Thursday Randoms

[lust2hart]

Oct 17, 2024 10:09:03 GMT -5 NewGirlNic said:

I am so mad at myself. I made a huge pot (doubled the recipe) of lasagna soup last night. It was delicious. H took DS to his therapy appointment right after we finished dinner, so I cleaned up myself. I left the soup in the pot to cool, since it was still super hot, before I was going to package it up for leftovers and freeze most for a future dinner. 

I took a shower and made a cup of tea. I looked at the pot of soup, made a mental note to not forget to put it away before I went to bed. Planned to do it after I finished my tea. I got into the book I was reading and completely forgot about the soup. Went to bed without putting away the leftovers. Woke up this morning and it was the first thing I saw when I walked into the kitchen. I was so mad. Not only is it a waste of $ (though it was a relatively cheap meal) and food, but it was such a good soup. I was really looking forward to leftovers for lunch today. 

Unsolicited advice - whenever I leave stuff out on the counter to cool, I turn on the light above the stove. I always see the food when I go to turn off the light before bed.

[expectantsteelerfan]

This morning was weird. I had to get fasting bloodwork done, so I left after ds left for school but before DD did. On the way to the lab, I decided to treat myself to breakfast from First Watch on the way home, because someone on FB posted about their seasonal pumpkin pancakes and I've been craving them ever since. I was on my way to pick up my food when my bff called. She NEVER calls unless it's an emergency (we message constantly over FB messenger throughout the day every day), so I picked up. She had gotten a call from the HS because her oldest ds had gotten into a fight, but she woke up with a migraine that morning and had taken medicine that she's not supposed to drive when she takes. So I picked her up and took her to the school, and drove her and her ds home after because he has a 2 day oos suspension. I feel so bad because it was a fluke thing for her ds (he was upset about something else this morning, and a kid jokingly hit him and he flipped out and overreacted and hit him back a few times), but this weekend is their homecoming and he was planning on going, and now he can't.
So my food was cold by the time I got home, but the pumpkin pancake was still delicious at least. That was a long time to go without coffee for me this morning though!

[lavenderblue]

I'm pretty proud of myself that I got todays Connections with only 1 mistake. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

I hate my body some days. I had a Diverticulitis Attack yesterday which was bad enough that I needed to call off of work and now today I'm having issues with another (undiagnosed) issue and I'm just over it.

[gottadobe]

Oct 17, 2024 10:09:03 GMT -5 NewGirlNic said:

I am so mad at myself. 

I'd totally still eat this.

[sonrisa]

Oct 17, 2024 9:40:51 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

sonrisa , any update on your DC? Are they ok? Are you ok?

The incident happened in the spring duringg 4th grade at a school camp specifically about inclusion, inclusive of all the kids, regardless of race, sex, gender, identity nation of origin, socioeconomic status, class, etc. *This was specifically an education camp about inclusivity*..

They had told me very limited things at the time.

Long explanation but I need to get this out. PDQ

My kid said nothing when they first came home but did mention there was someone named "Deb" and all the other kids formed the "Deb is the best" club and that made them feel left out because they didn't like Deb. They also said one of the counselors had lied on their resume and shouldn't have been then. Neither raised red flags. Then over the summer, they continued to talk about how Deb wasn't as great as the other kids thought and mentioned an incident where they returned from the bathroom to find the other kids int he cabin had written mean things all over a picture they'd drawn and said they had fallen out of their bunk bed. I asked if they told a counselor about the drawing incident and they said it was too late because they were going home that day.

That was enough to put me on edge and insist that one of us be a parent chaperone on this year's trip.

This week I talked to them about bunk bed safety before this next school trip. I asked how they had fallen off the bunk bed last time so we could strategize not falling out this year. They drew me a comic strip to tell the story.

It started with a classmate, Elle, stealing their pillow. When they asked for it back, Elle shook the bunk bed until they fell to the ground. The counselor ignored the other student and got angry with my kid for "causing trouble" by falling out of bed and crying.( This is when it came out that "Deb" was a counselor, not a kid). A second counselor, Ange, intervened and said that Deb and Elle could not treat my kid like that. She told Deb and Elle to leave the cabin.Deb responded that she and Elle weren't the problem -"that diseased child" shouldn't even be in a cabin with girls. (It was at least the second time Devin said something like that about my kid. When they had first arrived, Deb had objected and said my kid shouldn't be allowed in the girl's cabin.) This is where the "lied on the resume" thing came from - Ange responded that if Deb felt that way, then she didn't belong at the camp and must have lied on their application when promising to be supportive and inclusive.

