I buy and use a little agave, but I tend toward honey more. Agave is a processed product- it needs chemical catalysts to produce it- it does not come straight from the plant. It is usualyl heated, although you can also buy raw agave- it is still chemically processed. It sounds natural, but it isn't so natural. It has the benefit of not spiking the blood sugar- but the liver has to process fructose and so fructose is a burden on the liver. On the other hand, honey is a very natural product straight from bees, that mankind has been consuming for thousands of years. It has many healing qualities and many minerals. Our body recognises it. However, cooking honey destroys these qualities and makes it toxic, so you shoudl nver use it in cooking. I do use it in tea, but only after I add milk or let it cool a little. only buy raw honey. But where we live, that is abundant and wild and 100% natural and even some brands have been proven to have a low G.I.. I wouldnt buy processed honey. However, I think that too much of any sugar is not healthy, particularly if one is already overweight. ANd someone with diabetes or addicted to carbs or in other ways unhealthy- any sugar is going to head them in the wrong direction.I prefer my sugars in fruit, or from bees. But I do use agave too, for some situations. ANothe sugar worth looking into if you like the stuff you keep in bowls rather than liquids- is coconut palm sugar. Its full of minerals and low G.I. (according to some sources anyway- I dont necessarily believe it). I use it instead of sugar when only sugar will do.

I think we have been through many generations of women being repressed and financially disadvantaged in marriage , and quite simply, its up to women themselves, if they are in a situation that does not honour and respect them on every level, to do something about it. There is no one respectful way to share finances in marriage, but it has to protect and support both partners- but it especially needs to protect a woman who is bearing chldren and is limited in her capacity to work. If it doesnt....well, it doesnt help to blame the man. Get active, get angry, do what it takes to be treated with respect. We teach people how to treat us by how we respond to their treatment of us. Yes, its messy and insecure to stand up to a dh who wants total control and doesnt treat his woman with respect, but that what courage is for. Ask me how I know! Dh and I have separate finances...I have a smaller income that covers my personal things plus most of the kids' stuff- classes, clothes, homescholing curricula etc. I have plenty to save as well, whch I do-Ihave a small savings account. I have saved to go overseas on my income, as well a to visit my family. Dh's money pays the big things- the bills, and food- plus he saves a lot and buys the large capital items like cars and holidays. I do the actual paying of the bills though, so I am very much in tune with our day to day money situation- and he also tells me what is going on. It works well for us because we are both accountable to saving/spending our separate income streams. He also gives me a small allowance each week. Our inestment properties are in both our names. Our rental property that we live in is in both our names But...it wasn't always like this. We have come a long way over 18 years.

I tend to feel that its important for them to learn to manage their own money, so I dont try to control it. They both have bank accounts and they save. We are a family who saves but also believes in the flow of money- it is important to us not to save at the expense of enjoying today. We do both- we spend on things that we really want, and we also put some aside for later. The kids have picked this up and they do the same. We really try not to teach them a poverty mentality by getting them to save more than feels natural for them. My son tends to only spend minimally on small things like junk food..he didn't come to the movies last night with dd and I because he didnt want to spend his money. But he will save for large items - he just bought a bike for $400, he bought trendy Oakely ysunglasses for $200 a while back, and last year he bought a snake and the whole set up that goes with it for $600. These things each took months for him to save. Dd managed to save $2500 for a camp she wanted to attend, in less than a year. It motivated her to get a job and to save. So...I have never felt the need to control their spending ...they are learning about it quite well on their own.

