I used to frequent a restaurant that had two amazing soups. One was a Broccoli Cheddar and the other was Pepperjack soup. I think the pepper jack soup had maybe some onions in it but otherwise tasted like a creamy spicy soup. I have a recipe for a Broccoli cheese soup but it isn't from scratch at all and uses Velveeta in lieu of real cheese and includes 2 cans of Cream of Potato soup. I like it but it can be a bit heavy. Anybody have any good recipes for either style of soup. I've tried multiple recipes but I haven't quite found a winner in either category. Thanks in advance.

https://imgur.com/a/pUCwPZf
u/unseenbowl x 2 It was sooooo sweet of you to think of me with the pretty Monet flair congrats postcard!!!! Can’t wait for your flair dreams to come true too! Thank you for this super insanely adorable jungle-themed Wild About You V-Day card (arrived oddly late) and OMG WHAAAAAT?!? A MAGICAL MATCHING SHEET OF SWEEEEEEET STICKERS?!?! Is this witchcraft?!? I didn’t know that this type of card magic existed - it’s like you threw a party in a card, my sweet little unseenbowl. And even the interior of the envelope is all decked out in colorful hearts!!!! Solid color on one side but then this heart-tastic little secret just for my eyes only?!?!? Dude no one else gets to attend this party but me!!! And let’s do something about this you not being seen, because you’re honestly the cutest bowl I have NEVER seen but I want to see you. I see you, you sweet little bowl. I affirm your existence & your majesty! What kinda bowl are you anyway, sweetheart? A cereal bowl? An I’ll-eat-ramen-keto-be-damned kinda bowl that’s super deep & lets me soak my worries away? No matter what type of bowl you are, I wish for you to be seen & appreciated!!!
u/omggallout x 2 Thank you for the gorgeous watercolor floral card - such a stunning treat!!! I really like the artist’s talent in layering. I TOTALLY agree about the house thing - I feel the same way & wish we both had our dream houses now!! LOVE the gorgeous mint green crocheted butterfly - WOW!!! Your fine fiber arts skills are sooooo insanely impressive! Thank you for the stickers & the heartbreakingly adorable Winnie-the-Pooh postcard of Winnie gazing at himself in the mirror - I love it!!!! I really enjoyed the fun fact that the original Pooh was purchased at Harrods - I had no idea he was so flippin’ fancy!!! Wishing you a fabulously fancy spring & your dream home super soon, kind friend!
u/MarineWife0922 x 3 So sweet of you to think of me with my ADORABLE flair congrats card!!! It’s sooo cute & totally my style - I LOVE vintage kid illustrations!!! It’s gorgeous - I’d love to know where I can find cards in the same set please!!!! Thanks also for the *adorable* “Thinking of You” cards with the cute illustrated girl & flowers! I LOVE how you wrote so much you didn’t leave any white space in the cards hahaha! Thanks for sharing your fun personality & quirky thoughts with me! I loved hearing how dance has been therapeutic for you - that’s so beautiful. The blue raspberries bit - LMAO!
u/StrangeMailings Thank you for the awesome cryptic postcard with the fun mystery paint job & creepy cool sticker! So fun to see the strange get stranger & cooler by the card LOL!!
u/clashvalley Thank you for the sweet Night-Blooming Cereus card - and what a delight that there was no white space left with all your awesome words!!! Also love the sweet floral sticker, thank you!! I loved how much you taught me about faeries - wow, I knew nothing about them, & it was fascinating to learn! I’ll bet your essay is awesome & that the teacher loved your work. :) It made me giggle to learn about the faeries “who enjoy punishing humans” LOL!!! Wishing you only the pleasant faeries who gift you delicious custard creams & bless you!!!
u/StrawberryForestLady Thank you for the neat vintage cactus postcard & your kind thoughts - love the illustration. =) Wishing you a thorn-free spring!
u/ninajyang x 2 Thank you so much for the surprise birthday card with the beautiful gift of sweet stickers!!! I was so touched you thought of me. I wish I could describe the card more to sing its praises but I’m writing this from memory as I don’t have the card with me (apologies no pic of this one). You made me feel super loved with your encouraging words. I can only hope to inspire people as much as you have, darling soul!! Thank you for the cool In & Out retro illustrated ad postcard - I always stare adoringly at their retro pics in the restaurant! I also love the 8 billion fruity, vintage-y stamps you used!! =) Hope you’re having a sunny & sweet spring (more thank yous pending, Beautiful!)
u/LadyLili13 x 2 Thank you for the gorgeous pastel postcards with the cool 3D effect of clouds & the super pretty sky!!! I loved hearing about your passion for Pathfinder. I’ve never played it before but now you have me so curious! Hearing about the character wedding making your sweet “heart sing” was so touching!! I just adore your sentimental heart! The stickers you included - OMG to-die-for. The dilapidated teddy bear sticker is my absolute fave!!! Thank you so much for thinking of me, you’re always so thoughtful, Darlin’!! Wishing you lots of joy as you continue to play your games! =)
u/shipping_addict Thank you for the gorgeous Yoshida postcard with the awesome crunchy salad recipe. BTW I did not deface the beautiful card with the black marker - I want to kill USPS. I honestly don’t understand what the heck they’re doing. OMG this salad is so my style & reminds me of my Blueberry Brainiac salad (will share it asap). Can’t wait to try it!
u/scared_deerfox x 3 Your beautiful, bouncy energy came roaring through your sweet envelope!! Thanks for the adorable card of the smooching bunny & baby chick!!! The stickers you used to decorate the card are so adorable too. You are SO deep - loved the way you responded to the bunny carrot nightmare prompt! Wow. Loved the analogy you used of the clouds & the blue sky. So sweet!!! I hope your friends & family appreciate your super kind, compassionate nature. Also love the Finding Nemo card & all the precious stickers you included. The smiling stars are just little dolls! I also love the mesmerizing Pacman Nebula postcard with the Chat GPT response to the prompt - that was so fun & surprisingly normal LOL!! I appreciate your kindnesses & hope that you have the most splendid spring full of fabulous flowers!
u/Accomplished_Hope788 Thank you so much for the absolutely ADORABLE “You Make my Heart Beet” postcard of the illustrated beet & the pretty floral sticker! The card is so delightful - the happy vibes from you & the card are jumping out at me! I totally agree about Deja Vu - it’s totally an otherworldly experience & is both baffling & beautiful.
u/BlacksmithEquivalent x 2 Thank you so much for thinking of me with the beautiful birthday card with fun wishes & the San Diego postcard! Plllleaaaase no apologies for sending the wishes out late - in fact, it’s an awesome feeling to receive birthday greetings at random non-birthday days LOL! I really like the cute illustration of the turtle carrying the gifts. Adorable. Wow - I’ll bet living in super hip San Diego is a total treat. I wish I could leave my state for cooler weather & cooler things to do. Wishing you sunny serenity in San Diego!
u/KeenEvergreen Thank you for the ADORABLE Easter pickle card!!! Soooo insanely cute!!! It was fun to see a unique, bunny-less take on Easter lol! Love the stickers you used to decorate the envelope. It was also a sweet surprise to receive the Perennial seed mix - how neat, thank you! My niece will love using these this spring. =) Hope your spring is sweet & serene!
u/Kuddledeadgirl Thank you for having such a fun username which always makes me giggle hahaha! Thanks also for the lovely book recommendations on the scenic Michigan postcard! I highly recommend “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles - he’s a brilliant writer. Wishing you happy reads!
u/cake-at-midnight Thank you for the sweet thank you card - it was my pleasure to think of you on your birthday! The donkey sanctuary sounds so cool & peaceful! LOVED your hand-drawn orange flowers on the envelope & your gorgeous calligraphy of my name!!! Thanks also for the awesome stickers - the mail-themed ones especially speak to my heart! Hope you have a blast at your next sanctuary visit. :)
u/retrorabbit79 Thank you for the hilarious bird insult postcard - “See you whenever the f%$& I come back to this sh#thole!” Hahaha, so appropriate to say to my dumb family! ;)
u/lunatenchi_ Thank you so much for the super inspiring handmade “You can influence the world” card! Lilac is one of my favorite colors! It’s so peaceful. You decorated the card with such fun stickers. =) I just love the kindness affirmations you shared! Here are a few affirmations for you on one of my fave topics, creativity. “I effortlessly connect with the universe's boundless inventiveness.” “Every day, creative energy runs through me.” “The universe's creativity manifests itself through me.” “Fresh ideas are constantly flowing to me. I am overflowing with creative energy.” Wishing you creativity in all its forms, sweet friend! Also love the Finding Nemo card & all the precious stickers you included. The smiling stars are just little dolls! I also love the mesmerizing Pacman Nebula postcard with the Chat GPT response to the prompt - that was so fun & surprisingly normal LOL!! I appreciate your kindnesses & hope that you have the most splendid spring full of fabulous flowers!
