Completed: Book #47 - "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. Yeah, yeah! I keep hearing you all talk about this guy, so I guess it's about time I check it out. A friend loaned me the book, because he and his wife are doing great with the program. I'm convinced. So now I've got to get said friend to "sell" it to DH. Book #46 - "The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare. Book #45 - "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. (WEM) Book #44 - "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown. Book #43 - "I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn't)" by Brene Brown. Book #42 - "Be Still: Using Principles of the Gospel to Lower Anxiety" by G. Sheldon Martin. Book #41 - "Daring Greatly" - by Brene Brown. Book #40 - "The New Testament" - Authorized King James Version (1611). (Inspiration) Book #39 - "Teachings of Presidents of the Church - Lorenzo Snow" Book #38 - "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane. (WEM) Book #37 - "Recovering Charles" by Jason F. Wright. Book #36 - "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain. (WEM) Book #35 - "Maphead" by Ken Jennings. Book #34 - "Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James. (WEM) Book #33 - "Earthly Deligihts" by Kerry Greenwood. (Australian author, Australian setting.) Book #32 - "The Year of Learning Dangerously" by Quinn Cummings. Book #31 - "The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #30 - "The Forgotten Affairs of Youth" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #29 - "The Charming Quirks of Others" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #28 - "I am Half-Sice of Shadows" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.) Book #27 - ""Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs" by Ken Jennings. Book #26 - "Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales & Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids" by Ken Jennings. Book #25 - "A Red Herring Without Mustard" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.) Book #24 - "The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing" by Tarquin Hall. (British author, Indian setting.) Book #23 - "The Lost Art of Gratitude" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #22 - "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.) Book #21 - "Academic Homeschooling: How to Give Your Child an Amazing Education and Survive" by Tracy Chatters. Book #20 - "The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #19 - "The Return of the Native" by Thomas Hardy. (WEM.) Book #18 - "The Careful Use of Compliments" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #17 - "The Right Attitude to Rain" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #16 - "Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder" by Shamini Flint. (Singaporean author, Malaysian setting.) Book #15 - "Friends, Lovers, Chocolate" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #14 - "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.) Book #13 - "Portuguese Irregular Verbs" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/]Scottish author, German character, German/Swiss/Italian/Ireland/Indian settings.) Book #12 - "In Cold Pursuit" by Sarah Andrews. (Antarctica setting.) Book #11 - "Anna Karenina" by Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy. (Russian; or WEM challenge.) Book #10 - "The Sunday Philosophy Club" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #9 - "The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection" by Alexander McCall Smith. (]Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #8 - "The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #7 - "The Double Comfort Safari Club" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #6 - " Tea Time for the Traditionally Built" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #5 - "Crime and Punishment" by Fydor Dostoevsky. (Russian; or WEM challenge.) Book #4 - "The Miracle of Speedy Motors" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #3 - "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive" by Alexander McCall Smith. (]Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #2 - "Blue Shoes and Happiness" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #1 - "In the Company of Cheerful Ladies" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)

That's the way we do it here, too. One short sleeve blue uniform shirt, with neckerchief, constitutes " being in uniform." Most of the leaders only own one uniform shirt, worn with jeans. We are in a relatively low income area, with lots of large families, so this was the only practical way to go. ( It's what they did here when my brothers were in cubs years ago, too.) It's common for brothers to pass down their shirts and for families to donate their shirt to the pack when the last boy out grows it, so that another family can use it.

