Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[Scarlett45]

2 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

Does anyone have good recommendations for bug spray for kids? I feel like I read or heard years ago that Off! had a lot of nasty chemicals in it and shouldn't be used on kids. But maybe that's changed? I'm not outdoorsy and get eaten alive by mosquitoes. My daughter also gets eaten alive, and her bites swell up huge for a few days. We got a hand me down swingset recently (thank goodness because they are sold out everywhere right now!) so she's spending more time outside now and I think we need to apply something to her to keep the bugs from biting! Poor kid got a couple bites on the 4th that just now are reducing in size.

The honest baby company makes a good bug spray. I also get eaten alive all the time and get huge welts/puss filled sores, turn all sorts of red- AWFUL, and it works on me. 

[Jenniferbug]

22 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

The honest baby company makes a good bug spray. I also get eaten alive all the time and get huge welts/puss filled sores, turn all sorts of red- AWFUL, and it works on me. 

Thank you!!! I will definitely get some! Poor kid had a bug bite by the corner of her eye and it swelled so much, it looked like someone had hit her. I'm sorry you have the same extreme reaction. It looks miserable. 

[Scarlett45]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

3+ months of being home with my husband of 35+ years is making me snippy. I can't figure out if its me, him or both of us, but I'm feeling very irritable. I feel he's been only half listening to me and sometimes just waiting for me to finish so he can answer with some half related comment. Its not like he has a million distractions happening. Like has he always been this way and I'm just now noticing? We're both fairly low key and independent, so maybe its due to being newly dependent on each other for the majority of our human stimulation? I wish I enjoyed alcohol.

ANYONE who’s not you can get on your nerves. And we are not designed to only socially interact with ONE other human being for months on end. You have every right to be annoyed. 

[lookeyloo]

1 hour ago, MargeGunderson said:

@GeeGolly and @lookeyloo, last week I wanted to throw something large and hard at my husband’s head because his chewing was making want to rip my ears off. I think it’s the natural result of being with him 24/7 for the last 4 months. The only time I get a moment’s peace is when I’m in the car running errands (I’m the designated errand runner). I have taken to sitting in my car with a drink from Starbucks once a week for some me time.

Yes even the most benign things wear on us. I’m lucky that Mr lookeyloo doesn’t bother me at all during the day. He has his computer which I call his electronic mistress but I really don’t mind/care. I have my nice sewing machine that he hasn’t named haha. We pretty much don’t interact until supper time and then we try and find a show to watch that we both like. Sometimes it is a lot of 10 minutes of something and switch.  I gave up the gym and my quilting group plus estate sales for the pandemic. The longer it goes on the more content I am to stay home. 

[Scarlett45]

5 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

Thank you!!! I will definitely get some! Poor kid had a bug bite by the corner of her eye and it swelled so much, it looked like someone had hit her. I'm sorry you have the same extreme reaction. It looks miserable. 

Yup that happened to me once- I was 12 or 13 and I got bitten right on my eyelid and looked like Quasimodo for a week. 
 

To combat the itching buy Benadryl SPRAY and aloe in the bottle. Wash your hands and SATURATE the bite with Benadryl and then DAB the head of the bite with a tiny bit of aloe and let dry. She will be right as rain poor baby. 

[latetotheparty]

1 hour ago, Jeeves said:

@latetotheparty, congratulations on getting a new ride. I hear ya about the limited opportunities to drive anywhere since the virus hit us. It seems like you made a good decision, and ain't it great to have new-to-you and upgraded wheels, free and clear? Yessss!

And everything works! Like, what a concept!

 

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

To combat the itching buy Benadryl SPRAY and aloe in the bottle. Wash your hands and SATURATE the bite with Benadryl and then DAB the head of the bite with a tiny bit of aloe and let dry. She will be right as rain poor baby. 

I really resent being allergic to Benadryl. It’s good for so much. 

[andromeda331]

Welcome @thehorseofpower!

