It’s the brainchild of Smith & Sinclair — chef Emile Bernard and ex-PR Melanie Goldsmith — who claim to have created "The World's First Immersive Edible Alcohol Shop".
Smith & Sinclair already have a successful online business, making "cocktail confectionary" — upmarket alcoholic jelly sweets that are sold in Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges.
At Eat Your Drink, customers are encouraged to smell, eat, lick and breathe the products to experience what the owners describe as a "multi-sensory experience".
So popular is the concept of alcoholic sweets, that Eat Your Drink was successfully crowdfunded in early November. Here are just a few of the treats on offer if you're in the area and think you deserve a break from Christmas shopping...
In North America, it was quality afternoon television. Who was able to resist its catchy opening theme song and the adorably ditzy and magical title heroine? In your group of friends at school, it was common practice that you and your friends would pretend to be your favorite Sailor Guardians and tap into your badassness — before you were probably even allowed to say that word.
My childhood and early adolescent obsession with Sailor Moon was pretty unhealthy. In addition to watching the show every chance I got, I would make my mom take me to the mall at least once a week so I could buy trading cards and other Sailor Moon merchandise with my modest allowance. I still have my collection of cards and posters tucked away in my closet.
Some of my first ventures as a very young writer included writing Sailor Moon fan fiction, and the first time I discovered an online community was through joining Sailor Moon forums and chat rooms.
My love for Sailor Moon remained as I entered adulthood, so naturally, I was psyched when I found out that the anime would be resurrected. Last year, VIZ Media announced that it had acquired the entire series along with the three Sailor Moon movies and TV specials to be redubbed with an all-new English voice cast. More significantly, the series would be re-released in its entirety, uncut and including the final season Sailor Stars, which was never officially released in North America.
As VIZ has been rolling out these redubbed and uncensored episodes via home releases and streaming, a brand new separate Sailor Moon series has been making waves: Sailor Moon Crystal. Though online episodes were in Japanese with English subtitles, Hulu will be streaming the English dub of the new Sailor Moon incarnation every Friday, starting November 20.
If you haven't hopped back on the Sailor Moon train, it's time to fall in love with it all over again. In honor of Sailor Moon Crystal's English release, here are five reasons why Sailor Moon should not just be childhood nostalgia, but something to enjoy now as a woman.
1. The characters are as lovable and recognizable as Disney princesses
The five original Sailor Guardians have very distinct personalities that every lady can relate to. Sailor Moon/Usagi may be the destined leader of the group, but as a regular girl, she's a bit clumsy and lazy yet always loyal to her friends and loved ones. Sailor Mercury/Ami is smart, disciplined and a little bit serious. Sailor Mars/Rei is passionate and ambitious in and out of her Guardian uniform. Sailor Jupiter/Mako is tough yet sensitive, an enthusiastic foodie and boy-crazed gal. Then there's Sailor Venus/Minako, who is feminine and flashy but could edge out Sailor Moon in the clumsy department. Of course, you can't forget about the girls' talking cat sidekicks, Luna and Artemis. There's also tall, dark, and mysterious Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru, the Guardians' main ally and Sailor Moon's love. Finally, there are batches and batches of villains, family members, friends, classmates and the Outer Guardians — who appear midway through the series — to love and hate.
2. The English re-release will allow you to see Sailor Moon the way it was meant to be seen
When Sailor Moon was first brought to North America in the 90s, it was heavily watered down to be what was considered kid-appropriate at the time. Most of the episodes were modified or even cut out entirely for implied nudity, violence, cultural differences or simply because they didn't flow well with the main story arcs.
In the first season, a villain named Zoisite is a man in the original anime, but was made a woman in the English version because he was in a relationship with another male villain. Similarly, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are in a same-sex relationship in the original anime, but were rewritten as cousins in the English version, which made for a lot of awkwardness for viewers not familiar with the Japanese version. The uncut anime would be rated somewhere between a PG or a light PG-13 on the MPAA system, but seeing it in all its glory without the censorship will make you love and appreciate it much more than you did as a child. It's more emotional, exciting and snarky.
3. Sailor Moon Crystal... 'nuff said
Sailor Moon Crystal is not a continuation of Sailor Moon but a brand new series of its own. Though some episodes are similar to the original anime, the events and stories depicted in Crystal are closer to the manga. Additionally, the characters are drawn and animated in that gorgeous manga style, and it is truly breathtaking to watch on an HD screen!
4. Usagi and Mamoru's love story is beautiful and timeless
I recently rewatched the finale of the first season, where Mamoru is brainwashed by Beryl's evil power and Sailor Moon frees him by reminding him of the love they shared on the Moon Kingdom and in present-day Earth. It made me tear up. There's something so touching in believing that the power of love can save. Sure, they hate each other at the beginning, then they find out that they are meant to be together. Like any relationship, Usagi and Mamoru experience their ups and downs throughout the series, but in the end, their love saves.
5. It's all about girl power and friendship
The Sailor Guardians were some of our first pop culture role models, and they should still be our role models today. These ladies found the power within themselves and empowered each other to fight against the evils that were threatening them — and all of humankind. Even when their personalities clash, they always find a way to band together and battle to the end.
We may not be able to use a magic crescent wand or spout water, fire, lightning or light beams from our fingers, but we can always look to channel our inner Sailor Guardians by finding and unleashing our own magical powers and staying true to those we call friends. Revisiting the series would be a good reminder.
I suppose my father had wanted to give me a window into his world so I could understand why the special green phone in our house sometimes rang at midnight, why he had to run out of the restaurant with a spaghetti noodle still dangling from his mouth and why he often showed up on the soccer field in his hospital garb. Very quickly, this lovely gesture became a regular father/daughter outing; I was fascinated by his work and wanted him to show me everything.
And he did. I could see that he loved his profession. Often, the patients he visited would come up to me and say, “You have a wonderful father — he saved my life.” It was powerful and humbling to hear. I knew then and there that I too wanted to help people that profoundly.
I wanted to save lives.
Many years later, my desire to heal others and even save their lives had not abated. Sure enough, I headed off to medical school. Once there, my passion for the field of medicine only grew. After many years of intense training, I finally achieved my dream of becoming an interventional cardiologist like my father. I was finally doing what I had seen him do, and sometimes even experiencing the rush of adrenaline that he must have felt when you open the artery of a patient in the midst of a massive heart attack and literally save their life in that very moment with your own two hands. It was incredibly rewarding work.
I thought I had it all. Well, almost. There was one more dream on the horizon: I wanted a baby.
