Check this out: http://www.austincc.edu/offices/environmental-health-safety-and-insurance/student-insurance https://austincc.myahpcare.com/benefits "Students must meet enrollment requirements at the time they enroll. Enrollment in 3 credit hours classroom or distance learning is required." According to the info on the website, the plan is a PLATINUM plan . . . the details look really amazing. It's $901 for 5 months of coverage. ACA compliant . . . I wonder if anyone could do this from another state?? The coverage/network looks pretty comprehensive, not a HMO sort of thing . . . .

IME, copays are good, especially in the light of the high deductibles that are now the norm. When typical plans had low deductibles, then co-pays weren't as critical. Now, with so many plans having very high deductibles, co-pays can make a huge difference if you have an expensive medical need. I.e., I have a $2500 individual deductible, but a lot of frequent services (DR, specialist, labs, imaging, PT, etc) have specific co-pays. When I go see a DR when I'm sick, I just pay the $35 copay. That's it. Insurance picks up the rest. (When I go see the DR for preventive care, wellness, vaccines, mammogram, routine screening lab work, colonoscopy, and other PREVENTIVE items, I pay $0, as should anyone else on an ACA-compliant plan.) When I go pay the specialist, I just pay the $50 copay. That's it. Insurance picks up the rest. If I have a bunch of labs done, I pay just the $50 lab copay. Or if I get imaging, I pay the $100 imaging copay (a big deal if you're looking at a $2000 MRI . . .) So, when comparing plans, I prefer ones with lots of defined copays. Some plans have a % copay, like 30% instead of a straight $ amount. I don't like that in general, because 30% of a $3000 imaging study is a LOT more than $100. :) Hope this helps.

They are getting their coverage through Community College of Austin, TX, FWIW. I'm sure this does vary a lot from school to school.

$901 per person for FIVE months. :) So about $180 per month per person for high quality insurance. That's a bargain. It's half what we're paying in 2017 for our employer sponsored plan, and it's a third of what we'd have paid with the ACA Individual Exchange if we hadn't set up the small group plan. If you only have adults to insure (like if your kids can get CHIP), it's an even better deal, as for us, there is a big differential between adults and kids . . .

A dear friend had recently posted on FB about their family struggles to afford health insurance this year due to the ACA stuff . . . Anyway, she has a million smart friends, and with a lot of brainstorming, they figured out that if her husband took a single course at their local community college ($250 fee), he was eligible to purchase insurance for their entire family, at $901 per person (2 parents, 2 teens -- 19 & 16) for 5 months. Her husband is a recent cancer survivor (a VERY expensive cancer . . . $10,000 per dose drug was part of his regimen) . . . and so they're very experienced with insurance and know just how critical it is, but the ACA cost was out of control . . . and she reports that this is the best coverage they've had in years. And cheaper than the (terrible) marketplace plans available in their state. Anyway, I thought this was a really nifty trick. Hope this idea helps someone.

The ACA is pretty well and completely broken. I am sure there are decent fixes possible, but the utter lack of responsible legislating has made that impossible (and set up this catastrophe in the first place.) Now that the GOP has control of both houses of the legislature and the presidency (and most state governments), removing the influence of antagonism between the parties, I can only hope that their better angels influence the GOP to be productive and offer reasonable health coverage to all Americans. Wouldn't that be a miracle? All I can do is hope . . . Meanwhile, I think many, many families will be losing coverage and/or taking different jobs that offer coverage. I know our small business just finalized a new group plan, to take effect January 1, in response to the implosion of the individual exchange in our state (plummeting quality of plans coupled with catastrophic pricing increases). The ACA run SHOP Small Business Exchange still offered good plans at reasonable (still very high, but not nearly as bad as the individual exchange) rates. What I had read in 2016 had led me to expect the implosion in the 2017 plans, and that's exactly what happened. (I was ready, as I was strategizing the SHOP Exchange plan options . . .) Maybe someone will get a grip and just roll out single payer and/or "Medicare for All" . . . And negotiate with drug companies instead of barring the government from doing so . . . I believe that eventually, the US will socialize medicine, as has nearly every other large economy . . . (and the private marketplace will offer supplemental plans to offer more control/options to those who can afford it) . . . The only question in my mind is just how much suffering people will endure until then.