 

[Sweeneyswt]

I know a few of you for sure were around back during the wanderwoman scandal. Are there still a lot of people here who went through that live? I did stop reading for awhile when she was still posting. Well, I read about The Duggars, but I stopped that thread when the name changed. I felt so mean. 

Edited July 9, 2020 by Sweeneyswt

[jcbrown]

14 minutes ago, Sweeneyswt said:

I know a few of you for sure were around back during the wanderwoman scandal. Are there still a lot of people here who went through that live? I did stop reading for awhile when she was still posting. Well, I read about The Duggars, but I stopped that thread when the name changed. I felt so mean. 

I was around for that. So weird. I still don't really get it--I mean, what was the point of such a long con?

[latetotheparty]

Still here. I think there’s still a lot of us. 

[Absolom]

12 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

I was around for that. So weird. I still don't really get it--I mean, what was the point of such a long con?

I was around and was one of the earliest to question her.  It was the same woman who did Razing Ruth on FreeJinger, Possum Mama, and many other personalities.  May I just say she has "issues?"

[Zella]

I had started reading a couple of months earlier and caught the tail end of it and didn't have context for the preceding scams and her previous stories. I remember finding her tedious as hell but also feeling like a bitch for thinking that. (Incidentally, the same reaction I had to someone I knew IRL who faked cancer.) I think I finally commented for the first time in the wake of her being outed. 

[Jeanne222]

Re mosquitos I have heard Avons  skin so soft helps!

[zenme]

What about the poster who lived in the DC area that was so annoying. Gosh! I can’t remember her name, but ANY topic brought up she was an authority on it. I believe she moved to Ireland for her husband’s job. Anyone remember her?

[Zella]

7 minutes ago, zenme said:

What about the poster who lived in the DC area that was so annoying. Gosh! I can’t remember her name, but ANY topic brought up she was an authority on it. I believe she moved to Ireland for her husband’s job. Anyone remember her?

GEML?

[Sew Sumi]

29 minutes ago, Zella said:

GEML?

Yes! I couldn't stand her.

[Love2dance]

3 hours ago, Sweeneyswt said:

I know a few of you for sure were around back during the wanderwoman scandal. Are there still a lot of people here who went through that live? I did stop reading for awhile when she was still posting. Well, I read about The Duggars, but I stopped that thread when the name changed. I felt so mean. 

Yes, I learned how naive I was, and to be a little more skeptical. I was totally taken in by wanderwoman. I think part of it was a money scam, but more of it was a need for sympathy and attention.

[GeeGolly]

I remember Wanderwoman. I went back and forth the entire time she posted and every time I doubted her, I felt bad. Wanderwoman was a good lesson for me though. There are still a couple posters who I feel post under more than one name, but not so much to scam folks, maybe more to try and influence opinions and have some kind of imaginary power.

I took a break from this thread as well, but not because of Wanderwoman. I would check in every once and a while, but sometimes the thread would be so far ahead, I worried if I'd pop in to say something I might have missed an important post and I didn't want to appear uncaring if I did.

Oddly enough, I had starting reading this thread a bit more often, just prior to the pandemic and when the virus hit, it was comforting to know most of you kind posters were still here. Even more so, because besides FB this is the only other site I know about. From what I hear from you more experienced internet posters, Counting On posters are a unique bunch. 

And BTW, thanks for letting me whine about my husband for a moment, just getting it off my chest helped.

[zenme]

4 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Yes! I couldn't stand her.

Wow! I thought I was only one! 

[Minivanessa]

Oh gosh, I do remember wonderwoman and GEML. Also, I fell for a scammer who briefly posted here (coulda been ww or GEML under another name but the writing style was different), and sent her a few bucks on GFM. In hindsight, I coulda kicked my stupid butt around the block over that. I'm sure that two minutes of Googling and a few minutes of logical thought would have flagged this as a scam, but oh no I just impulsively clicked on the GFM link and donated.

