I recommend A Discovery of Witches and the sequel, Shadow of Night. She writes great. The series has been called Harry Potter for grown ups. I piced up A Discovery of Witches last summer and read it all in one day. I could not put it down. Second is just a good, if not better. Here's a link to the author's site: http://deborahharkness.com/discovery-of-witches/

Seems like a lot of the older start pages are no longer. I just found http://www.protopage.com/ Looks decent. Think I will give it a try. Very disappointed with iGoogle. eergh! Val

That's disappointing. I use iGoogle as my start page and love it. I love the customization. Oh well. Off to find something else. Valerie

I used to do something similar. Nice, salty fries and a vanilla shake. Take a bite of the fries and a sip of the shake. LOVE!

LOVED THE MOVIE! Total cheesy fun. That's what I expected and that's what I got. I don't like Tom Cruise at all, but he nailed the part. He was phenomenal! He had every aspect of the eccentric rock star to a tee. Perfect. I was amazed at how well he sang. Valerie

I'm guessing you're using iPhoto? If so, just select the photos that you want to put on the disc, select the Share menu along the top of the screen and select burn. It will then direct you to put a blank disc in the drive. Hope this helps. Valerie

Band of Brothers was excellent and From the Earth to the Moon was also excellent.

I've had Danskos for a few years and love them. This year I bought a pair of the new Dansko Pro XPs. They are wonderful. They're lighter weight than the regular Dansko professionals.

I've watched the trailer about 10 times today. I can't wait. We saw the musical about 10 years ago and then were fortunate enough to be able to see it twice last fall. I've been "stalking" twitter for updates. If you search #lesmismovie or #lesmis, you will see updates from the actors. This week they are filming Master of the House. I can't wait to see pics of Sacha Baron Cohen as Thenardier. I've read a couple articles about the play and the singing in the play. It's live singing, not studio. I think that might throw some people. All of the songs might not be belted out like they are in a theatre production. In the trailer, I Dreamed a Dream was a little different. Personally, I liked the way they did it. It certainly screamed despair. I've already told the husband that I am taking off on December 14th and will be watching the first showing of the day. Told the kids I'd take them after school. Yes, I'm geeking out a bit over this film. Val

Our eye doctor will give me a pair of contacts to wear while I try glasses on because my vision is so horrible. I can't wear them daily, but it is WONDERFUL to be able to see the frames I'm trying on my face. I hate picking frames. Good luck!

The decision should definitely be made together. Not a good foundation for a marriage when you keep something like that from your partner. And no matter what, it would come out at some point and I'm sure he would feel betrayed. Also, as far as grad school... it's not off the table with a baby. When my dh and I married, he was in the AF and did not have a degree. He managed to get his bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science and all the coursework towards a PhD during the same time we had three children. It all depends on what you and your spouse deem is important. For us, it just made sense for my dh to pursue his degrees because he was going to be the one supporting the family for a while. Not saying it's not hard, but it is definitely doable if you feel it will benefit the family in the long run. Val

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

I really like the Danny K Tapestry Bags. The Isabella Tote is a great size. They come in a lot of different tapestries. They are well constructed. http://www.dannyktapestry.com/index.html Valerie

Not sure about preexisting condition, but we have had Kaiser for the last 10 years. It has been fine for us. Care has been good, my boys have had the same doctor. For us, it was a nice transition from going from the military health care system to civilian. The pharmacy is in the same location as the doctor. We've had broken bones, pneumonia, mono, cellulitis, and various other illnesses... all handled very professionally. The records department was great to my son. He was going the military and they needed more medical documents from when he had a bone infection when he was 8 (the records were actually military, Kaiser just had the copies). The ladies copied a bunch of different sheets and researched more for him. I'm sure most places would do the same, these ladies were just super nice about it. Anyway, we've been happy overall. Valerie

