Let's Discuss Dear White People

Yes, I'm disrupting the usual Friday tradition of recipes and links, but I promise to be back in regular programing next Friday.  This was worth the disruption for me.

Last week, I talked briefly about seeing Dear White People.  Have any of you seen it yet?  There were a lot of different questions and ideas brought up that I want to talk through.  After the movie was over, Caleb and I had an engaging conversation about stereotypes, the black experience in America, and how people become easily offended.  One of the tricky things is... Caleb and I are both white.  Our perspective is somewhat limited, and that's why I want to talk about this with others.

There were plenty of things talked about in the movie that seemed ridiculous and even hilarious.  In fact, promo videos like this are supposed to be funny.  (See more here.)  Some of the other points, though, make me wonder.  So, here are some of my thoughts.  Some might be nit picky or even off the mark, but I'd still love to hear your thoughts on them.

Let's discuss.

Tea Tree Oil Review

I can't remember if I've talked about this before on the blog, but I've been increasingly interested in essential oils and their alleged benefits.  Stress relievers, mood revitalizers, digestion aids, immunity boosters, all these things sound very good to me.  The thing about the properties of essential oils (EOs) is that they haven't been properly studied by medical folks.  Know why?  Because EOs can't be patented, which means they can't be sold as medicines, which means medical companies can't make money off of them.  All the information we have on EOs is actually anecdotal evidence.  Still, there's a lot of anecdotal evidence out there, and I've been wanting to give all this a shot for a while.

Into my life came Apothecary Extracts with a free 4 ounces of Tea Tree Oil for me to try!  They're also willing to give a lucky reader a sample, too!  For free!  (Scroll down below for a chance to win!)

Our Autmn Bucket List

I enjoyed creating and checking things off our summer bucket list so much, I flipped over the paper and made one for fall, too.

Recommended with Dear White People

When I saw Dear White People on Sunday, we settled into a moderately radially mixed audience.  I made a comment to Caleb as the lights dimmed and the movie began, "Are we allowed to laugh at the jokes?"  When we saw the trailer a few months ago, we both laughed at the funny parts, and we both wanted to hear what the movie had to say.  We both know that there are kids in America who create race issues where there aren't any, but we also know that, contrary to what one of the characters said in the movie, racism definitely isn't over in America.

I really want to talk about the movie with people.  Please go see this movie then get back with me so we can discuss, okay?  I'm going to post some of my thoughts next week.

Recommended with Dear White People...

Simple Nail Art Collection

I've got a few more looks from the summer to show you.  (Yes, I'm still trying to catch up!)  These ones were all very simple, but pretty.  See all the details below after the jump.

My Easy New Plan for NOT Overeating

One of my biggest vices is not saying no to food when I know my stomach is full.  It's been a habit since becoming an adult, and it's gotten me into some very painful stomach aches.  Also, it's a wasteful thing.  Taking more than you need is wasteful and unhealthy.  It's not good for me to overwhelm my stomach, and I never feel well when I do.  So, I've come up with a plan.

Recommended with this NEW Turkey Avo Sandwich with Special Sauce!

 We have a Caleb Sutton original for you today, and I'm super excited to share it, because it's delicious!

The Intentional Blogging Challenge

Do you have a blog?  Do you enjoy it, want to improve it, or want to improve your writing?  Come join the Intentional Blogging Challenge with me!  Jeff Goins is hosting it and is giving us great stretching challenges like finessing your about page, setting up an email newsletter, and writing different kinds of posts that boost traffic.  Even if you're late, you can go back and look at the previous challenges and catch up.

7 Things New Puppy Owners Learn

My husband and I haven't even had our furry bundle of joy for a week yet, and we've gone through a whole lot more emotions than we expected.  Our pup Mako already knows how to sit, and he's slowly getting better with crate training and not crying when we leave, but boy has it been a whirlwind!  We've had to make some serious adjustments real fast and we've discovered a few surprises, too.

The Window Boxes of Charleston

During our summer vacation in Charleston, I was taken by the many charming window boxes on the houses downtown.  You could tell that they were tended to constantly, and I imagine that their gardeners took great pride in them.  I started taking pictures for future inspiration.  Aren't they beautiful?

Recommended with Oven Roasted Potatoes

This recipe from My Adventures in the Country.  You need to try it.

My Work Space (and My Dream Work Space)

As it turns out, I do a lot of my blogging while in my work office, either on my lunch breaks or after closing time.  I've only got a laptop at home and no desk, and using the desktop computer at work makes a big difference.  It has been absolutely necessary, therefore, that I set up the space so it's relaxed, creative, and not too terribly professional.

Health Journey Update + FREE Online Health Course!

The last time I wrote about health was back in March, and boy has a lot happened since then!  A lot of exciting things!

• I started taking Juice Plus vitamins in February, and while I still do have the occasional sniffles and scratchy throat, I haven't missed a day of work due to sickness since starting!  Not even during allergy season!
• Fun cardio!  I started taking weekly hip hop classes and I'm going through a 5-week belly dance class right now.  I really enjoy these classes, which means I prioritize them and make sure they happen.
• Quite a few months saw me drinking hot tea almost every day.
• I've started substituting stevia in for almost all the sugar in our recipes.
• I started using Mary Kay's Timewise collection, but I'm now in the process of filtering in other products that will be better for my skin.
• We now only eat whole wheat pasta.  This change was a hard one because I just hated the whole wheat consistency at first, but now I don't even notice the difference!
• We've started using coconut oil a whole lot more in cooking, and I put it into my smoothies, too, when I have them.

Tree Climbing at Panola Mountain State Park

My mother-in-law bought some Amazon Local coupons so that all us kids could do an assisted tree climbing at Panola State Park.  Now I know what you're thinking.  "Assisted tree climbing?  That sounds super lame.  Why can't you just climb the trees like normal?"  I hear ya; I was thinking the exact same thing, but believe me when I say that this was much cooler than you'd expect.

Recommended with Kimchi Fried Rice

Guys.  I made the perfect kimchi fried rice earlier this week.  When I started making kimchi rice this year, I began with Rubyellen's recipe to get a handle on the dish, and I've worked from there to adjust the recipe to suit my tastes.  Here's my own personal recipe!

While preparing for this week's dish, I realized I didn't have any green onions, so I chopped up half a white onion instead and sauteed it in butter until translucent.  That got me thinking about adding butter to the recipe later... I also forgot to cook the rice until late, so the kimchi ended up frying in the pan for a very, very long time.  This helped cut down some of the kimchi's spicy bite, and it mellowed out the entire dish a good bit, which I appreciated.

Now, the most important part!  Once the rice was in, we had to wait a good long while before the chicken nuggets Caleb was making were ready, so the kimchi rice just sat and sat in the hot pan until perfect rice crispiness formed at the bottom.  When I saw that, I got really excited.  This crunchy stuff is always really good, and I'd never thought to cook the dish long enough to get it.  It made the fried rice just that much yummier.  I usually can't get enough of this stuff, but this time was my very favorite.

Let me know if you try it!

Notes: I think the oyster sauce is very important, because it makes the overall flavor much rounder. You could also add in ketchup or chopped spam, bacon, or carrots, and you can see Rubyellen's recipe about adding on a fried egg. She also has notes on why you should use old rice and what to do if you don't have old rice.

Recommended with Kimchi Fried Rice...

Most Exciting News!

By this time next week, this is going to be my new family!!