I live in the US and I haven’t noticed any xenophobia. I have heard a couple of people refer to “Russians” like we are a monolith but they were still understanding of someone like me who is very anti-war.

You can still leave but you might have to jump through hoops. My mom had to go to Kazakhstan to get an American visa to come visit me because all embassies are closed in Russia.

Our family was on a road trip, and I made tuna salad sandwiches in the morning. We ended up never stopping for lunch, and in the evening I went to throw away the sandwiches. “They can’t be that bad,” said my husband, “you only made them this morning.” I gave him a “really?” look and continued to throw the sandwiches away.

Apparently this made my usually intelligent and science-minded husband eager to play the tuna roulette. He grabbed a sandwich and took a small bite “see, they are fine!” I called him crazy and threw the rest away. “You’re going to regret that,” I said.

The next morning, we are getting ready to drive to Bandolier National Monument, about a 45-min drive from our hotel. Everything is fine, my husband is driving. All of a sudden, he says “Shit.”

“What is it, baby?” “I need to go. Like, right now.”

He ends up crouching behind a lone scraggly tree next to the road while pooping pure shit water. The rest of his family pass us by in their other two cars. One of them stops as he wildly gestures for them to keep going. They finally get the hint and leave.

Yeah, we never made it to Bandolier that day. But he only had to shit one more time by the road on the way back to the hotel, so that was a win.

He has since agreed that my food safety knowledge is superior and developed a healthy respect for mayonnaise’s ability to ruin a fun day.

Feeemales

I wish I could draw awesome opossums! A lot of them come from the Crazy Opossum Lady, but this one didn’t have a signature on it, so I’m not sure.

It’s always the cheese.

Totally does!

That’s me and my husband. We make up silly little songs, do funny voices and just get weird together. It’s the best!

The interest doesn’t stop accruing (that’s how it’s spelled) just because you make payments. Go gargle Trump’s balls some more.

😮🍄💦

Heights. There was some movie or show where people were hanging from a skyscraper window after an earthquake, and I regularly have vivid nightmares about it. It’s not to the point of a phobia but a really strong fear. I went up the Seattle space needle with my husband, and he was clowning against the glass while I was only able to stay in the middle. Had nightmares about him falling or me falling off it ever since.

TIL!

It was delicious!

Thank you! This pastry class gave him some much-needed confidence.

Brazo de Mercedes is lemon custard wrapped in soft meringue. Not easy to make, and it didn’t come out perfectly, but it was delicious! Incredibly proud of him - he is taking a pastry class at school, and this is the result of his hard work.

Haven’t decided on the holiday plans yet, but my husband and I always go for a weekend getaway in the mountain town of Estes Park in Colorado, USA in early January.

We rent a cabin with a hot tub, eat at nice restaurants, and get couples massages. The town is quiet and sleepy after the holiday rush, but all the nice little shops are still open. It’s like our own Winter Wonderland.

And there is something magical about sitting in the hot tub looking at the stars while snow is all around you. We save up all year for this trip, and it’s totally worth it.

It really depends, I try to listen to my body and think of whether I’ve had enough water and food and sleep, then fixing the issue accordingly by either hydrating, eating, or taking a short nap (or doing yoga nidra).

If none of those are the issue or if the nap is not possible, I will try some caffeine (coffee in the morning, cacao in the afternoon).

And if I have a chance, I will listen to some brainwave music that stimulates beta waves in the brain for concentration.

Finally, meditation helps me. It can be a nice pick-me-up and an opportunity to recalibrate and reset.

Thank you for making this post, it reminded me that I didn’t knit all week, and now I’m motivated to go do that.

Pro-forced birth.