I blog about everything too and I've also been in a rut. I used to post 2-3x per week but now I'm lucky if I get something up each week. Reading "The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our Brains." didn't help. It's really made me re-think my online time. I'm glad you started this thread, ScrappyHappyMom, because I love looking for new blogs and blogging friends. Maybe I'll get inspired again too.

Today is National Read in the Bathtub Day... I spent several hours over at our old house painting and cleaning. I'm ready to celebrate the day! Woot.

Not a book, but I always use LindaSue's site: http://genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html She is always my first stop when looking for a new LC recipes. Several there are old time favs. but my sis loves Dana Carpenter's book: http://www.amazon.com/500-Low-Carb-Recipes-Snacks-Dessert/dp/1931412065/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318980235&sr=1-6

I agree too.

wow, this is a hard question. Fiction will sometimes inspire me in a way that non-fiction cannot. This is especially true if the writer is quite good. Heck, even Tolkien inspires me in a way that some sappy "feel good about yourself" book will never do. There's just so much bad "inspirational" fiction/non-fiction out there (used to be in a Book club where that was the only type of book one member would vote on - ugh). I don't really read "women's" books if I can help it. I try to take what an author can say - whether its specifically for women or not. I like to be challenged. Anyway. The two *authors* that most inspire me are: Henri Nouwen. Love his books. My favorite is "Return of the Prodigal" Anthony Bloom - he writes a lot of books on prayer. He talks about prayer as communion with God. He doesn't do too much how you pray or about petitions and stuff... he's talking about building a relationship.

I'm not sure I could say I'm socially liberal. I sort of don't fit into any standard categories when it comes to church and social issues. If you want intellectually challenging, meaningful ritual, good music...you should look at the Eastern Orthodox church. Seriously. Start looking at church history... this alone will probably strengthen your faith. Especially if you're careful not to only get your historical information from Protestant sources, since Protestantism is fairly new to the 2000 year history of the church. You'll probably find yourself saying "Why didn't anyone tell me about this before??" I know I did. I learned SO much and it made me so excited about my faith. But, "inclusiveness and " commitment to social gospel" may depend on the individual parish. Historically, Orthodox people have been terribly persecuted throughout the world (Middle East, Russia to name the obvious), so they tend to hunker down and keep to their own for protection. It's changing a bit in America, but old habits die hard. But, I also wanted to comment about going to church alone because I did do that. I converted to EO but my husband did not. The kids were given the choice and opted to come with me, but there was the real chance that they wouldn't - it was their choice. Yes, you're right to be concerned. It certainly isn't the perfect solution but I couldn't, in good conscience, stay where I was and it was not fair to force my husband to come along with me if he had his own doubts. No it isn't perfect, but I wouldn't go back either... I just couldn't. My advice would be to take this leap of faith in your spiritual journey. Don't let fear hold you back. Perhaps give yourself a time limit- do it for 6-12 months and re-evaluate. Just because you search doesn't mean you'll end up worshiping alone. Plus, you don't know what effect this journey will have on your husband and children. One thing I do guarantee - it will change you. :grouphug:

The one with Amand Assante is quite good, but I don't know that it will be completely appropriate for young children. You may want to pre-screen - especially the part with the goddess Callipso.

Iceland by Becky Tobin Equal Rites by Pratchett Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte... the protagonist doesn't really start out strong, but she becomes strong as a result of an awful marriage. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibaziga non-fiction

I think that as couples approach the 20-25yr mark it becomes the hardest time in a marriage (often). You combine grown (or almost) grown kids, a marriage that is in a rut, a menopausal woman, a man going through a mid-life crisis and then, with life expectancy as it is, you think "And I have to put up with this for another 40 years!!???" It can be a recipe for some serious hardships. I can't imagine what the death of a child or other serious upheavals can add to that mix. I know it has been quite hard for my dh and I (It started closer to the 15yr mark). Everytime I think "We're past the hard part, maybe we can start enjoying each other again." Something comes up and it drags all those yucky emotions back with them. Perhaps it's easier for those who marry when they're older.

you should compare shop for coconut oils. I use it for making soap and have a large tub of it. It may not be "technically" food grade if that is a concern for you. Also, if you have an ethnic market near you (Indian or Caribbean is best) they often have the 14-15oz jars at a fraction of what you find at the whole foods type stores. Just FYI

I agree. I've used vinegar on all types of yucky smells on carpet, upholstery, and mattresses and it works great. I've also used it in the laundry occasionally...especially if I left something sitting in the washer for too long :glare: and wanted to get the musty smell out. I just pour a vinegar water mixture right on the offending spot... and blot with a towel or two.

LOl - yes we could just not put it on the market since we own the house outright, but my husband wants to get it done.

