Wow. If this is you trying not to sound cold or snarky, I'd hate to see what you *really* want to say.

Yeah, there's nothing I really want. I know the dh *hates* shopping and I respect that. I did go ahead and buy myself my favorite LL Bean slippers recently and told dh he would have to wrap them and put them under the tree. To me, Christmas is for the kids. I get plenty of pleasure watching ds open his presents.

This is something I saw in my twin brothers. I think one of them wanted to make more of a separation from his twin and forge his own identity. It's something that still plays out to this day, even though they're 40 and live in separate states. When they get together, G. is frustrated because J. still does the whole cooler-than-thou thing.

I feel more free owning a house than renting one. For one thing, I have too many animals. For another, I want to be able to do whatever I want with where I live. There's no incentive to paint or make any upgrades when you rent.

Yup. Ds (11) has a 4x4 Expedit in his room. It's all full up, except for one box, which has a towel in it. The 21 yo cat naps there.

I started with the fake trees in 1997, the year we moved to Florida, because I was afraid I'd bring scary bugs into the house with the tree.

Sort of. The dh went on a rental house hunting trip without me (ds was 6 months old at the time) before we moved from FL to WA. At the time we had 5 cats and 2 dogs and didn't want to lie to any potential landlords about it. How awkward if the landlord happened to live next door or something! It was an incredibly frustrating weekend for dh. Even though we are very responsible people so many potential landlords just laughed and refused to deal with dh. I can't blame them--it is a lot of pets. He finally found *one* place that would take us, with a HUGE deposit. It was much bigger and more expensive than what we needed or were looking for (it was a lakefront house). Basically dh looked at it and signed the lease. After the weekend he had, he would have taken pretty much anything if the landlord had said they'd take us and all our animals. I hated the place. It was cheaply made and when we moved in during the middle of September it was outrageously HOT. It's amazing what the sun reflecting on the water can do to heat up a place. But we knew it was only temporary, so we dealt with it. We didn't use the lower level at all for anything but storing the boxes we didn't need to open and lived on the upper level. Our house in FL sold within two months after we left (with all the animals, we knew it wouldn't sell while we lived there) and since we had signed a one year lease we stayed in the rental until the following summer when we bought the house we live in now.

Now...on to my new discovery. The Bloomsbury Group is republishing early 20th century books that look like my cuppa tea. I am starting with Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys. Aren't those Bloomsbury Group books gorgeous?

Ugh. I've been looking for answers too. I have the same thing going on...for about a week now...and it's no fun. I'm not sick enough to stop going about my life, but I'm sick enough that I'm totally exhausted at the end of the day. I've got the head pressure, the clogged throat. I can still breathe through my nose, but I can't quite get rid of what seems to be dripping down from my sinuses. My tummy has gotten really sensitive since getting my gallbladder out in March, so after I couple of days of my standbys--Advil Cold&Sinus during the day, Alka Selzer Cold at night--I'm queasy and had to stop. The dh had it last week as well. He was hit hard and missed work on Tuesday and came home early on Wednesday, but he's over it now. I'd much rather have had it that way than this slow misery. Plus, Saturday morning I slipped on my icy back deck and landed HARD on my butt on the edge of a stair. So I've got that discomfort going for me too. Maybe I'll make some hot&sour soup with dinner tonight.

I'm waiting to see what responses you get. It's *hard* to find a good pillow. I've always wondered what people think of those buckwheat hull pillows.

I can definitely see the points made about an expensive well-made bag lasting for *years.* But designer bags is not a path I can go down. I'm a collector. Next thing you know I'd know everything about bags. I'd be on ebay all the time--if not actively shopping, then watching to see which ones go up in value and which ones go down. I'd obsess over the new collections. It would end in the financial ruination of my family. :) I know my limits.

I'm not Christian...I'm more of a heathen than an atheist...but I recognize December as a month of giving and sharing, culminating on December 25. I love a pretty Christmas tree with gifts underneath. I love decorating the house and yard with lights. I say Merry Christmas to people, though I'm one of those who is more likely to say Happy Holidays until I know that the person celebrates Christmas. I get what Christmas is about and I honor why it is important to so many people. If the majority of the people in this country celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and his story is one of love and forgiveness, how can I not think that's a good thing and want to take part in it? And I share the story, to the best of my knowledge (but without seeking out more knowledge) with my son.

I've been told that the homeschool cafeteria is far superior to the public school cafeteria. :)

We do Santa. Ds is 11 now and he *has* to know that we are Santa. Right? In our house Santa has always gotten ds the things that mom and dad disapprove of, so that's part of the fun. Ds wants a Nerf gun? Mom won't get it (you'll shoot your eye out!), but Santa will. Video game? Mom says, "Ugh. You need to spend more time reading. And video games are too expensive." But Santa comes along and undermines me. I'm pretty sure ds knows that Santa is the part of me that's a little more...fun-loving...and is afraid that if he acknowledges that Santa is me, that part of me will go away. So I'll keep playing along.

Has your ds read the Hunger Games trilogy? My ds (also 11) really loved it. I didn't really expect him to go for it since the main character is a girl, but he did...and how! Right now ds is into steampunk and recently enjoyed Leviathan and Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld. He's also liked the Stoneheart series by Charlie Fletcher.