That makes perfect sense and a great host! :)

I thought you don't have the cheapo coffee maker anymore? Do you already have the refillable kcup to use with the bag of coffee? If not, it seems like it would be cheaper to buy one box of kcups than a bag of coffee and a refillable cup. :001_smile: I have a refillable cup now since dd drinks caffeine and I drink decaf. I love the thing! No more kcups in the trash and whatever quality of coffee I want! :D

I remember the story. I also have major inlaw problems. :) That said, I would buy a box of Kcups for their visit. I would provide enough for 2 cups per day. Most boxes have between 12 and 18 cups. How long are they staying? ;) If there are some left when it's time for them to leave, ask them if they would like to take them or save them to have in the house to offer to another guest. You know they drink coffee. You have the machine. I think it's polite to provide something you know you're guests enjoy when it's easy and practical to do so. It's simple to just pick up a box on your grocery shopping trip and they are less than $10. Lots of coffee drinkers really can't manage without their morning coffee or they start caffeine withdrawl. I think it's reasonable for people to anticipate coffee being available in a home when they are staying there. Just because they are bad guests doesn't mean you shouldn't be a good hostess. :thumbup1: You do have my sympathy where strange inlaw behavior is involved! :grouphug:

I hate the 101! You can't get to Santa Barbara anymore in 2 hrs because of the stupid traffic and 101 being the only way in and out of SB. My sisters live in SB and I've done that drive so much. It's annoying. :)

I lived virtually my entire life in Orange County-from age 10 to age 44. I've been to SF more times than I can count and love it! It's a good 8 hr or more and that's going up I-5 which is an boring, ugly drive. Yuck! With the things you say you'd like to do, I'd fly to San Francisco (or Oakland or San Jose if they are cheaper) and make that your home base. You can do all of the great stuff in SF and easily get to Muir Woods or Redwood National Park from there. The beaches are different in Northern CA but they are still beautiful.

We'd be willing to entertain any of those. We're willing to travel away from nova by plane or car. If someone were to ask me where to vacation in the West, I'd be full of ideas because I've lived on the West Coast my entire life. I just don't know all of the wonderful places to explore in the East. I guess I should have. :lol: We've been to Niagara Falls for our honeymoon. We've been to DC. We've been to Williamsburg. We've been to Orlando. Other that that, we really haven't done much together in the East. I did some New England stuff with dd last year for a college trip. That's why I'm pretty open. We haven't done or seen much that direction. We could always come back west and do something here if we can't think of something to do there.

I saw it with my 18yo today. We've both read the book. Honestly, I don't think a 9yo would get the themes at all. I can't even imagine them liking it. Spoilers? There's a little bit of language. There is the sex scene. There's Gus having his before death funeral where Isaac and Hazel give him their eulogies which is pretty heart wrenching. The scene where Hazel finds out Gus is gone was really hard to watch for me. Anyway, I just can't imagine a 9yo having any interest in it.

Well, I was trying to be open minded. ;) Some of each, I suppose. We're just not familiar enough with the eastern part of the country to come up with ideas. I did think of possibly Niagara Falls for a couple of days since that's where we had our honeymoon. We've done Williamsburg before. :)

I'll look at the fares to BWI. We fly Southwest all the time so I'll check them first. It usually ends up cheaper with the free baggage. Thanks!

Well, I learned to drive and drove in the LA area for 30 years. I'm not intimidated by traffic. :) We won't be under any time pressure on that drive.

Thank you! I think I've found some pretty decently priced Southwest tickets into Richmond. I'm looking at one way tickets right now since dd will be staying and dh and I would like to head somewhere else for a few days after dropping her off. Alicia, she is going to Patrick Henry College.

I posted in my other thread asking for flight advice that we will be taking dd to Northern VA in August for college. It will be just a couple of weeks after dh's and my 25th wedding anniversary. We're thinking of taking a few extra days after we leave her to celebrate. We are planning on spending a couple of days before we drop her off taking her through DC. Any suggestions as to what we could do or go from there? We're pretty open to anything. Eastern US would be great since we've traveled pretty well in the west. Where would you go? :)

Dh and I are taking dd across country from Portland, OR to Northern VA in August for college move in. Ticket prices are insane. What airports should I start searching that might possibly be cheaper? What days of the week tend to have cheaper fares? Any tips on reducing costs? TIA

:lol:

I wish I didn't have experience to share with you. And, I wish you didn't have to live through this. :grouphug: My older kids were 8 and just about 13 when their sister died. We were never able to bring her home from the hospital as her condition was such that she could not survive unless on a respirator. She was awaiting open heart surgery when she died. We were all at my daughter's bedside in the hospital when we made the decision to remove her vent and she died within about 2 minutes. It was definitely traumatic but I know my kids are thankful that they were there. In your situation, I think I would want to bring the baby home. As mentioned above, there are children's hospice services. I had a friend use hospice for her baby with the same condition and it makes something that can be scary less so. Hospice will also have lots of grief and counseling resources. My kids did pretty well at first. I had to tell them that I would cry every day for a long time and that it was OK. At one point, I overheard my ds (then 13) crying in his room. I discovered he thought his sister had died because he hadn't prayed hard enough for her. :crying: My dd had a harder time. About a year after the death, she started to develop some irrational fears. We had a couple of other deaths of significance over the next couple of years. Dd ended up developing an eating disorder and we got her counseling as soon as we were aware. So much of it was related to her grief and her counselor was amazing. She is now doing very well. I think it's important to let kids see what's real. Being a part of the cycle of life is an important lesson. Just be aware that as your surviving kids grow and mature, they may need to process the grief again from their new perspectives. I am so sorry your family has to go through this. :grouphug:

Hmmmm....my ds actually goes to PCC! He types over 100 wpm. Is it full time or part time? He will be taking classes at both PCC and PSU in the fall but, hopefully, only 2-3 days per week. Can you pm me the info?

:(

I need a more neat and clean look because I am so easily distracted. :lol: One reason I like keeping a paper planner/journal is so that my kids have something to look back on. Something with my handwriting and my thoughts. I think we're losing some of that in our age of technology. I love the things I have that are in my grandmother's hand-like her recipe cards. I think that's part of why I like the bullet journal so much. The way I've adapted it lends itself to see a bit of my personality along with my mundane tasks to be done. I also have better success when I physically write something on paper. It's like it imprints it on my brain. When I type something into my computer or phone, it's much less likely to stick for me. :)

I don't include the calendar page each month. My events are all on Google calendar so that dh can see them. I use the bullet journal with a two page spread per week. I have a weekly to do list (also serves as a running to do list), a bills to pay section, a notes and thoughts section, and a gratitude section. I usually have it open to the right week on my desk during the day or nightstand at night so I can jot down anything that pops into my head. :-)

It's not wasteful to file it away and start a new one. :grouphug:

I was having trouble with getting my photos to upload here due to size so I just posted them on my blog-my much neglected blog. :lol:

It's been a month since the bullet journal thread! :) I jumped on the bandwagon the week of April 20th and am loving it! It's keeping me better on track and serves as a place for me to dump my brain. How are you all doing with it? Have you made any tweaks? Any pictures to share? :D

Based just on the information you've given here, no I would not report.

I am so sorry... :grouphug:

:grouphug: