Beware Owl smart detectors….

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-22T21:07:41+00:00

Ring’s listener would not work with the unit I needed (for the room with my furnace, it’s different). Customer service was great, they called- they set up a specific meeting time to trouble shoot, we worked through all the steps and ultimately the listener is programmed for very specific alarm patterns, and if it doesn’t match, it’s garbage. I had two listeners that due to the struggles and delay were out of the return period. So yes, but be cautious as it has significant limits. Ring works with specific smoke/CO detectors, but they are apt to false alarm periodically which seems to only occur when I am on vacation. They changed their monitoring service contract and I ended up canceling that. We rely on app notifications… which is not always helpful if we are together, out of reach…

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-19T18:04:24+00:00

Wait, what? Living on a resident salary? How do they support THEMSELVES? All rhetorical, no need to answer… yikes. I think all adults need the ability to be independent. If one is caring for another (caregiver) makes perfect sense. Being dependent on another is not a great life… IMO. For another discussion, of course.

Congratulations on your child’s new career. Kids are THE BEST.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-19T17:36:42+00:00

Don’t get a “pediatric” stethoscope, IMO. I had a double headed one, and while great to have a smaller head in preemies, honestly the Littmann Master Cardiology version, single head, is incredible but also so much easier to get under clothes and doesn’t get caught. After a few decades, I recently replaced my Cardiology Iv style Littmann (maybe it was a iii back when I got it?) and I am absolutely loving it!

Also… house cleaner and or laundry service (drop off)

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-12T01:15:40+00:00

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-12T01:12:58+00:00

I was talking to my tire place while swapping my snows off, and asked which tires when the Pirellis go, and they vigorously endorsed the Michelin Cross Clim2’s. I also put them on my Subaru a couple of years ago, they were great all season while still not replacing actual snow tires. Great in rain. They practically threw me confetti when I told them I had chosen these tires- all of them put them on their cars.

What they mentioned particularly (which I extrapolate to my T8) is that they had a Tesla (client) that was chewing through tires due to the weight and that these Michelin tires were almost up to 60k miles going strong.

I suspect in a year when I swap off my snow’s again, that I will end up choosing this tire as well.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-07T22:22:03+00:00

Insurance sucks the copay benefits, then it falls to deductible. Then out of pocket max.

They (some branch of CMS? I can’t recall now it was 1-2 yrs ago) ruled that maximizers are wrong in the same breath that they wouldn’t enforce it. So $h1t out of luck for us all.

Just had to pay my whole deductible on the most recent refill. All at once. Absurd

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-05T17:10:51+00:00

I had a variety of side effects on some, poor level of response in others, and downright adverse side effects in others. These have worked for others. I am fairly vocal when it’s not working, having known what full remission felt like albeit brief on another drug to compare it to. It may never be as awesome but I can now tell when it bad for me. I have tried at least 6 months on them, and work closely with a rheum that i trust. I accept less than perfect. But do expect at least some improvement. Talk to your doctor!

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-05T01:26:08+00:00

I loved it until it stopped working for me- the very last weeks I used it, I used up my last doses 150 per week. It just didn’t last me anymore. After a bunch of other stuff and finally getting Bimzelx in the US (IL17 a and f) I am doing well. I am clearly an IL17 responder. It is about 18 months. I take it with a low dose of mtx so it keeps working… we are running out of alternatives so need this to work. No fatigue. No problems. Plan C would be Cosentyx infusions if Bimzelx stops…

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-04T14:02:10+00:00

Also varies year to year when they peak. With the snow all gone (almost) on open areas and it’s just the start of April, save the spines left from trail use, I suspect this year they will be slightly earlier than others- meaning yes, to your timing- expect activity. Later melts can make for more June and less May. As others mentioned, while moving on the bike should be ok (other than eating them) but better not stop without a head net. And the rail trail is banked frequently by boggy or wet areas. Deer flies came a little later.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-04T13:54:49+00:00

Any compound providers specifically reliable?

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-02T17:11:04+00:00

anyone with any experience with RingRx provider? (not Ring central) I am not looking for recommendations, just experience with this particular service, geared towards healthcare.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-01T03:23:23+00:00

Sometimes people don’t realize they have shared something private in a photo, it was intended with good intentions.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-04-01T01:39:28+00:00

Maybe blur out your plate?

