We have fish for Christmas Eve. FOr CHristmas, we usually have turkey, ducks, or goose. I am really unsure this year because I have to get it still and we are stuck in this snow right now.

I really would like to get some expert opinion for my dd when it comes to college choices. For whatever reasons,with my son it was a lot easier to whittle down choices and the financial aid awards sealed his choice. My dd won't have the financial part to deal with and I am really unsure how to advise her. I would like to have some advice but the only ones I have heard of charge thousands of dollars and are geared for kids trying to get into Ivies. She definitely does not want to go to any of those. I am really unsure of how many we will be able to visit and we have only visited a few so far and none when classes were present.

Ok, so dd is interested in colleges in the South, Southwest, or non cold areas of the West. (Additionally confirmed with our almost 2 feet of snow yesterday). We have done one trip so far on our return from Florida. But now we need to go further. In order to save time, I think I should fly in one place, rent a car, and drive to other places, drop off car, fly home. ON the other hand, it may be much more economical to do a circle. FOr this trip, we want to visit schools in AL, MS, and TN. At this point I don't care the order but I want to figure out the best way logistically and economically. THis will be happening in the spring with my two daughters. THe schools we may be visiting are in Birmingham, Jackson, Tuscaloosa, Memphis, and Nashville. We may drop Nashville, though.

I agree with the poster about Deerhunter. That one still really bothers me in a completely bad way. (SOme movies like Breaker Morant, ALl quiet on the Western Front, and Gallipolli among many others are haunting but they portray war or loyalty or bravery in a good way so they can be worth it.) I don't remembr much about Deerhunter except the song, the initial scenes and the horrible scene. It didn't teach me anything since I already knew that plenty of people have depressing lives.

There are some R rated movies I let my 13 and 16 see and there are some PG13 they don't see. It has less to do with ratings but more with what is offensive. Some of the comedies that get PG13 are totally worthless and filthy if you ask me. Some of the R rated are based on F word or violence of a nature that doesn't offend me. But I don't have them see all R rated war movies either. Platoon I thought was a very disturbing movie and I won't have them see this.

We are always between 69 and 72. I think right now we are at 70. The problem is that the house doesn't heat evenly. My bedroom and the one above us (my youngest's) gets hot. On the other hand, my middle's on the other end of the house gets cold and she has hermit crabs. I could not tolerate the cold temperatures so many of you have. It would cause me much pain from both muscle spasms and increased arthritic pain. We just pay the costs of heating and look forward to the day we move back to a warmer area. I don't cool as much as many people do either. I only cool to 78 degrees.

I would guess that totally remediated would be someone like my older daughter who had an eye problem (convergence) which has been solved for almost all the time. SHe know only has a problem with small print if she is quite tired. But that wasn't a learning disability, rather a problem with her neuro-muscular eye development. Once she had training and special glasses, the double vision went away. She now doesn't need any glasses.

Hi Ginger, I don't have an extended family except for one brother. Would I like to have one? Yes, but I don't and neither do my children. (They have a grandfather and uncles who don't talk to them ((they don't like the phone)) and who send them a birthday card (sometimes) with a scrawled signature). My kids are getting near grown and I hope that in ten years, I will have an extended family but it will simply be extended from us. DOn't have these conversations. Say sorry, I can't talk. If they can't be polite, don't talk to them or have them over.

My husband is really upset and unhappy. He had strongly recommended to his boss not to go on this trip. It started really badly. They were supposed to fly from DC to Denver and on to Albuquerque on Thursday. The co-pilot got sick and they had to land in Chicago. Then they are pulling out of the gate and the passenger two rows back has a Grand Mal seizure. He claims he never has had one before so paramedics are called. FInally they make it to Cenver but the connecting flights have left. The airline is getting ready to shut down their desk and tells people to move to another area of the airport. He doesn't and they get hotel and meal vouchers. They go out in the Colorado cold and the hotel bus doesn't come. Finally after a half hour, the bus gets there. The hotel is 30 miles away from the airport. The next day they are standby on one flight but get on a later flight. Meantime the airline is calling our phone at home and telling him that his return flight has been cancelled and he has been rebooked on a flight leaving Denver that is almost at the same time his flight is arriving from Denver to ALb. He goes to the retirement ceremony and then they try to make it out. They don't get any further than Dallas. This morning they are having to go to the airport and see if they have been rebooked since their 6:20 am flight has been cancelled. All the non stop flights to DC are cancelled. I hope he gets home tomorrow. I don't think it will be today.

yes, they are rejecting students who have need. Most schools cannot afford to be need-blind. If it doesn't say it is, and hardly any are, that means that they do consider how much you pay versus how good you are to the school. DOes that mean that most of their students are full pay? No, maybe hardly any are. But they will look at how much the student needs along with their grades, scores, etc.

As soon as we buy a tree, put it up, and decorate it. We will try to buy it tonight before the snow, put it up when dh finally arrives home (which may be tomorrow but may be Sunday or Monday), and decorate it a day after that.

I am so unhappy about this. My dh is supposed to be flying in. His one flight is cancelled. I have no idea when he will be home. I HATE SNOW. I will be very happy when he retires from the AF and I never live in snowland again.

