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slackermom

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Posts posted by slackermom

  1. I got shot #2 today. I went to the same place, an indoor track, but the line went so fast this time I barely had time to stand on the six foot dots.

    It was less painful going in, but this time the needle was inserted rather than an overhand stab like last time. 

    I got my celebration take out (a lobster roll) on the way home from the shot, since last time I got super nauseated the day after.

    My state opens up to everyone 16+ starting on April 19th.

    • Like 9
  2. Produce from grocery store curbside pickup has been real hit or miss this year, especially with texture. We settled on an almost-everyday salad consisting of bagged butter lettuce, red pepper, cucumber, and corn. The optional add-ins are usually grilled chicken, various cheeses, and croutons or wonton strips, and a homemade dressing of peanut butter/soy sauce/rice vinegar/maple syrup/ginger/garlic. My alternative store bought dressing is a creamy poppy seed.

    I am looking forward to shopping for produce in person starting next month, after I get shot #2 later this week. Or maybe I will go back to doing a CSA this year. This thread is full of great salad ideas!

    • Like 1
  3. 3 hours ago, SKL said:

    Another question:  for those who had a choice in what shot to get, what were your reasons for choosing the one you chose?

    When I got my first shot, the only options were Moderna and Pfizer. Our hope is for my 16 yo to get Pfizer as soon as we move to the next tier, since that is approved for that age group, unlike Moderna which is 18+. So, I actually planned to get Moderna for myself in order to split the risk/benefit. But when I was able to book my appointment, Pfizer was the vaccine at the only site with openings. I had been trying for more than 2 weeks to book a slot at a site with Moderna, chasing phantom appointments that disappeared after I entered all my info, and it could have been another month of trying, given the size of the pool, so: Pfizer was faster. 

    The day I went, almost all of the vaccines were second shots for people who got the first shot 3 weeks earlier. For whatever reason, maybe 10% of the follow-up slots were not used, but the system reserved them for a while, only releasing them to the pool about 48 hours ahead of the appointment. They did say we can book +\- 4 days from the target date of 3 weeks for the repeat. Maybe they opened up because people had to reschedule. 

  4. 3 minutes ago, Acadie said:

    Dd18 had her second Pfizer dose Wed and was in bed most of Thurs with a terrible headache, fatigue and aches. By that evening she was staring to perk up, and feeling almost back to herself today. 

    Dh and I were both able to sign up at a mass vax site in OH on March 21, but my 84 year old mom hasn't had any luck in MA yet. We're checking several times a day for appointments near her. 

    Have you seen the new pre-registration option for the MA mass vax sites? They have apparently just switched over to a system were you enter your info and then wait for an invitation by email. Then when they have available vaccine appointments to offer you, they send a link for the appointment system good for 24 hours.

    The pharmacies, etc. aren't part of this switch.

    • Like 2
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  5. We live in a condo where our entry area is a long 4 ft wide hallway. We don't have a closet.  For the 17 years that we have been here, my system has been a bookcase with adjustable shelves (6 ft tall, 30 inches wide), a bench, a boot tray under the bench, a rolling coat rack, and I nailed a couple of strips of pegs to the chair rail across from the bookcase, so little people could hang up little coats. Everyone has a bin on one of their shelves to hold their gloves, hats, scarves, etc, and the rest of the shelves are filled with shoes. The shelves are spaced about 6 inches apart, but I left more space at the bottom for winter boots. Some boots that don't get worn very often are up on top of the bookcase.

    eta:

    I don't have a large family, but I have an ex who brought all of these shoes on a weekend trip to his mother's house: bike shoes, running shoes, work boots, boat shoes, beach shoes, nice dining out shoes, slippers, and his driving shoes. 🙄

     

    • Haha 1
  6. I got shot #1 (Pfizer) last week at a mass vax site. This one wasn't outside like many of the other sites in our region, but it was at large indoor track.

