Eeek! I started another reply and then it disappeared! Grrr!!! I'll try again. ;) So, I started by saying, to be fair, I did use the word 'crap'. :rolleyes: It slipped out...on purpose... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be offensive. I wanted to refer those that may not have read it, to my reply in post #21. I really am thankful for your responses and am very grateful for those taking the time to care enough to respond. I am especially thankful for those that heard me out, but, er, encouraged me to move beyond this place and take action to begin resolving issues. You were so right! I can see it even better today than I could yesterday. Thank you for the 'nudge', which I have also heard described as, 'the right foot of encouragement'. ;) And for those that listened non-judgmentally to my painful outburst, I do appreciate it! While I do agree that we need to choose our words wisely, sometimes, when you are hurting, and it seems like there is no where else to turn, you just need a safe place to vent a little. Not to bash, just to let off steam. Get some fresh perspective for the journey ahead. Pointing fingers, on the other hand, and telling people how they ought to or ought not to respond here on this forum, within reason, just compounds the injury and impedes the healing. Hopefully, such people will find only grace extended to them should they ever be in need of it. Thanks ever so much to the majority of you that offered compassion with a healthy dose of advice and encouragement! And can I give you a little update for today? This morning started out kind of bleak. After my second church service today, a sweet lady I know gave me a hug and asked if everything was O.K. Well, I started blubbering just a bit, being the female that I am, but we were both able to share some of our similar struggles and strategies for overcoming them. It was truly helpful. And do you know what DH said to DS on the way home? He told DS that they were going to work together to make the lunch! And so they did! Woot! And, they cleaned up afterward! Maybe it isn't quite the way I would have done it, but that is O.K. They took a step. I have many I need to take too, but baby steps are O.K.! (And I put supper in the crock pot earlier this morning, so none of us have to worry about cooking supper! Yay!!) DH and I do still need to have a serious talk, but it will come. It must come. We certainly do have a lot to discuss. I want to move from this place and become 'healthier' for my sake and for the sake of my family. I don't think anyone warned me that being a grown-up would be so tricky! Can I thank you all once again for lending an ear to a complete stranger? Keep up the great work! And let's all try to be excellent to each other, especially here, there, and everywhere.

Dear sweet ladies, thank you all so much for your thoughtful responses. I so appreciated almost all of them ;) , and have definitely been able to take something away from each one. Honestly, it has helped immensely to just 'get things off my chest', whether or not this be the best method/platform to do it. The PP who mentioned venting to strangers to avoid IRL damage, you hit the nail on the head! I have been feeling very lonely, and it was just too close for comfort to share IRL. A huge 'thanks' to those of you that 'get that' and were non-judgmental about how it was done. And yes, I do agree with the many concerns about needing to address the situation so positive change can result. No doubt this is absolutely necessary. And not just for DH and I, but for DS too!! Some of it is me feeling a bit sorry for myself, but there are underlying issues that do need to be resolved - on both our parts. DH is not perfect and neither am I, in case you hadn't noticed ;) . We are both stubborn in our own ways. Thankfully, we are both works in progress. And thankfully, God is good and can mend broken hearts. I pray for His wisdom all the time and I trust that He will lead us through these rough waters. Thanks again for listening! I do appreciate it! *Note to self: Be careful what you post. You might just get answers you weren't expecting. :) *

*Just a vent.* Just needing to blow off some steam here. Thanks for the space. :rant: The two men in this house, DH and DS, just don't seem to get it. I am invisible to them unless there is no food on the table at mealtime or no clean underwear in their dresser drawers. My voice, asking them to pick up after themselves, just cannot be heard. My complaints to them, after tripping over their piles of crap, fall on deaf ears. They live in their own little world and I don't seem to be a part of it. My suggestions for activities we can do 'together' are either an intrusion or are ignored - it ends in misery with me wishing I had never bothered. I am so tempted to get rid of all the games I bought thinking would could play them as a family. They don't seem to need me. They need a maid. At least a maid gets paid and maybe even gets thanked and noticed once in a while. Could always be worse, I know. No time to dwell on it though. Must go make supper. Can't have them getting hungry now. *sigh* :banghead:

I did it. I bit the bullet. :leaving: I bought the set. I ordered it last night. Any chance it will be here (Canada) by tomorrow? :001_smile:

Are you finding there is enough 'meat' in the lessons? How deep do the lessons go? Are your children retaining what they've learned? I love the idea of the easy-to-use/do experiments, I just wonder how you all find the lesson content. I am totally being tempted to get this, but trying not to jump in too quickly since I still have some material I haven't used yet. Gah! :drool5:

Valentine's Day is our wedding anniversary, so, 16 years for us tomorrow! We agreed a long time back not to give each other gifts. We usually just exchange cards and have a small getaway. Today we are leaving for a couple of days to go to a science center a few hours away from us. It will be a nice romantic getaway with just the three of us - DH, DS, and myself. :rolleyes: :) I do like the adventure of going somewhere.

