Oh my goodness. That is a lot. Hope things are looking up for you soon.

I was able to get Smartwool and Icebreaker at REI on one of their big sales. They are fabulous. I do have a couple Costco wool shirts. I do like them, but they aren't as warm as the name brand ones and they aren't quite as soft. But they are fine on my sensitive skin as long as I am not sweating. There are lots of places putting their winter gear on clearance. I saw some deals on wool shirts at Sierra. https://www.sierra.com/s~wool-shirt/women~d~5324/

We had a story like that but not a hotel but my parents' condo. I don't remember the occasion but several of my adult siblings were visiting my parents. My sister, who lived a couple hours away, didn't visit super often so her kids didn't really know their way around the place like mine did. When I arrived, to the building, the elevator door opened and inside was my 18 month old nephew ... he had walked out of the apartment unnoticed, got on the elevator and was riding it for a while. He thought it was fun to push the buttons. Nobody noticed he was missing. (Now, he did have a reputation as a runner - he and his older sister would take off in opposite directions in public places... my sister had to put leashes on them in public places for a while.)

My parents were local as was my FIL. My mom helped me stock my freezer ahead of time with meals. When ds30 was born, I had a really difficult birth and recovery. I literally couldn't sit due to pain - like a knife up my rear end - only stand or lay down. We treated my job as recover and feed the baby . While dh was very attentive to my needs and did lots of baby care (he loves babies and would have wanted more!) My mom came over daily and just helped with household tasks like laundry and cleaning. Since my freezer full of food wasn't agreeing with me, she did some cooking to eliminate some of the offending foods and took home the frozen meals for her and my dad. She let my husband and me do much of the baby care since I was breastfeeding and she didn't know anything about that. She and dh took care of my needs so I could recover. She was more than happy to hold the baby when I needed a shower or eat or nap (if the baby didn't need to eat as well. When dh had to go back to work and I was still kind of a mess, she stayed over a couple nights and days to help me adjust to being by myself. After the first couple of weeks, she just either came over a couple times a week for a visit or I went to see her. We were very close back then. My dad and FIL helped with some "guy" household tasks in the early days to let dh rest since he was helping me so much. My dad showed love by fixing stuff around the house - not as a diss on dh, but more of that is how he showed love. And FIL did some of the same, but spend time with dh as he was adjusting to this new schedule/demand. So there was my dad fixing stuff, while FIL picked up stuff from the hardware store, and they both doted on the baby. I am grateful that neither my parents nor FIL acted like guests who had priority time with the baby over us, nor did they go overboard with advice in that newborn period. (My mom did have plenty of "advice" later on, which was troublesome - I finally had to set a boundary regarding our somewhat attachment parenting/gentle discipline style and homeschooling choice.) Thank you @Familia for posting this topic. Answering this has reminded me of the good times I had with my parents and FIL. I have been struggling emotionally lately and have been remembering lots of unpleasant stuff about my childhood and how my parents parented. But this reminded me what fantastic grandparents they were to my kids and provided a more balanced look at who they were and how they mellowed in the older years. With the other kids, they came by to help with the older children, but their visits were a normal thing. I do hope that I can be that kind of mom/MIL to my dd/DILs if they will let me. My mom showed by example that the price of admission/seeing the baby is just being helpful to the parents.

Is this a new thing? Because I have never experienced this in all the medical stuff I've dealt with. If a doc orders a test, the order is sent but it isn't scheduled. Either they call me to schedule it or they notify me that I need to set it up. I've never had something scheduled without consulting me to see if that day/time works for me.

I am so sorry this happened. That is completely insensitive and unprofessional. A callback from a mammogram is not a "just schedule an appointment" kind of thing ... its a conversation. Whenever I've had a callback for a mammo, the doctor would call me directly and explain why they want to see me, and be as reassuring as is reasonable. I hate when rescheduling happens to me, but fortunately, my doctor either sends me an email message to call them about needing to reschedule plenty of time in advance (not just making a new appointment without consulting me), or a personal phone call if there was an emergency. Unfortunately, the practice where I work is a total $#!t show when it comes to scheduling. They overbook me regularly (like give me the same schedule as the tech with 10 years experience on me and who is faster than any experienced tech I've ever met). If they do try to fix the schedule, they wait until the day before to rearrange things - after they've had the reminder call for the original appointment. Sometimes the patient doesn't get the message and shows up at the original time. Or they have to cancel because it doesn't work for their transportation or other plans. If they don't rearrange the schedule, I fall behind (because I'm given 1/2 the time that is industry standard). But no matter what happens, they are angry and take it out on me. Heck, they don't even block the schedule when a tech is going to be out and they've known about it for weeks. So those patients get a phone call only a couple days before.