My dad's English grandparents were quite formal and English, but I loved them...my grandmother smelled nice and she used to always have a stash of sugared almonds. They were sweet in their own way. My mum's Mum and her long time partner Pa Jack were my favourite grandparents. Grandma was a fiercely indpendent woman and the house was hers- it was on the edge of a lake. Pa Jack would take us fishing. We used to plait his tiny amount of hair and jsut about every day he would bet on teh horse an we would sometimes go to the TAB with hm so he would pick up his winnings (rare!) or place bets. Very Australian! Grandma was good with kids- she had lots of rnaments from her travels aroudn eh world, on her shelves as you walked into her house. The sort of ornaments that kids love and can touch- little dolls with bobbling heads, spinning tops and other things. She travelled a lot and always had new wonderful things. She related to us. Me especially (I was the eldest cousin). She took having family around her very seriously as she never met her own cousins till she was an adult. I was close to my cousins and spent many hours playing doctors and nurses and those sorts of games with them. I was also more often allowed to sit with the adults, too, as I was the oldest. I remember helping her make Chrstmas pudding and being allowed to lick the bowl. I remember shelling peas with her. I remember falling out of bed and cracking my head. I remember she had a really thick plush bath mat which seemed very impractical but oh so wonderful. I remember the brand of shampoo she used. She would buy us gifts, knit us scarves and send us stamps from all over the world for our stamp collections. Pa Jack died years ago now, and after that, Grandma went downhill with Alzheimers. She is 90 and in a top quality nursing home now- very little memory left but she did still remember me last time I saw her. She has been a big part of my life- and not always a sweet one- she was a very tough woman- but we had and have deep connection.

It smells fishy to me- it seems too extreme to be true, or something that GS would endorse. The backlash would be too great. Its not in touch with general values or safe sex education. I know it would never be endorsed here. Wel, never say never, but it goes against safe sex practices which are endorsed. As long as they are not teaching it at your own group level, I personally wouldnt withdraw my child if they were getting a lot out of Scouts. I would do more research befoejumping to conclusions.

Beets are not generally bitter- you used the root, not the greens on top? Beets tend to be sweet like carrots when juiced..maybe try again?

Several times a week I make Green Juice- it is incredibly healthy and the taste grows on you. 50% of the juice is green things, but mostly celery. I might use celery, cucumber and parsley, but also stuff like kale and chinese greens if I have them in the fridge or garden. The other 50% is sweeteners lik carrots, beetroots and especially apples at first (as time goes on I can handle less apple). Also I add a whole or half of a lemon or lime- skin and all. It sounds strange but it actually sweetens the juice. This is a great way get your greens, and to detox- very good for the liver. My other favourite juice is watermelon juice, but I tend to make that in the blender. Also rockmelon juice (cantaloupe).

I am 43 in May and I have loved being in my 40s so far. No matter what is happning on the outside...I just feel much better inside my own skin. I feel ok just being me, as I am. That is a change, I can tell you, from the painully self conscious and shy person I was in earlier years! I dont compromise myself so much, I dont care so much what other people think, I follow my own heart more. I can't wait till my 50s! There has to be some letting go, though. I have found that more and more, I feel invisible. On the inside, I still feel like 16 quite often- or at least, ageless. On the outside....I am still sometimes taken aback when I see a handsome young man...and he doesn't even notice me. I have had plenty of male attention in my life, and it has been a bemusing experience to no longer get that. But...its worth it! There is great value and freeom in being invisible- an inherent self worth rather than one reflected back. Life will always throw us difficult times..I just find it easier to navigate when I am ok with being me.

I love what SWB has said along these lines in her blog at the WTM website. She really puts a case for analysing literature being such a totally different fish to creating it. I really like the article. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/blog/ I do think that there can be a bit of both, for sure, but if literature/poetry analysis (particularly incredibly in depth analysis) dampens the enthusiasm for creativity, if that spark is there, then I think more emphasis should be put on the creativity and/or simple appreciation (as in, how does that poem make me feel? I wonder what the poet was going through when he/she wrote that? When was it written- oh, yes, the same time as such and such. ). I have always loved that SWB hasnt put as much emphasis on the analysis and criticism of literature, as on reading and appreciating it. All the knowledge in the world about poetry and poetical terms doesnt make my kids appreciate and enjoy poetry, and likely to pick up a poetry book for enjoyment in their own time, or want to write poetry. In fact, it turns them right off. If they first learn to appreciate and enjoy some poetry, they are more amenable to pulling it apart- a little. So what if they know what those technical terms are, if they never intend to read poetry again, because they associate it with horrible, dry, in depth analysis. Some people enjoy it. Some poets enjoy it. But I am sure there are just as many who dont. I will be happy if my kids know a very basic smattering of poetical terms and structures, know that there exists a whole world of more in depth terms and structures, and actually recognise a few poets and appreciate them enough to let poetry be a part of their adult lives, as soul food, rather than something they dread because of how it was approached in their childhood.

