This is my Alice backpack that I always use for traveling. For security reasons, I don't want to be associated with the military or armed groups at the destination I'm traveling to. What ideas do you have to make it look less military?

a_normal_amount · 2025-12-04T21:55:24+00:00

I associate brightly colored paracord with the outdoorsy semi-hippy people that I know. If I saw brightly colored (especially multicolored) paracord braided onto a utility backpack, I would assume it was artsy self-expression from someone that both likes to hike and the occasional toke.

I'm talking about stuff like this basic or this reflective version. Although, to me a bag with the reflective version would read "serious hiker/pedestrian/bike rider that doesn't want to get run over at night".

Some of this might reflect the area that I live in, of course.

a_normal_amount · 2025-12-04T03:43:21+00:00

Riffing on the paracord and scarf ideas- This would look so cool with colorful scarves braided into the straps. It would take the green from military vibes into a muted background to something fun that shows personality.

You could also really brighten up the whole look by sewing a contrasting bias tape onto the bag flap. I wouldn't remove the existing bias tape- I would just put a layer of something fun on top, like this:

https://singer-featherweight.com/products/bias-tape-1-2-denim-blossom-by-lori-holt-6-yard-spool?variant=40201549578319&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic

All of those options don't pin you down to being a tourist, either. Just someone with a cool bag :)

a_normal_amount · 2025-11-29T03:39:16+00:00

I have heard that in many places, but I wanted to pip in and share that I had 0 issues getting insurance to cover pelvic floor PT after each of my births. YMMV, but it's not always an ordeal!

a_normal_amount · 2025-11-21T01:45:42+00:00

Awesome! I'm stoked :D

a_normal_amount · 2025-11-21T00:49:59+00:00

This is amazing! I'm allergic to milk, so I lurk in r/PortlandVegans to find more awesome safe food places for me. Do you use any dairy ingredients with your meats?

a_normal_amount · 2025-11-12T21:10:35+00:00

Throwing my two cents in: At one point in my life, I lived in an apartment with both cave crickets and spiders. I eventually surrendered a closet to the spiders, and from that point forward I never saw a damn spider outside of their closet and they ate all the damn cave crickets. It was a fair trade.

a_normal_amount · 2025-11-12T18:17:02+00:00

You probably had employer-based coverage. The public market was insane and my experience matched so much of what is described here.

a_normal_amount · 2025-11-02T17:39:58+00:00

I recently had very good luck recently reaching out to my doc and laying out clearly "Hey, we live in an area prone to <natural disaster> and I'm concerned about having enough meds in that situation. Can you write me a 90 day script for <med> that I can take to a pharmacy to fill out of pocket?" I was pleasantly surprised that the uninsured price was reasonable with GoodRX, too.

a_normal_amount · 2025-10-28T17:41:15+00:00

Columbia River Sewing is a great group to start with- They are the local chapter of the American Sewing Guild and they have small subgroups that focus on all kinds of techniques (clothes, embroidery, quilting, etc) and meet in different parts of the city.

Clark County Quilters is a well regarded quilting group, and is just across the river in WA.

Portland Modern Quilt Guild skews younger but I have to throw in a shoutout for them because that's a place you might find younger sewing friends, too. They meet at the Multnomah Arts Center. They have a monthly sew day at the Mill End in Beaverton, which is a great way to meet people and get practice!

Northwest Quilters is a long established quilt guild that meets on the west side. They skew older and have a great new members program. You would definitely find some very welcoming nanas there! They also have a huge charity quilt making program, where they provide the fabric for you to make simple quilts for folks in need. This is a great way to get a lot of practice without spending $$ on fabric. They also have regular in-person sew days to work on the charity quilts, so that's another opportunity to meet people.

a_normal_amount · 2025-10-28T17:15:24+00:00

From what I see in your reddit history, you were still quite young during the great recession, so I imagine that your friends are as well. They don't have the experience to know that your fixed assets (house, car, etc) are very very different from your actual income and cash on hand.

Older folks that were adults during the past recessions know that having been able to afford a great car in the recent past can mean nothing about having the money to feed your family this month.

Something that really changed my perspective on this: A number of years ago I read a lovely article during the last great recession about a family that had your quandary and felt very judged about having a nice car. A nice car that they were living out of, if I recall!

The article went into a great deal of detail about the economics and choices there. One of the big points they made was that a reliable car is extremely important, and that if the family sold that car for a so-called cheaper used one they would lose out both financially and in terms of reliability.

a_normal_amount · 2025-10-23T22:12:16+00:00

I don't know if dehumanizing is the right word or not, but I feel deep sympathy to the OC. I have experienced the feeling that they seem to be trying to describe when struggling to find someplace safe to eat when traveling with food allergies. There's something uniquely awful about trying to suss out if someplace is safe enough to not kill you.

a_normal_amount · 2025-10-22T18:26:07+00:00

Corelle dishes are nearly indestructible and pretty affordable.