The two left the cabin for a bit, the rest of the kids then formed the "Deb is the best" club. (which hurt my kid, obviously). The drawing incident happened later after Deb and Elle returned. 

My kid spent the rest of the year in Elle's class and no one told us about this. I'm livid.

Right now I'm stewing about who to contact since my kid doesn't want this to come back to them and insists they want to look forward only. I also can't let it go. I am very glad we'll be along for the next school trip. I have drafted an email but letting it sit so I can be as clear as possible rather than writing from a place of rage. 

[mrsukyankee]

Susie, we just use our phone and WAZE for navigating as our screen also crapped out in our car. Got the best holder we could find for it.

[Susie]

Oct 17, 2024 10:25:23 GMT -5 Wallflower said:

Susie , for navigation, would it be easier to just buy a GPS system (link for Garmin GPS on Amazon)? This is what I use. 

We have a Garmin, but no, it's not easier because it has cords everywhere tangling around the gear shift, it requires a street address vs. typing in a name of a destination/facility in Waze, it doesn't stick to the windshield and keeps falling down, etc. etc. etc.  Plus a Garmin doesn't solve any of the other problems that we're also living with due to the radio unit not working.  

I don't mean to sound testy, but I've been driving this car with bandaids for 5 months while we decided what to do.  It's annoying af, and everyone tells me with great certainty what the "best" or "easiest" solution is, while I'm the one driving the car while being unable to answer my phone when it rings (the controls usually don't work), while merging onto a highway, while trying to navigate to an athletics facility that's on a university campus.  While Waze knows where Robison Pool is (on 15th St.), the published address of the pool, where Garmin is sending me, is on 8th St. at a completely different building where the mail is probably received.  I'm trying to sort this while also trying to get my kid on time to the 8am warmup.  (Actual experience last weekend.)  Then you go to parallel park on the street, and oh fun, "Park Pilot [a/k/a the backup camera] is unavailable."  Cool cool.  And the whole time your kid wants her Taylor Swift playlist, but you probably can't connect your phone or even put on the radio.  If by lucky chance you can, the screen starts clicking because it's detecting ghost touches, and it skips, repeats, backs up, and otherwise interrupts the audio over and over.  Maybe it even makes an unwanted phone call.  Bonus points if it's a work contact.  More bonus points if it's way way way outside acceptable times to call in their time zone.  When it gets in ghost touch mode it's like handing your unlocked phone to a toddler.  And this is a regular adventure.

Burn it all tf down. You feel me?

None of the solutions besides replacing the unit or replacing the car fix all the problems, and I'm not willing to live with all the problems for another 50k+ miles that I would otherwise plan to keep the car.  The first 50k miles have taken me almost 7.5 years of owning the car and I am not up for still wrestling with this through ~2032+.  Fixing it is the truce between my bank account and my sanity.

[mrsukyankee]

I just got great news - I got the managerial job! It'll be a part-time counselling, part-time team management of our CBT team. It's the first time this job will be existing so I'll be part of the determining what it looks like, which is kinda cool. Yay!

[mrsukyankee]

That's a bummer, Susie, and I get it. Bah, darn expensive parts to the car!

[maudefindlay]

NewGirlNic I've totally left out food by mistake. I would eat that soup in this situation.

sonrisa this story both infuriates me and breaks my heart. I'm glad to hear there was an Ange there.

[noodleoo]

Susie , I 100% support you paying whatever it costs to fix the radio/screen in your car. Everything is integrated these days, it is debilitating when it breaks.

I hear you on car prices. My 2009 Rav4 is going strong and while part of me wants a newer car, I can't stomach the price. I also worry about all the electronics in new cars. My car has been very reliable and it seems like new cars break more often and are a lot more expensive to fix.

sonrisa , that's awful and I'm so mad on your behalf!  Also mad that the other counselor knew about the issues and no one told you!  I support burning it down.

[egishere]

Oct 17, 2024 9:49:23 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

I hate clothing sizes being so all over the place. I bought a tuckernuck dress 2nd hand and it's about double the size I need. I hope I can just resell for what I paid, but I'm bummed because I really like the pattern.

Bummer!  I have a lot of stuff from there and I feel like their sizing always runs big on the Tuckernuck brand and Pomander place or whatever that one is called.

[sadlebred]

Oct 17, 2024 9:01:32 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Has anyone used Nutrafol for hair growth? Did it make a significant difference? I have been losing hair for the last few years, and it's now reached a tipping point where I am embarrassed about how I look and it's keeping me from wanting to do things. I just ordered Nutrafol and am hoping it will help. I have a big work trip in the spring (only the second time I will meet colleagues that I've worked with for 6 years) and I want to feel confident for it.

