Monday(?) Randoms

[lilafowler]

Good morning. I’m trying to start this week by being positive and kind. We shall see how long that lasts once work gets going.

Happy belated Mother’s Day to all of you out there!

[lilafowler]

Oh-I was shopping for my mom yesterday and saw that cherries were out. 6.99/lb which is ooof but I was psyched for cherries and figured I’d treat myself. I actually took the smallest bag over to a produce scale and said “that looks about a pound, maybe a little more”. When I got to the register it was $13.98. Obviously I can’t read scales anymore 🤣

I am going to eat all these cherries before they go bad. May god have mercy on my digestive system.

[Leeham Rimes]

I’m trying to figure out cold brew and I just can’t get it right. The container I got had directions that stated to put in 12 tbsps of grounds and fill it 3/4 of the way with cold, filtered, water.

I did that, put it all together, swirled every so often over 24 hours. When I went to serve it a good 1/4 of the grounds were completely dry and the coffee is super weak with a lot of sediment.

I don’t know if it’s me or the container. I’m trying it now with less grounds in it to see if that works. But I’m disappointed. I am wasting a lot of my good coffee.

[ssmjlm]

So for the past couple weeks DH has felt off. No symptoms other than a bit of nausea and tired. He had a touch sore throat, but then it went away. Last night he was like "OMG I have strep." Since E is a carrier, we're old hats at strep at this point. He went to urgent care and said the doctor was all "ok I see you've had it before, but I'm not really thinking that's what this is, but we'll test anyway." Yep, positive for strep! We both joked that we've never been so happy to have a positive strep test, lol.

[lightbulbsun]

Yesterday sucked a little less than it normally does, I think because celebrations were minimal. I read a great article in The New Yorker called The Unmothered, which I related to hard. www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-unmothered

I hope that everyone who has lost a mother, grandmother, child, anyone who is not a mother and wants to be, anyone who doesn't have a relationship with their mother, or anyone for whom mother's day is generally painful, had an OK day yesterday.

[candreco]

Leeham Rimes , I don't know what kind of container you're using, but this is pretty much what I do.

We've got a landscape crew coming today to remove some dead trees and huge ivy beds in our yard.  I pulled a small section of the ivy myself yesterday because it was around some plants I actually want to keep, and holy crap it's going to be worth every penny we pay for someone else to do that in the rest of the yard.  Ivy is the freaking worst.

We've been joking about me getting kayaks for my birthday for a few years (one year when DS was super small he told me he was going to, with money he of course didn't have), but DH did get me two inflatable tandem kayaks for MD so we can see how much we use them without devoting storage space and money spent on kayaks, roof racks, etc.  I'm excited!  We've got a couple places in our neighborhood that we can put into an easy marshy paddling area, and some parks near us are still open for personal watercraft too.  Also hoping my parents' marina is open for people who don't live on their boats full time since they've got a kayak launch dock too.

[isabel]

Leeham Rimes, I’ve made cold brew a few times and honestly, I think it’s more cost effective to buy the refrigerated stuff from the store. Making it requires so much ground coffee! I don’t know if you have Kroger, but maybe you can find something similar. I like this one: www.kingsoopers.com/p/simple-truth-organic-kona-blend-cold-brew-coffee/0001111089373. For roughly the cost of a bag of coffee, it’s hard to beat. Plus making it is messy, or at least it was when I did it.

I feel like DS1 is regressing in some of his social-emotional skills and I’m sad that he’s no longer progressing with some of the language skills he was working on (linking letter sounds and working toward reading). It all just sucks, but I’m too burned out to do anything about it, which makes me feel like a shit mom.

I tried to look for a local house with a pool we could rent for a week or so, but wasn’t able to find anything. My boys are going to be so bummed when the public pools don’t open. Most people here don’t have pools because there’s plenty of access to public ones and you can’t use them most of the year, so the few houses I found were stupid expensive. I’m hoping DH has better luck looking than I did. It’s bumming me out big time that we’re going to have to cancel the first vacation we’ve planned in years and I’m trying desperately to salvage it somehow.