After many years dedicated to my career and marriage, I was finally ready to start a family. Like most women, I assumed I would get pregnant fairly easily. After many months of trying, I started to panic. I was 34 years old and had a well-studied ovulation chart. I knew what I was doing and I was beyond ready. I didn’t want to wait around for mother-nature to wave her magic wand, or even worse head into a fertility specialist’s office for testing.
Out of frustration, I began to research available methods to encourage conception that didn’t require a crystal ball or a doctor’s visit. That’s when I made the discovery that changed my life. I stumbled across the idea that mucolytics (generally used to break up chest congestion, and found in some cough syrups) is also a thin cervical mucus. Making it less sticky, mucolytics allow the sperm to swim more easily to the egg. This made medical sense to me, so I gave it a try and took a mucolytic the five days leading up to my ovulation.
To my complete amazement, it worked on the first try! I went on to have two more children using the same method, both times on the first try. I realized that this simple tool to help enhance conception should be a first option available for all women. It can make a huge difference and save them from unnecessary frustration. I didn’t want women to have to stumble around in the dark making guesses with products not intended for this purpose. I wanted all women to have access to safe, natural products developed specifically to support their fertility and promote the ideal conditions for conception.
That’s why I started my company, PregPrep. I worked with top OB/GYNs to formulate natural, medically sound products, including a streamlined prenatal vitamin and a natural, bolstered mucolytic.
PregPrep is empowering women all over the country to take control of their bodies as they begin their conception journeys. I was lucky enough to fulfill two lifelong dreams: becoming a doctor and becoming a mother. But I never would have guessed that these would culminate in the fulfillment of a new dream: creating a brand that supports women with medically sound products that may help them achieve their dreams sooner than later.
The truth is — I’ve found that it is just as rewarding helping women get pregnant and creating new lives as it is using my own two hands to save lives.
Learn more about Dr. Oboler's work with PregPrep in her SheKnows Pitch
It was difficult to get rid of her because we had been through a lot together. She had seen every relationship before my now-husband of 18 years — there were a lot of them, short ones. She adapted to every phase of music I got into, from Pink Floyd to The Pixies to The Pharcyde.
Through all of that, she never made me feel good. If I’m going to be honest, she never did. She was bought on sale at a shopping outlet where I begged my parents for a piece of Americana. But she never fit or felt right. She was always in the way — and wound up tied around my waist or forgotten in a car or at a party. The arrangements to pick her up always left me thinking, “I don’t even like this. How is this worth it?”
She was my Blue Jean Baby. I didn’t want to say goodbye because I thought she was my favorite. She never was — just the memory of how much I'd wanted her.
Two months ago I bought something to replace her — this one from Rag & Bone. It was difficult to justify spending over $250 on a new jean jacket, especially when I already had "a perfectly good one."
I don’t regret it — I wear it everywhere, almost every day. It’s soft, comfortable and fits perfectly. I don't regret moving on, not for a second. I have no idea why it took me almost two decades to do it.
Here is another item I've recently replaced: a chunky knit sweater. I’ve had a scratchy one from J.Crew for years that I have suffered over a decade of winters in, but this soft Joie turtleneck sweater is so soft I can sleep in it!
Image: Lynn Chen/SheKnows
Finally, I've accepted that I'm never going to wear high-heeled boots on a regular basis. That was the most difficult thing to part with because I have a closet full of chunky, clunky beauties that I paid big bucks for. Now that I have back problems and never seem to want to wear anything other than flats — even on the red carpet — I'm giving them to another lucky woman. Marc Jacobs makes a comfy pair that I was able to wear while walking around the whole city.
You all know I'm not just talking about clothes here right? This applies to a lot of things in life — people included. Find what fits and what feels good, and get rid of the rest!
But, as a writer of relationship articles and books about getting past breakups, may I suggest a healthier alternative? Lose yourself in the pages of a good book. A book won’t make you fat, drunk or otherwise unhealthy, and — unlike your ex — a book is always there for you.
Here’s a fresh crop of some of my favorite recent titles to help get you out of the pit of despair and back in the game.
It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History by Jennifer Wright
You think you’re handling your breakup badly? Pick up Wright’s witty, tongue-in-cheek historical account of breakup behavior so abhorrent, you can’t help but feel better about the six-pack of empty Ben & Jerry’s cartons in your trash can, alongside the four empty vodka bottles in the recycling bin. Sure, maybe you took a Sawzall and reduced your ex’s bespoke suits to ribbons, but at least you aren’t Emperor Nero, who had one wife murdered, then missed her so badly he castrated a male slave who resembled her and forced him to act — in every respect — as his wife.
Though you may be drowning in so many tears Kleenex has contacted you as a spokesperson, you’re not as bad as poor Russian empress Anna Ivanovna. She was so bitter about love, after losing a husband and never being allowed to remarry, that she forced a sham marriage on a young courtier and an elderly maid, then built a castle of ice and decreed that they must spend their wedding night inside of it — naked — presumably to freeze to death. They survived by allegedly bribing a guard for his coat.
Wright maintains a breezy tone that keeps you from diving too deep into the waters of Lake Poor Pitiful Me, and her outlandish — yet true — tales will make any jilted lover feel a little better by comparison. If nothing else, as the author points out, you can take comfort in the fact that no matter how badly you may have handled your breakup, at least you aren’t Norman Mailer.
Ingrid Palamede — called "Inky" by her family — hates returning to anywhere she’s ever lived: “Whole neighborhoods — whole cities — can be ruined by the reasons you left.” But, when yet another breakup leaves her with no place to go, Ingrid returns to the place she fled first and fastest and dreads most of all: home. Taylor’s lush, vibrant prose brings California’s central valley to life, both the tired, run-down, characterless monotone of Inky’s Fresno hometown and the rich, verdant beauty of the wine country.
Give your obsessing brain a break from the endless loop of what went wrong in your relationship: Valley Fever is a departure from most breakup books in that Ingrid doesn’t seem to wallow too much in the aftermath of her broken love affair, instead slowly, reluctantly coming to life amid the fertile hills and valleys of her family’s vineyards as she helps her father through failing health and failing farming.
Bonus: When you’re in the throes of breakup bingeing, Taylor bumps things up a notch from Häagen-Dazs and Cheetos with her vivid descriptions of home-cured prosciutto, warm and fragrant bruschetta from just-harvested tomatoes, almonds plucked and eaten straight off a branch, peaches “hot and jammy from the tree,” iced grapes piled into glasses of chilled vodka… and wine, of course — luscious, mouth-coating, mind-easing wine. Taylor’s pages offer a lyrical, beautiful and sensual place to get lost while you’re finding your feet again.
Imagine the ultimate rebound relationship after your fiancé summarily dumps you — one where the guy is not only drop-dead gorgeous (think “the lost Hemsworth brother”), but rich as Croesus and spectacular in the sack. Oh, and he wants to marry you, immediately, via private jet to Vegas — and you get to rub your ex’s nose in it when he comes crawling back.
