Cardboard food containers

"i tell you kids, back in my day, we had it so rough... or so much better, i can't tell anymore. anyway, every day, we would wake up at 2 in the morning and go to the table for breakfast. we all lived in a closet, you see, so it was one room. and we would ask, me and my 64 brothers and 27 sisters, "what's for breakfast mum?". she would smack us all with a shoe and say "cold beans". and if we complained and said "but we had cold beans yesterday" - because we had cold beans every day - she would smack us all five times with a shoe and say "tough its all we can afford. i'm trying to feed a family of 93 with just half a silver buckington", a silver buckington was about the same as half a penny back in the day. then we would head to school. we met up with the johnson kids from down the road, and walked the 1674 miles to school. on the way to school, we had to walk up a mountain so tall it extended to outer space. when we got to the top of the mountain, we would see the peterson boys on their fancy bikes - which they dont make like they used to, and we would race them down the mountain. then, when we got to school at 4 in the morning, the headmaster would come up to us and say "you bloody kids are late", then he would smack us all with the cane 10 times and tell us we had 7 years of detention. then, we went to class, and mr stevenson would say "ok line up kids", then he would spank us each 60 times, then hit us each with the cane 40 times each. then it was 7 at night and we had to walk home. then, when we got home, we'd ask "whats for dinner mum?", and she'd smack us each 50 times with a pan and say "rotten cabage". and if we complained, she would smack us each 100 times with a broom and say "im trying to feed a family of 154 on just one islet sliver, just you wait until your dad gets home" - now an islet silver was worth about as much as a grain of sand. then, when our dad got home from his job at the soot factory, he would hit us all 180 times with his belt. if we had been naughty, we would hit us all another 600 times. then, at 1:58, mum would say "ok time for bed". then, we got into our potato sacks, and she would hit us each with a shoe 8 times before we went to sleep. on saturdays, we went down to uncle bob's farm to work. we would have to walk 345 miles to the bus stop, then catch the route 4 bus for 56 stops. we would get on the bus and pay our fare of 3 teddy roses - now a teddy rose is worth about the same as a flake of skin. then, if the ticket inspector came to us, he would hit us all 4 times with his baton. if any of us had lost our ticket, we would hit us all 10 times again and throw us off the bus and we had to walk the rest of the way. when we got to the farm, uncle bob would drive to the gate in his tractor, hit us all 780 times with his crowbar, and tell us to get in his trailer so he could drive us to the farm house. then, we had to plow the fields with a toothbrush in the blazing summer heat - now, they dont make summers like they used to, so it was about 1345.4 degrees spencer, or 67 degrees centigrade using your new-fangled metric system. then, we would have to milk the cows - now, they dont make cows like they used to, so each cow weighed about 459 hog's heads, or 3.2 tonnes in your new-fangled metric system. if you touched a cows udder, it would kick you and you would die, so you had to be really careful when you milked the cows. then, when we were done, uncle bob would say "ok kids time for your pocket money". he would give us each 9 copper jemimahs - which are worth about one political promise each - and beat us each 6 times with his tractor before we left. on sundays, we would meet the johnson boys and go down to the river - now, they don't make rivers like they used to, so this river was about as wide as the whole of america, and as deep as the marianas trench, and it was filled with liquid tungsten. we would play by the old oak tree near the river, climbing on it and building tree houses and such. now - they don't make trees like they used to, so this tree had a trunk as thick as a city, and was tall enough that the branches on the top could scrape the moon. one day, little jimmy fell from the top of the tree. when he hit the ground, the only bit of his body we could recognise was his left eyeball. we picked up all his bits and rushed him to the doctors surgery. dr james said "oh its just a scratch little jimmy dont worry pop a plaster on it and you'll be right" and he gave little jimmy a plaster and a lollipop and he was ok. after we finished playing by the river, we would go into town and get some candy. now, back in the day, you could give the shopkeeper one bronze winglet - which is worth about as much as a ciggarette butt - and he would give you the entire stock of the store. so we would go and get our candy, and we'd go into the town square and eat it. now, we didn't have any of your fancy food laws back in the day, so there was all kinds of stuff in our candy. bleach, lsd, ecstasy, you name it. so we would always get a little hyper after our candy. one day, when we were hyper, we went up the mr boris's car, the only car in the town, and touched it. as we touched it, we saw dad storming down the street holding his belt. "you kids, having fun while i work all day in the soot factory just so you can have grilled water for tea every night, i oughta smack you all". we were sure he was going to smack us, but then he said "no, i got a better idea, ill take you to see mr henderson, he'll set ya right". now, dad had told us about mr henderson. mr henderson was a veteran from the great war, where he got a really bad injury, but we never knew what it was. dad walked us all down to the pub, and we saw a left testicle propped up on a pegleg. "mr henderson," said dad, "i have some kids here who need a good whooping". then, mr henderson picked up the entire pub, and hit us each 4006 times with it. then, dad said "right, i gotta go back to the soot factory, you kids run on home now". now, by now it was 1pm, which meant it was curfew. while we were walking out of the town square, we heard a man shout "oi you bloody kids, its curfew". we turned around and saw the constable holding his baton. he hit us each 160265 times with his baton, then put us in gaol for 60123865 years. now - they don't make gaols like they used to - this one had 5 mile thick steel walls, and a single hole in the top let in some light. we were in there for about 13526 years, until mum baked the constable some cardboard pie so he would let us out. then, she hit us all 1292 times with a washboard, and grounded us for the rest of our lives. so don't you come complaining to me about nonsense like not being able to breathe or not being able to feel your legs.

"i tell you kids, back in my day, we had it so rough... or so much better, i can't tell anymore. anyway, every day, we would wake up at 2 in the morning and go to the table for breakfast. we all lived in a closet, you see, so it was one room. and we would ask, me and my 64 brothers and 27 sisters, "what's for breakfast mum?". she would smack us all with a shoe and say "cold beans". and if we complained and said "but we had cold beans yesterday" - because we had cold beans every day - she would smack us all five times with a shoe and say "tough its all we can afford. i'm trying to feed a family of 93 with just half a silver buckington", a silver buckington was about the same as half a penny back in the day. then we would head to school. we met up with the johnson kids from down the road, and walked the 1674 miles to school. on the way to school, we had to walk up a mountain so tall it extended to outer space. when we got to the top of the mountain, we would see the peterson boys on their fancy bikes - which they dont make like they used to, and we would race them down the mountain. then, when we got to school at 4 in the morning, the headmaster would come up to us and say "you bloody kids are late", then he would smack us all with the cane 10 times and tell us we had 7 years of detention. then, we went to class, and mr stevenson would say "ok line up kids", then he would spank us each 60 times, then hit us each with the cane 40 times each. then it was 7 at night and we had to walk home. then, when we got home, we'd ask "whats for dinner mum?", and she'd smack us each 50 times with a pan and say "rotten cabage". and if we complained, she would smack us each 100 times with a broom and say "im trying to feed a family of 154 on just one islet sliver, just you wait until your dad gets home" - now an islet silver was worth about as much as a grain of sand. then, when our dad got home from his job at the soot factory, he would hit us all 180 times with his belt. if we had been naughty, we would hit us all another 600 times. then, at 1:58, mum would say "ok time for bed". then, we got into our potato sacks, and she would hit us each with a shoe 8 times before we went to sleep. on saturdays, we went down to uncle bob's farm to work. we would have to walk 345 miles to the bus stop, then catch the route 4 bus for 56 stops. we would get on the bus and pay our fare of 3 teddy roses - now a teddy rose is worth about the same as a flake of skin. then, if the ticket inspector came to us, he would hit us all 4 times with his baton. if any of us had lost our ticket, we would hit us all 10 times again and throw us off the bus and we had to walk the rest of the way. when we got to the farm, uncle bob would drive to the gate in his tractor, hit