I've started about 30 kinds of seed "outside" and I'm halfway finished. I discovered winter sowing last year and it was a game changer for me. It worked so much better than I expected and I had to scramble to build more garden beds in the spring. This year I'm branching into doing more flowers. I'm in zone 7a, so my goal is to get all of my seeds going before mid March. Winter Sowing is my new favorite thing. It REALLY helps with SAD to garden in January and February. I like that I don't have to set up grow lights in the house OR go through the hardening off process. You basically turn a milk jug into a green house and every milk jug gets a different type of seed. Here's a tutorial if you're more visual. You poke drainage holes in a milk jug, add organic potting mix, water well, plant your seeds, seal with duct tape, label the jug, and set it outside. You've thrown away the lid, so the seeds get rain and snow through the top of the jug. I probably started 90+ jugs last year and only a handful failed. I started as more of a vegetable gardener, but I'm branching into the pretty plants. Since seeds are so much cheaper than bedding plants, I'm trying a lot more of those. Here are my gardens: Veggies - I have about 12 kinds started and more to go. I only get about 5 hours of sun, but I have found tomatoes that work for me and can grow a lot. I grew scarlet runners for the first time last year. I never got around to tasting even one bean, but it flowered twice and the hummingbirds loved it. Shade Fruits - I have a side garden that's shade fruits/ornamentals. Last year was the first year with it, so I should get actual fruit this year. It has a quince, two kinds of raspberry, two kinds of currants, a gooseberry and a Lenten rose. It also has the following plants that I grew from seed: alpine strawberries, foxgloves and anise hyssop. It has space for lettuces in the plan that I'll add in the spring. I have blueberries on the sunnier side of my yard and need to add another bush or two once I figure out what goes with the two I have. Bird, Bee, Butterfly garden - mostly echinacea, coreopsis, and Joe pye weed. I plan to expand it this year by dividing the established plants. I also put zinnias here or whatever flower seeds I'm experimenting with that year. Herb Garden - This is my favorite. I use this every day. I used parsley from my garden all winter. I plan to build an herb extension to a new bed just off the patio and relocate the shade loving herbs there to free up some space in the sunnier herb garden. Last year I grew borage for the first time and the pollinators LOVE it. That's a keeper. Wildflower garden - I have a small 5 x 10 space where I want to establish a wildflower garden. It would be kind of like a tiny meadow, but it's mostly shady so I want to establish some shade-loving wildflowers in this spot. It only gets a few hours of morning sun. Front Garden - Here's where I fail. I've been playing around in the back yard for years and from the front you can't even tell a gardener lives here. I'll focus on improving it this year. It has to be a woodland garden because its mostly shady except near sunset. I plan to experiment with hakone grass this year. I also want to do a sunset color scheme since I'm really drawn to the peach/salmon/apricot colored flowers. I'm starting more different kinds of impatien seeds since they grow well there and were easy to start via winter sowing. Now I'm obsessed with getting kinds I can't get at a box store. I'd like to establish a small seating area out here and I've decided I need an oak leaf hydrangea. NEED. Rockery/Stumpery/Woodland garden- the trouble is I watched The Great British Garden Revival last year and had to have one of everything. (This is also why I feel I need a water feature AND a topiary.) Right by the house I started a small bed that has some stumps and rocks planted with ferns, astilbes, and bleeding hearts. It's my only real effort out front and you can't really see it unless you've walked up the driveway and are almost to the door. Even Weirder - I want to grow a poisonous plant. I'm going to experiment with castor bean as an annual screening plant this year. I have no pets or small children so now is my chance. I'd like an annual screen from one neighbor. I enjoy chatting with her occasionally, but as summer goes on and we're practically living out there I want a little privacy for the season. She rarely uses her deck, but maybe she would use it more if that privacy were there. You should get a medal if you read the whole thing!

Do a pork roast or a corned beef in it. Those are very satisfying to pressure cook since it saves so much time. Beans are fast too.

