Tuesday’s Workwear Report: The Ara Jersey Midi Skirt
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
A breezy jersey skirt is just the ticket for a steamy July commute. This gorgeous number from M.M.LaFleur looks flowy but still put-together enough for officewear. I would add a short-sleeved sweater or a sleeveless blouse (if that’s acceptable for your office) for the summer and layer on a blazer when the weather gets cooler.
The “abstract bluebird” print is my favorite, but it also comes in seven other prints.
The skirt is $249 at M.M.LaFleur (with some prints on sale for $174) and comes in sizes XS-XXL.
Sales of note for 7/19:
- Nordstrom – The Anniversary Sale has started! Here's our big roundup of the best workwear, as well as everything we've selected thus far. Don't forget to check to see if their daily beauty deal is a good one for you – e.g., 7/23 Lancome; 7/24 YSL; 7/29 up to 40% off select lip products; 7/31 Bobbi Brown; 8/1 Jo Malone
- Ann Taylor – Semi-annual sale, 60% off sale and 40% off everything — readers love this blouse and I always love the variety of colors/textures for this jacket (it's a great separate)
- Banana Republic – Summer sale up to 60% off sale styles + extra 20% off
- The Fold – Up to 50% off, further markdowns
- J.Crew – 50% off select cashmere
- J.Crew Factory – 60% off clearance
- Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off
- Lululemon – Summer sale!
- Me & Em – Sale! Up to 60% off (new lines just added)
- M.M.LaFleur – 25% off jardigans (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Nordstrom Rack – Clear the rack, extra 25% off clearance! Nice selection of Vince, Veronica Beard, Reiss and Rag & Bone, a ton of affordable work dresses from Calvin Klein, Maggy London, Eliza J, and Donna Morgan
- Talbots – Red Door Sale! Prices start at $15
- Theory – End of season sale is on!
ISO Athens recs. We will be there for 3 full days for our second trip, in mid-September. We loved the city in general last visit (so underrated, especially the evening vibes and amazing food) and hit the major tourist stuff then – Acropolis, Acropolis museum, agora, sunset from Lycabettus (sp from memory…).
So, looking for dining recs and fave “second trip no obligations” sightseeing. (Love it when we repeat a visit for this reason!) We enjoy some museum time but max one per day, so need to downselect among Archeological, Byzantine, Benaki, etc.
When I was there, we only had time for the Acropolis, so my only recommendation is Django gelato near the Acropolis museum.
The Benaki is amazing. I also love wandering around the Central Market, where all the amazing food starts.
I so agree with you about Athens! We loved The Zillers (Michelin star, if that’s important to you or a deal breaker bc of cost), and the Dolli. Both have great views of the Acropolis.
Love Athens, I lived there for 2 years. Benaki is wonderful. See if there are any concerts or shows at the Theater of Herodes Atticus (on Acropolis hill). This is the best restaurant in the city: Tzitzikas & Mermigas. Right by Syndagma but absolutely delicious.
I’ve only been once and just did the usual tourist circuit but I 100% agree about it being underrated.
I wanted to add one thing to the conversation yesterday about how to stop scrolling and get back into reading as a hobby – always tell yourself that two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes are better than zero minutes. Applies to anything worth doing in life. You can also tell yourself that you’ll try it for five minutes but if you’re really too brain dead to continue, you’re allowed to stop. It can really help! I didn’t read as many books during the newborn and infant phase (when I was most exhausted) but I’m so glad I did keep reading.
I’ve found reading even 5-10 pages before bed instead of doom scrolling really helps my mental health and quiets my brain. It’s made such a difference I just keep doing it.
I don’t know if this was said yesterday, but the Libby app on my phone has been a good way to redirect the hands used to scrolling into reading. I put it on my home screen, together with messaging apps that I use with my family.
