Good luck! It’s especially hard if you have it at your home. Thats why DH knew about his. I needed his help getting the house ready 😂 but then his friends took him out for the day so he came home to kind of a surprise. I hope it’s a great time!

DS, after taking two gap years started college last fall. But now he’s thinking about transferring:) He’s looking for a school with small classes. He likes that about his current school. Lots of professor involvement, good advising. He doesn’t drink really, so he’s looking for a school where partying isn’t the main thing to do. Right now he’s a math major, but started late so only Calc 1/stats really on his transcript. He’s pretty middle of road politically, very open minded, not religious, but not overly liberal. More live and let live I guess? Pretty introverted. It will be a challenge to make new friends. So forced proximity would be a plus. He likes the idea of a smaller city/neighborhood with options. Does anyone have any suggestions for transfer schools? Right now he’s a 4.0, but not a super competitive school. He’s taken the SAT once with a 1450. Looking at East coast to Midwest, friendly to transfers. Probably a shot in the dark, but if anything comes to mind for us to research, please suggest!

Raffi here too when DS21 was young. I had never heard it before.

Now I think I will! I heard how amazing it was last time and there are several places within a few hours of us.

It can be slightly more confusing at larger airports. There will be a ride share specific place for pickups. Follow the ride share signs to get there and then order your car. Sometimes they come to a specific labeled parking spot and that’s where you go meet them. Just double check the license plate to make sure you’re in the right car. you can share your ride, but I do think Ubers are pretty safe now. They are vetted and many have had thousands of trips by now.

I think most people are unaware how hard it would be to get a job that would support a family at an older age, let alone after not being in the workforce for many years. I only have recently reconsidered how risky it is for a woman to be a SAHM from a financial standpoint. With 50% of marriages ending in divorce, plus injuries, disabilities, early deaths, you have to be prepared. Even if it financially makes sense at the time, there is a lot to consider when you decide to stay at home. I always used to think it was best for someone to stay home with babies and young kids, and while it might be, it’s no longer so cut and dry to me and financial protection for the SAHM should definitely be part of the decision.

I think definitely the dr, to see what they think, but for me personally anxiety does affect my gut for sure. And once it starts, it’s kind of hard to get it back into a regular rhythm. I was having issues for a couple months and tried several different probiotics, and surprisingly culturelle worked for me almost immediately.

I think it’s very normal for a high school senior. Mine is in college now after two years off since he absolutely refused to go after graduation. Now He says he wishes he would have just started out of high school. Well:) I tried, I really did. Luckily, we - yes WE- did all the AP tests, dual enrollment, applications, scholarship holds etc, so it was all in place when he did decide to go back. Of course there were things he had to do himself, but I did more hand holding/leading/followup than I had done before. I’d just look at the big picture and help/force 😉 him to do what needs to be done and let the rest slide. I think DS can say he wishes he would have gone, but I don’t think he would have been successful until he wrapped his head around a purpose. I’m sure moving back to the states is a big deal for your son. That could be a huge adjustment, and if he’s not 100% on board, I’m sure it’s weighing on him. Don’t let any of the vital applications, scholarships, deadlines go- be prepared for as many scenarios as you can and see how it unfolds.

I have no experience but have thought it could be related to some of my issues. I follow this woman on Instagram and a lot of things she says click for me, but I’ve never followed through consistently enough to know if it would work. She posts a lot of information for free on Instagram if you’re on it. I’ve learned a lot. https://www.connectpelvicfloorfitness.com this is her website, I can’t link to her Instagram.

I think they expect you to negotiate too. It helps to know the salary range at that employer and comparable ones. With her experience she should be topping out whatever it is. I helped my niece a few months ago, so I researched it a bit. I do think it’s what is expected. There’s surprisingly good info on TikTok about how to go about asking.

I linked above, but I was just looking at it again, and he has a 2 minute routine he says will make you look an average of 5 years younger in 2 months IF big IF- you don’t already take good care of your skin. Wash twice a day morning and night - if dry skin use a creamy soap, if oily skin, use a foaming soap. In the morning apply a vitamin c and e serum followed by a sunscreen. In the evening after washing apply a retinol, preferably the prescribed kind, but not necessarily if you can’t get it. Just use a retinol type cream. Exfoliate twice a week. I’m not great with products, but I do take decent care, so I don’t think I’ll get the 5 year effect. But, I did order a new serum for the morning. I’ve tried prescription retin a a few times and I can’t get past the peeling part, although I do think it would help. So now I just use a retinol that feels good.

