Hahaha, this is so funny. Just a few months later and I have the latest 16pro max. I got an offer from AT&T to upgrade at no cost to me, so went for it. Doesn't seem to be a huge upgrade, but I had noticed a few small connectivity glitches with my phone lately so I'm hoping the upgrade will smooth that out. A brand new phone always feels like lightning- so fast.

I'm IN college classes right now. It's amazing the instructions the professors have to give when assigning a paper. Even after all that, there is almost always a general announcement to the class after the papers have been graded with how they are supposed to be formatted or a reminder to pay attention to the syllabus and the rubrics because spelling and grammar count towards the grade. The critical thinking skills are something else as well. My classes are online and asynchronous, which means that I am supposed to interact with my classmates and instructors via message boards each week. The requirements include a minimum number of times that I am supposed to respond to my classmates and that is really hard when the comments from them bear no relevance to the subject at hand. Questions that begin with "share a real-life situation" and then the student says "This isn't exactly the same but..." I don't know how the instructors do it. I really don't. I watch my classes as recordings and the number of times people will say something completely out of context or irrelevant and then the professor deftly re-directs it back is amazing to me. It improved some when I moved from the 200 level classes to the 300 and 400 level, but I'm taking one masters level class right now and it's absolutely amazing how people can churn out paragraphs of information and still say absolutely nothing.

I wear my earrings pretty permanently in all of my holes except the first earlobe. That's the piercing that I change out when I feel like it- the rest of my holes are hoops or studs. I have 15 holes in my ears so far. I'm a big fan of surgical steel or titanium flat back earrings. The flat backs screw on and rest against the earlobe so there isn't anything that pokes when sleeping and they have to unscrew to fall out. I also have a lot of labret studs, which go into the ear from the backside and then the gem/ball twists onto the post. I have had great luck with Amazon for studs if I don't buy them from the piercer or from a body jewelry place. Something like this would give you options your DD can change out. https://a.co/d/aIIpyWj I would avoid Claires or any piercing place that uses guns to pierce. Find a tattoo/piercing shop. They are worth every penny. They have great jewelry and they pierce correctly. If you think there is an infection you can use a simple aftercare spray on it for a few days and the infection should clear up.

Tiling is tedious and takes longer than you think, but if you've never done it, a small space like what you're talking about would be an ideal place to start. Plus, it's a utility sink, so if it's not perfect no one but you is ever going to see it. What kind of tile are you thinking? You can buy tile sheets to make a project less daunting if there is a pattern that you like. Just make sure to measure a lot. Use a level and make sure you have nice straight lines. Definitely use Tile Spacers in between rows and columns of tile to keep things nice and straight.

Don't use the boiling water canner to hold the liquid in or cook it in. You just don't know how it might react and you don't want mineral floaties in this broth that you are putting all this time into. You can use the pressure canner to cook the liquid, especially if it doubles as a pressure cooker. I would use that one if you don't want to go to the trouble of sourcing a new stock pot. If this is a regular activity for you, it might be worth investing. You can get a very nice 24 quart stock pot at Sam's Club for around $40.

It might be worth it if you live in a place where you don't have access to those kind of organic, natural and whole food options. I signed up for a trial to claim a really good deal on the first order and then forgot to cancel. So I've had it for over a year now and have only ever placed the one order because everything on that site that I might consider I can get at one of my grocery stores for less than one it costs at Thrive. Here's an example of the pricing on some items for you: Simple Mills Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffin & Bread Mix: Regular price $8.69, on sale for $7.99 Eden Foods Organic Apple Butter, 17 oz jar: $13.49 Thrive Market brand Organic Spaghetti, 16 oz bag: Reg price $6.49, on sale for $2.06 Annie's White Cheddar Mac & Cheese, 6 oz box: Reg price $4.09, on sale for $1.89 Mary's Gone Crackers Super Seed Crackers, 5.5 oz box: $5.99 16 oz package of grass fed organic Thrive Market ground beef (frozen): $13.99 32 oz Oatley original oat milk (shelf stable) 32 oz: $5.99 Amy's Thai Coconut can of soup, 14.1 oz can: $4.79 on sale for $2.99 They run a lot of sales, I'll give them that. I look at it every once in a while and their offerings have increased in the 14 months or so I've had a membership. Many of the things if you buy them in quantity Thrive will give a small discount, like 6 cans of soup get 5% off, or 4 boxes of pasta get 5% off. I will say, the one box I ordered I had a nice variety of items and they packaged it really well. I had bags of chips, a couple of jars of ghee, coconut oil, dried fruit and crackers, and the chips and crackers were completely intact when I opened it.

Definitely a thing. Most of these parents think they're doing the responsible thing by providing the supervised space and taking away any keys so no one will be driving. Wine coolers and Hard seltzers are very popular and these days don't cost much more to supply en masse than a couple of cases of premium soda. When I was in high school ages ago the beverage of choice back then was the ice cream bucket of brandy slush in the freezer.