I put all the stressful things including emails and browser into folders where there is more friction to opening them.
re: look above, i generally avoid wearing a proper cloth top with knit or jersey bottoms. is that not a thing?
by “proper cloth,” do you mean a woven fabric as opposed to a knit one? If so, I don’t use that as a guideline. I pay attention to whether the dressiness level of the fabrics and items works together, and to the colors, cuts, and proportions of the top and the bottom. If all that is good, I’ll happily wear woven fabric with knit fabric.
I wouldn’t wear a dressy blouse or shirt with a casual knit skirt unless I was confident with my style and was intentionally doing a juxtaposition for it’s own sake. Which can be done.
The top looks like jersey to me.
In general, I think jersey skirts tend to look pretty sloppy.
No? Do you mean you only wear tees with jersey bottoms? And by proper cloth do you mean a woven top with buttons? And you only wear those with…only suiting pants?
This seems unnecessarily complicated.
yes. i would wear a sweater or a tee with a jersey bottom but not a woven shirt. A woven shirt doesn’t necessarily have buttons (this one doesn’t) but i mean out of a cloth, not a knit.
Knit is cloth too. I think there are some cultural or language differences that I don’t understand. If you don’t like the way the model is styled, feel free to wear something else, but it doesn’t mean it’s wrong or weird just because you don’t do it.
Personally, I used to avoid tucking any top into an elastic waist, but elastic waist technology has improved dramatically so now this is not longer an issue for me. (Also, knit bottoms can have fixed waists with zippers etc). And I certainly wouldn’t judge anyone who makes different choices as doing it wrong.
I too am confused. Clearly there is something I’m not getting, because all this reminds me of is the bit in the Bible about not wearing garments of different material together.
Yep, I thought of that too
IDK. I can see it where a woven item looks too formal with a knit skirt. IDK why, but I was given a knit St. John skirt and one reason I don’t wear it is that my blouses look mismatched with it and a tee reads too WTF. My mind can’t style that combo right when the knit item is a bottom vs a top. A knit with another knit can also look off. I do like a white tee with a smocked-waist skirt that I have, but it is woven (but still pretty casual).
I think with the rise of dressier jersey skirts and pants this year that woven cotton or linen look nice with them.
I clicked through to the page’s photos and the skirt looks quite elegant for jersey. The top may be woven (is that what you mean by “proper cloth”?) but it’s a relaxed style. These items look fine together imo.
i’m sure this is a common question here but i have mostly been off this summer…. are the oral GLPS that pop up on my instagram marketed to those who just need to lose “aesthetic” weight and not medical OK? do they work?
I take the wegovy pill via Ro and it’s amazing, wanted to lose 15 and ended up losing 30 and am back to my high school weight.
I’m on the rybelsus pill via a Canadian distributor and it has been amazing too. I have probably lost 35 pounds. I think all pills are similar to rybelsus in that you have to take it on an empty stomach, so first thing in the morning and no food/water for 30 minutes after taking. It works for me. It doesn’t need refrigeration which suits me better than the jab given all of my travel.
Is being your high school weight really a healthy goal now?
Sure is babe.
If you matured early and hit an adult weight in high school, of course. Not for me, because I hadn’t even reached my full adult height until halfway through college.
I hit my adult height in grade school. So fully adult-sized at 18.
What side effects have you all noticed on the oral GLPs? What is the cost like?
disney folks. how busy is busy (like a holiday week?) what can be done to mitigate or plan around it? there are so many sites, i’m overwhelmed. my son is 16 so not a baby but we want to do star wars and epcot which we’ve never done and probably a day at magic kingdom.
The best way to get around it is by spending more money, followed by going very early and staying late (should be more feasible with a teenager!). Lightning lanes help, but if in the budget, I’d try the premiere pass.
+1 unfortunately money is the best way to solve it
There was a great article in the NYT within the past several months about how “skip the lines” options at amusement parks, multiple tiers of premium airfare, etc. make everything less enjoyable. When I was a kid, everyone had to wait in the same lines at Disneyland, and the wait was part of the experience. When I recently took my family to Disney World for the day, we spent most of our time stressed out about how to get on rides and resenting all the upselling. We won’t be returning.
you want to use a Disney planner. They are free. The number of deadlines and tricks and strategies to avoid spending 80% of your time in line is nothing short of a military operation. (Source, sibling with older kids who was stressing about something being released 180 days prior to their trip.)