Yes, she's trying to make a Ford look like a Cadillac. We don't live in a pristine ego house. None of the houses in our neighborhood are like that. They're very middle-income homes with a little acreage. I used to have chickens for goodness sakes! This isn't a McMansion neighborhood.

I'm in MD. The way the contracts are written here the realtor gets their 6% commission if you break the contract. We negotiated her down to 1.5%. My husband really liked that she would be doing a lot of leg work for us to get the house ready. Believe it or not, it was one of her selling points. Now it's biting us. But, she said she would bring us three bids and she hasn't... not to mention the prices and the fact that she is adding things on there we never agreed to do in the first place. The last time we sold a house we had the opposite problem... our realtor barely did anything besides putting us on the MRS listings. We were very concerned that something like that would happen again so we were looking for someone who *worked* for us. Sigh. We can't win.

Well... I think relationships with our adult children are very different. We have to bite our tongue - A LOT. I have two college aged sons, so I cannot speak about married sons. I do have a married daughter. We still have some say over the boys' lives, because we pay the college bill, but we still have to tread lightly. Avoiding becoming the busy-body, micro-managing mom is really important...no matter how much they needed it when they were teens. You have to think about your goal as the parent of an adult child. What is important to me is to have a loving relationship with my kids where they want to come home to see me. So far, I think we've succeeded. We try very hard to think of ourselves as mentors and guides with our older kids (we have 4 adult kids). We suggest occasionally and we step in if they seem to be falling down ( our 22yr old son did last year with school). But, we don't give ultimatums or anything. It's more like a counselor and advocate. "Why are you having this trouble? Let's see if we can come up with a solution together?" is the way we approach. We probably would put our foot down if they wanted to change their major from something practical to something useless (like art history)... but that is because we pay the bill. Is this at all what you're talking about?

I just thought I'd follow up. We had a meeting at the house with one of the contractors...he's the main contractor. He went over everything that was asked to do. I'm rather miffed at my realtor. For instance: in master bath she asked him to replace our tile floor with new tile... in the kids bath she asked to replace the vinyl (old and ucky) with new ceramic tile flooring!! Ack! What the heck? First the master bath tile is fine. It just needs some elbow grease. The kids bath does not need to be replaced with tile! Just put a sheet of vinyl down! She told him to price out replacing a 5yr old shower stall that just needs a good cleaning. :mad: When we went over the list with her originally she wanted me to replace our brand new counter top because she didn't like the color. I told her categorically "no." and she had him price up for new counters!! Not only is she costing us time and money, but she's also wasting the contractors time by having him price stuff I told her I wouldn't do. The problem with firing her is that in our state the realtors are very protected. We would have to pay her a back-out fee if done before the contract expires. We tried to get rid of this clause but, of course, she wouldn't do it (neither would the other realtor we interviewed), I think we were able to lower the % a bit... but not enough to fire her yet. We just have to know where we stand with her and play hard-ball. But this really opens my eyes that even the selling realtor isn't working for the customer. Sigh.

Is there a help forum at Blogspot? Perhaps you'll find info there.

I'm there too. I haven't had some of the classic signs like hot flashes but my emotional equilibrium has been terribly upset. I know my husband wonders "who is this woman!?" And I'm not sure myself. I do have a good friend who has done a lot of research so I go to her for advice. She's pushing me to go to the specialist who really helped her. I've been putting it off simply because life is so busy... sandwich generation is right! I'm the last one to be taken care of because there's just no time

ah, thanks for the clarification.' you said: :001_smile: so true! In my experience, we are never to ask that type of question. Talk about bad form! I would guess that the patients have offered the information.

I'm not sure this is so. From the article: But, you are right, there is no mention of those who died quite satisfied with their lives.

Yes, I was thinking about something along those lines too. Not just for the kids, but just in life in general. Not that I'd want to "work" more, but I can see myself wishing I had done more.

I volunteer with my local hospice and this article came through our weekly email newsletter. I thought it was good food for thought. I don't necessarily think I'll be regretting all those things (especially #3), but perhaps a few will be mine when I'm at the edge of death. Top Five Regrets of the Dying

yes, I let my kids run barefoot. We had a creek in the neighborhood and that was the only place I made sure they had shoes because people would little glass and bottle tops in there.

Back when all the kids were home we had a Ford 12 passenger. This way we could take friends/other family with us. Or, if we took the back seat out we had lots of storage when we went camping/vacation. Now the van is mostly used for mass transit when kids are home from college or hauling big items. I drive a Prius for everyday stuff now. :D But, having extra room was important to us. The kids don't stay little -even when they're still too young to drive.

Thanks all... these are great suggestions and tips. yes, we are out of the house and we plan to stage a few rooms.. we've left a few furniture items there but will rent more. I'm positive the realtor is getting a kick-back. HVAC is not central vacuum...it's the heating/air conditioning system. My husband did talk her down from the usual length for the contract, but I cannot remember how long we have with her.