I know, tell me about it. :001_huh:

At the risk of being a thread hog (my third comment in a row here), I had to say something here. My children's pediatrician said something similar to me back when my oldest was in first grade! She said "I don't know how you can homeschool. I mean, I'm a doctor and I can't even help my daughter with her high school Chemistry. What are you going to do about that?" :confused::confused::confused: We, um, don't see her anymore, by the way.

I think that this is quite true. Some people start off saying "So, does the school system give you books, or what?" And they are really, really surprised when I start telling them about the sheer magnitude of materials that are available for home education. They really have no idea. I don't know...if I have a burning question about something, I just google it. If some of these people were really wondering, they could google "homeschool curricula" and then they'd realize that finding material and teaching core subjects are NOT the things that make this difficult. We all have tons of wonderful materials. As with anything else, our own personal demons and those of our children are the hardest things to overcome.

I agree. I've said things like "Well, I've got my phonics rules down pat, so I can teach reading. I have a pretty good grip on elementary math, so I can teach that. And subjects that I didn't learn well in school (like history) are so much fun to learn along with my kids. Besides, do you really think that teachers in schools know everything that they teach? That's why they have curriculum. And I can open a book and teach from it as easily as they can. ;)" This works well for now because up til this year my kids were all elementary aged. Now that I have a middle school aged child I add the thing about outsourcing to community college or using one of the wonderful co-ops or learning centers that we have in our area.

Well, it depends on what you want to eat. Then there's Teresa Caffe, which is really good, and moderately priced. I just found out that The Original Soup Man (you know, "No soup for you!" from "Seinfeld.") has opened a franchise in Princeton. That could be tasty and inexpensive. And it's very conveniently located in Palmer Square, which is a short walk from the Library. I like to go to Winberie's for pub type food. Later on there are two places, even three, that have really good ice cream. First, there's the Halo Pub. It's owned by a local micro-dairy, and is a local favorite. Then there's Thomas Sweet, which is legendary. The original one is near the Rutgers campus. They make their own chocolate and their own ice cream and they are top notch. I've loved them since my days at Rutgers, but I also want to mention that last spring they were generous enough to donate about 20 gallons of ice cream to our Homeschool Choir's end of year picnic. :D The Bent Spoon has organic ice cream, some of which is flavored with locally grown fruit. Unfortunately they close at 6 on Mondays. There's also a Starbucks nearby on Nassau Street. If you're staying at the Nassau Inn, all of these places are a pleasant walk away. A few of them are actually in Palmer Square, where the hotel is located.

What's the topic, Susan?

Makes you pretty grateful to know where your milk comes from, doesn't it?

They have to die. Furthermore, you need to call an exterminator because you probably have a bigger problem than you realize if they are nesting inside the folds of your towels. Where were they stored? Ewwwww!!!!! (Can you tell that I am not an animal person?)

Absolutely. I'm in! :001_smile:

Yes, this is definitely the one. I had mixed up some of the details, but that's the story I was talking about for sure. You guys rock. Thanks so much. I'll pass the info along to my friend just to show her how deranged and deceitful people can be.

I'm asking because a friend of mine has an internet friend whose life is like something off General Hospital and I've just suggested to her that maybe that person isn't being totally honest with her. That story popped into my mind, but now I can't find the original sites to show her. Okay, now I'm really going to bed!

It's not a true troll story, but the main character was more of a drama queen. A couple of years ago there was someone who started a blog to "out" this woman who had taken him/her. The woman was full of sob stories and she befriended this individual through a message board or something. The DQ said that she'd met some guy and they were going to get married. DQ even changed her own voice to sound like a guy when she spoke to the "friend" on the phone. Then suddenly the fiance (a rancher or something) died tragically. The "friend" wanted to comfort the DQ and invited her to come and stay at his/her home for awhile. There was even a video on youtube of the day that the "friend's" real friends came and did an intervention exposing the DQ to be a liar and a thief. Does anyone else remember this? I'm going to bed now, but I'll come back in the morning to check! :)

This is exactly what I was planning to suggest. Since you can estimate the cost, just start putting that amount aside. We've paid off our debt, but we are still working toward our 6-month emergency fund. I wasn't willing to make curricular changes this year, but one thing I did was to decrease the number of go-alongs that I'm purchasing. We are utilizing our library a lot more. And even though I forgot to renew 5 books and had to pay $4 in fees for the 8 days they were past due, that is still cheaper than buying all of those books outright. The only ones I've purchased are those that aren't available through the library system or ones that will be needed for multiple weeks/units. That saves money and space because I don't have to permanently house these extra books.

Ohhhh, I almost missed this. Thanks! I could use a pick me up today! :grouphug:

Oh, it's true. We had a zillion of them in our last garden. And now the farm is letting you pick 30 pieces at a time. I guess they grow well because insects and animals don't eat them?

My understanding is that it's fairly important if you want to have an authentic accent. On the other hand, I have a friend who was born and raised in Mexico and she doesn't roll hers all that well. She says that she's never been able to do it properly and that people at home always tease her a little. Instead of "rrrrr" she sort of says "llrr" it's hard to describe it in writing.

Audrey, That is a very cool site. Thanks for sharing it! I think I'm making condiment baskets for Christmas presents this year and a little jar of hot pepper jelly would be perfect! Oh, and Stephanie: You bring the cream cheese, I'll have the pepper jelly and some really nice whole wheat crackers!! :D

I picked about 30 super hot peppers at our CSA today. I would like to make some kind of yummy condiment with them. I was thinking either a peppery vinegar or a pepper jelly. Any tried and true recipes?? Thanks!!

Oh my gosh! My husband just walked in and told me. I have to say that I am shocked in a weird kind of way because even though I knew he was getting on in years, I didn't realize that he'd been sick. How sad. What a neat, neat man. If they only thing he'd done was to have a successful movie career while staying married to the same woman lo these many years...well that would've made him remarkable in my eyes. But he did so much more than that. Talk about adding to the beauty....

Heather, I am so sorry that this experience was such a bad one for you. You've got to wonder how some people manage to sleep at night considering the underhanded stuff that they pull on people who trust them. Yeesh.

Oh, that is really troubling, Dawn. But you know that the authorities will take it really seriously and they'll have all available security on hand until they find the person who made the threats. I hope you'll be able to rest. I just prayed for all of you. :grouphug:

I absolutely loved those shows. We didn't go to church very often, so those shows were about as close as I got.