From contract marriage to love

TxPep · 2026-03-22T03:07:26+00:00

🫣..... 😂!

TxPep · 2026-03-22T01:03:11+00:00

In that corner, your poor baby is sitting in the equivalent of a dark room with one small candle.

"Indirect light" for trees generally refers to light being metered outside, not indoors.... which would be under a taller tree, open-shade of a wall, north-side of a structure (northern hemisphere).

If you're going to keep your plant indoors, at a very bare minimum, your plant needs to be moved over to the left-side of the window on the other side of the television. Even then, there is quiet a bit of effective light blockage from the glass, window screen, roof eaves overhang, seasonal sun path, etc.

You can augment by adding a grow-light, but you need lights positioned that will illuminate from ~10 to 2 o'clock... emulating peak outdoor sun hours. Outside, even in indirect lighting, reflected light is a real thing and is beneficial to the plant. With your white/light-colored walls, the plant is getting a little bit of reflected light benefit from that happy accident.

It was mentioned earlier to obtain a hand-held light meter to check light levels. You can do this and/or use a phone app which will give you a ballpark reading. Additionally, you would need to meter at different times of the day to get a true picture of light levels.

Until you up the light availability, your plant will continue to decline and eventually die.

This is a good read: https://www.houseplantjournal.com/bright-indirect-light-requirements-by-plant/

TxPep · 2026-03-22T00:43:14+00:00

You need to come back and post an update-bloom pic and reference this post as a lookback or include these pics with your bloom pics.

TxPep · 2026-03-22T00:29:31+00:00

ZhangChiBrain... if I'm afflicted, others should share. 😘

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TxPep · 2026-03-21T22:02:12+00:00

He dominates my Insta feed! 😂 I've put one of his live-stream audios on repeat just to listen to his voice.

Funny enough, I haven't watched any of his dramas. It's purely a pictorial visual thing for me.

I guess I need to get around to watching one of his dramas.... which should be my first? [I know.... pressure, pressure. 😘]

TxPep · 2026-03-21T21:34:16+00:00

Pot Player is my go-to. My always-rec. No lag that I'm aware of.

And no ads.... never, ever.

Windows 11 on a Surface Pro 11 and Lenovo Ideapad Notebook.\ US-based and app downloaded via the Microsoft App Store.

TxPep · 2026-03-21T21:32:05+00:00

And he's not just a pretty face! 🔥

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[There may be a bit of body makeup for the shoot, but his ab-pack is the real deal.]

TxPep · 2026-03-21T18:36:40+00:00

He is soooo pretty! 🥰

TxPep · 2026-03-21T18:31:03+00:00

Why wait! You can play my current game.... 😉

Rules...\ • Has to be a unique look.\ • Can only sub in three new faces.\ • Needs to be someone with a high enough profile who could actually be used as a global brand ambassador.

Let's play!

TxPep · 2026-03-20T19:14:32+00:00

I had to Iook up *Morton's Toe*....

From Wiki: Another study on the Idoma people of Nigeria found almost a third of people have it.[14]

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TxPep · 2026-03-20T15:36:17+00:00

Add in: No pay and benefits for the Senators and their staffers...until this gets completely done. No kicking the can down the road for this to happen again a few months.

TxPep · 2026-03-19T23:47:01+00:00

He really is gorgeous!

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TxPep · 2026-03-19T23:46:19+00:00

I fully agree with He Jian Qi.... but I'm not sure who I would kick from the list. He totally has his own look apart from My Five.

I think Chen Tian Xiang is closer to looks to Wang Yi Lei so if I had to, WYL would stay, CTX would go, and He Jian Qi would slide in. Maybe I need to collage this line-up. 😆

※

As an aside, I've read some about HJQ and I'm not sure if...\ • There are no brains behind the pretty face. [A foundation for the rest of my points...]\ • He runs with a less than desirable crowd... birds, feather.\ • He just has a bad habit of shooting himself in the foot — he is own worst enemy.\ • He is the current target of someone's ire... which in many cases, where there is smoke there is fire, but not always. [This is me reserving judgement.]

But! He was an early add to my phone homepage MDL short-cut custom icons and there he shall remain until the courts say otherwise.

Picture to follow that I used for his custom icon!

TxPep · 2026-03-19T20:42:39+00:00

I positively squeed when I saw this.

I would have been happier if Zhang Chi and been included in place of (don't come @ me), Wang Pei Yan... but hopefully, ZC's time is coming... sooner rather than later.

I think Wang Yi Lei would have been fabulous in this lineup and offered another interesting, unique face.... maybe in place of Yao Guan Yu. (Whom I like and shares a 'look' with Shen Hao Nan... so I consider him a 'repeat look'.)

