The idea of selling something you don't have just says "wrong" to me, no matter how someone tries to justify it. Instead of overbooking, why don't just refuse to issue refunds? If you pay for the flight and then don't show up, you don't get your money back. Actually, I thought that was pretty standard, anyway. I am sure that there are nuances to this that I don't understand, but again, selling something you don't have to someone is unethical at the least, no matter how much business sense it makes. But yeah, no matter what, United made some really, really poor decisions in how they handled this particular situation.

Per the "overbooking is necessary" thing, NOPE. That is just plain wrong. They are literally, intentionally selling more seats than they have available! How is that not fraud? I truly don't understand how this is legal. (I know that it is...it just doesn't make sense to me.) If anyone cannot operate a business in an ethical manner, then they need to get out of the business. This is one area that the government should be intervening in. Overbooking should be illegal, and airlines should restructure to make it work.

I love calendarbudget.com. It's free. It's online, so I don't have to worry about a device crashing and losing my data. (That's happened too many times.) And it's in a calendar format, which I love! Only drawback is that it doesn't have an app. No biggie for me, since I do everything on my Chromebook anyway, and if I really need to access it on a mobile device, I can just pull it up on the web browser and go that way.

Also, just for reference on HP and ages, one of my dd's friends that is also 10 is still working through reading them, but the only thing holding her back is her own time management. Another set of siblings my kids are friends with are ages 9 and 7. They have both read all the books and watched all the movies. And one of my older kid's friend wasn't allowed to even start HP until she was a teen (she was highly sensitive). Really, to me it just underscores that it is dependent upon the child and the family.

Regarding HP specifically, my dd10 has read all the books and seen all the movies. Ds 9 and ds 6 have both watched up to Order of the Phoenix. It's been interesting to note how these things work for different kids, though. My oldest is 20. My youngest is 6. Even though I tried not to let what my older kids watch influence what my little kids watched, something obviously happened. My younger kids are just NOT as sensitive to things as their older siblings were at the same age. (For instance, we recently watched all the Jurassic Park/World movies. My oldest two could not have handled those movies at 6 and/or 9. Whereas, my two youngest laughed when the T-Rex bit the lawyer in half. :blink: ) As far as political or sexual suggestions/comments, I have consciously let go of some of my worry about those things. I've noticed they just go straight over their heads. When they're little, they just don't get it and just dismiss it. (For instance, in Jurassic World Owen commented to Claire about what dinosaurs need, including the need for sex, followed by "You can relate to at least one of those things, right?"--my youngest two definitely did not get the sex reference at all.) At some point, they start to pick up on the comments whether they really understand them or not, but by the time they actually start to notice those things instead of outright dismissing them, they're old enough to have a decent conversation about it.

I loved my soaker tub. I love taking long hot baths while reading a book. Then I moved and got an extra long one that I just slide down in until I'm completely submerged. Not helpful for soaking and reading. With either tub, I loved giving kids baths in the larger tubs, cause they didn't splash water out as easily and they had more room to play. It was practically a pool for them! Can't comment on the jets, but I suspect that I'd love them.

Based on that design without the mudroom, I vote for rectangle, too. You'd have seating in the dining room nearby, so I think the flow would win out over additional seating. I also think it would look nicer overall. Since there are really no other angles like that in the floor plan, I'd be concerned that the angled island would seem out of place.

I will probably hang the canvas on the wall. (It's a box canvas, not going to be framed). To address the issue that she rushed through it, I can help with that by providing a better place for her to work in the future. I can also give her the opportunity to compare the last picture to her first one, but in more of a general, noting the differences between two similar pictures. That way, she can self-evaluate her own job without criticism, and if she wants to do another one, she can.

Yes, she was "kind" and "sweet" to make another picture. My point is not that I don't appreciate her work. I know that tone can be hard to convey in text, but I get the feeling that some seem to think that since I'm even questioning hanging it vs having her re-do it, I'm not appreciating what she's done. That's not what's going on. It's not about being perfect. It's not about my having unrealistic expectations of a 10 year old. I am not being picky based on colors or design scheme. That's not what's going on. This wasn't some labor intensive work. She spent maybe an hour on it, at most. There were sloppy mistakes. I KNOW she can, and has, done better. I also know she was distracted (too many little brothers around while she was working). And, Catwoman, I am not judging her artistic merit. I am judging a rushed, sloppy job where I know my dd can do better...maybe you missed some key points in my first post. (Sorry if that sounds snarky.)

Because I'm going for a specific design theme and colors in the bathroom. The point was not to simply display the artwork. The original picture was a great design: very simplistic with minimal colors, but it needed a little tweaking, especially in the colors. DD and I talked about this. (She's as much into interior design as she is into painting.) She commented that the picture would be better "if" ...so I suggested getting the supplies and her making another one. She liked that idea, so we rolled with it.

It would depend on the layout of the kitchen and where the angled side would be facing. Do you have a diagram you can upload?

You have some very good points. Definitely a different perspective than what I was thinking. Thank you.

