that particular kid for it.

So. First line of order.

GET THESE SHOES



SOMEBODY KILL ME these are so cool.
Venezuelan.

When I turned about 20, I started really nitpicking into the logic of things that there is no logic going into.

Today for example, it was Transformers....
My nephew's obsessed and I was reading through some book about it.
OK We all know it's completely stupid. Those things were supposed to be around for a long time before humans or something...but so what were the tires for back then? And like, other stuff like interior lights and door handles?
OH and here's a big logic problem...

Lion King...I've seen it ten million times, it's baby M's favorite movie. I was watching the end bit and realized....you know how Scar says "if it weren't for you, Mufasa would still be alive"

WELL. Simba can use that logic right back, if SCAR didn't INSIST THAT SIMBA TO STAY IN THE GORGE, Mufasa would still be alive. So it's Scar's fault from the beginning with that logic even if he didn't plan the whole thing.

But whatever dude, like, am I crazy?

UP!-

A house floating with balloons? Well, if the helium was in the house...oh never even MIND about the helium...how'd he even get it when he came home so late?! (PS UP makes me cry like a fire hydrant....lion king too) But if it was in the house, it already would have started to lift.

OK and another one...Wall-E

If the Axiom could exist for 700 years without resources from earth, couldn't they harness that same energy source and use it instead of gasoline..not to mention the recycling that must have gone on in that ship....which also reminds me, how could that ship afford to dump steal (garbage scene.) Where the fuck does one get iron and make steel in outer space.

It really feels like a switch flipped over after puberty and it's hard to watch nonfiction.

I still like it, but I just can't stop thinking about the complications.
Don't even get me started about the movie Cars. And Toy Story.

Though I did have a problem also with growing and shrinking movies when I was a kid (shrunk kids series) Can atoms get smaller? Would a shrunken thing get more dense? if so, would it be the same weight? If not, how does one get atoms back when enlarged again?


Also, I came up with a new word in my sleep. Diggle.
It's when something is digging into you in a snuggley type of way. Usually a small thing, pictured below as such:





Example of a classic "diggler"

Bubble Tea...
the first time you have it's pretty weird. They look like giant caviar. They don't taste like much. But after a while you love having such a giant straw and watching the machine press the plastic film on the cup so you can shake it without spilling until you stick the straw in.

Well, I cracked the code of the BOBA, that is, the tapioca pearls.
Actually my sisinlaw figured it out.

Here's what you do:

Step 1. Buy tapioca pearls (AKA Boba, Pearls)
Step 2. Soak pearls in water at least an hour
Step 3. Boil pearls at least 20 minutes (some people prefer them softer)
Step 4. Drain pearls almost all the way, until the top layer of pearls pokes out of the water
Step 5. cover pearls in lots of sugar and stir it up. Let them soak the sugar water at least 5 minutes
Step 6. put them in your tea and enjoy!

The soaking before and soaking in sugar afterwards is the big secret.

The package SAYS boil for 5 minutes, and this is just not true. I think they want to make a joke on white people so we have to go to the cafe to get it the right way.

FYI. you can buy the pearls, straws, and drink mix (like taro root powder) at MT supermarket or the hong kong supermarket on 183 and lamar-ish.

A lot of places don't carry everything. Some carry the pearls but not the straws or drink mix.

Another one of my FAVORITE bubble teas is AVOCADO MILK.

That's what it is...Avocado, milk and sugar. Blend to taste, and that's IT!
I usually do a quarter 'cado, cup of milk and 2 tsp sugar.

MMMMmmm.

So what else.

Ummmmm. Thanks for not making turkey on thanksgiving. turkey is so damn boring, we had RIBS. YES.

PS TEXAS IS NUTS. there are still mosquitos.

Also....I'm going to Amsterdam.

First of all...isn't this MY LITTLE PONY awesome?!

Bubbly wine always seemed so special occasion until I went to Italy and noticed it was served like water with lunch and dinner.
And why should it be a rare treat? Maybe people are so worried about popping the cork through a window they'd rather just risk it at new years.

Lambrusco is a great bottle. Find it at Whole Foods under 10 bucks. It's just slightly bubbly (natural, too!) straight from Italy, and most importantly, it's RED!
Red bubbly! Hooray!
Slightly dry at first and then it's like juice.

Grown up Simba has 90s hair.
That sloth from "It's a Big World" is so dang cute and chill.
This little girl in the photo is SO BIG now, here sister is older than she is in this picture.
And she says stuff like "Turn off the light on!" Or "Take a pikchur!"
Or "I wanna do your hair!" and then when she pulls and yanks it to make me scream or even gets the brush stuck sometimes she pats my head and says "Nyama nishto!" which means "don't worry!" in bulgarian.

The little one's favorite phrase is "Don't do that!" and she call her sis Minka
That's a pretty cute nickname.

I'm awake because I wanted to get her a duplo train set. I love toys. and sparkly kid's clothes.
A new trick I found out is to buy a soft lunch box to store small toy sets in.