u/Chip-girl I’m so in love with this adorable, awesome homemade fabulous fruit card!!! Smiling fruit just makes my day!! Your art is so gorgeous - I’m so happy you sent it to me!!! I really like the creative way you cut out the border surrounding the fruit - this is such a neat way to make a card instantly fancy! And the way you wrote my address on the envelope is simply stunning - it’s insanely impressive! Hope you have a gorgeous spring!!
u/eccentric_bee x 2 THANKS A MILLION for this absolutely stunning, super beautiful watercolor robot art card!!!! LOVE all the colors & the beautiful quote you wrote. I also love the size - so perfect. Leave it to you & your incredible talent to bring a robot to life!!! The expression on his face is so amazingly human it seems like he just can’t be a machine & that he actually has a beating heart! That kind of skill takes such a brilliant artist!! Thanks also for the super soothing watercolor plant art card!! These cards make me so very happy. Thank you for thinking of me - these beauties are going straight into my art journal!! Wishing you lots of joy & peace as you continue your amazing art work!
u/Ohio_Geo HAHAHA thank you for the hilarious “F#%& off” card with the quirky cool stickers/memo sheets & the “F” word wood cut-out LOL I can’t wait to send it to a lucky friend!!! Love your sense of humor!! Hope you “F&$% off” too! ;)
u/specialist-chapter89 x 2 THIS GORGEOUS SHAKER BIRTHDAY CARD made my day!!!! THANK YOU!!! I'm so sorry I can't praise it more - long story but I don't have the card with me right now to thank you properly. I just recall it being a feast for the eyes - super pretty!! It really made my birthday so special to receive your warm sentiments & all the love you sent along with it!! I LOVE the handmade “Hello” card with the awesome quotes from Tusa- Karol G & Nicki Minaj & Flowers-Miley Cyrus! THANK YOU! I also love your elegant handwriting so much! Thanks also for the fun stickers!
u/loopyboops707 Thank you for the super cute homemade EasteSpring card! So much energy & positive vibes coming at me, thank you!!! Love all the scrapbooking bits & fun stickers you used to decorate the bright card! Thanks also for the lovely stickers you included. Wishing you a glorious, gorgeous spring, sweet friend!
u/GreetingCardShark x 2 Thank you for the cute birthday cake card & the sweet wishes - I so appreciate your lovely thoughts!! Thank you so much also for thinking of me with the sweet “Hooray” card in honor of my new flair! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. I also learned a lot from your card about how to jazz up card decorations - the yellow highlighting trick is soooo neat! It really looks like you sent me fireworks - I just love the effect!!!
u/kimkimMRW x 2 Thank you for the beautiful Andy Warhol postcards!!!! The Campbell’s Soup card is absolutely awesome - I love the colors!! The decorative “Lotus” stamp you used is also lovely! The way you decorated the envelope with the fun stickers & banana-themed washi is also super cool. :) Hilarious “I know where you live” sticker - hahahaha!! Love it. Wishing you an artsy, awesome spring, kind friend.
u/GuestBathroom Hahaha love your quirky username & your amazing handwriting - it’s PERFECT! Thank you so much for the gorgeous vintage stamp postcard. I love the way you decorated the card with all the fun vintage stamps! I also enjoyed hearing about your affinity for the color purple - it’s such a soothing, elegant color. I love how that color is associated with royalty. Wishing you a sweet spring with perfectly purple flowers!
u/BirdieBennet x 2 This. GORGEOUS! STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL “Birthday Loops” birthday card is undoubtedly one of the G.O.A.T. cards in my collection! This card made me so insanely happy - the bright colors & the super sweet, jazzy illustration is the epitome of what I love in a card!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!! I also went bonkers for the awesome, adorable kitty postcard to gift on -I just looove your taste in cards!!! Thank you also for the sweet stickers & cuuute memo sheets!! How you decorated the envelope with the pretty pastel washi tape & your perfect, pretty handwriting made me so happy too - you made my birthday insanely special, kind friend! Thank you for the super elegant “Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May” postcard - what a stunning illustration!!! I also like how the artist incorporated a mirror behind the subject - it adds such depth to the card. I loved hearing about how you laugh daily & your funny mom - of course she is so very proud of you!!! I also love the pretty pastel nature scene (I’m obsessed with this series) & desk scene postcards you included. I wish you endless laughter - here are some jokes for you. What has more lives than a cat? A frog, because it croaks every day. Why was the fish’s grades bad? They were below sea level. What’s Forrest Gump’s password? 1forrest1 (hahaha I LOVE this one!!)
u/maiiiu Thank you so much for the jazzy homemade card - as always, your positivity & beautiful nature come blasting through this sweetie!! The beachy vibes are so soothing. =) Thanks also for the adorable stickers you sent - I really love the creative tip of pasting them into the card with washi tape! That’s a great way to ensure they’re not flying around everywhere!
u/lifesucks_F Thank you for the sweet homemade constellation card - I really love the color combo of purple & pink! And the joke is hilarious too!!! Here’s one for you. Why was Cinderella so bad at playing soccer? She kept running away from the ball. ;)
u/snerdboff x 2 Thanks for the adorable handmade ice cream “You are quite the beauty” card! What a pretty chandelier on that scrapbooking paper. :) This fun card is a great example for me to use the next time I use scrapbooking paper as a card base. So elegant & I love the way you made it a flip from the top card. =) Thanks also for the handmade food truck themed card - it’s so fun!! Mmmmm, hot dogs & soda are always fun no matter the season. You did a great job using up all your leftover scrapbooking bits. :) Wishing you a sweet spring!
u/morenoodles Thank you for the Burbank postcard with the delicious carb conversation LOL! You have amazing taste in carbs, fine friend. If you’re into buttery flaky crusts, I highly suggest the Portuguese flaky-crusted treat “Pastel De Nata” - ever tried them? TO DIE FOR!!!! I became hooked on them in Portugal & although the ones at Trader Joe’s (marketed as “Portuguese Custard Tarts”) don’t compare, they are definitely delicious & I recommend them! Wishing you the creamiest of carbs!!
u/draftyelectrolyte Thanks for the neat-o Maine postcard with the lovely illustrations which REALLY makes me wanna come check out Maine asap! I also love the Jamie Wyeth quote you included. I’ve always been intrigued by Maine from everything I’ve heard & especially when authors write about it. So I appreciate the inspiration & your kindness! Wishing you beautiful balmy breezes this spring!
u/56Thorns x 2 Thank you for the “awwwww” inducing illustrated kitty cards!!! Sooooooo mindblowingly cuuuuute! The kitty wedding card is just…so cute it hurts!!! I love the whimsical style & fun colors for the card. The surprise bonus postcard of the kitty lounging in the potted plant is hilarious & super sweet! I love your taste in art. =) Thanks also for the big beautiful kitty sticker & the kitty-themed party napkin - so festive!!! Wishing you lots of joy & peace this spring, kind soul!
u/fancykiddens x 2 My fancy fine fabulous friend!!!! Thank you for the ***literally sweet*** Candy Heaven postcard - love the stickers you used to decorate!!! And I love your sweet handwriting! How sweet you are is apparent from this card! Thank you for the cuuuute doggie card with all the cute stickers!!! I LOVE your handwriting!!! Most of all, I love your constant positivity - I actually feel those rays of sunshine you’re bouncing to me all the way from your sunny state!!! Sending lots of love (and a promise to catch up asap).
u/on1omaniac Thank you for the adorable “Star meets little prince” postcard with your gorgeous handwriting! Your penmanship is soooo nice & even - how do you do it?!??!? It’s art!!! I also love the “Bear Mail” stamp you used. Adorable. And what a huge heart you have, sacrificing your alien love for all your loved ones! Wishing you a spring full of limitless (human haha) love!!
u/RitaAlbertson Thank you for the adorable handmade zebra-themed birthday card & your kind wishes!! Soooo cute! I appreciate you thinking of me on my big day. :) Wishing you a fabulous spring!
u/championvilla Thank you so much for the cool Carlsbad Caverns National Park postcard in honor of my birthday! Love the Alice in Wonderland rabbit sticker you used for the birthday proclamation - so clever & cute! I really appreciate you thinking of me on my birthday - thanks again!!! =) Wishing you a super spring!
u/RideThatBridge Thank you for the adorable vintage Easter postcard! And OMG this joke is AWESOME!!! “What do you call a Zen egg? An OMMMMMMM LET.” Hahahaha!!! Thank you for the sweet card & the awesome laugh!!! I also love the bunny-themed washi in fun colors & the bunny sticker you used. Hope you’re having a syrupy sweet spring, sweet friend (so many more thank-yous due, sweetcakes - posted about my drama in meta).
u/melhen16 Thank you for the pretty pastel Earth Day postcard with your kind wishes & the fun stickers!

