From now until December first, I am offering 20% off, storewide. No coupons, not codes, just order and enjoy the savings! I have over 80 new items listed this week (whew, I've been busy!) so come take a look around. :-)





http://www.Rivkasmom.com

Happy Holidays!

All measurements are approximate. 

If you have any leftover Coke that's gone flat this is a good way to get rid of it.  You'll need about 3 cups, or a can or so of of Coke or Dr. Pepper. 

Get a package of chicken thighs or legs.  White meat won't work for this, trust me.  Boneless and skinless pieces are the best.

In a dutch oven or a skillet with deep sides, pour in the soda, and then add the chicken pieces and turn to coat.  They should be about 3/4 covered, and not crowded in the pan. 

Add 1 tsp of powdered ginger
       1 tsp of garlic salt (or more)
       1 large splash of soy sauce, about 1/4 cup.

Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to about medium.  Turn the pieces occasionally. Watch the sauce to make sure it doesn't cook down too fast.  If it gets thick before the chicken is done, then add some water.

While this is cooking, steam some rice and prepare your veggie side dishes, set the table and get the dirty dishes caught up.  Poke the chicken every now and then.  When the chicken is fork tender, and the sauce is starting to look thick and syrupy, then it's time to take it off the heat.  Serve on top of the rice with extra sauce.

For a spicy General Tsao's Chicken, add some hot Chinese pepper sauce in the last 10 minutes of cooking, and add some salty roasted cashews.

If I've just added you, it's probably because you said something online that I thought was really cool or interesting.  Feel free to add me back and comment if you want to.  If not, I won't be offended.  I know that some people keep their flist short so they don't miss any really important stuff, or don't have a lot of time to spend on LJ.

For my existing friends, you may have noticed that I have a pretty eclectic bunch of people on here.  From the far left to the far right and every spectrum of race and gender.  Please treat each other with basic tolerance and a somewhat open mind.  I don't expect everyone to agree (that would be so boring!) andI do love to have some good debates.

Final note.  Just because someone is on my flist, DO NOT ASSUME THAT I 100% ENDORSE EVERY SINGLE THING THEY SAY!  I often learn interesting things from people who I deeply disagree with.  If you want to know where I stand, then ask me, don't assume!

Well, I've gained a few pounds this year, and since they seem pretty determined to stay I figure it's time to pass some of my treasures on to someone who will appreciate them.  I'm slowly going through my closets, and listing my rather large stash of fabulous vintage and antique clothing.  Everything is clean, repaired and wearable unless clearly noted. 

( Clickety! )

We arrived at the cemetery and walked up the hill.  There, under the tent, was a deep hole, a pile of earth, and at the bottom of the hole a plain wooden box with a simple Star of David on it.  I stared for the longest time, I just couldn't believe that she was really down there. I mean, I know that SHE wasn't really down there, but her physical remains were.  It was just so strange to think of HER being separated from "her", if you know what I mean.  That sappy old poem, "Do not stand at my grave and weep, because I am not there" suddenly felt a lot more  relevant.

She had always struggled with her weight and body issues, eating disorders and acceptance.  A part of me wanted to laugh, because as I looked down, her coffin seemed so tiny, so very narrow.  I thought "She'd be so pleased!"  How nice to think that she died slender and had an elegant, thin coffin.  G-d forbid she die fat!  (I know that sounds horrible, you really had to have known her to get that she's be laughing at it, too.)

There were dozens of enormous dragonflies lazily swooping circles across the lawn.  It was like something out of a movie.  I've never seen so many dragonflies in one place in my whole life, and the bright warm sun sparkled on their wings.  The place was surrounded by fat, sassy crows, and yet they were completely silent through the whole service.  They seemed to be paying their respects as well, saying goodbye to one of their own.

The service was beautiful and heartbreaking. The officiants did a wonderful job.  I'm in awe of their ability to "keep it together", considering that they were very close friends.  I cried a LOT.  There was a minyan, kaddish was said.  We took turns placing earth on her coffin.  It was very surreal, for a long long time I just sat and watched everyone else, and I was in a sort of dream state.  I think that after a while you can't sustain the grief and you just go numb for a bit until you can catch your breath. 

