Definitely!

Yes, I completely agree with this, and just want to state for the record that I wasn't thinking of this situation at all when I said "your guests". An exchange student is much more than a guest!

I feel like I should clarify that even though I tend very strongly toward simply answering questions as they arise and letting this knowledge come slowly and naturally, I absolutely WOULD impart any knowledge that I felt was needed, even if it wasn't wanted. My dd has zero interest in dating at this point, so my approach has worked well so far, and she has come to me with questions when she heard something that she didn't understand. There are certain topics that we haven't covered yet, and when she starts dating, or before she leaves home even if she hasn't started dating, we WILL discuss those. It's a matter of health and safety. So, not optional. Not something to leave to chance or to let her figure out on her own. I didn't feel it was necessary to cover those at the age of 10, and given her personality not even at 15 (though I recognize that's not universally true). But before dating and by adulthood, yes.

Goodgawdalmighty, I can't believe there are people who need to be *told* that: You don't bring YOUR guests to MY house without asking first. You don't bring animals to others' homes. Period. You sure as all hell don't bring HITCHHIKERS to others' homes. EVER! Obviously manners and etiquette are gone, but sheesh how about some common sense! I'm such a socially awkward, extreme introvert that I just don't invite people over very often, and when I do it's only a few carefully selected people. This thread is a huge shock to me, but also a reassurance that I'm doing the right thing by living a bit like a recluse. ;)

And that's when I would have texted them back with the address of a hotel. ;)

For some reason I can't get the Psychology Today article to load, but my general opinion is that the topics you mentioned are not ones that a typical 10 year old needs to know about. Create a comfortable and supportive atmosphere where your kids know they can come to you when they have questions, and answer those questions honestly and in age-appropriate ways when they come up. That way, your kids can come to you when they are ready for this information, and there's simply no need to risk pushing this info on them before they need or want to hear it.

Carol, I agree. I know a family that is quite well off, and is spending tens of thousands of dollars per year to send their kids to private school for k-12. And even though they could afford it, they don't plan to help their kids with college at all, because they believe that should be entirely up to their kids to figure out on their own. I respect their right to make their own decision, but I can't say that I agree with it. It is harder than ever to pay for college, harder than for previous generations to get a good job and get started upon graduation from college. So I personally would much rather do k-12 on a shoestring and put every penny that I can toward college. The alternative is that my daughter might be one of the many who graduates with a ton of debt, then ends up un- or under-employed, and struggles for decades as a result. That simply IS reality for so many people today. The one part of that I can help with is the debt prevention, so I intend to do so. My daughter won't get to go to her dream school, because I can't afford it. But I can help her graduate debt-free from a second-choice school, and that's important to me.

Thank you! :)

Huh. Well in that case, I've got nothing. Sorry that happened, though! Very strange.

Did you buy the regular Nuun tablets or the "energy" (black case) ones?

Ibuprofen does nothing for me, but naproxen helps quite a bit. (ETA: the thing about the naproxen/aleve is that you have to take it immediately with the start of your period, or better yet if your cycles are predictable, start it a day or so before.) The Mirena IUD worked wonders for me in this regard, but I had to have it removed for other reasons (I had a side effect, but probably not one you need to worry about. It's so rare it's not even listed.) I really want an ablation, but my doctor says I'm not a good candidate for it. It was a miracle for my mom, though. I've taken tranexamic acid, and it worked like a miracle and had no side effects. Love that stuff! I can't take it anymore because I had to go back on BCP (for other reasons) and you can't do both.

I've heard a lot about this book. In fact, I think there have been other threads here about it. I really needed to place an Amazon order anyway, and this put me over the $35 for free shipping. ;) So it's on its way! Thanks for reminding me about it! Yes, I totally get this. Not a jumping up and down estatic joy, but some things, even everyday tools, do give me joy. I replaced these cheap plastic mixing bowls that I'd had for ages with pyrex mixing bowls from the 1940's and 50's that I gradually collected at antique and second-hand shops. I don't know why I love them so much, but I adore them! For many years, I put up with this annoying canister vacuum cleaner. I know a lot of people prefer canisters, but I hate them. I have to push one thing in front of me and drag another thing behind me? No thanks. Finally bought a nice, super light-weight upright vacuum, and I love it. That's joy. Even in the mundane. I have this old hand-me-down set of steak knives that are in terrible shape. It would bring me great joy to replace them!

I know that a lot of people think Dave Ramsey is too extreme, but I think that his kind of extreme might be what your daughter needs. You might consider paying for her to attend Financial Peace University, and then beyond that, just tell her no, you are covering all of the expenses you're going to cover. She may have to learn these lessons the hard way. :( I know I did. I know many, many parents who would disagree with you on that.

