My ex and I got matching wedding band tattoos. He's been my ex for over a decade, and while the tattoo doesn't bother my (now and forever) DH, it bothers me. The other tattoo is from that same time period in my life. I was young and it seemed like a good idea at the time. So edgy! Look at what a bada$$ I am! It's 20+ years later, and I feel very silly with this tattoo. It doesn't look edgy or bada$$ at this stage of life. I've hit a point in life where certain things look fun and cool on young people, but look odd and tired on me. On a young girl, it would look cute. On me, it screams "Someone's trying too hard", lol. So! It's gotta go!

Laser tattoo removal is always an option. I am having my tattoos removed this way. It hurts like crazy, but I'm happy with the outcome so far.

I chose "other". I have 2 tattoos and am in the process of lasering them off. One tattoo is almost completely gone. I will start the process on the 2nd tattoo once the first one is done.

Custom orthotics from the podiatrist, good shoes (my podiatrist recommended certain styles of New Balance shoes), ice, stretching exercises, and never going barefoot. I did the cortisone injection once and they were so painful! Ugh! It took a few months to fully settle down. I wore orthotics for years because I was on my feet for work. I have no issues now and can go barefoot.

I left a job under similar circumstances once. There were a lot of red flags going in but I ignored them all because I wanted out of my old job so badly. The new job simply wasn't the right fit, for either me or the job, but we were both ignoring all the signs that said "This won't work". I really wanted out of my old job, this new boss really wanted me because we'd worked together in the past and been recommended by his office manager, whom I'd also worked with. I only worked a few days before I said "No, I'm sorry, but this won't work out at all". Were my colleagues and new boss upset? Yep. They got over it and found a better fit for the job quickly. I found a better job for myself just as quickly. In hindsight, I never should have even started at the new job. I got on the train for my first day trying to convince myself this would be fine, I just needed to give it time...ugh. Mistake. I should have gotten off at the next stop and gone home. I think you know in your gut what you really want to do. I think you already know that this job isn't really what you are looking for right now. Maybe in a different situation, you'd find this job to be interesting or a challenge worth tackling. It doesn't sound like that's what you are looking for right now, however.

Campbell's chicken noodle soup and tuna fish sandwiches, served with milk. Gag. My father is not an adventurous eater, (he eyes white rice suspiciously), so a can of chicken noodle soup with half of a tuna sandwich is what he calls "Good Eats". For desert, you can have an Oreo or two with milk. He still offers me this when I visit him, and actively tries to discourage going to a restaurant because "I can just make us some soup and tuna fish sandwiches. Maybe an Oreo or two after. How about that?" Ugh, no! As a kid, I complained it was like eating in post-War Germany. To this day, I hate all of it. Ironically, I craved chicken noodle soup while pregnant and ate it by the gallon, but never the slop from a can, only home made.

We replaced our HVAC last March for $6300. We have a 2300 sq ft, one level home in South Central Texas. If you need to get your HVAC replaced, I'd say get on it before it gets hot out and you really need it. When the heat increases, so does demand for new units and installation, which raises the price.

My situation was a little different, in that I was not in any danger of not graduating. I had asked to graduate early because what was left of high school seemed pointless and a waste of time. I had enough credits to graduate early but my parents said no, because "That's not what normal people do" (I still don't understand what that means), and that whether I was bored in school was irrelevant. I"m not really sure what drove that action, to be honest, even all these years later. I would have much preferred they had a conversation with me about what my plans were and how to transition into those plans. Help me map out a path to my end goal. Maybe I would have seen that my goal was unrealistic and changed my mind, or maybe I would have been more resolved to achieve my goal. I don't know how it would have turned out, but that would have been better than accusing me of drug use because I wasn't engaged in school.

Agreed. I had a bad case of senioritis, where I got mediocre grades, spent tons of time with friends, and blew a bunch of money. No drugs or booze were involved. I was just tired of being treated like a child and micromanaged in school, so I ditched classes, spent money on food, movies, gas for the car, and general nonsense. My mom was convinced I was spending it on drugs, and I felt so insulted and angry. That accusation definitely did not improve our relationship.

They did T3/T4, Free T4, TSH, thyroid antibodies, all of it? Or did they just test TSH? The reason I ask is because dysphagia/trouble swallowing was the first hint that I had Hashimoto's Disease. My T4 was low normal, my TSH was moderately elevated, and my thyroid antibodies were sky high. Vitamin D was low, too. I felt like garbage 24/7.

I am suspicious of Celiac, as well. Have your doctors evaluated your thyroid? Hashimoto's and Celiac often buddy up and cause these issues.

