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LucyStoner

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Everything posted by LucyStoner

  1. Netflix is included with our cell phone plan. Amazon Prime with the Prime subscription we share with my dad and brother. Then we pay for the Hulu/Disney/Espn combo. Sometimes I add something for a short time and then cancel it- for instance HBO to watch the new season of Hacks. I got YouTube TV for 1 month so I could watch the post season baseball games this year but then I cancelled it because I’m not paying $60/month for TV.
  2. My husband was my high school sweetheart’s randomly assigned college dorm mate. My relationship with my high school sweetheart was more of a good friendship than anything else. We had very little in common but it was a comfortable and generally easy friendship. My husband and I met when I tagged along on a dorm outing to an ice skating rink. I was attracted immediately in a way that I’d never really felt before and that was mutual but we both ignored it. We were all friends for 2 years. Then he came to visit me and some mutual friends for NYE 1999 (including the high school sweetheart who I was technically still dating) and we fell hard and fast for each other. We just clicked together. I broke it off with the hs sweetheart right after that visit. The wild thing is that he’d transferred colleges and we hadn’t been in touch for a little while. This was pre-cell phones for us (I got my first cell phone in 2000) and it was before land line telephone numbers could be ported out of the 3 digit exchange. So the three digits after the area code indicated more or less what neighborhood you lived in. I was moving from my first apartment to my second apartment and I was moving *just far enough* that I couldn’t keep my number, I had to get a new number. I was moving like one block into the next exchange and was kinda pissed about it because my first phone number was easy to remember. My number was also totally unlisted because I have batshit criminal relatives. I had packed and moved *almost everything* but not the phone and some pantry and fridge items. I went back with a carton literally just to get my food and unplug my phone. I’d left the phone there because the line wasn’t going to be live in the new apartment for a couple of days. My now husband called *at that moment*. Had he called before I got there with that last carton, I wouldn’t have gotten the call. Had he tried to call like a couple of minutes later? The phone would have been unplugged and the number no longer mine. But he called at just the right moment, we caught up and I invited him to come and visit for that New Years visit. We wrote letters, sent emails and called steadily. We visited each other as many weekends as we could. Then he transferred back to where I lived. By the time he did that, there was an understanding that this relationship was for keeps. We eloped when we’d been dating for 2 years. We were far too young to get married and it should have been an absolute mistake but it hasn’t been. We’ve been married for 21 years this February. High school sweetheart didn’t have any hard feelings. He had a bit of a disastrous first marriage but by all accounts he is very happy with his second wife. His parents were perhaps more bummed than he was. They really liked me, we’d been together for a long time and they assumed we’d get married. When his first marriage was on fire, his mom was a bit sad/wistful when she saw our sons because she didn’t have any grandkids at that point. I was happy when he married a nice person. His first wife was the sort of person who expected him to be peachy keen ok with her having a baby with someone else while they were married. 😳 His wife now seems awesome and sane and she hasn’t had anyone else’s child. They have a ton in common.
  3. We are a one at a time house except stockings can be dumped out and examined whenever. Our thinking is two fold: -I was raised in a free for all and it was always kind of depressing after everyone was done opening up their gifts. -Sensory wise a free for all would be a nightmare for my sons- too much noise, not enough time to process. The boys take turns playing Santa and handing people gifts to unwrap.
  4. This was me. I’ve had a tummy when I was actually underweight. I had a tummy when I was an athlete. I had a tummy when I spent the entire summer in the wilderness doing trail restoration and backpacking 15-20 miles a day. Didn’t matter how much core work I did or how healthy I was. My body is just built that way. Some girls are just shaped that way.
  5. There was a time in my life where I definitely felt more like a Stay in Car Mom than a SAHM. I went slightly crazy and I gained a lot of weight that year. Will the district provide door to door transportation for your special needs kids? SpEd accommodations have to extend to appropriate transportation.