Put a Ring On It, the latest from Beth Kendrick, takes place once again in Black Dog Bay (also the name of the series). It's a fictional Delaware seaside town that’s a haven for the newly heartbroken, where every local business specializes in heartbreak — from the Whinery bar where the lovelorn come to drink away their sorrows to the Jilted Café where they binge-eat and the Rebound Salon to make ill-advised major hairstyle changes.
Put a Ring On It is a total fantasy and wish fulfillment at its height. But, if you’re stuck in a Möbius loop of “there will never be anyone else for me,” Kendrick’s light, funny, airy romance is the best kind of escape. Maybe you won’t find a gorgeous millionaire less than 24 hours after your relationship implodes, but this fun and frothy tale will remind you that there’s life after dumping.
Sometimes it really isn’t them — it’s us. Commitment-phobes may find solace in FitzHenry’s debut novel. Emma Moon is supposed to get married in a week, but she’s already pretty certain her marriage will fail. It's not because of her fiancé — Sam is just about perfect, from making her breakfast to planning their surprise honeymoon to booking her the perfect getaway for her and her best friend at a chichi spa in Napa.
But Emma, a lawyer who analyzes her love life through the lens of legal procedure, doesn’t like their probability of success. Based on her status as the “byproduct of two emotional car wrecks” that are her parents, she’s pretty sure she’s “a marriage liability waiting to happen.”
FitzHenry — a lawyer herself — writes breezy, entertaining prose that shows how a fear of abandonment can make us push people away. Cold Feet is an engaging read about family, friendships and fiancés — and a cautionary tale about the ways we sabotage our own happiness by dwelling on the things we’re missing instead of what we have.
Most of the characters in Heiny’s first short story collection are none of the titular adjectives. Her finely drawn, meticulously wrought character studies are of women in turmoil: restless in a relationship, wrestling with indecision and dissatisfaction or swimming against a quiet tide of despair.
Single, Carefree, Mellow is a must-read for the lovelorn — not so much for its treatment of breakups, although there are gems like this: “Maya knew, from personal experience, that the reason behind the breakup could become, in a way, even more anguishing than the breakup itself, if you never found out what it was.”
If you’re wallowing in misery over your newly single status, pick up this beautifully written, unflinchingly naked short story collection for the unappealing picture it paints of relationships from rampant insecurity to indifference to infidelity. If Heiny’s unappetizing cocktail of couplehood is what you missed out on, you'll soon feel you ducked a bullet, all while losing yourself in her lovely prose.
If you’re curled up in a tight little ball of self-recrimination and doubt after your breakup, wondering what you could have done differently, then grab Reid’s imaginative, whimsical third novel.
When Hannah Martin runs across an old flame on the heels of a disastrous breakup, she faces a seemingly minor decision: Go home with him that night, or not? Hannah chooses both, and Reid cleverly bifurcates the book from that point into two very different paths that result, Sliding Doors style. But in Reid’s original take on the concept, there’s no “right” decision. We make the choices we make in each moment, and while even the smallest one may butterfly-effect into major consequences, Maybe in Another Life ingeniously shows how happiness lies not in the path we’re on, but what we make of it as we’re walking.
A compulsively readable, relatable story of love, friendship and family, Reid’s engaging novel suggests that happiness is the ultimate choice. Her book leaves you feeling that no matter how dark the sky may seem now, the sun may burst out from just behind the next cloud.
Comedian Ansari’s nonfiction book — roaringly funny and legitimately researched in an enormous worldwide research project with sociologist Eric Klinenberg — is about dating, not dumping, but it’s a perfect read for anyone dreading diving back into the dating pool.
In the wake of the depressing picture of love in the digital age drawn by the Ashley Madison hack and the cataclysmic Vanity FairTinder article, Modern Love is both a comic essay on the challenges and indignities of modern dating in the digital age and a sociological treatise on how romance has evolved and continues to change. Ansari concludes it’s not as bleak a picture as we’ve been told. Sure, there’s a mind-spinning complex system of new-tech etiquette about things like how long to wait before returning a text, exactly what to say to strike the right tone (so hard to properly convey in texts!) and the unique kind of crazy that takes over when you can see the text has been read but haven’t heard back so you sit starting at your phone, coming up with all kinds of bizarre doomsday scenarios…
But Ansari’s conclusion is that, while the digital age has radically changed the entire culture of dating and finding a mate, it’s not necessarily for the worse. Our options have expanded — sometimes we have too many choices and, at the core, we’re all still looking for the same thing humans have wanted since Adam and Eve: someone to keep us from being alone in the world. An uproarious, helpful and ultimately hopeful guide to getting back out there.
Phoebe Fox is the author of her own collection of go-to breakup books, The Breakup Doctor, Bedside Manners, and Heart Conditions, part of the Breakup Doctor series (from Henery Press). You can find her at www.phoebefoxauthor.com and have news and relationship advice delivered right to your inbox here. You can also find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
My maiden voyage into the dark abyss known as Black Friday went a little like this...
Several years ago, I was chatting up my oldest daughter over coffee when I casually mentioned I was planning on getting laptops for my three teens for Christmas. She proceeded to tell me that the local Big Box store was having a one-hour-only, unbelievably awesome sale on laptops on Black Friday.
"I've never done Black Friday," I said.
"It'll be fun," she said. "We'll go to the pancake house for breakfast."
That last sentence won me over. I've never been one to say no to pancakes.
"My BFF and I will be by at 3:30 AM. Be ready."
When we arrived at Big Box, the doors had not opened yet, but there were piles of people already in line. With a roll of an eye, I quickly joined the masses. Was that camping equipment I saw ahead? Had those people camped out all night long? Were they making s'mores?
Once we got inside, we broke a slight sweat as we jogged to the electronics department and joined the other couple hundred early birds in the mile-long line. I swear I began to have flashbacks of the Cabbage Patch riots back in 1983. I was in my early 20s. Let's stop and camp there for a while — early 20s.
Anyway, those adoptable dolls, complete with birth certificates and names, were sold out everywhere and people were fighting over them in the toy departments of all the major stores. They were the "it" toy of the year and come hell or high water, my two girls were going to adopt a doll. Between the girls' grandmother and I, we managed to find two without any punches thrown. One was a boy and wasn't quite what my daughter wanted, but I talked her into the fact that boy dolls named Berkley (?) need adopting, too.
When my sleep-deprived mind snapped back to reality, I realized our line was dispersing. About the same time, I spotted a woman I knew who worked at Big Box. She whispered to me that there were only three laptops sent to that particular store, and of course, I was No. 269 in line.