I am so sorry, Jann. Praying for her family tonight!

Not all D1 schools are going to be that intense. Smaller to medium sized universities that have ABET certified engineering schools may have less intense athletic experiences. Dd went to Saint Louis University. Although she didn't participate in school athletics, she knew several engineers who played D1 sports and they didn't have big issues with academics. Her bf was on the swim team and they both knew several soccer players. Also, not all LACs are 3+2 programs. Some do have 4 year ABET programs.

Oh, I definitely will. I think those colors are super popular this year. I've needed to replace some clothes and had trouble finding a palette that worked.

I wrapped up a gorgeous eggplant colored sweater from Quince for her for Christmas. I'm impressed with the quality and wish I had purchased a couple for myself. I had trouble finding a color I wanted. (other than the eggplant color) because they all seem to be in the warm/neutral palette, which looks terrible on me. Thanks again for the suggestions!

I just mentioned this to ds, a huge discworld fan. It made our list to try to get to in the 6 days we have left with him here.

I was so sad to read that. Only a year older than me!! He was one of my favorite actors. I loved him in Homicide and in a corny film "Duets". I didn't watch Brooklyn Nine Nine, but the clips I saw of him were so funny.

Congratulations! Persevering through Covid and al the challenges it brought makes this ever more sweet.

We were in Goodlettsville during the tornado for my BIL's Celebration of Life. It was in a golf clubhouse which was mostly windows. We were without power for a couple hours. There were many families there who came for the piano recital of his students and they had planned to leave thought better of being on the road at that time. Since we were in from out of town and not familiar with the larger Nashville area, had no idea were the path was in relation to where we were. I spent much of the time in a hallway by the bathrooms while most of the attendees hung out in that death trap of a room. My super sweet daughter was entertaining her 4 year old cousin by making shadow puppets with the phone flashlight. I am so sad to hear about the death and destruction. Glad to hear that the boardies here are safe.

I feel best with 8 hours sleep, which rarely happens. If I didn't have to get up to pee (maybe 2 am, maybe 5 am), I would naturally do better getting up around 7 am going to be around 10:30 pm. I developed sleep anxiety when K got sick about 10 years ago. Months of suicide watch where I was afraid to sleep seemed to change something in my brain. In the subsequent years before I went back to school when it didn't matter as much what time I got up, I would read in bed to distract myself from all the terrifying thoughts that would only surface once I got in bed Once I had to be up early for school/work, the anxiety changed to worry about not being able to fall asleep and be rested enough for the next day, which ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. Reading at night didn't work anymore. If the book was interesting enough to distract me from my thoughts, it was too stimulating. Now I wear sleep headphones (a headband with little speakers) and listen to meditation or sleep hypnosis podcasts. I need something to crowd out those thoughts. Now my alarm goes off at 5:45 am, which I snooze at least once as an act of rebellion. I need to be out the door before 6:30 am to be on time for work. So I typically get between 5 and 7 hours.

I think many of us who have dared to express our concerns about the Israeli government have been accused of anti-Semitism. I know that I had to stop reacting to anything on social media because I have been called out by my Jewish friends and acquaintances and accused of being a hateful human being ... that anything less than 100% support of the Jewish state no matter who is governing or how is antisemitism. So that is what I am reacting to. I don't think this rise in antisemitism is unique to young people. Maybe I'm out of touch with what is happening on college campuses, but I have seen plenty from adults - older adults, who think they have been given carte blanche to express racist and xenophobic views towards anyone not white.

Here is a roasted vegetable soup that I make that my family loves (adapted from an Ina May Garten recipe and something I saw on TikTok.) The prep can be done a day ahead but assembling takes no time at all. INGREDIENTS 1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into 1-2 inch cubes) 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks Celery - several stalks cut into large chunks 1 large onion - peeled and quartered 1 head garlic - separate cloves but leave in the paper skin. (can add sweet potatoes and parsnips, but will need more broth if adding more veggies.) Salt and pepper 2-3 tablespoons olive oil 32 oz broth (vegetable or chicken) 1 15.5 oz can cannelloni beans Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and cut up vegetables, toss in olive oil and spread out on parchment covered baking sheets in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes or so, turning over halfway through with a spatula - until veggies are soft and have some caramelization. Heat up broth. Drain and rinse beans. Squeeze garlic from the skins into a blender or food processor (or use an immersion blender). Add roasted vegetables, beans, and about half the broth. Process or blend until smooth. Add all ingredients (including rest of broth) back into the pot, stir, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Can serve with roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), crispy bacon, crusty bread.