I was going to start an edition of interesting things to know that I thought I might have figured out.

First issue is uses for baby products, especially since my kids are getting older, I have leftover stuff.

#1 use for baby soap:
hand washing wools and silks.
Both of these are natural fibers (Just like hair!)and you most certainly cannot toss them in the wash. You also can't use regular laundry soap because if you've ever tried it's hell to wash out. So foam some baby soap on your hands and carefully squish around the article in a sink, then rinse till it's not soapy. Big wool sweaters and pants are best to dry clean but if you have a scarf or silk blouse, this is nice and quick.


#2 use for baby oil:
really good for on the legs for a sexy sheen.
And, if you have stubborn mascara, wipe some oil on your lids before you wash your face, that shit comes right off.

#2 use for baby rash ointment
mosquito bites, sunburn, any sort of rash/skin irritation really, as long as it isn't bleeding and doesn't have to be on your bum.

It also depends on what kind you've got. That dexi-whatver stinks and I hate it but i like aveeno or lansinoh brand.

#3 use for diapers the kiddo has already grown out of:

sopping up spills the now-toddler loves to create.

And...interestingly enough, you can cut them open, dump out the absorbent stuff, mix it in soil and you have an exellent soil additive that helps keep the dirt moist. Check the package to make sure it's bio-friendly of course.

I wanna go to Tokyo.
There's a show there for organic and/or fair trade kids/maternity/accessories/apparel.

Occasionally I think of something I think everyone should know....
But now I can't remember what that thing was.
It was something silly about communism, or some silly thing I just now realized today.

Whatever, I'll just brag about my kid.
She's hilarious. I'm sure everyone thinks their kid is hilarious, but the truth is, when you are watching your kids and they drive you nuts, every so often they do something so odd and bizarre and cute, it makes you not even care that they drive you nuts.

So this kid, she likes to draw and it's adorable. She's getting to the point where she draws pictures and says they are certain people.

Well, here's a portrait of my dad.

Sometimes something crap happens but you're glad it happened so you can say you experienced it.
I stumbled holding an open box of nesquick and made a giant chocolate cloud.
wow.
It was much easier to sweep up than chocolate syrup and I dumped it in the toilet thinking it looked like an awful case of chocolaty smelling diarrhea.

I just watched a ripped version of Bolt, dubbed in another language and subtitled in english. When it came to the end credits it said john travolta and miley cyrus and I thought to myself "Really?! I didn't even recognize the voices!"

Doing lots of work and making samples is all very depressing at times because it's such an investment of time with no return for who knows.

I was excited at the beginning of the week because I got a phone call from a TV show "scout" who set me up with an appointment with a producer to have a spot on the show.

So she called me and we talked about the specifics, then she said I would be responsible for the 36,000 dollar scheduling fee.

So that's out of the question. Or in the question. Very questionable. I haven't heard of an editorial magazine asking its subjects to please pay for a portion of the production costs.

What a bumpy ride life can be. It's all sorts of crazy when you least expect it. I had everything planned out to a T 10 years ago and now look where I am.

A month ago I had these few months planned out, I mean PLANNED. And all that thinking and planning went KAPUTT.

I can't explain because I decided a long time ago to not be personal, but the point is...

What is the use of planning? It's irritating. It's like getting an icecream for yourself and someone else comes along and wants a bite. You PLANNED to have the whole thing! Your stomach was expecting exactly that amount!



You know what else. Even though the kids today were little MONSTERS, I'm still content.

I went to Build a Bear Workshop. And they wanted bunnies.
See? See? You can't plan anything. So just prepare for the unexpected.

Or blindly push ahead. With reason. And caution. or a reasonable amount of caution.

Milena has a little problem pronouncing some letter.s When she counts she says one two three pour, pive, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, 'leben (hehe cute!)

Today she said PUCK!

Which I thought was great and cute but maybe not so cute.

Vili cried ALL morning until she had her nap. Then I went out on my own to get groceries and soap.

Today Toma was in Sofia doing paperwork stuff and I was alone with the kids and his grandma (Baba Snezhi)

We went to a park, got some ice cream, and I realized that even though it's not as HOT in the air as it is in TX, the strength from the sun is still strong, meaning that the playground equipment is too hot to play on at high noon. It IS cool in the shade, unlike TX, and there aren't mosquitos, but I am getting these weird bites from bugs I don't ever see biting me, like flying ants or something. It itches forever and leaves a giant red bump.

After I went shopping and everyone had their naps (except for me who really actually needed one)
we went to the park again and got really dirty in the sand.

Life is pretty much normal here as it is there. Lots of little things are different.

The paid parking downtown actually has a person sitting there with a bag of change and you pay the person, they don't have actual meters.

We went to a dentist this morning to check Milena's tongue again and it looked much better. The medical places are dirty just like everywhere else but when you go in the actual room, it's clean and looks like a new place entirely.

