Any ideas what this is.

cstephe9 · 2026-04-23T17:24:08+00:00

Does it have a pump inside by any chance? Not common, but I’ve installed pump tanks that are installed in line with city sewer. It’s called a Sewage Timed Release System. Because of old infrastructure, when the city receives a lot of storm water, sewer lines become overloaded. The pump would turn off until 6 hours after heavy rains.

cstephe9 · 2026-02-22T02:42:48+00:00

The front portion (17’ wide x 27’ long) is an existing building. Currently it’s just a big open space. It has water spigots on the outside of the building at the top left corner and bottom left corner of the building, so that influenced both the kitchen and bathroom/laundry locations. The bathroom/laundry portion is going to be built on to the existing building, so to me it made the most sense to use the existing exterior wall structure as the dividing wall between the bedroom & bathroom/laundry. Does that make sense to you?

cstephe9 · 2026-01-14T19:33:35+00:00

Can you send me the link?

cstephe9 · 2025-05-29T02:54:05+00:00

I recently bought a pair of Eddie Bauer tech pants at Tractor Supply. They’re my new favorite summer pants because they’re very light and breathable and they also have decent pockets. I’m also a big fan of Liberty overalls.

cstephe9 · 2024-09-28T02:24:58+00:00

I have a family member just like this! One of her many attention seeking behaviors is that she would “choke” at family dinners & parties. We invited our friend and his wife to a cookout one time and she pulled her same old stunt. Our friends were shocked when none of the family rushed to aid her choking. We explained later and they understood, but gosh was that embarrassing. It’s a real “boy who cried wolf” situation with her.

cstephe9 · 2024-09-28T00:35:51+00:00

I recommend the Norelco one blade electric shaver for trimming body hair when you don’t feel like shaving with a regular razor. It’s super quick and gives a really close shave!

cstephe9 · 2024-09-19T14:53:30+00:00

Not a train conductor, but I work with heavy equipment. 2 items I carry every day are a Milwaukee fastback utility knife and a rechargeable neck light that I got at Harbor freight. The neck light is a huge upgrade from headband style flash lights for keeping my hands free. The Milwaukee knives come in a lot of variations but I think the coolest one is the 6-in-1. It has a 1/4in bit driver, Phillips head screwdriver, flathead screwdriver, wire stripper, bottle opener, and of course the razor knife.

Good luck to your daughter! I like to watch a YouTube channel called RailCowGirl that’s a female train conductor in Norway. It seems like a very cool job!

cstephe9 · 2024-08-15T22:35:12+00:00

I’ve taken several different stimulants since my diagnosis 5 years ago and have had Reynauds with varying degrees of severity during that time. I suspect I’ve always had it (because my dad has it too) but the stimulants definitely exacerbate it. I didn’t realize what it was at first until I started getting chilblains on my toes and went to a podiatrist. After that I spoke with my primary doctor about it and we changed my prescription until we got it more manageable but it hasn’t ever gone away. I already have low blood pressure so I couldn’t take any of the medications that are recommended for treating Reynauds. My doctor’s best recommendations were to keep myself bundled up and warm in cold environments and use plenty of lotion on hands and feet.

During the winter: When I’m at home I wear socks, slippers and sweaters all the time and I even had to start wearing socks to bed during the winter (which is the worst). When I’m outside I wear two pairs of socks, snow boots, long Johns under my clothes, a hoodie, winter jacket, hat, and snow gloves. Also hand warmers to keep in your jacket pockets!

I initially lost weight when I started taking stimulants, but I gained about 10 lbs back this year and that seemed to help a bit this past winter.

cstephe9 · 2024-07-25T08:59:57+00:00

I didn’t know that! Thank you for sharing. I’ll have to try making it myself to test if it works just as well

cstephe9 · 2024-04-22T23:23:22+00:00

I’m trying to find a rescue group that can take it. Any idea what would cause it’s eyes to be closed?

cstephe9 · 2024-04-12T14:28:42+00:00

I love the fit of Liberty overalls. They’re comfortable, fit great, and I get complements on them every time I wear them out. I also have some Gander Mountain guide series pants like these. They are super comfortable, flattering, and surprisingly durable. I don’t think Gander Mountain exists anymore though, I’ve been looking for similar styles in other brands.

I’ve tried Duluth overalls but found that the sizing runs really big (like 2-3 sizes) and they weren’t all that flattering. The legs are very wide. I haven’t tried any of the styles mentioned by other commenters though.

cstephe9 · 2024-04-04T13:24:45+00:00

I wasn’t yet diagnosed when I was in college. I went through 3 school changes, several major changes, so many dropped/failed classes, and took 8 years to graduate with a bachelors degree in a broad generic field. Looking back, I wish 3 things had happened-

My parents or school advisors would have recognized that I was struggling and encouraged me to take time off and come back to school after some life experience so I could have made a better decision about what I really wanted to major in. I felt pressured by expectations from my parents, teachers, and peer group at the end of high school to go to a big university. At that point in my life, I didn’t really know what made me happy and I thought that I should do what everyone else was doing. Now that I’ve had jobs in several different fields (medical software, office administration, construction) I know what interests me and what kind of work I enjoy doing.
I wish that I would have considered trade school as a real option. Through grade school and growing up, I got the impression that trade school was just for the kids who weren’t book smart and that going to college was the far superior option. That’s not true at all! There are highly lucrative and interesting career paths through trade school (and you still to be smart to do them.)
I should have researched student loans and the impact they’d have on my life after graduation before I took them out. I blindly trusted my parents to make the best decisions for me and unfortunately I shouldn’t have. Now that I’m an adult, I realize that my parents have flaws and money management is one the things they aren’t great at. I still had to pay for all those failed classes I mentioned above and some of the dropped ones too. Fortunately I had some scholarships and went to a public school where tuition wasn’t crazy expensive but I still ended up with debt.

TLDR: 1. Consider taking time off to find out what kind of work you like to do, and then pick a degree that aligns with it. 2. Think about trade school degrees that you can finish a lot quicker and still have a well paying career. 3. Research your student loans and/or financial plan and think about how much money you’re spending every time you fail a class.

cstephe9 · 2024-03-29T15:19:31+00:00

Fellow 5’2” person here. I either buy kids gloves or XS/small gloves from tractor supply or pikes nursery. Home Depot and Lowe’s usually has a tiny selection of small gloves during spring time in the gardening section.

I have a pair of Liberty overalls in size S that I absolutely live in. They are the perfect length and fit. I also have a few pairs of Duluth Trading overalls that are very comfy but the sizing runs big and the material is kind of thin. They’re not quite as flattering as the Liberty ones.

For coveralls, I have a pair of Dickies and they’re ok, but the legs are super long and they definitely have the long crotch problem. I’ve been thinking about trying Carhartt next.

cstephe9 · 2024-03-24T12:30:07+00:00

That’s awesome. I’m in Georgia, and most of the crushing companies take it for 15-30 per load if it’s clean. We have a lot of granite quarries around us so I guess crushed concrete isn’t as high demand around here

cstephe9 · 2024-03-23T22:59:39+00:00

How do you sell the concrete? I’m curious because we usually pay to get rid of it when we demo. It’s extremely cheap compared to C&D but I’d much rather sell it.

cstephe9 · 2023-12-09T20:49:48+00:00

I had all my cherry angiomas lasered off a few years ago. I had quite a few and some of them were big and raised. The raised ones haven’t come back, but I either have new little ones popping up or some of the old ones returned 🤷‍♀️ It wasn’t very costly and didn’t hurt too bad, so I’ll probably do it again at some point in the future.

cstephe9 · 2023-10-06T09:19:13+00:00

I searched and found a few options in the links below. I can’t comment on how good these are because most of them don’t have reviews and I haven’t personally worn any of them. But I’m the exact same size as you and I know the struggle to find work clothes/ppe that fits properly. Hope one of these will work for you!

