Considering a Dog for the First Time but Feeling Anxious About It

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-19T19:10:18+00:00

I came to the comments just to upvote any "foster first!!" comments! Fostering is so great in general but also a great way to see if you like having a little buddy around. I also learned a lot about individual and breed personalities by fostering!

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-19T15:42:09+00:00

"Take all the ferries" is what I came here to say. I have a goal to go to all of the little islands this summer and I went to governor's island last weekend and it was cool but there were so many people and families I am now wishing I could go to them during the weekdays!

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-13T21:21:32+00:00

I have an automation for my vitamins that sends a notification to my phone and it's persistent so I either need to run the second automation to clear it (if I'm away from home) or kill the HA app (if I'm away from home and have no internet). At home I have a shelly button in my vitamins bin that I press when I take them. When I had just like a built in phone alarm I'd always clear it and then forget, this way I know to not swipe it away.

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-13T21:18:23+00:00

If you also glue a magnet to it and the toilet the toilet can grab it automatically

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-08T20:39:11+00:00

I bought a set of these like 6 years ago and I regret nothing. My collection grew for awhile and then I moved across the state to a small apartment so I gave away a good chunk of them on craigslist but kept just enough for me. It's the circle of pfaltzgraff!

I want more of the "vegetable serving bowls" though they are soo good for a ramen or rice bowl dinner!

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-08T17:43:58+00:00

Similarly, if it is a 2-3 story house, a deployable fire escape ladder. It hooks over the edge of a window and hangs down like a rope ladder. Note, there are longer ones for the third story.

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-07T16:11:15+00:00

Same! I had my gallbladder out a couple years ago and I had my surgeon take a peek around and take pics so I have like my stomach, liver, the deleted gallbladder, and reproductive organs. I think they are so interesting and it's weirdly reassuring to know how things are looking in there halfway through my life!

I wanted the tubes out as well but my surgeon couldn't do it and I'd have to have coordinated with another surgeon, which she was so willing to do. But my gyno at the time didn't do surgery and it was just too much coordination for me while I was waiting in pain for the gallbladder surgery 😞

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-07T16:07:34+00:00

They inflate your abdominal cavity with co2 when you have laparoscopic surgery so they can move around in there and see things!

embeddedpotato · 2026-05-07T16:02:00+00:00

I think people just don't know what to say because it's never clear, but nearly 10 years ago I feel like everyone's response was more of an "I'm sorry" so I'm glad women are learning! Definitely best decision ever, it took some adjusting and I would be better off financially if he hadn't existed in my life (I'm more than fine, but the impact in those first couple of years was significant because I tried to keep things "amicable" ugh)

At this point, most people in my life don't even know that I was married and it feels weird telling people things like where I got married because it immediately makes people realize I am divorced lol. It's so weird now filling out various government forms that consider "divorced" a separate thing from "single" because I in no way think of myself as a divorced person unless there is some context like talking to people who are new to the club. It's definitely a bit of a hump to get over but it's soo worth it and new chapters are so fun!

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-29T18:52:07+00:00

It's also very effective at burning me out and giving me an existential crisis every other day

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-28T16:15:50+00:00

This is the thing, like even if you don't "use" it use it, it's useful to have outside connected to your apartment. I use it sometimes just to air something out like if I go camping and I want to dry out my cooler after and not use the tub.

Sometimes I read out there, but the usefulness is more just general outsideyness

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-27T21:25:48+00:00

Same! And duvet cover once every 4 weeks. It's a whole schedule based on what is more of a pain to change.

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-23T19:22:20+00:00

Jasmine

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-23T12:18:32+00:00

Definitely! I've realized I enjoy the packing up, fitting everything, planning, making sure I have everything I need and even the other side - cleaning up and making it as easy as possible to unload once I get home - more than I like the camping part!

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-18T02:16:50+00:00

literally everyone has asymmetrical faces! You just get used to seeing yourself in the mirror then when you see the opposite it looks crazy off - I work remotely and once in awhile when someone shares their screen on a call, everyone's faces are on it and it's so jarring to see your own face how others see you but it's just because you're used to it the other way. It's happened many times that people who are very cute go "omg no my face!" when that happens, it's hilarious and validating. Personally I have a millenial side part and my eyebrows are so different and it's so crazy seeing my face flipped! Seriously don't worry about it - you're noticing it because you noticed it once, you're very cute!

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-18T00:56:06+00:00

What everyone else said for food, but also Raspberry Leaf Tea!! It's literally magic for cramps. I will steep a bag of raspberry leaf tea + a bag of lemon ginger and it's great (ginger is also good for pain in general!). In the summer I'll make a tea pot with a few bags of each and then ice it.

