Couch 227 - The Safe Couch

The chia seeds make it a bit more puddingy. I use 1/4 C oats, 1tbls chia seeds, 1/3-1/2 C macadamia nut milk with about 1/3 of a ripe banana mushed into it and then fill the remaining space in 8oz jars with fresh fruit and put it in the refrig.
So it is combining overnight oats with chia pudding

Oh, I see, both chia and oatmeal in it. Might need to try that, thanks! Perhaps would be more palatable to me than straight-up chia pudding...

Awe, my niece wants to go to the Monterey CA Aquarium for her birthday (I've been there once but it's been years) AND she wants me to come. I can take the time off of work, that's okay. I just have to arrange for my parents to take care of my diabetic cat. I love that my niece has been asking to go places since my sister separated from her husband. My niece wanted to go to the zoo and they went to the zoo and they went to Magic Mountain and now the aquarium. All the years of me taking them places in the Summer rubbed off on one of those kids! Now I just need to make sure that my parents can take care of my cat and then I can go to the aquarium for my niece's birthday. She's going to be 17 this year. Where has the time gone?! I swear she was four yesterday!

Oh, I was at the Monterey Bay Aquarium like 30 years ago (yikes!)! I remember it being really nice--probably even better now.

I went once with some friends who had season passes or whatever they were called. So we got to go to this special night event they were having. It was really cool. I just remember a giant tuna fish barrelling toward me on the other side of the glass. I backed up because I thought he/she was going to hit the glass and come straight through but at the last second he/she swerved and went swimming away. That's the part that has stood out to me all these years ago. It's probably been 15 years or so since I've been. I remember the Jelly fish too looking really cool at night all lit up. I've been to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific several times and that's cool too. But I think Monterey is bigger.

I am taking a summer course on the sociology of murder. It's both dark and fascinating at once.

And it's already crept into my dreams.

That sounds both terrifying and incredibly interesting at the same time!

Chia pudding just looks disgusting. Do the seeds ever get soft or do they stay crunchy forever?

i have never had chia pudding.

Awww that's sweet that she wants you to come! I haven't been there in many years since my son was little, but I loved it the times I went. I think the last time I went I was still living in the Sacramento area (Rancho Cordova) before we moved to Arizona.

I haven't either. I'm not entirely sure what it is but I'm going to google it later. I always learn interesting things on the couch/from the couch.

Lol! They soften up and they do not have that particular side effect.

I use a lot of the Clarence Darrow Leopold and Loeb transcripts to teach persuasion.

Chia seeds don't really have much of a flavor by themselves - they remind me of poppy seeds in that and they are sort of the same to me. They absorb the liquid and get kind of gelled. They don't ever get super soft that I have seen - you can grind them up. But they get delightfully gelled and crunchy, I think. Two tablespoons of chia seeds (1 ounce or 28 grams) contain about 140 calories, 4 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, 7 grams of unsaturated fat, 18% RDA for calcium, and trace minerals including zinc and copper. They are the richest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds are a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids that cannot be made by the body

They remind me a bit of tapioca or boba tea, so if you don't like to eat things that are round and slightly bouncy/gelatinous, you might not care for chia seeds. There's a brand called Mamma Chia that sells juice blends mixed with chia seeds that are pretty good, although a bit pricey.

That is an inspired choice.

I haven’t had chia seeds in pudding, just gelatin. You almost wouldn’t know they’re there.

Just got back from swimming laps. One day to go in my 8 days in a row self-challenge.

In other news - we had a guy out here to check on our a/c today because it hasn't been working too well and we've been hearing a whirring sound when it starts up. Ha - the guy found a 10 inch long cardboard strip off of a furnace filter had been sucked up inside the blower unit thingy. We need to be more careful when we change them to make sure they don't catch and tear. Thankfully he didn't charge very much to remove it!

I haven't had them in pudding or gelatin - just the natural gelatin they make when they suck up liquid. The chia seeds themselves make the puddingish like texture

You all will appreciate this.

My mother’s 9-year-old iPad was breaking down, so we got her a new one. To get cellular data, it needs a SIM card.

So tomorrow I am going SIM card shopping...with my mother.

we need an lol button

Sheesh its like an episode of Frasier around here!

Or head exploding!

Eta - hey we are almost at the end of the couch!

With extra Freud, just for you.

Update: I had a phone session with L today. A lot of things have been clarified between us. But I feel like I just went through whiplash. I feel really disoriented. I logically know facts, but am struggling with the feelings to match. I have a phone call with her tomorrow, and session with her on Friday.

Chia pudding is great if you have IBS mixed type.

It's easy to make with milk. I used lactose free milk but whatever plant milk you like works.

Then ach morning I'd take out a portion and add frozen berries or frozen banana slices.

It's soluble fiber so it bulks up your stool yet also helps with constipation. I had some every day with yoghurt for some time until I figured out low fodmap and sorted out my number 1 biggest stressor.

Country went into lockdown again. Fortunately I still have therapy as they learned how mental health professionals are essential. I'm rather sad and sometimes depressed but I am quietly glad I moved out, and that my partner is my buffer around messages from my mother. Kinda disappointed she didn't respect my boundary of no contact but then she's never respected whatever boundary.

If she can legitimately ask horribly invasive questions about my sex life and explode when told it's none of her business, of course she won't respect no contact.

Thing about Asian abusive parents (and some other cultures too) is they are really great at pulling the "concerned parent" card. She is just worries because I'm out of the family's control and so she can't control what I say about them. No real concern about my well-being, the past 30 years proved that.

I guess I'm angry.