I don't think anyone would be upset by your suggestions. I'm surely not. I think it would be difficult to get everyone to remember to label their content, and I think that what one person finds religious or offensive another wouldn't. If we start labeling, I think it would be hard to know where to draw the line. So bottom line is I'm not in favor of trying to enforce that everyone label, but if there's something overtly religious or something that I personally found offensive in a book I'll try to remember to put it in my post in courtesy to you. As far as children's read aloud books go, I keep a running log on my blog here. Since this thread is supposed to be for adult books, you should start a read aloud thread --- you go, girl! :001_smile: And I'm off to try to remove more crayon marks from the coffee table...:D

:lurk5: Just bumping this week #6 thread over week #5. Loving all the suggestions...I have so many books on my hold list now that the library's website told me NO MORE! :D

I'm suddenly finishing books---yay! I finished High Fidelity (you can read my review here). I also just finished The God Delusion (still mulling that one over. No review yet). I'm in the middle of Summer at Tiffany (a nice refreshing read after the aforementioned God Delusion) and still trudging through Jane Eyre. I don't remember Jane Eyre being so tedious when I first read it as a teenager. What has happened to my attention span?!?!?

My husband is extremely even temper wise too. He has only raised his voice to me twice in our nearly 11 year marriage. I was never so grateful for his pleasant temper as I was flying home from vacation last week. There was a family sitting in the row behind us (husband, wife, 3 kids). The flight attendant made an announcement that if anyone had left a game strapped to their stroller to please ring their call bell. The husband got up and I saw him having a discussion in the front of the plane with the flight attendants. A minute later, they were back and the flight attendant asked the wife if she could describe the contents of the bag. She said, "Sure. A white Nintendo DS with some games." The flight attendant handed her the bag and left. Apparently, the husband couldn't describe the contents. He then proceeded to loudly berate the wife for the next 5 minutes---swearing at her (we're talking the F word repeatedly) and asking her what was the matter with her leaving the bag strapped to the stroller. This happened all in front of their kids and pretty much everyone else in the adjacent rows. If I hadn't been so afraid of him myself, I would have said something. Apparently this must happen a lot because the wife seemed fine and kept saying over and over, "It's fine. We got it back." Then for the rest of the trip, whenever the kids said pretty much anything, he sternly said, "Shut it." The plane was full so my son and I were sitting on a different side of the plane from my husband and daughter. I couldn't wait to get off that plane and hug my husband.

You have so many great ideas here! Here are my tips, but they're dietary in nature so take or leave --- avoid the deli, reduce the meat consumption (make it an extra, not the focus of the meal), and dump the dairy. Once I realized that everything per pound in the deli (at least for the quality stuff) is $5 per pound and up I started looking for alternatives. We eat leftovers or hummus and pita with veggies or salads with no cheese most days for lunch. We established last year that dh is dairy sensitive so cutting out the dairy was a must for meals. You'd be amazed what you can make without cheese and still have it taste good. I was raised putting cheese on everything so it was a big adjustment, but it helped his health and reduced our grocery bill. We still buy 1 gallon of milk each week and some yogurt for the kids. One more thing- I just realized this myself (and I think someone in the thread already suggested it) but buying frozen veggies in the winter is the way to go. I can't believe how much I've saved just by doing that. Can't wait to hear more ideas from others. Thanks again for a great thread :001_smile:

My husband and I have them, but the kids don't. We have lots of family who live in Canada. Currently, customs requires birth certificates for kids under 16 but not passports. Adults either need a passport or an enhanced driver's license. We opted to renew our passports since it was about that time anyway (we had them from a trip my dh took to Paris in 1998 and I got mine when we went to the Bahamas in 2001 before kids) just in case we decide we want to go somewhere else later. We'll wait to get passports for the kids until a planned trip or they turn 16.

We have the Rightstart Math cards and games book. My daughter LOVES the game "Go to the Dump" which practices single digit addition with numbers up to 10.

My husband and I were just reviewing how we did in January budget wise. I normally shop for groceries once a week, but end up going out to Target couple of times during the week to grab stuff that I forgot or go to Joann to get something that I need to finish a project. In January, my daughter was sick for a full week so I barely left the house that week and we ate mostly from our freezer and pantry. We usually cut it really close on our expenses vs. our income, but this month we came out $300+ ahead. Why? Because I had to plan and couldn't just run out and buy stuff whenever. I read the whole thread and you got a TON of good advice (some of which I'll steal ;)), but the quote above is the #1 thing you can do. Plan more, shop less, and you'll save more.

