I second (third?) the advice to get some new, waterproof hiking boots. The gore-tex ones lose their waterproof-ness over time, and it can't be reapplied to shoes in the same way it can to clothing. Because of this, I recommend getting leather ones. Rain pants are a must. I wear mine on top of regular hiking pants in mild (60s) weather, or I'll add a base layer if it's cooler. I have these rain pants. I linked to the kids' version, which is what I have because I'm not that tall. These were the cheapest ones ($25) I found by far, and they're also a lot quieter than most of the ones I tried (less swish-swish, rustle-rustle as you walk). I've been really happy with them. If you have a gore-tex jacket already, I'd consider treating it again to increase its waterproof-ness before going. For socks, I personally really like wool. For longer hikes, I wear wool liner socks and then thicker wool outer socks. In wet conditions, I'd take an extra set for the day in a ziploc bag.

That bottom rack is one of the reasons I went with a Miele. I can fold half of the bottom rack totally flat if I want, and the other half has sensible straight tines. I find it much easier to load than a friend's Bosch.

I have a Miele. I love that thing with a completely unholy love. It cleans EVERYTHING. I scrape off chunks of food, but don't rinse at all, even casserole dishes with crusty, baked-on crud. It all comes out clean. Like the other European dishwashers, it does not have a heated dry, but I find that the convenience of being able to put plastic anywhere in the dishwasher makes up for it. Its method of drying supposedly involves condensation on the walls of the dishwasher, and it seems to work pretty well. I have to wipe off the bottoms of a few of the glasses or any bowl with a large lip at the bottom, but I always had to do that anyway with a US dishwasher with a heated dry--and I've never had a US dishwasher wash anywhere near as well as my Miele. It was expensive, but even my penny-pinching husband thinks it was well worth the money. The "express" cycle on mine is 40 minutes, and it works well on normal dishes and glassware. I would not use it for cooking pots or casserole dishes, but I'll sometimes run the breakfast and lunch dishes after lunch to have an empty dishwasher ready for dinner prep.

Be sure you're using a good sunscreen religiously. I finally found some that I like that don't leave me with that unpleasant greasy feel, which meant that I'd skip it as often as not. Now that I have some I like, it's much easier to wear it daily. I look for ones that keep me from turning red (I have a reaction to the sun, so I turn red pretty much immediately, even on cloudy days, but it's not a burn), and that have a nice feel when I rub them in. I love the sun protection of Anthelios, but I've given it up for most uses because I can't stand that greasy feel for daily use, and it always seems to have a bit of a white cast, even on my deathly pale skin. I've ended up with Asian sunscreens because they work well for me and have a nice feel on application with no greasiness at all. Ones I like a lot for nice skin feel and no white cast: Biore Watery Essence (I use this during the winter or when I'm not going to be outside much.) Another Biore sunscreen that's water resistant (I use this when I'm going to be in the sun more or sweating) Missha sunscreen that's water resistant (I use this interchangeably with the Biore water resistant one)

I'd definitely try a foot peel like some others recommended above. I've used this foot peel and had really good results, but I think they're all pretty much the same. Definitely soak your feet for 30+ minutes first, and don't plan to need to be bare foot for a week and a half. The reviews have some pictures of what to expect. Basically, you will lose sheets and sheets of skin off your feet for about a week. I currently have this Diamancel foot buffer sitting in my Amazon cart. My mother swears it's far better than all the other ones she's tried. The difference is that you use it dry, and it's supposed to get more off.

If it's a chronic, recurring problem, I'd wonder about joint instability, either due to previous injury or to genetic hypermobility. The way it comes and goes makes me think of this. I get something similar where a joint will hurt for a while and then it seems to settle back into position. For me it's hypermobility. I would not go to urgent care for the kind of pain you describe.

You say your tummy has always been your problem. Did that predate having children? Also, is it a fat issue or a muscular issue? If the problem is due to the way your body deposits fat, then exercise will only help to a point (you can strengthen the underlying muscles, but that will not change where your body wants to deposit fat, which is unfortunate for my upper thighs). Assuming it's a muscular issue (but please check for diastasis recti before starting exercise for your abs), planks and pilates are amazing. Be prepared to barely be able to move for a few days after your first pilates session. Seriously.

I feel the need to put in a plug for Reddit's A Bra That Fits. A few years ago I happened across that community and discovered that my bra size was totally different than what I'd been wearing (34B before to 28E/30DD now!). Not surprisingly to the women there, my new bras in my correct bra size are way more comfortable and much, much more flattering with clothes on top. My bra straps rarely slide off now, and I'm no longer plagued by underwires that dig in to my skin.

