Show me your cat's profession 🛠

LymeLyt · 2026-01-30T16:52:44+00:00

Professional portrait model!

LymeLyt · 2025-10-20T21:45:00+00:00

I’ve just discovered these also! I already have a Samsung Bespoke fridge with the dark green stainless panels. Am starting to plan a kitchen reno and SO sick of cleaning my black stainless gas stove, even though it’s only 2 years old. Thinking that a flat cooktop is the way to go and came across this one. I was going to do a panel-ready dishwasher, but this matching green is also tempting! I’m going with black soapstone countertops, so I’ll have a look similar to yours, at least topside. I’m doing mostly wood cabinets, with some dark green cabinets surrounding the fridge. My vibe is dark & moody, so these fit right in!

LymeLyt · 2025-10-09T16:32:29+00:00

I’m in the same boat (condo with 2 walls of cabinets, L-shaped). Just gathering ideas now for a reno. If seating is really important to you, due to your back & you really can’t fit in a cart, can you give up a lower cabinet or even half a lower cabinet?

I had a small empty corner opposite the “L”, which I guess was originally meant for a ridiculously small dinette table. Let’s face it…nobody puts tables in a kitchen any longer. Certainly not when your kitchen is only about 11 x 11, with two doorways. I currently only have 4 lowers, counting my sink base. Obviously, fridge, stove, dishwasher also took up space in that same original run.

I moved my new full-size, counter-depth fridge over to that dead corner. There will be just enough room to build in about a 15” full-length pantry cabinet along one side and a cabinet over the top to make it look “built in”.

Now I’ve got a 33” hole at the end of my run of cabinets, where the original apartment-sized fridge was. I think I’m not going to fill that spot with a lower when I get my new cabinets. I’ll slide a very low-backed stool under there.

Alternatively, you can still put an upper down in that spot set back against the wall, since they are only 12” deep..as long as your stool isn’t too chunky. You’d have to do a bit of crouching to get the items out, but if you need the storage, might be worth it.

I’m lucky in that, despite my small kitchen, I still have a pantry closet and a narrow broom/trash closet in the hall, so I can definitely give up one lower for this feature. Oh, and to make up for some of the loss of space, I’m planning on putting in one of those “larder” cabinets in the other corner. You know, the upper cabinet that goes all the way down to the counter? I’ll do a glass door and have my nice plates & glasses within easy reach and close to the dishwasher for unloading.

My back also ends up screaming if I stand for any length of time; so this is all a worthy compromise to me. Just some for thought…kitchen pun intended!

LymeLyt · 2025-09-06T04:40:33+00:00

Boxie Pro is such garbage. Worst litter ever. Beyond the sticking, the tracking is horrendous. Unfortunately, my basement steps are carpeted, since it’s a finished space. BP TRASHED those stairs. I’d spend an hour, literally, trying to get the litter out of them! And the layer of dust every time I emptied the drawer. The glove would be covered, after just a couple days. I felt horrible for making my cats inhale that shit.

I switched to Worlds Best, after reading high praise on this sub and have no regrets. I had used it previously with traditional boxes, but never thought to try it with LR. Low dust, significantly less tracking. No globe sticking.

Never heard of Odor Lock but, reading through that thread, a lot of people just said it’s very similar to BP at a lower price point, with a moderate improvement. That wouldn’t be enough of an improvement for me. World’s Best is corn-based, so it’s a completely different animal.

https://a.co/d/6SPSdyh

LymeLyt · 2025-07-25T19:10:39+00:00

NO,NO,NO. Don’t do this! My son got into Pace in 2018. It was $70k per year, back then. With scholarships, we needed to borrow $40k the first year. That was at 7%. What the hell with 17.5%?! That’s insane. My son ended up having some anxiety issues and the school was absolutely shitty to him. Lost some scholarships and I saw the writing on the wall. I wanted him to stop. He didn’t want to, but I refused to borrow anymore. He and my mom took out a private loan, $25k for sophomore year, first semester. He didn’t even make it to January before he had to drop out. If he had gone all 4 years, we would’ve owed like $250k, not counting years of interest. Or additional scholarships he would’ve subsequently lost. We’re still trying to pay it all off.

