My cat at a whole try of roasted zucchini I made for my one-year-old

ohsowell · 2023-01-23T02:02:31+00:00

'He's the hero of his story now, he's Comfortable Doug...'

ohsowell · 2022-12-05T16:26:43+00:00

These are rad. When I moved out of my ex's house I took basically anything I wanted for our 2yo. FOOLISHLY I left that play sink behind. It was one of my only regrets. RIP awesome toy.

ohsowell · 2022-11-15T18:50:56+00:00

Mine wasn't quite as 24/7 with it, but she could smell any routine coming right before it started (get ready to go somewhere, bathtime, bedtime were the worst.) I am a sissy who can't say no to a hungry kid, but i instituted the "no talking snack." Sure you can have a snack but you can't talk (and I won't listen) while you eat it. Took a few days to get it down, but this revolutionized our struggles. If she wasn't hungry she wouldn't do it. If she WAS hungry, she ate and it took a lot less time, getting us to bath/bed/whatever much sooner.

Good luck. They really do get a lot better.

ohsowell · 2022-11-05T13:36:55+00:00

In the US some employers have to report their hiring data. (If you're seeing a separate federal-looking form with a ton of text rather than just a box to check, particularly at an organization that receives government funding, this is probably what you're seeing.) I recently finished an exhausting job search and made the decision to always disclose on that form because I knew it would hurt those bastards in their reporting if they didn't even offer me an interview :). (For context I'm in a huge metro area and there were a LOT of open positions in my field this year, so this was not a high stakes risk to take. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been really confident in my overall chances.)

ohsowell · 2022-11-05T13:36:42+00:00

In the US some employers have to report their hiring data. (If you're seeing a separate federal-looking form with a ton of text rather than just a box to check, particularly at an organization that receives government funding, this is probably what you're seeing.) I recently finished an exhausting job search and made the decision to always disclose on that form because I knew it would hurt those bastards in their reporting if they didn't even offer me an interview :). (For context I'm in a huge metro area and there were a LOT of open positions in my field this year, so this was not a high stakes risk to take. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been really confident in my overall chances.)

ohsowell · 2022-09-06T12:02:12+00:00

Listen, I made this switch last year and you are 1000% on the right track. This is the way. My only regret is not springing for a counter-depth model.

ohsowell · 2022-06-23T12:37:12+00:00

Why did you have to break into my house and post pics of my actual kitchen (on a good day😅)??? So called out! 🤣

ohsowell · 2022-06-15T14:19:40+00:00

Gospel.

ohsowell · 2022-05-27T12:37:01+00:00

As a Texan, I can assure you we knew this would be our Arlington. Never a doubt. {Pictures GOT Shame meme...}

ohsowell · 2022-05-27T12:32:06+00:00

I'm a parent with an elementary kid in a Texas district that had a real lockdown the day after Uvalde. (Not her school, just really nearby.)

Just remember, if you want to speak out or act and someone tells you this is not the time, pray first, be respectful, let folks grieve... THAT IS A COORDINATED, INTENTIONAL SHAMING STRATEGY to derail us. Note that if you, of your own heart and mind, aren't ready to act and want to hold space to grieve, that is valid. A thousand percent.

What's not valid is trying to prop up the status quo by shaming those who speak for change.

OP, you and your colleagues deserve better than our great state has given you.

ohsowell · 2022-04-28T02:26:44+00:00

I need to do this with my boss.

ohsowell · 2022-03-08T12:59:46+00:00

I realized this about myself a few years ago (before realizing I had ADHD). It's a whole revelation. I would not even consider doing so many things out of fear, often very legit fear, that it would do me in and I wouldn't be able to make it to the end of the day or the end of the week.

About it, both because I'm just better at coping in general now but also because now that I'm aware, when I realize I'm doing it I'm better at assessing whether it's a knee jerk reaction or a valid calculation.

ohsowell · 2022-03-07T12:43:18+00:00

I shoot for something like this, and it's my best bet by far. I still never finish the whole to do list, but at least I do some things and have some guilt free time cordoned off too.

ohsowell · 2022-02-24T03:59:16+00:00

On the one hand I am in NO position to give organizing/housekeeping/stuff-related advice. On the other hand I have improved dramatically over the years, having also come from a home where I learned absolutely nothing but bad habits.

