We have some friends who went to Glacier National Park this summer and it sounds beautiful! I'd go there in a heartbeat. If you're looking for something maybe...a little more civilized...what about Vancouver? Much as I like seeing the world with the boy, Vancouver is a city I wouldn't mind exploring as a grown-up, doing grown-up things. And if you'd like things a little more low-key, Whistler is nice. It should be cool, but little snow yet and there are lots of outdoor activities. You can be pampered. And I wouldn't think it would be real crowded yet.

My hair is pretty short, not even down to my neck, and it is fine but thick and curly. When I get out of the shower and dry my hair I bend forward, letting all of my hair fall forward and put in a leave-in conditioner, starting at the roots and working toward the ends. I take it slow and gently work out any tangles as I come across them. For me, I've found it's really hard keeping my hair feeling healthy once it gets past a certain length.

I do weed. Anything that's still in decent shape I let friends with smaller children pick through. From that, the left-behind clothes are donated. Things that aren't in decent shape go to a textile recycling box. Do you have those around? Or are they unique to my area (Seattle)? We've got one at a convenience store that's on the way out of my neighborhood.

It's lovely! I love the side-by-side maps and I love the bookcases and it just looks like such a cozy and inviting learning space!

It depends on your market. How have things been selling lately? I can kind of see where both buyers and sellers might be tempted to avoid paying commissions to realtors. That being said, when we bought our current home back in 2000, even though the market was booming, there was absolutely no way I would have looked at a FSBO. I like the buffer of realtors. Buying and selling a home is a very emotional experience. It's nice to have realtors acting as go-betweens to keep negotiations from getting too heated.

Yeah, I agree with others that the reason why one travels is more likely to indicate politics than frequency of travel. If one travels for business, then it doesn't say much about politics. But a person who likes to explore the world is probably more likely to be liberal.

Oh yes, definitely leggings for underneath skirts! I wear Dansko clogs a lot (also good in cold weather with warm socks...my feet are nicely raised from the ground in them), so I've got no problem with wearing leggings, socks under the leggings and then my Danskos. Otherwise it's leggings, socks, boots.

I would check out a Burlington Coat Factory, if you have them where you live. I've lived in the Pacific NW for 11 years now, transplanted from Northern CA by way of Orlando, FL, and I'm *still* getting used to the cold. I don't work outside the home, so I don't have to worry about dressing nicely, and I wear a lot of fleece. I've got a few crewneck fleece tops from Land's End that weren't too expensive. I think fleece is warmer than any sweater. Keeping my feet warm and dry is huge, so I tend to wear wool socks (I have some that are store-bought and some that are hand knit) and hiking boots or muckers (Clark makes some nice muckers).

If I didn't have the money to throw a graduation party for my son, I would still *want* to. I'd swallow my pride and ask people to help with the food and hope that they recognized it was a special day for *him* and not make judgments about *me*.

For the past 5 years I've been taking the odd community college class here and there, mostly in the sciences, but some in the arts as well. I've always done well in my online classes, but I've always enjoyed *being in class* more. It's so helpful to have an instructor boil down the most important points; discussion of material is helpful too. With my own experiences in mind, I will always try to be knowledgeable about what my ds (11) is learning, pre-read what he's reading and be able to discuss and guide his learning.

I think your chicken piccata dish sounds perfectly lovely! Fish is something that cooks up fairly quickly, if you have a good recipe. One of my little secrets is to get some inexpensive salmon fillets (up here in the Pacific NW there are usually at least 3 different varieties of salmon you can buy at the meat counter), spread pesto over the top and broil it in the oven. I set my broil to 450 degrees so that I can be sure the pesto doesn't burn before the salmon is cooked through.

My dad's arthritis came on quite suddenly, and it was in his hands. At the time our family had received a shipment of pork from a relative's farm and he was the only one who would eat it, so the doctor's initial concern was that he had...is it trichimonas?...parasites. He would have flare-ups where he was really uncomfortable, but I think he must have figured out what some of his triggers were because the flare-ups got to be fewer and further between. Cold is a common trigger, but I think there were some foods as well, and I bet it's one of those things that's different for everyone. I wish I could tell you more about what worked for him, but I was a self-involved teenager at the time and my dad was a quiet, stoic man.

Just because he *can* read more advanced books doesn't mean he *has* to. Just keep giving him the things you've selected for him and if he seems bored with them then adjust accordingly. As grownups, we read lots of things--we're not always bumping up at the upper limit of our comprehension. If we were I imagine we'd get less pleasure out of the act of reading.

I drink a whole lot of coffee! But since I have problems with insomnia, I stop coffee no later than noon and drink water for the rest of the day. Ds and I try to get the bulk of teaching/writing type work in the mornings. In the afternoons we do more passive things--reading, watching documentaries (on Fridays)--things that we can break from and go take a walk if we need a little fresh air to perk us up.

I don't generally read to ds (11) at bedtime. He stays up pretty late and generally just wants to go straight to sleep. And I want to read in bed for myself. But most mornings I read to him in bed a little before he gets up.

