Some of you guys must have a different definition of falling off the bone than I do. To me, that means that when I grab the bone, it pulls out of the meat (bone in pork shoulder does this when properly cooked). Or when I grab the meat, it pulls right off the bone. How do you eat a rib where either of those things happens? 😂 To me, a rib is properly cooked just before it literally falls off the bone, so I chose pulling away cleanly, but toothsome (should have texture, not mushy but more tender than tough, and some char is good). I’m partial to dry rub, but we do love some Stubb’s sometimes, after the ribs are served, for dipping.

I love these Victorinox knives.

It took a while, but I got all 5 of our kitties to switch over to Breeze pellet system. I'm in heaven now. It is so easy to care for and no more litter everywhere. Sorry. Not an answer to your question, but a thought...

That was about the age my DD fell in love with the Warriors series. Here is the original in a single volume.

((((((Soror)))))) ((((((Sorror's DD)))))) ((((((Soror's whole family having to deal with this)))))) No words are sufficient, so just hugs.

((((((Dmmetler))))))

((((((((MercyA)))))))) I have been following along and am so very sorry. I would also take her home. She has had such a wonderful life with you and your family. You clearly love her so much.

Yep. Definitely the cherry on top to not feel your best. I get what you mean by aggression. No patience whatsoever. And I'm glad you brought up social niceties because whenever I go out I come home convinced I am the only one left on the planet with manners AND it exhausted me to the bone to use them on the outing while everyone else did not. Working feeling like that scares me. I am VERY lucky that DH loves his job, which is an extension of what he did in the Army. He was sick of the politics in the Army, but loved the actual job. I wish you the very best in your new job!

Several of DH's coworkers have retired recently, though their wives still work. It didn't raise any eyebrows. They were active men who felt they had worked and saved enough and wanted to move on to time intensive hobbies. Sadly, one who had been a model of health and fitness died of COVID less than a year after retirement. I mean I guess it would raise eyebrows if the men retired without being financially prepared and forced their wives to start or continue working? That would raise eyebrows at any life stage though, with one partner in a marriage not doing their fair share in keeping a family afloat.

And holy crow, this is a real thing. Our tax rate is out the wazoo, which will shrink my paycheck even more.

I love how you phrased the bolded. Mom is at a crossroad, yes. This is so perfectly stated. And mom is at a crossroad for the second or third time, the first being deciding whether or not to stay home after having children and the second being deciding whether or not to homeschool. Those first two crossroads were easy, almost non-decisions for me. This third crossroad is fraught. And my DH says he will support whatever I do, so any anxiety is all mine, all internal! I'm going to be honest about what is a huge part of it for me. I kind of resent that this decision comes at a time when I'm (euphemism alert) not at my best. I am, frankly, a peri-menopausal mess. I am tired. I am angsty. I need to be left alone. I have no patience for nonsense. And, frankly, the idea of having a boss after all these years rankles me so much I'm almost ashamed of it. I've made myself sound awful to be around, LOL, but in reality I'm relatively pleasant ONLY because I'm at home and the boss of my own day and schedule. When DH and I met, I was in college getting a BSW. While we were dating, I got an MSW. The plan was always to follow that with a JD and pursue social justice law. I was happy enough to postpone the JD because I wanted to pay down my student loans, and I was so happy in my first job after grad school. Then DH found his passion, which involved the Army and moving around for the next 20 years. Military wifing is no joke. I worked. I always felt like I never did enough, yet I did everything...but earn income. DH retired from the Army in 2016. Throughout his military years and since, he has become an expert in his field. He is at peak earning potential. Thanks to his military retirement and health insurance for life, we will never be impoverished. We bought a house well under our means and financially all expenses will be covered by that retirement check. He could technically retire from his current job whenever he likes, but he's only 52 and would be too bored at home. Plus, the retirement pay isn't enough for expenses AND the types of adventure that would keep him from being bored. LOL So he socks company matched money into his 401K, and sticks around for raises and bonuses and promotions. He likes his job. Any guilt I feel is more about my own dreams postponed—maybe evaporated—and a tiny bit about not contributing financially toward retirement, not about "swapping" with him so he can stay home while I go to work. I mean, that's not a fair trade, as other people have pointed out. I did the hard, dirty, thankless work. I was up at night with babies, sometimes all night, and back to care taking the next day. I was up with sick kids while he slept because he had work the next day. I made/make appointments and ferried kids. I did mountains of laundry. The kids now do their own. I fed little people 3 meals a day, and then cleaned up. They can now feed themselves or drive themselves for food or order from UberEats and (at least theoretically) clean up for themselves. There is no swapping time for what I did vs what the needs are now. Minus the active homeschooling, which isn't his lane, what's left basically amounts to puttering around the house. My oldest is graduated. My middle DD is doing an extra year of high school due to a combination of tough times (that were no fault of her own) and the opportunity to remain a homeschooler but participate in a fantastic two year technical program through the public school. My youngest will be a sophomore next year. I have given myself the three years before he graduates to decide what to do with myself and prepare myself for whatever that will be. This month, I am starting some local classes in a topic of interest to me. I may volunteer to immerse myself in the field and make some friends with others who have the same interest. It may go somewhere. We'll see. I can think of literally a dozen things that would interest me as a career right now, but it's almost like I'd rather just learn the stuff and then not do them. LOL Homeschooling may have ruined me.