us all 780 times with his crowbar, and tell us to get in his trailer so he could drive us to the farm house. then, we had to plow the fields with a toothbrush in the blazing summer heat - now, they dont make summers like they used to, so it was about 1345.4 degrees spencer, or 67 degrees centigrade using your new-fangled metric system. then, we would have to milk the cows - now, they dont make cows like they used to, so each cow weighed about 459 hog's heads, or 3.2 tonnes in your new-fangled metric system. if you touched a cows udder, it would kick you and you would die, so you had to be really careful when you milked the cows. then, when we were done, uncle bob would say "ok kids time for your pocket money". he would give us each 9 copper jemimahs - which are worth about one political promise each - and beat us each 6 times with his tractor before we left. on sundays, we would meet the johnson boys and go down to the river - now, they don't make rivers like they used to, so this river was about as wide as the whole of america, and as deep as the marianas trench, and it was filled with liquid tungsten. we would play by the old oak tree near the river, climbing on it and building tree houses and such. now - they don't make trees like they used to, so this tree had a trunk as thick as a city, and was tall enough that the branches on the top could scrape the moon. one day, little jimmy fell from the top of the tree. when he hit the ground, the only bit of his body we could recognise was his left eyeball. we picked up all his bits and rushed him to the doctors surgery. dr james said "oh its just a scratch little jimmy dont worry pop a plaster on it and you'll be right" and he gave little jimmy a plaster and a lollipop and he was ok. after we finished playing by the river, we would go into town and get some candy. now, back in the day, you could give the shopkeeper one bronze winglet - which is worth about as much as a ciggarette butt - and he would give you the entire stock of the store. so we would go and get our candy, and we'd go into the town square and eat it. now, we didn't have any of your fancy food laws back in the day, so there was all kinds of stuff in our candy. bleach, lsd, ecstasy, you name it. so we would always get a little hyper after our candy. one day, when we were hyper, we went up the mr boris's car, the only car in the town, and touched it. as we touched it, we saw dad storming down the street holding his belt. "you kids, having fun while i work all day in the soot factory just so you can have grilled water for tea every night, i oughta smack you all". we were sure he was going to smack us, but then he said "no, i got a better idea, ill take you to see mr henderson, he'll set ya right". now, dad had told us about mr henderson. mr henderson was a veteran from the great war, where he got a really bad injury, but we never knew what it was. dad walked us all down to the pub, and we saw a left testicle propped up on a pegleg. "mr henderson," said dad, "i have some kids here who need a good whooping". then, mr henderson picked up the entire pub, and hit us each 4006 times with it. then, dad said "right, i gotta go back to the soot factory, you kids run on home now". now, by now it was 1pm, which meant it was curfew. while we were walking out of the town square, we heard a man shout "oi you bloody kids, its curfew". we turned around and saw the constable holding his baton. he hit us each 160265 times with his baton, then put us in gaol for 60123865 years. now - they don't make gaols like they used to - this one had 5 mile thick steel walls, and a single hole in the top let in some light. we were in there for about 13526 years, until mum baked the constable some cardboard pie so he would let us out. then, she hit us all 1292 times with a washboard, and grounded us for the rest of our lives. so don't you come complaining to me about nonsense like not being able to breathe or not being able to feel your legs.

If you know what pica is, then you know that many of us love to eat clay, rocks, dirt, charcoal, and things of that nature. I personally happen to like dry, earthy, and crunchy things. I grew up in the Californian desert so I’ve always had a great selection of rocks and minerals to snack on, I’ve learned a lot about different minerals and how to “cure them” by storing them in paper or cardboard containers (never plastic) so they’d retain a clean earthy flavor etc.
Anyway, as an adult my career has allowed me to travel the world extensively for the past decade, and so I’ve been forced to take my addiction on the road as well. I’ve had dirt and rocks in over 70 countries and some of my favorites include the white clay-dirt on the coastline of Omiš, Croatia, as well as the sand in Sealine desert of Doha, Quatar.
The most interesting I’ve tasted was when I lived in Cairo. For me, selecting dirt and rocks to eat is an art form, as I’m actually very OCD and won’t just pick things up off the ground or in public spaces and eat them. I’ll find quarry’s and dunes and sites far from human traffic and try to select the most “untouched” pieces i can find.
In this case, I was behaving much like a tourist and took a tour of all of the tombs and museums and pyramids, traveling by camelback. One of my final stops was the Sphinx and the great pyramids. Legally you’re not actually allowed to touch the pyramids or get too close but… I wasn’t having that.
It just looked sooooo dusty (read:tasty) and I couldn’t resist running right up to the far side of one of the pyramids (out of sight of the police and tour guides) and grabbing handfuls of rocks and dirt and shoving them into the pockets of my cargo pants. I didn’t grab anything from ground level though. I actually climbed up a few levels to areas far out of public reach before I started pocketing anything.
I waited until I was home before I tried it and lord it was so good! The rocks were hard and dusty but could be nibbled and turned slightly softer like clay once wet. They smelled earthy and fresh once the scrubbed the outer layers off. At the time, I hadn’t tried anything like it so the memory of the taste has stuck with me for years at this point. As old as the pyramids are, a part of me wondered if I’d feel sick or weird afterward but I was totally fine.
That was in 2018.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I was road-tripping through the Arizona desert and stopped to collect some rocks from the side of a rock outcropping. As I’m sampling the different tastes and textures I realize it’s familiar and my mind immediately flashed back to the pyramids— Limestone!!! And not just any limestone, for some reason those rocks from Arizona had that same weathered flavor as the Pyramids did (not all limestone tastes the same) and my heart did little black flips once I realized where I knew it from.
I know this story is probably boring and irrelevant to most, but for me it’s something I like to chuckle to myself about.
I mean how many people can say they ate one of the Seven Wonders of the World? 😬🤣

"i tell you kids, back in my day, we had it so rough... or so much better, i can't tell anymore. anyway, every day, we would wake up at 2 in the morning and go to the table for breakfast. we all lived in a closet, you see, so it was one room. and we would ask, me and my 64 brothers and 27 sisters, "what's for breakfast mum?". she would smack us all with a shoe and say "cold beans". and if we complained and said "but we had cold beans yesterday" - because we had cold beans every day - she would smack us all five times with a shoe and say "tough its all we can afford. i'm trying to feed a family of 93 with just half a silver buckington", a silver buckington was about the same as half a penny back in the day. then we would head to school. we met up with the johnson kids from down the road, and walked the 1674 miles to school. on the way to school, we had to walk up a mountain so tall it extended to outer space. when we got to the top of the mountain, we would see the peterson boys on their fancy bikes - which they dont make like they used to, and we would race them down the mountain. then, when we got to school at 4 in the morning, the headmaster would come up to us and say "you bloody kids are late", then he would smack us all with the cane 10 times and tell us we had 7 years of detention. then, we went to class, and mr stevenson would say "ok line up kids", then he would spank us each 60 times, then hit us each with the cane 40 times each. then it was 7 at night and we had to walk home. then, when we got home, we'd ask "whats for dinner mum?", and she'd smack us each 50 times with a pan and say "rotten cabage". and if we complained, she would smack us each 100 times with a broom and say "im trying to feed a family of 154 on just one islet sliver, just you wait until your dad gets home" - now an islet silver was worth about as much as a grain of sand. then, when our dad got home from his job at the soot factory, he would hit us all 180 times with his belt. if we had been naughty, we would hit us all another 600 times. then, at 1:58, mum would say "ok time for bed". then, we got into our potato sacks, and she would hit us each with a shoe 8 times before we went to sleep. on saturdays, we went down to uncle bob's farm to work. we would have to walk 345 miles to the bus stop, then catch the route 4 bus for 56 stops. we would get on the bus and pay our fare of 3 teddy roses - now a teddy rose is worth about the same as a flake of