Flippant answer – you can throw money at it. If you can afford it, the Lightening Lane premier pass is fantastic because you just walk up to each ride’s lightening lane without having to schedule it. Otherwise, LL multipass can be bought 10 days before and there is lots of information online about how to maximize it.
Also, if you haven’t booked your hotels, since you want to focus on Hollywood Studios and Epcot, I’d look for a hotel near there so that you can have the option of taking a break in the middle of the day.
On planning, I’d focus on one park per day. DisneyWorld is objectively big, and it’s park is pretty big. This also makes planning easier to focus.
Key things to do are calendar 60 days out and make all your dinning reservations. For us, having a sit down dinning reservation for dinner really helps ground the trip. You can cancel them as the trip gets closer.
Making early dining reservations is a good tip, but day of so many people are changing their plans and moving reservations around that I’ve been able to score reservations with very little notice just by obsessively checking the app.
Definitely hire a planner and be prepared to spend more than you would taking a European vacation. I love Disney, but it’s insane.
If you have a teen then go late in the day when lines die down for a lot of things. Many families poop out around 6pm. We did universal recently and all the best rides were basically walk-on right before the parks closed.
Oh- and set expectations in accordance with how your family operates. My kids are 8-14 and we asked what the really wanted to do. Spoiler: not get up at 6am to “rope drop” top attractions on vacation. they also didn’t care about the top themed restaurants and were fine with whatever was available. They were fine not doing the rides with the longest lines and instead picking lower line rides or waiting until evening when lines die down.
For context I’m a TA who books Disney but it’s not my specialty. The Christmas-New Year’s week (including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) is pretty awful but beyond that, the crowds are manageable because spring breaks and fall breaks don’t all overlap.
In general, attendance is a bit down in 2026 so even the busiest days this year are not as busy as the busiest days the past few years.
And yes, money helps. Stay in an official Disney hotel for early entry hours, buy Lightning Lanes, do character dining on a day you don’t have park tickets to stretch the experience.
Planners are mostly free but I don’t think it’s an absolute necessity. Character dining opens 60 days out (starting from your check-in date if you’re staying on property) and that’s the main thing you need to reserve in advance besides a hotel and park tickets. You will need to manage your own Lightning Lane reservations yourself since Disney policy prohibits TAs from doing this (some may be willing to take your password and log in as you to make your first advance reservation, but you’ll need to do it yourself in the park, so I would strongly recommend just figuring it out yourself from the get-go).
their Genie thing is really amazing – I think it’s $15 per person? well worth the money, and i think you can also use it to book limited tickets for newer attractions if you get up at like 6 am (we did Tron while we were there via that). On the off chance your kid is ADHD or otherwise ND definitely look into the DAS pass, that made a huge difference for us as well, but they’ve really cracked down on it lately.
I thought that DAS didn’t let you skip the line, just let you sit down somewhere else while waiting for your turn?
I am constantly looking for beige/nude sneakers that I can wear with dresses. (And not look orthopedic.) I spotted a woman on an elevator today wearing sneakers that were covered in beige lace for the front 2/3 of the shoe (like through the tongue/laces) and then the back part was beige-y ivory, and there was a gold lip on the heel of the shoe like where it met her ankle. There was a narrow rectangle logo on the bottom of the heel like just above the ground, looked at least 1″ wide with a brand name but she was 3 people in front of me and I couldn’t squint to read it. Our elevator has all non-public floors so I didn’t want to bust in front of everyone else and ask her/scare here. Anyone have any idea of the brand??
I have similar sneakers from Stuart Weitzman.