FWIW, I wouldn't skip any of the parts of any of the Town MCT books. I think they are all *magic*. Just buy the whole package, and you're golden. I'm not much of a "do it all" kind of homeschooler, and I love to pick and choose, but MCT is too good for that. :) And, also, FWIW, my son got a 4 on the AP English & Language test last year, after blowing off 80% of his (great) AP class that year . . . I guarantee the 4 mostly came from his earlier MCT years (and plenty of good reading over the years). My eldest (4 on AP Eng Lng, 5 on AP Lit) also credits MCT with her doing so well, very easily, A+s, in her AP English classes. Both kids have super high SAT scores as well . . . (both are National Merit kids . . .) So, anyway, I'm an MCT lover . . . and I highly recommend using all the books. :) I really think it's AWESOME.

The woods counters (butcher block) from Ikea are such a bargain! Love them! I used them as counters in our reception area at work, and 3-4 years in, they look perfect! But we don't have water in reception, and water could be an issue with wood . . .

You are VERY welcome!! I hope it works for you as well as it's worked for me!!!!! I feel like a d-Mannose evangelist! LOL

I have granite, and I love, love, love it. It is just beautiful to look at. My granite is a pretty high end complicated gray/brown/beige/sparkly pattern with a "lot going on", so it looks like big slabs of stone, which is what it is. LOL. So, to me, it's just really pretty and lovely and I enjoy the look of it. It's super impervious to stains. We've had it 2 years and not a stain/mark/problem in it. I have a lot of granite bathroom counters, too, in other patterns/stones, and some are more impervious to stains than others, probably due to not being sealed adequately at the time of installation, but also I do know that some "granites" are not as impervious as others, and, indeed, plenty of "granites" aren't even granite! There are a couple bathroom counters where a kid left a puddle of oily lotion for weeks/months, and they got an oil stain, so then you have to google up ways to pull the stain out (which we've done successfully). We have quartz counters in an investment house that college girl lives in, and they are attractive enough but are very "dead" looking to me as opposed to the granites, especially in comparison to the "lot going on" granite that we have in our kitchen. We used a few small pieces of quartz in our master bathroom (for a threshold at the entry to the shower and also a shelf sort of thing at the top of the half wall in the shower, supporting a glass half wall above . . .) and it is really nice looking -- it is a quartz that is made to look like that white with grey patterns marble (goes nicely with the same sort of pattern on the wall/floor porcelain tile in there). If I were looking at quartz counters, I'd totally look at one of those more "alive" looking patterns, specifically one that mimics marble. (Real marble is way too vulnerable to imperfections for my taste.)

