@Hen I’m not familiar with that site. I’ll look. The kids and I are almost back to my house. Court was supposed to be Friday but (long story) it has been moved to Aug. I’ll try to get settled before then.

A pound a week is a healthy rate. I did it and it was a slow process, but time will pass whether or not you are looking at the scale. You will need to make lifestyle changes, but gradual is good. I lost a lot, then gained some back (but that's no surprise, I got off routine and ate badly). 80% of the process is food. I can tell you when I lost a significant amount of weight some of the changes I made: All liquid intake was water and I tried to increase my water intake (50% of your weight in ounces was the rule of thumb I loosely tried to follow... but usually fall short. Recently read that clear urine is not the goal. The goal is light colored. Clear may mean an excess of water). I switched breads. If I was going to eat a sandwhich I used a complex carb/no sugar bread. Ezekiel is one brand. Found in the cooler section. For taco night I try to get the carb balance tortillas or make a taco salad instead and forgo the tortilla. I stopped eating deli meat because I was trying to reduce my sodium. I haven't bought it in many months and don't really miss it. I don't feel like each meal needs a carb. Chicken and veggies is adequate. I might fill up extra on veggies to get full (yes, I guess veggies can be a carb, at least some of them but I meant I'm less likely to serve potatoes as a side. I do sometimes, mainly if the kids are with me). If I wanted a sweet treat I would buy Yasso bars (100 calories, made of Greek yogurt). Started counting steps with a pedometer and went through a few crappy ones so that's part of my issue now. I want to buy another. Only weigh myself in the morning after going to the restroom, but before drinking water/eating. Other times of day it will be different. Making conscious decisions to pack food for the road. I sometimes pack yogurt in a food thermos (Greek yogurt, fruit, nuts). This has protein which I need and better than a drive-thru. Lately I have NOT been disciplined. You can also get 100 calorie granola bars as a quick snack. I would say to plan on having something more than walking in your daily or weekly routine as I find I burn more calories biking than walking. You may want to add strength training. That is something I'm working on. And HIIT burns calories after the exercise is over but I do not like HIIT... I did a 12 week program. I might redo some of the videos but I'd rather not LOL.

Can't get a response from my attorney. I went to several places today to follow up face-to-face. One of them refused to take my hard copy resume and said just use our website (which I had done prior to going in person... but they don't care). One of them has a job fair soon, but I won't be in town so I made a point to explain I can't be present at the job fair but I applied and am interested in one or more openings. The gatekeepers on floor 2 said I would have to call HR and leave a message because the HR office etc. are on the third floor, but I can't go up there. After being on hold with no end in sight I said screw it and took the elevator to the third floor. Explained that I didn't mean to go somewhere I shouldn't, but couldn't get a human on the phone. The lady looked as if she thought it was weird they forbid from me going to the floor lol. She said she would give a copy of my resume to both HR and the Marketing director (it was for a marketing position). That made me happy. I wrote down her name and several of the other people I spoke to today. One place that had been less than helpful a few days ago -- I returned with the filled out paper application packet, new print outs of the stuff I had sent snail mail, and a sticky note and binder clip holding it all together. They said the president of the company does come in there and they would be sure it got in front of him. If it's this hard to apply to the job maybe I'll get an interview for my persistence LOL. I'm officially set up with a second hiring agency, but they said the "$11-15" receptionist job I saw would likely pay me $13 at best. I tried to set up an account with the state employment agency, but the computer was having a fit with my user info (I think from the past when I used it with my maiden name). I went in person to get it handled, but they had so many issues they sent me home and said they'd call me after tech support fixed the issue. Ugh.

Is the staging supposed to stay up for tours or just for online photos? just wondering if Photoshop would do the job lol

I’m asking myself these questions, too. I’m considering renting a room to save money til I secure a decent job. But roommates might look bad to the judge so I’m in limbo. And some room rentals cost more than my whole house rent. I suppose worst case I got this storage unit practically for no reason and will have to move the stuff again an hour or so away. My cat attacked the neighbor today when she went over to check on her. The cat is so stressed. I don’t know what to do. I just keep applying to jobs and following up.