I was livid. I saw stars. Or was that the bad fluorescent lighting blinking off and on? After a couple of laps around the store and seeing empty shelves and a fistfight or three, we were done. Looking back, I have to admit that those pancakes, syrup and several cups of coffee made me feel better and gave me a sugar high. That was the only fun thing I did that day — get high on pancake house syrup.
After that fiasco, if anyone so much as mentions Black Friday, my hands start to tremble and I practice that Lamaze breathing technique I never got to use because of those darn C-sections.
Black Friday sales are nothing but bait to lure us into the stores in the wee hours of the morning. They think we're too bleary-eyed to catch onto their deceit, and before you know it, you've gone in for a $250 laptop and walked out with a $3,000 3-D flat-screen TV. Gotcha! I do believe they like it when fights break out and they get free publicity on the local news channel.
These days you'll find me curled up on the sofa with my laptop, checking out all the Cyber Monday sales or maybe headed to grab a cup of coffee in a pretty red cup. You won't, however, find me anywhere within a five-mile radius of a Black Friday event. It's just not my thing. I don't want to be clean up on aisle nine.
So, Black Friday: A do or a don't for you? Spill your guts! I'm not going anywhere.
Totally by accident, we planned this little weekend over Veteran’s Day weekend and the Marine Corps birthday. So, this trip is either going to be great or lots of trouble with getting these boys together again. Let me tell you, they may not see each other often, but when they do, Lord they make up for lost time. You may remember, we had a little reunion at a wedding in June, which was so fun, but five days of them together, I’m predicting trouble with a capital T. So, wish me luck and sanity!
Image: Amy Shick/SheKnows
Our flight is at 6 a.m., so we have to be up at an hour that is so gross I’m not even going to say it... sigh. Even though I fly 10 or so times a year, I am a very nervous flyer, and we’re expecting some weather tomorrow. So, if you guys could send up a quick little prayer for me, that would be awesome!
Before we head off on our little vacay, I have a very yummy and easy recipe for you! A very delicious and very easy to make harvest salad. Not only does it taste great, but with the colors, it is gorgeous on your Thanksgiving table!
Image: Amy Shick/SheKnows
Like most great salads, this recipe starts with the dressing — a fabulous and fresh creamy shallot dressing. It is tangy and creamy, yet of course in foodie’s diet fashion, still very healthy!
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (if this is too strong for you, feta is also great)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (if you can't find these, cranberries would be a yummy substitute)
Directions
Mix together ingredients for dressing.
Toss together salad ingredients.
Serve dressing on the side or toss together just before serving.
Note: For a holiday like Thanksgiving, I like to toss the salad with the dressing because when everyone is serving and passing food, it's one less thing to serve themselves and pass. I think it's easier and results in less table clutter.
Your partner or spouse isn't much fun these days. It looks like he's going through a heavy time and he's probably withdrawn and sulky. This won't sit well with a Mars-ruled sign like yours. You believe that people should express what's going on and if they can't do that, then they should get over themselves. Unfortunately that solution won't work right now. This would be a good time to take yourself and your feelings out of the equation, give him his space, and just let him be. He'll come talk to you when he feels ready.
You don't want money to be the sticking point in your relationship, but it is. And this isn't because you believe that men should be the breadwinners. You've been bringing home the bacon for longer than you can remember so you're OK with making more than he does. That said, you do insist that he pull his own weight otherwise you feel taken for granted and like you're being taken advantage of. Have a sit down talk with him on the 25th. He doesn't have to bring a six-figure salary to the table, but he should bring something.
Your lover is going through a rough passage where he feels lost and adrift. Being the hands-on Gemini that you are, you will naturally want to shower him with all kinds of useful advice and links to informative websites, but don't. What works for you doesn't necessarily work for him so try being a sounding board instead. Ask him questions aimed at helping him to clarify what he truly wants and you will lead him out of the confusion that sun/Neptune squares often bring. You can look forward to the mental fog lifting on Dec. 4.
Your heart and your head couldn't be more divided which is why you don't want to push yourself now. You're being pressured to make some larger-than-life decisions. Unfortunately you don't really have anything substantial to counterbalance the push from all sides other than a vague feeling that you might be better off somewhere else. Whether this is a true pull or wishful thinking is hard to tell. In any case you should wait with any major personal decisions until Dec. 4 when it looks like your heart and head will be back on the same page again.
Being led up the garden path has never been so fun and you are enjoying every moment of it. Friends, however, are appalled and they will do everything in their power to knock some sense into your head. They don't want to see you disappointed or hurt. But they won't be successful because this week's sun/Neptune square shows that you are completely under a certain person's spell. This is fine as long as you don't tell yourself any stories about what's going on. Take it for what it is and you'll have a wonderfully strange and romantic interlude.
You know that you shouldn't be doing what you're doing but you won't be able to help yourself. That's because Neptune, the planet of glamour and illusion, will be exerting a hypnotic influence on you all week. Faced with an array of tempting offers and irresistible prospects, you will want to make a grab for each and every one of them. The more forbidden the fruit, the better! Indulge yourself (you know you're going to anyway) but be smart about it. And by smart, you should take the necessary precautions and make a point of covering your tracks.
It's hard to know what to think when Venus opposes revolutionary Uranus on Nov. 23. You've been looking for an excuse to break out of your rut and this planetary energy will bring it in the guise of someone who will rock your world. But don't expect this person to stick around. That's because he's the catalyst for change and not relationship material. It's his job to shake things up. Not only will you break just about every rule you said you'd never break, but you may even wind up having the time of your life because of it.
You will always defend the man you love. Scorpios are fiercely loyal. But what if the man you love pulls a stunt that lands him in hot water with loved ones and friends? Will you defend him then? This is the thorny predicament you face this week when you have to think long and hard about what serves his best interests. Defending him means he will do this again while letting him face the consequences ensures that he won't. It's a painful lesson to be sure, but you aren't doing him any favors by shielding him from his own missteps.
It's hard to tell if the guy you're seeing is emotionally wounded or damaged goods. Emotionally wounded means that he just needs time to heal and being the spirited fire sign that you are, you can think of all kinds of creative things to do to help get him back up on his feet. However, damaged goods are damaged goods and no amount of sexual healing, emotional sympathy, late night talks and spiritual communion can turn that around. Give things until the second week of December to see if there's any sign of improvement. If not, then move on.
You've asked a lot of loved ones and friends recently and they've been enormously forgiving when it's come to last-minute rain checks, unreturned phone calls and unanswered emails. What happens over time isn't so much the buildup in resentment as it is the growing belief that you just don't care. And if you don't care about preserving your relationship, then why should they? Your looming deadlines will always be there, but the people who matter most won't. It would be a good idea for you to make room for them in your schedule. You can start this week.