I’m a real Debbie downer this morning apparently.

[eddy]

May 11, 2020 7:46:59 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

Yesterday sucked a little less than it normally does, I think because celebrations were minimal. I read a great article in The New Yorker called The Unmothered, which I related to hard. www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-unmothered

I hope that everyone who has lost a mother, grandmother, child, anyone who is not a mother and wants to be, anyone who doesn't have a relationship with their mother, or anyone for whom mother's day is generally painful, had an OK day yesterday.

I am also unmothered.  Thank you for posting the article. Yesterday was especially tough. I am parenting in a pandemic and trying to do the impossible. The weather is awful so we aren’t going outside. And I had to avoid social media because it is so painful to see a barrage of photo after photo of people honoring their moms.Even this morning I checked back in and it is fucking constant. So I don’t even have SM as an escape right now.

And now it is Monday and I get to balance work and parenting all over again.  Sigh

I did watch Becoming yesterday. It was so good and allowed me fo get the cry out that I needed.

[nsl]

Today is the last day I'll be working for a wonderful school that I truly loved from the moment I first set foot on campus. Leaving was my choice--we didn't like the town and wanted to move closer to family--but it is still so hard to say goodbye, especially since I'm not getting the chance to do it the way I'd planned.

[lightbulbsun]

((eddy))

[tigress]

Found out on Saturday that my kids summer care is closed til at least July 6. I like being home but I think the uncertainty of when things will be able to change somewhat back to normal and the inability to plan is making me sad.

I still haven't gotten our stimulus money and I still get the "payment status not available" on the portal and I'm annoyed.

[icedcoffee]

We're thinking of taking advantage of the lower rates for some construction projects right now and getting our driveway expanded and re-asphalted. We've needed to do it forever and prices do appear to be lower at the moment.

This is like the most insane industry. There are several companies in the area, but every time you talk to one and bring up a competitor they tell you about how they are related to them and then eventually add in some insane family drama story. Anyway--we had one guy out yesterday and mentioned the other company that came out for a quote and the guy starts telling us the guy (who we stood 6 feet away from the day before) has coronavirus. And then more drama about dead family members so who knows if any of it's true, but OMG. LOL I really hope he didn't actually have coronavirus (we were 6+ feet away and he has a mask on and we were outside, but still).

The asphalt industry is apparently very much a family business and a dramatic one.

[icedcoffee]

Oh--also..my nextdoor neighbor is apparently still pissed about the lilac bushes I tore out like 6 years ago. Dude, get over it. They were on my property. You want privacy hedges? Put them on your property. Overgrown/over mature bushes give me anxiety.

[icedcoffee]

May 11, 2020 7:43:42 GMT -5 Leeham Rimes said:

I don’t know if it’s me or the container. I’m trying it now with less grounds in it to see if that works. But I’m disappointed. I am wasting a lot of my good coffee.

I might be wrong, but I thought with cold brew you didn't need to use the good stuff.  Maybe try with cheaper coffee?

[wildrice]

I have been lucky in this pandemic that I haven't lived in the same state as my family for almost 20 years, and I am used to being far away from most of my friends, too. I haven't really had friendships where I hang out every week for at least 10 years anyway, so going weeks or months without seeing people don't seem that unusual. But it is also driving home for me that I am, in my general life, missing out on a lot that other people have - the fact that this hasn't been that unusual for me makes me think maybe I'm doing life wrong and I need to form some deeper connections! I do usually see my family at least a couple of times a year, though, so as this drags on I am guessing it will become weirder.

Yesterday my H got on a kick and put together both our outdoor furniture and our bedframe. He's always been willing to pitch in around the house, but often doesn't take the initiative to do stuff like that without me driving it, so it was a nice surprise that he took care of both things with minimal help from me! I had ordered all the stuff and I hate putting it together, so I am really glad I don't have to. We still have a number of other things to put together/install around the house so I hope this keeps up.

