We went to Glacier for our honeymoon, and have been to many national parks in the west. We have loved every one of them, even though my fear of heights kicked in big time when descending into the Grand Canyon. I slowly worked my way back while the rest of the family journeyed on. I still enjoyed it - just from the relative safety of the ridge :) We've been to Yellowstone, The Tetons, Glacier (again) - loved every one of them. Glacier may be our favorite - the Going to the Sun Road is amazing. Before you decide on a cruise, I would strongly encourage you to spend a good chunk of time on Cruise Critic, a forum similar to WTM. We have never wanted to cruise, but in planning a trip for this summer I read some threads there about cruises through the area where we're traveling (Norway). That definitely convinced me we are just not cruise people.

Just read your post in detail - you have been to a lot of places. :) Your children might like to see Rheims, where the French kings were crowned. You can tour the cathedral. Have you been to Chartres? There is a British guy there who "reads" the stained glass windows. He is really fascinating. Once we took his morning tour, went to get lunch, and came back for his (different) afternoon tour.

The lavender in Provence is breathtaking, and there are several festivals and a lavender museum in the Luberon.

That is very scary! I don't blame you for freaking out. Do you have anybody close by - friend or relative - who can check in on him? Or can you say his general location, maybe one of the WTM aunties can check in on him? I'd be more than happy to do that if he were near me, but it sounds like he must be on one coast and you on the other, and sadly I'm more in the middle of the US.

That's what I was going to suggest - renting a PO box will make sure the delivery person, whether it's the regular one or a sub, doesn't try to come to your house.

How frightening. I kept scrolling down hoping for a positive update. Hope you hear from her soon :grouphug:

I think you mean a failure-to-pay penalty.

Check in between and under the cushions of the couch.

As always, check with the schools to which your student is applying. But yes, in general, the October dates should be sufficient for EA and ED, particularly if you specify the colleges on the day of testing (vs. waiting to receive the scores). My dd had one subject test left for October, and did all EA or ED for her apps. The scores had plenty of time to get there.

Yay for his success and yay for his sharing his news with you! :hurray:

There was an audible moan in the theatre when we saw it at a screening a few months ago. I read that the producer cut a few of RW's lines for the final version, because they were just too haunting in foreshadowing his death.

This is SO true. Mealtimes at my mom's ALF are such a huge part of the social aspect, they start congregating in the dining room 30 minutes beforehand :P

Creekland, you are a fabulous dil. I like the suggestion to eat slowly, putting down your fork between bites, etc. In fact I tried that last night as dh and I ate dinner so thanks to the pp who made that recommendation. I think you have already won a big part of this battle, by recognizing the issue and wanting to be deliberate about it going forward.

I've returned items from multiple orders to Amazon - I just include in the box all the appropriate paperwork.

Thanks for updating and more hugs to your family. :grouphug: I am so sad about this - I know hospitals get busy and there is a lot of bureaucracy but I hate that your family missed seeing your dh all day yesterday. If they schedule him for something like this again - can you ask the nursing staff to either call or text you? If you can't get a signal in the hospital, you could let the nurses know your exact location so somebody could come get you when they are ready for the procedure. Also you could let the nurses (or his tech) know that you want to speak to the doctors when they make their rounds, you could give them permission to call you no matter what time (they may think they make rounds too early to call). Then you could broach the subject directly yourself with the docs and not have to rely on your dh in his chemo fog to remember. Don't let the hospital's new policy keep your family from being together :crying:

Hugs to all of you!! I agree with trying the SW or head nurse - I would word it something like "Who do I need to see about getting an exception to this policy" and state just what you did in your OP. :grouphug:

DH and I saw a screening a few weeks ago. Honestly, I don't think it was great as a stand-alone but rode too heavily on the coat-tails of the previous movies - but having seen them, we both enjoyed it for the most part. And we also cried inside seeing Robin Williams. And YES the Escher part was extremely well done.

Tim Keller's new book on Prayer has received excellent reviews (I'm hoping it has my name on it on Christmas morning!). He incorporates thoughts from historical figures on prayer. He is a cerebral PCA pastor in NYC. Any of his books (he's written on poverty, the prodigal son) would be an excellent choice. Sorry you're sick and I'll be praying for you (after Christmas, maybe I'll know better how to pray :P)

A year ago a girl was killed on dd's college campus, there were 11 in a SUV and she was ejected (no seatbelt). She was six months from graduating. OP, you have every right to be livid about the original situation, regardless of how your dd ended up in the car without a seatbelt.

Stick it inside a Scrub Daddy (Home Depot has it the cheapest)!

I can't get past this part. I would do what gives you the most closure, and whatever would get his off his finger.

We have and enjoy Rose and Thistle. We have seen live some of the other shows, but the titles of the CD's you listed don't sound familiar. One had to do with Shakespeare and one was themed around Dickens. But the Rose and Thistle would be a good one in my opinion :)

Amazon Deal of the Day

I know everybody responds differently. That said, I started my prep earlier in the day than recommended (early afternoon as I recall), and was "done" by early evening. I was wiped out, went to bed at 9:00, slept till 4:00, procedure was at 7:30, home mid-morning, expecting to sleep the rest of the day but I couldn't sleep. I guess I slept so well the previous night :P DH ate lightly for two days before his, so had very little clean out (sorry to be so graphic!) - as I recall, he dozed a bit later that day but otherwise was fine. I think most people agree the prep you do the day before the actual procedure is the worst part.

A and B need to be instructed to not throw rocks at other people.