She did not indicate that in the OP. My post was responding to the OP. I did not (and have not) read all the follow up posts. There's only so much time in the day for forums . . . I think you are responding to things I'm not saying. I understand that you are sensitive to the issue of obesity being hard to treat. I didn't and don't argue anything that you are wrong. Please stop looking for an argument with me that just doesn't exist. It's not cool. I said that if the OP wants to find a spouse, she should address her serious health issues. I would say the same thing no matter her health issues. I think that people should address their personal issues before committing to a marriage. I think that if someone is having trouble finding a partner, then it is usually in their best interests to look inwards and deal with their own stuff before looking for a partner. This is for the best for BOTH partners, IMHO. I think I've said all I have to say about the OP's issues. I'd like to stop this back and forth with you. Have a great day.

You *must go* to Slide Rock (outside Sedona).

Excellent!! The kittens will likely find good homes quickly. Your vet and/or local humane societies or rescue groups likely have traps that you can borrow. (For instance, our vet hospital has one that we gladly lend out for this purpose, for free, with a deposit that ensures we can replace the trap if it doesn't get returned.) The traps are safe, humane, and fairly easy to use. If you don't get momma cat spayed, you will have a new batch of kittens in about 3 months. Rinse, repeat, at least a couple times a year until she dies (which won't be too long, usually). She's probably already pregnant again (but she can be spayed pregnant, and should be since she's feral, IMHO.) Cats get pregnant again rapidly after having their litter. This will happen each time she has a litter.

Catch the kittens and get them to a shelter for re-homing. When they are little, they're easy to tame and can still have a good life. In a few months, it'll be much harder or impossible to tame them. Catch the momma cat and get her spayed (and vaccinated) ASAP. Then you can let her loose if you like, or, better, if she's tame enough, try to find her a home. If she's really feral, then her best option is likely to be leave her where she is once you've spayed and vaccinated her. (Have the vet "tip her ear" when he spays her to mark her as "done" so other people don't try to re-spay her at a later date.) Call your vet for advice on catching and how/where to spay/rehome/etc. Many communities have ways to get this done for free.

They cost pennies a piece. Just recycle them.

The OP stated that her sister "coughs a lot" due to asthma. To me, that doesn't indicate that she's taking care of her asthma, in my experience, as a person with cough-variant asthma. I never cough due to asthma ... since I got it diagnosed and follow the guidance of my doctor. I take my meds, see the DR regularly, do his tests, adjust meds per his guidance, and I made the (inconvenient and annoying) life style modifications he advised. I'll never forget the second time I saw my asthma/allergy doc. The first time, he'd diagnosed my allergies and asthma and prescribed some meds and lifestyle modifications. When I came back 3 months later, he was *shocked* that I'd followed his recommendations and reported how well they'd helped. I was *shocked* that he was *shocked*. Me: "Of course I banished the pets from my bedroom and got a HEPA filter for my bedroom! You told me to!!" DR: "I tell that to all my patients with pet allergies. No one does it! I've visited patients admitted to the hospital for asthma attack, on oxygen, who tell me, from their hospital bed, that they still won't banish their pets from their beds!" Me: Face-Palm. Similarly, my PCP told me about 10 years ago that if I lost 5-10 pounds, my GERD might significantly improve. A year later, I'd lost the 5-10 pounds, and, wow, my GERD had improved. Losing weight (and even harder, maintaining weight loss) is clearly a big challenge. No doubt. Me, too. I'm well aware that plenty of overweight people work very hard to lose weight and/or otherwise address their health issues. And I'm well aware that plenty of slim people are terribly irresponsible wrt their health. OP asked if "it's a reason . . ." And, IMHO, of course it is *a* reason. Not a deal breaker for everyone, not the only reason, but certainly a reason for some people. Choosing a spouse is a critical life decision. Personally, I think it's one of, if not *the* most important decisions we make for our own personal well being. I'd encourage someone to consider everything possible when making that choice. You're choosing a partner for life. Things like money, careers, appearance, hobbies, introvert/extrovert, etc . . . all make an impact on your life. To me, they are secondary concerns to the primary things like shared values, but those secondary things still matter. I wouldn't desire to be married to someone whose favorite hobbies were bungee jumping or attending NASCAR events since I detest "scary" things and big crowds . . . not because I have any problem with *other people* enjoying those events, but because I wouldn't enjoy them, and I want to spend time with my spouse. I wouldn't desire to be married to someone who was happy to live paycheck to paycheck with little to no financial security, because I desire financial security and enjoy expensive travel other pricey lifestyle habits. That doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with folks who are happy to live very modestly and not interested in having a cushy savings account, but I personally would be very stressed and unhappy if that was my life, so I'd not choose a partner who didn't have similar goals and expectations. I wouldn't desire to be married to someone without a strong intellect and a habit of intellectual engagement, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with others who choose otherwise. I'm just attracted to intellectual people. There are plenty of people who are turned off by intellect. To each their own. I wouldn't desire to be married to someone who didn't enjoy pets because I adore them. I just find the sight of my man cuddling a kitten to be heartwarming and a turn on. Others hate animals and are grossed out by snuggles, let alone smooches, with pets. To each their own. I would never argue or believe that *no one* should marry someone who has uncontrolled asthma and is morbidly obese. Somebody wants those things in a partner. I wouldn't. For me, they'd be deal breakers. Since both uncontrolled asthma and morbid obesity are significant and serious health risks, I suggested that the OP's sister should address those issues. If you don't agree, that's fine. And, if she's already addressing those issues, then that's great.