Completed: Book #46 - "The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare. I missed this one growing up. "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" was one of my favorites, and I read "Calico Captive" as well. Now I'll have to see if "The Sign of the Beaver" seems familiar. Book #45 - "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. (WEM) Book #44 - "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown. Book #43 - "I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn't)" by Brene Brown. Book #42 - "Be Still: Using Principles of the Gospel to Lower Anxiety" by G. Sheldon Martin. Book #41 - "Daring Greatly" - by Brene Brown. Book #40 - "The New Testament" - Authorized King James Version (1611). (Inspiration) Book #39 - "Teachings of Presidents of the Church - Lorenzo Snow" Book #38 - "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane. (WEM) Book #37 - "Recovering Charles" by Jason F. Wright. Book #36 - "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain. (WEM) Book #35 - "Maphead" by Ken Jennings. Book #34 - "Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James. (WEM) Book #33 - "Earthly Deligihts" by Kerry Greenwood. (Australian author, Australian setting.) Book #32 - "The Year of Learning Dangerously" by Quinn Cummings. Book #31 - "The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #30 - "The Forgotten Affairs of Youth" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #29 - "The Charming Quirks of Others" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #28 - "I am Half-Sice of Shadows" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.) Book #27 - ""Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs" by Ken Jennings. Book #26 - "Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales & Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids" by Ken Jennings. Book #25 - "A Red Herring Without Mustard" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.) Book #24 - "The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing" by Tarquin Hall. (British author, Indian setting.) Book #23 - "The Lost Art of Gratitude" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #22 - "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.) Book #21 - "Academic Homeschooling: How to Give Your Child an Amazing Education and Survive" by Tracy Chatters. Book #20 - "The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #19 - "The Return of the Native" by Thomas Hardy. (WEM.) Book #18 - "The Careful Use of Compliments" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #17 - "The Right Attitude to Rain" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #16 - "Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder" by Shamini Flint. (Singaporean author, Malaysian setting.) Book #15 - "Friends, Lovers, Chocolate" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #14 - "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley. (Canadian author, English setting.) Book #13 - "Portuguese Irregular Verbs" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/]Scottish author, German character, German/Swiss/Italian/Ireland/Indian settings.) Book #12 - "In Cold Pursuit" by Sarah Andrews. (Antarctica setting.) Book #11 - "Anna Karenina" by Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy. (Russian; or WEM challenge.) Book #10 - "The Sunday Philosophy Club" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, Scottish setting.) Book #9 - "The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection" by Alexander McCall Smith. (]Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #8 - "The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #7 - "The Double Comfort Safari Club" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #6 - " Tea Time for the Traditionally Built" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #5 - "Crime and Punishment" by Fydor Dostoevsky. (Russian; or WEM challenge.) Book #4 - "The Miracle of Speedy Motors" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #3 - "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive" by Alexander McCall Smith. (]Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #2 - "Blue Shoes and Happiness" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting) Book #1 - "In the Company of Cheerful Ladies" by Alexander McCall Smith. (Zimbabwe born/Scottish author, African setting)

I used to hear it on occasion. I think it was my grandmother, who lived in Iowa until she was 15, and then Oregon from then on, who used to say it.

I used to hear it on occasion. I think it was my grandmother, who lived in Iowa until she was 15, and then Oregon from then on, who used to say it.

Sorry, double-post.

I would be inclined to take it as, "I'm aware something is wrong, and, of course, you know it what it is since it's so obvious, and I'm concerned, so I'm praying about it for you." Then, I'd go home and start stressing about which shortcoming I have that's so obvious that someone is picking up on it. Because I have that mind-set. But, you know, thinking about it.... I have recently been so blessed by some people who have entered our life, who have helped us when they were under no obligation to do so. I find myself occasionally so full of gratitude that I have prayed for them, both expressing my gratitude, and asking for every good thing to come to them. I don't think I would ever tell them I was praying for them, though....

We use Singapore as our main math, but I bought 3A-3C when that's all there was. my third grader sat down with the textbooks and read all three in two days (I heard s lot of snickering). She won't touch the workbooks, though. She does seem to grasp what was taught when I question her, but I think she needs the reinforcement.

Thanks! Now can someone reminds me how to make the font size bigger on my Kindle app? (Android)

Thanks!

or wanna be surf talk. " Totally tubular!"

Regional variant: in Utah, we changed this to " Gag me with a pitch fork." "Life sucks, and then you die." More of a quote than a phrase. apparently it came from Pet cematary", but I didn't know that at the time. in my earlly college years, there was a spate of adding "-age" to the end of things, like saying, "I went to that party, and there was some serious babeage going on."

