Yikes, well that explains why I didn't receive an answer from a friend who took her daughter on a spur of the moment trip to the Smithsonian this weekend, lol. Poor dear, I bet she never thought those cheap airline tickets might mean a crowd of 1.2 million people! I do hope she survived it all! Not surprised tho about the lack of media coverage.....if it weren't for "alternative news" outlets I don't know that the American public would have a clue what was going on in the world. The major networks are too politically involved to be objective, so I'm sure if they were "told" something wasn't "newsworthy" it would be on the news.

I don't watch the awards, so I only know from the video on yahoo yesterday and the news reports....but apparently Taylor Swift (a 18 or 19 year old first time winner) was just starting her acceptance speech when Kanye West jumped on stage took the microphone away from her and stated that Beyonce should have won for her video! The clip I saw showed only a few seconds of Taylor's reaction but she looked so humilated......just not right for the winner to look that way! Apparently the audience boo-ed West, then gave Taylor a standing ovation, but she couldn't finish or didn't finish her speech. There are various reports that she left the stage in tears (can't say I blame her), but the video I saw cut it off before she had left. Reports I read did say that she was scheduled to perform a short time later and did so very professionally......something that would be difficult, I imagine for a seasoned performer, and just incredible and very admirable for a teenager at her first awards show! I then saw another clip where apparently Beyonce won in another category and had the class to say that she remembered winning her first award when she was with Destiny's Child and asked Taylor come back onstage and allowed her to finish her speech and have her moment. It won't erase the awful memories for Taylor, but hopefully it will show her that Beyonce did not agree with West. Class act for both ladies. THen apparently West went on Jay Leno to "apologize" and say he's going to take some time off for "reflection". Sounds great, until I read that he said he only realized that he'd done something wrong when the audience started booing him. HELLO? One would think that you should have realized this when you opened your big mouth, not only after no one agreed with you!!! A lot of the celebrity world is condeming him...and so are fans. Thank heavens! I don't know that I could stomach hearing about another jerk being forgiven for his behavior. DH doesn't understand why security wasn't storming the stage either.....had it been me or you, we'd not have made it up the stairs. Getting on my soapbox....it's time that people stopped allowing these so-called celebrities to get away with crapola like this. Each incident seems to be worse and worse as if the jerks all think "hey, I gotta do something even more "news worthy" than Kanye West did so I get more press". Ugh, I just thank heavens that my kids could care less about and didn't even know who Kanye West was! I'm not sure that I know any of his music or movies, but the name sticks in the mind because of all the other stupid incidents. I really should stop reading the entertainment pages, lol. I also just read that Jay Leno apparently "hurt Kanye West's feelings" by asking West what his mother, who died last year, would think of his behavior. Sheesh....awww so sorry West's feelings were hurt, mustn't do that. :tongue_smilie: There are some behaviors that apologies can't erase. IMHO he found one of them.

Many states now REQUIRE that child/spousal support be paid through a wage garnishment. If your state isn't one of them, request that your attorney petition the court to make it so (if it's not required, the Court can still order it, at their discretion). This means that your check comes from his employer, not him....and is taken from his paycheck BEFORE he gets his paycheck. That means the only way out of paying you is to quit his job. Yeah, some deadbeats will do that, but the majority complain loudly for a while and then get over it. It's not worth quitting a job over to most. BUT....it eliminates the need for you to be dependent on him......and in some cases "beg" him for your money. You stress is high when the check is even a day or two late, and that's a form of control that many courts realize shouldn't be allowed. If your attorney can't get the Court to grant it immediately, he should be asking that even ONE late payment (as determined by the postmark on the check, not the date on the check!) would result in immediate wage garnishment. As for savings......most financial experts recommend that you have 2-6 months living expenses in readily available savings. But, when your only source of income is from your ex, it's best to have at least 4 months, because it can take 2-3 months to go through the hearing process and start a wage garnishment for non-payment. And that's not even considering the "what if he's laid off, or quits his job" scenario. Paying down on your house may be the better "investment" scenario, but having your mortgage shortened by a few years isn't going to do you diddly squat if you can't pay next month's mortgage. Unfortunately bank's seldom look at the fact that you've paid years off the back end of your mortgage when your current payment isn't being made.....and with the current economy it's probably even less likely to happen to a single mom with no income other than support. So be sure that you have the ability to keep the house while you fight him for what's yours!

