Exactly like this. Central Texas.

In Texas Crazy Weather News, we have a high of 52 today and 70 tomorrow. Cold snap over, I suppose! My poor Baby Doggy is so happy. He refuses to walk on cold grass. I’m tired of holding him up to pee.

I drove my first Elantra for around 12 years. It was fantastic. I can’t temembwr how many miles it had on it, but plenty. We bought my son a 2013 new and I am now driving a 2017 myself. I consider them to be fantastic commuter vehicles. Reliable, great on gas, with HUGE trunk space. The only criticism I have is there is a weird blind spot in all of them that is not there when I drive other make/models. I am used to it because I have driven them for so long, but it did take getting used to.

I’m in Austin too. My grandkids’ school is on a 2 hour delay, but spouse went to work at regular time. I think staggering the traffic helped a lot. They are settled in and working before others are getting onto the roads. It’s terribly cold though. I have to get out later today and I’m already depressed at the thought. I wear my jeans “Texas Tight,†so there is no way to get any extra layers under them. I do have a pair of fleece lined leggings. Maybe I’ll wear those instead.

My Baby Boy, who is 24 BTW, works graveyard shift in a hospital. I was a panicky mess all morning until he called and said he was home safe. Everything is closed. Even city and state government offices. Everything. Except hospitals, of course. I’m not laughing with you.

I would skimp somewhere else and keep getting my nails done, but if you are looking for an alternative, try Incoco nail strips. I buy them online. They often have sales. I keep my nails shortish/professional length and am not delicate with them in any way. They last a good 2 weeks and are protective/strengthening as well. When I used to polish my nails, they chipped immediately, often the same day. Once a week or so, I apply a shiny top coat, which can stretch it 3 weeks.

Today we had record heat in Central Texas. 89 degrees. Hottest November 3rd in at least 120 years, which is how far back the records go.

Diagnosis is not an exact science. Also, there are many reasons a therapist may not be a good fit. There is absolutely no harm in seeking other options if you aren’t happy with this one.

I live in the path of totality for the one!!!! YAH!!!!

OMG, getting my black liquid eyeliner wings perfect feels AMAZING! I know it's going to be an awesome day. It's like stepping on the scale and being DOWN 3 pounds when you had too many slices of pizza the night before - the universe is just on your side.

I've actually experienced *discrimintion* (I'm not sure if that's the right word) for wearing makeup. I have presented research and given presentations where I feel I was more aggressively challenged because I am careful in my appearance. There is a mentality where I live that intelligent, thoughtful, critically thinking women don't color their hair, or wear cute dresses, high heels, and makeup. I would never step to a podium unprepared, so they usually just end up looking silly. I wish everyone could just be themselves. I certainly don't concern myself with how other women present themselves. I just hate being prejudged for being myself.

I enjoy wearing makeup. I am one of those people who likes to put a lot of energy into how I look. I enjoy accessorizing my clothing and I think of makeup as accessorizing my face. Unless running terribly late, I almost always do "full face." I wear complimentary eye makeup and lip stick/gloss depending on my outfit of the day. I try to not repeat outfits too much by photographing and cataloging my clothing. It is time consuming, but I enjoy it, so it doesn't feel cumbersome. Even though I don't have small children at home anymore, I was always this way. It's just who I am. Everyone in my family is much more plain, so I don't know how I came to be this way. It is undeniably innate.

I'm also not much of a rule follower these days. So take everything I say with that in mind. I'm very much a special snowflake.

I don't guess you are horrid, if it really bothered you. I just wouldn't have given it the time and energy required to actually call the front desk and report another adult for not following hotel rules. It seems petty to me, but I am sure there are things important to me that others find petty. It takes all kinds.

Well, I lost a bunch of weight (over 100 pounds) and I don't really have excess skin. Maybe some things could look a bit better, but they look a heck of a lot better than they did stretched to the gills with fat. I am in the later half of my 40s, so although I'm not willing to cop to being "old," I'm definitely "not young," LOL. I know I have mentioned this before, and people don't really like it, but I think of my weight loss/maintenance as a job. I work it with as much determination as I do my paid work. It's that important to me. The same way a contractor can come into a room and know how many gallons of paint it will take, I can look at most food and know how many calories, carbs, etc. . . it has. I have put that much time and effort into tracking and exploring food options. I know exactly how MY BODY responds to just about every food I am interested in eating. I know which restaurant's food will make me hold water weight for the next three days. I work my food and health knowledge like it's my job, because if I want to stay healthy, it is. I started by logging every thing I ate and walking about 10 mins a day. I was very overweight and that was about all I could do. I refused to compare myself to anyone else and just stayed in my own lane and handled my own stuff. I didn't even tell anyone I was dieting. Eventually people began to notice and it was kind of nice. Honestly, I was only losing 1/2 to 1 pound a week, so I didn't even really notice it. It was SO VERY SLOW and gradual. It took the better part of 2 years to get it all off. Anyway, I just want to encourage you a bit. You are worth the effort. I finally had to refuse to feel guilty for taking substantial time for my food logging, exercise, and anything else that made life a little easier and/or more pleasant for me. Once I gave myself permission to put myself first, everything else fell into place. Sometimes that mentality is really hard to get into for us wifely/motherly types, LOL.

Being fat has zero impact on attractiveness in my world. I've lost about 120 pounds, but even before that I never had any problems attracting suitors, both male and female.

Well, I don't have asthma, but I was over 100 pounds over my ideal weight and had a family history of mental illness when I got married. I was also the single parent of a special needs child. The people who say such nasty things are obviously the wrong people. The right person will come along. I'm sorry she is hearing such negativity. That is unnecessarily cruel.

My 24 year old is on our plan and he does live at home. There are some rumblings about moving out, so I'm not sure how that will all play out. It's an extra $20 a month or so, so it's no biggie either way to me. The 27 year old is not on our plan and never was. She is married with kids of her own, so she probably would have her own plan by now regardless, but who knows. If she had ever been in our plan, I can't see myself kicking her off. I pay the bill.

104 here today and a distant tropical storm has it so humid. We do have pretty great A/C, but I'm already starting to swear at the electric bill, and it's not even here yet.

Yes. This is exactly what I mean. Losing, or even just maintaining, weight is a job for me. If I quit this job, I gain. Full stop.

I think I finally had to accept that managing my weight is a job. It's not fun. It's not easy. I haven't gotten used to it. I have been working at it, like a separate job, in addition to everything else I have to do, every day for about 3 years now. It's the only way I can maintain the focus I need to keep it going. Fortunately, I am highly motivated by results, and I have gotten them. But it certainly is not easy. I don't know anyone who has had to fight their body and cravings tooth and nail AND having any fun. Not me.

Can these caretakers afford (timewise and financially) salon care? Black girls' hair is intense in many ways. It is literally traumatizing when I see little black girls with unkept hair. It is also part of our cultural experience to get our "hair done," boys and girls alike spend time at the beauty salon or barber shop. Even if it's just a 'round the way neighbor who does hair out of their kitchen or garage. They could probably benefit from some hands on tutorials, which a beautician would gladly provide.

Oh, I wasn't implying there isn't food. There is generally some sort of food. Just not a sit down meal.

Me neither. And I come from a solidly middle class (possibly upper middle class) southern family. Maybe Texans have different expectations. I don't know. I've been to plenty of nice weddings too. Oh, well.

Do you like to hike? My favorite thing to do is hike the Seven Bridges Trail. It's a little less than 4 miles and a beautiful view.