I was trying to be polite/tactful as this is on the Chat Board, but yeah, I concur.

Yes, it's solely reporting conservative "celebrities" saying they have lost thousands of followers. I found 2 more stories on it this morning (both very similar to the one I posted yesterday). Both (Washington Examiner & Daily Caller) show as "Right Bias" on mediabiasfactcheck, as does the link I posted yesterday. I have seen neither Twitter talking about banning users nor have I found on any other social media site any person saying they were banned in the last 3 days. As I found a very, very similar article dated in August, I'm wondering if it is a periodic conspiracy coupled with conservatives deactivating themselves. Bethben, who originally said non-confrontational conservatives were being banned, has not chosen to come back to this thread, so I don't know that we'll ever get a definitive answer as to what she meant.

I'm still in isolation following Alabama. I'm not having any symptoms, but both hotels I stayed in had no mask usage and one of them was crowded with people eating when I popped in for my "grab and go" breakfast. So, I wait for my test to come back now. We're surviving without a water softener for now. We'll see how it goes, although I did put some of the stimulus money aside for it. Our water is pretty hard so it can be pretty hard on our other appliances, etc that use water. Also, need to work on saving for an oven/range. My mom gave me $ to order 3 shirts from the last Christopher and Banks sale. She said she didn't find anything for herself, but she felt the urge to buy something, so she let me look and they should be here shortly. DDs spent most of their Christmas $ this week. Middle brought me to tears donating about half of hers to a local outreach program for trafficked women. I have put together a binder with information on our debt, savings, investments, insurance, etc. So it is easily accessible for someone to pick up if I can't do it. So, so, so many passwords! That's been my major achievement during isolation. The other thing that I've been doing to distract myself from the news cycle is watching Struggle Meals on hulu. Young chef cooks healthy cheap meals. Everything is under $2 a serving. Oldest DD left several things here. So, once I'm cleared, I'll have to mail down some stuff. She has ADD, so I have learned that I need to help her pack. I don't know what I was thinking this time, but I left her to her own devices there. She just doesn't see the stuff right in front of her face. I did notice several things the morning we left, so those got packed, but she left a set of sheets here (brought them home to wash), most of the bathroom stuff, and a couple of small piles of clothes.

I have a little George Foreman grill that my kids use for paninis in case you have one of those. Or just a pan with a pan on top.

((Choirfam)) I'm sorry. Peace can be very hard to find sometimes.

I'm not the poster you responded to, but I, too, was interested. Bethben, if I am completely off base with what you have seen, please let me know. I am only going off of what you posted in a few sentences. I haven't been able to find any first hand reports of non-confrontational conservatives who has had their account locked. But some sites are reporting their numbers of followers allegedly dropping. No mainstream reporting that I can find yet. https://www.lifenews.com/2021/01/09/twitter-starts-massive-purge-of-pro-life-conservative-accounts-claiming-harmful-activity/ Note I found this exact story on 3 sites. Breitbart also came up in my searching, but I didn't check them to see what they said, because, well, Breitbart. But I found a very similar article from August 2020 as well: https://realclimatescience.com/2020/08/massive-twitter-purge-in-progress/

I have a stuffed cat who looks like a favorite pet of mine who died a few years ago; my kids pooled their money and bought him for me. I sleep with either him or a small squishable pillow. I got in the habit of "packing myself into position" to sleep when I had my double mastectomy. I can now sleep way more comfortably than during that time, but the stuffed cat or the pillow seems to keep my implants from being smooshed to the side which hurts in the morning.

I am so glad you are doing better. May you have continued good mental health. Welcome back!

Me, too. Parenthesis are the best! I often re-type posts because as I'm re-reading and over-thinking, I notice that every other sentence will have parenthesis. I also like to link articles a lot (mainly on the political board). <-- note the use of parentheses LOL. I'm a researcher at heart. I once won the plastic shovel award at some work function because I was the one voted "Most Likely to be Shoveling through the File Room" looking for answers.