I said that *I* would worry about TeA issues with a *fat partner* because of my personal experience and preferences wrt TeA. Details would be mostly X-rated, so clearly not a subject for this board or public discussion. Clearly, that's not an issue for every person or every partner, depending on what is your "yumm"s wrt TeA.

We make a (fresh, sweet) cherry and (fresh) apricot crumble that is one of the best desserts on earth. It is from one of the Greens cookbooks. Either the original one or Fields of Greens. mmmmmmmm.

Sure, those are reasons. Both of those issues are negatives, in my book, and every individual has some negatives and every person has to choose which ones are their red-lines and which they can live with. If I had the choice, I'd rather marry someone who is likely to live long enough to grow old with me, and I'd just as soon not be facing the "sickness" part of 'in sickness or in health' sooner than I have to. I have asthma, and it is/was a cough-variant asthma. I go to the specialist as often as recommended (usually every 6 months) and adjust my meds/lifestyle/etc as directed, so my asthma is largely asymptomatic so long as I take my meds and follow his guidelines. Your sister likely shouldn't be coughing regularly if she's managing her illness properly. Being 100 pounds over weight is a big deal health-wise. It's also unattractive to many people, but that's a personal preference. I wouldn't have dated someone largely overweight. In my 20s, that would have been generally because I am not attracted to fatness. Now, if I were single (thank goodness, never going to happen!), I'd add my concern about health. I'd also be concerned about ability to share active/athletic activities. As an experienced adult, I'd also add a concern about "how would TeA work" because I'd worry that there'd be some major issues of activities/positions/endurance/etc for TeA that I enjoy . . . that I can't see not being hugely negatively impacted by being severely overweight. Since TeA is a major part of marriage, that could be a deal killer. Bottom line, it's not showing responsibility for your own health to be regularly coughing from asthma nor to be 100 pounds overweight. I wouldn't want to be married to someone who was irresponsible on such important matters as life and health. If she really wants to get married, she should take care of her own health. That'd be good for her no matter what happens with marriage.

