Got two bags of these two weeks ago, ate a couple (they looked normal), popped them back in the freezer, went out of town for a week, and now both bags (one was towards the back and the other was in the door) look like this. Is this normal? Is something up with my freezer? Seems really odd for something that was $5/bag to get so unappetizing so quickly.
Hi. Please try to read this with empathy - my mom is going through enough already. My (19) mom (45) has a very severe roach infestation.
We have had it for years, and it just keeps growing. They even came with us during a move. When I lived with her, I could at least help clean a little bit, but last year when I turned 18 I moved to a different state (this was my main motivation for moving away). After a recent visit, I can tell it’s gotten much worse. They’re in the bedrooms, on the beds, and there isn’t a single surface of the house that isn’t crawling after the lights go off.
My mom works extremely hard. She works full time in an exhausting career in social services that pays her too little. She has severe adhd and a younger daughter, my sister, who she’s constantly trying to keep happy and entertained. I love her so much and it really hurts me to see both of them living like this.
She has a really hard time keeping her space clean. The biggest problem is in the kitchen - she can let dishes build up for days, then wash them all and immediately say “look, the kitchen is clean, so why do we still have roaches?” I tried to talk to her about putting all food away, washing all dishes, and wiping down the counters before bed, but she really struggles. I think she believes that she can’t do better and feels like she is at her limit.
There is also so much clutter all over the house. I wouldn’t call her a hoarder, but there are too many things for a space of this size. A lot of things, especially my sister’s belongings, don’t even have a “home” they can be easily put away into. There isn’t much storage. My sister is 11 and also really struggles with basic functions like putting things away and personal hygiene. My mom can’t do it for the both of them. There are also three cats in the apartment, and things like their food bring a whole new issue into the mix. It’s hard to get pest control due to them. My mom is very rarely allowed to get time off work, so she can’t take a day off to get them out of the house for however long it takes to get the house sprayed. She doesn’t have many friends here, and none that can help with something like that. Her and I immigrated to the US when I was a child so she has zero family here except for us.
Her apartment complex does provide pest control, but it’s the kind of company who requires zero clutter and to take everything out of all the cupboards and closets and move everything however many inches away from the walls and get all the pets out for hours and that just isn’t doable for her.
I love my mom and my family so much and it hurts so bad to see them living like this. While I visited, I “snuck out” at night to go sleep in her car because I couldn’t stand them crawling on me at night (I’m a much lighter sleeper than the rest of my family).
Does anybody know of any cleaners that would be able to come in and help without making her feel judged? Maybe somebody who is used to working with hoarders? If you have prices that would be very helpful as well. She’s in a 2 bedroom apartment. I don’t really know what to put for a budget. I would need to save up anyway because it’s already difficult living alone in a new state at the beginning of building my career (and life), so I don’t have a lot of disposable income that doesn’t go towards bills. But I really want to help her however I can.
I would also really appreciate any advice that isn’t just “declutter and clean the entire apartment perfectly and call pest control and keep it spotless forever”, maybe something that seems more achievable for a busy single mother who already feels very hopeless.
Please, try to choose kindness today and not leave nasty comments. There is enough shame to go around. She knows this is an awful way to live, she’s just too overwhelmed to turn her life around and needs help.
Thank you so much for reading this and for keeping hateful thoughts to yourself. I hope you all have a beautiful day.
Hello! I run a small business full-time but with how the economy is doing I’m also looking to pick up a part-time job. The issue is that I have some health issues that make it difficult to be physically active for long periods of time, and most part time jobs are things like food service or retail which require exactly that.
Does anybody have any ideas for jobs I can apply to that are mostly sitting? I’m also open to nannying (I know that requires physical effort but at least it’s something I love doing) but I don’t have connections in the area. I’m open to remote jobs as well but I know those can be pretty competitive. I don’t have a college degree and my resume is primarily customer service and childcare. My ideal work schedule would be working 2-3 days per week M-F but I can also work some Sundays.
Does anybody have any ideas for potential fields that I haven’t thought of? Thanks so much!
Hi! I’m new to the PNW and am from the desert where not much grows by itself. I’ve been really craving fruit/berries but with some recent financial hardships I don’t have room in the budget for the farmers market. I know things like blackberries can grow wildly here - is anything in season yet? When is blackberry season here? Are there any parks or areas that are good spots to gather any kinds of fruit or berries? I’m not coming for your mushrooms, I promise! I’m assuming blackberries are okay to pick for personal use since they’re invasive but please correct me if I’m wrong. Thank you!
This is Willow! She is my sweetest, sassiest little baby and I love her so much. She’s my only bird. I got her in the summer of 2024 when she was only a few months old. She’s been quite well behaved the whole time I’ve had her - very few “incidents”. She’s been fully flighted her entire adult life (breeder clipped her wings when she was a baby but only after she took her first flight to make her “more manageable” - I didn’t support it but I had already paid for her and her flight feathers grew back quickly).
She’s always been a great flyer and loved to show off. She’s also always been very social with humans, and has never been startled by anything other than occasional random night frights.
Today, when I took her out of her cage and into the living room, she immediately took off and started flying extremely sporadically. It wasn’t like her at all. My neighbor was over, but this neighbor comes over multiple times per week and Willow has never had a problem with her - or anyone. I’ve had her out at gatherings with multiple new people and she doesn’t mind - worst she’ll do is fly back into her cage if she’s overstimulated. Absolutely nothing was different this time. However, she was freaking out and repeatedly slamming herself into walls. To get her to stop, I had to literally “catch” her as she slammed into my hands. It was absolutely terrifying. I was so worried she’d broken something. I sat with her in the bedroom for a bit, but eventually brought her back out thinking something must’ve just startled her and not wanting to cut into her outside time. But she just did the same thing again. Obviously, I immediately put her away and didn’t take her back out until my neighbor left.
I sat with her in the bedroom for a while again. When I thought that she was acting normal, I brought her out with me and she was fine. I guess she was just really freaked out by my neighbor all of the sudden? I honestly have no idea.
I’m so terrified of this happening again. What do I do? How do I make sure this doesn’t happen? And what do I do if it does? I am so scared of this becoming a habit - I don’t want to clip her wings! I feel so awful for my poor baby.
Edit: There IS something different about my neighbor - she recently found out she’s PREGNANT! Could this be anything? Has anybody else’s bird had a negative reaction to pregnancy?
Hi! I run a small business selling my handmade, nature-inspired work. I know it’s pretty late in the season, but unfortunately the main fair I was going to be at this year has fallen through. Does anybody know of any events happening this summer in the Portland/Vancouver area that are still accepting vendor applications? I have a lot of different product lines, so I’m open to anything including: ren faires (my absolute fav but unfortunately got rejected), artisans markets, anime/comic cons, pride events, etc. Thank you!
(Pic of my work at another state’s ren faire)