No one ever told me that the “Holiday Party” for work (held at a restaurant on a Wednesday night and entirely self-paid) was basically “required.” I chose not to go as I’d have to pay for a babysitter and expensive food and booze (because where I’m from, if you don’t drink alcohol, or at least pretend to, then…

To clean ears (please do not do this), you just need to find the right kind of pen cap. The nicely curved tip, the slightly cupped shape... You can dig out so much hard junk with that sucker. I mean... You can probably also seriously damage your ear drum/ear canal, but there is not better feeling on earth than…

I had a good friend in high school. She became good friends with my brother and sister, too, and visited my family a lot. Her family has some... issues... her parents come across as real jerks (controlling, supportive, ect), and her sister is in and out of drug rehab programs. We stayed in touch, and after college she…

THIS. My kiddos (one in HS now, one in HS soon) routinely get told “enjoy these years - they are the best years of your life!!!” and I jump in so fast with “They’re really not, though. I mean... maybe they are for some people, but my experience has been that life just gets better. HS had some fun times, some super…

AND, when one of her family mentioned that some fancy people had started making their doughnuts with holes in the middle, she replied basically “well, some people have time to turn their doughnuts. I don’t. That’s stupid.” and I’ve taken that to heart, and I’ve always promised myself that, if I make doughnuts (other…

My kiddos do their chores (and extra tasks) for screen time. If they need money for something, they can negotiate with me to do bigger jobs for money, or they can dog-sit for other people, etc. But mostly they save any birthday or Christmas money for stuff they want to buy.

In reverse.... I went to a HS that is BIG into reunions - they’re 3 days long, and people come from all over the world for their big reunions (like 20, 25, etc).

I have been doing this in preparation for the school year - but everything lives in the freezer and the kiddos pull out what they want and microwave it. I have a freezer bag full of egg/bacon/cheese squares, and bags full of baked oatmeal in various flavors. I’m hoping these higher protein/fiber options mean less…

Do you have this sit out on the counter overnight? or in the fridge? Or do you cook it?

When I met my now-husband, we’d been dating for a couple of months (in college), when I went home with him, and I met his childhood much-beloved stuffed animal. His animal was worn and loved to the exact same fur-texture as beloved bear. That’s when I knew we were meant to be together.

I desperately want to do this, but my price-point is clearance racks and rummage sales. I DO have a few items in multiple colors because through sheer luck, I have found them at different rummage sales!

Zestar apples: The Best Apple. And it’s an early variety, so all that crisp, wonderful goodness comes right at peak Apple-Craving-But-Not-Yes-Buying season. 

Why is the sale a full month before most schools start up in Wisconsin?? Cheeseheads are still in full-on SUMMER mode that first weekend of August. No one’s thinking school!

I love houseplants. They get me through the Long Dark of Winter, and they seriously help boost my mood. If we had the money this year (we don’t. Sigh), I’d build a Greenhouse attached to the house for MOAR HOUSEPLANTS!! I have a reputation in the family for a seriously green thumb. But... the thing is... I’m not…

I was in HS during the age of the Graphing Calculator, not the slide rule, but one of my math teachers insisted that we learn the basics, so we each got a loaner from the school to use, and he got a 5 foot-long slide rule that hung off of the top of the blackboard. I LOVED that lesson. Slide rules are so freaking…

Except that landfills are not built for things to break down. They are built so that things are encapsulated and then they just sit there, for decades (and longer). Stuff that breaks down easily can actually be harder for landfills to deal with - that breakdown produces byproducts!

I am not goth. Like, not at all.

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USE A QUARTER AND GET A CART. Even if you’re not getting a ton of food. I was buying food that I could carry, so I skipped the cart, and that meant that the person checking me out had no place to put the food I was buying. I had assumed that I could just bag it as he swiped it, but he was too fast for me (they’re…

You might ask her to illustrate it, too?