I can’t find what you’re describing. What about these sambas? https://www.journeys.com/product/womens-adidas-samba-og-athletic-shoe-wonder-quartz-off-white-wonder-mauve-437663?srsltid=AfmBOopQxoFlOQj07mu1MxPV021UdkhtCEd7RYcD06nnKgzF-efmd6nT
Otherwise, Cole Haan is my source for nice looking sneakers that don’t look orthopedic.
https://www.colehaan.com/products/womens-grandpro-energyweave-running-shoes-w34726
Not sure of the brand, but Vejas come in beige/gold I’m pretty sure.
sounds like you’re talking about some of the newer ballet sneakers that are out?
https://www.vivaia.com/products/XRPD01263/Cecily?gid=10033942
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/bone-colored-suede-and-nylon-13-10-sporty-ballerina/9061996?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FAll+Results&color=44444GK3TF
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/adidas-taekwondo-mei-ballet-flat-women/9138694?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FAll+Results&color=44444FZ8GU
Hi, friends! I ordered the Crocs Miami sandals that have been all over my social media and the straps feel a hair too tight. Does anyone have these and know if they get looser at all as you wear them? I’m curious whether it’s worth trying to break them in b/c they’re otherwise as cute and the footbed is as comfortable as folks say. Thanks!
I have them and love them but the straps don’t stretch in my experience. And I have short legs so am often balancing on tiptoe in a chair (which in theory would stretch them). Instead I just end up with dents across the top of my foot if I do that.
Have you tried the method of boiling (or pouring boiling water) and stretching them that you can do with regular crocs?
For those of you not new to OSA and sleep studies and whether you need a CPAP, do you recall what your overnight O2 sats were? Mine when I’m awake are like 99%, no variance. But my SO has them when they are normal when awake and dismal at times when sleeping (like so low that EMTs would have protocols mandating supplemental oxygen). But overall, he’s “mild” and has a theory that it’s just time for GLP-1s vs a CPAP. This is a rabbit hole I’d like to get out of and now it just seems layers and layers deep (but the guest bedroom has a mattress that is amazing, so that is good at least).
He’s probably right, losing weight cures a lot of apnea issues. My husband went from needing a cpap to not at all after a GLP1 weight loss.
i have disruptive afternoon sleepiness (doze off at my desk, etc) and so have been tested at multiple points in my life. I don’t remember any of the numbers but i do remember that like lots of things, you can have mild test and severe symptons and vice versa. Meaning you can have mild apnea but a lot of sleepiness (me). there is no medical down to the CPAP for the wearer and other than it’s silly it doesn’t disrupt a partners (certainly less than snoring and i found the sound almost soothing, like white noise). give it a try!
My family member has mild sleep apnea, and she feels a CPAP made a meaningful difference for her. It’s the difference between needing multiple naps a day and being able to function fine without naps. Sleep apnea can also lead to other serious problems over your lifetime, so I wouldn’t just poo poo a CPAP off the bat.
This is how my dad is as well. Once he started using it, he described life without it as like perpetually having a mild groggy hangover ever day, and really notices it again when he doesn’t use it from time to time.
I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, and I am not overweight, so losing weight isn’t necessarily a fix for everyone. Sleep apnea depends on your anatomy and can also run in families, just mentioning that because people always mention losing weight as a go-to option but that might not actually be the root of the problem in every case. If you are anti-CPAP, you can also try a custom oral appliance made by a dentist that moves your jaw forward so that your throat stays open as you sleep (it can also reduce snoring, which you might appreciate). They are supposed to work well for mild and moderate sleep apnea.
It’s really hard to lose weight with impaired sleep. Why not use the CPAP (with or without supplement oxygen) in conjunction with GLP1, and quit CPAP when it’s no longer needed? Assuming it’s really OSA (not central) and really from weight (which isn’t always the case).
My husband got tirzepatide covered based on his sleep apnea diagnosis, not obesity, though he has a BMI that’s probably between 30-35. He’s been on a low dose for a few months and the difference in sleep apnea has been amazing. I no longer wake up to him snoring or tossing and turning on his phone. He’s lost some weight but honestly not a lot, and is doing a lot of resistance training to maintain muscle. I’d try a GLP1 before a CPAP, honestly.
