We invested in gold a couple of years ago just before the stockmarket crash, and intend to hang on it. There is a likelihood it will go way up. But if you needed some quick cash...well, sell now. It went up a few weeks back then went down again. Silver is another good thing to invest in (not that i am any expert). An ex investment banker guy we met in Bali reckoned there is no more silver to be mined around the planet- unlike gold. That makes it likely to shoot up too. Well, whenever whoever controls the price of these things actually loses control, anyway. I am no expert, but silver is worth a look at too.

We have cherries here, mid winter, from U.S.A.- best tasting cherries ever and far cheaper than our own local cherries which come at the beginning of summer. It's nuts. Local cherries here are generally $20 a kg- the U.S.A. ones are $12 a kg, and someone said at their supermarket they were $9 a kg. And here in West Australia- an environmental scientist friend told me that 80% of our local produce is exported out of the state, and 80% of what is in our supermarkets is imported into the state. I know they grow a lot of oranges down south, but the ones in our supermarket are from another state. That is nuts! We are all paying shipping companies a lot of money- no wonder food is so expensive! I shop at the Farmers Market now to get local produce.

I am pretty lenient- and i don't have that restriction- but honestly, if I could, I would. Its that I could never work out how to do it since dh is a night owl, and the program I downloaded was immediately hacked (by ds15) who thought it was a joke. If you are already in the pattern of turning everything off at 10, I think that is perfectly reasonable. I do talk to my kids a lot and I don't think there are any problems- my problem is the inane, stupid conversations they have, and go to bed late because of! They are getting better at going to bed at a reasonable hour, but it doesn't take much for them to break the habit and stay up till midnight talking cr*p.

I used pink :)

I would stay home and not feel guilty.

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. The Hobbit.

Wow, what an amazing adventure. And you are such a brave mum.

I wouldn't expect raw milk to significantly help alone, but as part of an overall regime it might. And did you know that the caeliac tests are notoriously unreliable? I would definitely try gluten free if you have IBS. As well as the fermented vegetables, kefir, and probiotic supplements that others have suggested.

I cooked. Baked potatoes, tempeh and salad.

Sir Joseph Banks, who was the botanist who came out with Captain Cook, is a great something Uncle (he had no kids himself). Ned Kelly is a relation to my dh. If you met him you'd make the connection :)

Yeah, now that I have looked it up- mine would, for a lark. He would wear it around the house in summer to embarrass the teenagers. :) I guess its a step up (or down?) from wearing nothing to embarrass the teenagers.

Definition of judgemental from Wikipedia: A value judgment is a judgment of the rightness or wrongness of something, or of the usefulness of something, based on a personal view. As a generalization, a value judgment can refer to a judgment based upon a particular set of values or on a particular value system. Whatever definition you take...yes, its a judgement based on your own set of values and conditioning. People come here to get support for their judgements and to feel better about being judgemental. Whether one is positive or negative, o feels very righteous...it is still a judgement. So, either one accepts ones judgementalness :) or one tries to become more aware of it so as to not give it so much energy. Or, one just continues to be judgemental and try to get other poeple to agree with one. There is no ultimate moral judgement on whether one should wear a towel in ones front yard. It is only a personal one, and perhaps a social one- as in, enough people agree with you. I really like the Byron Katie Work for learning how our judgements don't serve us :) But we all have them :)