Safeway:
Pork Chops $1.29/lb
Boneless Skinless chicken breasts $1.99/lb
Beef New York Strip Steaks $6.97/lb digital coupon limit 2 packs
Coca Cola, Gold Peak Tea, Glaceau smartwater, AHA sparkling water buy 2 get 2
Doritos, Ruffles, Smartfood popcorn $2.49 when you buy 3
Dreyer's Ice Cream 1.5qt, Signature Select ice cream bars, Baskin Robbins 14oz ice cream buy 1 get 1
Bounty Paper Towels 6pack $14.99
Charmin 8pack super mega rolls $14.99
Signature Select pasta $0.99 digital coupon limit 1? ... 1 pack of pasta what a deal
Challenge or Danish Creamery butter $2.99 digital coupon limit 4
Tropicana OJ 52oz $2.99 digital coupon limit 4
Lamb Shoulder Chops $6.99/lb
Simply Lemonade or Juice Drink 52oz 2 for $5 digital coupon limit 4
Cucumber or Green Bell Pepper $1/ea when you buy 4
There's a large pick 4 mix and match thing going on
Fresh blueberries 6oz $0.97 digital coupon limit 1
Lucerne Yogurt 6oz or Yoplait Yogurt 6oz $0.37/ea digital coupon limit 10
Chips Ahoy or Ritz $1.97/ea digital coupon limit 4
Eggo waffles assorted 3 for $5 digital coupon limit 6 Friday only
Lucky:
FREE Chobani Greek Yogurt 5.3oz digital coupon limit 1 Friday only
Pork Spareribs $1.99/lb
Asparagus $1.99/lb Fri Sat Sun
Tuna Steaks 11oz $4.99 F S S
El Monterey frozen burritos 32oz $3.99 F S S
Crav'n Flavor frozen pizzas $3.99 F S S
C&W frozen vegetables 12-16oz $1.88 F S S
Lay's assorted chips $1.99/ea when you buy 3 F S S
Mix & Match buy 5 save $5 assorted things sale
Artesano Bread 20oz $2.49 digital coupon
Jif Peanut Butter 28oz $4.99 digital coupon limit 2
Smart & Final:
Pork Spareribs, Pork Loin Chops, Chicken Wings $1.99/lb limit 4
Mangos 2 for $1 limit 10
Mini seedless watermelon $1.99/ea
Tomatoes on the vine $1.49/lb
Cucumbers 2 for $1
Fuji Apples $1.49/lb
Vidalia Onions $0.99/lb
Oreos family size 2 for $7
Simply Lemonade 52oz 2 for $5
Fritos, Lays, Doritos, Cheetos party size $3.99 when you buy 2
First Street rising crust pizzas $3.99/ea
Honey Bunches of Oats 48oz $7.89/ea
Chicken leg quarters 10lb bag $6 limit 4 <--- $0.60/lb, good price
Pork Shoulder $1.99/lb
Nob Hill:
Boneless Pork Loin $1.97/lb
General Mills cereal or Nature Valley bars $2.47 digital coupon limit 4
Quaker Rice Crisps $0.97/ea digital coupon limit 4
Oroweat Bread or English Muffins $2.97 digital coupon limit 4
Sunnyside Farms Butter 16oz $2.97 digital coupon limit 4
Pepperidge Farms cookies $2.97 digital coupon limit 4
Raley's 35 pack water 16.9oz $3.77 digital coupon limit 4
Brawny Paper towels or Quilted Northern TP $6.97 digital coupon limit 4
Large Hass Avocados or Red Mangoes $0.77/ea digital coupon limit 4
Chicken dark meat $0.77/lb digital coupon limit 4
Sargento shredded, sliced, or block cheese $2.77 digital coupon limit 4
Sunnyside Farms ice cream 1.5qt $2.77 digital coupon limit 4
Chips Ahoy family size $2.97 digital coupon limit 4
Ruffles, Doritos, Tostitos party size $3.47 digital coupon limit 4
El Super:
White Onions 3lbs for $0.99 Weds only
Roma Tomatoes 2lbs for $0.99 Weds only (otherwise $0.69/lb)
Bananas 2lbs for $0.99 Weds only
Limes 2lbs for $0.99 Weds Sat Sun only
Jalapeños 2lbs for $0.99 Weds only
Large Hass Avocados $0.99/ea Weds only
Peaches $0.99 Weds only
Red Cherries $1.29/lb Weds only
Strawberries 2lbs for $3 Weds only
Small Hass Avocados 3 for $0.99
Pineapples 2lbs for $0.99
Whole Tilapia $1.99/lb
Chicken Leg Quarters $0.87/lb Sat Sun only
Springfield canned tomato sauce 8oz 2 for $0.99
Pork Chops $1.47/lb Thurs only
Seedless Watermelon 3lbs for $0.99
Tomatillos 2lbs for $0.99
Large Mangoes 2 for $0.99
Corn 2 for $0.99
White Onions 2lbs for $0.99
Carrots 2lbs for $0.99
Cucumbers 2 for $0.89
Jicama 2lbs for $0.99
Lemons $0.69/lb