+1 – the CPAP machines are also seriously annoying, they look like hospital equipment and are a hassle to travel with. It’s like sleeping with someone on life support. While not all cases are weight related, many are and a GLP1 assists with rapid enough weight loss that I’d absolutely go that route first. Also, there are so many other benefits to weight loss that it’s a no brainer to start there.
I wonder in some cases it’s the lowered inflammation rather than the weight loss that improves the apnea.
Modern CPAP machines are small and sleek, highly portable, and quiet. I’d much rather hear a quiet fan while trying to sleep than loud snoring or gasping for air!
I am referencing the modern ones, they are still like life support machines. They also interfere with middle of the night gardening and make your bedroom a nursing home situation. If you need it, you need it, but try other things first.
I’m traveling to Mexico for the first time and I am not normally a beach vacation person. I just bought a new swimsuit but I think I may need some kind of coverup or large shirt to wear on top of my not-toned 50 year old body. What do you normally wear on top of your swimsuit and what can I get that will be the most versatile and get the most rewear?
A cotton gauze dress.
Any specific one that you like a lot?
To go in the water, or to sit on the beach? For going in the water, Lands’ End has dresses and shirts made out of swimsuit material. For sitting on the beach, an oversized linen button up seems practical.
I think it’s more for walking to and from the swimming pool from my room and back and maybe going to a cafe or restaurant nearby. I rarely sit at the beach and generally don’t really swim except to take a quick dip in the pool or sauna.
This is an entire wardrobe category for me. So many things, caftans, beach pants and t-shirt, oversized button downs with shorts, etc.
Do you have any recommendations for material, length, brands?
Not really, I love Emerson Fry for light cotton dresses but my stuff is everything from fancy to Target.
I use Old Navy or H&M for this. With sand and chlorine and saltwater, I wanted light dresses that machine wash easily and, if they stain, I don’t care.
“sets” are popular right now (like lightweight eyelet shorts and top) and then you can mix and match the pieces to wear separately later.
I live by the beach and own a number of pretty cover-ups but somehow always end up in my Vineyard Vines Hartley Harbor Cover-Up shirt. It’s flattering, UPF 30, and dries very quickly.
https://www.cabanalife.com/collections/cover-ups-1
IMO they run small and are cut straight, but I love mine for running around town to / from the pool. I care more about how I look in the city I live in (in Mexico, I know no one), but it lets me go eat easily at a pool setting or pump gas.
These are cute. Do you have one of the hooded ones?
Most of my coverups are things I wear regularly as normal clothes, but I do live in Florida. I have some gauze and linen shorts I regularly wear from J crew/gap/old navy. I also like the Athleta brooklyn shorts because those dry really quickly. I have a couple linen long sleeve button downs, so it’s all pretty mix and match. I also like wearing a sunshirt, because i’m not great at applying sunscreen. My favorite is the peter millar ones, but lands end also makes them.
The absolute most rewear is to repurpose a T-shirt or Hawaiian shirt that you already own.
But if you’re anything like me, you think a lot about your imperfections beforehand, pack three options for coverups, and end up having fun at the pool with everyone else who also has normal looking bodies and mostly forgetting about this. If you have a UV protection shirt like they do for hiking, that could also be useful.
I almost exclusively read on the kindle app on my phone, partially for this reason!
If I’m standing waiting for the subway, that’s 3 minutes I can read!
You don’t need to think twice about a “not-toned 50 year old body”… you’ll see all kinds of bodies at a Mexican beach resort. You will need a cover up to go into indoor restaurants, however. I normally bring a linen long-sleeved shirt and linen pants but I’m also looking for sun protection from my cover-ups so I want as much skin covered as possible.
I’m thinking of getting some Jo Malone candles off eBay. Do I need to worry about counterfeit candles or old candles that have gone bad?