:iagree: with Faithr. I bought it because of some recommendations here on the board a year or 2 ago..but it's way too deep for me and my not so deep 15yo.

Well, I am just peeved that, since I usually only visit the General Board nowadays, I thought all the boards were down because I didnt even try the others...so I have been trying all day and not getting on..when I could have been coming here and talking about curriculum or why the General Board is down, to get my fix for the day. And...sometimes they take the board down in order to let people cool off when threads get really nasty. We get a day or so of having to take a deep breath and let go. But I haven't opened any threads that warrant such deprivation therapy- I did avoid some though. I know it's not personal (cos I've been good :)) , but it could be group punishment. It makes us appreciate what we have so much more when we cant access it for a day or 2, doesnt it? Of course it could be technical but it seems strange it would be just one board, not the whole forums, as sometimes happens. Now I am of off to find some curriculum or highschool topics to chat about. :)

I disagree. It has brought me and millions of others profound benefit- and the rate of injuries is very low. I'd be far more worried aboust taking pharmaceutical medication or visitng a hospital than going to a trained chiropractor. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/11856.php

I missed all that - I wouldn't touch those threads with a 10 foot pole :) Its been lovely around here lately, hardly any drama, great conversations, interesting information. :001_smile: It all depends on what threads you open.

Yes, like Rosie said, it is actually free for many, many people. I used to have a health care card for years. Once I was disqualified from having one once our income went up, the most annoying thing was having to pay for visiting the doctor (although it is still subsidised) and paying more to go to the movies. But perhaps (and forgive me if I am wrong), your question was referring to the hidden costs in taxes and other more abstract, idealistic costs, ( I can only recall the posts from months ago- I am not going to open the recent threads other than this one) and I am not going to go there, because I like the system we have. I like that my single mother friends, whose partners pay absolute minimum maintenance, dont have to consider whether they can afford to take their child to the doctor when they get sick.

I agree- I think it is often the idea of hours of unstructured time and bickering kids and never getting space from them. For me...I was easily discouraged from homeschooling when my kids were little, by dh, because I was exhausted from years of 2 little kids close together in age. It wasnt till I had had a break once they were at school for a couple of years, that I felt up to it, energetically. In retrospect, I would have preferred to do it from the beginning and simply structured out time, but I didnt know any better. The other thing that I feel is a major factor is that we are such an institutionalised society- we are taught that only trained teachers and schools are qualified to teach our own flesh and blood, our precious chldren. That's why I feel that just letting people know that it is a possibility, let them see us out in the world, that we are normal people, so that they jsut know its a possibility, that it is a very valid option. The U.S. is a few years ahead of us in Australia in that respect- many people here just dont know it's even a legal, valid option. I was terrified of trusting myself with my kids' education till I did the reseach online and realised lots of people did it and the kids tured out more than ok. But we are brainwashed- those who feel its not for them often just dont have confidence, and cover that with other reasons.

I like all lentils. I recommend soaking them overnight or for at least a few hours, to help them cook faster, and also to make them easier to digest, and reduce the gas factor. Red lentils, and other smaller lentils, turn to mush readily, but they are meant to. The larger brown or green lentils can stay quite firm if you dont overcook them. Brown lentils have a strong flavour and can be quite "meaty", I find. They go well with strong flavoured sauces. I may dhal frequently. My favourite lentils for dhal are split mung dhal lentils- they don't take long to cook- same time as the rice.

Oh yes, I get a lot of envy. Some mothers are envious at my lifestyle and my relationship with my kids. But most people just dont consider it a viable option for their lives. It's not as common in Australia as the U.S.

Yes, I reckon someone could do a PhD on the psychology of message boards. They feel so...homely, because here we are, chatting away about sometimes such personal ssues, in the comfort of our own homes...yet...there is so much going on here...so much emotion stirred up at times, so much unknown as to how anyone or "everyone" is responding to your posts. It does help to keep it all in perspective...we are pretty much all strangers. And it doesnt matter what we really think about each other. I keep trying to click into other message boards, because I do often feel rather...extreme here, since (I think) most people here are conservative and Christian and I am neither...but, I enjoy it here, feel at home here, and it is a very unique forum in that many of us have been coming here for many years, and it is very, very active and alive. I find most other places too slow to bother visiting much. It had never occured to me that people might have me on ignore. If they do, I really dont care, though I would be curious as to why.