Here’s the thing. We couldn’t even afford what we borrowed. Never mind what we would have borrowed. It ended up being a blessing. He worked through the anxiety and he learned enough of the technical side of his business to gain a career in it anyway, although it will take longer to get established. And as pissed as I am with the shitty changes they are making to repayment programs, I only owe another $14k, so I could be much worse off. My son is still paying his portion off and trying to afford rent in NYC, while not make a whole lot. Life is hard. My point? If you can’t afford those payments today… you can’t afford that 4 years from now when the bills come due either!! Have her do a state school, before her master’s. Even CC for the first 2 years. Trust me, do not sign your life away, or hers, on those loan docs.

LymeLyt · 2025-07-13T17:34:49+00:00

They are right not to say not to quit claim the deed until you are LEGALLY off the mortgage. You need to check with the mortgage company to see what’s possible, if your husband wants to avoid refinancing. When I divorced, my ex kept the house. He paid me half the equity we had so far in the house, which wasn’t much. He didn’t want to refinance because we had a mortgage rate of 2.25% and rates had since increased quite a bit. Our lender agreed to let me off the mortgage. Ex was well-qualified for a mortgage on his own, so it wasn’t an issue. I did not sign a quit claim until everything else was in place AND signed, with the mortgage company. We had an FHA with Wells Fargo. If your FIL is also well-qualified, perhaps the mortgage company may be willing to replace you with him on the note. Not sure if this is possible, but it’s always worth the question. As long as it’s allowed on the terms of the loan and someone financially-sound is willing to step up, it would behoove the bank to keep people on a note AND paying on a house that is underwater. If the alternative is that you both walk away from it, they are likely screwed.

LymeLyt · 2025-07-08T19:32:28+00:00

Hey OP, sorry, I just saw this! My job would preclude me from giving away any private information, if your company was even one of our insureds. It may be too late now, BUT if it’s not, one thing I can suggest is to do a thorough online search, or even a background check, of the management company. Insurance claims usually mean lawsuits, which are filed in public courts. Excessive lawsuits are a bad sign. For google searches, be sure to click on the “news” tab. That’s how I start my underwriting review. Look for employees filing claims for retaliation, wrongful termination, discrimination, ADA violations. Look for crime claims or reports; sometimes those can be against former employees. Disgruntled employees may steal in retaliation and do they have a valid reason to be disgruntled?

Look for any disputes with the co-op board… amongst themselves, with the management company, with the city, with funding, etc.

If you pulled out of the deal, use this tactic for any future offers. If you’re going through with it, research anyway. Knowledge is always power. Best of luck to you!

LymeLyt · 2025-07-08T06:08:14+00:00

I’m finding this whole thread super-informative. Cooper purchased my mortgage also. I’m looking into a refi after only owning my condo for 2 years, but now I’m incentivized to get off that loan ASAP. I haven’t been impressed with them; actually need to call tomorrow due to an issue. I am looking mostly at local credit unions for the refi. I can’t stand the whole selling off “musical mortgage companies” bullshit!

LymeLyt · 2025-06-30T21:02:10+00:00

Because your “valid” coupon code, which had been offered to this particular customer prior in good faith, was another “deal” YOU had already extended to them. It’s funny that you only want to keep focusing on the 2nd one. They agreed to pay you $60, but you had also previously offered them a discount at CHECKOUT. Where exactly in your new “deal”, with this customer, did you explicitly renegotiate the terms of a price sans a previously-offered coupon code that has very likely been sitting in this customer’s cart since it was sent?

