I think something like this is all in the wording. So, "While you're staying in this room, you'll need to rotate the eggs." vs "I'm so sorry, but this is the room with the incubator which can't easily be moved. I hope you don't mind if we come in a couple times/day to rotate the eggs. Or if you'd prefer, you can certainly rotate them yourself and then we won't have to bother you with coming in!"

Here, the standard rule of thumb is that if teeth are impacted, it's done by an oral surgeon. If none are impacted, the dentist can do it. If an oral surgeon does it, you can usually choose between general anesthesia or local (they might give their recommendations). Three of our are kids had impacted teeth so went with the oral surgeon and GA; the fourth had no impacted teeth and had them removed right in our regular dentist's office with local. It went smoothly for all of them with the exception of one, who ended up getting dry socket which was very painful. We had thought about planning a trip a couple days after her surgery but decided not to. I'm glad we didn't!

I'm so sorry... I went through a similar loss just recently and it's hard. Personally, I would enjoy reading your dad's obituary as written! I like the humor, especially if you think it reflects your dad. We did write something about my mother... "XXX continued to be devoted to his wife XXX after a decline in health required her to move into a long-term care center. He spent most every afternoon by her side..." We didn't list dementia specifically because we didn't think our mother would have wanted that, but if you think your mom wouldn't mind, I don't have a problem with that. I think your sister was rude, but for family peace, I'd probably try and find a version that everyone is okay with. My siblings and I passed our dad's obituary back and forth between us and tweaked it several times and made compromises and eventually found a version that we all agreed on, even if not perfectly.

I usually don't get into hype about anything, but I would absolutely love to see a total eclipse someday, even if I have to travel. I understand thinking that all the hype and tourism that goes into this seems over the top, but I get it too. It's such a magnificent phenomenon -- daylight suddenly changing into darkness mid-day! and yet it's a totally explainable natural event. It kind of blows my mind. It reminds me of how great and mysterious the universe is and how small we are.

I sometimes use top sheets in place of fitted sheets. Or, folded in half, a top sheet can be used for a makeshift bed on a cot or sofa, or camping. I also use them to cover up things when I have a visiting pet who likes jumping on furniture. 🙂

I start out on my back but usually end up on my side, use two pillows but the top one is a Snuggle-Pedic, and keep a window open at least a crack (unless the AC is on, which is rare at night)... even when it's mid-winter. I generally sleep well.

I'm sorry. I'm praying for you and your whole family.

I have very dense breasts too, and have a mammogram plus a breast MRI every year, at least. If something suspicious is seen on the mammogram, they do an ultrasound next. The last time that happened (maybe 4 years ago), they were able to see on the ultrasound that what was seen on the mammogram was nothing, or at least nothing suspicious. I can't remember if they said it was nothing at all, or just old scar tissue from a past cyst, or what. But, this is a place that specializes in women with dense breasts and a family history of breast cancer, and I trust them. I've been seeing them for 20 years now! But yeah, sorry about the expense. Even though we've always had good insurance, preventative breast MRI's (even for someone considered at risk for breast cancer) have never been covered, and I've always felt badly to have to spend up to $2,000/year for that, esp. when our kids were young and money was much tighter. I think you could probably contact your doctor though and ask her that question. She'll probably say something such as sometimes mammograms pick up shadows but we can see on an ultrasound that it's really nothing. Or, it was a likely a cyst that's not there anymore. But just hearing her explanation would be helpful!

Someone at my church has recommended the book, Finding Darwin's God by Kenneth R. Miller. I have it but haven't read it yet, so I can't tell you anything about it. I'm looking forward to reading it one of these days!

The Dick Van Dyke Show MASH Star Trek (Next Gen) Favorite show as a kid: Bewitched 🙂

Yes, I'm pretty sure it was her!

I kind of remember someone who opened a nice restaurant in southern California that was doing well...

Another more recent one that seems to be missing is Quill. I'm sure some of you are in touch with her! Someone from about ten years ago who was very active was Sparkly Unicorn. I'm not sure what happened to her.

I'm sorry for your loss too. I'd suggest you look online for people who sell those things, whether on eBay, at stores, etc. They'd very likely be interested in buying everything for a flat fee. You can ask a few different people and maybe they'll even bid up when they hear what someone else would pay.

If you have a valid reason, you can call your legislator's office and they will expedite things for you. People in my family have ended up doing that several times. They do always have a valid reason though, and I'm not sure yours would fall into that category. But you could always call and ask!

I rarely see a doctor for an illness, unless the bug I have has suddenly turned from bad to far worse, or I'm not getting better after a period of time. So, even a bad flu is kind of predictable. I feel lousy and feverish and chilled for a few days, and then expect to get better. If I don't get better, or if it takes a weird turn that I'm unfamiliar with, I'd probably contact a doctor. A couple weeks ago, I had body aches that turned into a cough and sore throat the next day, and then feverish and chills and loss of appetite for the next three days. Then slowly better except not much appetite and still very tired, for several more days. I'm pretty sure it was one of the influenza viruses, but it followed a typical pattern so I didn't feel a need to see a doctor.

(I've read many but not all of responses.) I know women who happen to have a high voice, and naturally sound more child-like as a result. These women were not fundies trained to speak a certain way. I also know a few fundie women but they don't have that voice. I was appalled by Katie Britt's rebuttal though. It doesn't sound like her normal speaking voice when I hear other recordings of her. It sounds overly dramatic, forcefully emotional, and overall fake/not authentic. Like a high schooler auditioning for a play. I think that has to do more with politics and culture than a fundie background. But I know nothing about her personal life. I do think it's interesting that sometimes groups of people seem to take on certain voice characteristics. Do you think this happens more with women than men? Whenever I hear women actors from the 30's and 40's, I hear a pattern. They all speak the same. I don't think it's meant to sound more feminine, but it does have a certain pattern to it that was probably learned in acting school.

Oops, zombie thread!

About 9-3/4. 5'6". (female)

I generally use the yellow/green sided curvy sponges for everything. (Scotch-Brite I think.) But, I've also used walnut scrubber sponges which I love (I've used two different brands). I have a homemade yarn-crocheted cloth that I have on hand for random drip cleanups and such.

I brush and floss twice/day. Sometimes though, I skip night if I'm too tired. (So then just once/day) Plaque seems to build up really fast for me on my lower front teeth. I've been told that a water pit might help with that... Otherwise, I have healthy teeth.

I do keep meds past expiration, unless it's long expired for a condition that no longer exists or the prescription has drastically changed or would be dangerous to take now. Once we were stranded at home in a blizzard and needed antibiotics for a serious illness, and the hospital told us to take out any old antibiotics from our medicine cabinet (since roads were impossible for even emergency vehicles) and let them know what we had. I think they were all expired, but they were able to tell us which ones we could safely take (most of them) which would tide us over.

Don't rule out St. Paul though. It's just across the river from Minneapolis and is generally more affordable and neighborhoody. At least I think so. 🙂

I always loved Sara Lee's Coconut Cake.... YUM!!! It's okay to splurge now and then.

Yay for you for your trip! I wouldn't think twice of those comments. Our family chose to live in an inexpensive home and live simply so that we could afford trips, and sometimes had/have the opportunity to inexpensively live overseas while keeping our home. We never talk much about our trips because of how people could (mis)interpret them. But if people don't understand that, whatever. I'm happy you can travel. Have fun!