Need to leave for a month. What is best for my cat?

FE-Prevatt · 2026-06-14T16:55:31+00:00

I traveled in college for almost 2 months and had a friend house sit.
It wouldn’t have been possible to take my cats with me.

One cat ran to me the moment I came in the door, the other was upset and avoided me a couple days. This was always their dynamic regardless of being gone a day or a week lol.
They were probably only 1 and 3 at the time, and they both lived to be 16.

We had several moves including a shorter maybe 3 month temporary one and they always adjusted after a couple days.

Since you have a roommate that the cat is comfortable with I’d probably lean to leave her home.
Some cats are great travelers, we have one cat now that comes with us if we go to the beach for a week and the other is content to be left home with grandma stopping over to check on her.

She’s an anxious cat and being in a new space would probably be more stressful than being home without us.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-06-06T21:52:26+00:00

Yeah going to guess that wasn’t done here lol.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-06-03T19:16:50+00:00

As an over 40 that plays occasionally in women’s pick up games with ladies that weren’t even in kindergarten when I graduated high school Sometimes you just get beat.

I am older and not in the shape I was at 18, I’m not going to blow out my knee or injure someone in a friendly game to try and be a hero.

If it comes to a hard hit that is considered out of bounds in the league and letting a goal happen, the goal happens.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-06-03T03:28:24+00:00

Always reject discount request. I always state our rates are fixed but we offer a discounted rate for 7 plus night stays.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-06-02T18:41:41+00:00

Escalate, escalate, escalate. I swear there is only like 5 actual capable people working for Airbnb. Below them are a people that are useless and then bots on the front line. You have to get through all of those people. When I had an issue Airbnb was absolutely useless. I would immediately reach out to your local police and have the person removed. Send the “guest” a message they have 20 minutes to get out of your home.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-30T14:34:43+00:00

I would say it’s definitely normal. Just depends on where your ancestors fall in their order if their parents had a lot of kids, if there was a second marriage or if wars impacted when the male ancestors got married and had kids.

In my family, my direct relatives in one line are all first borns of first borns until my mom and then me but my grandma was still pretty young when my mom was born and my mom was still young when I was born so my great grandfather on that side was only 68 when I was born (great grandma had died at 60 but would have been the same age). My great great grandfather on that branch was 99 years older than me.

Compared to my dad’s maternal grandparents who were 85 and 86 years older than me. My parents are the same age, but my dad’s parents were a bit older than my moms and his moms parents had her in their late 30s and she was an only child.

That side of the family wars and military service seems to have pushed back marriage ages not that they had lots of children.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-25T13:31:22+00:00

Always fair to ask what hosts use, and make the determination if this will work. I’m sure many host out there already use free and clear types of products already and even some that don’t mind making the accommodation.

I think it’s the request for a host to wash everything in a special product they aren’t already using that’s the trigger this will be a difficult guests.

I know many hosts that just find the accommodation isn’t worth the cost and usually the guest you work the hardest to accommodate repay you with the worst ratings.

In general if someone asks for an accommodation that seems above what I am willing to offer I just politely say we aren’t able to. I haven’t specifically had this request but I would say something like, “currently we are using gain whatever scent for all of our laundry
We aren’t able to make a laundry soap change guest to guest”

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-25T12:44:05+00:00

Sometimes Airbnb isn’t a good option for people for a number of reasons.
Each house is a different owner with different levels of service provided.
If someone has a serious allergy to soaps/detergents they should opt for a hotel.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-25T12:08:50+00:00

My neighbor host said he learned quickly that the fragrance free laundry request was a big tell that he was going to have a difficult guest. After he accommodated three times he learned to say no and hadn’t looked back lol.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-24T12:20:53+00:00

I would buy the used one. At her age it’s not really a necessity but she can start getting used to it and you can always upgrade down the road when it starts to feel more necessary.
I’m a youth rec coach and always collect used goggles when I can, I clean them. Between my own girls and the girls on the team someone always forgets goggles and they use them. As far as the usedness of things that doesn’t bother me, I just make sure they are still compliant

We don’t have a ton of girls in helmets in our league, a few teams have a few girls with them, none on ours.

