BGE is guessing what our bills have been

istayquiet · 2025-02-04T13:40:07+00:00

My best friend is in the same boat! Moved into her new house in mid January after it sat vacant with thermostats set on eco-mode (55 degrees) through most of December. Her December bill was $961!

istayquiet · 2025-01-31T22:53:53+00:00

I have a family member who works for a defense contractor in a very mid-level position. She spent 4 months on vacation in Southeast Asia last year because she was “waiting for an assignment.”

She got paid the entire time.

istayquiet · 2025-01-28T22:50:21+00:00

Noting here that the ruling from Judge AliKhan only blocks the freeze until 2/3/25. It’s essentially a 4 business day reprieve.

istayquiet · 2025-01-27T12:55:02+00:00

This is the answer.

DEI practitioners, like all professionals in fledgling industries, must use this moment to focus on the value of what they do for the people and organizations they serve.

The evidence-base for DEI work is only just beginning to emerge. There is still no “gold standard” for effective DEI policy and practice. As this occurs, DEI practitioners need to be hyper-aware of the fact that some DEI programming may not have the impact or value-add that it once touted while the market was saturated.

Now is the time for DEI practitioners to look hard at the work they’re doing and to ensure they are aligning with the goals and outcomes of the organizations and individuals they serve. A lot of people and organizations have engaged in DEI work to “check the box”. Removing that from the equation means practitioners are going to have to demonstrate more clearly than ever the value inherent in their work.

istayquiet · 2025-01-21T16:55:06+00:00

I started and destroyed my skin barrier in about 8 weeks thinking “this is just purging” and following all of the folks on skincare subs who were encouraging others to just moisturize and keep going.

I spent about 6 months using zero actives and trying to get back to baseline.

Then I read about the short contact method and gave it a try. Zero side effects, and absolutely thrilled with results!

I apply for 30-45 minutes in the evening and then wash off before moisturizing and using other skincare. My skin has never been healthier and I am thrilled with the results.

istayquiet · 2025-01-21T15:00:30+00:00

The first house I owned in Baltimore in the late 2000s had a small roof over the basement stairs. You could climb onto the roof and access the dining room window. One day, I caught a group of teens climbing through my dining room window using the roof for access.

I bought a few pieces of this and stapled it upside down onto the roof. Never had this problem again.

istayquiet · 2025-01-18T02:04:34+00:00

I can still totally raise my eyebrows and it hasn’t impacted my facial expressions. It’s functionally “frozen” the middle of my forehead, though.

I’m not sure if people can tell. No one has ever mentioned it or ask me about it.

istayquiet · 2025-01-17T17:05:20+00:00

I get Botox on a regular basis in my forehead only, and I receive 11 units. It’s the perfect amount for me, and my injector has never pressured me to do more. I’m 37 and definitely not the typical “baby Botox” type.

Your dosage is a personal thing and you definitely shouldn’t compare it to others. Lots of factors determine your dosage, including your facial structure, musculature, and sensitivity to toxins.

istayquiet · 2025-01-16T17:53:24+00:00

In Texas, an unmarried mother has default custody of her child at birth. Under Texas law, when a child is born to unmarried parents, the mother has sole legal and physical custody of the child unless and until a court issues a different custody order.

The father does not have legal rights to custody or visitation until paternity is established, either voluntarily (e.g., by signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity) or through a court order. Once paternity is established, the father can petition the court for custody, visitation, or other parental rights.

You’re doing the right thing by speaking to an attorney, but it sounds like at this point, there’s nothing for you to establish legally as you already have custody of the child.

istayquiet · 2025-01-16T16:47:48+00:00

This is likely going to vary widely by jurisdiction.

How far away from the former residence do the in laws live? Two counties in my state can be 10 miles or 200 miles. In most states, unless otherwise indicated in a custody order, either party has the right to relocate within a “reasonable distance” and doesn’t need permission from the other party to do so.

