Hang in there!!!

Mind sharing the video title? My DR is much improved, but most of that is due to a hernia repair surgery, so that's cheating 😂 Anyway, my hernia repair didn't go quite as the dr intended, so I need to keep working on maintaining the reduced DR myself.

2nd vote that OP reads a few books by E.D. Hirsch and goes form there. Content rich education is already being discussed and implemented, I would not attempt to reinvent the wheel. I also love SOTW, but do not think it is a good PS fit.

Great job! I only listen to audiobooks while running. I'm afraid if I let myself listen to music, I might not be able to go back to books later on. 😀 It's why I only use free Spotify... it means I can only do music in the house. But that wouldn't work for a stationary bike!

I'm not a huge drinker, but have a glass or two of wine at parties. I looooove that feeling in my shoulders after a glass of wine. All my muscles just melt. 😀

Happy New Year, my active friends! I ran on New Year's day, just for the sake of tradition- an easy 5k. This is the only running I've done in 3 weeks, as I'm still nursing my hamstring tendon. I've had 1 PT appointment, and have 2 scheduled for next week. 3 more on my prescription, so we'll see how I'm feeling after that. The PT says it's a simple tendonitis and I'll be up and running soon. In the mean time, ice, massage, and some shock-wave machine thingy with the PT. I managed to keep a stable weight over the holidays. I'm proud to have gone from 61kg to 54.7kg over last year. This year I hope to drop to 50-52kg-ish. My biggest goal for the new year is to cross train in some capacity. I'd like to improve flexibility, and of course "injury-proof" my legs for running. I really hope that I can get to a place where daily running is do-able for my body, but I know not everyone can do that, so we'll just play it by ear as the year progresses. I have a question about yoga, if anyone might know the answer: Are there progressions in yoga? It seems like most videos are somewhat random, and a person might improve simply by choosing random videos to do daily. But what if, for example, I wanted to improve upper back flexibility and be able to do a bridge? Or any other particular pose? Do I need to be searching for something else? It seems like the "pick a random Adrienne video" is great for just a daily tune-up, but I don't feel like I'm going anywhere, IYKWIM.

I love them. Love love love. I have Aftershokz, can't remember which model. I use them to listen to audiobooks or music when I run, cook, clean, run errands... I am not a sound quality snob, so I don't know if they are perfect for someone who is a huge music fan, but audiobooks, phone calls, music, netflix... all sound great. They are so comfortable to wear I forget I have them on. I feel much safer wearing them outdoors because they don't block other sounds. I could go on and on about how much I love them.

Lots of hugs

I read so many books this year. Many, many good ones. Tied for first: Dracula. Not what I was expecting (horror) but rather a moving story of loyalty and virtue. Til We Have Faces. Very thought provoking, especially after listening to some lectures I found on YouTube about it. Runner's Up: - We The Living. Very powerful, very frightening, beautifully written. Coincides with our modern history studies. This is not my first time reading works by Ayn Rand, but it is the best of hers I've read. It feels like you are reading dystopia, but it is actual history... which makes it extremely disturbing and touching. - The Far Pavilions. An amazing, sweeping epic that comes full circle. I am trying to get to know other countries and cultures and improve my history knowledge through well-written historical fiction, and this definitely fit the bill. I could go on and on. I stumbled into a really good batch of books this year. Only one real flop: 1Q84.

The Daily Dozen app by Dr. Greger is really good and also free. It's aimed at getting in the dozen healthiest food categories, and within each category, there is a list of various things that belong in the category, as well as serving size. You can be vegan, but don't need to be vegan, to use it.

That recipe is excellent, even without the cashews. Because it's a bit Asian-y, you can do fried wonton strips or fried ramen noodles. But the salad is plenty good without any nuts. My DH is nut-free but not anaphylactic, so I serve them on the side, but sometimes forget them altogether.

We've all gotten a bit grabby with ds6's gravitrax marble run stuff. And by "we all," it's mostly me. Unrelated, but just overheard: My 6yo is trying to play Harry Potter with the older kids. I just heard him say, "I accidentally bumped Professor Snape and he put me under tension." (in detention) 😂

What I said earlier and erased was that, although the joy of Christmas is not there for you this year, maybe you can connect in some small way with the season through Mary, who also lost an innocent child. Maybe she can be your rock this Christmas day, even while other things have fallen apart. May you see a few tentative smiles and perhaps hear a few sweet laughs this special Christmas day.

nm Words when you asked for prayers. Praying now.