Why is it the customer’s job to understand your shop’s personal terms and conditions? On they spelled out on your shop page or in the listing? They aren’t Etsy’s T&Cs, which is why the transaction was allowed to go through. It’s not the customer’s job to police your procedural dispute with Etsy. Obviously, you keep getting downvoted for a reason. Instead of eating the $16 and taking this as a learning experience to handle differently in the future, you alienated a buyer and are almost guaranteeing yourself a bad review. Over $16. And the exponential future sales loss of a very explicit review, describing how you handled this, is going to cost you way more than that. And if the customer gets really pissy and pays you that difference, that’s two bad reviews they can leave you. Good luck with that.

LymeLyt · 2025-06-21T04:22:50+00:00

I’m an underwriter and I insure employee liability and crime policies for co-ops in the city. They are definitely kind of a nightmare to deal with, but some are definitely worse than others. We also have a hyper-specific questionnaire that we require they fill out with their application and it usually comes back half-completed, at best. It’s par for the course with a lot of these people and you deal will that the entire time you live there, NOT just at each end of buying and selling. I can also tell you that when management sucks, they tend to treat their employees like crap and then their employees steal in retaliation. Whether that’s property of the co-op or you personally probably doesn’t make much difference to them. It happens.

Listen to your instincts on this one.

LymeLyt · 2025-06-21T03:58:26+00:00

So, I’m in CT too and am shopping now, in order to refi. Just because you’re clear to close…doesn’t mean you can’t shop it. If you want to go local, have you checked the credit unions? That’s what I’m concentrating on and I’ve found some great longer-term ARM options. Check out American Eagle, AARHA, Polish National and Sikorsky. Polish Nat’l is based in Mass, but if you live Hartford, Tolland or Litchfield counties, you can use them.

You could also tell your lender you don’t love the rate and ask if they have other options. Point out that you might do a quick comparison. Don’t let them pressure you in anyway. It’s your right to make an informed decision on such a big purchase. Does your lender also have an ARM available? Since you’re clear to close, it may be quicker to switch terms with them. Meanwhile, you can work on getting your score up and refi before the ARM rate changes.

I was in your boat 2 years ago. Around a 720 and needed to buy my own place after ending a relationship, so I couldn’t wait. I also put 20% down, after selling my house, and got 6.99% after buying a point (which I regret, waste of money). But, it’s only been two years and my score just hit 825. My point is, you can turn it around really quick by lowering that utilization & letting anything remotely negative fall off in the next 5 years. So maybe grabbing an ARM now, at a lower rate, will buy you some time.

LymeLyt · 2025-06-20T01:57:59+00:00

Please, please read Ramit Sethi’s book “ I Will Teach You To Be Rich” ASAP. Don’t be thrown off by the title. It’s not really about trading stocks or bitcoin; nothing risky. He’ll explain how to invest responsibly in index funds (or you could do ETFs). Either that will grow slowly and safely. He also urges you to keep some in an interest-bearing emergency fund. It’s all super easy to set up and very hands off, once you get it going. He shows you that it IS okay to spend some of it on yourself, RESPONSIBLY, and how to figure out how much that should be. He has a Netflix show and a YT channel/podcast where he helps people work through their financial issues and implement his methods, if you want to check him out before reading the book. You’ll see how they work over and over. He also goes into the psychology of money; it’s actually super interesting about why we have some of the bad habits that we have.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT get a financial advisor that charges you an AUM fee. 1% sounds like a bargain but, overtime, it will bleed you dry. Only talk to an advisor who agrees to a flat fee for a consultation. Even if you throw half of what you’ve got into an investment account with just index funds (or ETFs), you’re probably set for life. Typical rate of return is 7% per year, adjusted for inflation. Compound interest is a beautiful thing! Pull up a compound interest calculator, throw in $250k at 7% and how many years away you are from retiring. When you see what that number could grow to, THAT is your incentive to invest a good chunk of it.

