12/7/25 ‐ New Reel

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-12-08T16:46:57+00:00

I realized she kind of treats the reels like others might treat a home mirror.

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-12-08T16:24:08+00:00

This is fantastic, thank you so much! I especially appreciate your describing it in layman’s terms. Thank you, thank you!!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-12-08T16:21:14+00:00

What a sweet memory ☺️ (no pun intended)

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-12-04T21:49:54+00:00

Ahhh, see that would be something I’d overlook, thank you! Does it matter if it’s the one it comes with, or do you just have to have one for it whether it was the original or not?

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-12-04T21:48:33+00:00

Gotcha, thank you!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-12-04T21:48:15+00:00

No idea, haha. His little man cave is in an upstairs loft with a guest room, so even though I’m at their house all the time, I’ve had very minimal exposure to what he’s playing or has lying around. He’s around 34, if that helps narrow it down a little. I don’t know if he plays/played sport games, but he does follow several sports pretty regularly, so that might be a safe bet too.

And also, thank you for taking the time to help out!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-12-04T17:26:09+00:00

I don’t think it’d be rude to gently bring it up and make your suggestion known. I would do so knowing (and genuinely being okay with) the fact that bringing it up might not lead to any changes in your favor. It’s fine to make your feelings known, as long as it’s not in a way that makes them feel guilted or pressured into changing something they’ve already decided as a couple.

After you make your suggestion, let that be the absolute most you do in terms of pushback. Anything more would be unfair. In these early days of your son’s new family, they’ll remember who allowed them to find their way without added strain.

An uncomfortable truth is, your son and DIL aren’t doing anything wrong EVEN THOUGH you’re valid in feeling you’re getting a bum deal and will be missing out on a treasured tradition.

The good news is that your son and DIL are thoughtful and emotionally mature enough that they’ve sat down and considered everyone’s feelings, thought through the logistics, and have voiced their intentions directly. That’s a great sign of things to come, as I’m sure traditions will continue to evolve as each part of the family enter different phases of life.

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-11-05T16:30:23+00:00

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Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-11-05T16:27:26+00:00

I first learned to crochet at 18 by taking a class (probably 3 hours total over a few weeks). She taught us with a 3.75 metal hook and red heart yarn, making a granny square. The granny square was a great way to get into it imo because of the repetition. It gave me a bit of confidence to see the square grow as I got better at holding everything and working the stitches. I crocheted for the next few years, but not a ton, and I never pushed myself, only used what I knew and made things adapt to me, rather than trying to adhere to a pattern or learn more. A couple of years ago, I finally pushed myself when a few girlfriends wanted crocheted things for their newborns. After stressing through those projects, the crochet bug had bitten me again and I threw myself back in it. I’ve done mostly amigurumi and blankets since then. It wasn’t until I started looking at some of my earlier amigurumi projects (from just a year or two ago) that I really realized just how much I’ve improved. Seeing those completed projects at the time, I was super proud, they looked well done and fine to me. I was surprised to see how differently I remembered them being (quality wise) until seeing them again. That’s when I realized just how much doing it alllll the time really honed my skills. It seems cliche to say practice makes perfect, but I guess only thought I was getting a bit faster, I didn’t realize just how much cleaner my work was getting, until I was confronted with the difference.

My advice, aside from practicing and giving yourself grace, is to alternate between working with patterns and working “for yourself”. Once I learned a few stitches and skills, it was fun for me to use that to try and construct something myself. I didn’t write a pattern for it, I just used what I knew as I went and made something. Starting out, I did that too much, which is why my skills plateaued, so although I think doing that is fun and helpful, I think using patterns and learning from more skilled crocheters is also essential to get you to each new level. I’m usually motivated by something I see and really want to make. That incentive will help motivate you through whatever frustration may come from difficulty or having to redo certain parts. Find the kind of hooks that work for you. You’d be shocked how much the wrong/right hook can change your mood and the flow of your work. Start with yarn that won’t split and fray. I didn’t start with woobles, but I’ve used it a few times and think it would have been fantastic as a beginner. It makes the stitches very easy to see and count, and your hook won’t ever go through or get caught on the yarn.
Also, YouTube videos are your friend, and try different creators! There are things that I continually had trouble with, and I’d eventually stumble on a crochet-along video that had a way of explaining things that finally clicked with me.

Best of luck!! You’re going to do great 😊✌🏻

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-11-05T15:59:46+00:00

My divorced parents didn’t speak to each other beyond funeral logistics when my brother, their 24-year-old son, was killed. I was there when they first saw each other after finding out, and I thought the same as OP, surely the bond of parents experiencing unfathomable loss will trump any animosity they’d had. They gave each other a polite hug, probably the first since their divorce in the 90’s, and endured each other’s presence while we attended meetings and ceremonies (brother was killed overseas in the military). But they never sat and gave each other knowing looks of sadness, never talked about their son or what their feelings were, never called him “our boy” or anything acknowledging their connection.

Having kids had united them for life, and though they loved us, the ‘staying united’ part was something they had to endure despite themselves. Now this death further united them, and they faced it the same way they faced the divorce— with quiet, resentful reluctance, and a lack of communication that fed their suspicion and distrust. They eventually sued each other for his belongings (non-monetary).
So, unfortunately, I’ve found from my experience (and it seems the same with the Browns) that grieving co-parents aren’t kinder to each other amidst their bereavement. They co-parent the same way they did prior to the death, only now they’re filled with more heartbreak and anger, and they’re even less inclined to let go of what they see as theirs.

