UO 12/20

lelkcot

What unpopular opinion do you hold?

Mine: I don’t like the movie Elf, at all... 

applesandbananas23

To expand on what @lelkcot said, the only Will Ferrell movie I like is Zoolander, and it took watching it a few times (thanks, friend group) to actually find it funny

meggyme

I think there are too many new shows/movies on Amazon/Netflix/Hulu. I can't keep up with what's new and what's a couple years old and they're constantly coming and going and new seasons at random times that I get overwhelmed.

zionsmama85

@lelkcot i wouldn't go out of my way to see a Will Ferrell movie, I think i may have only seen Elf once or twice, but not enough to get any references i see in memes.  Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is one of my top 5 favorite movies though. 

As far as me...my unpopular opinion....i hate drinking water. i know its a necessity and i make sure to get as much of it as i can especially now...but i would much rather drink tea or fruit punch or anything but water. I have never liked it much, even as a child. but i am glad my son is a big water drinker bc i know its important. 

kristimh80

Along with the Elf thing...in general, I find them creepy. They gave me one the other week at Michaels for free and had to throw it away. I like the idea of "santa's elfs," but the dolls always weird me out. 

mayoduck

I'm also not a fan of Will Ferrell or his movies.

@zionsmama85 I don't like water either! I only drink it because I have to.

Piggy backing off of that UO, I hate milk. Chocolate milk is fine but I can't drink regular milk; it makes me want to gag. I use the bare minimum of milk needed to moisten my cereal and make sure I get as little of it as possible on my spoon.

Kenneylynn3

I had thought of one yesterday and forgot it, but going along with the dislikes theme, I can't stand anything grape flavored. Whether it pop, candy, medicine, act. But I love grapes especially frozen.

swanbrooner

I’m not a fan of decorating for Christmas.

mihaelams1

My UO: I don't really watch serials (and I'm not a big movie watcher either). I think the last time I tried to keep up with a serial was in high school! I spend all my evenings at my laptop either playing MMORPGs or reading fantasy books online. 

lovesclimbing

Kenneylynn3 said:

I had thought of one yesterday and forgot it, but going along with the dislikes theme, I can't stand anything grape flavored. Whether it pop, candy, medicine, act. But I love grapes especially frozen.

Ooh, I like grape, but can't stand cherry-flavored anything!

Sort of along with that, the citrus (orange and lemon) starburst are the best! I don't get why people think those ones are awful?

navete

My UO: I hate Christmas shopping. I love giving people gifts but when it’s all at once and there’s a deadline to boot, I can’t help but feel like I’m spending money just to saddle people with material things they might not really need. And because I stress myself out about not thinking of original gift ideas, I try to compensate by spending more money, and then I get stressed out that I’m making people feel uncomfortable by spending too much 🤦🏽‍♀️ I think this is more a confession than an UO; I’m just a mess when it comes to Christmas gifting y’all 🤪 I’m the aunt that gets Christmas gifts delivered by Christmas Eve and it’s all Amazon Prime 🙈🙈

mayoduck

@navete This is exactly how I feel about the Christmas gift giving tradition. I love getting people *meaningful* gifts that I know they either need or that I randomly saw and thought of them in the moment but Christmas forces gifts for the sake of gifts. Who needs another mug?

Kenneylynn3

@swanbrooner I can't stand decorating for Christmas either. I love to look at everyone else's though. Also I can't stand packing/unpacking. It gives me anxiety.

lindseyb918

Ugh, so much head nodding here. 

Agree @zionsmama85 I find water to be enjoyable about 10% of the time that I'm drinking it. The rest of the time, I'm just trying to be healthy. 

@mayoduck I don't like milk either, but it was my pregnancy craving this time around 

@navete I hated Christmas shopping especially this year. I feel like I've forgotten how to shop in a store. I walked into Kohls, walked in a circle around a shelf, and was like, screw it I'm going on Amazon!