It feels like you can't do anything right these days and guess what? You can't. Now this doesn't mean that you're the one who keeps falling short. What it means is that a loved one doesn't know what he wants — which is why he keeps changing the rules and revising the expectations. Do yourself a favor and stop trying to make things better. The sooner you stop, the sooner he'll realize that he is like a rudderless ship going in circles. Then — and only then — can you start to have a conversation about plotting a future course.
You'll be wondering what people think of you this week. Being born under Neptune makes you a natural screen for others' projections, but you might not like some of the things that are being featured at your expense. You may have to deal with accusations of being elusive, deceptive or even out and out lying. This will be especially painful coming from loved ones. But this is what happens when the sun squares Neptune which is your ruling planet. Try not to take it seriously (an admittedly tall order!) and rest assured that the effect will pass by Dec. 4.
Frankie Grande may be best-known for being Ariana Grande's big brother, but he's also a Big Brother star and Internet personality, and he's bringing a lot of enthusiasm and flair to tonight's AMA live-stream. But according to some Twitter users, it's a little too much flair.
Is it just us, or do these tweets feel especially mean? Sure, any celebrity runs the risk of becoming the target of online hate, but we are kind of surprised so many people find Grande so hard to handle.
We do have to admit that the final tweet here does ring a little true... but isn't Caesar Flickerman one of our favorite Hunger Games characters? And isn't the red carpet the place for big personalities, crazy hair, and outlandish gushing?
Fortunately, there are some fans out there going to bat for the host as well.
Franki Grande - defense
Franki Grande - defense
Of course, with Grande interviewing some of his favorite celebrities tonight, he's probably too busy to care about what people are saying about him online.
The landscape of children's television is littered with landmines — something I've come to be even more aware of as my son gets older and more handy with the remote control. And to be honest, my 9-year-old is less than discerning when it comes to what he'll watch. Which can be a problem, especially when he wants to watch something together. I love an invite to sit alongside my son and watch TV, but I just can't grin and bear it through yet another episode of SpongeBob SquarePants (while sober). Thankfully we've been able to find a few shows that work for everyone.
Both my husband and I are huge fans of cooking competition shows like Top Chef or MasterChef, but most include some language or concepts that aren't 100 percent child-friendly. Enter Gordon Ramsay's MasterChef Junior. It's a take on his successful adult version, but without the yelling and swearing. Plus, after watching the first few seasons together, my son has become more active in the kitchen, even whipping up a few signature dishes of his own. I also love that it shows both boys and girls cooking, despite not having a female winner yet (maybe this season?).
2. Game Shakers
This Nickelodeon show is pretty adorable. As my son gets more into the tween genre, I've found that a lot of shows geared toward that age range can be pretty laden with awful stereotypes. Game Shakers shakes things up just a bit. It's the story of two completely different girls who pair up, make an awesome app that goes viral and end up partnering with a superstar rapper and his son. I love that the show features girls rocking it when it comes to STEM. The cast is diverse. And the plotlines aren't too saccharine or cheesy to enjoy along with your kid.
3. The Thundermans
My son is just a wee bit superhero obsessed, which sounds right on target for his age. It helps that my husband and I are also into sci-fi and superheroes. And I love that there are multiple shows out there that fly in the face of stereotypical boy-saves-girl-from-evil-villain themes. The Thundermans is basically your regular old family comedy, with the twist that the family happens to be a bunch of superheroes — even the kids! While some of the story lines are a little hacky, the overall messages are pretty sound and do a great job of not being sexist or too violent, which seems to be challenging for anything involving superheroes these days.
It's refreshing to find yet another show with a diverse cast that doesn't trade on super-tired stereotypes. This one is right up my son's alley, as it allows him to imagine what would happen if he found a hidden world of superheroes, and I appreciate the humor and strong young female lead.
5. Pee-Wee's Playhouse
I love that I can enjoy classic TV shows with my son because of things like Hulu, Netflix and YouTube. Pee-Wee's Playhouse is one of those. It's silly and goofy, and all of us love it. I dig it because it reminds me of when I watched it as a child, plus I get to see all the "before-they-were-stars" cameos, like Laurence Fishburne and Phil Hartman. And my son enjoys the pure absurdity of it all.
However, in what could be the best news for pregnant ladies since maternity muumuus went out of style, a new study on caffeine consumption during pregnancy shows that it might not be as awful for you (and your baby) as previously thought.
The study, published in American Journal of Epidemiology, looked at 2,197 mother-child pairs who took part in something called the Collaborative Perinatal Project, which collected data between 1959 and 1974. You may know this era as the one when women smoked and drank alcohol and slurped all that coffee before we really knew we shouldn't.
Because they grabbed data from a few decades ago, they were able to get a wider range of caffeine intake numbers during pregnancy. They also measured child IQ rates at 4 and 7 years old to try to get a better grasp on what the long-term effects of caffeine on kids could be. What the researchers found is that when it comes to two markers — intelligence and obesity — there don't really seem to be any.
The most recent study focused on IQ and ultimately found:
"There were no consistent patterns between maternal caffeine ingestion and the development and behavior of those children at those points in their lives."
One of the researchers went on to say, "Taken as a whole, we consider our results to be reassuring for pregnant women who consume moderate amounts of caffeine or the equivalent to 1 or 2 cups of coffee per day.”
So if you've been abstaining from coffee because you're not sure how it will ultimately affect your child's cognitive development, this could be a good reason to cut yourself a break if you feel like you need a pick-me-up in the form of delicious java in the middle of the afternoon.
For years women avoided coffee because it was also believed that any amount of it could increase your risk of miscarriage. However, in 2010, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a study that showed that "moderate" caffeine consumption is an unlikely to cause a miscarriage.
The key word in both of these studies? Moderation.
Getting the good news that coffee might not actually be the terrible threat it was once considered to be is great, but it's not an open invitation to mainline ristretto shots of espresso through an IV that feeds into your neck. Of course, some people's definition of "moderation" may vary, which is why it's important to understand that when we say "moderate caffeine consumption," that's a quantifiable amount.
Specifically, 200 milligrams. For context, an 8-ounce cup of drip coffee has about 137 milligrams of caffeine, while a cup of tea has 48. By contrast, a 12-ounce soda has 37 milligrams, and a 1-ounce shot of espresso has 64.
So remember, talk to your doctor, moderation is key, and cut yourself a break. Preferably over a steaming-hot cup of coffee.
I was paralyzed with fear. Within weeks of hearing the diagnosis, I underwent unthinkable, life-threatening surgical procedures, and found myself suddenly disabled.
