The advice thread for random problems #2

[Purrrrrrr]

Need some advice on food. I made stew in my slow cooker last night, turned it off at about 7pm. Stew was piping hot. Went to bed at 9.30pm and forgot to put it in the fridge. Will it be okay to eat if I heat it up before I do?

Yes, I often forgot to put things in the fridge.

 

[HoGi]

Yep, I am banned by my hubby! I will do in rooms with extractors, so kitchen and bathroom, and I do sometimes sneak things that just need the thickest hems etc finishing off after they've been on the line. Never straight from the washing machine though. I have no idea what we will do this winter, as I'm really trying to avoid the cost of the tumble drier.

I'm the daughter of a builder/painter/decorator so was frequently told never dry washing indoors

We don't have a tumble dryer so have no choice really. I tend to do an extra spin, windows open and dehumidifier. I also try and use the laundrette for bedding and towels when I can so they aren't drying inside.

 

[WeHadFunRight]

It’s not a problem per se but here goes.

I live in Dublin and traveled to London to work from here for a week. For the past year or so, I have been in a constant state of anxiety / panic sometimes for valid reasons, sometimes for no reason. I’ve also had weird bursts of paralyzing anxiety.

The few times I have not experienced anxiety this year were when traveling or away from home. This week in London, I had a lot of stress at work but zero anxiety. I felt like myself again. My OCD has been quasi non existent (when it’s super debilitating at home). It’s been so non existent that I forgot things in various places and didn’t care because I felt relaxed.

I’m now wondering if all the anxiety is driven by where I live and maybe a change of scenery will help me regain my mental health. This week was the first time I’ve felt like my old self in a long time. Carefree, no anxiety, no OCD.

I flying home tomorrow and I now have a pit in my stomach at the thought of my anxiety kicking in again. I’m now wondering if I should think of moving in a year’s time or so.

Have you written a list of things that cause you to feel anxious? What is it about where you live that makes you feel like that? It’s an interesting observation that you’ve been able to make - sounds like you could be in to something, being unhappy in your home can really unsettle your mental wellbeing.

 

[Laughingforlife]

Thanks. I'm rather scared for them now. If they get turned away, they're stranded...

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Talk about a random problem!

My hair is super static since the cold snap. I’ve never had this before. I swear if my hair was short I’d have a fro.

Is there anything I can do? It’s very annoying

 

[JoeBloggs]

So glad I've found this thread! I have a work problem

So I've seen a job advertised and you can ring for an informal chat, which I will need to do as not everything I need to know is listed in the advert.

The problem is, I know the person who I would be phoning through the job I do now.
So do I ring and tell them who I am to increase my chances, but risk word getting out, or ring anonymously and hope they don't ask for a name....?

If they know you would have known who they are I would introduce yourself. It’s best to be honest from the offset.

 

[stardust1]

Depends on your guests age and tastes. Not suggesting you’d serve all these things, just ideas to pick from.

If it’s more adults I’d go more accompaniments for the bbq food than different types of food so something like French sticks, garlic bread, pitta bread, pasta (or rice/couscous) salad, potato salad, tzatziki, hummus, chopped salad with feta, boiled eggs, tomato & red onion & mozarella salad, coleslaw. Slices of halloumi, veg kebabs or corn on the cob on the bbq.

If there are younger ones, veg sticks, oven chips, scotch eggs, nachos/crisps/pretzels, pasta mayo salad, quiche, garlic bread. In my experience they eat tons of hotdogs and burgers though.

for something sweet a big tub of Neapolitan with cones, sauces & sprinkles for diy ice creams, marshmallows when the bbq is nearly dead, cupcakes, fruit kebabs (melon, strawberry, grape, tin pineapple stacked on sticks) or as a salad. You can put whole bananas in skin on a bbq, after 10 mins cut open lengthways and wedge in cut up mars/snickers/bounty for another few mins and serve with ice cream.

Thanks! I must say i am extremely excited about the banana mars bar idea

 

[Snippysnips]

Thanks, I think it's being dispatched by Amazon themselves, hopefully it will be fine but at least if not I know it should be a easy enough refund to do

 

[Snippysnips]

Can a job sack you on the spot for any reason or do they have to give notice?

I ask because I've just seen my job advertised on an ad. It says rolling deadline so I could be that they just haven't taken it down. As far as I am concerned, they like me at my job and recently offered me a permenant position but I have had some issues outside of work (illness etc.) that have impacted my time there (nothing that can be helped and they have been really lovely about it) but now I'm worried they're just keeping me (my job is niche) until they can find someone better

Depends, is there anything aside from sick leave you have done wrong? I assume you are UK, if so then company's need to have three steps before firing, a disciplinary, a written letter of a disciplinary, then a meeting which can result in your last warning or a sacking, failure to do these can result in you taking them for unfair dismissal an can go to the courts

The only way you could be straight up sacked is if you have done something massively wrong, i.e shown up drunk, been on drugs, stole, got into bother with the police that will go to court etc

If you are in a temporary contract then they can just not offer you another one, but if you have signed a permanent one then they can't just let you go without warning as you will have past the trial stage since that's usually the first few weeks you start

Could it be they maybe want someone to work alongside you? Do you have a backlog that maybe they are wanting a second hire to help clear it?

