I think my bonus is going to be about 30k. It would be even more if I didn’t take the optional unpaid portion of parental leave, but, ah well. That is a wild amount of money that we’re going to spend almost completely on childcare for 2024
22 Likes
Holy fuck
3 Likes
It’s so much money
4 Likes
2 Likes
I wish I could be more excited about it lol but instead I’m just like, yup, daycare next year is covered 
10 Likes
Well there’s good and bad in everything I suppose.
2 Likes
It’s true! Anyway I won’t complain on the tiny victories thread lol sorry
2 Likes
I wasn’t sure where to post this 
on some thread on the forum a few weeks ago we were talking about intervening on stuffed animal names. I would like to introduce everyone to the stuffed cat I mentioned on there, the renamed-to-Pinky.
My mom filled me in on more of the story I didn’t remember! Apparently I picked this out at the store and tried to name it then- but she opted to intervene
Summary
When I yelled “don’t touch my pussy!” In the middle of a store when one of my brothers tried to take the cat.
Aaaaanywho, let all parents live in fear of having a child like me to mortify you in public 
13 Likes
My parents did not intervene. Most of our stuffed animals when we were little were just the animal names in Mandarin (fox, seal, etc). My sister also had “fat cat” (who was a fat cat). Our names didn’t get creative until we were much older.
reference to animal death
My sister had a lamb stuffed animal. We were living in a Muslim country where there was a holiday that basically translates to “lamb slaughtering festival” in Chinese, and since there was “lamb” in the name my sister decided to name her stuffed sheep “lamb slaughtering festival” (it rolls off the tongue much more easily in Mandarin) 
This did not seem wrong to us until much, much later in life when we actually thought about it!
9 Likes
My curry with tons of veggies and lamb in the pressure cooker keeps telling me the food is burning. I have ordered spicy chicken pitas for delivery and this is a win because I saved money in the take-away budget this month for this sort of occasion. Food cant cook perfectly every time.
6 Likes
I give almost all our cardboard boxes to an antique store, if you have one near where you go or live, it’s another idea… Most thrift shops, used bookstores, and antique shops are happy to have them.
3 Likes
I have had a “problem” with pie crust almost my entire life. But…but… I have now made pie crust that doesnt’ suck THREE times and the last time I made a top and a bottom crust for a pot pie.
Pie crust was one of those things I “couldn’t” do. Apparently, all I needed was a recipe that didn’t tell me to work the fat in until it was like cornmeal? I don’t know. But the recipe I’ve been using just says to rub it in until all the fat is covered in flour, so it winds up. with some flour not with fat and these flakes… when you combine it and then knead it, the stuff gets mixed enough and I’ve gotten flaky pastry! 
12 Likes
That’s so awesome! Pie crust is my white whale too. DH’s is lemon bars. It’s so funny there are things like that. You’ve given me some hope!
3 Likes
This is such a key to good pie crust! Once I switched from the crumbling butter to just smooshing the butter into flat pieces to make a flaky dough, it was a game changer!
ETA @noodle I really love SmittenKitchen’s method for flaky pie crust, it’s so easy and foolproof
4 Likes
Mine used to be brownies… somehow I always wound up with “chocolate peanut butter,” i.e., chocolate sauce. It was good, but no matter how much it cooked, it never baked into a cake-like thing!
4 Likes
Mine always goes TOO cake-like.
2 Likes
Tomorrow is my last day at work for the year, and I expect to use this repeatedly:
18 Likes
I have tried the SK one and on one memorable occasion I threw out three hockey puck attempts while crying 
5 Likes
If you want, I’ll post the recipe I’m using here?
2 Likes
Yes please! Worth a shot.