Desert Strawberry
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Posts posted by Desert Strawberry
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On 5/15/2021 at 6:54 PM, Desert Strawberry said:
I'm not seeing most of the shortages mentioned here, though I don't go into stores often. I'm not having any trouble having most of my online orders filled.
Ikea hasn't had storage beds in stock for months.
We can't get a plumber for anything. exterminators, too.
The Timothy hay I ordered has quadupled in price in 3 weeks. I hope it comes down before we need more.
We started keeping guinea pigs. It has taken us almost a year to get all 4 guinea pigs. We got the first one in October . Started looking in July. Got the last one for Mother's Day.
Ya'll have me thinking I need to stock up on dog food.
We bought 2 used cars last month with plenty of choices. Gas is about the usual price. I just bought paint without a problem.
It seems like everyone else had the same idea to fix up the backyard this summer. I guess I'll wait until fall, since it'll be too hot to use it anyway.We got our storage bed this weekend, slept on it for the first time last night ( plus two naps). It's not the one we originally chose (still out of stock), but we like it.
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On 5/15/2021 at 11:25 PM, Jean in Newcastle said:
Our Humane Society often has guinea pigs in their small animal section.
Not here. I'm not sure if they take small/ exotics.
I joined a few rehoming sites, but those also went really fast. I'm so far away that they got snapped up before I could even make contact. Especially females, which is what we keep. A friend did get her 2 males from one of the groups though. She lives much closer to the city.
We ended up taking new arrivals and the uglier ones who were left behind. We love them so. We're done now with 4 sweet little fluffs. That's it for us until we get a new setup with more space.
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teachyourmonstertoread.com
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I'm not seeing most of the shortages mentioned here, though I don't go into stores often. I'm not having any trouble having most of my online orders filled.
Ikea hasn't had storage beds in stock for months.
We can't get a plumber for anything. exterminators, too.
The Timothy hay I ordered has quadupled in price in 3 weeks. I hope it comes down before we need more.
We started keeping guinea pigs. It has taken us almost a year to get all 4 guinea pigs. We got the first one in October . Started looking in July. Got the last one for Mother's Day.
Ya'll have me thinking I need to stock up on dog food.
We bought 2 used cars last month with plenty of choices. Gas is about the usual price. I just bought paint without a problem.
It seems like everyone else had the same idea to fix up the backyard this summer. I guess I'll wait until fall, since it'll be too hot to use it anyway. -
16 hours ago, Laura Corin said:
Because their retirement is well funded or for other reasons?
16 hours ago, DawnM said:Because not everyone has that concern.
Because we don't have living parents.
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So much depends on your wishes and your health.
All of my pregnancies were hard. I'm a diabetic. I had Luna at 38, and had wanted at least one more after her, but my body just couldn't. We came close to losing #3 and #5 because I just couldn't support them. Luna has delays. While we think now that she will live a full life, we didn't know for a long time. I definitely would not risk another one. I can only imagine that it would go badly.
Now that I'm 44, my body is starting to shut down and I do have to wonder if I haven't pushed my body too hard. I'm afraid I've shortened my life and will be leaving my children without a mother.
I'm sure your situation isn't quite as dire, but advancing age and inevitable decline is something to factor in.
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7 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:
This is an area where I struggle. We have really cute cases of utensil sets, but my kids are always losing a piece here or there. We’ve had similar issues with water bottles, though it hasn’t been as bad as the utensils in the past year or so.
I also love metal straws, but I’m a bit emotionally scarred. I don’t know if someone tried to use the dishwasher, decided to skip washing, thought it was already clean, or what, but I once sat down to a nice drink only to suck up something old and I may have contemplated throwing myself off my balcony for a second. I now wash/rewash every straw before use.
oh yes, metal straws. We've had reusable straws for years. We have a few plastic, a few silicone, but mostly metal now. Running a bit of water through before using is not a bad idea.
For picnic ware, we just had the plastic toddler ware left over from Luna. I bought a box of heavy duty plastic utensils on our last camping trip. We wash and reuse. Then if they get lost, it's not a big deal.
My kids and I have bento type boxes for packing lunches. Trying to keep it simple and tidy.-
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I'm trying out Sheets and Earth Breeze for laundry. I think I like Sheets better. More sheets, less cost, better scent-though I think I'll switch to unscented, but they come in a box inside a box. Both are recyclable cardboard. Earth Breeze comes in a paper packet inside a manila envelope.
We're using shampoo and conditioner bars and dish soap concentrate from Funky Soap London. I'll order the dog soap when we finish our current bottle. Of course bar hand and body soaps, face soap, lotion bar. Shaving soap bar. Bamboo toothbrushes. Next, we'll try toothpaste tablets, and plant-based floss. When we finish our current cleaners, we'll get earth-friendly all-purpose cleaner concentrate. I bought metal spray bottles today.
Plant-based biodegradable trash bags and reusable zipper bags and plant-based dish sponges. I made cotton/bamboo knit washcloths and makeup remover pads. Next up is a few soap savers.
