Thanks, everyone! I ran to the store and picked up a few things to try tomorrow. :)

Oh, I'm happy with no peeling! :) I only left it on for the minimum time, so next time I'll try a bit longer. Overall, I was happy with it. And it's pumpkin. Yum.

The conditions of the nurse's "quarantine" sound quite horrible. There is no reason to subject someone who volunteered to help people in need to an unheated tent (is that correct? that is unbelievable!), to rude questioning, to so much of what she experienced. I am so sorry she returned to the type of actions she described. A quarantine doesn't mean she should be treated as a pariah or a criminal. Someone who voluntarily goes to help out in a crisis like this is not a criminal, and if it were me greeting her - she'd get a lot of respect, care, and gratitude. I want to know how they propose to carry out future quarantines. Where will people be quarantined? Not in tents, surely?? Not only must their immediate needs be met, some comfort given, but what about lost wages? 21 days of not working is a long time.

Thanks! And this is an a-ha moment for me. We never add banana, as we have allergies to it in the house. I wonder if that's the missing ingredient that would make our green smoothies more appealing, as we transition? Hmmm... Food for thought. We are dairy free, gluten free, peanut and tree nut free, banana free.

[shudder] Lab Rats! Aaaack. I agree it's an awkward age - so many shows are poorly done. What about shows like Mythbusters, the United Stats of America, stuff like that? SciGirls? It's on PBS, but it's not a cartoon. We like that one, here. Fetch (Ruff Ruffman). Have you seen all of the Jeff Corwin shows? Oh, and the one about looking for treasure on underwater ships - what is it called? Treasure Quest? I have a 10 year old boy, so his interests might be a bit different, but the above have been good ones. Also, Avatar - the cartoon series was good. He liked Star Trek TNG, too. And he's just started watching Dr. Who, though I'm not convinced about that one. :) He liked Merlin, up until season 3, at which point it was too dark for him. I'll be watching for more ideas!

Teach me to make a palatable green smoothie? I have a Ninja blender, hopefully that's powerful enough to do the trick. :)

I used the same peel, and the results were similar. I expected some peeling, but ... nothing. umsami, did you have any peeling? Maybe my expectations are colored by prior experience with Obagi. On the Obagi note - I never turned blue. But I did Obagi in the 90s. Maybe they've changed something in the formulations. Thanks for doing the research, redsquirrel. I think I might try some of the products you mentioned. My doc will write scrips if I ask. And yes, the hydroquinone part, when it was in Obagi at least, you spread evenly over the face. It lightens the dark spots, but you'll end with an even, overall brighter face. :)

Shouldn't there be some sort of rule that if you post here, recipes must be included? :)

Tempurpedic fail here, too. :grouphug: I'm sorry. It's even worse when you (or DH) have high hopes that something will help, and it doesn't. I found it hard to move, too hot, and had a gradual worsening of other symptoms trying to sleep on it. Our theory was that in addition to poor sleep due to discomfort... it was outgassing. Not good, as that impacts my chronic issues, and always causes symptoms. Hoping that you find the right sleep solution soon.

We use the dollar shave club. DH set it up, but we both use their razors. We've been happy with them.

Thanks! I didn't order the barn because we have one similar, but thanks to the heads up - I ordered the Scleich Farm nativity calendar. It was $29 instead of $50-something. DD will be excited!

Happy Birthday!

I agree with Scarlett here. Week on/week off really seems best for the kids. It would have been optimal for my DSS. (I posted our schizophrenic plan up thread.) And while the nest arrangement looks nice on paper... As a child who lived it, I don't recommend it. It didn't work for me, and I know it wasn't good for my parents.

:lol: Just an FYI: I'm going to share this thread with people from NPR. :D ETA: It won't cause issues for SWB. They will just find it funny.

