I've met a few Packers players over the years, but that's fairly common in my area.

Both of my kids are on my account, we all use the same login information, including DH. When one of us is shopping, we make sure to choose our own debit/credit cards for payment unless I have offered to buy them something. Yes, they could see wishlists if they wanted to, but mostly everyone just uses their own to add things to it from time to time. When it's a gift giving time, I will archive the orders immediately after I make the order, and I will also clear the browsing history so the kids don't know what is coming. It's not a perfect system, but it works for us. The only snafu we've run into is with gift cards. DH has $78 worth of Amazon gift cards stored on the account, and none of us can use our gift cards until he uses his that are already on the account. In addition, every time we check out we have to uncheck the box to use the gift card balance first. Don't ask me how a 49 year old man can't find anything he wants on Amazon...

Not related at all, but this thread titled "What to do with snake" came directly after "WTM Cook Along Poll #2" and my brain put the two together. 😳

You realize that now that you've shared here, you are required to report back! Have so much fun and enjoy every moment. I hope William Shatner is as charming as he seems. I can't wait to hear about it.

This. We really enjoyed Sherlock and Elementary filled that hole for a while.

I've been enjoying exploring gin & tonics. I always hated gin, but last fall DH and I toured a distillery and sampled their gins. Where I'd only ever tasted juniper before, I suddenly discovered gins full of herbal and floral notes and I was smitten. I currently am favoring Fever Tree's Yuzu & Lime tonic water with either Bombay Bramble or Tangueray Sevilla Orange. I've also been playing with making herb simple syrups and so far my favorite is sage syrup- add a little drizzle to the orange gin and it's like fireworks on the tongue. Rosemary syrup goes great with the bramble. I have also been known to pour some Kraken over ice. I like to toss in a pair of cherries, just because.

Oh boy, what's sid getting ready to hatch out of those eggs?

I love the cakes in the bakery as well as the Anejo Tequila. Their pre-made Margaritas are also delicious and don't taste fake. The TP is a good compromise when you need a more septic gentle TP but want a little bit of softness to remain. It's not the same as Charmin or Ultra Quilted Northern, but it's better than Angel Soft. The Kirkland brand plain Greek yogurt is great, and when we didn't have chickens I would buy their brown eggs exclusively. Sea salt, black peppercorns, olive oil and ground coffee are regular purchases for me. Their meet is high quality. At Christmas you can buy a whole Iberico Ham. There's a Mandarin Orange chicken in the frozen foods that is highly addictive. I buy my big bag of Jasmine rice there as well. It's hard to beat the prices of the vitamins and painkillers, and I was surprised how much I liked the Kirkland shampoo and conditioner for my hair.

In our state you have to register backyard chickens with the state and they send out alerts when necessary. So far there's been no avian flu in my area, but they still send out alerts via e-mail when there is a concern anywhere in the state. I think last year we only got two alerts over the whole year, maybe three, but no more than that. The concern is real, but I think the benefits outweigh the risk.

I've heard it's delicious if you like deep fried cauliflower. It's such a small test market that has it, it will be interesting to see if it expands at all. Some items seem to take years to go from test to rollout, but I've thought about taking cauliflower to work and trying it out one day just to see. Plant-forward is a little strange, but there's no way to retrofit the kitchens to have a whole area devoted to just cauliflower and keeping it seperate and actually vegetarian. I dunno, I'm super curious about it though.

The monolith may want to be a lighthouse, but it will never actually BE a lighthouse.

When this was my reality, I used a lot of different things that have already been shared. I didn't use a crockpot to cook anything, but I would make a pot of soup, chili, sloppy joe, marinara sauce, or stew and put it in a crockpot on low to be warm when we got home. I would do all my cooking before we left for our activity, and of course there usually was an ample snack before leaving home. Salads for dinner were frequent- all the ingredients could be prepped ahead and put in the fridge, so it just needed to be assembled and eaten. On the rare days when DH was home before us, I would prep most of dinner before leaving and then he would finish it- made for a great opportunity for him to throw something on the grill. Other days we might have leftovers from another night, and each of us would just make a plate and microwave it. The only thing that didn't work for us was moving our main meal to lunchtime. It was too much of an interruption to the day to put together at that time and no one was really hungry enough to eat a substantial meal at that time.