skin. then, if the ticket inspector came to us, he would hit us all 4 times with his baton. if any of us had lost our ticket, we would hit us all 10 times again and throw us off the bus and we had to walk the rest of the way. when we got to the farm, uncle bob would drive to the gate in his tractor, hit us all 780 times with his crowbar, and tell us to get in his trailer so he could drive us to the farm house. then, we had to plow the fields with a toothbrush in the blazing summer heat - now, they dont make summers like they used to, so it was about 1345.4 degrees spencer, or 67 degrees centigrade using your new-fangled metric system. then, we would have to milk the cows - now, they dont make cows like they used to, so each cow weighed about 459 hog's heads, or 3.2 tonnes in your new-fangled metric system. if you touched a cows udder, it would kick you and you would die, so you had to be really careful when you milked the cows. then, when we were done, uncle bob would say "ok kids time for your pocket money". he would give us each 9 copper jemimahs - which are worth about one political promise each - and beat us each 6 times with his tractor before we left. on sundays, we would meet the johnson boys and go down to the river - now, they don't make rivers like they used to, so this river was about as wide as the whole of america, and as deep as the marianas trench, and it was filled with liquid tungsten. we would play by the old oak tree near the river, climbing on it and building tree houses and such. now - they don't make trees like they used to, so this tree had a trunk as thick as a city, and was tall enough that the branches on the top could scrape the moon. one day, little jimmy fell from the top of the tree. when he hit the ground, the only bit of his body we could recognise was his left eyeball. we picked up all his bits and rushed him to the doctors surgery. dr james said "oh its just a scratch little jimmy dont worry pop a plaster on it and you'll be right" and he gave little jimmy a plaster and a lollipop and he was ok. after we finished playing by the river, we would go into town and get some candy. now, back in the day, you could give the shopkeeper one bronze winglet - which is worth about as much as a ciggarette butt - and he would give you the entire stock of the store. so we would go and get our candy, and we'd go into the town square and eat it. now, we didn't have any of your fancy food laws back in the day, so there was all kinds of stuff in our candy. bleach, lsd, ecstasy, you name it. so we would always get a little hyper after our candy. one day, when we were hyper, we went up the mr boris's car, the only car in the town, and touched it. as we touched it, we saw dad storming down the street holding his belt. "you kids, having fun while i work all day in the soot factory just so you can have grilled water for tea every night, i oughta smack you all". we were sure he was going to smack us, but then he said "no, i got a better idea, ill take you to see mr henderson, he'll set ya right". now, dad had told us about mr henderson. mr henderson was a veteran from the great war, where he got a really bad injury, but we never knew what it was. dad walked us all down to the pub, and we saw a left testicle propped up on a pegleg. "mr henderson," said dad, "i have some kids here who need a good whooping". then, mr henderson picked up the entire pub, and hit us each 4006 times with it. then, dad said "right, i gotta go back to the soot factory, you kids run on home now". now, by now it was 1pm, which meant it was curfew. while we were walking out of the town square, we heard a man shout "oi you bloody kids, its curfew". we turned around and saw the constable holding his baton. he hit us each 160265 times with his baton, then put us in gaol for 60123865 years. now - they don't make gaols like they used to - this one had 5 mile thick steel walls, and a single hole in the top let in some light. we were in there for about 13526 years, until mum baked the constable some cardboard pie so he would let us out. then, she hit us all 1292 times with a washboard, and grounded us for the rest of our lives. so don't you come complaining to me about nonsense like not being able to breathe or not being able to feel your legs.

It was an early morning in the Border Collie Household. The sun was just beginning to peek through the curtains, casting a warm glow into the living room where Mackenzie, Minnie, and Little Mack were sitting, looking rather bored.
Mackenzie, the eldest of the three siblings, let out a sigh as he tossed his stuffed Bilby, Billy, up in the air and caught it repeatedly. "I'm so bored," he grumbled, glancing over at his younger siblings.
Minnie, her bright eyes filled with mischief, grinned mischievously. "I know! Let's go bug Mom and Dad until they play with us!"
Little Mack's face lit up at the suggestion. "Yeah! That sounds like fun!"
“Alright, alright. Let's go see what they're up to." Mackenzie said as he placed Billy next to Bandido and lead his siblings out of his room and to the kitchen.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Hunter and Queen were in the kitchen, having just finished the coffee they made a couple of minutes before.
“Honey?” Queen called.
“Yeah babe?” Hunter asked.
“What’s your stopwatch say?” Queen asked. Hunter looked at the stopwatch on the table next to them.
“12:22.” Hunter said. The two of them looked at each other for five seconds and then smirked.
“Three...two...one.” They both counted down. As they reached "one," Mackenzie, Minnie, and Little Mack burst into the kitchen, their faces filled with excitement.
"We're bored!" Minnie declared dramatically, throwing herself onto one of the kitchen chairs. “Can you play with us?”
“I don’t see why not.” Hunter answered as he turned to face the three. “What game do you wanna play?”
That was the thing. They didn’t exactly know what they wanted to play. Queen glanced at Hunter with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
"I have an idea," she said, her lips curling into a playful grin. "How about we play... Smoochy Tag?"
“Smoochy Tag? Now THAT is a game I haven’t played in a long time.” Hunter said with a laugh.
“What’s smoochy tag?” Little Mack asked.
“It’s like normal tag, but you have to smooch someone to tag them. When you tag them, they help you tag the others. It’s really fun!” Mackenzie said as his tail wagged a bit.
“I’ll be it first. Mackenzie, can you pick a number between one and ten?” Queen asked. Mackenzie paused for a moment.
“Seven!” Mackenzie said happily.
“Seven.” Queen repeated, then she smirked. “Six…Five…Four-”
Realizing she was counting down, Hunter and the kids took off running. Hunter opened the front door and ran out of the house with the laughing children. Queen reached one and then grabbed her coffee mug.
“I’ll just finish this first.” She stated while also putting Hunter’s mug in the sink.
After a couple of seconds of running, the four of them stopped for a moment and looked around.
“We need to hide.” Hunter said as he looked around.
“But where?” Mackenzie asked. That’s when they heard a door open, they all turned to see Bandit standing at the opening.
“Oh, morning Border Collies!” Bandit said with a wave.
“Morning Bluey’s Dad, can we hide in your house?” Mackenzie asked. Bandit raised an eyebrow almost immediately, leaving Hunter to clarify.
“We’re playing a game and Queen is it.” Hunter told him.
“Say no more, c’mon in.” Bandit said almost immediately, opening the door a little bit more for them. The four Border Collies ran inside and Bandit closed the door, looking through the peephole.
“Sorry to involve you in our game Bandit.” Hunter told him. Bandit turned to him and waved it away.
“No worries, we do that to our neighbor Pat all the time. Looks like karma finally caught up.” Bandit said, he then walked away from the door. “What game are you playing?”
“We call it smoochy tag.” Hunter said, that’s when the doorbell rang. Bandit walked over to open it and saw that no one was there.
“Huh, no one. Weird.” Bandit said before closing the door and walking back to Hunter. “What’s Smoochy tag?”
“Basically a cross between tag and playing zombies, but a kiss is how you tag the others.” Hunter answered. The doorbell rang again. Bandit opened the door and looked around this time, again, seeing no one.
“Kids playing ding dong ditch?” Hunter asked. Bandit closed the door and walked back over.
“Probably.” Bandit said as Chilli walked into the room.
“Who’s dinging the doorbell?” Chilli asked.
“Probably the kids.” Bandit said. That was before he saw Bluey and Bingo hiding Mackenzie and Little Mack somewhere in the living room, and then hearing the doorbell again. “Okay, definitely not the kids.”This time, Hunter walked over to the door to open it, and when he did, Queen grabbed his arm and pulled him outside.
“Gotcha! C’mere you!” Queen smirked as she attempted to pull him into a kiss. However, Bandit and Chilli grabbed Hunter to pull him into the house, joining the game.
“Not so fast!” Bandit said as he pulled Hunter into the house. Chilli also pulled, whilst chuckling.
“It’s not gonna be that easy.” Chilli told her. Queen continued trying to kiss Hunter, but Hunter was pulled away and Chilli got a cushion to poke Queen back out of the house. “Out, out with ya.”
With Queen back out of the house, Chilli closed the door. Chilli wiped her brow with a ‘phew’ and looked at Bandit.
“What was that all about?” Chilli asked.
“It’s a game called Smoochy Tag.” Bandit told her.
