Cynthia Peterson 🥉

Went through the same thing after splitting the household and schedules were chaos. I switched to one bundle during soccer season and and it felt amazing to have a single login and a smaller bill. Then I learned to rotate during off months and it was even better. Kids get their shows when they're here, I binge mine after bedtime, and we cancel before the next billing date. You can absolutely save without losing favorites if you plan the months a tiny bit.

Stalled around the same two pounds for about five weeks and thought my watch was gaslighting me. Took a full deload and ate at maintenance for nine days, then added a slow 10–15 minute incline walk after each lift. Swapped one push day to higher reps with shorter rests and kept the other heavy, which oddly kept hunger in check. Waist finally dropped 0.5 inch over three weeks and the scale slid 3 pounds by week four. Side note, the garage smell never leaves and I found a single microplate under the lawn mower that had been messing up my math.

Do three things and it usually goes away... Wash everything again in hotter water. Clean the heater area upside down once it is cold. Run two or three hot empty cycles with a lemon or vinegar steam and then a throwaway slice of bread in a dorm & move the air. Crack the window a little and set a fan to blow out, or run the bathroom fan and let the fryer cool in there. Leave a tray of activated charcoal nearby between cooks. If you still get a strong plastic smell after about ten cycles, return or exchange it. Simple.

Back when we picked up film prints and burned mix CDs, bedtime showed up when the TV hissed to snow. Recreate that low-tech vibe: lights dim at the same time, a dull paperback, and a radio or fan on a 30 minute timer. A short walk for morning sun with your coffee, and you'll slide earlier by midweek.

I made it fun so I'd actually do it. Friday Photo Sweep, ten minutes, a timer, chill music. New pics land in an Inbox album, favorites get promoted to a tiny Top 100, and the rest roll into a monthly folder while auto-backup hums in the background. Once a month I export originals to a little SSD during coffee and it weirdly feels like a win.

My eyes hate blue cast, so evenings are e-ink or paper only. Phone goes grayscale and into airplane mode, and I keep a stack of 4x6 test prints by the bed to flip through like a lo-fi gallery. It scratches the visual itch without the feed grabbing me.

Use eARC if available so uncompressed PCM and better timing reduce delay. Keep processing minimal with TV Passthrough, console PCM, Game Mode on, extras off, and only add a little TV video delay if needed.