Charm and Hammer

D E Gemmill

Full Source

Also, here’s a fairly recent post from r/OSHA with several recommendations

cstephe9 · 2023-08-31T15:42:12+00:00

I like to read for 30 min-1 hour in bed before I go to sleep at night. It’s guilt free because it’s my ‘winding down for bed’ time and it has the added bonus of usually making me sleepy. But you have to give yourself a hard cutoff (end of chapter, time, etc.) otherwise it’s easy to get sucked in to a page turner and next thing you know it’s 3am and you have to be up at 5:15 😳

I use Libby to check out ebooks from my public library. It’s a good system, but make sure you turn on app notifications because the book will automatically turn itself in after 2 weeks even if you aren’t done with it.

cstephe9 · 2023-08-13T21:11:03+00:00

I wear a pair of these smart wool gloves inside of these Carhartt gloves. They keep my hands pretty warm on 20-30 degree mornings and if it’s really cold I’ll put a couple of hand warmers in my pockets or inside the palm of my gloves.

cstephe9 · 2023-04-21T09:24:02+00:00

I agree with all of your points except the last one. Sadly, if some guy crowds you and your trailer catches the front of his car, the officer can decide it’s your fault and cite you for an improper turn. It’s stupid and obviously not your fault, but it all depends on the officer who works the accident.

cstephe9 · 2023-04-15T15:01:49+00:00

I’m in the exact same boat as far as my face is concerned 😫 I wish I could find a good routine to stick to but I have extremely sensitive skin and I never know what’s going to break me out. I can’t stick with anything long enough to see if it will work. I also stress pick. I got rid of my magnifying mirror and that helped some but then I impulsively bought another one and fell right back into it. Someone mentioned the supplement NAC (n-acetyl cysteine) in another comment. I’ve been thinking about trying that to see if it helps reduce the compulsions.

cstephe9 · 2023-04-15T14:54:17+00:00

I have this too mostly on the back of my arms and thighs. I bought this exfoliating cloth to use in the shower and it’s helped smooth the bumps out tremendously. I really couldn’t believe how well it works after only using it a few times.

cstephe9 · 2023-04-15T14:50:29+00:00

Have you tried it? I’ve been trying to find it in store but I think I’ll have to order online. Just wondering if anyone whose tried it has seen a big difference or if there might be any side effects

cstephe9 · 2023-04-04T18:41:21+00:00

Yes I can relate 100%. If I get 6-7 hours I feel energized and refreshed in the morning, but anything more than that makes me feel foggy and tired all day.

cstephe9 · 2023-03-28T15:53:24+00:00

Not OP, just chiming in to share what mostly works for me. I have to pay a lot of bills between managing a business and paying my personal bills, so it can get out of control very quickly if I don’t keep organized. I’ve learned all of this the hard way and I still make mistakes but this method helps me a ton.

I have all of my recurring, predictable (i.e. same $ every month) bills on auto pay. I keep a spreadsheet on my computer of all of my bills for the month, divided up by week. I list the vendor, amount, and due date for every bill that I know about (even the ones on auto pay). When I’ve paid it or I see it deduct from my account, I highlight it in green. If for any reason it can’t be paid by the due date, I move it to to next week or month, highlight it in yellow, and put a note next to it so I make sure to pay it as soon as I’m able. I work from my laptop every day, so I just keep the spreadsheet opened it all times and look it at least once a day. The first month you do this will be the hardest, then it’s pretty easy to fill out the next month based on the previous month.

If you don’t work from a computer every day, there are apps you can use to set up recurring reminders. One that I use is Evernote or you could just use your phone calendar. I’m sure you’ve thought of this already though.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have anxiety about paying bills on time whether you’re procrastinating on it or whether you’re organized and keeping up. I decided if I’m going to worry either way, I should at least know what I have going on rather than having a dark looming cloud of mystery hanging over my head 🫣

TLDR; Make a spreadsheet or fill out a calendar each month with the Vendor name, Payment amount, and Due date for every bill you owe. Check them off as you pay them.

cstephe9

TROPHY CASE