100 pull ups? At once? That’s practically unheard of. I can do about 5 wimpy real pushups in one set. There is a lot of advice now on getting better at pushups that says not to do knees, but to do start with elevated ones like on a step and work down to flat. I was working towards a pull up, but I’m still just on dead hangs. I never had any upper body strength. ETA- not that you couldn’t! I have no idea. It would be quite a feat though. Even for a young male or female.

I just flew today with a paper boarding pass. I checked in at the kiosk when I got to the airport and it printed my luggage tag and my boarding pass. Then I went to the desk and gave them my ID and my luggage. That was American.

Headed home today from Florida with my 50 hour badge! Could never have done that in real life but I’ll take the strong start. Expecting snow when I get home, so a whole different outside experience awaits.

I love my altras. Can’t believe how much more comfortable it is to have your toes spread.

Exciting! Congratulations to her😀

DS and I did this the past few years with taxact. And we just defaulted to a regular 1040 and went through all the questions it asked and I explained more why it was asking that, etc. Last year he had an eBay business and some crypto sales. His return was more complicated than ours!

Oh yes- yeah for no more periods and that awful 8-10 years of perimenopause. I feel way better now! And so true about the crossword puzzles. I’ve been doing them with my very smart 21 year old son, and I feel like a genius 🙂 they’re just meant for my demographic I guess!

How’s everyone doing? I downloaded the app which does make tracking a lot easier. I’m totally cheating because I’m on vacation this month and it’s a lot easier to be outside. Yesterday we did a 3 hour walking tour and we always eat outside. It is great, but not my real life. It was enough to make up for my slow start, so I’m at 16 hours as of yesterday.

Definitely experience. It’s the best teacher whether at my job or with my family. Having lived things is just different than reading about them. I have also learned to be more selfish I guess. Life is short, I need to do what’s best for me and my happiness instead of always worrying about what other people want me to do. Which is such a mom, daughter, wife thing to do. It seems counterintuitive, but it’s made my marriage and work situation better as well. A happy, fulfilled me is just better for everyone.

https://dhrupurohit.com/try-this-5-big-ideas-on-healing-skin-preventing-wrinkles-and-reversing-acne/ I listened to this podcast the other day and found it really informative about what really does work.

It sounds like you’re headed there with all that exercise! I will say, I lost about 25 pounds a couple years ago wearing a continuous glucose monitor. I had been faithfully counting calories for awhile with no real progress even though everything was pointing to a calories deficit. Blood sugar control seemed to be key for me as far as weight loss and mood. It’s harder to do without a monitor, but now I focus on all my meals contains a protein, fiber and healthy fat. I try to eat any carbs last in order if possible. And I try to move in some capacity about 10-15 minutes after I eat to use up the glucose I did eat. It’s not low carb, but it is pretty low carb. There are some studies that post menopausal woman are very prone to insulin resistance from the hormone changes. I follow an account called metabolism makeover that has these same principles, although I didn’t know about them when I first started the process.

It sounds like you’re in great shape and you’ve found a routine that works for you. Building all that muscle swimming will certainly pay off. I’m sure your meds are making things difficult. I don’t know anything about that. There are some theories out there that maybe you’re not eating enough? For all that exercise? I don’t really knoe what to make of all that vs a calorie deficit, but to be in a deficit like that for so long, and working out so hard, maybe your body is just hanging on to everything it can? I think at our age- I’m 53, it is hard to lose weight and it’s important to find things that make us feel good and strong, both physically and mentally. And it sounds like that’s what you’re doing!

I tend to being slightly dehydrated a lot and that will affect my numbers. It’s very rarely taken correctly at drs offices. They talk to you and expect you to answer, your arm is just hanging. Getting a home monitor and properly testing a couple times a day will help you see your real numbers.

Reading for inspiration! DH did a cabinet and gave away about 20 of his land management books. Have played ping pong on the cleaned off table several times:)