I started working for this single mom about 3 years ago. She has a little boy, 6M.
Less than a year ago she started dating this guy and things moved really fast (none of my business of course but for context purposes) and two weeks ago the three of them moved into together.
They moved further into the city that we’re from and next week I’m moving too, to a more rural area. I’ll be too far to work for them regularly so I gave her a heads up a few months ago.
Before they even moved to their new place there was an issue with food in the house. It’s not a money issue before anyone asks. Like there’s no snacks, frozen food, she only buys one or two boxes of Mac and cheese at a time. It’s really strange. I bring my own food and will bring extra just for him. It’s annoying but I really need the mom as a reference for when I graduate college and start teaching so I don’t say anything. I know he’s being fed they just eat out a lot. I did mention it to her in a fake oblivious way like “So what’s for dinner?”.
She’s said several times “Oh I need to go to the store bad”. Or she’ll suggest something that he doesn’t eat, like tomato soup. One time she told me to feed him freezer burnt ice cream as an after school snack. When she does buy food it’s not nutritious or filling for him. For example she bought rice Krispy treats in bulk and that was his ONLY snack for a month. Empty calories.
She doesn’t drive or have a car but her boyfriend does. Without fail every time I look in the fridge there’s a new case of beer for the bf. So he’s going to the store to get beer but not food for the child? It’s so bizarre.
So the day before yesterday I’m there for 3 hours and again, no food. He’s asking for snacks over and over. I tell him “Sorry sweetie there’s no snacks”. I did end up convincing him to eat an uncrustable (the only thing in freezer in which he does not like). Right before I left I gave him a bath because we had been at the pool. There’s no soap in his bathroom so I went to the master bath to grab soap.
Boyfriend got home and relieved me. The next day, my last day with them before I move, NK told me that the bf was mad about the soap and told NK “This is unreal” when he found the soap in the bathroom.
So apparently there is this built up resentment towards me when I’ve never heard a negative comment from MB ever. NK also has never said anything to the effect before. I barely know this man. And on top of that I am being wildly underpaid but I am in a atypical financial situation at this point in my life so I can afford the pay cut. The mom has acknowledged this and is grateful for it, I guess the boyfriend feels like I should be doing more (I don’t do household chores).
I called the mom and told her, she said “Oh no my bf would never get mad over something like that.” And I was like okay whatever. A few hours later NK asks for a snack, I said you’ll have to wait until mommy gets home. He said “Mommy’s bf was also mad that you never feed me. You could have fed me pasta (MB frequently suggests pasta but theres no sauce or butter in fridge)”.
I immediately called MB who was on her way home from work with bf. She denies it, gets home, makes all of these excuses like “I don’t want him eating too much, because he’s underweight so we’ve been feeding him vegetables and meat.” Mind you, there’s no vegetables or meat in the fridge just condiments. And this is the first time I’m hearing this. How is feeding him less going to help him gain weight? Sounds kind of made up?
I’m afraid she’s not going to pay me, she owes me for over 20 hours right now not to mention all of the food I’ve brought him from my own house. Clearly they think I’m in the wrong for being uncomfortable about the food situation to the point where it’s somehow being turned on me. Child services has been suggested to me but I don’t have any hard evidence anything is going on. NK has expressed to me that he’s fearful of the boyfriend but again no specifics that would be reportable. I’m done with nannying guys, done.

Lengthy but hope it helps someone!
· *Where to stay- I stayed in Baixa and I was so happy to not have to walk up any hills or steps to get to my AirBNB. It was in the middle of everything, it was flat, and I felt very safe. I was very close to two metro stations and the Rossio train station, which made it easy to travel. The only downside was it was hard for Uber’s to get to me.
*Things to know- bread, olives, and butter are NOT free tapas. Don’t eat them or ask to send them away, depending on the restaurant, they will charge quite a bit.
Bring sunblock- the prices of sunblock were OUTRAGEOUS in Cascais. Like over 10 for a small, off brand bottle.
Have cash, most places accept card but if you want to stop at a random spot for a shot of Ginjinha, you’ll need a couple euros.
Lisboa card- I purchased it for 3 days. I don’t think it was really worth it. Some of the free attractions were too crowded to stand in line for and then the museums I went to, only the tile museum was free. I did receive discounts at the other museums but it was minimal. I really only used it for the bus and metro and that is so cheap, I could have just bought a travel card.
Belem is over 30 min from the city on the bus so you will need a whole day there. We actually spent a day and a half since there was so much to see and so many museums in that area. Wait in line for Pasteis de Belem, they have a great system down and it does not take a long time at all. Definitely try different variations of Pasteis in Lisbon. Don’t pay to go into the Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument- it’s better to just walk around and explore the outside.
Public transportation is PACKED but very cheap to use. You will have no standing room on the metro or bus. Keep that in mind when you’re coming from the airport, but really, it is fine. Just a lot of people using it.
· *Museums/attractions- top 2 were definitely the Museu de Marinha and Tile museum, two major components of Lisbon’s history. The maritime history museum was impressive and very informative. There were so many models of the ships detailing Portugal’s history of ocean exploration. They also had a warehouse with royal barges you could walk around and look at.
The tile museum was absolutely breathtaking. Further away from city center but do not miss it!
Loved Castelo de S Jorge- you can buy your ticket online but it is a little bit more than buying in person, you will get to skip the line though. The views are amazing and walls are cool to walk around on. There’s peacocks living on the grounds. There’s a small kiosk selling beer, ice cream, and some snacks so you can definitely spend some time relaxing there.
Take a sunset beach cruise. I can recommend one if you want to dm me but we had such an amazing time. It was a relaxing experience where we saw dolphins swimming and the company provided some history of the city, wine, and meats and cheeses. The sunset is beautiful but it does get really windy and chilly, bring a jacket!
Caza das vellas loreto- oldest candle shop in the world
· * Day trip to Sintra- omg the hills! I visited Quinta de la Regaleira, Moorish Castle, and Pena palace. You can book tickets online for a small discount. I took an early train that was already very packed and people were standing for part of the journey. I used my Lisboa card for train. Once I got to Sintra, we walked to Quinta De La Regaleira- this was my favorite place, the grounds were beautiful, there was a bit of a wait for the well but I thought it was worth it. I walked through the small house and the carpentry and flooring was breathtaking!
We then went to lunch at Tascantiga, a tapas restaurant, food came out SO fast even though it was busy, so that says everything about the quality. It was fine. From there, we took a tuktuk to Moorish castle. It cost us 10 per person, but average is 7-15 depending on the tuktuk. Going down, everyone charges 5 per person. Moorish castle was so cool to explore but it is very steep and lots of stairs! The views are amazing including the coast and Pena palace.
We then took the trail through the woods to Pena palace. Many people on tiktok said you can buy a park pass and then not wait in line for the palace and could walk around the palace exterior. THIS IS NOT TRUE. To even get to the exterior of the palace, you must wait in line, regardless if you want to go into the interior or not. We were the idiots that got turned away for listening to TikTok people. I was okay with it at that point because the walk up to the palace was so steep, I was not going to wait in line for over an hour!
We took a tuktuk down and had them drop us off at terrace bar with a view of the Sintra palace (can’t recall the name) before we ventured to Bar do Binho for a port wine tasting.
· *Day trip to Caiscais- loved this super chill beach town. Took the metro to Cais Do Sodre train station and took the train along the coast. Walked around the town, chilled at the beach, went to the outdoor bar at Rainha for a cocktail. Had amazing oysters at Sr. Manuel seafood bar.
· *Favorite places to eat: · Ponto Final lived up the hype. Go for lunch, we made a rez (all are made for 12:30 or 7:30pm) and got sat right away. The food was better than expected and the view just can’t be beat! Definitely recommend taking the water taxi back as it drops you off in Belem. · Bon Jardim- I am still dreaming of this chicken, no frills restaurant · O Trevo- sandwich counter, great chicken noodle soup! Visited by Anthony Bourdain · Chapito a Mesa- restaurant with a view that is attached to a circus performing arts center. Menu was really unique and food was incredible. · Ludo’s- brunch spot, menu looked great but we stopped in for their dragonfruit cocktail! So fresh!
· * Favorite bars · Topo Martim Moniz- such a cool spot, great rooftop bar with unique craft cocktails and arcade games! Cocktails were a little pricey compared to other places but it was worth it · Pink street- trashy but you need to visit the bars just to people watch

Last Saturday. Seared turbot. Flight delayed almost two hours to replace an oil filter but pilot was great at communicating status, crew was great, and thanks to Munich transit efficiency we made the connection to CTA. I always try to connect via MUC or ZRH, never FRA or LHR.