I consider it a lesson worth more than the $25 that arsehole con artist stole from me. Another one of life's lessons I learned the hard way. You wouldn't be-LEEVE how skeptical I am about pleas for help and convenient "donate" buttons now. Heh.

Does anyone ever watch American Greed? I don't go looking for it, but when an episode pops up when there's nothing else on, I will watch it. It's so disheartening to see all those people who worked long and hard and saved up their money - only to lose their life savings to a con artist. Some of them lost their homes, had to keep working well into their old age because they couldn't afford to retire, or had bad health problems no doubt aggravated by the stress of losing all their money. I keep hoping that falling for a $25 innernetz GFM scam has perhaps helped me be less gullible so that nobody swindles me out of my modest savings. 

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 🤣

[crazycatlady58]

17 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

Oh gosh, I do remember wonderwoman and GEML. Also, I fell for a scammer who briefly posted here (coulda been ww or GEML under another name but the writing style was different), and sent her a few bucks on GFM. In hindsight, I coulda kicked my stupid butt around the block over that. I'm sure that two minutes of Googling and a few minutes of logical thought would have flagged this as a scam, but oh no I just impulsively clicked on the GFM link and donated.

I consider it a lesson worth more than the $25 that arsehole con artist stole from me. Another one of life's lessons I learned the hard way. You wouldn't be-LEEVE how skeptical I am about pleas for help and convenient "donate" buttons now. Heh.

Does anyone ever watch American Greed? I don't go looking for it, but when an episode pops up when there's nothing else on, I will watch it. It's so disheartening to see all those people who worked long and hard and saved up their money - only to lose their life savings to a con artist. Some of them lost their homes, had to keep working well into their old age because they couldn't afford to retire, or had bad health problems no doubt aggravated by the stress of losing all their money. I keep hoping that falling for a $25 innernetz GFM scam has perhaps helped me be less gullible so that nobody swindles me out of my modest savings. 

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 🤣

Was that the poster whose grandchildren needed laptops for school? I almost sent her money but felt something was wrong. I fell for Wanderwomen and enjoyed GEML. About the same time a there was a poster who I had a funny feeling about...Redwagon, Red rider wagon? something like that.

[Minivanessa]

1 minute ago, crazycatlady58 said:

Was that the poster whose grandchildren needed laptops for school? I almost sent her money but felt something was wrong. 

Yes, that was the one. Good for you. Seems like your BS detector was working better than mine.

[crazycatlady58]

3 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

Yes, that was the one. Good for you. Seems like your BS detector was working better than mine.

Not if I fell for Wanderwomen. To be honest I felt sorry for her. She must have a sad life if that is all she has time to do and that is they only way she can get attention.

[wilsie]

I didn't have the slightest idea that wanderwoman was anything but a mom who had lost one of her twins and the second was struggling for a while.  Didn't blink when she got cancer, her husband left her.  Donated to a go fund me and got my money back thanks to a mother and daughter team that exposed her.  Like @crazycatlady58 said she must have had a sad life to take advantage of the gold that in this forum instead of appreciating the kindness and caring of so many good people.  

Edited July 9, 2020 by wilsie

[Albanyguy]

2 hours ago, zenme said:

Wow! I thought I was only one! 

GEML was such an annoying know-it-all. When Joshgate broke, she suddenly claimed to have vast political insider knowledge and insisted that Josh hadn’t really been fired by the FRC at all. No, according to her, he had just gone undercover and was secretly masterminding the campaigns of several Fundie political candidates. I tried to point out to her how unlikely that was, because Josh had no political skills at all and his only value to the FRC was as a PR figurehead. She didn’t take it well and I backed off because you don’t argue with crazy.