[wanderlustmom]

May 11, 2020 8:01:56 GMT -5 eddy said:

May 11, 2020 7:46:59 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

Yesterday sucked a little less than it normally does, I think because celebrations were minimal. I read a great article in The New Yorker called The Unmothered, which I related to hard. www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-unmothered

I hope that everyone who has lost a mother, grandmother, child, anyone who is not a mother and wants to be, anyone who doesn't have a relationship with their mother, or anyone for whom mother's day is generally painful, had an OK day yesterday.

I am also unmothered.  Thank you for posting the article. Yesterday was especially tough. I am parenting in a pandemic and trying to do the impossible. The weather is awful so we aren’t going outside. And I had to avoid social media because it is so painful to see a barrage of photo after photo of people honoring their moms.Even this morning I checked back in and it is fucking constant. So I don’t even have SM as an escape right now.

And now it is Monday and I get to balance work and parenting all over again.  Sigh

I did watch Becoming yesterday. It was so good and allowed me fo get the cry out that I needed.

Thinking of both of you and thanks for posting. I am also unmothered and I had never heard the term. Yesterday was hard. My mom is mentally ill and in a nursing home so my morning began with her telling me she wanted to die. My mother in law used to be better but she’s got a lot of covert narcissistic traits so I don’t get support from her either. My husband and kids made my day as special as possible. Some years I can manage it better than others but the pandemic makes it worse for sure. Lots of love to everyone who has lost a mother or doesn’t have the mothering support she needs

[wildrice]

Leeham Rimes, I have this iced coffee maker: www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/coffee-products/coffee-makers/p.cold-brew-coffee-maker.kcm4212sx.html?cmp=kad:wp_sda%7c01%7c00092%7czz%7csh%7ct02%7cp28%7czz%7cv04_kasa_p:ga:ps:txt:txt:cpc:shop_smartshop_appliance:na:na:1750642716:67332785406:c&gclid=CjwKCAjw7-P1BRA2EiwAXoPWA0GKk4bPVkIgCcXvseki7zcM3UboNYjhGfe6rCw0PrEpnaurxT9l-hoCBkAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It works pretty well IMO. I've bought a medium quality whole bean coffee from Costco (like $11 for a big thing of it) and used that, and it worked pretty well. You need to have a less fine ground, could that be part of the problem if you are getting a lot of grounds in the coffee?

I haven't made it yet this year (not hot enough yet) but I used it all last summer and was pleased with it.

[konapoppy]

This probably sounds dumb, but I am so impressed with everyone who just keeps showing up for life every day. I am sure many of us are fighting the urge to crawl under the covers until this is all over (next year...). Anyway, I never cease to be amazed at the persistence of humans. And yes, I know for many people it isn’t a choice, but it is still a psychological barrier for many.

[Deleted]

My MD didn't suck, but that's only because I just did whatever I wanted. My kids were hardly around (too busy doing their own thing) and H was being a jerk so I told him not to talk to me. Meh.

I've woken up every day for the last week with a headache. Some days a single dose of aspirin knocks it out, but others I struggle with it all day long. I think today is going to be the latter.

[Patsy Baloney]

My friend sent her photos from my graduation walk! I discovered that I wore my tassel on the wrong side 😂 should have googled beforehand instead of 2 days later. Guess that means we’ll have to do it again.

I can say with absolute honesty and a full-heart that it was one of the best days of my life, against all odds.

pics removed
I’ve got 3 more I want to share, plz hold. 

