This is what backpacks are for. It's better for you to carry it in a good pack and I like to have my hands free. If I have to physically carry something in my hands, I'll inevitably leave something behind, trip over a bag, bang it into someone, it will tip over and spill the contents etc. Backpacks for the win, despite with the haters on the other thread say. When I'm old, my back will still be functional. Anyway, I carry gym clothes/shoes, plus a lunch and whatever else I need during the day. I do my best to minimize what I need but when you're away from home 10-14 hrs a day, you're going to need stuff.

I put things on my phone calendar which syncs to google (or vice versa) so no matter whether I add something to the calendar on my phone, ipod, or computer it will remind me on each device. I also put reminder alarms. Sometimes I set the reminder to go off at the time of the event (like for something I need to do at home) and other times I set the reminder for 5 min or 2 hrs or even one day ahead depending on what it is and what the consequences would be if I forgot it and how long it would take me to get there.

The other organized thing I do is do the majority of cooking on Sunday. I make something I can put into containers for lunch...this week it's shepherds pie, other weeks it might be a homemade soup of some kind etc. I put the entree in glass containers for each day of the week so I only have to grab a container, a piece of fruit, and a couple of veg (which may or may not be cut in advance depending on what it is) and then lunch is done. It's easy to do even if I don't pack my lunch bag the night before which I usually try to do. It makes getting out the door at 7 am possible.

I do the same for dinner except I don't pack it up individually. Of course you have to commit to your dinners in advance but it might be worth it for you to try it. On Fridays I tend to plan to eat out or at least grab something to go from the store on the way home. Whatever I cooked on Sunday is either no longer good or is gone. I recently started a delivery service that delivers fresh produce on Thursday mornings which is nice since I was eating out too much on the weekends because the fridge was looking pretty empty or not so fresh by Friday.

Those might be the only two areas of my life where I'm organized but those were the biggest ones for me and getting my calendar reminders set and meals organized has saved me a lot of hassle and headaches.

https://www.thestar.com/life/2016/09/13/if-you-leave-your-kids-alone-its-not-predatory-strangers-who-are-a-risk.html

A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook and it's an interesting read (IMO.) It essentially says that people's perceived level of danger is tied to whether they think something is immoral and that kids are in more danger from do-gooders who think they're helping than from actual dangerous people or situations. Would love to hear other people's thoughts. I know I played alone and didn't necessarily tell anyone where I was going as a kid, and I was definitely left alone in the car (with nothing to do! The horror!) while my mom shopped or ran other errands. I hated it but that doesn't mean that it was dangerous...just unkind. (Though as an adult I can appreciate why she left me rather than take me.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it was Santa- what present did he bring and why did he leave the body behind?

If Santa told JB a few days before Christmas (which apparently he did) that he would be back to give her a present after Christmas, then she wouldn't be startled to see him in her bedroom that night. He could've told her to be very quiet as they went downstairs. I also don't think the perpetrator planned to leave the body behind. I think she screamed and he couldn't get out as easy as he thought with her, so he killed her.

I think the plan was to get her out in the suitcase by the basement window but it wouldn't fit through the window like they thought and maybe around then Patsy got up and started running around the house looking for JB and the perpetrator had to get out w/o JB and thus killed her and went back out the window.

I listen to:

Suff Mom Never Told You
Stuff you Should Know
Stuff You Missed in History Class
Zero to Travel
Backstory
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
Stuff They Don't Want You to Know
The New York Public Library

and a few random other ones like Rick Steves Travel if the topic interests me and some other travel related ones if the topic catches my interest.

you get refunded the payment made to the first place and you need to find and book something else.

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to imagine this living situation. Are you just sharing a house? Are there separate entrances? How are you entering your home vs them entering theirs?

Why is it so hard to imagine a big house that's been divided into apartments with two studios in the basement, a family on the main floor and another apartment in the attic. These exist everywhere. The OP said she and the other basement tenant have a separate entrance and locking units. Just because the mailman delivers the mail to the porch (again not unusual for houses that have been converted to apartments) doesn't mean there's anything shady about anyone other than the idiots who don't read who the mail is actually for and just open everything.

