Procrastinate All Day, Cry All Night

instant oatmeal packets with fruit in them - $3 probably and this can be breakfast all week and maybe even a lunch or dinner too since you usually get 10 packets

bag of rice - $2-3 depending on size. 1 cup dry rice makes enough for about two meals depending on what you add in. if you get cheap rice, rinse it before cooking

canned beans - usually under $1 per can - mix the can with your rice and you have a meal. chili-spiced beans will make bean tacos. Rinse non-spiced beans before adding to anything.

Tortilla - usually around $3 but you get like 8-10 of them. Tacos, wraps, and quesadillas are all fair game here

lettuce - $2 max around here, either a head of something or bagged precut depending on preference, use as a salad or on tacos

protein other than beans of some sort - probably $5-7 for meat, $2-3 for eggs. sometimes I can get bags of frozen chicken breasts in this price range and each is usually 2 meals if I add in a bunch of veggies. fry/scramble eggs and add to any of the options. 

your favorite stir fry sauce - $3ish

vegetables - $5ish. literally anything that you can 1. fry in a pan and 2. you’ll eat. fresh carrots are usually pretty cheap. get frozen if it’s cheaper and you’re strapped for cash/prep time on this part. 

alternative to stir fry:  pasta (~$2), fresh tomatoes (~$2), cheese (~$3). 

Adding also: the single most nutritious food on earth is potatoes in their peel. Potatoes + some milk and butter = everything you need. They don’t last all that long, but they’re fairly cheap and the quickest cheat to “How do I not fuck my body up.”

(Cooked potatoes’ll last a while in the fridge. Potatoes nearing the end of their useful lives? Cook them to half-done first, figure out what to do with them later.)

Easiest baked potatoes: slice thinly but not paper-like, spread like cards, brush with oil (a silicone baking brush is totes worth the little it costs), spread salt and pepper (a little less than you think you’d like), cover with foil, stick in oven or toaster-oven at 150C for 40min. (If you have the patience, at that point click up to 180C, remove the cover and add 10-20min.) Reheats well, lasts in the fridge longer than it’ll take you to nom.

Dead-Animal-Free Whole Protein: some legumes + some grain. AKA rice and lentils, or rice and beans. (Maybe some fried onion for flavor; onion’s cheap and stays good a descent while. Fried onion makes everything taste better and keeps forever in the freezer, so frying up a bunch and keeping portions is not a half-bad idea.) (If going for the beans option - lentils are cheaper around here but fuck if I know what it’s like in your area - dump some tomato sauce and oil in; canola or soy are best health-wise, and far cheaper than olive; avoid corn.) Oh, what does instant couscous go for in your area? It keeps for fucking ever, it’s usually cheap, and it takes well to any and all added taste.

If you get to choose, black lentils taste the best and need the least soak-time (0-20min), green lentils are best for cooked stuff and red lentils are best in soups. (Red lentils + potatoes + root vegetables of choice + spices; cut into small pieces, cook, run through the blender if you wanna [stick blender’s awesome], freeze in portions.)

When possible, get instant soup mix. Get the good instant soup mix. (The kind that’s not made primarily of sugar, yeast or both. The rest is optional.) Dump 1/2tsp (or more, but start on the low end) into couscous, or chicken, or sprinkle over potatoes being stuck in the oven. Whatever. It’ll make most cooked-food-type things taste better. And again, lasts forever on the shelf.

And speaking as someone who is also living off oatmeal, beans, and brown rice, if you need recipes, I have them! 

Today I made 16 bean soup with chicken sausage and it was crazy good and I got 8 servings out of the one batch (froze half). I usually get the cheapest beans I can find, and GOYA bags of beans are usually $1-2. I soaked them overnight,rinsed them, and threw them in a gallon lidded saucepan with 2 boxes of chicken stock (also on sale for $2), two bay leaves, sauteed green pepper, onion, and celery, some garlic from a jar, about two tablespoons of dried herbs de provence,and the “fancy” bit was adding $6 bourbon and apple chicken sausages. You can actually sub veg stock for chicken and skip the sausage and make it vegan and it would still taste great.

