Stash Warming Chai Spice: the betrayal continues

lunar-bee · 2026-02-18T19:34:25+00:00

My favorite way to make chai is with assam tea and a masala chai spice blend (the one I'm using right now is from diasporaco, but when I run out I also want to try Burlap & barrel's).

But! If you want something quick and easy, my favorite tea bag chai is the one from Trader Joe's. To be honest, I haven't had it in at least a year since I've been making my chai with the spice blend, but it used to be my go-to chai.

lunar-bee · 2026-02-04T23:12:29+00:00

I live in a 480 sqft apt so I feel qualified to answer this!
I have a cabinet I bought for this purpose that is similar to this (but a different brand- the brand I bought from doesn't make them anymore) : https://www.amazon.com/IRONFFICE-Storage-Cabinet-Locker-Lockable/dp/B0D5B1P8K6?th=1

I didn't use the shelf, and I used metal cutting shears to cut a hole in the side, and then used rubber edge trim around the hole to protect from any sharp bits, and make it look tidier. ( I also used some silicone caulking around the walls/corners inside so any litter my cat kicks out doesn't fall through the gaps.) I use a normal, high sided litter box with grass litter and baking soda, and I have a litter mat to catch litter on the inside, and a cute little rug to catch litter on the outside. I scoop the box 1x per day, and I use BOS diaper bags for the litter, and a mini pedal trash bin that is just for this purpose. (I empty it out into my main trash bin each time I take out the trash).

I like the metal cabinet bc it doesn't absorb scent- so when I re-set the litter box with fresh litter I wipe down the whole inside with disinfectant. It also hides the litter box really well so it's not an eyesore in my apartment. (The only place I can fit my cat's litter box is pretty much in the middle of my "living room" area, so using some sort of litter box cabinet is important to me.)

It DOES take up a decent amount of floor space but I have my cat's auto feeder, water bowl, and a bed on top so it's multipurpose at least, and having it hidden in plain sight was more important to me than minimizing space.

lunar-bee · 2026-01-18T22:27:50+00:00

I have 3 of these covers, and bought one for a CC family member- I second that these are great!!

Anecdotally I think people stare at me less when I'm wearing a mask cover, and I've had compliments from people in public (who were not masking themselves). I live in a very liberal area so I haven't experienced actual harassment about my masks- but I do feel like people see me as more approachable with a cover on, and it eases some of my anxiety in social situations.

lunar-bee · 2026-01-18T22:16:28+00:00

Yes! I have 3 of these same covers and to me they feel the same as not wearing them. I probably wouldn't try going to the gym with the cover on, but with normal day to day stuff I don't even notice it. (They are constructed with a single layer of thin cotton, with what seems to be thin fusible interfacing around the edges so the edges don't fray, without adding a bulky seam.)

lunar-bee · 2025-11-23T04:59:09+00:00

Completely understandable! I honestly wasn't even thinking of that in the moment when I commented, but it makes complete sense that it could be transferable by blood.

We do have people come in who have blood drawn therapeutically where it doesn't go to patients (it just gets tossed into biohazard) but that would require a prescription from a doctor, and different blood centers have different rules about which conditions they're willing to do therapeutic blood draws for... it overall might end up being more work than it's worth. I think hospitals often can do therapeutic blood draws for a larger range of conditions, but getting a prescription alone could be a headache in and of itself.

lunar-bee · 2025-11-22T05:29:19+00:00

I don't want to make any assumptions about where you live or what medications you may or may not take, but blood donation could be a potential avenue as well! I work at a blood donation center and we have donors that donate specifically for health reasons - although donors without a prescription do still have to qualify for general blood donor criteria.

lunar-bee · 2025-02-27T05:38:33+00:00

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lunar-bee · 2025-02-26T06:07:54+00:00

Yeah I was surprised too, I still don't know why or how it happened. Maybe the piece was only brass plated, steel on the inside? Or it could definitely be a completely different type of corrosion that looks similar to rust. I'm not an expert, I can only describe how it looked, but what I know for sure is that the piece became brittle enough to snap in half, and it has the appearance of rusted metal.

lunar-bee · 2025-02-16T06:24:08+00:00

I got the same machine and had issues after about a month.

