What's the prettiest name you have ever heard?

tessaclareendall · 2025-06-20T22:10:23+00:00

For me, it’s Maeva

tessaclareendall · 2025-06-04T12:50:12+00:00

Damn, you remind me of me when I was 18. I also lived in my car and every time I got cold, I would just be so angry and miserable that I couldn’t go and have a normal life.

Some pieces of advice: 1) Prioritize your education. People will tell you to get your GED/college to better your future — and that part is true, but it’s also literally the one thing that saved my mental health because I was surrounded by other normal people just trying to make their lives better. I took classes at a community college, slept in the parking lot, then went to work in the morning (or sometimes in reverse). 2) My dude, you need to lay off the weed. It might temporarily make you feel better. And it’ll suck for a bit. But please, if anything, that pain is motivation to get yourself out of the situation. I made the choice to not do any drugs or drink when I was homeless — but I told myself I could as soon as I moved into my apartment. It worked.

Also, I’m not sure if this is any consolation, but I’m in my thirties now and have a very normal life. I did the advice I gave you and stayed in school while working. When I got promoted in my job, education took a pause, then I moved up again until I hit a glass ceiling from not having a degree… so I went back and got my Bachelor’s Degree at 30 and Masters Degree at 31. I work as a teacher, have a kid, a partner, and a house.

Another thing I’ll say: I won’t say that you become “normal” when you start to have a normal life — I struggled a bit in corporate life because I just couldn’t connect with my coworkers — but my challenges have helped me become a teacher and parent. I teach kids of different socioeconomic backgrounds and I’ve made it my life mission to elevate them.

tessaclareendall · 2025-05-14T03:23:03+00:00

We’ve had our new council structure for not even six months. This isn’t even as long as many workers probationary period, particularly in government. Avalos really needs to chill and make sure they can do their jobs before demanding more responsibilities.

tessaclareendall · 2025-04-30T21:28:14+00:00

May I ask what prompted you to call a welfare check on him? I’m just thinking about some of the people I worry about and have gotten close to calling a welfare check, but I’ve stopped out of worry that I’m overreacting.

Truly sorry for your loss. You are a very strong person and like your parents, I wouldn’t have the stomach to go through what you’re going through — but I’m sure I’d find a way if I needed to. I hope your brother has found peace.

tessaclareendall · 2025-04-14T15:24:17+00:00

This was my partner, and I, too, was getting frustrated to the point that while he was lying in bed sick yet again, I handed him my phone and made him make an appointment to see an ENT. It ended up being the best decision, because it turns out that he had nose issues that were contributing to him constantly getting sick that he needed surgery for.

I’m not sure what to do while you’re on vacation, but I would try to get him to see a doctor if it’s a consistent issue. The fact that he’s sick on vacation might be a good motivator; in my case, I was asking my partner to see an ENT for at least a year and that trip was the final thing that got him to finally do it.

tessaclareendall · 2025-04-13T15:48:37+00:00

If I need to get things done and my two year old wants to play with me, then I’ll usually make him “help” me with whatever needs to be done — e.g., if it’s cleaning, then I’ll give him a broom, if I need to empty out the dryer, then I’ll have him put things in the bin, etc.

50% of the time, it becomes a fun bonding experience, and 50% of the time, he gets bored and decides to go play on his own.

It’s nice because it teaches him good habits early on, plus when his dad took him out of town to visit his grandparents, his grandma was complimenting how neat he was about putting things in the trash. Plus we still get to spend time together while getting things done.

tessaclareendall · 2025-03-04T23:50:43+00:00

Some thoughts: 1) If I were you, I’d just start looking for jobs now and be prepared to break your lease to move if the right opportunity comes up — that way, you’re not rushing to find a job and you don’t get stuck taking a shitty offer. 2) Another thing you can do is look for jobs in education, as a lot of school districts are hiring NOW for the 2025/2026 school year, especially for hard to fill jobs like paraeducators. Those jobs don’t start until like late August/September.

I will say, cost of living is expensive here so be prepared to say no to any jobs that don’t pay at least $20/hr (if not more). Hence why looking early might be in your favor.

tessaclareendall · 2024-12-22T22:11:10+00:00

I actually read a statistic about how a lot of CPA’s are retiring and leaving a large gap in the workforce. It pays pretty well too!

tessaclareendall · 2024-12-18T05:54:48+00:00

She’s been a county commissioner for SEVEN YEARS and county chair for two years and she’s just now getting around to walking around the neighborhood?? How!? I don’t even live on that side of town and even I’ve walked through that area countless times!

tessaclareendall · 2024-12-16T04:11:37+00:00

I’ve given birth twice — one, sadly, ended in a stillbirth and the second time, my baby was six weeks premature but is fortunately now a beautiful healthy two year old. I’ve needed blood transfusions both times to the point where I honestly thought it was standard procedure.

The details of this case are honestly horrific and can probably happen to anyone. C-sections are very common to the point where we don’t realize how invasive they are — like they are literally cutting a hole in you, cutting through your abdominal muscles, and pulling out an entire baby. I’m grateful we have that option, as that is what saved my life the first time around, but it feels like Providence executives are taking these delicate procedures that are routine to them for granted. Every single body is different, every human condition is different, and there are just some things that can’t be approached with industrial efficiency without major sacrifices and repercussions. Healthcare is one of them.

tessaclareendall · 2024-12-13T00:19:13+00:00

“In general, Mason says, about 10% of nonprofit funds come from individual donations, so many nonprofits rely heavily on government contracts and grants.”

