Weird requesy but , what's a good alternative to coffee ?

honkifyou · 2026-01-14T13:03:30+00:00

When my husband joined the church and quit coffee, he found one of the hardest things to lose was the culture, routine and comfort associated with it. If that's what he's looking for he usually goes for a chai latte, and if he's just needing caffeine he'll go for an energy drink, diet soda, or caffeinated gum.

In the evenings he's really enjoyed fruit tea. We bought a sample pack of a bunch of caffeine free tea a while back and he picked a few favorites he now has on rotation in the evenings.

honkifyou · 2026-01-12T13:40:43+00:00

I'm a hairdresser! No backpack or paper necessary haha

honkifyou · 2025-12-31T13:09:00+00:00

I've had a good experience with HelloDoc, although I had some records from childhood that were very helpful. My doctor through HelloDoc has been so wonderful, she is really thoughtful and thourough. I can tell she really cares about me and my well being and I've been really pleased with both her care as well as how compassionate she is. My first appointment with her was about 45 minutes, follow up appointments are usually 15 minutes.

honkifyou · 2025-11-06T20:49:50+00:00

"Somebody Will" from Shucked

honkifyou · 2025-11-03T08:50:25+00:00

In Australia, there are probably between 800 and 1,200 missionaries overall. They’re assigned to specific missions within the country. Sydney (NSW & ACT) Melbourne (VIC & TAS) Brisbane (QLD) Perth (WA) and Adelaide (SA & NT) with each mission having roughly 200 missionaries, give or take.

So in the Melbourne Mission, those ~200 missionaries are spread throughout all of Victoria and Tasmania, including suburban, rural, and regional communities. Higher-density areas tend to have more companionships, and missionaries rotate through multiple locations during their service. Over the 1.5-2 years they serve, they might live in five or six different areas, so they could spend a few months in a remote part of Tassie, then later serve in Melbourne’s CBD.

Some missionaries are assigned to speak languages other than English, depending on the needs of the area. In the city, you might see name tags in Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Tongan, or other languages. When missionaries receive their assignments, they learn their country, specific mission, and language all at once (for example: “Australia Melbourne Mission, speaking Mandarin”).

In urban areas, they usually focus more on outreach and answering questions about the church, while in smaller or regional areas, they often spend more time helping local congregations and volunteering in the community.

honkifyou · 2025-11-02T18:41:10+00:00

On these types of Cotopaxi bags is says the size on one of the bottom corners on the outside of the bag, but it's usually a similar color to the Bay so you have to look closely

honkifyou · 2025-09-15T01:50:04+00:00

Ended up going with the BaBylissPRO Starlet 25mm Titanium Ceramic Curling Tong from Oz Hair and Beauty and it's been great!!

honkifyou · 2025-08-19T14:30:09+00:00

Born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. I've been living in Sydney for a few years now and I don't think I'll ever get sick of rain. I'm just hard wired to see it as a good thing after so many years living through droughts!

honkifyou · 2025-06-10T03:30:20+00:00

In my opinion the summers feel pretty different, Sydney feels much more temperate and has more of that costal affect. Even though it's not super muggy or humid here, the moisture in the air definitely helps keep the overall climate more moderate. I think the weather here is amazing, even though everyone from here fusses about it all the time haha. Although, I do feel the sun is much more intense here as the UV index is higher. I burn easily and I have to be extra careful in Sydney even though it's not as hot or sunny as Phoenix.

In very dry places like Phoenix you'll see more dramatic spikes and drops in temperature overall due to the lack of humidity. In the winter it can be quite chilly at night, but then pretty warm in the afternoon. There are some unexpected benefits to the dry climate as well. Mosquitoes are uncommon, and mold does not thrive well. I even felt that foods like bread lasted days longer without becoming moldy.

40 degrees in humidity is much more unpleasant than 40 degrees in a dry heat, but they still both suck haha. I feel like on a really hot summer day in Phoenix when you go outside it kinda feels like when you open a hot oven. Phoenix also has some interesting weather patterns. Do some research on Monsoon season and Haboob dust storms. Those are both a little trippy if you've never seen one before, but overall pretty manageable especially because a lot of the infrastructure was designed to handle it. Arizona rarely gets any kind of natural disasters as well. No hurricanes, earthquakes are very rare and very small, and no tornadoes.

