Little things that changed your life

[Deleted]

Heated water buckets for horse stalls! 

[Cookies Galore]

May 22, 2018 11:38:32 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

One thing that occurred to me immediately and I didn't post it because it's a bit TMI:  tampons.

I reached puberty back before anyone had thought of pads with an adhesive strip.  They were held in place by an elastic belt that was slung around your hips under your clothes, with a notch in the back and front to hold the pad in place.  It was, as a female cousin aptly described it, "bunchy and icky".

I muddled through for two years with this system and finally got up the nerve to try a tampon after reading the instruction leaflet multiple times.  It took some getting used to but I was FREE.  It turned periods into a minor nuisance instead of a showstopper.  For one thing, it meant that I didn't have to sit out a week every month at the local pool where we practically lived in the summers.  I told my mother after the fact.  I guess I didn't ask beforehand because it wasn't something she'd brought up when she discussed puberty.   She was fine with it.  I resolved then and there that if I ever had daughters, they'd be told from Day One.  I had only DS but when my two granddaughters get to that age I plan to talk with DDIL and encourage her to bring up the subject. 

Ooh, good one! In a similar theme, my IUD has been a godsend! Haven't needed tampons in almost four years!

[Deleted]

How could I forget?  Migraine meds!

I could be totally non-functional at least 10 days out of every month without them.  I didn't start getting them until my mid 30's, but OMG.  Before meds, there were days when I truly wanted to die.  I actually wrote this long thank you letter to my OB when she put my on daily amitripyline.  My quality of life improved the VERY NEXT DAY.  I never realized until after I started taking them that I was feeling sick (pre-migrainal) every single morning until about 11am, at that point, either it would clear up or I'd slip into full migraine.   I thought that's just how mornings were for me now, but the day after taking that first pill, the next morning I woke up feeling fine.  It was so amazing. 

I hope to someday not need them, and from family history, I won't after menopause, but until then they keep me going and feeling good most of the time.

[Anne_in_VA]

Electric blankets!  DH is a cover stealer, so even if I only have a sheet and part of the blanket, I can still be warm.  I just wish they made them in extra wide.  We have a king bed and king blankets are still not wide enough!

[Chocolate Lover]

May 22, 2018 9:59:47 GMT -5 movingforward said:

Earplugs - I am a light sleeper and wearing them has helped me sleep so much better

Dishwasher pods - this is really a stupid little thing but I love being able to pop a pod in the dishwasher and not have to worry about pouring liquid or powder

Shout wipes - I always have one of these. I obviously eat like a toddler and need to be wearing a bib

Me too! Do they work?

[movingforward]

May 22, 2018 13:22:14 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

May 22, 2018 9:59:47 GMT -5 movingforward said:

Earplugs - I am a light sleeper and wearing them has helped me sleep so much better

Dishwasher pods - this is really a stupid little thing but I love being able to pop a pod in the dishwasher and not have to worry about pouring liquid or powder

Shout wipes - I always have one of these. I obviously eat like a toddler and need to be wearing a bib

Me too! Do they work?

They work well. The only thing I had an issue with was some marina sauce on a white blouse. It didn't quite get that one out.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

May 22, 2018 12:58:04 GMT -5 Anne_in_VA said:

Electric blankets!  DH is a cover stealer, so even if I only have a sheet and part of the blanket, I can still be warm.  I just wish they made them in extra wide.  We have a king bed and king blankets are still not wide enough!

Get two full/double size. That way you can each set as warm or cool as you want. 

[Chocolate Lover]

May 22, 2018 13:33:01 GMT -5 Cheesy FL-Vol said:

May 22, 2018 12:58:04 GMT -5 Anne_in_VA said:

Electric blankets!  DH is a cover stealer, so even if I only have a sheet and part of the blanket, I can still be warm.  I just wish they made them in extra wide.  We have a king bed and king blankets are still not wide enough!

Get two full/double size. That way you can each set as warm or cool as you want. 

I haven't shared a king sized blanket with DH in ages. I can keep the sheet from getting away but he was always trying to completely get rid of the blanket at night. Waking all the way up to fight to get my half back where I wanted it was not amusing. So 2 blankets/1 sheet has worked for us. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 22, 2018 11:49:50 GMT -5 jitterbug said:

I have one negative life change and one modern convenience that isn't necessarily a life change - but is one of my favorite helpful hints!

