I've been going to Walmart more because of all the Chinese sellers. I fine with it if it's not on Temu for cheaper and if they disclose it's going to take three weeks to ship. It pisses me off to no end when they indicate it's going to take 3 or 4 days to get to me and then I check the tracking a couple days later to see a Chinese mail tracking number.
So try Walmart, if you want stateside stuff then use the retailer filter and select "Walmart."
Another alternative, if it's likely made in China or cheap, then check Temu. I've found things all over Etsy which is just crap bought from Temu and posted on there for double the price. And I mean they get the package, repackage it, and send it to you. No alterations or anything.
You can also look at ordering directly from manufacturers. Sometimes you'll get deals.
I used to have that fear when I was a kid living with family and my mom in particular was very nosey. I understand a nosey parent to make sure you kid isn't into drugs, but she went way beyond that. She was also paranoid so she was convinced I was doing fucked up shit without any evidence.
It took me a long time to get over that. I did have a friend who was rooting through a couple of my things and we stopped being friends not long after. As far as I know, no one else has gone through my stuff.
The only time I've ever gone through anybody else's stuff is to look through my mom's drawers for things she stole and my ex's phone after many years and other evidence that he was fucking around behind my back and I wanted to know for sure that he was. I hated doing it in both cases because I didn't like it being done to me but felt that was the last option I had.
So yeah, with psycho family, you have every right to feel that way. Just know that isn't normal and that most people won't do that.
I think that unless you get some with a strap that goes under your foot that's attached to the bottom of the leggings or modify it to have some, that you will always have that crease because you're moving around.
I used to use them. They're cheapest if you order directly from their website in bulk. And subscribe to their emails. I think around January and February they usually have like 10 for 120$ or something.
I questioned it around 8 and fully stopped believing around 10. When you behave and ask for the same gift three years in a row you start to wonder. Before that I believed that he was magic and was incredibly fast.
Years ago I didn't want to teach my children about Santa because of the Christian connections, but then I realized why we have holidays over winter. If it makes them happy I'll do it, but I'll also be teaching them about all the other connections to pagan religions when they're old enough to understand.
I can relate so much to this. When my mom died I felt pity for her because I felt that if she had been born in a different era with more mental health resources she would have been a different and happier person. I hated her for the effed up things she did but as you said, she was still a human at end of the day.
Not a single game but a series. Legacy of Kain is still my absolute favorite not because of replay ability or anything like that but because of the story.
This is sad to say but I've lived so much of my life with making everything "passing" or "just enough" that for me bringing everything up to snuff feels like a luxury.
So like whoever had this place before me half assed that plastic crap you line a shower with. It was coming off and the caulk job was god awful so bought a couple things of liquid nails, took it apart, checked for leaks, fixed a couple little things, glued shit back together and caulked it properly. Another thing is recently I had to go down the rabbit hole of having a well and holy crap the things that are wrong. I spent hours looking for and measuring the casing of the old well and finally found what I needed and wanted for like 100$.
It feels like a luxury to spend the time, effort, and money getting shit done right and knowing that I don't have to worry about it when I'm done.
I wouldn't trust anything like that from amazon. I got a refurb kindle once and it still had food in the charging port.
I've had better luck with ebay, but I've been seeing a lot of shit drop shipped from places like Amazon lately. So check the reviews and pick a seller with a lot of reviews.
New egg is probably your best bet. They have lots of refurbs.
I would never buy anything electronic from them for that reason.