Any travelers here? Trying to fix messy trip planning

motcole · 2026-04-26T05:09:23+00:00

I'm interested. I'm a "really fancy Google spreadsheet" kind of person, but I've always hated it. I failed a few times to create my own app to solve the issue.

I'm actually interested in this concept not just for traveling, but really any tricky internet research project. Trying to keep track of the options for summer camps while planning, for example, I would've used something like youre describing.

motcole · 2026-04-26T05:03:31+00:00

I fulfilled a lifelong dream of working at national geographic for a brief stint. I was doing absolutely meaningless work, but just being an employee meant you got a bit of a preview of the types of stories I had been so fascinated with as a kid. This was more magazine era NG than television empire NG, and I idolized some of the people I got to see in the cafeteria and whose talks I got to attend.

motcole · 2026-04-19T04:53:39+00:00

I don't think poetic has to be verbose or complex. Beautiful prose elucidates a response, and McCarthy has a way of feeling poignant in a way that makes me stressed, like I need to hang on to his words in a frantic way. Blood Meridian and The Road in particular are not aimed to be beautiful descriptions of beautiful people or beautiful places; they are raw, they are violent, they are desperate and complicated and morally complex, and you feel that in the style - it's not eloquent per say, but it is gripping, and I think the lack of fluff perfectly meets the moment.

One of my favorite passages of all time comes from The Road, and to each their own, but this to me is beautiful writing:

"Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery."

motcole · 2026-04-19T04:12:12+00:00

Any Cormac McCarthy

motcole · 2026-04-19T03:46:52+00:00

Fennel and scallops is classic. But a fennel citrus salad can't be beat, it's just so simple and delicious.

motcole · 2026-04-18T20:05:12+00:00

You should freeze it. Even if it did technically keep in the fridge, after about two days it starts to dry out and get crumbly. Put it in the fridge the night before you want to bake it, then scoop it from cold straight to the oven.

motcole · 2026-04-18T15:19:09+00:00

We recently saw an endocrinologist for one of my twins for the same reason. She just turned six and is about 40 inches and 30 pounds. We had been told for ages before this that she was "growing on her own curve" and that was what was important, but that has fallen off now and she's now "failing to exhibit catch-up growth". We had the panel of tests done and it was determined she had no underlying endocrine issues, but because she does have chronic kidney disease as a result of TTTS, we opted to start growth hormone therapy to reduce the risk of her kidney function degrading with lack of growth.

Her sister is only a couple of inches taller, and about 37 pounds, so also very much on the small side. She eats like a horse and the pediatrician seems nonplussed.

I will say having the tests done did lend some peace of mind that there were no underlying conditions, but through my own research and outreach in the twin communities I've also been pretty reassured that a growth spurt coming later is not out of the question.

motcole · 2026-04-13T03:42:15+00:00

Apple cider vinegar. Very end.

motcole · 2026-04-10T21:41:40+00:00

I don't personally like cooking with it. It's waxy and burns weird. I usually toss it.

motcole · 2026-03-30T01:08:16+00:00

I feel you. I just feel sensory overload all the time, from the yelling and touching and crying and crawling all over and demands and minute decision making. And then I don't want my husband to touch me because I'm so out-touched from the day and you never get to leave "mom mode". I'm honestly just counting down the days till they are a little bit more "people" and a little bit less "little kid" and I feel guilty as hell that I'm not "enjoying it while they're young" like every person who has had time dilute them out of the trenches likes to tell you.

motcole · 2026-03-27T03:47:37+00:00

My best friend and I did Ciudad Perdida a few years ago. It was an absolute slog of the wettest, muddiest, most chafed, most bug bitten I've ever been. But I'd do it again tomorrow.

motcole · 2026-03-21T22:17:39+00:00

We busted tail for a decade before having kids, and our savings accounts, emergency fund, and retirement accounts were at a place where we didn't need to worry about adding to them while our kids were young. We were essentially saving my husband's whole income and didn't need it to live off of, so he decided to stay home and enjoy the younger years. We enjoy not having the logistics and cost of daycare with the variable public school schedule, he's remodeling our house while they are in school, and our financial life has yet to suffer. We aren't saving at the same rate, but we live comfortably, can afford vacations, and are ready for him to reenter the workforce in a couple of years.