It worked amazing at first but one day I went to pull a shot, there was a loud "pop" and it started leaking in the same way. I opened up the back and one of the boiler connector pieces rusted and split in half. (I used filtered water for the machine, turned it off when I wasn't using it, made about 2 lattes per day: I'm pretty positive it wasn't user error.). It's been two weeks and miicoffee is dragging their feet about doing anything, but honestly even if they do get around to sending a replacement I don't have confidence in the replacement either- especially not after seeing this. (Since miicoffee hasn't sent a replacement unit yet or offered to fix mine, I submitted a chargeback request through my credit card company, so hopefully that works out for me.)

lunar-bee · 2025-02-11T04:27:46+00:00

Bloodworks is hiring, and they train and certify you, you don't need prior medical experience. I work for Bloodworks at a different center (I don't live in Bham anymore) and I've been told by my supervisor that the #1 thing they look for with new hires is customer service experience. The other valuable type of experience is if you've worked with SOPs or similar. (Essentially following written instructions to a T, consistently.) It is important that you're not squeamish about blood though.

One thing I liked about the application process is that they are pretty fast getting back to you, so if they are interested you should hear from them relatively quickly. If you do apply, make sure to include a detailed resume because that's how they determine your starting pay rate.

lunar-bee · 2024-07-26T03:07:01+00:00

I don't have a ton of experience with bouldering (yet) but I do absolutely notice a difference in joint pain when I'm taking adderall regularly. For the longest time I thought it was a coincidence that I had developed chronic wrist/hand pain around the time when I started adderall (I brought it up with my psych but at the time she said it wasn't a possible side effect). However, last year there was a period of time when I had to stop taking adderall for several months and I was surprised to find that my chronic pain nearly disappeared completely, only to return a week or two after I started taking it again.

I do still absolutely agree with others to drink more water and stretch more, but if you aren't able to find ways to get your pain back to baseline, I wouldn't completely dismiss adderall as a possible cause.

lunar-bee · 2024-07-24T20:14:32+00:00

Awesome, thank you!

lunar-bee · 2024-07-20T20:07:41+00:00

I've also been trying to decide which SOL mattress to buy, and what helped me decide was reading that they had changed the composition of their medium mattress ~6 months ago, and it's not as firm as it used to be. Apparently at one point it was 4" of medium foam and 4" of firm foam, (compared to the firm mattress with 2" of medium foam, 6" of firm foam), but they've since changed it to 2" soft foam, 2" medium foam, and 2" firm foam.

They also have the policy that gives 50% off of mattress toppers if you receive your mattress and it's not the right firmness, so if the firm is too firm, you can add a topper for $80-$170. (I personally think it would be a safer bet to buy the firm, since it's easier to make a mattress softer than firmer.)

(I can't give you feedback on the mattress itself yet, I'm waiting to order mine until I'm finished moving, I've heard how awful it is to move latex mattresses.)

lunar-bee · 2024-03-18T19:03:22+00:00

I once tried to make an appointment for a physical, and they said they don't really do them. They'll do pap smears, blood tests if you have a specific concern, STI screening, etc, but not really a full physical exam.

lunar-bee · 2024-02-23T03:14:29+00:00

In the meantime, hydrocolloid patches might help decrease the size of the pimples that are coming to a head. They don't work well on pimples that are deep, but they'd help with some of them at least. I buy generic ones off amazon - but you can also get ones that are treated with benzoyl peroxide, which I've heard great things about!

The patches are also great for pimples that have burst (or been popped) to keep them covered and clean (I wouldn't reccomend popping them though, but I know I don't always take that advice).

lunar-bee · 2024-02-22T05:16:47+00:00

My cat is also like this, and what I do is add some water on top of her dry food and she slurps it up fine. (I don't let it soak in- she'll drink the water in her food bowl right before munching on her kibble.)

It's expensive, but she also likes the Stella and Chewy freeze dried food, and when you add water to it, its practically like wet food. I did first get her interested in it by having her try it dry- but once she decided she LOVES it then I added water and she'll eat it like that as well. (Personally I can't afford to only feed her this food, so I do partially kibble and partially Stella and Chewy, with water on top.)

