Allie's Blog IV: Revenge of Allie's Blog

[imallie]

It has cocoa powder and vinegar in it, two ingredients I don't use and am looking forward to trying.

Yeah, cocoa and chili peppers (the basis of chili powder) come from the same region, and much like veggies — what grows together goes together. The cocoa doesn't at all make it sweet or chocolately. It just adds a depth to the flavor.

Red Wine Vinegar is acidic - which enhances all the salty notes in the chili, plus it balances all the sweet you have from the tomatoes and peppers. You could use Apple Cider Vinegar instead, but it isn't really as bold and won't hold up to something like chili.

If you do, though, need a replacement for the RWV, Balsamic Vinegar would do the same job.

Hope you enjoy it!!!

Love,
Allie

P.S. Oh and by the way — this is just MY recipe. Once you make it, it's YOUR recipe... so add, subtract do whatever makes it taste better to you! ❤️

[imallie]

From the "no good deed goes unpunished" files...

Went into the hospital this morning to do bloodwork in advance of my endo appt on Thursday.

As I walked in, I saw the maintenance guy emptying the trash cans was wearing a New York Mets face mask. Now, we Mets fans are a loyal community, and we don't judge on station, rank, religion, color or creed, so I immediately went over to him, smiled and said "Let's Go Mets" and gave him a thumbs up.

Well he got all excited by this and I got sucked into a two minute conversation.The only issue I had was tomorrow is an electrolysis day so I'm in that three-days unshaven mode, so I prefer to not draw attention to myself when I'm out and about, you know?  But even so, I was happy to do it.

So after I got my bloodwork taken care of I was waiting for the elevator to go back up to the parking level. For whatever reason all the elevators were backed up, so a small crowd had gathered (maybe 8-10 of us) waiting for elevators.

The center elevator came down to our floor, but it was continuing down to the basement, so we all knew we weren't going to be getting on.

Even so, the doors opened, and it was an elevator overflowing with huge bins of garbage... and the Mets guy.

He sees me, his eyes light up, he points at me and he screams "HEEEEEEEEYYYYY!!!!!!" in a really excited voice as the elevator doors close...

... as the crowd suddenly all stares at me with a well-deserved "WTF was that?" look on their faces.

I'm guessing I turned beet red, I don't know. All I know is a put my face in my hands and started to laugh... which I'm guessing just made it more weird for everyone else. Which just made me laugh more.

So yeah... only to me.

Love,
Allie

 

[davina61]

So now you have another story to add to your inventory, part of life's rich tapestry

[imallie]

So now you have another story to add to your inventory, part of life's rich tapestry

Hey, everyone's life is a great story. Some people just aren't very good copy editors. 😘

[imallie]

I realize this is going to sound a little crunchy... so if it makes you roll your eyes, no judgement here... but sometimes I think there's something to karma. And I always believe in doing little acts of kindness. The kinds of acts that cost so little but yet can mean so much to someone else.

Like, all kidding aside, it seems that maintenance guy was really happy someone spoke to him today. So glad I didn't just walk past.

Well, just now, that kindness came back to me.

I have a therapy appointment on Thursday morning. I'd sent my therapist the draft of my letter to my sisters and, among other things, we were going to discuss it.

Well tonight, she sent me a text:

"Letter is great! Can't wait to talk on Thursday!"

She did NOT need to do that. She could easily have said that on Thursday. But that little bit of extra effort she made? It literally made my night.

A small act of kindness.

[Lori Dee]

The Law of Karma is absolutely real. People think it means we will be rewarded or punished in the next life, but that isn't how it works. What you sow in this life, you will reap in this life.

I have been helping my friend and her sister while they were without a vehicle. They usually buy me lunch or give me a few bucks for gas. But I do it out of friendship and for no other reason.

A couple of days ago, they went to Feeding America, to pick up some free food. The donors were extra generous this month and they had bags and boxes of all kinds of food. They had so much it wouldn't all fit in their refrigerator or freezer. So they called me to come over and they loaded me up with four bags of groceries. Fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish, pancake mix, macaroni and cheese, a block of cheddar, and tortillas. I helped them and they helped me.

Life is Good.

[Jenn104]

I realize this is going to sound a little crunchy... so if it makes you roll your eyes, no judgement here... but sometimes I think there's something to karma. And I always believe in doing little acts of kindness. The kinds of acts that cost so little but yet can mean so much to someone else.

Like, all kidding aside, it seems that maintenance guy was really happy someone spoke to him today. So glad I didn't just walk past.

Well, just now, that kindness came back to me.

I have a therapy appointment on Thursday morning. I'd sent my therapist the draft of my letter to my sisters and, among other things, we were going to discuss it.

Well tonight, she sent me a text:

"Letter is great! Can't wait to talk on Thursday!"

She did NOT need to do that. She could easily have said that on Thursday. But that little bit of extra effort she made? It literally made my night.

A small act of kindness.

None better than your therapist. She is an angel.

Jenn

[davina61]

My friend Debs just rang, I want you to see where to put my fridge/freezer. That's okay I am coming to do your garden Sat, can you call in now? PIA as want to rush out to the garage, still it will stop her mithering about it. Trouble is no matter what I say it will be where she wants it but at least if I have been it will set her mind at peace so my good deed for today.

[imallie]

My friend Debs just rang, I want you to see where to put my fridge/freezer. That's okay I am coming to do your garden Sat, can you call in now? PIA as want to rush out to the garage, still it will stop her mithering about it. Trouble is no matter what I say it will be where she wants it but at least if I have been it will set her mind at peace so my good deed for today.

