This is one of my favorite hobbies, lol. I love it all - color analysis, body type, energy type. I am a cool winter. Before my hair started graying, it was dark brunette. Now that it's changed to an ashy blond color, I have stayed the same season. I think that skin tone is the most important thing, as it's the biggest part of a person's coloring. I need cool and medium-deep to deep colors. In the Kibbe system, I am a flamboyant gamine. I remember checking out that book from the library in the 80s, lol. In DYT, I am apparently a Type 3/2, which means warm colors. I don't look good in the colors for my type, so that one is hard to reconcile. I have a set of big thick cardboard "chin boards" meant for seasonal color analysis. I've analyzed my whole family, lol. It's pretty amazing how obvious they've all been.

I haven't been here in awhile, but I happened to see this, and I really feel for you. I totally get the classical music thing. I definitely prefer no lyrics. I also avoid TV or movies that are sad, scary, or in any way intense. I like Agatha Christie on Audible. I've actually found the work of Ekart Tolle to be helpful. It really helps to see that "you are not your thoughts." I was so intrigued by an interview where he was asked if he kept this state all of the time and he said yes - he lives "between the thoughts." The first time I successfully turned everything off inside my head I felt this incredible peaceful energy, like my true identity was "in there," but my thoughts had taken over so completely I'd forgotten. It's hard to explain. As with many things in life, what works for one person may or may not work for another. I hope you find peace and rest.

My shirt was a very light blue with a picture of him outside. Oh, to be 11 again... 😊

I remember. I'm so sorry. May the Lord surround you with His peace and comfort.

One day, my daughter was watching a video with me where they were outside. DD said, "That doesn't look very minimal!" 🙂 No it doesn't. They do have a lot of stuff stored away outside the house. Not having any kind of basement, shed, etc, is a whole different thing 😉 If you've never seen Darci Isasbella's channel, it's interesting to see the extreme minimalist look in a house with 10 children. She once mentioned that her husband didn't like to see their homeschool books/materials out and about. That would never fly here. 😉 You're completely right about hiding things like often-used appliances away. I do not want to lift my Kitchen Aid mixer out of a lower cabinet every time I need it just to have a clear space on the counter where it usually sits. It would be different if I were in a tiny Japanese apartment or something, where I literally had only the space under the mixer.

I love her channel, but find her style a bit extreme. To each their own, lol. It will be interesting to see what happens when/if they start homeschooling next year. I'm guessing it will look a lot like her friend/fellow minimalist youtuber, Darci Isabella. HINT: if you want to see what true minimalism looks like for a large homeschool family, check out her channel. I could never go to the extremes that she does, but it's interesting to watch!

Well I think you've more than paid for your Neat! I have a Ladybug steamer, and while I definitely love it, it's really heavy! I try to use all the water in the tank before I move it to another level of the house just to get rid of some weight, lol.

I'd love to join. I have 2 young adults. I tend to be really protective of their privacy in public spaces. I just sent a request through the group. Thank you! What a great idea!

Both of my sons are dyslexic. Straight-forward programs work the best here, We worked through Junior Analytical Grammar and IEW's SWI-B on dvd after getting spelling and reading solid and then continued with IEW through high school. Also, diagramming. Both of my sons are very visual-spatial people. Once they are familiar with the basic parts of speech, diagramming is a good way to see how those parts work together. Star Wars Mad Libs have been a fun and painless way to make grammar more familiar, too. Take heart - my oldest just graduated cum laude from college. He did wonderfully in every class that required large amounts of writing.

If you're looking for a book, my 11-year-old loves the Way of the Warrior Kid series by Jocko Willink, a former Navy SEAL. The third book was just released - ours came in the mail yesterday, and my son was so excited.

We saw it tonight and loved it as well! Now we all want a tiger, lol. It seemed to us that the genie was almost modeled on the genie from the Disney Cruise Line show. So many similarities. but less silliness. It was such an aesthetically beautiful movie. And of course we loved the little DisneyWorld/Land bits.

This may sound "out there," but one of the teachers in my extended family took a job at a juvenile detention facility. She works overnight, helping with homework and tutoring for a few hours in the evening, and then just overseeing things after bedtime. She loves it. She taught middle school math and science throughout her working years, and then took this job "to come out of retirement." It's an entirely different setting, with no complaints whatsoever from students/parents/others. Just a lot of appreciation.

Thank you. She was almost 12, which honestly seems young to me. I know it's not really, but I'd love it if dogs lived longer lives. We actually lost 3 dogs this past year - a 16-year-old Shih Tzu, a 12-year-old Golden Lab, and the Cavalier. It was a really hard year here. Yes, I agree that " by-products" are likely much worse than they used to be. We now have 2 puppies - a Boston Terrier and a Cavoodle (Cavalier/poodle mix) plus the diabetic Cavalier, who is a littler mate to the one we lost. He's been on insulin for 7 years. At one point, I fed 3 of the dogs Orijen, but something scared me away from it, and now I can't remember what? I may try it again in rotation with the NOW, which they do really well on. I'd like to look into several others mentioned here, as well. Our Cavalier is always starving, but the only additional food he can have on top of the Science Diet is green beans. We do give him a few table scraps, too.

Our vet/dog expenses exceeded $1800 in February, and that won't be our only cost for the year. I would happily spend that on food if I thought it would really benefit their health and increase their longevity. I realize we're fortunate to even be able to consider it, but you're right-there's no way to really know if it would make a difference. Our older dog is diabetic and needs a specific type of Science Diet plus insulin. We lost one Cavalier in February. She had bladder issues and was on a different type of Science Diet for that. She died of kidney failure rather suddenly. Our puppies are currently on NOW brand puppy food which we top with a bit of meat and veggies. A friend who is very much into dog food research chose NOW over the other "better" brands. I think it's interesting that, when I was a kid, our dogs needed to see the vet once a year for a rabies vaccination. They ate Ol' Roy (Wal-Mart brand) plus table scraps and lived very long, healthy lives. We did have a diabetic back then, too. Insulin was around $10 and just had to be requested at the pharmacy. Now it's nearly $200. I completely understand the willingness to do anything possible to take care of our furry family members.

Yes! I have it. I was just looking at it the other day.