I haven't read through the other posts, but I would suggest Bellevue, WA. Western Washington tends to have mild weather all around. I had a professor who moved to Bellevue specifically because it was listed as the most diverse city in the state 9http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/bellevueblog/2010147723_bellevuewashingtonsmostdiversecitybyonemeasure.html). With Microsoft nearby, and lots of other tech companies, it draws both an educated and diverse population (definitely substantial Asian and Indian populations). My impression has always been that the diversity is considered positive. Finally, Bellevue is actually fairly conservative. Washington itself, despite usually leaning liberal, still has a noticeable conservative streak, even on the west side. I know the current two state Senators for the area are a very moderate Democrat and a moderate Republican. The only possible downside is it can be an expensive area, but it depends on the area. You could also look at Redmond, Kirkland, north Seattle, or Everett if Washington sounds appealing. We do get a lot of gray, drizzly skies (it's not just Seattle) but it's beautiful and green. Hope that helps!

My mom went through this too. She was on dialysis for about a year and half before her transplant last spring. She took ibuprofen somewhat regularly (especially when she played volleyball) for years and years, and it was in part responsible for wearing her kidneys down. Medicine is always a "lesser evil" scenario; it's not a "fix." The pain we would otherwise be in should outweigh the wear of the medication on our bodies. But taking pills for pain is so common we don't think about it - I sure didn't until my mom's kidneys failed. I'm sorry your mom is going through this~

I didn't read all the posts, but consider saying something like this: "I appreciate you taking the time to get in touch with me, but with all the things I have going on in my life right now, I really don't have the time to reconnect/it's not the best time for me to reconnect." and wish her well. I think it's the nicest way to acknowledge her, but turn her down. There is nothing wrong with being selective about who is in your life, and how you spend you time, especially with time being the limited blessing it is.

While I think I get the general idea, would someone be willing to expand some on how exactly this method is done? I've never used it before, and I'm writing at the college-level (with success, but keeping sources organized has not been my strong suit). Do you use a note card for each source, or for each idea? Do you record concepts or quotes? Does this process help you figure out what to use and what to discard? Do you seek out certain bits of information, or use this as an information-gathering/opinion-forming technique as well? < These are the kinds of things I'm curious about. Thanks! Also, to OP, that's wonderful of your son to share feedback, and congrats on his success in college!

http://cew.georgetown.edu/whatsitworth/ Georgetown University came up with some reports based on the latest census information about the median income of various undergraduate majors, as well as how likely someone in the field is to get their masters, how it boosts their income, as well as gender and racial differences. They have some general reports looking at broad categories, and then breakdowns of individual majors. It's pretty fascinating, although the consistent under-earning of women and minorities compared to males and whites in the same field is a bit depressing :glare: Also interesting is that the field where women make up a substantial percentage, or are the majority, tend to be lower-earning fields (some health care fields, education, social work).

I think it's great you recognize the need to cover the basics, but don't forget to have fun. Determination is good though. Although my mom taught me 'knit' and 'purl' when I was little, I've taught myself the rest since taking it up seriously, and I climbed a HUGE learning curve at the beginning. But I refused to give up and it paid off. So good luck!! Wise move. Once you're like the ladies on TV though, you'll know how to recover dropped stitches without needing to cast on again (depending on how bad it is) - something to look forward to :D Also, "going to Knitpicks tomorrow," not ordering from Knitpicks? You have an actual store near you? I'm jealous. I love the heck out of Knitpicks, and waiting for my last order was driving me nuts but totally worth it. Lastly, I would also recommend an intermediate project (or two, or three) between the scarf and a dog sweater. And if you aren't aware of them yet, knitty.com and ravelry.com are two of the best websites for patterns. Might want to stay away until you've got the basics down though, or you could get too ambitious (I know I did!).

This is mine too! My grandmother's sister (my great aunt?) would send me $2 bills in cards even though I never actually met her in person. I think she didn't have grandchildren, so I was the one she got to send cards to. One time she sent a bill with a bunny sticker over the president's portrait that was designed to look like part of the bill; it was cute!

One consideration to the concern of letting a younger kid have unlimited internet access on their phone is making it a condition that mom and dad can see the phone on request at any time. This may not be enough for some kids, but it could with others. On the other hand, I didn't get one until I was 22, so I'm not terribly sympathetic to youngins getting one :tongue_smilie:

It's interesting (and wonderful) to see parents being proactive about their kids' finances. My parents never had any involvement in my finances, when I was little or after I got a bank account and credit card, and never taught me anything about budgeting (granted, they didn't seem to be too great at it themselves...). When I was in community college and not working, their involvement was giving me money for food and gas, but I was otherwise responsible for managing that money and for reserving my credit card for car maintenance. Then for the three years I worked before going back to school, I was completely financially independent and had to figure out how to keep an effective budget, build my savings, pay off two cars, and manage my credit card to build credit but not drown in debt. I was even managing a boyfriend's finances for some time, which is where the second car came in (also the best financial shape he was ever in...). I also saved up enough money to not have to work now that I'm back in school to finish my degree. So luckily, even without my parents' involvement, I was fine. On the other hand, my step-sister (who became family just recently), went through racking up the limit on a credit card (or two, can't remember) as well as having some legal expenses and owing her dad money who kept trying to get her on track. So, not everyone can be left to their own devices.