My UO is that I'm getting out of work as soon as possible with this pregnancy. Last time, I was like "I'm going to stay as active as I can" and thought that people who took leave early were probably just sitting around on the couch all day. I ended up having my water break in torrential fashion on my last day of work, over a week before my EDD. This time, I'm going out at least two weeks before by EDD, even earlier if I can.

kristimh80

@lindseyb918 Me too girl! I was actually considering taking off even before 2 weeks but wasn't sure if I was just over thinking it! But I know my work, they will wait til the last minute to find someone to fill in.

laur84ns

@lindseyb918 @kristimh80 I'm right there with you guys! Last time I actually went off work at 37 weeks due to pregnancy induced carpal tunnel (I work at a desk typing most of the day so that wasn't helping).  This time my (new) management seems less supportive of going off early / taking more time than I need to so I had resigned myself to working til 39 weeks or so (I do not want to go into labour at work!) However I am currently on Christmas vacation and am SO enjoying not having to rush in to work, dress for work, sit at a desk all day etc. My pelvis isn't as sore since I've been off, and I'm generally just less interested in/focused on work (after only a week away!). I can feel my mind slowly switching over to newborn parenting / mat leave mode but I still have 2 months to go. At this rate I'm thinking I'm going to go off at 37 or 38 weeks. I have tons of sick leave to cover that time so my mat leave won't start til baby arrives. 

Sorry to hijack/get off topic! Ok here's my UO: I don't really like summer. Gulp! I said it. I hate being hot and I hate feeling guilty having a lazy weekend day inside / on the couch when it's bright and sunny outside. It's harder to get DD to bed when it's light out til 9pm. I work all summer anyway so it just sucks sitting behind my desk when it looks nice out (vs when it's raining or chilly). My favourite season is fall for sure!

kristimh80

@laur84ns I agree! It gets so hot here during the Summer, so I will be using the baby a lot to not have to deal with the crazy heat!   

bdesterhouse

Trying to be a Pinterest/Cricut mom is for the birds. It’s so much work, for little reward.

meggyme

@lindseyb918 @kristimh80 @laur84ns I wish I could take time off before my due date. I was in CA last pregnancy and could take a month off before my due date (paid) without it affecting my FMLA. It worked out perfectly because in the 2 or 3 weeks before my due date I managed listing and selling our house and finished up all the baby stuff we had to do. This time around in VA I barely get paid during my maternity leave even with Short Term Disability and we'll be moving again this summer, so money will be too tight for me to take off before I'm due. I'm hoping to be able to work from home during the last couple weeks at least, but who knows.

mamakate1616

I wish I could too, but the most important meetings of the year for my new job are taking place the last week before my c section. I’ll be briefing the board of directors my last day in the office  not super thrilled about it, but I will probably be so distracted by baby stuff I won’t have mental space left to be nervous. My bosses’ are all pretty nervous about the timing though. 

zionsmama85

I wish i could take time off too..Unfortunately i only have my 12 weeks of FMLA and half will be paid, so i can't afford to use ANY of my addtl PTO. I will probably be working until the weekend before my RCS. My first pregnancy i believe i was off the week before though, but beggars can't be choosy. We will make it work! 

lalalauren15

@laur84ns I also have that UO about summer. I am not a fan of the heat and get so bored laying out by the pool (the only place I can find relief). And yes on the feeling guilt for being inside - even though the AC feels wonderful. We always vacation in October to avoid the heat/crowds and it's the best! Haha. The one thing I do enjoy is the evening on the balcony with a beer, which obviously I didn't get to indulge in this summer.

Also, @mamakate1616 good luck with all you have going on at work. I think it's badass to still be owning it at work so close to due date.

mihaelams1

I'll see how things unfold, but for now I plan not to take the short term disability option of 2 weeks off before due date because it eats into the sick days first, and I have to keep them for the fall season when I'll have 2 kids in daycare! DS1 has been great so far, not missing a single day after the first miserable 9 months of coming sick from daycare, but I'm expecting to pay the sickness task on DS2 when he goes in September in prime cold time.

beachbaby0523

@mamakate1616 I’m lucky enough to be in California and my doc recommended that I stop work 4 weeks before my due date and substantially wind down my tasks 2-3 weeks before then. Unfortunately, though, I’m second chairing a jury trial that’s supposed to take place 3 weeks in February when I’m 35-37 weeks! Not sure how I’m going to survive. Already buried in trial work now so we’ll see what baby has to say about my crazy work sched! Best of luck on all your important meetings! 

laur84ns

@kristimh80 @lalalauren15 Ok, I’m actually glad I’m not alone in my UO because most people rave about summer. Don’t get me wrong, I live a glass of wine on my deck on a warm night and not having to deal with snow, but in general by July 1 I’m looking forward to fall. Perhaps I’ll enjoy summer a bit more this coming year when I can have my wine again