I used a local cleaning service and paid $245 every two weeks ($270 by the time I added a tip) for a timed clean of my home. I gave them a priority list of what I would like cleaned. Priority was all the bathrooms, floors and kitchen, but not appliance interiors or dishes. If they'd completed my list and still had time they would do some extra cleaning that was always appreciated. I paid for 5 hours of cleaning, which was usually two people in my home for 2 1/2 hours total. They generally used more natural cleaning products like Mrs. Meyers, and if I wanted decluttering they would do that too. They were so thorough in ways I never would have expected. They always emptied the crumb tray from the toaster, for example. That's not even something that crosses my radar! I miss them a lot and wish I could afford to have them back! They don't put pricing on their website, but here is a link to their site that explains how they do things. Maybe that will help you in your search. https://queenofcleaningwi.com/ I frequently see people asking for recommendations for home cleaning on nextdoor- asking around will likely get you the best odds at finding a local company. TBH, I'm not even sure how I found this place the first time, but I kinda want to say it was the product of a Google search and wanting to avoid the chains.

I make something really simple for DD that is full cup of ice, 1 part peach schnapps, 1 part raspberry vodka, 2 parts lemonade (or more if you want of course), drizzle of grenadine for color and then top it off with Sprite. Cherries are a must. Dr. Pepper and cupcake vodka is sweet but tasty. We make a "Bomb Pop" every July 4th that is Berry Vodka, Blue Curacao, and Lemonade in a cup and then you drop an entire Bomb Pop in to be the ice. DD really likes flavored vodkas for playing mad scientist with, and there is a great variety of them to pick from. She also gets ideas from TikTok, so I'm sure that's worth exploring if either of you are on TikTok.

I didn't get to watch near as much as I wanted, but what I did say was just so great. The competitions in the pool where there were 3 or 4 swimmers neck-and-neck were so fun- and there were a lot of close races this Olympics! I think I watched more track & field than I have before because I felt really invested. I loved the steeplechase races, the 15000 meters and so many others. Some memorable events would be the men's shot put where it started raining hard after 3 throws and no one could throw well in the rain. Also, the women's balance beam final. Every competitor except the gold medalist falling off the beam? Unheard of. The men's gymnastic team final and Pommel Horse Guy were great too. I wanted to watch more kayak cross and indoor cycling. Snoop was a blast. As well as many of the other celebrity sightings where we literally just saw them being human, enjoying the many sports and cheering on their teams just like anyone else. I'm looking forward to the winter games in Italy, which begin on February 6, 2026. That's not too far away.

I bought Lock & Lock storage containers for bulk rice, AP flour and bread flour. These containers work great, but won't hold a 25 pound bag. When I have a 25 pound bag of something, I put most of it in the Lock & Lock and the rest in my working Tupperware that I keep in the kitchen. I've never had a problem with bugs or critters getting in the Lock & Lock, and I love the style with flip-top for quick and easy access. The scoops are a nice touch too. https://a.co/d/78oa51p

My best suggestion is to do a one-day membership to both to compare them yourself in your area, because they vary by location. I have both memberships and prefer each one for different things, but I'm always surprised when I'm traveling and stop at one counting on them to have something specific and then they don't have whatever it is at their location. I'm always surprised when people say that their Costco has the best produce, because in my city, I find the Sam's Club produce to be far superior. Always fresh and a great variety. I also prefer the bakery at Sam's, with the exception of the sheet cakes, because Costco has the better tasting frosting. Alcohol selection is very good at both. Their store brands of high-end liquors really are the high-end liquors re-packaged and they are worth the price. Prepared foods, frozen convenience foods are better at Costco, but I prefer the fresh meat selection at Sam's Club way more than Costco. Costco just doesn't have very many options for fresh meat, where Sam's has all the different cuts of beef, pork and lamb. I gravitate towards Sam's 90% of the time, for two very specific reasons. One is that I buy the plus membership at Sam's, so I can get in the door at 7:30 in the morning if I'd like. Costco doesn't open until 11, and I generally like to do shopping runs first thing in the morning. The second reason I favor Sam's Club is the most important to me though, and that is Scan-N-Go. Using the app, I can scan items as I put them in my cart, swipe to pay for my order and walk out the door. I can be in and out at Sam's Club in minutes. My club also recently installed some kind of gate that you walk through on your way out of the exit so you don't even have to have your cart checked by an employee. I just hold up my phone and they wave me by. If you've ever been in a warehouse club on a Sunday with the after church crowd, you might understand how glorious it is to fill your cart, swipe, and walk right back out. If I could only pick one place to have a membership it would be Sam's.

I think you should keep going! The Linen is definitely a lighter shade and has a different tone to it. I think it will look great with the blue once you are all done.

About 2 years. I've got just over a year in on my 14 Pro Max and it works just as well as when I first got it. When the apps I use daily for work start being sluggish or it starts getting buggy, that's when I start considering an upgrade. I suppose this one may last me a little longer since I don't have any complaints.

Deciding to quit and stay at home doesn't mean it has to be the forever decision. It's a big decision, yes, but maybe if you frame it is a temporary change, you can feel more at peace about it. Try it for one year and see how it goes. I think the timing for this type of decision would be perfect. With summer break, you'll be able to leave your job and still have a little bit of summer left to decompress before you get right to the grind with the school books and the new school year. It sounds perfect to me!