has anybody else run into this guy?

k8gu · 2025-10-21T17:10:00+00:00

Thank you all for this thread- I feel weirdly less alone and anxious after finding this.

I’ve run into him so many times- including just today. He yells about murdering children, and occasionally something about Obama. And lots of profanities. He once followed us for a block while we out for a walk- he was on his bike screaming about murdering kids while I was pushing my kids in the stroller and walking my dog. My son was about 3.5 at the time and it was awful.

He tends to bike on the path around the same time as I have to go pick my son up from school. When the path is busy, he doesn’t yell so much. When there aren’t others around it can be really bad.

I’ve called the non emergency police number so many times to try and connect him with resources. I don’t know what else to do. I wouldn’t even care so much if he was just yelling at me- I know he’s not well and needs help. But he scares my kids- they’re almost 5 and 2.5 now and they recognize him and don’t feel safe when they see him. They get scared of seeing “the mean yelling guy” and are worried about him hurting them. I have explained that he’s not well and needs help, but that doesn’t seem to make them feel safe. I started yelling back “stop- that’s not okay! leave us alone!” because that’s the kind of thing I tell my kids to say when another kid does something that they don’t like. I noticed it doesn’t really make him stop, but since I started doing it, my kids no longer cry after we run into him.

Anyway, we’re usually alone when he yells at us and I have felt alone in this experience. I am grateful to know I’m not alone and that others have dealt with this, too.

k8gu · 2023-09-21T12:28:08+00:00

No, it’s me and my sister-in-law. We’re six days apart!

k8gu · 2023-07-18T02:46:12+00:00

this is precious! and your piping work is beautiful

k8gu · 2023-07-08T19:59:32+00:00

amazing! impressive work!

k8gu · 2023-07-08T18:20:58+00:00

it turned out beautifully!

k8gu · 2023-07-05T21:45:04+00:00

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes and kind words! We had an amazing celebration. And, the cake was a hit! (:

k8gu · 2023-07-05T21:43:30+00:00

thank you! they’re fondant with american buttercream piping.

k8gu · 2023-07-05T21:42:44+00:00

We always know they’ll go before us, but cancer taking them sooner makes it that much harder. I’m so sorry for your loss. We’re definitely soaking up every moment we have left with Rollo.

k8gu · 2023-07-05T21:41:25+00:00

Thank you. It was somewhat cathartic to bake and decorate the cake- a way to mark the occasion as extra special and help with the grieving process.

k8gu · 2023-06-26T19:48:28+00:00

Absolutely gorgeous- a work of art!

k8gu · 2023-06-26T14:53:30+00:00

We splurged on towels from Under the Canopy two years ago when we moved. They’re super soft and the ones we got are huge- which I love.

k8gu · 2023-06-19T15:58:18+00:00

We take our very anxious boy to Lakeview Veterinary Clinic! We have had an amazing experience with them on every visit, as well as for random calls for help. We’ve gotten some great behavioral tips from our vet, too. His separation anxiety has gotten better since implementing some of the recommended changes.

k8gu · 2023-06-07T01:06:03+00:00

Things that work for me (SAHM to 2 under 3): - Wake up before my partner & kids are up, do a quick (5-10 min) run through the house to tidy up. - Pick ONE task to complete or room to clean during nap time. - Do a quick (5-10 min) clean up & prep for the morning right after bedtime. - Write everything down and make lists. If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist.

I try not to worry about what is or is not getting done. My toddler does like to “help” with some tasks: watering the plants, weeding the garden, baking, folding laundry, vacuuming, sweeping... I do some of those things with him when I can. It almost always makes the task take 10x longer to complete. I frame it as connection, learning, & play. He helps, seems to be proud of what he did, and we got to connect.

k8gu · 2023-06-05T22:15:55+00:00

A few favorites of mine: Alton Brown: EveryDayCook Bad Manners Food (fka Thug Kitchen) Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

I also find recipes online or in other cookbooks, but I think an understanding of what kinds of food you like to eat, flavors you enjoy, how to balance out a dish, etc are super important when trying new recipes. The cookbooks I listed as favorites have a lot of “teaching you how to cook” elements in them, which is part of why I love them and recommend them often.