Debt, as defined by the loan officer looking at your "debt to income ratio" or the folks at the credit reporting agencies, would be anything for which you owe a balance larger than what you are required to pay each month. (There is a good definition here: http://www.investorwords.com/1313/debt.html.) "Bills" and "debts" are not interchangeable. "Debts" are a subset of "Bills." That is to say, most of us have two types of bills: some are debts -- payments we make towards a balance owed. Some are not, like utilities -- things you pay to use that month, like electricity, telephone, or internet; or like expenses -- services used one time and paid for then, like the doctor, or groceries. Items in the second category can turn into debts, if you fail to pay them and they go to collection. Examples of debts would be: mortgage, car payments, credit card payments, loan payments. Examples of the other type of bills would be: rent, lease payments, debit card, taxes. It isn't really possible to become "bill free", except by declaring bankruptcy and becoming homeless, but it is possible to become "debt free." Notice the "become." It isn't instant. It requires sacrifice, discipline, and hard work. My MIL is debt free, and has been since she was about 50. She made extra payments on her mortgage and her car until they were completely paid off. She sets aside the amount she formally paid in mortgage and car payments, and when she needs to replace her car, she pays cash from that savings account (or maybe she stashes literal cash in her mattress, I don't actually know :) ). We are not debt free :sad: , but since we were able to refinance to a 15-year mortgage about eight years ago, and we then paid a little extra every payment for six years, we will be paying off our mortgage in four more years. We expect to be able to become debt free within three years after that. Nice, succinct way of putting it! If you are carrying a balance, you still have debt, even if you are managing it responsibly.

The 10-year-old wanted the paper route. You used to be able to get one when you turned nine here, but now you have to be 18 and own a car and have insurance. They still let younger people "throw," so once I've picked up and folded the papers (which now has to be done at the depot, where the minimum age to enter is 16), I pick the kids up to drive the route, which starts just one street north of where we live. While I have to be to the depot by about 2:30, I don't get back home with the papers until about 3:30/4:00, so that's when I wake them. The 8-year-old has to do everything her big brother does, so once she learned he was going to be earning money, she wanted in on it. If she were just newly eight, I would probably have told her she was too young, but she is only about six weeks from her ninth birthday. (Likewise, her brother will be 11 in about eight weeks.) It's a fairly common arrangement here. In fact, we heard about the route from another homeschool mom who is doing the same thing with her kids. There are a surprising number of families who work a paper route for extra cash. Neither of the older two are night owls, so they've made the transition better than I have, and they are still getting nine hours of sleep, which is about what they always gravitate to when allowed to sleep as long as they want. In fact, earlier in the summer, when I was getting up at 5:30 to walk with a friend, my son was usually already up, and my daughter was usually reading quietly in her room. So, not that big a shift for them, or I don't think I would have dared.

So, all the card company ads try to tell us that card is a way to show thoughtfulness and caring and all that. There are Emily Post instructions guiding us on the proper etiquette, etc. Generally speaking, card giving is supposed to be symbolic of our love and concern for the receiver. There is another thread going for a mom trying to help her son understand why certain relatives fail to send cards. The situation she describes seems to fit the general symbolism. The way my family uses cards does, too. Hmm, I'm not looking for advice here, so I guess this is a vent. Or feel free to respond with your own tales of real symbolism that don't match the surface symbolism. We have a different situation going on in DH's family that is entirely changing how I view card giving. I almost posted in the afore-mentioned thread, but realized it would be a derailment and would distract from the answers that poster was seeking. So, here's a new thread instead. My MIL is very meticulous and obsessive about card giving. She has elaborate lists on her computer so that she never forgets. When she was going to be out of the country for 18 months, she pre-bought every card for every occasion, signed them, and left them with her daughter. The cards have gotten really elaborate lately, almost always with those annoying sound thingys in them. She attaches them to gifts, rather than using the normal, little 1 X 3, "To/From" tags. We even get cards from her on the occasions when we see her in person. The birthday party card protocol is that you open your present and put it behind you with the other open presents, then you pass the card to the person on your left. Only after it has completed the circle around the entire family can you put it with your gifts. The card is way more important than the actual gift. No worries about personal information, because there isn't any. She just signs them. After reading the other thread, it dawned on me how incredibly symbolic of the family dynamics this is. Our presence is far more important than our engagement. If we are in town, we are expected to attend Thanksgiving dinner, Easter dinner, every niece's or nephew's birthday. Once at such occasion's, however, the only acceptable topics of conversation are gossip or small talk. Any mention of what we think/feel/believe about any topic causes a sudden, horrified, silence. (For example, it would be okay to say, "I'm going in for surgery tomorrow. I switched from Dr. A to Dr. B, because Dr. A is totally rude!" It would not be okay to say, "I'm going in for surgery tomorrow. I'm really scared.")

