My first thought - before reading other replies - how does a penny sticking to the wall glorify God? Backing up to read now.

It was my young teen who actually used the word “shocking,” so I think perspective affected the word choice there! Personally I don’t find the BCP use quite shocking - I still would guess it’s more widespread as there are many more perfect clear complexions in my dd’s cohort than even in that of my oldest child. That, too, is likely a factor of immediate demographics.

This is interesting, considering that I use topical progesterone due to estrogen dominance! Thanks to all who have replied - you’re giving me lots of good questions about how to approach this, I appreciate that!

Happy escape for the critter, but alas we will never know what it was. My money is on.... fairy. Surely it was a fairy.

Boric acid, for one.

The statues of the 12 apostles were removed a few days ago, so they were definitely spared.

Thanks for all your experiences and suggestions! The current issue is a long dry spell, if a flood soon ensues, I’ll call the PCP and likely ask about seeing a pediatric endocrinologist before quickly accepting a BCP Rx. The possibility of PCOS exists, I’ve kind of had that way in the back of my mind, but the PCP didn’t even mention the possibility.

In addition to closing off doors, I suggest putting a rolled up towel on the floor across the bottom door edge. We learned the hard way that a wren can easily squeeze under a closer door.

DD’s first period was a solid two years ago, and she’s been having issues with irregular cycles. At times there are lengthy breaks between them, which doesn’t overly concern me. However, there have been a couple of long cycles of bleeding for 10-14 days. The PC doc has mentioned we may want to consider BCP to get things on track. If any of you/your dds have a similar experience, please share. On a tangent, as BCP would likely also help dd’s complexion woes, I have been pondering this - I think the number of teen girls these days with perfect complexions is a statistical anomaly. So I am wondering if there are many more teen girls these days being given Rxs for BCP than there were back when I was a teen. Because the number of girls with perfect complexions (and perfect smiles and perfect hair) seems unnaturally common these days. My girls tell me I’d be shocked to find out how many girls we know are taking them. I have more thoughts on this, but I’d like to hear yours before posting more.

For me personally, if I let my ears get clogged up, it takes maybe 4 days to catch up - I could use Zyrtec and Flonase for a few days, then drop the Zyrtec and continue the Flonase and it would be enough. But that’s just me! I also have ear issues, and the Flonase is the most effective part of it for me. Of course it may differ for others.

Oh! When I do a holiday turkey, I put the roaster on a table in the garage, mostly for saving counter space. Never thought about doing it on a regular basis. We are learning all kind of nifty things from each other tonight!

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. I started by thinking I would prep something in the evening, then just drop the insert and turn on the crock pot in the morning. Then I got to thinking, hey, why don’t I just let it cook overnight - more appropriate length of time - and have a quick reheat. And it may it may not have had something to do with not wanting to rearrange the fridge at 11pm to make room for the crock pot insert!

It varies by person. Allegra knocks me out cold.

Do you need a systemic antihistamine? Just wondering if Flonase or some similar nasal spray would suit your needs. There’s not a single oral antihistamine I can take that doesn’t cause some degree of brain fog or drowsiness.

Yep this is the one I like. The citrus juices, yum. I was very sad when my 20 year old crock pot died - it had a true low cook setting - high enough to be food safe but never a boil on low setting. I tried a couple and returned them when that one died, because they boiled on low. I have a Rival brand now, it cooks faster than the old one but it’s not too bad. More often these days I cook something overnight for 6-7 hours instead of the 8-9 hours during the day that I’m away at work.