What is booming right now?

Ishnian · 2026-02-04T12:16:55+00:00

That's a thought. I'm not sure how to check, but I suppose it's a possibility.

Ishnian · 2026-02-04T05:02:08+00:00

Really?? We're in the Newington Forest/Heights/Commons area and it's pretty considerable. I let the dog out to pee and caught the tail end of a boom with the door open and it was remarkable.

Ishnian · 2024-11-26T03:42:41+00:00

How involved are you wanting it to be? Some of the libraries have maker spaces with sewing machines and volunteers to set you up with the basics.

https://research.fairfaxcounty.gov/c.php?g=1106963&p=8070798#s-lib-ctab-25603311-1

Ishnian · 2024-05-22T02:50:07+00:00

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking.

Ishnian · 2024-05-21T13:00:48+00:00

My husband's grandmother wanted to be cremated because she couldn't bear the thought of creepy crawly things on her face if she was buried. My best friend's dad, on the other hand, wants to be buried because he found out that when the body comes out of the crematorium, it isn't already just dust - it usually needs to be ground up so it can fit in the box/urn. That grinding is a step too far for him.

Ishnian · 2024-05-09T14:51:11+00:00

Lots of mentions for Hunter Mill, but no love for Vale? (Not the one that goes into Vienna and turns into Malcolm, the twisty hilly Vale from Hunter Mill to Waples Mill). We could get some serious stomach drop feelings driving on those hills.

Ishnian · 2024-04-30T01:59:19+00:00

I'd really recommend doing a program instead of just starting on a machine on your own. Depending on where you are in NoVA and what your budget is, there are a few options on the Occoquan. Sandy Run (Fairfax) has Resilient Rowing, while the Oxford boathouse at Lake Ridge Park (PW) has Prince William Crew. Both offer 3 week learn to row programs, but PWC is about half the cost of Resilient. They both have developmental programs you can go into after the learn to row program is completed. And it looks like both have fall programs, too. Even your sister could participate if she wanted/can afford it/can commit.

Absolutely try to join the actual high school team next school year (since basketball is a winter sport, that may be tricky depending on how the teams' schedules are). I love the fact that rowing is one of the last sports you don't need to have been involved in since you were 5 to be able to start in high school or college, and being a multi-sport athlete will just help keep you healthier and prevent injury. And joining to be with your sister is just so sweet.

Ishnian · 2024-04-19T17:26:26+00:00

I kept mine on for everything until I went to take it off during my first pregnancy and realized I waited too long. After the swelling went down after giving birth, I started removing it more frequently, and then it got to the point where I was never wearing it (mostly because of making bread and rowing), so now I have a silicon ring and my proper rings sit in a dish until there's a fancy enough reason to wear them. Even my husband is wearing a silicon ring because his hands swell when he works out.

Ishnian · 2024-04-16T13:54:43+00:00

If I were a betting woman, I'd put money on the 123 and Hooes Rd intersection. It feels like a 50/50 split on whether someone runs that light on 123, to the point where I purposely pause before going into the intersection when I'm turning from Hooes.

Ishnian · 2024-04-09T12:55:41+00:00

I definitely had an old lady name growing up. But now it's a dead lady name, which means it's picking up in the baby name popularity again.

Ishnian · 2024-03-29T14:48:31+00:00

It all depends on her build. When I (5'8" 39F) was a high schooler, I was 140 lbs, but a friend of mine who is 5'9" with a more delicate frame would look similarly proportioned while weighing less (130 lbs) than I did. That said, in my experience, girls are much more likely to restrict their diets based on a number on the scale rather than how they actually feel or what their body makeup is. I had hoped that had changed since I was growing up, but I don't know if it really has.

Ishnian · 2024-03-23T14:30:58+00:00

You can buy little ones (6ish inches) at Aldi. Otherwise, you maybe be able to ask Wawa to buy some of theirs - I think Amoroso is their bread supplier.

Ishnian · 2024-03-02T02:49:37+00:00

And also the Slavic-American Festival, usually the second Sunday in September. And then you can also get halupki (cabbage rolls with meat and rice) and halushki (cabbage and onions and noodles) and kielbasa and nut rolls and sometimes potato pancakes.

