Pan seared lamb loin chops with pilaf, roast acorn squash and broccoli.

I am working on getting my family back into nice Sunday dinners. It is a habit we fell out of when the pandemic hit. I would really like to get back into having nice dinners with guests again.

This one came out excellent, and I am very happy with it. It is a pretty typical red wine braise for the short ribs, but with some gochujang and a little bit of fish sauce added for extra umami. I will 100% make this for company now that I have tried it out.

How would you go about selecting a Certified Financial Planner?

My wife and I are financially successful adults, but we need guidance with the next steps, including:

• Private equity co-investment
• College savings for children with special needs who may or may not attend university
• Retirement savings beyond the standard 401k and IRA options
• The tax ramifications of all of the above

My friends are generally not at this level of planning needs, so those who have worked with a CFP have had only much more basic questions. We have known plenty of financial advisers over the years who just give bad advice or canned advice. I expect our needs will become more complex over the next decade.

How do we find a quality CFP who can help with the above? What is a reasonable price to pay for this help?

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!

The Federal Trade Commission narrowly voted Tuesday to ban nearly all noncompetes, employment agreements that typically prevent workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own.

We are going to Vegas, and Wifey and I want to wander around like stoned idiots looking at all the pretty lights. You know, like reasonable people.

Is it a big deal to pop a gummy in public in Las Vegas? They make a big deal about no public use, but I'm assuming a gummy won't be a big deal like smoking would be. We do this in other legal places all the time, but I have no idea which activities are and are not clamped down on in Vegas.

While we are at it, can you recommend any fun stoned activities in Las Vegas?

Why is it a steak bomb and not a cheesesteak?

1. It has mushrooms and bell peppers added
2. I live in New England, not Pennsylvania

This was a great way to use up the last of my leftover prime rib.

The prime rib was roasted at 200° F to 123° internal temperature and then reverse seared.

The pommes puree had some of the butter replaced with rendered bacon fat. Then fresh mini mozzarella balls and chives were added.

The carrots are pretty much as described.

My boys declared the potatoes to be the hit of the night, which I get. Dang are they rich!

Today I made Berries Belinda - my own adaptation of Heaven on Earth Cake.

It is an angel food cake trifle with sour cream vanilla pudding, pureed strawberry sauce, mixed fresh berries, and Cool Whip. The recipe really needs Cool Whip or a similar whipped topping because whipped cream will not hold up for the 8+ hours this needs for the flavors and textures to marry.

Why is it named Berries Belinda? In return I ask, "Do you know what that's worth?"

Yeah, it's a Pillsbury Grands cinnamon roll topped with Ben & Jerry's Churray for Churros ice cream, salted caramel, and whipped cream.

I mean, this stuff is life.

This French Onion Mac and cheese is from the New York Times. I used the recipe at the link below with the following changes:

• Caramelized the onions traditionally, not with their process. Maybe their way works, but I don't trust it. I have never found a shortcut that works for carmelizing onions.
• Toasted lightly baguette slices before rubbing with garlic.
• Deglazed the pan with a few glugs of white wine, not 2 Tbsp vinegar.

The dish is exactly as advertised - a supremely decadent macaroni and cheese with a strong caramelized onion flavor. The gruyere is pronounced and only adds to the luxurious taste (and price).

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020547-french-onion-macaroni-and-cheese

What modular tool storage system would you recommend?

I have many tools for many different DIY and home improvement projects. My ADHD means I am just awful at maintaining long term organization of those tools. I want to use a system where I can have a box for each discrete activity or tool type. That way I can take out only the boxes I need and then or those tools away immediately when I am done. I don't mean bring them back to the workshop and put them away, but instead have their mobile tool box be the thing that is also used for long term storage.

For example, I might have the following boxes ready to go:

• Everyday box - screw drivers, allen keys, hammer, rubber mallet, speed square, torpedo level, pencil, sharpie, blue masking tape, etc.
• Basic electrical - multimeter, insulated tools, electrical tape, assorted common wire nuts, wire stripper, etc.
• Painting - assorted brushes, rollers, roller covers, and masking tapes as well as a painters multi tool, roller tray, hand held paint bucket, sanding sponges, etc.
• Drill - cordless drill, drill bits, screw driver bits
• Driver and rachet - cordless impact driver, impact bits, hand rachet, rachet bits
• Pocket hole - my various Kregg products
• More as needed

If I am going to paint a doorway, I can grab the painting box. If the wall needs repair, I can grab the painting and drywall boxes. If I am hanging pictures, I can grab the everyday box and the drill box if I am using screw anchors. This should make cleanup easier, because picking up the job location is also getting things sorted to go back in storage. That second part is my weakness.

What system would you use for this? I feel like a system that includes both wall storage and multiple bin types would be best, but I am open. I want to use the same general storage system for other DIY hobbies as well, so I would rather not break the bank.

If it matters, all of my cordless tools are DeWalt. My electric yard tools, though unlikely to factor in, and Kobalt.

Any and all recommendations are welcome. Alternative thoughts are welcome. How would you approach this?

It took longer than I wanted, but my son's room is done! Many thanks to the folks here who shared their thoughts on wall repair and LED strips. This project took longer than I wanted, but every step was done right.

Most people who make geometric mountain walls seem to use boards at 45°, but that would have looked awful with the 36° ceiling slope. Matching the cut angles was much harder this way - lots of math and some jigs on my miter saw - but I like this look more. It feels more like the White Mountains where we vacation as a family

The Pinterest examples my wife sent me for inspiration all out up the boards with construction adhesive. These are put up with 2.5" finishing nails into studs, filled, sanded, and caulked before painting. This feature is permanent, but it can be removed like any trim without tearing down the drywall as well.