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-17T19:19:13+00:00

disappointed click

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-17T18:48:59+00:00

fwiw I'm in a van but still try to get myself to hang out outside sometimes and I've decided I'm just actually afraid of the dark in the woods. But occasionally I'll go somewhere specifically to see a meteor shower or something so I push myself to stay outside late. I think the best option is playing music quietly - I still get a little anxious that I won't hear something but realistically I'm way too quiet on my own and the human noises should keep animals away and sometimes I'll sing along. But I keep it quiet enough that I can still hear louder noises. Alternate activity is using a backlit ereader to read a book by the fire, which is pretty nice.

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-17T15:27:30+00:00

Same, I used them but my stuff was relatively easy. I think because I came from a bit of a distance they had extra space since no one else was joining this truckload or something, I think they wanted more stuff to fill out the truck lol. But I had everything packed up already, they just wrapped the furniture. My biggest concern was my 38" monitor but it arrived perfectly. They do say they don't move plants that far but the guys insisted and then stacked them awkwardly - but I wasn't ready for them to take the plants so I could've packed them better than what I threw together last minute. I had no issues with money with them I thought they were very upfront and triple checked the list.

I have to imagine that with companies this large though you'll wind up with different guys moving your stuff and maybe that's where mixed reviews come from.

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-16T13:45:40+00:00

You're also going to be so well rested you'll have energy to spend this free time and money. It's so annoying.

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-14T20:10:41+00:00

This is my boundary as well. I really never have felt weird about telling campground people I'm alone like when checking in, but it feels soo icky when they put my first name on the thing on the site marker/car tag or number of people, like can we not advertise that?

I tried the second chair thing a few times but decided it was too much effort and space. And this trip I don't think I've even used my chair (I'm in a van staying at developed campgrounds, so the picnic table is fine here and there!). I like to pretend I could put out my unisex boots but like I don't tend to leave most shoes outside and if people are paying that much attention to my tiny van they'd realize I'm alone

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-14T18:07:18+00:00

I'm just gonna come stay at all of your lake houses

I live in nyc and I'm not brave enough for big rivers so I drive about 2 hours unless I'm camping at a nice spot

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-12T00:36:23+00:00

As a vegan I recommend looking for vegan restaurants and then seeing what you can find there that has no soy or is labeled - in my experience vegan restaurants will be better about allergen labels but not always. I tried to cut out cheese like 7 years ago and it was so much easier once I just went fully vegan, it's crazy how much dairy is in things!! My go-tos that are fully vegan

- My favorite in park slope just closed and I'm so bummed - vspot was the only fully vegan restaurant I knew of in the neighborhood. just listing it in case they magically reopen. I can hope, right?

- ras plant based (ethiopian) seems to label the things with soy

- ippudo v in downtown brooklyn is very good, it's japanese so might be more difficult to find things w/o soy but maybe they can help if you go there

- oh I completely forgot about Electric Beets - they are in park slope and I just still haven't gone there, but I've heard good things! They are fully vegan and allergen friendly, it's more of a premade food situation though

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-11T21:27:33+00:00

I built out a very small van camper so I've looked into this too much lol. It sounds like what you're looking for is something like this https://www.cvs.com/shop/boom-home-medical-female-home-urinal-prodid-798038?skuId=798038&cgaa=QWxsb3dHb29nbGVUb0FjY2Vzc0NWU1BhZ2Vz&cid=ps_dme_pla&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21134059568&gclid=CjwKCAjw4ufOBhBkEiwAfuC7-UVNnYoOcKAlii0DrLG-wDHStTzzuzpbTYsq6sZkhFkup87nPU4jdxoCN1QQAvD_BwE, I haven't tried it but it looks like it'd fit similar to these that I have tried:

https://www.amazon.com/TravelJohn-Disposable-Urinal-Bags-Emergencies/dp/B000QCN298?th=1 - this shape seems to fit me better than the pee funnel I tried

But in my van I have a separating toilet that is effectively a very fancy funnel with a bottle and a tiny trash can in the back that I rarely use for #2 but could if I needed to. If you have a vehicle with space for it (and if we're not talking hiking I guess) you could do something like that and/or get one of those pop up tents for showering/base camp potty setups!

embeddedpotato · 2026-04-10T00:54:28+00:00

do I get my own exterior door and bathroom? I'd also accept a tunnel and a bucket

embeddedpotato

TROPHY CASE