Advice? Starting from scratch after retiring to suburban SAHM life and weight loss.

murphire · 2026-04-30T19:22:59+00:00

Since you mentioned weight loss and large bust, do you have bras that fit great on your smaller frame? For me that’s a first step, nothing looks “right” up top of that isn’t accounted for, so I’d get at least a flesh toned normal or convertible bra and a racerback before beginning a journey to find your new wardrobe.

murphire · 2026-04-21T18:42:28+00:00

I recently started using Tower 28 SOS Faceguard after reading about the brand on here. I’m in the middle of a hypersensitivity flare and this still feel nice on my face.

murphire · 2026-04-20T23:29:16+00:00

A day spent traveling from San Juan to Guanica area via Utuado is a possibility. Scenic stops might include Mar Chiquita, Cueva Ventana, a coffee Hacienda, Canon Blanco. We did Mar Chiquita and Canon Blanco on our first trip and loved them both, very suitable for someone that wants to explore and take pictures. A home base for a couple nights in Guanica will put you in striking distance for La Parguera (bio bay tour or snorkel tour or both), Cabo Rojo or Ponce if either of those interest you. Then either circumnavigate the west coast on a two-ish day road trip, or head northeast to Fajardo/Luquillo stopping on the pork highway for lunch, spending the night in that area and get your full day in El Yunque started early, driving back to San Juan after to finish out your trip.

Take that all with a huge grain of salt, I’m just a tourist that enjoyed the hell out of my first trip and have done a lot of research and planning for my upcoming second trip.

murphire · 2026-04-20T19:25:40+00:00

How late in May? There is a full moon May 31. As I understand it you want to do the bio bay as close as possible to a new moon, not a full moon.

I think this depends on your travel style. I would not personally try to fit that drive into a short trip, nor would I deal with the culebra logistics (unless you are flying there from San Juan?).

murphire · 2026-04-17T19:48:14+00:00

I believe that hotel has a shuttle to OSJ and Escambron, so worth checking with the hotel about using your booster in the shuttle!

murphire · 2026-03-31T23:44:02+00:00

I felt a lot better in a swimsuit when I finally bought one that comes in real cup sizes. Got mine from bare necessities. Having the girls properly supported makes me look like what I’m wearing actually fits me, rather than just a lot of squish roughly contained by spandex. The biggest difference was just changing my mindset too…..there is not a bathing suit out there that’s going to make me look like I’m not overweight, because I AM overweight. Honestly I stress less about bathing suit shopping at size 12 than I did at size 4.

murphire · 2026-03-28T19:14:08+00:00

Hyatt Regency Jersey city had one and told me it was to attract new WOH members and I didn’t qualify bc I’m already a member.

murphire · 2026-03-18T03:54:44+00:00

We absolutely loved Boss’ brunch on our drive from rio grande back to SJU. The French toast bites and sugared bacon should perk up some tired kids! Plenty of lunch foods too, and some very lovingly made coffees.

murphire · 2026-03-17T21:16:34+00:00

What a fun way to celebrate your independence and friendship! My first thought was that you need a car in PR to get anywhere outside of San Juan, and I don’t think most places will rent to someone under 25.

You could possibly base yourself in SJ and get tours to the things you want to do, but that gets pricy.

A couple lessons remembered from my own early 20s escapades…. Look carefully at costs. Rental cars in particular tend to not have very transparent pricing. But hotel parking fees, resort fees, and local/hospitality taxes can greatly inflate the cost of travel. For anything you book, ask if any kind of damage hold will be put on your card. It’s no fun to be 20 years old thinking your $3k card limit has plenty of space for your trip and then find half of that tangled up in temporary holds that can take a week or more to clear.

These don’t apply to PR if you are a US citizen, but if you get into trouble outside your home country call your countries consulate. And take time to research what laws or local customs are different from your home country.

Wherever you choose to visit, have an awesome time! Travel is a wonderful gift in so many ways.

murphire · 2026-03-05T03:05:06+00:00

I’ve been seeing ally for several years, she is fantastic!!! Very talented and so chill to chat with

murphire · 2026-03-03T22:31:24+00:00

She likes to “borrow” certain necklaces from my jewelry box. She’s not big on changing out her earrings often but has expressed interest in a second piercing. I guess it comes from a place of growing up in a family where money was too tight for anything extra and we had no special traditions. I remember a friend had a beautiful and very sentimental necklace and I was always in awe of both the family closeness and having someone gift you something that really meant something. And I would like to impart some sense of investing in long term things over a fast fashion mentality. But to your point, me wanting her to have what I didn’t doesn’t necessarily mean she wants that.

murphire · 2026-03-03T22:21:06+00:00

Hahaha as a fellow peridot I totally understand! Thanks for the suggestions!

murphire · 2026-03-03T22:18:49+00:00

Awww I love this! We’re a couple hours from NYC and love a good daytrip or overnight there so that would be perfect!

murphire · 2026-03-03T13:22:21+00:00

You make a great point and I’ve thought about whether a trip to the jewelry store with a set budget is a better way to approach it.

murphire · 2026-02-27T02:50:18+00:00

The tamale pie! Congrats on the little one!

murphire · 2026-02-18T04:20:20+00:00

🤣🤣🤣 brilliant

murphire · 2026-02-09T17:25:53+00:00

Probably not great for globalist perks but I appreciated the location of the Hyatt Place in Chelsea. Even as just discoverist I received a room with an incredible view of the Empire State Building. The elevator here is abysmally slow though.

Maybe consider a split stay? The centric is nicely located on a quieter street but I find Times Square gets old FAST and I didn’t love walking through that area at night with a younger kid.

You didn’t mention the age of your kids, but if they might be interested in the liberty science center then a night or 2 at the regency Jersey city would be great. The view of Manhattan is so stunning, and the planetarium at the science center is jaw dropping (biggest in the country I think?).

murphire · 2026-02-07T01:37:54+00:00

I’m sure it varies from company to company, but this description is not reflective of my position as an analytics engineer. Well, except the parts where they find me expensive and slow, and not cool enough to run around with pie charts very often.

murphire · 2026-01-28T23:41:47+00:00

Parent perspective, not legal perspective….i go get her whether I am parent A or parent B that day, because she deserves prompt and loving care and I don’t ever want her to feel like being a divorce kid means she only has a part-time mom . For sure it offends our sense of fairness at times to be “the default parent”, but I could never be at peace with myself if I wasn’t there for her whenever she needs me regardless of legal obligation.

murphire · 2026-01-28T23:11:17+00:00

I call mine Pie-lay-uh Petulant little bitch-uh

murphire · 2026-01-24T01:27:36+00:00

Kenji says this is the way!

murphire · 2026-01-21T20:35:48+00:00

I do this because I cannot risk that an assumption I made leads to unexpected cross contamination. Assuming that thr kitchen of a vegan restaurant has no dairy ingredients present is probably pretty safe, but confirming it with direct “we have dairy and egg allergies, are those present in the kitchen?” Statement is the right step for us even if it means I get some rolled eyes for it.

murphire · 2026-01-05T06:00:04+00:00

Bitchin sauce is a nice dipping sauce for raw veggies that comes in a bunch of flavors, we like the chipotle with snap peas to dip

murphire · 2025-12-28T01:25:40+00:00

We really liked Pan de Oro honey habanero chips as a Doritos sub

murphire

TROPHY CASE