I agree. My dd is 15 and she and her friends have been doing TikTok dances for a long time. They always enjoy pulling other kids into the dances, especially younger kids, teaching them and including them in the videos. While I understand that some parents wouldn’t appreciate that, I feel very confident that my dd and her friends would feel like they were being kind and inclusive of others by having them join the dance and videos. I have a feeling that what happened to the OP’s kids was completely innocent, but I certainly support her decision to not allow her kiddos in other people’s videos.

I don’t understand how they got your credit card information from your phone? I’ve used Hello Fresh on and off for a few years and in order to look at meals, you have to subscribe (which includes creating an account, entering meal preferences, and adding a credit card). Each week, you have a specific day that you either need to choose your meals or skip the week. Otherwise, Hello Fresh will just send you the first few meals that are listed on their website that week. I just can’t figure out how Hello Fresh would sign you up without you entering payment information. My suggestion is for you to call, tell them you want to cancel your current box and cancel your account. Continue to ask for a supervisor until you can get to someone who can help you. If your box hasn’t shipped yet, hopefully they can cancel it.

How awful for everyone. I’m so sorry and I will be praying for all involved.

Thank you for saying that. I’m just so sad. Her parents were like my second parents growing up. I just can’t believe they are both gone.

I really don’t enjoy cooking but would like to take a (hopefully simple!) meal to a friend tomorrow evening. Husband and daughter both eat gluten free. Background - this is my BFF from childhood. We grew up next door to one another and have been friends since she was 4 and I was 5 years old. Her mom was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s about 12 years ago (in her mid-50s). About two years ago, BFF’s dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer. They did chemo and things were looking very good. Fast forward to about 2 months ago. BFF’s dad started feeling poorly and was no longer able to visit her mom in her Memory Care facility. One day, BFF was trying to reach her dad on the phone, but she couldn’t get ahold of him. She left her work at lunch time to drive to his house and found him passed out in the floor, close to death. After getting him to the ER, they learned that his cancer was back and had spread. He was hospitalized for four weeks while they were trying to get him well enough. Toward the end of his hospital stay, BFF’s mom started doing bad and it was recommended that she start receiving hospice care. She passed away just a few days later. BFF’s dad was still in the hospital and wasn’t able to see his wife of 48 years to say goodbye. Just 3 weeks and 6 days later, BFF’s dad died of cancer. It had spread and was so aggressive, there was nothing they could do. To be clear, BFF lost both of her parents within 4 weeks time. And they were both only in their late 60s. Did I mention BFF is an only child? I’ve been doing what I can to help her and am now helping her to prep for another funeral this Saturday. As we sat in her parents’ house tonight looking through pictures (for the second time in four weeks), we both just kept crying and then laughing as we shared memories that date back to our early childhoods. My heart is broken for her. So back to my original question, do you have any good, easy gluten free meal ideas? I’d really like to make something like a casserole or a one-pot meal. I’ve already taken a chicken broccoli Alfredo casserole that can be served over gluten free pasta (twice - her dh loved it and asked me to make it a second time). I have also given them gift cards to some of their favorite restaurants. Also, if you have any meaningful gift ideas, I would love your thoughts. Of course I have/will send flowers to both funerals and have done other small things. But I would like to get BFF a thoughtful gift later on. Thank you for any suggestions and for letting me share my sadness over this awful loss.

My parents do an egg hunt for the grandkids every year. This year, the kids in attendance ranged in age 13 - 23 (five kids total). My parents hid 125 eggs - each egg contained 50 cents. But there were a few special eggs with $5 in each and then the kid who found the most eggs got $20! The kids had a blast and my parents enjoy it too. I love that we still do this for our older kids.

I was just called for jury duty for my county’s petit jury. Funny thing is that my dad was called too! A few weeks ago, we had jury duty orientation, which was pretty interesting. The judge told us that in our group (about 100 potential jurors, I’d say), 85% wrote letters asking to be excused. So, the judge excused very few. He explained that many teachers asked to be excused, but said they’d be happy to serve in the summer. Obviously if they did this, they could easily end up having a jury of mostly teachers during the summertime. Likewise, he mentioned that many business owners try to get out of serving. But since we could see both criminal and civil cases, he explained how important it is that business owners are included as potential jurors. The judge was really interesting as he explained the process and I’m really excited that I got called. We have to call in each Friday evening to see if we are on the list for the following week. This only lasts for about 6-7 weeks. If we are chosen to serve, the judge said that most cases are 2 or 3 days - 4 maximum. Once you have served , you are removed from the list for the remaining time. The judge let us know that he has several cases coming up in April, so it is very likely that many of us would be called. This Friday will be my first time to call in for the possibility for next week. I wonder what would happen if my dad and I get called to be potential jurors for the same trial? Oh and my dad is 78 and could have been asked to be excused, but he is excited by the possibility of serving too. We are both nerds!! Lol

I’m just now reading about this and Scout, I’m so very sorry. I will be praying for you, your church, and your community.