Between the service and the memorial gathering, we went to get some wine for the memorial, and we ate some sushi outside the store.  There was a lady with a 2 month old pomeranian puppy, and she let us play with it for about 20 minutes.  It was a little puffball, a teething tribble!  Sushi and puppies make everything better. 

At the memorial I opened the wine and proceeded to drink 1/2 of it myself.  I talked for a long time, with people who I haven't seen in years.  Some old grudges were forgiven, fences were mended, and lost connections were remade.  She's be proud of us.  Watching an elderly Jewish man (who was called in at the last minute to make up the minyan) having a deep philosophical discussion with a 6 foot drag queen was really cool. 

A few final thoughts:

Why are we were on earth?  We are all here to learn very specific lessons.  She struggled all of her life with feeling that she did not deserve love and acceptance, yet fiercely craving it, and being unable to receive it on many levels.  In the course of her illness, and especially in the past few months, she had to ask for help.  She fought it SO hard, and pushed so many people away with her fear.  She made people really fight her to accept anything, and yet she wanted it so badly.  You really had to be patient with her, to see past all of her rejections and angry words. 

In the end, when she didn't have the strength to push people away, all she could do was to receive.  In this way, she was forced to see that people really DID love her for who she is.  NOT because she could buy them drinks, go to bed with them, entertain them with her wit, or do them any favors at all, but because she was WORTHY. I think that when she finally "got it", was what made it possible for her to let go to her connection to this world.  

The world became a bit stupider with her passing.  Her intelligence was staggering, her breadth of knowledge was amazing.  She used her intelligence not to one-up or intimidate people, but to foster empathy, compassion and understanding. 

Please, everyone.  Go read a book.  Even better, read a book about something you are violently opposed to.  If you can't bring yourself to spend money on a book you'll disagree with, then check it out from the library or buy it from a charity shop.  Just don't go to the downtown Seattle library, because she hated that place!

"Do not do unto others, that which you find hateful to yourself.  The rest is commentary."  ~ Rabbi Hillel
















Feel free to cross post or print out, but comments are turned off.  Thank you for understanding.

Remember this post? http://hannahsarah.livejournal.com/262986.html  (some Vorona comments in here)

Well, today, one of the women who was yelling at me to "move the fuck out" has made me and Rivka "honorary Samoans" and gave us hair combs and jewelry made from hand painted coconut shells.  She says she likes me "because even thought you're white, you're Jewish so you have culture".  0_o

A could of weeks ago the woman who called me "a stupid white bitch" confessed that she was really drunk that night, doesn't remember much, and apologized for being so mean.  She asked me to forgive her and gave me a hug.  Now Rivka and her daughter are best friends, and since they are both "only children" they have decided to be sisters. :-)  

I was also told by both women that they don't want me to move out, because they consider me an asset to the building.  I keep the courtyard clean and keep a close eye on all of the kids when they play, not just my own kid.  

It's a beautiful thing when people can work out their differences, I just wish it didn't take 6 months to happen!

If you're in Seattle we'd love to see you! 

Sunday, June 14th

We'll be at the picnic benches near the Seward Park playground around 1pm.  Kosher pizza, cupcakes and soda.  Totally laid back, hang out type party.  Drop on by!

There a few folks in LJ Land who seem to think that I could never have possibly been married to a person of color.

Please allow me to introduce you to David.  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=791280741  Feel free to ask him if he was ever married to Cynthia Acosta.  We split up because he was really focused on his career, and I was dealing with my bisexuality issues.  It's OK, we're friends now, so go ahead and satisfy your cynical little curiosities.

I do not think this gives me "race cred", and I really don't care if I ever gain your  approval.  I just don't like being called a liar, especially about someone that I still care about and respect a great deal.

I don't care who has my personal information.  I'm up front about everything, and you can come to my house if you want.  I'll make tea!

Check out this psycho.  Am I ready for Stupid_Free yet?

Hello Grace,

I am not writing on anyone's behalf but my own. I happen to know seller edm and 
am aware of an extensive history of harassment, whining and complaints from you 
about and to her. She has never responded to you, nor will she as she is a woman 
of character and restraint. She didn't prompt this email nor would she approve 
of my writing it, but I felt inclined to contact you anyway.