 

[tomato_paste]

I could use some advice on Covid etiquette these days?

The situation is as follows:

Stayed with a girl friend from yesterday to today, we shared a meal and went out for drinks but slept in separate rooms for the night but in her flat.

Today she's tested positive.
I'm supposed to travel for work on Monday to headquarters for a general meeting that will last all week.

Additionally, there's some video recording the week after that I have been asked to do by the big boss.

So missing it would suck a lot but giving Covid to the whole company would suck as well.

Additionally I leave Monday really early via train, before head office opens.

Already tried contacting HR but so far no answer.

 

[CoffeeMamma]

This is so stupid but has anyone got any advice for a decent washing up liquid? I am happy for natural alternatives as well.
I’ve used Asda own brand and fairy but both have been absolute shite, my £3 bottle doesn’t last long at all as they don’t seem to bubble until I’ve put a lot in. I’ve tried different scrubbing utensils too but it’s not that

I use the Splosh one in a Dishmatic, always been a winner!

 

[Black.bird]

Re. the hair oiliness issue, I started rotating my shampoos and conditioners - I have two - so every time I wash my hair (every two days) I alternate between them. On the 'no wash' days, I apply Dry Shampoo - I'm using one by Wella's prestige label at the moment which smells lovely and works well.

I am guilty of running my hands through my hair all the time, which is how I think mine gets oily.

Also, if you're using styling products, do so sparingly as they can make hair oily.

 

[arthur shandy]

you need a mid rise (so it’s going to sit on the smaller part of your waist) bootcut or slim leg i would say. a bootcut widens very slightly at the bottom and so will balance out.

buying jeans can be such a pain i had little look online and found this helpful for you though! it’s hugely detailed but the jeans section is towards the end:

apple body shape guidelines on how to dress the apple body shape

Dressing for the apple body shape can sometimes be a challenge. Here are my tips on how to dress the apple body shape and look fabulous!

40plusstyle.com

thanks so much!

 

[disillusionedbythegram]

I need a good website for electronic birthday cards. Does anyone have a recommendation that they’ve used?

I like thortful as I think they do 4 for £10 so I often buy a lot at once

 

[OatMatchaLatte]

Any ideas how I can improve my skin on holidays/hot weather? I look around and see these sunkissed beauties and I look boiled with huge pores. I use heliocare facial sunscreen but I just look greasy as hell. I’m fine the rest of the year.

I have oily skin and large pores too, and use a Korean brand called MISSHA. I hate the feeling of oily / heavy lotions, but this is so lightweight I don't know I'm wearing it, and it is mattifying. This is the exact name, pasted from Amazon:

Sun Care by MISSHA All Around Safe Block Aqua Sun Gel SPF50+ 50ml


Editing to add: many Korean brands leave a white cast, but this one doesn't.

 

[CoffeeMamma]

So I absolutely hate my job. I'm just bored and feel like there is nowhere to go in the job, despite me asking my manager for different things to do. I have been there a while now and just stuck in a rut!

I have wanted to do teaching since I was younger and even was going to study for this but changed by a levels to be with friends.
I have got a degree so could do a pgce but just scared!

help!

There are lots of routes into teaching now, although it’s not what it was-
There’s a lot of paperwork and classroom management. You can get onto salaried courses and stuff though, my friend did it a few years back

 

[chickhicks86]

This one is a random one but I’ve tried everything my friends have suggested:
My hair is SO greasy. I assumed build up so used a remover and it left me with the most dry, itchy scalp but still super greasy hair! I’ve also tried enough shampoos to open my own review links. My scalp remains dry and itchy but my hair a greasy mess. Send help!

As silly as it sounds, have you tried leaving it longer between washes?

 

[LaBlonde]

Thanks I'll check that out, she wants to watch it live so I need to find out how to get it on the laptop while it's playing on the TV so she can watch it at the same time it's airing

for my friend i used to play bbc iplayer live via caracal and she could watch it live - that was a year ago or so though so hopefully it still works!

 

[Rxt156]

Thanks everyone for their help. It appears that the damp problem is actually a condensation problem

 

[Purrrrrrr]

This isn’t serious so please don’t worry but I was wondering how do you pick a private doctor to do a general health check and is one even possible? Our 1 year old seems to be picking up lots of colds and coughs from nursery which I know is normal but sometimes his breathing sounds really heavy and we have members of family on both side with asthma. He recovers from the colds fine but the breathing randomly just happens and this started maybe at a month old but GP at the time said it’s nothing to worry about. He had bronchiolitis a few weeks ago and it wasn’t serious so A&E didn’t keep him in but it’s louder now. Other than this he’s completely healthy. Our family have also said we should just pay and ask for a general check.

Do you use any plug-ins or scented candles etc? My son was allergic to anything like this. We didnt notice as it was mild until he got a cold etc and then it would affect his breathing more for a time.