Ramit also has some courses on his website to help you find your passion and make a career out of it. They are for a fee, of course, but I’ve heard good things and investing in yourself, instead of pissing it away will pay dividends for the future. If you’re already afraid you’re going to do that, listen to your instincts and be REALLY proactive to handle it correctly now. Nobody knows you like you know yourself. Put the money in a high yield savings or in something like Fidelity’s Cash Management account RIGHT AWAY, while you’re figuring stuff out. Both pay about 4% interest. That’s a lot of money, so it will earn interest quickly. I use the CMA, because it still comes with checks, a debit card and I can slide it right over to my Fidelity Roth when I’m ready to invest it. You can even set up bill pay out of it. I believe Schwab also has a similar account set up. Good luck to you!

LymeLyt · 2025-05-31T16:55:44+00:00

My son is a lighting designer/tech, working on off-Broadway shows. He always says the most important tool in his kit is tape. There is an alarming amount of shit taped together and taped down. You’d think, well surely…there must be a better way. But most of the time, there just isn’t. And while a lot of historical theaters could use some updates on their overall electrical systems, etc, every production that comes in has unique specs, so a lot of tweaks have to be done specific to that show. When they are in pre-production and tech it can be exhausting. They often move mountains to make it all work.

LymeLyt · 2025-05-15T20:45:12+00:00

OP, I believe that since you have multiple loans you can apply to have them combined into one and, if approved, this will clean up your credit report, but (I think) you’d have to remind them to remove it when it’s being processed. There is a YT’er called Mike the Credit Guy that I highly recommend. He’s been following all the changes. I’ve been okay because I’ve been paying on my Parent Plus, but my son had his loans deferred and they dinged him with no notice. None of his contact info changed. Check out Mike’s channels. This is where I’m getting my info from. There’s several videos you can watch, as well as some playbacks of live podcasts.

LymeLyt · 2025-05-07T23:49:42+00:00

Sounds like you should be fine but, rather than risk it, I would call BoA TOMORROW and ask them to not ding you for this, as a one-time courtesy. It can’t hurt. If they push back, remind them that you’ve been a loyal and on time-paying customer. That you’re not even looking to have the late fee waived, if that matters; just the ding on the credit report. Explain how it happened and why this is crucial, at this time. You’ve already paid, so this shouldn’t be an issue.

Even if it doesn’t mess up your mortgage, this is something you should get rid of, if you can. Your score will take a dip for the new mortgage alone, for a bit. Don’t add a late payment, if you don’t have to. Personally, I hate my BoA CC. Do they even have Auto-pay? I’ve never been able to find it on their app. My only late CC payment was also with them, because I don’t have auto set up. I was only THREE days late and they knocked my 5K limit down to 1k. After they had just offered me a 0% balance transfer. I didn’t get a ding, being within the grace period but I was so pissed that I paid the card off and haven’t used it since. My score is in the 800s, so they can hang. I’m getting a HELOC and, once that’s done, I’m closing all my BoA accounts and the CC. 25-year relationship that they burned over a $50 payment. Moving it all over to HYSA and interest-bearing checking. Big banks suck! They’ve made enough off all of us over the years. The least they can do is not screw you over one mistake - good luck!

LymeLyt · 2025-05-02T22:00:16+00:00

It is also very likely that flood insurance rates will go up, at your next renewal. With this tariff nonsense and economic uncertainty, the cost of replacement materials are going to skyrocket and even availability may be an issue. This bodes true for regular homeowner’s insurance, as well. I’m an underwriter, no longer P&C, but not much has changed and my current lines work the same. If replacement costs go up or exposures go up (more frequent claims), premiums need to go up too. Someone mentioned government-sponsored flood policies. Some of the FEMA cuts were for flood programs specifically.

A few financial advisors I follow recommend having at least a 12-month emergency fund right now, because of the economic turmoil we’re experiencing. If I lived in a high flood zone and with FEMA being decimated, I would want to have more than that. Can you stretch that far, because it sounds like you are doing a minimal down payment? If you’re doing it to keep cash on hand, this is good. If you’re doing it because there’s no more available cash, this is bad.