Oh and I’ve been doing steel-cut oats. I don’t buy the name brand ones, I just pick whatever store brand/generic I can get for less than $4. They take about ½ an hour to make, but they’re super tasty and I make 2 cups of dried oats at a time with dried cranberries and that’s breakfast for 4 days at least. 

Anyone with a name that starts with a “Z”, ends with an “i”, and isn’t some kind of Italian pasta, IS SERIOUS

You did not waste your year.

If you made it this far, that’s already not wasting your year.

You made it through the year, you laughed, you cried, you smiled, you saw the sun and felt the rain, and most importantly, you’re still here.

You did not waste your year.

hello friends!!! i’m a language enthusiast (+ a language minor in college hehe). originally i was gonna make a post of all languages, but that already exists + i don’t want to reiterate + i have SO many french resources and that’s my second primary language so i thought i’d focus on that??? 

general language

big subject masterpost by @chemlstry

how to learn a new language by @studiyng

learning languages without actually studying them by @insomniac-arrest

things i learnt regarding learning languages by @star-study

100 perfect songs for traveling from around the world by @polyglottraveler

ap exams masterpost by @sootudying

tips to learn a new language by @darasteine

learning a language on your own by @sootudying

links for improving your vocabulary by @portiastudies

grammar resources yay! by @giuliaslangblr

speaking up more in class by @emmastudies

tips for foreign language writing assessments by @moonstruckstudies

helpful books to learn languages by @les-langues-sont-ma-vie

linguti by @teacupful-of-languages

general french

folder w/ beginner’s courses, grammar, etc. by @lovelybluepanda

french tips for beginners by @studyspirits

everything i use to make learning french fun by @jeparletoutesleslangues

a french masterpost by @organisaticns

how to sound more natural in french by @crookedlanguagestudent

learning french on your own by @wonderful-language-sounds

speaking on the AP french exam by @ap-french

lesser seen french tips by @francetrash

random little french facts

french resources masterpost by @highschoolering

studying/learning a foreign language by @emmastudies

french resources masterpost by @nathalliastudies

french masterpost by @bonbonlanguage

dear french community, listen up! by @studyblr-bri

french resources list by @openstudynotes

french writing and speaking cheat sheet by @hstudies

verb conjugation sheets by @apamexico

french vocab

vegetables in french by @goldstueck

everyday activities by @language-minded

back-to-school by yours truly @phctcsynthesis

when things are pointless by @lucylangblr

mental health by @lemonadeandlanguages

unrequited love by @word-stuck

ways to say yes by @language2go

langblr french masterpost (vocab only) by @study-katherine

french idiom masterpost by @revisionandtea

la rentree du petit nicolas by @frenchaise

describing your place by @pancake-studying

french tenses

the french imperative by @bonbonlanguage

top 100 most common french verbs by @colonelstudy​

french verb masterpost by @studypuddles

french verbs by @languageramblings

the verb penser by @all-things-francais

subjunctive or indicative? by @language-renard​

the verb ‘to return’ by @bonjourfrench

the french conditional by @languesetmoi

commonly used reflexive verbs by @bonjourfrench

le conjugueur by @jaimetalangue

verbs taking à, de, or no preposition by @bonjourfrench

the future proche by @futurefrenchprof

the subjunctive by @futurefrenchprof

participes passés by @anonimasulsublime

conjugating the subjunctive by @whosaprettypolyglot

using the passé simple by @crookedlanguagestudent

french grammar

french linking words by @frenchaise

french punctuation by @ladybaguette

variations in french pronunciation by @maptitude1

teen french expressions by @studyingharder

how to guess the gender of most french nouns by @frenchaise

asking questions in french by @frenchaise

relative pronouns by @kalenaslangblr

essay phrases by @llenguas

french homophones and how to tell them apart by @lemonadeandlanguages

writing essays in french part 1 by @french-ement-votre

french literature, film, + music

french women write classics, too by @antigonick