I also have a doctor appointment next month where I plan to discuss, but I don't have a great track record of doctors taking me seriously, so I'm trying to take some steps on my own too.

Yes! I used it after my cancer scare 2 years ago. I took it for about a year and a half. My dermatologist recommended it. Also, Minoxidil (aka Rogaine). Seriously, it works wonders after about 6 months. It does take time! My hair returned to it's way too fluffy self after about 14 months or so. I still use it since hair loss can occurs in peri-menopause. I prefer the Rogaine for Women foam since it doesn't have any fragrance. If you are a member at Costco/Sams, they have generic versions cheaper.

[mommyatty]

DD told me this morning a boy at school is following her around telling her “Jesus doesn’t want you to be gay.” His mother is a Professional Christian(TM) (she works for Focus on the Family) so I’m not shocked he’s a homophobic little shit. I sent a mom version of a cease and desist letter to the school’s head of middle school and copied the headmaster. I referenced the anti-bullying policy and indicated if they didn’t take care of it, there would be serious hell to pay.

[sadlebred]

I hope the tires I bought about 18 months ago last a while. I got the 65,000 mile tires. My next car expense will be an oil change in a few weeks.

See my other post, but I got my first side gig. I babysat last night for some friends. Their kids were really good--the 7th grader spent time doing a school project & the 3rd grader painted my nails and "did my makeup." I may see if other families with older kids need a child minder.

[starburst604]

Oct 17, 2024 9:01:32 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Has anyone used Nutrafol for hair growth? Did it make a significant difference? I have been losing hair for the last few years, and it's now reached a tipping point where I am embarrassed about how I look and it's keeping me from wanting to do things. I just ordered Nutrafol and am hoping it will help. I have a big work trip in the spring (only the second time I will meet colleagues that I've worked with for 6 years) and I want to feel confident for it.

I also have a doctor appointment next month where I plan to discuss, but I don't have a great track record of doctors taking me seriously, so I'm trying to take some steps on my own too.

Nutrafol came up at my girl's weekend and a couple of my friends swear by it. 

[starburst604]

We used the Venmo group expense tracker on my trip last weekend to track the various tabs that people were picking up. In the past we've used Splitwise, which is a little different. Venmo tries to sort it out the fewest payments possible, so basically moves who owes who around a lot based on what people are adding. The hosting friend was the last to put her stuff in, which was a lot- she had pre-paid for the party bus, some winery reservations and a bunch of Ubers. Once she put that in, everyone owed her except for me, which I expected because I picked up one $$$$ check at a champagne room along with various other smaller stuff. I figured I'd break even-ish with a little owed to me or from me. Welllll, when the outcome said that one person owed me and everyone else owed the host, no one believed it except me. I kept saying that I'd picked up the largest tab so it offset me. Then another friend insisted on putting it all into a spreadsheet to calculate. Was questioning me on my charges "I thought B picked up the tab at this place?" etc, I was so annoyed. After 24 hours of going back and forth the spreadsheet shows - drum roll please.....exactly what Venmo said.

[noodleoo]

Oct 17, 2024 11:53:21 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

We used the Venmo group expense tracker on my trip last weekend to track the various tabs that people were picking up. In the past we've used Splitwise, which is a little different. Venmo tries to sort it out the fewest payments possible, so basically moves who owes who around a lot based on what people are adding. The hosting friend was the last to put her stuff in, which was a lot- she had pre-paid for the party bus, some winery reservations and a bunch of Ubers. Once she put that in, everyone owed her except for me, which I expected because I picked up one $$$$ check at a champagne room along with various other smaller stuff. I figured I'd break even-ish with a little owed to me or from me. Welllll, when the outcome said that one person owed me and everyone else owed the host, no one believed it except me. I kept saying that I'd picked up the largest tab so it offset me. Then another friend insisted on putting it all into a spreadsheet to calculate. Was questioning me on my charges "I thought B picked up the tab at this place?" etc, I was so annoyed. After 24 hours of going back and forth the spreadsheet shows - drum roll please.....exactly what Venmo said.

That's obnoxious!  Did the others apologize for doubting you? 

[spindle92]

Susie, I feel your pain.
My screen works for some features but not everything and of course it never works when I REALLY need it.
I just gave up and use my phone and hope for the best right now.

[followyourarrow]

starburst604, probably just me, but I'd be upset about this. It feels like people questioning my integrity.

[starburst604]

Oct 17, 2024 12:33:17 GMT -5 followyourarrow said:

starburst604 , probably just me, but I'd be upset about this. It feels like people questioning my integrity.

noodleoo

I don't think anyone thought I'd intentionally put the wrong things in, but I was irritated with the whole thing. And so glad when the spreadsheet showed the same thing! I didn't grasp exactly how Venmo was making the calculations either, but I trusted that it's smarter than we are! What threw everyone off was it showing that one of her local friends that had joined us just one day somehow owed me money and they didn't want her feeling uncomfortable about it. 