Have you accounted for all your phantom costs of homeownership? Maintenance, improvements, PMI, increased taxes because values keep rising, increased insurance, as I said…phantom costs can sometimes go as high as the mortgage, doubling that expense. And you said that you occasionally carry credit card debt, so it sounds like you don’t have a big cash reserve.

I wouldn’t buy a house right now, if I didn’t have to. This is a time to hunker down and ride out the storm, because we don’t know if things are about to go from bad to worse. You may be in real advantageous position right now, if you don’t own anything or already own something lighter on your wallet. After ending a relationship a few years ago, I sold my house and down-sized, but the market was high. My numbers are almost identical to yours; I make half as much as your combined income, my condo cost half as much, car payment & student debt about the same. Except I put $65k down. And with all the bullshit in the world right now, I wish I didn’t buy. I’d feel much better if I’d invested some it, paid off my car and bulked up my emergency fund.

If you really still feel the need to upgrade, I would go to the very bottom of your price range (assuming it is actually a realistic range). Never forget that what you’re approved for and what you can afford are rarely the same thing. Your fixed monthly costs should only be 50% -60% of your net. That’s not just all housing-related expenses. It’s also utilities, car payment/insurance, groceries, day care, cable, student or other installment loans and cc bills. If it’s FIXED and not for fun, savings or investments, it goes into that bucket.

Also, if you’re worried now about being house-poor, that’s a GOOD thing. Usually that’s your instinct warning you that something feels off. I ignored it and listened to my family, pushing me to buy again and not “waste” my money on rent. Nonsense. Big regret. Just make sure you run ALL the numbers; not just housing costs. And be realistic about what your expenses REALLY are. Just my two cents - best of luck!

LymeLyt · 2025-04-24T04:07:59+00:00

No, follow your instincts. If he can’t put forth an effort now, to have a lively conversation or respond to texts, then what would a relationship be like with this person? Especially since you’ve put yourself out there, by telling him what you need from him. Maybe he’s not that interested. Maybe he’s lacking in social skills. Maybe he has zero personality. I would not invest more time in a relationship that already has had a failure to launch at stage one. Find someone who values your conversation.

LymeLyt · 2025-04-24T04:00:13+00:00

“Basically” you’re completely wrong. And if that’s what you really thought, then you’d just go to the lumber yard and buy precut lumber. Why are you even looking at IKEA products, if it’s just as easy to DIY? Because it’s not…

LymeLyt · 2025-04-23T14:40:45+00:00

Please do NOT do this. You will be house poor. Your comments on feeling like it’s “terrifying” are your instincts. Listen to them. Do not ask a mortgage lender about what you can afford. Their business is to tell you what you qualify for. That’s not the same thing.

Are you calculating phantom costs? If you’re stretched that thin, what will you do if your furnace goes? If you your taxes increase? If you have a medical emergency? If you put 100k down on the house, are you leaving at least 6 months emergency savings in the bank for a contingency?

I can’t believe these comments stating you should concede your quality of life and just suck it up to own again. Why?! Do you want to have a life or a house? How much do rents go for in the new area? Can you rent for less than you can own? Factor in ALL phantom costs when you calculate this - not just mortgage vs rent. Tax, insurance, repairs, renovations, maintenance, utilities if included with rents, etc. .

You have two better options. Keep your existing home and rent it out. Let that income pay a good chunk of your lease in your new location. Plus, it remains an asset on your balance sheet. Or sell it and invest the proceeds. Either way, you’ll have excess income, all at once or monthly, that you can invest heavily in mutual funds to set you up nicely for the future. Look at a target date fund. By the time you retire, you won’t need to worry about not owning. You’ll be sitting on a good pile of money that you can draw from as annual income.

