Aeonium arboreum.

When you start taking out chunks of your own flesh with your fingernails...:/ You know it's time to cut them.

I've been getting these mad cooking urges lately, which have been topped off by an odd yearning to garden o.O I planted radishes along the edge of our flower beds earlier this spring and green beans in front of five small trellises. The funny thing is I know NOTHING...not the very first thing about gardening. I've managed to kill three of the numerous house plants I try to keep =x Two tiny rose plants and one cactus XD It was such a fucking cute cactus, too...with this weird orange-ish growth on top...;__; Gah. I came home from Spain and it was rotted to mush. I think they're called 'Moon Cacti', but I guess that's just a marketing strategy because they're really just two types of cactus grafted together XD The colorful part is grafted onto the regular cactus so that it can survive =x It's not green, so it has no chlorophyll. No chlorophyll=dead plant.

So, anyway. When I have my own house and my own garden and my own kitchen...I can't wait to use the best of the best stuff :3 Like...for example, super-wonderful extra virgin olive oil! (Read: super-expensive extra virgin olive oil! :D)

I already have some crap together for when I move out and have my own place o.o My mother calls it a "hope chest", but whatev'. It's not in a chest, sooo. Forget that.

Stuff in my "Hope Chest"
-Pepper mill (This thing is so cool ;__; Here's a picture.)
-Five sets of multicolored chop sticks (:3 For eating ramen when I can afford nothing else!)
-Metric WonderCup (Look it up, bitches -_-)
-V-shaped knife (for cutting fruit =x or some shit...)
-Measuring cups and spoons (:3 I am obsessed with these things. I'd collect them if i could >.<) -Salt dish (OMJ, these things are adorable =x They're really kinna dumb, but...It basically is a tiny bowl with a tiny spoon and it goes by the stove so you can...yaknow. Scoop tiny amounts of salt onto your food XD)

Stuff I Still Need
-Egg slicer
-Cheese grater w/measurements on the side
-Cheese slicer
-Peeler
-Mortar and pestle
-Can opener
-Jar opener
-Splatter screen
-Cutting mats
-Rolling pin
-Ice cream scoop
-Spatula
-Spoon
-Ladle
-Whisk
-Potato Masher
-Corkscrew
-Cheese slicer
-Sifter
-Strainer
-Pan scraper
-Fruit Wedger
-Juicer
-Pizza wheel
-Pocket mitts
-Colander
-Can crusher (:D I love these things.)
-Canisters
-Spice rack
-Scale
-Dish scrubber (:D Look how neat! Perfect for squeamish people like me who hate washing dishes :/)
-Mixing bowls
-Bread machine
-Corner mesh sink strainer
-Butter dish
-Measure conversion magnet
-Tongs
-Corn holders
-Corn butterer
-Egg/pancake rings
-Cookie cutters
-Gravy boat and ladle

So, moving on. It really is fascinating the kinds of oppression the school boards get away with these days. No cutting classes...No midriff-baring clothing...No GRILLZ. WHAT? Yeah, you heard me. Grillz. Check this shit out. Not that I give two shits about "grillz". Honestly, they're a horrendous trend and they should be put to death for the sake of sanity and-...fashion, even XD But guaging your ears? That is a personal and semi-permanent choice. A painful choice at that. It's self-expression. Body modification is an art form that goes back thousands and thousands of years. It's culture. It can tell stories, it can show social status, it can be a memorial. It has meaning. What kinds of stories can your "grill" tell me? Except, perhaps, that you had broccoli for dinner :/

Note to self:
In my garden or my house, I want "mother of thousands", "jade", "mini fan palm", "bamboo", and "hen and chicks". :3 Among others. I'll post a full list sometime.