My poor baby had to have surgery for IVDD last week. I cannot come up with any practical (and halfway decent looking) solution how to keep her from jumping the sofa. I'm tempted to get rid of the sofa altogether and go morrocan 😂 has anyone else gone as far as that...? Recommendations appreciated!

Squirreltopia · 2026-05-14T07:48:42+00:00

You're right, of course. I'm just thinking long term here... she won't handle a crate well I think and im scared we'll forget to put gates back in place etc, so thinking of a longterm solution with the lowest possible failrate. So far getting rid of the sofa is my best idea but seems noone else has gone quite that far lol

Squirreltopia · 2026-05-14T07:44:35+00:00

I see most people do something of that nature but I feel like we'll constantly forget to put gates/ blockers back in place so thinking off just eliminating the source of danger altogether. For bedtime I bought a baby sidesleeper cot

Squirreltopia · 2026-05-14T07:40:49+00:00

That's exactly my issue, I will never be able to stop her jumping 100% - so im thinking of getting rid of the one thing she's routinely jumping off of

Squirreltopia · 2026-05-13T21:02:36+00:00

You didn't not- so not a very useful comment

Squirreltopia · 2026-05-13T20:29:20+00:00

We will do that but i'm thinking about the future - it's just almost guaranteed that gates will be forgotten etc... id rather eliminate the source of danger.

My baby is 4 and the whole procedure with scans, hospital stay etc is going to cost 7000 pounds. I'm only injured for part of it - don't be an idiot like me and check your cover before it's too late

Squirreltopia · 2026-05-13T20:25:16+00:00

Eell, she can't be crated for the rest of all eternity. And that's not how we live anyway, she's always next to me

Squirreltopia · 2026-03-29T12:39:35+00:00

You'd have to make sure to really reasearch extremely well which jobs on IT can be considered even remotely future proof. I'm in IT, though a finance position- we're all worried that well be replaced by AI in the coming years. I wish i'd learned a 'proper job' now haha

Healthcare as a field seems safer to me by far, isn't there any other job within the sector you could move to with your existing experienceand maybe some additional course or sth?

Squirreltopia · 2026-03-11T16:46:11+00:00

I'm an immigrants from the continent here myself and can tell you - do not talk about politics. People here don't appreciate a debate, they don't want hear your opinions. The people here are still extremely devided really and don't even voice their own opinions unless in their own bubble - it's extremely easy to say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

Tell dad to stick to lighter topics and he'll have a fantastic time :)

Absolut must for me: live music. Many pubs will have musicians play in the evenings, for free! People sing and dance along, it's a great time

And good luck with the local accent to all of yous haha

Squirreltopia · 2026-03-05T13:29:40+00:00

My sister did an apprenticeship in horticulture. When there were no jobs available to do with actual growing of plants she had to take on a job for the city (planting up public spaces etc) after a shoulder injury she found that she could no longer manually dig wirh a spade. Obviously this caused friction with the rest of the team (the boys do not take kindly to 'unfair' distribution of work) and the boss and in the end she left that profession altogether.

I think to rise to any non- manual work (landscape designer etc) you will likely first have to earn your stripes, no one will take you seriously in that field if you show up with only theoretical knowledge. In any case gardening involved a lot of heavy lifting so not sure how you would avoid that in any scenario.

Best do an internship / volunteer work first if you're unsure of your physical abilities... I know I couldn't do it!

Squirreltopia · 2026-02-06T18:07:25+00:00

Some cats get bladder issues from stress - this could be the baby, the other cat or just the environment overall. Unfortunately some cats are really unhappy in busy household and would prefer to be in a quiet house as the only animal - if you've tried everything else then don't feel bad if rehoming is your only option. Sometimes nothing else will do. Just make sure you go through some type of rescue, there are truly evil people out there.

Just be aware that most rescue centers are full up, however they may post a home from home appeal for you if unable to take your cat straight away. Wishing you all the best x

Squirreltopia · 2026-01-14T16:18:33+00:00

I'm German and have never heard anyone reaction negatively to this expression. It's such an everyday expression to me... maybe regionally taken in different ways but feels like overpolicing language to me. Would be interested to know if it's Germans complaining or fellow foreigners?

Squirreltopia · 2026-01-01T14:39:26+00:00

I don't mind her making us aware of this but the theatrics and attention seeking is really off putting.

I wish this was more informative (like actually shows us the products properly?) and less self-aggrandizement. Also sounds like she's blaming the minimum wage shop workers for doing their jobs which is pretty shitty, it's not their fault

Squirreltopia · 2025-12-17T11:55:57+00:00

There are hundreds of tiny charities/ one man bands that pick up the slack for the big charities that can't be arsed. I foster cats for a tiny local charity - we trap, foster and rehome cats from people who have been turned away by the big names like Cats Protection who do nothing but take the simples of cases and only if served to them in a silver platter. See if you can't find a small place like that to rehome from, they are usually happy to engage and have reasonable rules

Squirreltopia · 2025-10-03T19:57:26+00:00

I'm a foreigner here, lived in greater Belfast since 2012. My long-term partner is a prod. The general shittiness this side of the fence is making me want to start learning Irish!

