Yep. This is what happened. It was left in the meat while cooking. My mom did the cooking and she was assuming it was like the old style meat thermometers. Obviously it wasn't real glass- once again my irk factor at the quality of a $10.50 meat thermometer.:glare: I'm going to call them today. Jo

she lent me her pampered chef thing. I used it. The glass melted. :glare: It wasn't even touching anything. So I go to buy a new one online. $10.50!!!! The stupid thing is made in China! And they want $11.50 in shipping. :glare::glare::glare::glare: Urgh! I'm not a pampered chef person. I avoid the parties like the plague- and believe me that is no easy task in military housing. Now, after all my hard work dodging invites to these parties I have to shell over $22 for a made-in-China meat thermometer. Grrrrr. Double Grrrr. Sorry to all you Pampered Chef people. But I'm irked. Nothing personal. Jo

It was an incredible game. Two great teams. I really like OU as a whole. I couldn't stand it when they showed coach Stoop's face. He must be torn up. And that baby-faced QB of yours- how can he be so good and look so scared all the time? :001_smile: That said.... Tebow and Harvin were rolling tonight. It all came down to key plays. Whew! I was sweatin' it a few times. Good game! It's Great To Be A Florida Gator......

I was flipping through one of my lesser used bookcases in the family room today and dust began floating all around me. :glare: I dust the shelves in front of the books, but not the books themselves. I'm just wondering if I should consider this "normal" or is it expected I would have them dusted periodically? I hear Fannie in Sense and Sensibility saying, "I never liked the smell of books" and Edward replying, "no..well...it's the *dust* perhaps." :001_smile: Books are supposed to smell dusty, right? ;) Jo

I understand your pain all too well. I will pray.:grouphug: Jo

I suppose I should also expose my admiration for Bob Stoops. I still hope the Sooners get spanked :D....but I think their coach is a class act. Jo

I should clarify that I *did* deposit this check and it was sent back. I deposited it in my bank ATM. They sent it back. I don't think I can negotiate with the bank. I just wanted a tactful way to explain to my FIL that the check was uncashable. Thanks for all the insight. I appreciate it. Jo

enough said. :auto:

They are *totally* all sent out! :lol::lol:

The numerical amount doesn't match the written amount. And there isn't any room for me to squeeze in the forgotten "twenty-five" because I would've if I could've. :tongue_smilie: I was surprised too, but this is a federal credit union and I think they are fairly persnickety. Jo

and they made a mistake that prevented you from cashing it, what would you say to the sender? I need to send a note. That much I know. But how exactly do I word it? This check was for all the kids and it was in the several hundred dollar range. Thanks. Jo

:seeya::seeya::seeya::seeya::seeya:

What? Is Nancy Pants too good for this board now? ;) She's scared she'll get sucked in, isn't she? Come on...we know how it is.:tongue_smilie: Tell her I say "aloha". Jo

We send thank you notes for nearly all gifts. My older three children write their own and I send a note thanking them for all gifts recieved personally or for my younger children- especially the younger crowd. I admit I called my mother-in-law one time and said, "Nanny, would you be terribly offended if I just tell you a great big 'thank you' here on the phone? I'm so busy right now and I'm taking advantage of your understanding." She laughed and said ofcourse she understood. But that was an exceptional time for me. My kids don't always love starting the process, but they are usually proud of their work and happy to get it in the mail. My parents always make a big stink about calling them and telling them how *wonderful* their note of thanks was- like I said in a previous post, I come from a strong thank you note tradition. :D I think thank you notes display gratitude. They aren't just a mechanical, meaningless process. The effort it takes to express my appreciation creates in me a deeper sense understanding towards the person who begifted me or my children in the first place.

