KCB, I do in fact have gators, venomous snakes, AND bears lmao. Central Florida just wont stop building. They have actually proposed sanctioned hunting because they are all over.... but where are the poor things supposed to go. Its sad.

Since I was here last year Ive had a grandson, so I am completely obsessed with my grand baby lately!

I still crochet and have been doing cross stitch Christmas presents this year. Crafting anything really since I do not work outside the home, keeps me busy.

I am a big reader as well, but I read on my Kindle at night before bed. For me its a good way to wind down.

I also love plants. Like...maybe too much haha. Mine are all indoor or outdoor houseplants, though. I tried actual gardening in GA when we lived there but I kinda sucked at it lol

This is so interesting to me... our garden / plants outside do sooo much better than our house plants. I feel like everything in a pot inside dies lol :D

I am a graduate student. I am working on a master's in history education to use when I retire from the military in a few years.

I am a reader and a volunteer with a philanthropic heart. So, I combined all that and am the president of the non-profit that supports our local library, and I am the one who runs the fundraisers.

I am a hiker. I love to go into state and national parks and explore with my family.

I am a 90 Day Fiance junkie. I watch all of the versions and love it.

This is so impressive!!!

It's really like falling down a rabbit hole! LOL! Thankfully our purchasing has slowed down significantly. I've always loved board games, but once I discovered www.boardgamegeek.com back in February 2021, I feel like it's been all consuming. LOL!

That website has pretty much every game ever made, I can spend hours just looking a different games and researching.

This post is making feel so boring, haha - I?m so bad at gardening? I kill fake plants! Haha? either I am scrapbooking or I?m researching/planning homeschooling stuff. In two years when Jake goes to com going to be uber bored! Haha - think of all scrapbooking I?ll get done!

I?ve been perimenopause for 15yrs? fantastic? just be done with it. I?m on hormone treatments for it? bleh.

It's interesting getting to know you all better. Add me to the list of people who would be completely freaked out by bears, alligators, snakes, or any of the other wildlife some of you have! Once in a long while we have bears, but it's the kind of thing that makes it into The Washington Post if one wanders into the area every 4 or 5 years, not something we actively worry about!

I'm an audiobook person. I listen while I cook, do housework, drive by myself, scrapbook, etc. I was a lifelong reader who couldn't find time for reading after having kids. Now I've been completely spoiled by multitasking with an audiobook, so I don't think I could go back to regular reading even if I had time!

I love to crochet. I do a combination of clothes and small things like amigurumi. I just started a Snoopy amigurumi that my 14 year old requested.

I sew from time to time, but I do it more to have the finished products than because I love the actual sewing. I mostly sew bags, everything from small zip pouches to purses.

I also love to crochet, but only when the mood hits me, I guess I love the finish project, but I also have pretty bad carpel tunnel, so I don't do it as much as I'd like, I just can't.

I also love Disney, I’d say more researching and visiting the parks these days than the movies.

But I’ll say I love researching and sharing what I’ve learned with people in general. Like I love to share about the games we enjoy or places we’ve visited.

When we went to Yellowstone in 2020, I wrote up a big long detailed thing of what we did because someone was thinking of going.

I did something similar after Disney and with other trips. I could absolutely see being a travel agent in another life.

What a fun thread and fun to learn more about my fellow scrappers!

I love riding my e-bike. We have a nice trail close to our home that we use. I love that it's so peaceful and serene on the trail.
https://i.imgur.com/IO9BgNM.jpg

I really like to make handmade cards, but that runs hot and cold for me. I also like to create stuff with my Cricut, but again, hot and cold.

I am a total true crime junkie. I stream true crime, I read true crime and listen to true crime podcasts.

I love to take photos, and usually have my DSLR with me when I'm out and about.

I am a huge organizer and love to rearrange and organize closets, drawers, our pantry, etc.

I feel I am boring after reading about you all! Hmmm...

I love getting massages. I am trying to aim for a monthly me-time by going to a massage and mani/pedicure. It helps so much to unwind the fatigue and emotions that I have to go through daily.

I love listening to k-pop and watching k-drama, but lately, I don't watch as much as I want to.

I love sleeping, though I haven't been sleeping much due to a certain toddler that is co-sleeping with me.

I love traveling to new places and would love to do it often if money and time allow...