Hello all! Below is my solo trip itinerary. I'm excited to see what's beyond Tokyo. Please let me know:

• If this is too packed and unrealistic to get done in this time
• If I should skip or stay longer in any location below
• If I should add any other city or major attraction to this route
• If there are any huge things/experiences I'm missing
• Any local food that I should try? I travel for food lol

Any tips/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

19th: Kanazawa

Kanazawa castle Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts Kanazawa Hyakubangai mall (4' walk from hotel) Oyama shrine Food: Miyuki / famous oden Food: Grill Otsuka / Hanton rice, omurice with tartar & ketchup Food to find: Jibu-ni (duck soup), Kabura-sushi (yellowtail turnip sushi), Kanazawa Curry (thick curry)

20th: Kanazawa (cont)

Nomura-ke Samurai Residence Myouryuji (Ninja Temple) Ninjabuki Museum Naga-machi District Food: Omicho market: - Kaitenzushi Okura / fresh, cheap sushi - find Kano crab, sea urchin Food: ice cream / Hakuichi Higashiyama Food: buy Kabura-zushi from local shops
Bus to Shirakawa-go

21th: Shirakawa-go day trip

Museum Gassho-zukuri Minkaen ”Kyoshu” Traditional Coffee Shop Dessert: Pudding, sake soft serve @ Shirakawago Purin no Ie Food: Gohei mochi Wada House Kanda House Shirakawago Restaurant Irori Shiroyama Tenshukaku Observation Deck Ogimachi Castle Observation Deck Food: Hida beef yakiniku and Hitsumabushi Bus to Takayama, stay overnight

22th: Takayama

Miyagawa Morning Markets Food: Hida beef 京や Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan Takayama Shōwa-kan Museum Hida Takayama Town Museum Takayama Jinya Showa museum Sanmachi Suji Food: Hoba Leaf Sushi 梗絲(きょうし)

23rd: Takayama (cont)

Food: Sakurajaya/Sakurachaya. Get hida beef & tempura. Alternative: Izakaya Kyouya - Hida Folk Village Hie Shrine? Retro museum/arcade 昭和の博物館 飛騨高山レトロミュージアム
Bus to Gujo Hachiman, stay overnight

24th: Gujo Hachiman

Gujo Hachiman Castle Gujo Hachiman castle town plaza Food: Udon 翔太のうどん Alteltrnative: Soba そばの平甚 本店 Dessert: dango at 団子茶屋 郡上八幡 Sogi Spring Igawa lane Yanaka Lane Kajiya machi street Shokunin machi street

25-26th: Nagoya

Osu Shopping Street Fureai Plaza Sakae / night life, bars etc Food: Yamachan / nagoya chain Nagoya castle (maybe under construction) Atsuta Jingu shrine Inuyama castle Museum Meiji-Mura Food: Sushiro Ghibli Park Explore local food: misokatsu, ebi fry, Yabaton (deep fried pork cutlet), kishimen (flat udon noodles), maruha shokudou (seafood and famous for their deep fried jumbo shrimp), Sekai no Yama Chan (deep fried chicken wings), Furaibo / Teba-Saki Chicken Wings Alternative: Misokatsu Yabaton Yaba-cho Honten Alternative: Hitsumabushi dish @ Maruya Honten or Hitsumabushi Hanaoka or Atsuta Horaiken

Hi! My husband (40m) and I (35f) have been together for 12 years. We started TTC for our first baby October 2022. In April of 2023, we started meeting with an REI who found, via intravaginal ultrasound, I had a septate uterus. I was told about 15 years ago that I might have a bicornate uterus, so this wasn’t a complete shock.
The REI referred us to an ob/gyn surgeon who ended up being fabulous! On 5/23/23, they did the septum resection, HSG, and did a laparoscopy to excise some endometriosis, which I didn’t know I had.
My post op was 6/5/23, right about two weeks after the procedure. He said the septum was “impressive,” but he got it all back to normal. My tubes were CLEAR! (I think I’m most excited about that, tbh. I’m not financially or mentally ready to go through IVF.). And during the laparoscopy, he found Stage 1 endo that he cleared out. He said some of the endometriosis was on some significant nerves.
Looking back, I did have endometriosis symptoms. I could go from a size 6 pants to a size 12 pants. I have had two or three bouts of terrible pain that went away after an hour, always in the middle of the night.
My recovery was pretty easy! Very thankful for that, for sure. I went in for surgery around 6:30 am. I was home a little after lunch the same day. Days 1-3, I felt groggy from anesthesia. Days 4-7ish, I had some pain in my abs that felt like I’ve done an work all week. That was expected as they cut through my muscle. Day 7 on, it was so hard to relax. I felt so good!!! I had to force myself to relax, watch movies, nap, etc. I took two weeks off work. Today was my first day back. (What a doozy!)
I was on estrogen cream every other day for two weeks. My REI gave me Letrozole to use as a suppository every night starting about a week post op. The estrogen cream and Letrozole kind of cancel each other out, but both docs approved it.
I have also been on BCP since about a month before surgery. I have recently started temping again. Today, I started using my kegg again. I’m not using the information for anything. Just trying to get in the habit!
My three incisions are all healing beautifully. There is in in my belly button you can’t even see!
I am on pelvic rest until July 4th. Doc has cleared me to start working out (starting easy), and I’m able to swim and take baths! I thought I couldn’t swim until the end of pelvic rest. Basically, just no sex until July 4th.
I see my REI this Saturday. I am hoping we will come up with a plan to hopefully conceive the moment I’m released from pelvic rest! He said he is proactive with medicated cycles, which I’m on board with. He is feeling confident that we will have our first positive test soon!
I will start adding back in my OPKs, Mira, and Fertility Friend after I meet with my REI. I’m thinking of adding another fertility app.
What I would recommend for hysteroscopy/HSG/laparoscopy: -a partner who is going to support you, cook for you, and take the dog out for you. -a parent who will bring you a 20-pack of drumstick ice cream cones. (There’s there not-fun game of: do my pants not fit because I’m still swollen or because I had…a few ice cream cones? I regret nothing.) -purchase some soups, fruit, and Gatorade before surgery. -have your partner go through P. Terry’s on the way home from surgery and get a ice cream shake for you. In your drugged-up state, you will forget about it until you’re home. It’s the best surprise that you knew about. -have clean bed sheets for post-op recovery.
Basically, I’ve cream got me through the last two weeks. It’s going to be a pain losing this weight, but it’s all worth it.