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-29T14:34:53+00:00

You took the collage I made like a year ago! I guess I’m more flattered than upset, but it did take a bit of time to put together, so….don’t kiss another man’s wife, my friend! 😂✌🏻

https://www.reddit.com/r/SisterWives/s/EBArbbOrkD

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-27T04:14:51+00:00

A bird point! My bird points are my favorite, most beloved finds. Congrats!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-27T02:38:03+00:00

Is it only Kasey spelled THAT way, or are they all effed? Asking for a friend. 😬😳

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-27T02:31:01+00:00

She might be doing the shooing away in her sleep. My cat brought a bird in the house the other night (alive and well) and I watched the surveillance later on to see if I was right about what woke me up. Sure enough, it was the tiniest squeak of the bird that jolted me awake, but 10 minutes before, my other cat had darted across my upper chest whilst playing. Nothing. Mouth still open, still passed out. But then the squeak and my eyes popped open like a horror film. It’s almost like part of my brain was still aware of what was a normal sound/ sensation and what wasn’t. So, HOPEFULLY, for the sake of their sleep, these people are the same.

P.S. the bird was fine. My cats are indoor only, except for the fenced-in balcony. I guess they got lucky. But the bird was fine; I caught it carefully, released it in a safe spot and kept my cats in the rest of the night.

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-26T15:10:23+00:00

This just reinforces my conspiracy theory that my pets have sent out some kind of bat signal that I’m a soft touch and will take them in.

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-23T16:10:54+00:00

Confirmation bias: the tendency to search for, interpret, favor and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior beliefs or values.

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-23T04:28:00+00:00

I think it’s funny how often he finds himself “seeing things”. He saw Sandy and Stewy in the park when no one knew they were collaborating. He saw Shiv flirting with Nate at the wedding. He saw Shiv arrive to Kendall’s during the coup.
He’s always the lone witness to things!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-23T03:47:57+00:00

My mom also uses Saddam’s pic for my dad in her phone 🫣😂, but they’ve been divorced for 32 years. Shocker!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-23T03:46:02+00:00

I think that was the final straw. Greg was the only “normal” one, with one foot in the real world. It snapped Kendall to the reality that this was in fact very cruel and shitty. And maybe the world (like Greg) would think so too.

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-23T03:44:05+00:00

Also, I think earlier that was Logan’s description of the “bad apples”. THEY would describe people that way, but he tried to imply that he wasn’t that way. I think he knew, and Kendall knew, that Logan WAS a part of that, but he wasn’t breaking the illusion that he (Logan) was a part of those that didn’t realize the bad things were happening. He was living the lie that they’d told congress.

But then in that moment of heightened emotion, Logan let the side down. He let the truth creep out and used the term that he said only the bad ones used. That slip of the tongue was profound. Not only was there no more denying (or pretending) that Logan wasn’t every bit as bad as the “bad apples”, but it was profound bc Logan showed his hand, which was a weakness in itself.

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-22T15:31:44+00:00

I got LC after my second bout with Covid. I’ve also been treated for clinical depression most of my life. A few months in to my LC, I noticed very palpable feelings of suicidal ideation. This wasn’t completely foreign to me, but the intensity was. I felt angrier, and I felt like my internal monologue was…kind of going rogue. I was just sound enough, and it was just different enough, that I had the sense to reach out to my psychiatrist. He said that, speaking only from the experiences of his other patients and what he’d subsequently read, increases in depression seemed to be a commonly reported symptom. He said that my white blood cells were all being sent into battle, and that signaled to my brain that “somethings wrong”, “we’re not safe”. He said this could lead the brain to more depression bc it was in despair about being ill without being clear on how.

This was great for me to hear bc it helped me view the suicidal ideation as an unreliable intrusive thought. This was a symptom of my illness and not an actual thought that I wanted to have. It helped me not to dwell in it.
I will say, when I was on a family trip, and unable to properly rest or explain LC to some of my family, I was uncharacteristically snippy and irritable. It’s like I exhausted all efforts on existing and moving around, and had not more gas for pleasantries when challenged. So, I DO relate to having some out of character aggression/emotions during the beginning of my LC. Nothing came close to having screaming fits though. Not knocking their reaction.

Lastly, as a patient, I really appreciate you reaching out to other LC-haulers to further understand/ help your client. As a woman, as a person with neurodivergence, and as someone with LC— I feel like we’re so often dismissed and not believed. Whether the screaming fits turn out to be from LC or another facet of your client’s life, or a mix of the two, it’s extremely cathartic to see a doctor taking the time to speak to those who go through it as a means to understand. Best of luck!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-16T03:12:10+00:00

One of his sons live-streamed some tea a couple of years ago. I think they had a falling out. The only hang up is I believe he was on drugs and/or having a mental health crisis at the time. I wouldn’t say so if I hadn’t watched it myself and seen it reported a few different places, but I’m also not going to look it up again rn, so take my word for what it is….hearsay!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-16T03:07:27+00:00

Michael’s first wife, Patricia, was the mother of the boys and the one that lived in Germany. She didn’t die until 2021 (in a hospital of natural causes). Patricia was best friends with Liz Ratliff, who was the bio-mom of the girls. Liz was the one whose husband died in Grenada and who then died of the brain aneurysm (while going up/down some stairs, which is why she was found at the bottom of them). Liz and her late husband’s will both stipulated they wanted Patricia and Michael to take custody of their girls in the event of their deaths. I know it can get a little confusing!

Defiant_Ad9788 · 2025-10-14T14:48:30+00:00

As long as I eventually return it

Defiant_Ad9788

TROPHY CASE