50/50 custody split here, with DSS. It wasn't a perfect solution, and I'd recommend a different schedule but this is what worked for DSS's mother's work schedule: Alternating school nights with each parent (this is where I thought it could be improved - spending more than one night in the same bed, with the same rules). Alternating weekends. All major holidays were alternated as well, as well as the minor holidays, school holidays, & special family days. There were 35 listed holidays, I think? They included things like bdays, halloween, 4th of July, etc. All pick up/drop offs took place at school (one parent would drop off/the other would pick up) with the exception of summer time or some special arrangements re: holidays. Obviously we maintained full wardrobes and second sets of everything in each house, since drop offs/pick ups were taking place at school. Depending on the age of the kids, I've seen it recommended that the time with each parent be lengthened. So for an older child, it would be more like one week on/one week off. We never did that, again, because of DSS's mom's work schedule. I think this was an issue for DSS, though he would never have said so, it just felt a bit ... schizophrenic. :) My own parents took a different approach: they bought a new house, and I lived in it. They alternated weeks with me. So they moved each week, rather than me. This worked for a year or two, until I preferred to live with one parent only, and visit the other.

Congratulations to the new family! We still celebrate our "familyversary." :) I like the family gift idea, along with a card. Or if you want to order something personalized, with all of their names - that would be worth the wait.

My heart aches for this family. I'm so sorry, regentrude. What a terrible tragedy.

Those pain vacations are better than gold! Glad you had a respite. :grouphug: ETA: Yes, they do seem to come out of nowhere sometimes here, too. It's frustrating.

Oh! OP, I just thought of this: when I have a flare, my doc always asks me, first - before exploring other options - "What's different in your environment?" Sometimes it's something simple, related to the environmental stuff I posted above - a new cleaning agent, a piece of furniture. Sometimes it's not so simple - we'll have painted or remodeled, or something difficult to manage (those things outgas and always impact my health). A charcoal air filter helps a lot, as it filters out one of my triggers - VOCs. When you feel up to it, maybe you can think of your environment and what might have changed - perhaps you can pinpoint a trigger that you can avoid in future. A food, an activity, anything. Some things we can't help (like weather), but there are some things we can try to avoid. I hope you get a breath of relief soon. Wishing you more good days than bad. :grouphug:

We are a brand-specific family due to DS's allergies. I have to call to discuss manufacturing practices, so once we find a brand we like, we stick with it unless they change something. But some of the brands are store-brands. Harris Teeter organic raspberry preserves, for one. :) Wegman's store brand in some items. Enjoy Life products, Earth Balance. Sunbutter. And for me - coffee. Camano Island Roasters. Mmmmm. I like some others, but that's the current favorite. I'm not too picky about TP - we usually do Kirkland. Paper towels are Kirkland, too. Shoes - no knock offs there, either. I'll spend extra for good shoes.

OP, have they found him? I hope so. I was that parent, the one who had to call and have a well check done on a college kid - more than once. I replied yesterday to your post, but found myself worried about this last night. I hope they've found the missing person, and that he is safe.

Adding to the above: a period of poor nutrition can sometimes precede a flare for me. Mostly it's stress, overdoing it, etc, but I think that food plays a role for me as well. Oh, and exposure to environmental stressors - certain cleaning chemicals, mold, a new piece of furniture. VOCs always get me, as I'm a poor detoxer. That triggers hand/foot issues every time.

I agree with this, especially the bolded. It may even be that his parents were concerned and called campus police for a well check, thus alerting the campus police that the student was missing. It's basically a "missing poster", only delivered via phone/email. I don't think it violates HIPAA, despite the fact that they mention his name and that they are concerned for his health and safety. In fact, I think they worded it well (or your summary was nicely done!) and communicated the importance of finding him.

I always add something like "please respond with a 2 hour pick up window, if interested." If they give that info, I will give them the address. If they don't give that info in the first email, I delete it. If they don't show, depending on my mood (!) I will either offer it to the next person, or give them till dark before offering to the next person. If they email with a request to change times, no problem. Our freecycle group is very active, and we also have a system for reporting no shows. I've never done it though. Generally, I choose the same people over and over - the ones who always pick up on time. If for some reason they don't show up, I usually wait till evening, knowing something came up.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Thank goodness she is with you now.