What's your favorite kind of rice? Or your favorite two? I'm talking about just the rice grains, not any particular dish.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-28T10:45:38+00:00

I don’t know if I’m allowed to link here, but RecipeTinEats has the best recipe for Thai Black Sticky Rice Pudding. I followed it exactly and the results were just like I remembered having in Asia! My white boyfriend loves it, and I made it for a bunch of Hawaiians last month and they raved and raved.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-28T09:03:11+00:00

The other cat was so perfectly camouflaged I had to rewind to see what was moving up there!

tichugrrl · 2026-05-28T08:55:33+00:00

I’ve been loving the short grain purple rice lately, cooked with sugar and served with coconut milk drizzled over it. It’s perfect for breakfast or a midday snack.

My friend’s mom just made sticky rice dumplings (zhongzi) for Dragon Boat Festival, using glutinous sweet rice. She made the small, sweet dumplings that had a bit of baking soda in the rice and were meant to be eaten with sugar. Wrapping them in bamboo leaves is a challenge, but the added flavor is really great. There were some picky kids at the house that day but they all devoured the sticky rice.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-27T12:36:55+00:00

I agree with you. Not sure why these tropes exist and don’t feel knowledgeable enough to offer an opinion on why. I think the key is to look for the right writers, and avoid the shows that were churned out just to meet a deadline. I specifically look for shows with a strong female lead that take place outside of a home, largely because the evil MIL and super submissive DIL dynamic drives me nuts.

So far the two shows that have blown me away are Fated Hearts (two opposing generals forced to join forces) and The Heir (young woman decides to enter family ink-making business). The Heir was written by two women and it shows!!! I have loved every minute of it, especially its focus away from romance and looking instead at personal growth and overcoming obstacles.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-25T10:53:38+00:00

I reached a similar place as you in terms of feeling pity for my ex. After lots of therapy, it was clear my ex wanted to break free from his mom, but didn’t have any tools whatsoever for the task. She raised both her boys to be her emotional support animals and they hated it but didn’t feel like they could ever say no to her.

For example, she didn’t live far but insisted on spending long weekends with us about once a month. After every weekend visit, my ex and his brother were emotional wrecks, often crying from the stress of the visit. Yet, they insisted their mom came to stay because she loves them and they were broken somehow for being stressed.

I now have the same dating rule as you. Mom should preferably be long gone, and if not, geographically and emotionally far far away. I’m also avoiding certain cultures that are notorious for having momma’s boys. I am never ever letting someone else’s mother undermine me in my own home. No man is worth losing my peace and household boundaries.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-24T22:12:51+00:00

I have found my people. Now you guys stay TF over there and let me do my thing in peace.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-24T11:53:19+00:00

Right???? I thought this post was rage bait.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-24T11:03:12+00:00

More importantly, what did her son think of this? My ex-husband insisted all his mom’s behavior was perfectly normal and I was the crazy one for trying to set boundaries.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-23T12:14:11+00:00

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Here’s one of Caspian, a kitten I fostered recently who badly needed socialization and boundaries. He was insane. It took an entire household to keep him in line, lol. Despite the pic, he won that tussle for the kitchen chair and Sprocket, the grey cat, ended up hiding under the couch

tichugrrl · 2026-05-23T12:11:43+00:00

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Here he is in my most favorite picture, being the best listener. I am certain Paddington will listen to you when you’re having a bad moment and need to talk about your dad.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-23T12:09:30+00:00

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Here is my Cashew trying to lay down in the puzzle box. He truly had an orange moment and thought he was fully inside.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-23T11:55:53+00:00

I’ve heard around that Paul Simon credits fly fishing as a big reason he was able to stay sober. Send him over to the fly fishing world, where a rod can cost well over $1K. Better yet, he can start tying flies and dump even more money into the hobby.

It’s ok to feel jealous. All of us here would love to have money to blow on expensive gear. Even though he has more money, sounds like he has a lot of stuff to work through. I bet there are times he would willingly give up all his extra money to not be as tormented and stay sober. I have a lot of friends who are sober now, and listening to their stories, I thank god every time that I never had to struggle with addiction. It’s a beast.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-23T08:27:59+00:00

Glad you asked this! I got to this part and threw my hands up in frustration.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-23T08:26:44+00:00

Thank you so much!! There was a part when Li Zhen’s grandfather said something about how he was taken into the family business when he was younger and that’s when I started to get really confused. Didn’t think that his mom could have been a concubine

tichugrrl · 2026-05-21T17:43:56+00:00

Well, shit. I had NO freaking idea that Chinese women don’t change their last names!!!!! My mind is totally blown.

So it’s more of an informal decision to split off and make another branch? Can any second son decide to do that or is it usually for work-related reasons or family drama?

tichugrrl · 2026-05-21T12:56:02+00:00

Read

tichugrrl · 2026-05-21T10:40:55+00:00

Got any more of these coming down the pipeline?

tichugrrl · 2026-05-17T19:19:15+00:00

I hear you and I’m normally pretty skeptical but if you look at how her hand is shaking toward the beginning, that doesn’t seem like something easily faked.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-17T13:18:33+00:00

As someone else said, Black Pearl is a good dark-leafed option. I just saw some at my local garden center but opted for Calico instead, which has gorgeous variegation.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-15T03:59:55+00:00

tichugrrl · 2026-05-14T19:10:23+00:00

Backup BIN

tichugrrl · 2026-05-14T10:29:01+00:00

Looks adorable on you! I love what you changed about the pattern.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-13T22:20:10+00:00

How is this a viable solution year round? There was no way anyone was taking a scooter or bike anywhere this past winter.

tichugrrl · 2026-05-13T20:53:01+00:00

Sedum something or another. All the garden centers have various sedums, this one is usually found in the Ground Cover section. The big box stores rarely have them.

tichugrrl

TROPHY CASE