Satori Smiles Lots of great curriculum reviews for K and grade 1.

:iagree: I just get digest and read what I want and toss the rest. If you like the concept of Flylady, but don't want the emails read Side Tracked Home Executives. This is the book that the Flylady initially based her system on.

I knew I could catch up if only I got some vacation in. I was at my grandmother's for a week with no computer access and read Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (here's my review) and High Fidelity (no review yet, but it's coming :001_smile:) Yay! I feel like I'm keeping up with all you voracious readers...sort of. ;)

Did you read the book first? The book is fantastic, but after reading it I knew I would NEVER see the movie. Same thing with Push by Sapphire (AKA the movie Precious). Some images you just don't want to have played out before you. They're bad enough in your imagination as you read.

I'm kind of scared, but I may have to try the deodorant recipe. We're trying to go more natural and green here (operative word is TRYING). We just ditched the paper towels this week.

Maybe I'm the oddball here. The voice I hear is always my own when I read.

That seems crazy! I think both the increase and the price itself. It has to be a regional thing. My two were in 2005 and 2007 and the bill was about the same both times --- between $9000 and $10,000. Both were vaginal births with epidural.

I have been following this post intently. I can't wait to hear what your decision is :001_smile:

I go to the web page that has the book on it. Then click on the affiliate bar, "Link to this Page." I pick "Text Only" for link type, and copy ONLY the Amazon web address that's in quotes (i.e. starting with http://) but not including the quotes. Then, I highlight the book title in my blog, click the Link button and insert the book's web address. I use Blogger so I don't know if it's different on other sites. Hope this helps...

You are not alone! We just switched Internet providers. When I had to bring the technician into our home office to hook up the new modem, I said, "You know those people that have a room that they throw stuff into when people come over? We're those people. I'm sorry." Then the poor guy had to wade through the mess in there. He did laugh though. On a good note, it motivated me to clean it up. Unfortunately since that day the mess has been creeping back in. :tongue_smilie:

into the attic to

I just finished The School of Essential Ingredients. You can read my review here. I'm still reading #3 and #4 concurrently--- Jane Eyre and The God Delusion. I have a feeling that I'm already falling behind---eek!:tongue_smilie:

You are not alone. Read this thread. My comments about our own crazy neighbor experience are at the end.

Wear whatever makes you comfortable as long as your underwear isn't showing and your teenage children's friends aren't trying to hit on you. If you've got it, flaunt it. :D

The books we read recently that I thought were AMAZING are: The Tale of Despereaux Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Carolinda Clatter (a great picture book)

Is there an Ann Taylor Loft anywhere by you? I'm 5'11" and need longer torso shirts and theirs seem to always be good. I also would hit the Gap and Dress Barn.

Line a greased 9x13 with 10 slices of cubed bread. Then, beat a dozen eggs up with 2 cups of milk, 1 teaspoon of ground mustard, and some salt and pepper. Use however much salt and pepper would normally use in a recipe for your family. I wouldn't go more than 1 t. of salt, but you can even go without if you want. It's just your own personal taste. I use about a 1/2 t. salt and then just grind a bit of pepper into it. Then, add 1-2 cups of chopped vegetables sprinkled over top of the bread. I often use frozen broccoli or spinach that has been thawed and drained, but you can use anything. For anyone reading this thread who is a meat eater, you can use ham, bacon, or bulk sausage too. Or mix veggies and meat. Pour the egg mixture on top of everything evenly. Then, and this is optional but definitely adds something, sprinkle 1 cup of cheese (sharp cheddar works best but use whatever you have) over the top of the whole thing. If you're dairy intolerant, you can do it with rice milk and no cheese. I've done that before too and it turned out fine. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife stuck in the center comes out clean. You can even make it the night before, throw it in the fridge, and then just cook it a little longer when you bake it. You can make it in a smaller dish with half as much stuff too. It refrigerates well and can be reheated for breakfasts for a few days after. My kids love it. They even will eat it for a snack reheated.