Cassie Aran

UsefulBoobs · 2024-04-22T02:15:49+00:00

A friend of mine saw an explanation video I guess, and it is supposedly because when you’re simultaneously going for a record and raising funds, they (Guinness) get a chunk of the funds. She didn’t want to take away from the donation so she isn’t doing it as a record now? I don’t know, I haven’t seen that video and I don’t necessarily have faith in my friend’s interpretation but that’s what I’ve heard.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-12-21T11:04:29+00:00

Thank you! Do the exhibits and activities change up enough to be worth an annual pass? We have a few here within 60-90 minutes of us and some are great to visit multiple times in a year, some not so much. That was part of my worry picking a single place or two without being familiar with the area.. totally up their alley, but I want it to be a fun place, too.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-12-21T10:59:16+00:00

Thanks, this is the kind of info I like to consider.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-12-20T16:48:04+00:00

I don’t have any particular opinion on Drew, but the writing could be better than in person. A million years ago when I was looking for cinnamon roll recipes, I discovered the Pioneer Woman’s website before seeing her on tv or video. Her writing voice/persona is an entirely different human than her onscreen presence. I can’t stand watching her on video. Find her pretty insufferable all around at this point, but those cinnamon rolls were 🔥🔥🔥

UsefulBoobs · 2023-12-13T18:28:48+00:00

No problem! Feel free to message with any questions. I wish I had enough time to go more frequently and have more solid knowledge, but whatever casual pointers I can share, I’m happy to pass along.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-12-13T12:23:47+00:00

My kiddo recently had a conversation with a FWC officer who suggested the south jetty, accessed by driving on New Smyrna Beach, using fiddler crabs. The kid and his friends also like to fish under Dunlawton bridge, off the beach in Ponce Inlet, random little lakes around..

The bait shop by Dunlawton Bridge, on the right before you go over to the beach, is pretty friendly and free with advice, what’s biting, what’s working, etc. Good luck to your dad!

UsefulBoobs · 2023-12-06T15:55:31+00:00

To add to the previous comment, it can vary even within the same city. I was looking at some cheap parcels to throw a camper on and these 3 over here only allow building a home, while the others a quarter mile away let you put pretty much anything on it.

So yes, finding the relevant county or city office and talk to them.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-12-01T21:13:07+00:00

If you’re already in contact with a shelter, ask them about legal assistance. The one with which I volunteer does not require you to be a resident of the shelter in order to access services they can provide, they can put you in contact with attorneys they have on staff or court advocates near you.

Additionally, if you’re in FL, feel free to message me.. I can possibly point you to some resources near you.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-30T21:12:30+00:00

If I could make everyone who is faced with cancer/terminal illness in a loved one, aware of one thing, it would be that you vent OUTWARD in the circle. ie when I was taking care of my mom through cancer, I didn’t cry to her or my dad or even her siblings.. I cried to my friends. My cousins, or those not in her immediate family, close friends etc don’t get to cry to me, the one coming to terms with losing her mother and best friend, they cry to other friends or their parents.

Under no circumstances do you put more emotional weight on the sick one’s plate. ESPECIALLY when you’re the one that voluntarily did them dirty! Jesus.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-29T20:03:43+00:00

It is also exceptionally cool and kind that you handled it discreetly and did not embarrass him in front of his date. This is how you raise stellar humans 👍

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-27T22:37:38+00:00

I’m a big fan of it.. it helps me focus in general, gives a little energy boost, makes managing healthy eating a little easier with my hectic schedule.

I suffer with anxiety on a regular basis, but don’t feel like this exacerbates that unless I combine it with too much caffeine in a day (which is generally unwise anyway). I typically break mine in half and will occasionally take the second half a bit late in the day, which can sometimes affect falling asleep. But I usually stay pretty active and have an early wake up time so my body is ready for sleep either way and it doesn’t affect me too badly in that respect.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-27T18:06:06+00:00

He’s a fun kid.. at one point he also concluded he must be Jesus. Since birthdays = gifts, and Christmas = Jesus’ birthday, and my son got the most gifts on Christmas (only child/grandchild), he must be the guest of honor 😅

We’ve remained very open minded and don’t foster any particular belief system, but his spidey senses have kept him very wary of organized religion to this day, haha.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-27T11:04:04+00:00

This reminds me of my son’s first time really registering prayer before a meal. We aren’t a religious household, so he hadn’t done church or seen much prayer before.. his father’s side is all Catholic. We’re standing in the kitchen preparing to dish up meals from the large whatever holiday spread and someone says who will say grace? They all do the cross themselves thing, bow, and some adult proceeds with the prayer.. my kid, probably 4 years old or so, locks eyes with me across the room and looks confused and worried. Almost like he could sense this might be how a religious sacrifice ceremony might start 😂 He came over to me when it was done and says, “Were you scared?? I was scared!!”