I love orchids and would love to have one grow healthily in our home, but, alas, I successfully killed every single plant that I bought.

I am a photographer - spend lots of time taking pictures of the kids' teams (I know I'm being a mom by cheering them on and supporting them but the shooting part is really for me mostly - then I share with the other parents/families :) and it just makes me happy).

I'm a WVU fan - fall is lots of trying to catch what we can of football and soccer games

I'm a crafter - I like to dabble in a lot of different crafts - sewing, making things with faux leather, designing tshirts/mugs/hats

I'm a dog person - lots of time spent with the two pups we have and that is something that always just makes me feel calmer if I'm stressed, grounds me

This is a fun thread!

I am a gamer, started on old pc games back in the 90s. My favorite ones were the Lucasart games (Monkey Island series or Maniac Mansion), but now I'm into Zelda Breath of the Wild on my Switch. I try not to play too much because it annoys my husband so much but once you start you can easily spend hours exploring.

I love puzzles, mostly jigsaw but also word puzzles that will twist your mind to find the solution.
I just finished a tryptic puzzle that my husband got printed for me of a portrait of our 3 girls in BLACK AND WHITE! That thing was insane, it sat for several years untouched because I felt so defeated. My mother in law even gave it a try and she's avid puzzler and said forget it! But then I decided I would finish it, pulled it out the past month and worked on it slowly piece by piece, very slow process. My mother in law came to visit and we worked on it together challenging each other to find more pieces. Then I finished it with the help of my girls when there were just a handful of pieces left. Now I need to glue that thing together so I never have to do it again!

I am a foodie even though I can't stand that term. I am always looking for tasty things to eat whether it's addicting junk food or fancy restaurants or ethnic food... I would try it all.

I am a Hanson fan and have been since I was 11. They still make music and still go on tour to promote their new music.

I love reading (mostly mysteries) but don't read very fast because I always fall asleep. But we started a bookclub with the neighborhood ladies and it's been so much fun! Forget about talking about the book we read... lol

Robin, I'm also a cozy gamer! I'm currently playing Graveyard Keeper, which sounds morbid but I like building up my little church :D

Lynn, those cookies are AMAZING! I wish I was as talented. It's definitely an art form I haven't dabbled in.

Vanessa, I'm so jealous of your board game cupboard. I have wanted to get into board games with my kids but the games are pricey and take so much time to set up and play. So we end up just playing the cheap and quick games like Sushi Go.

I'm a huge Swiftie! It's been super fun to see my daughter get into it as well and we've been bonding over the music and have had some interesting conversations (about the artistic use of swear words yesterday lol).

I love collecting craft supplies. Collecting, not actually making stuff.

I'm currently an English PhD student, so reading is part of my job. I do love reading, but when I do I analyze things to death, and I only have time for "classics" anymore--nothing particularly better about them, it's just my area of study: 19th C British novels.

I also love reading about all the fun things other people do! No one is boring, seriously!

There are so really nice, affordable ones out there Grace. We started out with anything by Gamewright.

A few that I'd recommend under $20. With very little set up.

Draftosaurous

Kingdomino

Azul

The smaller box Ticket to Ride games

And DH and I play a lot of 2 player only games, and those are not too bad, depending on what you get. The top two shelves on the left and the top then second from the top on the left, those are all two player only games. We love those kinds! Here are a couple we play a lot that are under $20. And, watch for Target's buy 2, get one free sale. We got a lot of games that way.

Lost Cities
Targi

I am sooo loving this thread! It's been awesome to get to know some of those things we love but don't always talk about being a digital scrapbook community. It's easy to talk about scrapbooking, but super fun to read so many interesting things about you guys!

I forgot anime!! We are totally anime fans in our house and it's our wind down and turn-off our brains thing before bed every night. It's something I never would have expected to love as much as I do, but the storytelling in Japanese animes is top notch! LOVELOVELOVE!

Lea, BOTW and TOTK are both soooo fun! Great games!!

Grace, I've played Graveyard Keeper! Super fun game <3 If you're ever looking for cozy game recs lmk!

Jill, happy to see I'm not the only true crime fanatic around here.

