Voted again. :)

I have a friend who's been in misery for months. She's finally got a doc looking into what's going on, but can any of you throw out some ideas? She's miserable, and the testing is going slowly, and it's stressful. Here's the basics: Watery pale yellow stools up to 20+ times a day, no appetite, unexplained weight loss, itchy skin all over, nausea, vomiting. No cramping, gas. Feeling full after just a bite of food. No blood in stool. Dark urine unless drinks a ton of water. Taking probiotics. Starting to feel fatigued in the evening, just in the last month. Progressively gotten worse since end of May. No gall bladder. Doc has ruled out IBS, liver issues, Hepatitis, diverticulitis, Crohn's, anything contagious. Waiting on a test for Celiac disease to come back. Colonoscopy to be scheduled next week. Doctor vague about looking for "growths and/or abnormalities on pancreas" but super detailed about everything else. Any ideas? She's worried. I think the vagueness about what he's looking for re: the pancreas is most stressful. Does this sound like it could be Celiac? What about a bile duct obstruction, even without the gall bladder? How would they check that? Thanks for any thoughts!

Voted again. :)

Ask the instructor for ideas. Growing up, I decorated horses with ribbons, garland, and sometimes I dyed forelocks with wash out hair dye. :) But these were my own horses, so the dye wasn't a big deal. Glitter and stencils would be fun.

I agree that the activities felt like work. :) They did here, too. We are more spontaneous with our activities, I guess. Are you sure the kids have outgrown the scavenger hunt idea? Maybe my 10 year is young (possibly!) but I think he'd still like that, especially if it's a tradition. We do chocolate in our wooden advent calendar. We order special chocolates for it - so it's a special treat. Full disclosure though: I ordered a Lego Advent calendar again this year, and a Schleich calendar for the little, so chocolate isn't going to be the only treat behind a door.

I don't have one, but have played with it a bit. It's too big for me. :) I am a small person though. Reminds me of those giant remotes that they market for elderly people.

Except for the emergency calls when a kiddo loses a baby tooth attached to the braces! :tongue_smilie: (BTW, I hope that worked out for the person who had that issue recently!)

You will have a wonderful time!!!!!

Voted again. :) I think I snuck in an extra vote, too, because one day I voted via my iDevice and the computer. Extra votes, yay!

So glad that your family members were there to rescue the pup. What is wrong with people??

Yay!

voted again :)

Thanks. Their website is agonizingly slow for check out. Keeps timing out. They must be busy. :)

No. Maybe if pigs were flying?

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I'm sorry that you're going through this. It's so very hard to see our (almost) adult kids make choices like that. Had he offered to pay more of the car insurance, suddenly? Before you asked about the $50? That would lend credence to the story. Without that, I'd be suspicious, too. Unfortunately, DH and I have been around the block a bit with a teen who made some bad choices, and I wish we'd caught on sooner. Hindsight is 20/20. I wish I had more ideas for you, but sending you lots of empathy.

Yes. Thankfully this option is available. This is how I received financial aid for school. I cannot remember what it was called in the 90s, when I was in school, but basically I had to declare independence. A good peer counselor in the financial aid office can help students with this. I am still grateful that this option was out there. ETA: I had to move out the day I graduated HS, just short of 18, and am very familiar with what kids in this position feel, and what they do to cope. Fortunately, I had friends and other family to help while I saved money for my first apartment. It took me 4 years of working 2 full time jobs to go back to school, which I did, and succeeded, but I am very aware that there was a lot of luck involved in how it all played out for me. And I had advantages that others didn't have.

:lol: Nope, I don't know many over-sharers. DH and I would never share a peep about it either. Of course, now I'm wondering about a particular abstract piece we have in our studio, and wondering if anyone sees it and thinks it was a LoveIsArt piece?? Aaaack! It wasn't! It's by a semi-famous artist, but we don't share that info unless specifically asked. Eek.

Why would anyone know how the painting was made? ...I'm thinking, first, it would be in someone's bedroom most likely, and also - why would anyone point out the process? We have abstract art in our home - quite a bit. We have a family full of artists, and many artist friends. DH paints abstract, also. So no one would ever be the wiser, I think. That probably influences why I think it's just fun. :) Of course, if your home is mostly traditional, conventional art, and there's one glaring piece that stands out, people might ask, and then the, ummm, artists might blush... :laugh:

What a great idea! How fun.

Voted. :)

Congrats! Voted. :)

Ouch. Though I must ask... What is a potato bake? Sounds yummy.

That would be cute. :)