I use our stove when there is stuff already on it as long as it's small and not a big, baked on spill. I will give it a quick wipe if there are crumbs or something, but if there are drops already baked on here and there and I want to cook right then, oh well. The razor always gets it easily when I get to cleaning. I use the razor almost every time I clean since I don't like scrubbing hard, lol. I've read that baked on sugary stuff can cause pitting etc, and I do try and be a bit better at getting that up before using again, but not always, and so far so good.

I am not a best cleaner but I've never had trouble with the two glass top stoves I've had over the years. Maybe it was the brand you had or something? Anyway, I just squirt on a cleaner made for glass top stoves, give it a smear, let it sit for about five minutes, and then wipe/scrub it off with a rag. I do it about once a week and just wipe with a damp rag otherwise. For stubborn things, I take a plain razor blade and gently scrape at an angle. That works really well. I mistreat my stove badly, using cast iron and even sliding it around. It has never scratched and still looks great when I do clean it. Editing to add, I use the cleaner that Pawz4me linked to. I just get it at the grocery. I've tried baking soda but the cleaner works a bit better.

Yes, we all know white men are usually sober and clear thinking and can't be distracted by things like affairs and greed and drugs and advocating for causes they believe in like deregulation. They can be counted on to do their jobs with focus and integrity. "Diverse" people, otoh, are flitting off with their woke agendas so it's easy to believe that happened here without any evidence it actually did. This is ugly, ugly stuff. Somehow I'll manage to focus on doing all the things I need to do today while still calling out the ugliness of it - I'm just amazing for a woke woman. Maybe someday I can be as competent as a white man, though I will still, clearly, never be viewed as such by a large segment of our country.

I've come down on the side of soy as edamame, tofu, and tempeh is good, highly processed soy like soy protein isolate isn't, and I eat accordingly. I don't think the science is fully settled on that, but to me, it seems the most reasonable right now.

It really is, and I don't know. Only B&H knows the nature of Ex's stalking/obsessions with son and whether seeing a picture of him on Facebook is likely to cause a problem. Asking people not to post on social media is a big ask, IMO, so the benefit would need to outweigh the consequences of the blowback.

It's a difficult situation, and I've leaned several ways while reading the responses. I think I'd settle on talking to the guy directly and then asking the coach to send out an email requesting that no one send videos to non-custodial parents. I think asking parents to not film is more than is needed, and asking them to not send film to anyone is also more than is needed. The specific problem is giving anything to ex. If someone on the team also has other issues that make sharing film dangerous, then they can speak up as well, and accommodations can be made. I understand singling out your kid even more, and that really stinks. It sounds like people would already know it's your kid and there have already been precautions taken that single him out, so I'm not sure how much more damage would be done by asking for no sharing with non-custodial parents. There would be a lot more hard feelings about no sharing in general or no filming. One issue I could see with this solution is whether people know who non-custodial parents are. Perhaps he should just be named to be clear. I don't know though. Ugh, I'm so sorry everything gets complicated for you and your kids, B&H, even fun things.

Maybe it has been hacked, but that big swing in perspectives is also pretty normal in dv and/or drug abuse situations, particularly after a first, traumatizing episode. It feels so awful at the moment, and those involved have hope that it can be quickly solved so they can stop feeling so horrible. The alternative is a future where you could very well feel even more horrible for a long time as you try and cope with all the ramifications of being married to a violent, drug addicted husband. That future is just overwhelming. Those who do have to face it usually can dig deep and find the strength, but denial at first is both super common and understandable. In this situation, the wrong drugs can be blamed which allows everyone to hope that since he is on different drugs, things can return to normal. It wasn't him, it was the drugs, and now that those particular drugs aren't part of the picture, life can resume. It might even be true. The odds say not, but no one knows for sure, and often people have to see things play out further in order to shift their expectations. But, of course the huge elephant in the room is the danger to all involved, and the reality that if she figures wrong, very bad things can happen to her and their children. I wish GardenMom and her dd the best possible outcome here, and sometimes people beat the odds, so fingers crossed.

You are all shell-shocked and traumatized, and this has to be just a horrible time. Nothing would be better than to just be able to move past what has happened and get on with things, but unless she wants the very high chance that it will replay again in their marriage somehow, she needs to slow down. Gardenmom, you can't make her, but you can be clear-eyed for her and encourage her to slow down.She needs you to be strong, not complicit.

If it were me, I'd get a quote for turning at least part of the deck into a screened porch. Shade plus no bugs is a big plus.