We're only in our first year homeschooling, with my ds who would be in 6th grade this year. When the dh and I decided to pull him out of public school it was because we didn't think his K-8 had been/would be preparing him for college prep classes in high school. For now, our plan *is* for him to go to public high school, just because it seems easier for college applications. I'm not, however, going to push college on ds. I went straight to university from high school and paid for the whole thing myself. It was stressful, I didn't make the wisest choice degree-wise (while the BA in Russian Literature might sound rather cool, strangely enough, it hasn't translated into big $$$ in the job market). I think I really would have benefited from a couple of less-expensive years in community college and making a solid plan. Anyway, ease of college application is the reason we're planning on public high school, but I know it's not a good enough reason. We'll see where we are when ds is in 8th grade before we make a real decision. We're involved with the school district's homeschool program and he might decide he really likes that community. Even if we stay there, we will have a lot of support for the ins and outs of applying for college as homeschoolers.

I make mine with hamburger most of the time. Other times I do a vegetarian version, which means I just make it with more vegetables--maybe add some yellow squash for more color. 1 lb. hamburger 1 med. onion 2 med. zuccchini 1 lb. mushrooms, sliced 1 c. frozen peas 1 pkg. mushroom gravy 4 potatoes grated cheddar cheese oregano black pepper garlic powder basil thyme Brown the hamburger with chopped onion. Drain. Mix in the chopped zucchini and sliced mushrooms. Cover for a few minutes so that the veggies can soften. Add peas, and spices to taste. Usually the zucchini and mushrooms give off a decent amount of liquid, so when I stir the mushroom gravy mix in I only need to add a little more water to make a nice, thick gravy. Then I stir in a handful of grated cheddar cheese and pour the mixed meat and veggies into a casserole dish. While I've been doing that, I'm also making mashed potatoes. If I'm in the mood for something a little kicky, I throw a little horseradish into the mashed potatoes as well. I top the meat/veggie mixture with mashed potatoes and sprinkle grated cheese over that. Then it gets baked in the oven at 350 until the cheese is starting to brown.

I think you need some alone time, a little down time to catch your breath. When you have that need and it's not being met and you look to the future and don't see when it's going to be met, it's overwhelming. I don't know if this is something that would work for your family or budget, but let me tell you something I used to do. When the dh and I first married some 16 years ago, it was surprising what a hard time I had. We had been together for 7 years before we married; it wasn't like we got married and I was suddenly learning new things about him. It's just that, for whatever reason I felt...trapped. We'd fight and I'd feel like our conflicts were just MAGNIFIED because I'd made a vow to stay with him for the rest of our lives. So I'd leave...go find a motel room. It wasn't a power play. It wasn't a big dramatic thing that I'd do to get attention. I just knew that I needed to get to a place where I *missed* him. I needed that reminder. I'd leave him a note so that he didn't worry about me. And then usually by 9 in the evening or so I'd call him, because I *did* miss him and he'd come spend the night with me. All I needed was some breathing space to remember how very much he meant to me.

I joined for the curriculum reviews and comments.

My ds is 11. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays a friend of his, who is a girl (10) comes to our house from her public school in the afternoons for childcare. She walks with her trumpet on Tuesdays and rides her bike on Wednesdays. I've been having the ds escort her home once one of her parents calls to say they're home. It's about 1/4 mile and I'm always anxious until he gets back--not so much about strangers, but there's a blind curve on the way and a wonky intersection and people just drive stupidly sometimes on their way home from work. The girl's parents are absolutely comfortable with her going home by herself from our house, but I am not. Plus, I see it as an opportunity to teach my son gentlemanly behavior.

As someone who has both the occasional migraine and the occasional bad headache, I can tell you a bad headache can be pretty bad. It can still mean lying in a dark room with a cool washcloth over your head and a bucket next to you, whimpering. People *get* that about migraines. They don't necessarily get that about headaches.

Last year my ds was in 5th grade--his last year in public school. Science at his school was always really scattershot--it alternated with Social Studies on Fridays and the kids always had at least one Friday a month off. And assemblies tended to be on Fridays so the kids were lucky to get science once a month. Over the course of his public school years I remember them doing things like: --studying the life cycle of meal worms by raising them --creating small aquariums out of 2-liter bottles, with small fish, aquatic plants and snails --making an "electric city"--creating buildings/rooms out of boxes and setting up batteries and lights --they did some kind of experiments on erosion using tanks of dirt and pouring water in --they did some work with pulleys --in 4th and 5th grade they had science workbooks where they did exercises. There were readings with activities like supplying definitions, word finds, answering questions. Really, there was so little science it was disappointing...especially since it's one of my son's favorite subjects.

My ds had strep infections over and over and over again when he was in kindergarten/first grade (before that he had ear infections over and over and over again). He was in public school those years and missed an awful lot of school. But it wasn't until he developed scarlet fever that the pediatrician sent us to an ENT. The ENT told us the tonsils and adenoids would need to come out. He said that once a kid starts developing scarlet fever from strep it's more likely to happen each time they have strep and that in turn can cause heart damage. He really wanted to take them out right on the spot, but we waited until school was out for the year. It was a MISERABLE recovery. But ds (now 11) is *so* much healthier. I have absolutely no regrets. The ENT felt that the strep infection was never completely clearing from the tonsils and that when ds wasn't actively sick it was simply dormant...waiting for the right conditions to start reproducing again.

Heh. As someone who writes a monthly progress report for our school district, I wonder what our advisor would think reading something like that!

There are *so many* fun resources for Ancient Egypt! I could make it a whole-year study!