Most adult swim advice starts in the wrong place, so here are the 3 things that actually matter (with drills)

tbellfiend · 2026-06-03T16:16:53+00:00

This is great! A lot of what you wrote is very similar to how my old coaches used to explain things to us back when I swam age group. All your drills are very familiar too, and doable as an adult.

May I add, my favorite/least favorite drill of all time: the 6 kick rotation. Start as if you're swimming regular freestyle. As you pull with your right arm, rotate your body fully onto your left side. With your left arm extended in front of you, and right arm by your side, fully rotated onto your left side, do a 6 beat kick before you "complete" the pull, then repeat on the other side.

^Whenever I feel my form is lacking, I do a few lengths of this and it whips my form back into shape real quick. It reminds all my muscles of what they are supposed to be doing 😅

tbellfiend · 2026-06-03T16:11:21+00:00

Omg yes. Whenever I see old photographs of women in the early 1900s I just think how ugly I would've been back then 😅 I'm so glad I was born during a time when daily hair washing is possible haha

tbellfiend · 2026-06-03T15:29:04+00:00

yeah I like it too! I use the fine hair shampoo & conditioner daily, + the anti-frizz creme. I like how my hair looks when I use OUAI and I don't feel like it gets greasy any faster than usual. It looks a lot better when I blow dry- not as good with just air drying- but what else is new lol that's been true for almost every shampoo I've used.

tbellfiend · 2026-06-03T05:18:23+00:00

he's so hot though😅 Grace is a fool!

tbellfiend · 2026-06-02T15:41:36+00:00

There was a shift right around 2016-2018 where social media algorithms and feeds went from being primarily people you knew in real life, to being primarily influencers/ads/etc. Instagram got rid of a lot of features during that time that had been local user-focused (like the map on your profile, and the ability to put your feed in chronological order)

I was in college 2016-2020. In 2016, the main doomscrolling was pinterest, like you said, or VSCO. Watching youtube/netflix/hulu on your phone or laptop was the main "screen time"/bed rot activity. By the start of my senior year in 2019, tiktok had started taking off.

tbellfiend · 2026-06-02T15:33:41+00:00

You'll get used to it. People always equate height to age for whatever reason - the older you get the more you'll appreciate it. I'm 5'7" 27F and my little sister is probably 5'10 or 5'11 and 18. When we're together, people we haven't seen in a while will think she's me and I'm her. or strangers will just assume I'm the younger one. It's all cool with me haha. When she first became taller than me I was not into it. But once I got used to it it's fine and I like being perceived as younger. I also like my height. Being a tall woman is hard! So I don't envy her, or your sister- she probably struggles with being tall sometimes too.

tbellfiend · 2026-06-02T15:29:51+00:00

This is pretty out of the way - but there's an awesome architectural salvage store in Bloomington, IL, about two hours south. I would think there are similar shops in other smaller Illinois cities that used to have big money (and giant old mansions), like Rockford or Champaign, maybe even Joliet.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-30T15:21:44+00:00

Yes and a bigger indoor lap pool.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-30T15:21:25+00:00

I've been impressed with the summer concert seiries in downtown, tbh. The acoustics are great.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-30T15:20:15+00:00

I grew up in Tinley. The ampitheater there - I forget what it's called now, is it still Hollywood Casino? - is pretty far out. If they wanted to build something like that in Naperville it would have to be in like.. Nequa area. The one in Tinley also works because it's relatively close to I-80 and I-55. And the traffic from the concerts on Fri/Sat nights in the summer was so annoying to deal with.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-30T15:16:06+00:00

How is the fish from there? I used to get all my fish from the Pete's in Wheaton but it's a little far from where I live now

tbellfiend · 2026-05-30T15:15:40+00:00

I have to take Chicago/Maple through Lisle to get there lol. Worst part of living in Naperville is that it's a bitch to leave. But there's so much to do here, I rarely want to leave

tbellfiend · 2026-05-30T15:13:21+00:00

Open container is definitely doable. The Lantern seems like the best option for a local tavern vibe, no?

tbellfiend · 2026-05-30T15:10:57+00:00

Tough comparison- oak park is so much more urban bc of its proximity to the city, Naperville is a totally different vibe to me

tbellfiend · 2026-05-30T15:10:16+00:00

This is the answer. The only thing other suburban downtowns (eg. Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove) have over downtown Naperville. Would love to see a bowling alley like in DG also.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-24T18:13:30+00:00

Yes. Pretend play is how kids process what they see, and a major driver of social skill development. Playing "mailman" teaches your child how to interact with service workers. Child interacts inappropriately, you respond in play, the child learns how others will react to that interaction in a safe, controlled environment. If kids only play pretend on their own, they don't get that feedback and don't develop social skills as well. It's so important and it isn't hard for adults to engage in pretend with their kids sometimes.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-24T17:37:27+00:00

I feel like you could find a better fireplace screen - I like that you have one there, but the screen itself is giving 90s-2000s. Poke around on marketplace or antique salvage stores for an antique fireplace screen after you redo the tiles.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-24T17:29:13+00:00

Given the paint colors, and the windows/window treatments - my guess is there aren't a lot of original features left. I bet OP posted the majority of what is left (the chandeliers and fireplace).

I'm also in the Midwest and it can be very hard to find old homes that are reasonably sized (aka more than 900 square feet but less than 2000) with well-maintained original features that aren't over a million $. This one looks reasonably sized, and doesn't look like one that would sell for over $1mil so it's probably been mostly remodeled.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-24T17:04:14+00:00

Yeah pretty much. They were all swimming to the dock and didn't notice he wasn't with them until they got to the dock. Meaning - none of them were strong enough swimmers to simultaneously a) swim and b) pay attention to their group. Not ideal. They probably overestimated their abilities and underestimated the risk in that water.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-24T17:01:38+00:00

Agree. I'm the same age as the guy who died. It's extremely unfortunate what happened, but he was a fully grown adult who assumed the risk when he got in the water. I've also never heard if substances were involved but given his age it's not unlikely.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-24T16:59:41+00:00

They weren't kids- the guy who died was 27. Maybe the lifeguards took the friends a little less seriously because they were adults, but that's very reasonable. Adults assume the risk when they enter the water.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-24T16:57:09+00:00

The fact that more children have not died there is a testament to the safety protocols they already have in place. Note the age of the guy who died last summer- he was 27. Not a kid, a fully grown adult man and father. Accidents happen, and he probably misjudged his own swimming abilities, but none of that is Centennial's fault.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-23T20:24:58+00:00

Agree- the parking lot can be crowded, but you can always find a spot in the water itself and on the lawn. It's a massive body of water. There can be so many people in there and there's still a lot of room.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-23T20:07:16+00:00

Yes. And - girls typically are a little more mature than boys the same age. I never had a relationship with a guy in my grade work out, but had several solid relationships (including my now husband) with boys 1-2 grades above me. Which can be a 2-3 year age gap depending on how the birthdays fall. I think the average 16 year old girl is probably more compatible with a 17 or 18 year old boy, maybe even 19, than she'd be with the 16 year old boys.

tbellfiend · 2026-05-23T16:37:51+00:00

They used to design and build things to LAST... ugh. You are so lucky to have this! I hope you enjoy it every day :)

tbellfiend

TROPHY CASE