I'm currently switching to refillable fountain pens, using bottles not cartridges. My pens now are plastic, but my next ones will be metal.
Canning jars instead of plastic food containers.
Glass drinkware instead of plastic. Stainless steel or glass water bottles. Reusable coffee and drink cups. Reusable picnic ware. Cloth napkins, kitchen towels instead of paper towels. Reusable cloth face masks. Handkerchiefs instead of kleenex.Buy used whenever possible. Clothes, kitchenwares, housewares, furniture, dishes.
Replacing all plastic kitchen utensils with wood or metal. Cast iron pots and pans.
edit:Reusable razors . Safety razors if you're brave, but we aren't. We're using Harry's and Dollar Shave Club.
This is all I can think of right now.
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So far i've had two people reach out to me. They both were asking for enrichment activities. I gave them a bunch of age appropriate free resources. I understand that they are not homeschooling. I am not recommending currirculum or teaching methods or even planning resources. This is a temporary set-back, not a life change.
More often, I am offering support and encouragement and reassurance that what they are doing is NOT what we usually do. That this situation is hard. That it is easier for me than it is for them. Most of the complaints I have heard are from people who are now trying to work full time from home without childcare. Or who are out of work, home with thier kids with no resources. One mom said she doesn't even own a computer and now her kid has to do online school. She is not prepared. That's hard. -
This happens to me all the time. My organization covers the entire state of Arizona. People post like it's limited to just their own neighborhood. Arizona is BIG. Narrow it down.
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You can do whatever you want. You get to make your own rules. Follow your interests and your child's interests.
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1 hour ago, mumto2 said:
This company came up last week when I was ordering yarn. I ended up using Knitpicks because I used it years ago but did wonder about going elsewhere. Almost posted a thread!😉. Glad of the reviews......
I like this yarn Much better than knitpicks.
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I think this is too vague to answer. I'm asking for clarification on the whole situation.
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I have the yarn subscription and I've made some craft and yarn purchases. I LOVE this company. Everything I've received has been gorgeous.
I got them somewhere else, years ago, but I had some of these type of Sari skirts. I adored them. Had two and wore them to rags. They can be worn so many different ways. As dresses, skirts, tops, even a romper. I wore them through multiple pregnancies, and nursing. Layered in the winter, and breezy in the hot Louisiana summer.
I only haven't bought skirts from DGY because I find them a bit too pricey. -
14 hours ago, Farrar said:
I couldn't do that... but I have been thinking about trying a monthly rotation, which I know a few people who do. I feel like the biggest issue with cooking for me is the mental load issue of getting, planning, and deciding what to eat. Maybe if I do it just once for the month and we eat the same thing a bunch and then change it the following month then I could handle that. There's no way I could eat the same thing every day... Like, I also know people who always do taco Tuesday, always do spaghetti Friday, etc. That would make me nuts.
I did this a while back. I kept it pretty side open. It ended up being more categories than specific meals, like beans and rice, but could be black beans and mexican rice, rcajun red beans and rice, chinese fried rice, etc. , or pasta, maybe spaghetti, maybe fettucine, but it took a lot of the thinking out of it.
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As a lover of novelty, especially when it comes to food, I rarely cook the same thing twice. I find the idea of eating the same meals everyday or regularly fascinating.
If you eat this way, what foods do you eat? -
On 7/21/2019 at 2:19 PM, mmasc said:
I need a new electric pencil sharpener for this year. I haven’t bought one in like, a hundred years, so I hope we end up with a good one. I’ll probably go with the best amazon rated one. Anyone have one they love?
I think those off-brand binders, and even Avery ones actually, are pretty awful. They’re too plastic-y and tear easily. Nothing beats the Staples Better Binders.
We have a Bostitch. It's held up longer than any of the others we have tried.
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19 minutes ago, SereneHome said:
BTW, all the recipes of bean soups I am finding include some kind of broth - either chicken or vegetable. has anyone tried making it with just water and may be olive or coconut oil?
We are big legume eaters.
I make a wide variety of bean/pea/lentil porridges. If you use a mirepoix, salt and pepper, you don't need broth.
I cook my beans in a crockpot (I have two) and freeze as mentioned above. My current pots are slow, sometimes having to cook for 24 hours. Planning ahead and having a back up dish handy just in case ( somebody unplugged the pot, bumped the knob, forgot to turn it on, put it on the wrong setting).
My family loves cajun red beans and rice (no sausage), Cajun white beans and rice (no sausage), Homemade refried beans ( nothing like the canned) with Mexican rice, bean burritos, and Our tacos usually have well seasoned pintos or black beans. Pureed white beans with a spoonful of mayo makes a good base for creamy dips, healthy cookie dough and brownie dips. Sweet bean concoctions are usually made with chickpeas, but that tastes like hummus with sugar to me. White beans are more neutral.