I think a lot of people would have a hard time focusing in that situation. I know I would! Are you comfortable interrupting people to say "Just one minute, I need to say goodbye to DD and see her off"? By any chance are these older relatives who you've been taught outrank you, and thus should never be interrupted?

Caught my kiddo reading the dictionary yesterday am. He tried to play it off like he was reading a different book, lol. I'm not sure why he felt the need to hide the dictionary, but ok...

Curfew for military members in a training status is pretty normal. We had a curfew when I was stationed for training after Basic. It's about military rigor and discipline, and military rigor and discipline are definitely different than civilian rigor and discipline.

Calvin and Hobbes I can deal with. When DS10 was in his knock-knock joke phase? That about killed me.

Some schools offer night classes for people that work during the day. I don't think I ever took a final that went until 11 pm, but I took some that ended at 10 pm. I'd much prefer an exam ending at 10 pm than one starting at 8 am!

It probably is hostile, and that's why she doesn't feel comfortable asking. You are right; it shouldn't be a big deal. If you have abusive and/or controlling parents, it *is* a big deal.

My college did not have a curfew. The doors were locked at midnight and there was an overnight person who monitored the door and let in residents who showed id. Anyone who didn't live in the dorm could enter after midnight if a resident signed them in. This was one of my jobs in college, the overnight dorm guard.

Ouch. I apologize for hurting your feelings and insulting you. That was not my intention. I wish I could invite you over so you could see how unmotivated I am by snobbishness or shiny, "designer" curriculum. I just don't think it's reasonable to expect homeschooling to be both free and low effort. It's been my experience that the people that do not want to spend money also do not want to spend time and effort. It's also been my experience that the broke mamas aren't complaining about the price of this or that being too expensive, so that's why they aren't teaching pre-algebra *at all*. They just go find a different pre-algebra book. Or print pages off the internet and figure something out. They don't simply say "we'll do nothing instead". I certainly never said that people that don't buy XYZ don't love their children. I hope your night starts to look up. It's been a hard night here, too. Here's to a better tomorrow.

Yes, reusable textbooks. If you have more than one kid, it's a better deal because you can use the same books for the next kid. The books have a high resale value, too, so you get a lot of your initial investment back. I take that into consideration when I'm buying books, because I'm a cheapo too!

I was thinking about this more and realized it wasn't a phenomenon specific to homeschool families. When I was in college, there were 2 departmental scholarships available. Each gave a $500 award to 2 students, so there was a total of 4 prizes available. Our profs darn near begged students to apply because so few people ever bothered to fill out the form and write the essay. There were some years where no one applied! So, I filled out the form, wrote my 1 page essay, submitted it and won 2 of the 4 prizes. The other 2 prizes went to the other student who applied. Out of 30 students in the department, only me and 1 other person even tried! Yet among the "congratulations" were also comments like "Well, that hardly seems fair for you to get both prizes since no one applied", and "You must be really, really, REALLY smart to win 2 scholarships" and "I just don't have time to write essays and fill out forms, and anyway, I'm not that smart" It was a mix of laziness and imposter syndrome, maybe?

There was some one grumbling in a facebook group about the cost of AOPS books being too high. Several people, actually, grumbling that they haven't even considered starting AOPS because of the cost. Pre-Algebra is $60 new, shipped. You could probably get it for around $45 used. I feel like this isn't all that much for a year of high quality math curriculum, especially since you can re-sell your books to get most of the money back. But no. They can't start AOPS because it's too expensive. I don't know what will happen when these kids are ready for college, (or maybe the plan is to not send the kids to college?)

At least 6 of them are of an age where getting lost is a non-issue. Either they are babies in strollers/carriers or they are old enough to understand "Stay in this area. Do not go past the swingsets". Honestly, I think she just doesn't feel like getting them all dressed and out the door. Fair enough, but then don't complain that all the events stink and as a result, you are bored and lonely. 😕

I bought some socks and a fleece blanket from Maurice's two years ago. Both seemed to be decent quality. The blanket was a gift so I don't know how it's held up, but I still have half the socks two years later.

I live in Middle-of-No-Where Texas, which is about 40 minutes from anything worth doing. We drive EVERYWHERE and my hard limit is that I will not do two activities on the same day if both involve driving into The Big City and are several hours apart. People are amazed that I drive into The Big City, but it's the only way we'll find the opportunities for DS10 that he wants. No one here in Middle-of-No-Where Texas wants to play chess or D&D or gives a hoot about math or science. I honestly have no idea what people do all day. And the nutty thing is, I'm totally introverted! I'm an introvert who's learned to put myself out there, and even I am thinking "What the heck is the matter with these people?!"