Chia pet - day two: Germination and contemplations

As promised, here's another blog entry as I dive into the world of chia.

After 24 hours, the chia seeds on Hello Kitty have stared to germinate. One thing that the Chia Pet commercials don't tell you is that it is very difficult to get the stupid seeds to stay in place. Even though Hello Kitty has grooves in her head, the seeds have a tendency to slide off. If you have a touch of OCD like me, this may drive you a little nuts. I wanted Hello Kitty to have perfectly spaced seeds, but that's not going to happen. Silly chia seeds...how dare you defy me!

If you look closely at the photos, you can see that one or two of the seeds are starting to germinate (or sprout?).  It really didn't take long. Chia seeds are mostly gray, but can be white, black or speckled. Quite fascinating.

You can see here that the seeds have slid off their original groove placement. When I try to fix the gaps, the seeds end up sliding off the grooves. I just gave up after a while. The problem is that Hello Kitty is very porous and is constantly leaking water. She needs to be porous in order to keep the seeds moist, but the surface of her skin is basically a "slip and slide". Oh well.

If you know me, you know that I followed the directions on how to make a Chia Pet to the letter. Somehow, I have a TON of left over chia seeds. The directions say this will happen, but I have too many left over in my opinion. I tried putting them on Hello Kitty, but they just slide right off. So what to do with all those extra seeds? I could eat them, but I decided to see if I could try to plant them...in my Chia Grass planter. My brother got me the Chia Grass planter last Christmas (I guess the Chia Pets were all sold out; I guess it's the thought that counts).

If something interesting with the these seeds, I'll let you know.

Finally, after giving Hello Kitty a fresh batch of water, I've placed her in a place of honor in my apartment.  Okay, not really. I only have one spot that I can place all of my plants (close to the window for sunlight, but not too close cause it's cold there).  I had to place a plastic bag over her head to keep the seeds damp; I should be able to remove it in another 2-3 days. Hopefully, something interesting will be happening then.

In closing, it's been a very interesting birthday. I got lots more love from folks on facebook than last  year, saw a movie in an actual theatre (Lincoln (directed by Steven Spielberg)...go see it) and I was contacted by an old friend I haven't heard from in years.  It was one of those days that makes you think that anything is possible.

Note: If you happen to share a birthday with someone and that other person says "Happy Birthday" to you on Facebook and you don't say it back, that is not cool and you are a jerk.

Another year older....and a Hello Kitty Chia Pet

 

Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

 

 

Hey folks, Friday is my birthday. Now, if you are a follower of my blog (all 4 of you), then you should know of my desire to be some kind of professional writer.  I haven't felt the desire to write for the last few months again until now; crazy inspiration just hit me after a few pre-birthday tequila shots.

My kind and considerate boyfriend happen to buy me a Chia Pet for one of my many birthday presents.  Ever since the '80's, I've always wanted a Chia Pet. Chi-Chi-Chi-CHIA!!!

Chia Ram, Chia Bull, Chia Kitty, Chia Dog, Chia Head, Chia Tree, Chia Obama....

Don't laugh...you wanted one too (in addition to a Pet Rock), but I never had the cojones to buy one for myself. Thankfully, that's what having a boyfriend is for.  He went out on his own to buy one for me.  Luckily, Chia Hello Kitty was at the store ready for purchasing (there was also a Chia Clown available, but there was no WAY in hell that was happening).

 

As I started to assemble the magical chia ingredients, I decided I should use this as a motivating reason (or excuse) to do some kind of daily blog. Who doesn't want to read my daily ramblings about slow growing chis seeds? I know you're all excited...I can feel it.

 

Look, throw a dog a bone. I need to jump back into the writing thing. Hell, I might even apply to a MFA program about writing if I managed to write 30 pages of original fiction in 2 months. Wish me luck with that.

 

Anyway, enough with the pity party. Now let's talk chia. When you water the seeds, you are rehydrating a gelatinous membrane that surrounds them. This membrane is what sticks to the groves on Hello Kitty's head. The goal was to get the seeds into the grooves without having them clump together (evidently, crowding the chia seeds is a bad thing).

 

 

 

This also solves a personal mystery of mine from when I lived in Japan. For all those who ate at the Thai food restaurant back in Yokosuka, the dessert at the end was flavored chia seeds. Take a look!

 

 

Dudes, chia seeds taste awesome and are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. Want to know more? Get your lazy ass to the library or go on wikipedia and look it up (yeah, I guess I could put a hyper link in this blog so you could directly go to another web page and get more information; I will do so when I learn how).

 

My goal is to post a new pic everyday to show how the chia is growing. I have to cover Hello Kitty's head in a bag for the next 3 to 4 days in order to keep the seeds moist until they sprout. I'm assuming the next few blog entries will be kinda boring. WE SHALL SEE.

 

In closing, I want to leave you with a bit a wisdom that I've learned over the years: Don't be afraid to make fun of yourself.  Self-humiliation can be a source of happiness for others and will open your mind to an infinite amount of possibilities. Perhaps one possibility will be that you will NEVER do that humiliating event every again.  Or maybe you'll be hit with inspiration and write the great novel you've been twirling around in your head for the last 20 years. Or maybe whatever will happen and whoopty fricken doo will occur. Just be brave and go out there and let the cards fall where they may. If you need to have a few shots of tequila first, don't worry...I won't judge you.