:lol::lol::lol: Font humor!!! Definitely the funniest thing I've heard all week!! That's BRILLIANT!! I believe Comic Sans made both the Favorite Fonts list and the Most Hated Fonts list in the font book . . .

Calling all font nerds! You have all read this little gem of a book, right? Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield It was a bestseller last year.

We were only required to have one semester of math to graduate high school. (Yes, you read that correctly.) I re-took algebra that I'd already taken in 8th grade. That's the extent of my math knowledge. Working with my children in their elementary math (mostly Singapore) was very helpful to me. My dd used Lial's Introductory Algebra last year, and I would usually pre-read the lesson each day before she would do it. That's how I learned and remembered (and was taught things I'd never seen). Lial's is a remedial college textbook series, written specifically for the student to be able to self-teach. Dd is using Jacob's Geometry this year. Honestly, I don't have the time to learn it, nor the desire. But I like the way Lial's is set up. She'll use that next year for Alg II, and out of necessity, I will learn it along with her.

Hard. It doesn't enter the radar on my list of priorities, and defrosting is almost always an afterthought. On the other hand, I can look at what does actually get done around here, and I'm happy! (Usually, it's not the tangible stuff anyone can see though.) :001_smile:

I know you've been wearing earrings in the top holes, but if it were me, once I realized how uneven they were, AND I wanted to continue wearing earrings, I'd get one side triple-pierced. No, it's not odd to have three on one side, two on the other. (Dd has two on one side, four on the other, although the two high ones are cartilage piercings).

I answered Afternoon, but it really depends on a bunch of things--mainly, when I remember! Ideally, I would plan dinner ahead of time and place any meat in the fridge a full day (or more!) ahead of time. In reality, I usually think about it around noon, throw something on the counter and let it sit there until it's either defrosted, or I can beat the ice out of it enough to cook. Really, who is that organized? No homeschool mom that I know!!

Dropbox can be free, depending on how much space you want. 2GB = free, up to 100GB = $20/mo. The Dropbox website is seriously lacking, imo, for newcomer info. I found this review at PCMag that provided quick info. While I believe the OP was asking about serious, auto (or semi-auto) backup, I piece mine together. Many of my photos are uploaded to picasaweb because of my blog. Shutterfly offers free, unlimited photo storage. My email is through gmail, so that's all available online, and I've emailed most of my documents to myself. My dd uses googledocs, so her documents are available online. During Christmas, my sister lost everything in an apartment fire. She was very thankful for, of all things, Facebook, where she at least had photos stored that were otherwise irreplaceable/destroyed.

The water at home is either too hard or too soft; other water is juuuuuust right. Signed, Goldiilocks ;)

I always liked the idea of something formal when my kids were younger, but anything I chose never lasted. It didn't take long for me to embrace that approach; for us, it worked best to keep things mixed up. We did Bible time early in the day. Our activities ranged from a daily email devotional to a free online Bible curriculum to taking turns formally reading scripture out loud--meaning standing and speaking clearly in an effort to promote public speaking. Other times, we just used our AWANA practice time as our Bible time. During each December, we'd read one of the Jotham/Ytreeide books. Changing our routine seemed key to keeping my kids--and me--interested and engaged. I'm in no way discounting or minimizing the impact of family Bible time, but looking back, I think the biggest impact on my kids' faith was seeing us try to live out what we believe. We've been far from perfect, or even good, but listening to dh and me talk about how God is working in our lives, whether it's in conversation with our kids, discussing with each other, or sharing with friends seems to have been just as important as learning and understanding the Bible and its history. My kids know some of our struggles and can see God's sovereignty--and they apply it to their lives as well. (At least so far!)

:lol: I'm finding this terribly amusing this morning.

:iagree: And your shipping costs. For heaven's sake, you double checked. What more could you be expected to do to make sure you got what you wanted? It's unfortunate for her, but she's the one who made the mistake.

A family coming over to share NYE. We're fixing a taco bar, salsa, queso dip, and sopapilla cheesecake dessert. We'll hang out, kids may play video games or air hockey. Fireworks in the driveway at midnight. :party:

Wood floors throughout house, carpet in bedrooms, tile in baths. The house already had a central vacuuming system when we bought it. Although I found it so amusingly 1980s in the beginning, I used it once and fell in LOVE. I hope to never use a regular vacuum again.

It would depend on how even the chunks are. How about throwing it all in the crockpot, adding any spices of choice and a bit of water? (It sounds delicious!)