My mind started to uncontrollably project my future: coping with the physical deformities of surgery, and the grueling therapies to learn to speak again. And what would become of my decades-long career at Citibank?
It came to an abrupt end. For the next two years, I communicated largely by writing on a small board, and was committed to hours of speech pathology.
But I was determined to seize my life back. I reasoned that cancer took my tongue, my career—but it did not take my education, experience or tenacity. I opened my own woman-owned and -operated broker dealer and investment bank, which is committed to diversity and sensitive to people with disabilities. It's called Tigress Financial Partners. The name Tigress was intentional—it means "strong female."
Today, I am committed to paying it forward. I proudly serve as the chairperson of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, representing over 30,000 business and civic leaders.
This is why I can relate to Carly Fiorina. She, too, in 2009, faced tragedy. She was diagnosed with breast cancer just before her run for a California U.S. Senate seat against incumbent Barbara Boxer. Then, just months later, she lost her stepdaughter Lori to addiction.
Despite this devastation, she navigated through those difficulties, and today is a serious contender for president of the United States.
Beyond surviving cancer and being resilient women, Carly and I share much more. A small business owner myself, I have been won over by Carly's defense of American small businesses—she's protecting the very thing that gave me my life back.
They nurture the values, work ethic and innovative spirit our nation was founded upon. But right now, our federal government is a cancer on small businesses: a catastrophic attack on half the country's private-sector workers, or about 28 million small businesses.
Carly Fiorina has outlined a clear path for the revitalization of the American economy. The first matter to address: crony capitalism.
Crony capitalism destroys the competition—undermining the small, the weak, the community businesses that have no representation in Washington. There's a problem when big government works for big business: the powerful, the wealthy and the well-connected.
Carly often cites the Dodd-Frank law as a prime example of cronyism. Democrats bolstered "too big to fail" banks by levying compliance regulations on the banking industry. However, it is almost impossible for community banks to conform to regulations designed for big banks. In the past decade, 1,500 of them have been destroyed.
Since Dodd-Frank, we've seen community banks close their doors as regulation costs have become too heavy to bear. Big banks were able to absorb the blow Washington doled out, but the small community banks buckled, crushed by new rules and excessive red tape. This critically impacted small businesses that now lacked the access to capital they so desperately needed to be sustainable.
Carly has a guileless solution: Simplify the tax code to three pages. That way, all businesses, large and small, compete on an equal playing field, with no team of lawyers or extensive lobbying operations necessary. Instead, everyone will have a simple-to-understand tax code that will enable them to focus on what matters: growing business, creating jobs and strengthening our economy.
Carly will also protect small businesses from Democratic attacks on capitalism, attacks often aimed at giant corporations. The irony is that giant corporations can absorb the high taxes; small businesses can't. In the end, Main Street loses, Wall Street wins.
Other candidates may give small businesses lip service, but I fully trust that Carly will take charge and put policies in place that get our economy growing again. Carly Fiorina's career began at a small business, and this just might lead her to the Oval Office.
First, you'll want to determine if your plant seems to be outgrowing its current home. Sometimes it's pretty easy — the plant looks top-heavy, seems to be struggling or there is a trail of roots growing out of the drainage hole in the bottom of the container. Also, you may notice that water seems to stand on the surface of its soil for longer than you'd expect after watering, or it doesn't seem to drain very well.
2. Remove the plant
If you've confirmed that your plant needs a new home, you'll have to get it out. Lightly water the plant, and let it sit for an hour or so before you make your attempt. Plants that are root-bound and in need of larger containers will usually slide out easily — if you can, invert the pot, hold on to the plant and shake or bump it out that way. It should come right out. If you notice that there is a bunch of loose dirt that comes out with it, then your plant may not need to be repotted after all.
You'll likely notice that your plant's root system is pretty tightly packed into the shape of its former container. First, you'll want to cut away any roots that are black or in otherwise bad shape (as well as any stragglers), but if the root ball is bound pretty tightly, you'll definitely need to loosen that up. Use your fingers or a sharp knife to loosen up the roots, or make three or four vertical cuts up the sides to allow them to spread out better in their new home.
4. Prepare your new pot
Place a pottery shard (curved side up) over the drainage hole of the new pot to prevent soil from escaping as well as aid in drainage. You can also toss in a few pebbles or even use a coffee filter instead.
Finally, you'll want to replant your gorgeous plant. Ideally, you want your plants root system to be about one inch from the top rim of your new container, so make sure you fill in the bottom so there is some room to rest the root ball on when you first put it in. Finally, fill in the rest of the empty space with soil. How firmly you pack it in depends on your plant's needs — does it need support or to be steadied? You might want to make it a little more packed in.
6. Water your green friend
Once you've replanted and packed in more potting soil, generously water your plant — enough so that water seeps out the drainage hole in the bottom. Voilà! You're done.
Unlike most fruits, which contain mostly carbohydrates, avocados contain lots of fat — but as we all know it's a "good fat", in that it's mainly the monounsaturated type, which is believed to help lower so-called "bad" cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein (LDL).
Other good stuff packed into avocados includes vitamin E, iron and potassium (40 percent more than bananas, BTW, which typically steal the potassium limelight in the fruit bowl).
So there's no denying it's extremely healthy and nutritious. It's just a shame it's a pain in the ass to prepare, right?
It's no surprise that stone fruits, like the avocado, are responsible for over 50,000 tonnes of waste a year. The main issue is timing — in my experience, there only seems to be a window of around 20 minutes when an avocado is in the optimum state to be consumed. Miss this, and you end up with a big pile of soggy brown mush. Which does not make for desirable guacamole.
Avocados are also pretty tricky to handle even when perfectly ripe. So Tesco has decided to save us all from future avocado disasters and are providing it peeled, de-stoned and ready for eating as soon as it thaws out.
Tesco frozen avocado
Tesco frozen avocado
According to Tesco frozen produce buyer, Marianne Aitken, customers told the supermarket that "they often struggle with fresh avocados at home, as they go off very quickly, which can result in food waste".
Dr Richard Swannell, the director of the government's waste advisory body, Wrap, told The Guardian: "We welcome the use of innovative technology and new approaches in helping tackle food waste — in the home and the supply chain. While we do not advise consumers to freeze whole avocados at home, as it can impair their texture, the adoption of 'fast freezing' of avocados by the supplier is a very different process."
If this news doesn't have you reaching for your '70s recipe book already, this might be the clincher: The frozen avocados will be cheaper than the fresh fruit, at £2.50 for nine halves.
