All I can add is that it is dreamy to work with.

Thank you all for the information!! Incredibly helpful. 🙂

Yes, I can see it outside (unless I have my polarized sunglasses on - then I can't see anything, phone or watch). I don't wear it at night, so it's on for about 16 hours/day. I usually charge it overnight, but I can easily skip a night without a charge and it's fine the next day.

First, I don't think there is any single subset on the planet that we can say “ALL” or “every single one” about. Just makes for a good, controversial headline, which is exactly the point. No favorites here! They’re all wonderful in their own ways and I appreciate them for exactly who they are. Funnily enough, I am less mom-critical of the ones who take mostly after my husband (I did handpick him, after all 😉). The ones who are more like me, I see their characteristics that I don’t like in myself and want to “help” them out of those habits/characteristics. I reign it in most of the time… 😇 but it doesn't make me favor the others whatsoever.

I love my Fitbit Versa. I buy the extra warranty for mine but have only sent one in over the years. FEIW, you can buy replacement bands on amazon for the sports watches. My fitbit currently has a pretty gold metal band so it doesnt look so sporty. Still works the same, though! 😊

What was the time commitment in "real time" (I've often found that what things say online isn't always quite accurate...) in your experiences? Were you/your students able to "do anything else" or did ROTC take up most of your time? In my mind, this student would have to essentially quit every extracurricular to wedge this in amidst a challenging academic calendar. They attend a top-tier university and the academics match up. 😅 But, maybe I'm wrong about that? I do not know. For this student, ROTC is hosted at a neighboring university - maybe a 15 minute jog? I wish they'd come to me at the end of their freshman semester and asked for some guidance. School is starting now and they call me with this last week! lol I'm not sure there is enough time to process information/make a decision/apply/begin!

Keep checking and get on their email list! They have great sales (20% off sale/clearance prices) sometimes. I have leggings I bought for <$35!

Do you not have both of them anymore? I feel like I missed a puppy update somewhere. 😄 It sounds like Dean is living elsewhere? Regardless, they have each sure grown into gorgeous doggos! ♥

You'll have zero regrets. I pretty much live in Athleta leggings - they are magical! I have several that are many years old, and honest to goodness, you cannot tell from looking at them. They wear like iron. I usually turn them inside out to wash and hang to dry. Super easy. AND, I love what the company stands for and advertises - they tend to put their $ where their mouth is and I appreciate that. Very women-centered, confidence-focused, and thoughtfully-designed apparel. I won't buy Lulu. 🫥

Omgosh, yes. That’s when i get the toothbrush out, pull the refrigerator out, etc. lol DEEP cleaning time!

How do we know anything with no other information present? I’m confused why this would even be asked in this particular context? There is information present and one doesn’t have to reach far to find it…

How do I know this? Because NO SPORT - NO WHITE OWNER OF A TEAM in the 70s, 80s, 90s would have purposefully chosen Black players to be the faces of their team over white ones if they weren’t more talented individually - period. Why would the NBA be the sole standalone mega-industry that selected Black people over white ones in a country where - literally - that has never happened? White people have always been the default and the NBA would be no different if the talent had been equal. Why are Black players represented sixfold? Because you don’t need a Country Club membership (golf, tennis (historically)) to start playing basketball. You don’t need a big parcel of land (baseball, soccer). You don’t need expensive equipment (climbing, equestrian sports). You don’t need consistency in teammates (rowing). You don’t need a big gym and a coach (historically, gymnastics, fencing). BB can be played on the street with a hoop nailed to a wall somewhere. BB can be played with whoever shows up that day. BB can be played without a coach. BB can be practiced alone - perfecting dribbling and free throw shooting skills. BB can be started young - little kids being taught by their elder brothers. Ask most of the Black players (and a lot of the white ones, too) where they got their start and it was on the street, in their neighborhoods. BB is one of the only sports with that answer. Then, the kids enter school. While most schools have a lot of specialized sports to choose from, many predominately Black schools have two: football and basketball. So, white students, as a whole, have more sports choices from a young age, spreading that demographic around through many sports whereas inner-city Black youths are narrowly funneled in two directions.

I might have 74 pieces for each size that I might fit into on any given day! Thanks to being-a-woman, my body can fit into size 2-10 from the same brand of clothes. So, I find what I like and buy it in all the colors and in a few sizes. If I'm feeling bloated one day, I go to that section of my closet. Simple as that, lol. I have work/business clothes, workout clothes, running-errand clothes, working-at-home clothes, lounging-at-home clothes, date night clothes, and formalwear. It's a lot, but none of those things can crossover in my world - they're all very specific. Now I am so tempted to go count the stuff in my closet. It does need cleared out. 🙃 There's stuff in there I haven't worn since before Covid that I should let go of.

I'd feel like I probably should be annoyed, but it's happened so many times over the past many years, I would just mute the convo and forget about it almost immediately. I would also forget about the Saturday orientation bc we never had classes on Saturday so it wouldn't be on my radar whatsoever.

