I don’t know about the flashers, but if you’re going that route, I think they key would also be to slow down in conjunction with it so that it’s abundantly clear you are not eluding. And really, there are pages worth of search results of what to do when pulled over by an unmarked squad so I doubt it’s all that new even in the OP’s location. I know there is some regional variation, but I doubt that it’s new in your area. I suspect it’s more likely that they have been there and since you’ve noticed it, your brain is now picking up on it more (Baader-Meinhoff Phenom). I know what they look like because my dad was a LEO (and dh is too) so I can pick them out driving down the road. When in doubt, don’t go by the badge. Go by the employee ID. Dh’s agency requires they carry them at all times. More than anything, that’s what identifies him as a LEO. I haven’t asked him so I can’t vouch for what he’d do, but a reasonable officer (and not a jerk on a power trip) is going to be understanding. And yeah, you can call 911 if you’re in doubt. There was a guy once who had fled the officers trying to pull him over and had then called 911 to report the cops on his lawn for tresspassing. The 911 operator offered that he could make a report to the cops outside. He declined, but yeah, the 911 operator/dispatcher will be able to verify if it’s a legit officer.

There have been unmarked squads for as long as I can remember - often assigned to supervisors or detectives. My dad drove one as a sergeant twenty some odd years ago. Undercover officers wouldn’t be driving a car that could in any way be identified as an LEO.

My Garmin watch tracks everything so it counts for sure, even if I didn’t post it here. ;) Week 4 of half marathon training started today. Managed 5 miles on the treadmill with only a moderate amount of boredom. Sure beat running in the cold rain.

I bought two copies of Singapore 4A and 4B workbooks this year. I even have a spreadsheet to track these things.

I can usually just eat a snack or up the calorie density a bit, but you do have to be a bit careful. There’s a reason why runners can often gain weight while training for a race. It’s easy to go past “enough calories to sustain my training†and into “I can eat anything because I worked out.†The later is way more fun. ;)

Ran 3 miles, did strength training, and got dh to go with me. I’m run-gry lately so all I want to do is eat all the food. I haven’t, but did add an afternoon snac the last couple of days. So hungry...

They always have a sale in March. It runs until the end of the month - 25% off

This is the thing I keep in mind when it comes to my kids and what they choose to wear. I get a fair amount of pushback from other parents about it, but one person’s cold is another person’s ideal temperature. Perception of temperature is largely subjective. OP - I guess for me, it seems that your dd is comfortable at temperatures that are deemed cool for others. Maybe it’s time to consider what your fears are, evaluate if they’re reasonable, and determine what the worst case scenario is. For my kids, I always figured that if the risk was low (are we talking about frostbite here?), then worst case scenario was they were cold and uncomfortable. In my mind, since they’re neurotypcial, the natural consequence was pretty low risk and that experince would have a far greater influence on their future choices than me saying it, cajoling it, punishing for it, setting up consequences for it, etc. Since I don’t live in their body, I don’t know what it feels like for them. If my children had other factors at play that meant their perception of temperature was hinderd or they had a non-NT issue that made them more likely to be defiant and oppositional then maybe one would want to make it an issue. So she doesn’t wear her coat. What kind of temperatures are we talking about? What’s the risk here? Worst case scenario? Has she had her asthma triggered by not wearing a coat outside in the past? Or has she generally been fine without the coat?

Do you think maybe the above had to do with why one homeschools? A lot of these kinds of sentiments from former homeschoolers seem to come from the tupes who homschool as a way to be separatists. The religious beliefs of the parents require rheir kids be separated from the world at lage because of its evil, corrupting influence. I haven’t seen as many of those sorts of stories from those who homeschooled for educational reasons or for religious beliefs that didn’t also make that distinction. It seems like if homeschooled kids are also connected to the culture and society around them, then they feel less alienation. I still think it’s wise to have those discussions with kids just so that the lines of communication are open and kids have healthy, supportive relationships with the adults in their life.

6 mile run today with some sprints at the end of that. I had a program set up in my watch, but didn’t realize until I was running that I entered the 3 minute rest as 3 miles which meant I had to count sprints myself. I lost track, but hey, I got at least 8 in and a few more isn’t the end of the world. Mine were the very first part of the fat in my body that volunteered to go in tribute. I think I care more about it than dh does. Just because in my case, a greater than 100 pound weight loss tends to leave looser skin behind. I’d still do it, but geez, they could have been slightly less willing to go first.

Eh, it’s on the leaders in this example and not the Girl Scouts or the buddy rule. Scout y needs to go to the bathroom and needs a buddy. She tells the leader she needs to go to the bathroom, leader says girl x go with girl y. Problem solved. It happens all the time with our troop. Since we have Cadets to Brownies, often a Cadet goes with as a buddy, but two Brownies can go. If you have a buddy already identified, tell the leader and head off. If you don’t, in about two seconds the leader can arrange it.