I highly recommend the Homeschool Days classes, they are so wonderful. If there is any way that you can afford to go, please consider it. You don't have to stay on site to enjoy yourself. There are a LOT of inexpensive hotels off property....in fact you may be able to get yourself a wonderful last minute deal on a condo......check out homeaway.com vrbo.com allstarvacationhomes.com Check the individual homeowners' calendars and find one that doesn't have someone already booked for your dates and call them and see if they'd be willing to strike a bargain for you. After all, they aren't making any money on an empty condo/house and the chances of booking it by next week are pretty slim....so they may be willing to take half of their asking price. Some won't.....but many will. We've gotten luxurious condos for less than a 2 star hotel by booking last minute and negotiating with the owner directly. AND...the added bonus is that if you have a vacation rental as opposed to a hotel, you'll have a kitchen so you can stop at Walmart and get the necessities for doing at least breakfast and snacks to carry to save money. When we've done Disney on a shoestring, we had breakfast in the condo, carried snacks in our fanny packs, shared lunches in the park and gone back to the condo for dinner. Our condo was so close to the parks that we could stand on the balcony and still see the higher set of fireworks and hear the boom! Several of the days we came back late afternoon for a rest, swim and dinner, then returned for after dark rides and fireworks in person. If that is simply out of the question, then yes, call Disney and tell them your plight. If you hang out on any of the yahoogroups or forums, you'll know that many a "non refundable" ticket has been refunded for the asking. The worst that they can do is say no. Ask for a supervisor if they do say no, as often the first level CMs don't have the authority to override anything, but supervisors very job is to make guests happy. Wishing you lots of pixie dust!

Do a google or you tube search for his interview in March, 2009 with Barbara Walters....but bring a box of tissue. What a wonderful example of how you can still be a BIG star but still be a good role model and a good human being. Married to the same woman for 20+ something years, no rumors or scandals about other women......no hissy fits or tantrums.......and an environmentalist to boot. And even ravaged by cancer he's a cutie patootie!

Is the book that she ordered the correct version? If so, you might consider copying the first chapter from your daughter's book for her son to use until his copy arrives. We have had this happen for our co-op classes before and according to one of the teachers' copyright attorney DH so long as each student has PAID FOR a copy of the book it's alright to use a copy for a SHORT DURATION until the paid copies arrive. At that time you are to collect the copies made and destroy them. Because it's already been paid for it's not violating that author's right to revenue from the book, so long as the copies are destroyed when the paid book arrives. As for not getting the right version, I'd be very honest and say that is not acceptable. Period. Losing class time because one family didn't follow directions is not fair to the other students who did, and who deserve a full class time of teaching. Had this been something that wasn't easily obtainable, out of print or something, that might be different, but Amazon can deliver almost all their products in 2 days for an additional fee. I'd also heavily discourage the use of a library copy, unless the book will only be needed for a couple weeks. Interlibrary loans often can't be renewed, and of course library books can only be renewed so many times, and what if another parent in the class (or just another patron) requests the book, it would have to be returned or incur fines. If your class is something that will be offered again in the future, you could remind the parents that if the book is kept in good condition they may be able to resell it to next year's co-op, if cost is that important of a factor. After experiencing these types of problems for many classes, our co-op last year started doing a "group buy" where you pay the teacher when you pay for the class and she will order the books. That actually accomplishes several things....first and foremost the correct book gets ordered in sufficient time to receive it for the first class since the teacher does the ordering......but often if you're ordering multiple copies of the same book many publishers will give you a discount (we go directly to the publisher to request this first since they're the most generous with the discounts, then if they don't offer one we'll try places like Rainbow and Amazon who often will). Even if you can't get a discount on the book itself, group ordering often reduces the cost of shipping either to free or certainly less than ordering it individually. Obviously, those signing up late will have to get the books themselves, but our co-ops usually fill up and don't often have late signups anymore. In the rare case where there was a late signup, copies of the first chapter are made while the student orders the book themselves, then the copy is destroyed when the book arrives.

We are big big fans of Jim Weiss......so just wanted to be sure you're aware that Jim has narrated MANY stories. Check out his website http://www.greathall.com Your library may already have a lot of his CDs. Also check out his travel calendar...if he'll be in your state, email and ask him if he's appearing locally. Often he gets a booking for a school or other large organization to do a Storytelling performance but he'll also schedule something at the local library or community center....and often these are free to the public. He's one of those people that is always on the go....he may have a school assembly during the day but then he'll do a library (or two) in the afternoon/evenings/weekends since he's already in town. We half-jokingly call ourselves his groupies. He's seen us at so many things over the years that he recognizes us each year, lol.