Well, I just delivered my oldest to college, so I am in isolation in the master bedroom. So I literally have little to distract me from the news. I know anxiety displays as anger sometimes, but I don't think I have anxiety. I do however have anger; lots and lots of anger regarding the situation. I am angry that we have let ourselves get to this point where people literally died for what? a 6 hour slowdown of the inevitable? so people could Instagram themselves flipping the bird in Pelosi's office?, super angry that half the country still feels like they were wronged in the election, super-duper angry that no one in power seems to have a plan for what to do for the next two weeks or any impetus to hold anyone powerful accountable. I wish the punching bag were in the master bedroom right now - I've been doing a lot of situps, but those don't work out the anger. Although I may actually have abs when I come out of isolation LOL. edited for typos

I can do it pretty easily. I can't really "see" the word - but I can work backward along it pretty quickly. I never tried until today though LOL. I never learned phonics until I had to teach it, but I am a fantastic speller. I can mirror write and read upside down and/or backward very easily as well. I wonder if that is related.

Yes, I got back yesterday. Great driving except I had to stop because of freezing fog Monday night. Got DD's room all set -- DH had taken her down in August and I didn't go because of the COVID surge. DH didn't help her decorate or organize (which is definitely not her strong suit). So, we hung pictures, cleaned up the floor, shoved the wardrobe sideways where it fit better, and made it look a little homier. Now, I'm just sitting around waiting until I can get a COVID test. We did get our stimulus $ while I was gone, but the water softener sprung a leak while I was gone, so we'll have to decide if we want to replace that right away. It's always something.

Ours were free due to COVID for a few months. Awesome! Then, without warning, they became regular price. They probably had too many people doing it and wanted the cash. Very irksome.

My aunt has a flip out shelf for her Kitchenaid mixer in her island. It's pretty nifty. https://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Resources-Appliance-Mechanism-Soft-Close/dp/B075TTYL3S/ref=pd_lpo_201_t_1/146-9230020-3147640?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B075TTYL3S&pd_rd_r=2e8404bd-271a-43c2-824d-e0ef060d4724&pd_rd_w=0t3aB&pd_rd_wg=31s90&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=6TTXMKWZD0CQ0XJ1618T&psc=1&refRID=6TTXMKWZD0CQ0XJ1618T On the topic of lazy susans, I have to climb a chair and clean out the upper corner cabinet of things that have fallen off the lazy susan every so often. Very irritating.

I know I can't go back to our co-op despite having teens that would really, really benefit from the social aspect. I was unfriended by two members of the co-op the day after I posted a tongue-in-cheek, pro-vaccine meme on my FB, so I am 99% sure the vaccination rate will be similar to the masking rate there. I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do. I can't keep my 14-16 yo's away from all in-person activities until graduation, but that's looking like it may be our safest option as homeschoolers in this area. So I guess I don't have any advice, Not a number, but I can commiserate.

It's super exciting to buy a house! Hope everything works out for you!! Today is grocery pickup day and oil change day. I leave for Alabama tomorrow. So I have to finish packing for that. So far, fingers crossed, it looks like we won't run into any weather issues. Plan is drive the super long state of IL on Sunday, make it to Huntsville midday Monday, have lunch & buy groceries, and I turn around and make it as far as I can before I tire out. VIPKid paid me $10 to open a slot today, but I didn't see the email until this morning. It let me open one just in the nick of time (like 35 minutes before start time) and it still counts I think. I'll have to check to make sure it credits when I get back. I have enough for a $25 gift card from Swagbucks, so I'll order that soon and stash it for my gift fund. I can get Paypal as well, but you get a discount on the first gift card per month. DD's 19th birthday is in Feb, and youngest will be 14 in the beginning of March. I normally buy for them during Christmas shopping time, but I didn't this year, so I'll have to figure that out soon. Still waiting for my bank account to be stimulated. Now that I have a plan for the $, I just want it to get here so I can work the plan LOL!

Getting bags of donations out of my house always makes me feel good.