I find running belts in general ride up higher than one might like. I don't have a flip belt, but another kind of belt, fwiw. Have you seen it in person to see if it fits what you want to put in it? Are you just looking for a place to stick your keys and some fuel or do you need to store more in it?

It depends on the council and the troop to a certain extent. My girls didn't have to pay for the cookies up front and our troop didn't either, but a few weeks in, the troop was responsible for the first payment on the cookies we checked out. And my girls checked out cookies from the troop to take with us to sell door-to-door. We had to turn in money or we needed to turn in cookies. Ever since council moved to allow troops and scouts to sell cookies that way, our cookie sales have quadrupled, but they've also had cookies leftover that they ended up donating to the food pantry because troops checked out too many cookies and the baker doesn't take them back. That being said, like you said, it's not an MLM. My girls did not have to recruit people in their downline who then had to recruit people, and so on with the idea that the bigger their downline, the greater their incentive. Their incentives and the amount of money the troop got was based on the number of cookies they sold, not on the number of cookies the people they recruited (and the people they recruited) sold. My issue with Beachbody is that it feeds into the overall fitness and diet culture BS. If what Beachbody was selling was simply the exercise videos, then maybe I'd look kinder on them, but they're not just selling workout videos. They're selling workout videos plus Shakeology while tossing in all of the icky stuff that you get with an MLM. They also prey on people with deceptive before and after pictures by highlighting the "results not typical" people.

Time change did not help. The kids were all dragging. I need to remember next year to take the week or some days off. Or just do something completely outside the norm. Then again, we're contemplating public school for next year, too so then it will be someone else's problem. bwahahaha! I'm in week 2 of 12 right now. So, about 11 weeks-ish to the half marathon. I've got a few races to run as training runs before then. I'm about a month out from the first one. It strikes me that it's meant in an ironic way. As in, if they're going to say "you lift like a girl" in a derogatory way, we're going to turn that on its head. For me, when I see it, I think more stereotype busting than "second class" status, girl-y kind of way. Unless someone likes girly and then hey, you (general sense) do you. I understand the reaction, though. I finished out the training week last week with a 2.75 mile run on Friday (forgetting my gloves and shortening the run by a 1/4 mile so I wouldn't be so miserable). Saturday dh and I ran 6 miles with strides at the end. Sunday was long run day with 9 miles. Total mileage for the week was 27. Monday was a rest day. Today dh was supposed to head to the gym with me, but he decided to run errands before he had to go to work instead. Sometimes he's a great training buddy, and sometimes he's far too "oh, well!" for my tastes. I elected to put my training first and decided not to go with him. Ran 3 miles on the treadmill and did some strength training. I have made my peace with the treadmill. I'm finding it's a great way to keep my easy runs really and truly easy. I set the pace and then just run. When I run outside on my own, I tend to run faster than I should for an easy run. Score one for the treadmill.

Nia Shanks is another one who has a good, level-headed, and evidence-based take on weight loss. I’ll lini it in case you find it helpful - http://www.niashanks.com/uncomfortable-truths-nutrition-health-fitness/ Regardless of how much weight you have to lose, I think focusing on other goals can be helpful because often times the pursuit of those things for their own sake often results in weight/fat loss. Kind of like running. If you run because you love running and do it just for the sake of running, then weight loss/fat loss/body re-comp usually follows. On the other hand, if you run because you think it’s a good way to lose weight, then chances are you won’t stick with it and you’ll also find it’s an ineffective tool. But you don’t have to run, or do yoga, or take up any specific exercise me or anyone else mentions. Maybe right now you just focus on adding in some physical activity - whatever it is that you enjoy and even if it’s only walking around the block. First, because it’s a great way to deal with stress. Second, because often times it is accompanied by endorphins which helps your mood improve. And lastly, because being active can remind you just how amazingly wonderful your very own body is *and* how very much you are worth it. You are more than your body fat. You are more than the number that reflects how much gravity pulls you to the earth. You can pursue health no matter your size. Weight loss may accompany that - can accompany that, but i proved health can be found even if it doesn’t happen in huge amounts. To me, that’s worth pursuing all by itself.

