Coffee Break: Professional Padfolio

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1. Favorite super easy dump-and-go crockpot meals (with specific brand recommendations for any sauces)? I posted recently about hating meal planning/prepping/cooking and I think this route will be the easiest to make a change. I’ve got salsa chicken down but would love recommendations for some other great options, ideally lower-sugar.

   1. This recipe is really tasty — we serve it with instant mashed potatoes and something green. https://www.creationsbykara.com/really-good-roast-in-the-crock-pot/

      pulled pork is pretty easy in the crockpot too – I use pork tenderloin, and I have a really old recipe we use from WebMD.
      1.5lbs pork tenderloins
      garlic powder
      salt
      pepper
      1 large onion
      3/4 cup bottled bbq choice
      1/2 cup non-alcoholic or light beer

      Cook on low for 8 hours.

   2. For a slight variation, try a jar of bruschetta instead of salsa.

   3. Buffalo Chicken Pasta is another good one! This is an old WW recipe but there’s probably a ton around the web. We eat the resulting chicken on pasta but you could also make wraps or dip with it.

      4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
      1/2 cup Frank’s hot wing sauce
      2T white vinegar
      2T melted butter
      1/8 tsp celery seeds
      (to add at the end): 4 wedges Laughing Cow

      I just dump it all in and cook on low for 6 hours. When it’s cooked add in the cheese, stir, and shred the chicken.

      1. This looks great – how spicy is it? Could my toddler eat it?

         1. it’s very mild — the way the chicken cooks is also good because it’ll be falling apart at the end but more or less still in tact as breasts. So when you’re pulling it out to shred, just take some pieces from the middle for your toddler and set them aside, then put the rest of the shredded chicken back in the sauce.

   4. The only sugar in salsa is what naturally occurs in tomatoes.

   5. I like Mississippi Pot Roast. I use the recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

   6. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026893-slow-cooker-garlic-butter-chicken?unlocked_article_code=1.NFA.1JAq.cHMx2imJkdIS&smid=share-url

      https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1027186-slow-cooker-chicken-vesuvio-soup?unlocked_article_code=1.NFA.WtEx.ml9qY08j-vsq&smid=share-url

2. Do you ladies have any sources for dressy sweatshirts? I’m trying to think how to explain this… Tops made out of sweatshirt material that are not sewn like sweatshirts but instead are designed like actual sweaters with details like ruffles or buttons or a mock neck.

   Read: I hate laundering sweaters and I’m always cuddling my pets, and sweatshirt-sweaters are my holy grail. Previous sources include LLBean, Talbots, and JCrew Factory. TIA.

   1. Everett

   2. Evereve

   3. frank & eileen (the patrick!) — Dudley Stephens also looks nice but I don’t like the mock/turtleneck look on me (short neck) so I haven’t tried.

      following to see what everyone else says…

      1. My two exact go to brands. I love DS.

   4. My first thought was actually JCrew/JCrew Factory. Have you looked at Banana Republic Factory? They have an Ottoman turtleneck and a hoodie sweatshirt that might work.

   5. Dudley Stephens, Tuckernuck, Vineyard Vines

   6. check Spanx Air — they have a Johnny collar half zip thing that’s nice.

      I also really like Athleta sweatshirts but they don’t have nice details (and I air dry them so not terribly easy care).

      1. What could be easier than air drying?

         1. I find air drying extremely annoying – finding space to do it, takes forever, the texture is weird after. Hard pass.

   7. I got a great one from Rails recently. Also cosign J Crew.

   8. Just got this and it’s great!

      https://evereve.com/products/sabrina-scuba-bomber-navy?variant=45650217861285&tw_source=google&tw_adid=732124546687&tw_campaign=22212460774&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=CM4_Google_General_All+Products_Brand_DMT_US_Prospecting_StandardShopping_D_D_Sales&utm_term=go_cmp-22212460774_adg-178224887401_ad-732124546687_pla-311263341966_dev-m_ext-_prd-307563_mca-134948237_sig-EAIaIQobChMI9oCK7_zhkgMVxy7UAR0EQwocEAQYASABEgIXQPD_BwE&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22212460774&gbraid=0AAAAACzR_aZAyBCYa4DAyHNhUN43dIzjT&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9oCK7_zhkgMVxy7UAR0EQwocEAQYASABEgIXQPD_BwE

   9. J crew factory had one I love with a mock neck with buttons so you could also wear the collar folded down.

   10. Not sure if you’ll see this, but try Marine Layer and Faherty!

3. Between the Trump changes to climate laws and the growing use of AI (with growth unfettered by pesky state laws, also thanks to T) I feel like the environment is kaput. RIP Earth? Has anyone read anything hopeful about this?