My best friend’s mom is in late stage Alzheimer’s and the hospice nurse says she will likely pass in the next few days. I am trying to help my BFF with some of the logistics of planning a funeral and she asked if I could help with a slideshow. I spent time at her parents’ house with her two days ago going through photos and she is working on pulling digital images from her iPhone to send to me. I have a scanner to scan all of the physical photos. I have a windows based laptop and an iPhone. Any thoughts on the best app/program to use to create this? I know she would like to add a song. I know someone who recently used iMovie on a Mac to create a video and it was lovely (and she said very easy). I don’t have access to a Mac but could I do it on my iPhone? Thanks!

Not at all. It wasn’t until the end of All the Broken Places that I realized it was a sequel (I think I knew it when I reserved the book from my library through the Libby app, but I must have forgotten as I started reading the book). But The Boy is the Striped Pajamas is very good, even though it was written for a younger audience, if I’m remembering correctly.

Done

I have been following along to these thread this year and, since I’m reading a bit more these days, I’d like to start posting. I just read All the Broken Places by John Boyne, which is kind of a sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I really enjoyed reading All the Broken Pieces, although it was a very difficult read at times. After reading it, I learned that the book is quite controversial, as some people feel that in this book and in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Boyne is trying to to make the reader feel sympathy for Nazis. I certainly didn’t see either book that way, but that sentiment gave me something to think about after my reading. I also read The Face on the Milk Carton by Janie Johnson, which I believe was mentioned on a different thread on TWTM forum. This is a YA book that I could see myself reading as an 11 or 12 year old, and I imagine I probably would have enjoyed reading it back then. Whole 47 year old me found it to be very simple, 11 year old me would have been fascinated. It was a fun read.

I’m so sorry. Thinking of you today.

I’m so very sorry. This stage of life is just so difficult. I will be praying for you and your mom.

Smooth - but the burnt on whatever (not sure exactly what it is) just doesn’t want to come off.

This post is very timely for me! I just got a new glass top stove and have been working hard to keep it clean. Last week, I was out of town for work and dh and dd were cooking. Pan was on the stove and the burner was too hot, so when dh added oil, it caught on fire! They took care of it, but it messed up the glass top. When I came home, I noticed and it looked to me like pasta water had boiled over. Dh told me tried a razor blade and the Weiman cleaner, but neither worked. I tried the weiman cleaner myself and then when that didn’t work, I created a paste write baking soda and vinegar. I let it sit and then I really scrubbed. I actually got a lot of it off, but it was so much work and the stove isn’t completely clean. Any other suggestions??

I’m so sorry. Like MercyA said above, this does not define you (I have to remind myself of this often). I will be praying that a door opens for you and you find the perfect position that allows you to flourish.

My 15 year old always takes a gift to a bday party. If it isn’t a super close friend, we just do a card with a gift card inside. Starbucks, Sheetz (local gas station with snacks and food), Chipotle - something like that.

I just got a new iPhone and it was simple. It just walks you step by step through the transfer process - and backing up your old iPhone was part of the process.

Thanks for your feedback!! It just stinks that I (like so many others) have found something that works so well. Ugh…I appreciate your thoughts.

I’m putting this out here because I’m genuinely curious about your opinions. Most of you have probably heard of Trim Healthy Mama. They are a company that promotes a healthier carb lifestyle. They also make products and yes, their products contain erythritol. Two of their most popular erythritol-containing products are called Super Sweet and Gentle Sweet. Anyway, they put out a statement today and I am really curious to hear what you all think. I do sort of follow the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating and I use their products (their sweeteners are way better than anything I’ve ever bought in the store and if you want to try a pure stevia with no fillers, theirs is really amazing). Trim Healthy Mama Erythritol Response Just X out of the landing page and it will take you to the response.

Thanks so much for all of the great advice!! I thought getting the Taylor Seift tickets would be the most difficult part of this…who knew the travel to and from the show would be so stressful. I really wish I would have booked a hotel the day we got tickets. My college freshman son was very sick that week and I spent the week juggling work and driving back and forth to his dorm to try to help him. DD’s friend’s mom got the tickets, so I was kind out out of the loop. About two weeks later it hit me…we need to get a hotel soon! I looked and all the ones in walking distance were either sold out or in the $1,000 price range. Ugh. I had the idea to look for a limo service. There are even ones that have packages for events. I’ve requested a quote from a few. It will be more expensive than Uber, but I’m okay paying if I know we will have a ride. There are restaurants nearby that I’m sure we could walk to afterward. Regardless I know it will take a while to get out of the area.

Interesting. Not a great option then. Thank you for this!!

Yes. I have Hilton and Hyatt. I’d have to check with the other mom.