My husband chipped both front teeth as a teen. The bottom potion of each tooth is just gone. Neither one required a root canal or crown. He has what is essentially a large strong filling that makes up the lower half of his front two teeth. They look totally normal. He eats just fine (whole apples, etc). He has chipped them twice in the 25 years we have been married - once playing church basketball and once just wrestling around with our kids. The dentist (different one each time) did another bonding or filling to repair and he was fine. Hopefully the chip isn’t deep enough that they need a root canal!!

Our therapist is only offering virtual counseling right now and it has been a really positive experience. We have only met virtually and it feels like she understands our situation and knows us even though we have never met in person. We started meeting with her because our youngest child became seriously ill with a long term major health concern. I knew we would need help coping with the current crisis, but the counseling has been so much more. We are working on learning and changing different unhealthy patterns in our relationship. No overnight fixes, but a very positive trajectory. It is super easy to attend - I don’t have to worry about getting there on time, dressing up, etc, and my husband is able to join in even if he is out of town for work. I’m traveling out of state next month and she isn’t licensed in that state, so we won’t meet that week. I think many counselors are offering virtual appointments now. My son is also working with his counselor virtually, though he has met with her in person once. She is amazing and has really worked with all of us - not marriage counseling, but again, super helpful even though we only “know” her through phone/video. best wishes!!

Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck - my favorite! There's an old 70's short movie of it, but the book is even better. Santa Mouse is the Christmas eve book my husband grew up with. It is a sweet story, and we leave out a cube of cheese for Santa Mouse along with cookies for Santa. Stubby Pringles Christmas is my mom and dad's favorite. My parents would stay up late wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve, and one year sometime in the 80's, this movie with Beau Bridges came on the TV about a cowboy who wanted to go to a Christmas Eve dance and his adventure along the way. My parents loved it and talked about it for years. My mom didn't know the name of the movie but remembered it, and was able to find the movie through the miracle of the internet several years ago. Last year I happened to find out that it was actually a book. My dad was delighted to get the book last year for Christmas!!

not too long at all. You could do meal planning regularly and link to different recipes that you have previously posted! My favorite is the planned leftover where I may cook extra and use it in another meal that week.

Your blog looks great! I know my young college kids needed just that kind of basic directions. My daughter once called for directions for mashed potatoes (with real potatoes.) Then told me that she made the same thing (chicken in the instant-pot and homemade mashed potatoes) three times that week - she was so excited to be able to fix a "real" meal.

How far is Angel Fire, New Mexico? We have friends with a cabin there - they snowboard, etc. It's beautiful in the snow!! It looks like it's 12 hours from you. Hopefully there's something closer!!

I heard back from my neighbor - he told me that they use a hitting net called the BowNet Big Mouth X. They set it up in front of the one car garage door (we have garages with a two car garage/one car garage split) and it basically covers the opening. And they hit off of a T - he said they just use a basic adjustable height T from Walmart. That's it. Super simple. It is probably not what you are looking for, but maybe it will be helpful for someone! They are big (adult sized) kids and seem to hit hard, but the balls don't fly all over the neighborhood, so I think it's pretty affective!

I texted my neighbor and she is asking her son. I'll check back when I hear more!

We have neighbors who have some kind of temporary batting cage in their garage. The boys are like 13 and 16 years old (so it's not a toy.) They have a net that they put across the front of the garage, but I'm not sure exactly the ball set up. I don't think they have a pitching machine, but it is possible, I guess. They could have a ball on a string kind of thing but I don't know. They use metal bats and a real ball (not whiffle) and it makes a good "nice-hit" ding when they are out. Let me know if you want more info, I can ask my neighbor what they use.

No advice but just sympathy. I spent too much time with someone I love over the spring/summer - not living in the same house, but several times we spent one to three weeks together. I love her and enjoy being around her, but there was a point when I felt like I couldn't be in the same room with her. I'm sure my behavior was not great, but it's so hard to tell what is normal when you are trying really hard not to go crazy inside PLUS trying to keep within normal bounds of politeness to the very person that is making you crazy. We are both sort of quiet/nice people who have a hard time talking about difficult things - perfect... eta - not bratty at all. You need occasional space in your home and life without your sister.