“Sounds fun, I’ll ask the kids if they wanna play.” Chilli said as she walked to the living room. Bandit looked at Hunter with wide eyes.
“Run upstairs, quick.” Bandit told him. Hunter nodded and ran upstairs with Bandit. Chilli walked to the living room where she saw Bingo hiding Little Mack behind the plant.
"Hey, Bingo," Chilli said with a warm smile. "Are you and your new friend playing Smoochy Tag too?"
Bingo looked up from her hiding spot with a wide grin. "Yeah, Mum! We're helping hide Little Mack from his mum."
“Well guess what, your dad and I are playing too. But I need to know the rules first.” Chilli said as he kneeled down to Little Mack’s height. “Can you tell me the rules?”
Little Mack got out from under the table and began to explain the rules of the game.
“It’s like normal tag, but you have to smooch someone to tag them. When you tag them, they help you tag the others. Mackenzie says it’s really fun.” Little Mack answers. Chilli tapped her chin.
“Smooch someone, like this?” Chilli asked, placing a kiss on Little Mack’s forehead. Little Mack giggled.
“Yes, exactly like that.” Little Mack said.
“Good. Looks like we’re helping your mom now.” Chilli said, revealing she made herself it when she played the game. Which also meant she that Little Mack was also it. Much to the four year old’s playful disappointment.
“Aw bugger.” Little Mack said. Then both of them turned to Bingo. She quickly turned around to run.
“Quick, let’s get her!” Chilli exclaimed as she and Little Mack ran after her. The moment they were out of the living room, Bluey and Mackenzie ran out from behind the couch and ran to the backyard where they got cut off by Queen.
“Going somewhere?” She teased before running after them. Bluey and Mackenzie playfully screamed before running back inside. Queen ran after them and was gaining on them pretty quickly. She would’ve caught up if it wasn’t for Minnie running in front of her, running away from Bingo who was also running away from Chilli and Little Mack. Switching targets, Queen grabbed Minnie and kissed her forehead.“No!” Minnie exclaimed while laughing. Bingo was gonna run past, but Queen grabbed her too and kissed her on the forehead as well. Now the only ones left were Mackenzie, Bluey, Hunter and Bandit. Bluey and Mackenzie were seen running up stairs. Upstairs, the hallway presented several doors, providing ample hiding spots. Bluey gestured excitedly to the linen closet. "Quick, hide in here!" she whispered urgently to Mackenzie.
Mackenzie nodded, running into the closet with Bluey. Bluey closed the door, while Hunter and Bandit veered into the Heeler bedroom just as they heard footsteps approaching. Inside the linen closet, Bluey and Mackenzie huddled together, barely able to contain their giggles. Bluey put a finger to her lips, motioning for Mackenzie to stay quiet as they listened to the footsteps draw closer. They held their breath as the footsteps walked towards them, stopped, and then walked away from them. Allowing them to let out a sigh of relief.
In the bedroom, Hunter and Bandit were both were under the bed, and practically arguing with each other silently.
“Find your own hiding spot!” Bandit whisper yelled to him.
“I don’t know this house! This is the best I can do!” Hunter replied. The two of them where still arguing when Queen and Chilli walked into the room, and from the footsteps abruptly stopping, they more than likely got found out.
“You think they heard us?” Bandit asked. Suddenly, Hunter’s ankles were grabbed and he was yanked out from under the bed. Bandit’s wrists were grabbed and he was pulled out as well. When they were out, they realized that the other’s wife had pulled them out. Bandit was pulled out by Queen and Hunter was pulled out by Chilli. The two ladies looked at each other, smirked, nodded and switched locations, kissing their husbands to tag them.
“And then there were two.” Hunter said as he stood up looking out in the hall.
“I heard whispering in the closet before walking in here.” Chilli said as she pointed to the linen closet. Queen and Hunter started to walk towards that door and counted backwards from three before opening the door and seeing….nothing.
“Huh?” Queen questioned. Inside Bluey’s room, Mackenzie and Bluey were sneaking back down the stairs and was making their way to the playroom. On the way there, Mackenzie accidentally bumped into one of the dressers and knocked over the lamp. Mackenzie was fast enough to catch the lamp before it could hit the ground.
“That was close.” Mackenzie said in relief.
“He’s downstairs!” Little Mack exclaimed, having heard him. Mackenzie put the lamp back and he and Bluey ran out to the backyard. Little Mack was the first to go outside to try and catch at least one of them. Minnie ran outside too and both were going straight for Mackenzie, who was not too keen with getting caught so he kept dodging and juking them like he was playing a game of rugby. Bluey on the other hand was running from Bingo and ran right into Bandit who picked her up and kissed her on the nose.
“Gotcha Bluey!” Bandit told her. He then looked at Mackenzie who juked Little Mack and made him run into Minnie. Mackenzie was gonna run back inside, but Hunter was guarding the door. “Let’s get em Bluey.”
Mackenzie turned around and Queen was blocking his path back.
“Where’re you gonna go now mate?” Hunter asked him. Mackenzie looked right and saw Bandit and Bluey walking towards him.
“Going left!” Mackenzie said as he ran left. He was gonna run down the left side of the house to go to the front yard, but the moment he ran around the corner, Chilli was right there. Mackenzie turned around to run again, but he was grabbed by Hunter, who jumped over the railing the moment he went around the corner. Mackenzie laughed as he was caught, squirming playfully in Hunter's grasp.
"Nice try, buddy." Hunter chuckled before planting a kiss on his son’s forehead, ending the game. “Man, you’re getting faster kid.”
"You're not too bad yourself, Dad." Mackenzie replied, his tail wagging happily. "That was so much fun!"
"You did great, champ," Hunter said, ruffling Mackenzie's hair. "But all that running around has made me hungry, lets go get brunch.”
Mackenzie's stomach growled in agreement, and he nodded eagerly. "Yeah, brunch sounds awesome!"
Chilli and Bandit looked at each other and then nodded before turning back over to the Border Collies.
“Would you like to stay for Brunch?” Chilli asked them.
"That sounds lovely," Queen replied with a smile, glancing at Hunter for confirmation.
Hunter nodded, returning the smile. "Yeah, we'd love to stay. Thanks for the invitation."
Chilli beamed. "Great! Let's head to the kitchen then. I'll whip up something delicious for all of us."
“Allow me to help.” Queen said as she and Chilli walked upstairs to the kitchen. Hunter and Bandit played with the kids to keep them occupied. s they all made their way to the kitchen, the Border Collies chatted happily, their laughter filling the air. Hunter and Bandit found themselves engaged in a playful game of catch with Mackenzie, Bluey, Minnie, and Little Mack, while Queen and Chilli worked together to prepare brunch.
In the kitchen, Queen and Chilli shared stories and laughter as they cooked, enjoying each other's company. Queen expertly cracked eggs into a bowl while Chilli chopped vegetables for an omelet. The aroma of sizzling bacon filled the air, making everyone's stomachs growl in anticipation.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Hunter and Bandit continued their game with the kids, tossing a ball back and forth and dodging around the furniture. Mackenzie's tail wagged furiously as he chased after the ball, his laughter echoing through the house.
As brunch neared completion, Queen and Chilli set the table with plates, utensils, and glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice. The tantalizing smell of food wafted through the house, drawing everyone to the kitchen.
With everything ready, they all gathered around the table, exchanging smiles and stories as they enjoyed the delicious brunch together. Plates were filled with fluffy omelets, crispy bacon, and buttery toast, and the conversation flowed effortlessly as they savored the meal.
Later on, Queen and Chilli were playing with the kids as Hunter and Bandit were on the balcony watching them as they played, drinking some soda as they watched.
“Made quite the first impression you know.” Bandit said to Hunter, who chuckled.
“Sweet as, Bandit. You know I was a bit skeptical about the move but now...” Hunter responded, watching as Bluey playfully managed to tackle Mackenzie to the ground. “..I think I made the right choice.”
“While I don’t doubt that mate, I’m sure we’ll see.” Bandit told him.