Help with grading co-op papers Okay, I need some advice on how to grade co-op papers. I am teaching government this quarter and have part of the grade class discussions, completion of regular assignments, completion of special assignments, quizzes, and a final. The paper, along with the presentation they gave on the subject, was worth 25% of the grade with the final being worth 20%. One student didn't turn in the paper and hadn't made arrangements prior to the class. I told him he gets one letter grade off for every day late with yesterday being the only day he could get an A. I really have no expectations for him to turn in anything but he did give a presentation so I will grade that part. He was proudly showing off his poor grade on the quiz to his nearby classmates. I had made a broad paper assignment- they had to write about an important court case, government project or policy, or law. I did state that I wanted the facts and not an opinion paper. I wanted a bibliography and citations though which particular format they used was up to them. If they did a policy, program or law, I wanted to have pros and cons. They are a class of 8th through 12 graders. Most students did this. However, a few did not. One student wrote an advocacy paper with no opposite point of view and with inflammatory statements. That paper had certain think tanks for sources. She is a ninth grader. Another student wrote a paper about the NASA mission to the moon. She got the date wrong by years and then she wrote about the trip itself rather than any policy or program. SHe is a 12 grader. Then what do I do about a lack of sources on other papers? I am considering letting students rewrite but should I give them all the opportunity or just the ones who had significant problems. Any opinions?

I am sorry. I thought I was on the High School Board.

Okay, I need some advice on how to grade co-op papers. I am teaching government this quarter and have part of the grade class discussions, completion of regular assignments, completion of special assignments, quizzes, and a final. The paper, along with the presentation they gave on the subject, was worth 25% of the grade with the final being worth 20%. One student didn't turn in the paper and hadn't made arrangements prior to the class. I told him he gets one letter grade off for every day late with yesterday being the only day he could get an A. I really have no expectations for him to turn in anything but he did give a presentation so I will grade that part. He was proudly showing off his poor grade on the quiz to his nearby classmates. I had made a broad paper assignment- they had to write about an important court case, government project or policy, or law. I did state that I wanted the facts and not an opinion paper. I wanted a bibliography and citations though which particular format they used was up to them. If they did a policy, program or law, I wanted to have pros and cons. They are a class of 8th through 12 graders. Most students did this. However, a few did not. One student wrote an advocacy paper with no opposite point of view and with inflammatory statements. That paper had certain think tanks for sources. She is a ninth grader. Another student wrote a paper about the NASA mission to the moon. She got the date wrong by years and then she wrote about the trip itself rather than any policy or program. SHe is a 12 grader. Then what do I do about a lack of sources on other papers? I am considering letting students rewrite but should I give them all the opportunity or just the ones who had significant problems. Any opinions?

My dh is active duty and he has never deployed because of his career. But we have known lots of NG or ANG who have deployed. Especially in the AF, it is more likely for the Air National Gueard or the Reserve units to deploy than for the regular AF. THe regular Air Force has many more people in it who are not involved in flying therefore much less likely to be deployed. FOr example, space people don't get deployed since we still need satellites and rockets and we aren't fighting in space yet.

Shyness goes away but the need to be in smaller groups does not. I know I will be more inclined to go out when my kids are grown. But I like small groups of quiet people- like my book clubs usually are.

WIth my first, we had movers at our house on day five. WE were moving across the country on six.

I am a Christian and I am quite happy with anyone celebrating holidays so I am all for any friendly greeting that isn't offensive - (something like Merry Christmas Fatso or oldster would not do the trick). But I am very flexible and you can wish me Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas or Happy Hannakah or whatever if it is done is good spirit. It is funny for me because my name is Christina and people often think I will be offended if I am called Christine. No, I will respond to Christina, Christine, Chris, or even my husband's Tina. (I didn't notice for a long time that he called me that:lol:)

I think my dd will have to take the ACT twice. That is because some schools want the writing and others don't. She will do the ACT without the writing in Feb and I am not sure now when she will take it with the writing.

Never breastfed any of mine. I had health issues and had to take medications that were incompatible with it.

My youngest really got into reading with the Harry Potter series. SHe was younger but even my older kids always wanted to read the next one.

Not much chance of my dd talking on the cell phone. She hates to talk on phones in general and uses them completely as a tool, rather than a social outlet.

By the way, for the FAFSA to be independent, you only have to be 24 if you are an undergraduate. My son will be considered independent for gradaute school and he will be 21.

We live in one of the most expensive areas of the country- suburbs of DC. SHe hasn't charged anyone yet but so far she gets the following rates for work- 10 a day for pet sitting two cats, 10 a day for petsitting a dog that needs three visits and a long walk (but they are friends of ours), 10 an hour for babysitting an 8 or 9 year old and helping with homeschooling and making lunch,and 9.6o per hour for babysitting three children( less than 18 mths, 4, 7). She is now being asked what her rate is for one 10 month old. SHe is 16, has both her babysitting and cpr certificates, and does not need transportation by the people. (SHe either drives herself or we drive her).