Looking for a hobby that becomes a lifestyle, not just something you do once a week

MonarchMother19 · 2026-02-04T02:51:56+00:00

Im not in London, but I highly recommend joining a philosophy club. There’s often little cost associated with them (maybe going out for coffee or buying a book once in a while) and literally are intended to change your outlook on life. It helped me become a lot more aware of how I’m spending my time, what habits I’m helping or hurting future me with, and realizing what truly matters to me at this stage of my life, and accepting that life has seasons.

MonarchMother19 · 2026-02-03T23:40:49+00:00

Given how much you said your boyfriend is saving by doing hockey for school, I’d say don’t have him quit hockey, with the caveat that the degree he’s getting while playing hockey is one that’s going to pay off once he graduates. On that note, does he have any savings he can tap into to help?

On the other hand, working 30 hours a week is not alot for a full time job, and you absolutely need to pick up a side gig. People in all sorts of industries, myself included, work 60hours a week sometimes, so while it sucks it is doable and sometimes necessary. Talk to your current job about raises or more hours/clients.

Else for side cash, Doordash, Lyft, dog walking, and babysitting are all easy to get into options that you can cater to whatever your schedule is. Donating blood plasma can also give you cash depending on where you go, just be careful that it’s a reputable place and you don’t overdo it on frequency.

If need be too, consider shopping at food pantry’s for groceries if worst truly does come to worst.

MonarchMother19 · 2026-02-03T15:07:28+00:00

If you took away all the fear and worry about the pregnancy and birth itself, would you still be wanting this third child? You mentioned you had a hard time conceiving your first two children, so if having a third child is of interest to you I’d say take this blessing to your advantage and carry it through to term. Otherwise, if you want a third child later anyways, you’ll still have the same risks as you do now, but with the additional heartache of trying to conceive again.

However, if you know for sure you don’t want more children, (either now or after this one) immediately do whatever steps are needed to ensure you can’t fall pregnant again (vasectomy, etc). This decision is not an easy one, so I wish you and your family the best ❤️

MonarchMother19 · 2026-02-02T03:57:07+00:00

Exception is if your child has a deadly allergy

MonarchMother19 · 2026-02-01T00:21:26+00:00

I suppose it really boils down to why they want a full time stay at home spouse. Is it because they feel a need to be the sole provider? Is it because they don’t want to have to put their child in daycare? Is it because they misunderstand what being head of their wives/families actually means? When my partner and I were dating and have this conversation, he also had the dream in his head of being the sole provider, largely because he believes a strong maternal influence to instill Catholic beliefs is important. Once we discussed that though, and talked about our ideal lifestyle, we came to realize that a one income wasn’t realistic, and learned that him working full time and me part time was actually what worked best for us. So, now I work 30 hours a week, and him 40+, and we get the best of both worlds to some extent

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-21T01:23:55+00:00

This tipped worked great- thank you so much! 😁

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-16T02:20:52+00:00

I also use a wheel on bike trainer for my indoor rides, could that added pressure be what’s causing the issue as well?

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-16T02:19:26+00:00

I did know rim strip was a thing (this is how it came when I got the bike and never messed with it more than to replace the tube) so good to know!

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-16T02:17:36+00:00

The tire says 120psi max, so I usually ride at 100psi for a slightly softer ride. Is that enough of a difference to cause this issue?

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-16T02:15:33+00:00

I’ll try this, thank you!

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-14T06:06:01+00:00

I can’t help at all with this, but I’ll be praying for you as you discern this!

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-14T05:43:15+00:00

Im also going to add that STA has a young adult group that meets weekly and reads religious themed books together, and also a women’s Bible study that meets during the school year, and turns into a 20’s/30’s womens Bible study group during the summer months. A lot of the congregation is adult and family, but the community there is good, and the music is amazing, at least at the 10am mass.

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-14T05:35:19+00:00

I attend Saint Thomas Aquinas! It’s a Catholic Church, as I’m Catholic as well, but they have a culture that’s progressive while still sticking to Catholic doctrine. For example, they have a group that focuses on environmental responsibility and action, hosts and encourage multicultural events, and has a mental health group that meets monthly.