I've had my current box for about 6 yrs and what's nice is I don't have to change my address when I move. You can't put a price on that.

I live in a similar type of situation and have my mail delivered to a post office box. It's a hassle and not ideal, but it's a solution to the problem. All mail is kept secure, no one opening credit card offers or new cards that come, packages aren't left out to be stolen or rained on etc. Just get a PO Box and call it good. These people sound like complete nightmares.

Did some shopping for my trip to Alaska next week.

Went to see Sully with a voucher I got from when the movie stopped playing when I saw Pete's Dragon.

Went to a bookstore and browsed w/o buying anything.

Came home for dinner and down time on the internet.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled to donate blood but I accidentally scheduled it during spin class which I haven't been to for 3 wks, so now I'm deciding which to ditch or if I can reschedule the blood donation for later in the morning. Then I need to clean house. Major cleaning needed. I've been busy this last month and have let too many things slide.

I'd be on the fence with this one. On one hand, if I liked the neighbor and wanted to foster good relations (you can't put a price tag on that) I'd want them to feel comfortable using my swing *occasionally* when the granddaughter was over. I wouldn't want to set a precedent that anytime time was OK though.

On the other hand, it would bug me to know end to know that someone I didn't really even know or have a neighborly relationship with (assuming that's the case) just waltzed over and went into my back yard.

I probably would have paused and said "I'm not really comfortable with that as it stresses the dog out for the rest of the day and oh, did you know there's a playground two doors down? That one is much better maintained than ours and there's benches where all the adults can hang out and talk. Good to see you, your granddaughter sure is getting big!"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of question asking is generally a sign of intelligence, or so said a study I read.

Sooooo maybe she's just really smart and you don't get it! Sorry!

+1

I don't agree with you. Those people asking "where did you buy ..." "How much did you pay..." "Why did you buy..." are generally envious who don't have a life. Smart and caring people ask different kind of questions. PERIOD

Or they're just interested in other people, which is, in fact, a sign of emotional intelligence.

Besides, OP's MIL is supposed to be dancing on tables or something? Of course she 'doesn't have a life' she's old! Get a grip!

An emotionally intelligent person knows when to stop because they can read non verbal cues from the person who's being peppered with nonstop inane questions. I'm with OP...this gets really old, really fast. It's one thing to ask about a job, or a vacation etc. but to barrage a person about a thrift store find? No. Any normal person would find that irritating after a while. Nobody wants to feel like they're on the witness stand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you should back off until the kids are adults and then they can ask you for help if they want it.

Until the kids are 18, you can make offers to assist...

18 is far too late to make much of a difference.

Kids would love to go to college and get away from home and step-father. But again, the household is ignorant about how to become prepared.

So set up regular "dates" with the boys where you invite them over for a day or an overnight, do something fun and sneak in some college talk.

Start slow and most importantly, have the right gear for the circumstances. It's not fun if you don't have rain gear and it's raining or you don't have warm enough gear or dry enough gear for the snow etc.

Comfortable, waterproof shoes and a rain shell are good starting points. Mostly, just get outside! Go on walks. Go for easy hikes and pack a lunch to have out and about at the hike. Try snowshoeing when the weather comes...easier and cheaper than skiiing. Go outside and kick a ball with the kids. If you have a dog, throw a ball/stick for the dog and run and play w/ the dog. Rake leaves and jump in... things like that. I think some people are just naturally more outdoorsy than others, but I think even indoor people can learn to enjoy being outside if they have the right gear for the conditions. I hated being outside until I figured that out. Being overly wet/cold are kind of deal breakers for me.

My parents didn't help out with college either. College isn't the be all end all. You can make money w/o a degree. So many people have degrees now that they're really pretty diluted unless you going into something very specific like nursing or engineering. A BA now is like a high school diploma was 30-40 yrs ago.

Unless they go into one of the above mentioned specific fields, they might be worse off w/ a degree since they will have tons of debt and no increased earning power. That's what happened to me. I'd be better off w/o my degree money wise. There are lots of programs at community colleges that might give them better earning potential w/o huge debt...like plumbing, welding, computer science, and mechanic programs. Don't think just because someone goes to college, they're set for life...or that because they didn't go to college they'll be living in poverty. It's just not so.