I would say it is a multi faceted issue that involves a lot of toxins and changes in our environment in the last decades, and changes in the food chain. And just because this generation is coming out with masses of allergies, doesnt mean it has happened suddenly...we as their parents may not have manifested allergies, but we may have passed on a susceptibility due to a build up of poisons, or poorer nutrition, or environmental toxins. We know that babies who are exposed to food too young are more likely to develop allergies to the foods, because their systems are too immature. The later we can introduce foods to babies the better, and it pays to be really careful what we introduce, when, and how much. Allergy to rice is common in Asia, I understand, the same as wheat is common here- we eat so much of it, and it's hybridized, chemicalised, stripped of its nutritional coating and bleached. Its not really food anymore. A large percentage of our foods are now hybridized. If your fruit doesnt have seeds in it, it is hybrid, and bred for higher sugar levels- and not for higher nturient levels. They are compromsed. So much has been done to our food. Our kids are more sensitive than we are, and maybe we have adapted over time. We jsut get other autoimmune diseases instead, or degenerative diseases, or we become obese or any one of many other diseases which are very common nowadays. I have heard that asthma in particular can be connected to too clean an environment- asthma is common in Australia. It's good for kids to eat a bit of dirt, to get sick even- it builds immunity. And then there is the whole immunisation issue, mucking around with our immune systems with an ever increasng number of immunisations- far more than when we were kids. Each generation is possibly getting sicker now, even though we have th wealth ad technology to be very healthy. Maybe our kids' generation will fight the real wars- against the large companies like Monsanto- for their own survival. But for each specific case..we may never be able to pin it down. And it's way too complex to pin it down to one or 2 causes.

Yes, I have heard some dentists will do it. Unfortunately ours wont. :lol::lol::lol: Yes, I remember that one too. I learned a lot about ...well, I learned a lot :) I don't tend to take it personally though, and, well, its kind of humorous to watch.

In Australia, you can go to a doctor for free, if you have a health care card, which people on low incomes get. The rest of us generally pay a "gap" fee over and above what the government pays the doctor. I went last week and it cost me about $60, $30 of which I will get back. Many pharmaeuticals are subsidised heavily and don't cost much. Many common blood tests are free but some cost. Xrays etc can be free if a doctor has asked for them. Hospitals vary. You can definitely get free public care in a public hospital, and in my experience, it has always been excellent care. I have heard that there is some extremely expensive medical equipment that is only available in the public system. Of course, you don't usually get your own room, unless you are lucky. I had 2 babies through the public system, for free- one in a normal ward. It wasnt what I wanted at the time (I was too early for the public birthing centre), but I can't really fault the care. The 2nd was at a public birthing centre in the country where we were literally the only people there at the time of ds's birth, and I had the same midwife through the pregnancy and for the birth. You can choose private care at a public hospital, I believe, and private care at one of many private hospitals. It is a LOT more expensive. The government really encourages everyone to get at least minimum private health insurance, with incentives. We can afford a high level at the moment, so we pay for it and get lots of things subsidised, like dental. And if any of us needed emergency hospitalisation we could go private. All children can get free dental treatment in Ausralia, but they use mercury amalgums for fillings, unfortunately, so if my kids need a filling we go private for composite fillings, and the govenment pays nothing. Overall, I think most Australians appreciate our system, even though it is always underpaid and overworked . I haven't heard of issues of people being discriminated against- honestly I have the utmost respect for doctors and nurses in public hospitals- they are under tremendous stress yet manage to not take it out on the patients! If one is poor here, or struggling, or a single mum...they are looked after with our system. Unfortunately our system is also prejudiced against "natural" health care and geared toward supporting multinational pharmaceutical companies...but there is a huge natural health movement nonetheless, and private health insurance often subsidises visits to chiropractors, naturopaths etc.

Oh yeah, but much worse. He came home one day last year with a hotted up car, painted with gothic women and animals, that he bought off the side of the road. I nearly left him over it (I found it offensive, plus he didnt discuss spending the money first), but I didn't want to so we made a deal. I got one of these : http://thermomix.com.au instead- which cost about the same as the car and which I really wanted and knew he would never normally agree to. So, the car sits in our carport and he takes it out now and then, and shows it off- it is a remarkable paint job- but I refuse to step foot in it. But overall, I am happy with the deal :) I use the Thermomix every single day.

