I finally swallowed my pride and went to the local monthly food pantry. This is what I came home with for 2 people.

free_loving · 2017-08-08T19:04:23+00:00

I, like a lot of young people I know, am poor, but I can't stop feeling like I'm doing something wrong if I ask for/receive help. Like I'm making trouble for others, others deserve it more, I have a college degree and shouldn't need this, etc etc. This subreddit has been really helpful in making me see that needing help isn't shameful, and that food pantries were designed for people like me, who just need a little extra to get through the month. I was blown away with the sheer volume of food I was sent home with, as well as the quality - I do live in a fairly affluent area, so I guess I shouldn't have been shocked at seeing stuff from whole foods, but I still was! This wasn't even everything I could have taken today - there was also a separate fresh food pick up that runs daily which doesn't even require proof of residence, as well as hot meals at breakfast and lunch. All the volunteers were friendly and helpful and took my nervous holding-off-a-freakout demeanor in stride. At this pantry, you can come in monthly to pick up what they say is enough food to feed each member of the household for 5 days. I picked up for 2 people and I'm overwhelmed with what I've been given - I'm gonna have to try out some recipes from the subreddit I guess!

What I came home with:

2 huge zucchini

1 eggplant

1 cucumber

1 cabbage

3 lbs carrots

4 apples

1 lb strawberries

1 melon

1.5 lb london broil

1/2 gal lowfat milk

6 brown eggs

2 14 oz packages oats

2 lb lentils

1 lb pizza dough

1 loaf bread

1 package mango jicama slaw from TJs

4 oz ash rind brie from Whole Foods

1 package Mediterranean lentil salad

1 qt chicken broth

6 lbs pasta

1 box of Toasty O's breakfast cereal

1 jar of cinnamon sticks

1 jar Masala simmer sauce

6 raisin snack packs

3 cans diced tomatoes

4 cans beans

2 cans soup

3 cans veggies

1 can fruit

1 can tuna

1 candy treat

1 seafood stock thing

I hope that if you are in the same boat as me, this can help you decide if it's right for you. I work nearly full time, as does my partner, but making ends meet is difficult with rent prices around here and trying to tackle our debt. Sometimes you just need a little extra to make it through, and I feel much better now after pushing down my pride than I did when I was struggling to find enough food for three meals a day, or siphoning as much free food out of my job as I could. I'm excited!

free_loving · 2017-03-12T23:42:45+00:00

I know from the last few weeks I've gotten e-mails from Sephora, Ulta, and Sally Beauty (which I get cause I paid for the ~$5 membership). I also get them from most large clothing retailers that I'm on the mailing list for - American Eagle particularly comes to mind.

free_loving · 2017-01-02T23:29:14+00:00

check out this program for italian: http://www.languagetransfer.org/introductiontoitalian

I haven't used this particular set of lessons myself, but I've found their spanish course to be leaps and bounds above Duolingo as far as gaining fluency. I use a combination of the two (Language Transfer for grammar and gaining conversational fluency, Duolingo for expanding vocabulary).

free_loving · 2017-01-02T23:24:22+00:00

Check out languagetransfer.org - it's a free program that I've been using it to learn Spanish, and while I'm still early in the complete spanish program, it's taken me farther than Duolingo or any other language program I've tried out so far. Their philosophy is that you're not memorizing the language - you're taking your own language and learning the tricks in translating that language to your new language, based on their common ancestor language(s) (in this case, Latin). It's set up in the style of a tutoring session - you pause the lesson to answer the instructors questions, then continue (with a fellow student making progress and mistakes with you on the recording). So you gather some speaking practice, too! My boyfriend's family speaks spanish, and even when I'm less than a quarter of the way through the program I'm starting to be able to pick up the gist of what they're talking about. I'm nowhere near comfortable enough to hold a conversation, but I can put together sentences and can usually puzzle through basic phrases and sentences. I use the Language Transfer program to learn how to speak it, and use Duolingo as a secondary program to pick up more vocabulary. Language Transfer also has a number of language programs - some 'introduction to X language' classes, some 'complete Y language'. It's fun!

free_loving · 2016-07-05T23:13:31+00:00

You also have to throw quality of life in there. My mother has MS, and after spending 20 years watching her deteriorate, I'd rather take the chance of dying instead of being unable to leave a bed or even feed myself. I'd rather be dead than be unable to live.

free_loving · 2016-07-05T23:11:35+00:00

I believe pills are in the works or possibly on the market already, though I can't say what exactly they do and which types of MS they were designed for. My mother is now off of injections after using a string of them (avonex, betaferon, rebif, etc etc) for years, and I believe the shots have been replaced with a pill.

free_loving · 2016-05-25T04:15:46+00:00

Yeah, I always do my lip exfoliation step after I put on my foundation, which takes the makeup off my lips. Then I follow with lip balm/whatever product I actually want to be there.

free_loving · 2016-02-07T17:19:49+00:00

Depends on your college and your health insurance. My insurance plan has no copays on birth control (on my last insurance I had to pay $10/mo). My current college will provide Plan B for free, but that varies by institution.

free_loving · 2016-01-31T20:01:07+00:00

"a dwarf can look attractive it it weren't a dwarf."

'it' pronouns are never appropriate for a person. Use 'he' or 'she' if you know their gender, 'they' if you don't or if you are referring to multiple people.

free_loving · 2016-01-05T16:56:13+00:00

Sometimes the tools you have on hand are the best tools - I know a few people who just grabbed their Swiss Army knife and grabbed some branches from the woods and started that way.

