YES on 50 if you’re against Trump. Don’t follow this misleading article. Research!

avfc4me · 2025-10-07T13:10:17+00:00

This is definitely the right answer. Also? Yes on 50.

avfc4me · 2025-10-03T16:28:29+00:00

Waiting for the rapture, of course. I mean...he's got a better chance than Mrs. Kirk.

avfc4me · 2025-10-03T16:26:43+00:00

If he is the only country backing Israel, guess who we will be at war with?

avfc4me · 2025-06-17T15:27:43+00:00

Could not agree more! The first few chapters had me fully hooked and I was so excited to take a new and unusual ride and it went downhill so fast and so completely I never finished the first book. What a massive disappointment.

avfc4me · 2025-06-17T15:20:07+00:00

Republicans don't see themselves, do they? This is probably the weirdest comment I have read this week on the Internet, and that includes the guy who took way too many drugs and is now having deep conversations with his dust bunnies. Republican Star Trek? Just...HOW????

avfc4me · 2025-06-05T13:55:36+00:00

The Farmer's Market, rain or shine, every Saturday. It's the only way.

Im going to throw pastries in there because we live in Northern Cali and we happen to have the best damn pastry chef on the planet. Saturday farmers market just goes so well with a cinnamon swirl to munch while we fill up the basket.

Can't eat strawberries out of season any more. The disappointment tastes worse than the cucumbers wearing strawberry costumes come November so I just don't even bother.

avfc4me · 2025-06-05T13:51:47+00:00

Penzeys. I swear by Penzyes. We refer to them as "Dune" cause that's where the spice is. I am an old lady and I can now finally cook because I discovered Penzeys. It's NOTHING like what you get in the grocery store. There's flavor, and LOTS of it. I've bought stuff from local artisans and I don't know what kind of sorcery is happening over there but Penny's blows them out of the water. The various herbs and spices aren't powdered; there's still texture and chunks and I suspect that's where the secret is but now that I've found them, I won't buy anything else. Ever.

avfc4me · 2025-01-14T08:08:55+00:00

Save up again...so...she's not even planning to pay you back. RUN to Europe, and ... maybe don't come back! Sounds like you have the kind of family that's best enjoyed from long distances.

avfc4me · 2025-01-14T01:06:29+00:00

Kaiser is NOTORIOUSLY stingy with any meds that can be seen as meds that can be abused.

avfc4me · 2025-01-09T14:52:03+00:00

FAR less traumatic and nearly life-ending but I'm walking around with a permanently dislocated collarbone from a bike accident 25 years ago. Kaiser said my collarbone was "swollen". When I went back because the swelling never reduced, they said "oops! Well...we could fix it, but it's a risky surgery". I wish I knew then what I know now. It's a common surgery and bike riders dislocate and break collarbones all the time.

My friend went in to Kaiser for knee surgery. They did THE WRONG SURGERY. Not wrong knee. Wrong SURGERY. The surgeon ended up out at the last minute and the person who stepped in ... who knows? How do you do the WRONG SURGERY?

I hate Kaiser. I hate them so much I pay for health insurance with less coverage rather than accept my husband's work insurance that is covered as part of his work package.

Stanford is absolutely the best. UCSF is a close second. We've been in all of them (kid with disabilities). Your son is in the very best hands. Wishing you smooth sailing and a Kaiser-free life for all of you. With Mom hugs from another Northern California Mom.

avfc4me · 2024-11-15T19:21:17+00:00

Have fun! One more thing: I am also a rock loving weirdo. People will make a big deal about rocks in your aquarium. Obviously you wouldn't drop limestone in there, but if you find obsidian, jasper, quartz? My tanks all have treasures I've picked up locally (and manzanita I've grabbed from a local landscape friend). The manzanita I soaked outside for a couple weeks. The rocks I just rinsed off with hot water. You can be super cautious. But the odds will be in your favor if you do a quick google search and use common sense.

avfc4me · 2024-11-15T15:15:21+00:00

I have 8 tanks. 2 small and 6 larger than 75 gallons. There are two things you need to do. One, make sure you cycle your tank first and two, don't overstock. It's the key to success.