Pet Smart wanted me only part time and pay was $13. Then they try to put you through a pet grooming academy, after so many dogs (100?) you switch to full time/commission on each groom plus a base hourly rate. It’s not for me. Tensions were sky high at home today. I got mad my family asked me to take my cat to a shelter. I was called ungrateful. It just escalated from there. I contacted potential roommates but I think they were scammers. Waiting to get info from a legit landlord.

A friend shared this with me. Can’t hurt to try. I ordered one on sale. Supposed to relieve sore feet. My cat was so riled up the other night she attacked me and my bf. So I don’t think I have anywhere to send her. I can’t in good conscience ask him to watch her now. Especially since he has kids. I don’t want to rehome her and she’s so temperamental I don’t think she’d adapt to anyone else. Once he left she was fine. She gets temperamental with lots of people.

I’m getting more confident in my abilities & problem solving. My dad made one of his belittling comments about me never taking physics when I made my suggestion on how to move the dryer off the trailer. I ended up ignoring him and moving the dolly myself no problem. Then I got him to brace the washer a bit as I lowered it using the dolly. I insisted on being under it rather than above it going down the trailer. He wanted to rope the exercise bike to the trailer (took to his house so I can use) and I said let’s just use my bungee cords, it’s faster. We did it quickly. When we got to his house he was doing something in the car and ds was melting and feeling ill so I sent him ahead and I lifted the exercise bike off the trailer and carried it across the yard to which my dad said wow lol. I know it wasn’t that heavy but it felt good to be able to do some stuff without much aid. Loose plan is go up one more day with trailer but dd doesn’t want to do the 4 hr car ride. I have up to go this week. Between the cat, moving, meeting with my lawyer, picking up insoles and court — yes I gotta go.

Golf carts with kids because there are no doors and helmets or car seats and I don't know if they have/use seatbelts. I don't think they do. In my dad's town you can drive a golf cart on a public road. I actually don't seem them usually unless I go to the super congested touristy part of town where parking is limited and the roads feel cramped. ATVs really bother me. They are so dangerous and you see teens/young adults using them with no helmet. Kids riding on riding mowers. Get the kid off the mower! Just mow the d@mn yard without the kid.

It feels gimmicky to me, too! I'm like ok you know I have been watching HGTV for years. And rolling my eyes at people karate chopping pillows. They look STUPID lol

Oh my gosh. My cheap self has sticker shock. is there a way to do something else like try without the staging items and only resort to that if things don’t go well? New throw pillows or other more affordable touches?

Someone I know said to me today what about lawyer offices? This is what pops up on indeed (look at pay). [strike]I am going to apply for the florist job. [/strike] they require 2 years experience

Yes! I wanted to apply for a florist position but I think they stand the whole shift. My aunt said don’t do that. They pay nothing (no wage was listed) and they wanted someone with some experience. but I don’t it could hurt to go inside the place and speak to someone

I have a job interview Sunday at PetSmart. The trailer is loaded and the car. I got a lot but will still need to do more trips with or without the trailer. I might not bother keeping the couch. It’s cheap, uncomfortable and will require the trailer again.

I have a BA in advertising (which is why people always try to steer me into sales jobs but I don’t like commission-based jobs or pressuring people to buy something). I went into that field to do graphic design but we were only taught a little QuarkXPress in my courses. I went onto work as a graphic designer for 4 years at a newspaper mostly learning on the job. We used both Quark & Photoshop. But it was old versions like QXP4 and Photoshop CS. I left there in 2012. Since then I’ve self taught myself some things in Creative Cloud (YouTube, Udemy) but I feel so far behind the curve to do much. I also own Affinity design programs. When I see graphic design jobs they often want more skills than I have or photo editing, web stuff etc. I feel so under qualified. I have worked for 2 newspapers and a magazine. I’ve applied to positions for copy writing, communications etc. I’m not thrilled with PR but a couple times I applied for those. I do side work for a nanny agency and have an up-to-date CPR/first aid/AED cert and my CPST (child passenger safety technician) cert. I’m falling into debt and scared to death to go back to school. I just want to work. Maybe add skills later but I’m too overwhelmed to consider being a student right now. I know this sounds looney tunes but I have been told & watched YouTube videos on all the chemicals in the air in dental offices which turned me off from being a dental hygienist. But that’s something I considered. Then at my most recent cleaning my hygienist said she suffers chronic pain from leaning over patients all day and she’s looking to transition to another field. I did apply as a receptionist at an orthodontist office though… not sure they have any less exposure.