   1. I mean we were already at the point before Trump 2.0. It’s been kaput for a while now!

      1. No, that’s wrong. We were headed in the right direction before Trump 2.0. Fuel efficiency standards, alternative energy / EVs, Paris accords, etc. He has turned back the clock on all of that.

   2. AI is a drop in the bucket compared to cars, animal agriculture, and overconsumption. Honestly there is nothing hopeful (this is my day job). The planet is dying and no one is willing to do the hard necessary things.

   3. People aren’t talking enough about AI data centers being absolutely water hogs. New ones are being proposed that will draw on the Colorado River, which already can’t support the basic needs of the populations that depend on it. A proposed data center in San Diego County would use more water than the rest of the county combined in a single year! No way should that be allowed.

      1. This just makes me want to scream every time I think about it. There is so much lack of environmental stewardship at the most basic level. I think AI has the potential for so much good. But the lack of management, from how and where data centers are created to controls on use, just makes my head spin. I seriously wonder in a few years what we’ll think about these times.

   4. I think AI has been going through a honeymoon phase that will not last. Politics can swing big time, as we’ve all seen.

      People do not like data centers. The ads soon coming out in LLMs will be the start of additional disenchantment. Once ChatGPT has an “adult mode,” what other nutty consequences will result? It will be a stain on the entire AI industry and a PR disaster.

      1. have you read Matt Shumer’s “something big is happening”

   5. The planet is gonna be fine; humans aren’t.

      I know what you mean, tho. I take a lot of comfort in Rebecca Solnit’s book A Paradise Built in Hell and other firsthand accounts of survival following disaster. People don’t panic and turn on each other – they come together and find ways to take care of each other. Things are going to get worse, fast, but we have to look for the strength and resilience in each other.

      1. I agree that people don’t panic and turn on each other. But people are also the ones causing this in the first place.

      2. Agree that earth will be just fine. How many mass extinctions have there been already?

         We are an invasive species and we are destroying our own habitat. Our footprint will be plastics.

   6. Some signs of hope – global percentage of energy derived from renewables is highest level yet and still growing – and at lower and lower cost premiums

      And 2nd, prior to Trump 2.0, global growth in carbon emissions seemed to be plateauing (it’s hard to measure exactly, but at least weren’t growing rapidly! Maybe even close to beginning to fall!)

      Yes, lots of bad things are happening. Yes, we need to make more changes. Yes, some hard outcomes are already locked in and if I had a magic time machine, I’d want to make changes 50 years ago. But no, neither earth as a whole nor humanity as a species is kaput. The choices we make now still matter. Hang in there!

4. How often does everyone check your breasts for lumps or whatnot? I don’t know why but I hate doing it. I just try to see my primary and my gyno at alternating intervals so it’s done 2x a year.

   1. I’ve deputized my husband to do it.

      1. what a great idea

      2. A male friend once told me: he was lying in bed with his girlfriend, and he asked if she ever checked her breasts. No? Why don’t I do it for you right now? He did. Afterward, she said breathlessly, “I think you need to check them again.”

         What a good boyfriend!

   2. I just had my annual appointment with the high-risk breast cancer specialist I see (connected with a large research hospital) and she recommended shifting away from monthly exams and instead working on “breast awareness” on a near-daily basis. As part of your routine in the shower, familiarize yourself with your breasts and note any changes (doesn’t have to be a “lump.”) She said that many women do exams so infrequently that they don’t know what “normal” feels like.

   3. Check out Feelforyourlife app and webs*te. Created by a survivor, very comprehensive.

   4. Farideh has a great song on this. I thought it was instructive and amusing

      https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPRaSD3EVpv/

   5. Never enough. I’m also higher risk. I schedule my Gyn and High Risk breast clinic 6 months apart, and then schedule my imaging in between those visits (MRI/Mammo) so someone/something is checking them every 3 months. And then when I have insomnia in bed, I check, but that is not great for my insomnia.

5. When you’re stuffed up (aside from meds) what else do you do? I’m thinking of stuff like the Vapo rub we used when my kids were small

   1. The spiciest takeout I can get my hands on, eating by myself so I can be disgusting about it.

      1. I like spicy soups and noodles, too. But also vapor baths, the little Vicks steamer, this thing that is like a neti pot called NeilMed Sinus Rinse (gross but effective) and my mom swears by a hot egg (freshly hardboiled) in a thin towel/tissue rolled back and forth over your nose to loosen your congestion.

