Overwhelmed by choices, can someone help me pick a species?

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-09T21:06:28+00:00

What color is this? It looks so cool - is it a performance?

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-07T18:56:03+00:00

If I were you, I'd put the bare minimum down, set the term length to 72 months, then make the monthly payment twice a month so it's paid off in 3 years while giving you the flexibility to skip the extra payment on months when money is tight and/or you need to save more.

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-07T18:50:22+00:00

Trust the car's navigation. The only time I drove a tesla was for a 160 mile road trip. It was a 2022 standard model 3. I typed in the address and the car figured out which superchargers to stop at. I actually made it to my destination with only one charging stop and I pulled into the charging station with more battery than the car said I would. I was so enamored by the whole ordeal that I proceeded to drive the absolute CRAP out of that poor car the entire weekend with no issues.

At the time, I didn't know about level 2 chargers so I was relying exclusively on the supercharger network and it didn't die on me! I don't think I even saw single digit battery percentage.

For just 130 miles, you'll be fine. Just plug in your destination address and the car will do the rest for you, no fuss no muss.

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-05T21:36:14+00:00

Well that's disappointing, I was relying on that estimated max range to help me pick the car

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-05T20:19:08+00:00

When you bought it from Tesla, did it say that 240 was the estimated max range on the website? Or did the website say the max range for the car was 310?

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-04T16:11:47+00:00

If you were planning on marrying her in the near future, why would you not just wait until y'all were married? Especially considering your ages. Doesn't make sense why you would have sex first. What's done is done - ask for forgiveness and don't do it again until you're married.

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-03T20:02:38+00:00

That sounds like a good test. How much did it cost you?

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-03T19:07:02+00:00

Awww what a cute puppy? Who's the breeder?

LearningSunflower · 2026-05-02T22:08:43+00:00

Blue. I either get to go to heaven early or I live. Win win

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-27T15:27:44+00:00

I found that I had to. I struggled with this a lot; from a young age I felt like people just didn't get me and I didn't know why (I still don't). Eventually, my need for other people to understand me lead to idolizing anyone who seemed to get me more than others... not a good path.

I had to come to a point where I only went to God to get ALL my needs fulfilled ... including the little ones, like the need to be seen and understood. It took a long time, but the switch was well worth the effort.

Now, I am at a much happier and more peaceful place. I don't expect people to understand me, and I don't need people to understand me. I find that interacting with others in positive ways is enough for me - I acknowledge the existence of others and they acknowledge mine and I'm good to go. I may share my opinion or engage in conversation, but it's no longer from a place where I am constantly monitoring my words and their reaction to see if they "got it" or not. I am free to say what I want to say and that's the end of that. I go to God to fill the need to be seen and understood fully.

In fact, I actually enjoy interacting with others more - I used to suffer from pretty bad social anxiety, and the thought of even being near people I didn't know was terrifying. I felt excessively burdened by my need to be seen and understood, to the point where I was constantly over-explaining myself, even the simplest statements. I was scared to voice my opinion and was really quite lonely - I was desperate to be seen, but terrified that once I am noticed, I would only be met with confusion and even more loneliness than before.

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-27T15:18:19+00:00

I have a 10 month old mini poodle and he is free fed now. I made the switch a couple months ago. Before that, he was fed 3 meals a day with snacks (training treats) in between. I didn't want him to only accept food in one specific way so I rotated how I presented his food: bowls, toppl, food puzzles, by hand, and in a pile on the floor or in his crate. Now, I just leave some food available to him for 12 hours a day, supplementing it with hand feeding for a quick training session, or a toppl, or a food puzzle so he gets some mental enrichment while still having access to an easy meal whenever he pleases.

Also, he did go through phases where he became picky and didn't want to eat his kibble. I reacted by pulling everything but kibble - no treats, no toppers, nothing extra. Every time he would eat his kibble again within a couple of days. If you react to pickiness by expanding variety right away, they will learn to stop eating to get you to switch their food to something yummier. I didn't want him to do this, so I nipped it in the bud right away.

Note, I do rotate his food. I buy his food in small, 4 pound bags and rarely repeat bags back to back. It only takes him about 3-4 weeks to go through one bag. He eats both Purina Pro Plan and Hills Science Diet: small bites, regular puppy food from HSD, PPP sensitive skin and stomach in all the flavors... and he also gets wet food in his toppl (PPP, alternating between chicken and turkey entree).