One of my kids is supposedly an Indigo.They suposedly have come through to make changes in the world. Here are their characteristics, taken from Amazon: The 10 most common traits are: 1.) They come into the world with a feeling of royalty. 2.) They have a feeling of deserving to be here. 3.) Self-worth is not a big issue. 4.) They have difficulty with authority by ritual or without explanation. 5.) They simply will not do certain things. 6.) They get frustrated with systems that don't require creative thought. 7.) They often see better ways of doing things. 8.) School is often difficult for them and they can seem antisocial. 9.) They will not respond to guilt-trip discipline. 10.) They are not shy about letting you know what they need. Here is a link to the book and reviews: Indigo Children These are the kids we have tended to dose up with Ritalin. But after the Indigos (who are generally in their teens and twenties now) have come others...the Crystals, then the Raibows. My 2nd child is supposedly a Crystal, but he only has some of the characteristics. http://web.me.com/j9991/Indigo-Crystal-Rainbow-Children/Welcome.html http://www.starchild.co.za/what.html http://www.angeltherapy.com/article1.php I keep an open mind about such things but dont "believe" them as such. I just dont know. I did pick up a CD by Doreen Virtue about these types of children 2nd hand once, and listened to it in the car on a long drive with my son. My son, who is by no means particularly interested or gullible to these types of things, did never the less identify with many of the Crystal child characteristics- including have an attraction to and passion for collecting crystals.

This is an issue I have been discussing with a group of women recently, and we are setting up a womens initiation circle, and a group of men- some, our partners- are doing a similar men's circle. We intend to address the pubescent initiation issue as part of what we are doing. First we are initiating ourselves into womanhood. We feel that before initiating younger women, we need to initiate ourselves in a conscious rite of womanhood- even though we range in age from 39 to 60. We feel that most adults in our society have missed out on a conscious letting go of childhood, and moving into adulthood, and therefore tend to still walk around as children inside adult bodies. At least, many parts of us do not "grow up" with our bodies. The whole issue of our culture worshipping youth and being unwilling to let go of it and honour maturity, comes in here Our rite of passage (for the women) involves a committment to a 3 month path of the Beauty Way, and writing a journal about learning to see Beauty within and without, no matter the situation. It also involves creating some things to use in our ceremonies- a hand made cloak, artwork, a song, stories. We are just working on the structure of it at the moment. The ceremony itself will involve music, food, brand new clothes, gifts, a ceremony, lots of love. Once we have taken ourselves- there are 8 of us- through the initiation (for some it might be an initiation into the Wise Woman part of life), we intend to open this up to others, including teenage girls, and adapt the structure accordingly. Not everyone will be attracted to our style of initiation, but the idea is to make a rite of passage, that involves a period of preparation, that is symbolic, meaningful and beautiful and creates a distinct "marker" into adulthood. It also will involve being welcomed into the community of women, (and men as well- its important that the opposite sex welcome the new adult too) , and leaving the world of childhood. We obviously feel this is needed, and the amount of feedback we have received so far indicates there is a longing for this in many people, including adults who never received anything like this themselves. For my own teens...I don't know. They may not be open to what I am doing. They however are both part of the Scouting movement which has its own initiations- not exactly ideal in my eyes, but when initiations are not culturally accepted, and many teens are all about fittng in, it may be the best I can manage for them, that they will respond to. We did do a ceremony with a group of my dd's friends when she was 11 and they were ranging from 11 up to 14. It was a girl's initation into puberty, into menstrual cycles, into letting go of childhood, and it was beautiful. But dd didnt get her cycles till she was almost 15 and it sort of feels like at 11, she was really too young to appreciate it. It was a ceremony run by a woman who was connected to the Steiner system and it had some beautiful elements to it, including us mothers ritually "letting go" of our daughters as they went off into another room and making something there (we meanwhile had to make up a song), and welcoming them back as young women, rather than children. I love this topic. I think it's great to take inspiration from our great traditions, but we also need to create our own new ceremonies that are appropriate for our situation, our culture, our times.