Yes, it is soooo difficult! Last year she and her brother were sharing an apartment there and she called me when they had the flu. "Mom, Luke's sick as a dog and I'm going down fast. Please come and get us." I threw two quilts and some pillows in the car and left within 5 minutes. :driving: She is only 2 1/2 hours away so it really isn't that bad. I just googled bed bug bites, these look smaller.

Yikes! I just googled that and it looks so painful! No, It looks like severe razor burn, maybe? smallish spots but very red and they are all over one leg and parts of her other leg. Thank you, Kai, for the suggestion! That was a good one, but I'm thinking not it. She didn't have them when she went to the dr on Saturday.

My daughter is away at college and just sent me a picture of one of her legs which has tiny little red bumps, very red but very small all over it. Both legs. No itching. She was in this weekend because she's been feeling bad, periodic fever, she thinks, general achy, yuckiness. She went to the doctor, she was negative for strep and mono. We are all allergic to this crazy ragweed so I sent her back with claritin and benadryl, which she has always taken and never had any problems. Any thoughts? Anything you all can think of that would cause these symptoms?

I simply can't imagine why the agent didn't want to close with you in the room. That's a big old broad brush painting the profession.

I had a neighbor who would go into a crazy panic every time she saw me emptying the dishwasher because of this little bit of crazy.She had three children and had never had anyone but her and the kids living in their house. How on earth did she get anything done while she was pregnant!

My husband has a Touareg he loves. I mean loves, loves, loves. :001_rolleyes: I drive a Subaru Outback and we use it for hiking and camping. It cost about half of the price of the Touareg, so I love it more.

Utne is fantastic.

Also, thanks for bringing it up! I am adding to my list by reading the other options posted here!

I read Slate, the Wall Street Journal, NPR and BBC. Slate is questionable but I like to read all the opinions for some reason.

That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.

I know!!! It's on Sprint lines so anywhere we go where the Sprint coverage is spotty, so is our coverage. We don't care. I've never used a ton of data but I need everything to be unlimited for my job. My youngest son actually watches Netflix on his phone and he says that at a certain point, the data slows down. I'm sure they are trying to curb everyone's useage. Since he is never in a place without wifi, he doesn't mind, either. There is no contract. We buy our own phones. We have 5 iphones and it is working perfectly. Our bill with Verizon got to almost $800 monthly!

I hired the best, most fantastic, super office manager in the whole darn world a few years ago, before I could afford her, because she found ME. She was selling ads for the local paper and since I buy a lot of ads, we started seeing her once every couple of weeks. After a meeting with her, she said, "If you all are ever hiring, I would love the opportunity to work with you full time. I love the energy here." John and I were doing all the jobs at that point and we had just started the company so we really had no idea how consistent the money was going to be. Hiring her sounded dreamy but illogical. I told her all of that. The next day I found her resume on my desk. :) A week or so later my husband and I were eating dinner in the tiny office and discussing how tired we were. He said, "just hire her. Offer her $* and hour. I called her and she said that wasn't enough, that would literally cut her pay in half. So I met her in the middle and I am so grateful for her every stinking day. I believe her pay is almost back to where it was at her last job, she can bring her 4 year old to work whenever she wants, we have a huge kitchen and cook all the time so I don't believe she's had to buy her lunch since she started here. We love her and she is our family now. Don't be afraid to ask for the job you want. What if you aren't qualified? All they can say is no, that's not a big deal. Sometimes they don't know they want you until you tell them. :)

You are never too old for a day care to hire you and....you aren't even old! You are just the perfect age for any job. Day cares don't really pay well, though. Maybe try and get some more classes behind you while you are working up to getting a job outside the home? If you had some training in Office and such it would help a lot. I have a business and am loving my middle age-ness. I find it easier to do business with everyone, people trust me and my opinion more, and I fear very little now. I hope your opportunities are endless!

actually, I'm sorry. That was mean of me.

and that wasn't judge-y at all! :)

I am so sorry.

Okay, my opinion may not count because I married at the courthouse 24 years ago in jeans and tennis shoes. Here ya go anyway. A wedding is a celebration and it is entirely possible and super fun to celebrate a zillion ways. I think tacky is in the eye of the beholder. :coolgleamA: The positive way to handle an unusual wedding is to have as much fun as possible and always, always take a flask. Okay, I'm kidding. No, I'm not. Weddings can be long and are more fun if you have a flask. I'm kidding. No, I'm not. Pot luck? Love it! Take two flasks and share. And some deviled eggs for the table. :party:

Changing to Virgin Mobile changed everything for us. Our bill is $50 a month with no contract, unlimited text, talk and data. We have 5 smart phones so this is a gigantic difference from the crap we were dealing with at Verizon. I make a living with my phone, the trouble free service is extremely important.

That's awesome!!! I love this topic! I can't think of any we've really invented, although I know there are some. When my daughter was young she could not walk through the front door without yelling, "Ta da!" She has always enjoyed a little celebration upon entering a room. :laugh: We all started doing it and it actually carried over into our work lives. Now most folks who work out of my office offer up a hearty "Ta da!" as they come through the front door. It is hilarious to hear if you aren't used to it, I suppose it is a little disconcerting. We all appreciate it when it is slow or after hours because if no one is manning the front desk, it lets all of us know we don't have to rush to the front to help someone. Excellent benefit.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/09/04/345827467/these-kids-grew-up-with-the-woods-as-their-only-classroom?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140904 I want to note, I am not an unschooler. We used TWTM with my older kids beginning in 1999 or 2000, I can't remember. I am in awe of unschoolers, though. Now that I am older, I see more value in this quote at the end of the interview. "So I am very confident that, as my children get older, that love of learning will allow them to facilitate whatever life path they choose." Lovely view of home education. I love NPR.

Also, sorry about the tragic bookstore closing but how neat to have met your husband there!!!

Thank you! We are going to rent a car immediately upon arrival so we can head toward the mountains on the first day. John has been to Vail but I've never been anywhere near there so I'm pretty crazy excited about seeing them!

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki Both of these recently made me a very tired person at work because I'd stayed up too late reading.

Thank you, Amyco! That's a lot of great info! The High Line Canal just made the top of my to do list! I do love me some real estate. :) I absolutely will not miss Red Rock, either. Seeing New Belgium Brewing would be just about the coolest thing ever, I'm hoping my husband won't mind if I drag him through another brewery.... ;) Mystery Jen, I saw the Chihuly exhibit in San Diego, I think? It is incredible. I am not sure if my husband has seen it. If he hasn't, he will love it. Veritasmama, is there anything cooler than a conductor grandpa? No, I think not. One of mine was a fireman, which I thought was the coolest grandpa job until now! ;) I will see the Georgetown Loop! Thank you all so much! Let me know if you think of anything else!

My husband has torn acl's in both knees. He had surgery and has gone on to run marathons on those knees! The recovery wasn't fun for any of us but we can laugh about it now. ;) I'm so sorry you are going through this, I know it is painful.