It’s funny that the first two right now are 'stopped eating meat" and “stopped eating everything except meat”.

For me it is getting up when I wake up. No alarm. It wasn’t always possible but instead of getting up early to run or be virtuous in some way, I sleep until I wake (not late! Usually between 7-730), have a short but indulgent morning, only water until I get to work (by bicycle) then coffee and breakfast. I wish I had always been able to do this.

And MHT, so glad I tried it - I had no idea I had menopausal symptoms because I never had a hot flash. But the MHT knocked out the migraines I was having, the UTIs, my thinking is clearer, and even though it put a few pounds on me I’m still inside healthy weight. That success convinced me to be more intentional and interventional about aging - I thought all that longevity stuff was about living longer (because of the word) but mostly it’s about staying healthier and that feels physically good.

I was my mom’s oldest kid, she let me drive without a license to learn, as she was not familiar with the rules. Then I took a written test and driving test.

Drivers ed here was in the summers and my friend and I traveled in the summer instead, worked in the school year to make $ so that we could.

My kids, insurance cost is so high here now, they have to wait until they can pay that, I couldn’t handle a $1,000 increase in the monthly budget for two teen drivers at that time. The older ones learned after college, my younger ones got the learner permits and learned earlier, one at 15 (she is the only one who likes to drive my stick shift car) and the other at 17 (that one still has only learner permit, can drive well, but usually takes bus or bike to get around town).

I think the reason kids usually learn early here is because the bus system has been systematically underfunded for so long. It’s really hard to have a job without a car unless you are lucky and able to arrange everything close to your house. Which isn’t gonna happen if your parents live in the exurbs.

Time is a luxury. Even on a small scale - I bike or walk to work most days, because I have the luxury of waking up when I wake up, having a morning and a slow human powered commute. That is privilege, yes? So many have to drive an hour or even more.

If I had the time to walk to somewhere far, I would take it.

I guess on the upside, a faster life means more stuff done in each life?

Well yes, of course putting motor oil or something completely unrelated to cosmetics is not going to be safe. I don’t use mosquito repellent on skin.

But makeup, foundation, does put a physical block between skin and sun, like a mineral sunscreen does. I was responding to the claim that it ages your skin. Most of them are emollient and protective, not drying and damaging.

I’ve been a lot more interventive than my husband with skincare, he’s mostly just kept his clean and sunscreen for outside. I do night cream of some sort since I was 25, now it’s , tretinoin at night, estrogen cream in the morning, mineral sunscreen every day. Yes a little foundation for work. Body lotion after shower. My skin looks so much healthier than his, and no way is it genetic, my mom had bad skin, delicate and quick to age. I truly don’t think “natural aging” is the best way to handle skincare. I do agree that you can’t put something on your skin and think it does not affect the rest of you, though.

I used foundation as sunscreen for years and it did, as far as I can tell, a pretty good job of it. I was allergic to the chemical ones available here. The mineral ones were like clown paint. Eventually the mineral sunscreens got better, that’s what I use now. But no I don’t think “makeup” generally ages your skin. Anything that puts a layer between your skin and the sun and car exhaust, probably more helpful than harmful.

Boing! Boing! Jumping off a roof so I can bounce bounce bounce, I can’t jump for shit IRL and I want to.

Also maybe some NSFW stuff I am not about to detail.

Looks-wise hair is good, but bald is by far my practical preference, or very short shorn. Much more pleasant for more activities.

I love the poetic typos in this question.

Bescribe? I suppose I would bescribe myself by offering to write something for someone.

Asentence? What a magical sounding word. An asentance sounds like it means a non- sentence or something that transcends sentencing.

Not quick to anger

Been around for awhile

Tall (for a girl)

I don’t think nutritional yeast tastes like cheese, it’s a unique flavor, but wow it is incredible on popcorn, particularly with chili powder, and also on grits, with cheese and butter.

And delicious!

I like a drink (obviously) as part of enjoying food, cooking, hosting and manage the risk by never having more than one in a day (this is probably 2 ‘units’ of alcohol if a cocktail or one if a glass of wine) but also not two days in a row, I try not to drink today if I did yesterday. Generally 3 drinks a week, 2 cocktails one glass of wine so 5 units. Sometimes less. I feel good physically, better than I did in the years I did not drink, but would not attribute it to drinking, we have more money now and better lifestyle overall, so slightly less stress.

A few suggestions based on whether you need more calories. If you are trying to gain weight:

Triscuit crackers and hummus

Nuts, whichever you like.

Whole fat Greek yogurt with honey or savory with olives and crackers (again, Triscuit if you need calories)

If you need to reduce calories:

Apple & a few slices of good cheddar

An avocado

Boiled egg

Popcorn made at home

NONfat Greek yogurt with fruit and/or a little honey.

A walk. Sometimes you are bored not hungry.

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I had trouble till (hormonal) IUD, would never discount the side effects of most birth control available to women - copper IUD nearly killed me with hemorrhage, and pills raised my blood pressure, anything that went inside me (diaphragm, etc) either gave me yeast infection or bladder infection, so many of the methods seem designed to punish women for wanting sex without pregnancy.

But I’d think guys would love condoms because it’s the only reversible birth control they can control themselves.

A crow I did for Halloween, dunno about beautiful but it’s the first time I tried watercolors.

Do you have olive oil or butter? You have sauce.

I have very small bottles of wine, decanted when we opened two different wines, if you have wine you have sauce.

Soy sauce and butter is pretty good for a sauce, miso butter is even better.

I dunno what your pantry holds but I think here we always have some way to make pretty good pasta of some sort. My kids live spaghetti fried in chili garlic paste.

I cooked rice in a pot for decades before my kids got me a rice cooker. It’s not much more complicated, and is quicker. Put rice in a pot, rinse it, cover with water by about 3/4 inch (from fingertip to first knuckle, yes? You have seen some old person sticking their finger in the rice? That is what we are measuring. )

Bring to a boil on high, cover and turn the heat way down to low (medium low if your stove sucks) Check it in 15 minutes if white rice, 45 if brown rice. If done, take it off the heat. If not, give it 5 more minutes on the burner then move it.

Beans and rice, we always have beans and rice. Today I also have sauerkraut, kielbasa and pierogi so I can make exactly what is planned.

But at any time, can make beans & rice of some sort.

I think Alzheimer’s is complicated by having a body, though. My grandma had it and was happy, not angry. It sucked for us and for her because she eventually forgot how to eat & take care of herself at all. To have that lack of understanding of reality doesn’t seem nearly as bad if you are a disembodied consciousness, as this suggests. It seems more like a death than the other choices.

Alternate Dimension I would go for only if it was a gamble not a certain “being torn to shreds by demons over and over” situation.

I don’t generally enjoy pot, find the effect annoying not pleasant but twice in my life have had some laced with something wonderful (once, hashish, once I have no idea) and soul food is where it’s at. Beans and rice and sausage, bursting with flavor. Nothing sweet and nothing so fancy just simple and satisfying.