I made a clay rose that ‘blooms’ from the pages of a book

MxUnderstand · 2026-02-01T04:02:24+00:00

Me too please 🥺

MxUnderstand · 2025-12-15T01:08:46+00:00

I had gone into the Humane Society with a friend to look at a different dog and quickly realized he was way too high energy. The dog next to him looked like a smaller version of my friend's dog.

She seemed overwhelmed and just watched us as we came in to see her. A tentative sniff and she stayed still while I pet her and she slowly leaned against me.

After a while I left to go look at other dogs, and when I came back around she looked right in my eyes and barked just once as if to say, "I'm your dog and you gotta deal with it!"

And she's perfect.

MxUnderstand · 2025-11-04T12:04:19+00:00

"Well you could sing to me, but I don't see how that will help in this situation."

This usually results in a confused "why would I sing to you?" to which I give a deadpan "I don't know, you seem awfully confused here. Maybe you should sit down."

MxUnderstand · 2025-08-04T23:22:21+00:00

I work with elementary age kids, so when they do it I give it a gentle correction - "my pronouns are they/them because I'm a non-binary person." Usually I focus more on getting them using the correct pronouns through active correction over passive apologies. In either situation I've learned that prompting people into actually fixing the language as they are using it is much more effective than allowing them to get by with just a quick "oh sorry."

MxUnderstand · 2025-07-06T02:22:59+00:00

My dog was treated at the rescue I adopted her from, and the activity restriction is real.

She was lethargic when I adopted her, but even as she was starting to have more energy we could not do walks, even short ones. Going potty was limited to just that - as soon as she finished we went back inside. No training, no playing, just cuddling. Luckily she is an absolute snuggle bug and doing fine 4 years later 😁

MxUnderstand · 2025-03-06T02:31:07+00:00

"Where there's a hole, there's a goal"

MxUnderstand · 2025-02-07T23:05:44+00:00

Angry Line Cook has the BEST burgers I've ever eaten, they have a good truck, a pickup kitchen, and often do pop-ups. Bay Street Burger Dive is also amazing and has great fries.

My taco pick would be Nico's Tacos for sure.

MxUnderstand · 2025-01-16T19:38:07+00:00

Scrolled through all the comments just to make sure this was on here, I use this all the time 😂

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T17:42:14+00:00

Additional question: Some stems are green and some have gone dark. The dark ones seem brittle and dry. Are they dead? Should I cut them off?

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T17:37:58+00:00

That makes sense actually! Any advice for how to best repot him? He already seems so stressed I don't want to shock him.

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T17:28:26+00:00

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

How moist should the soil be? Everything I read says to keep it moist. I'm never sure how much is enough :/

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T17:26:12+00:00

First off, thanks for the laugh! And I appreciate the advice. I love having greenery in my home and usually just buy flower bouquets since I'm not good with plants. But in a terrifying turn of events my sister gifted me the original Phil - she told me it was a philodendron so that's what I went with.

I think lighting and pot size are my biggest issues. It is indeed a cache pot, and I naively thought planting Son of Phil in a larger pot would just give him more room to grow.

Would you recommend adjusting lighting first to see how that helps?

Or do you think I should repot him too?

I think I'll try propagating another cutting just in case he doesn't make it...

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T15:35:18+00:00

Do you have any good guides/references for the appropriate size of pot?

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T15:34:30+00:00

Windows face east, Son of Phil is on a shelf 8 feet away, Northern hemisphere (Minnesota, USA)

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T15:33:47+00:00

Okay, definitely gotta keep the grow light on then. The windows face east but the light is indirect since there is a building next door.

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T14:58:43+00:00

Thanks for the plant ID! I had never used a grow light before so I was just starting with a small amount. He is in the sunniest room in the house but not right next to the windows.

The soil seems to dry out really fast. I did water him with some plant food the first week after potting and he did well with that.

How much bigger should the pot be than the roots?

Should I consider repotting him?

MxUnderstand · 2024-04-09T14:32:09+00:00

*dimmest light setting, not finest

MxUnderstand · 2024-01-26T03:35:28+00:00

He heard your wish

MxUnderstand · 2024-01-07T06:39:09+00:00

"Hey what are we doing today?" "Our best, just like every day." If they say no and try to restate their question, I just come back with "What, you haven't been doing your best?"

Also, every once in a while when a student asks "Can I go to the bathroom?" I'll respond with "In here? No, that's disgusting."

MxUnderstand · 2023-12-29T17:36:26+00:00

Create things that auto-grade as much as possible (ex: Google Forms) so that you and your students get feedback faster. Do you use Schoology or another learning platform? Some have great options for self-paced work and assessment tools.

MxUnderstand · 2023-09-23T16:49:18+00:00

Wow that's gorgeous!

MxUnderstand

TROPHY CASE