Why would they be on eBay if they weren’t one of the two?
This, and yes, don’t waste your money there on things like that.
+1
your best case here is someone received them as a gift but doesn’t like candles. Worst cases would be old, fake, or ‘fell off the truck’…
What are some places where I can find solid hardwood furniture with clean lines other than Room & Board and Article, with showrooms within a day trip of central VA? The algorithm has figured out that I’m furniture shopping and keeps feeding me ads for small internet-based companies, but I don’t want to buy anything I can’t see in person. I am looking to mix MCM and Shaker styles in finishes like natural walnut, natural cherry, natural maple, and whitewashed oak. I like a lot of the pieces at Thos. Moser, but that’s a price tier above my budget.
Why not buy authentic MCM and shaker? Lots on FB marketplace and typically much better quality than you’re getting in a modern repro (unless you spend $$$$$).
Where we live FB marketplace is all garbage. I hate antiquing. And we already have enough antiques and hand-me-downs that we are mixing in. I just want some new mid-grade things.
Well there is no magic inexpensive solid wood furniture if you aren’t willing to put in the work. Good luck.
She never said she was looking for inexpensive. She wants to see stuff in person, which is not unreasonable.
Ha! In my area, that is a pipe dream. Authentic MCM/ Shaker is either not on fb marketplace or it’s snapped up fast or it’s expensive af. Or all 3.
+1
I’m convinced y’all are just bad at marketplacing. It takes time and strategy.
You have to be selective but Green Front in Farmville. La Diff in Richmond and Txtur in Richmond/Roanoke might also be possibilities although Txtur has a pretty small selection of pieces.
Any advice for working with a contractor who used to be an employee? Not the legal side, but the interpersonal side.
Said contractor has a startup company that does some work for us. He has not been an official employee for 5+ years but has worked with us in some capacity since then. I don’t have any input into his contract, but I lead a team that interacts with him very frequently. This arrangement had worked well for a long time, and that seems to be slowly shifting. Some of us are noticing that the contractor still approaches problem solving like he’s working for the organization that he left, not the organization it is today. The culture has changed as leadership has shifted, new employees have joined, the OGs have left, etc. Several people have pointed out that when they provide feedback, he tends to get defensive and push his solutions anyway, sometimes referencing past projects that are no longer relevant.
What is my role in this situation? Because we’ve worked together for a long time and have a certain level of trust, I have gently pointed out when I think he’s misreading a situation and have tried to clarify priorities and what we need today. But I’m still sensing tension, and I’m not sure how to fix it, or if it’s even my role to fix it! The boundaries around this arrangement have been odd from the start, but we all made it work. Now the feedback I’m getting suggests that people are not super happy with him, and I also sense more frustration on his end, which is out of character. I feel like I’m getting caught in the middle. Should I have a more direct conversation with him about what I’m seeing? Or is that just asking for trouble?
Who oversees the contractor? I would start by talking to them. In my organization, I would describe the issue to that person, they would either address the contractor themselves or would give me permission (or not) to talk to the contractor. The contractor doesn’t need to be handled with kid gloves, but if we want to continue using them we want to be kind while making it clear the org has changed since they were in-house, and they need to understand and accommodate that. If they cannot move past the past, then we will wind down the contract.
I am fighting the midlife flab and am overwhelmed by the amount of advice out there about how to address this. Weight loss would be great, but I think I’d actually be okay with my size if I didn’t look so flabby around the middle. I’ve been a pear shape my whole life, and this is really throwing me for a loop.
I know I need to:
– lift weights more often – I am still very confused about what lifting heavy actually means. Heavy compared to what?
– shift my workout strategy – I quit OTF a few months ago because I felt like it was stressing out my body more than it was helping, but any gains I’d made are already gone, which is depressing. I’ve been walking instead. It’s fine, and I’m moving, but is it actually burning any fat?
