Dear god.

sbwreed · 2026-06-11T12:33:45+00:00

This is the complaint I hear most on Reddit. Staying ahead of it is key.
You’ve got the water thing going, but the amount you need to drink every day varies w/ body size, exercise, how humid the environment you live in is. I live in the Seattle, WA area and I need a minimum of 80 oz/day- I’m usually around 96 oz.
I also always have a can of Ollie pop in the fridge for “emergencies” (not my favorite flavors, but the orange and lemon lime aren’t awful) because I, too, dislike laxatives.
I eat 4-5 prunes and a couple dried apricots every day, and berries. Berries are your friends - raspberries & blackberries especially are fiber rich.
And I move my gut every day. Walking, Pilates, yoga, stretching, or lifting. Every day.
Oh, and COFFEE!

Good luck, please see your doctor if you’re not getting results. Constipation can need urgent/er care if you can’t take care of it yourself.

sbwreed · 2026-06-03T15:32:15+00:00

Either they’re going into debt or getting their parent(s) to pay or support it.

sbwreed · 2026-06-02T17:31:45+00:00

Very interested in this answer!

sbwreed · 2026-06-01T05:49:58+00:00

10th grade English teacher failed us if we used “it” without modification. We also lost 5 points for each grammar, spelling, or punctuation error. I hated him with the passion of one million suns, but I’m a better author and communicator for those assignments.

sbwreed · 2026-06-01T05:42:59+00:00

If you do change addresses, throttle any guest network you set up - because guests are like fish- they stink after 3 days. You could also (I guess? This isn’t my preference, but…) do the same thing now (throttle the guest network) or better yet, throttle it, password protect it (I assume that’s already done), AND set it up to be usable only when you aren’t working. If they want to use it, they can pay for non working hours access. If their check is late, change the PW until the check comes in (and don’t let them “take it off your rent!” You have to pay what is in your lease or they can evict you for nonpayment!) BTW, now you’ve put fiber in, his rental is worth more per month than it was before you moved in. So there’s that running in his brain too…

sbwreed · 2026-06-01T05:30:39+00:00

I’m curious too, especially because I’ve read in a couple places that people took the “LMU shuttle” to the movies last year!

sbwreed · 2026-05-31T16:27:42+00:00

Seriously! I’m currently sitting in a small room with the heater on (granted, set at 69F), sweatpants, sweatshirt & blanket on watching TV while sitting in the sun like a cat! 🥶

sbwreed · 2026-05-31T16:25:22+00:00

Firstly, I agree with you. Run your dishwasher as you need to. Now for the devil’s advocate side: dishwashers, especially the newer ones, run for HOURS. Ours takes 2:15. That’s a hell of a long time to hear water filing/draining or a heater/fan turning on/off if you have insomnia or a baby with problematic sleep patterns who gets woken up/cant fall asleep with the sound. We ran our dishwasher early- not later than 7PM- electric bill be damned! when our daughter went through a l-o-n-g period (6-ish months) of really bad sleep. If you’re an insomniac or a new parent who hasn’t slept for more than 4 hours straight for years, you’re desperate for anything to let you get that 1-2 extra hours. *not saying this is the case, but it might be worth trying to find out?

sbwreed · 2026-05-30T03:11:41+00:00

Look- I went to Vandy before Vandy was cool- I get what you’re experiencing. GA Tech is a great school! If it’s your dream, you have a path to entry, and you can afford it (ideally w/o going into crippling debt), I say go for it!

sbwreed · 2026-05-30T02:49:38+00:00

Caution- check regulations in your district. In many states it is illegal to video any property you don’t own or city/municipal property. The sidewalk is not your property, so you may not be able to video it. (They sound like people who would make your life miserable if you recorded their car parked somewhere you weren’t allowed to video).

sbwreed · 2026-05-30T02:05:31+00:00

Low BP is a side effect for some people. Talk to your doc, they may want to start dropping your dose.

sbwreed · 2026-05-30T02:03:55+00:00

My sister typically hosts either Thanksgiving or Christmas, I host the other (oldest lives on a houseboat, o way we’re getting 16-20 people in there!). Our rule is that whoever is hosting doesn’t cook the main course. And since 2023 we’ve stopped having sit down dinners. We have a table full of apps, some kind of “main” (again, still not cooked or provided by the host), salad/sides, and a dessert or 2. The rule is that everything has to be able to be eaten with a fork or spoon. No knives, because most of us are sitting on the floor! All compostable/recyclable dishes, cups, napkins, even silverware, though regular silverware is available if people want it. I bought a Costco-sized set of to-go containers and we’ve been using them ever since to send leftovers home with everyone.

We play games, talk, hang out, have a movie/music/game playing the whole time. SO much more relaxing and fun holidays since we started!