“Yeah…we’ll see.” Hunter replied. Soon, it was time for the Border Collies to head home and the Heelers waved goodbye to them as they walked off.
“You know, I think I like our new neighbors.” Chilli said to her family.
“Will they be back to play again?” Bingo asked her dad. Bandit smiled and watched the Border Collies walk off.
“We’ll see.”

For context he lives with his sister and her husband as he's a college student and only works 10 hours each week, so they all rent a house together near his college. I usually stay at his house because we just like being together and he doesn't like my house because its a bit crowded with 4 other girls who I go to college with and their boyfriends.
His sister and her husband don't clean up after themselves. They make messes in the kitchen and don't clean, they never do dishes, or when they do they don't even do them they just rinse them and put them back in the cupboard still covered in gross food things and soaking wet.
Granted, they didn't plan on ever having to do dishes because the house had a dishwasher when they first moved in, but it stopped working and they refused to tell the landlord about it for some unspoken reason. (Probably being their house is always a mess and they don't want to clean).
Anyway, I've always been upset about the fact that I do most of their dishes and clean the kitchen more than they do because they are adults. Just because you work 12 hour shifts doesn't mean on your days off you shouldn't do chores. Instead they are always doing something like getting tattoos or doing activities.
After waiting for them to do their lunch box Tupperwares that took up a section of the two section sink (roughly 20 lids and 20 containers as well as 3 coffee traveler mugs) for a month and has attracted not only 200 knats throughout the kitchen and even more in the house anywhere you have food, but also a BUNCH of ants I had to rinse off the dishes before i could even wash them, I finally said f it and got home from an 8 hour shift and started to do them myself while all three were gone doing an activity with their family.
I had to pause an hour in to doing them as the hot water ran out and they were very mold covered (I've never seen yellow and orange mold growing on a potato but today I did), and then started again and shortly after they got home. At this point I wasn't even half way done.
My boyfriend starts using the sink to fill up the watering can so he can water our garden and at this I'm obviously annoyed.
Me being annoyed apparently pissed him off and now he's upset/angry at me.
I get that this isn't my house, and I really have no leg to stand on by being upset, but how am I supposed to just be okay with this?
I've been trying really hard lately not to let things bother me and not complain about things that do, as apparently I'm "a very negative person," but things being that dirty genuinely bother me to my core.
I get that I could just go home, but I get really bad separation anxiety, and they are moving very soon, so I want to spend as much time with him as I can before he moves over an hour away.
Basically I guess I'm wondering if I'm making way too big a deal out of this, being too judgy, or if it makes sense that I'm upset about this.

I posted on here before that my sister Mellissa losing her kids she has 7 in total katelynne is 19 kay din is 13 Lillianna is 11 Miracle is 6 zanders are 8 and Ransom and Rytheme are 2 years old today is their birthday the whole problem started in 2019 when Melissa found her old crush from school his name is Aron.
Aron and Melissa are dating i knew from day one I didn't like him he was controlling in my eyes all he ever did was tell Melissa what to do I noticed this when we all gathered at my sister Jessica's house early for Christmas since she wouldn't be in town
Jessica is married to a Mexican who I adore his name is Andres so normally every other Christmas and summer she would go with her son to Mexico to spend time with his family we were having a good time until he began texting and calling Melissa
he had been living with her that next year in 2020 we found out some disturbing things Melissa didn't want to get pregnant again so she had an IUD inserted in her arm to prevent her from getting pregnant what Aron would do was squeeze her arm to break the IUD so he can get her pregnant
In April of 2020, I moved into my sister's house i was previously living with my mom under her landlord's radar until I got accused of stealing clothes which is ridiculous and then I got banned so I moved into my oldest sister's Jessica house
Just a few days after moving in my sister Jessica came into my room and told me that Aron had beat up Melissa and it was bad she had bruises and gashes all over her from her beating on her and DCFS had gotten involved
DCFS told her that if she did not get rid of Aron she would have no choice but to take her kids away because of what happened his kids also displayed abuse his son was violent and his daughter would sit there and watch as Zander who is Autisic was getting dressed disturbing
Then in May of 2021 Ransom and Rytheme were born Ransom was born with Cleft feet while Rytheme was normal but Aron's control over her got worse during this time we got calls from the kids more and more often asking for Jessica to come to get them because they were scared
Aron and Melissa were fighting again Melissa was also an alcoholic so they would fight when they were mostly drunk is when the fights they both wanted to run the household when it should have been Melissa since it was her house
Then 2022 started we did not hear much of Melissa leading up to this year she came over on Christmas and it seemed she was still under his control she would pick up immediately after he would call this worried us because she was pregnant
January nothing February nothing then March happened Kaydon her 12 year old called us saying Melissa was drinking again and that he found an empty vodka bottle in her trash can we told him to tell his bio dad stevie and Stevie told her case worker
this was March 2nd of 2022 that year was very eventful if you ask me multiple false police calls from her on us threats from Aron stalking us because he didn't like that we had his kids and multiple false reports to DCFS from her about us citing that we were abusing the kids
all reports came back unfounded of the course she also posted on Facebook slandering Jessica saying that she always wanted her to have her kids taken away which wasnt true she had gotten her kids taken away and then we had to immediately find babysitters for the babies
Jessica worked so did Andres and I and Jessica had a deal when I moved in that i didn't have to babysit if I didn't want to as you can tell babysitting 2 infants a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old autistic child was not an easy thing to do
At first, our babysitter Brooklyn just quit babysitting Zander saying his meltdowns were way to much and then she quit watching the babies so i took over it was from April- to October of 2022 in between that time I had given a lot of my time up to babysitting i never got a day off
on top of making sure I fed and changed the babies while making sure the older kids got to bed on time I had to also clean the house and this was proven to be too stressful on me the fact Jessica's son Zion would always contradict me this would lead to fights we had
In August of 2022, they went on vacation for 6 days and this was a saving grace for me since i got 6 whole days to myself in September of 2022 I had gotten into a fight with Zion her husband was supposed to be off that day but he went somewhere with the older kids
so it was just me Zion and the babies Zion wanted to watch tv i said no he tried to snatch the remote from me and a fight happened the fight got so heated because he kept trying to follow me around if i went into the kitchen where he was the livingroom there he was the bathroom there he was
Finally, i went outside and he tried grabbing me until the neighbor came out he then went inside and locked me out of the house twice once back inside I yelled WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU, YOU DONT HAVE A RIGHT TO LOCK ME OUT AND THERE ARE BABIES IN THE HOUSE!!!" he then shoved me so I called Jessica
Jessica sped home and she laid it on him thick saying that she was taking his game until he learned to keep his hands off of me Andres came just in time to see him try and put his hands on Jessica and he beat up Zion Jessica had to pull him off of Zion
the next two months he just went on walks until his mom would be home until October I was putting all the same colors of play dough in the same container and my vape was by the tv so I could just grab it and go outside he purposely knocked it to the ground
I asked him about it and he blamed the 5-year-old for it but there were 2 problems to this story 1 -I had it scooted back to where the 5-year-old couldn't reach the vape and 2- the 5-year-old is smarter than most and knows not to touch it
this is when the final fight happened Andres had already left for work and Jessica was already at work I didn't want to fight with him so I told him to stop but he didn't want to be kept it up he started following me around the house but this time I chose to ignore I got hungry
so I went to grab a knife and a potato so I could cut up a potato i can make myself a baked potato and he grabbed a knife of his own this made me feel threatened so I called Jessica no answer i texted Jessica no answer so then I tried his andres I called him no answer I texted him no answer this was after I told the older kids to go to the playroom
after no answer, I called the police the police came Zions Dimbass went outside with the knife to talk to the police I told the officer what happened and he told his side of the story too not long after they left Jessica came home instead of her yelling at Zion for starting a fight she yelled at me
so the next day Jerry told me he wanted me to come to the hills and talk to him and at the same time I felt like she was going to make me move out she said she would pick Melissa's kids over me every time which upset me
so I went and got papers for Indian Hills and signed them she tried to backtrack as soon as DCFS said it was unfounded but I told her I did not want to babysit anymore so she had Stevie and Jen babysit This only lasted a month so November thru December
after they quit it was Ricky Katenynnes boyfriend who babysat Kateynee came now and then to help out but she had her job and Ricky did not follow any rules Jessica had some strict rules when it came to ways to babysit the baby
such as cleaning up the mess and not vaping around the babies if one of the kids is sick keeping them away from the babies and letting the babies sleep whenever they wanted Jessica didn't want them sleeping past 5 pm so they would have a sleep schedule
After Ricky quit due to him accusing Zion of looking up porn on the internet on one of the kid's tablets and being told that maybe he was the one doing it then Jessica tried to pressure me into babysitting again even though in October we sat down in the kitchen and i told her how I felt
then she told me she understood the deal we made and that the only time that she would ask me to babysit was for school stuff and doctor appointments and when she went to the boat that's what she calls the casino so she had to quit her job at the restraint so that she didn't have to worry
January and February we were living off of food pantries and behind on bills then mom mentioned on Addus and working for Travis and so she signed up went to orientation and now she works for Travis
now for the update :
last day of court was today and they told Melissa she will not be getting her kids back She is back on medicine and she is doing her classes but the one thing she was not doing was accepting the fact that it was Aron who got her kids taken
thank you Reddit for joining me on this wild ride

I have been feeling a lot better when I minimized/quitted these things:
Refined flour
Sugar
Potato
Rice
Coffee
Porn( a food which we give our brain, I know we don't eat it but we definitely consume this in a different form).