I agree with the PPs who talk about cards being a cultural thing (small scale, family culture). Also, somewhat generational. My grandma sent lots of cards to lots of people for most occasions; my mom sent some cards to people she was closest to for special occasions; I send cards only as a special gesture at really needy times. (Otherwise, I probably just send an email.) The OP sees in it something symbolic about the general engagement of the extended family members. I'm inclined to agree with that, too, with the caveat that the symbolism isn't universal to every family. (I'm going to start a S/O in a moment about the very different symbolism in our family.) Don't send pretend cards to your son. It's a good time to discuss intention vs. actions, or social etiquette, or the realities of your family, or all of the above.

Just to clarify, I'm not getting the three year old up at 3:30. DH doesn't leave for work until 8:00ish, and it route is supposed to be complete by 6:00 (we usually make it). I have been trying to get my little night owl up before DH leaves, so between 7:00-8:00. I'd like to be transitioning straight from route to school work, finishing our whole day up earlier. So far, it's not happening. The melatonin thing sounds worth trying. She usually obeys when I put her in bed and insist she stay there, but she won't/ can't obey instructions to be quiet. She sings, talks to herself ( loudly), kicks the wall, plays games ( even if there aren't any toys, she entertains herself with her hands, calling them ' spider'.)

Thanks! I'll pass that along to DH and hope he'll stop obsessing about it.

My older two kids and I now have a paper route. I have to get up at 1:45 a.m., and they have to get up at 3:30. So we changed bedtime to 7:00 p.m. Complication. The three-year-old has always been a night owl. We spent a long three months last Fall getting her to sleep by midnight, instead of 2:00 a.m. We've been trying to get her in bed when we go at 7:00, but she is extremely awake and noisy until, on the best nights, somewhere around 10:00 p.m. I've been trying to wake her up early. It works sometimes. We really need to reset her little internal clock. Dosing her with Benadryl would be bad, right?, since she's not even supposed to take it for allergies at this age. Any other ideas?

Anyone? He knows that "fish" is "A tsa di", but can't find "fishtail".

Try probate records, too. In their wills, men often said things like, "I leave John, Mary, and Elizabeth the land their late mother, Sarah, inherited from her father, and George and Henry, sons of my second wife..." They can often clear up which children went to which wife. And sometimes you get the daughters' married names that way, too.

By any chance, does anyone here know someone who speaks Cherokee? My husband is choosing a road name to use when he rides his motorcycle with B.A.C.A. and wants to honor his Cherokee great-grandfather, but since said great-grandfather left the reservation and married a white girl, no language has been passed down whatsoever! My mother-in-law has tribal membership. We helped her track down her dad's birth certificate, which was the last link we needed, since we had her grandfather on the rolls. The other guys have proposed "Fishtail" as his road name, because of a scary near-accident recently. He might agree if he can use the name in Cherokee. He's found "fish" and "tail," but doesn't know if they can be combined into a compound word. (Boy, it complicates life to be a stickler for detail! Really, how many people would know if he combined them and it isn't a real word?)

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865584407/Widow-of-firefighter-killed-in-Arizona-fighting-with-employer-over-benefits.html?s_cid=Email-2 This just popped up in my email feed from my local paper. If what she claims is true, about the personal comments, someone needs to be fired. Wow!

Here in Utah, we don't name most of our streets. Brigham Young set everything up on a grid system. Center street is always the x-axis, and Main is the y-axis, and everything else is numbered. So, the local Jr. high has the address: 650 west 700 north. (the street is named "700 North" and the building number is "650 West.") It takes new people a while to catch on, but once you have it, it's quite easy to find most addresses without directions.