[Sweeneyswt]

I was going through a tough time in my own life that I did not post about. Some people didn’t believe me in “real” life. I guess I was sensitive to WW because I can’t imagine (even now) posting about it. My situation was polar opposite. But, both are things that do really happen to people. I guess I just thought she spent so much time, eloquently putting forth this tale and just ate up the attention. I’m not one to judge someone’s grief. On a public forum, though, it was too much. It just seemed like she’d talk about being worried and disgruntled over her husband and her daughter’s medical care issues without ever seeming depressed or tired. She’d not post for a little while but be back with this strong fervor to update all the “fans” about the current drama. I felt like there was an undercurrent of excitement. I think she saw other posters as her fans. 

[GeeGolly]

4 minutes ago, Albanyguy said:

GEML was such an annoying know-it-all. When Joshgate broke, she suddenly claimed to have vast political insider knowledge and insisted that Josh hadn’t really been fired by the FRC at all. No, according to her, he had just gone undercover and was secretly masterminding the campaigns of several Fundie political candidates. I tried to point out to her how unlikely that was, because Josh had no political skills at all and his only value to the FRC was as a PR figurehead. She didn’t take it well and I backed off because you don’t argue with crazy.

Was GEML the one that kept dropping clues so posters would figure out who she was and buy a book she wrote?

[Sweeneyswt]

1 minute ago, GeeGolly said:

Was GEML the one that kept dropping clues so posters would figure out who she was and buy a book she wrote?

That’s what I remember. And a few did find her book, I thought. Now, whether the poster was that author, I don’t know. There are really annoying people in real life. 😊 God bless them! Really, I’m sure I can be sometimes. 🙂

[Scarlett45]

In the theme of 2020-

My god mother’s cancer has metastasized to her liver (she was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in October 2019).

 

FUCK.
 

Im still processing.   

[Jenniferbug]

I too am a survivor of the WW era of this thread. I stopped reading and posting here for a long time after that, but eventually came back. I post way more since the pandemic started! 

@GeeGolly, I've wondered if a couple of our scammers are still around under other names too, just hanging out. 

@Scarlett45, I am so sorry to hear that. Your godmother sounds like an amazing woman from the stories you tell about her! 

Edited July 9, 2020 by Jenniferbug

[GeeGolly]

1 minute ago, Scarlett45 said:

In the theme of 2020-

My god mother’s cancer has metastasized to her liver (she was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in October 2019).

 

FUCK.
 

Im still processing.   

Oh my. So, so sorry to hear this. 2020 does suck.

[Sweeneyswt]

I’m so sorry, Scarlett45. 

[wilsie]

3 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

In the theme of 2020-

My god mother’s cancer has metastasized to her liver (she was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in October 2019).

 

FUCK.
 

Im still processing.   

I'm so sorry.  

[emma675]

Was that the poster whose grandchildren needed laptops for school? I almost sent her money but felt something was wrong. 

I can't get the quote function to work on my phone but the laptop grandma was Seashell something. 

[Mindthinkr]

I knew someone on another thread that always had some epic bummer or tragedy going on in her life. 
I think she always always hoping that everyone would feel sorry for her. Then came the link so we could contribute $$ so she could get....that she desperately needed. She has problems you know. Well in the beginning I fell for it and made a donation to help her buy something. Another one of my friends gave me the big talk about her being a scammer and now I don’t give money to anyone. There are so many scammers that I really can’t tell what is BS and what is real need. I wonder if she just isn’t another threads version of this person y’all are talking about as I seem to detect a pattern. Hmmm....

[lascuba]

I'm really sorry, @Scarlett45. Fuck cancer.

[kaleidoscope]

When Wanderwoman and GEML disappeared (about the same time?), it was speculated that they could have been working together.  Or, that they were possibly the same person.  Wanderwoman's stories about her newborn daughter were so sad.  I remember one she told of a kind ICU nurse taking her up to the the roof of the hospital (a sitting area of some sort) to have a long comforting talk with her.  After she moved to the remote woods in a cabin with her daughter, the stories became very bizarre.  It wasn't until then that I began doubting her.