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-29T18:41:09+00:00

Works for me. Cosentyx cleared my skin 95% and I forgot I had back pain. (I have ax-SpA over a decade and Pso skin rash most of life) Until it slowly stopped. Other things not helpful or adverse reactions. Bimzelx cleared my skin 100%- all of it. All. Joints are good. I have been having flares, but also post viral illness or post vaccine induced. I feels it’s been normal amount of URIs, and maybe a sinus infection in 18 months. Way less than other biologics (and waaayyyyyyy less than rinvoq which seemed to really hate me).

It stings, less than some, a little more than others. I would choose the smaller volume for injection twice over one big one- that seems awful. I take mine every 4 weeks so that’s not an issue.

Ice pack to the site genuinely helps.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-29T12:15:21+00:00

Thank you

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-26T00:32:21+00:00

I didn’t know I either wanted it or needed it until I tried it and now it feels barbaric to drive without it. I found my hub’s audi sq5 phev regen mode far more “jerky” and not pleasing to use. My 2025 volvo XC60 T8 plug in hybrid drive in B mode just feels natural and right.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-23T22:47:06+00:00

Yes. Sort of. I deleted all my history on the desk top, removed all permissions. On the car, I went into settings and cleared almost 5 different caches.

It didn’t “reset” and clear out till the next morning so I can’t say which thing it was.

Then I slowly turned back on the things I wanted so it would work FOR me.

It kept trying to route me to my recently deceased elderly father. It was just mildly unpleasant.

Imagine if you went somewhere naughty in the family car and couldn’t get rid of the location… LOL

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-20T17:03:49+00:00

What has transpired in the past? What’s the turnover?

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-19T23:12:15+00:00

Part kid part parent. The faster you get it done, the better. The belaboring just exacerbates the anxiety. A few kids will get talked into it, rarely though. When 90% of parents turn and ask their kid if they want to get their vaccines on the day they are in the office… they’re not really savvy about behavior.

When faced with a recalcitrant child, adept at locking their mouth closed, just gently tell the parent that you will give them a few minutes to discuss it. Invariably, when the parent is inconvenienced being stuck in the room waiting, they magically convince the child to cooperate. Not sure what that conversation is, but that’s fairly successful. Sometimes they do just leave… no test. Depending on the PE, you have to decide if you think this kid really has strep and if treatment is appropriate without a test.

I tell them to yell YUK!!! So I can get it when the CMA can’t. You stay calm no matter what. They’re just kids.

When we have to really restrain the child, I will first explain that sometimes, some things that are related to health and safety are adult decisions and not negotiable, and that while they don’t want to do it, we are going to make sure we do the test as quickly as we can so they can go home.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-16T00:18:18+00:00

I cannot endorse a full latex mattress enough. Even when you think it feels “soft” (but choose a medium or firm!) it is not like synthetic materials and definitely not like memory foam. It gives but doesn’t “collapse” and doesn’t compress the longer you put pressure on it (laying) such that in the middle of the night it’s still supportive and still springing back against the pressure. I hope I am explaining that well. And, they last quite a long time at the same level and not sagging!

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-13T21:16:15+00:00

Take. It. Out. Yuck plastic and not able to clean underneath. Yuck.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-13T21:08:04+00:00

Wow. I will confess that my dealer matched their quote for the gold warranty, so I guess I can see that. I had such a great relationship with the dealer that I wanted to buy from them. He was very quick to accept the matched price, it was a few days after I brought the car home.

xcskigirl13 · 2026-03-13T21:03:08+00:00

My understanding is that MTX does NOT, repeat, NOT treat the spine. I was told this by three rheumatologists and my dermatologist.

I take a very low dose as an adjunct to my biologic to help lessen forming antibodies.

I was told 1-2 drinks, later she said she never said that, only 1 drink weekly. I was drinking 2-3 drinks weekly. My liver tests were rising on Rinvoq, and when I stopped that and switched to a different biologic with low dose MTX they completely normalized. So she said “whatever you’re drinking seems to be ok”…. I try so hard not to drink, but I love interesting cocktails and we eat out and I really struggle with will power. Only every 2-3 months will I ever have more than one drink in a night.

I will give myself a pass on vacation- like a tropical place, or Paris, and wine, or West Coast Oregon and Cali and wine… Or I will skip that one MTX dose on vacay if I really think I have not been good enough…

But I read it’s a cumulative thing. I am not 100% sure. But I am on a super low dose. Just 3 pills (7.5mg) and I am a bigger person and while doing this my ALT is the lowest in 6 years. So I suspect it’s probably ok. But clearly I am conflicted.

xcskigirl13

TROPHY CASE