– eat fewer treats and snacks
There are a million and one influencers trying to peddle programs to do all of these things, but do they actually work?! I feel like I’ve tried doing all this on my own and have failed, so if you’ve found something that is reasonable to stick to and actually gives you some good results, please tell me what it is.
Bring this all up with your doctor next time you get a check up. Flabby around the middle can be an endocrine thing so you want to know what you’re dealing with.
I started HRT about a month ago. I’m hoping it helps some, but it’s too early to tell.
Unfortunately, HRT is generally not very helpful for the belly shift.
I’d suggest separating out these goals:
1 stronger muscles
2 losing weight
3 your mid section looking the way you want it to.
It sounds like you’re stuck because you’re looking for a way to get goals 1 and 2 to add up to goal 3.
Heavy often means a focus on fewer reps of heavy weight vs many reps of a light weight. I’m liking the Strong Lifts 5×5 app, which is a very simple workout plan that focuses on scaling up to heavy lifting of the most important muscle groups. It’s only a few different exercises and it’s very formulaic, so maybe not the best if you need something varied or dynamic to keep your attention, but it is effective!
this – i always feel like it’s heavy compared to the 1/2/3/5 lb weights women were encouraged to use (lest we get too muscley!) and instead tells you that it’s ok to start with 10/15/20 and go up from there.
Heavy is individual. It means that in a set of 8-10 reps you are really working for the last 2-3 reps and that at the end of the set you don’t feel like you could do another, but not so heavy that you compromise your form.
Weight lifting with progressive overload works. It’s good for you. You should do it 3x a week. Heavy means the last few reps are hard. You should try, but not succeed to lift a little more or do one more rep each time.
You should hire a trainer at the gym you plan to go to. You should ask for a dead simple 3x week full body program that takes 30-45 minutes. She should walk you through 2-3 sets of 3-5 exercises. You meet with her until you have the form down on these basic exercises and aren’t scared of gym bros. Probably two or three sessions. You should be able to do it by yourself for about 3 months and then revaluate and have another session to track goals and get at slightly new plan. It will be similar. You just keep going.
It’s the best exercise you can do for your bones and muscles. You don’t need faux spirituality, a skinny 25 year old telling you to breathe or a man in short yoga pants farting in front of you. It’s hard but it’s pretty quick and literally half of the workout is resting. You don’t need a specialized gym or anyone else’s schedule. Good luck.
Someone recommended an Australian swimsuit brand that’s good for a sporty look with molded cups but I can’t find it when I search for it. Anyone happen to recall what that was?
LinkedIn question. I publish under “Jane Q. Doe,” partly to distinguish myself from another Jane Doe who publishes in the same field and for whom I am often mistaken. LinkedIn doesn’t have an option for a middle initial, so my first name appears as “Jane Q.” and my last name as “Doe.” If people are searching for me or trying to tag me and just search for “Jane Doe,” will the “Q.” prevent them from finding me? In other words, do I need to drop the middle initial on LinkedIn?
no, the search pulls up full names for me. If someone is really sleuthing and scrolls down in the search results, they will be offered all possible matches, with middle initials and alternative spellings like Jayne Doe and Jane Dough.
If you don’t care about getting any money out of them I’d take them to Goodwill or your local charity place. You dint have to worry about what happens to them after that.
Are you in a field where an orcid or google scholar link or scopus ID would pull up your pub history?
There’s a lot of people out there with my name and this does the trick for me.
I am cleaning out a storage unit from my parents and came across several bins with a bunch of 1980s Hallmark-quality Christmas ornaments as well as kids toys from that same era (Cabbage Patch dolls, Lincoln Logs, mixed tub of random Lego sets, etc.). They are in good but played-with vintage condition. I am not sentimental and do not want to keep these. Is there enough of a market that if I donate them they might get sold or should I just throw it all away? I don’t have a dumpster for this project so I would need to dole them into my curbside bin over the course of several weeks.