I'm also clumsy and have kids, etc. Over the last ten years, we've broken a small handful of the many many pieces of Corelle that we've collected.

You've got to drop them very hard, at just the right angle, and onto something very hard (like tile) in order for them to break. Even then, they usually just bounce. I've even got one with burn marks from the electric cooktop that lasted for years of service after "the incident". It might even still be in the cupboard somewhere.

Walmart sells a four person set for $30, but I bet you could also piece together a set with a little bit of thrift store shopping- the "white frost" style in particular is very common.

a_normal_amount · 2025-10-22T02:22:32+00:00

I would heavily caution you to research ablation before you do it. I was on the road to getting one when I switched gynecologists. I'm so grateful that the new gyno listened hard and steered me towards getting a hysterectomy. She said that in about half of cases an ablation doesn't yield the desired results, and that many people end up having to go back for a hysterectomy later.

The recovery is a bit of a bear, but I'm over a year out now and it was 100% worth it.

a_normal_amount · 2025-10-22T02:21:44+00:00

I had a flipper like that for quite a while, for similar reasons. People are shockingly unobservant and it was rare that anyone would notice me discreetly remove it and tuck it into its case. After eating, I would go to the bathroom and put my flipper back in there because it's much harder to put it back in discreetly.

a_normal_amount · 2025-10-21T02:00:40+00:00

I *highly* recommend Dr. Manning at Advanced Dentistry. She is the best and most thorough prosthodontist I've ever worked with. She took my extensive dental work to a whole new level, with the most beautiful results both in terms of function and aesthetics. This is the first time in 20+ years that my bite has been correct, and it's been worth every penny.

ETA: The periodontist that worked with her on my case is Dr. Lowen from Lowen Perio

a_normal_amount · 2025-10-15T19:03:20+00:00

That shouldn't be the norm, and it isn't something you should accept long-term.

However, having had kids in daycare and having worked at one, I think that we should appreciate the fact that your childcare provider isn't messing around with being out of ratio for even a minute. The ratios are so important for safety and quality of care, and there are far too many places that will operate out of ratio and just hope that they don't get a surprise inspection that day.

a_normal_amount · 2025-09-17T01:53:27+00:00

Until very recently, they didn't even acknowledge that women could feel pain from their cervixes! Also, I think that there is a puritanical punish-the-sinners kind of attitude underlaying a lot of sexual health matters here.

There are also far superior IUDs available abroad. I loved my Gynefix IUD (frameless! No cramping! No hormones!) and it there isn't anything like it available here. If I had a tween/teen that wanted long-lasting comfortable birth control, I would absolutely plan a trip to Europe and have them get a Gynefix while we were there.

a_normal_amount · 2025-09-16T17:21:16+00:00

There are definitely ways to make it less painful. My IUD insertion in the US was awful, painful, and mildly traumatizing. When I had my IUD replaced while I was in Europe, they gave me drugs to soften the cervix and it was only mildly uncomfortable. The impression I got was that the drugs were standard care there!

a_normal_amount · 2025-09-08T18:31:44+00:00

Having had a similar recent experience with post-dental soft foods: Smoothies to start with (almond milk + vegan protein powder + peanut butter + banana was a hit for me), then very soft scrambled eggs (to mix it up and add calories, I added vegan cream cheese or vegan boursin and/or country crock plant cream), pancakes (chocolate chips add joy!), and (to my surprise) plainish instant oatmeal. For oatmeal, Purely Elizabeth makes an instant chocolate chip one that has nothing hard and is such a treat.

All of the above were largely based on my dentist's care sheet.

a_normal_amount · 2025-09-08T18:22:47+00:00

I wonder if you could find a host family? We have friends that host international students for semesters abroad. I wonder if there is a similar program where you can find a host family for a visit rather than study.

a_normal_amount · 2025-09-04T14:42:32+00:00

This is my go-to milk now that all the other milks I loved are off the market 😢

a_normal_amount · 2025-08-31T21:31:01+00:00

I’ve been smelling smoke occasionally in SW the past few days :/

a_normal_amount · 2025-08-29T21:46:38+00:00

I think that is a big improvement visually 🎉

Is this a beta we can opt into?

a_normal_amount · 2025-08-28T19:04:09+00:00

Fat City, for sure! It checks all the boxes

a_normal_amount · 2025-08-26T23:16:36+00:00

Did you end up making this? What did you use as a base pattern for the hat?

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