Since you have a lot of smoothies, why not just add oats to those and switch to nut milk? You might not notice much and it wouldn’t really change your routine. I put oatmeal in my smoothie every day.

I have to SEW. I have a costuming deadline and my sewing machine died. I have to finish everything while I have my friend’s machine this weekend.

It’s not page by page. It’s a setting in your account where you get to check who you see first.

Don't be too impressed. I'm considering adding a body cover to this costume. I think it's time to "dress my age" and in bellydance that means gradually covering a bit more each year. I'm gravitating more towards the dresses as I approach 50. I totally get J-Lo's Superbowl costumes. They were revealing while also cleverly concealing those middle-aged spread trouble areas. Flesh-toned performance fabric is your FRIEND.

The last time I installed a dishwasher there was no plug for it. I had to disconnect the wiring to the old dishwasher and reconnect the wiring to the new one. There were no plugs or hidden dishwasher outlets under my counters. I turned off the power and the water to do it.

I think how a woman celebrates her womanhood is entirely up to her. It’s no use pretending that our sexuality isn’t a part of us, and whether you celebrate that public ally, privately, at all, or past the age that Hollywood seems ‘appropriate’ is entirely up to the woman. I don’t believe that the way a woman chooses to express herself or her art form has ANY bearing on how predators act. I don’t think crimes against women are less prevalent in more conservative societies. Pole dancing isn’t my thing, and I don’t have to like it, BUT if even a few women were inspired to take a class those women will be healthier for it. We NEED aerobic exercise and weight bearing exercise as we age and if a few soccer moms are encouraged to become a fitter version of themselves because of J-lo’s exhibition, then it’s a positive result. Currently I am sewing sequins on a bra that I intend to wear on stage in public for an audience that is 95% women. (Most of the tiny percentage of men who attend/perform are gay.) The sequins, make-up, and exposed midriffs enhance your hip movements and facial expressions so that the audience can get the full effect of the choreography. Nobody wears stage make-up, heels, or costumes during a regular rehearsal and I’m telling you the dressed up final package just enhances the overall performance. This is for a dance form that outsiders THINK is some sexy thing for the benefit of the male gaze, but in reality has always been mainly by and for women to celebrate themselves and what their bodies can do. Dancers love dancing for its own sake and would do it with or without an audience. As for make-up, some of us would have no face onstage without it. Heck, I have invisible eyelashes and eyebrows so I have no face OFFstage without makeup. Everyone I know who is politically anti-make up has black or brown eyelashes! It’s an easy stance for them to take. 🤣 My point is that there are women who LIKE heels and make-up for themselves. They don’t do it for men. In general, I think men care much less about these things than women do and women, as a group, could do A LOT less in the clothing and make-up department before most men even noticed. There ARE women who don’t define their sexuality within the context of men’s sexuality. If we got rid of men entirely, there would still be women who enjoyed make-up, over-the-top clothing, and high heels. I probably dress up more for my girlfriends than I do for my husband! How anyone looks doesn’t matter. It’s how we treat people, especially people who make choices different from ours, that really matters.

This thread is probably fizzling by now, however, if all you saw was too much skin and inappropriate gyrating, I'd encourage you to dig a bit deeper. The choreography was very intentional. There were SO MANY different styles represented in that one performance and every style has an interesting story and culture behind it. Not every culture is going to have a conservative, western version of ladylike femininity that is digestible at first glance. The line where something is "too sexy" is not remotely universal.

I imagine this is like most things. It's true in some cases and not in others. Some kids really are much more difficult to manage AND some parents really aren't great at establishing order with NT kids. You just don't know unless you're in that family. If buckling the kid more securely means that mom and dad can sit and eat for twenty minutes like a person and focus on their food and children rather than chasing a toddler, I don't think it's an extreme solution for that family. Some toddlers are feral despite intelligent, consistent parenting. Most grow out of it, but for a season, that family will do whatever works. Setting them free during a meal might not be worth it in some cases. An effective safety buckle on a high chair doesn't seem over the top to me and no more traumatic than buckling them into their carseat.

