That upvote/downvote would be lovely - and the possibility of downvotes returning someone to the greys could well help people try a little harder to be more civil in their comments (particularly when disagreeing with points). I’ve basically given up ever getting out of the greys, seeing as I’ve been here for years.

Myfitnesspal.com. I’ve lost almost 75 pounds in a year, and myfitnesspal.com was a HUGE help. You can talk to your doctor about a month’s dosage of phentermine (that helped me get jump-started) and then after that, drinking water, portioning food out before I ate (and keeping track of what I ate), using smaller…

Seconding the idea of getting recs from your vet and/or groomer, as mine pointed me towards an amazing daycare with a wonderful trainer. That said, anywhere you’re considering, ask if you can come in and watch a training session. Any trainer worth having should be happy to have you come watch an orientation or a…

Speaking as one of the people struggling to oust Cathy the Clown, I’m so JEALOUS of you! I think I’m just gonna pretend she’s my rep, too, until the next election comes and we hopefully flip the 5th. There’s a couple of strong contenders out there, so maybe this time...

That’s what I’m trying to figure out as well. I use CK and get emails from both them and my credit card’s own monitoring whenever there’s a credit check run, a new account opened, or anything at all changes on my report. So far, they’ve never been wrong, so I’m thinking I’m going to just continue to trust them rather…

This, exactly. I keep ALL my writing on Drive, both the things I do individually and the work I do with a partner, and the thought of losing everything was enough to make me break out in a cold sweat. I have some of it backed up to USB (and after this, I know what I’m doing this weekend!) but previous incidents with…

While unintentional poisoning covers drug ODs and alcohol poisoning, it can also cover people who overdose on their prescription pain pills due to disorientation. There’s a reason that Kidlet is the Keeper of the Pills when I’m in a migraine or my pain gets too much - I lose track of time and the ability to think…

I’ve found cooked bacon will last a good week and a half in the fridge, so I cook off the whole thing, put most of it in a baggie, then I can just grab a piece or two of bacon as either breakfast for the next couple days or a snack. Bonus is that I’ve found that having 1-2 pieces of bacon as a protein snack cuts down…

Kidlet would be pea green over that. This past election was his first, and he sometimes looks at the pics of him jubilantly dropping his ballot in the collection box at the library and comments plaintively that he wants that optimism back.

It hurts the child by not allowing them to form their own opinion and relationship with the other parent. That, in turn, means that the other parent can (and very likely will) use your conduct as a basis for an argument that you ‘never gave them a fair shot’ with the child, which can then set up the child for a bad…

Back when Kidlet was four or so, I instituted ‘bubble time’. It lasted from the moment we got on the bus to go home until ten minutes after we walked in the door. There’s no talking or interacting unless absolutely needed during bubble time, and when he got a job recently, he resurrected bubble time for himself. It’s…

I booked plane tickets for Monday months ago, before I remembered that it was Eclipse Day, and riiiiiiiight when we hit totality, our plane will likely be boarding. I called Delta and begged to change tickets, was told that I’ll need to check back within 24 hours of the flight to see if they can do a $75 change.…

Mr Grumpypants here (usually known as Joss) would like it well known that he is, without a doubt, THE MOST UNLOVED DOG IN THE WORLD. (Or so the grumbles, whines, and very heavy sighs that issue from him every 5-10 minutes assure me.)

I’m definitely with you on the moving on and finding someone else (Heartbroken? Over a guy you talked to for THREE WEEKS?!?) But having been in a relationship where the guy lied like he breathed, I can absolutely say that I’m like Sam - lying is a hard no for me. Especially lying about small things like this, then…

I believe in capitalism. I believe in the free market. And I’ve voted Republican in the past. But capitalism works best when people start from equal (or as close to equal as possible) footing. And the legacy of slavery and poverty in America makes that impossible. So yes, there need to be government programs to help…

Keeping in mind that I could be totally wrong on this, what I got was that we need to always remember that racism does not hurt us nearly as much as it hurts POC. We can - and should! - strongly condemn the racism and absolutely confront the racists in our circle and call them on their shit, but we will never truly…

That’s exactly it. Recognizing our own value, supporting others’, that’s what it’s all about. And anytime I’ve started to ‘just’ something about myself, I try to remember that I have Kidlet and my furbaby, and they don’t see anything at all ‘just’ about me. In fact, sometimes those ‘just’ things are huge perks for…

It was an absolute blast! I went shopping beforehand and bought a new outfit to start my freedom - another thing I highly recommend. A cake or whatever her favorite dessert is would be a great thing that I’m sure she’d love.

Kidlet told me he was gay sometime in the fifth grade (my response - ‘what do you want for dinner?’ still ranks as one of his favorite stories) and he never really bothered to hide it at school. Like your son, he dealt with A LOT of bullying in middle school. All throughout seventh and eighth grade, there wasn’t a day…

You aren’t an idiot. My first husband was basically a sociopath - no true emotion, just the ability to mimic it. And he was good at that. Most of them are. So don’t feel like you were taken in by your ex - his issues are just that, HIS issues. Remind yourself of that when you start to ask why you didn’t see or what…