Thanks so much! Love them, and how easy you made it for me to listen. 😁

Ah! Yes! I was thinking there was one I had really enjoyed years ago, and it was his Appalachian Spring!

Thank you all so much! Good stuff here. I'll make a playlist out of all of the suggestions and also cue up a baroque playlist.

A while back, my local classical station played The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams performed by Hagai Shaham, and I fell in love. It is so evocative. ❤️ I can picture the lark in every note. Love, love, love. I've listened to the rest of the album as well. Good stuff. So now I'm wondering what else I'm missing. We've listened to lots of classical music, but mostly the older stuff, which I love. I'd like to branch out though. Any time period, any style, but I do prefer happy, relaxing music. Another favorite is Four Seasons, if that helps. The longer the list, the better!

This recipe is amazing. My DD is a refried bean connoisseur, and she won’t let me buy cans or try other recipes anymore. https://www.wellplated.com/instant-pot-refried-beans/

I am not claustrophobic. I've never had a problem with small spaces or any medical procedure. But a few different things about the upside down breast MRI just about sent me over the edge. I almost hit the escape button a half dozen times, and the only reason I didn't was to save myself from having to go in again. I'm not telling you my story to make you nervous, but to help you avoid my biggest stupid mistake. LOL Because I have dense tissue, I'm supposed to have an MRI every year. I'm due again now and I'm not worried because I know what to expect, and I will definitely have DH drive me and ask for a Xanax. I do not sleep on my stomach (that habit was broken in my first pregnancy, lol), so I did find that position uncomfortable and awkward. But two other things made it particularly terrible for me. One is that I run hot all the time, so I should have known better, but because the room was FREEZING, I accepted when they offered me a blanket. Well things warm up quickly, and I ended burning up the whole time I was in the MRI, about half an hour. I ended up sweating so much. The worst thing though—made worse because I was so hot—was that the face donut didn't open up completely to fresh air at the bottom. There was a plastic tray(?) below it, and I was basically rebreathing all my hot air the whole time I was in the machine. Here is a video of what to expect at a breast MRI. Next time I will not use a blanket, and I might even see if they can pipe an oxygen tube into the face opening. Honestly, if they could blow fresh, cool air in there, that would probably be enough. Or who knows, maybe without being on fire, the rebreathing problem isn't so much of a problem. 🤣 Best of luck the day of and best of luck for great results!

Thank you! I'll have my kids take shifts for belly rubs and cuddles. I'm sure DH will take the evening shift. He's already super pre-worried about her spirit. She's such a peppy pup. I think I might have to try a thick, natural peanut butter for the Kong. When we tried it before with a previous dog, it was a huge mess. Love the idea of marrow bones, and the extra nutrition will help her, too. Ooooh, I have not seen most of those. These two got a couple for Christmas, and Santa brought them level 2. They figured them out instantly, so I need some complex stuff. I'll sort through these. Thanks again! I love that! My favorite thing is that it's freezable. She loves ice and cold. Cold air, cold tile, cold food. Thanks!

Does anyone have any post-surgical advice for me? BTDT, what to expect? My shepherd mix has severe luxating patella in both knees, and they're fixing it one leg at a time, 8 weeks apart, so that each time she still has a "good leg" to use to help us get her around during recovery. (That's not up for change, to be clear. It's recommended by the surgeons, and I'm following that recommendation.) She has her first surgery next week. She is supposed to be limited to eating and going potty. Otherwise, bed rest. Weeks and weeks of bed rest...😔 I plan to confine her to my office with me, where I can set up her favorite bed, keep my eye on her, and keep her company (and the kids can take shifts, too). They are giving her trazodone and some other stuff to keep her lethargic, which I'm supposed to pare down over her recovery weeks. I feel like the first few days it will be relatively easy to keep her inactive. But (holy moly!) 8 weeks is forever in puppy days, and it's going to be 16 weeks total when you factor in doing the surgeries back to back. The complicating factor is that I also have a 2 year old labrador who she is used to playing with 100 times a day. They are BFFs and really can't be separated much through this. The lab is pretty chill and can take it or leave it when it comes to active play. So he'll hopefully be a good companion. She does have a kennel, but I'd prefer not to use it most of the time, because we rarely use it outside of bedtime, and though she loves it then, she'd view it is a cruel punishment to spend much time in there. So would I, to be honest. We three essentially travel as a pack. 😛 Any recommendations? Any quiet games for labs to play in bed? 🤣 Any warnings?

I love playing with Bitmoji. I have too much fun changing outfits. LOL oh, let me put my contacts in, LOL

These refried beans are perfect exactly as written, although I do double the recipe.

Found my answer!

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm very eager after stumbling across this TikTok..

One of our cats doesn’t like any lids except beer bottle caps. Start drinking? At least one of you will be in a good mood…

Yes, Yeoww bananas were a big hit here last Christmas!