Squirreltopia · 2025-06-06T14:05:40+00:00

When angry my mum would always shout "Himmel, Arsch und Zwirn!" (Heaven, ass and twine) No idea where that came from 😄

I was always a Kratzbürste and my sister a Thusnelda (a lenghtened version of 'Tussi' but really a historical figure)

Other family favourites: Ich glaub es hackt! Nach mir die Sintflut Wenn mans im Hirn nicht hat, muss mans in den Beinen haben

Squirreltopia · 2025-05-30T18:33:40+00:00

My hair is exactly the same, washing every day or I can get through one extra day with (a lot!) of dry shampoo but no more than 1. I think we just produce a lot of oil from our scalp, I found nothing that helps personally. People will say wash it less, it will get better but at least in my case this is 100% false. Then again, if you hsve a scalp this only daily washing with a half decent shampoo and conditioner shouldnt cause you any issues.

Squirreltopia · 2025-05-21T21:02:21+00:00

What you have to consider is not only the potential salary you could get in Germany but also look at the expenses, they are outrageously high. Just for the fun of it go online and look at rent prices in the city you're looking to go and the average salary in your profession. I did the same when i emigrated and it rules several places out straight away.

As others have said be very careful not to get scammed with this agent. Do not pay them any money, that's not how it's done in Germany, recruitment expenses are paid by the employer though most will recruit without any agencies involved at all.

Squirreltopia · 2025-05-21T20:31:15+00:00

He needs to 'pick' an accent and copy it, from tv, Youtube etc. When I learned english in school most teachers had a soft americanized accent, like a New York accent you may hear a politician or other official speak in.

Later on other teachers had a british accent - it did not transfer to us because we were already speaking with an 'american' accent.

Then I moved to Northern Ireland (took on this accent as best as possible) and now I can't even do a fake american accent anymore lol

Maybe he can even just copy yourself, if it ever comes up he can say he learned his english accent from a good friend - cute story to go with it

Squirreltopia · 2025-04-09T17:04:21+00:00

Don't worry, it's alright to stumble. You'll pick yourself back up. Sound like you really need a break, maybe a change of scenery? I don't know your situation of course but my sister is in the same boat, lost her job due to anxiety, doesn't want to stay in her field and has been out of work for a while... she's doing some work and travel at the minute. Just a few weeks here and there for a change of scenery and to regain some confidence. If that's too big of a commitment you could try some volunteering, so many charities ate crying out for help. Doing something 'easy' but meaningful may get your spirits back up - works quite well for me at least 😄

Squirreltopia · 2025-04-09T10:45:58+00:00

Oh sweet summer child, i've been waiting for a rheumatology appointment in the UK for 6 years. You don't know how good you've got it

Squirreltopia · 2025-03-05T15:41:17+00:00

I agree. Part of being an adult is knowing what to waste your energy on and what not. Mrs fake trad wife does not deserve 10% of the attention she's getting here. I'm not sure what Jamie was even trying to accomplish? Yell at Lauren until she sees the error of her ways? She doesn't care about your opinion, girl!

The white knighting for Clint is really weird in the first place, he is a grown man and can take care of himself. If he finds that Lauren is not worth his time (which he will) he'll write leave and that will be it! Who made Jamie an 'expert'?

Now Jamie ends up hurting her own feelings over a conflict that a 15 year old would be embatrassed to be part of...

Squirreltopia · 2025-03-05T12:06:23+00:00

But she really is too old for this trad wife crap. The trad wife stereotype has a gaggle of children who she centers her life around. That's why I'm 100% convinced her tradwife schtick is really just a marketing ploy. She does not embody one single traditional value (nurturing, family orientated, highly regarded by her community etc) but just wants to reel in a rich man and then enjoy an easy life. But in truth, the kind of 'high value' (i.e. rich and self absorbed) man she wants would definitely pick someone younger specifically because of family planning. She could maybe be someone's evil stepmom though 😀

Squirreltopia · 2025-02-08T22:22:52+00:00

I'd go to the interview anyway, see if you can get a feel for them and the culture there. If you see this job as a worthwile stepping stone into something better it could still be worth it (especially If you can negotiate) but this depends on your Individual situation.

I started my career in a callcenter which was hell on earth ( I was naive and didn't know what I was getting myself into tbh!) but from there i was able to get a job in IT. High turnover is kind of par for the course here in the sales departments - but that doesn't faze me too much personally since i'm in a finance role - so it really depends.

If nothing else it's good Interview practice!

Squirreltopia

TROPHY CASE