we kept our oldest two in together until the oldest was more worried about privacy than being scared of the dark. that was the month he turned ten and she turned eight. our youngest is supposed to move in with her big sister, but she's such a night owl that we have her in her own bed in our room; otherwise, older dd wouldn't ever get any sleep. hmm, why is my phone opposed to starting sentences with capitals?

We used to have a steam vac with an upholstery attachment. It did a great job on floors and an okay job on upholstery. We no longer have carpets, but are really needing something to clean upholstery. Has anyone had good luck with using the machines you can rent at the grocery store on upholstery? Are there any steam cleaning machines specifically for upholstery that are really worth the purchase price?

Oh, good point! That's our usual order: youngest brother calls me, then calls the other brother, then the other brother calls me... I have initiated the first phone call a few times, like when my dad had a stroke, but I was the one who had the most information and I started the call to provide an update on the situation...

Hmm, I meant for the poll to be multiple choice. I think I fixed that... DH and I see a common pattern to all the shocking news processed by our families, even the bad stuff. I picked the marriages to illustrate just because they are so parallel. Another thing DH and I have found interesting is each family's reactions to the other family's reactions. DH's family considers what my family does to be gossiping. My family considers what his family does to be failing to be there emotionally for each other. Such different perspectives! Yeah, my brothers and I were like this. We did feel the need to process, but when we spoke to her, we only said how happy we were that she'd finally found someone and stuff like that.

Oh, it did work! My first poll! DH and I are trying to get a feel for what is "normal." We have been surprised at how differently our two families react to similar situations. Here are two parallel situations, one from my family and one from DH. (We aren't fighting with each other about what's normal, so you aren't taking sides in an argument. Just one of those things where we both took our families reactions for granted.) . . . Each of our mothers announced a recently that she was getting married again. Both announcements caught our extended families by surprise. Within hours after my mother made her announcement, I got phone calls from first one brother and then the other. We talked it out. We concluded we were happy for her, but had some concerns because we'd never met the guy. We all felt more at ease after. When DH's mother made her announcement, we heard nothing from his sibs, to the point that we wondered for a while if she had only told us. They never have said anything, but she later said she told everyone within a few hours. I find this particularly odd because she is marrying a foreign national and will be moving to his country. She's lived in the same house since DH was an infant, and her house is the center of all family gatherings. DH and I talked it over so he could sort out his feelings. We have no idea what his siblings did. One is married; one is engaged; and one is recently divorced.

Denial works, but I think cognitive dissonance might be the word I was looking for. thanks.

If an otherwise intelligent, educated, aware person seems to be deliberately, though subconsciously, choosing not to be aware of what's really going on in a particular situation (I'm assuming there is some kind of emotional pain avoidance going on in the situation I'm thinking of), is there a nice, succinct word for that thought pattern? I was thinking "deliberately oblivious," but that doesn't seem subconscious enough to describe what I think it's going on...

Card games, both from here: Set Quiddler Board games: Mastermind Ticket to Ride Blokus

If you are trying to stay out of the heat, you probably want to be further north than Salt Lake City, too. I'm forty miles south, and it's been in the upper 90's. Salt Lake supposedly hit 100 today. If you do come through, there are plenty of kid friendly activities here. The Gateway Mall, which is not far from the airport, has a children's museum and a planetarium (shows cost, but the exhibits are free), both of which are indoors and air conditioned. I think there is a fountain outside between shops that allows splashing, but I'm not sure. Trax runs there (blue line?) and to the airport (green line?). The zoo, which is in the mouth of one of the canyons, usually runs 10 degrees cooler or so, and has a number of misters set up to keep temps down. Lots of hiking available up the canyons. The new Natural History Museum is supposed to be pretty good, but we've not been.

I need the advice in this post about books, but once again, the pretty bookcases are distracting me: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/7340396/list/-Not-My-Precious-Books-------Pain-Free-Ways-to-Declutter-Your-Library

Ooh, I love that bookcase! ...Sorry, got distracted. I am badly in need of a serious declutter (and yes, books are a major problem!) I remember the song and movie referred to, so the post is oddly inspiring. Thanks!