Thursday! ✅ tidy up ✅ kitchen clean up bedroom tidy ✅ violin lesson ✅ make sure ds gets his laundry going ✅ homework ✅ milk/granola/bread ✅ think about dinner?? I felt like I didn't get much done today, but I was able to finish a study/paper and do some basic housework!

So exciting! He's lucky to have you!! I hope it is a smooth transition!

I'm taking several online classes and they tend to have things due Wednesday and Saturdays. So I have several things to finish up for today! And somehow I was not on the ball Monday and Tuesday so I have more to do today than usual... ✅ Math videos ✅ Study/quiz/test ✅ Discussion ✅ Paper(s) ✅ Post office Tidy up ✅ Fold clothes ✅ Tikka Masala for dinner self pedi water x x x ✅ skate around the block with ds

Last year about this time I listened to a This American Life story about Human Growth Hormone - it was an interesting listen, there are 3 stories and I feel like it was the last of the three - Small Things Considered. I am not quite 5'2" and my youngest daughter is just over 5' tall. She is an adult and doesn't seem too small - she looks like a real adult. She had a very best friend in elementary/middle school who was 6 feet tall by about 5th grade and they didn't look strange together. She learned how to drive in her dad's full size '99 Chevy Truck! I don't feel like her height holds her back. It was an asset as a cheerleader, but she also played basketball for a few years and was an excellent volleyball player (the libero) playing varsity as a freshman. My suburban had adjustable foot pedals which I loved. My current jeep does not, and though it is a smaller vehicle, it is a little tricky for my feet to reach - I have to sit much closer to the wheel than I would prefer. I also drove an adorable convertible Mazda Miata for a couple of years -that was fun, but my husband at 5'11" drove it, too and he enjoyed it. As a short person, I don't feel short. I actually feel like I am the same height as anyone! haha!! But I do jump up on the shelves at the grocery story and climb on the counter at home. I love when I can talk my son into grocery shopping with me - it seems like an amazing feat to be able to reach items on the top shelf with feet flat on the floor!

Tuesday! So much to do and I'm avoiding it by making lists 😃 I hope it's okay to just join in with these posts. I have in the past but it's been a while. We had covid here at my home and though we have been released from quarantine since friday and free of symptoms for more than a week, I have barely left the house. I have some errands today and will be careful to mask/sanitize for others, but it feels a little weird (as my daughter said - release the kraken!) My husband was back to work immediately after he was cleared but it has been nice to not have to get back out too quickly. tidy up my room fold clothes ✅ lunch for ds math homework other school stuff ✅ groceries post office water x x x stick to my food plan tomato soup for dinner

Totally on a different line, but what about a little necklace? I love these little disks and they are about the same price as a basic pedi! https://www.madebymary.com/collections/necklaces/products/evie-charm-stacker# My daughter is finishing yoga instructor training this weekend, and I just ordered this cutie for her: https://www.madebymary.com/collections/pause/products/inhale-exhale-disc-necklace-5-8 It's a little more than the first link, so more like a mani pedi! haha!

We rarely use them. I have two boxes in the open living room/dining room but they are the same ones from when we moved in over a year ago. I think we just don't have runny noses very often. I keep a mini pack in my purse and that tends to get used more, but mostly because my eye get a little weepy in the car - I think it's the wind from the ac. No real allergies.

I'm sure you don't mean that the sacrifices we all made this summer meant nothing! I mean, that feels almost hopeless to say that we learned nothing from the summer? I'm sure we are not the only family that went to great lengths to provide a safe outdoor wedding that only 16 people were allowed to attend... I hope that there was a reason for that, right?!? 😀 In my area we saw higher numbers Mid July to Mid August but the numbers dropped way off in September but are rising again now. We were told that it was thanks to people doing a better job of masking and staying home that we were able to bring the numbers down in September. I am in a warm weather place with no real autumn, but even here we are seeing rising numbers again. South Korea has done an excellent job of containing their spike in March and again in August, but it looks like their daily new case numbers are double this week than in October. I don't have any studies in front of me, but I feel like South Korea has done all the things - drive through testing, contact tracing, stay at home, universal masking, etc. New York seemed to do an excellent job and didn't have the large spike in August that other areas had, but they are also seeing rising numbers. I feel like they are people who know how to "do quarantine" the right way! eta - I am not an expert and I am not an debater. Feel free to show me that I am mistaken. I would not be surprised!!