I just wanted to comment on this piece as well. It suggests that your dd (and possibly you) think there might be a divine intervention aspect to this - like she might have gotten a nudge from God that this was the right thing to do. I'd be very careful with that. It's easy to use that to justify in our own minds and to others things that are hard to justify otherwise, and this is one of those things. If I'm off base and neither of you think that, then feel free to ignore!

I agree that I don't see it as a promising update. It may even go well, and he may promise the world and mean it, but following through is so much harder. Meeting with him in person puts her in a dangerous situation, and it also decreases her options. They both just want this nightmare to be over, and I get that, but he has a lot of work to do before it can be. Rushing this phase, which she is doing by meeting him before he has shown himself to be stable, makes it less likely he does the work and more likely they will revisit this cycle at some point in the future.

Our very traumatized foster cat had a petting spot on one end of a specific sofa for several months when he first came to us. If we sat in that spot, he would jump on our laps and settle in, but no where else, even further down the sofa. He'd cry for us until we went and sat in that spot. We gradually got him accustomed to petting him in other areas of the house, but he's still skittish until it has happened a lot.

I was a big advocate of co-sleeping when my kids were little. After reading some of the latest research, I wouldn't do it again, though I would have them by me on their own mattress. I was a light, careful, co-sleeper, and I still remember the time I woke up to dd with the sheet over her face and her struggling to breathe. She had inched down and I had pulled the sheet over me in my sleep. Usually it's fine, but there is a risk that can be decreased but not erased.

I just learned recently that using fruit in smoothies significantly decreases the amount of fiber in the fruit. I suppose it makes sense because you are breaking down the fiber when you pulverize the fruit, but I hadn't thought about it before.

Ah, gotcha. That worked out well for you!

Why would a dealer be willing to let you buy out the leased car at such a reduced price, when they could sell it used for so much more? I've never known a dealership to be that nice about their profits, so I'm wondering what the catch is.

We just got back from an event that had about 35k people all leaving a small area at the same time. The lines for ride shares were nuts and I'm sure pricing was high. We walked one block and hopped on a public bus to get back to our hotel. It was cheap and very easy. Apple Maps walks you through each step - just choose the transit option instead of the car or walking option in directions. I'm assuming Google Maps does too. Try putting in the stadium and your hotel and seeing how the bus route works. I don't know how late buses run in Cincy, but that would be a concern if the concert goes late.

I have Uba-Tuba granite in my kitchen and it is the best. No sealing needed and no staining. It's very common and pretty dated, so nothing special, but it's a workhorse. I have what they said was Black Absolute granite in a powder room and it's been a disaster. Usually Black Absolute is also very resistant, but whatever I have doesn't seal (I've tried) but also shows water stains and other stains very easily. Thinking about replacing it with something else.

If the guns are communal property, she might be okay in removing them, but I'm assuming since this ruling, no state court can. I don't know the status pending appeal, but the ruling says it is unconstitutional to take guns from people with protective orders against them for domestic violence. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/02/politics/domestic-violence-guns-fifth-circuit/index.html

Yes, I would think it would be really complicated. So many factors would affect how high the chemicals go, how dispersed they get, how much of them come down and when, how toxic they are for how long, etc. I'm sure many of the people involved in this just don't know. Which isn't to say there isn't also coverup of what we do know as well. I have very little trust that we know much due to both ignorance of those handling it and cover up. Then there is pressure on those in charge to act like they know more than they do. No one wants to hear, "We don't know much about these toxic chemicals we shipped through your area and then set on fire." Plus, they want to be able to keep shipping them, so there's that. I guess it's fingers crossed and hope for the best, though I wish it wasn't.

I would not tell in the given scenario. If I was the half sibling, I would respond if contacted, but I wouldn't care about pursuing it myself. If I have unknown relatives out there, I don't really care about meeting them, but I would if they wanted to. I have never submitted any DNA and never will.

Is it the sunscreen or the sun causing the itching? I've found that sometimes, especially early in the sun season, I get a sort of hive reaction to the sun whether I'm wearing sunscreen or not. It's called polymorphic light eruption and apparently is pretty common.

I was thinking the same thing! My youngest wrote their common app essay about an English midterm paper and all the angst it caused. It was well done, and they got into even their two reach schools, I'm sure partly because of it. I should add that the source of the angst was a WTM online class but I won't say which one (and the fault was solely with my kid, not the class which was excellent!)

Off topic - Often I'm meh on advice columns, but Carolyn Hax is a treasure. She is able to zero in on the real issues and address them wisely and clearly. If I ever cancelled my WP subscription, I'd miss her the most.

Also I went into labor right before storms; one was a thunderstorm in July and the other was a snowstorm in February. I remember with the July one hearing the thunder as I labored. Very theatrical, lol!