I had the notion to hide an LED strip in the upper mountains to create a sunrise effect. The actual lights are much more subtle than it looks in the pictures. I wish I knew how to get better photos of LED setups. Of course he can make the LED strips do rainbow zoomies and other such delightful nonsense because he is 11.

Our goal was to make something that will appeal to him now and as he gets older. I think we hit the nail on the head with that, but we will see in time.

Thank you again to everyone who shared their thoughts as I built this.

My project is going slowly, but I finished building and painting the feature wall in my son's new bedroom. Now I just need to install and program the LED strip along the top!

My wife got the idea to do a geometric mountain feature wall from Pinterest. I am really happy with this outcome and feel I did a better job than the influencer DIYers who did similar projects that inspired this one. Giving the mountains a 36° slope to match the roof line was a pain in the butt, but the end effect was worth it.

Thanks to everyone here who helps with thoughts on patching wall cracks and LED lighting methods. I'll share photos of the full room once it is complete.

Edit to add: The wall is actually a mildly dark blue-green. Between bad natural light and my phone's camera's limitations, this is the best I can get for now. The mountains are not actually black.

I am putting a mountain feature wall in my son's new bedroom.

Starting on the right, I want to run LEDs along the topmost mountains, switch to unlit cord/wire to go around the window, and then run another set of LEDs along the topmost mountain on the left. This should give a nice sunrise effect.

Do you know of an LED kit that can do this?

Thank you!

I am renovating my son's bedroom and trying to make the walls as nice as is reasonable before repainting. There are a few cracks like this in the paint. It looks like on top of the drywall there is paint, wallpaper, and then a few more layers of paint. The cracks could be at the seams of the drywall from expansion and contraction. They could be at the seams of the wallpaper. They could be something else. Most of the cracks come straightish down below the sides of windows, which makes me think drywall seams.

I gouged out one crack and filled it with joint compound to see how that works. Since the drywall is old, it was really hard to tell if this is at a drywall seam or not - there are places where previous work, maybe mouse damage, and who knows what else has made the drywall crumble from behind. These are the joys of an older house!

How would you handle this?

I found the recipe online, and we topped it with potato chips, pickles, and green onions. I'll be danged if it doesn't taste like a cheeseburger.

I'm happy to share a link to the recipe and my mods if anyone wants it.

Edit to add the recipe:

You can find the original recipe here: https://therecipecritic.com/cheeseburger-soup/

I made the following changes:

• No dried parsley - it is not very flavorful
• No dried basil - my family only likes it fresh
• 3 cups of potato, not 4 just because I was so sick of putting and fixing potatoes
• I used 6 oz. Velveeta and 8 oz. shredded mild cheddar for cheese - I wanted the emulsifiers in the Velveeta and also some real cheese; sharp cheddar would be good too, but my family does not like strong cheese
• Instead of 3/4 tsp. salt, I used 1 tsp. season salt too make up for the missing herbs
• No sour cream because my wife does not like it. It is completely unnecessary from a thickening perspective.
• I don't drain the ground beef. I just scoop it out of the pan and use the beef fat to cook my veggies. Why remove a flavorful fat to then add another for cooking? I was going to not use this extra butter in the recipe, but then I threw it in my roux because I am not a smart man. Or I love butter. The first is what actually happened, but the second is not really a lie.

For toppings, I had potato chips, diced kosher dill pickle, and green onions. The chips add crunch and a little fried/browned flavor. The pickles brighten the dish and drive home the cheeseburger flavor. The green onions add a little vegetal flavor and a mouth feel similar to lettuce.

I made a double batch, and it will feed my family of 4 for two dinners or more. This is a heavy soup.

Standing rib roasts were on sale on Thursday with a big snow storm coming on Sunday. The solution? Prime rib dinner! My family needed a nice meal, and I was happy to give them a Sunday dinner they loved.

The roast got a simple kosher salt dry brine - 1/2 tsp./lb. - on Thursday night. On Sunday I roasted it at 250° until it hit 125° internal temp. I let it rest while I roasted my squash, and then I seared it in the often at 500° for maybe 10 minutes.

The delicata squash was tossed with grape seed oil, salt, and brown sugar. Then I roasted it on parchment paper laid out with no overlap. I did 450° for maybe 40 minutes? I don't really know - I just saw when they got soft, flipped them, and pulled them when they started to brown and char a little.

I boiled maybe 2 lbs. red potatoes in salted water and mashed them with 6 Tbsp. butter, 4 Tbsp. half and half, and 4 slices of thick cut bacon (cooked and chopped). Then I added maybe 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives, several grinds of black pepper, and 8 oz. fresh mozzarella pearls right before serving.

The green beans got 5 minutes of steam and then were tossed with lots of butter and salt.

The horseradish sauce recipe can be found here: https://natashaskitchen.com/horseradish-sauce-recipe/

Raw egg from my birds beaten into steaming hot rice until it is frothy? Eating it while watching my kids sled in the back yard? Sign me up!

Ok, there are about 100 of us here. What is the goal of this sub? Is it exclusively for Olympic style weightlifting? Is it for any of us who pick things up and put them down for strength and/or aesthetics? Is there another goal?

I would love to be part of an active resistance training community. Is that what we want here?