The forest is black. Pitch black.
I pound over the dirt trail, my feet turning the pedals like twin pistons. The bicycle bounces and jolts, shuddering as it rolls across the wooden bridge. There’s something in the air tonight. A chill.
But it isn’t the chill of autumn. No, this is the chill of unease. It crawls up my spine carrying the deep-rooted knowledge that something about these woods, something about this trail isn’t right. It’s the unmistakable dread of being watched.
Pursued.
I stand up and ride harder. My lungs burn with every push of the pedals but I can’t shake the feeling that I need to get out of these woods fast. The hospital is twenty minutes away. I just need to make it there.
I’m close.
So close.
WOMP
Bass rumbles behind me. It’s followed by a rush of wind, enough to throw me forward while ravishing the forest like a tempest. Trees groan. Their frames break and kneel, surrendering to the gale. Branches and leaves come loose. They ricochet through the air like shrapnel, cutting into my cheek and and I throw up an arm to keep myself from losing an eye.
This is insanity.
It’s lunacy.
I don’t know what’s happening, but I know I have to make it through this. I have to get out of these woods, get back to the hospital to see my sister before the heart monitor flatlines.
She’s not doing well. Are your mother and father home?
No, ma’am.
Can you get here to be with her? She doesn’t have long.
Yes ma’am. No matter what.
The distant bass nears, growing thunderous. It’s as though the whole world is shaking, like the Earth might split in two and swallow me whole. I grit my teeth. I let loose a defiant roar, sweat pouring down my temples as my legs tremble, willing my bike forward.
Faster, dammit!
Faster!
There’s a flash. Then another.
Lightning?
No.
I’m answered by an explosion of light, so violent and bright that I can’t see a damn thing. I holler. Scream. My body jerks forward as my front wheel collides with what feels like a fallen branch. Next thing I know, I’m flying over my handlebars.
What’s the phrase?
Ass-over-tea-kettle.
Yeah, that’s it.
I brace myself for a broken arm, maybe worse, but the pain never comes. Nothing comes. It’s as though I’m floating in limbo, like gravity’s unable to finish what it started. I can’t feel a thing– not the dirt beneath me, not my face pressed against the bark of a tree. For a little while, I think I’m dead. That I’m in purgatory.
But then my eyes adjust. The world comes into focus, beginning as a blurry smudge, but soon becoming a picture-perfect recreation of my worst nightmare.
I’m not in the forest anymore.
I’m above it.
I’m looking down at the mess of trees and I’m terrified at how small they are, how much smaller they’re getting with every passing second.
I’m floating into the sky, being carried by a narrow beam of light.
​
___________________________
​
That was a long time ago. Thirty years, give or take.
A lot’s changed since then, but one thing’s remained the same: the nightmares. I have them every night. I dream about that blinding light, that same low bass and that same gut-churning horror of being eaten by the sky.
I used to think they were a coping mechanism. I figured that since the dreams came shortly after my older sister passed, that maybe they were just how my eleven-year-old brain was dealing with the grief. My therapist seemed to agree.
“You’re quite right that there may be a link there,” she’d tell me, lowering her glasses and offering a medical-grade smile. “It’s very likely that these dreams are a form of abstract healing, a means to allow your mind to come to terms with its trauma.”
For a long time, I thought she was right. Or better put, I hoped she was. Now though? Well, I think maybe we were both wrong.
Shit.
Where are my manners?
I’m over here rambling about my childhood, and you’re wondering who the hell I am.
My name is Isaiah Mitchell. I’m a boogeyman, but not the cool kind. I don’t hide in closets or haunt old houses. I’m the type that your parents rant about while watching the evening news, the sort that tinfoil hats point to whenever things go wrong.
I’m what you might call a Man in Black.
The work I do is classified. It’s the sort of work that happens behind the scenes, with shadowy people in shadowy circles. So when I tell you that last night something catastrophic happened, I’m not talking about the stock market dipping a couple percentage points. I'm not talking about increased traffic on your morning commute.
I’m talking about trouble.
Lots of it.
It’s the kind of trouble that’s making me do something I don’t generally do, which is break rules. By the end of this, I might break all of them. But this is important, and in moments like these I find myself thinking about my late sister, Hope, and how she would have wanted me to do the right thing. It’s how she raised me, after all.
So here goes nothing.
This begins with a story, but it ends with a decision. The story is mine, and the decision is yours. When I’m finished, you get to choose whether you spend the time you have left a little wiser, or laugh this off as the ramblings of a lunatic.
Whatever you choose, I’ll have made my peace.
The story is a personal one. It’s about me, but it’s also about you– it’s about everything in the universe, right down to the last atom, and how all of us are facing a horror the likes of which we can’t begin to imagine.
It’s the story of the worst night of my life, and what might one day be the worst night of yours.
It goes like this.
​
_______________________
​
The beam of light sucks me up and spits me into absolute darkness. The sensory whiplash is enough to give me a headache, something like a migraine that pulses near my temples and feels like a bulldozer inside my skull.
It’s uncomfortable.
But not half as uncomfortable as the situation I’m in.
“Hello?” I mumble to the dark. I stumble to my feet, feeling around my environment blindly. It’s cold. Hard. It feels like I might be in a room full of metal, but I can’t imagine where that would be. A warehouse?
Footsteps echo in the distance. They’re closing in.
“Who’s there?” I sputter, and I think maybe I’ve been drugged. People don’t just up and float into the sky in the middle of the night. It isn’t a thing.
That means I’m hallucinating.
That means whoever kidnapped me knows a thing or two about stealing kids.
That means they’re a professional.
What’s the phrase?
Serial killer.
Yeah, that’s it.
WOOOOMP
I clap my hands to my ears. It’s that same bass from the forest, except now it’s reverberating all around me. Another bass joins it. This one is different… coming from a new direction, with a lower tone. It’s almost like they’re communicating– like morse code.
“Please,” I beg. “Just let me go. I swear I won’t tell anybody!”
Static crackles. It’s followed by a sharp squeal of microphone feedback, then the buzz of modulating frequency. “Communication calibrated,” a digital voice says. “Subject identified: homosapien. Geographic location: New Mexico. Language model: English.”
There’s a pause, it’s long and silent enough that I can hear my pulse rushing through my veins. I’m positive I’m going to die. These things don’t happen to people who live to tell the tale.
“Can you understand us, homosapien?” the voice asks.
Yes, I say.
Can you turn on the lights? I ask.
The only thing worse than being murdered is being murdered in the dark.
Yes, they say.
I’m blinded for the third time in as many minutes. I blink, my eyes adjusting to the green glow as it fills the chamber. Wherever I am, it’s strange. Alien. Tall vats of liquid are scattered around a large, circular room, each hosting tubes that extend outward to a central console. Everything is metallic. I can’t make out any labels– any sort of identification at all.
“Is this level of light sufficient?” another voice asks, this one right behind me.
I wheel around, and my breath catches in my chest. In front of me is something that doesn’t exist– can’t exist. It’s roughly ten feet tall, and it’s got sharp teeth, sharp claws, scaled skin, and a tail. It’s a monster. A living, breathing monster.
Fuck.
I scramble backward. My back collides with one of the vats, and blue liquid sloshes against the glass. “Thehellareyou?” I shout all at once.
“We are the Chosen,” says the first voice, approaching my other side. “We are lifeforms from many galaxies away, and we have come to save humanity.”
They stare at me through giant eyes, and each of those eyes are filled with dozens of pulsing pupils. Almost like ink blots.
“I’ve been abducted…” I sputter, hardly able to breathe. “By aliens. Aliens… are real… and I’ve been abducted…”
“Correct,” says one of the aliens. I realize this one has gray scales, while the other has teal. At least I can tell them apart.
Gray looks at his arm, and a digital screen comes to life. He taps at it with a crooked finger. “Readings indicate heightened levels of cortisol and increased adrenal flow. Source: Fight or flight response. Biologically rational, but devoid of purpose.” He looks at me, cocks his over-large head to the side. “You have neither the option to fight us or flee us, so it would be best to comply. Do you understand?”
My jaw hangs open. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. Are these aliens really standing there reading me my Miranda Rights? “Are you going to probe me?” I ask. “Like the movies?”
Teal blinks at me, his pupils dilating. “Negative.” He points to a vat. “We will break down your genetic tissue into usable material, harvesting your most compatible DNA strands while discarding the rest. It is for the greater good.”
I follow his finger to the tank, and now that I’m right up against it, I can see clearly what’s floating inside. My stomach twists into a knot. Inside of it is a human body. Everything from the man’s waist down has been dissolved, and what’s left of his intestines are dangling freely.
“Jesus Christ!”
“There is no cause for concern,” Teal says. He lumbers across the chamber to the metallic console that all the tubes are feeding into. “Your disappearance will be accounted for. A clone will be deployed to resume your life, preventing suspicion and avoiding social disruption.”
“Let me get this straight,” I say, trying to ignore how faint I’m starting to feel. “You’re going to kill me… to save humanity?”
“Correct.”
The room spins. My chest gets tight and my vision becomes a scrambled mess. My ears are ringing like church bells. I stumble, losing my sense of equilibrium and I think I taste vomit in my throat.
“No,” I mutter. “This isn’t happening… Can’t be happening…”
I steady myself against a vat, looking up to see a dead woman’s face staring back at me. Pieces of her skull have been eaten away. I can see the wrinkles of her brain underneath.
“Heart rate out of range,” Gray says, but I hardly hear him. He grabs my wrist, presses a device against the center of my hand.
I struggle. Fight. I try to use my teeth, but he’s strong, much stronger than me. A coldness pulses against my palm, almost like an ice cube, and soon that frigid sensation is traveling across my fingertips. Up my arm.
“What did you…” I mutter, but the sensation is rolling through the rest of my body. It’s soothing. My eyes find my palm and I see a strange shape seared into the skin, a scatter of dots surrounding a black square. Suddenly I can’t remember the thought I was trying to finish. Was any of this really worth panicking over?
It was just a few corpses in vats, after all.
“You have been administered a sedative,” Gray explains.
My heart rate slows. My ears stop ringing. The ghost of a smile sneaks across my face.
Gray’s staring at his display. “Cortisol levels reduced. Adrenal response suppressed. Biometric readings indicate subject has achieved a suitable level of suggestibility to proceed.”
“Affirmative,” says Teal, working the console.
I feel like I’m drifting through the lake on a warm summer day. My heart is full. I’m in absolute bliss, and all I can think is that Hope should get to experience this before she dies…
“Pulse is quickening,” Gray says with a frown.
Hope.
My sister.
My dying sister, alone in the hospital wondering why her little brother abandoned her.
“Sedation effect dropping,” Gray says. “98%. 94%. Emotional instability reaching unacceptable levels.”
“Hope,” I sputter, feeling like I’m coming out of a daze. “I have to get to the hospital– please! My sister is sick! She needs me!”
Gray presses the device against my other hand, and another pulse of relaxation courses through me. “Invalid concern,” he tells me. “Clone will be a perfect recreation of you, body and mind. It will retain all memories allowing it to continue your life uninterrupted. Conclusion: your expiring sibling will receive suitable emotional support prior to her decomposition.”
Fucking aliens. It takes everything I have to fight against the sedative, to make my case. “How?” I groan. “How is my DNA supposed to save humanity? What the hell is it saving us from anyway?”
Teal turns from the console to face us. His giant eyes are narrowed in a thoroughly displeased manner. “Invalid request. Information too critical to risk dissemination.”
“Rebuttal,” says Gray. “Clone’s memory can be modified. Current biometric readings indicate high levels of emotional discontent, placing likelihood of a compromised harvest at 34%. Solution: permit subject to understand purpose of sacrifice. Result: sense of closure and enhanced probability of project success.”
Teal turns back to the console. “Rebuttal accepted. Proceed.”
Gray looks at me. He places his scaly fingers against my head, and I squirm a little. “Brace yourself for disorientation,” he tells me. “You will experience physical unease and hyperstimulation. After, you will understand the horror that awaits your species in the dark.”
​
______________________________
​
For a long time, that’s as far as the nightmare gets. Gray prattles on that I’m about to see the truth, some twisted fate that justifies melting humans into sludge, but before he can deliver the goods, I wake up.
Every. Time.
Blue balls doesn’t begin to describe it.
Last night, it happens again. The nightmare, I mean. Same aliens, same tanks of human soup, but this time I wake up in a cold sweat. My phone is ringing on the bedside table. There’s a name on the screen that I hate to see.
“Whatisit?” I grumble.
“Jesus Christ, Mitchell. I’ve been calling for ten minutes!”
My boss. Lisa.
She goes off. The words are coming out like machine-gun fire, and from the background chatter I figure she’s speaking to more than just me. It sounds like there’s a crowd around her, like she’s briefing suits as she jogs down a hallway.
“Got all that?” she asks.
Something about a shitstorm. Something about an F35. The air force just shot down a UAP, which is how we say UFO these days to avoid getting laughed out of the room. Apparently it happened in New Mexico. My backyard.
This calls for a liter of coffee. Maybe two.
I stumble into the kitchen and put a pot on. I have some time while she holds the phone to her chest and barks orders at the drones around her. One cream. One sugar. My spoon clinks against the side of the mug as her voice blares through the speaker.
“Mitchell?” she says. “Still there?”
She says she’s got coordinates. I take a sip of scalding java. I’m dazed enough I barely feel it burn my tongue. My fingers punch the coordinates into my laptop, bringing up the location the supposed UAP was shot down.
I spit my coffee over my screen.
“The fuck?” I mutter, leaning forward and doing a double take at the map.
“What is it?” she’s asking.
“Nothing,” I’m saying.
But it’s a lie. The truth is, the coordinates are a dead match for the forest where I had my waltz with psychosis thirty years ago. They’re the coordinates from my dream. Right down to the rickety old bridge.
I ask her if she’s sure the numbers are correct.
“Am I sure?” she snaps. “Look, if you’re asking me if this is another Chinese spy balloon then the answer is go fuck yourself. I’ve been pulling my hair out for the past twenty minutes. This is the real deal, so suit up and get ready to go. I’ve got a bird on the way.”
The clock on my microwave reads 2:34 a.m. and my stomach is telling me to sort my life out. “Do I have time for breakfast?” I ask.
Click.
The line goes dead.
Twenty minutes later, a helicopter is landing on my lawn. I board it in a daze, and we take off in the direction of the crash like we’re trying to outrun a cruise missile. I’m watching the lights of the countryside drift by, and it occurs to me that from all the way up here, in the dead of night, they almost look like stars.
I wonder how long it’d take to snuff them out.
How long it’d take to burn a whole galaxy to ashes?
To crush a universe in the palm of your hand?
Things to consider.
The closer we get to the crash site, the worse my thoughts become. They’re bordering on obsessive. I’m tangoing with darkness. Radio chatter is coming through the com line, something about aliens and extraterrestrials, but all I’m thinking about is controlling my bladder.
I’m drowning in hypotheticals.
I’m wondering what happens if I lose my mind between here and the crash site, what the protocols are, where they’ll take me. Do I get the night off? The week?
“Everything okay, sir?”
It’s the co-pilot. She’s turning in her seat and looking at me like I’m having a medical emergency.
“You look a bit pale,” she tells me.
My muscles work overtime as I twist my mouth into a smile. “Never better,” I lie. “How far out are we?”
“Twenty miles,” she says with a reassuring grin. She turns back in her seat and I take the opportunity to let out an exhausted sigh.
I close my eyes. Take a dozen deep breaths.
Happy thoughts.
I try to ignore how dry my mouth is, how badly my hands are shaking. I try to ignore the fact that every time I look down at my palms, I see that same scatter of dots, that same faded square that no doctor has been able to explain. “I’ve never seen scars like that,” they tell me. “How’d you get them?”
I don’t know, I tell them.
I don’t know.
But I do.
I’ve known this entire time, probably, but I’ve just been too terrified to accept it. I’m not what I think I am– this world isn’t what I think it is either. It’s all of this that’s making me want to curl into a ball. It’s making me want to weep on the floor, to scream at the top of my lungs and pull my hair out with everything I have.
It’s making me want to throw open the helicopter door, take a breath of fresh air and then plunge head-first into the dirt like a human turnip. And if I thought it was that easy, I might just do it.
But somehow, I know it isn’t.
I know it won’t save me– won’t save us, from what’s coming.
See, last night I had the same dream I’ve had for the last thirty years. The same abduction. The same aliens. But last night, I got to see the director’s cut. The Extended Edition. Last night, when Gray told me he was going to show me just how fucked we all are, he actually came through.
Imagine that.
What I saw was everything.
I saw how all of this ends. How all of it began. What I saw is what’s waiting for us in the black infinity of space. And the more that I think about it, the more I think it might be driving me mad.
“Just up ahead,” says the pilot. “Ten minutes to touch down.”
Eight minutes.
Five.
“Jesus,” he says, at the three minute mark. “Are you two seeing this?”
And up ahead is a plume of smoke, rising into the night sky. There’s the faint flicker of fading fires, the haphazard glow of industrial lighting, and there, at the center of it all, is the unmistakable shape of something that shouldn’t exist.
“That… doesn’t look like it’s from this planet…” the co-pilot mutters over the com line.
“No,” the pilot replies, and his voice is shaking. “It doesn't.”
They’re right. They both are. What it looks like is something extra-terrestrial, something alien. It looks like something ripped straight from my worst nightmares.
And really, that’s just where I wish it had stayed.