My mom used to drag my sister and me an hour away several times a year to visit her old aunts. We tolerated it because we had no choice. As I grew older, I began to treasure that part of our family to which she connected us. While that generation has passed, because of those visits, I'm in (internet) contact with a handful of those great-aunts' children/grandchildren. Several of them recently started a family email list, and I'm meeting more people I've only vaguely heard of. I'm grateful. Dh and I moved across the country several years ago and are now a five hour drive to my dad's sisters/brother. Although I hadn't seen these people since 1980, I've taken my kids up there a handful of times now that we are able to visit. One child enjoys it more than the other, but I think they appreciate it a bit more than my sister and I did when we were children. I don't feel a family obligation to visit. I am happy to visit. These are people who think I am important! If I think about it, I personally feel an obligation to ensure my kids know they have an extended family who love them even though they've barely met. It's good for my kids; it's a way of nurturing them, keeping them healthy, if that makes sense. Due to a family feud, my sister and I rarely saw our few cousins while growing up. When we did see each other, it was as if we'd never been apart (and we'd always been apart). Even now, I may see those cousins once every ten years or so, and it's an instant connection. My children have no first cousins; extended family is a gift. They might not realize how valuable it is until they are older. I've never really put quite so much thought into this. :D

I've blogged for five years. My first purpose is to keep a record of what we've done in our family life and school. It's also a nice way for family (who all live on the other side of the country) to keep up. Before FB, there was a group of a dozen of us from another large hs board who enjoyed checking each other's blogs regularly. It's well worth the effort I put into it because it serves its purpose. Sometimes (lately) I've been horribly negligent. Even without posting much, I get a dozen hits a day (but that's all from people I know). If you think it might be a bother, you probably won't be motivated to keep it up. It can be challenging to think about what to post.

:confused1: :001_huh: :blink::blink: :ohmy: You mean we're supposed to start back????? :svengo: Oh carp. :leaving:

White Corelle soup/cereal bowls. They seem indestructible and still look good after years of daily use. I was going to link on Amazon, but they are charging about 3x what you'd pay at Walmart. (With all the talk of IKEA and Crate & Barrel, I'm a little nervous about posting this. But these bowls go perfectly with my every day Mikasa . . . )

YES! Even though I've never opened one that's actually said anything negative! :001_smile:

I'd use the Marcia Williams books and then have my kids put on a play using stuffed animals. It's been a long time, but I'm pretty sure that's what we did.

Yes. This is the problem with an offer accepted upon such a contingency. If she were to accept the offer with the contingency, her house is virtually taken off the market if no realtor will show her home to prospective buyers. I've bought two houses that way, one as the back up buyer during a tight housing market (early 90s:glare:). With the second, we purchased our house (in the country, see the "city girl" thread, haha) with an offer contingent upon selling our home. We offered several thousand dollars more than the asking price to sweeten the deal for the builder/seller. It took a while for our house to sell, which finally happened when we were in the 48 hour kick out window.

:iagree: Even in a good market, or with an extra $10K or more included in the offer. No way.

LOL, I'm feeling that way a bit too after her post! That's even after I checked the paper bag option in the poll. I haven't gone so far as to check ebay though. Yet.:D

We did it. Went from the suburbs of a metro area of 1+million, first to a nearby area of 350,000; then we moved 1500 miles away to a county of 50,000. The county seat (pop. 4000) was 20 mins. away, with a Walmart and Kroger, McDonalds and Applebees. The nearest city (pop. 200,000) was about an hour away. Everything we did was in the city. Oh, we grocery shopped in town, and I worked there, but everything else we did was in the city. All homeschool events/sports were in the city, and we went to church there. We were driving there a minimum of three times a week, but typically we drove five or six times a week--at least once a day, sometimes twice. I loved our little spot in the woods. We had a brand new house in a small development of newer homes that were each of 5+ wooded acres. It was secluded, quiet, private. The isolation gave our family the opportunity to bond that never would have been possible otherwise. I didn't like how far we were from any emergency help. And the driving got very, very old. (Driving in snow in the city is nothing compared to driving in snow in the country.) After three years, we moved back to suburbia. We call those three years "The Lost Years." I am grateful EVERY DAY to live close to the grocery store, the highway, the gas station, civilization, every activity we do (hey, at this point, a 30 minute drive is nothing). I'm not crazy about hearing barking dogs again, and I'm not wild about paying a water bill (but it's a whole lot simpler than being on a well). I think my dh could have stayed in the country forever. My kids and I though are very happy to be back in suburbia.

Jennie, I think you are so right that you can't make her want to learn. What does she think she's going to do after high school? How can you best help her get there? There's nothing wrong with just covering the bascis and getting her to the point where she can graduate. What does she like to do, and how can that be turned into something on her transcript? Homemaking? Day care? Cosmetology? Animals? Missions work? Gardening? Filmmaking? Photography? Crafting? Is there a job she'd like to get that can be counted as vocational hs work? On the other hand, is it just that she doesn't want to try hard? Could she be depressed, or have other concerns that need to be addressed before school work can become a priority?