60 L/40 R. My degree was in music, but career wise, I've done proofreading, software quality control, inventory replenishment, research assistant (genealogy). I'm probably mildly O.C.D. and my learning style is visual - subcategory textual (Okay, my mom and I made that up, but it's how we both learn -- if we've seen it written, we can remember it. If we need to memorize, we write it down.) Your Left Brain Percentages 64% Linear (Your most dominant characteristic) 42% Logical 35% Sequential 34% Symbolic 34% Reality-based 14% Verbal (Your least dominant characteristic) Your Right Brain Percentages 42% Holistic (Your most dominant characteristic) 39% Intuitive 32% Nonverbal 20% Fantasy-oriented 19% Concrete 6% Random (Your least dominant characteristic) I agree with the descriptions in the sub-categories EXCEPT sequential. It suggested I'm average at math and spelling, and I'm quite good at both.

Completed: Book #45 - "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. (WEM) I read this in High School, though I had mercifully forgotten all the details. I remember having about the same reaction. Ugh. But it did seem shorter this time. 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)

Me, too. We have the executive membership. I go there for: gas milk cottage cheese nutella dishwasher detergent laundry soap (Kirkland brand) toilet paper paper towels (Kirkland) plastic spoons/forks/knives if we are having a party avocados strawberries chocolate chips vanilla vanilla beans flats of bottled water (I try to keep a flat of water in the trunk of my car at all times during the summer, but we are in the desert) "raw" tortillas lunch meat cheese large quantities of anything for camping trips or parties (eggs, pancake mix, syrup, etc.) and just to wander around tasting samples with my three year old. Why is it that my kids will eat anything served on a toothpick if it's at Costco, but won't touch it if I bring it home and serve it here? :rolleyes:

I am ashamed. I only got 31,100. I must hang my head. And forward the link to my mother, who will undoubtedly outscore me. ETA: Okay, I feel a little better. I tried it again and was given a slightly different group of words. That time I got 34,800. That puts me at the upper end of average....

Now I'm totally laughing at how old I am. What the two of you are describing are film projectors, and those were awesome! Even then, just like today, the teacher could never get them to work and some kid would always step up to show him/her how to run that "new-fangled" gadet! :lol: A filmstrip was even more low tech, though. It was a small strip of still images, usually stored in a small canister about an inch across. It came with a record, or sometimes one of those "new-fangled" cassettes. You put it in a small projector with a knob and twisted it until the first picture showed on the screen and turned on the record or cassette, which had narration to go with the still pictures. There would be a "bing" sound and a brief pause in the narration, and that was the signal to use the knob to advance to the next still picture. The projector didn't move the film on it's own. It was more sophisticated than a slide projector, though, because you could count on the next image showing up with getting jammed. But not customizable. (I have a slide projector floating around my house somewhere.... for the younger people, we used those in the olden days before power-point presentations came along! :D )

We said "pop," too! (I grew up in Utah, but my parents were Oregonians.)

I must be old, too. If we were really good in class, the teacher sometimes let us turn the handle! And then we'd get the blue ink all over our hands. I remember watching my mom, who is/was a typist extraordinaire (135 wpm), use a razor blade to scrap the carbon off the copy when she made a mistake. She typed term papers to put my dad through grad school. Here's an old word that's never used anymore: "filmstrip". Or "reel-to-reel." Yes, I remember both of these things, too!

I use 'hence' in conversation all the time. In sentences like, "The sun is really hot today, hence the need to shop for sunscreen. . . . Ohhhhh, would that be why my "friends" look at me funny? :blush: (I really do, though. My mother and brother do, too.)