   2. running humidifiers on high, steamy showers, breathing through a hot washcloth, eating spicy food.

      if meds are allowed, just not typical cold meds, Mucinex + LOTS of water.

      1. YES, Mucinex + lots of water, but plain mucinex, not any fancy multi-symptom mucinex. Also, hot ginger-flavored tea with lemon and honey is super helpful for a sore throat from post-nasal drip.

   3. St. Olbas oil is like Vapo rub but in my mind is fancier

      I also have a lot of those Vicks products – shower steamers, bath salts.

      I got honey throat spray at Trader Joe’s recently too

      1. The St Olbas inhaler is no joke. It will clear you right out.

   4. The mentholated sticks (they look like chap stick) that you inhale sharply. Like mainlining vicks vaporub.

   5. This is a weird one, but I hold a (clean!) vibrator on/around my sinuses and it helps!

   6. Spicy food. Humidifier. And the Vicks shower steamers or just eucalyptus. I use the Vicks too if I really need it.

   7. Humidifier. Vapor Rub. Drink lots of liquids. Take a shower. Eat some pho and add lots of sriracha and eat all the jalapenos with it.

6. How do you consider the weight of getting an offer from a job you can do but don’t want (it was a LinkedIn easy apply – very low effort) with the fact you’re recently laid off and this job market blows? I think the speed of getting the offer is nothing but luck. I like the people I met but… meh. The company is solid, comp is fair. The job function just kind sucks.

   Do you just take it? Assume I’m in a solid financial spot but would prefer not to bleed my cash for another 9-12 months, though theoretically COULD.

   1. I would take it and keep looking for a better one.

   2. I thought the general idea was that it’s easier to get a job when you have a job – not sure if that’s still true. I’d take the offer and keep my eyes/ears open.

   3. if you leave in a year, will it be a reputation-burner? No? Then go for it.

      1. I feel like leaving in a year is no big deal any more. I also think everybody gets one free short term job in their work life that can be easily explained away as long as it isn’t a pattern.

         1. +1

   4. Take it. Keep looking.

   5. When I was laid off, I took the first job I was offered. I would say my general feeling about the company and people was “meh” (paired with relief that I would have an income). I would think about why the job function sucks. Will you hate what you do every day, or is it just sort of boring and uninspiring? I’ll be honest, I think a lot of jobs are meh, and it takes time to find a good one.

   6. Oof, without knowing your field (the fact that you got an offer – from Easy Apply no less! suggests it might be less decimated than mine), I would say take it. I was laid off almost a year ago, and this market is extremely extremely rough. Have given up all of my earlier “criteria”.

      How many other jobs have you applied for? I guess maybe if this is literally the first you applied for, you could tell them you need a week to decide, toss out 20 more apps, and judge the market based on how many interviews you get?

      (Goes without saying, but there aren’t any red flags that the job is a scam, are there? It’s just that EasyApply is *so* unlikely to result in an offer…)

   7. Absolutely take it. It’s a weird anomaly you got it at all. Keep looking while you’re employed. And open your mind, it could even surprise you. I cannot imagine rejecting an offer in this market after being laid off.

   8. Take the job. Call it consulting on your resume to fill in the gap.

      I was laid off in November 2023. I finally got a replacement job in December 2025. For two years I’ve really struggled. Take the crap job until something better comes along.

   9. Take it and network to get a better job—inside or outside the new company

7. How many pairs of work pants do you typically have in rotation for those who work in office 2-3 days or more per week?

   1. 3 days in. 4 pairs of “work pants” – navy, gray, black, cream. I use dark blue or black trouser jeans some days, which brings the total to 6 in rotation.

   2. I work in the office 5x a week but can wear jeans. So, I have all, but maybe one or two pairs of my jeans, cords, linen pants (in summer) that all pull double duty. I then have maybe 4 to 5 pairs of pants I would probably not wear outside of work.

   3. I have 7 pairs to cover all color/leg shape bases: straight leg in tan, navy, black, and grey, boot cut in navy, black, and grey.

   4. 10 pairs total (but I live in a place with 4 seasons):
      * 2 pairs winter-weight pants
      * 3 pairs summer-weight pants
      * 1 pair shoulder-season-weight pants
      * 2 pairs wide-leg jeans
      * 2 pairs straight-leg jeans

   5. I currently have 3 pants for 3 in-person days; 2 black, 1 navy. I also have 3-4 “back up” pairs that I could wear in a pinch but do not fit well. I think 5 pairs would be ideal (I’d love a maroon pair and a summer weight pair), but I almost always have to get my pants tailored in the waist, and I just don’t feel like doing shopping roulette to get a decent fit that can be tailored without messing up the structure of the pants. When my DH has seen prior rounds of shopping roulette on our credit card, he could not understand that I can’t just enter a waist and inseam online and magically have well-fitting pants. Or at least pants that fit more than 2/3 of the month!