It seems that it's going to take a while for the country to shed the old ravaged self and be new and clean. I mean what they came out of communism like 20 years ago? It's changed so much in two years, there are absolutely beautiful new apartment buildings plastered bright yellows and oranges and pinks, so pretty!

Where did I leave off? I think last Thursday. See I want to remember EVERYTHING but I cant unless I write it down as it happens and that's just not gonna work.

Today was a bit of a disaster. Milena fell on a flat spot while walking and bit her tongue so bad, it bled all over the place and was cut about 5mm across in the middle. The poor kid would occasionally stick her tongue out and say "It hurts!" We got her some ice and I realized I hadn't seen ice for a week.

She was able to eat OK but I was really worried. Finally we took her to the hospital around 10pm and they told us they couldn't stitch it and she could just have some antibiotic mouth rinse. Poor kid. And Vili fell off a bench the day before and busted her lip so it's purple now. God, these kids. It is so sad to see kids bleed :(


Stuff is good except for that, but it goes to show how you can be safe as anything and still fall on your face walking on a flat spot.

Remember that storm last thursday? I don't watch news or listen to radio and had no idea it was coming. I drove to Austin thursday morning and planned to drie back to Bwd that eve. About an hour into the drive I saw the storm, DARK like hell and I got nearer and nearer thinking "wait a minute... Am I really goin in that thing!"
Then it started raining a little bit and the wind gusts came WOOSH pushed my car hard! I could see the steam rising from the hot asphalt being blown away like little clouds.Then it started raining so hard I couldn't see in front of me and I realized this was how people die on accident. I would accidently kill myself. No thanks. I had slowed to about 25 mph on the 70mph hwy, pulled a U, and zipped back out of the rain. Then I realized I had about 60 miles gas left, not enough to get back to Austin.

So I pulled into the one station town Lometa and called my fam to see if I should go back to Austin or what.
Then the storm caught up w me and the power went out at the station, shutting off the pumps before I could fill up.

So I drove back towards austin to the next town and finally filled up though this time the machine wouldn't take my card so I was frustrated with that and the storm caught up AGAIN.

Talk about weird, driving out of the rain three times in a row.

I left the kids in bwd and had friday all to myself, which was the first full night of real deep sleep I've had in a long time. It actually mad eme sick. I couldn't move when I woke up.

Give a kid a hot dog and chances she won't eat it.

You have to put it in a bun or a corn dog or a roll and she will gladly extract the dog for eating.

WHY...I do not know.

We rode the little choo choo at the park. FUN.

There's this stuff by Schwarzkopf calls OSiS and it is AMAZING. It's powder you sprinkle on your roots, then when you massage your scalp it lifts like woah. I think it's not sold in US so I get it on ebay.

They are like dogs. Go potty on the grass, eat off the floor, etc. Etc.
Baby M even went on a licking spree last weekend.

I'm really...tired.

More news about girl who died back in jan, apparently her best friend supplied her methadone which she ODed on.

See? This is why I don't bother making friends in my parent's town. Fuckin life threatening...

I shaved for the first time in a long time (usually I use an epilator) and I BLED out almost every folicle. OW.

V started walking last wednesday and is now happily able to toddle around occasionally tripping.
How cool.
M is kind of understanding how to dress herself. Tag in the back, one leg through each hole. It is very complicated for little miss.

Still working very hard on promoting my stuff, etc, etc, etc.

Watching a very creepy episode of Family Guy.

Man...

What else.

Packing!

This morning I woke up a little bit damp but smelling really nice.
Then I saw a bottle of febreeze was not in its usual high place on the dresser and was instead on the floor along with the other dresser-top items and I realized baby M had crawled up there and ahem...refreshed me in my morning sleep. How considerate!
I have this body spray I got for the kids specifically because they enjoy being spritzed with perfume.

Highlight of the weekend...taking a nap in the baby pool. There wasn't any water in it.

Earlier this week I was going to post about how I never wanted to be a day older and I had already begun the long process of deteriorating.

Just now I realized that in my 30s, I will have been doing what I'm doing for 12 years, whereas other people who start businesses in their late 20s, 30s, will have to be in their late 30s-40s to have a reputation that old.


A few days ago I was driving behind a truck that had a bumper sticker "JESUS is the answer"
and I started smirking a little until I saw the couple in the cabin have a FULL BLOWN FIST FIGHT SO BAD THE GUY STARTED SWERVING ALL OVER THE ROAD...then they calmed down, I was going to pull along side and yell DAMN IT YOU GUYS!!! JESUS! JESUS IS YOUR ANSWER!
But they they started punching again and I decided I'd rather just keep my nose out of it.
wow, what a red red redneck town.

Don't want to go pick up the kids, so exhausted. I love them but it's a monstrous load of energy to be spent.

I'm especially feeling bummed because none of the press kits I sent out ages ago got any sort of leads. I have to call them or something.

MOPE. MOPE.
MOPE. MOPE.

Oh well. I'm leaving in 6 weeks! Gah... I'm so excited.