If you observe more carefully, the food industry runs on all these ingredients mostly. I have minimized it to a very good extend now. Now I don't feel excited to go out as these things don't excite me anymore. I do have it occasionally, but the frequency has gone down so much, and I am happy for it. Also my gut is happier . So many foods have gone out of the window because of IBS symptoms. Quitting coffee was the single most best decision that I took for my anxiety disorder. I don't feel the craving now.
Now there is a food which we actually don't eat. We just watch it and feed our brain with that. You got it right!
It's called Porn. It's again like sugar for your brain. Not good at all. Again, occasional and controlled watching is good but too much of it just works like slow poison to brain.
Amongst all these, there are two silent and notorious kid hiding behind:
Plastic containers
Iced beverages/ chilled water.
These two are so subtle and quiet that you won't be able to notice at all. I have completely cut down on chilled beverages or water but plastic container is one of the most stubborn problems ever to solve. Anyways, now that I have mentioned it, I will first buy 6-7 containers of steel and replace some of the plastic ones. It will take some time because I don't have a whole lot of money to completely but the entire 30-40 pieces of it at once. So, a lot of work still needs to be done.
Water retention on face is a very annoying issue in my life. After cutting down on potato and sugar, I can see some noticeable difference.
Few things I started inculcating in my daily practice:
Boil milk always.
Brush two times daily.
Have oats, whole wheat flour, apple, chia seeds, quinoa seeds and one season fruit and vegetable everyday without fail.
Have banana, yogurt/curd, beans, lentils ,Colon cleansing supplements every 2-3 days.
Keep these things in sufficient quantity in my kitchen:
Oats
Whole wheat flour
Chia seeds
Quinoa seeds
Nuts/dry fruits
Lentils
Apple/banana/yogurt
If you have read till here, thank you for reading a random post. You are so kind. Let me know what are the foods that are harmful and must be avoided.
Thank you and good night. Take care of your health.

Sorry if this is a bit disjointed and long, there's a TL;DR at the end. I just had my LEEP on Thursday and wanted to share my experience. Hopefully this soothes a fellow over-thinker.
Background: 30 yr old female, 130 lbs, 5'2". No moderate, severe or chronic health conditions.
I was diagnosed with high-risk (HR) HPV with LSIL/abnormal cells in February of this year. Not 16/18, but another HR strain. I got at least one shot of the HPV vaccine before I turned 26 so I was really shocked at this. I had a complete emotional breakdown because of the connection to HPV and cervical cancer, plus I just felt....dirty. I've gone through my sexually active years without getting as much as a yeast infection, and now I had just been hit with an STI, and the one that causes cancer. I went into a pretty deep depression and honestly I'm still in that depression zone but not nearly as much. I did a ton of research and my findings told me that even if it was cancer, it's one of the most curable ones especially given my age, health, etc.
My primary doctor referred me to a gyno's office connected to the hospital I go to, and I scheduled an appointment for March 1st. Gyno (who was actually not an OBGYN but an APRN/midwife?) basically did a slightly more advanced exam/questionnaire then I got another referral to an actual OBGYN for a colposcopy and scheduled it for April 1st. I thought I would have the colpo/biopsy with the APRN during my March appointment but I guess that's just a "yeah your primary is right you need a colpo" step. Idk, very confusing.
April 1st comes, the doctor that was available for that date (I wanted to get this done asap) had some less than favorable reviews on the internet so that made me a little uneasy. Between each appointment I was spending hours researching, redditing, googling, youtubing etc. so I wouldn't go into this completely ignorant and hopefully minimize the chance of any BS being pulled.
My doctor was, to my surprise, very chill, professional and knowledgeable. Took time to answer all my questions, we even had some laughs. Please ladies, find a doctor that makes you feel comfortable if you can. No question is a silly question and no doctor or nurse should make you feel like you're stupid for raising concerns or asking a lot of questions. If you feel something is off or a doc is being an a-hole, that's your sign to GTFO and find another doctor. Pleasant staff make this experience so much better.
The colpo: wasn't that bad. They crack you open like a pistachio with a speculum (like they would use for pap smear) and take a look at your cervix with this scope. A vinegar solution is applied to highlight the abnormal cells. My doc's colpo machine did have a screen that could show me what he was seeing, although it wasn't working and honestly I'm glad. I think seeing what was going on inside of me would make me worry more. So I just had to take my doctor's word for it when he said the area of abnormal cells was small.
I had a punch biopsy done during my colpo and oh man. It hurt. I wasn't instructed to take ibuprofen beforehand. I'm not sure if they didn't think I would need a biopsy or what but holy crap. 2 samples were taken, at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock on my cervix, and I received a curettage as well. The curettage didn't hurt or was minor in comparison to the biopsy. After the biopsy, a "liquid bandage" was applied, this bandage is called Monsel's solution I believe. It's a mustard yellow paste.
The biopsy caused immediate moderate cramping and pain. The "6 o'clock" one, which was a larger sample, made me flinch and let out a little yelp. 6 o'clock hurt a lot. I will say that my doctor talked about what he was going to do before doing or as he was doing it so it's not like I was taken entirely by surprise. However, you don't realize how sensitive your cervix is until a chunk is taken from it.
After the biopsy, I felt this dull pain, nausea and cramping and apparently had excessive bleeding. Dribbles of blood were present on the procedure chair and floor, some of which had been cleaned up by the nurse/assistant prior to me sitting up so who knows how much was there. Doc confirmed this excessive bleeding in my after visit summary, but it wasn't so much so that it warranted some kind of emergency. I experienced some spotting for about 2 to 3 days after. I expected more blood in my pads but that never happened. I think seeing all this blood, knowing where it came from and why it was there made me even more nauseous.
The nausea and...weakness after the biopsy really had me messed up. I could barely focus as my doctor went into detail about what to possibly expect afterwards, what he saw (he even drew a little picture of my cervix), answered any questions I had. We said our goodbyes, I got dressed and made a mad dash to the waiting area's water cooler. I figured some cool water would calm my nerves and my stomach. I stupidly walked home after the procedure (I live in Chicago, very close to my doc's office). Nothing terrible happened but in hindsight, what if I passed out in the office, in the street? If you can ladies, have someone with you to get you home safely and for support. Or, at the very least, take an uber after.
After getting home I checked my pad, everything was good although I did have some "coffee grounds" in my pad from the Monsel's solution. The doc warned me about this and to expect it for a few days. I crashed on my couch for a little nap before going to a concert later that evening because I don't know how to take a day off.