[wanderingback]

Oct 17, 2024 9:02:32 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

wanderingback, that's so cute! I love it when kids try to be helpful. I hope you find your glasses.

This reminded me of when DD1 was little, she used to randomly hide stuff. One time we could not find the remote control for the TV for days! It was driving us nuts. I finally asked DD1 if she had seen it and turns out she had hidden it inside the seat of a ride on toy. She was so proud of it too!

My partner just reported the toddler did indeed find my glasses before daycare drop off!!! Wahoo!!!

I wonder if she stole them in the first place, lol.

[7costanza]

I did a phone bank for democrats last night and made 72 calls. It was fun but draining, and I’m not sure how effective it was. I was only calling “strong democrats” to confirm they are voting and to ask if they would be willing to volunteer. It seemed odd to have volunteers asking if someone would also volunteer, then a third person calls today to give them options and hopefully get them to actually sign up. I guess they must have data that it helps otherwise they wouldn’t waste resources on it. My mom did it with me and I’m pretty sure she was faking some of her calls and just marking that they didn’t pick up.

[midwestmama]

Congrats, mrsukyankee!!

[tacokick]

I hung on to my mom’s kindle and used it as a trade in and I ordered the new color kindle. I really wish it had buttons though! No buttons/page flip seems like such a downgrade from the Oasis but they’ve said they have no plans to ever produce a model with buttons again 😢

I have been so tempted to make the switch to Kobo (buttons!) but they only allow you to sync with one library system and that wouldn’t work for me.

[meanie]

We are in Georgia visiting friends, but we have to work remotely since today wasn't a planned day off - Delta moved our flight a whole day earlier. I am soooo looking forward to when I can log off, I've been up since 4:30 and I am so exhausted.

[NewGirlNic]

Oct 17, 2024 10:24:20 GMT -5 fluffycookie said:

NewGirlNic , Would you mind sharing the recipe?

tastesbetterfromscratch.com/lasagna-soup/

Now that I looked up the recipe for you, I just realized I completely forgot to add the spinach... it's sitting in the produce drawer slowly wilting, LOL. I'm really striking out with the soup this time. 

I don't cook the noodles in the soup, since I typically make a big batch and freeze. I like to use bowtie pasta instead of broken lasagna noodles. But really any pasta works. 

[brooke77]

jinkies - I used Nutrafol for about 8 months. I didn’t notice a significant difference, but I do think it stopped some shedding. I lost a lot of hair during a very stressful time in my life. It took a solid year for me to notice the regrowth. I stopped taking it just because of the expense.

[NewGirlNic]

Oct 17, 2024 10:17:55 GMT -5 Roc A Bee said:

Oct 17, 2024 10:09:03 GMT -5 NewGirlNic said:

I am so mad at myself. I made a huge pot (doubled the recipe) of lasagna soup last night. It was delicious. H took DS to his therapy appointment right after we finished dinner, so I cleaned up myself. I left the soup in the pot to cool, since it was still super hot, before I was going to package it up for leftovers and freeze most for a future dinner. 

I took a shower and made a cup of tea. I looked at the pot of soup, made a mental note to not forget to put it away before I went to bed. Planned to do it after I finished my tea. I got into the book I was reading and completely forgot about the soup. Went to bed without putting away the leftovers. Woke up this morning and it was the first thing I saw when I walked into the kitchen. I was so mad. Not only is it a waste of $ (though it was a relatively cheap meal) and food, but it was such a good soup. I was really looking forward to leftovers for lunch today. 

Eh I would reheat and eat this.

When DH make pozole, it lives on our stove for days. I could never fit the pot in the fridge.

H said the same, so we saved some of it. He ate the leftovers for lunch. If he doesn't die, I will have some tomorrow, LOL. Because it has ground beef and sausage, it makes me nervous. 

[mommyatty]

I got a Kindle Scribe because I can’t write worth a flip on my iPad (I write like a left-handed person but with my right hand, so I drag my hand along the screen) and I’m tired of carrying multiple notebooks with me on road trips. I got to use the Kindle this week on a business trip where I had three different meetings (so normally three different notebooks) and I really love it. I now have three “folders” with two “notebooks” in each. One with notes on wide ruled notebook paper and one to do list that has boxes I can use to check off items as they’re completed. This makes my nerdy heart so happy.

Bonus: I didn’t end up with ink all over the side of my hand like I normally do, even though I took a ton of notes.