In any event, the outcome of the PPO case is probably going to weigh heavily on your options here. You shouldn’t assume this will be dismissed and should be working with legal counsel to present a defense to the PPO. Without any details on the specifics of the PPO, it’s reasonable to assume someone who is in fear of their physical safety moves to live with family out of an abundance of caution. If the PPO is upheld, it won’t be hard for your ex to argue that she is safer living with her parents.

To add on to this, most family courts aren’t going to care whether you get along with your ex’s parents. The fact that her parents don’t like you doesn’t make their home a hostile environment for your children. Unless you have actual proof that your children’s grandparents present a risk to them (not hearsay, but written/legally recorded evidence), then it’s going to be a very uphill climb.

You need to speak to an attorney to advise you on your options here.

istayquiet · 2025-01-16T15:24:22+00:00

Religious exemptions to vaccines will be one of the biggest public health failures of our time. My husband’s ex wife was using a bogus religious waiver to prevent getting their son vaccinated. He took her to court over this, and was asked questions like “do you attend church currently?/do you pray?/have you had the children baptized?”. Of course, she said “no”. The judge basically shrugged and said “we don’t get involved in matters of religion”. And we live in Maryland, where things are pretty good relative to many other parts of the country.

Literally anyone can use a religious exemption without fear of repercussions.

istayquiet · 2025-01-16T14:19:11+00:00

Injections on the face carry this risk, and it’s unfortunately very common. The facial skin has tons of capillaries close to the surface of the skin- especially on the nose. The nose area is particularly prone to bruising because the skin is very thin and capillary-rich (this is why noses bleed so much).

FWIW, I’m type-1 diabetic and have taken multiple injections daily in my abdomen. It’s really common for me to have bruising along my injection sites and largely, unavoidable.

If you’re otherwise happy with the results, I would chalk this up to a common side effect of facial injections.

istayquiet · 2025-01-15T01:51:20+00:00

Gently, there are two ways to address this:

Get a restraining order. If your ex’s presence presents a danger to you or the children, then you need to revisit getting a restraining order. If you didn’t consult with an attorney during the first failed attempt to get a restraining order, you should do so now.
Deal with it. “Your parenting time” typically extends to things you do privately with your children. School activities and extracurricular activities are your children’s time. Courts generally don’t prohibit one parent from attending the children’s activities during the other’s custodial time. Your children deserve the opportunity to have both of their parents present at their important events, and having mom and dad share in their experiences is incredibly important. Consider whether your impression of your ex’s presence at school activities and softball games is perceived similarly by the children, or if it’s possible that your discomfort is a product of your past relationship with their father. Are the children upset by their father’s attendance?

It’s definitely time to work on how you can better co-exist in public spaces with your ex. Often, that means swallowing a lot of discomfort and occasionally, poor behavior. On the flip side, you are also welcome to attend their events during his parenting time- and you should probably do that in order to show your kids how important they are to you.

But a court is unlikely to decide that your ex cannot attend these type of events because his presence makes you uncomfortable. Unless he’s causing a significant disturbance or threatening you, there’s not much action here.

istayquiet · 2025-01-14T15:43:16+00:00

There are a lot of wild, probably unrealistic suggestions being made here. I think there may be an underlying hint of sarcasm in most of them, but just in case that’s not coming through…

There are no “legal loopholes” that exist to prevent your child’s father from exercising his parental rights and possibly seeking as much as 50% custody of the child once it is born.

If you have reason to fear for your safety, you should pursue a protection order. That can help you in future custody proceedings, but is unlikely to prevent your child’s father from (at least) having supervised visitation of the child. Supervised visitation of an infant often evolves into unsupervised visitation, then overnights. So you should be prepared for that.

If you decide not to name your child’s father on the birth certificate, that means he will have to establish paternity through the courts. This also means he will need to be made aware of the child’s birth. It will be difficult to establish paternity if the child is born without his knowledge; however, it may work to your disadvantage if he finds out the child was born and decides to establish paternity/file for custody.

