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Apiphobic

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    Where can I find Japanese canned coffee?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Where did you live in Japan? We were there 9 years. My favorite was the Georgia coffees and I'd get mine cold---most of the time. Those were so great. I could write pages and pages of what I miss about Japan.

     

    I did a quick internet search and checked out Amazon but no luck. I know that Amazon carries the Ito En tea and you can order it by the case. Target also carries it under the brand Tea's Tea. But so far no luck on the coffee.

     

    We were at Misawa Air Base for five years. Where were you? I know what you mean about missing it. I still miss so much about living there. We were there from 1997-2002.

     

    Thanks for trying!

     

    Do you have an Asian market, or grocery store with a sizeable Asian food section, nearby? I have seen the Nescafe canned coffee single serving drinks at these types of stores.

     

    It looks like there is one oriental store in town. I will have to check it out.

     

    Nijiya Markets (there are many locations in California) carry a wide selection of Japanese canned coffees. Perhaps they can ship for you?

     

    Bill

     

    Thanks for the recommendation. I will look into it. :)

     

    A small ethnic grocery store or small local grocery store or small natural food store will order just about anything for you if you ask nicely and promise to regularly buy that item, I've found. (One of the Kroger stores we lived near also took requests.)

     

    Here's hoping! :)

     

    If you live near enough to a decent sized city that has an Asian market, that really is your best bet. We live in an area that has 3 or 4 markets within 45 minutes drive from us. However, there is an awesome Asian/Japanese grocery in Denver called Pacific Mercantile Company that has online ordering. I haven't tried ordering, but I was in the store when I visited Denver this summer.

     

    I'm also just waving "Hi" to those who have lived in Japan. I was in Tokyo for nearly 11 years- all through the '90s.

     

    Hmm, I will be driving into Dallas some time this month, so maybe I should start looking for some stores there. I did find that site and promptly ordered from them. I'm hoping it goes smoothly and I picked the right kind of coffee. I don't remember which one he liked, and there was only one available at the site. He probably won't care though; I think he loved them all.

     

    Oh, my, 11 years? I've only been to Tokyo once. Well, I've been through the airport a few times, but that doesn't count. I'd love to go back to Japan!

     

    I'm in Japan, if you tell me what to look for I can try to get you some.

     

    Won't help in the long term, we're only here for another 22 months unless dh makes Chief, then we'll be here less than a year. But, it will help for right now.

     

    Kris

     

    Oh, wow, Kris, thank you! I'm going to message you so I can paypal you or something. Shipping should be free because it's APO origination and destination, but it's still a hassle to get it, pack it, and then stand in line to mail it.

     

    Good luck to your dh. :thumbup:

     

    Thank you, all!

    Amended tech savvy poll: How tech savvy are we homeschooling moms and dads?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    <snip> ... and my husband has six or seven dSLRs.

     

    <snip> I personally use a cell phone, a couple of different laptops, and several different printers (Kodak 6800, ML 500, Epson 10000, Epson R2400, and the Canon iPF8100-my favorite)

     

    Crissy, don't you and dh have some sort of photography business?

    Or does he have a photography business and you have some sort of art business?

    I still don't see too many people that have an SLR or dSLR camera.

    Part of my curiosity is from me wondering if I should just stick with a regular digital camera with some extra features or if I should delve into the world of serious photography with a dSLR.

     

    <snip> I mean, I really wanted a flip Motorola cell phone simply because it reminds me of the communicators from Original Trek. :D

     

    lol

    How many have put their dc into or back into public schooling after homeschooling?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by Apiphobic
    punctuation

    We did it. After much discussion, hand-wringing, heartache, back-and-forth, and soul-searching, we put oldest dd back into public school. She'd gone to public K-4 and we homeschooled 5-10. It was hard to let her go. I feel like we've failed. I'd hoped to homeschool until high school graduation. There were many reasons we did this, but the most significant was her reaching the age and maturity level to let her decide for herself how to achieve her educational and life goals.

     

    It's still early but so far she's enjoying it and seems to be doing well. I'm not thrilled with the school here. I think sports comes before academics, unfortunately, so I'm worried she's not being challenged enough. But we're still doing some afterschooling, so I hope that will help. She also has a couple of teachers and classes that she really likes. And I keep telling myself that she is learning other valuable lessons that will help her in life. Parking with the flow of traffic and not against is a valuable lesson, right? (That was said tongue-in-cheek. :tongue_smilie:) (Even though the smilie's tongue is not in-cheek.)

