I figure out how to not use a printer because they are nonsense expensive pieces of crap. The small amount of printing I have to do I do at work. Told the kids to use the ones at school, that 5cents a page is never going to reach the cost of owning a printer at the rate we print.

Oh no, they didn’t believe me and got a printer. Or, more correctly, got their aunt to buy them one because I was denying them, almost abuse they whined. As soon as it ran out of ink, back to printing at school. They figured out what an expensive pain in the ass piece of equipment it is for themselves.

My mom had a black and white one that used toner, when it had to be changed you better be wearing black clothes and rubber gloves.

When we had 6 kids living with us, 2500 sq feet felt luxurious. Two kids in each bedroom upstairs, and we had a bedroom downstairs, there were 6 bathrooms in that house (5 full one just a toilet and sink) and it did feel big.

When we had 4 kids in a 1300 sq foot house, it was plenty enough room but there was only one bathroom and that made it more difficult.

We had 2 in a 1300 with 2 bathrooms AND a garage for storage and workout room, that worked fine, but the bedrooms were big and living room tiny, that is not ideal, it needed to be arranged differently.

Now we have 2 kids in an 1800 sq feet house and I would say this is ideal, it’s arranged so the kids have their own living room/gaming room outside of their small bedrooms, and we have a bedroom on the other side of the house where the kitchen and main living room are. Also a great big back deck that can be accessed from our bedroom and that main living room, which adds enough capacity we can have big parties. 2.5 bathrooms, 3.5 would be better. When these last 2 kids move out it will STILL be ideal, an office, a guest room or workout room, a den, we could even move the TV out of the living room then if we wanted.

So I think how it’s arranged makes a difference but family of 4 in 1800sq ft feels like we have a big house to me.

https://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-and-regulation/midwifery/index.html

Not nurse midwife - those deliver in hospital here. Certified licensed midwife.

Midwives here are licenced, I had most of my kids at home and the midwife could handle slight complications, and did. Babies die in hospital births too, I’m sure all experienced OBs have lost moms and babies, birth is not always safe. Midwives have better outcomes here but can (and are required to) turn down high risk clients so it’s not an apples to apples thing.

But they certainly aren’t like you are characterizing, they are very good specialist medical providers- is Canada so different?

ETA: with the first two we did not have insurance, midwife did a sliding scale billing according to income, with the second set I had insurance but preferred home birth. With two of them (the first and last) they would have come at home or in the car anyway, I had very short and intense labor, am close to hospitals but midwife got to me in 5 minutes, time to set up and catch the baby. With one I had to be induced so she still attended but at birth center not home.

I am good at design, can visualize how something will look when it’s done but no don’t SEE in my mind like that when I imagine how things look. It’s a different sort of knowing. Cannot hold an image and rotate it in my mind and absolutely can’t read a map that isn’t facing the right way, there is a blindness.

Surely not antphasic because I do see in dreams, same as through eyes. And I do KNOW how things look when they aren’t in front of me, and can know what imaginary things might look like too, but it doesn’t at all feel like seeing it with my eyes.

Love reading. Love love love it, learned when I was very young, same age I was learning to talk, actually, like a language not a skill. And I do have an internal ear, when I remember music I hear it in my mind and it is so much like hearing it in my ears. Imagining how something looks does not feel the same as seeing it.

I don’t use the sidewalk if pedestrians are using it. But do take it if nobody is walking on that stretch of sidewalk (and walk the bike across intersections) which is allowed - I am not sure if the electric bikes are, that’s what I have, so may be breaking the law, technically. There is no bike lane on my way to work, not even the painted line. So it’s either throw down with the cars or take the sidewalk.

It’s a good grilled cheese cheese, and the standard cheese on Cuban Cheese Toast here. Taste slightly sharper than the yellow one. Good also for queso dip in a pinch. There is also a Swiss flavor white American cheese, that also gets used because it melts better than real Swiss. Not good.

And no they aren’t cheese, though made of mostly cheese, they are “pasteurized processed cheese food”.

Ay yi yes I need a cup of coffee.