Firstly, let's get a couple of things straight. You have gone around saying that 
you've been "into steampunk" for years, and before that you were into the "punk" 
scene. Let's cut the crap. You and I both know that you are an orthodox Jewish 
woman and you weren't and aren't into any "scene". Your first sale of any 
steampunk jewelry was on November 22 of last year. Before that you sold frilly 
hats and beaded jewelry. You didn't know what the hell steampunk was before 
that. And you are about as "punk" as Billy Crystal. You saw a trend in steampunk 
and hopped on the bandwagon like anyone who has something to offer and doesn't mind making a few bucks. But don't go around telling people these lies, 
you look like a joke.

Secondly, if you accuse edmdesigns of copying your designs one more time, I will 
personally see to it to bury you and your business so thoroughly that you will 
have to look up to see your ankles. Nobody nagged and whined and got "flouncy" 
when you glued watch movements to cufflinks. Guess what, that "design" had 
already been done. Your excuse that "everybody is doing it" doesn't mean crap. 
Was it your design? No. Then you are copying someone else's design, regardless 
of who else is doing the same. And guess what, the person that did it first 
doesn't care when you come along that there are other people copying also. 
You're just someone else stealing that design.

Thirdly, you don't get to even call it a "design" when you take two pieces and 
glue them together. Any idiot can do it. It's no more of a design than if I 
match my shoes to my hat. So take your proprietary attitude and stick it where 
it will do some good. You didn't invent steampunk, you're just another bandwagon rider and you 
don't have any history or originality to tell someone else that they are 
copying. If there is one more whimper about edmdesigns making a similar looking 
piece, I will personally finance her to replicate every single item that you 
list and have her sell it for a dollar simply to eliminate you from the gene 
pool. I will take great pleasure in paying her the difference.

Lastly, do not, and I repeat, do not go into blogs and certainly not articles 
about edm on sites like BoingBoing or anywhere else and post comments about her 
or continued lies about yourself. You are, as we've already established, full of 
crap. These claims to "have been using a design for years" can be exposed as the 
complete lies that they are one by one if I feel so inclined. You have no right 
as a bandwagon hopper, as we've already established, to claim any history or 
originality to your ideas. You've already had your whining backfire in your face 
and had to yank down all your posts on LiveJournal and other blogs. DO NOT soil edm's good 
reputation with your childish crap. She may sit and do nothing, but I will not 
stand for it. If anything, you owe her a huge thank you for the business she's 
driven to you and others for her notoriety on the internet.

You whine about how hard it is to raise a child on your own on disability and 
welfare. What do you think the state and federal governments would have to say 
about your unclaimed income from your online sales? Did you know that Welfare 
and Disability Fraud are both federal offenses? Did you know that people go to 
jail for fraudulent welfare claims? You think it's hard raising a child as a 
single mother, see how hard it is raising a child as a single mother from jail. 
I bet that's tougher. Here is the number for family services in Seattle: (206) 
267-0604. Here is the number for the Seattle Department of Social & Health 
Services Community Services office: (800) 865-7801. Here is the number for the 
Washington State Welfare Office: (800) 737-0617. I have all three numbers in speed dial on my phone. 
Any one of them will direct me to exactly who I need to speak with, and with a 
click of a mouse while I'm on the phone, a plethora of undisclosed income will
 suddenly come into view - in a big way. Better yet, my brother is a lawyer, 
he'll know exactly what to say.

Now, if there is one more peep out of you about any other people selling their 
stuff trying to make a buck the same way you are, I will make sure that anything 
you sell is for sale by someone else with a listing price of a dollar. If there 
are any requests for others to boycott her items on any selling venue, I will 
personally come to Seattle to let the entire orthodox community and make sure 
that your reputation is sufficient that your child will not be able to return to 
Yeshiva and you will have to move where people don't know you. If any more 
"friends" of yours contact edm to echo your whining, nasty little childish 
nature, I am going straight to my phone. If there are any more lies about yourself, comments claiming rights to some 
"design", disparaging remarks about others, or anything, ANYTHING that could be 
construed as the least bit disagreeable by MY interpretation, I will start 
hitting speed dial on my phone and have you so busy you won't have
 time to worry about who's selling what.