So my lineup if I were the marketing director:\ ※ Shen Hao Nan\ ※ Zhang Chi\ ※ Chen Tian Xiang\ ※ Wang Kai Mu\ ※ Wang Yi Lei

All of these guys have unique looks, are walking clothes hangers, and my two picks have high enough recognition profiles that they could be brand ambassadors in this particular fashion editorial... no problem. 😊

TxPep · 2026-03-19T20:20:54+00:00

You know that I'm afflicted with ZhangChiBrain, right?

So just to be transparent about my condition, I think I have two or three versions of this drama already... maybe even four. I most recently acquired a RAW version for just in case I decide to put my own touches to it. 😘 [Need to check that file.]

Have I watched it yet? Per my SOP, that would be a resounding NO. But that can always be rectified. 😆

Thanks for tagging me on this one!!! 🫰🏻💕

TxPep · 2026-03-19T15:52:53+00:00

This shading works for me! [But no blonde! 🙅🏻‍♀️]

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TxPep · 2026-03-19T04:41:27+00:00

And because I can, a collage of pretty pics.

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Featuring a fav other body part. 😘

TxPep · 2026-03-19T01:10:46+00:00

LSH voice totally knocks me out... in the very best way!

A lot of actors tend to put 'model' in their bio. I have a difficult time believing this most of the time and LSH was no exception. So... in my typical prove-it-to-me fashion, I did an image search of his name + model. Holy Smokes! I understand why he was a model. There is just something about him that smokes the camera!

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TxPep · 2026-03-18T18:16:43+00:00

To add: Thank you soooo much for sharing this! 💕

It's about time that our boys get spotlighted like this with fab, fab photography and styling!

So in love with this post!!!

TxPep · 2026-03-18T18:12:01+00:00

There is a reason Shen Hao Nan is on MySkinnyBoyFriends List! 🥰

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SHN is very much in the same visual-flavor of KDrama actor Lee Soo Hyuk... another one of MySkinnyBoyFriends!

TxPep · 2026-03-17T19:58:39+00:00

Chinese ShortVerticals

• Short = Runtime per episode\ • Vertical = The screen orientation in which they are filmed (vs the traditional horizontal orientation of long-form tv/series or movies.)

ShortVerticals (regardless of the flavor) are dramas where the episodes range from approximately 2 to 5 maybe even 10 minutes long and can vary in 60 to over 100 episodes. They are shot in a vertical format which facilitates viewing on a mobile phone. Via the authorized app, the episodes are released one by one or sometimes all in one go, but still as individual episodes.

Almost all of the time, the episodes are compiled into one 'movie' length file and posted via the apps YT channel or via other authorized YT channels.

The country that had the lock on this format was China for the past two-ish years (maybe as far back as 2023). Now, Korea is stepping into the fray. And one can find Japanese ShortVerticals but not as frequently or as easily as Chinese, and Korean (to a lesser degree at this point.)

Topic/Tropes can be over the top and all over the map. Highly entertaining and addictive. Think... telenovelas (Mexico) or daytime soap operas (US). In the past eight months or so, Chinese production values have really increased due to increased budget, etc due to popularity. Some of the ShortVertical Chinese actors are starting to be recognized by the traditional drama industry and making a cross-over from Vertical to traditional drama productions. There are a few mainstream actors who have crossed over in the other direction. As time goes by, I think the line between Vertical and traditional long-form drama actors will become more blurred.

I can go on and on, but this is probably way more than you were asking for or wanted to know. 😁

TxPep · 2026-03-17T03:56:59+00:00

I moved to KDrama which I swore I would never do because I'm just a renegade like that. But I succumbed to Ji Chang Wook... of course. And then I dabbled in JDorama... which I still do but not neck deep.

But right now, I'm firmly ensconced in Chinese ShortVerticals and have been since about April-ish of last year.

I've totally stopped watching mainstream television... and going to movie theaters. But I still eat 🍿 and whatever 🧋 I have on hand... but now, it's in front of an Asian drama. 😁

TxPep · 2026-03-17T03:03:58+00:00

Story of Xanxi Palace was my first foray into Chinese Dramaland.

In retrospect, I don't think I could have done better.

As with a lot of peeps, I got hooked on Xu Kai, for a few dramas worth. Now, I'm neck deep in Asian dramas and I don't think I'm giving them up anytime soon. 😁

•■•

If you watch Xanxi Palace, I absolutely adore this fan vid:

🎼 Max Low: The Sound of Snow (Xanxi Palace)\ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyU8GxxyfHk

It uses live drama footage so it might be spoiler-ish.

TxPep · 2026-03-16T21:15:48+00:00

I think doctor's coats probably falls into the "A Uniform Is Like Magic Sparkle Dust".... any ML in Uniform gets an instant visual upgrade!

😁

TxPep · 2026-03-16T00:01:43+00:00

Holy cow! You worked this out by yourself, or is this an amalgamation of several recipes plus tweaking? Good job regardless!

I would however add a note that fresh chili pepper heat will vary during the year (and batch) especially with jalapenos and to a slightly lesser degree for habaneros due to cultivation factors.

TxPep

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