Hmmm...reminds me of my brother, ten years younger than I am.....couldn't seem to say "tr" instead said "f". Yeah, walking down the street with him when a semi drove by was embarassing! "look sissy a f...." Remember that I"m old so that means when I was a teen this word was simply not said. I didn't even know that it was a bad word until my best friend's college brother had to tell me. :001_huh:

Nahhh, I don't think he'll have bad grammar. I think so long as you don't revert to TALKING to him like that, he'll pick up on the proper grammar that you model every day when he's ready......after all, I bet all of our parents could tell cute stories like these....but I can't think of any adults that "wented" anywhere. Enjoy it while you can! THey grow up way to fast. I think the only two "cuteisms" that stuck in my house are "Melmo" and "Mee Mee". Melmo is the cute little red monster on Sesame Street....the rest of the world calls him Elmo, but not us. And Mee-Mee is what my kids have all called me.....started of course with the eldest, who now is a teen and still calls me that when outsiders aren't around, lol.....and of course all the other kids picked up on it because their siblings called Mommy Mee-Mee. Of course, when they're all chanting it at you it's not so cute and in fact annoying....but I think underneath it all I love having a nickname that they continue to use for me. DH has always been Dad or Daddy....so there! :lol:

Well, neither hubby nor I advocates of the submissive wife lifestyle.....he has often joked we'd never survive if he had to make all decisions I do....he is relieved that I take them on and he rarely even wants to know about them. He also jokes that if I ever die he's in big trouble because he has no clue where we even bank! But it's not because I'm a totally domineering person, just that he doesn't care...so long as the bills get paid, he can ask for and get pocket money from me, and if he wants to splurge on something he can. We do talk about the major decisions, but only because it will affect both of us, so we feel we both need to have some say in decisions like that. We see both of us as the head of the household.....so honestly, I'd probably sign the form as head of household...with my own name and everything. Of course, that might cause more trouble than leaving the signature line blank, lol. Of course, I also predict that if that's a requirement to join that I'd probably quickly find that it's the least of my worries about that group being a good fit for me. But then, although I consider myself a good Christian, I also find that those groups that require you to sign a faith statement rarely would work for me....I don't do well being told someone else knows what is best for me and how I should act. I consider that an issue for my Lord myself and my family, not friends or acquaintances. Is there a trial period where you could attend and get to meet some of the members and see whether your beliefs/feelings/needs would fit into the group? Or do you know some members well enough to express your concerns about how that form made you feel and whether this might be indicative of how the group works?

Can I get an invite to dinner? :lol: We had homemade dim sum.

Contact her doctor and let them know her symptoms....they may be willing to take her into an exam room as soon as she arrives to avoid being in the waiting room with other people. I have a friend with a immune suppressed child who does this each time they visit the doctor....the wait is the same length, but it's away from those who could infect him....your situation is just the reverse. Chest congestion is NOT something to play around with.....it can go very quickly to life threatening. Since money is an issue it's better to get into her regular doctor than to find that calling an ambulance and an ER visit is suddenly required. Talk with the doctor about her inability to pay the co-pay right now.....perhaps they are willing to take payments on it. If not, I know it's hard, but I'd find a way to pay for it.....hate to be brutal and blunt, but it's better than paying for her funeral. Elderly, chest congestion and diabetes is three strikes against her. I would not wait. Another thought....how about a public health clinic? Again, inform them of her possible infectious condition and they may isolate her, and the cost would be based on her ability to pay. The waits tend to be much longer, but it's cheaper. My concern would be her underlying conditions and the clinic not having her history, but perhaps you or someone else could go along to help ensure she remembers to tell them her history.

Hmmmmm maybe there will actually be propaganda flashed across the screen at such speed (or whatever they do) so you can't read it but your mind can process it. Remember the days of Subliminal messages.....maybe it's back. :lol::lol::lol: Of course who's to say that his original speech wasn't everything the fear mongers predicted, but it was rewritten to appease them.....so watch out, the one he'll give next semester will be filled with propaganda, and tips on how to brainwash your parents into giving you a larger allowance and having them call their Congressman to pass the health bill. :lol::lol::lol::bigear:

"They" say to pick a date each year that is memorable to you and on that day every year do your safety checks....like fire drills, new batteries in the smoke alarm, checking for frayed wiring where you can see, scorch marks in the breaker box, etc etc. We choose our wedding anniversary as "that" date. Not exactly romantic, but our reasoning was that this was the date that our family officially started, even if it was only DH and I at the time.....it was the beginning. And all these safety checks are FOR our family. I'm so glad that everyone is safe at your home! :grouphug:

But see, that's NOT the kind of conversations that the others that posted are experiencing. Your conversations are what I miss about small town living. So maybe the problem is big city living!

