I have not. It did come with dividers for shoes but we took those out. I did search around a long time to find the deepest/widest one that would fit. Alot of cute storage benches really didn't have a whole lot of storage space. I found this one on Wayfair but I did alot of comparing online before I bought. There are only three of us now that use it so it hasn't yet become overrun and disorganized.

My 12 yo dd is not a sandwich eater. She makes herself pasta- either homemade mac and cheese or a jarred sauce and salads. She also uses the precooked frozen chicken strips. She seasons them and puts them on a salad or in a bowl with veggies. She makes rice sometimes but usually just heats up some frozen veggies or makes a salad.

Our current home has no coat closet. No place at all to drop a jacket or a purse that is out of the way. I'll walk my jacket upstairs to my bedroom closet but no one else in my family thinks that is reasonable. I am guilty of dropping my purse on the dining room table or a chair. Just before Christmas I bought a chest (like you would put at the end of a bed) and it is along a wall in my dining room. It stores jackets and my purse and doubled as extra seating when my kids were home over the holidays. It doesn't look out of place and it is actually serving the function of keeping jackets and bags out of the way. Only took me almost six years to figure out this solution. LOL

I’m back on the wagon. Anyone else want to chat about IF? Tips, motivation, etc. I usually shoot for a 16 hour fast. Sometimes it ends up shorter but more often it stretches out a little longer. I try to be relaxed about it. The whole reason I am doing it is because it makes me feel in control. So if I let the schedule control me I start to lose that feeling. I am 46 years old and have just had it with dieting and restricting certain food groups. I’m just not willing to give up certain groups or tell my dd I can’t enjoy some new recipe she tried. So IF works for me. I simply can’t consume the number of calories I normally would if I only eat eight or even six hours a day. I still try to make healthy choices but nothing is totally forbidden. My biggest hurdle was dropping breakfast. I drink my coffee black so that was easy but I had for several years enjoyed some kind of protein bar with my coffee in the morning. It was so hard to break that habit. But once I did, the rest has been easier. I find my eating window moving later and later. I am much more motivated and productive in the morning so it is easy to stay busy and resist temptation. But come 9:00 pm I really want to sit on my butt and eat some cheese its. So shifting my eating window later let’s me do that late night snack without “failing”. I don’t do it every night but if I do, it isn’t like my whole day of good eating is ruined. I am not weighing myself at this time but I know from years of tracking food and counting points that I am eating a lot less and I like the feeling of being in control and being able to wait to eat. So overall, it feels like a healthy approach to me. Hoping I can stick with it. I know from past periods of IF that sticking with it is way easier than getting started. So now that I am back on it I am trying to keep it up. Anyone else want to chat?

Frozen precooked grilled chicken strips save us when we are in a hurry or uninspired. -Cook in olive oil and Italian seasoning and put in a salad. -stir fry with veggies and dump some prepared teriyaki sauce on and serve over rice. - Cook in olive oil and fajita seasoning. Add peppers and onions if desired. Put in a tortilla or eat over rice. - Cook with taco seasoning and make quesadillas on the stovetop. Or any seasonings and sauces. BBQ quicken quesadillas. Buffalo chicken quesadillas. You get the idea- and they are precooked so they come together fast and even a kid can cook them and they are pretty foolproof. I use my bread machine to make pizza dough. Then I will put pretty much any combination of veggies/meats/cheeses on it. Again the chicken strips work. My kids love Buffalo chick pizza. Frozen tortellini or ravioli cooks really fast and is more interesting to my family than spaghetti. Frozen meatballs or the prepared meatballs from the meat section and jarred sauce. Any chunk of meat in the crock pot with seasonings that can be shredded and eaten as sandwiches. I buy the take and bake bread out of the bakery section at the grocery store. Makes a sandwich more exciting to eat on fresh baked baguettes than hamburger buns. Chicken tortilla soup- lots of recipes online. Find one that is as simple as a couple chicken breasts and dumping in cans of corn/tomatoes/broth/enchilada sauce etc. Nothing wrong with make your own sandwich nights. Do you have an air fryer? Frozen prepared foods come out better than from the oven in my opinion. Personally I wouldn’t look for perfection. Using convenience foods is fine and still healthier and cheaper than a lot of what you would eat takeout. I also don’t worry about hitting all the food groups every night. It seems when we prepare a meal at home we think it has to have all the vegetables etc but people go out to eat and get a burger and fries and call it good or get a pizza and call it dinner. So we can do that at home some too. Sometimes it is easier here to focus on fruits and vegetables for snacks and lunches when we are trying to do dinner quick and easy.