Watch Downton Abbey Online | Stream- TV :thumbup: Hopefully, this link will work for all of you. It is free! I am in Canada and a friend here sent it to me. I've also finished watching Season 4 and look forward to Season 5! Weee!

So I had been reading about a bathtub cleaning solution and decided to try yet another cleaning experiment yesterday. Surprisingly, it actually worked really well! It is really simple, too! You take equal parts of plain white vinegar and original Blue Dawn dish soap. Heat the vinegar and then mix it with the dish soap in a spray bottle. Spray it on the bathtub, let it sit for a good long while, then rinse well. I tell you friends, it works like a charm! It removes soap scum wonderfully well. The tub sparkles and smells great. I may never 'scrub' the tub again! :001_smile: Maybe some of you already knew this, but it was quite an exciting revelation for me!

Praying :grouphug:

Two words - 'planned obsolescence'. It is awful, but I am sure the manufacturers build it in. There's more money to be made in replacing items than fixing them. It is a very sad thing. It seems a lot of folks don't take pride in workmanship anymore. When was the last time any of us took our shoes to a 'cobbler' for repair? :( *sigh* Hang on to your old stuff!

I am wondering if the Instructor's Guide for FLL 3 is a must have, a nice to have, or is the workbook sufficient/self-explanitory without the IG? We are currently working through FLL 2 which, of course, is done orally, and we aren't using an IG. I am just thinking ahead to the next level. TIA for any advice you can offer! :001_smile:

Sick of shoveling snow, snow, and more snow. Was up on the roof today clearing it away and it is still not done. I, however, am very done and thinking that being horizontal would be a very nice way to be right now. :o

Tonight we are expected to reach a low of -15 with a windchill of -33 in my part of Canada, and that is in Fahrenheit, not Celsius, since we speak that funny language here. ;) Further north in my province it is even colder. I pretty much do what many of you have already mentioned - dress in warm layers, no exposed skin when we go out walking, bundle up, cuddle up, complain a lot and then shut up... :) We reluctantly accept the cold and snow here because it comes as part of the territory. Many talk of hibernation. ;) I really try to find the bright side and think that we are that much closer to spring. It's the thought that counts, right? :001_smile: Tonight I am definitely staying inside because it is 'freeze your nose hairs' cold out there!! Hope you all are finding great ways to stay warm too!

I am a pianist and teach piano, so perhaps I could offer these words? Did you ever learn the funny sayings for lines and spaces in the treble clef? There are similar acronyms for the bass clef. In the same way as the treble clef, you count the 5 lines and 4 spaces from the bottom to the top. So if you look at the spaces first, bottom to top, the acronym would be, "All Cows Eat Grass", or A, C, E, G. For the lines, bottom to top, "Great Big Dogs Fight Animals" or even, "Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always", or G, B, D, F, A. That will give you a basis for reading the notes in the Bass Clef. There are also some great workbooks that will help with note recognition too. I can give you the name of a particular one I like, if you think it would help. I just have to look it up. Good for you for rising to such a great challenge!

Ontario is nice! And not just because I live here. ;) I personally know of two U.S. friends who married two of my Canadian friends and live here now. The one gal, one of my best friends and was in my wedding, had to pay out quite a bit of money and wait a long time to get her 'landed immigrant' status. Like a previous poster mentioned, these friends could do volunteer work only during this time. Both friends have dual citizenship now. Hope things work out in the best way possible for you and your family! (Maybe we'll be neighbours. :seeya: ) And Ontario is a pretty easy province for homeschooling too. :001_smile:

I'm so angry. I just needed a safe place to say it and vent. I know I really have nothing to complain about; my problems are piddly compared to some. I should be counting my blessings. But the males in this house are driving me insane and ruined what promised to be a nice day. Sometimes they just don't get it. I just want to run away. *sigh* :banghead: Thanks for listening.

I personally know a Juli Ann who goes by just 'Juli' and pronounces it 'Julie'. She doesn't seem to have any problems with anyone mispronouncing her name. As far as I know, she has always gone by Juli. Her parents, however, were Hungarian and I have to wonder if in her early years, she didn't get called 'Yuli'.