     

    No, really, I think her theater, debate and English classes have her thrilled to pieces. And even though she's not tickled pink with her math and science classes, I think she's seeing that the homeschooling has paid off because she's usually the first one done with her work and others ask her for help (or just for the answers -- she hates that). I'm still waiting to see if she'll want to transfer to the next level if it continues to be too slow. That's not to say that the instruction is terribly rigorous and she's floating through (although, of course, there's a part of me that would love to believe this). I've mentioned before that I'm not happy with this school. We couldn't choose which school she could attend, but we decided to go ahead with it. We're moving next year and I hear the school system is much better there. That seems to be my "light at the end of the tunnel" focus right now.

     

    Anyway, having taken the plunge (albeit in another pool entirely), I'm curious to hear how things have gone for others. Are you glad or are you regretting it? A little of both? What would you have done differently, knowing now what you didn't know then?

     

    Do your dc feel the same way about it? Are they glad or do/did they regret it? A little of both? What do/did they miss most? What do/did they like most? How has it changed the dynamics at home?

     

    My 8th graders are discussing the possibility of starting public school next year. Of course, right now my heart is saying no and my head is trying to reason with it. Part of it may be that I think my oldest is more independent and maybe a little bit stronger emotionally than my twins. That might be my skewed Mommy vision though. You know how your child still looks so young and small until you have another little one? Then s/he looks so much bigger when you look at the smaller one.

     

    Thanks for listening,

    Amended tech savvy poll: How tech savvy are we homeschooling moms and dads?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by Apiphobic
    simply HAD to clarify my current nerd-status

    I love seeing all the new toys that come out.

    I think one of these would be so fun to have.

    What can I say? I'm a nerd.

     

    I can build you a pretty slick network and hack your database, though. :D

     

    Dear me, I didn't mean to imply that I'm an expert when I said I'm a nerd.

    Perhaps I should've said I'm a wanna-be nerd. :w00t:

     

    Cell phone, ipod, camera, laptop... pretty standard things, I guess.

     

    See, I don't think these are standard things though. Definitely not an SLR camera. A digital camera, maybe, but not an SLR or dSLR camera.

     

    I also don't know that a laptop is that standard. I know many people that don't have one.

     

    I'd say most people have a cellphone and a high percentage have an iPod or mp3 player. And most people have a printer of some sort, but I don't know that many have an all-in-one.

     

    Anyway, it's been fun seeing how techy we are. Thanks, all, for participating.

    Amended tech savvy poll: How tech savvy are we homeschooling moms and dads?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I would love to have a digital SLR camera and an HD camcorder. We don't have a Kindle, DVR, or TiVo either, but I'm not pining for any of those toys.

     

    I'd also love to have satellite radio, but I didn't know where to fit that into this poll. I also thought about adding a geocaching gps in the poll choices but didn't know if that was popular with this group or not. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, but I know several people who enjoy that.

     

    Darn it! I forgot webcams. I suppose they could be included in laptops.

     

    I love seeing all the new toys that come out.

    I think one of these would be so fun to have.

    What can I say? I'm a nerd.

    Seriously, how bad are the bugs in Florida?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by Apiphobic

    I have solved the horrible fly problem in our house by having a fly eating plant. Anyway, I really would not worry about bugs that much in FL. Nothing that can't be dealt with.

     

    I registered with the county as a homeschooler for 10 years in FL. Pinellas County is very homeschool friendly and never had a problem. I like my new place and friends, but I will always be a Floridian at heart. Good luck!

     

    A fly eating plant? Those are real? I'm remembering Little Shop of Horrors now. :)

     

    Anyway, I really would not worry about bugs that much in FL. Nothing that can't be dealt with.

     

    I registered with the county as a homeschooler for 10 years in FL. Pinellas County is very homeschool friendly and never had a problem. I like my new place and friends, but I will always be a Floridian at heart. Good luck!

     

    Thanks, I am feeling better about it now.