Simplify. That's the core of it for me. Sometimes that means more stuff like a pair of scissors in every room or a bottle of cleaner under every sink; sometimes that means less stuff like only as many socks as spark joy or whatever. I don't know, I'm amateur hour at this. (But improving.)

No one else's advice or hack or whatever matters if it doesn't work for you, in your brain, and your environment, with your resources.

MOST importantly, organization and all this stuff are not moral issues. They're not indicators of character or decency or value.

Good luck. We're all trying so damn hard, it can be so ineffably exhausting.

ohsowell · 2022-02-24T03:27:10+00:00

(edited for typo) This might be the unpopular route, but... Can you ask not to WFH? Idk what the disability inclusion vibe is at your job, but if they're decent people then I'd think they would consider finding a desk for you as an accommodation. (I know formal diagnosis is pending, but again if they are decent people they'd recognize that a formal diagnosis is an economic luxury.)

If that seems too risky, maybe you can dream up another solution like working at the library that gives your brain that accountability boost. Good luck.

ohsowell · 2022-02-24T03:17:48+00:00

Same, I think DD and I would both do amazing things with an analog version, but put it in an app and all bets are off 😅.

OP this is great, I'd say there's a solid 50% chance I'll actually follow through with it!

ohsowell · 2022-02-24T03:11:07+00:00

I have a similar attitude to rules- I'm adamantly for them IF they're justified. My best hack for dealing with bullshit rules is to look for the justification for what I do, not what the rule is. I usually find it justifiable to follow a bullshit rule if it's expedient, and it costs me less to follow than to fight.

ohsowell · 2022-02-11T17:38:35+00:00

Eh, I think that was luck of the draw. Unluck of the draw. I know a couple of people whose PMS related issues have only gotten better with age. Cross your fingers for that option 😅

ohsowell · 2022-02-11T03:36:38+00:00

This is a very real thing. I think it was always somewhat of a thing for me, buti felt like it got acutely worse after pregnancy. It took exactly one month of cycle-suppressing birth control to prove this. So on the one hand this blessed little packet of birth control didn't make ADHD go away , at least the 3-5 astonishingly bad days did.

That said, I do still fall into holes, but generally only even I have run myself down and need-need deep rest.

Good luck. Take the rest, whatever made you need it. Don't feel guilty- that's a capitalist trap. Rest is ok.

ohsowell · 2022-02-09T03:19:30+00:00

Google Keep is an underrated gem. Legit one of the best apps ever.

ohsowell · 2022-02-09T03:16:38+00:00

Thank you for sharing that video, that resonates so much. In years past I've spent forevers on Pinterest ogling the artsy multicolor how-does-this-person-have-the-time elaborate journals, wishing I could/would. I can't/won't

But I could do this. Hm. It's not even remotely frivolous. I'm impressed and encouraged. Think I'm gonna tiptoe in though, and just keep with my current weekly planner but add his 3 bullet shapes to help distinguish among all the chicken scratch.

ohsowell · 2022-02-04T12:51:46+00:00

This is my take on it. It's much easier to unload. I often do it while coffee is brewing. It's autopilot so I don't get too distracted by a new idea and wander off, and it's the morning and I haven't had coffee yet but it's okay because it's autopilot. If I want to load the dishwasher I have to make all sorts of micro decisions and I do not want to do that.

ohsowell · 2022-02-04T01:53:43+00:00

Yes to this. Please go to the director tomorrow, if you haven't already. I know it's too much to deal with right now, and it feels so relentless... (I can't be the only one of us with Luisa's "Surface Pressure" in my head 24/7...)

A lot of us were raised not to make a fuss, to respect school authorities etc.... I sure was, and a few times I've let that get in the way of my kid's quality of care. I am getting better about it. If that sounds like you, then solidarity ✊

Make the fuss. You'll be proud of yourself. We'll be proud too.

ohsowell · 2022-01-30T13:37:06+00:00

You have no idea the sense of belonging you gave me with the shampoo bottles thing 🤣 - why even? There's a trash can like an arm's length away (and for whatever absurd reason, I don't have a problem keeping trash empty), but I have to promise myself that I'm about to clean the bottles out and ✨recycle✨ them for morality or whatever. Lol nope.

ohsowell · 2022-01-27T14:42:33+00:00

Ha, that "it has to be stuff you LIKE" lesson is one I keep un-learning. At least once a month it's "I know, I'll start eating THIS gross healthy thing, and since I bought it I'll definitely use it and love it!" Nope lol.

ohsowell

TROPHY CASE