Faux Friday ;)

wink0erin

@speakeasy14 There's only one time I did not leave a tip, and it was because the waitress was rude to my table, kept disappearing for long periods of time, ignored us when we would spot her and try to get her attention, and she also charged me for an item more expensive than what I had actually ordered. When leaving I calmly told the cashier the item was rung up wrong, she tried getting a hold of the waitress and she was nowhere to be found, and apparently all the managers were hiding too. When waitress was finally found, she called me a liar to my face and walked away... so I had to request a manager, grabbed a dang menu, pointed to exactly what I ordered and finally they took care of it, but I left $0 for a tip, and honestly they're lucky I didn't just walk out without paying. I usually leave a 20% tip. Even with bad service I leave at least 10%. I kind of wish "required" tipping would be done away with, servers should be paid a regular wage, and I could tip just for exceptional service.

jenna8984

Aaah sorry I'm in meetings again all day so I don't have time to reply to everyone. @swazzle have an amazing long weekend, I love DC! And of course a very happy wedding weekend to @beanbot2002 !

Will try to reply more later if we get out of here early, last night the meetings went til 6 ugh. But at least dinner was really good.

So question- if you could go on business to Singapore would you or no?? I'm torn because my director wants me to go (but it's up to me, it's not mandatory). Part of me says duh, of course, that's awesome!! But then part of me really doesn't want to because of the extremely long travel times. I have been on planes for 14 hours and I REALLY did not do well with it and had an anxiety attack at hour 11. This would be 2 hrs, transfer, 14 hrs, transfer, 8 hrs. So that's my reservation- if it were a <8 hr total flight then I would have no reservation. wwyd?

lavenderfields13

Swazzle said:

@lavenderfields13 - All of it's on eBay already. The one white/black dress is up for like $1400. 

WHAATT

EDITED: for the past 2 days I've been trying to use GIFs and can't. WTF

wink0erin

@jenna8984 I would do it, but I want to travel everywhere. I hate getting to/from said location, but I love it and it's worth it once I'm there.

speakeasy14

@jenna8984 I would take the opportunity without hesitation, but I also do not have issues with flying.  If you know you're going to have an anxiety attack, it may not exactly be safe for you.  So it really depends on your comfort level and what you know you can handle. 

Swazzle

@jenna8984 - I would go but I don't have issues with flying/traveling and I pretty much want to go everywhere on the planet if I can. 

minskat30

@jenna8984 - Yup, I'd go (well, any time other than KU...its not fun to be nauseous, stuck on  a plane and unable to take anything strong for it).  This comes from a person who generally dislikes flying long distances too.  The opportunity, however, is too good to pass up.  Can you take a anxiety pill or something?    

lavenderfields13

Very random question: Does anyone use a mattress topper? I have issues with my neck and shoulders and have tried changing my pillow but I don't like our mattress anymore. Getting a new mattress is out of the question right now so I was wondering if a mattress topper would help. I need something softer. 

labro

@jenna8984 I wouldn't 100% go without any reservations! Can you talk to a doctor about a short term presecription to help with anxiety while flying?

speakeasy14

@jenna8984 also, this may not be the case, but I know it happens a lot.  While it may not be mandatory, this may be a dividing line.  If you turn it down, it could prevent you from receiving other offers and opportunities.

jenjen047

@jenna8984 - I'd go. Can you get anxiety meds from your doctor?

@twodimes - Poor Indy! Lacey has seemed fine otherwise so I don't think she's sick.....probably just this:

jenna8984

all: thanks you are probably right. I'm normally a traveler who also wants to go everywhere and see everything. I was always great at flying until that one time to Beijing that seriously just killed me. Maybe I could prepare better this time with anxiety pills or something and even calming breathing if I know what to expect this time... I think we would pay for H's ticket so he could come because he's good at calming me down too. thanks!!

