[Do ikea boxes tend to be of similar size?]

I just looked online and for most of the boxes all that was listed was the weight. The height, width and length were all blank. Ugh.

 

Can you call the store and ask them for the box dimensions (for those that are blank on the website)?

[Upper Body Workout DVD Recs?]

The Firm used to have an upper body workout that I really liked.  Looks like it's OOP but still available. I remember it being tough if I used heavier weights.  Now I would probably find it tough if I used light weights!  Maybe it's still hanging around here somewhere...

[AP Spanish versus college credits? A good deal?]

The state unis here would exempt a student from FL requirements if he has completed 203 (actually I think they exempt after completing 103), and would give applicable numbers of credits for FL classes taken at an in-state CC.  Even if your son's reach schools won't grant him credits toward college graduation, they might exempt him from having to take any more FL classes (unless of course he is planning to be a Spanish major).

[Electric bills]

Our highest-use months' electrical bills are around $35. Our house is small-medium, in a moderate climate, no a/c.  Our heat and most appliances run on natural gas; the highest-use months are around $90. 

[Daughter has to go gluten-free]

Last weekend at the request of one of my kids, I bought Franz GF bread... oh man, it is the closest thing to "real bread" that I have found in the GF category. Soooo good!

[2015-16 school year plans]

Oh my.  I am trying to ignore next year.  I will have a freshman and a senior.  They were just babies yesterday!

 

Senior will take precalc, physics, English, gov't/econ, and some type of "occupational ed" class.  Some of these will be DE at the local CC, or online, or at co-op.  I am not up to teaching physics!  I want the English class to be British Lit, but local CC offers only basic English.  Any suggestions for an online British Lit class? 

 

Freshman will take algebra 2, bio or chem, Spanish 2, English, art or music.  Not sure if we'll put world history off till sophomore year. This child would like to take a programming class too.

 

 

[I want to get rid of texting...]

 

You can still get flip phones. 

 

 

Don't tell my kids this.  I told them that flip phones aren't made anymore.  If they had flip phones, they'd walk around all day flipping them open while making Star Trek noises.

[balancing your bank account]

I was talking with a friend of mine and told her I hate balancing my account even though I do it with quicken. She was surprised I did that.  That got me curious so I asked someone else and they said they don't balance their accounts either.  How many of you still balance your checking/debt account either the old fashioned way or with something like quicken?

 

Yes. Both. Quicken AND checkbook register.  I am OCD that way. :P

 

Most of my post-college jobs have involved balancing multiple accounts to the penny.  I guess it's just ingrained in me now.

[where to take a kid for stitches?]

Based on my family's experience, the ped/GP will send you to the ER, where a plastic surgeon will do the work. We were told that's standard for facial wounds needing stitches/glue/whatever.

[What do you and/or your family members collect?]

Christmas ornaments. Anything sentimental that I want to keep, I turn into a Christmas ornament. My son's name tags from the summer camp he adores? Stick a hook in them, and they are ornaments. The ribbon from the bouquet I caught at a friend's wedding 20 years ago? A rice bag from my own wedding? Yep. Tags from the collar of our beloved late golden retriever. We ooh and ahhh over them every Christmas, and then we pack them up January 1. Every family trip gets a souvenir ornament.

 

I love Christmas and hate clutter. This is perfect for me.

 

GREAT idea!  I think I will borrow it!

 

[Who knows about genealogy? I've hit a wall.]

I'll take a little stab at this.

 

Do you have your grandparents' death certificates?  They'll show your grandparents' residence at the time of death, and may give clues to where they were born -- that depends on who provided info for the death certificate.  Sometimes the informant didn't know much about the deceased.  But an older sibling informant, for example, might give useful details.  Death certificates might give other info too.  Maybe scanned copies are online nowadays, but back when I was actively doing research, I had to mail for them.

 

You can search some immigration records online; for others you'll have to go to the closest archives.  Spelling can be very variable, depending on who wrote down the info, and who tried to read the handwriting to transcribe it.

 

Sometimes there just aren't any records; if Dad didn't go to town to register his child's birth with the town clerk, the birth registry won't have any record of that child.  Or if Dad was an immigrant who spoke with an accent, the town clerk might write down an incorrect name for the child.  Both of these happened in one branch of my family, in the U.S.

 

:bigear: hoping to hear other ideas!

[S/O of finishing Outlander series: Does something like this exist?]