i thought i would also make a separate diet post so we can share foods that seem to help, or at least bother us the least! our personal rules for food will all be different, so please be patient with me for having packaged foods, low-lactose cheeses, etc. (although definitely let me know if you think any of these are truly going to mislead people.) you should also know that maximizing the ratio of vegetables to protein has made me feel the best. anyway, this is my list:
foods that seem to help: . herbs like lavender, thyme, oregano, rosemary—i put them in a chicken and vegetable soup. once i infused lavender in (unsweetened) soy milk. i take a rosemary pill when i have flareups. . garlic (raw is best—i make a caesar dressing using thug kitchen’s recipe but with silken tofu instead of almonds. it fucks) . onions & leeks . swiss cheese (i think it’s the enzymes?? esp the kosher one from sprouts) . dill pickles (i like kuhne for subtle/crunchy and grillo’s for more flavor)
foods that don’t hurt: . spinach/dark greens—although I’m getting a little tired of them, i do love salads. recently i top my salads with nuts, turkey, and low-lactose cheese like mozzarella. i dress it with oil & vinegar. . asparagus . broccoli . okra (i buy unbreaded and pan-fry it, so good and rich in magnesium!!) . soy products (I’m sure this varies person to person. but soy has antimicrobial properties!) cabbage—check out gaz oakleys purple soup on youtube, it’s delicious!! . chicken salad with soy mayonnaise, dill, cucumber, celery
foods to bring joy/keep sane: . lily’s sea salt dark chocolate if you don’t mind stevia (also rich in magnesium, and cocoa has antimicrobial properties) . zero sugar jerky (chomps and tillamook are good brands)
please share your safe foods in the comments if you’d like to help build this list!

