I voted "other" because I live in a state with no sales tax. :) So, I do always tip on the total amount. When I am traveling outside of Oregon, I tip on the total including tax. When I am home, I tip on the total which does not include tax. I usually tip about 22%.

Oooohhhhh....definitely following! My college age daughter and I are going to Paris together in a couple of months. I am so excited! :)

I do, but not for the particular chain I was staying at. It was actually very nice and very comfortable but for that one thing. :) I did try turning up the tv. I also tried putting my headphones in. Didn't work. If that were to happen again, I would probably ask for a room change. Although they were the ones making the noise, I felt like I was invading their privacy. :/

Thanks for all the suggestions. I made it to my new hotel tonight. Due to weather, I can't get home until Tuesday morning. At least I get a day all to myself tomorrow. :) Like I said, I was happy they were enjoying themselves. I don't think it was so much that the walls were thin. This was a room that had an actual adjoining door to the room the were in. There was tile on the floor in front of the adjoining doors. The sound was definitely coming from under the door. I guess the tile could have been amplifying it. I actually was on the phone last night trying to resolve my flight issues. I stood pretty close to the door in hopes that they could hear me and think, "if we can hear her, she can probably hear us." They didn't get the hint. Lol I figured they were done for the night since it was quiet for a while. But, they were back at it at 8am. I immediately got in the shower to give them their privacy. Lol I kept thinking, "maybe they are parents getting away from their kids for the weekend." :) Tonight's hotel is very quiet and they even upgraded me to a very, very nice room. :)

OK, I never thought I would have a WWYD of this nature. :/ I have been staying in a hotel by myself the last few nights. Yesterday afternoon, I got neighbors in the adjoining room. At first, I thought I was experiencing a "When Harry met Sally" moment and someone was joking around in the hallway. Uh...no. The new neighbors were very enthusiastically and loudly enjoying their alone time together. After they were done and took a shower, they left their room. Between that first time and when I checked out this morning, they brewed a few more pots of tEA and, at least the woman, enjoyed several cups per pot. :/ Now, I don't begrudge them their enjoyment of a good cup of tEA. I am happy for them! But, it was really uncomfortable. Lol. They turned on the TV each time. I think maybe that thought it would drown out the noise of their kettle, but it did not. I could put my earphones in and listen to a book, but that didn't drown it out either. I was glad I was by myself and that, especially, my 11 year old wasn't with me. I don't know how I would have explained that. I stay in hotels on average of at least 25 nights per year. My flight to Portland today got cancelled so I am getting part way home and staying in a new hotel in another state tonight. WWYD if you found yourself in that situation? :/

I'm not offended. :) It just so happens that make up does make me look my best.

Well, I'm fat, ugly, and really tired looking with my super deep dark circles. So, I slap on a fresh coat of "paint" every day and find myself a little bit improved when I look in the mirror. Works for me. :D Oh, and I do exercise...10K + steps per day! :)

Have you tried a pore minimizing primer? I don't happen to have large pores, but I've heard that there are some great pore minimizing primers. :)

I wear Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation. It definitely does not settle into wrinkles. It is a nice, sheer coverage that you can build up to a medium coverage if you like. I apply with a damp beauty blender. You cannot see foundation on my skin at all. It just evens out my skintone. :)

I like Angie from Hot and Flashy. If I remember right, she's actually in her early 50's. I also love Dominique Sachse. She is gorgeous and she's my age. I don't look nearly that good, though. :lol:

I wear it just about everyday. Honestly, people will ask me if I'm feeling OK if they see me without it. :lol: I wear primer, foundation, concealer, a light bronzer, blush, eyebrow pencil (just to fill in where they are thinning ;), eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. It takes me about 10 - 12 minutes. I feel better about the way I look and my dh likes it. I have a few beauty YouTubers (including a couple in the over 40 crowd) that I watch for tutorials, recommendations, and inspiration.

So am I! :D Thanks for being excited with me! I have a bunch of points banked with Marriott. I think I can manage a really nice Marriott right in the city center in both Paris and Brussels!

So, does it sound doable and enjoyable to plan this: Arrive: Brussels on a Friday morning. Day 1: Friday - Wander around Brussels and rest from travel (we arrive in Brussels in the morning) Day 2: Saturday - Day trip to Bruges Day 3: Sunday - Explore Brussels more Day 4: Monday - Take the train to Paris Day 5: Tuesday - Paris Day 6: Wednesday - Paris Day 7: Thursday - Paris Day 8: Friday - Paris Day 9: Saturday - Paris Day 10: Sunday - Train back to Brussels airport for departure back to the states Any input is great!

I'm a big walker, thankfully. :) I am overwhelmed by her generosity! We pay for school, but she never asks for a dime for anything. She has worked 2 and 3 jobs at a time while in school. She budgets very carefully and saves most of her money for grad school. The fact that she would give me such an extravagant gift is humbling.