    However, I am watching the news about tropical storms Claudette and Ana and hurricane Bill. :001_huh:

     

    The homeschooling regs are pretty easy. I send my letter of intent each year to the school board along with a pass/fail slip from a certified teacher. I do portfolio evaluations which are really just samples of the work dd does throughout the year. The evaluator looks at her portfolio, asks her some questions and that's pretty much it. She gives me a copy of her scores for my records and gives me a paper saying she completed the grade that I send in to the school board. I've never been contacted by anyone from the school board and have never had any problems. There are several support groups in my county alone and there are lots of opportunities for homeschoolers to get together for field trips, monthly meetings etc. We have annual school pictures, student id cards, a year book, senior prom and promotion nights. We also do spelling bees, georgraphy bees, science fairs, co-op etc. In Broward County we have His Players drama group where they put on wonderful (professional quality) plays and we also have SAINTS which is a p.e. program for homeschoolers. :) There's lots going on for homeschoolers. :)

     

    **edit** I just thought of this. http://www.fpea.com/ This is the link to the Florida Parent Educator's Association. There is tons of information in there about homeschooling in Fla, requirements, laws etc. :)

     

    Awesome, thanks!

     

    As much as I don't love these pests, we very rarely use an exterminator. I just don't want the chemicals in my house.

     

    Do you use any home remedies? Boric acid?

    Natural Born Pest Killers: Home Remedies for Pest Control

     

    Yes, we occasionally dust with boric acid, especially under appliances and sink cabinets. I also have used cinnamon with some success.

     

    Cinnamon? I haven't heard of that one. Is that for ants?

     

    When the fire-ant mounds in our yard become overwhelming, we do,at times, use chemicals---but again, we don't do this frequently. If there are just a few present, we use boiling water and pour it directly onto the mound. It does work, but it's time consuming (not to mention water consuming) if you have a large property, as we do.

     

    I guess if it were easy everybody'd do it. :)

    Seriously, how bad are the bugs in Florida?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by Apiphobic
    forgot to use multiple quotes

    Another thing that drove me crazy was getting a cricket in the house. Kept us awake all night, and we were seldom able to find them because when we turned on the lights to look for them, they got quiet.

     

    We get crickets in the house here, but I don't hear them. But this comment does remind me of the cicadas we heard in Vegas. I do miss those beautiful nights outside with the cicadas chirping.

     

    I'm a native Floridian too and have never lived anywhere else so I cannot compare with other places, but I know if I leave my front door open for longer than 10 seconds flies will fly in. There are cinch bugs that come swarming out of the grass when it rains hard, lots of mosquitoes and cockroaches and worst of all palmetto bugs! (shudder) YUCK!! They're so nasty. The humidity is a given. I live in South Florida and we have always have a lot of humidity especially in August and September. It's good for the skin though! :)

     

    Oh, the flies drive me nuts here in Texas! There are no screen doors on the house here, and it just amazes me. I've never seen a house without a storm door/screen door except for in England.

     

    You moving to FL? :party: I'll drive down and help you chase away all those bugs. :lol:

     

    That's the plan, but it's a year away so a lot can change between here and now. I'm definitely checking out Atlanta if we move to Florida and we'll have to meet up!

     

    If you absolutely hate large roaches and big banana spiders, you may have a problem. :001_smile:

     

     

    B-b-b-banana spiders?

     

    We school year round because of this-the girls stay inside (unless they get to be in the water) in the heat of the summer anyway so we do partial mornings of school.

     

    Well, that's good. We school year-round, too, so that'll fit nicely.

     

    When I visited a relative in Lakeland, the bugs were a major issue. But I take it as a fact of life in that area.

     

    You know I have the Facts of Life song stuck in my head now. ;)

     

    The bugs are bad. BAD. Do yourself a favor and get a service. It's worth the money. I thought of it as an investment in my sanity.

     

    That said, I LOVE Florida. Love it. Homeschooling is easy there, don't be intimidated by the portfolio. Hsers in FL get a lot of perks from the school system. If you don't want the perks and would rather fly under the radar, umbrella or non traditional private schools are always an option.

     

    The weather is fierce, but I grew to love it. What is not talked about much is Florida's beautiful winters. Dry and mild temps from Oct till April.

     

    What part are you moving to? We lived in Orlando for 7 years.