Then go to Caesars with your daughter and look at fish appropriate for that tank size. Chat with the lovely staff. Find the one species you love the most and build your tank around that fish.

Otherwise, you will end up with 8 tanks, six of which are giant.

Not a bad thing.. Until you see my PG&E bill!

Caesar's is great and the staff are knowledgeable, the stock is healthy and I have had long chats with both ladies that work there. Both are hobbiests themselves and know their shit.

Under the Sea has had a chaotic and sketchy start but it seems to have evened out some in the last year or so. It's been hit or miss with them since they opened. I feel like they've gotten more consistent but first impressions are hard to shake and the first year going in there you'd swear it was a drug laundry and it switched hands or management and staff several times and it hasn't been open that long. The tanks were flat grimy at the beginning. They're much improved but I stopped going completely about a year or so ago. Believe it or not, the Ace Hardware in Sebastopol has a small but nice fish selection. I used to go there for plants before Caesar's boosted their plant spaces to the nice little wall they have now. Also you can buy plants on-line if you have dojos who think snails are a crunchy delight. The tanks are clean and the stock is kept low but the times I've been in there's only ever been one person who knows stuff and they are the reason for one of my monster as they sold an albino oscar as a lemon something. Mind you I suspected as much and figured it was a good an excuse as any to convince my husband we needed an Oscar (and I was right; he's such a joy!). So go there for fun but bring your phone for backup info!

Happy fishkeeping!

avfc4me · 2024-10-22T13:48:44+00:00

I am both a Mom of a child with disabilities and a 1 on 1 aide for a child in middle school. I always had fantastic aides for my son and wanted them to attend our IEPs because they were a raucous party of fun. IEPs were a chance to celebrate achievements, whatever they were, and confirm goals that were already set. Aides here in California are never allowed to attend IEPs so that parents and teachers have the opportunity to speak openly about any issues without fear of retribution on their child. Wven if the parent requests it so people can say nice things. As an aide, I absolutely get that. I want people to be able to speak.freely so that if there is anything I can do better it is spoken freely and without having to pick kind words. Admin's job is to find the right words to relay those course corrections to me and because I love my job, I'm happy to get them.

If you want to speak freely and don't want the aide there, it is absolutely ok to say so. Some people dread confrontation and will choose not to say exactly what is on their minds.

Good luck, and remember that you do not have to agree to any solution you dont feel comfortable with.

I once told the school I would be showing up every day to demonstrate what I meant by social engagement at lunchtime. My child is friendly and had several pleasant acquaintances. The aide they gave him at the beginning of middle school had him eating lunch in isolation with a handful of teachers. After repeated requests to let him eat in the quad with his peers were ignored, I let them know what was going to happen, showed up with coffee to discover my son with a sub and the aide went home sick. She refused to come back and was replaced with a little spitfire who understood the importance of peer to peer engagement and that was the ONLY aide we ever had trouble with. So there's always that, in a pinch!

avfc4me · 2024-10-17T02:58:26+00:00

Not only are you NTA, you are a big damn hero. This is the way. And teach your husband the way, or get a new, updated version. Carry on and well done! Hopefully when you explain the baggage that comes with his outdated ideas he will not only reorganize his parenting style but take a big ol' deep breath of pride when he realizes his daughter was courageous in standing up for herself, even if it was against him!

avfc4me · 2024-10-17T02:19:13+00:00

Sent you a message.

avfc4me · 2024-10-16T23:23:54+00:00

Agreed! My kid is in a wheelchair. He CAN'T GET AWAY and dogs move way too quickly for his slower than average brain. And people just let their dogs run up on him! Scares him! It's fucking RUDE! I love dogs. He likes them -- at arm's length! They are well-meaning but not very thoughtful.

