My best friend owns her own dog grooming company and I think kinda expects some sort of tip (or at least prompt payment lol some clients forget to pay immediately. They aren’t always home I think during the house calls).

I often wash my hair before an appt and the charge is the same at some places. I’ve paid $100 for a hair cut before and they still didn’t get it right. My hair is difficult in the back.

I’m working on a job app for a metal place that needs an administrative assistant. The OSHA-30 is part of the 9 weeks course but at this rate I won’t be able to take it (I may find a job before then).

In this thread I can understand no tipping. For the hair dresser example I used, it never crossed my mind to base it on owner or not. And it just feels “nice” to tip, and cheap not to, especially since most of her services are affordable compared to other places.

I like it but I’d need training. I’m not what I’d describe as handy yet lol I mean I did hang my oversized curtain rods but it was a nightmare lol I applied for a job at a printing place because I dealt with that stuff at the newspaper (cmyk, dpi, oversized printer). I went ahead and took a babysitting job tonight even though I’m over that self employment stuff. I’ll deal with it in 2024 lol. It is at a church nursery so recurring work if I want it. Complete chaos but we survived lol

Deposited tax refund. Went to tax place in correct franchise area to get it amended for free. They found an even bigger error than the one I was trying to address. So the IRS definitely would be coming after me. There was a typo and I shouldn't have received a refund at all. I owe over $1000. So I'm going to send all the money back and a little more. She will try to remove their tax filing fee since they made such a large error. Because most of my babysitting jobs came from outside of the nanny agency it was correct that I didn't use a 1090 form. That would only be used if I made more money -- then the agency would send me a 1090 form filled out (or partially filled out?). As for paying a self employment tax fee and some other fees, she said that's based on if you earned $400 or more. We went through expenses accrued from babysitting (mostly gas, but a little bit of cell phone use with clients and/or app). At the end of the day I still made a profit but I really hate self employment stuff. I hope to land 1-2 jobs where I get a W2 back at the end of 2024. The credit union was useless in helping me recently... I asked if I was being charged interest on my cc (after 12 months you are supposed to pay but they didn't show a breakdown). She compared my cc view to her own and hers looked different so she didn't think I was being charged any interest. That sounded too good to be true. I inquired on the phone and they said yes I was paying interest (normally I don't carry a balance but things got crazy recently) and she said how much the APR was which is way higher than when I signed up. I thought it was a fixed rate, but apparently not??? Then she said that I had points I could access if I activated my rewards... wait, what?? When I signed up for the card I didn't see anything about rewards and no one explained that. So she helped me set it up and the amount I have in points will almost pay off the cc balance but I might not pay off the full balance just yet in case I need some breathing room with the IRS payments and/or travel/moving. At the end of the day I've basically just broke even on everything. Job hunting for all sorts of jobs. Landlords want me out ASAP because their adult son will be moving in and is temporarily living in their home. I'm driving to dd tonight and packed all the stuff I need for apartment enrollment in case they have an opening. I also packed a nice set of clothes in case I have to go to an interview or drop off a resume anywhere. I got accepted in the CPR class which will meet on Saturday. Got a dental cleaning on Monday and then canceled my dental insurance (which offsets the new gym monthly fees. The gym is less than the dental). I know everything will be ok. Just annoyed I thought I had a refund and don't lol.

See, I can go either way on this... because I tip a hair dresser that works from her home.

Hey, ladies!! My goals and routine have not been great but I’m not quitting. I know progress isn’t a straight line. My YMCA nationwide membership is in effect for at least a few more months but the YMCA hours aren’t the greatest. Crunch fitness reeled me in with their 5¢ enrollment fee (down from $59). The one near the kids is open 24/7. I went swimming at the Y near my dad’s recently but irritated my throat (probably because I accidentally swallowed a little pool water). Ugh. But I got in a good workout that night. I’ve been back and used a few machines. I don’t have the endurance?? Patience?? for much rowing but the rowing machine is one of my favorites now. Maybe I’d do better if the machine had a video screen? Lol Like row til you get to land. I used the machine to do rowing and target other areas by lifting the bar (biceps, sitting backwards for triceps). I saw a video demonstrating. I still haven’t replaced my pedometer. I might do that this week since I got a tax refund. My weight went up a couple pounds with all the traveling and eating out/no access to my stationary bike). I’m home for a couple days and used my bike. My home bike is way more comfortable than a lot of the fitness center ones. My bike seat is wide & cushioned. The bike seats at the gym are narrow and hard yuck. At least on the upright bikes. Hoping with my gym memberships I’ll force myself to use them lol

Yes & no. We began a new resume in class but I need to open the document and modify it. It lists the class already, but for the job app I just did the manual fill in the form thing and it asked for job history, not skills etc. But I’ll definitely fix my resume and talk to the company. I’m driving home today and will be back in a few days to get dd after school.