I ride my bike on the sidewalk and don’t mind taking the car road if there are pedestrians on it, but one week every day there were trucks blocking the sidewalk, to get out of the road. I do NOT like getting in the car road because a car is using the sidewalk. That feels so wrong.

You have 10 daughters and one son?

Good. Pay us all overtime then, at time & a half.

I’m an accountant, but how TF is physical therapist not professional? 3 year grad school program for Doctor of Physical therapy, at 21k per year here. That is the education requirement. Then state licensing and jurisprudence exams, continuing education.

You know what isn’t a professional job here? Politician.

A check, that is petty revenge for sure. We had a portal when we were renting from a slumlord (though we were renting a ridiculously awesome house from them for a reasonable price, one they owned themselves, most of their portfolio was dumps owned by Chinese people who bought them unseen) and yeah it had a fee but $3/month was the fee. I still thought it was funny, paying online is cheaper for them than dealing with my paper check, but we have to cover the cost of online portal but not the check? I’d probably charge people for giving me a check and make online free, if anything.

We did pay pet deposit, not pet rent. Fair I think, pets do add liability, even rabbits might get stressed and piss in the corner or something.

14.99 plus payment fee of 1% of rent amount. So if your rent is 2k that’s another $20 per payment.

For what? Please tell me this is not the only payment option.

Competence and intelligence are attractive, you aren’t elitist, that is so reasonable. Not saying there’s nothing wrong with you, I don’t know you. But wanting someone competent that you can talk to, that is a normal thing to need.

I bike to work and walk to anything close (have electric bike so that is my 1-6 mile ride usually, and under a mile I use my feet.). Also go for a Pokemon Go walk often, not to go anywhere. Or walk the dogs if husband can’t. A Run though, that I only do for exercise, and not if I can avoid it.

Car, I have one but my kid takes it to university so I don’t usually get to drive it. And I do prefer moving at a human pace, and not having to park the car.

ETA you asked about car-centric and yes oh yes my city is exactly that. Which is why I worry about getting run over.

And another add - I do kind of get where you are coming from - I can’t let go of thinking without enough to focus on but not too much. That is why I loved Jazzercise, not kidding. Exactly the right amount of paying attention that I could achieve “flow” and just dance, following so I didn’t have to think, not so complex I had to think, but complex enough I didn’t think about anything else. Running was SO boring. Real dance class too complex. Going out to dance, have to decide how to move. But to stop thinking here while moving around town is hazardous as fuck.

I like music, love music, keep it on in the house and car but do not like headphones and wouldn’t dare use them on a walk or run because I’d get run over by a car.

I like the sound of the city, the birds singing, the crows cawing, kids yelling, even the distant sirens and LOVE the distant music of parties, so much. Cars going by with music. Incidental sound is engaging IMO not boring.

Well. I made 35k in 1996 so apparently my salary has kept up with inflation, maybe? Google says that is like 75k today. 106.4% increase.

Together we do hit that 6 figures but

Housing cost increased by 500%

Grocery cost increased here by 500%

Electric bills by 300%

Those are the essentials, right? Other things, clothing and gas, didn’t go up as much but I drive less and (except for menopause, damn you) stay pretty much the same size and bought some items that last well, so it’s more discretionary.

I figure I’d have to be making closer to 200k to be making my 1996 salary with regard to essentials. Maybe more. I’m certainly NOT making that.

I don’t remember but do remember my dad calling me an anarchist when I was very, very young. Like maybe 4 or 5.

Apples stay nice in the refrigerator, figs do, berries, grapes, citrus.

But I think what you need more is a checklist? So that it doesn’t matter if your fruit this week is in the fridge or on the counter.

Yeah for what I’d pay for a burrito at Chipotle I can go get a burrito at a local place instead. I am not a chain restaurant person anyway, but the prices are equivalent now, there’s kind of no point to them.

I do actually go to Panera sometimes because it’s across the street from my work, it’s so expensive but do feel like I get some nutrition at least. And there is no local bagel place so I get those there sometimes too. But my kids who used to eat more junk food from chains are meal prepping their lunches now to save money, with no input from me they just got tired of it. I don’t think they’d go back now they are used to making food that they like.