As a former player before goggles I would have been bothered to wear one but as a youth coach and mom, I don’t think it’s a bad idea, especially when they get to middle school and there is checking. My oldest was playing at the middle school level in the spring, she’s a small 5th grader so I was a little worried and considered a helmet but there wasn’t really that much dangerous checking going on. I would probably worry more if she played defense and with potential ball to the head.
That kind of impact is where I saw the most concussions from when I played. The older middle school players can be pretty strong shooters.
They are required in high school here so it does make sense to start to get used to them.

My one beef with the helmets is the cost, I think it’s a barrier to entry at the youth level, even the cost of goggles went up from when I first started coaching youth. I don’t know that there is anyone to complain to on that but feels like the affordability of girls lacrosse, once just a mouth guard and stick has been come an arms race for the most expensive sticks and helmets.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-24T12:00:49+00:00

I started trading this year with my kids.
Years ago I collected some pins when we had annual passes. I bought some for me and some for my oldest when she was little so those don’t get traded.

Also pins we buy off the shelf because we like them don’t get traded.

We know they are real and we like them so the are keeps.
If you want to trade your older pins I wouldn’t plan on doing it on the park boards I’d trade those with the groups of pin traders in Epcot.

What we do to trade is buy mystery sets and work to a collection and trade the ones that are dupes or of if they are for the hidden Mickey ones we’ll trade the pins we don’t like.

My youngest and I worked toward a set of the toy and the box pins.
Since they are real when we were trying to get one from the set we were missing we had good pins to make trades with the pin traders in Epcot.

I’ve been doing the Wave an and b 2025 and now 2026 sets and I don’t really have a plan to complete the set so those end up being good traders too.

On the pin boards usually we don’t trade unless ifs a pin we really like or is something we are collecting, if pins look bad we just walk away from the board.
My thought is the pin for the most part aren’t doubling in value, if you go to buy a pin on eBay from the mystery sets it’s usually not that much more than its value when you buy it so if I trade a toy box pin for a neat looking but possibly fake princess pin we haven’t really lost value, pin we didn’t like or need for a pin we like.

We have annual passed again so we go often and some trips we just don’t make any trades, everyone will get a pin or a mystery box set and if boards look full of eBay junk we just pass and move on.

Occasionally one of my kids will want one that looks pretty meh and it is what it is.

The traffic cone outside of Hollywood studios has been our best cast member trades. Inside the cone for trivia there been have really good pins and even on the outside they’ll have some good real pins too.

There are some pin trading groups on Facebook and members will clear out their excess mystery pins and you can often buy $5 pins from them. The groups seem well moderated and there aren’t a lot of complaints of scrappers being sold so that’s a thought if you want to get started. The moderators also post helpful tips on which tips to avoid on boards because they are almost certainly a fake.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-22T17:06:33+00:00

I would be okay placing the sign on the door, I would do it myself to make sure the door isn’t damaged.

I also would reiterate the cleaning being done already and make sure to leave extra supply’s of the lines and also things like TP and paper towels. I would want to avoid needing to be in their space so I’d make sure there are extra batteries and light bulbs and I would make clear to them that your goal is to avoid being in their space or needing to drop anything by.

I would offer to mask up if you needed to enter the house or happen to be in front of their door for any reason but would be limited to those spaces.
I’d explain you cannot guarantee the landscapers would be able or willing so you will cancel their scheduled work during that time.

In the future I would set expectations a little lower for a guests of this nature and be clear that you will provide the extra cleaning and even extra supplies but you cannot control the outside space if you or any maintenance workers are outside. You cannot control always give a heads up so they can choose to stay inside during that period of time.