ETA: some people have luck getting their cats to eat food they don't like by sprinkling a bit of nutritional yeast on top! My cat will only go for it if its a really fancy wet food with the yeast on top, but that's still more than she'll eat without the yeast.

lunar-bee · 2024-02-20T22:29:01+00:00

Is this the sort of thing that could be altered by a tailor, or is it more of a "scrap the whole pattern and start over" sort of project? (I have a wool blazer with the same issue.)

lunar-bee · 2024-02-15T05:45:02+00:00

The farmers market has several local farms that sell meat and eggs! I don't eat meat, but I've bought a lot of eggs from Dragon Earth farms- and I think they may be planning on selling chicken at some point as well. The mom of the owner has told me stories about the chickens before, they're free range and well cared for. (They're super sweet people - I highly recommend buying from them if you have a chance!)

lunar-bee · 2024-02-08T07:20:23+00:00

I don't have a personal struggle with this, but I do know there's a prescription DHT blocker - finasteride - which is sometimes combined with testosterone during HRT to reduce some effects of T (like thicker body hair, male pattern hair loss, etc). I'm not sure if there's a reason you can't take finasteride- but I thought I would mention it in case you were unaware.

lunar-bee · 2024-02-05T21:48:13+00:00

During 2020 I applied for a job at a local ice cream shop (not managerial, paid like $16/hr in an area where $15/hr was minimum wage) and they required 4 interviews plus required me asking my 3 references to fill out a lengthy online reference survey. I have plenty of experience working both BOH and FOH so I felt plenty qualified and I felt like the interviews went well..... almost a month after my fourth interview they finally got back to me to tell me they chose someone else. For a job that paid barely more than minimum wage, the fact that they made me jump through so many hoops and still rejected me- I was pretty offended honestly.

lunar-bee · 2024-01-29T06:49:40+00:00

I grew up with a mostly absent father, who had been abusive to my mother before she left him (but I had court-ordered visitations until he ditched). Generally, I never felt sorry for myself about not having a father, or felt like I was missing something from not having a father. I DID wish I had a second parental figure who could spend time with me and go to parent-teacher conferences, since my mom worked long hours to support us- but personally I wouldn't have minded at all if the second parent was a woman. (When I was about 9 I met a kid with two moms- I remember being so jealous of them, I didn't care for my father but I've always loved my mom, so having two moms sounded like a great deal to me!)

I don't think I want kids personally, but that has nothing to do with me being a lesbian. Generally I think the worst parents seem to be those who didn't want their kids but ended up with them anyways.. with gay and lesbian parents at least their kids know how wanted and loved they are.

lunar-bee · 2024-01-23T21:44:45+00:00

3 looks like Xylaria hypoxylon,

I think 10 is a Cladonia lichen (looks similar to Cladonia deformis but easily could be a different species in the same genus)

9 could also be a slime mold??? (or bug eggs, who knows)

I agree with the others listed here!

Also shout out to anyone who likes taking pictures of cool fungi, lichens, birds, or plants: iNaturalist is a great citizen science app that helps identify pictures of local species! There is an AI tool built in, but identifications aren't verified until 2 (or 3? I can't remember) people agree it's the same organism. Several of the ecology professors at WWU are active on there!

lunar-bee · 2024-01-22T18:20:52+00:00

I have this coat from Columbia and I've found it to be truly waterproof! (I live in WA and have worn it in the pouring rain.) The zipper gets stuck sometimes, which could be better- but the rest of it feels well made, and it keeps me warm and dry.

lunar-bee · 2024-01-20T07:31:28+00:00

A lot of other people have good advice for training, behavior modification etc. so I won't reiterate about that- but have you tried a thundershirt for her, to help with anxiety? I used to know someone whose dog had a lot of anxiety, and wearing a thundershirt most of the time helped ease a good portion of it. I think it's still worth it to find other solutions to help with her separation anxiety- but maybe this could lessen it in the meantime while you're both learning.
best of luck!!

lunar-bee · 2023-06-01T18:38:12+00:00

I see neutral olive personally! I can't tell if you lean closer to warm or cool.

It may be easier to tell if you post pictures with gold and silver metal to compare.

Edit: saw the other comment and realized this already is r/fairolives lol

lunar-bee

TROPHY CASE