I second the need for validation....at least I needed it.

I can only speak to #1. DD tested as MG and was bored silly in public school K. We pulled her after that year. That being said, we know PG parents who make school work with large doses of afterschooling, but they do seem to share common complaints about continually having to push districts hard to get what they need. As for moving, I always meet new HSers who moved to our expensive part of NJ for the top rated schools and wound up pulling their kids out. I don't think there is a geographical panacea.

I had a similar kitchen floor. Heat works, but go for something you don't have to hold in one tiny place as you do with a heat gun. Some use wallpaper steamers, which cover a bigger area. I like the Heat n Strip, which looks like a toaster oven heating element in a box with a kickstand. Heat one section, then move and scrape while the next section heats. You might be able to rent either one. Scrapers have to be sharp, and better ones can be had at real paint stores as opposed to home depot.

I'd like to see universal, single payer, but there is a conundrum that seems present with my little bug (and perhaps others). A HS friend with dual citizenship flew her daughter back to Ireland to have an appendectomy because even with the flights, she cam out ahead of staying here. On the flip side, I know so many patients who come here because this is where the trials and treatments are for Stage IV OM patients. I've had experimental things done that patients just can't get approval for in other countries. Are existing single-payer countries pretty good at care up to, but not necessarily including the way-out-bleeding-edge stuff which is very expensive? There must be comparative data out there. How about a streamlined FDA? I can appreciate a randomized, double-blind study as much as the next guy, but the pipeline is so sloooooooooooooow, and I've seen treatments shot down for reasons that seemed more bureaucratic and financial than medical. How about tort reform? Insane malpractice premiums keep new grads out of family practice and obstetrics. We also have a horrendous relationship with mental health care at all levels... Maybe because we're stuck in a mode of self-reliant cowboy individualism; maybe because of misleading portrayals of mental health in media; maybe because GPs with one semester of psych throw Prozac at patients like Tic Tacs; maybe because the brain is the only conscious organ that has to choose to seek treatment for itself. Of all the possible changes, I'm most pessimistic about seeing any movement here.

Sounds nifty. Be sure DH spins around every once in a while, as if ready to turn into a submarine or whatnot.

Just showed the vid to DD. Very cool indeed. Congratulations. and thank you.

DW reports seeing something similar at an event -- more like a sash that was cut and draped like a yoke over the back. I'm stickin' with my liner idea for now.

I think I kinda jumped the shark last year. That's an Am. Girl Cadette outfit from eBay on the left, and a wiggly campfire on the right, made from a recycled PC fan blowing a fabric "flame" lit from below by LEDs. The whole thing is supported by an old backpack frame. It really looked nifty at night. Of course, what happened to Halloween, 2012 in much of NJ? It was cancelled due to Sandy....Figures. :glare: Usually, DD needs to decide on a theme by Labor Day, so I can start scheming. After last year, I think we're headed for some sort of woodland fairy just so we can re-use one of last spring's dance recital costumes.

DD's council went all out on a humongous five-section patch for the 100th anniversary. Pretty nifty. I'd also recommend the GS HQ in NYC as a good trip. Excellent GS museum there, plus one-on-one sessions about silver/gold awards, and a product focus group. You can get special patches from the president and the CEO ("Eagle One"), plus patches that international visitors have left -- DD scored one from Girl Guides Australia. All back-of-the-vest stuff, but very unique. I'm thinking I may have to start sewing some on the inside of the vest soon, as there is little real estate left on back, and I'm contemplating a zip-in lining of some sort to hide the stitching. The vest has to be double it's original weight already. Our council just set up a program to earn two UK Girl Guide badges, which sounds interesting. I think those might be considered front of the vest.

We're structured with variability. I know what we have to do on any given day, and it's usually in the same rough order. Juggling happens, especially during weeks with a lot of other things happening.

GS is like HS. You can join a troop like you can join a co-op, each with it's flavor, rules, etc. You can also do everhthing solo, joining other girls as the activities dictate. DD hikes the App Trail with one group, camps with another, and is raising $ for a Pax & Paris trip with a third. She's made friends through various workshops and events. It can be done well, and it can be wonderful.

The major manufacturers do tend to go by a naming system, even when the names vary store to store. For instance, a Serta "Allure" would be better than a Serta "Daphne" (totally making up names, but A before D, etc, is the point). Of course, that "Allure" in another store might be named "Allegra." The letter-system is about as close as you can get to comparing one brand to another, or even comparing the same brand across retailers.

Depending on the time of year, I would highly recommend catching a Vanguard performance.

We were pulling our little pop-up camper this summer in PA -- in left lane to pass a truck. A car passes us on the LEFT, that is, one wheel on the grass median and one on the gravel. AND he kicked up so much debris we got a nice crack in our windshield. I thought we were going to be in a pursuit vid on YouTube, but he was all by his crazy self, with no one pursuing.

I think we got a minor Verizon discount for DW being a teacher, but it wasn't much. Verizon just switched their share plans to include one big bucket-o-minutes for all lines -- of course it's actually more expensive than the old unlimited plan I have, which will disappear as soon as I upgrade a phone. Maybe there are newer teacher incentives that make it a better deal.

Sorry, but unless your DH is a Brit, this will send him to the garage to get his drill.

That was not our experience with DD's Bronze project, which involved running art sessions at the local family shelter. She did several weekly sessions, and once it was done, it was done. The project was approved by council.

Trying to think of which character in CATS had those furry shoulders -- I think it was Rum Tum Tugger.

I am not a fan of the new journeys as compared to the old badge system -- it seems watered down. DD has been a Juliette (independent) GS since Juniors, and as such, we can go into more depth than her old troop was wiling to (sounds like HSing).

I was on cholesterol meds for a while up until my diagnosis almost 5 years ago, when I changed diet and exercised like a mad man. It worked, but I haven't maintained it since going to Stage IV - that does tend to alter one's priorities. I did have great luck using the New American Plate cookbook by the AICR. Their approach is really great.

healthjourneys.com has a huge assortment of audio for guided imagery. I've used the tracks by Belleruth Naparstek for years, and she is phenomenal. What I couldn't find on that site right now were the links to her free downloads, of which there used to be about a dozen. You may have to poke around.

Blog, yes; FB, no. I seem to have missed the FB bus.

Social engineering is a time-honored hacking trick. Usually it's a call to your cubicle from "Bob in IT" who just needs your login to run a quick diagnostic. Of course, Bob is really in Kosovo and just got into the corporate network.

Thanks for your support! :hurray: I've also had moms turn their backs, although not in the same context. It used to happen when I was waiting outside to pick up DD from K (her only PS grade). I'd be chatting, and mid-conversation, I'd be set adrift so the mom I was talking to could go talk to another mom. I'm not talking about the usual polite lapses in conversation, either. Some don't believe me, but when one mom I've known for a while met me at a nature center program, she saw it happen and was aghast. Because she talked to me, every other mom there physically moved away from us, and did not speak to us for the rest of the program. She was stunned. I just shrugged. BTW --I saw SWB speak at a little college in PA -- truly awesome.

The guys on NPR Car Talk love the Mini, but if you're talking snow, I'd get a Subaru. We put a quarter million miles on our last one.