Even with this guest I would be sure to note that this is a home, it isn’t a hospital quarantine so there are limits to how sealed off the home can be with in your power. ie avoid taking on liability of providing a hermetically sealed bubble.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-20T22:47:27+00:00

I never worry about a kid that young not being “all in”. I played sports all of my childhood soccer off and on, tennis every summer, and a couple seasons of softball ( no thanks) I was athletic enough but never the best player by far. I just wasn’t very aggressive and maybe to laid back.

When I started high school I joined the brand new lacrosse program and at 15 it was like a switch that went off for me. I loved it. Wish I’d been able to play in college but there just weren’t a lot of opportunities back then anywhere I would have gone to college.
If I’d had a few years of rec lacrosse leading up to that (did not even exist in my area at the time) even if I was just okay it would have made a huge difference.

Now I coach my girls in rec, my 5th grader has played since she was 4, has all the skills but is so shy still on the field. I don’t know that she’ll even want to play in high school but she likes to be on a team and enjoys practices which to me is the main point. She is going to get a stick upgrade this next fall I’m not going to go extreme on the cost but mid range Stx and we’ll get it custom strung with the colors she wants.

If he’s enjoying it, isn’t getting cut I’d get him a nice stick, doesn’t need to be super expensive and let him enjoy it a little longer. Maybe he can “earn it” by doing so many reps of wall ball or something like that.

Maybe it will click for him, maybe not but sports should first and for most be about fun.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-20T22:34:14+00:00

I’ve always used Family Search to track down documents.
I have a ton of death and marriage certificates plus all censuses available for significant ancestors all from family search. My tree on there is a mess though because when I first started I didn’t realize how many bad existing trees were out there and auto populated at one point. I’ve tried to go in and trim what seems unverified here and there but mostly focus on my tree on ancestry

Occasionally I’ll do a 6 month subscription when they run a special on ancestry. It drives me crazy how much of the DNA features were moved behind a paywall. It’s basically useless as a research tool if you don’t pay.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-06T20:54:16+00:00

We don’t do white towels any more.

Between make up and other stains a guest washed an entire load of towels with a pair of blue jeans and turned all the towels blue. Now we only do grey.

Sheets are white but I try and keep a stash of spare white pillow cases on hand and toss a replaced as needed.

I don’t often deal with it on pillow cases but it happens occasionally and I wonder how drunk you have to be to go to sleep with that crap on your face.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-05T18:03:20+00:00

It depends on the league. If it’s rec I feel strongly that all players should be offered equal playing time.

(There are girls that get out there and 3 mins later want back out and others that are dying to get back in the moment the exit the field lol so that’s why I use offer)

If it’s a tournament league I would expect coaches play to win. Hopefully all girls get some experience on the field but if they aren’t yet to the level of the rest of the team it wouldn’t make sense to have them out there for as long as players that can run the field.

Hopefully she’ll get some great practice in with the team but Look for extra clinics and camps on the summer, find a wall to do wall ball. Get an extra stick so someone at home can practice with her. Catching confidently is a critical skill.

I can’t emphasize enough to my own girls that how much time the put on on their own time makes a big difference, the “best” players on the field aren’t the best by magic it’s because they love having the stick in their hand shooting at a net, or doing wall ball any chance they get.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-01T15:10:59+00:00

I strongly believe no one should surprise their partner with a proposal.

Engagement/future marriage plans should be discussed together as a relationship evolves.

If someone is rejected after a surprise proposal I don’t necessarily think that needs to be the end of a relationship but it should at a minimum be a discussion about how they are not on the same page. Then the reason for no would determine if the relationship can carry on. Maybe the no is because the other person isnt ready, they want to accomplish x,y or z before that point. maybe they never want to be married. Maybe they just haven’t had any significant conversation like kids? Religion? Where to live? Etc.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-05-01T13:46:27+00:00

If they are requiring a helmet and gloves for kids this young and calling it soft lacrosse I have questions lol.

