Both would annoy me. If I need to have an orientation/informational meeting for a class or one of my 4H clubs, I have it at the same time that the class or group will meet if I need people to actually attend. If it's completely optional and I don't really care if everyone is able to make it then fine, but if that's the case, why have a meeting? Send the required information over an email and call it done. I don't ever send group texts. If I need to send a message to a specific group of parents/students/members, I send it by email with everyone BCC'd. IF it's a general message that can be public, I'll put it on the Facebook group (private for my 4H clubs). I don't mind my phone number being shared because it's the public phone number for my business, but I'm not going to share other people's numbers without them giving permission first.

(((Susan))

Hello, I've been doing walking, my under desk elliptical, yoga, some strength but kind of sporadically. Schedules have been pretty busy lately but thankfully I'm no longer sore from my fall or from my time at fair. I started Weight Watchers (again, I've done it before) and I have lost about 10 pounds total in 3 weeks. Although 6 of them were in one week during fair, since I was walking/moving a ton plus eating mainly vegetables and fruits I packed to avoid the food trucks of fried food. I usually walk on a path that is near my work that is flat, paved and straight that is very popular among walkers, joggers, bikers, etc. It runs alongside a road but a bit separate from it. I took a walk there yesterday and it was really bothering my knee and my calves felt super tight and sore. Earlier in the week I was getting work done on my car and took a walk on a path that ran alongside a river. It was uneven, gradual ups and downs, curved around, roots and rocks to walk over/around, some parts gravel and some parts packed dirt. That walk didn't bother my legs at all. I'm thinking the varied terrain using different muscles and movements is better than very repetitive motion, even though objective speaking that walk was "harder"?

Yes, you can pump your own diesel. And yes, they are completely separate pumps in a different color with big signs on them. The price is generally a bit more than the regular grade too so that's generally noticeable. There are a few cars that take diesel or are available in a diesel model, so the attendant might assume the driver knows what their vehicle needs.

I forgot about pods. Pods seem to be a thing only around here, although they seem similar to the "homeschool partnership programs" mentioned above. They basically popped up during Covid, usually the kids go full time 5 days a week to a persons house or another location to get taught by the teacher. We have absolutely no homeschool laws but some of these are pretty close or over the line to being illegal childcare centers. There are a few pods that advertise themselves as co-ops but have no parent participation and it's all drop-off so they are NOT co-ops. Pods are mostly a new homeschoolers/escaping from public school thing and seem to be dying down some as the schools get back to "normal" but there still seem to be a few out there among newer homeschoolers. Around here unschooling and relaxed homeschooling are easily the most popular among longer term homeschoolers. I don't see much of the racing to AP classes, heavy schedules, etc. I see high schoolers who are learning pre-algebra or algebra, and heading to community college. Which IMO is a very valid choice for many kids, especially these days with anxiety so high.

We have a lot of nature schools around me. Also a few hybrid schools that seems to be doing okay but aren't super popular, possibly because at least one of them seems to be getting a poor reputation for how they handle issues. Some coops but most are religious and we have quite a few secular homeschoolers so individual classes seem to be more popular in general - art classes one place, science classes another place (I run a science center), PE/gym activities at the Y, a couple casual but reliably attended park days. Classical Conversations exists around here but doesn't seem to be a super popular option. I've actually seen more people homeschooling high school than I have in the past. I live in a state where it's super easy to homeschool and pretty much anything goes.

I also hate how nobody reads anything. I constantly get asked questions that are easily answered from the same post people are asking the question on. Or my website. Or it was actually mentioned in that email you received. I just accept now that people will not read anything and send it to cover my own a$$ and expect people to not know things.

Yes!! The questions that can easily be answered by google or that have been answered 5 million times in that exact same group. Homeschooling takes work. If you can't handle googling the basic information so at least your questions are specific and not overly repetitive, it may not be for you. I also hate when someone asks "what's the best science (or english or math or history) program?" and everyone jumps in with a bunch of suggestions without asking - do you want secular or Christian? What age are you looking for? Kindergarten is very very different than high school. How much money do you want to spend? Do you want textbook? online? videos?