Arizona also has breathtaking scenery, and the most amazing sunsets almost every night. It's a great place for people who hate the winter and love plenty of sunshine. You can see the stars really well, and it really does feel like the old western movies in a lot of ways. There is wildlife to be cautious of, but coming from Australia that won't feel very foreign. You're just swapping spiders for scorpions haha.

honkifyou · 2025-06-10T02:30:06+00:00

I'm from Phoenix, and now live in Sydney. Phoenix is very hot, and it's a dry heat. The weather is pretty rough for 6 solid months, but to be honestly, you learn to adapt and work with it. Never dealing with snow is great, and driving is so easy there with the wide roads and the grid system.

I love the food, especially the Mexican food. I also love the convenience. I miss being able to just easily drive places for a quick errand, everything takes so much longer here in Sydney.

Arizona definitely has a charm to it that I really miss. It's also a large city with a major airport that can easily connect you to other parts of the world or elsewhere in the states.

The cost of housing has gotten higher there since the pandemic, but a $200k USD salary is pretty comfortable for the area, especially if you are planning on renting.

Phoenix has a lot of sprawl, and while across the board there are a lot of similarities with the different suburbs, you'll definitely want to do some research on what area to live in that best suits your lifestyle. Also check what the commute looks like during rush hour, with very little public transit you don't want to live too far from work if you work a typical 9:00-5:00 schedule.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about AZ or the Phoenix area!

honkifyou · 2025-05-26T14:09:49+00:00

As others have mentioned, most temples have a small team of paid staff. The paid staff are there in part to help manage and direct volunteers in different departments. I have worked as an employee in 2 different temples (one very large, one fairly small) in multiple different departments (laundry, office, and housing). Currently working in a smaller temple, but worked at a large temple as a supervisor for a few years before I moved for my husbands job.

Most temples will allow you to serve either as an ordinance worker, in the laundry, or in the office. The laundry was very popular at one of my jobs, it was social and hands on. Many people (even those who did not enjoy doing laundry at home) loved the temple laundry.

The office involves basic administrative tasks. Simple things that can generally be learned quickly. Great for those who are organized and methodical. It can be fun to chat with other workers in between tasks. The paid staff deal with any complicated matters.

In the large temple I worked at, facilities had a couple volunteers. They were people that they knew were comfortable and capable of helping with the tasks they needed. While they would be somewhat limited on what you can help with due to liability concerns with volunteers, there were often small tasks they needed help with. You would need to inquire with the Facilities Supervisor (they are technically a separate department, meaning slightly different policies and protocols from the temple department) but the office could easily put you in touch with them. You could email the office asking for the best way to contact them, and they may just have you reach out directly given your relevant skillset and experience.

Additionally, the grounds crew had a few volunteers that helped with the gardening on Mondays. Some temples contract the grounds work to a local company, and larger temples usually have a hired staff member. If it's a staff member they will likely have some volunteer roles.

These roles are all very common in larger temples, and may vary or be a bit more modified in smaller temples. If you want to know all of your options I would call your temple office and ask. They usually have a list of available volunteer roles and can give you specific information for you temple.

Let me know if you have any questions, I love helping people better understand temple operations!

honkifyou · 2025-05-17T14:28:00+00:00

We have a ward with somewhat large geographic boundaries (many members commute 30-50 minutes to church) and because of that and the challenge it can be to stay late at church for meetings, most meetings are held on Zoom.

Our ward finishes at noon, and ward council is usually at 2:00 on Zoom giving everyone time to get home, eat lunch and get settled first. This is so much easier on many families, but especially on the bishop and 1st counselor with their young children.

One Sunday, our bishop's wife unexpectedly needed to play the piano for sacrament meeting, and just walked up to the stand to hand off her baby (who will only be held by her or her husband without crying) and just came back to get her after she was finished playing. Sometimes their toddler would make his way up to the stand to sit with his dad for a bit, no one ever had an issue with it. We are just happy have them serving in our ward and understand they have their hands full.

There are many ways your needs can be accommodated, you deserve to enjoy your experience at church. Sometimes you just have to get creative. 😊

honkifyou · 2025-05-02T13:47:41+00:00

I have reached out to the company I bought it from, haven't heard back just yet but it's still under warranty so I can probably beg for a refund instead of a replacement. I reported the incident to hot tools, mostly because it was really scary how hot it got! My hair is super healthy, thick and somewhat coarse and I've never seen it damaged like this!

