I've had a couple compliments in my life that felt like compliments at first, and then kind of felt like not-compliments when I thought about them more. The first time I remember this happening was in high school. A girl in my class told me that I was "beautiful in an unusual way." At first I was thrilled to get a compliment, and then I was like, "Hey wait a minute... unusual way?!" I realize now that it was still a compliment, but at that time, I wanted to be beautiful in the USUAL way! A lot of my life was unusual, and I was kind of embarrassed about it, so all I wanted was to be completely and utterly regular. Well, it just happened again! I got a thank you note the other day was full of very nice compliments, "kind, supportive," things like that, and then the word "unique." I'm not opposed to unique. In fact, I love it! But apparently there's still a part of me that wants to be completely normal and not unique. It took me right back to my teenage years. Anyone else get a compliment that felt a little less than complimentary (even if it was perfectly sincere)?

Same. If I have to use a tampon with an applicator, I pull it out of the applicator because it just makes things more complicated.

https://www.knixteen.com/collections/period-proof-swim

Same. Even Harry Potter World, even though I adore HP.

@ktgrok Speaking of cheesecake... DH wanted some but can't have gums, so I found this way to make a cream cheese copycat from yogurt. It really works!! I put this in cheesecloth and let it drain for 24 hours, not as long as this website says. https://www.freeyourfork.com/greek-yogurt-cream-cheese/

All gums bother DH immensely. It's annoying that they're in so many things!!

Mustard. For some reason I thought I didn't like it for 30+ years, but turns out I love it! I like pickles and olives and other sour/vinegary things... so I don't know what my issue was.

Same here! Maggie used to come running when I came home, and now she's sound asleep until I give her a little nudge. She wakes up with a loud "MROW!?"

I've been wearing slip-on Chacos that kinda look like boat shoes. Some middle school girls said they liked them so.... I assumed I was finally looking cool 😎 https://www.chacos.com/US/en/ojai-3-eye/48939W.html?dwvar_48939W_color=JCH108950#cgid=women-footwear-shoes&start=1

Aw, poor buddy. He's so cute. My cat went through a period of UTIs and it was the worst! The vet recommended dumping all the litter once per week, and scrubbing down the litter box with soap and rinsing well.

Yeah, I agree. I just knew she was going to ask, so I decided to head her off at the pass. I guess I’ve reached the point where I can be truthful to a friend, but not yet to the point where I don’t respond to hints. Lol. Maybe that happens next year 🙂

Haha! She is welcome to stay with you! Ironically, I do enjoy staying with other people on occasion. When I'm a guest I'm very aware that I might be stressing out my hosts, though, so I try to be an easy guest.

I asked if she was spending the night in the area. She's stayed with me before so I knew she was expecting me to offer an invitation.

She was totally fine with it (at least, she seemed so), which was nice.

So I'm feeling like a major curmudgeon tonight. I have a really small house and I don't like it when people come to stay with me because it's 1,000 sq feet with one bathroom. I get all squirrely and claustrophobic. The other day a friend called and said she was planning to be in my area. I asked if she was spending the night, and she was like... yeeesssss? And I told her that I'm not doing guests anymore because of the aforementioned small house and curmudgeonly nature. But now I feel like a total jerk! I don't feel bad enough to offer an invitation though... but still. I did offer to get her a nice hotel room. Sigh. I wish I was more jovial and welcoming to guests. I felt like we were good enough friends to be honest, so I was, but it felt weird.

I know lots of kids who take this with good results. It does mess with appetite, like mostly all ADHD meds. I think most of my students on meds eat a big breakfast, take the med, skip lunch or only eat a bit, then eat a big dinner.

That's what I'm wondering about myself, too. I work in a school. I mask, but only a handful of people are. I go into stores, masked, but again, most people aren't masking.

I'm sure this is true. Databases for most big organizations are a mess! It's a ton of work to fix, so people just keep patching issues when they come up. But you're right, it needs to be done.

No, I don't, sorry! For some reason I assumed home test, because she tested negative on both of the two days prior.

I'm sorry you're feeling crummy. A neighbor of mine told me that she didn't test positive until day 3 or 4 of feeling slightly ill.

You can get reusable pods that you fill yourself. Works great!

Thanks everyone! I'm super busy finishing the year but I can't wait to come back here, read your suggestions, and digest everything!

Oh yes, I love High Noon as well!

I'd really like some materials to specifically target comprehension.... I remember at one of my old schools they had a book series that had different categories... inferencing, predicting, etc... I seem to remember they were smaller and thinner than regular books. (Good clue, I know! Sorry...) Writing is always difficult. Most of the paragraph or multi-paragraph writing materials are either way too wordy and busy, or too "cute," or too.... extra. Something super slimmed down and basic would be amazing.

Hooray, my SpEd budget got a one-time boost of $2,000! I need to spend it on "instructional supplies" by the end of June. My students range from K-8, with mostly very typical needs in reading, writing, and math. I'd like to get some "general" things that could be used with many students. I can use my regular budget for things specific to individual kids. Any wish list items you'd recommend or love to buy?