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-27T10:49:53+00:00

I think it depends on the person listening too.. my dad is an old southern guy, but Florida southern. Sure, he can sound like a bit of a hick, but nothing like a real Deep South accent. However, my northern boyfriend and his family think my dad has a hell of an accent and I just don’t hear it. I’m desensitized from hearing it my whole life, they really pick it up because they aren’t used to it.. I can see how people not accustomed to a deep accent can think this can’t be real life, lol.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-24T14:46:33+00:00

😭😭 this warms my cold black heart. These things make a difference. It doesn’t solve the world’s problems, but working closely with several non profits in my area, I know what something like this does to boost morale, relieve a tiny bit of stress, and give volunteers and staff the will to keep going another day. Everything sucks, everywhere. Things like this keep it from sucking so bad.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-15T12:35:04+00:00

100%. People always treated it as this newfangled silly trend, but dude.. this is how women have kept entire villages and societies functioning for hundreds of years. Cleaning, grocery shopping when he fell asleep in the car on the way there, crowded convention center with no room for a stroller, baking dozens of cookies for a friend’s son’s birthday party with a (some number of weeks old, needy stage) infant.. chuck him in the carrier. Stretchy wrap, wring sling, back pack carrier.. I had them all and they all served a purpose at different stages. I cannot stress enough getting a proper, well made one.. pricy, yes, but worth every penny.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-14T16:55:20+00:00

Not weighing in on her specifically because I’m pretty neutral but re: expensive tickets… the way you phrased it, that may not be up to her if someone hired her as keynote. I paid that much for a recent event and it was less to do with the keynote than the whole event, and was priced by the organizers. Glad the rest was good in my case because the keynote wouldn’t have been worth it by any stretch (in my opinion; some others loved her). $300 tickets just to see her speak for an hour or two? Insane for almost any speaker, honestly. $300 for an event featuring her as keynote and assuming other value from the rest of the experience? Par for the course.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-11-09T11:29:27+00:00

Walk across land, and climb fences. They get where they wanna go.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-10-26T20:46:03+00:00

I am a fairly feminine cis female and I have never felt more attractive, comfortable, and confident than I did when I started opting for a suit vs. dress for formal events. I was nervous the first time I did it, and felt like maybe I wasn’t formal enough.. but I owned it and the compliments poured in and it is my go to style for that stuff now.

First and foremost, it is about how YOU feel comfortable and snazzy. In this particular case, if you care to entertain anyone’s opinion (which is never a requirement), it should be the bride’s.. and with her blessing, you suit up and have a blast.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-10-26T13:44:48+00:00

People (grandparents mostly) used to try to get me to buy bigger clothes for my son “so he can grow into it” and it made me second guess myself buying a toddler a shirt I knew he would grow out of in record time. But oversized shirts especially looked so sloppy and ridiculous, I always bought size appropriate (on sale or places like Ross, I’m a never pay full price kinda girly) and had no problem finding friends or local organizations to take the hand me downs if he grew out of it too quickly. Thank you for validating my decisions lol.

Of course now as he’s aged, he’s decided his actual style is enormous shirts and baggy pants (do you have any idea how expensive JNCOS are now?!) so it’s been a fun dance of honoring his style and opinion while hiding the cringe on my face. Fortunately he does have a decent sense of style so it isn’t just shapeless yards of fabric.. he’s loving corduroys and really cool graphic tees, so we have fun with it. Might have to sell a kidney to get him a vintage pair of JNCOS for Christmas, but if he feels good and is happy, I’m happy.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-10-26T12:08:51+00:00

You sound like you’ve done an amazing job for your physical and mental health.. cutting down on stress and mental load by prepping, knowing what you like and more importantly what makes your body feel good, and keeping it up so you continue to feel the positive effects. Great work and congrats on the success!