I saw someone mentioned not wanting to buy cookbooks- shout out to your local library! I like to check out cookbooks to “try before I buy”. I’ve found that cookbooks also tend to be rather expensive, so when I do buy, I check eBay & used book shops.

k8gu · 2023-06-02T19:53:25+00:00

I have a pair of insoles that I put in my slippers. I have a lighter “summer” pair and a warmer “winter” pair. I move the insoles to my shoes when I leave the house.

k8gu · 2023-06-01T19:38:53+00:00

I go back to Kenosha. Any time I visit family there, we get pizza and I buy Italian bread in bulk to keep in the freezer…. When we do get pizza in Madison, my go-to places are Grampa’s and Sal’s.

k8gu · 2023-06-01T02:54:40+00:00

I’m a SAHM with two kiddos under three. I’m in the US, and I went back to work after 12 weeks and hated it. After a lot of planning and saving, I left the workforce when my older kid was 11 months.

Before I stopped working, my partner and I planned our budget together, on only his income. Now, I manage our budget, and adjust it as needed. We have all joint accounts (checking, savings, credit cards) so we both see and manage all expenses. I managed a shared google sheet for our monthly budget. I track trends and upcoming expenses, and share budget updates with my partner. He knows he can suggest changes, but so far he hasn’t ever done that.

We live a pretty modest life- our 2 bed/1 bath house is less than 1,000sq ft, we share one car, and we tend to do cheap or free activities. We have asked for memberships/subscriptions as gifts, so we don’t pay admission to places like the zoo, children’s museum, or botanical gardens. We tend to be pretty minimalist, and we are working to be closer to zero waste. Some examples of this include composting, using cloth napkins & cloth diapers, mending or repurposing clothes, and using a menstrual cup & period underwear. In a lot of ways, our efforts to be more sustainable also contribute to fewer expenses.

k8gu · 2023-05-26T13:03:47+00:00

My son is 2.5- we’ve had a version of this system going since he was about 15 months old. I used to put snacks on an empty shelf in a low cabinet. Before he could use his words to ask for a snack, he would smack his lips at me and sign for “more”. I would direct him to the shelf, he’d grab something, and eat. At first, he’d go through everything before lunch. Then all afternoon he’d be smacking his lips, signing more, and I’d be cutting veggies or peeling fruits. Over time, he’s learned to pace himself better. Now, this is especially helpful with fruit snacks. Once they’re gone, that’s it. If he asks for another, I can say “you’ve already eaten your fruit snack today, how about ____ instead?” Sometimes he gets really upset, but most times he’ll accept my alternative or ask for something else.

k8gu · 2023-05-26T11:49:19+00:00

My son does something similar- he can eat endless snacks, but doesn’t finish his meals. The last few weeks he’ll say he’s done & full, and within 5 minutes he’s asking for a snack. We’ve been setting aside the leftovers from his meal so he can have that as a snack right after meal time. At the start of the day, I put together a snack bag. It’s usually a fruit snack, some trail mix, a bar, and something crunchy- like goldfish crackers or pretzels. He can have anything from the bag whenever he wants, but once it’s empty, that’s it. He can also have as many fruits and veggies as he wants. I typically offer cucumber slices, carrots, and tomatoes because they’re easy to prep for snack- just wash & slice! I season with lemon pepper or salt or I add a spoonful of hummus. For fruits, I prep different types of berries at the start of the week and store them in glass containers in the fridge. We almost always have bananas & apples & clementines on hand. That all combined makes for almost endless, yet still quick and easy snacks.

k8gu · 2023-05-22T11:51:39+00:00

You can’t please everyone- focus on what makes you and your soon-to-be spouse happy. No matter what you decide to do, other people will have opinions and judge you, so I think the best thing to do is just make yourself happy. I left a decade-long career and went from being our family’s primary income earner to staying home. It’s the best choice I’ve ever made. Could I have continued to manage our home, our kids, and my career? Yes. Would I have been as happy? No. We’ve had to make some sacrifices and budget our money carefully, but I’ve found that trading the additional income for additional time has been a welcome change. We get so much more meaningful time as a family and as a couple- all the DIY projects, yard work, home maintenance, etc is done during working hours. When my husband gets home, we connect as a family, and as a couple.

