That is beautiful. You will look lovely.

I'm sorry. I was not estranged from my mom, but we were never close. We had a lot of difficult years. Hugs to you. You will mourn, but it won't be the same as those who were close to their moms. Also, I think you will need to talk to just let out all the crap and misery your mom caused. Try to find someone who is willing to listen. Or a sibling perhaps? My husband listened to my dump. My younger sister and I also had some time together and did that. She also had a similar relationship. It helped to re-affirm that we weren't terrible people for not mourning her death like other adult children do, and to realize that we weren't crazy and saw the same things. It was like a deep sigh- emotional purge. It was a helpful part of the process. I don't know if she can hurt you after death.. I'm sure it is possible but I wouldn't know how to prepare for it. I hope it doesn't happen to you. Hugs.

Would any of these be too matronly? https://www.macys.com/shop/product/alex-evenings-sleeveless-jacquard-sparkle-dress-jacket?ID=1316944&CategoryID=5449 This style you have several color options: https://www.thedressoutlet.com/collections/mother-of-the-bride-dresses/products/short-vintage-lace-modern-mother-of-bride-plus-size-formal-boho-cocktail-dress I wore this in plum at my son's wedding last year: https://www.thedressoutlet.com/collections/mother-of-the-bride-dresses/products/r-m-richards-2-piece-short-mother-of-the-bride-dress I don't know why they don't have it in plum now though.

I've been keeping my eye out for a new mid-sized SUV as I'm thinking mine has another year on it. First dh needs to replace his car. I'm letting him take care of his own choice though. Cars.com has a Youtube channel where they compare similar types of cars (Mid-size SUVs, etc). You can also search by year ("mini Vans 2016"). I also do Google search of "Top Minivans in >>>>>" whatever year you're thinking about.

I'm appreciating this thread too. My grandkids love watching YouTube videos and I'm not pleased with the ones the older grandson has gravitated toward. I'm defiitely going to keep these in my back pocket for the next time I watch him. I'm mostly keeping my 20mo grandson right now, so I can curtail the content much easier. He enjoys dinosaurs. So we watch a lot of T-Rex Ranch - (used to be ToyLabTV). Yes, they do toy reviews, but not all the time. Most of them are father/son pretending to be Dinosaur Ranchers.

Oops..

sending prayers for you. Hugs.

No advice, but I wanted to say I'm sorry. What a shock. hugs

My dh has been watching. My SIL is a huge fan. I'm more of an Orioles fan. I'll be watching the World series more closely though. Partly because it is the hometown team and partly because I don't like the Yanks.

It sounds like something Einstein would say. He was pretty anti-Nationalism.

Oh my goodness!! Seriously. I don't have very many during the day anymore... but as soon as I turn off the light - BAM. Then I have to start the whole process of settling down again. Ugh.