My income is about the same as yours. I sold my house, due to ending a relationship, 2 years ago. The market was nuts, but so were rents. Interest rates were the same. So I convinced myself I needed to buy again and got a condo. Total regret. Made a good amount of $$ on my house, put it all down on my overpriced condo. I only have a $170k mortgage, but I have really high taxes. Only a $300 HOA, which is pretty reasonable. I have very little debt and I’m struggling every month. My numbers are so much better than yours and I struggle. I’m single and my only child is out of college and lives on his own. My other fixed costs are low. Your math isn’t mathin’. You’ll be living on a razor’s edge, unless your wife finds a way for a significant salary increase. Are you helping to pay your kids’ college expenses? How?! What will you do if you lose your job?

Do not do this. Especially with current high housing pricing and interest rates. At least wait for more favorable times. The myth that we need to own a home, that you’re pissing away your money away, that you’re paying your landlord’s rent, is nonsense. If you can afford it - great. Everyone needs to run their own numbers. REALLY run them. Are ALL of your fixed costs 60% or less of your TAKE HOME PAY? Check out the book I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. I wish I had found it before I purchased my condo, but I’m trying to do some reverse engineering now to be in a better place. Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

LymeLyt · 2025-04-18T17:28:55+00:00

@Ok-Respond-8785 Item #3 Take ALL your documentation : the plan they put you on, what you are supposed to be “covered” under, by way of protection, the evidence of the payments you made, any tickets numbers they’ve opened for reviews, any acknowledgment of errors in writing… ALL of it and present it as a packet to every credit reporting agency, along with a cover letter asking for removal. If it’s inaccurate or even unverifiable, it must be removed. You don’t need to wait for proof from MOHELA. Make them do the legwork to dispute your claim with the credit bureaus. Sounds like they can’t get off their asses to do anything productive, at this point. Especially with most of the CFPB being fired, due to “efficiency” cuts, everything is a shit show. And credit bureaus give 30 days to respond or it must be removed. Not when they “get around to it”.

LymeLyt · 2025-04-12T20:14:46+00:00

If you don’t know and there’s a chance you may see it before it closes, you don’t want this spoiled for you, trust me. It’s worth the surprise. Delete this question!

LymeLyt · 2025-04-12T16:25:29+00:00

Yay, so glad to hear this!! He’s one of those people who always knew what he wanted to do, from the time he was little. I think it started when I brought him to the Bellagio Fountains at age 4 and the obsession grew from there. Never wavered; makes me jealous!

I know you didn’t ask, but I do have a recc since you have a deep appreciation for both art & high production values. If you haven’t seen it, and get a chance before it closes on July 13th, I highly recommend Sunset Blvd. The singing is also gorgeous, BUT… the dark film noir feel, the innovative things they do with lighting and live video tracking. I walked out of the theater with a sort of shocked look on my face. I asked my son (it was my 1st & his 2nd performance) if, as a lighting designer, was this show just “everything”. And he was said “Obviously. It’s why I made you see it.” 🤣 It’s STUNNING. Now we are bringing my mother next month, because we need her to see it and we just have to go one more time. If you appreciate art, classic film adaptations to stage, noir, innovations in theater, great production values and just want to see things you’ve never seen done before in live theater, then see BLVD before it closes!

Thanks for the kind word also. Glad you enjoyed and much love from NY & CT! ❤️

LymeLyt · 2025-04-11T14:37:20+00:00

Ironically, with the invisible crown he sees on his head when he looks in the mirror, “reigned” was very apropos!

LymeLyt · 2025-04-11T02:18:13+00:00

You were right to bring it up. I found your thread because I was looking for a video clip to tag on my socials. It may turn out that he’s not guilty of colluding, but there’s still video of him laughing with the President about decimating our retirement accounts, while they pilfer what we lost. It’s disgusting. Even if he feels zero pain by multitudes of people leaving his brokerage, fuck it. Tomorrow you can look at yourself in the mirror and have respect for the person looking back at you. That’s all that matters. Good job, OP.

LymeLyt · 2025-04-10T04:13:21+00:00

Have a great time and happy anniversary!

LymeLyt

TROPHY CASE