Have a wonderful birthday!

I always bring a box fan to provide white noise (at three different levels!) and so I can turn off the a/c unit that clunks off and on waking me up numerous times in the night. But of course, you must be prepared for the desk staff to look askance at your fan and say, "We have air conditioning, madame" to which I used to reply, "Yes, I am sure you do, and I am also sure your a/c is inevitably loud when cycling on and off, and you probably have loud guests and barking dogs staying here, and early morning maids running vacuums in the room next to mine at 8 am., I'll keep my giant, tacky, low class fan, and sleep through the night, thank you very much."

Here is a two minute youtube video on trimming your bangs with the twist method and also the point cut if yours are still long enough to try to fix on your own.

You could get into a book swap with some friends. One friend and I share books and we know each other's tastes pretty well. So when an otherwise great mystery had a three page scene that I knew would be horrific to her (and was pretty horrific to me, but I could deal) I stapled those pages together and told her not to open them.

Negative 20 degrees here this morning. I think it got down to negative 24 overnight. We do get these temperatures in western Maine, but not usually for such a prolonged period. We already did the throw the boiling water into the air and watch it instantly change to snow and ice crystals and we watched a friend do the blow soap bubbles and watch them freeze thing so we are really, really done with winter. There is a lot of substandard housing in Maine. We have the oldest housing stock in the nation. Many friends have reported frozen pipes. Our population skews elderly and poor, I hate to think of them being cold and/or the heating bills may be too much for some of them. I know that our last fill up was almost $1,000 and it was a month earlier than scheduled because of this cold snap.

I think you might achieve the broadest network by volunteering for your local chamber of commerce. The mission of the chamber is to support local business and make the town business friendly. A large number of businesses and nonprofits in your town will be members of the chamber of commerce. The employees at the chamber will know many business owners on a first name basis and were you to work in the office, you would often interact with potential future employers in a way that is dedicated to helping them. Here is a link to a completely random Chamber of Commerce volunteer page from Google: http://springdale.com/the-chamber/programs/volunteer-opportunities/

For the past 5 years I have just bought my own gifts. I like very specific things and I don't want to clutter up the house with decorative items unless they are handmade by someone in my family. However, this year I disappointed myself! I preordered a well spoken of (among my naturalist group who knew the author) guide to caterpillars. I received it and wrapped it back in August without looking inside (so I would be "surprised"). Well, I guess I failed to pay attention to the part of the title that said "A life size guide to six hundred species". Seriously, each species has its own page and a good 50% of the photos are an inch or smaller (leaving huge parts of the page as white space). Well, of course they are tiny; they are life sized just like it said on the cover! Duh. I really was hoping for enlarged photos in detail. Not teeny tiny pics that have to be squinted at and are impossible to use for identification. Of course, having ordered it in August the return period has expired. Anyway, if I can disappoint myself on Christmas, I have no hope that others will be able to choose wisely. So I am fine with whatever they do. Gifts that miss the mark will be donated to the animal shelter thrift shop to help feed the dogs and cats, and that is a gift I appreciate.

Consumer Reports rates the American Standard Champion 211BA very highly for flushability. It is around $270. As we have a dc who would clog the toilet at least weekly, we switched out the toilet in the kids bathroom last year with the champion and it has not clogged once. Not once! You have to hold the lever down longer than you would on an average toilet, but that is easily learned.

Ice, snow, sleet. We've had it all in Maine. I have patience for it in December around Christmas, but when it is still going on in late March and sometimes April, ugh!

I have been having this same problem. The Oxford index cards like those I bought in college are now paper thin. The Rite Aid pharmacy brand index cards are a little thicker. Amazon has a couple of more expensive options I haven't tried including: https://smile.amazon.com/SUPER-THICK-blank-heavyweight-postcards/dp/B00UPV7BE2/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1514245957&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=thick+index+cards+3x5&psc=1 https://smile.amazon.com/Debra-Dale-Designs-Premium-Unruled/dp/B01HFNGHO2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1514246055&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=thick+index+cards+3x5&psc=1

Also the Victoria and Albert Museum.

It is totally worth the effort. The Natural History Museum is a wonderful natural history museum and an gorgeous piece of architecture. A cruise on the Themes (weather permitting, I guess). Lots of history along that waterway. Of course The Tower of London & the Crown Jewels Kew Gardens, the largest botanical collection on the planet. https://www.kew.org/ Charles Dickens Museum We were there in September and there were no real crowds.

Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and the Bond of Reading by Lawrence Goldstone has an excellent discussion on starting a book club for kids. https://www.amazon.com/Deconstructing-Penguins-Parents-Kids-Reading/dp/0812970284/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1514057144&sr=1-1&keywords=deconstructing+penguins

What a powerful voice she has. I'll wish for her healing.

Some books, a gaming headset (headphone and mic), uncommon candies he likes that have to be ordered, and cash.

In the wealthy suburb where I used to work, families always provided the nannies with a vehicle, usually a nice, safe Volvo. They were also unbelievably solicitous toward their nannies, after all these were young women who could make their kids' lives wonderful or miserable. Also, on the sly, a good number of the moms' said they took pains to make sure their husbands weren't alone with the nannies very often. It seems to me that this family can't really afford a nanny. This means they will be nickel and diming your daughter to maintain their false image of status. I'd advise my daughter not to sign the contract.

Absolutely a sleep saver! We have had separate covers (twin size with a big king comforter we throw on top for show if for some odd reason company is traipsing through our bedroom) for at least 20 years since the first time I found myself uncovered and my husband looking like a "pig in a blanket" (pun intended) all rolled up in four of them. I am sooo much happier not fighting over covers or having us be too hot or too cold. Now, my grandmother, who was dealing with multiple issues since her husband had Alzheimers and she barely slept in the first place, so worried was she that he might wander off in the night, complained of her husband taking all the covers thus reducing what little sleep she got. I suggested the separate covers idea and explained how well it had worked for us, but she just couldn't wrap her head around it. It was as if I was suggesting something against nature! I've always felt bad that I couldn't convince her to make this small change for herself so she could get a just little more sleep considering the incredible stress she was under. But she was fully convinced that this was something that "just wasn't done". :( So do what is right for your best sleep and do not care at all what the conventional arrangement is. If people outside of your children regularly wander through your bedroom, use the large comforter to hide the twin sets if it makes you more comfortable and prevents them from asking annoying questions.

One of the best overviews of evolutionary theory is Carl Zimmer's Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea. The science is solid. There are examples. And it is very readable. https://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Triumph-Idea-Carl-Zimmer/dp/0061138401/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1512678197&sr=8-3&keywords=evolution+zimmer Just saw you were looking for an early middle school level... this one could be the right reading level or not, depending on the kid.

I find this very sweet. No question that Marie Kondo would approve of this! Hopefully she won't make it the "goodnight" routine the minimum standard for proving something sparks joy, though. "Wander through your house at bedtime, which items do you say goodnight to? Keep those."

Friend just posted on FB that she got an knife sharpener she didn't order today and a couple of her friends piped up that they had friends who'd recently received things from Amazon that they didn't order. Maybe a Robin Hood in the shipping department...

I have been coloring once a month for 12 years. At $7 per application that is about $1,008 over that time period. If I had been going to your salon and paying $190 twelve times a year for twelve years, the total cost would have been...if my math is correct... $27,360!!!!!! You are fiscally wise to do it yourself. Remember that you might need to do it a few times before it becomes easy. I use Nice & Easy from Clairol. My mom uses Loreal. Take care to keep the solution out of your eyes. I put a thin layer of petroleum jelly all around my hairline including neck and ears. Having someone check the back of your head to make sure you have covered all the hair, especially at the roots. Having a touch up kit on hand is a good idea to save you when your roots seem to suddenly grow out the day before a meeting or event. Annoyingly, the touch up kits are just as expensive as the regular kits. Oh, the Sunday paper often has coupons for hair color. I use form fitting gloves from the first aid section of the drugstore instead of the cheap, too big gloves they include in the package. You will want to buy a cape like they have at a salon or reserve a set of old clothes and shoes just for coloring your own hair if you are as naturally careless and messy as I am. Also check around you (sink, floor, wall) when you are done to make sure to clean up any splatter.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: How awful for you to even have to contemplate what might have been. I am so glad they found out about this guys plans and stopped him.

I'd just ask them. If they'd like to be included do so. If they are planning on sending holiday greetings on their own, great. If not, the question could spur them to do so if they hadn't thought of it or not, either way. I would never judge anyone who included or did not include a grown child's name on their card. In some families there may be a few elderly relatives that might feel forgotten if they didn't receive any greetings from the adult children and the adult children weren't mentioned in a parent's greeting card. A special exception might need to be made for them.

Always use it. And apparently it is still very important in law. https://qz.com/932004/the-oxford-comma-a-maine-court-settled-the-grammar-debate-over-serial-commas-with-a-ruling-on-overtime-pay-for-dairy-truck-drivers/