I will be flying from PDX to Dulles. My dd goes to school in Northern Virginia. I'm meeting her there and then we have a non-stop flight from Dulles to Brussels. Thanks for the heads up on that, though!! We are both planning on traveling with just a carry on.

Wow! Thank you so much for all of the help! There are so many things to do and see, but you all are right...I don't just want to check things off of a list, I want to savor the experience with my girl. I am a walker, fortunately. I am a regular 10K steps a day person. Although I'm sure we will both get tired, we are both up for miles of walking a day. I live just outside of Portland, Oregon, so wet, cold, gloomy weather won't phase us. :) I will make sure to bring one of my rain coats. I was thinking of my most comfortable pair of boots and a pair of flats for shoes. I would wear my boots on the plane so I wouldn't have to pack them. I have walked all over DC with them, so I know they are comfortable for miles of walking. We both love museums, and we both love to walk the streets peeking in and out of shops and people watching. I still can't believe we are going!

Not a chance! :) We are going at the beginning of March during dd's spring break. We are excited and are both big planners, so we will be making lists with all of your ideas! Thank you so much!

I mentioned in the thread about receiving Christmas surprises that my 20 yo dd surprised me with a trip to Europe as a Christmas gift! I still keep expecting to wake up. :) I've never been to Europe. I've only been out of the country once, and I was 17. I have extensive travel experience within the states, but need help knowing what to expect going overseas. Our trip will be 8 days. We arrive on a Friday morning and leave the next Saturday evening. We land in Brussels and can do whatever we want from there! We definitely want to go to Paris. Paris has been my dd's dream destination since she was a little girl. I already discovered it is less than a 2 hour train ride from Brussels to Paris. The other two places we are contemplating seeing are Bruges and/or Amsterdam. Any help? I don't know what I should anticipate for anything, really. From what to pack, where to visit, etc. I would love any and all advice for a smooth trip with lots of fun for the two of us. :) TIA!

After everything else was opened and I had received amazing gifts from my dh and my adult son, my daughter (20 yo) gave me her gift to open. I opened a travel guide. She knows how much I love travel, maps, etc. She was in London in October, so I assumed she got it for me there even though it was a guide for Brussels. As I started flipping through it, something fell out. It was a print out from United Airlines with my name, her name, a date and the codes for Dulles airport and Brussels airport! My dd gave me a trip to Europe for Christmas! She and I will be flying to Brussels over her spring break for a week of exploring together! I've never been to Europe. I cried so hard, nobody could understand a word I was saying. :lol: I still can't believe it! It feels like a dream. My dd has been working her tail off in college to save for grad school. She has been working 2 and 3 jobs, competing in debate (for her scholarship), and getting amazing grades. She took her hard, hard earned money and bought us both plane tickets so that we could have an amazing adventure together. I honestly don't think I have ever been that surprised in my entire life! :001_wub:

Those are nice pens. I have them and use them in my Bullet Journal. I'm currently using a Moleskine and they don't bleed on the paper.

I'm a little further west than Hillsboro and spend a lot of time there as that's where all of my closest shoppping is. :) Hillsboro has typical suburbany type of neighborhoods and more rural neighborhoods. We go to church in Beaverton. It's a suburb. I don't spend a ton of time there other than church. Beaverton and Hillsboro both have fantastic libraries. :) I wouldn't want to drive across Portland for a commute. The traffic can be super heavy. I say live on whatever side of the river you work on. Portland, itself, is very culturally diverse. All of you would fit in. If you live on the west side (Beaverton, Hillsboro, etc.) the Max (the light rail) can get you anywhere you want to go in the city. It's clean and easy to ride. We moved here 3 1/2 years ago from Southern California and love it!

I unfollowed a few people before the election because I just couldn't take it anymore (at least one on each side of things). I checked their pages today to see if it was safe to follow them again. It's not. :) I'll check back in again on them in a few weeks.

We have always voted the same at the top of the ticket, but we have sometimes voted differently down ballot. This year, he is making a choice at the top. I still have not decided if I am going to cast a vote at the top of the ticket or not.

This is my 18th year homeschooling and my 4th year in CC. :) I would just put it aside. If you do use any of it, I would choose the skip counting songs and, maybe the English stuff. The last several weeks, our Foundations/Essentials director has been sharing how something we are learning that day in Foundations will connect later to something in Challenge. I have found that can be really encouraging - showing parents that there is actually a method to the madness and that the memory work is not just in isolation. Do you have the cd's? You could just play those in the car sometimes. Then they are still getting some exposure without using it as any sort of curriculum;

I'm just west of Portland. Supposed to get a good amount of rain and there is a wind advisory until 10pm tonight. Our local fire department keeps things updated pretty well on their Facebook page, so I'll keep my eye on that. My mom lives on the Long Beach Peninsula. They always get hit hard and then they get trapped because the Astoria bridge closes during high winds. I tried to talk her into coming here to ride it out, but she didn't want to drive through the Coastal Range. Better to do it before the winds hit, Mom. :D