A simple cheesecake mixture is spread on top of a graham cracker crust, then baked and cut into bars. Serve this indulgent treat with an easy shortcut caramel sauce and a sprinkle of sea salt that brings out the wonderful flavors of this amazing dessert.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F, then line a baking pan with parchment paper, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter. Mix well, and press into the bottom of the baking pan.
To a bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Use a hand mixer to mix very well, until the cheesecake filling is smooth and creamy.
Spread the cheesecake layer on top of the graham cracker crust, and bake uncovered for 22 to 25 minutes or until the cheesecake is set in the middle.
Remove from the oven, and allow the cheesecake to cool for 1 hour.
When cool, remove the cheesecake from the pan, and cut it into squares.
Add the caramel sauce to a microwave-safe bowl, and heat for 30 seconds or until warm. Drizzle the sauce on top of the bars, and sprinkle with sea salt before serving.
This article also discusses Jessica Jones Season 1 in its entirety, so if you haven't watched it yet, be warned that there are spoilers ahead.
If you're one of the thousands of Netflix users who thought they could stick a toe in the new original series Jessica Jones when it premiered on Friday, then your weekend probably looked a lot like mine: a full-on binge-watching Jessica Jones marathon.
With Jessica Jones, Netflix once again enters the Marvel universe, this time with a dark, gritty take on Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos' comic book series. Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones is a smart, powerful, wonderfully snarky private investigator, and — though certainly not your typical superhero — instantly hypnotizes viewers into wanting her to win whatever battle she fights.
Equally as hypnotizing are the bold ways in which the show deals with rape and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Season 1 of the show is dedicated to Jessica defeating Kilgrave, a terrifying villain who possesses powerful mind control that enables him to use any other human being to carry out heinous acts of torture and murder. His powers leave his victims in a trance, which also allows him to force victims into sexual relationships and rape them. His control doesn't take away his victim's emotions, morals or memory — it just makes them powerless to say no to Kilgrave.
In his wake, Kilgrave has left a heap of citizens suffering from the aftermath of being under his control. The series bravely explores what happens to these people as they begin to deal with the trauma they experience, Jessica being at the center.
"The thing about PTSD is that it’s not just a memory, it’s feeling like you’re back in that situation," Ritter said in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times. "So it’s about building all of those situations and your reactions to those situations. It’s something I worked really hard on because you want to do it justice."
And do it justice she — and the other actors — did. Here are some examples.
1. Her first flashback
Image: Jessica Jones/Netflix
Within the first 10 minutes of Episode 1, Jessica is triggered by watching a man — who we later learn is Luke Cage — take a woman home from a bar. It sends her into a vivid flashback of Kilgrave whispering in her ear, "You want to do it. You know you do." Jessica is instantly transported back to a moment in time that was traumatic for her, just as Ritter had suggested in her interview. Jessica carefully recites the street names near her childhood home to calm herself and come back into the present moment.
2. Dream flashback
Image: Jessica Jones/Netflix
Also in Episode 1, Kilgrave visits Jessica in her sleep by pulling back her hair and licking the side of her face. Vivid nightmares are another way someone with PTSD relives their traumatic moments, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website for the National Center for PTSD.
And while 5% of the general public complains of chronic nightmares, 71-96% of those diagnosed with PTSD may have nightmares, according to the site.
3. Hope Shlottman's paralyzation
Image: Jessica Jones/Netflix
Yes, Kilgrave has the ability to keep his victims frozen in one place, but when Jessica finally tracks down fellow victim Hope, it's obvious she's not just trapped by her captor's mind control. One glance at the look on Hope's face and the viewer can see that she is also paralyzed with fear due to the horrible experiences she has encountered during her imprisonment.
We know that Kilgrave has made Hope and Jessica do horrible things through mind control, and this scene with Hope in particular seems to be a nod to how domestic abuse victims feel trapped into staying with their abuser. Later in the episode, Jessica makes Hope say out loud, "It's not my fault." The fact that Hope had such a hard time saying the phrase is a testament to the fact that many victims of abuse blame themselves.
4. Flashback on the train
Image: Jessica Jones/Netflix
In Episode 2, Jessica has another PTSD flashback to the moment after she killed Luke's wife and Kilgrave is screaming, "Come back here."
At the onset of the flashback in this particular scene, Jessica is surrounded by happy relationships — romantic and maternal — on a train. Some PTSD survivors do report that feelings of happiness can be a trigger.
5. Jessica gets a look at Kilgrave's face
Image: Jessica Jones/Netflix
Upon seeing her abuser's face for the first time since leaving him, Jessica is instantly transported back to what she considers her most traumatic moment — when he forced her to kill Luke's wife — in Episode 3.
6. Hope's pregnancy
Image: Jessica Jones/Netflix
The trauma caused by Hope's sexual abuse is painfully evident in Episode 6 when she reveals that she is pregnant with Kilgrave's baby and had orchestrated her own brutal prison attack in effort to cause a miscarriage.
"I'm pregnant. Still. I can feel it... growing, like a tumor," she says to Jessica. "Every second it's there, I get raped again and again. My parents are shot again and again. I want to live. I want to have children, but I don't want to give life to this... thing. I won't do it."
7. Kilgrave's own PTSD
Image: Jessica Jones/Netflix
It's a documented fact that kids affected by childhood trauma often go on to become perpetrators of violence themselves. While Kilgrave's childhood trauma was in an effort to save him from an illness, it can even be argued that the villain also has PTSD from the horrific lab experiments he underwent while he was young. His evil ways are result of his defense mechanisms he developed to deal with the physical and emotional pain he endured. "Kevin died in that lab," and Kilgrave was born, in Kilgrave's own words.
Kilgrave's PTSD is not lost on Jessica, and she uses it to her own advantage when she imprisons him.
Jessica's alcoholism isn't a specific "time" that the show dealt with her PTSD, but it's clear that she's taken on the habit as a way to cope with her trauma. It's an effective mechanism to illustrate how her pain is with her in every minute of every day.
Without ever even showing a single rape scene, the makers of Jessica Jones were still able to take viewers inside what it might be like to be a survivor of sexual violence and/or trauma. It will be interesting to see if the series continues to address Jessica's PTSD in Season 2 and what kind of other social issues the show might tackle.
Day-to-day military family life can seem strange to some. Whether it’s how everyone freezes in place when “To the Colors” plays across the radio towers, or how we drive past pistol and rifle-toting guards just to get home, our version of normal isn’t exactly run-of-the-mill. While many civilian families know about things like deployments to war, they may not know some of the more usual aspects of our lifestyle.
Here are 10 ways our normal is so not normal for those outside of the military community.
1. Your child’s doctor wears fatigues.
Military service members and their families who receive medical care on base are often seen by military medical practitioners who are also active-duty service members. Camouflage and a stethoscope make perfect sense to military families.