You could use one of the literature packages (not the "Literature = Level 4", but the actual literature sets of 3 books + a guide book) if you like. They're lovely little resources, IMHO. The novels have various sentences pulled out every so often for 4-level analysis. You could also just make copies of some of last year's 4Practice book and do a sentence or two a week . . . Either way, you'd analyze a sentence or up to a few sentences each week, and I guarantee that the material will stay fresh. :) But, IME, my kids don't forget. Dd14 did Voyage level and then we took at least 2 years off before doing the (new) level 4 last year, and she breezed through everything no problem. IME, once you've done one solid level of MCT (excluding perhaps Island), every single subsequent level is a breeze for both grammar and poetry. You've got such a solid foundation that adding the layers/levels is just easy peasey. If they do forget, it'll all come flooding back when you pick MCT back up. (Note, when we do MCT, I drag out the 4Practice for the entire year. We do the grammar text quickly, in about a month, and then I do a few sentences per week all year long. If you were to rush through 4Practice, you might not get the material to stick like my method does.) IME, it's just helpful to do real writing and real reading during your off years. Take those MCT MadEnglishSkilz and use them. :) This year, we're doing Excellence in Literature (high school level lit and writing). We also are jamming through Elegant Essay at the beginning of this year (started over the summer). Those are two of my favorite resources other than MCT. My oldest dd did 2 years of Excellence in Literature and also did Elegant Essay . . . Another year I did Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings. . . . Those are all middle to high school level programs . . . When my youngest had "off years" from MCT as an elementary aged student (as she started earliest) . . . The only "English" she did on those off years was lots of reading . . . sometimes an MCT Literature package . . . spelling as needed . . . We added some Vocabulary from Classic Roots some years because she wanted to do vocab . . . You can also do MCT style writing assignments (copy/modify from the last writing text you used) related to their other subjects if you desire . . . But, for me, I was very loosey-goosey on English on non-MCT years in elementary school. Read, read, read. Write if you want.

They're all wonderful levels. I wouldn't encourage anyone to skip any of them, actually, except Island can be skipped if the child is older/more advanced. I'd start an older kid on Town. Voyage works on essay writing. Well done. High quality. The vocab in the Voyage level (CE2) is essentially the 2nd half of what you do in Town. Pretty much exactly the same as CE1, just new words/roots/etc. Poetry and grammar in Voyage (and the new level 4 as well) pretty much just reinforce/extend/deepen what you've already done in Town. If it's fresh (i.e., you did MCT the year prior), it'll go very smoothly and not be time consuming at all, but will reinforce and keep fresh what has been learned in prior years, and will also deepen/extend knowledge a bit. Personally, I think the beauty of MCT is that it teaches all they need to know . . . but doesn't waste lots of time. You don't need to do MCT every year. You can (and should) take years off between various levels if you begin very young. I think doing it every year is just a waste of time if you begin at an early age. If you start early, IME, you will have to take breaks for a year or more here or there in order to get full benefit from each level. I personally would not want a child to try Level 5 or above before they are working at an AP/college ready level in their writing. So, they need to be very fluent essay writers (easily write 5-8 paragraph fluent and effective essays in an hour or less) and competent at doing basic research (say, writing a competent 5 page research paper using actual books/etc with 5+ sources). So, you've got 3, max 4 (with the new level 4), levels to use from ages 8 to at earliest 14, probably better to wait until age 15 or so for level 5. There are components of each level that you can easily use ahead or behind the "curve", but if you don't want to split up the levels (and I see little value in that unless you have a child who has very asynchronous language skills and, say, just thrives on advanced vocabulary or poetics work), then you need to adjust your child's progression to align with the writing component. Further, the vocab of Word Within a Word (Levels 5+) is both extremely intensive (zillions of new words per week) and not nearly as deep or enjoyable as the vocab in the first 3 (now 4) levels. WWW vocab is totally doable, but it's not a thrill, and it's very intensive. A young child could easily be turned off, so if you have a young kid who loves English, the last thing I'd want to do is expect them to plow through ML in a year. (Again, if your kid is very asynchronous and loves it, go for it. But be warned it's a very different experience than CE.) I've done MCT with 3 (very bright) kids. Town(2)/Voyage(3)/"5"/"6" with my older two. Island(1)/Town(2)/Voyage(3)/Lit (4) with my youngest. "5" and "6" were done somewhat haphazardly and partially (with the older two) and that was largely because I tried it too early. They were probably 6th & 8th grade when we muddled through 5 and a year older when we tried 6 -- too young for either of them, IME and IMHO, in retrospect. The rest of the levels have been done comprehensively. I'll probably do 5 and/or 6 with my youngest sometime during high school (not 9th), but not for sure, as we're focusing this coming year (9th) on literature and writing, and we take it year by year. Note that these kids test 99+% in all areas of standardized testing, the oldest has tested 3+ standard deviations (hit the ceiling of the neuropsych test) above the norm in language skills, so these are naturally talented kids. I don't know if that makes my input more or less helpful, but including it so you can make your own assessment if my experiences are helpful to your decisions.) Older two are both National Merit Scholars (i.e.,, score super high on SAT/PSAT/etc exams), performed very well in AP English courses/exams and various writing contests, etc. MCT English materials were their primary formal English studies. MCT, along with plenty of good reading throughout their educations, pretty much assured that they were/are grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and literary analysis gurus, in so far as high school to college level classes and exams go. Their AP English courses and exams were a breeze . . . Hope this helps.