Wow, a lot of you are having to work right up to your due date - makes me feel pretty lazy for considering going off a few weeks early ‘just because’.... but I can use my sick leave and I have a ton accrued after 10 years in my job (I actually counted a couple weeks ago and realized I have enough to just not go back after Christmas at all! Haha. Won’t do that though!) 

mihaelams1

@laur84ns oh wow, it's amazing that you can accrue it! In my case, it's a use it or lose it policy every year. I actually have 10 days of sick leave that I'll lose this year just because I didn't need them. I can only accrue vacation, and I can only transfer as much as I earn that year, so it never technically accumulates. 

mayoduck

@laur84ns It's funny your impression is that everyone raves about summer. Summer is my favorite season and I have always felt like an oddball for thinking so! All I hear is about how everyone loves Fall and I know I've put my UO on here before that it is my 3rd favorite season. Maybe perspective gives you selective hearing or maybe people have differing opinions depending on where they are from?

applesandbananas23

I loved summer until this one - - being pregnant in summer succckkkeedd and now I'm all about fall/winter. I don't like spring because I am allergic to pollen! 

mayoduck

@abbykwail seasonal allergies is exactly why I don't love spring or fall! And I hate being cold so winter is out too. I can understand not loving summer while pregnant.

applesandbananas23

@mayoduck I'm in the PNW so unless I drive to the mountains it maybe 'snows' for 1-3 days like, every other year. And by snows I mean 1-2 inches and everything shuts down because they don't salt the roads here!! Luckily the pollen only gets me in spring time, two seasons of it must be so hard! 

laur84ns

@mayoduck That is funny! I never hear anyone IRL gripe about summer like I do. Interesting. Must be selective hearing or something. 
@mihaelams1 Yes, it’s pretty great that we bank all of our unused sick leave. I’m Canadian and work in Canada do I think things are quite different in terms of sick leave / mat leave / benefits compared to my US mamas. We don’t have any type of short term disability so we’d be expected to use our sick leave for that. So long as I get a dr’s note saying I’ll be leaving work at “x” week of pregnancy, I can use my sick leave to cover that time before baby arrives. 

mihaelams1

@abbykwail I'm in PNW as well and I love the summer here - it's mild, not extremely hot, and there are a lot of festivals and other things to do... and then the rain season starts and doesn't stop until April, lol

letsmakeit5

I dont care for will Ferrell.  Never watched elf. Did watch daddy's home but wasn't impressed.

Summer is awful if I could live somewhere where it snowed half the year I would.

I have taken off early my last 2 pregnancies wish i could this time but I need to finish my internship early so I can graduate with my class in may. 

For my UO: Starbucks is an overpriced burnt coffee imposter.

3rdtime_charmed

So maybe my UO is that I love Will Ferrell? And Jim Carey too? I love the big goofy tall ones I guess....

lelkcot

@3rdtime_charmed I actually like Jim Carey, too!

applesandbananas23

@mihaelams1 I usually love summer but this year was so much hotter than normal, and that plus the pregnancy felt like I couldn't be outside for more than 5-10 min! I haven't been to a festival in a few years and my DH has never been to one but I am hoping to go to 1-2 this year (with adorable baby headphones/ear protection!!)

I dooo love our rainy season (April? Sometimes June? Hahah) because you can feel cozy but it doesn't hinder activities if you start to get stir crazy! 

mihaelams1

@abbykwail I don't consider the current pregnancy a summer one since I only found out in August (and we flew to Europe in July for 2 weeks anyway). But DS1 was an October baby, so most of my 3rd trimester was during summer then. Which went fine actually, and I ended up with very few maternity clothes I had to buy almost everything now.

mayoduck

Adding an UO while I am thinking about it. I don't understand the appeal of getting matching Christmas PJs. I don't typically get holiday specific clothes in general because I don't like having clothes that are appropriate for only a short time frame, but especially matching PJs are just silly to me.

purpleteacher82

@mayoduck I agree! I think Christmas pajams for kids are cute, but I’m not all about the matching family ones. I think the look silly, especially on grown men. 

bdesterhouse

I’ve never done matching Christmas jammies but I plan to for next Christmas. I think they’re adorable. 

lelkcot

@bdesterhouse if I could get DH on board we would definitely do matching pjs!