Do you have a vintage toy resale shop in your area? My DH had some Star Wars collectibles and they snapped them up. Way easier than trying to put them on Marketplace or whatever. But also, zero shade if you decide to pitch them altogether.
Plenty of people would shade. Give them to goodwill or somewhere else. They will sell.
These don’t belong in the trash. People will absolutely take them off your hands!
There’s a market for these. Or save them for a neighborhood garage sale if you have one.
Definitely don’t throw away. Donate or post on Freecycle and they will be taken fast.
A tub of random Legos is quite valuable. Parents will jump at these.
Nothing is valuable enough I would waste time trying to sell them though.
A collector might be interested but I wouldn’t give them away to kids. Toy safety standards have changed DRAMATICALLY since that time (including heavy metals standards) and it’s best for kids to play with modern toys. I love family antiques myself but recently threw away a brightly painted toy that I’m almost certain would test very positive for lead and cadmium.
i was the poster asking about the oral GPS. question, when i am honest i know i eat too many white carbs, and sweets. like it’s not like i don’t know why i am having than i want to be. Does GPS really help this sort of indulging? It’s hard for me to get my head around it.
My GPS definitely helps me indulge by giving me directions to the bakery and the ice cream shop.
It does help! Sugar is addictive and while it doesn’t take away the craving for it, it deadens the obsession of wanting it.
They are GLPs not GPS.
I’m dying at the idea of GPS curbing food cravings. Like it just starts talking to you in that funny voice “DON’T. EAT. NOW!”
Please help me develop a more effective argument to encourage my son to adopt healthier eating habits. He is often reluctant to eat my homemade meals, primarily because I focus on preparing dishes that are under 500 calories, relatively low in salt, sugar, and butter, while emphasizing legumes and vegetables. Although my cooking may not be restaurant-quality, I believe it is a better choice than frozen pizza (which we still eat about once a month).
He is 15 years old, a foodie (and significantly overweight). He insists that all food should include butter or oil and that taste should be the top priority. I have explained that we dine out approximately three times a week, which is where many of the tastier meals come from, along with one or two nights with big desserts like cake or bowls of ice cream. I’ve encouraged him to think about food in terms of a budget, and stressed that there are sometimes foods and everyday foods… and in order to accommodate our food budget we need to focus on nutritious, home-cooked meals on the other days. He won’t listen and tends to make his own foods instead that tend to be high carb and low protein.
There’s a lot to unpack here. 3 restaurant meals/week is a lot, and I say that as someone who eats out or gets takeout quite a bit. But also <500 calories is a crazy amount for a dinner for a growing teenager, especially an overweight one (bigger people need more calories to maintain). If he's at least average height, he's probably consuming 2,500+ calories a day currently, and cutting down to even 2,000 calories would work out to a pound/week of weight loss. 500 calorie dinners sounds like a crash diet which is never going to work. And often with children, they don't encourage weight loss, just weight maintenance so they can grow into their weight.
I would hire a dietician to discuss all this with and help you come up with meal plans.
It is very possible to cook delicious, healthy, vegetable-laden meals. I do it every day. If you are serving dry, flavorless piles of beans and plain veg, no wonder he wants to cook his own rich foods. You need to choose recipes that include a bit of olive oil or butter (like 1-2T for a whole pan), a little salt if it’s not part of one of the other ingredients (like canned tomatoes or broth or soy sauce), lots of seasoning, and some sort of sauce to prevent the dish from being dry. Bonus points for the addition of an acid like vinegar or citrus juice.
No one should ever have to eat anything that is not delicious in the name of healthy eating. There are too many delicious healthy foods out there for that to be necessary.
Maybe read through the Salt Acid Fat Whatever cookbook together? It is hard to get flavor without salt. You need some fat also. Fat is not the enemy and some salt is your friend. 500 calories also seems really restrictive. Like this a dry chicken br3ast? That looks like a lot of work for food that I think could probably be meh in and savory / satisfying / mouth feel department.
Also: no one needs a trough of dessert on the regular. That has to go if he is trying to eat healthier.