❤️

I think we all have a "friend Debs" in our lives. And if you don't think you have a "friend Debs" in your life? That just means that YOU are likely a "friend Debs" in someone else's life. 🤔😉😂😘

[imallie]

The Law of Karma is absolutely real. People think it means we will be rewarded or punished in the next life, but that isn't how it works. What you sow in this life, you will reap in this life.

I have been helping my friend and her sister while they were without a vehicle. They usually buy me lunch or give me a few bucks for gas. But I do it out of friendship and for no other reason.

A couple of days ago, they went to Feeding America, to pick up some free food. The donors were extra generous this month and they had bags and boxes of all kinds of food. They had so much it wouldn't all fit in their refrigerator or freezer. So they called me to come over and they loaded me up with four bags of groceries. Fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish, pancake mix, macaroni and cheese, a block of cheddar, and tortillas. I helped them and they helped me.

Life is Good.

This story both fills and breaks my heart.

My wife and I are so worried about the ever-growing issues with food insecurities in this country. We do our teeny tiny part by purchasing extra groceries for our town's community fridge every week — but mostly I'm heartened by all the infrastructure like Feeding America that works to combat it.

No one should have to worry whether or not they can afford to eat or have access to nutritious food.

Love,
Allie

[Oldandcreaky]

Like, all kidding aside, it seems that maintenance guy was really happy someone spoke to him today. So glad I didn't just walk past.

People like the maintenance guy are my people. I see them wherever I am and talk to them. By dint of my home and career, I'm middle class and my connecting with working-class people might seem like noblesse oblige, but it's not. I remember my roots. You can take a girl out of a trailer, but you can't take the trailer out of a girl.

[Maid Marion]

The maintenance guys love it when you take the time to move the junk so they have a clear working space.

[imallie]

People like the maintenance guy are my people. I see them wherever I am and talk to them. By dint of my home and career, I'm middle class and my connecting with working-class people might seem like noblesse oblige, but it's not. I remember my roots. You can take a girl out of a trailer, but you can't take the trailer out of a girl.

I can't say they are my people, but I will say I've always felt a kindred spirit with them in terms of work ethic and always made time and taken effort to forge a relationship with them.

I could tell, no exaggeration, two dozen stories where one support staff person or another pulled my butt out of the fire or made me look like a miracle worker by either anticipating and solving a problem I hadn't seen, helping out in a crisis that required more than two hands, stepping up and doing something outside of the scope of their responsibilities just because they knew I'd like it, or simply made my life easier/better through an act of kindness.

And I'd have some other people say (and I hated this) "how did you GET him/her/them to do that?" - to which I would just say "I didn't"

[imallie]

The maintenance guys love it when you take the time to move the junk so they have a clear working space.

Agreed. They like it when you do anything when it shows you're actually thinking of what makes their jobs easier.

[davina61]

Unlike the twats that bring their cars in for annual inspection full of rubbish making my job a lot harder (good job I am retired now), thing is something that might have got the okay but will need doing soon ended up failing if they peed me off to much!

[Lori Dee]

As my dad would say, "You don't piss off the judge."

Also, it is important to be nice to anyone handling your food. Random acts of kindness go a long way. And cost nothing.

[imallie]

Today was a whirlwind - but in a good way. Not in a house sucked up and cows and pickup trucks spinning in the sky kind of way.

I had double-booked myself with an endo appointment and a therapy session to discuss my letter to my siblings, and in between I was very appreciative that the very generous and has-plenty-of-stuff-on-her-own-going-on-in-her-life Sara was able to squeeze in a call to both discuss my letter and all things telling friends and family.

Endo was great. Well, caveat. My blood work from Tuesday isn't back yet, so we had to put a pin into any optimism on numbers and next steps and all that... but it was a really good discussion about all possible outcomes and paths from here. I really like her and I know she has my best interest at heart.

Wasn't jazzed that I'd put on 15 lbs since my last visit, but I knew it — since the hormone bump I've literally found my appetite has been ramped up. And the only interesting thing is these 15 lbs definitely are wearing differently... so they're coming back in a new way, which is nice. But even so, I want them and another 20 gone... so it's time to get back to work.

As for therapy? As noted previous she loved the letter which is great, but we spent most of the session (the non-BS portion of the session... which is kind of the best part!) talking more generally about telling people. She really liked the idea of leading with the letter, or "A" letter.

So, rather than a cold call to a friend... or a Zoom/Face Time, or even an in-person meet... send the note and THEN do the meeting. Give the person a moment to react first and soak it in before the first conversation.

She said sometimes people react badly initially, just out of instinct, and they can't take it back - even if they are really supportive. And I get that.

So that makes a lot of sense to me.

Need to discuss all this with my wife ... but I think today was definitely, both physically and socially, a big day in terms of game planning for the path forward.

Love,
Allie

[Lori Dee]

I like the idea of the letter. It gives them time to process and figure out what questions they might want to ask. Sounds like things are going well. I wish you all the best!

Hugs!

[Oldandcreaky]

Allie, I just want everyone to love you. I don't think I'm wanting too much. So, I was nervous before you told your son and dang it, I'm nervous again. I expect most will love you and those who don't must live with the shame of being poopy.

[EllenW]

I expect most will love you and those who don't must live with the shame of being poopy.

Could not agree more.

Allie,
My experience when I told people about me transitioning no one had a questions. And all I told them was that I was transgender and to use my new name "Ellen". Nothing eles.

Ellen