Off topic, but I second the advice about Firefox. It makes navigating the forum much easier.

Oh no way!!:) OK- We live off the grid south of Dillard (which is just south of Winston). Apparently my neighborhood is fairly well known- a bunch of California hippies settled some acreage in the hills in the early 70's, and we bought some of those acres in the late 90's. It's very beautiful, and the neighbors are a diverse mix folk. There still must be some great rumors about it, because when folks in town see my driver's license they ask if I live at the "nudist colony" :lol:. I think Myrtle Creek is so pretty! What a lovely place to grow up! Though I must admit Portland as my favorite city in OR.

I grew up in an oil town in Texas. The whole feel of Winston (blue collar, outdoor industry) strangely reminds me of small towns there. OH yeah, except for the giant trees!

We have certainly seen organic prices rise here, (though not quite as drastically as the article's examples). We will *always* eat organic, so here are some of my strategies for keeping it in budget: * Grow some expensive items (lettuce & tomatoes in containers on the porch) *Look for alternative sources (local farmers who aren't officially organic but who follow organic practices) * Start looking at by-the-pound prices and be more flexible in my cooking (trying ingredients that are on sale *Buying at costco (savings of at leat 50%, but I have to be willing to store and plan) * Eating less prepared food (costco org. tomato sauce and spices instead of the expensive pasta sauce already made) * Stocking up on sale items (less convenient) * Eating less- an underrated strategy. We feel better now that I am only making dessert once a week, and monitoring portion sizes of expensive (usually high in fat) items. We really enjoy our portion of chips, for example, now that we aren't snacking on them all day long. So far I have kept the grocery budget stable! OK that may have been more info than you were asking for. Can you tell this is on my mind? :tongue_smilie:

This is a great link! Thanks for posting it. (BTW, we use Organic Valley- I will think of you next time I eat cereal!)

I read them Sunday also, with a big cup of coffee. :) I can pick out the main things I want to emphasize and make up a mini-schedule for myself so that I can just pick up and go during the week without that dreadful feeling that I am missing something. I often read the geography notes to the kids while we are doing the maps, but most of the teacher background info just comes out conversationally during our history time.

It's paraben free, and though it still contains too many chems for me, it seems to be a lesser evil than our fair skin burning to lobster red. I can usually find it at my grocery store on sale for a reasonable price; I picked some up yesterday (32 SPF for kids) on sale for under $5 for 4 fl.oz (we rarely use more than 2 tubes of this size all summer, and we are out A LOT). It seems like it really stays on, does it's job, and our sensitive skin handles it well. :)

Wow~ There are some great ones here! My latest fave: To work is to pray- St. Benedict

Thanks, Sheila- I'll check in to it. I have been wondering about my college Bio text! I tossed it many years ago, thinking that the information was probably outdated before I even finished the course. I also figured I could look up anything I needed on the internet. I don't know how many times I wished I had it for those quick questions!

I did a little jig when I saw the Campbell text! Thanks to all of you who posted about that.. it is just what I am looking for. Problem is... how do I get there from here? We are currently doing RS4K I with the Tiner books, and Apologia Physical/ General may not be strong enough as a transition. (Please feel free to correct that opinion). (BTW, I am wary of Apologia's "rhetorical excess" moments, so would only go there if the strength of the program justified it, KWIM?) So....For those of you intending to use Campbell's Biology (or similar text for science-minded kids), what are you doing /did you do for logic/dialectic stage? *I have been reading old posts for days now and I am hallucinating a bit :tongue_smilie:. If this has been discussed somewhere else, please forgive me, and direct me there!

I totally agree! I just ran to my bookshelf to see what i had there to recommend, and ended up standing there saying "Nope.....nope.....nope....". Beautiful stuff, but dark dark dark.Without getting into a discussion of postmodernism here, I can say that most modern literary works just break my heart and make me want to stay in bed for three days. I'll check out Gilead now! Thanks

This works for us as well. We have been going through a manners book and rehearsing the situations where the manners are applicable, and it has made a difference (my ds is an aspie and likely has other undiagnosed issues. It's a wild ride, isn't it?:))

I feel like a country cousin... I am about 20 miles south west of Roseburg OR. Our gravel road doesn't have a name, just numbers for the logging trucks! I grew up in Texas but have been here 11 years and this is definitely HOME for me. I love it! (Hubby has been here 30 years).

We started RS4K yesterday, and after reading this post and then checking out the Tiner books I decided to order them. Thanks for letting me in on these!:)

:iagree: Wow, Heather, that's a great post! It mirrors my experience perfectly.

And perfect timing for me, too. Thanks!!

When you order, you will get permission to take a look at the Loom online. If you are ordering Yr1 it will come as a CD to look at on your computer (YR2 CD is not out just yet). It contains a file of all the books you will need. The cool thing is that you can organize the file any way you like (by level, by unit, alphabetically, etc.) This makes a customizable shopping list for you! The Loom also contains reproducibles, graphics, a lovely intro to TOG, and much more. You can get an idea of the books used before you receive by looking at the bookshelf. A pretty good list can be made by using the 'power search' option. Once you get your bundle and play around with it, it will all become clear! Really! (BTW, I ADORE TOG and feel it saved my sanity :))

A quick reply: My advice is to just order the bonus bundle at first, and after you play with it some, place an additional order. I am just finishing up with YR1, and I wish that I had ordered my books unit by unit (not all at once). There are just some books that I did not get to, and I would have been able to make that judgment after doing the first unit. I did not order Evaluations, but I liked the Pop Quiz CD's for myself! I even had the kids listen to them in the car. If you order unit by unit you can make that determination... for example I ordered all the lapbook CD's and after unit one the kids decided they wanted to come up with their own ideas! I have three unused lapbook CD's I will have to sell! This year I just ordered the year plan, and will go through it before every unit to determine which books and extras we will use.

I live in Oregon and I would have to agree with those who caution about driving the coast road (we call it 'the 101') if you are on a tight schedule. It is VERY slow going and certain parts are more scenic than others. Google maps and mapquest are notorious about using gravel logging roads across the mountain ranges! Using major roads when you cross the ranges save lots of time (and keeps the stress level in check!) If you are trying to hit the redwoods in North CA, I suggest traveling on I-5 to Grant's Pass, cut over to the coast road, and do the coast road up to Bandon, Oregon, then go inland on Hwy 42 to Roseburg and get on I-5 to Portland area (saves many hours!). You get to see many different ecosystems and lots of pioneer history. Bandon has a lovely campground called Bullards Beach. It is (in my opinion) the most accessible small town on the south coast and has more grocery, etc. than other south coast towns. If you do that route, go to 'The Crazy Norwegian' in Port Orford for lunch... best fish and chips on the south coast!

I am not sure if it works or not, but I do know that when my husband worked at a coffee house he had a line of moms buying coffee for their kids on their way to school. All of them claimed it made a difference in their school performance, so maybe it has more to do with focus than behavior. Maybe you could make up a simple 'focus test' for the next coffee try?