It's certainly possible that your body does a better job of "holding onto" salt than mine does. If you're not having other symptoms, then I wouldn't worry. The typical symptoms of hyponatremia are: headaches, fatigue, constipation, muscle cramps, confusion and memory loss, nausea and sometimes vomiting. The ones that I personally experience are: muscle cramps as the first sign, then constipation and fatigue. Luckily mine has never gotten more severe than that, but I did suffer with those for a long time before I figured out what was going on! Also, I feel like I should mention that if you're not getting enough salt, then the other electrolytes in your body, potassium and magnesium, will be thrown out of balance as well. So if you have symptoms of too little potassium, it's quite likely that because you're not getting enough salt, your body is also letting go of a lot of potassium, to keep the ratio right. Salt is usually the main culprit for LC dieters. Fix the sodium level, and the potassium level will fix itself. But that said, I'm glad it's not a problem for you! I do get tired of broth. The US gov recommends a limit of 2300mg of sodium per day, but if you're eating low-carb enough to be in ketosis, then you need about 5000mg per day, basically double. Being in ketosis reduces the amount of sodium and water that your kidneys retain, so you need to increase your intake of both. I find that the salt makes me thirsty, so the water part takes care of itself. But I have to make a conscious effort to get enough salt. I drink a cup of warm beef broth with extra salt added every morning, and a drink made with a Nuun tablet every afternoon. This is in addition to salting my foods liberally.

I realize that I sound like a broken record, but are you sure you were getting enough salt? If you drop to 60 g or less of carbs per day, you must dramatically increase your salt intake.

I highly recommend going to Linda's for inspiration! http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html The "main dishes" section has a whole sub-section of meatless meals. Also, some of the low-carb breads are quite good, and more filling than regular bread. Maybe I should say, they're quite good to someone like me, who hasn't eaten "real" bread in many years! You may not find them as impressive at first, I don't know. I admit, I'm very much a carnivore. :) But thinking about the non-meaty things that I commonly eat . . . I make creme fraiche myself, because it's super easy to make, and higher in fat and lower in carbs than yogurt. I will eat it with a small handful of fresh berries (lower in sugar than other fruits), or a mixture of chopped nuts and unsweetened coconut flakes - a bit like a low-carb granola. I also use sugar-freeTorani syrup to flavor it, but that's optional of course. I also like Linda's "mock Danish" recipe for breakfast sometimes. Avocados, olives, and nuts come to mind for snacks or with meals. Check out the "faux starches" part of the Side Dishes section on Linda's too. I'd say plan out your first week in detail. Plan your meals and make sure you have snacks on hand. That way when you're hungry you don't have to think about it and try to figure out what to eat, you just follow your plan. If you don't have a plan, you're much more likely to just eat whatever is around (or at least, that's been my experience!).

Oh, yeah, I forgot about the standing while pedaling parts. My gym does offer a number of water aerobics type classes, which I've never taken. Plus there are open swim hours of course. Maybe that's the way to go.

Oops, yeah, I should have specified which Santa Rosa I was talking about. But my question is, if you live in California, WHY would you come to Albuquerque?? :lol:

Well, the redness and swelling have gone away, so that's good. It's still very tender, and very stiff, so I don't think I will be running for awhile. :( Maybe I'll take some spin classes at my gym to try to keep what little aerobic fitness I have attained, while not stressing the ankle. Do you think that's a good idea?

Thank you guys so much! :)

Thank you! It's red and swollen and painful. And I'm feeling really stupid.

Yeah, I'm not much of a mountaineer, but I have enough experience to know that the temperature changes dramatically with the elevation. Not to mention, when you can look up at the mountain and see that there's snow up there, even if it's warm down here, that ought to be a pretty good indicator that it's colder up there! :lol: I guess I've met a lot of Mrs. Todds!

:lol: That must be it.

This thread is crazy! I've never experienced stuff this wild, but I have had multiple people insist that they made a long-distance drive in an amount of time that they could not possibly have made it. One was a woman who insisted that she had driven from here (Albuquerque) to Denver in 2 hours, despite multiple people in the room telling her that it takes 6 hours. Nope. She had done it in two! An interesting claim, considering she would have been driving 225 miles per hour in order to accomplish that! Another guy told me he drove from Santa Rosa to Albuquerue in half an hour. I said that drive takes two hours. No, he had done it in half an hour, because he's such a special snowflake. Again, apparently driving well over 200 mph! Even within the city of Albuquerque, I have had people tell me that it takes 15 minutes to get from point A to point B, when I know from much experience that it takes 40 on an average day, 30 if traffic is exceptionally light. I'm not even sure why people insist on this nonsense. What is that accomplishing???

That is just such a huge, HUGE change. Have you guys discussed any in-between options? Anything less drastic?