Yes, I take it every day. As far as I know, any brand would be OK, but since nutraceuticals are largely unregulated (and many are not what they purport to be), I stick with the NOW brand, as I've been told by someone who knows this sort of thing (phd level alternative/eastern medicine professional) that NOW is reputable . . . Also, NOW items are available on Amazon and very reasonably priced, so easy for me to get. I discovered it a year ago after a hellish series of UTIs -- about 5 UTIs in less than 6 months -- and the antibiotics that led to yeast infections (hellish, severe) . . . In my desperate googling, I discovered d-mannose and decided it was worth a try. That was a year ago, and I've had ZERO UTIs since discovering it. I take 1/2 tsp of the powder (mixed with a bit of water or juice, it is simply mildly sweet, not nasty at all) OR 1 capsule every day around bed time. (I keep both the powder and the capsules on hand, as the capsules are handy for travel, but the powder is easier than swallowing the fairly large capsules . . . But you can start with just one until you decide if it works for you) In addition, on nights when TeA is on the menu, I often take a second dose -- one before and one after TeA. If no TeA is on the menu, I still take at least one dose each day. I miss an occasional dose with no trouble, and you can experiment to see what works for you. If your UTIs (or TeA indulgence) are more occasional than mine, you can wait and try it around the times you are having TeA and/or just you feel an infection brewing, but for me, it's easier to take it daily, and my past history of UTIs has me pretty traumatized and committed to preventing them (and my mom and grandma both had hellish problems with UTIs in their post-menopausal life, despite being celibate, so I'm figuring I may as well just take it daily until I die, lol, as even if the TeA dries up in later years, I'm already 46 and so not too many years before menopause will be an issue anyway.) It is MAGIC. Love, love, love. Antibiotics are very hard on me, and inevitably lead to a yeast infection (and not simply the easy to treat ones, but one that was my entire GI tract/throat/mouth, too), so each UTI would lead to several weeks of misery and a very angry body with my entire GI, "girl parts", and urinary system is total disarray. Multiply that by a new UTI about monthly, and you're talking utter misery on every level, so I'm just over the moon to have discovered something so very safe and effective! If I ever feel a little funky like a UTI might be brewing, I take some extra doses for a few days. If you actually have a UTI (or are trying to head one off), then taking a dose every 2-4 hours for a few days is the way to go. When I first got it, I was fighting a UTI (last one!), so I took it about 6x/day for a few days until that was cleared up, then went to my current routine of 1-2 (1/2 tsp) doses each day. Ideally, take it right after you pee, so it'll stick around in your urinary tract for a while before you next pee. My best lay-perosn understanding is that the d-Mannose goes straight to your urinary tract and selectively binds with e. Coli, then flushes the E.Coli right out with your pee. E. Coli is the bacteria that causes the vast majority of human UTIs (not so for animals), so that's why it works so well for (most) human UTIs. If you have a UTI that isn't responding to d-Mannose (or comes on despite being on it preventatively), then I'd personally ask my doctor to culture my urine to determine exactly what bacteria is in there . . . My guess is that it's not e.Coli if d-Mannose isn't preventing it . . . and that would be helpful info to your DR as they could use that info to best choose the correct antibiotic and/or preventive measures for you to take (other than the d-Mannose, which I believe is not as effective for other UTIs that are not e.Coli based.) d-Mannose is super safe, even for diabetics, so you are fine to take several doses a day indefinitely if desired. It is MAGIC. Anyone who suffers from repeat UTIs should try it. I'm not a big vitamin person, and I usually try to get all my nutrition/health needs met from whole foods . . . but, d-Mannose is THE BOMB. I'm NOT a doctor, so this is all my personal experience and Dr. Google speaking, although my MD has certainly been impressed that I ended my series of many desperate visits (UTI/antibiotics/Yeast/Thrush/antifungals/UTI/allergic rxn to abx/repeat/repeat) after discovering d-Mannose. Good luck!

d-mannose has CHANGED MY LIFE Best. Thing. Ever.

The 30-something club struck me sharply, as in my 30s, dh and I were IN an official '30 something' dinner club -- it was literally called that, although here was of course some flexibility as some members hit 40 by the end of our time there and some of us (me included) were actually late 20s when the club started . . . It was out of our church, and it was populated by young couples and young families, mostly in grad school (we lived in a college town and it was a Unitarian church -- which tend to attract a lot of academics and highly educated people). Anyway, during our 4 years there (while dh was in vet school), the club which held monthly potlucks at member homes, evolved as more of the couples had babies . . . It was all newly married couples or young families with their first babies . . . . We had a great time in our 30s establishing our families and our career(s). The idea that the 30s would be a period of extended adolescence . . . sort of a continuation of college . . . is really depressing!!

Well, I'm slightly biased. I love, love, love Subarus. In particular, the Outbacks. We're buying our 3rd (for the year!! All our replaced cars were really old and died in close succession) new Subaru Monday -- another Outback, this time for our college girl. We live on terrible roads (WV) and our "state road" cul-de-sac is pretty much never plowed (maybe 2x/yr while it is "needed" at least 10x/yr, and even those 2x are usually several days after the snow fall), and our neighborhood is in a "snow belt" as it's higher in elevation than closer to town . . . The Subarus ROCK. Love the high clearance, the great suspension, the handling . . . FWIW, the Outbacks are a lot nicer than the Foresters, IMHO. Drive both before you take the plunge on a Forester. (The Forester looks cuter on the outside, yes, but they are inferior in every other way, IMHO).