It takes just as much time to put on nice clothes than it does to put on daggy ones. A scarf or other accessory takes 10 seconds. It takes just as much time to put your hair up nicely in a ponytail, or brush it neatly, as it does to do it with a careless attitude. It takes just as much time to put on eyeliner and lipstick than it does to tie up your shoelaces. If you are showering anyway once a day- it takes an extra 5 minutes to put on moisturiser and lipstick and a pair of earrings. If you dont have 5 minutes for yourself in a day, then you probably have your priorities wrong anyway- and what are you doing on here? On a super busy day, sure, we all have those days. But 5 minutes in a day to make yourself look more than you just got out of bed- make yourself feel you look presentable- can be a good investment of time with a good return. If you have ever done the Flylady system, she insists you get dressed to shoes every morning. I don't always wear shoes but the message is still there- if you are dressed to shoes in the morning, looking presentable, you are ready for anything- and that can save a lot of time in your day. It means you are ready to walk outside and put the garbage out, to meet someone at the door, to pop up to the shops, to welcome a guest into your home, to take your kids where they need to go. Thats why I always insisted my kids got dressed for school in the morning- we all did. Then we were ready for anything, even if we stayed at home. Its the same principle. It's not "too hard" to spontaneously go for a walk, or answer the door, or go out for icecream or whatever- because we are already ready anyway. I really think if you have time to sit on here and post in these threads, let alone read them, you cant complain about not having an extra 5 minutes in the day to take a little genuine care for your appearance- at least most days. I dont mean a lthick layer of makeup- I prefer the natural look myself- or expensive clothes. Just something that makes YOU feel good, not just comfortably daggy.

I tend to be friendly and would connect with people regardless, but I wouldn't necessarily become close with them. My MIL is like that- always made up, immaculate- but underneath all that is a real human being.

I agree about the family's impressions- the images the kids grow up with. My mum was overweight all my childhood but she dressed well and I loved her clothes, her makeup- I still have memories of certain of her clothes- I didn't care that she was overweight. The other day I had to drive my dd17 to a function at 7am. I wore sloppy clothes and my slippers because I figured I didn't need to get out of the car..(I don't normally do that)...but she really noticed and it made me realise that I am glad I normally look good for my kids- that they aren't embarrassed to bring friends home, that people have often commented that dd and I look like sisters. It feels good. We are the same size now and that is fun. Now, if only my dd17 didn't steal all my good makeup, maybe i could put some eyeliner on.

First impressions- yes, I am guilty of making judgements. But I really notice it in myself and try to overcome it...and am almost always really happy that I did. People are all amazing and all have a story to tell.

I love beauty- inner beauty, outer beauty, personal beauty, beauty in others :) I like your questioning as a logical follow through but I am pretty sure it will degenerate :) :bigear:

Lol, I was waiting for you guys to get back to school so the boards could calm down and I could stop spending so much time here reading ridiculous (but sometimes hilarious) threads.

Hoped he would change? :)

I would have a shower. I like showers :) Or a bath.

Yes. Its amazing how many people don't have up to date, appropriate wills. A friend died recently- in his late 50s. His 2 adult daughters....what a mess they have to clean up. He wrote no will, his finances were a mess. Fortunately they automatically get his money, but there are so many cases like the above one, where the people who should get the money, dont.

Life insurance and a bit of savings. I would buy a house- I would be fine. For me the point is more if my dh were to become unable to earn an income tomorrow, or left me (or I left him). That would be harder..I do not have enough work to support us or enough easy to market skills to get a job other than shop assistant at short notice.

Depends what you call happy. I feel alive, grateful, I love people, I feel loved...yes, I am happy. Is everything in my life working exactly how I would want it? No. I think the article denotes a very immature type of happiness, or search for happiness. And its an immaturity that seems to be common. The media and our excessively materialistic society promote immaturity and shallowness- and happiness is just a sell job to make us buy stuff. It's not really happiness and it will disappear at the slightest challenge if there is no solid foundation of integrity and ethics and maturity.

I definitely don't feel any sense of obligation in any moral sense. I like to feel I look good, though, for many reasons, so I guess I do it for personal motivations - certainly not out of guilt or obligation. It does make me feel more confidant. I love it when plump people have self confidence and dress well though. My mum always impresses me with her good dress style, and she is big. Her dh married her like that- so I am sure he cant mind too much.

I am a free ranger parent. I grew up free ranging. We deliberately live in a neighbourhood where we feel ok about our kids free ranging. How you parent in your situation is unique to you. I have found on these boards that American parents (well, those who are here), are less free range than Aussie parents. But there is generally less crime here.