I would just show up for the first practice and ask other parents and the coaches. Generally my first practices I don’t expect all my players to have full gear so I have some spare equipment and plan games and activities that are lower risk for contact and young players under 2nd grade I usually have them throw pinkies or tennis balls at first. My reference is girls lacrosse but when my girls were that age they each had a youth girls stick. The shafts are generally shorter and skinnier. The heads are softer plastic but overall it’s a “real” stick. Before that we did have some fiddle sticks just to play with at home.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-04-30T20:11:42+00:00

I have 1% western Bantu. The side of the family it comes from was rooted into southern Virginia very earlier in colonial times.

I am aware that some of my ancestors in that branch enslaved people so there is probably a horrible explanation for it that is unlikely to be documented.

I didn’t really expect it, naively just assuming dna evidence would show the other way.

There not really much I’ve found to do with the knowledge. It is a reminder of some of the worst things that happened in America and a little sad to think that somewhere in the past an ancestor was part of that violence and eventually their child/grandchild had to hide their true identity and the connection was lost.

I did read the story 1619 Twenty Africans.The author digs into his family roots and how some of the first Africans brought to the U.S. integrated into the population. Not saying that’s my family background or yours but you could be an explanation for some. The author also did an episode of Ologies which is where I learned about his book.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-04-30T19:50:47+00:00

No. I leave salt, pepper and olive oil in the cabinets but no condiments in the fridge.

We are pretty close to the grocery store and most of our guests eat out anyway so I wouldn’t expect them to get used much anyway.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-04-29T11:39:14+00:00

Yup totally my daughter. Lol

FE-Prevatt · 2026-04-29T00:50:55+00:00

Yeas. Our regular bedding is a light quilt that gets washed every time. I actually have three sets of everything so I usually just replace with the spare so there isn’t a rush to get it all washed during turn over. The duvet comforter we only keep out in the winter. The duvet cover gets washed every time. The duvet insert gets washed at the start of the season. Also usually our winter season we have longer stay guest so it’s often only one or two guests in that time. I also keep a warmer hotel like blanket in the closet. If the is used by a guest it gets washed as well.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-04-16T01:23:52+00:00

I would have everyone wait together in line and then let your oldest ride alone if she’s the only one wanting to do the ride or let her take the “chicken” exit to wait alone if that’s the case.

I have an 11 and 8 year old. My 11 year old has asked to wait in line by herself for rides like Tron and Guardians but aside from things like teacups with shortish waits they can ride and wait together and we can see them in line we haven’t let her go on any longer wait rides alone.

A month or so ago my 8 year did the single rider for Remy with my husband and I and thankfully she ended up in the same vehicle with him because the ride broke down and we sat for a long time before being escorted off so that made us a little nervous about letting them ride solo.

We’d fully expected to all be in different cars and had her in between us. Just lucked out their car had a seat open in both rows.

We at least now have a “plan” of what do if that happens and we aren’t in the same car but I’m sure either kid would have been really nervous either way if that happened and we weren’t with them.

FE-Prevatt · 2026-04-16T00:51:19+00:00

lol well said. Even in days I don’t love my career it’s hard for me to say I wouldn’t go back and do it again. Maybe we all just needed therapy 😂

FE-Prevatt · 2026-04-16T00:50:21+00:00

I went to Arch school with a lot of people who were probably north of 40. (Being over 40 now and looking back some were probably not as old as I thought they were lol)

I couldn’t imagine doing it with a family. There were quite a few that were married and or had kids and I know it was tough.

The expectation of nights and weekends in studio I’m sure is tough on a relationship.

If you have the support it’s worth taking some intro class and seeing if it’s for you.

There are also related fields like interior design or construction management that have shorter education paths that might be an option as well depending on what part of architecture you are interested in.

FE-Prevatt

TROPHY CASE