AND I expect that edm will receive a polite apology for the crap you've tried to 
pull and for the lies you try to push off on everyone else, those ones that I 
see right through and won't fly here for a second.

I hope I make myself clear. If not, I will make things so clear that you, 
Cynthia Grace Acosta, will wish that you'd never been born. If I don't hear 
back, and if I call to check on edm and I don't hear that she's gotten a full 
apology, then I am going to start pounding the phones. One step out of line, one 
contact from the wrong person, and I will fly into action. Try, even try to do 
something behind my back and with one phone call you can say goodbye to your 
little apartment, and if you end up serving time, even 30 days, you will also have to 
say goodbye to your daughter. Then the last thing on your mind will be selling 
jewelry and thinking about how to lie to others that you've been selling 
steampunk for years. Think I'm joking? Try me.

Mr. Thurley

And then there's this gem:

One more thing, I've seen all of your crap - on LJ (in several of their forums), 
on BoingBoing and everywhere you go to try to whip up some tears. I have it all 
in screen captures. I asked my brother about it (the family legal eagle) and he 
assures me that these comments can be used to sue you for defamation of 
character as it impacts another's ability to conduct business and earn a living. 

Now, if this crap on http://hannahsarah.livejournal.com is not pulled down 
within one half an hour, then I will make it my personal business to make sure 
that YOU are the one who needs a lawyer. I would imagine that it would be pretty 
tough to defend a law suit from jail. So who needs the lawyer NOW?

Again, I better hear back and fast or the gears will be in motion, and then no 
matter what you do, it will be too late to stop what I am about to start and 
your little whiny rants won't mean diddly, losing your house will. Want to play 
chicken? Let's go...

Should you need to be incarcerated for your sins, I will send the authorities to the following address:

Cynthia Grace Acosta
6814 Rainier Ave. S.
Apt. 1A
Seattle, WA 98118
Phone: (206) 947-7594

I'm giving you one hour to respond and clean up your mess, you better take 
whatever "freakin" meds you need because I'm like a bull in a china shop.

I'm waiting

--------------------------------

So, nice little scene we've got going here, right?  Lovely sense of community, fostering creativity and cooperation.

This should be interesting.




      

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8719248
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11460241

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8583385
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12003594

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8182621
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12100037

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12107949
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12248084


http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8138008
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11460544

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8131057
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12248084

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=7080866
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11080798

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8134659
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12009055

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8152646
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12268209

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12085892
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12085892

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12145404
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11510440

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11046836
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12212583

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8152635
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11415744

Anyone got a good lawyer?

I just got back from Costco, and a few days before that a friend of mine took me shopping at her local PX. Aside from fresh meat, veggies and fruit, I am stocked up for at least the next 6 months - no kidding. I've told myself it was because the prices are so good, and that is very true. Still, the other thing is that if I buy in bulk I don't have to leave the house as often. Aside from going out on Shabbos, I rarely walk halfway down my block and back, and if I didn't have to take the dog out I wouldn't even do that. (Of course, when it gets warmer I'll take Rivka to the park.) I swear, sometimes I don't even know why I own more than two sets of clothes. It's not like anyone ever sees me.

Still, it occurs to me that the REAL reason for all of this is that I've come to really hate 99% of the population. I just don't like people very much these days, and the more I avoid them, the happier I am. Shabbos is always lovely, and whenever I'm in the Jewish community I get to forget the rest of the world "outside". The other 6 days of the week I try to keep as low a profile as possible.

This brings me to my last bit of LJ drama. I had been using the computer as a way of getting social interaction, and from the comfort of my home I realized that I had forgotten that these are the very people that I have been avoiding "in real life", and for very good reason. I don't know WHY I thought that people online would be nicer, more ethical, friendlier, etc., except for my wishing it were so. Well, time to wake up and smell the coffee.

I now have a note taped to my computer that reads "First Rule of the Internet: People are evil, vicious bastards until proven otherwise." This makes me incredibly sad, but not as sad as having to find out the hard way. I don't know why it has taken me 42 years to get to this point. It's not like I've never been betrayed before. I just seem to have this bottomless well of optimism that does nothing but get me into trouble with the wrong sort of people.

