The last big concert I went to was George Micheal when I lived in Hawaii 20 years ago. OK you can all stop laughing. I don't remember what it cost, but I didn't have to save for a year to go. Authors note not that I would do that anyway. Fast forward 20 years and I actually like a performer enough to want to see his concert. Get those tomatoes ready because it is James Blunt. He will be touring the US with Sheryl Crow this summer. Odd pair don't you think. My birthday is in June so I thought maybe my dh and I could go see the concert when it is in Philly. NOT! The average ticket price is $250 OUCH! that is not even for a very good seat. If you want a good seat you will have to shell out 300-450 each. Who can afford this really Oh and the cheapest seats are over $100 I have to say I could make a list a page long of things I would rather spend that money on. As a side note My dh, ds and I are going to see Beatlemania Again at Springfest this evening in Ocean City. We have seen them before and they are very entertaining. We will spend $1.00 each to take the shuttle into town, dh is free because he works for the town. We will spend $5.00 each for the tickets and have a lovely family evening. OK so I don't think James Blunt should be this cheap but really reasonable would be nice.

I only post positive reps and I think I have always remember to sign my name. Of course none of us are perfect right. :001_huh:

Here is a link with a video from the today show. http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22178/47688-video--plastic-water-bottles-safe

I have posted this before so you may have already seen it. http://www.healthobservatory.org/lib...fm?refid=77083 I found it very informative. OK I just tried the link and it looks like the site is closed. I will try to find another one. Sorry

We have been trying to save money by not eating out. We have only been out to eat three times this year. 1. February took MIL out for her birthday 2. Chinese buffet in March. 3. April 5th took MIL to Olive Garden for lunch I have to admit I am burning out a little on cooking so much. I am curious how often others go out to eat. Note we have also not gotten any take out etc. We used to get take out or go out once a week.

OK come on some of the rest of you have to dream this. I mean it's Mr. Darcy for pete's sake. Note I am very happily married to a great Mr. Darcy type guy. I live in my dream house. It's just when I was recently reading Pride and Prejudice and I closed my eyes for a bit it I was Lizzy and .....

Thanks for posting the link. Actually that is the video I think of when I tell myself to stop it, cracks me up everytime. :lol: OK now that everyone thinks my attempt at personal mental health is crazy you all know me a bit better. But it does work!!

I carefully read everythig you wrote and can tell you have thought a lot about this. An option might be to contact breeders of the breeds you are interested in that live in your area. Breeders often grow out dogs to see if they will work for the show ring. Many times they do not work out and they need to find a pet home for the dog. Since most people want puppies the breeders often will give these dogs away to a good home. The up side to this is they will have their shots, usually be housetrained, and have been socialized. I would be sure to look for breeder that have children so the dog is used to children in the house.

Wow I have been in the same place. I overcame it by two very simple exercises. Everytime I would start thinking those thought I would say to myself Stop It! and force myself to think about something positive or productive. I realized that the negative voice was robbing me and my son of time I could/should have been spending thinking about our homeschooling. So homeschooling planning was what I usually turned to. After a while, the negative thoughts stopped coming. Now it's usually just when something new pops up. Also I made a personal decision not to let that person steal my joy. That would just be giving them power over me and it made my mad at myself for letting it happen. Thus I decided NOT to give them that power.

My father died in 1972 when I was a month shy of being 10. He died on May 17th and on that day I say a special prayer of memory to God for my dad. This is a prayer I wrote myself about all the special things I remember about my dad. I don't have any problems with depression because I know my dad would not want me to. Dad was a very positive upbeat person and full of life and love. As I pray the prayer I usually cry but when I am finished I feel a great sense of closeness to God and to my dad. In other words, I am at peace. I consider our lives as a special gift from God, and I know he wants us to feel joy and happiness with this gift. Interestingly depression is a huge problem with most of the women in my family, although I have never struggled with it. Everyone tells me I am just like my dad, and I love that. When I was a teen I literally felt Jesus walking with me through a very turbulant time. I knew He would always protect me as my Father in Heaven. There is a spriture passage about God being the Father to the fatherless and that passage has always ment a lot to me. I know you are very religious, turn to God to bless you with joy as you struggle through this time. God's Peace and Blessing to you~~~Karen

Thank you for letting us know Kathy. You have been in my thoughts and prayers often. The Lord is great and glorious.

These are great here is a link so you can check them out. They are made of stainless steel. You can buy them at Amazon http://www.kleankanteen.com/

salad greens, strawberries and herbs do well. Also as you noted tomatoes.

This site looks very interesting http://ezinearticles.com/?Homemade-Dog-Shampoo---Natural-and-Healthy!&id=553743 I hope it helps!

I will actually ask them to look at why they have decided to homeschool. I think that you have to believe that homeschooling is the best educational alternate for your family. It takes a lot of commitment from the entire family for homeschooling to be successful. Then once you and the family have caught the passion for homeschooling curr choices etc become easier. I also tell them don't be afraid to admit that a choice (math, reading etc) is not working. Also don't feel like the structure/schedule of your day needs to be like public school. For example we tend to do electives in the summer when we can really dedicate a lot of time to them and dig into our studies. This summer we will be doing electronics. The one subject I especially encourage them to do in none traditional schooling ways is history. I have a passion for living history books and my son's friends love to hear about what we are reading and studying even though they say they hate their history classes in school.

or to someone considering homeschooling. I ask this for 2 reasons. 1. I think people starting to or considering homeschooling probably often find this board , but as a newbie are afraid to ask questions. 2. I am often recommended to people who are new to or considering homeschooling in our local area.