    The lines to wait for the shots were on the track itself, one on the inside lane and another on the outside lane, following big spaced dots to keep us spread out.

    There were 30 tables for doing immunizations in one area inside the track, and the rest of it was set up as post-shot observation areas.

    It took a little under an hour, with 15 minutes in the track line and 15 minutes of observation. 

    Just inside the entrance to the building we had to take off our masks and replace it with one of theirs. I did not like being unmasked even briefly with other people all doing the same thing. It was extra annoying because I arrived with 2 very fitted masks, one over the ears and one wrap around, plus glasses, a hat, and an infinity scarf, and I had to do the mask change in front of the staff at the counter.

    I had the expected sore arm, and the following evening I was VERY nauseated, like I could feel my stomach ache radiate out to my knees. That passed within another day.

    My mom is getting her #2 shot (Moderna) tomorrow at a Florida grocery store pharmacy. 

    • Like 6
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  7. I haven't been diagnosed as being on the spectrum (so I did not vote in the poll), and neither has my teen, but we are both very neuro-atypical. We both have strong reactions to sound, and for me that usually means I avoid music altogether. I get emotionally overwhelmed by it. And I recoil from the sound of some instruments, especially piano and guitar. I do enjoy fiddle and drums. Sometimes I do enjoy playing a bit of dance music from my teens and 20's (the 80's and 90's), but in small doses. For my teen, it means wearing headphones playing music for most of the day, but usually music without lyrics or with lyrics in another language.    

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  8. It took my mother in FL a few weeks of trying to get an appt based on age.  She was on the computer every day checking pharmacy websites and county websites, and sharing info with Facebook friends. She knew when sign-ups opened for each location, and was on several stand-by lists for no-shows. 

    When she finally found openings, by the time she registered her husband for his shot, all the rest of the appts were gone for that day, but she managed to get her own appt for the following day.

    In my state, I have a few (huge) groups ahead of me. But I get the vaccine updates from my pcp's hospital network, and they just informed us that for the next few weeks, they will be able to honor existing appts, but cannot schedule new appts. The reason they give is that the state is consolidating all the vaccine temporarily to administer through a few high-priority state-run sites. This is supposed to change once the state gets more vaccines to distribute.

  9. My ex and I  had 3 rounds of couples therapy over the course of our 25 year marriage. In each case, it was initiated by him as he thought it would help increase and improve tea time. He wasn't really focused on the rest of the issues in the relationship, except maybe pointing out how my weight gain was negatively impacting his happiness.

    The third therapist had a policy that we both needed to be in individual therapy during the course of the couples therapy. My ex actually told the couples counselor that there was nothing wrong with him, so he didn't need individual therapy, but he eventually agreed to it.

    In that third round, we were able to have guided discussions that actually clarified for me that it was time to separate, and it provided a framework for having healthier communication as we began that process. So in our case, I would say it actually worked. But our goal wasn't necessarily to preserve the marriage, it was to find a path forward. We improved our relationship by changing it.

     

  10. My 16 yo kid was vegetarian for about 5 years, starting at age 9, and is still very picky about the taste and texture of meat, so it is almost always an add-in.

    Most of our dinners are along these lines:

    Veggie & pineapple fried rice with sides of stir fried protein (chicken/shrimp/tofu/?)

    veggie rice noodle bowls topped with protein

    pasta variations, with a side of meatballs 

    chopped salad topped with protein (steak tips/chicken/chick peas/last week's grocery order included a surprise substitution of cooked lobster, so that was my salad add-on)

     

    • Like 1
  11. I worked for Crate & Barrel for years, built up a huge collection of pots and pans, and attended and presented countless demo sessions over those years. When my ex and I separated a few years ago, he ended up with almost all of the cookware, and I went out and got a few new pieces for myself. I'm not even sure what the brands are on the new ones, but I shopped at TJ Maxx and looked for good prices on specific features.

    I chose an enameled 12 inch 4qt braiser, and a stainless steel 3qt pot, with steamer and double boiler inserts. They have glass lids, handles on the side, and are oven safe. I use those for almost all of my cooking. I eventually went back for a duplicate of the 3qt pot, since I use it so much, and then added a flat grill pan for pancakes, since they are about the only thing I couldn't pull off in the other cookware.

    I also have a small stack of 1/4 sheet pans, a bundt pan, silicone muffin cups, and a loaf pan, and some electric cookware (crock pot and kettle). 

  12. I just copied this from the IRS site:

     

    How much will the second Economic Impact Payment be? (added January 5, 2021)

    Eligible individuals who filed a 2019 joint tax return will receive up to $1,200, and all other eligible individuals will receive up to $600. Those with qualifying children on their 2019 tax return will receive up to $600 in additional payment per qualifying child.

    Eligible individuals don’t need a minimum income for the payment. However, for higher income individuals, the payment amount is reduced by 5% of the amount that their adjusted gross income exceeds the following thresholds:

    $150,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return or filing a return as a qualifying widow or widower

    $112,500 for taxpayers filing as head of household

    $75,000 for all others

    The $600 payment for eligible individuals with no qualifying children ($1,200 for married couples filing a joint return) will be reduced to $0 once adjusted gross income reaches the following amounts:

    $174,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return

    $124,500 for taxpayers filing as head of household

    $87,000 for taxpayers filing as single or married filing separately

    Each of these adjusted gross income amounts at which the payment is reduced to $0 increases by $12,000 for each additional qualifying child.

    Note: Qualifying widows and widowers whose AGI is more than $75,000 may not have received the full amount of their payments.  Those individuals may claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on line 30 of their 2020 return. Please refer to the instructions for the 2020 Form 1040 for more information.

    • Like 1
  13. I'm as ready as I get, I suppose.

    I hadn't set up a January calendar yet, so I found out today that my 16yo and I have medical appts at the same time on Monday (mine is zoom, kid's isn't).  I had to enlist my ex to handle transportation for the kid's appt.

    Kid also starts an intensive 2 week online CC class tomorrow.

    I never decorated for Christmas, as I am trying to just focus on decluttering. Ex has all the decorations in storage anyway. and he had covid in December, so, nope.

  14. Frequent handwashing, and hand sanitizer when out of the house. Avoid touching face. Minimize touching surfaces in public places. Online school. Outings mainly limited to online order pickups and medical appointments, and transferring teen between 2 homes (shared custody).

    It is very hard to maintain social distancing if we leave home. Our condo complex is home to more than 100 people, with a daily presence of various maintenance staff and construction crew. The building next to ours is a nearly 20-story university dorm, and we are on a crowded street with a light-rail stop and university shuttle service.  We are masking a little higher than mandated, using filtered masks when we are going to a store pickup, and as community spread increases, wearing a lightweight mask around each other in the common areas at home.  We also mask when getting our mail or taking out trash, or going to the car, since we have to go into common condo space to do so.

    I limit take out to hot food, and wash up between serving it and eating it. I discontinued pickups from one restaurant when I saw some staff unmasked in the restaurant. That was probably half for our safety, and half because I would prefer to support restaurants that are making the effort to comply.

    I don't wipe down groceries, but I keep a lot more on hand and do a rotation using the oldest stuff first, so I am not handling the new stuff much when it comes in. Like with take out, I wash my hands after unpacking groceries, and before eating.

    With mail and packages, I used to quarantine it, but now I usually open right away, toss packaging/envelopes, and then wash up.  

    Regularly take multivitamins, as always.

    My ex in the other home has made different choices, based on different life circumstances (he is self-employed, and working in a couple of different office buildings most of the time), but would probably be considered to be following safe behavior by many people, but riskier than I would prefer.  He wears masks in stores, and in the office when he can't maintain social distance. He has been maintaining a social life, with some precautions. He actually has covid-19 at the moment, but a mild case so far. 