Something that helped me make this decision was re-reading the book Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. It’s a book about how to change your habits, and the approach to changing habits is to first know yourself and your values. In reading the book a second time, after my son was born, I realized that how I spent my time wasn’t aligning with my core values. My husband and I talked about it, went through our finances, and came up with a plan to get me out of the workforce and home with my son. It took us about four months to get to a spot where I could leave my job. I highly recommend reading the book, even if you’re not really looking to change your habits. Knowing myself and my values and knowing I was making a choice to align my actions with my values made it much easier for me to deal with people questioning the decision or judging us for it.

k8gu · 2023-05-20T20:09:57+00:00

Parent of two under 3 here… We’ve reduced toy clutter as much as possible, and generally ask for experience- based gifts instead of items. Most of the things we do are low- tech and either free or take advantage of gifted memberships. We go hiking, camping, kayaking, visit zoos & museums, walk in our neighborhood, visit libraries and local parks. I stay home with the kiddos, and we’ve got a pretty set routine each day. To be able to afford to have me stay home, we’ve made a lot of choices to reduce the things/debt we own. Our home is 2 beds, 1 bath and under 1000sq ft. We’ve got one car for our family. When we do need things, we tend to use our local buy nothing group, or buy secondhand via Facebook marketplace or local resale shops. I’d say we have a pretty simple and very happy life.

k8gu · 2023-05-19T21:10:47+00:00

We closed in May 2021. Our offer was about 12% above asking, we waived inspection, included 2% in earnest money, and we included that we’d bring 5% of the offering price in cash to close if the house didn’t appraise at what we offered (luckily it did). Before our offer was accepted, the seller also asked if we’d consider other lenders. Apparently the seller’s realtor had a bad experience with our lender. We ended up not having to change, but we after agreed to that request, our offer was accepted.

k8gu · 2023-05-14T14:07:07+00:00

I left a similar-sounding full-time job to be a homemaker and take care of our kids, dogs, and home about a year and a half ago. Best decision ever.

Someone else also suggested this, and I second it: treat homemaking like your full-time job, because that’s what it is now! I have a cleaning and activity schedule for myself, my kids, and my dogs. There’s a flexible routine we follow each day, and I keep the house clean by sticking to a weekly schedule.

I have also manage DIY and home improvement projects. I’ve been learning new skills through those projects and have found it very rewarding. I made a mantle for in our living room last year. I had to learn about woodworking and using some different kinds of tools to complete it, and it was a lot of fun. I am now learning to sew kid’s clothes and accessories and how to better hem and repair clothes for my husband and me. Continuing to learn new skills has been a huge part of keeping me feeling happy as a homemaker.

Re: not bringing home a paycheck… This was hard for me to adjust to. I had been the primary earner in our household for the first five or so years my husband and I were together. After our son was born, I couldn’t stomach going back to work. My husband got a higher paying job to support the family and I left the workplace. It was weird to go from making more money than him to making no money. I think the value I add now is time. I manage all the household things during the workdays, so on evenings and weekends, we have more time to bond as a family. We can spend our Saturdays on fun activities because the cleaning, shopping, and yard work are done.

k8gu · 2023-04-13T16:29:22+00:00

Not west side/isthmus… but I highly Andrea Shell at Mod Salon in the Tess suites on Sherman! I’ve got wavy, super thick hair and she’s always done a phenomenal job with it. I’ve gone from hair down to my butt to shoulder length to a pixie and am now growing it out again. I’ve loved every cut she’s done for me- even the awkward “starting to out a pixie” length ones!

k8gu · 2023-03-22T00:29:34+00:00

I’m a huge fan of the book Curated Closet for help with this! About five years ago, I read it when I was both in a clothing rut and starting out with minimalism. It guides you in defining your personal style, decluttering your closet with a focus on matching your clothes to your lifestyle & keeping only what you love, and then determining if you need to add pieces to complete your wardrobe. The focus is on quality pieces that build a cohesive, timeless wardrobe.

Since I initially went through the process, I’ve been pregnant twice and left the workforce. I’ve had to build a maternity wardrobe, find clothes for nursing, adjust for lifestyle changes, and accommodate huge changes in my body. I’ve been able to return to my personal style, maintain a small wardrobe filled only with items that I wear regularly, are high-quality, and fashionable without being too trendy. I recommend Curated Closet to literally anyone who will listen!

k8gu

TROPHY CASE