  6. 13 yo son: The Spirituality of the Hobbit plus still shopping for a second book. 13 yo niece: One of Us is Lying By Karen McManus; Macaron School (a cookbook for macarons) 15 yo niece: NW Know How: Northwest Haunts by Bess Lovejoy (a book about “haunted” spots in the PNW); Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 17 yo nephew: That Was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton; Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi 19 yo son- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis; A Most Beautiful Thing by Arshay Cooper 20 yo niece- We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby + still shopping for a second one
  7. My 4 nieces and nephews are all in the same age range as my sons (the cousin group is now ages 13-20) who have been in my care a lot. I think a lot of people who saw me hauling this crew of 6 around when they were younger thought they were all my kids. The two 13 year olds (my son and youngest niece) have a super strong resemblance and were often mistaken for boy/girl twins. The other kids are now 15, just shy of 17, 19 and 20. The 20 and 17 year olds are mixed and the other 4 kids are white. I have had people ask “how many dads do your kids have?” and also ask where “I got” my black niece and nephew. 🤦‍♀️ I have often been very salty in my responses. “Have you heard of “cousins”? “Oh, I don’t know, maybe 6 dads”
  8. Costco has bottles of gin liquor with edible gold flecks in the shape of a snow globe. It also lights up. This is a lot of weird things to do to a bottle of gin. My coworker gave it to our boss. The second I saw it I knew what we were getting for my husband’s stepdad. I was making the Costco list with my brother and told him “gin in a snow globe that lights up” and he was was like “what now?” Then I said who it was for and he instantly understood. 🙃
  9. My husband is getting (from me, from his mom, from the kids) New sweats New underwear New sneakers that look like dress shoes The book for the Catechism in a Year podcast. A front pocket wallet to replace the one he lost. A high quality stud finder with a case. A picture for the wall A bracelet some sentimental stuff
  10. From a high school classmate of mine who I ran into a few years later when he was working at the local food co-op: ”congratulations on the baby” I was 20, not even a tiny bit overweight and definitely NOT pregnant.
  11. Same. Though if you REALLy don’t like chicken fried steak, cutting it in strips and cooking it with onions and peppers makes a decent sandwich filling.
  12. Just say it’s been helpful but that your situation no longer merits the cost. You can have a last session or not. It’s up to you.
  13. Never really needed to. My kids are both naturally inclined to be private about their bodies. Sometimes overly so TBH. As in, it was hard to convince them to wear shorts in a heat wave or to wear a swim suit without a swim shirt.
  14. Presently hiring. We are paying a solid wage, and I revised it up to factor in inflation and market conditions. The benefits are amazing and we offer significantly more than average in terms of PTO. We had 2 people to interview. One no showed. This “companies that offer living wages” narrative isn’t holding up in all industries or job markets. I am observing the same thing with my clients who are hiring and hearing it from friends and colleagues who are hiring as well. None of these jobs is low paying or so specialized as to have a tiny number of applicants.
  15. I feed 2-6 teenagers on any given day. My elderly dad lives with us and has a bit of a special diet. I also work FT so I much prefer a big shopping trip to going to the store every other day because I don’t have time to go back again and again. All this to say: I rarely have a grocery order that doesn’t take up the entire cart and often then some. Going through self checkout with that many groceries is impractical. I can’t scan and bag my order at the same time and the sensors at our store go ballistic if you take off a bag of groceries before you pay and that space is barely big enough for 2-3 bags. I am usually getting more like 8 bags, sometimes much more. Often a bagger or two comes over to help the checker when I go through the lane. When I go to Winco (self bag) I take a second adult so we can keep up. When the van is unloaded of groceries, there are bags and boxes covering my entire kitchen. Then they eat it all and I go back again the next week. Y’all DO NOT want to see what my grocery bill looks like these days. I tried the scan and go cart at Kroger/QFC and it didn’t work well. Also, those carts are tiny.
  16. Distribute all the whistles and horns to the kids on a morning he would like to sleep in. Right after you deploy the noisemakers, suddenly remember a pressing errand you need to run. Run the errand and on the way back, stop for coffee. Stop to browse a bookstore. Stop to get your nails done or get a massage. Whatever keeps you out of the house longest.