  15. As someone who has used both inpatient and day treatment programs of varying lengths in the past, I would think about what was helpful about the programs in the past, and see if any of those elements can be incorporated into life at home, while you are not in crisis mode. I also have a bit of a decision tree about what would cause me to seek those services again if needed.

    In general I really need to prioritize my sleep, or everything unravels. I am less concerned about when it happens now, so long as I don't go too long without a good chunk of sleep.

    Having to be somewhere at a particular time did help reset my schedule. Getting up, dressed, and out the door. Just maybe not so far out the door these days.

    I appreciated that there was a hot meal for lunch, and snacks as needed, as depression saps me of the wherewithal to prepare meals for myself. Even when I manage making food for others, I just don't think about feeding myself. Now I stock lots of heat and eat items so I can use my energy in other ways as needed.

    Another thing I did find helpful in the past was leaving group for the day with a small achievable goal in mind. When keeping a calendar was too much, having one sheet of paper on a clipboard with straightforward daily tasks to attend to kept me going, a day at a time.

     

    • Like 2
  16. My test was negative. No call from anyone yet, either about my test or about contact with my ex. I finally setup access to my own medical record online so I could peek at my labs. There is a record of my pcp sending a letter yesterday with the results. 

    I have a no-contact grocery order in for tomorrow, and am adding extra things to the list so I can take some stuff to my ex. When I was taking his requests on the phone today, I took a few minutes to remind him of our child's medical vulnerabilities, and mine. Hopefully it sank in.

    • Like 8
  17. On 12/8/2020 at 6:58 PM, slackermom said:

    The 3 of us got tested late yesterday. No phone calls yet, but I just logged into the medical record of my 16 yo and the negative result has posted. For now we will all stay in our separate zones.  Even if my ex's test is negative we are going to treat it as a false negative, given the sudden loss of taste and smell along with his sore throat. He says he is feeling ok, but some pain in his legs when he is lying down.

    Update:

    Ex tested positive. He was contacted by someone at the "Covid hotline" who gave him his results (approx. 48 hours post-test) and started the contact tracing process, and asked about his support network, and if he would need support services. 10 day isolation order given. Ex is feeling ok still, and says he is starting to smell and taste a little bit here and there today.

    No word on my test yet, although I was 2 cars ahead of my ex at the drive thru testing.

    My ex has been going up once a day to "take a quick peek" at our 16yo, opening the kid's bedroom door briefly with his mask on. I asked him not to continue this. He said he doesn't get to see our kid very often. I reminded him he has Covid. I am having to re-assess the plan of having the kid isolate there. He is an otherwise rational adult (an attorney even) so why do I have to tell him this?

    • Sad 10
  18. The 3 of us got tested late yesterday. No phone calls yet, but I just logged into the medical record of my 16 yo and the negative result has posted. For now we will all stay in our separate zones.  Even if my ex's test is negative we are going to treat it as a false negative, given the sudden loss of taste and smell along with his sore throat. He says he is feeling ok, but some pain in his legs when he is lying down.

    • Like 3
  19. It was a tough call, but I decided to have my 16 yo isolate in their suite over at my ex's place for now. It is on a different floor from the rest of the house, and there is a full bath and a separate entrance. I called in a favor and had a borrowed mini-frig delivered over there this afternoon, and I brought over a toaster oven, electric kettle, smoothie maker, and bags of groceries, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. Plus a small space heater, with instructions not to open the vent for the central heat unit for now.

     

    • Like 8
  20. 2 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

    Yeah, I'd assume it's COVID if he lost his sense of taste/smell without being stuffed up. I'm sorry 😕 . 

    Thanks. Yeah, no congestion. A cough and a sore throat. Labored breathing. 

    I dropped off a pulse oximeter for him several days before the loss of smell happened, and told him to check his oxygen and temp twice a day.

    Not enjoying joint custody in a pandemic.

    • Sad 10
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