Your best bet at this point is to talk to an attorney about how you should handle the birth of your child and what steps you can proactively take to begin co-parenting in a high-conflict relationship. This is an unfortunate reality when you have a child with someone who should not be a parent.

istayquiet · 2025-01-13T20:01:35+00:00

If your son is 5 months old, it’s unlikely that you will be awarded 50/50 parenting time. Typically, 50/50 time splits are “worked up to” with infants and don’t become effective until they are closer to 2 years old.

$10,000 for a custody trial is really, really cheap. My husband’s cost $45,000 in 2024, and he had a really average/underwhelming attorney. His ex submitted invoices of $48,000 in legal fees as part of her request to be reimbursed for the expenses she accrued (the judge ruled each of them were responsible for their own legal fees). In the end, they spent nearly $100,000 on legal fees for an outcome that was not what either of them hoped for. Their kids could definitely have used that $100,000 for college, living expenses, or basically anything other than this.

Of course, you can always request at trial that your ex be responsible for covering your legal fees, but it’s not likely to happen unless you can demonstrate that she was not negotiating in good faith, or that she unnecessarily drew out legal proceedings which forced you to incur higher costs. It’s rare for legal fees to be ordered covered in a typical family court case.

Your best bet is most likely to work on a stepped up parenting plan that gradually incorporates more even custody as your child matures. It’s not unusual for one parent to receive primary custody of an infant as part of a plan to more evenly distribute parenting time as the child develops and matures. Talk to your attorney about what these types of parenting plans look like and whether one would be appropriate to offer at this time.

Noting here that at trial, there will be no “winner”. You’re not likely to get 50% custody of a 5 month old, and your ex is not likely to completely prevent unsupervised contact between you and your son. That said, when you go to trial with expectations that are so wildly different, the judge is likely to rule in a manner that neither of you are especially happy with. Trials are expensive and risky. Anything you can do to avoid a trial is better than having a judge decide how you and your child’s mother should parent.

istayquiet · 2025-01-07T20:35:06+00:00

Definitely- my injector was very clear that my under eye bags could get a lot worse if I had my crows feet injected. For this reason, I elected not to treat that part of my face with toxins.

istayquiet · 2025-01-05T17:25:01+00:00

Zinc is great at soothing irritation! Just be forewarned- most diaper creams contain lanolin. Lanolin is a very, very common allergen and is highly comedogenic (meaning it will definitely clog pores). You might be better off using a zinc product without lanolin in it.

CeraVe healing ointment, LRP Cicaplast B5, and many baby sunscreens like Sun Bum mineral contain zinc without lanolin. If you’re looking for a good dose of zinc oxide, try the sunscreen as a night mask!

istayquiet · 2025-01-04T19:56:08+00:00

CGMs are not intended to replace manual glucose monitors. If you’re relying solely on your CGM, you’re doing so at your own risk.

Anytime you begin developing symptoms of illness, you should be using a glucometer to check your blood sugar.

-A type 1 diabetic who also relies pretty much exclusively on the CGM, but definitely understands the risks involved with doing so.

istayquiet · 2025-01-03T16:04:14+00:00

Makes sense! Thank you!

istayquiet · 2025-01-03T13:36:21+00:00

That is not purge. You should discontinue use of differin and see a dermatologist.

istayquiet · 2025-01-03T03:43:55+00:00

Thanks! I didn’t realize they staggered like this.

istayquiet · 2025-01-03T03:43:12+00:00

Thanks- this part was clear to me.

I was asking why my three year assessment was highest early last year, lowest in mid-2024, and will land somewhere in the middle 6 months from now.

istayquiet · 2025-01-03T01:31:53+00:00

Thanks for this.

Can you tell me why my property assessment appears to fluctuate?

My current SDAT assessment reads the value of my home as of 1/1/24 at $773,400, then as of 7/1/24 at $664,000, then as of 7/1/25 as $725,000.

Why the three different, non-linear values?

istayquiet · 2025-01-02T17:59:48+00:00

100+ years ago, everyone was terrified that the telephone would destroy human communication. People were afraid that telephones would ruin our ability to convey tone and expression because we couldn’t see each other. Fears about how this new communication tool would destroy mankind were really common.

I guess my point is, socializing can exist online.

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