I would encourage you to do it. It was a great level, IMHO. Just my 2c. (And, I would have encouraged you to wait for it until age 12 or so.) Spend the extra time on off-years just reading and enjoying literature. IMHO.

You're very welcome!!

Absolutely. The more practice, the better. :) The PSAT is very similar to the SAT, and certainly extra PSAT practice is all good. Take the PSAT in fall, the SAT in Spring . . . as much as you can stomach. :) I also recommend the Khan Academy PSAT (and SAT) prep series. I also used a couple PSAT prep and SAT prep books for practice tests, etc. When your kid is a NM contender, the prep tests are super helpful because they'll typically only miss a handful of questions in each section/test . . . allowing you to easily go through each and every missed question and figure out what the misses are. My kids typically knew pretty much 100% of the content covered in these tests, so prep-ping is actually very fast and effective because there are so few weak areas, and most of the weaknesses are quickly resolved with simply becoming familiar with the test format and/or some review of some (to them) very easy math concept, etc. Neither of my kids did any prep for their 10th grade SAT. But, they did about 10 hours or so of PSAT specific prep. DD1 did it with me, with prep books and practice tests and going over missed questions. DS2 did it all on his own with Khan Academy. (He was in a cranky state of mind and didn't want my help.) Both did well. (But I know DS2 would have done even better if he'd spent 5-10 hours allowing me to administer and correct practice tests with him . . .) If my kid were a potential NM contender and I myself didn't feel 100% confident to do that targeted prep with them . . . I'd hire a pro at 100-200/hr if needed for those hours of prep. I figure the that at 10 hours of prep each, they earned about $20,000 per hour for their test prep. Pretty darn good return on the time invested . . . And was worth the hassling them, lol.

So glad I was helpful!!!! You're very welcome!

You're very welcome!!! I'm so happy to be helpful!

Why skip Voyage? It's a WONDERFUL level!

ps. On occasion, paid/registered kids are turned away from testing dates because of some disaster or clerical goof. I'd highly advise you to have her take the SAT ASAP . . . and go ahead and register for a second date before the deadline, too, just in case. Certainly don't wait for the last possible date!