I still have her picture. I think I could do a bit of what both of you are saying: put the two together and let her "self-evaluate" and try again.

Her art teacher is verryyy relaxed. She doesn't spend a lot of time directing or guiding but lets the kids explore. "There are no mistakes in art class." I love her! Also, this is an easy painting, very similar to others she's done. With those things in mind, I am very confident this is something dd can do well without her teacher.

See? LOL This is exactly my conundrum! I'm thinking both of these things!

Do you mean she may not want it displayed? Or that she may not want to re-do it? Or that she didn't want to do it in the first place? Regarding display: she loves it when we display her art. She was thrilled when I asked her to paint a picture for the bathroom.

Delysum works, but it makes me drowsy, so if I want to be able to get up in the morning, I can't take that. Plain Mucinex helps some, but it only goes so far. I get to coughing because of reflux. I can take extra Prilosec before I go to bed to stave it off, but I'm trying to wean myself off that stuff, not take more! Medicinally, Zyrtec (or the generic) is what works the best for me, which is weird because I'm pretty certain it's related to reflux not allergies, but it works. The Vapo-rub under socks works really great, too! And you get quicker relief, IMO, than oral medicines. Sometimes, I do both. If I wake up from the coughing, I'll do the sock-thing and/or the Zyrtec, but I have to get in a more upright position (which means the couch, cause we don't have a recliner) until that stuff kicks in and I can lay back down in bed.

So, I posted a while back on how we're renovating the upstairs bathroom. (It's slow, but it's coming!) I asked my artsy dd10 to paint a picture similar to one she did in art class for the bathroom. She did it yesterday, but I feel like she rushed through it and didn't do as nice a job as she did in art class. Granted, in art class, everyone is focused on their art and there isn't as many distractions as working at the dining room table. So, I understand that she was probably not as focused at home as when she was in class, but.... The picture is smeared and splattered in a couple of places. I don't want to discourage her, but I'm tempted to gently point out those things and ask her to do it again, or at least fix the smears and splatters. The thing is, I KNOW she can do better! If that was the best she could do, then I'd hang it up and love it! But it just isn't. I'm thinking that maybe I need to gently talk to her about it, then set her up in her own bedroom, free from distractions and let her go at it again. What do you think? I really don't want to discourage her, but I also want her to understand the value of taking your time to do a good job versus rushing through and ending up with something that isn't your best.

Don't wear one. If that's not an option, go for a bra with small straps or a cami with built-in shelf bra. The straps will show, but if they're not the real wide ones, I don't think it would be an issue. People don't seem too worried about straps showing much anymore.

This isn't about dress code, IMO. Wardrobe malfunctions are not dress code issues, and with growing bodies, things like unintentionally showing intimate parts can happen without someone realizing it. Most likely, the girl isn't aware of what she is showing. A compassionate female adult should gently and privately make her aware of it. (I think the pant zipper down is a good analogy.) And a reminder to the boys about manners and respect toward others would be in order as soon as the first boy uttered a word. But, and again IMO, this should have been done immediately. What's the point of waiting until it has become an issue? By the time boys are "talking, talking, talking," the girl will be thoroughly embarrassed and humiliated when she finds out.

MOST people I encounter respond to questions and drop the other topic, but I have had some people that do what you say and circle back. But they've been so obtusely nosy that I don't know if any kind of "pass the bean dip" phrases would have worked on them. Ugh.

IMO, the key to passing the bean dip is...questions! Whatever you decide to throw out as a response, always follow it with a question. Question. Question. Question. "How's the family?" "Have you heard about that new diet ______? What do you think about that?" The initial response doesn't really matter, because you're not going to stop long enough to let them thing about it. Even a shrug and "I dunno" works, as long as you follow up with a question. And the question doesn't have to be related to the topic. Just toss it out and act genuinely interested in their answer. Most people will feel pleased that you want their input on some topic, even it's completely unrelated. :grouphug:

Re: leggings under skirts being banned....My niece went to a public school that had a uniform. Those that wanted to assert their individuality (like my niece) wore brightly colored, mis-matched socks and knee highs, because those weren't covered by the dress code! The girls would wear their polo shirts and khaki uniform skirts with a bright pink zebra knee-high on one leg and purple rainbow ankle sock on the other. :lol: I suspect that could be why a school would ban leggings under a skirt, if they were going for a uniform look.

I'm confused. Did you hear from your dd's friend, or did the friend text you? IMO, there are two separate issues. One, how dd responds to people talking about her behind her back. Two, what ds says about other people, especially family, behind their backs. I would probably address each issue separately. Personally, I would not address anything via text. If a situation warranted it, I may give short, direct orders such as "You need to come home asap," or at most, if I was certain this was happening, "Quit talking about your sister behind her back." I would not explain or clarify. That would be reserved for in-person discussions where I could listen to his side and we could discuss the proper way of treating others.

I would have to have a dishwasher, too. I hate disposable dishes. My days are packed enough without having to hand wash dishes after every meal. I would, and have, gone with a dishwasher for a short time. But I would be making arrangements to get one installed asap.