They did at one point but those rates are set by the family and the benefits are up to the family… the agency will place nannies all over the state but primarily cater to the area away from the kids. Babysitting jobs are only by my current rental. I don’t want to work FT with infants/toddlers and that’s mostly what people want a nanny due. I like watching other people’s kids in smaller doses. I’ve been void of adult interaction for years.

I do not like answering phones but it’s getting to that point where I’m looking into it more… especially if the company offers good training to prepare you.

I’ve been on Rover for many months. Never got anything but scam artists contacting me. And I paid $30 for the background check. Net -$30 lol I couldn’t finish the app for Meowtel because I didn’t have references that I cat sat for 🙄 I just own a cat. I did exactly one pet sitting job and it was booked through Facebook. Their usual sitter was out of town. I’ll see if I can change my zip code on Rover but I don’t know if it will allow. I started to sign up for care.com this week. The website wanted me to pay for my profile and said “up to $15 (or $16?) an hour.” I scrolled through a few jobs in my dad’s area and these people want to pay like $10-12 for you to look after their elderly parent. People do not like to pay. You can sign up for both elderly care & child but neither pay well. I’m sure the site takes a cut. The nanny agency I’m employee with pays me a min of $18/hr and a min of a 3 hr shift.

I saw a UPS job but I can’t stand all day at the counter and I always see them standing. As far as USPS, I noticed they come in on Saturdays to sort mail or something even if the window is closed. I’m nervous to get a job that requires weekends since my visitation is limited to weekends. Well it is on the books right now as Thursday and every other weekend but I lost a bunch of Thursdays when he moved. The weeks I had weekends I drove to my dad’s on Wed night so I could pick dd up on Thursday after school. With a typical job I really can’t do any weekdays with the kids. I can’t afford to live in their school district so getting her to class or picking her up would be logistically likely impossible. I can’t do a restaurant job because of my feet. You name it, they are standing (cooks, hostess, waitress etc). You’d likely have unfriendly hours for parenting, too. Can’t work at a restaurant and say I need every other weekend off… most will dismiss you immediately. Target might pay $15. I heard that Best Buy started paying that at one store but again, standing all shift and possibly hours that affect my visitation. I found one apt this week that’s $700/month. I asked if it was a safe area. My friend said it used to be bad but has improved. So I dunno. I could barely afford that on $15… and remain in the 30% of income on rent goal. Some places make the rule for you… require you earn 3x the rent to even qualify to live there. My aunt suggested airline, too. She worked for one. I’m gonna investigate it. ETA: I did apply to some jobs that pay ok but many jobs are slow to respond to applicants. I do try to follow up. I emailed HR to ask the status on a state job I applied for in early June. They ignored my email.

Re: remote work I have looked at some, but I don’t want to do a sales job and/or or cold calling. Customer service… I am unsure. I was mostly looking at remote data every jobs. I didn’t see a good fit. Like some remote desk jobs need you to know programs I don’t (bookkeeping, etc). I am partially sick of working from home. I’ve been doing it since Feb 2020. I only go into the office on occasion, but my gas consumption has mostly been from things like going to the dr, grocery shopping, and any form of entertainment (meeting friends for trivia night). At times I love it and at times it’s very isolating.

I don’t want to be a vet tech. My best friend was one and hated it. Do they have to administer shots? I couldn’t do it. I don’t know how accurate this pay scale is but it’s not very promising. One time I did research getting a teaching credential. I was interested in second grade - you cannot get an alternative method certificate for that age. You can get a masters degree and teach 7th and up? I asked what I would need for the early elem. They sent me a huge list and it amounted to the equivalent of earning a bachelor’s all over again. Teacher satisfaction is low (imo). And even after years of teaching they don’t make much. One of my siblings is a teacher. But she doesn’t have kids.

