but my dh only want friends and family, not the church strays I like to invite (single parents, people with no local family, etc.). Over the years we have compromised and I get to invite to my heart's content on Easter, have a few extras on Thanksgiving, and host a dedicated church holiday party. But on Christmas I only invite people that my dh feels comfortable with. I have to say that through time I have come to appreciate that it really isn't so much selfishness on his part, rather a difference in temperment--he's a very strong introvert, I'm an extrovert. He does care about others, but the amount of energy and stress it is for him to host means that he gets very little peace on Christmas if strangers are present. So I try to give him some grace, and keep it as a day for us to play with toys--and only invite very close friends and family. In return, dh lets me budget more than he would like for gifts to those in need. This year we'll be totally by ourselves for the first time in years, but I bit my tongue and didn't invite oodles of church folks.

I also suggest calling... last year this happened to us, and the extra item was for someone's child for Christmas, put in the wrong box. I thought it was a cheap nothing, but I called first the company (they said keep it, they'd ship another) and then the person (who's name was on another invoice inside) to tell them we received it by accident. Turned out it was their #1 Christmas gift for their child, and they were really glad to know it wouldn't be there before Christmas. The company shipped them another one, but had not contacted them to say it would be delayed.

Hmmmm.... so I guess we'll just try the pantry! I liked the idea of putting it in smaller bottles, though... we do buy the HUGE size from Costco. Maybe I'll buy a small bottle one time, and then refill it from the bigger bottle. After washing it. No ketchup explostions. Thank you all for responding! My dh has once again been confirmed in his belief that "the board knows all"!

Yes... there is a Settlers of Catan video boardgame available through XBox 360. It's basically just like the board game, but you are playing against other people over the internet or against computer players. Quite well done, in fact. Of course, you need an XBox. I'm not sure if there are any other versions out there.

My dh has a dillema, and would like the input of the board. He likes ketchup. He loves ketchup. But he doesn't like that it is cold from the fridge and when you put it on hot foods it makes them cold. So... how do you store your ketchup, or warm it beforehand for warm foods?

Trader Joe's is the best place to buy good dark chocolate inexpensively. A couple of years ago we did a taste test with a dozen or so kinds... and found that dh and I like different things. But boy, was it fun! Ghiradelli is sort of my fall-back, or Scharffen-Berger is great too.

Wonderful! I'm going to pick one of these and whip up a pot of chili on Sunday! Thank you all so much... and if you haven't posted yet, post away--I'm going to print them all out!

There are so many on the net, I'm looking for personal experience! I was vegetarian for 20 years, so I don't have meaty chili recipes of my own. Preferred would be: beef beans tomato/red sauce based (not chile verde) medium hot But if you have chili that is to DIE for, post away! A good cornbread recipe might be a good addition as well. ;) Thanks!!!

My grandfather died when I was 10 years old as a result of smoking--combination of lung cancer, emphysema, etc. He was in his early sixties. He lived far away and I had only met him a couple of times. He had been warned for many years that he needed to quit, but only did in the last few weeks before his death. I remember very strongly how I was feeling on the plane as we flew to the funeral: That he had been so uncaring of others as to choose smoking over life with his family. As an adult I realize that there are a myriad of variables that contribute to any addiction, but whenever I see an adult who has children smoking, I feel that same sense of anger and abandonment. Funnily enough, all three of my other grandparents (non-smokers) are still living well into their 90s. Needless to say, I've never been tempted to smoke.

I'm in the "often" camp too... I answered weekly. If we see something that we think they would like, it's not too expensive, behavior has been good, we usally get it. Many are in the "disposable" category -- my dh picks up collectable cards or comics for them every week when he has his "day off" at the comic store. I will occasionally pick up a single Playmobile guy we don't have if I notice one at Target. We also pick up books or magazines for one another (dh and I) when we see them, not just for the kids. The one exception is we try NOT to buy anything for a month at least before Christmas. Or we buy it, and add it to the stocking stuffers.

Well, I have three cats and we switched to the pure crystal litter. Yes, it is more expensive. I buy mine at target for around 12 a box. But it's basically silica gel--like the little packets you get in things to act as a dessicant... it absorbs everything. I change it twice as much as they recommend (box says 1/month, I change twice a month and totally wash out the box with the hose) plus scoop solids as needed. I do realize that it is probably environmentally not great... but I hate the smell of cat pee in my house, particularly since our litter box is in the kitchen.