@lavenderfields13 I have not used one but it's worth a shot before buying a new bed! I just got this pillow and it's amazing. click

 

wink0erin

@lavenderfields13 I got a memory foam topper for my old bed at my parent's house when I needed to stay there for a month. It helped tremendously. I should have let it air out more than I did though, the first couple days I had that chemical stink going on!

speakeasy14

@lavenderfields13 I used to have one over an old mattress.  It was one of the memory foam ones you can get from Kohls.  I loved it, and have been thinking about getting a new one for my current mattress. 

lavenderfields13

@Jenna8984 I am so cheap when it comes to pillows so $70 for 1 pillow is a bit much for me but I need to sleep better! I bought new pillows a few months ago and H hates it- says it's too "fluffy" so he went back to his old one that he's been using forever. I don't know how he sleeps on that thing. I call it the pancake pillow.

@wink0erin @speakeasy14 Thanks, I will check out Kohls. I checked BBB really quick and didn't realize how expensive they were!

helloliv

@cocobellaf - I'm sorry yours is hormonal, too! Hormones really are the pits. Back to bed for both of us!

@buddysmom80 - I actually did end up emailing my endocrinologist this morning. Because of my Mirena, we aren't able to completely accurately test all the reproductive hormones right now. We can tell they're not right, but not exactly how off they are. I'd need to get my Mirena removed to do that, and I feel like if things are this bad ON the Mirena, they'd be way worse off it! But I asked her, because now that I've recognized the every-two-week pattern, I think it's something I need to address. I hope she has a good idea. Also, good luck with the IVF! Fingers crossed.

@speakeasy14 - To me it sounds like a mistake -- like the server took out the gift card, then ran the bill, and just left it on a counter or something. I mean, who knows. But I can't imagine why he'd steal a gift card for his own restaurant? To answer your question, I've left very bad tips before, but I don't think I've ever not tipped.

@jenna8984 - I was in your position when I used to work in adoption and was asked to go to Ethiopia for the first time. It was not mandatory but a huge opportunity. I was terrified of flying. Like, whoa. I did it anyway, and to this day, that first trip was one of the best experiences of my life. Get a good anti-anxiety prescription and do it!

AlPacina

@swazzle - If you go to the zoo, say hi to the pandas for me! We're pretty close, you know, cuz I watch them on the panda cam and everything.

@TwoDimes - OMG. I have no idea who Chris Stapleton is but I think I need to become obsessed. He reminds me of Marc Broussard, who is one of my favorites. But omg, that was jaw dropping.

@helloliv - Do you take baths? Whenever I feel uber shitty like that, a bath is the only thing that makes me feel better. I'm so sorry your hormones are such bastards, and I hope your doctor can figure out something to help!

@jenjen047 - It absolutely breaks my heart not letting the dog on the couch. Most of the time I end up with a couch cushion and a blanket cuddling with him on the floor, haha. But he turns into such a brat if we (or mostly our guests) let him up there!

@speakeasy14 - Thinking about dinosaurs is EXACTLY what gives me a hard on.

@500days - I had the meatballs last night and it actually ended up being more food than it looked like. My BF eats a lot and it was plenty for him. But I did give him a couple more meatballs than I gave myself.

@jenna8984 - I'm with everyone else. If you thinking having your H there will help, I really think you should try and go for it. It sounds like an amazing opportunity!

@lavenderfields13 - I've always used a mattress topper. I got a pillow top fitted sheet thing instead of a memory foam this time around and I love it!

ETF: spelling

wink0erin

@lavenderfields13 Check Target too! Or Walmart... which is where I got mine even though I despise Walmart. I think it's the only thing I've bought there in 5 years.

MissKittyDanger

@lavenderfields13 I have a memory foam topper on our mattress like @speakeasy14 and @wink0erin suggested and it works great! We use the one that looks like waves {hard to explain} and i just flip it every time we change sheets. I also have a memory foam pillow for my neck, that helps also {got mine at ikea}

Swazzle

@lavenderfields13 - I have no advice for the mattress but I had to chime in about the pillow! If you think about it, $70 for something that you use every. single. day. is a steal! Think about it. You rest your head on your pillow every night and not getting a good night's sleep affects you in so many ways. 

I was having really bad neck problems and I ended up dropping $80 on a pillow back in April and within 2 nights, my neck was completely pain-free. 

speakeasy14

@helloliv I would think the same thing, but the receipt disappeared too. That is what made us suspicious.  I also don't think he took the gift card, but the extra cash.  It could have been a mistake, but it was just too much weirdness following once we caught the error. 

AlPacina

This is me today. No idea why.