     

    Thanks, Shannon! It's nice to hear some good stuff, too. I am stressing about the bugs and the humidity, but I'm also hyperventilating a bit about homeschool regs.

     

    We're moving to the panhandle, so I hear it isn't as bad as further south.

     

    Overall i would say bugs aren't a major deal - but when we have them, they are normally BIG! LOL!!

     

    Bigger than a breadbox? Animal, vegetable or mineral?

     

    When I lived in SC....they were worse. I even live out in the 'wooded' area of town.....

     

    What is it with the woods? Is it kind of like the haunted forest in the Wizard of Oz?

     

    But you have to understand that I wilt in humidity and get very irritated when I'm hot for long periods of time. <snip>

     

    Oh, and don't forget the lovebugs. They come twice a year and spatter all over your car when you drive. They're very acidic and if you don't wash them off right away, they can start damaging the paint job.

     

     

    That sounds like me but in the cold. I've started saying I've developed an allergy to that powdery white stuff.

    I've never heard of lovebugs. Well, Herbie comes to mind.

     

    I actually don't mind the big spiders because they eat the palmetto bugs. Palmetto bugs = evil. Big cockroach-looking things that FLY!

     

    We also have: lizards (but they're kind of cute), snakes, tree frogs, iguanas, monitor lizards (this is a recent problem where I live, but they are not native to the state), and legless lizards (which look like big, fat snakes).

     

    The humidity is stifling during the summer months. After a while you get somewhat used to it, but it's never really enjoyable. Winter down here is beautiful though (weather-wise). I do miss the beauty of snow sometimes but being able to go boating in the middle of January makes up for it. :)

     

    I had to get used to spiders in the house in England to keep the other insects in line. (Imagining a couple of nuns tapping their rulers in their hands while walking down a line of students.) But when I got back to the States it was back to the kill 'em on sight rule.

     

    We had lizards in Vegas. My brother wanted them as pets.

     

    Boating! Yes, that's something I'd love to do. Good childhood memories.

     

    We have lived here for about 5 years. We live in South Florida a little away from the city and have a lake behind our house. We get a pest control service and really don't have any problems. They also spray for mosquitoes so we don't really have much problem with them either. We register with the public school system it has been fine. They are very helpful and don't really want much contact or oversight into our program. We do a yearly portfolio review but you can also do yearly testing.

     

    YAY!

     

    They are nasty, nasty, nasty and pretty much overrun the place. They are bad so you have to decide bugs or chemicals sprayed regularly to keep the nasty bugs away. That alone was one of the many reasons I hated living down there. Oh then there are the tree frogs someone mentioned that make loud noises all night long, at mother's house. hated the place I tell ya absolutely hated living there.

     

    Oh noes!

     

    If you live where there are a lot of trees the palmetto bugs can be especially bad. But they don't generally infest a house, they just squirm their way inside occasionally. And if you have a good, yearly pest-control service, they don't stay alive very long inside (but I always keep a can of Raid handy, just in case).

     

     

    Raid, check.

     

    We loved Florida, though, and had a great deal of fun living there (Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers).

     

    This is what I keep hearing and what I'm trying to keep in mind.

     

    The first night we stayed in our new home (new to us, anyway) in FL, I woke up with a palmetto bug on my arm! I was 8.5 months preggo with #1 and we almost had an early delivery. :-)

     

     

    Eww, eww, eww!

     

    As much as I don't love these pests, we very rarely use an exterminator. I just don't want the chemicals in my house.

     

    Do you use any home remedies? Boric acid?

    Natural Born Pest Killers: Home Remedies for Pest Control

     

    There are a lot of bugs.

     

     

    Yes, that's what worries me. I think I read somewhere about tubes being placed in the walls of newly built homes with insecticide to combat infestation. They have to be replenished periodically. Is that something new?

     

    In Fl - they will occasionally crawl inside, but like another poster said, they don't generally infest the homes. (Unless you are poor Drama Queen!).

    <snip>

    Homeschooling was easy - we did the evaluation or test score option. It's easy to find evaluators and they often have their own "standardized test" they use which can be helpful and reassuring.

     

     

    whew, that's good to hear!

     

    We visit Florida, never lived there, but the bugs have never been a big issue. The alligators a bit more of an issue lol. It is VERY humid there, and that is coming from a Texan that knows humid!