I'm so sorry. Prayers. I will say that I think it is normal and healthy for your boys to see real, raw grief, while also feeling taken care of. 3 months is a blink of an eye. You JUST lost your son. There may be some good moments, but this Christmas is going to be a hard one and a sad one... and that's ok.

Very sweet! It's lovely to know that this particular memory is important to everyone.

Thanks! My background knowledge is strong, but I will look into the teacher's materials all the same. I hate lots of components though... sigh.

I'm looking on info about any of these three programs. My kid age-span would cover all three. How did you like it? How was retention? How much time per week? I'm looking at using the minimum amount of materials- textbook and workbook only. My kids have had a ton of informal STEM as well as some formal unit studies. I'm looking to systematize/formalize/fill-in.

I really realistic buche de Noel can be very impressive. But the real show stopper is to make mushroom meringues to decorate it with.

I'll just eat it on its own. In my mind, it's a complete meal, but I know opinions vary on that issue! 😂 It's great alone, with tortilla chips, with crusty bread, and I'm sure it'd be great over a bed of lettuce. It would be a great side for burgers or other grilled meat or a grilled cheese sandwich. It has a Mexican flavor, so alongside quesadillas would work well. That's what I'll be serving it with today (making my third batch in two weeks). Three out of my four kids will eat it, and two of those three actually really like it.

This is not at all what you asked for, but I am ADDICTED to it, and it can sit cold in the fridge for a few days and makes a great snack or lunch. Serve with tortilla chips for scooping. Lentil-Pomegranate-Mango Salad Approximately 1lb(2 cups) cooked black/beluga lentils. I use rinsed canned lentils. Seeds of 1 pomegranate minced red onion, maybe a half onion as American red onions can be giant Seeded, minced spicy pepper. I think jalapeño would work fine, but the one I can get here is red, not sure what type it is. Handful of cilantro leaves, chopped 1 mango, peeled, cut into then slices then into bits. juice of 2 limes, some olive oil, salt, pepper- mix to make dressing Mix together all the fresh ingredients, then pour dressing over and toss. Let sit 5 minutes. It's ready to eat immediately, but stays good a total of 3 days in my experience. I drain some of the liquid in the bottom of the bowl after the first serve, to help it last longer. It's like vegan cocaine. This is the original recipe if you'd like to see a picture. Recipe is in French. Don't cut the onion like they did for the picture, that's just for looks.

I will third the hard exercise- this means different things for different people, but if you aren't sweating, it probably isn't hard enough. Outdoors is best, that way you're also getting fresh air, weather permitting. The great thing about hard exercise is that after a while, those racing thoughts and endless loops of thought have to shut down for a bit. A 30 minute break from the inner voice doesn't seem like a long break, but it is very refreshing. An hour is even better. Like @BaseballandHockey, crying. What works for me is a movie that I know makes me cry- Little Women (1994 version) works well for me, but frankly I cry at the drop of a hat during movies, so it's not hard to find one that will work. Heck my most recent cry was yesterday watching Star Trek Discovery. 😂 Books don't work for me as I'm one of those people who comes out of bookland in a bad mood because I have to say goodbye to my book friends.

I can remember a Dear Abbey column along these lines. Like previous posers, she suggested you smilingly stand firm on your plans (for hosting a dinner, say). If the guest showed up with 10 unasked for dishes and 14 bottles of unasked for wine, then treat them, smilingly, like a hostess gift. "Oh this is wonderful. I will pop these into my Tupperware so you'll be able to take your bowls home tonight. The meal for today is ready to serve, and these gifts will keep DH and I fed for the rest of the week. How kind of you." I can remember thinking Dear Abbey had some serious uhhh... guts. The women you're talking about sound like control freaks to me. I don't think it necessarily has to go as far as narcissism, though perhaps for some it is. My mom can be like this if not told very firmly what her role is. Once it's clear though, she can happily let it go. I have to make a conscious effort to not be like this. I am a natural project manager. But I would NEVER act against a host's wishes and then claim "love"- that sounds like manipulation and incredibly rudeness.

I just thought of another thing- 60 Second Sweep. This is a great integrator between multiplication, division, and factoring. It's a printable that you can find by google.

This is great advice. I also think it's helpful to know the squares of 1-20 and the cubes of 1-10. Ideally also the primes below 100- I would teach Eratosthenes Sieve method for this, and just have the kid do it over and over again.