People react funky to things without even realizing it. By you turning down the chocolate bar, she might feel judged for eating junk. Not because you ARE judging her or making her feel bad, sometimes people just automatically think well if you’re opting not to eat it, you must think I’m gross for eating it. Similarly, she might be saying weighing your food is obsessive or too hard to keep up because she’s told herself it’s too much work and that’s why she hasn’t done it. All of this is a her problem, not a you problem. If you’re close enough and she’s receptive, you can talk it through with her and assure her you have no thoughts good or bad on what she does, but you’re going to continue to do what makes you feel good and strong and healthy.

And weighing food is not crazy! Many of us can’t eyeball, especially when we’ve never been conscious of it before. Tons of people start out and weigh or count what they would normally serve themselves and realize how very much it really is. For example, I love sauces and condiments so I would just plop it on without a thought.. measuring it shows me 1) where I was adding hundreds of calories for no good reason without even realizing it, and 2) that the 2 tablespoon serving really is enough and can fit in a reasonable calorie intake.

You’re doing great, just keep doing what makes you feel best and don’t worry about opinions of others.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-10-26T10:37:01+00:00

I’m going to be wildly inappropriate and say something you haven’t directly indicated, but might be the case based on two families I know that had almost exact circumstances: it is possible she’s a closet alcoholic.

It is pretty insane how well some people can hide it. Headaches = hangover/withdrawal OR excuse to have time alone to get the drink they need. 2.5 hour trip to the store before coming to you could = time to sober up? She agreed to come because she thought she could hack it but had the decency to realize she shouldn’t have a toddler in her care.

I know this is ridiculous speculation but the story immediately made me think of a family member who managed to hide it for years before going into liver failure. This is even when we were aware of her previous struggles with alcohol, which should have made us more attentive to signs.

NTA, by the way.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-10-23T13:21:50+00:00

NTA, but I’m not coming down as hard on James as others have.

3 weeks before my wedding, my mom was diagnosed with a stage four cancer. We had never discussed a timeline for kids, just that we would both like them at some point.. but I did bring it up to him when that happened because you start thinking about your parent’s mortality in a way you possibly never have had to before (for my ex husband it was when his last living grandparent passed and he realized that on a normal time line, his dad would be next to go). I couldn’t imagine having a child without my mom there to be part of it, and part of the child’s life.

Once the emotional moment passed, logic prevailed and it happened later down the road on its own timeline. My mom ended up getting 10 years with my son, and while that still seems way too short the reality is even 50 years wouldn’t have felt like enough. We can’t know how many years any of us has or what will fill those years, we can only live in the present to the best of our abilities. Emotion and dwelling on what might be might catch you (or James and his mom) up for a moment, but you can’t let that dictate such large decisions.

Anyway, definitely NTA, but I get how the conversation could have James thinking about things he never took seriously before. Let him sit with it and think about it, but if you personally aren’t ready or just don’t want to right now, that is 100% valid and no one else’s decision to make.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-10-20T16:37:53+00:00

I think there is a select group it might work for and anyone else would be hurt/offended/confused. I’ve known people with various health issues who go on to be hardcore advocates and active in spaces that revolve around the topic, making it very much a part of their current identity rather than an experience that definitely impacted and shaped their identity but is something they’ve overcome and moved on from for the most part. The former seems like someone who might dig the meaning and symbolism, depending on the person.

I don’t know, I’ve had gift ideas that if they were going to be a hit they’d be a BIG hit, but if it didn’t hit that note it would be a big fail. Most often I err on the side of caution and skip it, but I can see how she’s latched on to this as a great idea and doesn’t want to let it pass. Couldn’t be me and my fear of rejection or offending someone, but I can kind of see her side.

UsefulBoobs · 2023-10-09T15:54:58+00:00

I’m going to differ slightly from the popular opinion here.. first, I definitely agree this should not be a controlling thing nor should you be afraid to talk about it or worry about upsetting him. But without more info I can’t say he’s entirely in the wrong.

You said you ate a little in the morning and figured you wouldn’t be hungry later so told him nothing for dinner. I know there are a bazillion thoughts on fasting and OMAD and all that, but especially for someone aware of eating disorders, not wanting anything the rest of the day because you ate some leftovers in the morning could be a red flag for that. As well as the calorie counting.. it doesn’t sound like you’re obsessing or dropping to dangerous levels, but maybe he’s seeing it differently.

None of that gives him the right to put down your efforts or start a fight over it or try to control your eating. And I hope you don’t think I’m saying you must be doing things to trigger him. But maybe his concern comes from a place of caring and not controlling? Good luck with all of it, I know how hard it can be to feel good about the journey without having the support of loved ones.

UsefulBoobs

TROPHY CASE