I applied to a city job (jumped through tons of hoops and got rejected), a few state jobs through the government jobs website, and looked again last night at one city job list. They need a clerk in the police dept but it pays $14.50. I can’t afford even a one bedroom on that. I did apply at a hospital job recently that I thought I was suited for and got a rejection letter. They even asked if you heard about it from an employee and I answered yes and put the name of the guy I met at the 80s/90s networking event (he shared the job posting on his linked in). I’ve applied to several communication jobs, receptionist, clerical type things. They either don’t pay enough or don’t interview me. But now that I’m at my dad’s I’m putting his local address on everything. Before I was just saying in the cover letter that I was relocating soon. I dropped off my resume in person as requested by an ins company that wants a secretary but I’m not holding my breath because they probably pay like $13-15 and close at noon on Wednesdays which means I’d be considered PT and get no benefits I’m guessing… and definitely need a second job to cover rent. I went into a PT office this week and he said he would have hired me on the spot but it was filled and doesn’t pay much. He did keep my business card & said they have a high turn over rate so might call me later for another location. but not sure that is useful since it won’t cover rent. I might need to apply for govt assistance but the most I think I’d get is SNAP and only for a household of one right? Because I don’t get to claim the kids. So I’ll just keep applying.

What’s funny is compared to my peers I run cold lol I always bring a jacket into the theatre just in case.

Yes on another page of this thread I explained I looked into school jobs. I can’t teach and the clerk, assistant teacher etc jobs pay peanuts. No amount of benefits can really offset it. And they probably have crappy state ins through BCBS. I was on that with xh as well as on my own with the library job. You pay out of pocket every visit til you meet your deductible. The only time we met it was like in Dec when it’s useless. The yearly salary was under 30k for those jobs. Sub teaching is not appealing to me, though I did consider it. I want stability and to deal with adults in my daily job. The pay is I think 70-100 a day. Let’s say max you work 20 days a month at $100. That’s less than the magazine job and I can’t even make ends meet on that. I really don’t think it’s $100/day though.

I noticed the thermostat on 78 the other day (not done by me). So I think he was trying to help. And it was more comfortable yesterday. When his a/c was broken we did open windows but it didn’t help much. I’d go to the gym at night and then shower and go to bed with damp hair and the ceiling fan on. That helped. he’s always been anti pet (hence why my cat isn’t here) but my aunt shared that he discussed possible places to put the litter box so I know he at least considered letting my cat come which meant a LOT. She ultimately was the one that said it won’t work… the laundry room is too tiny and she is scared the cat would zoom out of furniture causing her to trip/fall. She’s still recovering from a knee surgery gone bad (does swim therapy every week) and is older so I totally respect her concerns/fears with getting hurt. I ended up not totally giving up on casinos. I applied to several positions at a different casino and their application asked what shift you wanted. The Pet Smart application was the worst!! lol I did get to include salary expectations so I hope we don’t waste each others’ time. It asked if you could do the job with reasonable accommodation. I said yes assuming they let me sit sometimes (reasonable accommodation being having access to a chair and I could bring a dr’s note). While typing this post the income-based apt complex called with an opening. I thought about it and I’m going to pass. When I first went there a couple months ago it was $699 for a 2BD. It’s now $764. That’s really not that much better than that $800 townhouse I turned down. I don’t have a local job yet so given the income restrictions, location etc it’s just too risky to commit. I have job applications in several cities so I’m just gonna stall a bit longer. I did scour the internet for 1 bedrooms (even looked at one studio) and the only affordable ones were dumps (read reviews etc) or by the shipyard on the other side of the coast. Everyone says get a job at the shipyard. I applied to the one job I was semi qualified for. The rest are things like pipe fitter, journeyman etc. I’d only be eligible to work there after the extended construction class. I don’t want to do this but I will have to bite my tongue, focus on my job hunt and stall a bit longer before I can move out.