My ds got a package today with stickers and a banner and a notepad. His acceptance was a pop up card that played the fight song when opened, But for the most part my kids haven't gotten much more than a sticker on acceptance and sometimes a t shirt on a visit. But, admittedly, our college lists are always kind of low budget type places 🙂

Ds knows where he is going. He has been accepted with the automatic scholarship. He applied for several competitive scholarships and he should have a shot at something. He applied for everything from full ride to smaller ones for just a couple thousand a year. He will attend regardless but of course anything extra he can get will help. He was admitted to the highest honors program which is pretty limited so he is still in the running for competitive awards, I believe. He is itching to confirm his enrollment as he has friends who have and are starting to apply for housing. He wants honors housing, which is limited, and he is talking to some friends about potentially rooming together. These friends have already confirmed so they are almost ready to go forward with housing and roommate selection. I had been of the mind to hold out on confirming enrollment until the scholarship process played out some more, thinking that if they didn't need to entice him to come it might hurt his chances. But maybe that isn't really how it is done? Thoughts?

We are used to pretty serious fireworks in our neighborhood for 4th of July even though they are supposedly illegal in city limits. But last night someone was setting off what sounded like bombs. Shook the whole house. I thought they must be directly in front of my house it was so loud but I found out this morning they were down the street a ways. It was really awful. I thought I had gotten used to the fireworks even though it is totally not my thing but last night was a whole new level. Tonight we are back to just regular old fireworks. Honestly they are less annoying after what we went through last night.

Thanks for understanding. I think you are onto something here about my own discomfort. It’s not like I’ve come into millions. But I’m not going to be driving around with my car duct taped together anymore. Somehow that feels like part of my identity I am parting with 😂 And I’ll think of you when I get rid of my van. If I ever really do get rid of it. Who gets rid of a car before it dies on the side of the road??? Not this girl. Never before at least. I just don’t have to do those kind of things anymore. It is a bit uncomfortable and I do have to get used to that myself.

Well yeah, when my phone and oven died on the same day the week before Christmas I did tell my friends. I helps to have someone commiserate. Now sure why that is such a crazy thing.

Well, you could say I was in the let it crumble down around me phase for a long time. And so are many of the people I associate with. For us, even minor work is a big enough deal it comes up. Because when you are in that phase even replacing an appliance is an event. As far as discussing a car purchase...it is because when you are living under a bit of financial duress, buying a car is a huge and stressful event which would be something one would discuss with friends. Obviously not everyone but I don’t think it is that unusual, in groups where major purchases are a big burden and deliberated or agonized about. It’s not “OMG I am so excited about my nice new car”. It’s “I am trying to decide between this car with 100,000 miles on it or this one with 110,000 miles on it.” Just feeling a bit defensive as though I am bragging about all my purchases. Discussing making major purchases isn’t necessarily bragging.

Oh me too!! I have had plenty of practice with people having better stuff than me!

Haha. Is it really unusual to mention home improvements? If my kitchen was being remodeled I would surely mention trying to feed the family without the kitchen. It would be a major disruption in my life and I can't imagine it not coming up with friends I talk to frequently. Not complaining or bragging...just "ugh it's going to be pizza takeout again tonight." But I am the first to admit to being boring!

Thank you. I think that is how I have been handling it and seems best. But not bragging or droning on and on. Doesn't mean that the other person might not feel momentarily uncomfortable or jealous (that is something human many struggle with) but none of my friends would let it be a festering thing. I'm just trying to be most sensitive in the moment.

Thanks @Scarlett. I appreciate it because you are getting exactly what I am saying. If there is someone I talk to everyday and never mention getting a new car and just show up with it, that seems much worse.

Well the reason I would say something is because when friends ask what is new I might say that the house is out of sorts right now or whatever. It has never been usual to discuss with friends if we were replacing a water heater or whatever. My friends and I talk about that stuff. I guess that's unusual? If my house is torn apart that is going to disrupt my life and would be the kind of thing I would normally mention. So if I don't it feels like I'm being secretive.