My mom had kidney failure almost two years ago, and was on dialysis for 4-5 hrs, 3 days a week, while working full time. My uncle (her brother) was found to be a match and donated his kidney. That was a nerve-racking day for my family, having two loved ones in surgery in one day. When my mom and now step-dad married in July, my step-dad made my uncle a groomsman and took a moment in the ceremony to thank him and honor his gift. There have since been a lot of "your kidney is making me pee a lot" jokes :tongue_smilie: I don't have any siblings, but it occurred to me after my uncle was a match that I could've been tested. Surgery absolutely frightens me, so I honestly don't know if I could do it. But I am deeply grateful that my uncle did.

I suggest watching this video of the Asch experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iRh5qy09nNw. It's a psychology test on conformity. It shows that people will defy evidence and choose error in order to conform. But when you know this, you can account for it and just know that thought going against the grain is hard, sometimes it necessary in order to do what you know is right for you.

That's an important distinction I hadn't thought about - thanks for making that point. What length do you find this happens at? There's a big difference between one sentence and three-quarters of a page, though I guess it depends on the material as well. Thanks so much for your input :) Very helpful indeed.

I've been rereading the language sections of TWTM and listened to the first A Plan for Teaching Writing lecture, and I have a couple questions about narration for those who have actually done it. My first question is regarding the length of the narration itself. One or both of the sources above recommend beginning with narrations of one sentence and working up to three-quarters of a page. Since part of the purpose of narrations is learning to narrow in one the main point and the most important details, a three-quarter page narration seems a little long. In my mind, a paragraph of three-to-five sentences seems appropriate. How long do your narrations end up being for students who are well-practiced at narration? What do you think is the best length to work up to? My second question is regarding the amount of material the narration is based on. I know the excerpts WWE and FFL used for narration exercises are much shorter than the sections of SoTW, yet all are recommended for narration. How do you decided to break up material for narrations, especially if/when you do them for imaginative stories? Is the length of the narration ever contingent on the length of the material, or do you limit the amount of material to be proportional to the expected narration length? As a side note, I am not homeschooling (no kids yet). I am here for self-education purposes and my interest is in understanding SWB's philosophy of teaching writing. Please let me know if my questions aren't clear and I'll try to restate. Hopefully this makes sense though. Thanks!

Speaking as a female of emerging adulthood age, I can assure you that men are not the only ones guilty of lusting, and that modest dress has little to do with it; collared, button-up shirts and nice jeans can be very attractive. Women have just as much biological need to find a mate as men, but perhaps just don't jump [solely] on looks as easily. Bottom line though is that every person, regardless their gender, is responsible for their actions and controlling their impulses. I think it's considerate and polite to not dress in a way that will make others uncomfortable (sexually and otherwise), but you also can't please everyone, as interpretation of dress is largely subjective. There are also times and places where certain dress is appropriate, or not. To add an entirely different dynamic here, I think the appeal of caring about moderate dress has more to do with feeling faithful than the issue itself. I was raised Christian and am now a nonbeliever, but I understand the appeal of a religious community and faith: everything feels purposeful, like you know what to do and can feel confident that you're doing the right thing because it's written out for you, and you're supported by a group of people who sort of hold you liable, who you have to prove yourself to in a way. I think moderate dress is one more control, or stabilizing factor that makes believers feel secure and righteous. This is just an idea I've been considering for a while, may or may not ring true with others, but it's nonetheless important that everyone give consideration to the motivation for their dispositions. (And I'm not bringing up this particular point to challenge or argue, just to share the perspective.)

As a reference point: I am a 21-year-old student who buys all her own food and I spend about $100 a month on mostly good/real food (fruits, veggies, bread, milk, etc) with a handful of convenience and indulgence items (ice cream..). Sometimes it's a bit more, like if I get stock up on some bulk items, and sometimes it's a bit less. I live in a house with my own food supply, not in a dorm. I don't consider eating out as part of my food budget, but if I did it would probably be up to $150,-175 including my occasional stops at Starbucks on mornings when I didn't get enough sleep... :tongue_smilie: Hope that helps :001_smile: