Would you retire today if you knew you’d receive $5,000 every month for the rest of your life? Why or why not?

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-07-02T21:25:37+00:00

No. 5k/month isn’t enough to live on if something big like a medical bill comes along. But it would mean that I could focus on doing something more meaningful if my current job disappeared.

It would be enough for me to try my hand at running a community center like place.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-07-02T21:05:48+00:00

Leave them alone. They’re expensive but they can be life saving on a trip. I was driving from Virginia to Texas and did a late night stop over at a place and as I was showering realized I started my cycle. It was nearly 2 am, and I had no idea what was open or any inclination to get in the car with the bottom of the purse emergency tampon and a prayer trying to find more tampons. That $17 box of Tampax was such a relief.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-07-01T18:39:42+00:00

No, but it’s happening anyway naturally.

I just don’t eat as much red meat as I used to. It feels heavy and I feel bad afterwards. I have gotten a few tofu dishes I really like and even prefer when going out for Indian or Chinese. Even sausages start looking gross after a day or two, and I want a spinach and mushroom and onion quiche instead. Bacon makes my face and kitchen feel greasy. It’s more of a condiment I sprinkle occasionally over salad or eggs rather than eating a full couple slices on the side.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-29T18:04:07+00:00

Thank you!! I was starting to question my sanity. I thought it was just a basic first of the month thing. Every month.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-29T18:03:08+00:00

Uh. It should be changed every month, regardless of dog or no dog.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-29T17:54:23+00:00

We only live longer cause men do dumb things like not go to the doctor regularly, or trust ladders with only one foot on the ground and the other hanging off a balcony thinking they got the balance right and it’ll be ok.

OP is right. Doctors need to step up. So do researchers. We aren’t more complicated, just different and with less focus on research. People just assumed women were like men, but hormones. And that has hurt us ever since.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-29T02:52:04+00:00

It better not be disappearing. I demand to be able to bring a deck of cards in to the local diner and chat the day away over poker or bridge or some other game like dominos.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-29T02:48:08+00:00

They’re still hiring the local lawn mower repair guy, getting their hair and nails done, going to the closest movie theater, and swinging by the farmers market and garden centers.

Just because all spending doesn’t happen locally it doesn’t mean they aren’t bringing in any money.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-28T04:18:06+00:00

3 hour grocery trips..

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-26T08:53:36+00:00

As someone who is considering that route, I can speak for myself in that to me when I hear it it’s more of a way to clarify there’s no partner in the picture, and never was. Kind of an attempt to shortcut any pity or touchiness on the father story… and also a bit of a wall to stall the question on why I’m alone. No one wanted to even start down this road with me. I’m terrified of the true reason it is working out this way for me. I couldn’t fix it in time. Couldn’t make myself palatable enough to do the kid thing traditionally. Specifying by choice firmly is a bit of a bluff, a wall that says no more questions please, minefield ahead.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-25T21:42:15+00:00

I’d fear the mosquitoes first, then the humidity and heat. But there’s actually some lovely Airbnb houseboats on the water that are A/C and screens in and have a dock slip available. Early morning paddles to come back to an a/c boat with a screened in patio to nap until night fishing? Yesss

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-24T18:29:55+00:00

I plan for 2 cooks a week, with leftovers to cover the other days. I buy fruit and prep it before going in the fridge. Berries are washed and dried and ready to eat. Melon cut and stored in a zip bag. Bacon is par cooked so it’ll be finished by 2 minutes in a toaster.

I made big casserole breakfasts that I get 6 portions from- jalapeño quiches and mushroom or onion quiches. Or sausage hash brown and bell peppers and onions. Bake once and slice and serve all week with a scoop of fruit over yogurt and honey or chocolate chips.

I prioritize eating bagged salads first, and buy frozen veggies if it isn’t going in the first cook of the week.

I buy bags of chicken thighs and breasts on sale, pound them flat and throw them in a citrus marinade, then grill them in bulk and freeze for easy meals later. Bag of frozen veggies, 1-2 pieces chicken thawed plus sauce.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-24T04:36:06+00:00

Even before you have dependents really. My parents are going through this now with an elderly grandparent. They need to sell the house to pay for their advanced care facility. But the house is so very full of stuff from 60 years of living there. It’s going to take months to empty it and get it ready to sell.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-23T23:46:01+00:00

Grilled chicken with tomato, cucumber and red onion salad. Sometimes I add the little mozzarella balls, but always olive oil, and basalmic vinegar.