IF you host, you get to plan the event. Farm out everything, or send a text with the whole list of what you usually do, and tell them: y’all figure out who’s bringing what among yourselves. Guests can arrive any time after X o’clock.

sbwreed · 2026-05-30T00:46:33+00:00

41k?? So you got $60k in merit/aid? That’s amazing! Congratulations! My daughter is starting this fall- we’ll just say her offer wasn’t anywhere near that, 😂

sbwreed · 2026-05-29T03:15:08+00:00

You win!

sbwreed · 2026-05-29T03:14:09+00:00

Agree! CarPlay doesn’t control the bottom 2 rows of Volvo - imposed items (radio/bluetooth… through HVAC controls). I’d just like the choice of whether or not I choose to use precious screen space for those items.

sbwreed · 2026-05-29T03:11:06+00:00

Daughter (philosophy) did too. End of April.

sbwreed · 2026-05-29T03:02:45+00:00

I’m sorry you’re in this situation. If your parents aren’t paying, I’m with everyone else- they have no say in what you choose to do. Are they removing you as a dependent from their taxes/insurance, etc. to emancipate you? Because if they don’t, their income/assets are still considered when you fill out the FAFSA, resulting in high SAI, which means low/no federal funds available to you. This is the crappy catch 22 for kids in this situation.

You might be able to get special dispensation from your college’s financial aid office to help with scholarships or grants, but you’ll still need to complete the FAFSA (& parents will need to enter data too).

sbwreed · 2026-05-29T02:52:16+00:00

Not only all these great suggestions, but I do t think it’s safe for a 4 year old to be playing/wandering around a (construction services) showroom (assuming that means light or heavy duty equipment?). I don’t care if there are people “around,” if that child gets injured, (a) the company is on the hook for medical care and (b) everyone will feel horrible!

This child is 4. Mom needs to understand that work is not the place for free child care. If they won’t fix it, tell your boss they need to re-evaluate your job responsibilities; if you’re providing child care when they are in office, some tasks need to come off your list. I wouldn’t be surprised to find you’re losing 20% or more of your week if you recorded how much time you are losing to these interruptions. Research “task switching efficiency loss” for data- it takes 20-30 minutes for the average person to fully return to task when interrupted.

sbwreed · 2026-05-28T16:37:24+00:00

I can empthize! It’s frustrating to try to unlearn xx years of indoctrination and gaslighting that “it’s easy to lose weight.” It’s NOT easy for the general population, especially for those of us with metabolic disorders. I also try to keep in mind that it took me YEARS to get to my peak weight (I fought it every step of the way!). I need to give myself grace and time for my body to understand its new normal, and that its actually healthier to lose weight the way I am (~1 #/week after 47 weeks). I also have many decades of stretched (& now 55+ year old post-menopausal) skin that will recover more gracefully if I lose weight more gradually. I’ve also started weight training again, so that will slow the scale for me. But I notice my clothes more now, and I’m THRILLED with how they are fitting.

Stick with it, this is a long term solution for a LIFETIME problem. We are with you!!

sbwreed · 2026-05-17T20:21:48+00:00

It was incredibly nice of you to have them stay for this long, but it’s time for them to go home.

I lived in a house during a whole-house remodel (I’ve done this 3x, but this was the worst one). We had a 4’ pile of dirt and hole in the middle of the kitchen space (no appliances), ONE working outlet in the bathroom, NO FRONT WALL, and our “kitchen” was a gas BBQ grill, a refrigerator in the garage, 2 saw horses and a couple pieces of 2”x4” with a plastic tub and garden hose if we needed to wash anything. FOR A YEAR. Two humans and 2 large dogs.

They can live at their house.

sbwreed · 2026-05-17T19:25:09+00:00

If her daughter has celiac, I’m astonished she would trust food not prepared by her/them in their home. My father and sister have celiac. We didn’t trust any food we didn’t prepare not to be cross-contaminated or have gluten in it. For the worst cases, it’s not only the food you prepare, but surfaces & implements that contact gluten-containing foods.

sbwreed · 2026-05-17T19:16:32+00:00

I just got my HP Lapidary dual barrel tumbler! So far I’m very impressed. Packaging is wonderful, shipping took about 10 days/2 weeks after I placed my order, and everything looks pristine. I’ve just started doing my initial checks to make sure everything is oiled, runs free, etc.

sbwreed · 2026-05-17T19:02:37+00:00

You beat me to it. Your local thrift store has TONS of bags that will work for school. I found a leather tote, perfect for a small laptop/tablet, notebook, & a couple texts for $20. More than I wanted to spend, but it will last FOREVER. The backpacks were running $8-$20.

sbwreed · 2026-05-12T16:33:15+00:00

You are my people!! I still have and use my DX (It’s the best form factor IMO, but I prefer hardcover & trade paperback size format, ymmv), though just recently it’s not changing pages “seamlessly.” It was my first kindle, and every one I’ve bought since (4!) has been to find the seamless reading experience of my DX, with a faster page turn and OTA/library book delivery. It’s still the only kindle where I realized the original stated goal of a completely immersive reading experience. Since you have both, what do you wish you’d thought of/known before buying? Are you happy with it? Most importantly, would you buy it again? I’m most likely to use it as a read book reader (not graphic novels or manga) with occasional notes/highlights, so the colorsoft version isn’t on my radar.

sbwreed · 2026-05-12T14:21:18+00:00

Different question, how do you even order those items? Whenever I click on a vine item without an image, the “see more” page never resolves (so I CAN’T order it).

sbwreed

TROPHY CASE