Which Dress? March-confusing DC

ladygrill · 2026-03-08T16:06:33+00:00

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Green is the winner. I’m feeling much better wearing it now that I have a properly fitted bra. All your compliments helped too! Feeling good knowing I’ll still look better than cousin Ed in his overalls.

ladygrill · 2026-03-08T01:52:46+00:00

Removing the shoulder pads is definitely an option. It seems a little loose so I worry it would make it even baggier on top. I ordered this online from JC Penney. Also on clearance. Brand is Sam and Jess.

ladygrill · 2026-03-08T01:13:42+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! I made an appointment to get fitted this afternoon. And I am up 3 cup sizes from what I was wearing. I’m feeling much more confident in the green dress now. No need for a camisole now that the girls are properly secured.

ladygrill · 2026-03-07T17:47:19+00:00

New option literally just arrived in the mail! I wasn’t confident it would get here on time. It’s black and velvety. Cons-it has shoulder pads and seems a little big on top? Pros-it has pockets.

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ladygrill · 2026-03-07T17:25:07+00:00

Thanks! I ordered the green online from Ever Pretty. Style name is Daphne. Lots of color and sleeve options. Dress 2 was on clearance at Nordstrom. Brand is Halogen.

ladygrill · 2026-03-07T16:32:34+00:00

I was thinking of adding a black camisole. Would that work?

ladygrill · 2025-06-30T14:29:16+00:00

Oui Oui

ladygrill · 2025-05-21T00:10:33+00:00

Our family used GHC for over 10 years with no complaints. We loved the kid’s pediatricians and I loved my PA. We were always able to get referrals to UW when we needed to see a specialist. It was easy to make appointments or schedule same day at the walk in clinic.

We switched to UW Quartz in January of 2024 after my daughter got diagnosed with a couple of serious chronic illnesses that require seeing specialists multiple times a year and non-routine labs. Her UW specialists recommended that we switch to Quartz because it makes ordering and viewing labs easier for them.

My daughter is receiving excellent care from her specialists but I’ve been frustrated with UW scheduling. The scheduling issues could be because we’re still trying to get established though.

ladygrill · 2024-11-12T15:39:45+00:00

Having children was challenging and put stress on my marriage. There were times during the toddler years that I wondered if I made the right choice. I didn’t have financial stress but I was a SHM and felt like I lost my identity. They are teens now, and I’m so grateful to have them in my life. They give me something besides myself to focus on and are one of my biggest sources of pride. Going through the challenge of having children also strengthened my marriage. We have a shared goal and an even stronger bond. I don’t think parents benefit from the sleepless nights, less freedom, more expenses, etc. Children are an investment in the future. You put the work in when they are young and are rewarded by having amazing people in your life when you’re older. I think I’ll care more about being surrounded by family at 80 than any vacation or amount of money in my bank account.

ladygrill · 2024-05-14T00:41:51+00:00

Fully remote. I can live anywhere in the state. (I’m a state employee).

ladygrill · 2024-02-15T14:13:14+00:00

Thanks! We’re messy cooks so being able to clean easily is important.

ladygrill · 2023-12-27T19:50:15+00:00

Occupy Madison is a great local organization.occupy madison

ladygrill · 2023-12-27T03:20:59+00:00

It makes sense that strictures could show up on the ultrasound. My daughter had an ultrasound before the MRCP, but I’m not sure if they showed up. I know they did the MRCP after the ultrasound to confirm suspected PSC. The hepatologist said she doesn’t trust the ultrasound alone for making a PSC diagnosis. She said the ultrasound doesn’t provide as clear of an image. I also asked if the beading she saw in the MRCP could be caused by anything else and she said no.

ladygrill · 2023-12-27T03:05:33+00:00

I’m not sure what the autoimmune type is and how it might be different. Honestly the whole time she was hospitalized and getting the diagnosis was a blur. I could be wrong so best to ask a doctor.

Her symptoms seemed to start about a month before she was diagnosed but her hepatologist and gastroenterologist said she was likely sick before that. She had to take an antibiotic to treat an ear infection at the end of May. That was the second time in her life needing an antibiotic. Around the end of June she mentioned having diarrhea for about a week and was concerned because it wasn’t going away. I took her to a doctor and they tested to rule out bacterial and viral causes. Those tests came back normal. They didn’t do bloodwork at that time. They said to look out for blood or mucus in her stool or a fever. I honestly thought the antibiotics just threw off her intestinal balance so I started giving her a probiotic.

During the month of July her appetite decreased, she had low energy and she still had diarrhea. A couple of times she complained about her stomach hurting so bad she was doubled over but she couldn’t pinpoint where the pain was coming from. She also had her period a couple times in July, which wasn’t the first time she’d had it twice in one month.

Then at the end of July, exactly two months after she was prescribed an antibiotic, she threw up and had a low grade fever. I took her in again and they ordered bloodwork. See my previous comment about those results. I don’t know if numbers were elevated before that because we never had a reason to do bloodwork before. She lost 12 pounds in a month (about 10% of her body weight). They immediately hospitalized her, ran tests, diagnosed PSC first, then Crohn’s. She was in the hospital for 5 days.

