I generally work under the assumption that if you are asking internet strangers for advice, you already know what the answer is and just need validation and encouragement. I'm sorry your mom can't be her best self for you. Hopefully therapy can get you to a place where you feel comfortable with her. Hugs.

It's currently 1:26 AM and I am at work. Day 6 of 10 and my shifts are 11 hours. Plus I drive 200 miles a day to get here. And to top off the crapiness of the day, the heat is broken in the lab. I need a new job. And wool socks.

Get yourself to a doctor ASAP. My sister had a UTI, went to the doctor and got prescribed antibiotics. Everything was business as usual until a week or so later when she went from "I'm feeling kinda crappy" too uncontrollable shivering, fever spike and difficulty remaining awake in a matter of hours. Thankfully, her…

You might also see if there are activities in your city over the holiday that would allow you to do something with your mom but limit the amount of time you spend talking. I know our city does a Turkey Trot 5k, movie theates are open (I think because no one wants to talk to their parents) or perhaps you could suggest…

You know, I'd be willing to pay $40 for jeans IF this kind of shit didn't happen. These are technically Gap so theoretically they should be higher quality. I want to live on a planet where I can get more than six months out of a pair of marked up jeans before I start finding holes all over them. Extra quality, my ass!

Nah, I'm pretty sure it's this guy.

Please share more stories like this. They make my heart sing. What a wonderful lady!

When I first saw Cassiebear's new name pop up with her avatar I had a "How dare they thieve her pic!!!" moment. And then I realized it was her and felt very foolish.

Dog pictures are my favorite!

I understand how it goes with the dog parks. We couldn't ever take Piper since she was super dog aggressive with everyone that wasn't pack. But we did like to take her tennis courts after hours as it gave her the ability to hit a full speed run. The fences were high enough that she couldn't jump them (she got on the…

If you can't up the number of walks, consider a pack for the dog. We had a shephard mix that was all kinds of energetic and our trainer recommended a dog pack loaded with canned goods/water/weights/whatever. it made a big difference in the quality of the walk in that she was actually worn out by the time she got home…

Found it!

I'm going as Magnum PI. I have a red pencil skirt, a fabulous Hawaiian shirt and a fake mustache.

I was just coming here to say the same thing! There is a painting in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts that is also a dead ringer for Keanu but Google is letting me down in finding it. Have texted the husband to send it ASAP.

It's not. That was my point. :)

Oh totes agree. I pee in the shower sometimes. I was just bothered by the myth that pee is sterile still floats around.

See up thread? I'm tired of typing the same thing. Will agree that crotch skin definitely has more bacteria than urine. If you want to talk methodology on the study, come find me.

The paper also talks about how they had to alter how they grew their cultures because the level of bacteria was very, very low. This would explain why normal urine doesn't show cultures with traditional culturing methods but did in the study. They collected samples from healthy women, women with full blown UTIs and…

Perhaps you didn't hear about the study Loyola published two years ago. See up thread for links. I think they could alter the way they collected some of their samples, but it still holds up to scrutiny. I'd like to see a second and third study reproduce results for infallible proof, but I'm convinced now.