I have taken on this challenge with a passion , or I am either a fool reading or a reading fool. The following are the catagories and books I have finished. I now have 9 catagories, and I may not finish the Animal friends. Jane Austen 1, Pride and Prejudice (what a way to start the year) 2. A Walk with Jane Austen 3. Austenland 4. Persuasion 5. Lost in Auten (wonderful a great read for Austen fans or P&P) 6. Mansfield Park 7. Jane Austen Book Club 8. Northanger Abbey 1600's American History (this is where we are in history) 1. Surviving Jamestown 2. The Serpent Never Sleeps 3. Eating the Plates 4. Landing of the Pilgrims 5. Potomac Captive 6. The World of Captain John Smith 7. Troubles Daughter 8. King Philip and his War 1600's World History 1. Iron Peacock 2. Isaac Newton by John Tiner 3. Traitor in the Tower by Neta Jackson 4. Master Cornhill (we really enjoyed this one) 5. Escape Across the Wide Sea 6. Madeleine Takes Command 7. When London Burned by Henty 8. Terror of the Spanish Main by Albert Marrin (wonderful!) The following are catagories that I have started on but have not complete. The books with an * in the front have not been read. Jane Austen Part 2 ( I am enjoying Jane Austen so much I had to add a sequel, I had never read Austen before , shocking I know) 1. Becoming Jane 2. Emma 3. Mr. Darcy's Story 4. Sense and Sensibility 5. 6 7 8 Sea Adventures 1. Iron Peacock 2. Cavalier's Adventure 3. Terror of the Spanish Main 4. When London Burned Henty 5. Landmark Captain Cook 6. Escape Across the Wide Sea 7. Blackthorn Winter *8. Treasure Island (currently reading this) Going Green 1. My Side of the Mountain 2. $64 Tomato 3. Animal Vegetable Miracle 4. The Inconvient Truth 5. The Autoimmune Epidemic *6. Organic Gardening *7. Green Clean *8. Walden Books Gone to the Movies 1. Bridget Jone's Diary 2. Jane Austen Book Club 3. Persuasion 4. Sense and Sensibility * 5. PS I Love You (currently reading this) * 6. Atonement * 7. Eragon * 8. Jacob Have I Loved Animal Friends 1. Riding Lessons 2. Dog Song 3. Dog Days * 4. Beardance * 5. Incident at Hawk's Hill * 6. Lad a Dog * 7. Dog Story Herriot * 8. All Creature Great and Small Herriot 1700's History 1. A Heat Strangely Warmed Vernon 2. Blackthorn Winter 3. The Ravenmater's Secret 4. The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn * 5. Calico Captive (currently reading this aloud) * 6. Struggle for the Contient by Albert Marrin (currently reading this for history * 7. The World of George Washington by Foster * 8. With Wolfe in Canada by Henty

We were also on the windward side and they house was quite old. The house had no heat or A/C and I never missed them. We were in Kahaaluu right up against the mountain. I grew up in Baltimore with no A/C and summers were miserable because of the humidity. I can remember sleeping in the basement to escape the heat. Now we live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland a stones throw(OK you need a really good arm) from the ocean. We tend to be 10 degrees cooler that inland locations due to the ocean breezes. For me it has to be over 85 with humidity to turn on the A/C. We spend a lot of time at the pool in the summer, and I think this helps us deal with the heat better. It really bothers me to be sitting out at the pool knowing the A/C is running at home. Now that we no longer have a pet at home I will probably turn the A/C off more often. See you ask a simple question and what do you get me talking too much :ohmy:

I also deleted lots of books this morning so it seems to be working.

You might be having trouble because the link is in pdf format Here is another avenue to get to it http://www.citizens.org/healthy-news/smart-plastics-guide then at the bottom of the article click the Smart Plastics Guide link and it will take you to the same one I posted. Let me know if it works for you now.

Since we are having fun with all things Austen, I found this quiz and thought many boardies would like it. Sigh...yes girls I did get Mr. Darcy. http://www.quizilla.com/users/eriu3/quizzes/What%20Jane%20Austen%20gentleman%20is%20for%20you%3F

Honestly though they have next to no backseat, and the seat they have is very uncomfortable. A close friend (she doesn't have children) has one and she loves it. Her Cooper is so cute too. Yep I want a Mini Cooper and a Pembroke Welsh Corgi to ride in it. Oh well a girl can dream!

I just found these interesting facts sheets on the safety of plastics. With so much buzz on the board about plastic safety I got curious and decided to research it. I found these sheets(there are 4 of them) very interesting and actually plan to print them out for my dh to read too. My intention in posting this is not to scare people, but to share something I found and thought others would finding interesting. http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=77083

So far I have the following in salad green tomatoes (4 different types) radishes onions Aspargus (first year so no harvest for at least a year) Basil Apple Gourds (just for fall decorating but I could not resist) Cucumbers Melons hot pepper sweet peppers sweet chard (first time planting this) sugar snap peas All of these are from seeds(all heirlooms from Baker Creek Seeds), the peppers and tomoatoes where started in March indoors and I transplanted them outside last week, so far so good. This is the first time I have started seeds inside. I told dh that I would like to dig up a bit more of the yard and plant a few more things. He suggested that I fit a few tomato plant into the perennial garden. I have extra plants so I need to do somethings with them. I considered giving them to neighbors, but no one else around us is into gardening, usually they are just happy to take tomotoes I give away. I think the perennial garden is a great idea so I plan to work in there this afternoon. The butterfly bush that never bloom may be history.

I am saving large glass jars that say pickles etc come in. We usually buy large jars at Sams etc. I plan to store beans in these and keep them in the bottom of my pantry closet.