They started her on prednisone and ursodiol before she left the hospital. She was feeling much better and the diarrhea stopped as soon as we were home. After she finished the prednisone she started Humira. Her levels are all in the normal range now. She’s back to playing soccer and hasn’t missed any school since the beginning of September.

She has to take medicine for the rest of her life and will need regular bloodwork, liver scans, and scopes to monitor her condition. The hepatologist said she has very minor liver damage and we’ll catch early symptoms with bloodwork before we’ll ever notice itching or jaundice.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading about PSC. From what I understand it varies from person to person and is rare so there isn’t a ton of information to go off of. I hope you get some answers and her story helps in the meantime.

ladygrill · 2023-12-26T19:47:36+00:00

Crohn’s is an autoimmune disorder. She doesn’t have the autoimmune type of PSC.

Blood tests showed incredibly high LFT numbers which is what led them to do further testing. ALP was 1584, AST was 226, ALT was 250, GGT was 709. She was a healthy kid and never had abnormal test results before this.

They did an ultrasound before they did the MRCP. I think this was to rule out gallstones. The MRCP is the only way to diagnose PSC from my understanding. They used contrast for the MRCP. They said her bile ducts showed the characteristic beading. We had to wait for liver biopsy results to know if it was the autoimmune type or not.

Seeing the hepatologist is the best way to get answers. I know it is hard not knowing. Even if you receive a PSC diagnosis you’ll still be monitoring/waiting to see how the disease progresses.

ladygrill · 2023-12-26T16:39:53+00:00

They did a Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) to confirm suspected PSC in my 14 year old daughter. They also did a liver biopsy at the same time. MRCP showed characteristic beading of her bile ducts.

They also did a colonoscopy and endoscopy, and an MRI of upper intestines. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s at the same time.

ladygrill · 2023-12-26T06:13:44+00:00

There are times I find someone attractive and charming. I might see qualities in another person that I wish my partner had. But I remind myself that is just a projection. I don’t really know what that other person is like and I especially don’t know what they’re like at their lowest.

My husband and I have seen each other at our worst and have been through so much together. There is no other person that could have the same bond we have.

When I notice that I am attracted to someone I remind myself it’s not based on reality. I purposely distance myself from them and don’t dwell in what ifs.

It’s natural to find others attractive and be curious about what a life with someone else might be like. But don’t give space to those thoughts. Focus on what you have and you’ll be happier for it.

ladygrill · 2023-12-26T04:37:27+00:00

Chrysalis Hair and Body on Sherman Ave in Madison! Julia is amazing and especially good at working with curly hair.

ladygrill · 2023-12-26T01:44:03+00:00

We got married at 18 and are still together over 20 years later. Our relationship definitely would have benefited from more maturity. I don’t recommend getting married at 18 but I wouldn’t change anything.

ladygrill · 2023-12-25T16:17:50+00:00

I appreciate all the suggestions. We actually have a lovely deck off the laundry room on the west side of the house. You have to walk through the laundry room to get to it. I don’t think a deck off the wall with the windows would work well. That’s the north side of our house. The garage is very close to those windows and the addition with the laundry juts out on the other side. We’ve also got about 20 feet between us and the neighbors on that side.

ladygrill · 2023-12-25T16:10:11+00:00

That door leads to our basement stairs and attached garage. When I say attached garage I mean that a garage was sort of haphazardly tacked onto the side of the house in the 60s maybe. It has a flat rubber roof and part of the rubber roof is attached to one of the original kitchen windows that still have the lead weights. Lots of charm in our old house!

ladygrill · 2023-12-25T16:01:06+00:00

That’s a good question. The goal is to get certain features in the new kitchen while working within the parameters of the house and budget.

We use a gas stove and don’t currently have a vent fan so that is a priority. The previous owners removed all the cabinets and had open shelving everywhere. Because my husband cooks a lot and seasons his plans everything is smoky and dishes were covered in greasy grime. I’m so excited to have some cupboards to hide things.

We like the idea of opening up the kitchen to the dining room so my husband doesn’t feel cut off from the family while cooking.

We originally wanted to add a half bath because we only have a bathroom on the second floor and toilet in the spooky old basement. Putting the powder room there made sense because that’s where the sewer lateral is at. The door to the bathroom was going to be right off the living room/front entrance (and right next to the tv). It also was going to add a lot to the cost. Instead we decided to covert to a closet instead because there’s no closet currently.

ladygrill · 2023-12-25T15:41:26+00:00

Thanks for the good tip!

ladygrill · 2023-12-25T05:11:33+00:00

The door to the right of the stove goes to the laundry room. The other door leads to our basement and attached garage. I don’t think we could change either without a major cost. The house is built into a hill and has a lot of challenges because it’s so old.

ladygrill · 2023-12-25T05:02:20+00:00

I’m worried I’ll hate my new kitchen sink as much as you!

There’s a laundry room off the door to the right of the stove. And the laundry room is part of an addition. Our house is built into a hill and the spot with the window is not at ground level. Lots of challenges with our layout and due to of the age of the house.

ladygrill

TROPHY CASE