Morning Happy Friday. I worked the morning yesterday for one of my teachers who had an appointment. This week's camp is a smaller, quieter group so it was pretty easy. I work the next two weeks of camp and the hardest part is going to be getting up early. Getting up yesterday was hard because I went to see the Barbie movie with oldest dd the night before. It was really good. Funny, yet thought-provoking, with a good message. Probably will be taking the younger kids to see it this weekend. They haven't gone out to the movies (or watched any on tv) in years but dd heard a lot about it from her friends and ds wants to get out of the house. We don't know yet if dh is going to come. I'm very disappointed in how this summer has gone so far. Lousy weather and air quality means we haven't done nearly all the stuff I wanted to. We only managed a few field trips, didn't take ds driving at all (they were tearing up the road right outside our neighborhood for a while), barely went to the lake. And I have a ton of planning to do for classes still. We don't start until September 11th so I definitely still have time. Dd has been doing math all summer but other than that won't start school until my classes start. She's taking math, literature, science and possibly history at the center.

I got gas yesterday and it was $3.25 a gallon.

Generally no. NJ still has some of the lowest gas prices in the country. They used to be even lower but we've had some new taxes in the recent past. Something about the shipments coming into the Port of Elizabeth so have less overland transportation costs. That is another rationale I've seen to keep the full service - that prices were already lower so self-service wouldn't really make them any lower.

So below is what the NJ legislature says is the reasons for not having full service gas. I know I've also seen that it started a long time ago to prevent price fixing - some gas station owner tried to undercut prices by offering self-service so the rivals pushed through a ban. I've also seen it tied to employment numbers. It's a very common job for immigrants near me. As Catwoman said, I like not having to get out of the car in rain, snow, heat, late at night, etc. It's just one of those things about living in NJ. It doesn't usually take any longer than self-service does in other states. In fact, last time I was out of state, I think in Connecticut, it seemed like people took forever to put gas in their cars. Many of them seemed to have no idea what to do, walked away and left the car for longer than it took to fill. The lines were ridiculous. Nj legislature official wording on gas pumping: a. Because of the fire hazards directly associated with dispensing fuel, it is in the public interest that gasoline station operators have the control needed over that activity to ensure compliance with appropriate safety procedures, including turning off vehicle engines and refraining from smoking while fuel is dispensed; b. At self-service gasoline stations in other states, cashiers are often unable to maintain a clear view of the activities of customers dispensing gasoline, or to give their undivided attention to observing customers; therefore, when customers, rather than attendants, are permitted to dispense fuel, it is far more difficult to enforce compliance with safety procedures; c. The State needs stronger measures to enforce both compliance by customers with the ban on self-service and compliance by attendants with safety procedures; d. The higher general liability insurance premium rates charged to self-service stations reflect the fact that customers who leave their vehicles to dispense gasoline or other inflammable liquids face significant inconveniences and dangers, including the risks of crime and fall-related personal injury, which are a special burden to drivers with physical infirmities, such as the handicapped and some senior citizens; e. Exposure to toxic gasoline fumes represents a health hazard when customers dispense their own gasoline, particularly in the case of pregnant women; f. The significantly higher prices usually charged for full-service gasoline in states where self-service is permitted results in discrimination against low income individuals, who are under greater economic pressure to undergo the inconvenience and hazards of dispensing their own gasoline; g. The increasing use of self-service has contributed to the diminished availability of repair facilities and maintenance services at gasoline stations; h. Even in filling stations which offer both self-service and full-service gasoline, customers are less likely, because of the much higher price usually charged for full service, to have attendants make needed maintenance checks, thus causing significant neglect of maintenance and danger both to the customers and to other motorists, as well as the unneeded costly repairs which often result from deferred maintenance; i. The prohibition of customer self-service does not constitute a restraint of trade in derogation of the general public interest because the Legislature finds no conclusive evidence that self-service gasoline provides a sustained reduction in gasoline prices charged to customers; and j. A prohibition of self-service gasoline will therefore promote the common welfare by providing increased safety and convenience without causing economic harm to the public in general.