   6. Oof probably more than I need. I am in 3x a week.

      – 2 skinny (navy and black)
      – 5 wide legs (navy, grey, kelly green, tan, black/white houndstooth-esque)
      – 3 hemmed for heels w/cuffs (purple, tan, deep blue/green)
      – 1 hemmed for flats cuffed (purple)
      – 1 sailor style (navy)

   7. Five days a week, four season climate:

      I try to have at least three pairs, ideally a couple more, that I can wear for most normal days in whatever season I’m in, and a couple of more dressy options for days where I need a suiting level of dressy. I typically wear two different pairs throughout each week.

      For me it’s not about the numbers, but how versatile they are to use. I have a lot of tops that only work with super high waists, so I need at least one of those. I have some tops that only work with slimmer legs, so I need at least one of those. I feel bad wearing mid-rise trousers, so I need none of those.

8. What do you do when someone else’s love language is apparently buying you clothes you don’t need?
   My mother got a part-time job at the local Talbot’s store. She is 68, retired, and does not need the money. She honestly does it for fun. Now that she gets a discount, she insists on buying me clothes…which I don’t need. And some clothes which I don’t want. By nature, I am a pretty conservative spender; I do not often buy things “just because.” I also always worry about over-consumption.
   Then I remind myself that if the clothes do not come to me, they will likely end up in a landfill. I wear a size 2 or 4, which often go un-sold at our local Talbot’s store. My mother and father have more than enough money to sustain them in their retirement. And I’m pretty such that buying me discounted clothes is my mother’s love language. Part of me is annoyed, though, that she insists even when I tell her no.

   1. You remind yourself you don’t need to keep them.

      1. give them to dress for success

         1. Or your local Buy Nothing group.

   2. if it will go over ok, something like “mom, I’m so glad you’re thinking of me, but my closet is bursting. I’m going to need to donate or sell most of what you’re buying.” And then do it, if she keeps us?

   3. Yea I would give them to a dress for success type program. They will get put to use there, especially if they’re new with tags.

   4. Sounds like you could probably use the wardrobe refresh. Take it and say thanks, mom.

   5. It’s difficult. Do NOT, however, fall into the trap that it’s better that these things are in your house than in landfill. That is not on you. Neither you nor your mom is “rescuing” clothes by purchasing them.

      To your mom:
      That’s so kind that you are thinking of me, but no thank you, I don’t need anything. I really don’t have room for any more clothes at the moment, I’m trying to declutter.

   6. Oof–my mom is the same way and I found it frustrating because I repeatedly asked her not to and I hated that she was wasting money (although I know she had good intentions). I like Cat’s suggestion of what to say to your mother (although I tried it repeatedly and it did not work with my mother). It is not a great solution, but my only idea is to look at the Talbots website and see if there is anything you like, so that you can direct your mother to buy things that you may find useful and to share what you do not need (e.g., telling my mother that I had 10 pairs of black pants helped stem the tide–at least for black pants). After years of her ignoring my requests to stop, I have gotten to the point where I no longer feel guilty about immediately giving items to the thrift store or about the money she is spending.

   7. Can you return the items to the store? Tell her manager the background, so that she accepts the returns presumably without a receipt or tags?

9. For anyone who does elder law or has taken a great elder law CLE, what are good ones or practice resource for an initial dive into this? I’m committed to trying to do more pro bono in this area and want to get a good global overview of issues before getting into state specific things.

   Stuff like understanding Medicare and Medicare HMOs, social security, heirship property, unclaimed property, 401k RMDs that may have been messed up, etc. It’s OK if it’s not a free resource or CLE.

   Thank you!

   1. I’m going to be the person who just says it – I don’t think lawyers should do pro bono work in areas they do not practice in. At best, you’re marginally better than AI and more likely, you’re going to miss major things and cause harm. I understand conflicts, etc. but I think this is a bad idea.

      1. I think it’s possible for lawyers to do a lot of good doing pro bono in a different area, assuming they adequately learn and (ideally) have someone more knowledgeable to help. OP is doing the right thing by asking for resources to learn.

10. Can anyone recommend a good backpack with wheels like the eBags MotherLode one that everyone loved here? Looks like they were acquired by Samsonite and the new one doesn’t have wheels.

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