Congratulations!!

Mine is the BBB as in Bear Bunny Buster ... a combination of our dog Bear, his fur making "Bear Bunnies" instead of dust bunnies, and a dust buster. And she has googly eyes thanks to my daughter. Bear is afraid of him, so he always leaves the room when we turn it on.

She asked for a good quality sweater that isn't too boring and not in gray, black, beige, or navy. Something with color. I struck out at my old standby, Land's End. Tons of cashmere, but she wants something not quite so high maintenance. I think I found one, but it is in a light blue. I saw some at L L Bean that were surprisingly less stodgy than Land's End, but no Cyber Monday deals. Pretty expensive. I hope they are worth it. Eddie Bauer used to have nice sweaters but now they are all recycled plastic.

I don't remember if I've done this in the past. I'm not very good at keeping resolutions or anything like that. But I like the idea of having a focus. WOTY for 2024: Connect. I feel very disconnected and alone and realize that nothing is going to change unless I make some changes. I need to break out of this cocoon I built around myself to nurse old wounds of mass scale rejection. I need to work on my connections with dh, my children, and family members, and what few friends I have left. And I need to work at making new connections, even if they start out as superficial. POTY for 2024: It's not about me. I think the only to get out of ruminating and being sad is to get out of my own head and to look for ways to make things about other people. Thinking about how others are feeling and doing and asking them. Whether it is family, acquaintances, or my patients (I'm actually pretty good at this last one since I only have them for about an hour or so.)

Thank you all for the kind words and suggestions. The pain is more manageable. I'm down to taking the tramadol at night and ibuprofen during the day. I find that work is less painful than life at home, but I don't have deep couches as work and don't have to get things out of low cabinets. I scanned 9 patients yesterday without much pain. I will look into DDPY again. I had tried it a while ago, but couldn't figure out where to start. I think I am much more able than chair yoga. I had worked on my fitness levels before we went to New Zealand in September because we planned lots of outdoor things. I was working on stairs and limited hills (limited by the fact that we live in one of the flattest parts of the country) and step ups on and off the BOSU ball in all directions. But what I did was not enough. We did some difficult hikes (listed as moderate, but nearly killed me). And even just walking around Wellington and Queenstown was challenging since it is very hilly. Despite all my preparation, we did bite off more than I could chew. But I haven't done much since coming back from New Zealand. I'm gone 12 hours a day, 4 days a week for work. K is going through a really rough patch. Our dog is sundowning. Walking the dog for 45 minutes a day 3- 4 days a week is all I am managing.

@Ausmumof3 I’m so sorry about your dishwasher issue. That sounds like a major annoyance to me. Mine is this corner kitchen cabinet that is mostly inaccessible unless you practically crawl into it. If we weren’t planning to redo our kitchen, I’d be getting this contraption. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rev-A-Shelf-15-in-Blind-Corner-Cabinet-Pull-Out-Chrome-2-Tier-Wire-Basket-Organizer-with-Soft-Close-Slides-5PSP-15SC-CR/312843725 Finding pie plates and cake takers and other infrequently used items were impossible with my broken rib

My issue isn’t hyper mobility but my arm falls asleep when on my side (and that’s the only way I can sleep. I’m looking into getting this pillow system https://medcline.com/products/shoulder-relief-pillow it’s pretty pricey but it looks like it would take pressure off the nerves that are impinged. If it saves my shoulder and I get more rest, it will be worth every penny.

I'll have to look for a place to join. Since the pandemic, 2 facilities nearme with heated pools closed. I don't have a ton of time to exercise due to commute and long days. But I'm trying to get some stuff in. If I could find a good gentle yoga class that works for people with broken bodies ... most yoga studios around here focus on what I call "athletic competitive yoga." I need an in person class. Since I had covid, I just cannot make myself exercise other than going for a walk and a few things to prevent shoulder injuries at work.