[GeeGolly]

5 minutes ago, kaleidoscope said:

When Wanderwoman and GEML disappeared (about the same time?), it was speculated that they could have been working together.  Or, that they were possibly the same person.  Wanderwoman's stories about her newborn daughter were so sad.  I remember one she told of a kind ICU nurse taking her up to the the roof of the hospital (a sitting area of some sort) to have a long comforting talk with her.  After she moved to the remote woods in a cabin with her daughter, the stories became very bizarre.  It wasn't until then that I began doubting her.

She was creative. Falling on her wrist that turned out to be cancer while finding out her husband was cheating in the course of like a day was interesting. 😉

[galaxychaser]

Wow I’m sad I missed all that grifting drama! Maybe it was Jill Rodrigues 🤣🤣🤣.

[On the Bias]

I’m so, so sorry, @Scarlett45. 

[Scarlett45]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I’m looking forward to the weekend. 

[galaxychaser]

I got a grifter aquantqnce myself. She started a go fund me for a new phone/cell plan. She got $0. Man was she upset. She blew up my messenger asking for $. Mind you she is 29 and refuses to get a job. And she got dumped by a fiancé. I know her 3 years and this is her third fiancé. 
 

If her life wasn’t a soap opera I’d block her. 
 

Did I mention she likes to post her amazon wish list for presents ? Everyone makes fun of her behind her back. 
 

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by galaxychaser

[dargosmydaddy]

13 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

Wow I’m sad I missed all that grifting drama! Maybe it was Jill Rodrigues

Definitely not Jill-- she could write well, and avoided Random capitalization.

I was a lurker back in those days-- it was like watching a soap opera unfold...

[galaxychaser]

https://people.com/tv/naya-rivera-missing-after-son-found-alone-boat-california-lake-report/
 

The Glee show is cursed !

 

I don’t think she’s alive. Looks like a drowning accident.

[Scarlett45]

Just now, galaxychaser said:

https://people.com/tv/naya-rivera-missing-after-son-found-alone-boat-california-lake-report/
 

The Glee show is cursed !

 

I don’t think she’s alive. Looks like a drowning accident.

We are speaking about it in the Glee thread. I’m so glad her son is safe. Poor baby and how scared he must’ve been. 

[emma675]

Scarlett45, I'm so sorry about your godmother. Cancer sucks so hard. 

[Suzn]

I get the gist of the Wanderwoman story, but can someone tell the whole story for the curious ones among us? 🤣

[GeeGolly]

Just now, Suzn said:

I get the gist of the Wanderwoman story, but can someone tell the whole story for the curious ones among us? 🤣

I'll give an outline although I don't remember all the details. Wander showed up here ready to give birth or already given birth to a preemie, who I think had hearing loss. She'd pop in and out of Small Talk with updates. I believe there might have been insurance problems as well and trouble getting a cochlear implant. The family of three moved to a beautiful cabin in the woods. One day when Wander walked outside carrying her baby, either on their way to rehab for the kid or therapy for her (or maybe she was getting the mail) she tripped and fell. I believe some strangers just happened to be walking in front of her remote cabin and helped her out. Well it turned out her wrist was cancerous. I believe it was around this time she found out her husband was cheating. Oh wait, I think maybe an au pair who did OT might have moved in with her for a time somewhere in the story. 

I'm sure others can fill in the gaps and correct any errors.

[wilsie]

For anyone who wants to find out about wanderwoman she started posting  on page 5 about the loss of one of her twins.  

[emma675]

I was one of the ones who fell for wanderwoman's story (although I was luckily out of town when the GoFundMe popped up). GeeGolly hit all the major highlights, except that towards the end she left her husband (hence the GFM) who was cheating on her and I believe had knocked up his mistress. If you go back and read the pages of this thread, wanderwoman was a master at stringing people along with hugely dramatic stories of woe. When the attention of the thread started to drift from her in any way, she was back with an even bigger tale. I think she also had multiple accounts that she could use to draw attention and sympathy back towards herself when she felt the narrative was shifting. It was a wild time.