I’m with laurie4b, wintermom, and Pawz4me. I would also caution against keto mostly because for you it doesn’t seem like it would be a good fit. If Paelo/Whole30 had been a more sustainable thing for you then maybe I might leave it in there. Maybe. Probably not. I’m fairly anti-keto and certainly anti-hype surrounding keto. It’s not a magic pill and Dr. Fung is a nephrologist so for me he’s not real high on the list of experts. His previous association with Jimmy Moore doesn’t do him any favors, either. YMMV amd all that. If WW worked for you in 2004 and the new plans don’t, then I’d say it’s the new plans. Do you still have the plan info from 2004? If not, it’s possible you can find the info online. I’d consider doing that because you said it did work. Calorie counting is imprecise, but there’s a difference between satiety in low calorie foods. So you can eat lower calories and not feel ravenously hungry if you keep that in mind, that being said, I’m more concerned with the way you talk about your experiences - there’s a lot of “I did x then I ate y and decided to give up.†It seems like that’s a pattern for you and it reads to me like self-sabotage which can be a very powerful way to make sure you stay exactly where you are. Here’s what I can guarantee for you about losing a significant amount of weight, it is going to be full of plateaus, setbacks, small weight increases, large weight losses, bad days, good days, just alright days. Your weight loss graph will be full of ups and downs. And ups. And downs. If you zoom out you’ll see the larger trend, but if you focus on any one little up, then it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. So, above all, it’s time to deal with how you deal with setbacks. You are not a failure if you have a piece of candy and there’s no need to give up and eat whatever because you did. Keep on keeping on is my motto. I’m down with anyone who addresses the mental game in weight loss. So, maybe the Beck Diet might work for you or Dr. Doug Lisle’s “The Pleasure Trap.†Lisle’s big on calorie density/satiety, but he comes at that within the context of veganism so that may not work for you. I would have recommended Brian Wansink’s stuff in the past, but he’s got some credibility issues right now. There might be others out there that I’m not familiar with. I’ve seen Bright Line Eating mentioned here and there, but can’t say much beyond that.

The second shift part would not bother me. Dh has worked second shift (3-11pm) for nine years now. We like second shift. :) The bonus with the four ten hour days is that it cuts one day’s worth of commuting off. If he were working 5 8-hour days then there would be an additional two hours worth of commuting in the mix. Like others mentioned, there’s always the possibility of relocating to be closer to the job if it ends up being a really good fit. Even with the commute, if the pay increase is big enough, you could still come out ahead even before you take into consideration the fact that this might open up more doors than if he stays put.

There’s also no such thing as spot weight loss which is a shame. I wish some parts of my body had stuck around. Instead, they volunteered first and the weight I’d really rather not have stuck around would have taken it’s place.

I agree with FuzzyCat. Where’s the photos? ;)

Well, when my kids were little, dh worked less. That’s before he took the pay cut so when he got home from working second shift, we’d stay up hang out for a little bit before going to bed. He’d also be more likely to be home in the mornings before he went to work second shift. The kids went to bed around 7pm. On his days off, we’d spend time together after the kids went to bed. Dh works more now so we spend time together differently. It’s probably less time over all, but that’s less to do with the kids and more to do with other concerns. That being said, we’ve always spent quite a bit of time talking here and there through out the day, especially after getting the smartphones. In fact, being able to do that here and there, a little at a time, has been hugely helpful for us. Also, when I say we spend time together, it can also be in parallel, individual pursuits. Last night, dh played a game while I read a book. For us, that counts.

They don’t offer a read away the fines option here, or really any reduction, amnesty, or grace. You pay your fines or they put out a warrant for your arrest. I don’t know what the threshold is for that as I think the most we’ve owed is $2 and I pay promptly. I would hope it was a significant amount of money and I’ve bern chided by other posters in the past for saying so, but I think it’s wrong. They used to charge ten cents a day, but they joined another library system and raised fines a quarter. I have a twenty-five cent fine on my account right now so my account status is listed as “delinquent,†but I can still check out books. They do let me use and manage all of the cards for our family so I guess that’s something.

I agree. I can’t speak for every state, but at least for the state in question (Wisconsin), the answer for where to get that affordable liberal arts education was that the state university was the place to do that. Obviously, there are other factors at play for why that maybe isn’t the case so much these days. Wisconsin in particular has educational funding issues at all levels - some of which have been self-inflicted and that makes the specifics slightly more complex and yet those same underlying issues/attitudes toward funding are, imo, underpinning the chosen solution.

Oh, I definitely agree with you here and I agree that it does seem to be a change in how we view the fundamental question of what it means to be educated. In the past, the answer was that there was value in educating everyone, but it seems to me that the answer now is that a well rounded liberal arts education is reserved for those who can afford it and have the financial means necessary. Those without that means just need job skills and so let’s cut anything that doesn’t facilitate that goal.

Dh had some back pain the other day so I’m mostly by myself this week. I was going to swap a rest day for cross training yesterday, but ended up sticking with the rest day as the kids this week are having a tough time focusing and then I had to volunteer at the Girl Scout meeting last night. Today I need to run, although I can’t remember what the workout is at this moment. I’ll either get it done during the day or I’ll do it on the treadmill after I drop my kids off at their grandparents house for their sleepover. It’s warmer outside so I’d prefer the first choice.

The University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point is mostly eliminating its humanities departments - https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/13/faculty-members-wisconsin-stevens-point-react-plan-cut-13-majors In what seems to me more like the technical college model (at least as I am familiar with here), the faculty that remain will teach the minimum, token courses that the non-humanities majors require. To me, it seems short sighted and signaling that we no longer value a well-rounded liberal arts education. It also worries me because my kids will likely attend college within the UW System. I think technical colleges have their place and I think college costs are out of control. I empathize with those who have large amounts of college debt and that is out of proportion with future salary potential, but is this really the only solution? So, short sighted? No big deal? I’m curious what others think.