What would I think? I would think the person was lazily ignorant of Real Life and needed some educating. What would I do/say? Well, I have replied to this exact same scenario. I said to the person, "Well, he's darker than Larry Bird (bc who isn't? the man practically glows in the dark), so there are obviously other issues at hand. And, you do know they don't use race while recruiting for the NBA, right? They recruit the guy who can score the most points, or block the most points, the guy with the can-win attitude - there are no bonus points for skin color in either direction." Honestly, I am no longer quiet or quietly surprised when people mumble this nonsense under their breath. I say something, now. Every. Single. Time. To anyone - friend, foe, family, stranger at the table next to me who is speaking loudly, whoever. I don't let it go unchecked and unanswered anymore. It does too much damage to very real people.

Good, bad, ugly? I know nothing but am helping a kid we are close to navigate his options and interests. AFROTC and NROTC (with an eye on the Marines) is what he’s most seriously considering. Already in college, starting sophomore year. Preliminary research looks like students can apply/join soph year and perhaps earn a 2-year scholarship? This is a very athletic kid who never considered military until after starting college. Thank you for any input or guidance!

Man, she sounds like she is handling the adjustment beautifully (much better than my always-public-schooled self dealt with the taunting types when I switched schools and didn't know anyone!). The tiredness will lessen as she adjusts to all the newness of it all and I hope she and her friend continue to get even closer and that she meets a whole tribe of good folks soon. ♥

Oh, abso-freakin-lutely in this case 😂😂😂 with that said, my relationship with my own much-more-extroverted kids would likely have my kid telling ME the next morning, “Before you say anything - there’s no need to talk about it - ever. I’m good.” There is no doubt I’d be more traumatized than my kid. They’re all bizarrely pragmatic about this kind of thing.

😅😂 Our kids don't live here anymore and I STILL lock the door anytime I walk into the room and dh is in there, just in case things take a turn. 😂😂😂 If the door doesn't lock, wedge a dang chair beneath the doorknob. 😅 No advise - just commiseration for the trauma. I would be so purposefully NORMAL for the next week or so, he'd start wondering if he saw what he saw after all.

My favorite part is that - most (not all) of the universities I have seen that have had these additional requirements for homeschoolers have very high acceptance rates. Iowa State, for instance, looks to have a 91% acceptance rate. Like, what??? The uni itself will accept pretty much anyone who applies, but is going to make additional hoops for homeschoolers to jump through? It's insane. A few others with similar (or worse) requests my kids looked at had acceptance rates in the upper 80%s. Whereas, the schools they applied to with <20% didn't have any (or very, very minimal - like a short essay explaining homeschooling philosophy, or asking the student what their experience was like) special requirements for homeschooled students. ditto. We either chose to a) not apply to those schools or b) consider those "requirements" as "requests" and sent in what we had. Was never an issue. Wasn't it UMass Amherst that was requiring GEDs for homeschooled students? I wonder if they ever updated that. My oldest was accepted there and no one ever mentioned the requirement, even though they knew she was homeschooled. She went elsewhere, so we never had to test it.

I was technically retired a few years ago, but we had a bonus kid come into our lives. While I didn't homeschool him (he wasn't "mine" to homeschool while a senior in hs, but was living with us), I helped him navigate his college applications and plans. He just finished his freshman year away at college. Now that all four of mine are technically out of the house (3 are in college atm), I am coping SO WELL!!! OMGOSH. I love them, but dh and I are having a blast. 😂 I am not yet working full-time, but have a pt job "for fun." I mostly work around the house, reorganizing (I still find homeschooling stuff lurking in back corners of cabinets or shelves!) and modernizing it so we can sell it soon. We plan to move to a larger house (now that the kids are gone, haha) so that we can have a big place for them to come and visit us. Our current house has been great for "living in" but the layout isn't the best for multi-family visits, which we sure hope to host a lot of in the future. I'll be working full time after ds1 and ds 2 graduate. They are both tied to financial aid and it wouldn't make sense for me to get a ft job bc it would all go to their schools (and, probably, more than whatever my measly income would be). Til then, I stay so busy DIY'ing house stuff (I am tearing out a wall at the moment!), taking care of our three gigantic indoor dogs (I don't know what I was thinking - it is like having three needy toddlers in the house 24/7), helping the kids research or navigate something for their future whenever they ask, and traveling with dh as much as possible before we have a big house payment to deal with. 🙃

I love their tote bags. Similar to LLBean totes. They're on sale now, so a great time to buy! https://www.landsend.com/products/solid-color-5-pocket-open-or-zip-top-canvas-tote-bag/id_299724

Got waitlisted today for the new leg of US dates. 😭 But, we DO have tickets secured for one of the UK dates (yes, we will be traveling and planning a trip *around* this concert). And, my girls and I went earlier in the summer. All 3 of us, plus the boys, registered for tickets and everyone was waitlisted except DD. 😅 This concert is 1,000% worth traveling for. It is the most nonstop, crowd-involved concert I've ever attended. The energy in that arena was surreal. Total Bucket List experience. Gorgeousness.

Good to know! 🙂 I’ve only had the powder gels done at the salon and they are a BEAST to remove! Glad the at-store ones are more user-friendly 😁

Any color is “in” right now! Pink is especially strong bc: Barbie. There are lots of silver glitters that can be added over a color of her choice - it’s always a fun look! Also, silver metallic. Quality polish doesn't have to be a fortune. Target carries Essie and Orly and they're both great. Orly is cruelty-free, so even better. Add a topcoat to make it last longer. I don’t use gel polish bc they are harder to remove and I am lazy. 🤪