Things it took you far to long to work out (or admit)

[Slowontheup]

I'm so annoyed with myself for drinking so much (socially and more or less within normal UK limits but still far too much)

it made me bloated and fat. I used to deny this could possibly be the case and went to every exercise class going plus starved myself. It was the booze.

specifically and most irritating - it made my arms fat. I considered going to Brazil for expensive and risky arm surgery ffs. My arms are thin now and I'm in my 40s

i must have spent a bloody fortune. Also did many risky and undignified things in my 20s and lost many many items in taxis (more expense incurred)

maybe it's part of growing up but wish I'd limited it to 2 years instead of best part of 20!

what did you do that you wish you'd cottoned on to a bit blinking sooner?!

That tomatoes never live up to expectations. Not in this country, They need the sun. I've had some corkers in France, Spain, Italy, Greece,etc, shey they hust need a little salt

I wish I'd realised how good I looked in my teens and twenties. I was a size 10, thick hair, mostly clear skin, but I hated looking in the mirror, thought I was so spotty and fat and my hair was bird's nesty. I look back on pictures of my younger self and wish I had had the confidence that should've accompanied that person.

Now I'm mid 40s, size 20, saggy boobs, hair is greying and thinning, eye bags are expanding into wrinkles... but maybe in my 60s I will look back and wish I had been a more confident 40 Yr old too!

That you shouldn't wait in your job for opportunities to come up, you need to go out and find them! Sounds so obvious but I stayed too long in one role because I was always being told I was good at it. Waited for opportunities to progress and nothing, but carried on because of my good reputation at this company and the hard work I had put in.

Bonkers decision making. I regret not leaving sooner.

Great points re food and sleep.

Lucky you.

But it is most definitely true.

Vaginal atrophy. Happens to 85% of menopausal women.

That my mum never cared about me

@Slowontheup wholemeal bread has more fibre. In fact white has none. It's the fibre which fill you up, so you eat less throughout the day.

I have the grossest image of a willy or vagina on a sunbed now !

That my friend many years ago WAS a fremnemy and I should have cut off a long time before I did .

The power of "no". I think it can be problematic that some children are taught that it's bad word.

That most newspapers are owned by Tory billionaires, and will say whatever suits their agenda. Indeed, that news is highly biased, including (and perhaps especially) the sensible-sounding BBC.

The same with hours . A lot of jobs don't advertise the hours as in 9-5

They Also behave horribly to get kicked out so they don't look a shit for walking out on their family. They lie about the reasons they were kicked out too .

A lot of friendships become habits . Some turn in to bad habits .

The issue about choosing the wrong degree has far more to do with the fact that it's so hard these days for people to know where the truly useful information is on degree choice and long term outcomes. Many parents, most probably, also don't know that. People also do more research finding a car than an expensive training for a long term career.

How to work out my central heating thermostat. Still don't think it's right

True . When I was sexually assaulted at work my then husband told me that It was nothing to do with him and he didn't see why he should be involved .

That it's always a friend who hates you the most.

Do you have evidence to support that? So our inner labia just disappear?
That is such bullshit.

Vaginal atrophy refers to dryness and the lining of the vagina. Not the disappearance of the inner labia.
Ffs 🤦‍♀️

She replied upthread about the lunch hour house purchase...certainly caught my attention

It’s all of that and more, unfortunately:

How is vaginal atrophy (GSM) diagnosed?
A healthcare provider can diagnose vaginal atrophy based on your symptoms and a pelvic exam to look at your vagina and cervix. Classic signs of atrophy during a pelvic exam include:

• A shortened or narrowed vagina.
• Dryness, redness and swelling.
• Loss of stretchiness.
• Whitish discoloration to your vagina.
• Vulvar skin conditions, vulvar lesions and/or vulvar patch redness.
• Minor cuts (lacerations) near your vaginal opening.
• Decrease in size of the labia

source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15500-vaginal-atrophy

Not disappear but reduce, apparently. I hadn’t heard of this either but a quick Google reveals it’s true 🙈

Not everyone will like you and that's ok.

When a guy winks at you - he likes you or feels sorry for you. I've settled on the latter!

One that seems obvious once you know, but I still think isn’t that widely known - a lot of the dire spelling and grammar in scam emails is deliberate. Yes, some of it is down to non-native English speakers, but there’s also a deliberate strategy behind it in many cases. Wheedle out the people who think it’s normal for Visa or Apple to address you as “most dear valued customer” (and to spell Apple with the L at the end) and you have a much smaller audience, but one you already know is pretty gullible - meaning it’s worth investing time and effort in continuing with the scam.