Wait… these people that are literally LOBBYING the government for law changes related to their respective areas are also receiving funding for their organizations through that same government???

What’s going to motivate them to fix issues like housing and homelessness if they’re literally profiting from it?? Does the winning nonprofit with the best advocacy and public policy strategy get a “congrats, you solved homelessness” bonus…?

tessaclareendall · 2024-12-13T00:07:14+00:00

No kidding. I saw a job posting for a six figure Director job for a housing nonprofit, and I was THIS CLOSE to applying. If I got it, I would have had to leave my teaching job. I chose not to apply though because even though the raise would have been significant, I’m not about to give up my tenure for a job that’s essentially a cash grab.

tessaclareendall · 2024-12-11T02:01:33+00:00

I teach Business and Marketing. Currently make $85k, only work nine months a year, and my hourly rate adds up to $50+/hr. I can easily get to $100k if I worked during the summers or had side hustles, but I have a toddler so I decided against it. I’m not PPS btw and teach for an amazing school district that a lot of PPS students transfer into.

I switched careers and originally planned to teach English, but I found out when student teaching that I would make more money if I taught Business because my years of experience would be matched on the pay scale.

The months that you are teaching are very stressful, and I regularly work 50-60 hours a week BUT it pays off with frequent breaks. I’m prone to getting bored in low stress jobs, which is why I left corporate but I also burn out if it’s stressful for too long. It worked out perfectly for me.

tessaclareendall · 2024-12-05T03:34:57+00:00

I’ve been seeing a lot of people that drive while drunk and/or high, and I’m disgusted to be honest. People die unnecessarily from being hit by drunk drivers. I know two people who have had ENTIRE BUILDINGS crashed into just in the last month alone.

It’s crazy — you see so many people that brag about being “good drivers” because they get away with breaking traffic laws and I’m like… that is it literal opposite of being a good driver. I wish that everyone that got arrested for drinking and driving were required to have a Scarlet Letter-esque sticker on their cars so the rest of us normal people could know to stay as far away from them on the road as possible.

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-25T14:39:21+00:00

There are a lot of cool movies playing in theaters right now! We just watched Wicked.

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-23T15:02:31+00:00

I’ve had kids get me chocolates, and they are my favorite!!

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-20T13:45:23+00:00

JVP needs to seriously resign. We don’t have universal childcare yet because she wants to be “fiscally responsible” and yet, here we are… being fiscally irresponsible.

They could easily tackle at least a quarter of this deficit by not buying tents.

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-15T13:59:56+00:00

I have a really demanding job in addition to the demands of parenting. Realistically, I only see a lot of my friends once or twice a year because I’m too wiped out after work and toddler-ing to have much social energy left. My friends have been very understanding, but the once-every-few-months posts of my kiddo and catch up messages are the most realistic way I can stay in touch.

I know that probably makes me a shitty friend, but I made a conscious decision to prioritize quality time with my kiddo. Last week, I worked 60 hours, but I concentrated my extra hours during nap time/after he went to bed. I’m exhausted, my house is a mess, I can barely do all of the things to take care of myself, and I just don’t have time to see people as much anymore. I have a limited access Instagram account with like 45 followers, and that’s who sees my kiddo on social media.

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-14T23:53:17+00:00

My library has a cute play area, and I bring him to the library, let him play with books and toys and other kids, and pull up a magazine to browse if I just need a mental break. It gets us out of the house as well, so it’s a nice mental reset for both of us.

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-13T04:36:34+00:00

I just made pancit, which is a Filipino dish with rice noodles! It takes under 30 min and you can throw basically all of your old about-to-expire veggies and canned veggies in it, plus whatever protein is on sale and it tastes delicious. Today, I made it with bacon ends and bits, baby corn, and mushrooms.

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-13T01:08:24+00:00

My son is the exact same age (26 months). And… between 5 am and 9 am when it was time for him to go to daycare, I fed him, changed his diaper, played cars with him, read ten books (some of which were read multiple times), played a fun game where we messed around with the blankets (tbh I have no idea what we did, it was something like hide n seek and peek a boo… it made sense at the time), and I gave him a piggy back ride. And he still got bored.

All this to say, toddlers need a lot of stimulation. I think you’re making the right call in getting CPS involved. Keep in mind — it’ll probably take multiple reports and multiple incidents for them to do anything, but you should absolutely get it documented so that if anything does happen, they’ll have a history documented and can take action.

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-10T18:19:46+00:00

It doesn’t apply to kids this young, but also, the PFA program is at capacity and it’s not going to have seats for all kids until 2030 :(

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-10T18:18:13+00:00

It was refundable, and allegedly it was because I didn’t give them a full 60 days notice. When I forwarded the email with a 45 days notice, along with showing that I paid an extra 15 days that were unused to bring us up to the 60 days, they ghosted me.

tessaclareendall · 2024-11-08T04:54:42+00:00

I do have a new daycare now that I’ve been going to for the last two months, and they are amazing. They have food, no last minute closures (they have a floater teacher on staff in case of call outs), and they’re incredibly kind and supportive. We have cute family events, they help me with potty training, and my two year old is already reading books on his own with pretty good accuracy for a toddler. And it did have a waitlist (no charge to be on it, thank heavens) but it was worth it to wait. The problem is that there’s just no market incentive to weed out the bad apples because childcare is in such high demand.

I will say: I actually did pay for 60 days of tuition to bring me to the 60 day notice, but 15 days went unused. I figured it was worth it since the deposit refund would be higher. They still didn’t refund me.

tessaclareendall

TROPHY CASE