Christmas Eve we are always busy at church, so our tradition is to go out for Chinese food before evening worship. Christmas Day is our big family dinner--usually lasagna. This past thanksgiving I made a lasagna and realized why I only do this a couple times a year. I added up the ingredients--cost was almost $70! Now admittedly, I make good lasagna, and I make a lot, but sheesh! We could have had three more turkeys for that!

Honestly, I've come to the conclusion that it is next to impossible to second-guess the parenting of others. There may be some basics most people can agree on, but so much is dependant on personality. The same parenting styles do not always work the same on different children. I know some people don't "believe in" ADHD, SID, asynchronous development, giftedness, learning disabilities, etc... but a couple of weeks with some very challenging kids and they would. Love, firm boundaries, respect, calm voices--I think most of us would agree these are good things. But they don't always produce the same results. Doesn't mean you are parenting wrong, just that you have a different child. I would be very hesitant listening to anyone who claims that thier method will "always without fail" work. But remember-- YMMV! :D

In the 50's and pouring rain... the good thing is, at least it feels kind of wintery... hot chocolate, get the fire going...

:lol::lol::lol: OK... that was just cruel. I laughed so hard I literally wet my pants. I really must be a grammar geek... and have an iffy bladder. :glare:

Wow!!! Now that is really amazing!!! You must have wide geek experience in all those categories... I fall down somewhat in the programming area. Heck, I don't even use Linux.

Geek sister! I greet you!!

http://www.innergeek.us/geek-test.html I got a 49%. I'm afraid to ask my dh. I think he'll score much higher. Edited to add: Yep. He got 59%.

My doctor had lots of studies to back up that light is effective... but that it has to be done properly to be effective (consistently, long enough, when it was dark). However, he didn't think there was any use in buying a particular type of light--just a very bright one. I put a big bulb in my kitchen lamp and would sit at the table and read...

I had a psychiatrist once who recommended light therapy, and I had some success with it. He said: You don't have to buy a fancy light. Just buy the brightest light bulb you can (I think I found a 350 watt bulb, was around 10,000 lumens). Get up BEFORE DAWN, sit under the light at a 45 degree angle. You can read or watch TV, but try to glance at the light occasionally. It has to be dark outside still for your body to feel it. You can go back to bed afterwards, but you should sit for half an hour. I had some success with this method when I was pregnant and didn't want to take anti-depressants. PM me if you have any questions and are interested.

We have both, but I've never played Agricola (one of many never played in the game closet--it's hard to avoid going back to old favorites)... Carcassone is simple, but plenty of strategy. A good game for a mixed-age group, especially if you get the expansions.

So I took a Benadryl, which helped the itching... caused me to fall asleep in the middle of doing school (I was reading SOTW aloud) and apparently try to knit in my confused state. Now I've turned my knitting inside out and backwards, unravelled all my wool... no more oranges for me. Anyone want a few hundred? Lesson: Do not knit on drugs.

the skin on my face itches, and my lips swell up a bit. So... am I allergic? All my life I've noticed some itching, particularly with grapefruit, but I've always thought it was just normal--because the grapefruit is really acidic. Today I picked a bunch of oranges off our backyard trees. They taste awesome! So as I feasted on fresh oranges--my lips and face start to itch. Now my mouth is swollen. I only rarely drink orange juice, and usually only have fresh oranges a few times a year. Is this just "normal" for so much citrus? I do know I'm allergic to shellfish, but in that case my airways swell shut and I can't breathe. I've got three huge trees full of hundreds of oranges in the backyard. I hope it's not an allergy!

I think it's a personal thing... as an extrovert, I can't really feel better about something until I TALK about it. With the more people, the better. So in that sense, I guess I do care what others think--I get fed my extroverted interaction. If I remain silent, then I just feel worse and worse... I'm not certain that is Cathmom's opinion, but if I had gotten an obnoxious message I wouldn't be able to feel better about it until I processed it in discussion with others... one of the things the internet is great for. Instant access to lots of others to talk to, even when my introverted dh is "talked out" with my day.

Wow! I got 4.16 and I think I'm pretty good at estimation... not so great overall, I guess...