A lot of it I blame on my parents, raising me Xian. (apologies to my Xian friends, but this is how it has affected me personally). My parents raised me to turn the other cheek, forgive, love my neighbor, blah, blah, blah and unicorns will crap rainbows on your lawn. HELLO? The real world does not work that way. My parents never warned me that there were "bad people" out there. I guess they didn't want to scare me - so now I get to be scared as an adult. Yay, thanks mom.

I'm really liking the Jewish approach to life much better. You look after your own FIRST, try your best to judge people favorably, but NEVER forget that they WILL burn down your village given half a chance. I'm already trying to help Rivka learn that there are people out there that are not nice, and there are some that are safe. There are people out there who may look nice, but they may actually be very mean. It's very important to me that she starts to figure out how to make those distinctions as early as possible, and if she's ever not sure that she can come to me and ask.

I'm also teaching her how to stand up to bullies, another skill that I was never taught. I was always the weird kid that nobody liked, who ended up the playground punching bag. I learned real quick that the teachers did not like "whiners", and that it was best to hide in a corner until class started again. If I were a boy with access to a gun, I would have been one of those Columbine kids. Instead, I turned it inward. I don't want Rivka to spend the next 13 years of school like that.

Anyway, lots of rambling thoughts, lunar eclipse has me in a pretty crappy mood. I'll be hiding, but if the apocalypse comes, I've got lots of groceries to get me through.

http://www.shoeline.com/asp/dcpItem.asp?&refURL=BGC&style=DW6421 Size 8.5

I can't find them anywhere, at any price! Aaaaagh!

A local artist's husband has been missing since 2/13, and the police are on a cold trail. Please take a second to read this thread, and keep an eye out:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5472516

Thank you.

Yay, I am now no longer sleeping on the saggy sofa, and Rivka has outgrown her crib mattress. After several fruitless weeks of combing Craig's List, I came across a FREE "twin over full" bunk bed set, WITH mattresses! (Thank you, G-d)

Kevin, being the mentch that he is, borrowed his brother's van so that he could get them from Bothell down to our place, and he put it together for us. Rivka, the little monkey, mastered the up part of the ladder in seconds, but it took her the better part of the day to figure out how to get down. It was like having a kitten that kept insisting on going up a tree, and I was the fire department. Finally, I climbed up and then showed her how I got down, one step at a time. From then on, she had it all figured out. She must have gone up and down that ladder 100 times tonight. So she's lying in bed going "Mommy, my legs hurt!" Gee, I wonder why?

In other news, I just downloaded the latest version of Camino for my Mac. What is very cool is that it has built in spell check, no matter what application you're writing in. It saves me from commonly misspelled words and the occasional transposed letters, which is great. The problem is that it does not recognize Hebrew, Yiddish, British spellings of things, or OMG WTF LOLCATZ, which apparently I use a lot more than I thought I did.

The new version does make up for it's other shortcomings by saving your work when the computer freezes. Every now and then my computer "locks up" and I have to do a hard reboot. When it turns back on, Camino asks me if I want to restore where I was, and I don't have to scramble around to remember what pages I was working on.

Aaaagh! What is it with everyone on my friends list being so mushy today?

I'm getting really tired of being single. I'm going on 5 years without a relationship, and I haven't been celibate this long since I hit puberty. :-(

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZrivkasmom

Lots of items expiring in the next 24 hours or less, and most of them have NO bids on them. Can you believe it? I guess everyone's out playing in the snow, when they should be snatching up these bargains. My prices are less than HALF what I'm asking full retail at Etsy, so think of it as buying wholesale. :-)

So, tell me about pain management for fibro flare ups. My current plan is not working. I have a huge spasm in my back right between the shoulder blades.

I had to make a choice between taking codeine or Lunesta. I picked the codeine, and I am really sorry I did. Not only is it not doing anything for the pain, I'm still wide awake. I can't take the Lunesta now because I have to get up in a few hours to take care of Rivka, and besides, I'm leery of mixing drugs like that.

The other thing I hate about codeine is that it makes me stupid. I am awake, but I'm not thinking very clearly, or much at all. I just spent the last hour staring at the computer, and I couldn't tell you what I was looking at. Gah! Insomnia, pain and stupid = not fun. :-(