The next month following my biopsy was largely uneventful, I did have intercourse about 2.5 weeks post-biopsy with no issues or pain, although the thought of infection and the whole process made it hard to enjoy sex (I healed up just fine so this was more unnecessary worrying). I didn't experience any pain, fever, or excessive bleeding, only some mild discomfort/cramping/lethargy (likely due to mentally stressing myself out) on day 2. I did however, experience one moment that freaked me out:
Day 3 post-biopsy: I got home from after work (my job requires me to be on my feet most of the day) and felt something in my vagina. It felt like a freshly inserted, regular sized tampon. I went to the bathroom, washed my hands and reached down to feel something coming out of me. Something was crowning and breaching my labial gates. I reached back down and slowly pulled out whatever object was in me. It felt like a horror movie. I knew I had inserted nothing.
Based on the feeling of said object, I thought my cervix was falling out of my body. I started panicking a bit. Panicking intensified after pulling out this...sac.
It looked alien. It was this membrane sac, about the size of a pitted date when rolled up. Within the sac contained those "coffee grounds." I knew it was the Monsel's solution and likely I had shed the liquid bandage. That logical thought didn't stop me from freaking out and gently wrapping my alien sac Starbucks trash baby in a piece of toilet paper and further sealing this HPV caused abomination into a Ziploc bag. My plan was to run to the ER and show them the freak I had given birth to.
Problem is, I had just lost my is insurance and was in process of getting a new plan, so a costly trip to the ER, waiting for hours for them to likely tell me I'm a panicky idiot wasn't really in the cards. So what does any overly anxious patient do? Turn to Dr. Google of course! I found a couple of reddit posts from women who had experienced the same thing but there wasn't much information on what had just slithered out of me. I found one of those "pay $5 for any kind of advice: legal, medical etc! Chat with an expert today!" sites that seemed legit enough. I got in chat with a doc quickly after some AI pre-chat prompts and he confirmed my suspicions: it was the Monsel's solution that I had expelled from my body. I was told this wasn't unusual and so long as I don't have an excessive bleeding, fever, pain, blah blah, I should be fine.
And I was fine. If you experience this and don't have any accompanying complications, you should be fine too. It is weird when it happens though.
My results came back about 2 weeks later. What was initially thought to be LSIL turned out to be HSIL/CIN-III, and my OBGYN told me I needed a LEEP sooner than later. My appointment was scheduled for next month and I still didn't have insurance. These month long waits between appointments were anxiety ridden depression fests, fueled by junk food and further exacerbated by internet research. The LEEP posts on Reddit had me so concerned, I reached out to my doctor to see if I could be put under general anesthesia for my LEEP, instead of receiving local anesthesia. Women on here described LEEPs as painful and traumatic. Just awful stuff. If you're reading this you've likely read those too. They described leg shaking after the shots, crying, etc. My doctor left me a detailed voice message and responded to my concerns with: "most women tolerate it well but if you're uncomfortable we'll send you to the hospital and put you under monitored sedation/anesthesia." I was still worried but was willing to see how I felt after local anesthesia. I was pleased he was open to working with me and my comfort level.
Fast forward to Wednesday last week:
The night before my LEEP, I got maybe an hour of sleep. I couldn't turn my mind off. My heart started racing an hour before my procedure and I had weird heart palpitations/irregular heart beat. I showered to calm myself down and be clean for my appointment, took 600 mg of ibuprofen as instructed, then headed out. Got a little snack from Starbucks (croissant for before since I was walking to my doc and some madeleines for after to help offset some potential nausea). For my LEEP I wore a big comfy sweater, some "period" leggings (leggings that aren't too tight and I don't care if they get blood on them) and brought a pad with me just in case. They should provide one for you but I'd rather be prepared. Got to the office, checked in, did the pregnancy urine test, got called in quickly, went through the whole height/weight/med history routine. About 5 mins later I sat down in my OBGYN's office. He described the lab findings (CIN-III), detailed the procedure, the tools and supplies they would use, aftercare and answered any questions I had. He then led me into a procedure room (pretty sure it was the same one I had my bloody biopsy in). I got undressed from the waist down like a pap, sat in the procedure chair, draped a little paper blanket over my bare bits and waited. The doctor came in with his nurse and went to work.
They again cracked me open with a speculum, this time it was rubberized on some parts. This is so your vagina doesn't get fried from the electrical current, otherwise your pubes and vulva will look like Marv in Home Alone. They also slapped a little rubber pad on my thigh to "ground" me like I'm some kind heavy duty machinery. Colpo machine comes forward so the doc can zoom in on your cervix. He applied 2 types of solution if I recall correctly: the normal vinegar solution to highlight abnormal cells and an iodine solution to highlight normal cells. Someone can correct me if that's wrong. The solutions and their uses were the least of my concerns.
He then went in with 4 lidocaine injections to numb the area, total of about 1 ml of lido I think. He used a very small needle and upon insertion, it felt like a little pinch. Now, for those afraid of needles, it is a long ish needle but the actual poke is minimal. Although some women report that the inject was the worst part. That was not the case here but the visual can be a bit alarming. After the first injection, I didn't feel the other 3. I felt comfortable going forward with the procedure, and my doc kept checking in with me to make sure I was ok. I did feel an increase in my heart rate post-lidocaine, but it wasn't concerning. I wasn't sure if this was from the "holy shit he's about to start zapping" or as a side effect of the lidocaine. Regardless, my heart rate came back down to a reasonable level given the circumstances in a few minutes. I was actually so comfortable at this point, I managed to relax my asscheeks after they were clamped together like a vise grip from the moment my derriere hit the chair.
I'm not really sure what happened after the injections, I knew he was using the LEEP machine but I don't know how long that lasted and when the wound was being created vs. cauterized as I didn't feel anything except some mild cramping/discomfort. I didn't flinch like I did with the biopsy. When the doc was finished, he applied a little bit of Monsel's, described how much he removed, went over aftercare again, we said our thank yous and goodbyes. I got dressed and went on my way, snacking on my madeleines on my way home (I walked again lol). I felt well post-procedure and even stopped at Target to do some shopping and smell some summer collection candles. I did feel myself bleeding but when I got home and checked the pad, there was a minimal amount of blood. Some women here have reported a distinct burning smell during their LEEP, I didn't smell anything but I also have sinus issues soooo maybe I just didn't pick up on it? My appointment was at 9 a.m. and I was out by 9:32.
When I got home I had some orange juice, water then slept for about 8 to 9 hours. I did have little cry sessions here and there after my procedure. But I was also sleep deprived and know I tend to get emotional. Regardless, take some time off after a LEEP, stay home around your own germs if possible. Get some of your favorite snacks, a face mask and a Nintendo switch or something. This is a good time for some self-care and rest, girlies.
Friday, day after LEEP: no bleeding, minor cramping/discomfort.
Saturday: Usual morning pee met with some blood in the toilet paper. Nothing in my pad though. Throughout the day I slept on and off, I've been more tired than usual. My body and mind has gone through some shit so I'm not mad at myself for being sleepy. I did experience some heavier bleeding throughout the day that was mostly dark colored. The blood level was about the same if not less than what I'd experience with a period. No unusual smell. I did shed the liquid bandage. Did have some mild cramping at certain points during the day but not debilitating or worth taking ibuprofen over.
Sunday: Energy levels finally back up to something normal, don't feel as tired. Still bleeding dark red blood/brown discharge but it's minor. Ran some errands today, I figured gravity would cause me to bleed more but it's about the same as yesterday if not less.
If there's interest, I'll check in at maybe the 2 week and 4 week mark, or whenever I remember since this is my throwaway account.
Overall the LEEP was way better than the biopsy in my experience. Reddit had me freaking out. I know I'm lucky, and this post isn't to dismiss any terrible or painful experience other women have had. I want to share my 'positive' experience, since most of my mental state surrounding my diagnosis, fears, the upgrade from LSIL to HSIL, has been negative.
Oh and I did get insurance literally a week before my LEEP, thank God.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask them below!
