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TRUTH. That's not a terrible idea. Like. NL 101. Hah! ...but then there's also that.... ALSO! @The Coolest Breeze Hi. Welcome!

Hah. I'm not really That Guy, despite @hirondelle's commentary.

THANK YOU! <3 ...or writing "test" and sending that as a PM. Way to make a girl feel special, @Moonhawk.

Real life.

That's a solid point. THANKS @Timberwolf. <3 Awh. @Moonhawk. You're a sexter too, hey? Solidarity.

Like. Private messages. Not premenstrual syndrome. Though. I mean, to be fair, I have questions about that, too. But this isn't the forum for that. ANYWAY. I just tried to send a PM and a lovely little popup box advised that my inbox is full and that I have to delete messages before I can send a message. I only have one message thread going, and I don't want to delete it. Any chance I'm doing something totally wrong? Thank you! <3

Oh you beautiful human. Thank you for sharing you like you do. Thank you for writing about yourself and your life, and sharing that story with the world that it touches. I just really love you. You're another one, I need to keep in better touch with you. I'm glad you have avenues to address your grief. I love that you have taken those steps. To honour your emotions and to experience them and to walk with them, safely and creatively, with respect to them and to you. It sounds like you're doing beautifully and I'm really looking forward to spending time with your blog. A lot. (I'm currently at work, or I'd be pouring over it right now. I've skimmed it and what I've skimmed is lovely. And raw. And honest. And true. ...and you.) Thank you for sharing this, and you, with us, too.

Awh. I remember Raven. For sure. We didn't interact much, but I always thoroughly enjoyed his posts. And he was really sweet and friendly, made it easier to enter into RP-type things.

I mean the sub-forum name is great, but the thread is fun, too. What made you happy today? A picture. A picture of a friend I miss made me happy today. And he looks happy, and that's how I love him and remember him. Happy. And it made me happy (in a bittersweet way) to see that, and I'm glad it's here.

HAH! The struggle is real.

Ugh. I had to give up the calorie/fitness tracker. I have issues with them. I get obsessive in a hugely unhealthy way. I don't enjoy food, I don't enjoy life, I just eat things that will enable me to lose weight for the sake of losing weight. (I have an unhealthy relationship with body image and my personal weight. It's obnoxious, and really hard to work around/accept/deal with.) HOWEVER. They fucking work. Calorie trackers. Especially if you use them in a healthy, mindful way and don't let them run your life (like I do, every damn time). I DO wear a Fitbit. But I don't get obsessive about it. I do definitely recognize when I haven't hit my target, though. Mostly it works well for me as a "get off your ass" reminder. I'm sorry life got life-y, @Moonhawk. I know that feeling.

Yessir, it is!

Awh! Hey beautiful! Eighteen months! Our littlests are just about the same age. All the fun!

Yuuuuuuuuuup! ...when I was on PI, I had a huge fascination with @Spyder. Well. I still do. So. There's that.

Thank you @hirondelle for the memories. So much. There are tears, but they're a gift. I love you.

Oooh! That's wicked, Wolf! What a cool BA to be able to take. I love that.

Also. School. Do we have any students? I have a BA English, from a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago, but I've entered into part-time student status once again and am taking a history class (The History of Childbirth and Women's Bodies - because of course I am) and a social work (just an intro) class. I'm thinking maybe I'd like to pursue graduate studies, so I'm dipping my toe in the pool. Anyone else?

That is outstanding! Well done, lady! <3 Wow. ...that's a lot of cakes....

Me too. I love the IDEA of colouring books, but I get super intimidated (and a little anxious) when I actually sit and try to colour. So I just Netflix, instead.

That is a place I know way too well. Hate that place. And also

My ideal job changes allllllllllll the time. Largely because I change allllllllllll the time. But. For the last few years, the theme's been similar - I've just been refining things. So. Currently, I work in student recruitment at a uni. It's a pretty rad gig. I create email campaigns for our prospective student page, I meet with prospective students (high school, mature, transfer, international, just about everyone) in person and chat about admissions and what they want to do with their lives, and I help facilitate that as much as is in my power (even when it means saying "sorry, we can't help with that. BUT! This other institution has an outstanding program for [X], let's go see what their admission requirements are!"). So. In SOME way, I am in the business of helping people be who they want to be. At least, helping them to find and open one of the doors that will take them there. But. I'm learning that the support I want to give people is different. Some of you know that I've taken some doula (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doula) training. Not just birth doula, though. I've also taken end-of-life (death) doula training, and am finishing up a pregnancy and infant loss/grief and bereavement doula course. I've paired this interest in grief and bereavement with a volunteer position at our local hospice house (which is truly such a beautiful place). What I'm working on now is taking a few undergrad classes (at work - obvs) to make my transcripts look better (my original undergrad degree GPA isn't stellar. It's also 12 years out. So. I feel like I can argue that I can rock things now that I've learned some life-y things and am finding actual passion), so that MAYBE, if this works out and I can actual do classes, I can apply for a Masters program. In social work. Hah! Because I can counsel with a social work degree (you need to have a Masters to be a legit counselor, here) AND there's a degree of actual advocacy and ability to effect policy change that other counseling avenues lack. So. My new "when I grow up" is a registered social worker with a specialization in counseling, aimed specifically at grief and bereavement (generally in pregnancy, infant, and child loss). Oh. Also. When I win the lottery, I will open a birthing centre. It will be midwife and doula run, with prenatal classes, postpartum support, attention given to both men and women in their journeys, and counseling (because I'm getting tired of people saying "I'm not a counselor, but..." They need a counselor on staff. So I'll take that one for the team). How about you guys? What are you up to? Does it make your heart sing? What do you want to do with your (professional) life?

And you know when Spy comes out of the tuneage thread and posts in a feels-y thread, you've done well. gg guys, gg.

Also this recipe: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/01/28/banana-chocolate-chip-breakfast-cookies/ One of my favourite coffee break snacks. (Again, because I'm 95, I use raisins. And walnuts.)

I think most people do better with (lean) proteins and fats. Good fats. Avocado-y fats. And the greens and such. And yeah, carbs. All the sugar. ALL THE SUGAR. I said in the Goals thread that I have actually had to stop buying certain grocery items (largely ice cream and chips) due to my propensity for binging on them (because feels. All the (not terribly positive) feels). I don't know if it's at all helpful, but I really like http://thebettyrocker.com/'s attitude toward food and health. (I bought her nutition guide thingy. Let me know if you want it and I'll email it to you. ON THE D/L. ...there are some good recipes in there, including many smoothies and BALLER cookies that are just chickpeas, a bit of honey/maple syrup, nut butter, and chocolate chips (I use raisins. Because I'm 95.) ANYWAY. What I'm trying to say is that in some ways, I feel you. This is your journey and I have mine, but there's some overlapping happening and it's hard. And the guilt and the shame (with the binging - for me, anyway) are hard. And the pressure to lose weight (largely that we place on ourselves) is hard. Let me know if/what you need and I'll help as much as I can! Support group, timez. w00!