How do you tactfully manage relationships where you once shared common ground financially and now you have moved ahead? I'm in that circumstance and I'm not sure how to proceed tactfully. I'll try to explain...I'm sure other people have been on either side of it. For example, you and your friend group had always had pretty run down outdated houses. You joked about it and felt comraderie about some of the silly stuff about your houses. How does that go when you decide to do a bunch of work on your house? Do you talk about it in passing when appropriate ("like hey I'm going to be late because the flooring guy is still here") or just not say anything and then they show up and your house is all fixed up? The kind of stuff in previous times you would have discussed with friends throughout the process but now it feels awkward? Or say I want a new car? My van is still fine and relatively new for the peer group and compared to things I have driven in the past. But what if I just don't need a van anymore and decide to get rid of it and get something nicer than necessary? Do I say "Hey I'm tired of driving a minivan...thinking about this SUV that would be more fun to drive..." or "hey I just bought a car" or just show up with a new car? I am not the type of person to post about purchases or home improvements on social media so that isn't an issue. I'm caught here. I feel like mentioning the work in casual conversation is the way to go. I would have in the past if I was having work done, so why not now just because the work is bigger or more expensive? But I had someone visit and not mention a single thing about the major renovations we have done. I don't need compliments and I didn't offer a tour to show it off. But just saying nothing at all about dramatic changes seems odd. So maybe there is an issue there that I need to be more sensitive to. I found myself thinking I have to keep my car because of what other people would think or how it would make them feel if I got anything but the most basic used van. That doesn't seem right either. It seems worse to me to not mention buying a car to someone who I would always normally discuss such things with. That seems worse that I would just show up with a car that I hadn't mentioned. Like I am trying so hard to be sensitive that it is insulting. Can anyone help me out here? My husband has worked really hard and we have scrimped and saved and gone without for 25 years. We'll never do anything flashy but my husband is going to be pretty frustrated if I never agree to buy a nicer car because it might make things awkward with my friends. I know that the right answer is that people that love you will be happy for you. But the reality of human beings is that it is more complicated than that for alot of people. I know I have felt jealous of people I love in the past. So I get it. I'm just trying to make it as smooth as possible.

@mommyoffiveNo - TN has had terrible numbers. Especially the last month. But hardly any restrictions in the state, though Nashville does have more than other areas. But throughout the state pretty much everything has been open this whole time and I only expect TN to be more open than other places. Just seems as though they are planning to hold it and as likely as anyplace to be open. My dd, in another part of the state, has only missed four weeks of dance back in April. Sounds crazy, huh? She just had a Christmas recital. I know of several studios that have put on some kind of winter recital. Adapted, but still dancing. I realize that is going to horrify alot of people but hopefully we won't derail the thread questioning my choices. I have questioned them plenty!

Are you looking at Nashville? My niece is trying to go there. They are even advertising an in person junior intensive in June. I don't know anything about what intensives are good or not I just would think Nashville would be likely to go.

Not for toenail fungus but for fungus on the foot and on the hands/trunk. I suffered for a long time with some kind of resistant fungus on my hands/arms/torso. Saw multiple doctors and tried oral and topical medicines. It was awful. Nothing worked. I eventually tried tea tree oil and that solved my problem. Years later I solved a fungal issue on my foot with it. I am generally not one to jump to natural remedies. If heavy duty medications don't work, I don't generally think something from the health food section is going to. So, I am a skeptic. But it really worked. I don't remember all the details about how I used it. I think I didn't dilute it as much as what is recommended. It stung but was manageable.

I get the appeal of Corelle from a weight/space perspective but I really am not fond of the look. I hope my dc like Fiesta because I just had visions of myself as an old lady giving away my Fiesta to switch to easier to handle Corelle. Which made me think I really need to buy more Fiesta...LOL... it is fun to add on!

Funny I grew up with Corelle and it does not make me happy. In fact, when I was getting married my mom insisted I get Corelle as it was the best and nothing else made sense. So I had Corelle for the first fifteen years of marriage and then I switched to Fiesta. I am always surprised by how much people love their Corelle. But then I think that it is basically is one of my low level rebellions against my upbringing and the fact that my mom insisted I register for it when I got married. 😂 I don’t know if I could go back. I really like the colors and I will reach in and choose the colors that compliment my food. Haha. If we are having a red sauce I don’t use my red plates. If we are having mashed potatoes I’m definitely going with one of the bright colors. I am at the point where very small things make me happy!

I have fiestaware. I"ve had it for maybe ten years and I am happy with it. I started with just a few colors and over the years I have accumulated a pretty nice mix and match collection. I like that I can replace things and they don't have to match exactly and the casual nature of it suits us. I do like that I can just add a couple pieces here and there when I am itching for a change without changing the whole set.

nm

At this point I feel certain I will always do something for my adult kids. Actually, my first three are boys and I expect I will always have something for their spouses. I feel like treating their girlfriends/wives well is probably more important. I just know that MIL/DIL relationship will be hard and I will probably always want to do for them. Another wrinkle is that at least some of our dc will likely be better off financially than dh and I are, pretty early in their careers. I think it will embarass them if we spend too much on them. I bet we do alot of food/drink gifts as they get older. Or babysitting and a night out for young families. I don't know exactly other than I don't want to be buying a TV or laptop or whatever for my adult children. But I'm happy to bless them all with a fancy Christmas Eve dinner and their favorite cookies. I fully expect to spoil the snot out of grandkids (within their parents' wishes). Christmas for my family, culturally, has always been kid focused. I'll use it as an opportunity to love my adults, for sure, but not looking to make a habit of big ticket items.