But YAY! Today is my Friday! Tonight, my older sister and adorable little niece will arrive. I am making crockpot chicken parmesan and a BA rigatoni dish for dinner.

Tomorrow morning, my little sister will be driving down from Seattle hella early. All four of us are going to an outlet mall for most of the day, and Saturday morning we are going to my favorite Christmas bazaar. I can't wait to AW all the awesome stuff I buy at the bazaar. I've doubled my budget from last year because I wasn't able to get all the stuff I liked!

Swazzle

@AlPacina - Do you have a recipe for the crockpot chicken parm? That sounds amazing. 

bethsmiles

@Swazzle - Being so close to the end of a book and not being able to finish is the worst! Also I'm incredibly jealous of your six day weekend! Have all the fun at @beanbot2002's wedding!

@HelloLiv - That sounds awful, I hope you feel better soon!

@jenjen047 - Oh no! I'm glad you could clean the couch, hopefully it won't happen again!

@minskat30 - Have fun in India! I can't wait to hear all about it

@speakeasy14 - I usually give people the benefit of the doubt so I wouldn't have not left a tip at all since it is possible he just messed up. Even when I get really terrible service I still leave something, it takes A LOT for me to not tip. The only time that comes to mind is when our waitress told a horribly racist joke to go along with the terrible service we were getting.

@futuremrshistorian - It's a blah day here too. I think it snowed this morning and I'm not at all ready for winter, we barely even got fall because our weather been weirdly warm. Anyway, the weather is giving me zero motivation to work, so I'm just knotting and looking at wedding stuff on Pinterest. I'll regret this decision when I get home tonight.

@wink0erin - Ditto wishing that tipping would be done away with. I hate it.

@jenna8984 - I would absolutely go! Besides it being awesome that you would get to go to Singapore, I assume this is a good opportunity for your career and it'd be a shame to pass it up. I'd do some research on handling anxiety on a plane or if you see a therapist ask them about different coping techniques you could use.

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I have a client this afternoon in Castle Rock (which is about a 40 minute drive for me) I'm not excited about going. She's really nice and easy-going but it's such a far drive. My teaching schedule changes in January so I won't be able to continue working with her anyway so I'm thinking of seeing if they can find someone to take that shift for me. 

FI and I finally decided on wedding colors: green and grey with orange accents. His best friend is exited because this means she can re-wear the expensive bridesmaids dress she had to buy for her sister's wedding. We are just letting the women pick their own dresses. My best friend/MOH is LDS so it was just going to be too difficult to find a dress that met the modesty requirements she has and that everybody else also liked.

AlPacina

@swazzle - I haven't made it this way before. I typically just throw it in the oven. But I'll let you know how it turns out!

Recipe: LINK

@bethsmiles - Those are going to be great colors! Do you have any inspiration pictures?

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Regarding long travel times: I freaking love long trips, if I'm not driving. I used to take the train home from college and that was 5-6 hours each way. Flying is so relaxing to me too. I love reading for hours at a time. Typically the only way I finish books is if I just spend an entire day reading. If it's a shorter trip I just do my number puzzles, which are also one of my favorite activities.

I already can't wait for the trip to Chicago, haha! (but definitely not JUST for the flight time)

Guess I'm just a weirdo!

bethsmiles

@AlPacina - I do have inspiration pics!

wink0erin

@bethsmiles I love it when the bridemaids wear different style dresses! It looks great and shows their personality.

AlPacina

@TwoDimes - So THAT'S how I'll score my record deal. I just need to write hundreds of award winning songs! *smacks forehead* And I'd better start growing a beard if I'm gonna end up with anything decent...... At a minimum I'm hoping to come back from the bazaar with: a painting, a birdhouse, dog treats, a puzzle for my dad, some Christmas decorations, and lots of yummy snack foods! Does your craft show typically have the same vendors each year? I like that the last couple of years I could scope out the good stuff, and this year I can get there early and hit up those particular vendors first, haha! 

@bethsmiles - I love it! I was having a hard time picturing it for some reason but it looks so nice with the grey dresses!

bethsmiles

@AlPacina - I had to find a lot of pictures because FI couldn't visualize anything I was explaining to him!

buddysmom80

@cocobellaf: YGPM

@bethsmiles I LOVE seeing you here again and I love your inspiration pics!!!!!!