[Patsy Baloney]

Alright, my last AW and then I promise I’ll talk about something else 

Pics removed

[steph96]

I’ve been having a lot of regrets about my move lately. I feel like I’m not getting the training experience that I was led to believe I’d have here. I feel like I’m learning a lot less here than I did at the last place. I’m so freaking bored here. The other day my boss casually mentioned that he hasn’t even looked at my training checklist since I’ve started here almost 5 months ago (wtf) so he needed to do that sometime. I printed out a copy of the checklist and made notes about how I feel like I’m doing on each of the tasks and highlighted the ones that I think I need to focus on. Now I just need to get the courage to talk to him about it. I think that I’m the most nervous about him saying that I’m not proficient at something that I think that I’ve mastered. It’s just so crazy because I feel like I’m not qualified for the next step but according to this checklist, I’m almost there.

I posted about the management opportunity that I was presented a few months ago. They ended up deciding not to have me manage them because these departments have had 4 different managers in the last 2 years, so they need some stability. I’m actually kind of relieved to not get THOSE departments but I’m also disappointed that I’m not getting more management experience because I feel like that’s one key skill that I need to work on developing.

[jinkies]

Congratulations Patsy Baloney! I'm so glad you got to walk with so much support!

My neighbor graduated from college and her friends and family did a drive by on Saturday while she wore her gown. Not gonna lie. I cried. And I don't even know her very well.

[Patsy Baloney]

May 11, 2020 9:37:43 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Congratulations Patsy Baloney! I'm so glad you got to walk with so much support!

My neighbor graduated from college and her friends and family did a drive by on Saturday while she wore her gown. Not gonna lie. I cried. And I don't even know her very well.

We went to campus after the walk to take some pictures, and there were a few undergrads we ran into doing the same thing. I kept howling, “Congratulaaaaatiooooons!!!!” at them from afar while we waited our turn. My H was embarrassed, but I was just like, “They’ll seriously never get this back, babe, YELL WITH ME!”

It’s funny, but I think all the separation has done well to strengthen community.

[TR]

Congrats Patsy Baloney! Looks like a great day!

My three school friends are coming over today to sit in our backyard (6 ft apart blah blah blah) and hang out. It's supposed to be a gorgeous day and I'm SO excited!

Still waiting for 2 grades to post this week.

[isabel]

Patsy Baloney, those pictures are so damn cute! Love them and your smile! Congratulations!

[sunnysally]

I thought I was handling everything thing well, but this morning I thought if I were dead I wouldn't have to go to work or deal with all this. I don't feel actively suicidal but I'm going to look for tele therapy. I haven't had these thoughts in years so I feel blindsided.

I think I'm in perimenopause and that could be related. I've had night sweats the last few nights and they are so uncomfortable.

Sorry for the brain dump, but I need to get this out.

[lemoncupcake]

May 11, 2020 7:43:42 GMT -5 Leeham Rimes said:

I’m trying to figure out cold brew and I just can’t get it right. The container I got had directions that stated to put in 12 tbsps of grounds and fill it 3/4 of the way with cold, filtered, water.

I did that, put it all together, swirled every so often over 24 hours. When I went to serve it a good 1/4 of the grounds were completely dry and the coffee is super weak with a lot of sediment.

I don’t know if it’s me or the container. I’m trying it now with less grounds in it to see if that works. But I’m disappointed. I am wasting a lot of my good coffee.

How big is this container, and what kind of coffee are you using? You need coarse ground.

[katfco]

Hugs for those who are missing their mothers right now.

sunnysally, I'm glad you're going to talk to someone. Those thoughts can creep up suddenly sometimes.


I'm so tired this morning. I'm naturally a night owl and have been taking advantage of it a bit too often lately. Last night, I stayed up until 3 am reading. In my defense, it's a really good book, but still. I'm tired this morning.

The animal shelter where DD and I volunteer is starting to have volunteers come in shifts to help pass out donated pet supplies, and I start today and I'm excited that not only can I help, but I can actually leave the house! Over the weekend I made 22 masks to donate to them and I am inordinately excited to haul bags of dog food and cat litter.

[TR]

(((sunnysally)))