I remembered 2 dreams last night. First dream: I was with a friend, who moved away about 2yrs ago. She had just graduated from college (true in real life). I think we were in some hotel and she was sitting watching TV. Her husband was there, but I can't remember what he was doing. I remember asking her what she got her degree in and she said something to the effect that her degree was in home design (like in remodeling designs, not painting and colors, etc). I remember being very surprised because she'd always been in childcare and I wasn't expecting such a shift in her career. I was thinking that maybe I would like getting a similar degree. possible explanation. My friend HAS just graduated with we BA via an online school. She's been talking about school a lot on FB and had her graduation live-streamed this past weekend. I have no idea what her degree is in, but I assume it is in Early Childhood Ed, since that is what she did when she lived here. I've also been thinking a lot about what I want to do with this next chapter of my life. Second Dream: I'm walking along this path in a field. We are walking along the side of a hill (not up the hill) To my left and downhill is a wooded area with a stream running through it. To my right and further uphill are houses. I'm walking with a grandchild. We come to some berries - red berries and blueberries. My husband decides to eat them with on of our adult dd. I say something to the effect that it looks like they are cultivated and perhaps someone has planted them - rather than being wild. I keep walking with grandchild (who is about 3ish) to get some distance. I am concerned that the owner of the berries will be out soon and be quite annoyed. I go a few houses distance and indeed someone is riding along on their tractor lawn mower. Then another elderly lady comes and sits down on a chair right at the edge of the path...then another. I stop to talk with them about living here right near the woods and stream. I ask one of them if they ever walk down there, and one indicates or says she definitely loves doing down to the stream for dip. As we're looking uphill toward the houses I see there are wooden split rail type fences that demarcate the property lines. I ask something about that, but I can't remember. Then we see a Mountain Lion on the property side, stalking us. I see a friend from church walking from one of the houses towards us... we try to warn her of the mountain lion, but somehow we can't make her understand. I run up to the fence, my friend starts to roll downhill away from the mountain lion, and then I scream or roar or something AT the mountain lion. This startles the ML, then I do it again and again, until it starts to move away. possible explanation: I don't have much, except my husband does like to push boundaries like that and I'm prefer to follow the rules... so we always have this type of push-pull issue. The part about the berries is definitely something that could happen in real life. But, we haven't had anything come up lately, so it's random. The second part with the mountain lion is very weird... except the friend in my dream is not someone I'm particularly close to. This past Sunday she asked me and another friend if we wanted to maybe go see a movie together. It was very random, as we've never done anything social together before (she's a widow and recently retired). Anyway, I was thinking about her just before I went to sleep. There's you go. I hope he does well on his paper.

@lauraw4321 - I remember you too. Welcome back!

I don't have any experience with HD Lifeproof but I do have Lowe's Smartcore brand in my sunroom. I have the Smartcore Pro - which is hard to find IN stores (I special ordered it). I chose it because it could withstand the temp variations in the sunroom. They have regular Smartcore and Smartcore Ultra, which I'd look at in other parts of the house. Anyway, I love it. A lot. It has fooled several people, oddly enough. But seriously, with this LVT I wonder why wood is so popular.

Oh my goodness.. that is awful response time from doctors. Praying.

Can you say that to your sister in a nice way? May something like, "When I gave it I fully expected niece to train and love this horse for years, I never expected this outcome and should have told her that I didn't want her to sell it." Or something like that?

I think I saw that show a couple of years ago. I like the idea of living in a cozy lighthouse, but not the ones that were in the show I saw (fixer-upper types). I also voted for a cabin in the woods. That would be my preference. I'm not too excited about living through a storm in a lighthouse.

So happy for you! That happened to my SIL too. It is very scary. Did he end up in NICU? Be gentle with yourself...it's a lot of emotions to go through. Enjoy snuggling with your sweet new baby.

oh my goodness.. that whole thing sounds like a plot to a Romcom. I'm glad it turned out as well as it did and I'm glad he's going to Europe. It will give them both some time to step back and take a deep breath.

I also don't like plain white for my dinner ware At one time I had Pfaltzgraff and I quickly tired of it. It was heavy and bulky and I found they don't microwave well (heats the plate/bowl but not the food) I've been using Corelle for many years. It took me a while to find a pattern I liked too. Here's the set I have https://www.walmart.com/ip/Corelle-Impressions-Watercolors-16-Piece-Dinnerware-Set/17654355 I just have the dinner and lunch plate. I actually like the lunch plate more. But, since I've remodeled the kitchen I've wanted to change things up. We rented an Airbnb that used all Polish style pottery plates and dishes. It was so beautiful together. But, it would be pottery again and I don't know if I'd like it in the long-term.

I miss our Subaru. Someday we might get another one.. but not anytime soon. Enjoy your new toy!

I would be honest but breezy and gentle. Say something like, "hey, wanted to let you know about a weird thing with one of your shirts..... Are you having this problem at your house too?"

that is great news. I know it isn't your first choice but still it's a very encouraging outcome.

Whoot!!! Good luck! Hope it goes well.

I was going to suggest that you and dh take dd's phone and go out to a restaurant or coffee shop. When the guy shows up have a come to Jesus conversation with him. Hopefully that will scare him off. Also, isn't it illegal to put spyware on someone else's phone without permission? That may be one way to get the police involved. Does this guy still live at home? Maybe bring his parent's into the conversation. They may need to intervene too