I went and pulled up my Pinterest page for tried recipes. Here are some that are quick & easy and (most) everyone likes here. https://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/parmesan-crusted-tilapia https://www.thewholesomedish.com/skinny-crock-pot-loaded-potato-soup/ Another crockpot meal - Hawaiian kielbasa: https://gooseberrypatch.typepad.com/blog/2011/04/cotw-101-sc-recipes.html#.X--g-dhKhPY Roast Beef: https://addapinch.com/balsamic-roast-beef-recipe/ & French Dip sandwiches made from leftovers: http://addapinch.com/balsamic-roast-beef-french-dip-sandwich-recipe//

Crockpot or instant pot are usually pretty set-it-and-forget-it meals. Tonight we're having BBQ chicken. I cut chicken in smaller pieces. Pan fry. Add in some BBQ sauce and simmer for a bit. Done. This is my youngest DD's favorite chicken recipe. It takes 5-7 minutes to prep & then bake: https://primalpeak.com/crispy-drumsticks/ Easy sides: microwave frozen veggies with some salt & butter & water, bagged salad, frozen or canned rolls, apple slices. If standing over a stove or appliance is part of the problem, would it work to sit at the kitchen table to chop & stir? Then, you could make up casseroles sitting & just slide into the oven. Is your school district participating in the free kids' lunches that are offered due to the pandemic? That might take some pressure off so you're not planning 3 meals a day.

Now that's a discount!

Made a reservation for a hotel to take DD back to college in a few days today. Was my 10th reservation with hotels.com, so we'll have a freebie in May to go get her. Need to get up and start packing for the trip. Will get oil changed tomorrow before the trip; it's sleeting today, so no going anywhere. DH bought his mom a bouquet of flowers for late FIL's birthday tomorrow. Very sweet, but not budgeted. So we have to fit that into this next paycheck's budget. Ordered groceries today; will pick up tomorrow. I gathered a checklist posted on the financial/legal documents thread and printed it out. I figure I will work on making a financial/legal binder so we have all information together. DH would be lost if he needed to take it over unexpectedly, and I may not be thinking correctly if something happened to him. I'm going to work on it during my isolation time after I get back from college trip.

One of my DD's has POTS. I can't offer a whole lot more than Tap has explained. DD's specialist (cardiologist) has a pretty set trial of remedies. 1) She starts with extra water with electrolytes. DD likes the Liquid IV although she often switches it up with Propel. She drinks 3 32 oz water bottles daily. 2) Compression socks. DD has 3 thigh high pair. She also has 6 or so knee high. She, as a teen, prefers the knee high, but the thigh high work better for her. 3) Salt everything. Our family joke is handing her the salt container with a reminder to "Salt Liberally". DD has taken to drinking pickle juice on occasion. She also takes approximately 3 buffered salt tablets. She prefers pink Himalayan salt because it doesn't taste as salty to her. DD was still passing out daily doing the 3 things above. So, we started meds. Started with midodrine (which raises blood pressure). Added fludrocortisone (which increases blood volume). Added metroprolol (keeps heart rate lower). She did about 3 months of all of these before adding the next med. It wasn't until she did all the things that her fainting stopped. Even now, if she forgets to do 1 of the above, she will pass out. She did Tae Kwon Do for a while which was awesome for her mental health, but ultimately, the dojang was unable to work with her POTS. She cannot hold the poses for any amount of time without fainting. She wants to try swimming for the full body compression aspect and the fact that she would be horizontal doing it. Due to the pandemic, she is only working out at home. She does this workout routine: https://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/pdf/CHOP_Modified_Dallas_POTS_Exercise_Program.pdf I join her because it is a no-fun exercise routine, so it's easier to do with someone. DD has never had the official Tilt Table Test as she also has PTSD. Her specialists think that since the meds work for her, POTS is the right diagnosis. We have had trouble due to the mental health issues with some specialists she saw assuming that every symptom was due to her mental health diagnoses. Very frustrating 2 1/2 years. I suggest keeping a diary of any symptoms to take to the specialists. I had a 6 month diary showing fainting daily, brief what she was doing, how long she was out, etc. I still believe it was the only reason we finally got a diagnosis.

Yay for the stimulus money! Boo on the overcharge.

peacocktv has the series. It comes bundled with our cable internet. Yeah, I've decided I like to be a lot lazier than Dick and Angel haha. HGTV has also picked it up recently, but they only have aired about 2 or 3 episodes so far.

Whoo-hoo! 2020 going out well for us. I just answered the phone and it was the local hospital. They re-evaluated my financial assistance. We now owe only 21% of the bill! Whoo-hoo! That means it's paid with the stimulus money, and there is no $500 month payment. If I knew how to turn a cartwheel, I would.