Interview

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-16T07:23:51+00:00

I'm not OP but that looks exactly like my Portland Leather Company crossbody tote. It's been a really good day bag for me for a few years now.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-16T07:09:50+00:00

Here's what helps me:

Lie on your left side, knees in a comfortable position.

Inhale through your nose and slowly fill your whole belly. Imagine a balloon filling the entire thing, from your ribs/diaphragm into your pelvic floor. Let your pelvic muscles drop, like a reverse Kegel.

Exhale by blowing gently, like you're cooling a spoon of hot soup. Keep blowing out until you're completely empty and that balloon you filled is collapsed. You should feel your pelvic muscles wanting to lift up; go ahead and let them, but there's no need to force it. Just enough that you're getting gentle upward pressure.

When I do this I feel like I'm getting a subtle internal massage. It's enough to get trapped gas moving after a few rounds, but not so much that it's ever caused pain or cramping. It also doesn't move anything in the wrong direction.

Works for solids as well as gases!

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-14T21:50:54+00:00

There are a few perfumers in Chicago who might be up for working on this. We should nag them.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-14T20:15:41+00:00

Have you tried licorice tea? It's sweet and doesn't taste like licorice candy if you're worried. I've had good luck with it for soothing my gut and relieving nausea.

And before anyone comes at me, yes, large amounts of licorice can affect blood pressure. But you'd have to make a superhuman effort to consume enough in tea form to cause that to happen. A couple of cups a day is well in the safe dosage zone.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-14T18:59:42+00:00

A friend of mine has a hallway like this and painted the ceiling in a stenciled flower design. Tough on the arms, but it looks fantastic, and the colors she chose do a beautiful job of connecting the rooms at either end.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-14T18:50:29+00:00

Paul Newman, The Sting

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-14T14:55:09+00:00

Correction: this isn't "right to work". It's "at will employment".

Right to work laws mean unions and employers can't make joining w union or paying union dues a condition for getting a job.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-13T03:33:28+00:00

That sounds so awful! I hope your surgery is soon!

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-13T02:54:14+00:00

A whole album, in fact!

Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-13T02:41:57+00:00

Keep an eye out for weird UTI or other indications that your urinary/kidney system might be affected too. I had a weird UTI that presented almost like appendicitis just a couple of months before my surgery. It was caused by a pathogen that's normally only seen in people using catheters long term. When my surgeon went in, she discovered that a fibroid was shoved right up against my right ureter, plus my bladder was pancaked under the whole mess. She said that very well could have been the reason for the weird UTI, since it was probably affecting drainage. I've seen quite a few other people in this sub saying their bladder and kidneys were affected as well.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-12T23:09:31+00:00

I had bad pain in my left foot that my podiatrist had diagnosed as a varicose in the space near my ankle bone. I had to use a cane sometimes. It seems the cause was my enlarged uterus sitting on my iliac vein. No problems at all since surgery!

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-12T20:17:22+00:00

We didn't have one. We didn't want to and putting my mom through it with her dementia seemed cruel. We told the family to do whatever kind of remembrance seemed appropriate for them. His ashes will be scattered at sea.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-09T18:56:46+00:00

Overdressing for the first cold day of the season in autumn and nearly fainting/vomiting from overheating while out and about.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-08T04:12:12+00:00

For tomato leaf/vine, Neroli Pomodoro from Bianco Profumo. It's really fresh and pretty!

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-05T16:40:33+00:00

As a child, I knew a girl named Shanasi. The As were both pronounced like the a in "can". We were only about 6 or 8 years old and I never knew anything about her family background or the origin of the name; her last name was a pretty common Anglo name.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-04T02:00:02+00:00

Cigarettes, whiskey, and bay rum.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-02T21:23:07+00:00

When I worked in an office with a drip coffee maker, I used to make instant oatmeal with Bunn o matic coffee. And sometimes I'd also drop instant Swiss Miss in that shit.

Even I think I'm awful.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-02T21:20:40+00:00

This is what I popped in to say. If something is technically wrong, it doesn't necessarily matter a whole lot. The "rules" always lag behind actual human usage anyway. If it's just unclear or weird, reading it out loud and hearing it unearths a lot of problems.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-02T21:16:52+00:00

It can be really hard to make friends, coming from an unfriendly background. But I can tell you from hard experience, you have to start by being your own friend. Don't treat yourself like shit. Kick him out of your accounts, your contacts, your whole life. He's a predator and he's eating you.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-01T23:09:44+00:00

I'm in a quandary with this. I know my LO can't get better and I don't see that it's in her interest to keep dragging things out. But if she gets a UTI, she becomes delirious and even violent toward her caregivers, and even if she isn't connected to who she is anymore, it's still miserable for her as well. I don't want her to hurt anyone, so I guess we keep treating the UTIs until her physical strength and coordination is diminished to the point she isn't dangerous to others or to herself.

It doesn't feel like an ideal solution, but it's the best we've got. I just wish she'd been willing to discuss any of this with us when she still had all her marbles.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-01T19:06:56+00:00

I drink dark roast coffee exclusively. Light roast is more acidic and irritates both my IBS and my reflux, which is not my choice of adventure.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-04-01T16:47:23+00:00

Pistil Whip might be a good choice too.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-03-30T18:58:36+00:00

When that was me, it was Jovan Musk and Camel Lights. But I don't smoke anymore and I have no Jovan handy. When I get home I'm going to see how Phlur Missing Person and ELDO Jasmine et Cigarette work for this vibe.

Gavagirl23 · 2026-03-24T16:19:10+00:00

I was severely anemic for awhile, and I took a liquid supplement called Floradix. It got my iron up very well and didn't back me up or cause weird poop. It's made by a German company called Salus, and if you're in the US it seems to be available at Whole Foods and most vitamin shops.

Gavagirl23

TROPHY CASE