TL;DR: -Colpo: easy -Biopsy: sucks. Most pain I've ever felt and felt nauseous/uneasy after. Ask your doctor if you can take ibuprofen prior to a biopsy. Monsel's solution/liquid bandaid came out in sac-like alien baby about 36 to 48 hours later. Was able to have intercourse 2-2.5 weeks post-biopsy. No insertion of anything for about 3 days after. -LEEP: easy-ish? 600 mg ibuprofen 1 hour before procedure. Anxiety inducing but once I was numbed with local anesthesia, I felt nothing except some mild cramping. The injection didn't hurt and caused no serious side effects. No smell. No excessive bleeding. Felt fine post-LEEP but did experience some bleeding. It's been less than a week so I'll update if anything spooky happens, if no updates then expect everything went fine. No intercourse/tampons/etc for 3 to 6 weeks.
Tips: -Prioritize self care throughout this experience especially. It'll help you stay calm and heal. -Dress comfy for procedures -Take some snacks and water to your appointments for post-procedure ick -Do your research. Knowledge is power even if it makes you uncomfortable. Youtube was a great resource for me, I like to see what's going to happen before it does. Just try not to get worked up like I did. -Ask questions. If a doctor makes you feel stupid, see another doctor if possible. -Have someone with you for support and to make sure you get home ok -If you experience fever, intense pain, soaking through pads, or notice any weird smell: GO TO A DOCTOR

TW: Contains possible sensitive info in second paragraph, I don’t know how to blur words on here or if it does it automatically.
I don’t know how to start this or what to say. My childhood cat of 17 years (got him when I was like 4, 20yr old F now.), had to be put to sleep yesterday. My parent and I don’t have a lot of money by any means and we could not afford to take him to the vet to find out what was wrong, or to do anything. We are also without transportation. Over time he just got worse and worse, could only eat liquid foods, had some type of a canceinfection in his mouth that caused his tooth to fall out. Constantly sneezing and secreting this pus and blood mixture. It was horrible to watch and not be able to do anything, I can’t begin to imagine the pain he was in.
We kept praying for help and posting online asking if anyone could help and then a gift from god popped up that offered to pay for the entire thing, for him to put down and be cremated. At that point that was the only option, he was asking to go, he was ready.
I can’t speak to how my parent is dealing with it but I have been crying since yesterday. I was with him for over an hour after he died. I cradled him in my arms for the first time yesterday in 17 years as I carried him out of the house for the last time. He was the boss of the house, the big tiger, he would never have let do something so unseemly as cradle him if he were alive lol. I even held his hand.
I feel guilty and the worst kind of sadness and pain just deep in my chest and gut. I don’t know what to do. Part of me is glad he is no longer suffering and in pain. Another selfish part of him just wants him back. I’m not necessarily a religious person anymore, used to be Christian but I’m not particularly in any faith anymore, I don’t know who to pray to, I don’t know who to talk to. I just feel so alone, and I want him back. I want my baby back.
His name was Forest. He was so brave and strong. A fighter until the end. I wish I could attach a picture, he was just the most handsome fella around.
Thanks for reading, just needed a place to talk about this, feeling very numb. Sending love to all the fur babies and their owners out there.

We are looking for individuals aged 18 years and over, who have a good understanding of written English, who are in a romantic relationship and who do not have a current or previous diagnosis of an eating disorder to take part in a short online questionnaire exploring the relationship between attachment type, stress and food sharing behaviour. The survey should take no more than 20 minutes of your time to complete.
Please be aware that the survey will contain questions relating to eating behavioufood sharing, stress and relationship experiences. Please do not participate if you are sensitive to these topics.
Please click on the link below to find out more information and to take part. All responses are completely anonymous
Please visit: [https://livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV\_9mm1Dph2hTXNLxA\]
For further information, please contact the student researcher:
Qiuyu Liu ([~q.liu69@liverpool.ac.uk~](mailto:q.liu69@liverpool.ac.uk))

Before anyone jumps in here offering solutions -- I'm a moderator of /interstitiacystitis and have had this disease since 2007. I know all available treatments (https://www.ichelp.org/ic-bps-treatment-guideline/), and spoiler alert: There's been no major medication breakthroughs since the 90s with Elmiron, something that only works in a small amount of people and is $500 a month. Pelvic floor physical therapy is currently the most effective treatment we have. And that's what this post is about.
I also have endometriosis found incidentally, could maybe be causing extra inflammation, but bladder pain is the only thing that I deal with.
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My IC pain is currently under control and I'm at 0 pain as long as I don't eat any food with flavor or take any medication outside of Claritin or a very, very small percentage of various drugs that don't flare me.
People get sick. As we age we get health issues that pills can fix easily. But I can't. I can't take anything without severe, quality of life ending bladder pain. Antibiotics flare me terribly, but those are temporary and I have to take off work for the duration (1 or 2 weeks) that I'm on them. It's a great strain on my career. I can't have sex, because the risk of missing a week or more of work due to a UTI is too great.
I'm making it okay with these severe restrictions on my quality of life. It's not perfect, but its livable.
But at some point, statistically, I will end up with something chronic that needs daily medication for the rest of my list. Statins, blood pressure medications, hormonal treatments for menopause, cancer treatment, thyroid medications, and so many others that are simple pills that stop you from dying or facing permanent disfigurement.
I can't take any of these. These all flare me and death would be preferred to the hell of feeling like I'm about to piss my pants 24/7 and agonizing pain that feels like my urethra is being raped by a searing hot ice pick held over a flame for the rest of my life.
No one has advice. No medical professional has any suggestions. There's absolutely no research into helping IC patients take life-saving drugs. I'm stable and pain free for now, and that's really all that they focus on. Doctors tell me I'll have to face the issue when I get there and try not to worry about it now, but I don't want to die young.
I'm in my mid 30s, and at the first onset one of these issues I'm dead. I don't think I'll make it to 50 because some of these things run in my family. My fellow ICers all share the same sentiment.
I repeat: There has been no major treatment breakthrough since the 90s.
The current medication that I'm on keeping me pain free isn't even for IC. It's an endometriosis drug that would likely help the pain of a lot of women with IC with or without endometriosis, because a lot of our pain has a hormonal component to it. But there is 0 research into the hormonal component of our disease. A lot of IC patients who get pregnant go into remission for years, but there is 0 research into why and how to replicate that effect with hormonal treatments. It seems like such a simple direction to go in, but instead research funding keeps getting sucked into shit like Mindfulness and Yoga for Pain With Interstitial Cystitis and Peppermint Oil for the Treatment of Interstitial Cystitis /​ Bladder Pain Syndrome.
The endo drug that I am on causes osteoporosis, so I can only be on it for two years and I have just reached that mark. The replacement medication, containing progesterone, flared me and I cannot take it. Without medication I will return to daily severe pain that is incompatible with life. The OBGYN (but honestly its more of the insurance company using this as an excuse to not cover the drug) is more concerned about osteoporosis that will happen 10-20 years down the line rather than severe pain that will immediately end my life as I know it and not make getting to the next 10-20 years worth it.
This post is a cry for help for awareness of this disease and other chronic pelvic pain conditions in women that get no funding, no research, and no help. This is going to kill me.
​

Hi, I have been in communication with the experts in the field of mitochondrial health and transplants.
They actually told me that if you wanted a mini mitochondrial transplant you can just get a blood plasma transfusion.
They said a pint of blood will contain millions of healthy new mitochondria which can populate our cells and bodies and then replicate themselves.
Although bearing in mind, it will contain millions of mitochondria out of the 40 trillion we have in our system.
However as a experiment I really think one of us should try this, getting a kickstart of new healthy mito which could replicate themselves and replace the heavily damaged cells could make a big impact, maybe even be enough to eventually reverse the floxing.
Food for thought and if anyone is able to have one they should really consider it as a potential cure

Do we want the podcast to occasionally cover current events and topics, such as politics and economics, pop culture ect.
I'm interested in their real world views and where they sit on the ethical spectrum.
Not being able to acquire a guest and spending 2 hours talking about food gets repetitive, if we can give them direction so they can create a docket containing material we actually want to see/hear will greatly help it succeed.