[Teacher appreciation gifts?]

Some of my favorite gifts from teaching co-op for 15 years:

sweet notes

gift cards

plants that could be planted outdoors in my yard 

 

not so favorite:

Mugs that say greatest teacher ever 

mugs of any kind 😂

Samples and business cards from your MLM (yep, I said it, sorry)

Anything that I have to feel guilty goodwilling because I don’t like owning too much stuff 

 

[Dumb things people say]

1 hour ago, 73349 said:

Tuna?!? Organic black beans with no added salt, please.

- Tree-Hugging Woke People

(like yours truly)

 

😁

Are you offended and correcting him? Geez what a snowflake, tree hugging, woke thing to do 🤣🤣🤣

 

[There’s a peacock in my yard]

8 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Was he admiring his reflection?  or wanting to fight it?

He seems to admire it 

[Dumb things people say]

1 hour ago, saraha said:

Someone said something to dh about driving a van (we have 6 kids) and his reply was “better than driving my daddy’s truck” which flew straight up the nose of the other guy and dh just smiled and walked away.

This is awesome 🤣

[Dumb things people say]

11 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I mean I think it has something to do with gun loving/toting,  red neck,  ‘Merica’ thinking but…..how exactly?

My oldest DS is this way (and he’s the one I quoted). I have an arsenal of stupid quotes if you need more 🤣

He’s gotten better the last year or two but the kid used to come up with the craziest stuff that left us like ????
It has to be a Ford truck for sure and Honda Ridgelines are just an insult to humanity. 

Maybe he’ll keep growing out of it 😅

[There’s a peacock in my yard]

I think they have a very short memory? He’ll go about anywhere for tomatoes. I was tossing him tomatoes and we rounded the corner and he saw the chicken coop and it was like “oh chickens” and he headed there fast. He was just down there this morning 😂 but it was like a surprise to him, you could tell. I think this is why they wander so much. They get a little bit away and they don’t remember a thing? I need to research this to back my theory. 
or wait …. Maybe it’s just that his ultimate goal is a mate and for the male brain s&x always trumps tomatoes 🤣

[There’s a peacock in my yard]

[There’s a peacock in my yard]

Guess who was at my back door this morning? 

[Dumb things people say]

23 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I usually use comments like that as an education tool, “It gets 53 miles to the gallon, and it hardly needs maintenance. I laugh all the way to the bank.”

This is all true but my family member would say “you’ll regret it when you need a new battery”. 
 

I’m not anti-Prius but this person is so I’ve heard all the angles. 

[Dumb things people say]

I can’t tell you what your DS’s BIL meant but I can tell you what the person in my family means when he cracks jokes about it 

“I wouldn’t be caught in that tuna can made for tree hugging woke people”. 
 

Not my words, his 😂

[Birds and bees near you?]

My yard is swarming with both 

I also planted a lot of Salvia last year too and man did that attract the bees. They love it. 

[My middle son took a job across the country]

Man, that is hard 😭

Not exaggerating, this is pretty high on the list of my greatest fears. 
 

As far as visiting, it depends on the relationship. Are y’all close? If you’re close and wouldn’t feel like a visitor they have to be ready for then it should be fine 

[Day of the Homeschooled Child (today) and homeschooled children's Bill of Rights: thoughts?]

No amount of regulating, legal action, or requirements will save every situation. A lot of kids leave PS without the education they need, suffer abuse, are influenced negatively by peers, etc. My PS was horrible, most of my trauma comes from it. While those families who don’t really educate their kids exist, I don’t think over regulating the whole group of us will help that much. 

 

[Bluetooth headphones recommendation please]

I love them more than I thought I could love headphones 🤣  They are so comfy, the sound is great, and they sync seamlessly with apple devices. I think the little extra was well worth it. 

[We're getting a Whole Foods - What do I need/want to know?]

They have a salmon that beats all others except for a few pieces I've had at $$$ restaurants. It is the 365 and I didn't buy it for a long time since it says Farm-raised but it is by a sustainable farm in Norway? I can't remember the country but it is very good. Is is a two pound pack in the frozen section. I go there sometimes to get salmon and shop the sales. They can have good sales and their prices aren't as high as they were before amazon bought them. 