Vanessa, I loved seeing your game collection! I'll try to snap a photo of ours and share today too <3

Maybe we need an off-topic forum lol :D

Thanks for the recs, Vanessa. I'm eyeing Azul and we do have ticket to ride. Definitely a favorite here. Wingspan is *my* favorite (we got to try it out at a game store) but seems a bit too complicated for my kids. I have an aesthetic that they're not as into lol. I want to play games with birds and plants. My kids want monsters.

Robin, how's Ooblets actually? My cozy game wishlist is miles long but I love a monster collection game. I still haven't finished my Pokemon Sword save but I'm ready to start a new one.

I'd agree Grace, depending on their ages, Wingspan would probably be too much. It is really slow with more than like 3 players too. Keira is our only kid that has played it.

We love Verdant, it's about plants.

And I've heard great things about Planted. Harper is 10 and he has played Verdant.

All 3 kids love this game, Five Minute Dungeon .

I know, my kids never want to play the games I think we'd all enjoy! I try not to even buy anything that doesn't play 5 people. Azul is one of those exceptions because they don't play it usually.

I agree Robin, I read through these and I'm like oh yeah, I love that too! LOL!

It's so fun getting to know you all!

I'm very indoorsy. I wish I loved being outside...but I enjoy the outside from indoors. I'm indoorsy, but I don't like air conditioning. I want the doors open!

I'm another Ally Gardening Fan Girl! We planted a veggie garden this year, but the only thing to survive were the tomato plants. lol

I love to read. If I could, I would curl up in a chair and read all day.

I knit, but only when the weather is cool.

I love Disneyland, and had annual passes for a lot of years before we moved to Idaho.

Ooblets is one of the best games I played last year! Super cozy! Super cute! Tons of fun to collect all of the ooblets (including shinies). The dance battles are so fun. They do regular seasonal events still. The story is silly and well done. Highly recommend!

I have two beautiful orchids that have bloomed multiple times now. They like to be root bound and they like to be drier.

Our apartment is dry and it somehow killed the orchids. The roots grew skinny and brown and eventually dried out :(

I love making cards.
I love painting and sketching
I love eating
I love cooking

I love hearing about everyone! :)
I am experiencing perimenopause or menopause...it sucks. The brain fog, weight gain while on weight loss medicine, brain fog. My testosterone and progesterone were at 0. Estrogen is okay for now. Oh and the hot flashes...esp at night. We bought a king mattress that is cooling, cooling mattress cover and cooling sheets and I still sleep with a box fan on high blowing on me. We put it in a chair so it blows right on me.

Now the good stuff...LOL
I love to nap/sleep!
I am a huge Criminal Minds fan. I have watched all seasons so many times I am waiting for FBI or someone to start asking who I am planning to kill. It is my comfort show.
I also like true crime podcasts
I am a huge reader...not much on audio books as I get distracted and miss a chapter.
Love board games...Ticket to Ride is my favorite as well as card games
Traveling is something that we love to do and want to check off all the national parks...we are at 33 of the 63...not sure on the whole 400+ though

I've loved reading what everyone else loves!!! Here's some about me:

Audiobooks! I blame Kristin :) She had mentioned a few times that she enjoyed them, and I decided to try it, after being quite reluctant. I've nearly doubled my reading goal this year just because of Audiobooks! I have an hour and a bit commute every day, and I listen to them on my drive to work and home. I like mysteries/thrillers, and RomCom / Chick Lit types.

Reality TV! Competition ones, not the romance ones. I tried the 90-days ones, didn't like it, but things like Survivor, Big Brother, Amazing Race - love them all!

Tea. Specifically Tim Hortons steeped tea, with milk and splenda. I am a bit addicted (I have one next to me now lol). Never herbal or flavoured teas, just regular old Orange Pekoe / Red Rose / Tetley tea.

Photos Taking them, looking at them, being able to be the memory keeper not just for our family of 4 , but for my mom, sister, aunt, cousins. I tag my photos and can pull them up pretty quickly whenever one of them says "hey, remember that photo of so-and-so doing this?"

Camping Our summer fun!! We didn't get out much this year, hubby was too sick, but I'm hoping next year we can get out. I 'glamp' - we have an RV, and I don't camp where I have to pee outside, because I don't know how lol I love being able to disconnect and enjoy being outside.

I'm going to start a new thread about video games because I have questions! :)

OMG please do! Haha :D

I love this thread so much. I'm learning so much more about many of you and lots of about many I didn't know. lol

I'm in peri too, however, I did find that magnesium supplements, and Vitamin B & D have helped a LOT of my symptoms. I follow few menopause women docs on TikTok and these are the recs they give too. That and exercise which I'm working on a routine but at least 2-3 times a week I am active.