2. Your child calls the grocery store "the commissary."
While most military kids know stores like Wal-Mart, Target and Ikea from a young age, ask them where their food comes from and they’ll almost always say the commissary — the military version of a supermarket.
3. By the time your child reaches sixth grade, he or she has probably changed schools at least three times, or more.
Orders to new duty stations are a part of the military life, and that means registering your kids for new schools each and every time. If your kid has an IEP it can be an even bigger headache trying to transfer into a new school district.
4. Each of your kids has a birth certificate from a different state, and maybe even from a different country.
Due to changes in duty stations, it’s typical for military kids to be born all over the world. One of my friends, a former military brat, says that due to her birth out of the country, she still has issues as an adult trying to renew her U.S. passport with her foreign birth certificate.
5. Hearing your kids say, “Remember so-and-so from our last duty station? His family is stationed here now, too,” is extremely common.
There’s a saying that goes “It’s a small military after all,” and it’s true. Oftentimes when we move to new locations we find old friends, which can make the stress of adapting to our new homes a little less difficult.
6. You probably gave birth to at least one child during your military spouse’s deployment.
Almost all of my friends have at least one “deployment baby.” Even I do. Some of the most beautiful deployment homecomings are when a service member gets to meet his new son or daughter for the very first time.
If you want to buy groceries, shop for clothes, get gas or even go to the doctor on base, you have to have a valid military ID. Once your child reaches 10 years of age, they are required to carry their military ID at all times, even to pick up prescription medication at the base pharmacy.
8. You and your children know your active-duty spouse’s social security number before your own.
Certain benefits, including healthcare, are tied to the military member’s social security number. You will end up using that number all the time. When your kid hears the words “last four?” they automatically know someone is asking for the last four numbers of their military parent’s social security number, and by the time they are five they can probably recite it, too.
9. Warnings to your children usually include: “If you get caught misbehaving by the military police, your dad’s command will get notified” and “If you do something bad, it will get printed in the blotter.”
Imagine living in a world where every bad deed is reported to your boss. This is the way military bases work — and it can be a pain in the butt. If your child gets into a fight with another child, it gets reported to your military member’s chain of command. If you are pulled over for driving five miles over the speed limit, it gets reported. If you’re having a party and a neighbor calls the military police, that too gets reported. Worst of all, these offenses get printed the next day in the military blotter, a sort of tattle-tale newspaper that lets military members know who’s misbehaved on base.
10. You freak out about black-light inspections when your kid vomits on the carpet.
Living on base has its perks, but base housing can often times be problematic. Homes on base are black-light inspected before you are allowed to move out. When you’re raising a family, it’s next to impossible to keep your carpets looking new. If the inspection shows stains, you have to pay for them, and it isn’t cheap. It’s not uncommon to see military wives on Facebook asking about tricks to clean carpet stains in order to pass those black-light inspections. (P.S. I heard baking soda works great!)
So many people outside our community think of our lives as picket-fenced and polished, with moms and dads in uniform who look smokin' hot and act heroic on the daily. While I can neither confirm nor deny the truth to that (I lied, it's true, my husband is a hottie in his fatigues) there is a lot more underneath the surface of military families.
Sister Wives star Kody Brown has chosen to live in a polygamous lifestyle. He has four wives: legal wife Robyn, ex-wife Meri and two spiritual wives, Christine and Janelle, but just because he and his wives have chosen this way of living doesn’t mean his children will follow in his footsteps.
Several of the Brown children have revealed they might only want to have one significant other. During a recent TLC Sister Wives tell-all special, the plural family’s children had a lot to say about the way they see their futures that has us wondering what their parents think about the very grown-up statements.
First to speak up was Meri’s only child, Mariah, who said she didn’t think her parents' lifestyle was for her. She said, "I think I've just grown a lot over the past few years and taken a step back and maybe thought more about what I want and how I want my life to turn out."
Aspyn, Christine's son with Kody, also piped up with a similar sentiment, saying, "I'm the same. I don’t want to do plural marriage. I kind of feel bad that none of us want to, but it was just not what we were meant to do I guess."
Two of the children said that though polygamy wasn’t for them, it was not for reasons you might think.
Paedon, another of Christine’s children, said, "I believe in the religion and I believe in the faith, but I see how my dad does it and he does it amazingly. He's very strong and very powerful and I don't think I could do that." Mykelti said, "I'm not going to live polygamy. I don't think that's for me. I don't think I could ever live up to what my parents have been able to do."
Janelle and Kody’s son Garrison said surely, "One's enough for me."
The fact that the children take into consideration that their parents might feel bad about their lifestyle choices proves that they have not come to these conclusions easily. They clearly feel they have a solid home life and it is apparent they look to their parents as good role models, so one has to wonder how they feel about none of their children feeling the polygamist lifestyle is right for them.
Last week, Abraham announced on Instagram that she hopes to give daughter Sophia a sibling via adoption. Today, she posted another image reiterating that dream.
"With over 145 million orphans in the world, I'm so excited to make a difference by adopting in the future!! #thanksgiving #cutness [sic] #editorial," she wrote, linking to a tabloid story on the revelation.
But people on Instagram are pretty much in agreement that this is just a really terrible idea. Some select comments:
ohnoitstfloyd: "God please don't"
mhjellm: "I'd like to think her sharing this is coming from the most pure truthful place of her heart....but like all of the other random crap she comes up with this is likely a ploy to get more social media activity. Lord help any child who may be adopted by her (or should I say her parents....who've raised Sophia more than she has)."
simplybeautiful4me: "Yea because someone is going to allow you to adopt a child. Who's like taking things up the ass and profession is selling sex toys. You don't even spend time with the one you have now. Always making half naked appearance in different states, town. Learn how to be an active person in her life first." [sic]
xxizzyrobinsonxx: "You don't look after you biological child and your [sic] an awful mother , don't put another child through that suffering"
amandamunoz07: "Adoption is not an easy process and I doubt they would give a child to Farrah the porn star who sells sex toys and molds of her own vagina. Let's just say I hope she never has any more [sic] children nor adopts any."
anhbdm: "God help that child and the one u already have but shouldn't have.. u r a terrible role model... I'm sure that child is better staying where it's at.. u nasty piece of shit."
The reactions on Twitter weren't much better. Nadia Whateley seemed particularly disturbed by the news, judging from the 17 replies she made. Here are a few of her harshest.
Twitter reacts to Farrah Abraham's adoption news
Twitter reacts to Farrah Abraham's adoption news
Abraham has not revealed when she plans to adopt another child, if she has even put the wheels in motion yet, or if this truly is just a pipe dream drummed up for a little publicity.