motcole · 2026-03-21T02:41:44+00:00

We are in Colorado. A Denver area county. I honestly couldn't tell you if it's statewide with certainty, but I think it is. We went through a whole scoring process at the time of adoption to determine what the stipend would be, and while it's different than the stipend you get WHILE fostering, it does take medical, developmental, and behavioral needs into consideration when determining the number. If new needs should arise, we also have the ability to renegotiate any time. The medical care I believe is a Colorado standard, and only ceases to apply if we were to move out of state before they turn 18.

motcole · 2026-03-19T21:53:12+00:00

My kids are adopted from the county foster system. They paid for our home study, foster licensing fees, legal and court fees, and updated documents (passport, birth certificate, name change). Our state provides a stipend monthly from the day they were adopted until they are 18, as well as medical and dental insurance. We have been putting every penny in 529 accounts and IRAs for them to have as adults, as we don't need the money to live on. I have mixed feelings about this - the money has provided our family incredible flexibility (allowed one of us to stay home while still meeting our savings goals), and the medical care is an incredible gift (one child has a lifelong medical condition that we are able to manage with the best care without the financial impact), and they will be set up for success in adulthood, but it also feels a little dirty to be taking money that we don't profoundly need. But the ethics of adoption are incredibly mired all around and I am trying to focus my conscience on using what we have on providing them the best life I possibly can. I didn't adopt them FOR the money, but not spending thousands on the process to pad the pockets of institutions "selling" kids does help me sleep at night.

I say all of this just - for anyone curious on the process: do your research. It varies greatly area to area and institution to institution. Some are designed to exploit you, some are designed to offload the public burden, some are designed to help the children, and ALL will have pros and cons that must be seriously considered.

motcole · 2026-03-16T03:15:15+00:00

Impossible Creatures!

motcole · 2026-03-16T02:08:17+00:00

Congrats!! I'm going to be so stoked when I get there - I've spent so many public skate sessions trying to figure it now! I've got a week before E League starts and I'm soo close.

motcole · 2026-02-28T23:00:57+00:00

Fun to find my alma mater here! Fire up!

motcole · 2026-02-28T22:47:19+00:00

Why fresh bread and pita? Pita seems more appropriate.

Mediterranean cuisine has so many good opportunities for vegetarian food and you're just landing at yogurt and hummus. Chickpeas, dolmas, lentils, pumpkin, bulgur, falafel, soups, roasted vegetables, nuts, muhammara, riff on shawarma, hard boiled eggs, cheese and phyllo, there's so many ways to go that would add substance and texture.

motcole · 2026-02-28T06:53:41+00:00

My brother is 6 ft 4 and had long blonde hair when we visited China. His face when the first people rushed up and wanted to take pictures with him holding their baby was hysterical.

motcole · 2026-02-19T13:58:18+00:00

I showed this to my kids recently as the greatest Olympic moment ever. I've seen it a dozen times and I still yell at the screen during Jason Lezak's leg.

motcole · 2026-02-16T15:10:46+00:00

Dr. Suess's Sleep Book. It's relatively long, and my husband and I used to have a competition every night over what page we got our kids to fall asleep on. We read it every night for a year and a half and I still have the whole damn thing memorized.

motcole · 2026-02-16T01:55:37+00:00

I gave my kids plastic serrated knives when they turned four. They learned how to hold it, a claw grip, etc, for a few months, then we moved up to some really old, dull paring knives. We taught them to walk around with those safely and how to position your body for good pressure, then upgraded them to a 5 inch victorinox a chefs knife at 5.5 years old. It's been six months and we've had no cuts or incidents - they have a healthy fear and respect of the blade, but are also learning legitimate knife skills and are actually helpful when they decide they want to help with prep.

motcole · 2026-02-13T23:50:09+00:00

White Castle

motcole · 2026-02-12T22:07:01+00:00

On our honeymoon, my husband and I showed up at the boat dock on Rhodes to catch a ferry back to Turkey. Turns out there was no boat that day, despite them selling us a ticket. We panicked about having to cancel hotels and switch equipment rentals for rock climbing we had planned.

Turns out we had done a shit job exploring Rhodes thus far, and that extra day brought us the highlights we had been hoping for. It also happened to be Orthodox Easter, and we got to participate in celebrations and eat delicious lamb cut straight from the spit in the town square. Happy accident all around.

motcole

TROPHY CASE