I applied for the cabinet maker/finisher job posting. I didn’t have a complete profile on that job site so it took some steps. After I started to apply it revealed the estimated pay and says benefits included after 90 days. My job history looks completely irrelevant so I do think I’ll follow up next week. They are closed on weekends so that’s probably good for my sake regarding kid time.

Yes I’m open to ideas. I just googled cabinet maker etc and got other matches. I got a lead but they aren’t open on Saturdays or I’d call them. One part of the job listing says “seeking experienced…” but another part says “willing to train the right person.” I’ll follow up!

I was using carpenter as a broad term for it all. I don’t know if there’s a different term to specify. Yes, I’d be open to that. But it does sound like it’s hard to gauge if I’d be any better off financially (as I am now under the impression you’re not often gonna get medical benefits as a mere apprentice or such).

Spoke to a local carpenter and he said you need skills/on the job training. Classes won’t do it (in his opinion). Then they essentially said go be a welder (not interested). Sigh. In my fantasy I own a side business where I make things like door hangers, holiday props for the yard (you know like a flat nativity scene or snowman or pumpkin made of wood you prop up in grass)… but the headache of starting up a business, separating business expenses etc makes my head spin. Maybe I can seek out someone that’s done it (not interested in Etsy) and get feedback. A miter saw and dremel are actually cheaper than I thought. But you kinda need a shop/house/garage… not an apartment. I need to do more research. Call me crazy but Crunch fitness just put their enrollment fee down to 5¢ so I signed up. They have better hours (open 24 hrs) than the YMCA (membership I have through my job and can use in addition to Crunch til it expires). I’m doing this for my mental health as much if not more than physical.

Weeeeeell I got the 3 year forklift certificate (works on certain models) so possibly a warehouse job might hire me but I’d need practice driving. And the OSHA 10 which is important. 9 weeks class you do the OSHA 30. I joked that it’s short for something else (OH SH**). Everyone hates it lol

Thank you, ladies!! You actually motivate me a lot. 🙂 My dad isn’t the most supportive about this journey. I found it amusing he was concerned about me lifting lumber like that was the deal breaker to fret over (I’m sure there are greater obstacles). Going to the gym so I’ll build muscles, though 💪 haha. I went the other night. They told me to sign up for the CPR course (next weekend) even though I was wishy washy on childcare. The class has a lot of interest so may have to turn a few away. I am glad I discussed this openly so I got my application in on time. I do have a back up plan for dd but had hoped to set up a playdate or something since class is so long. I will most likely not be turned away because I have no marks against me (missing class, assignments). Your personal background/experience will determine job opportunities but since I don’t have that I probably would need the 9 week course and then another after that to become an apprentice. The 9 week course is a pre requisite for certain other ones. Funny thing — one of the women employees (not my instructors) has a spouse in a band with my friend and another friend’s wife. I still have connections here. I keep building my support network. I’ll talk to her or someone else and see if they can explain what I should do for my personal path. Loosely — I’m wondering if I should consider a PT job here when I move here. I dunno, like construction adjacent. I do hate the smell in Lowe’s & HD. Lol but never say never. I know it sounds backwards but I probably need the apartment first. Each county operates differently on household size/income requirements for affordable apartments. I got turned away from one close to the kids this week. I am moving up the waiting list at another (in my mind, anyway. She said she’s tossed some apps for discontinued ph. numbers etc) at one 25 min from the kids. They told me “be ready” when they call. I was able to fill out their form quickly because I had the 8.05 financial form from court to refer to lol. It asked about retirement, savings etc. I’ll get all my documents from my house this weekend when I go home. They need to see the kids’ birth certificates, for example if/when they call.