My mom just absolutely drove me to tears by constantly nagging me about cooking repetitive meals. I don't think I do. I regularly cook 3 types of pasta, pizza, broths, cream soups, vegetable stews, salmon with various sides, salads with couscous or bulgur, multiple Indian dishes, multiple Thai dishes, steamed veggies, chicken and turkey in different ways, sourdough bread and foccacia with homemade spreads.
According to my mom she's "never met a child with les culinary experience than my 2yo daughter and she will be hungry in preschool one day because of how limited my cooking is. Her problem is me not liking minced meat and red meat, hence I don't cook it much. Neither do I make dumplings.
I frickin cried

Hey y’all! This list is assuming you have access to a fridge, griddle, and kettle, but most things you can keep in a cooler. Also, a lot can be bought pre-made for tent campers. Often you’ll have the most time to eat in the morning, so make it your biggest meal. Eating regularly is the best way to keep yourself partying all weekend long!
Roo food ideas Breakfasts: pancake mix bottle, egg mix bottle, pre-cooked bacon, bread, yogurt, oatmeal, bagels
Lunches: frozen meals, frozen burritos(if we have a microwave), cold cut sandwiches, can soups, lunchables
Snacks: peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, fruit, nuts, cheese (sliced, shredded, brick), tuna pouches, crackers, veggie tray
Drinks: coffee grounds, tea bags, protein drinks, electrolyte drinks, water jugs
Condiments/dips: peanut butter, jelly, sour cream, cream cheese, hot sauce, mayo, ranch, bbq, mustard, ketchup, maple syrup, hummus, butteoil
Other: sugar, honey, salt, pepper, herbs/spices, lettuce, loaves of bread, tortillas, buns
Premade: coleslaw, vegan salads, chicken/egg/pasta/potato salad, pre cut onion/peppers, box potatoes, ready to eat pasta/rice pouches.
Dinners: tofu, pre cooked meats (pulled chicken/pork), hot dogs, sandwiches, tacos.
From home: a griddle, French press, kettle, dish tub, cooking utensils
Walmart: cutlery, serving utensils, plates, bowls, knife, cutting board, napkins, cups
Have fun, be safe, high fives all around!

A couple years ago I got some cookbooks for Christmas, and a few days ago as I was flipping through them, I noticed there were a lot of recipes for couscous for some reason. I've never had it and was looking to try something different, so I figured that maybe I should try and make one, so I chose a recipe for Curried Chicken and Couscous that used chicken, couscous, mixed vegetables and cream of chicken soup.
It was really good... definitely a unique tasting food and it made a surprising amount of it. I'm definitely going to try and make other recipes with it :)

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Hi,
This incident occurred yesterday while I was having lunch with my girlfriend (both 27 years old). According to my girlfriend, I have a bad habit that I need to change. However, I consider it more of a quirk because it doesn't affect me in any significant way. I simply cannot stand to look at liquified gravy or thick soup, especially those thickened with corn starch, such as thick gravy and mushroom soup. If saliva comes into contact with such foods, the enzymes in saliva break down the starch, resulting in a watery texture that I find unappealing.
When it comes to people I don't know, I tend to look away. However, if it involves someone I know or am close to, I will politely ask the waiter to remove the dish after confirming that the person no longer wants it. If the person still wishes to consume the food, I will request the dish to be covered, ensuring I seek their permission first.
Yesterday, my girlfriend left her cream of mushroom soup for too long, causing it to become watery when she tried to stir it. I asked if she still wanted the soup, and she said yes. To my dismay, she mixed the soup with another liquified gravy and stirred them together. This act disgusted me. She claimed that she was trying to help me overcome my quirk, stating that it was strange. In response, I tried my best to avoid looking at the soup due to its repulsive appearance. However, she continued insisting that I should examine it. I then mentioned (without shouting) that she should focus on improving herself before attempting to change others. I made a mistake by criticizing her nail-biting habit, stating that it was worse than my quirk. Her nails are uneven and very short. She accused me of being inconsiderate because she believed she was only trying to assist me. I responded by saying that she should prioritize self-improvement before attempting to change me, adding that at least my quirks are not visible to others, whereas her nail condition is apparent to everyone.
AITA?
Edit :

1. I forgot to add. She did that a few times before. I just tried not to look at the soup. I blew up yesterday because she asked me to look it the soup.
2. I only ask to cover the soup if I am 100% sure they don't want to drink the soup and there are no waiters around to collect the soup. I asked is it ok to cover it and I did the covering myself too.