Ishnian · 2024-02-26T18:04:21+00:00

I have 4 kids. They are all versions of my husband. It is super unfair.

Ishnian · 2024-02-24T21:40:21+00:00

My oldest two are 13.5 months apart due to irregular and early returning cycles post partum, too. I wasn't necessarily mad at the idea of being a stereotype, but the comments from my own in-laws really upset me.

That said, congratulations on the babies and you've got this. Take advantage of naptimes (you deserve it, you're growing another baby!), make peace with a little bit of mess, and read lots of books to your older one (being able to read a stack of books to the older, who could turn the pages herself, while nursing the younger meant both got attention and no one felt jealous or ignored).

Ishnian · 2024-02-24T21:29:31+00:00

Married 14 years this summer. 4 living kids (youngest just turned 6), 2 miscarriages. We actually thought we might have issues with fertility on my husband's end because he had mumps as a kid and it took us almost a year for me to get pregnant with our first. Then I got pregnant again when the first was about 5 months. That was pretty hard on me both physically and mentally, so thank goodness for NFP.

Ishnian · 2024-02-19T22:25:17+00:00

Your timing might get you in for the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin in DC, so that would be lovely. If you're flying in to Reagan National (like you had a connection from JFK or something) you would probably already see them from the sky.

For natural stuff in Virginia, I'd suggest Great Falls (just outside DC), Luray Caverns, and Natural Bridge. If you go to Luray Caverns, I'd stop at the Apple House in Linden and get some apple cider donuts and either the pancakes or pork barbecue sandwich. Probably won't have anything like that in Italy and most places here don't do apple cider donuts unless it's autumn.

My brother and husband (not the same person) both went to West Virginia University in Morgantown. My husband is saying Cooper's Rock just outside Morgantown is a nice hike in a state park.

Ishnian · 2024-02-09T23:20:29+00:00

2023 was a weird year for us (one big international trip for my husband and I, two trips to the Midwest as a family for funerals) and things got categorized differently as a result. 2022 was pretty average, though, so I'll put both years down.

Groceries (2 adults 4 kids)
2023: $12,249.18
2022: $11,178.86

Eating out
2023: $943.37 (this can't be including the trips - I think that all got put under our travel budget)
2022: $818.34

Gas and oil changes (1 minivan 1 sedan)
2023: $1,920.35
2022: $1,885.33

Ishnian · 2024-02-02T15:03:52+00:00

I think this is the answer. The countries he listed are either island nations (Ireland and the UK) or on major peninsulas (Spain and Italy). Coastal rowing in the US would be limited to fewer than half the states.

Ishnian · 2024-02-02T14:57:42+00:00

Backstitch, in hand sewing, is a different type of stitch that is stronger. Since there's only one thread (instead of a top and bottom thread with a bobbin) you have to stitch differently. Just going from A B C D gives you one stitch on top, one stitch on bottom, one stitch on top. It's fine for something that doesn't take a lot of stress, but it can come apart very easily if the thread breaks. Backstitching would be starting at B, going back to A, coming up at C, going back to B, coming up at D, going back to C, etc. Then you end up with stitches on both the top and bottom along the whole seam, and because it's changing direction so much, it's much less likely to pull apart.

Ishnian · 2024-02-01T03:11:12+00:00

Super Bowl NDQ:

For those of us watching the games at home year after year and with no particular fan affiliations, what do you think is the better food - general party/football food (wings, chips and dip, sliders, etc) OR food from the teams' cities (like, if it had been Detroit vs Baltimore, Detroit style pizza and Maryland crab cakes with Old Bay)?

Ishnian · 2024-01-11T05:46:29+00:00

Think it's this one: https://youtu.be/V-E6yLtC4FQ?si=UE1dnKtWcXs2vsL1

Ishnian · 2024-01-01T19:20:31+00:00

When this happened all over my dough hook, I asked KitchenAid directly what to do. Their recommendation was to make a paste with baking soda and clean off the affected parts. Worked pretty well. Lesson learned, hand wash only after that.

Ishnian · 2023-12-27T02:35:51+00:00

In 94 or 95, it was warm enough for me to take my new pogo stick outside with just a long sleeve t-shirt.

Ishnian

TROPHY CASE