My iPad is my negative life change.  I waste waaayyy too much time on it versus doing something productive!  I used to be a huge reader and now I do all my reading off the Overdrive app, using my local library - but if the book doesn't hold my interest, I'm clicking on Pinterest or Candy Crush or 100 other apps that are pointless!  And before I know it - my evening's gone.

But my favorite modern convenience hint is Windex Window Pads for the outside windows!!  You buy the initial kit that's like a Swiffer, with a pad that is preloaded with window washing stuff.  Then you spray your windows with the hose, use the stick to swipe the pad across the window, then rinse off with the hose.  Voila!  Shiny clean windows with NO streaks and NO wiping!

My iPad gave me back my life when I was in the hospital but I spend way too much time on games.  

I have discovered that my Kindle really does work better for reading.  By having the second tablet (that doesn't have access to the internet), I tend to just read.  It was awesome in Mexico - I must have read a book and a half each day.  In my older trips, that meant I would have had to schlep 15 books with me on vacation.  

[Waffle]

This is going way back, but luggage with wheels. Luggage without wheels was no fun whatsoever.

[Artemis Windsong]

May 22, 2018 12:58:04 GMT -5 Anne_in_VA said:

Electric blankets!  DH is a cover stealer, so even if I only have a sheet and part of the blanket, I can still be warm.  I just wish they made them in extra wide.  We have a king bed and king blankets are still not wide enough!

Get a blanket just for yourself. 

[Artemis Windsong]

Air conditioning in the car and house.

Frost free refrigerator.  Self-cleaning oven. 

Dishwasher.  I lived 33 years in an area where strep throat was rampant.  Dishwasher killed it.

Menopause made my health so much better.

[TheOtherMe]

May 22, 2018 11:50:10 GMT -5 movingforward said:

May 22, 2018 11:38:32 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

My mother told me that virgins couldn't wear tampons . When I was 15 I finally just started wearing them without discussing it with her.

I was told the same thing.  I was past high school and living with roommates before I got brave enough for tampons.

[TheOtherMe]

May 22, 2018 14:52:32 GMT -5 Waffle said:

This is going way back, but luggage with wheels. Luggage without wheels was no fun whatsoever.

I remember dragging luggage on the Tube in London before luggage with wheels.  

[shanendoah]

Really noticing this today - my usual roller bar mouse that keeps my hands in front of me. On someone else's computer today while my office is being redone and using a regular mouse that moves my arm off to the side. My shoulder is already twinge-ing.

[movingforward]

How about those fancy new ice cream makers. I don't have one but recently went to a party where the host did. It was pretty awesome and made delicious ice cream. I am now thinking about getting one.

I remember cranking that handle as a kid. We made a lot of homemade ice cream when visiting my grandparents. That's what us grand kids were there for...to take turns turning that stupid handle.

[NastyWoman]

This is a BAD BAD thread → now movingforward wants an icecream maker and I want a kindle.  This is YM people

[wvugurl26]

In the kitchen my kitchen aid mixer and my mega baking sheets that hold 24 cookies at a time. And the cookie scoop. I made hundreds of cookies for my wedding and those were a life saver.

[midjd]

High-capacity USB drives. I came of age when cassette tapes were just giving way to CDs, and the ability to put a billion songs on a flash drive and plug it into my car stereo (vs switching out CDs or, heaven forbid, rewinding a tape) was pretty amazing.

[Deleted]

May 22, 2018 18:05:02 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

This is a BAD BAD thread → now movingforward wants an icecream maker and I want a kindle.  This is YM people

Buy tampons. They're cheaper.

[NastyWoman]

May 22, 2018 18:50:44 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

May 22, 2018 18:05:02 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

This is a BAD BAD thread → now movingforward wants an icecream maker and I want a kindle.  This is YM people

Buy tampons. They're cheaper.

True that. But at 66 also an absolute waste of $$$

[NoNamePerson]

May 22, 2018 19:01:37 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

May 22, 2018 18:50:44 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Buy tampons. They're cheaper.