Bee Ridgway's "The River of No Return" might be a good fit. I realize this is not strictly speaking exactly what you were looking for. :0) I found it by Googling "books like Outlander" which is how I generally find similar books. Sometimes it will also pop up Goodreads lists which are often more helpful than Amazon's "people who bought..." recommendations.

 

I think what I really want is for DG to write faster!

 

[S/O of finishing Outlander series: Does something like this exist?]

If you find anything like Outlander, let me know!  I haven't found anything that compares.

[Pork Chops recipe?]

If you want further details/ recipe just aske but here's a few ways I make them.

 

Place a slice of onion, slice of lemons and a tablespoon of ketchup on each pork chop. Cover pan with foil and bake til done.

 

Bread with almond flour and bake.

 

Brown and then put on top of casserole of cheesy potatoes. Bake.

 

Not the OP, but... what temp & how long? This sounds good & I think my kids would like it.

[.]

Maybe a P.G. Wodehouse collection of Wooster & Jeeves stories would fill her request for quirky.

[How often do you dust your walls?]

Only when the cat sneezes blood on it.

 

Well, yes, but that would be scrubbing... and the ceiling too... at least it was with my cat, RIP.

[What are you reading right now?]

Murder Strikes a Pose by Tracy Weber.  Pure fluff, just right for school break. :)

[s/o What educational materials are you still using a decade later?]

Story of the World -- read vol 1 aloud to my eldest about 10 years ago.  My youngest is reading vol 4 now.

 

Can't think of anything else that I used with a first grader grader that I could still use with a middle-schooler.

[Never mind -- I found the GF brownie recipe...]

Last week I threw out my empty Namaste GF Perfect Flour Blend bag... the one with the brownie (and pancake) recipe on the back of the bag.  It was a 5 lb bag, non-organic, from Costco.

 

My new bag of GF flour is organic... and it DOESN'T have the brownie recipe on the back.  Waaaaah!  And the garbage man already picked up.  Double waaaaah!

 

Does anyone have the recipe?  I know it calls for 3 oz of baking chocolate, butter, and I can't remember what else.

 

ETA:

 

I FOUND IT!!   The recipe is called "fudge brownies" -- silly me, I was searching for "brownies" which is not the same recipe at all.  :001_rolleyes:

 

[If I *loved* Broadchurch, I might also like... ?]

Broadchurch was fabulous!  Now I need something else to watch.  Recommendations?

 

Oh -- requirements:

 

Netflix streaming or Amazon Prime streaming, 'cause I want to watch now :)

Not too much "adult" content; my 14yo will probably watch with me.

We prefer series to movies, and British series to American series (by far).

 

:bigear:

[GF cinnamon rolls recipes needed]

Sorry...I view it on my ipad with no problems.

 

Good idea -- I will try using my iPod.

 

[GF cinnamon rolls recipes needed]

Both Firefox and my ISP had this site blocked for malware.  Is anyone else having problems with it?

 

Yes, it's blocked for me too.

 

[What educational materials were you using a decade ago?]

I am cleaning off my bookshelves over Christmas break and came across some stuff from my early days in homeschooling....Ruth Beechick's Language and Thinking for Young Children. Next to that was a stack of old Sonlight catalogs, my 2002 Sonlight K IG, and some Miquon math.  I have a ton of Usborne books from that era, and printoffs from old yahoo groups.  I have some Beautiful Feet and Greenleaf Press stuff from around then as well as LLATL and TOPS guides.  I don't really hear about those things anymore.  It was a wild flashback.

 

I'm curious, if you've been homeschooling a while, what were you using about ten years ago?

 

I was using pretty much what you listed, plus Singapore math.  Yes, we used 2002 Sonlight K though I no longer have the IG.

[That woman REALLY chaps my hide. (Annual annoying relative vent and JAWM) Let's not be too philosophical, please.]

I love green bean casserole.

 

Yeah, with bacon on top!  Mmmmmmm......

 

[If your dh was giving you $200 in Amazon gift cards for Christmas...]

AFAIK, Prime cannot be purchased with a gift card: http://www.amazon.com/prime-membership-as-gift/forum/Fx3VZRV9310TY2Z/TxDLD03RJ8DGB1/1/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=BT00CTOUNS

 

It might have changed since the last reply in 2013, but I think they don't allow it for auto renew purposes.

 

You can buy Prime with a gift card -- the catch is, you can't buy it directly for yourself this way. Instead, you have to give Prime as a gift.  I used gift cards to gift myself Prime six months ago and it worked just fine.