YES! She used tomato paste!! This must be her starter recipe. (She's one of those creative cooks who throws in whatever is in the fridge and it comes out divine . . . I can't do that!)

I haven't done it in a couple years, but a while back, I was really good about checking our credit reports every year or so (using the free reports you are entitled to from each agency each year . . .) and there was some easy process where you could click on items to "challenge" them or some such thing. Essentially, you could click on items you thought were sketchy, and then the "owner" of the debt has to either back that item up within some time frame (3 months??) or it is automatically removed from your report. I didn't have any really bad things on there, but there were a few decade-old-closed department store credit cards, etc, that showed open that were really closed (many years ago), and I just was trying to clean things up, so I clicked on those items . . . Whenever I have heard the "credit score clean up" advertisements, I'm always thinking that all you'd have to do is go and "challenge" each and every negative item on your report, and I bet dollars to donuts that a significant number will disappear WHETHER OR NOT they were actually inaccurate. So, anyway, if you can figure out how to do what I'm talking about, I'd do that. :) I *guess* that that click/challenge technique is just a quick and easy version of sending whatever letters folks are talking about above. If your credit score is critical to you at this time, I'd just go whole-hog on doing all the above options. (Click/challenge on all 3 reports as well as mail whatever form letters some credit guru advises.) Be sure to check all 3 credit bureaus, as they each have their own records!!

Personally, I'd get a lawyer. But, it does sound like your estate would be pretty simple, so maybe a DIY package would be OK. Unless you expect/worry about someone contesting your wishes re: guardianship, then I'd probably feel pretty safe using a DIY package online (nolo press or similar). Do get your signatures notarized at least, though. Be sure to include Health Proxy / Medical POA forms for you and your husband, too.

OMG, I have failed at lentils relentlessly, time and time again, and then a friend who was visiting for Thanksgiving took one of my massive bags of organic lentils (on sale at Sam's . . .) and made the most wonderful soup! She took some onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, and maybe some garlic, and sautéed it up to pretty tender. Then she added a bunch of vegetable stock (home made, but any could work, I just always have home made in the freezer . . . I think she actually uses water when she makes it at home, so I guess that's more frugal . . .), and threw in the vast quantity of tricolor lentils (any would work, but I had tricolor) and simmered it until the lentils were tender. Then at the end, she added a can of coconut milk! It was AWESOME and so delicious. And it was actually vegan! Totally rocked my world. She doesn't use recipes (damn her) and I haven't made it myself yet, so I can't give you any more details, but let me tell you, it was great!! So, I'd advise trying to google up a lentil-coconut soup recipe. :) ETA: It definitely had curry in it and some other spices. :)

Home made focaccia would be inexpensive and delicious, and toppers/flavorings could be chosen from a range of things you might have on hand or might be on sale.

Get a room HEPA filter. Good for health, and a great white noise machine.

I'm not going to go head-to-head about my statements above regarding the electorate and the outcome of the election. To those who feel I have somehow disparaged Trump voters, I'm fine with that interpretation. To those who feel I have somehow disparaged all conservatives, I believe I have clarified that above that I do not intend any insult to conservatives in general. In my experience, Trump voters and conservatives are NOT one and the same. I believe that the forum rules prohibit political debate, and so I've tried my best to address the topic at hand (the terrible teacher and his use of false "facts" and abuse of power) without rabbit trail-ing into prohibited areas of discussion. Although I don't want my lack of response to be viewed as agreement, out of respect for SWB and the WTM boards, I won't go further into this discussion of politics.

When the kids were little and believed in Santa, we had gifts shipped to work, so dh could hide them there in a closet until we got them right before Christmas. Other times, we've hidden things in the trunk of cars.

That's really strange. Where do you get that from my post? Seems really odd to come up with that interpretation of my post. There are plenty of intelligent, decent, humane conservatives with integrity. I know some of them personally, and I read others, and I believe there are likely quite a few on this board. Obviously, the teacher in this class isn't one of those conservatives. A thoughtful, intelligent, ethical conservative wouldn't distort the "facts" and abuse his power as this teacher has.