Okay. I must admit, I am horribly uptight about thank you notes. I'm pretty sure it is my English mum's fault. It is always the mum's fault, right? I don't mind being called up on the phone and thanked, in some ways, that is even more special. These nephews live very far away. Honestly, they would never speak an utterance of thanks without being forced, but that really isn't my point. These cards are becoming more popular, and I'm wondering if I'm being a fuddy duddy about them. It took me a long time to see the benefit of e-vites too. :tongue_smilie: That is why I need a perspective check. Jo

I just opened two thank you cards from my nephews- 8 and 5. They were the fill in the blank "Dear___________, Thank You For the __________. It's the BEST! From, __________" type of card. Perhaps I'm being too philosophical because I spent most of the afternoon walking my children through the thank you note process. I had my newly 6yods draw a picture and sign his name and I wrote a small note on the side. The 8, 10, and 12 yr olds wrote their own with some help from me. They also drew pictures at the bottom of the page. My initial thoughts are if they are old enough I think they should write their own, if they are too young then the parent should write a note. But like I said it may have just arrived at a weird time for me. What are your thoughts? Jo

Two year old! That is how it went. :glare:

birthdays, anniversaries, etc... Brain fart.:001_huh: This shouldn't be so hard. I'm on Amazon trying to order one. I want a small address book size book to organize family and friend's birthdays. Does anyone have one they love? What is the official name of these things? Jo

Oh Ria. I just dropped in for a moment after printing off some stuff and I saw your post. My butt is getting off the computer right now to go pray for your father and you and your entire family during this time. Tell your father, "GO NAVY!" from this Pearl Harbor family! :grouphug: Jo

This would be pushing my luck! He is cut from the cloth of people that doesn't talk. It took wine, two weeks hanging out with his grandchildren, and knowing he is leaving to go home today to loosen him up! Video taping would put him over the edge. I am writing things in my personal journal today. When I told my oldest son some of the highlights this morning he was so thrilled know, but a little disappointed he didn't get to be a part of the discussion. I am going to ask him to send me an address or two or three of cousins he said he wished our family could get to know. The moral of the story? Family history, legacy if you will, matters! Thanks for all your kind words. Jo

I want to cry that I'm only hearing it now. He is 72. He has always been the strong silent type. He doesn't do emotions...at least not well. But I think age has softened him and he got on a roll tonight and we walked down memory lane while I ironed and we drank wine. He regrets that we didn't spend more time with our extended family growing up. He was so close to all his aunts and cousins during WWII. He also told me things that explained so much of his personality- he didn't see his father for three years as a child because of the war. I love him more tonight. I just needed to share. Jo

My kids cannot agree, my google search is all over the map, and I just want to disassemble all the "creations" from the last year and put them away. I'm having organizational fits lately. My kids never want to undo their creations. Do you make them? Eventually? One of my sons is fine with it, the other is getting testy about it, and I'm just running out of space. Also, they don't make many unique creations because they don't want to break up the sets. By color? By theme (Star wars, Indiana Jones, Mars Mission, etc)? By ? Arrrrrrrrgh! Help.

Ya know....I just made that up. I'm not sure that is the widely accepted spelling of a submarine dive "bell". Don't quote me. :D I also make up how to write "Ooh Rah" for the Marines.

Actually they got shoved out of the way for his entourage, but still...a president-elect is a president-elect. They were at the zoo looking at the new tiger cubs on exhibit when they got pushed back by his security people. At least that is how they described it on the phone. I was a little worried because my Dad is an Obama guy, my mom is definitely not! I was a McCain gal myself so I wish I had been there to reiterate that we always should have respect for the position and support our president regardless of our personal views. I'll hear about it later from my father if my kids made any remarks. :glare: Not very interesting to the rest of you, but I had to share.

I think it was the air on the submarine. My poor dh. I feel guilty exposing his folly. He really has excellent taste 98% of the time, but that 2% he goes big!!! I have do have a love for other cultures, particularly African, but I don't tend to decorate ethnically. As a matter of fact, he knows I don't like knick knacks. I don't want you to judge my dh to badly...the fresh water pearls were gorgeous.:D Jo