I'm not trying to argue, I like the image of serial monogamy -that we need to really do all three. And I can see that the virus is spreading from small get togethers. I don't think you are wrong, but it feels like maybe we are missing something today with the Coronavirus. Yes masks. Yes stay home. But it feels like maybe we are so sure that those are the right things that we have stopped looking for other answers. In places where people have shown that they know how to mask and stay home to slow the curve, they are again seeing spikes. Yes, blame those who put their mask under their nose or who visit with the neighbor at the mailbox, or have a small wedding, but it sort of feels like when you go to the doctor to discuss your weight. Just hearing that you should move more and eat less should be the answer. We know it is the answer, but it is also much more complicated. Perhaps masking/distance is the only answer, but it feels like a mystery. I hope to stay curious and open to seeking for answers and I hope there are scientists who are looking around for other missing pieces.

Monday! I'm moving slow but feeling good and ready for a great day. tidy up ✅ go on a walk/jog ✅ pull out some chicken for dinner ✅ talk to my mom ✅ fix lunch for ds ✅ set up my weekly assignment chart for school ✅ get started on my classes ✅ fold the towels ✅ empty the dishwasher ✅ wash laundry pull out felt for ornaments ✅ 1:00 online meeting ✅ Call about job in January (stop putting this off. do it!) ✅ water x x x x ✅ stick to food plan for today

https://pws.byu.edu/covid-19-and-masks Making Sense of the Research on Covid 19 and Masks I feel like this study is really comprehensive. It was done in July and I would love to see an update. It is reviewing 115 studies and compiling the various findings. Our area is seeing a spike, but when I am out in public (which I haven't been since Oct 23rd due to covid in my home - we believe dh picked it up from work where they have pretty good mask rules and compliance) people are wearing masks and seem to be wearing them correctly more often then not. Staying home hasn't worked as well as we thought it would. Our schools are still closed and are likely to stay closed. So, wearing masks and staying home and not opening schools has not prevented the current large spike in my area. I am starting to feel like it's time to start searching for other ideas. It seems like masks can only go so far. Hopefully the vaccine will work for everyone and things will smooth out, but if this virus is going to stay with us for the long term, what things do we need to do to adjust to live with it? I don't feel like online school forever is really meeting the need for many children. What can be done? Better masks? Better online education? Only grocery pick up? Covid volunteers (volunteer as medically watched tribute to create an underlying immune group?) I've been watching Call the Midwife and they deal with polio, small pox, and other diseases. They seem to quarantine and the outbreak calms down, sometimes with a vaccine and sometimes without. I think this has been true historically of disease, but this virus is not calming down.

My daughter is an ICU nurse in an area where there is a large spread of covid. She has mentioned that the hospital has not canceled "non essential" procedures yet, which is why her hospital is more full than it was in March/April when very few "elective" procedures were happening. She said that when the hospital says it is full, it is not just covid, but all of the usual things that fill the ICU beds. She has heard that her hospital will likely start limiting other procedures in the next few weeks, but there is pushback from doctors. I think it is a fine line. Hospitals need to have enough beds open for covid patients but they also want to be able to provide other services to their community. Having a large open unit ready for a big influx of covid patients is not financially feasible for most hospitals - but it is possible to stop providing other services and open up beds pretty quickly if needed.

So excited for you!

I just ordered a couple of badge reels for my daughter and her husband who are both nurses. I ordered the Super RN badge for him and a couple of cute ones for her. This etsy shop owner is amazing. I knew her when we were young moms. She was the first homeschooler I had ever met. She has overcome some incredible life challenges - she is my hero!! Not that you need to know that to order from her, her badge reels, Christmas ornaments, and even masks are adorable!!

A simple feast One meal at a time simply food staples and spice mini feast food stamp feast hotplate dining food stamp fabulous No oven required small kitchen hacks Assistance Hacks No kitchen no problem Market to table SNAPpy meals (I hope none of these are offensive)