My book club's name is BOOK IT! and when we saw this yesterday we posted about it and decided we needed to order this and play with it at our next meeting, you know, for research purposes.
I'm in a kind of sucky place. My book club petered out last year and it was really my only social outlet. I am so sick of sitting around with my husband and son watching television every night of the week. I am really close with my 12 year old son but I am tired of spending all of my time outside of work with a 12 year old boy. And it pains me more that he is really getting on my nerves. Part time work has always seemed like the best of both worlds but it's starting to feel like the worst. I am stuck doing everything all day, all the running around, all of the homework, and being the one that has to deal with the dog all day on my days off.
expectantsteelerfan, I agree and she does have some cropped shirts, but she has to wear them with higher waisted pants. She's 5'8 and has a long torso and wears a sweatshirt but she takes that on and off at school. She wears mascara and some blush starting this year.
She tried on said shirt, assuring me it wasn't 'that bad' but there is a lot of chest exposed and she told me the other girls all wear push up bras so it "looks better". I'm sure she would want to pair it with tight leggings too.
I know it's coming, but she literally just turned 12 yesterday and I am not ready. I am much more chill than her dad, that's for sure!
DD12 is mad at me bc I told her no to this shirt. She said "EVERYONE WEARS IT MOM!!!"
And she wants to wear it to school
My 13 year old dresses like a vagabond nun about to head to the basketball court. I'm like "can you sometimes not wear stuff that, while clean, looks sloppy?" I guess I should be grateful I'm not fighting the opposite fight.
This is my DD. I am like not everything has to be so baggy and oversized. I know she is getting made fun of at school but it legit doesn’t bother her so whatever. I do love and admire her confidence.
dochas, are you interested in joining another book club, or trying a new hobby?
I'm sorry you're struggling. I've definitely been there (hugs)
I might look for a new book club, but it's so hard to find a good one. And honestly, there are apparently not that many people who don't annoy the shit out of me. I found the book club online and it was such a great mix of ages/careers/stages of life and most of the time was spent talking about books and we met at a different restaurant every month. It was my idea of heaven! There was a little socializing before and after which was interesting because of the mix of people. Covid did a number and as people dropped off they were replaced with people who just joined meet-up groups for socializing. They talked more about "not being big readers" and more and more came without even reading it. And they all joined the same groups and only talked about what happened at other group meetups! In any group of people there seems to be someone who monopolizes every conversation and I just can't listen to people drone on and on about the same thing. And I am always the only o e that seems bothered. LOL
18 years married (yawn), 12 years of being someone's mother and 14 years trapped in this boring suburb. I am really just bored to death. It's funny because I thought getting the dog would be a blast but he's more like a big lock on this prison. I'm sitting in my driveway because I don't even want to go inside and deal with him today.
Sorry, that's a lot but I'm going to be brave and not delete it.
I have definitely been through stages like that. And it's really hard. I've gotten out of some of those episodes by either a) medication b) exercise c) challenge myself to do something really hard and rewarding myself at the end. Or a combo of all of those things.
I think it's great you are talking about it, if you ever want to PM me feel free
dochas - I'm sorry, I hate being in a rut like that. I do think picking up a new hobby or something could help. What kind and how old is your dog? I wish I had done some agility classes with my dog when she was younger. I think that would be fun and also maybe make having the dog more fun lol
Post by emilyinchile on Feb 23, 2023 11:19:54 GMT -5
I have microfiber cloths that I use to wipe down the table and the toddler after meals. I wash them often, and they smell clean when dry, but as soon as they get wet again they smell mildew-y. Please can one of you tell me what to do to get them back to smelling good?
My 13 year old dresses like a vagabond nun about to head to the basketball court. I'm like "can you sometimes not wear stuff that, while clean, looks sloppy?" I guess I should be grateful I'm not fighting the opposite fight.
This is my DD. I am like not everything has to be so baggy and oversized. I know she is getting made fun of at school but it legit doesn’t bother her so whatever. I do love and admire her confidence.
Yes. Lots of kids at my kids' school do giant shirts, so she's not alone at least.
But, by way of example, I know she's slender so was bringing her size 4 and 6 jeans to try on at the store. She was like "mom, they're falling off." She's a 00. I thought she was 4 sizes larger than she is because I haven't seen her actual body in, like, 3 years. Lol.
I have microfiber cloths that I use to wipe down the table and the toddler after meals. I wash them often, and they smell clean when dry, but as soon as they get wet again they smell mildew-y. Please can one of you tell me what to do to get them back to smelling good?
Vinegar in the wash - we do that every so often with our towels and washcloths
I have microfiber cloths that I use to wipe down the table and the toddler after meals. I wash them often, and they smell clean when dry, but as soon as they get wet again they smell mildew-y. Please can one of you tell me what to do to get them back to smelling good?
I don't know if this will help, but I use white vinegar instead of fabric softener for all towels because I think I was told it helps with this issue.
calamity thank you! I just got the Weight Watchers app back and I'm partly using it to get me more active. Instead of feeling bad that walks with the dog are awful, I just went by myself and didn't feel guilty leaving g him home. We just switched our cell service and got unlimited data so I'm finding some guilty pleasure podcasts. I love to hike so I'm going to make time to do that alone. It's not my fault the dog is who he is and I'm not suffering for it anymore. He'll be fine without me.