What about burritos? Meat laden lasagnas? Pot pies? They're a complete meal by themselves and easy to customize with more meat or cheese or whatever he likes. We use one of those dorm fridges in our living room as a "drinks fridge." The freezer can hold the double pack of costco lasagna, so it might have a bit more room than you think and will hold more when things are in bags rather than boxes. If you do a double fridge meal and a double freezer meal each week that would work for him. This would mean you can do the freezer cooking whenever you're in the mood, store it at your house, and just transfer stuff to him when he's eaten through the stash in his small freezer. Then the fresh stuff can be a big batch of whatever meat meal you're making at home. I'd start small to make sure you don't burn out on the 4-meals-weekly commitment. Older people can get really attached to routine and it's easier to add stuff later than it is to scale back if you get overwhelmed. ETA: For what it's worth, I use a Lunch Crock on co-op days. I plug it in in the morning and my food is hot and delicious by lunch. It makes leftovers tastes a lot better than microwaved food and the medium-sized sour cream containers are the perfect size for freezing portions to fill up the Lunch Crock. (Not the thinner ones. The one lb size that is wider than it is tall.)

That IS clever and now you are no longer legally required to aim all of your furniture at it. 🤣

This seems like immaturity and shortsightedness on the part of the mom. Let's say she DOES raise enough for an activity. Now her kid is IN an activity the family can't afford. That's not sustainable long term. It's much easier to just do something else with your time initially than it is to leave an activity after your kids have grown attached.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris You're Welcome 😁

When I was in school, the date could go to another high school OR be a graduate our our school. Everyone is fixating on the 24-year-old thing, but I don't think it's unusual, especially for girls, to have a boyfriend a year or two older. It's not important in the grander scheme of life, but I can see where it would be important for a teen aged girl. My husband is four years older than me. It would be odd not to be able to take him to a formal event. I met him when I was 18, so events and photos from 25+ years ago are really sweet now. My daughter's boyfriend is a year younger than she is. She went to the prom with him after she graduated. I really don't remember what her high school's rules were about age limits. Around here the prom isn't really a Great Big Deal, so I'm not sure if the boyfriend would've just gone with his friends or not if they had the age limits mentioned in the OP.

This topic reminded me that I needed to make yogurt, so I timed myself. In 15 minutes I made the yogurt, and washed and put away the pot and thermometer. I made half a gallon, so if you make less it would go faster. I'm glad we had this conversation because I was down to my last half cup. I'm the only one who eats it, but I eat a LOT.

Use a regular belt and buckle it behind him?

A friend does her graduation parties on the last day of school after school. This seems perfect since nobody else seems to have a party planned that day and the kids can go straight from school to food and celebration. She's talking about just getting a food truck for this last kid and doing it in her yard.

Skip the appliances. They ALL make yogurt making take longer because they adjust the temperatures so gradually. You might HAVE everything you need. I use: pot thermometer yogurt container for finished yogurt cooler Put some milk in a pot. Use as much as you want. Don't even measure. I usually make a half gallon or less each time. Heat the milk to 180 to kill the cooties. Crank your stove to high and stir and this will happen FAST. Next, put some water in your sink and plunge your pot in it to cool the milk quickly. Make sure none of the sink water gets IN the pot. Cool the milk to 110-115 (so you don't kill the yogurt culture) and pull it out of the sink. This might take 4ish minutes. Blop some yogurt in it for starter. I use maybe 1/4 cup. Don't measure. Stir it in and pour your mixture into a container. Place this container in a cooler. Put a jar of hot water next to this container. Maybe use two jars if you're cooler is really big. Close it up and leave it alone for about 6 hours or overnight. Don't peek and don't jostle it. The hands-on part takes maybe 10-15 minutes but can take HOURS in a machine. I've never had it fail to work. Really, it's like magic when you check it later and it has yoged. ETA: If you want thicker yogurt, just line a colander or soup strainer with a coffee filter and let it strain until it's as thick as you like.