The SAT cut off has historically been around 700-per-test or so. (It was a bit lower before the recent revamp of the SAT that upped scores by about 20-30 per section). It should be around or even a bit lower than the PSAT cut off for Commended. In general, in order not to mess up their state-equity-goals, it has got to be at or lower than the "commended" cut off, which is itself typically at the lowest state's PSAT cut off for semifinalist in that state. (So, in our state of WV, which is typically among the lowest PSAT cutoff for NMSF, the commended = semifinalist cutoff. If they made the "confirming SAT score" higher than that, it'd be too hard for those in weak states like WV with NMSF to confirm to NMF . . . and they don't want that. So, confirming SAT will typically be a bit lower than the "commended" cutoff for NM. Last year, it was a 209 Selection Index for the cut off for confirming SAT scores, which is calculated by doubling the English score and then adding the Math (and then dropping a 0, lol). So, if you had 680 E & 710 M, your score would be (680 x 2) + 710 = 2070. Drop a 0, you're at 207, so no go. If you got 710 E & 680 M, You get 710x2+680=2100, so 210, and you're golden. If you're 700/700, then you're all good at 210. So, general message is around 700 per section, but if your kid is much stronger in math, then you need to double check that their E score is high enough, as the double weighting pinches hard on mathy-kids. (When it's my family, I would have them retest until they are COMFORTABLY above the confirming score. Last year, I heard that the folks at NMSC were actually happy to tell you on the phone what the cut off was. Not sure how early that happened. For my kids, we just retested until we were satisfied they'd done as well as they possibly needed for their goals.) Here's a recent blog post that explains how NMSC is now doing the confirming score: http://www.compassprep.com/psat-national-merit-faq/ The paperwork from NM will tell you the exact deadlines for your class of kids, but, in general, they have historically accepted confirming SAT dates between October of 10th grade and December of 12th grade. Here's the official NM instructions from 2017. http://nationalmerit.imodules.com/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/merit_r_i_leaflet.pdf?no_cookie=1 You'll get something just like that along with the NMSF and/or NM Commended letters. Definitely peruse this list: http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com and bookmark it. It's not entirely accurate all the time, as schools update their requirements periodically. It's a great starting place, though, and you can go to each school's website to confirm current details. Also peruse here and book mark this forum. The people who created and keep up dated the yolasite started here . . . and there are a zillion very helpful threads and people. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/ (College Confidential is, to college search/scholarship/etc process, what this forum has been to me for homeschooling . . .) FYI, it's too late for your kid . . . but for other readers with kids who have NM potential . . . What I do is have my kids take the SAT in spring of 10th grade as a practice for the all important Fall 11th grade PSAT. If you are lucky, that SAT score will be high enough to act as the confirming SAT score . . . taking pressure off of re-testing SAT in 11th/12th grade (still a great idea for college apps, as the score will likely increase a good bit, if, as was the case with my kids, they didn't do much actual test prep before that 10th grade SAT.) My elder two kids are both NM Scholars and are on *awesome* NM scholarships at U Alabama. Kid#1 is going into her 3rd year and Kid#2 is a freshman this fall. Kid#1 loves is *so much* and I've been very impressed. Please feel free to PM me if I can offer any helpful info. UA info: http://scholarships.ua.edu/nationalscholars/ Note, UA is generous in that they "stack" any outside or departmental scholarships . . . Including the 2500/yr they offer strong students who are in the Engineering College. Mine are both in the Engineering college . . . I *strongly* advise you to help your kid pick at least a couple easy-application-guaranteed-big-money NM schools and apply early. Some of those big money schools like U Alabama have firm deadlines for application to get their big scholarships. Some of the deadlines are as early as December of the senior year. So, just pick a couple reasonable schools and get the apps complete by fall of senior year. It's maybe $100 in application fees and an hour of time to nail down a couple of those schools . . . where your kid will be guaranteed a full ride or nearly so (depending on the school). It's a pretty awesome position to be in October of senior year . . . fully admitted to a solid school with full funding . . . takes a LOT of pressure off the college app cycle. When you get down to it, it's really hard to turn down 150-200k in help with college financing . . . Even if you can afford to pay for undergrad . . .Think what else you could do with that $$$ -- for your kids' benefit or for your own future . . . We have always had a $$ limit for college, and having the kids mostly self-fund undergrad via scholarships allows us to spoil them during undergrad (spending money, freedom to not work for $$ but just for good experience/etc, having a car, still taking nice vacations, etc) and will also allow them to reserve some of their "bank of Mom and Dad" funding to help with grad or professional school or other adult needs/desires. (This is a moot point if your family can qualify for good need-based aid. In that case, up the ante and apply widely to top tier schools that fully meet need . . . Our family doesn't qualify for any need based aid, but can't actually afford the 60-70k/yr that the magic EFC calculations say we can . . . so ours didn't apply to Ivies, etc, that are very generous with need-based aid but do nothing for merit aid (since all their students would deserve it!!) Hope this helps!! CONGRATULATONS on a JOB WELL DONE!! ps. Read all the NM instructions carefully and don't miss any deadlines! Call their 800 line with any questions. They are very nice. Feel free to PM me with any questions at any time. The paperwork for you as the "principal" is long but not as difficult as it seems. Do plan to allow several hours to complete it all online, and do NOT leave it to the last minute, as you may need to ask some questions, and once you hit "Complete" you can't re-do it, and so it's rather scary to think you might be screwing it up. (I was pretty panicked the first time, and fortunately had a close hs'ing friend who'd done it for her two older boys . . . the 2nd time was easier, lol.) pps. Just in case you don't research it . . . when you are writing your child's transcript for NMSC, be aware that any grades below a B are a big problem. The vast majority of kids who don't make it from NMSF to NMF . . . are knocked out by one to two Cs . . . 15,000 out of 16,000 make the cut, so it's nearly guaranteed the kid will make it so long as you jump through the hoops, get the SAT score, and don't have Cs or worse on the transcript. Just FYI.