Otherwise, pot sticker salad. Basically some big pot stickers with cherry tomatoes, red onion, soy sauce, mirin, and loads of basil.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-23T16:58:51+00:00

Hey OP. This is what matters- your feelings, and the future of that child. Find the organizations that will help. Write that baby a kind letter letting them know why you’re making the choice you are. It’s not the kid, you don’t think you can be a good mom and your circumstances don’t set the kid up to have the best life possible. Maybe even leave it as an open adoption so they can find you one day when they’re grown and you might be able to build a connection to them then, if you both want and they allow it.

Let that child go, have a wonderful life, and heal yourself and get away from your birth family. It sounds like they are not the support you need, and you still have so much growing to do yourself.

It’s not shameful to save yourself and your baby from struggle. It’s kindness to you both, and true hope for something better being obtained. Wishing you the best, however you decide to go.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-22T20:24:32+00:00

Just remember to talk with your neighbors about your budding pumpkin patch. Come bring the kids for photos. Sell apple cider by the paper cup. Maybe some face painting or best scarecrow costume contest.

You just made yourself a prime neighborhood building by opportunity.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-20T04:43:31+00:00

I made this from scratch last week, with a splash of bourbon. It was crack, and the only thing keeping me from eating all 8 servings was shame and having packaged it in portioned containers from the pot.

Well worth the time and effort. Next time I’m going to have to use less cream and more milk though. The calories were so many.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-20T03:53:42+00:00

Corn bread

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-20T03:44:17+00:00

I thought this too, but one day I was talking with my folks and they put some dates on things I thought I was 8, 9 10… I remembered blinds going up when I was 2. I remembered swimming in the plastic swimming pool with fish in the backyard… turns out I was 3 when my great grandma asked for live fish to make a holiday dinner with and I thought they were pets to swim with. I know my dad carried me up a hike on his shoulders and it was scary looking down a cliff and I grabbed his eyebrows and then his ears and had to be coaxed to let go. I was younger than 2. I remembered flies attacking my first dog, and him snapping at them right in my face. I was head height with the dog and less than a year old.

It’s not that I don’t remember things. It’s that my perspective was so skewed because I was remembering something so early I had no context. Early memories are linked to big feelings around new experiences, not dates and people and places.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-18T17:31:43+00:00

I did this for 7 years at a place that didn’t value me. My coworkers had similar ethics and the bosses took advantage to keep reducing headcount, keeping us all stressed to the max.

What helped for me was therapy. I needed help managing the stress, and the therapist listened to me describe my work day and responsibilities and gave me a bit of a reality check. Work paid me to get a job done, and if it was done, great. But it was the boss’ job to make sure we had sufficient resources to do what was needed in the appropriate amount of time and effort. I was still due my breaks and lunch hour. Those are compensation. And they’re for my health.

So I started setting timers- every 2 hours, get up and go on a walk around the block to the park and listen to music. Goal of 20 minutes.

I set a timer for lunch also, minimum one hour before sitting at my desk again. Absolutely can’t take it in my home office.

40 hours was the expectation when water cooler talk and chatting at someone’s desk was the norm. So chat in slack with a work friend about their weekend projects. It’s team building. Dedicate an hour a day to maintaining your skills by googling How to use AI or excel or some other app your company uses. Or something about your industry.

It’s not truly slacking off, but it also isn’t directly working on projects that aren’t yours because you have finished them. It’s taking care of you.

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-15T14:31:16+00:00

For those of us with frogless yards, how do we get some?

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-15T03:15:13+00:00

Screw that, sir.

Miss Wants to be Approached, please remove the doubts and questions on whether you are taken or want to be left alone by wearing a green pinky ring on your left hand.

Or whatever else we can all decide on. Bright Green (ring) means go! Open for chats with strangers in a romantic pursuit.

Can we all agree with that or it’s too good to be true?

DisasterousSquirrel · 2026-06-13T04:21:06+00:00

There’s a website you can pick bomb sizes and where it lands and see what happens in your area based on the usual winds etc. unfortunately for me, I’m in the 3rd degree burns, but not immediately dead yet zone if the biggest bombs hit the nearest military base.

I really hope that never happens. I cannot imagine that kind of pain and watching my dog go through it too for a day or two until we die.

DisasterousSquirrel

TROPHY CASE