My cleaners are very specific that you are welcome to be gone or welcome to be home. If you're gone, they need instructions on how to get in the home. DH has popped home before they were finished cleaning and it wasn't awkward at all.

I didn't see the original thread you're referring to, but I'm one who has hired a service to clean my house. With a full time job hovering around 50 hours a week plus being a full time student (13 credits) doing any kind of housework was JUST TOO MUCH. So I read through a few threads on nextdoor, and searched on facebook for local cleaning services. I had thought to just look for a person to come every once in a while, but once I saw services advertising that they were fully licensed and insured, I knew what I was after. The company I work with has something for everyone. They have a weekly cleaning, bi-weekly cleaning, one-time deep cleaning, restoration cleaning, and even former hoarder's cleaning. There's also options for decluttering. They also offer little things you can add each time, like cleaning out the inside of the fridge or stove for an extra $40. Once you pick the frequency and level you want, you decide how to do it. I go with a 5 hour bi-weekly clean, which gives me two people who spend 2.5 hours at my home every other week. I gave them a list of the things I want done and put it in order of importance. I have them clean my three bathrooms, kitchen, and all the floors on the main floor. I have them stay away from the bedrooms other than the master bath. They always get everything on my list done and then they find something else to do to to completely fill the time I've paid for. One week they cleaned my little laundry area, one week they washed the fronts of my kitchen cabinets, one week they deep cleaned my brick fireplace, etc. The night before they are to come I receive a text telling me what time they will arrive. I'm always at work when they do it, but there have been a few times I've taken my schoolwork to a coffee shop after work because I find it weird to watch other people clean my house while I'm right there. They have instructions on how to get in When I come home, everything sparkles and is so clean and smells just lovely. It's my favorite day to walk in the door from work. The change this has made on my mental health in this crazy season of life cannot be understated. It is worth every penny.

They are absolutely precious! Thank you so much for sharing them with us- I'm glad I popped in for a moment while the pictures were still up. I have identical twin sisters and everything you hear about them is probably true. The bond they share seems truly magical at times. My mom really worried about getting their identities messed up as babies, so she painted the big toenails on one sister for a long while until she was certain she could always tell them apart.

Butter Chicken with homemade naan. Every once in a while the kids at work will ask when they can come over for curry.

Haha, I loved that movie! Making a space ship out of a Tilt-A-Whirl cart. 😝

I'm currently reading The Power of Regret by Daniel Pink. I haven't finished it yet and wouldn't say it's amazing, but it's been insightful so far and has given me lots to think about.

DH and I watched Buffy when we were dating. 🙂 We just started the series again, so I vote Buffy. There's definitely things already that haven't held up the best, but the dialogue is still some of the best. I can't wait to run into Spike again. I still have a crush on that bad boy. And yes, the musical episode "Once More, With Feeling" is one of the best episodes of a TV show ever.

Since you mentioned the waistband, could it be a reaction to fabric in any way? Like elastic in the waistband or cotton in the pillowcase? Also, maybe an allergic reaction to your laundry detergent, fabric softener or scent additives. The increased pressure of the tight waistband and pillow would provide no relief for your skin. If it was only your arm I would say spider bites.

For Reals. And I remember that spot of sunshine last week! I was working on a sewing project and DH was taking down the outside decor. I thought to myself that once I was done with the costume I was working on I was going for a walk in the backyard to get some sun, and by the time I was finished the sun was gone and we haven't seen it since. I'm used to watching the sunrise from my drive-thru window, and it's just been a gloomy warm up to the sky for weeks.

Imposter Syndrome sucks. And it always becomes more intense when you are struggling. You are not doing a terrible job. You are a gift to your employer and especially to your students.

How long are you talking? Baked potatoes can sit at room temperature for 4 hours after baking. Make sure you get them up to 135 F before eating to ensure they are safe to eat- A microwave would be a fast and easy way to do that.

Congratulations! You've done the hardest part! Going back to school has been the best thing for me. I have loved the deep dive into learning just for me. My classes have been challenging, but great, and I'm so glad I took the plunge.

I made lasagna on Christmas day, but had forgotten to pick up any ricotta/cottage/creamy cheese component. All I had was mozzarella so I just rolled with it. The lasagna was still delicious, and seemed to set up a little more quickly than normal.