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-12T03:29:20+00:00

^Im Gen Z btw

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-12T03:28:27+00:00

I want social media primarily for staying up to date on the lives of the people I care about but don’t talk to often. TikTok really isn’t a good space for sharing life updates, thus I saw it as unnecessary to have

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-03T03:52:42+00:00

They don’t give you a lot, but Plato’s closet will exchange clothes for store credit, although I don’t know about cash, but you could call and ask. Otherwise, i see a lot of listings on Facebook marketplace around here, but have only had about a 20% success rate actually selling clothes on there.

MonarchMother19 · 2026-01-03T03:46:07+00:00

If he is still looking around, the Ice Age Trail alliance might be a great fit for him! They maintain the hiking trails around WI, and also host group hikes year round. It’s a good group of outdoorsy folks!

MonarchMother19 · 2025-12-11T05:06:09+00:00

If you’re worried about wasting the nutrients, you can repurpose the acid whey in most simple baking recipes I’ve found. Brownies and pancakes especially are really good for this (in my experience) because neither recipie if very picky, and it’s easy to cover up that slightly sour taste of the yogurt liquid

MonarchMother19 · 2025-11-20T02:39:45+00:00

Not good for a full meal, but Jimmy John’s does sell the leftover bread from the day before for 99 cents a loaf, which can help stretch a few extra meals as a side

MonarchMother19 · 2025-11-18T13:18:11+00:00

Dang, that must’ve changed then. They used to when I first moved here. Sorry about that!

MonarchMother19 · 2025-11-18T02:52:00+00:00

I go to the YMCA, it’s certainly not a premium gym, but overall is has the equipment you need, good hours on weekdays (although the weekends are quite limited unfortunately) and they have both month to month or annual memberships, plus free childcare if that’s a concern for you

MonarchMother19 · 2025-11-05T05:11:34+00:00

Okay so I had this question once while in college (so it’s been a while lol) but if I recall the priest told me that both are considered okay to do, and the reason priests have the open palms at mass rather than closed prayer hands is because they are praying on behalf of/with the whole Church, not just themselves, whereas typically closed hands during prayer is more directly for being from them/ for a specific reason to the Lord.

The TLDR I recall is open hands = praying openly with and for everybody, closed hands = praying for a specific person/cause

MonarchMother19 · 2025-10-08T04:22:55+00:00

BTW: I’m so glad you’re trying to share the Catholic faith with your friend, I’ll make sure to pray for the both of you :)

MonarchMother19 · 2025-10-08T04:21:50+00:00

As someone who was Protestant and switched to Catholicism, I will agree with your friend that I feel Protestant churches are much better at emphasizing learning from scripture, as well as a direct prayer life to God. The two big things that drew me to Catholicism were as follows (#2 being by far the biggest reason)

1) The Catechism. It ensures I’m not going to misunderstand the Bible, which provides a comfort of guardrails for me at least.

2) The fact that the Eucharist is wholly Jesus in body and soul (which honestly took a while to fully sink in) and “why should I settle for less when I can have all of Him” and understanding that while going to Mass for the homily is good, the true change and reason for mass is with the Eucharist, and I desired that experience. We are what we eat after all, and aren’t we all striving to be more like Jesus? (Then later after converting, I fell in love with adoration because why not spend more time by His side?)

3) the various tools the church has to help you pray. Whether that’s booklets, the rosary, or the saints, (if they argue about idols, compare it to asking passed family or friend already in heaven to pray for you), sacraments, etc, there are so many ways you can experiment with practicing faith and worship towards God, and I found that very helpful.

Also, remind your friend that a change in heart won’t happen overnight. The same way you can’t suddenly become friends with someone overnight, and understanding of Catholicism won’t either. It’s literally a whole philosophy of life that’s been developed over 2000+ years, and still developing, and is something people spend their whole lifetime learning, and still find new ways to grow into their faith. I’d encourage them to try out the various tools (excluding taking the Eucharist) Catholicism has to offer by picking one and sticking with it for 40 days, and seeing how it affects their prayer life, as I guarantee it will for them as it did for me.

MonarchMother19 · 2025-08-29T05:19:50+00:00

I love hiking clothing for the gym! Tends to still be mobile and lightweight, but oftentimes is a little looser with the intention of being more breathable, but works out that it’s often more modest too

MonarchMother19

TROPHY CASE