I've just recently started trying to match. It's more of a "kind of" match, since I did not buy most of my bras with matching undies. I've found a few of the actual matching undies on Amazon, but I'm mostly a black bra/black undies/don't-look-too-closely-at-the-non-matching-lace person. I was surprised to find that DH really likes the semi-matched sets. I've also found that I feel sexier and more pulled together with matching bra and undies, and I did not expect that to happen!

If you did not change your name when you got married, what kinds of issues did you run into? I'm curious because I did not change my name, and the only "issue" I've ever encountered is people occasionally sending holiday cards to me with my husband's last name.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I though it was time for a lingerie poll. Do you wear matching sets? Why or why not? And, if you do, does your DH/SO appreciate them?

I have a silgranite sink, and we absolutely love it. It's a dark gray, and it doesn't show water spots or look dirty (unlike the stainless one it replaced). If it's scratched, I can't tell, and we don't baby that thing at all. I will absolutely put another one in our next house if we move.

I have a bunch of Uniqlo's heattech undershirts, and they may work for what you're looking for. They're very thin layerable shirts and are designed to be worn snug. Be warned that the crewnecks are actually quite wide and low, more of a high scoop neck than a true crew. The necks on the scoopnecks are slightly more refined.

Yes, it's like this in the PNW too. It's easy to spot the tourists in the summer, especially in May or June. They're the goose-bumpy ones dressed as if there will actually be summer weather.

In Italy lately I've actually seen a lot of black and white running shoes--adidas, nike, new balance, etc., but in plain black and white. I have seen some of the brightly colored ones too, but those are more unusual and the wearers tend to be a little younger.

$1-2 per drink is pretty typical. In your situation where the drinks were $9, it would absolutely be typical to leave $1 each. In low COL areas, this might be lower, but you're not in one of those, so it's irrelevant.

12" difference here, and I like Express jeans and Loft/Ann Taylor's curvy fits. Loft and Ann Taylor have both curvy and straighter fits, so you have to be sure you're trying a curvy fit version. I also recently got some high-rise (to the natural waist) jeans from Grana and they fit my 12" difference waist/hips perfectly with no gap at all. All of these options are $50 or under (Express is more, but they go on sale regularly. I just wait for the sales.) because I am apparently cheap when it comes to jeans.

I didn't even have to open the post to know exactly which apartments you were posting about. I'd still take it over some of the college roommates I had, though!

Yes! My first thought was why would anyone want to put the word "hay" in a child's name?

Well, salaries tend to be higher here as well. But it does take some adjustment to get used to the smaller house sizes. It is a truly beautiful area, and I really love it here, but it is expensive. Where are you now?

Apparently there's been a fair amount of talk of calling it Washington. That gets a lot of eye rolls in the actual state of Washington.

Your previous post mentioned Redmond and Seattle. Perhaps the employer just wants to be clear that the position that they are flying him out to interview for is in Seattle itself, not in Redmond. Be aware that any cost of living calculator will likely underestimate the actual cost here. Real estate is appreciating at a fast clip, and most houses that are livable will sell for multiple offers above asking price. In other words, if you see a house listed for $700,000, it's likely to go for $750,000 or more, sometimes a lot more. Most houses have an accepted offer within a few days. A lot of us love living here, but unless you're coming from California or New York, the prices may be a shock. There is a very large homeschooling community here, and homeschooling in Washington is quite easy.

It's not nearly as pricey as finding out that your identity has been stolen and fraudulent accounts opened in your name. Having actual fraudulent accounts opened in your name is not nearly so simple to resolve as a fraudulent credit card charge. The peace of mind of knowing that it's very difficult to open fraudulent accounts far outweighs any minor inconvenience we might face on the very rare occasions when we need to lift the freeze temporarily. We've had a security freeze on our accounts for close to a decade and have lifted it twice--once for a mortgage and once when we changed credit cards. Paying $15 or so to do that is well worth the peace of mind it provides.

I'm assuming your new cell phone service has data and messaging included? If so, then she'll be able to text you after she's seated on each plane and until they announce that they're closing the cabin doors for departure. At that point, she's supposed to put her electronic devices in airplane mode. I usually end up having 10-20 minutes of time on the plane where I can still text before they close the doors. That would typically be plenty of time to take photos and share them.

(Plus, I have read that swiffers are bad for animals.) Why would a swiffer be bad for animals? I don't understand unless it's the fluid for the wet ones. If it's that, then you can buy other brands where you can change the fluid out for one of your one (dump the regular bottle and fill with your own solution). I highly recommend a dustbuster for cleaning up small dry spills on hard flooring. To actually keep wood floors looking clean with multiple animals and kids, you really will have to at least vacuum/sweep them daily in areas that get lots of use. Otherwise you will have hair and dust floating around. You can probably just use the dry swiffer on less-used areas.