Things I love:
MUSIC - turn it up LOUD please and thank you! :w00t:
WRITING POETRY - I think everyone know that one about me :p but if you didn't now you do, and I've published 4 collections of my own poetry so far, with plans to publish more. :)
PLANTS - green thumb for my indoor houseplants, I want to garden but living in Michigan and winter I just sometimes don't feel like it's worth it. ehh
NATURE & ANIMALS | FISHING | POETRY (reading) | COLORING (in coloring books yes) :D
ASTROLOGY NUMEROLOGY MYTHOLOGY AND THE LIKES I love learning about these

I need to get one of those vitamin pill boxes so that i remember to take the supplements i've bought but haven't taken. I literally bought the iron supplement recommended here a couple months ago - AND I StiLL HAVEN'T TAKEN IT ONCE!

Speaking of perimenopause - and this is probably TMI but whatever - but does anyone else have random breast pain during the month, it feels like i'm breastfeeding and completely engorged....

Yes! OMG... it feels CRAZY and I get all in my head about something being wrong and then it's fine the next day and totally back to soft and squishy again!

Kiana... I did NOT know you wrote poetry or are self-published. So cool!

I love going to the gym. I take a HIIT class 4-5 times a week. It's another form a therapy for me. Some of us have been going for so long that we're like a little family.

I love true crime. I listen to an insane amount of podcasts. It's about all I watch on t.v. when at home. I'm basically a detective. :D

I'm fascinated with cults...falls right in line with the true crime lover in me. I love digging into them. Wondering how people get involved. Love hearing when they break free!

I love the beach. The beach just calms me. I don't like the water. I don't even want to touch it really. I just want to watch it. To listen to it. To breathe it in.

I love to cook and bake...the clean up I don't like. Haha!

Seriously!!!?? I can't believe you didn't know. I think I talk about that one all the time ...lol
I kinda assume everyone knows now.
But yup, I've written poetry since I was like 8 years old. During teen years it helped get out the angst, rofl, but into adulthood I started really cultivating my gift and really love to express myself in poetic form. I love writing anyway, but poetry just holds my heart.

I decided to start sharing back in like 2013 on a blog and then decided to start self-publishing my words so I have 4 collections out there in the world on Amazon for everyone now :wub:

I write under my name and middle name, so Kiana Donae is my author name.

roflmaooo you need to take them!!!!!:D

I love to play Township, Triple Match and June's Journey on my phone. I had to look up some games that were mentioned to see how much I am missing out on. LOL.
I love listening to audiobooks, mostly non fiction and often times to fall asleep at night.
I used to crochet, knit and do cross stitch but since I discovered scrapbooking, there isn't enough time in the day.
I like the idea of gardening, but am really only good at orchids, apparently they like the water schedule I have them on. They seem to be the only plants that actually thrive inside. I also have some great looking fake ones, so we can keep pretending I have green fingers.
I am happily enjoying the menopause, except the brain fog. The lack of mood swings and hot flashes is wonderful.
I love eating too. Eating out and cooking enough for the next night.

Set an alarm in your phone and don’t turn off your alarm until you’ve taken the darn supplement! Haha I have to do that so I don’t forget.

I did that too until it started becoming habit

Ladies! I was talking with a friend today and she shared some of the symptoms that she has before having her period and one of them was the painful engorged breasts! And my mind jumped right in this thread where a few of you mentioned that.

She's been working with an acupuncture who is also an herbalist to try and ease her symptoms. It's definitely been helping but she tried something new recently and it's been super helpful so I thought I'd share with you all.

It's a natural progesterone cream that she applies a tiny bit of on her forearms or can be thighs too. She does that 2 weeks prior to her cycles and stops when her cycle starts. She said it's been really great to ease a bunch of her symptoms.

I think I'm gonna try just to see if it helps with my awful migraines. I mean it's all hormones related so why not!

The cream she uses is made by Karuna and it’s called Progesterone Plus cream.
And it can be found on Amazon

Karuna - Progesterone Plus Cream 2 oz https://a.co/d/0EIMBBh

I'm going to look into this!! thank you for sharing lea!