TR he's a highly reactive German shepherd. He would be excellent at agility, unfortunately leaving the house is a problem. And he can't stand bei g around other dogs. I love to walk and hike and getting a dog was going to be great for me. LOfuckingL I have worked hard to train him with limited success but after almost 3 years my husband, who got his dream dog, is finally on board and training him. There is a limited window in my neighborhood for walking him because there are people, schoolbusses and dogs around all morning and every afternoon. We have a yard but he wants me to spend every moment of the day throwing g his ball out there. He also goes bananas every time I leave or come home so sometimes I can't even be bothered. So I just let my own physical health suffer. Gosh, I am a delight today. LOL
Just and FYI about the dog. My husband walks him every night before bed and my son and I play with him multiple times a day in the yard and we all play with him in the house. A dog walker comes to play with him when we have to be out more than a few hours at a time. He is taken care of, I just envisioned miles long walks and hikes multiple days a week, which he would love but he is anxious about everything and I won't put either of us through that.
dochas , I can relate so much to how you feel. My kids are younger (7 and 4), but man I spend all my brainpower taking care of the house, kids, laundry, meal planning. I also work part time, which is great for work/life balance, but I gave up my career for it (and I hate my job and daydream about quitting weekly). I have no hobbies and nothing that I do for myself. I don't even know what I would do if I could? I had an hour of free time last night and I sat on the couch surfing GBCN and the internet. It felt like such a waste, but I can't even think of what else to do. Lately I find myself wondering if this is really all life is? It's depressing.
ugh dochas, I'm sorry. We have a reactive dog and I really mourn the possibilities we don't have now because of it. Going to dog friendly patios/restaurants, going to walk at community nature preserves, etc. I'm sorry. I do think you're on the right track of letting go of the guilt and just going and doing things yourself, he'll be fine at home.
Post by midwestmama on Feb 23, 2023 11:45:47 GMT -5
dochas, I empathize with you on the dog situation. We have 3 year old German Shepherd too. He's literally destroyed crates because of his separation anxiety when we've left the house. (And he can't be trusted yet to roam the house when we're not there.) We had to get him a crate with thick metal bars so that he can't break out of it or destroy it.) We did find a boarding kennel where the owner has experience with GSDs, and our dog has actually done ok there, so at least we've been able to send him there when my parents or a family friend isn't able to dogsit him at our home when we are traveling.
Have you considered sending your dog to a stay-and-train facility? I wonder if that might be a feasible option for you, but I know they expensive. There is a place about an hour where I live that has different lengths of stay-and-trains, but I know they are in the thousands of dollars (which is why we haven't done that with our dog).
ugh dochas, I'm sorry. We have a reactive dog and I really mourn the possibilities we don't have now because of it. Going to dog friendly patios/restaurants, going to walk at community nature preserves, etc. I'm sorry. I do think you're on the right track of letting go of the guilt and just going and doing things yourself, he'll be fine at home.
Thank you. It's awful isn't it? I had never even thought this was possible because all I see are dogs everywhere. We live near the shore and everything is dog friendly. I thought he'd be with us. I thought he'd walk the beach with me in the off season and I'd be throwing sticks in the bay all summer. He's really smart, but it's not like he's ever going to do my taxes. He'd take a bullet for me, but realistically, how often is that going to come up? All he is is more work.
noodleoo I'm sorry you're feeling it too. I wish I had advice on how to get some excitement or feel really alive again. All I have are hugs and commiseration!
Post by mysteriouswife on Feb 23, 2023 12:02:28 GMT -5
I am WFH today. My cat keeps trying to steal my backpack. I caught her dragging it into the hall. I need a quiet day to work. I have so many projects going and no peace to get them done. At least she’s cute?
I have microfiber cloths that I use to wipe down the table and the toddler after meals. I wash them often, and they smell clean when dry, but as soon as they get wet again they smell mildew-y. Please can one of you tell me what to do to get them back to smelling good?
I wash my kitchen towels on hot and add a soak cycle. I soak them with hot water and vinegar. I do 1/4 cup vinegar in my low setting soak cycle.
dochas, I empathize with you on the dog situation. We have 3 year old German Shepherd too. He's literally destroyed crates because of his separation anxiety when we've left the house. (And he can't be trusted yet to roam the house when we're not there.) We had to get him a crate with thick metal bars so that he can't break out of it or destroy it.) We did find a boarding kennel where the owner has experience with GSDs, and our dog has actually done ok there, so at least we've been able to send him there when my parents or a family friend isn't able to dogsit him at our home when we are traveling.
Have you considered sending your dog to a stay-and-train facility? I wonder if that might be a feasible option for you, but I know they expensive. There is a place about an hour where I live that has different lengths of stay-and-trains, but I know they are in the thousands of dollars (which is why we haven't done that with our dog).
Ugh, I'm sorry you deal with it too. He hates the leaving, but settles down once we're gone so that's good. We don't have anyone to watch him or any place to send him so we can't travel. I won't leave him out of the crate either when we're gone because he goes nuts when someone passes the house, especially with a dog, and I'm afraid he'll hurt himself. Or break through the window. We have a vacation house and he's so miserable in the car that we got trazadone from the vet for the ride. It works great for him thank God. The non-stop crying and pacing for 2+ hours was terrible for all of us. It makes me sad though, because he's so relaxed on it - that's what I wish he was like all the time.
We were looking into more intense training and one got back to us where he'd have to stay. We just can't send him away. If it was a problem of viciousness, or a last resort I'd consider that. This one didn't sound d great anyway because they would do like 1 hour with us when we pick him up. He has to learn whatever he learns WITH us so it works with us. I am adamant that any further training be home in our environment where the triggers are all happening. Someone else was basically offering off leash training. Did you hear what my problems are?! My issue isn't how to take my 70 lb dog off leash. LOL We're looking into behaviorists. It helps that my husband is now willing to admit that there are issues.