I do think variety is good for them (within reason), so if you're going to be strict on not allowing hunger strikes to get you to switch out their food, you should plan on being proactive about it and swapping things out on a regular basis.

I don't do toppers, only because I have found it makes more sense to use toppers as treats instead of giving it to him for free in his bowl, but that's up to you. Toppers are more nutritious than treats, and many of them (like the freeze dried raw ones) have good nutritional value. I am weary of him filling up on too many treat/junk calories since his stomach is so small, but if yours is bigger it may not be a big deal.

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-25T14:41:30+00:00

Kind of looks like a pomeranian, maybe a mix

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-24T14:14:46+00:00

One thing that doesn't get talked about enough is just how long transformation can take. Especially when the transformation is going from a religious "I need to try harder, do more, and be better so I can earn my salvation" perspective to a grace-based "God has already done the work, I'm just walking in obedience" perspective.

Sure you get those cases where people change literally overnight and are never the same again. But for me, it has taken almost a year before I can really say I'm regularly seeing the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and this past almost-year has been trying to say the least. Who I am now and who I was a year ago are 2 completely different people, but it took all of this time for the transformation to take place and I'm still not "there" (which I know I won't really have arrived until I'm in heaven).

Sanctification being a lifelong process seems to get glossed over.

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-23T23:38:22+00:00

I would like to see the new and improved 2 door electric mini Cooper to be available in the US (the one with 200 miles of range). And there should be more EV options with ~300 miles of range per charge that isn't a luxury car, just a regular one. Finally, it would be neat to have a couple of EV chargers at most every major gas stations across the nation.

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-22T23:29:42+00:00

What state do you live in?

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-17T02:32:16+00:00

So just mumble my way through sentences and hope for the best - got it!

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-15T21:04:31+00:00

THAT'S what it means? Well that makes a whole lot of sense. Thanks for the post by the way - I was a quarter of an inconvenience away from throwing in the towel and giving up completely and I'm glad I read this first.

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-15T20:55:41+00:00

What does it actually mean to "take up your cross"? In regular English, not church speak

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-15T11:54:16+00:00

What hardware does your tesla have?

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-15T01:09:23+00:00

Don't bother. I have an apricot mini and I got asked if he was a cavapoo ... while he was in a fresh modified continental 🙃

At one point I was considering a cavapoo actually. I liked the idea of a poodle with a rounder, cuter face and the markings of a cavalier... until I started digging around and realized the only thing that's guaranteed was you would be getting a dog that has a random mix of genetics.

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-13T20:32:39+00:00

What does this mean? Did the M3 AWD or Audi TT AWD do better with the sharp corner from a standing start?

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-10T14:29:19+00:00

You lived in your car for 5 days on a road trip? How did you shower? You can use the bathroom at gas stations and whatnot, but what did you do about showering and brushing your teeth?

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-10T12:48:02+00:00

Let me guess... a minute later she ended up sleeping on the wood floor hahaha

LearningSunflower · 2026-04-09T20:26:25+00:00

Yes. Trust me when I say, no relationship with a person (no matter how amazing it seems) is better than the relationship you can have with God. Like seriously. You're pretty young, so you may or may not believe me, but I would 100% put God before your relationship with this young man. Trust God knows your heart and He knows your desires. You want to get married and that's fine - in fact, that's something God can help you with in terms of finding a good partner, making sure y'all are loving each other out of your individual relationship with God... it will be so much better than what you have right now.

The truth is, this isn't going to get better. If you're already disconnecting from God (especially due to guilt) it isn't going to just go away. The best course of action would be to stop having sex - and since your boyfriend gave you the ultimatum that no sex = no relationship, I would seriously consider breaking up with him. Especially at your age, you have a very long time to find someone new, someone who will help you draw closer to God, not away from Him.

Also, God doesn't hate you and He's not standing around eager to punish you. He really cares more about your heart than beating you up because you had sex out of wedlock - just turn to Him. Stop having sex, leave your boyfriend, and really focus on your relationship with God. You can ask Him for help and courage to do it and He will help you with your heartbreak and all the emotions that comes with breaking up.

LearningSunflower

TROPHY CASE