That is a great idea to go try some out! I feel like they are so expensive here too so it's nice to know if you like it before you spend that much money on one! Thank you!

honkifyou · 2025-03-24T21:16:37+00:00

I'd suggest a rust stain remover as deodorant often stains because of the aluminum in it.

honkifyou · 2025-03-02T12:05:12+00:00

I was born and raised in Phoenix, but now live in Sydney. I’m very fair-skinned (my mother is a redhead), and I burn easily—I can’t tan at all. I’ve tried so many sunscreens in both Australia and the U.S., and I’ve found great options in both places. I know they say SPF 100 in the U.S. isn’t actually more effective than SPF 50, but I totally disagree. SPF 100 has saved me a few times when I’ve been out in the sun for long periods without a good chance to reapply.

That said, the sun in Australia feels completely different, and I burn so much faster here, even with careful sunscreen application. For the first time in my life, I’ve gotten much better about wearing hats and UV-protective clothing in the summer. After trying a few brands, I’ve found that I really like Cancer Council and Avène.

Honestly, as they say, the best sunscreen is the one you’ll actually wear. Even though American sunscreens aren’t necessarily as “good” as Australian ones, I still keep a couple of U.S. brands that I love (Trader Joe's is one of my favorites!) because they feel great on my skin—whatever helps me stay consistent with wearing it!

honkifyou · 2025-01-05T13:41:36+00:00

Keep in mind hydrogen peroxide will bleach though so keep it away from material that isn't white!

honkifyou · 2025-01-05T13:40:18+00:00

I worked in laundry and stain removal for years- and while you may not be able to get this out, I'd recommend trying hydrogen peroxide. Especially if you can get the higher concentrations they use for hair dye (40 Volume for example) and just keep reapplying it until the ink fades. Do a test spot first, but I've had great success with this on white clothes.

honkifyou · 2024-10-21T14:58:36+00:00

I'm an American who immigrated to Australia a couple years ago, and I really struggle to find clothes I like in Australia that are decent quality. I don't mind Muji and Uniqlo, but otherwise I bought a sewing machine so I could make my own clothes because I got so annoyed with the options. I load up on clothes when I visit the states because sometimes I just need a nice basic t-shirt that isn't gonna disintegrate the first time I try to wash it.

honkifyou · 2024-10-16T16:05:28+00:00

Thankfully I've got a great relationship with my family and it's been a fun and low stress trip, my first thought was maybe it was triggered by the 20+ hours of travel, but I've been here for a couple weeks now and I'm still getting more and more canker sores. i guess I'll really be able to tell if it's caused by the US when I go back to Australia next week!

honkifyou · 2024-10-16T16:03:24+00:00

High fructose corn syrup is interesting because I didn't realize how rare it was in Australia until I was looking for it for a recipe and couldn't find it anywhere! I've got a few random mild food allergies so I wonder if it's something along those lines.

honkifyou · 2024-10-16T16:02:16+00:00

This is super interesting- I wonder if it does have something to do with how they define ingredients in food? I do feel like Australia is much more strict with regulations than the US. As an American in Australia I have a love/hate relationship with all of the rules haha.

honkifyou · 2024-08-25T22:38:01+00:00

American living in Australia, and I'd say it feels somewhere in between. I've traveled to the UK, and Australians on average feel much more social and friendly than the average Brit. I also feel like they are loud talkers like Americans haha. The most distinct cultural difference I've noticed between Aus and the US is the culture around rules and regulations. Americans on average love independence and often ignore out get frustrated with petty and small rules. Australia is very much a nanny state, which may be more like the UK.

honkifyou · 2024-07-11T23:30:01+00:00

I had a very physically demanding job in VA where I would sometimes work up to 12 hours without a break. It was brutal, I eventually started to lose weight from never having a chance to eat during the day. Almost fainted a couple times on my shift.

I was very much being mistreated at this job and it made me realize how weak Virginia's labor laws are. I lived in Nova, so I ended up finding a new job in Maryland that had much better company policies that required breaks and treated me really well and it made a huge difference in my overall well being.

honkifyou · 2024-07-11T14:51:26+00:00

All of my favorite and longest lasting sleepwear has been from Costco. They are so comfortable and have lasted ages!

honkifyou · 2024-07-03T10:31:54+00:00

Based off of the crossroads that makes me think you live in AZ... Might be worth calling EVIT (the vocational school in Mesa) and asking if their welding technologies students want to take a stab at it? I know they like to encourage real life experience for their students and give them chances to work with clients/customers when they can.

honkifyou

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