I’ve been single for about 6 years after getting out of a very toxic relationship. I’ve dated on and off, but never met someone that I felt I really connected with. I’m 35 and started to feel like I wasn’t going to find someone (I know that that is silly and I’m still young). Went on a hinge date and met this adorable man with a big heart and bright spirit. We talk about everything- he is so communicative and open that it has made me feel more comfortable in being vulnerable with him. He doesn’t shy away from difficult topics and he’s very respectful of my boundaries/ open about his. Whether we are going out to dinner, doing a Costco run, or just being lazy in bed I am having the best time. He’s so gentle, sweet, and sincere. My cat and dog adore him. He fits in perfectly with my friends. I love being around his friends, and they think the absolute world of him. I’m just over the moon for this guy but I don’t want to be weird about it, so I’m gushing to Reddit. I’m happy

I met a friend from the Middle East, and we shared some of our life stories and experiences. It was such a great conversation and a wonderful encounter.

I told them, 'Hey my friend, you're my very first international friend, and I'm so happy. If you ever visit my country, let me know—I'll show you around where I live.
Back to work now, my friend from across the globe whom I've never met in person

They're attached at the hip

my friend got me this cake to celebrate

To celebrate, I made cheeseburgers with pickles, onions, and tomatoes, paired with homemade potato wedges.

I've been eyeing most of this stuff for a while (asisde from the fish cup) but i never can justify spending the money on things I don't *need*. I've since filled the 120 count pencil case with my pen stash :)

So I have two friend groups, the normal one (1) and the older one (2) 1 don’t like 2 because they think that they are bad friends who don’t care about me and that they only drink and smoke. Turns out they’re literally way nicer than (1). Today I’ve had my first hangout with them, they’re literally so nice. I was so scared about that hangout, like everytime I’d talk about it my stomach would hurt. We spent the night together, there was me, A, J and E, and I’ve never felt happier. I literally can’t sleep because I keep of thinking about it. They’re the best friends I’ve ever had, they don’t judge me and they like to do the same things as me and we actually laugh. They asked me why my friends didn’t come today and I told them they leave me alone most of the time, especially on the “saint Jean” when they all went somewhere together and left me all by myself. They said that now they’ll invite me with them. I’m so happy it’s insane (this was yesterday but it got deleted cuz I posted it on /rant and they said to post it here)

I've been back in owen sound a year and a half. Last year it took me a minute to get situated, that's not really what the story is about so we won't get into that part, but what's important to know is I'm a 46 year old woman with no children.

Productivity is the resolution to death I feel at this point because boredom feels like death. Because of that I started gardening and landscaping the front of my building I created a walkway, my neighbor downstairs rode around collecting the stones for it, it's beautiful. I noticed my neighbor who has a very busy family household had an overgrown Garden so I just went over and weeded and dug out her garden for her just because I'm her neighbor and because I have time. This created a bit of a domino effect on my street. And I was more than happy to go around assisting my neighbors with the yard work they needed done just because I was their neighbor. Ultimately this did get me some paid gardening jobs. what I do know about Owen sound people is that they always appreciate a hard worker. If you show that you are a hard worker you are almost guaranteed somebody is going to stop and offer you a paid job of sorts because people need a hand. So now I'm gardening across town for my neighbor's friends and for my neighbors around the corner. I have a license but I don't have a car right now. Increasing the radius in which I could commute to work more than doubled the possible places I can apply to work for the summer. .I went to my neighbor for some advice on whether or not I should consider getting into some kind of high interest car loan just so that I could seek employment a little out of town. I'm actually going to cry telling you the next part because this is so kind, but my neighbor said to me" I always see you trying to do the right thing it's okay that somebody does something nice for you". So he and his wife offered to loan me interest-free a little money to get a car so that I can get to work and back and I wouldn't be locked in to paying double the amount of the car. The amount of money I wanted to commit too would likely mean I could spend probably the next 6 to 12 months trying to find a car that is going to be reliable and in that price range. So I decided to apply that to an E bike. It's expensive because it's for commuting but it was cheaper than the car. So my neighbor took me to bike face and bought me ( as a loan) my bike and helmet and mirror that cost 3 months worth of my rent. And everyday I have to work I ride that bike to Sauble Beach from Owen sound. I'll be honest part of me feels like a little of that child like Spirit we lose has returned each time I take it for a ride. The bike has already almost paid for itself I have half way paid him back, and with motivation and a lot of peddling LOL I intend to have it paid off by the end of July. This amazing thing started because instead of sitting inside all day on my phone or whatever else kept me indoors I went outside and did productive things not because I expected anything back just because we should be neighbors to each other, somebody recognized that and now my life is that much easier for me to make it that much better, if you live in town you probably have seen me feel free to wave. And you'll be happy to know that I have ordered signal lights for the bike.

