laylalex

FYI beauty lovers -- the Sephora sale is over on Monday 11/6 so hurry up! Everyone gets at least 10% off, and if you are a pathetic beauty monster like me and are a Rouge member, 20%. 30% on all Sephora brand items too.

Everything you said here! One of the things not mentioned during the Last Resort by Kalani is something she dropped on her IG. (No, I don't follow her on there but I do read the subreddit for 90Day because... reasons.) TW for SA. Kalani said Asuelu held her down and forced her to have sez. This assault, she says, resulted in her second child. This was not the only time he assaulted her. But I guess she felt she had to stay with him for the sake of the kids, even though he was an admitted cheater and (allegedly) assaulted her. Just papering over and papering over and hoping for the best in the face of absolute wretchedness. I'm glad she got out. We can laugh at how ridiculous a lot of these people are, but some of them have real problems. I hope Kalani has fun with her boy toy and then takes some time to heal on her own.

I don't see a problem with "dating up" so long as everyone understands what's involved and there's no games being played. The games are the grossest part of this, to me at least.

I could not believe that that was on "regular" TV!

Package sent today by Fedex.

Yeah, I joined Threads the other week, and it's a LOT less toxic than Twitter, but it's still a little difficult to navigate. The lack of a WebOS version sucks. I do have one other recommendation, and it's a bargain. I'd been using the very lovely and very expensive Charlotte Tilbury primer for some time, but I ran out before I remembered to reorder. On a whim, I picked up the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer while I was at a Target and wow. Wow! Everything stays in place all. day. long. for only $10. I am a convert! https://www.elfcosmetics.com/power-grip-primer/82846.html

They're called "spoolies." And now you know!

Just dropping in to report that my eyelashes are finally coming back in. And I have to laugh because they ARE actually thicker than before. 100% still would not recommend.

Everything is gathered now, and we'll be sending to the Phoenix Lockbox on Monday. Time has really shot by. So much has happened in the interim, including buying our first home together, supporting each other through some very tough stuff in both our families, and just growing together as a couple, and as ourselves. We've decided to take the attitude that removing conditions will take as long as it takes, and besides making sure he shows up for biometrics (if necessary) or the interview, we're just going to set it and forget it. When he's eligible to apply for citizenship, he will, but that's about it. We're together, which is what counts.

Last night: Excellent!!

We're also sending in next week -- the window is already open, but we decided to wait until we got back from vacation to torture ourselves!

Seattle, we are in you and we are buying your cider (and alcoholic ginger beer): I had the Harvest on the right - apples, pears, vanilla and cinnamon, that's it. AMAZING - light and crisp, not too much cinnamon. He had the ginger beer and it was snappy and very, VERY gingery. Saving the other two for tonight. And last night at dinner, we had pints of this: https://www.seattlecidercompany.com/home/dry-4/ Very clean, perfect accompaniment to the seafood we ate.

Maybelline/Revlon/Cover Girl have been working with male/nonbinary folks for quite a while in their campaigns. I mean, if people want to buy makeup, why not sell it to them?

I just watched the first 20 minutes while I was eating lunch. Opening up with that guy livestreaming his poop was not what I wanted as a side dish to my salad. 😖 How is he "moving" to the Philippines?

Recommendations requested! My husband and I are flying up to the PNW (Seattle, Vancouver and possibly more of BC) in about a week and a half, and I would love any recommendations for local brews. I like IPAs, but he generally does not, preferring stouts, lagers and bitters.

Yes, my husband came in on a L1B (blanket) while we were still dating. We needed more time to figure out our relationship, and when the opportunity came up for him at work, I told him to take it. Okay, I ordered him to. It gave us some extra breathing room a lot of LDR couples don't get to have, and we worked on our own timeline. He even got an extension before we got married. All in all, he was in the US for over three years before the wedding. AOS was straightforward. I highly recommend this path if it is open to you.

It's going to be mid-70s around 4, which is when we're heading over. Summer shandy could be great! I'll see if they stock it at Total Wine. Thank you!

I have had it! Very nice indeed. I think it's a seasonal (winter) pressing. When I was on a year abroad, we used to go to the Coronation Tap in Bristol where it was said the old landlord only served halves for ladies. When I was there, ladies could order full pints of everything BUT the Exhibition, which is strictly halves for everyone on account of safety (8.4%!). Someone I know who I may or may not be married to once put away 10 halves there, which ended in spectacular fashion halfway between the Cori Tap and his flat..... We're going to a cookout tomorrow evening --anyone have recommendations for a good beer to bring with us?

I do! Raspberry/framboise is a particular favorite. Lindemans of course, but also the 10 Barrel Raspberry Sour Crush. That can be really hard to find, though.

Certainly my friends are thinking about how to save, but they are middle class. Like me, my friends are generally mid- to late 30s, so peak time for having fairly young kids. They have the luxury of having to choose between prioritizing their children's future or their own. What a luxury that is! 😕At least they can put food on the table every day and afford to keep a roof over their heads without much strain. It is the future that is uncertain, not the present. I agree people don't need kids to be happy -- I am very happy not having any kids of my own. I have a stepdaughter whom I love so much it hurts sometimes, but to be honest, I could never be her full-time parent. It's not something I want for my life. I have been judged, sometimes pretty harshly, by people older than me but honestly, most of my friend group still don't have kids and don't know if they ever will. None of us are relying on our kids to take care of us; all we have at the end are ourselves.

Absolutely people can successfully raise children, no matter what their wealth. But the world that allowed people like Thomas, Scott, Obama, you, even me to be raised on a middle class or working class salary or wages no longer exists. Childcare is absurdly and prohibitively expensive now; it can cost as much to put an infant in daycare than it costs to go to college. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2022-03-31/states-with-highest-and-lowest-cost-of-daycare Being a SAHM or SAHD isn't even an option for many single parents either -- they have to work. What if there is no family around to provide free or cheap childcare? Something has to give. I guess what you're saying is that everything works now because it has worked for some people against great odds, but that just isn't the reality these day. I see my own friends struggle with childcare costs, and know people who have chosen not to have kids because they don't think they can afford to be present for their kids in the way they believe is right. We're not talking about "oh no, we can't go on three holidays to Gstaad this year" but "how are we going to save enough for our retirement and for the kids' college fund if we have to pay all this money just so we can work?" I think we just have to disagree that not doing anything is an option now.

Can we also talk about craft cider here? Because I had some really good ones on Sunday from Anna's Cider in Santa Paula -- we went to their cider house for an event, and just had to try a few. https://annascider.com/ The Rose and the Hazy Dry were my favorites.

Lashes are slowly growing back one month on. I still occasionally feel and see a little irritation on both eyelids, and occasionally get bloodshot eyes out of nowhere. Such a disaster.

Other nations can do these things, even through things like incentivizing private institutions to have on-site or nearby subsidized childcare. We can't just say "it's too expensive" and write it off -- there are so many, many things our government subsidizes or pays for for which too much is never enough. What would work? We're just spitballing on an internet forum, we can think big.

What's your answer then? What we have now doesn't work. Should parenthood be reserved only for people who can afford childcare, whether paid or unpaid? That seems like a way to perpetuate the huge divide between the classes, and to stoke resentment even more. We need to think holistically, outside of right and left, and be child-focused in this approach. What could we do besides allocating more towards parental support in the form of better access to childcare, nutrition, healthcare? It's one thing to take pot shots and another to look for solutions, even if those solutions don't necessarily sit well with our political views.