Nope. Don't do it. Go back and do whatever content you missed in Town, if desired. Take a year off from MCT. Just read a lot. Or do something else that appeals. I love, love, love MCT. But, you can't rush it.

My youngest went right from 5B to AoPS Pre-A and it went great. Expect to take up to 2 years to work though that big PreA book. (It's fine if he plows right through in a year, but do NOT think you're doing something wrong if it takes longer. It's just a big book!) Another nice option is to add some other stuff. . . At this moment in his studies, I'd highly recommend Patty Paper Geometry. It's awesome. Super fun and very educational. Very basic materials needed and easy to figure out. You can do it one day a week or you can do it full time for a few months. Super great introduction to geometry. You can do it any time between now and whenever he is going to take a full geometry course.

Thanks so much everyone!! Good news, the Lyme DR I saw this morning took me off doxy (and on three other ABX . . . but none of them are associated with sun issues). So, I've got almost 2 weeks doxy-free before I hit the beach. I'm still going to bring sun protection (just in case) and am still shopping, but the DR today assured me that I am NOT among those who become super sun sensitive on doxy, because if I was, I'd have already been burned from casual exposure (getting in and out of car, driving inside a car, etc). SO, I'm super optimistic!! Thanks again. Will be perusing more links! Lots of great ideas!

I love taking frozen things to the beach! Lasagna of any variety (traditional, veggie, etc) freezes very well. Many soups Some casseroles Etc. Yumm.

Thanks, all. I'll be perusing your links!! Yay!! For clarity . . . I'm a "healthy BMI" . . . In US sizing, I'm usually a 10-12 or a size "L" in most things. (I don't like things tight, or I'd be a M in most things.) I am a Caucasian with fair to medium skin tone & blue eyes. I also have tons of freckles and moles and a strong family history of skin cancer, so I'm already always very diligent about sunscreen/etc. I need something that covers *everything possible* as doxycycline can make people so sun hypersensitive that you can get full-thickness burns in a few minutes. (Google doxycline sun sensitivity for some traumatic photos!) This is why I'm looking at the Burkini stuff -- as my emergency plan. I already have a long sleeve high SPF rash guard that I would ordinarily wear during all boating/snorkeling/etc on this sort of trip. Ordinarily, on these sorts of trips, when I'm outside in the sun for 10-12 hours a day on or next to the water, I'd keep that on all the time I'm in the water, along with tons of high SPF sunscreen at all times, reapplied frequently. Then when I'm sitting in "the shade" on the beach, I would strip down to a tankini plus some sort of loose cover up. I'm *hoping" that I can go with this "ordinary" sun protection scheme, so long as I can stay off the doxy. I'm just looking for an emergency plan in case I have to go back on it while traveling . . . SOMETHING that can allow me to cover up every square inch so I don't have to sit in the VRBO, looking longingly and tearfully out the window at the beach where my family is enjoying themselves . . . Unless the sun issues stop me, I'll likely be in the water snorkeling (extremely high sun exposure) for 6 or more hours a day, and otherwise paddle boarding/kayaking/lounging in the sun (with hopefully some umbrella or shade, but still tons of sun exposure, even when you are "in the shade" in that circumstance) during nearly all daylight hours. I know I can do this if I'm off doxy with my "ordinary" sun protection, as we've done it many times (lucky me, I know!!) I just really, really don't want to miss out on this trip! Thanks again!! Off to peruse your links!!!

So, I'm on a medication that makes me extremely vulnerable to sun. I'm going to (try to) go off of it before our upcoming 10 day trip to the Bahamas -- where literally our entire plan is to hang out in the sun . . . However, as a back up plan, I need a full body sun-proof suit in case I have to go back on it during our trip. . . I'm looking at Burkinis on Amazon, and they are acceptable but mostly hideous. Does anyone have any suggestions for more attractive Burkinis somewhere online (with reasonably fast shipping, as I need it in 10 days)? (I'm looking for a 3 piece one ideally, with detachable hijab, as I'd likely not wear that when, say, driving, etc, but I do want the hijab, too, if possible, for emergency-sun-allergy-survival mode) I figured some of the modest mommas here might have insights. Thanks much!