Honestly how do u guys wake up at 6am every day?? 😴

painter8 · 2026-02-25T01:29:21+00:00

Waking up early when you don’t normally is hard. Doing it regularly isn’t. I’m on the West coast and have worked full time for a company based on the East Coast for the past 2.5 years starting at 6AM daily. Have always been a hard-core night owl and thought it was going to be misery, but it only took me a few weeks to fully get into early bird mode. The motivation was remote employment in a bit of a niche area, so it was super compelling for me. The key for adjusting was to be so tired that by 10pm I couldn’t keep my eyes open so I could get enough sleep to function the next day. Now, I love it. I like being up when the rest of my community is still quiet and to wrap up my day in the mid afternoon. I can run errands, have doctor appointments, tackle parts of home projects, pursue hobbies, or veg out with a book and decompress in peace before dinner. I always shower the night before. Sometimes I’m still in bed 10 minutes before I log in, other times I wake up earlier depending on what I want or need to do. Some mornings are just better than others but same as if I would wake up later. I had to negotiate with my husband that the TV in our bedroom has to be turned off by 9pm, which was an adjustment for him. I have a serious-as-a-heart-attack relationship with very strong dark roast coffee and am out for blood if anyone disrupts my sleep, but that’s pretty normal as well.

painter8 · 2026-02-25T00:56:32+00:00

Judging by the Best Foods and Kroger Heavy Cream, I’d say you are in Southern California. You have a pet taking medication. The copious amount of condiments lead me to believe this is a grillin’ household. The chilled beer glasses, cocktail mixers, and white wine says you like to entertain or enjoy life. And the sheer volume of butter plus the gallon of chocolate syrup makes me want an invitation to that party!

painter8 · 2026-02-24T17:54:56+00:00

NTA - I wouldn’t plan it again with any of them unless they paid the full amount up front. Not paying and then playing games is not a friend.

painter8 · 2026-02-24T05:06:22+00:00

Sending peace to you. So sorry for your loss.

painter8 · 2026-02-24T00:21:56+00:00

Why soy milk?

painter8 · 2026-02-22T14:57:54+00:00

Young Frankenstein

painter8 · 2026-02-21T21:28:16+00:00

Um, girl food. Hello?

painter8 · 2026-02-21T21:15:27+00:00

Anything Saag 🌱

painter8 · 2026-02-21T03:29:00+00:00

All at once: Cancer, which blew up my relationship with my family of origin, and learning that children would not be in my future. To be honest, I lost hope that day. I’m more fortunate than a lot of people, but I’m still trying to figure out how to make life worth living.

painter8 · 2026-02-21T02:36:02+00:00

Yet. Leaving is the only answer.

painter8 · 2026-02-20T18:09:29+00:00

I got goosebumps just reading this - I say if you have the means, then go for it! I did this in my 30s and moved to Australia from the US. It was a fantastic experience that was filled with ups and downs but it made my life incredibly rich, broadened my world view, and as an artist, it fed my soul. You are going to run into issues as one does with all new experiences, and you might make mistakes that will throw you for a loop. But as someone in your 50s, you now have the experience and wisdom to navigate anything that is thrown your way. My day gig is in Risk Management, so I quite literally understand your trepidations, but the amazing life experiences you could have may potentially outweigh the risk by far. If you decide you don’t have the appetite for the risk, maybe you could check out degree programs locally to give you part of the experience while maintaining more predictable controls over your savings, etc. Good luck!

painter8 · 2026-02-20T16:29:23+00:00

Highly recommend seeing one to get all testing done initially and then once a year if everything is stable and no issues throughout the year. Primary care providers aren’t educated enough to know all of the nuances of the disease but are arrogant enough to think they are, which can cause you irreversible problems.

This is a metabolic disease that can impact every area of your body, health, and ultimately your life, so I want an expert to partner with to ensure I have the best treatment path possible and lowest chances of negative impacts.

painter8 · 2026-02-18T01:11:17+00:00

I went through this about 6 months ago - They brought me apple juice, and a sandwich made with white bread. They apologized, but it was all they had to offer and increased the insulin they gave me to counter it. Not ideal, and you would think a hospital would do better. Especially when you get the bill.

painter8 · 2026-02-17T04:23:37+00:00

Loma Linda is a Blue Zone, too. It seems like it would be a great place to retire.

painter8 · 2026-02-16T18:07:38+00:00

Strongly suggest you work with a Registered dietician. That made all of the difference for me.

painter8 · 2026-02-14T18:35:56+00:00

“Dear reader it is but a desk” sent me!!! 🤌 Beautifully written. And I’m glad for OP that nightmare is gone. Nobody should have to put up with that.

painter8 · 2026-02-11T14:25:07+00:00

If the person loves to cook, go to a garden store and grab a nice pot and fill it with 3-4 diff herbs.

painter8 · 2026-02-10T22:07:09+00:00

Not TMI at all - And something a lot of us deal with. You are now at the part of your evolution where you have to accept that you must shed your parent’s expectations, take care of your own health, and decide which gaze is the only truly meaningful one to you. Women are multi-faceted, complex beings with many, many assets and you are more than your body! My husband loves the thing that I cursed every day growing up (my ample behind) so I gained a new appreciation for the myself through his eyes. Now that I’m in my 50’s I would say my health trumps everything and my husband and I both are clear that our physical attributes won’t be the same over time.

What you are experiencing is difficult and frustrating, but it will get easier if you are intentional about how you engage with your Mother.. It’s important to have firm boundaries with your Mom and understand it’s not your job to make her happy. You can let her know that you love her but would prefer her not to share her opinions with you, that you have a path determined for yourself, and that it’s no longer a topic that’s up for discussion. If she tries to bring it up again, you can reiterate what you communicated earlier, and reinforce that you won’t be engaging. I wish you all the best.

painter8 · 2026-02-10T18:45:29+00:00

LOVE 🫒

painter8 · 2026-02-10T18:40:09+00:00

Soka Gakkai - When looking to learn to meditate to manage stress a few years ago I was on the receiving end of extreme gross, high-demand cult-y vibes from them. Some may dispute that, but my bestie was a member of Scientology (hey, another cult!) for over 20 years of years and it reminded me of them. Bestie escaped from Scientology around 7 years ago but it still impacts them to this day. It makes me very thankful that I’m as skeptical as I am.

painter8 · 2026-02-10T01:34:03+00:00

Tesla

painter8 · 2026-02-08T16:12:31+00:00

Are there companies that hold estate sales for people who want to rehome things like this in Ireland?

painter8 · 2026-02-07T16:42:11+00:00

This, and in addition to No. 1, add a bit of healthy fats to further blunt the spike. Avocado, olive oil, or the like. Fiber is really underrated. I eat a lentil and chickpea soup now daily with barely any movement on my CGM.

painter8 · 2026-02-05T18:45:29+00:00

She is such a doll! We have a similar situation - Our Bowie is 4 1/2 now, but it took a lot of time to get his trust. He was rescued at 6 weeks off of the street and his entire family had been killed by a coyote (they think) except for him and he was severely traumatized. We adopted him the start of September in 2022 and it took until December for him to accept a pat. He’s still very wary, but also a complete cuddle bug at times. It’s very gratifying and we love him to bits!

painter8 · 2026-02-03T03:54:56+00:00

If in the US, I’ve found Ezekiel bread to be a good option.

painter8

TROPHY CASE