french animation recommendations

the classics by @ap-french

french book PDFs by @lovelybluepanda

easy french reading by @ap-french

francophone comic books by @languagesarebeautiful

french youtubers + singers/songs by @theperksofbeingstudying

french music recommendations by @seriouslystudying

french music by @studyplants

french music you should listen to by @teabeforeten

french listening by @ap-french

HEY STAR WARS FAM (and potentially teen wolf/batman peeps as well, but i’m preeeetty sure most of you are star wars :P )

It’s November, which means that Giving Tuesday is on the way, and I, for the first time ever, am on MY way to you with an ask!

OO, WHAT’S UP?

Most of you who’ve been here for a while already know that I used to be a teacher.  For anyone who doesn’t - I used to teach Arabic language and culture at an progressive urban public high school for the arts, where our students studied an explicitly social-justice oriented academic courseload in addition to majoring in either dance, visual arts, music, or theater.  Working there was the most important period in my life, and I am still, daily, persistently amazed and humbled by the continued work of both students and teachers in that community.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A DAMN COOL PLACE!  WHAT’S THE ASK?

One of my former students is requesting support.  Annielly is a first generation Latinx college student in her sophomore year at Hampshire majoring in photography, media, and Latinx studies.  Her work includes, among other things, a zine highlighting Latinx artists on her campus, as well as photographic documentation of the massive counter-protest to Boston’s recent “Free Speech” Rally, which you may have seen in the news this past August.  Like the majority of students who attended her high school, she faces significant economic barriers to accessing higher education (in her case, due to recent parental loss of income.)

Students should not have to crowdfund their educations, and the endgame of our activism should be that nobody ever has to again.  But that’s a long-term goal, and since we are currently living in a corrupt, fall-of-the-Republic, Clone Wars era, we have to also look at the immediate.  So, to quote my other fave, when we “keep our focus in the here and now,” we take small, concrete actions to minimize harm where we can - like giving a young artist-activist the resources she needs to stay in school. 

Looking at her fundraising page now, I’m struck by the sense of community care.  Other people commenting and donating are her fellow students, people she went to high school with, people who also don’t necessarily have much to give. If they can still find a way to contribute, then the very least I can do, besides contribute myself, is activate my network.  Which, because I live in a hut on the cold version of Tatooine…basically means activating a massive collective of Star Wars-breathing, Obi-Wan Kenobi-loving, fanmix-making, Lineage-flailing nerds.  And we, collectively, ROCK, if I do say so myself (or birthday rock, for those Jedi Apprentice scholars among us.) *finger guns*

I’ve got over 700 people reading my posts daily (whY???  force knows, but I’m happy you all are here) - and even just a small contribution from that number of people (really, really small, folks; I know we are none of us exactly rolling in the dough here, either) will fill this ask completely.  So, if you’ve ever appreciated any of the things I post - if you got a smile out of the birth of the Lineage Squad, the pizza debacle, my Star Wars meta, any of the fic I’ve written, any terrible art I’ve posted, any of my Awkward AU flailing, or any of me and dyingsighs amping each other up about Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is my pre-Giving Tuesday ask for you:

Put $5 or $10 in Annielly’s fund, whichever amount is more feasible for you.  

Come back here and type “DONE!” in the replies once completed, so I can thank you personally and profusely.

Marvel at the progress we make and the success of collective action, because if there’s one thing we know about transformative fandoms, it’s that We Make Things [Happen].  

*****https://www.gofundme.com/ne5k2-college*****

GO FORTH!  BE AWESOME!  Then come back here and tell me about it, so I can yell about how awesome you are to everyone else!