Conversation I don't mind....but most of the time (and I guess it's not just me because this thread is full of them) the clerk wants to complain about her boss, her love life, her landlord, her kids. Uggg. I don't want to listen to this from my neighbor, why would I want to listen to it from her? Recipes.....specials on a different brand of something I bought.....where to find coupons.....those are the proper conversations for a check out line SO LONG AS the clerk can keep scanning and talk as well, lol. I miss living in the small town where the cashiers were all people you saw outside the store as well, so you actually COULD have a real conversation because you knew them. Of course, shopping took much longer then, lol.

Hmmmm.....did this young lady go to public school, because if so, we all KNOW that it can't be that she's not socialized. THe public schools care wayyyyy too much about socialization to allow that. Therefore, this young lady must have been homeschooled. Right? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm I typically engage my own children in conversation so that the clerk can just get done quickly.....nothing makes me want to throttle a clerk more than the chatty ones that can't scan the bar codes and talk at the same time. I love self-check registers, lol.

Pulled muscle? Try warm towels (dampen slightly and microwave) or something like Ben Gay ointment if you have some.

My first reaction was sexual harrassment in reverse of the typical male harrasing female. But if this woman is doing the same annoying things to others, maybe, maybe not. But I would definitely go to the supervisor with objections....and if the others in the area also object, perhaps a group meeting with the workers of the area and supervisor would carry more weight. It'll all depend on the quality of the supervisor whether one person complaining will get any action.....but one would hope that all of them complaining would get action from even the worst supervisor. I would absolutely be up front and polite but firm about "excuse me, that's my sweater, I would appreciate your not using it". Not sure about the computer usage, that would depend on the office policy......but I would definitely not stand there waiting for her to finish something if I came back and found her....I'd be polite because I wouldn't want her turning the tables on me and going to the supervisor with "he's rude"....but I'd be firm. "I need my computer back now please" and if she said "in a minute" I'd say, "I need to get my work done now". Then if she won't, going to the supervisor about not being able to get your own work done, well, that speaks to productivity not just boundary issues. Good luck. It's never easy having icky people at work.

I second (or third) the try one or two first to see how it works for you. I've never frozen them, but I have put them in fridge when I made too many and the next day the whites are rubbery. Not horrible, but not something I'd want to eat on a regular basis. Scrambled on the other hand do well in both fridge and freezer....like Janet, I think it has a lot to do with the fat. We typically scramble the cheese with the eggs and cook, so there is even more fat. We then sprinkle a tiny amount of cheese on the heated up scrambled eggs to make up for the dryness. Yummy on english muffins, toast, in a tortilla, or just on your plate.

I think those two sentences answer your question about why they are giving you the run around. Sounds to me like they resent that your DD doesn't want to be in their school, because they want the money left at their school, not having to pay it out to someone else. Remember that homeschoolers often get this "attitude" problem from public schools who really don't like when GOOD students leave.....because it leaves them with the troublemakers as the majority! Be glad that your daughter was accepted at the vo-tech and won't be subject to that attitude and will be getting the education she deserves hopefully without the bad influences. You said that the bus company would be calling you to discuss the time for pickup.....this makes sense to me, as they will be the ones making the schedule/route decisions, so I'd bybass the cranky school lady and wait for the bus company to call and THEN discuss the pick up location. The school may have a reason for their decision above making it difficult on you, perhaps liability, complaints they might receive from your neighbors about the noise of a bus stopping in front of their house (the little vans are very quiet, but those big busses make a lot of noise when they stop two houses down from mine) or the ever present "that's the rules and we are incapable of looking at each situation/child individually". (oops, is that my bias showing?). The bus company may not have that same requirement/rules and be willing to accomodate your request if there are no other kids to pick up at the stop. There is a very real chance that the bus company is NOT run by the school district....more and more these bus company's are private business hired by the school district. I'd perhaps also talk to the bus driver, but the risk there is if that driver is sick one day the sub may not know about the private arrangement and think your daughter isn't going to school because she's not at the designated stop. But....there is also the possibility that the bus driver can make the change "officially" so it works out right. The bus company and driver won't have the same bias about your child "snubbing" that high school, so they should be much more friendly about the whole thing....after all they're getting paid BECAUSE she's not going to that high school. So in essence you are the customer paying their bills, it behooves them to keep you happy. They don't want to run the risk of you being unhappy with the bus and choosing to drive her yourself (and obviously they don't know that's not an option). Congrats to your daughter on getting into such a great school....I did vo-tech way-back-when though it was only for 3 hours in the morning, I did the rest of my school time at the high school. Those vo-tech classes prepared me for college and career 1,000% more than all my years in public school combined.