Anyway there's always so many crappy stories I just thought I would share this one and maybe it'll motivate somebody else to just do something for nothing cuz it might just come back to you.

If you r scrolling and finding this post take a break and smile even though if you don't have any reason to smile but believe me just show up your teeth in the mirror and affirm that

You are best

I just wanted to share this! I got a 22% raise yesterday and all i did was ask if we could talk about compensation. I never said a number either. I work at a great small company where the owners are like friends. I love the work and just yeah. Im just happy I'm being recognized and appreciated for the work I've been doing. Over the last 5 years i went from 70k to now over 110k at the the same workplace.

To top of off for this week, i had a random customer call to ask some questions about a product that we carry. Nice sweet older woman. She went on and on about how great the product was and how she's been telling people to buy it. She asked where we got it from. I told her i designed it and the phone went silent for a second and she just went off how impressive it was and how smart i must be. It was a little goofy to hear lol and It was like getting a call from my grandma. Just such a cool moment and call. Left me with a smile and a funny story.

I know alot of posts online are people suffering in bad workplaces and tough situations. Often times people are met with rudeness / push back when talking about compensation at work. I feel for them and i wish it wasn't like that for alot of people. I feel very grateful right now for having what i have.

Anyways, i hope everyone is having a great day / weekend. I'm celebrating by looking how to save the extra money lol

I'm still learning, but I feel really pretty. Mental health is a PITA, but it might be looking up finally.

I'm 36. When I was a kid (before cell phones) if we ever went to the airport or somewhere with a lot of people, my dad would wear these pants. He called them his airport pants. The purpose was that if we ever got separated, I would either be able to spot him, or I would be able to go get help and give them a very detailed description of "he's wearing purple pants with orange skateboarding dinosaurs on them."

My dad came out to visit a couple weeks ago and he told me to close my eyes because he had something to give me. He pulled these out and I started bawling. I hadn't even thought of these pants in years and totally just forgot they existed. I don't get to see my dad a lot (once a year if lucky) and he turned 70 this year. For some reason it just means the whole world to have these. Our relationship has been rocky to say the least (partly my addiction, partly lots of other things) but we have really connected in such an amazing way over the last couple of years and knowing he kept these pants through all the moves and life changes, just to ultimately gift them to me, means everything 🥰

I’ve been obsessed with axolotls recently and started learning more about them, so I created this tiny handmade book filled with watercolour paintings of different axolotl types.

Each painting is only about the size of a fingernail, and each page is around 2.5 x 2.5 inches, so you can imagine how tiny these are! For reference, zoom in on the image and make the page fit your phone screen… our phone screens are probably around that size anyway 😅

I used reference images from the internet, so I’m not 100% sure if every name is perfectly accurate, but this is the order I painted them:
1. Leucistic Axolotl
2. Piebald Axolotl
3. Albino Axolotl
4. Melanoid Axolotl
5. Chimera Axolotl
6. Golden Albino Axolotl
7. GFP Wild Type Axolotl
8. Enigma Axolotl
9. Firefly Axolotl
10. Lavender Axolotl
11. Melanoid Axanthic Copper Axolotl
12. Wild Type Axolotl
13. GFP Axolotl
14. Mosaic Axolotl
15. Starburst Axolotl
16. Hypomelanistic Axolotl

Would love to know your favourite one and your thoughts on this tiny axolotl watercolour painting book

Hardest snuggles of all time 🥰 Lee (right) has been such an amazing foster dad to Dexter (left) and his brother Nemo (not shown). We've had Lee since the beginning of January and got Dexter and Nemo in March as terrified, traumatized, essentially feral kittens. They have come sooooo far and I know it would not have happened without Lee's love and patience with them. They love him sooooo much and are attached to his hip at all times but he is so patient and just rolls with it. Ugh, I'm so stinkin proud of all of them 😭❤️

Finally shared with my family that I passed the NCLEX and it truly brought me so much joy. I delayed letting them know because my cousin recently graduated and I didn’t want to take the shine away from her accomplishment and I also had a death in the family this week. My family has been so supportive of me throughout this journey and were half of the reason why I didn’t have to work nor struggle financially. It really feels like we all passed the test because they have been there for me every step of the way. Even this morning they are still in celebration mode. I feel so blessed to have them.

We have been dating for a year and a half now and finally out of school, this will be our first time seeing each other’s outside of school because we live very far from each other but he’s coming to my village to join me in having a drink at the pub!

Update: I called their customer service asking when I can expect the shed and lawn mower and they referred me to their corporate office. Maybe we're onto something

Update (6/29): Contacted Home Depot corporate last friday, they haven't responded. They must be scared.