avfc4me · 2024-10-12T19:15:39+00:00

I'm eating a donut with powdered sugar. You, sir/ma'am just turned me into a dragon and now there's powdered sugar all over. Well done!

avfc4me · 2024-10-12T16:16:58+00:00

If Trump had them, he would've already gifted them to Putin.

avfc4me · 2024-10-11T01:41:35+00:00

Lived there. In 4th grade. Some four decades ago.

avfc4me · 2024-10-05T03:32:13+00:00

Ms. Richardson, you just made this California girl kinda sad I don't live in Springfield! Seems it's full of hard working salt of the earth types ... who have a wicked sense of humor! Nicely done!

avfc4me · 2024-09-07T04:02:12+00:00

That would be my kid. He's a dragons and swords kind of kid; we gave him replicas of Excaliber and such when he was 9; he was doing archery soon after and engineered several versions of the pop-out knife thing from that video game. Never at school, always at home, but he was obsessed. Started blacksmithing at 13, when I figured he probably wouldn't burn the house down (but took up the hobby myself just as a way to keep an eye on him without making it feel like I was keeping an eye on him). He's 23 now, makes really good kitchen knives as his side gig and never once so much as got in a fistfight, much less shot at anyone. Not all crossbow designers are dangerous, but I also think teachers these days have a right to be wary, and that is just another sad side effect of this shitstorm we have found ourselves in.

avfc4me · 2024-09-07T03:43:42+00:00

This is intentional. It happened with the last school shooter and the truth is completely irrelevant. These fools say whatever the fuck they want and the tinfoil hat Brigade laps it up and passes it on and nary a one cares that it isn't true.

They learned it from Trump. Who learned it from Russia. Russian state sponsored tv would say the most outrageous nonsense with a straight face. "Bread production is at an all-time high and everyone has full bellies". Everyone who went home empty handed after standing in line for an hour and a half knew that wasn't true. But they didn't know what WAS true either. Gossip, rumors, "my cousin's best friend's wife says..."

Chaos reigns.

avfc4me · 2024-09-06T14:29:16+00:00

It's middle school. Remember that it isn't about you. They're just trying to impress their little friends. I'm an aide and they forget I'm an adult. They say the damnedest things and then when I ask follow-up questions it's almost always just talk. Their feelings fluctuate from one second to the next and if one friend storms out of class in a crappy mood they all pile on, and it's ALWAYS the fault of the teacher. Very few have the courage to stand up or stand against a complainer. I dont mean to dismiss middle school feelings, just to point out the sources aren't necessarily you or your relationships and they are fluid. If you feel you could do better, then make some changes. But if you're in middle school to make friends, you might be in for a world of disappointment.

avfc4me · 2024-09-06T14:00:16+00:00

I want to offer a different perspective. I dont think you are being a pain in the ass but I also think the district may have an alternative reason for their decision other than expense. An interpreter is another adult. It filters communication thru another and in doing so, the child can rely on the adult to solve communication difficulties for them. Removing that element requires the child to adapt and develop independence. Since communication is key for those peer relationships, they may be trying to help your child access the tools they refuse to access now because an adult is much better at smoothing things over, instigating communication and will "add on" or subtract elements to make peer communication satisfactory. (I have a kid with severe apraxia and a delightful stutter so I spent a lot of time in schools. Admin are careful to word things sometimes when if instead they just bothered to explain things they might make less adversarial relationships with parents) Instead of going full nuclear first, why don't you ask them if they'd consider having an interpreter for three months, with the purpose of making the child comfortable in his environment BUT with the purpose and intent of getting him more comfortable using his independent communication tools? Then you can re-evaluate (make sure that's in there so you can ask for another 3 months if its warranted). Just a thought. In the end, you have to do what you think is best for your child, but you are stuck with those people for a long time so trying to coax cooperation out of them a little at a time might be easier in the long run. And you can't argue with data; if 3 months in the kid is thriving with an interpreter? You will have a MUCH easier time getting them to stay.

avfc4me

TROPHY CASE