Caveat: When I lived in Europe, I was single. I have traveled there since with my children, but that's not quite the same. I also was not associated with the military in anyway, so I've never seen what's available in the base store -- what do you call it, the PEX? So my shopping experiences were all local culture. Don't let your sponsor freak you out. It's really no different than any other long distance move. You could arrive there with nothing but the clothes on your backs, your passports, and your credit card, and you would be okay. You can get everything you need there, as long as you don't expect everything to be exactly like the American kind. Everything else is really about convenience, not need. It's more convenient to bring the clothes you already have than to have to shop there, but it's not more convenient to have run around shopping here for things you think you may need there. It's more convenient to wait to see if you really need it, and then shop there. Same for furniture, since you have the household goods allowance thingy (I'm not personally familiar with how that works). Otherwise, it totally would not be worth the cost of shipping. I looked at your list and will point out, just in case nobody did, and all these are -- they have them; they are just different: If you are bringing American beds, make sure you bring enough American bedding, particularly fitted sheets. The "standard" is a different size there. You are probably bringing American recipes. You should be able to find most ingredients, but what you won't find is American measuring cups and spoons. They cook by weight there. (100 grams of flour, rather than 1 cup.) They have most spices, but not the same spice blends. I couldn't find taco seasoning, or poultry seasoning, for instance, but could find sage, thyme, rosemary, etc. once I knew the translation. They do have packets, but they are for local dishes. So in Austria, you can get a packet of goulash seasoning. Take a few for special holiday meals, or know what's in them so you can get the spices separately. Deodorant there seemed to be just deodorant, and I'm used to anti-antiperspirant, so that, I missed. The only other thing I can think of is tampons. Here, the plastic applicators are the most common, followed by cardboard, and only rarely the "no applicator" kind. There, it has been the opposite, though it seemed to be shifting last time I was there. "No applicator" was most common, followed by cardboard, and only rarely plastic. Oh, one more thing: paper size. Their's is taller and narrower, so you'll want to buy their binders to use with their paper, or be prepared to trim to fit.. You know, though, all these things are just fun, "well, that was a funny thing to take for granted" kind of things. It's all good. Life goes on.

:lol: I live in Utah county, Utah, which has a very high percentage of LDS folks -- which is only important to the joke because it's an LDS custom to share excess home-grown produce with the other members of your congregation -- and a great climate for growing zucchini. There is a joke, probably wide spread, but the local version goes like this: John's friends were visiting from out of state for the weekend, so John shows them all the local sights. They go to a BYU football game. They go to the mall. They go hiking up the canyon. They go out to eat. Finally, they go to church with John on Sunday. As they are getting in the car, the friends ask curiously, "John, we noticed that you never locked the car anywhere went, except here at church. Is this a particularly bad neighborhood?" "Oh, no," says John. "It's just that it's zucchini season. If you don't lock your doors, you'll come out to find your car stuffed full of zucchini."

I voted other. I always was the one who balanced the checkbook and paid the bills, until I had a very ditzy pregnancy with our youngest. DH put everything he could on auto-pay at my request. I think we have three bills left that aren't, but all three send an automatic reminder and can be paid online, so he can handle that. So, basically our credit union's computer is now doing all our bill paying. We no longer worry about balancing the checkbook because it's so easy to keep on eye on our account through apps on our phones, and we only use checks for things like paying the piano teacher anyway. We usually do our taxes ourselves, together. This year he was still ill, so I did them.

It depends on what's going on there financially. Churches get tax exempt status, so making a profit/selling stuff shouldn't be going on there (except maybe something like a bake sale type fundraiser for a specific purpose, like sending kids from that congregation to camp.) If the expo is about promoting gun safety, I wouldn't have a problem with that. Our local church sponsored an emergency preparedness event, which was mostly classes. There were a few sponsoring vendors there, but they weren't allowed to sell on the premise. (I think they had stacks of business cards you could take if you wanted.) That seemed appropriate.

I'm three years, seven months older than he is. We met in our college marching band, where we both played clarinet. He was not a freshman, he was a junior; I was "still" a senior, because I'd changed my major after I already was a senior. We didn't start dating until after I'd graduated a year later, so when we married, he was 22 and I was 26.