I'm in New Jersey so I still don't have to pump my own gas usually. But I do know how to do it since I travel out of state enough. And it's really not that hard. There have been different rationales for keeping it illegal here. Employment, safety, gas prices, etc. Whenever it comes up for a vote it basically gets defeated.

My youngest just turned 16 but I think will be a little bit slower to launch than her brother who started cc at 16. I'm probably looking at 2-3 more years of at least semi-actively homeschooling. I started a homeschool science center 7 years ago and I plan to continue doing that as long as I am able. Dh is talking about retiring so that may affect things.

I just made something in Powerpoint, printed and laminated it. But you can order cards from HSLDA or Homeschool Buyers Club.

I don't know if it mattered but I live/lived in a very diverse area of the country that is considered to have good schools. There was still a lot I didn't learn about until I took a college history course that used Howard Zinn.

I graduated in 1987 and the standard literature sequence was American Lit, Brit Lit, World Lit, then electives for Senior year. The first three years was intended to match up with what was being studied in history the same years.

Dd has bambody and they've worked well for her for years. They do run small but they are supposed to fit tight to prevent leaks. She also has a couple period bathing suits but I'm not sure what brand. She won't wear tampons or cups so uses pads generally so the suit/underwear are very helpful. We didn't celebrate at all. Dd was 9 when she started but I had started young so made sure she was prepared long before it actually happened. She knew what to expect, where to find products (I also only wore pads so we had them around, funny timing she started right after I had an ablation so we got no break from having to buy stuff), etc. We may have gone out for ice cream or something but it definitely wasn't a celebration of any sort.

A couple times a year I take a trip up to Connecticut, which is about 2 hours away, to the Book Barn. It's a huge used bookstore in Niantic. Right on the water, small touristy town but we usually go in what is considered off season.

We're going to Maine the week of Labor Day. We rented a house on one of the bays near Bar Harbor. We're driving, it's about an 8 hour drive.

Our libraries are open on Saturdays but the hours are shorter over the summer. I think they are only open on Sundays during the school year. I used to book library meeting rooms for my 4H clubs to meet. They had pretty strict rules about what use they could be put to. They couldn't be used by any commercial enterprises, admission could not be charged, products could not be sold, if it was a public event it had to be open to everyone, and it was first come/first served and you couldn't book more than a couple weeks in advance. I just double checked and it looks like you also need to be a resident of the county and/or a non-profit organization.

Good Morning, Happy Thursday. I'm doing my under desk elliptical this morning, then I'll do some yoga, slowly easing my sore body back into a routine. I have math workshop today for dd and the two other kids who occasionally show up. If nobody did their homework (the usual), it's basically me sitting there watching them do their homework. I'm doing new routines for the fall so that it's not just week's of them sitting there doing their homework. 5 weeks from Monday until classes start again. I need to get moving on plans. I've done activity lists and outlines but I need to put it all together. Fall allergies seem to be starting up around here so I'm stuffier than usual.

That doesn't sound like an accident. Normal methods for teaching boys to aim won't help if they are going to be little shits.

Hello, I'm back finally. 5 days of Fair set-up and Fair, then a 3:30am wakeup call for the airport, then I got called into work because one of my teacher's had a family issue to take care of. Today I slept in until just after 10am then went and met my mother for lunch. My life should be getting back to normal now. Although my body is still very achy. All the movement, standing, lifting, etc of fair on top of my fall off the step ladder isn't doing me any favors. I'm hoping it will settle down soon.

Morning. Thank you again for all the birthday wishes. We won a gift card for Applebees at the fair tricky tray. I did the calling of numbers. My voice held up fine but my legs are killing me this morning from standing the whole time after walking around at the fair. Today is the last day and it's a shorter one. Done at 4pm and I'm not racing to get there right at 10am. Dd and her visiting friend had some issues yesterday. Not sure what they were since dd didn't know, just friend wasn't talking to her. Could have been nothing more than too much togetherness and needing some quiet so we'll see how it is today. Friend leaves first thing tomorrow (very first thing 6am flight).