True that. But at 66 also an absolute waste of $$$

You can spray paint them Gold and hang from Christmas tree or paint red and take two and make hearts for valentines or paint them ----- never mind.  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 22, 2018 18:05:02 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

This is a BAD BAD thread → now movingforward wants an icecream maker and I want a kindle.  This is YM people

I rationalize it that with my Kindle, I’m spending waaaay less on books.  I used to snag ones as they came onto the market, but now I try to keep to the ones less than $2.99....and many are free.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 22, 2018 18:50:44 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

May 22, 2018 18:05:02 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

This is a BAD BAD thread → now movingforward wants an icecream maker and I want a kindle.  This is YM people

Buy tampons. They're cheaper.

The prices now are roughly twice what I used to purchase them at 10 years ago.  OUCH!  

[NastyWoman]

May 22, 2018 19:35:34 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

May 22, 2018 19:01:37 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

True that. But at 66 also an absolute waste of $$$

You can spray paint them Gold and hang from Christmas tree or paint red and take two and make hearts for valentines or paint them ----- never mind.  

This is getting more and more expensive. Now I have to buy gold spray paint and red (RED? meh I don't think so considering the objects) and glue... I'll pass, just pour me a glass of wine too and we'll call it a day.

[NastyWoman]

May 22, 2018 19:36:50 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

May 22, 2018 18:05:02 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

This is a BAD BAD thread → now movingforward wants an icecream maker and I want a kindle.  This is YM people

I rationalize it that with my Kindle, I’m spending waaaay less on books.  I used to snag ones as they came onto the market, but now I try to keep to the ones less than $2.99....and many are free.

I was serious about wanting one. When my sister comes we share my iPAD while travelling but if I have a Kindle that would be easier. Are Kindle's just for reading or can you also play music on them?

[Pants]

May 22, 2018 11:38:32 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

One thing that occurred to me immediately and I didn't post it because it's a bit TMI:  tampons.

I reached puberty back before anyone had thought of pads with an adhesive strip.  They were held in place by an elastic belt that was slung around your hips under your clothes, with a notch in the back and front to hold the pad in place.  It was, as a female cousin aptly described it, "bunchy and icky".

I muddled through for two years with this system and finally got up the nerve to try a tampon after reading the instruction leaflet multiple times.  It took some getting used to but I was FREE.  It turned periods into a minor nuisance instead of a showstopper.  For one thing, it meant that I didn't have to sit out a week every month at the local pool where we practically lived in the summers.  I told my mother after the fact.  I guess I didn't ask beforehand because it wasn't something she'd brought up when she discussed puberty.   She was fine with it.  I resolved then and there that if I ever had daughters, they'd be told from Day One.  I had only DS but when my two granddaughters get to that age I plan to talk with DDIL and encourage her to bring up the subject. 

My six year old already knows about menstruation and tampons. It doesn't have to be a big talk. She asked when she saw me in the bathroom. I think the less mystery about all of it, the better.

[NoNamePerson]

May 22, 2018 19:38:34 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

May 22, 2018 19:35:34 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

You can spray paint them Gold and hang from Christmas tree or paint red and take two and make hearts for valentines or paint them ----- never mind.  

This is getting more and more expensive. Now I have to buy gold spray paint and red (RED? meh I don't think so considering the objects) and glue... I'll pass, just pour me a glass of wine too and we'll call it a day.

Have a glass or two of wine and I'll have a screw driver or two and we'll call it even!  

[Deleted]

The calculator. When I started teaching, we had to fill out a "register" by hand that tracked attendance and then broke it down into percentages by girls and boys, transported and non-transported, etc. You had to figure out all these percentages by hand. It was doable, but woe unto you if you made a mistake because the register had to be in ink with no erasures (it was a legal document).
Then the calculator came out in about 1976 or 1977. It was four functions and cost $70, or roughly 10% of my salary. That would be like $6000 today. Yes, I had to have one.

The computer is a close second. I mean that in a word processing sort of way. I am a writer at heart.You can fix a mistake in the twinkle of an eye. Anyone who grew up using a typewriter (a manual at that!) with one of those erasers with the brush attached can appreciate the awesomeness of this.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 22, 2018 19:43:26 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

May 22, 2018 19:36:50 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I rationalize it that with my Kindle, I’m spending waaaay less on books.  I used to snag ones as they came onto the market, but now I try to keep to the ones less than $2.99....and many are free.

I was serious about wanting one. When my sister comes we share my iPAD while travelling but if I have a Kindle that would be easier. Are Kindle's just for reading or can you also play music on them?

Just reading.  I have a Paperwhite, so I can read in the sun.  iPads get heavy holding them for reading (I used to have the Kindle app on mine).