[There’s a peacock in my yard]

6 hours ago, Shoeless said:

Our neighbors had a peacock for a while, but they ended up rehoming it, much to my relief. They are pretty, but this guy was a jerk!  The thing used to come by my house and scream at its reflection in the door every morning at 7 am. I chased it off with DS14's rc truck, much to the horror of my neighbor's grandkids who were visiting that day. 

my neighbor works for an insurance agency and she said she just had a filed claimed. The guy is building a house and the neighbors peacocks broke out a few of his large windows. They’re pretty obsessed with reflections but goodness that’s crazy right?

[There’s a peacock in my yard]

5 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

@Ann.without.an.e How is your peacock doing?

 

I think he moved on 😕. He is on the search for a mate and he gave up on our chickens. He hasn’t been here for two nights now. I can tell DS was a little sad. Unfortunately for him we don’t live in India so he’s not likely to find a peahen around here. Poor fella.

[What do you think the pay should be for this position?]

I know subcontractors are paid more than hourly wage earners. Since there aren’t benefits, rights, days off, you pay more taxes, etc 

In the scenario the Subcontractor handles the client’s bookkeeping and other miscellaneous things for a small contractor. 
 

What does the hive think is a fair rate?

[Resource to fill in a history gap (from Julius Caesar to 11th century England)...]

8 hours ago, klmama said:

I forgot about Audible!  IMHO that would likely be better, as it's a bit dull to watch someone lecture. 

We used the audio CDs from the library for this, as they were free and easy for us to pick up.  Since you haven't used lectures by The Great Courses before, you might want to start at the library to see if you even like them, rather than using your Audible credit just to find out.   The first lecture of every series tends to be slower, since it gives some overview, so give it a few lectures before you decide. 

Here's a link to it on The Great Courses site, so you can check to be sure it covers the material you want.   
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/early-middle-ages

Here's the complete audio CD set with guide book on Ebay, if you decide you want to own a hard copy.

Wow you even shopped for me! 

 

I just ordered what you linked on ebay. I don’t have the bandwidth for decisions right now 🤣

[Resource to fill in a history gap (from Julius Caesar to 11th century England)...]

4 hours ago, klmama said:

The Great Courses has The Early Middle Ages lecture series by Philip Daileader available on Wondrium and possibly in your library system.  It's 24 lectures.  

I’ve never used anything by them. How does it compare from the great courses vs the same thing on audible?

[Help me dress for a canoe trip tomorrow...]

I can't remember ever going canoeing. We are taking a 10 mile canoe trip tomorrow but it won't be super warm. 57 degrees when we start at 10AM. Can I wear leggings? Can I wear athletic shoes or do I need sandals? I'm just really uncertain what to wear? Thanks for thoughts. 

 

[Bluetooth headphones recommendation please]

4 minutes ago, LuvToRead said:

I hope you enjoy them!  They sure look nice!

 

At that price, if I don't LOVE them, they are going back lol. 

[Bluetooth headphones recommendation please]

I'm glad it isn't just me.

I spent more than I wanted and ordered these

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YVYPNRD?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

I shamelessly got them just because they are on sale (me justifying it) and they are cute. 

[S/O Dodgy practices, dark patterns and subscription traps: who is getting it right and who, wrong?]

Not too long ago (I posted about it here) I was charged for Walmart plus using a card I no longer use and hadn't used at a Walmart in over a year. I never signed up for it. They told me I must've accidentally signed up for it at check out but I literally never use that credit card. Again, no ability to remove my payment method from the webpage. When I tried to cancel something I never signed up for they tried to convince me that I would regret that and that I needed this in my life. I rarely shop Walmart. I told the man, even if I thought this was the greatest thing since sliced bread, I'm canceling on the principle of the matter. 

[S/O Dodgy practices, dark patterns and subscription traps: who is getting it right and who, wrong?]

16 hours ago, Resilient said:

WIX website provider.  I killed my business two years ago, stopped paying on my subscription for the website and told them I was done, and still, EVERY YEAR on the anniversary of my billing cycle, they send me a mail EVERY DAY to tell me that my subscription will be taken away unless I pay up.  I think the only reason I actually did not end up paying for their service is that I killed the credit card they had linked to me.  And as for finding customer service.... crickets.

 

 

DD had a webpage with them. DSIL moved it to a provider he preferred and we canceled it but I have to fight billing every year with no ability to remove my payment method. Such a PITA.