  17. I don’t wear pantyhose or tights often and I don’t wear them with casual or sundresses but for a skirt suit or a fancy dress? I find I feel better if my legs are covered. Also, I get cold and they are a layer of warmth. Part of this for me is that I don’t shave (my admittedly scant and light) leg hair and the tights cover THAT up in formal situations. In the last five-ish years, I’ve worn pantyhose to: 2 confirmation services 2 gala fundraisers 1 performance of the Nutcracker 1 anniversary date 2 funerals 2 weddings If I wore dresses and skirts more often, I would wear them more. But I’m usually wearing pants. As established in the other thread, I’m a tomboy who doesn’t wear makeup.
  18. I would say that people care less here but in some situations here, not wearing makeup has been a strike against me (and I’ve also seen wearing a lot of it be a strike against other women here). I def. agree that dress is very casual here though in most jobs. It’s also probably mattered less here than it does in some other places.
  19. I don't think makeup is weird and I think it can look quite nice. That said, I am a tomboy who never learned the first thing about makeup and I don't wear it. The most makeup I have ever worn to an event or learned to apply is a very subtle lipstick and mascara and that is MAYBE 2X a year. That includes events like my wedding. I have thought about trying and at times made some halfhearted attempts but it's just not my thing. That said, I don't think it's weird that other people wear it or like it. I think it's just a "different people are different" thing. I do wish that we'd stop associating it with value though. Women who don't wear makeup get lower impression scores in a range of settings and also women who wear a lot of makeup also get lower impression scores. As with so many things women are supposed to strike some unspoken and often shifting definition of "right", Not wearing it is sometimes perceived as poor grooming or hygiene or even a red flag for mental health disorders. THAT makeup for women is so important and so judged in our culture is what's weird!
  20. I used to consistently get boneless skinless chicken thighs and breasts for $2/lb on sale. Now it is $3.49 on sale and often as much as $4.49. I have old food receipts, I’ll see if I can dig them up. It does feel like more the the stated inflation rate and that’s knowing how those numbers are determined.
  21. I am not without sympathy for people who get called nicknames they don’t like but but there are so many diminutives of my name and people use them often that it just barely registers with me. And don’t get me started on all the possible spellings. I use Katie at home/work friends, but I get called Kate, Kathy, Kaitlyn, Kat and sometimes Kit or Kay. I only correct them, once, if it matters. A lot of the time it just doesn’t matter. I used to get Kathy A LOT but I don’t get it so much anymore. Truthfully it used to bother me more but now, it really just doesn’t register.
  22. That’s one of my pet peeves, I will admit. I won’t share the actual name since it’s uncommon but I know a kid whose mom named him ValueTitleHistoricalFigure and wanted everyone to say the *entire name* *every time*. Generally, I think it’s good to go with whatever the parent or the child (once they have an opinion) wants ON THE OTHER HAND: it’s just a tall order/big ask to call a toddler Valiant Emperor Charles (actual name changed, but this is an equivalent name.) Last I heard, little Valiant was going by something more like “Kevin” but mom was still correcting people to Valiant Emperor Charles.
  23. Are we talking… A. a nickname in the vein of calling Samantha “Sam” B. or is it more like calling Samantha a pet name like “Princess” C. or TOTALLY substituting a name that is different and totally unrelated to Samantha? Like Joanie because Grandma Joan wishes the child had been named after them? Usually this thing is paired with trying to get others to use Joanie too. I would find a and b way less of an issue than c. As a Kathleen married to a Joshua, I can assure you that bristling at A is a losing battle. B might be more of an affectionate thing. Maybe a little annoying but so long as they aren’t lobbying for that name to replace the actual name/getting everyone to use it, I would say let it go. And such nicknames may just be part of a family’s culture. C however is totally wrong, and I would correct them every.single.time until they stopped.
  24. My copy of this is much battered and well worn: https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Central-Baking-Book-Satisfying/dp/1580089534/ref=asc_df_1580089534/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312069235624&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8454454252049514805&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033271&hvtargid=pla-524531923814&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=58874700621&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312069235624&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8454454252049514805&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033271&hvtargid=pla-524531923814 Also, the pie and pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum: https://www.amazon.com/Pastry-Bible-Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/dp/0684813483/ref=asc_df_0684813483/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312029893875&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6803428654972490149&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033271&hvtargid=pla-466480147858&psc=1
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