While I would agree that this book isn't appropriate for most 8th graders I'm wondering how asking for DD to read another book would even work. I know it's been a while since I was in school (holy moly, 32 years since graduation!)....but won't the classroom be having daily/weekly discussion about the chapters they were assigned to read? So DD would have to sit through this, hearing all the gory details of the book (since even though I'm old I think I recall that being what was always discussed most) without the benefit of having read the book to see the redemptive aspects of the story? This might be more damaging than reading the book with your DD and having your own, likely deeper, discussions about it from your family's value system POV. Have you talked with other parents of students in her class? Do they also have concerns. There is much strength in numbers, I believe, when trying to make changes in a school situation. However, if you are the only parent with objections, I doubt you'll succeed. If you can't rally parental support to have the whole class switch books, I think my goal would be to get a list of the rest of the reading list for the year so that if there were more selections that you have concerns about they could be addressed BEFORE the books are given to the kids and the decision is basically irreversible. My concern would be that if the teacher feels this book is a good beginning of the year choice, what will she be using at the end of the year when their maturity level has risen. While I'm not saying you should change your opinion/concerns of this book, as that is definitely an individual decision.............If I recall Hinton's books correctly.....while the subject matter is a bit of a shock, as I recall the protaganist was always coming around to realizing the error of his ways (or of not getting into the trouble in the first place, but watching it unfold with his friends). So while the subject matter may not be first choice, I seem to recall that in the end the character made the right choices....and saw the damage done when others did not. Reading the book with your DD and focusing your discussion on those aspects may help counteract the probable less-than-positive discussion that will occur in class. Situations like this always make me realize the rightness of our decision to homeschool. We may read these books, but not until their maturity level reaches the right level....and DH and I will be the ones making that decision. I hope you and your DD are able to find a solution that works for you. :grouphug:

Oh come on, isn't there a rule on this board requiring ya to put a link to such awesome threads???? :lol:

I'm confused....I understand the part about changing over the curriculum will take time....they've invested in this curriculum and can't just dump it and buy another. Got that part. But your complaints about your son's education don't seem to have anything to do with a specific curriculum.... I don't like the way the teacher grades, the types of assignments they do, the topics they are studying, etc. This sounds like you don't like the teacher and/or his style. Could your son move to another teacher? If not, I think "afterschooling" is a great idea.....it sounds like your son would get the best of both worlds....time with his friends, but instruction that you consider what he needs. BUT....how does he feel about it? Would he be able to get all your assignments done in his second half of the day? I'm not sure my kids would like that situation if it meant his schoolday would be longer than the other kids...but if it meant he got done with his second half same time as they did, probably fine. My other concern would be his teacher.....even good teachers might resent the implication of your removing your son for half his classes. Teacher might intellectually understand and agree with it....BUT could he keep his personal emotions out of it and not take it out, even subtly, on your son. That would not be a healthy situation for your son. THe last idea I have.....could you contact the publisher of the curriculum you want and see if there is anything they can do to help? If I recall you're schooling American kids in a foreign country....I wonder if they might see that as a charitable situation and could reduce the cost of their curriculum significantly. Then perhaps you could seek sponsors from the company's that employee the parents of this kids.....when my DH was living in Hong Kong as a foreign student while he dad worked there, dad's company spent a lot of extra money to keep dad/family happy because they wanted to be sure dad wouldn't leave. Some of the stories DH tells are hilarious where dad "blackmailed" company into some perks....but some of the requests were for pretty basic "needs". Perhaps with a little work you could find a way for the school to get the curriculum at little or no cost so that they'd be willing/able to toss the stuff they have. In fact, there seem to be grants for every other situation you can think of, I wonder if there are grants you could apply for to help here? Creative thinking might come up with the money so that "someday" could be as close as next year.