My best advice is to season like crazy. Bland beans are so boring. Try a variety of Cajun, Mexican, Indian, Greek, Southwestern, etc seasonings and see what your family likes. Adding different flavors help a lot with boredom. I can cook bean every day, and everyone will happy as long as it takes many forms. Tonight we're having a coleslaw pasta salad with white beans and corn. Later this week we'll have burritos.-
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I have found that it was really helpful to my boys to explain that it's not that everyone else is suddenly horribly irritating and trying to annoy them. It's that the hormones that make them grow -and the growing itself- makes them more irritable and sensitive. They were really unaware of that. Knowing it was actually them helped them to take better care of themselves, be kinder and more forgiving to their siblings, and to have a bit more perspective.
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22 hours ago, xahm said:
On Facebook just now, one of my friends from high school was debating whether to make a frivolous 25 dollar purchase. She passed, remarking how grown up life is full of hard choices, but paying bills is important. In so many ways this makes me happy as she has really struggled to grow up and get her life on track. In other ways, I'm swaying between envious and scoffing. I'm expecting my fourth kid, my husband is deploying. Real grown up life is hard. It would be nice to be a single adult trying to decide whether to buy a literal toy. But it's also good being fully a grown up instead of stuck in extended adolescence. Our house is paid off. Our parents respect us. We have stability.
Clearly I'm not going to post any of this on Facebook, so I'm musing here. My life seems inevitable until I am suddenly reminded how small decisions, multiplied many times, mixed with many factors beyond our control, put us where we are. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?
I had this exact experience when I first joined Facebook. I was in my early 30s, married for around a decade, we owned our house, had 3 kids, etc. Everyone I knew from high school was partying, "finding themselves", figuring out what they wanted to do with lives, thinking about maybe settling down someday, or not.
It was weird. I felt like I was in a time warp. I was stressing over paying for medicine for a sick baby, housekeeping, homeschooling, pediatrician visits, grocery prices. Just completely different lives. Different stages of life. I can't say that I was at all envious, just really, really shocked.
Where we were living, I was a bit behind the curve, not having married and had my first child until 25, while most people had started much younger. We were firmly in the home school community, devoting our lives to home and family. The idea of not having that was super disorienting.
In the next few years, everyone found a partner, had a kid or two, settled down, and then we were kind of all in the same place in life. We just arrived at different times.-
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Yes. In general, parents do clean up after their children here.
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Oh yeah. I love them. I like to do each one for 3-6 months, then switch to something else.
We have done:
KidstirIpsy
Dollar Shave Club
Harry's
Graze
Degusta
Lucha Loot
Pin Culture
Field to Cup
Desert Box
Tampon Tribe
Lip Service
FacetoryCurrently waiting for :
Food With Love
Birchbox
If you haven't yet, check out https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/ and https://www.cratejoy.com/
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It's supposed to be fun. A little party.
We haven't done it in a while, but I think we will start up again when the weather cools.
I do most of the reading. They can read if they like. They like to recite, so that is also welcome. We only do it once a month or so, though we have tea nearly every day in the winter.
A little treat-cakes, or chocolates, or finger sandwiches. A fancy tea. A few fun poetry books from the library.
I think it's important to remember that the point is not to MAKE them do anything, but to give them the opportunity to enjoy a fancy little party with fancy little words, and fancy little manners.
We like to finish up with a little painting after we've cleared the dishes. poetry inspires art.-
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I'm only early 40s, but in the past year, I've really managed to perk up my appearance.
I went to Sephora, cried a little, and asked for help. A very young girl was super patient and helpful in choosing a good skin care routine and products that work for me. I had neglected myself for so long, and moved to a different climate, I had no idea where to begin.
I signed up for Ipsy. A monthly box with about 5 new products to try based on my preferences (I make up my eyes and lips, but nothing on my skin). I learned how to use each product. Many were things I didn't even know about. I love highlighter. I never would have tried it if it hadn't come in the mail. I only did it for 3 months, stopped, and used up what I had, learned what I liked and didn't.
I'm thinking about signing up for another subscription ( maybe birchbox this time) because the subscription is so much cheaper than buying the products outright and I really enjoy receiving surprises.
I regret cutting my hair, but I am happy that I found a good stylist and learned how to care for my hair in this climate.
Cleaning up my diet, getting a handle on my emotional over-eating, learning about portion sizes, and actually following them has helped my appearance and my health. I have so much more energy, less swelling, less joint pain, fewer injuries, and better mobility. I can be more active with less pain and fatigue. My clothes fit better and I feel better about myself.
Making sleep a priority might be the biggest thing. I go to bed early. Before my older kids. After having Luna. I lived in constant fatigue and sleep deprivation, first from her needs, and then trying to get some peace and quiet while my kids stayed up later and later. Now we all go to bed earlier, get up at a decent hour, and everyone feels better.
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What is inflated or hard to find in your area?
in The Chat Board
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It's ok. they don't know they're ugly.