     

    You met up with an alligator?!

     

    Honestly, there are bugs everywhere you go, you just have to get used to the local variety. Down there it's skeeters and roaches, up here it's deer ticks, brown recluse spiders and a gazillion species of flies.

     

    Honestly, I never had to worry that much about bugs up in Montana. Now if we went hiking in the mountains, we'd have to check for ticks. And there were flies, but nothing like I'm seeing down here in Texas. The mosquitoes were pesky but, again, nothing like the ones here.

     

    My advice? Get a new house that is tight. Fewer cracks means fewer bugs inside.

     

     

    I certainly hope to!

    Hive consensus on MIL/kids issue

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I have been married 21 years so I have a long history with my mil. We had a rocky relationship up until the last 5 years. I was as much at fault as she was. We also had safety issues with our kids and the IL's - both of them were a bit cavalier about safety. (So is DH - the apple does not fall far...)

     

    Anyway, I was careful to never leave the children with them. Easier because we live several states away. It is more expensive to get sitters when the IL's are free, but a lot less expensive than a serious injury. I am a Christian and do want to submit to DH, but there are safety issues that I have to stand up for and have done so - he thanked me later. I am also careful not to leave my children with DH (unless sleeping) until they are older and have more sense - it is a huge sacrifice of time but they are worth it. He loves them but just missed the safety gene somehow. I also know it will pass as they get older and gain good sense (that I have drilled into them!) All this to say, you could make sacrifices of time and effort so that everyone is safe and loved, including DH and IL's.

     

    Now, wound up in all of this you also have a less than perfect relationship with your mil. So, take your kids over and be with your mil and kids so they can enjoy each other without the stress. In my younger years I wanted her to bend to me - I so wish I could have a do over on those first 15 years. I would have worked to capture her heart. I was often angry and bitter and it diminished me. I realize now that I could not contain anger and bitterness - it spilled out into other areas that I was not wanting it to be in! If I had worked to make her feel special - to love her as I loved my friends then I am convinced it would have paid great dividends with everyone - including my dear children. They have a lesser relationship with my IL's than with my parents - that stinks for them. It could have been cozy all the way around. It would have been worth the extra effort.

     

    My MIL is in very poor health - could die at any time. I am so glad she lived so that we could find a better relationship. Last time I was with her I had the chance to thank her for raising my DH to be such a fine man. No, they did not do things the way I would have then or now, but they did love us and they do love their grandkids. I am finding that in the end, love is really what matters.

     

    So, I hope this helps. Perhaps it will not work for you. But, I am so much more content today than I was when I was trying to get the IL's (and others) to do things my way. It is very hard to change the people around me. I have not had much success in changing other people. But I have changed.

     

     

    What a lovely post, Babs. Thank you for sharing.

     

    To the OP, unfortunately, because she is your dh's mother and because you will be part of each other's lives for years, she does need a little more leeway. It's wonderful that she took your kids to the pool. There are some grandparents who wouldn't.

     

    I really hope you're able to find a satisfactory solution for everyone involved. Good luck!

    Seriously, how bad are the bugs in Florida?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I seem to be fixating on this. It might be because I'm not enjoying the bugginess of Texas and know that Florida is just as bad, if not worse.

     

    I've lived in dry climes most of my life and was pretty proud of myself for adjusting well (at least I thought so) to the huge spiders in England. So I thought I'd adapt to big, bad Texas and all (oh okayyy, most) its critters. But the spiders in Texas are just ... ugh! I'm having flashbacks to scifi movies.

     

    And here I thought having two cats would be great on controlling the unwelcome visitor population (of the spider and insect varieties, not the homo sapiens one). They find the little buggers but haven't quite grasped the concept of annihilation, eradication, evisceration, in essence, Buffy-vaporizing said home invaders. There goes their Christmas bonus.

     

    So, really, how bad is it in Florida? How about the humidity? Those are the two biggest things that are making think twice, thrice, umm, fourice?

     

    Oh, yeah, I'm also worried about homeschooling there. Is the cover/umbrella/private school route the most common? Or do most of you choose the home education program option? Coming from states that have either little or no reporting requirements whatsoever to Florida means navigating some road bumps, so I'm a little concerned about it. But mostly about the bugs. Priorities, you know. :tongue_smilie:

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