We had to do this last November for our beloved beagle (and I do mean beloved). He was not very old... only 10. He had developed some sort of excrusiating back issue that they couldn't pinpoint and also started having seizures. His decline was very rapid. We tried several meds and had in our mind that we were going to give it a few more days, but his behavior one night and morning told us all we needed to know. He wasn't able to get down off the little sofa he slept on in our room that night after being up there for a few hours. I ended up sitting on the floor and scooting him to my lap (he did that awful beagle scream of pain if you happened to touch him wrong on his back). I then proceeded to go down two flights of steps on my butt, trying to keep him steady (he was panting heavily and his stomach was distended). He made it outside and then came inside and collapsed on his bed (I had my boys bring it down for him). He stayed there all night - usually he sleeps on the second floor. The next morning, my husband let him out and he didn't come back in. I went looking for him and he was collapsed in the yard and couldn't get up. That was enough for us. He had been in agony (on pain meds and having received pain meds through IV twice) for about two weeks at that time. We use Banfield Vets and they are open on Sundays. I called and explained the situation (bawling my eyes out at the time) and they told me what time the vets would be in that day. My husband and I carried him out on his bed and placed him in the back of dh's vehicle. We carried him into the vet's on his bed and they had a room waiting - didn't even have to stop in the waiting room. The staff and our vet was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. The vet asked us a few questions and explained the process, then gave us some time with him. I held him the entire time and I'm not kidding, it felt like it was over in less than 10 secs. The vet then left us with him for as long as we wanted. We had paid for things before the procedure so when we were done, we just walked out. We opted for individual cremation. A few weeks later, I was able to go by and pick him up. He was in a nice, polished wood box with his name engraved on a brass plate. It was definitely the best decision for him. It was very hard for me - made more so, because this all happened the week after my oldest son left for AF basic training. He had so much character and expression in his face/eyes that you could almost hear him speak. Because I was having a hard time and our other dog was as well, we opted to get another puppy. He's been great. He's adorable, but he has decided to worship the ground my husband walks on. EERGH! He is a lot of fun and my other dog is enjoying him. I commend you for being there with him when he goes. I think it does make it easier on them. Will be thinking of you and your family. Valerie

I would go with: Spoilers ++++++ It's one of my favorites. Simples, but says so much if you're a Doctor Who fan. Love the River Song character. Whatever you do put on the back, your daughter will love the iPad. Valerie

:iagree: This is what we are doing. My kids have to go to community college first. They have to prove to us that they are ready for college, plus community college will help them figure out what they want to do. We can pay as they go for community college and have put away for a couple years at state school. Val

I have a 64gb iPad 2 and LOVE it. I did not upgrade to the new iPad this year and am ok with that right now. Now that apps are upgrading to take advantage of the new iPad's retina display, they are taking up a lot more space (which affects all iOS users) and i have had to remove some less used apps from my iPad to manage space. I am really hoping next year that the iPad models come in 32, 64 & 128gb or even 64, 128 & 256gb models. If so, I will be buying whatever the largest model is. I use my iPad all the time for email, browsing, etc. I have apps on there for my kids for various subjects and lots of photo editing apps. I create documents, newsletters and flyers with the iPad. More space is definitely better. Val

Have you watched Sherlock?? Love the shows you have mentioned (haven't watched Being Human yet). I LOVED Sherlock. I was very surprised. I am very fond of everything Sherlock Holmes so was a bit skeptical when this modern version came out. I was hooked within the first few minutes. The first series (three episodes is on Netflix). Series 2 will be on PBS this May. Can't wait. Val

Goodreads.com is excellent for this. They have an iPhone app (I think and Android one as well). I use it to track what I've read and what I want to read. It's free. Val

One that was just released recently is the Khan Academy app. I downloaded it today and it looks great. Currently, it is just videos, but the exercises will be coming in an update. The interface is very nice. Just like the website, the app is FREE!

I actually bought the 25th Anniversary Concert through iTunes. Then put it on my iPad and iPhone (you could put it on your iPod). When I want to listen, I just play it and don't watch. With the exception of Nick Jonas (why on earth they cast him I'll never understand), it is the best. It has the entire show, not just songs. LOVE it! Valerie

Just watched this miniseries on Netflix. It is available for streaming. It's about Edward VII. Very well done. It was made in 1975. Fascinating view of growing up Albert & Victoria's oldest son and the many, many years he spent waiting for the throne.

This is absolutely awful! I would want criminal charges (if possible) brought against these people. Definitely psychological torture. I can't see any positive outcome of a simulation like this. The denying Christ or you'll be shot thing reminds me of the Columbine shootings. Didn't one girl get shot because she wouldn't deny Christ? Ugh! Gives me cold chills those kids had to go through this.

The app GoodReader can manage and open zip files.