I graduated today!! We built a little bench (so that’s my second one lol). I got to use 2 different kinds of miter saws. I want one! Carpentry is where my heart is so I dunno maybe I would still pursue it even though electrician work pays better. The 9 weeks class doesn’t meet til Sept and it requires face-to-face time Mon-Thursday so I dunno if I’ll get there. But I have time to sort things out. The local news appeared so I might find a clip online later lol

He’s 14/freshman in high school. He’s never been on a rollercoaster. I scoped out some of the rides on their website. Rather than a day pass you can pay per ride. We might do that. Some I would go on and some I wouldn’t! I like coasters but not rides with big free fall drops etc. I’ll send you a PM with the link to the rides.

Why are we still talking about this? I don’t think dd calls her mom and if ds does sometimes oh well. I have no plans to address it again so please drop it.

Guys nothing else was said or done. Chill.

I think it’s pretty obvious but I’ll explain. If you introduce a child to any new adult you generally tell the child a term/name to use. Teacher, relative they’ve never met, professional at an office visit, etc. In my case, if I ever remarry I would discuss it with the guy and we’d probably be on the same page so that we both direct the child to call him “First name.” Many men would even say/feel, “I’m not trying to replace your dad, you can call me First Name.” Another thing, I personally would not feel comfortable being called “Mom” by another child. Yeeeeeeears down the road? Or a child that never knew their mom? That could be different. I would introduce myself as First Name and sorta expect the child to call me that. Would I scold them for doing otherwise? No, but I might reinforce the First Name thing at some point. Might. I don’t know. Especially if it bothered their bio mom or bio dad. Their dad is primary guardian and sees them all the time. Why on earth would I encourage them to call someone I’m with “Dad”? If they started to do it I would cross that bridge when I got there. I do not think my thoughts on this are weird or unique. You do you.

From what I’ve read online, it’s good to let the child choose but I will say I won’t ever introduce someone else as “Dad.” If at some point the kid started saying it, I might look the other way. I don’t know. I have never discouraged a good relationship with stepmom. I barely know her. I don’t really ask about her, either. Ds has a May birthday on a weekday and I’m entitled to 3 hrs with him so I sent him a text asking if he’d like to go on a couple rides at this little theme park we passed that’s connected to a casino. He said that sounded fun. So I’ll stay in town a couple extra days that week to spend some solo time with him. Dd is too young/nervous to do some of those things. Plus she gets motion sickness.

Most pens are blue or black so wouldn’t they turn the same color as one another, if any new color at all? I get that it’s supposed to be funny because of the punchline but this part confuses me.

The people that I know that had stepparents did not call them Dad/Mom for what it’s worth.

You’re entitled to your opinion but for me no, that’s not ok lol Also, xh made a huge point to say before the divorce that he’d NEVER want anyone else called Dad and likewise he wouldn’t have the kids call anyone else Mom. But he’s a liar so who knows what he really thinks. if I remarry I would have her call the guy First Name, stepdad, or just about anything else. I am one of those people that would never call my MIL “Mom” even if I had a good relationship with her. I had a mom. No one else is Mom to me.

The planning and communication was kinda sporadic/sloppy but ds accepted my invitation to the movies. I ended up having to pick him up (opposite direction of theatre) at a soccer field where he was watching his stepbro play. I took the kids to see the new Mario movie. I couldn’t stay awake through the end (movie was cute but I guess I was too exhausted). I have free movie passes that only work by my theatre… so I’ll probably rewatch it another day alone. Walk in late so I don’t have to sit through the whole thing lol Then I invited them to eat (dd wanted frozen yogurt but it seemed appropriate to eat some real food first. We’d all just been gobbling popcorn). Ds loves sushi and dd and I like fried rice so we went to a Japanese restaurant beside the frozen yogurt place. Ds got the all-you-can-eat option and ate his fill. Dd and I split a hibachi meal. She couldn’t finish but made room for froyo lol Most flavors at these places are just too weird to me! But the strawberry shortcake is delicious. I told ds we could do other things sometime even if it’s over summer. We looked at things as we were driving. He was nice. I was stung by a text that called his stepmom “mom” bit said nothing. Later I asked dd if he calls her mom and she said no, he calls her by her name. Maybe he was rushing the text. Dd and I finally made connections with the little girl neighbor & her mom so I exchanged info and we’ll get the girls together sometime. The mom seems nice and also said she’d speak to her landlord about local properties to see if anything is in my range. I told her realistically no because of the going rates in the area. Monday I’m going to a place to be added to their wait list. The apt complex is income restricted but they will count my household size as more than 1 because the kids are with me sometimes. They won’t add you over the phone. I’ve also requested a tour. I couldn’t find interior photos online.