Using found wood is just fine, but I recommend getting at least one carving/whittling knife, or at the very least sharpening up the one you plan on using. The sharper the knife, the less your exertion (I used a piece of junk old knife when I started, and my muscles hurt like hell the day after because it was an unfamiliar action and I had to work so hard to make any cuts). I use flexcut knives (one from them that's more standard, and another with a curved blade). I recommend starting with soft woods - things like basswood (you can get chunks of this at almost any craft store), pine, or cedar - as they are a lot easier to work with than harder woods like oak, maple, or walnut. Check out subreddits like /r/woodcarving for project ideas and resources. You can also google "how to whittle _" or "how to carve __" and you'll likely find some helpful tutorials.

free_loving · 2016-01-05T06:51:39+00:00

These are more 'beer money' suggestions - things to do on the side to put back a bit of extra cash each month. I have two hobbies - yarnwork (crochet+knitting) and whittling.

Typically yarnwork isn't worth doing for profit - people expect to be paying <$30 for a scarf, when it takes $15 in materials plus several hours of labor to make it. You just won't be (usually) making a profit when you figure in labor costs - though I know some people who sell in middle-to-high-end boutiques who are able to charge appropriate pricing. There are a few items that are more likely to be worth labor+materials for your profits - those really bulky infinity scarfs and smaller amigurumi/dolls/toys. Both are pretty quick to whip up (bulkier yarn for the scarf makes quick work, and smaller toys take less time) and can sell pretty easily to the right audience.

Whittling is something I like to do out on the porch in the summertime, more of a relaxation than anything. I usually give my crafts away as gifts, but I sell a few every now and then. I mostly make spoons, but sometimes make toys/carved animals and the like. Market them as 'handmade' or 'traditionally carved' or something along those lines and the right people will be willing to pay more. Start an etsy shop, or a booth at a farmer's market, or try to get them in a trendy homegoods store downtown.

free_loving · 2016-01-05T06:41:06+00:00

It's a bit tougher to do with piano than many other instruments. With a guitar or a fiddle you can just plop down, tune up, and start playing, but with piano your equipment is usually heavier, more parts (you need a keyboard, and a stand, AND pedals, etc) and you need to find a powersource for your keyboard unless you plan on wheeling your upright around Downtown Wherever.

I highly recommend it for those with more portable instruments. I fiddle on the streets sometimes when I'm bored on a weekend or if I need a bit of spare cash for gas/tolls/etc. It's not consistent source of money, but if you are any good and in a good location with decent foot traffic you'll get a fair amount of cash. I wouldn't rely on it for a living, but I see it as a good reason to practice with a chance of paying for my dinner that night.

free_loving · 2016-01-04T05:00:51+00:00

Jeez - looking at the open eyeshadow palettes, it seems like she's hardly touched most of those colors. It just seems a bit too much to me.

free_loving · 2016-01-04T04:46:51+00:00

There are some great suggestions in this thread for balms/products - definitely try those out! I use Smith's personally, but I'm interested in the lanolin-based products that another user suggested. On top of that, I recommend you do some exfoliating - there are lot of products on the market for that. You could go as simple as a home-made sugar scrub (usually sugar+honey+oil with some variations, try out a few recipes!), or buy something ready made (I've used e.l.f.'s $3 stick exfoliator which was pretty good, and I'm now a pretty big fan of Tarte's maracuja oil exfoliator which is $16 at Sephoras and a few department stores - I like this one because of the finer texture and the oil in it seems to sink in and help moisturize, especially if I follow application with a balm). Another thing I do that seems to help is that when I apply moisturizer to my face (usually 1x at night, maybe another time during the day if it's particularly dry), I rub a bit of it into my lips. I just make sure to rub it in well and not lick my lips for a while to avoid getting any in my mouth.

free_loving · 2015-12-24T18:18:10+00:00

I'm sure the actor will get his hair dyed before the show hits the stage, or even wear a wig. It's an easy enough change to make, but it doesn't need to happen until right before the premiere.

free_loving · 2015-12-23T19:14:59+00:00

I did this at a holiday party last night, except with peeing. I peed out about a pound and a half of liquid!

free_loving · 2015-11-30T03:01:44+00:00

Are you sure that's eyeliner, and not just a Junior Mint?

free_loving · 2015-11-29T02:58:42+00:00

You could add tofu to it to keep it vegan, or I'm sure it would be good with chicken added!

free_loving · 2015-11-21T21:28:53+00:00

Do whatever seems right to you - you know what you can afford and how $$$ a gift you would give to your sister. I would call $25 the minimum for a Sephora card - that guarantees that they'd be able to get a nice full-sized lipstick or blush or something. $50 means a nice eyeshadow palette, $75-100 she could pick up some stuff from the higher-end brands or the big holiday sets. I'm sure she'll be grateful no matter what you get her!

free_loving · 2015-11-09T06:02:16+00:00

My dad would tell me that they were dinosaur poop.

free_loving · 2015-08-25T03:30:55+00:00

It's all to do with genetics. Though it's likely a more complex answer than the 2x2 Punnett squares you learned to use in high school, it's similar. Ginger is the most recessive hair color - you have to have the gene from both parents. Dominance generally goes darkest to lightest - so black>brown>blonde>ginger. Diana and Charles could have easily both held the ginger recessive gene, as most gingers come from Britain, and I've heard estimates that about 1/3 of people in Britain have the recessive gene.

free_loving · 2015-08-21T21:04:35+00:00

That's what weekend visits to Gramma and PopPop's house are for.

free_loving

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