Awww, thank you!! I love you right back!! <3

We own a small business that has support staff earning from min wage (8.75 in our state) to about 20/hr, but most are around 9-14/hr. We have about 12 support staff members, about 10-11 FTE (full time equivalent) support staff. When we bought the business 12 years ago, min wage here was 5.15/hr. Every time min wage goes up, we nudge up our pay scale. In general, this means that folks who are earning close to min wage get small raises, and the wage scale tends to compress a little bit. I.e., my 17+/hr people aren't going to be impacted by an increase at the low end of our wage scale, but those who earn at the lower end of the scale are all going to get nudged up. We tend to keep min wage as our "new hire" wage for folks with no experience, and everyone else makes somewhat to a lot more. We've never had a problem with increasing wages, and we've actually been HAPPY about it, as it allows us to give more generous/reasonable wages in our low-wage industry while still being competitive with other practices since now our competitors also have to pay decent wages. (I feel the same way about requiring health insurance/etc . . . The MANDATES allow us to be more "generous" without crippling us competitively.) Going to 15/hr would be really interesting. Obviously, it'd be pretty disruptive if it went straight from 8.75 to 15 (and we'd likely trim our staff hours by 10-20% if that happened in one moment, just working leaner and outsourcing some inefficient roles/tasks), but that clearly would not be the case. It would surely phase in over at least a couple years, if not 5 years. As long as it's phased in over a couple years or longer, I'd be ALL FOR IT. I'd love to give our staff big raises, and I am confident that the higher wages in the rest of our community would increase our clients' ability to pay. Certainly, our fees (vet hospital) would need to go up a bit. I'd guess 8-10% increase in overall fees to compensate for our wages costs increase (support staff wage cost would likely increase by more like 25-35% overall for us going to 15/hr min, but wages itself is only one part of our larger budget). But, since all of our competitors would have the same increased costs/prices, we would not be competitively disadvantaged, and I'd imagine that our clients would be able to afford it fine. Certainly, it is true that increasing the minimum wage creates pressure to streamline and have fewer staff doing the same work . . . We've already seen that going from 5.15 to 8.75, and IT IS FINE. It means we focus on having FT professional staff and don't have the time/money to have high school kids, but we don't want them anyway for other reasons. Wouldn't you rather work 40 hrs for 15/hr than 60 at 10/hr (presumably working 2 jobs, so double scheduling/transport hassles, too?)? I think that's a lot of what happens in my industry. You invest in a little more technology as cost savings . . . you streamline procedures to save time . . . you might outsource some routine tasks to companies that can take advantage of automation (say, your reminder calls or printing reminder postcards, etc.) . . . Meanwhile, you have a little less staff hours but pay them much better. Seems like a good thing to me. Frankly, in the last 12 years, we've already transitioned our business in this direction. When we bought it, the prior owner had only 3 FT and lots of PT college kids . . . We now have 8 FT and about 4-6 PT staff. Those FT jobs are great jobs with good benefits, etc. The PT jobs are just there to fill the needed gaps and serve for pre-vet college kids, etc. We use FT'ers as much as possible, period. And our average wages are much higher than when we acquired it. By making the staff more professional and long term (we have 2 staff that have been here 10+ years . . .), it makes the jobs better for the staff, but it also makes the staff performance better. It's a win-win. It's just a different mind set, though. Increasing min wage will just accelerate and emphasize this transition to professionalism in support staff in our field. Personally, here in a college town in WV (moderate cost of living), where many people really do work for minimum wage or marginally above it (say within a dollar or so, so up to 10/hr), I think we could easily go up $1 - 1.50/yr for the next 3-5 years without a major disruption in most businesses, especially if it is a NATIONAL minimum wage rise. (Our particular business is very local, but what about a print shop that competes nationally? That makes it hard to be a 15/hr employer and compete with a 8/hr one in another state! Same goes for local businesses like ours -- restaurant/vet/etc -- that is located near a state border . . .) So, here's one small business owner who is all for raising the minimum wage!! Let's DO IT!