Is this just a college tour? I assume there will be others? I would NOT make it about the little kids. I'd have one parent stay with the little kids, and one do the trip with the college-bound trip, then switch roles on the next tour. It would be awesome if both parents could go, but I'm not sure your sitter is up to that. It's not about the disappointment of the younger kids, it's about having some time with the oldest before they leave home and your family life changes forever. THIS is a time to choose the oldest and let the younger kids suck it up. Maybe bring them all to drop-off or family day when your oldest is in school.

I'm not sure "inappropriate" really MEANS anything. It's so random. It may be inappropriate by your personal house standards, but I didn't see anything that wouldn't be shown on prime time television any night of the week. By modern standards of television decency, the halftime performance probably didn't even push the envelope. It's been over a decade since we've had regular commercial television, so I may be wrong, but I can't imagine standards have gotten higher over the years. Was this show really worse that what is usually seen on that channel during those hours?

I wonder if it's something that you can always hear and just tune out normally. Now you're just fixated on it because it bugs you that you noticed. It's kind of like the way you can always see your nose, but your eyes tune it out and you don't even "see" it until you really think about it.

Did you happen to buy the latest Amr Diab album? It was one where you buy the album and get the songs as they are released. I got a few songs, and now the whole thing has seemed to disappear from itunes! I don't know WHAT is up with that. WHY do we have to jump to BDSM? Why isn't it just a Versace motorcycle outfit? It's a bit over the top for the grocery store, but I certainly didn't read all that you did into it. Is that ALL black leather can mean? I know a lot of women who look good at those ages without cosmetic surgery. I think the whole point is that ages don't really look like anything. You wear what you want at 50 because you're fully grown and nobody can tell you what to do. One of my regular dance teachers is pushing 60 and nobody would be able to guess her age. She just looks like herself and she's in great shape. Her little sister just turned 50 and looks fabulous. It's genetic. Her mother is nearly 80 and only recently retired from regular performances. She's just one of those ageless force of nature people and her daughters take after her. It's not some exclusive Hollywood, plastic surgery, wealthy person magic that makes people look good in middle age. There are regular people all over the place that pulling this off. They're just not on TV. When Shakira and JLo take off their make-up at night they look a little more like the rest of us anyway. It's not really the same thing though. If J-lo and Shakira took a pass they'd miss out on a chance to represent Latinas and get people talking about important issues. Yeah, people are complaining about how they dressed, but it has also led to lots of discussions about kids in cages and Puerto Rico's continued struggle. Tonight I personally benefited from this show. I thought it might happen and it did. I got a few new students in my bellydance class because they saw the halftime performance and were inspired to seek out a class. They were happy and moving and learning and smiling and meeting a whole new group of women from all walks of life. It is wonderful and empowering to do new, hard things for yourself because you decided to give it a try. Even though a lot of people on here don't like the 'message' the act sent, in my world a couple of middle aged women liked what they saw, rallied their friends, left the house on a Wednesday night and got to sweat, dance, and play zils all at the same time for the first time in their lives. They did if for themselves AND I have new students and more money in my pocket. Not one man was in the studio. One of them even mentioned that she's got two years until she's 50 so she's going to start moving now so she can look great at 50. She looked great TODAY. She'll just be more fit and know more when she's 50 if she sticks with it. I actually thought of making tonight's class about the 5 moves that Shakira does on stage, but I stuck with my original lesson plan. Maybe next week. 🤣

This is TWTM forum. I pretty sure you have to buy a vitamix, or save another $400 and get a Speed Queen.

Compared to my IRL homeschooling friends and neighbors, this board is pretty much that Footloose no dancing town.