This was the case with us several years ago too. And like you, our stint was brief. Thankfully we didn't alienate all of our friends before we got out.

Ugh! Can you believe she e-mailed again trying to keep the discussion going? She even had the nerve to say I had maligned her character by misrepresenting the facts! (I think she managed that one on her own.) *sigh* I have written her again, 'reamed her out', said NO, we are not interested in your wonderful opportunity, yes, I accept your apology - at least she acknowledged that she was offensive, and that this WOULD BE my last communication regarding the whole matter. Will she get it? :banghead: I sure hope so! Thanks for all your thoughts. I am glad that I am not the only one that felt this was way out of line. And you know, I have no problem with people having an honest business to earn extra money! Goodness knows, in this day and age we all have to do extra beyond the norm to bring in more income. But there's a time and a place, KWIM? And if you start alienating people, maybe it is time to reconsider your methods! :rolleyes:

So, say you were at a funeral in a church, as I was yesterday, and someone you know directly and clearly approached you about a multi-level marketing business they are involved in. And it is not the first time they've done it. Would you find it offensive and inappropriate? Gah! :angry: I was polite with them considering the time and place, but today, it was still nagging at me. So, instead of just letting it go and not ruffling any feathers like I normally would, I sent them a firm e-mail stating how I felt. They replied, thinking I had misinterpreted their intentions. I responded most clearly by e-mail again, after reading it to DH first to see if it needed editing. I don't usually engage in confrontation, but I think they needed to hear a clear message about how they were coming across. We'll see if this one gets through to them. Thank you for listening to my vent. :seeya: Carry on with your normally scheduled lives. :001_smile:

You want our air? :huh: I am in Central Ontario. Trust me - it is moist right now. :drool5: Well, tomorrow's high is supposed to be 86 degrees F with a humidex feeling like 106F(or metric 30C feeling like 41C) If you want it you can have it. ;) I keep trying to look on the bright side - at least we don't have to shovel it. :) Thankfully, we have a window AC that keeps us comfortable. Come wintertime, we will have lots of snow to 'enjoy', so I am trying to fix this as a 'happy time' in my memory. The beach swimming has been great!!

I had my forgetful moment today too. DS and I decided at the last minute to go for a swim at the YMCA. We quickly put our suits on, packed our bags and left. I had this funny feeling trying to think if I had remembered everything. We had a great swim, great shower, and then I go to get dressed....I forgot to bring a shirt! ACK! :scared: :banghead: I tried to dry off my modest suit top while I was wearing it by standing under the hand dryer. It didn't work so well. :001_rolleyes: Gah! Couldn't believe I did that! :sneaky2:

Thanks for your replies so far! It doesn't have to be Excel. Word would be fine too. What I need is a (very) simple 'how to' on how to create such a document. You know, 'click here then click there....' :001_smile: I want to use it for a weekly planner, so typing text is a must. If I had a blank that I could use as a template and reuse it, that would be great. I know it will likely be more of a guide, but I am trying to organize my planning to be a little more efficient and effective for the coming year so I can feel more on top of things. This is part of what I want to help in that process.

So I have been reading threads about how many of you use Excel to create your planning pages. I would love to try this, but I am really not very tech savvy when it comes to using Excel. I have been diddling around with it, but I don't know how to manipulate it in order to make the nice looking forms I have seen some of you post. I don't want anything complicated, but we have the program and I thought it would allow me to adjust our schedule a little more easily than writing everything out. I have looked in the Excel help and after reading about how to do what I want, it just sounds like gibberish and doesn't compute in my brain. :confused1: I just want a fairly simple form, I think, with subjects along the side, and days across the top, and I want to be able to type text in the boxes. How hard can it be? :sneaky2: I welcome any simple advice or ideas you may have to offer. (Perhaps I just need to invest in Excel for Dummies??? *sigh* :wacko: ) Thank you in advance!

So I am pondering the best way to 'keep it simple' for introducing history with MOH vol.1, to my rising second grader, an almost 7 year-old wiggly boy. I've already gotten the new latest edition of the book. I am thinking that I really don't need too many extras, as this will, hopefully, just be giving him a taste and whetting his appetite for more history study later on. I hope the activities in the book will be enough to reinforce the lessons. I really think I am waffling on whether or not to do timelines too. See, I love history and I think it would probably be fun, educational, and practical to do a timeline, but I am wondering if it will just be more work for me while he cheers from the sidelines. And I have never done a timeline, so I don't want to mess us both up too badly. ;) What do you think? What have been your most simple yet successful methods for introducing history with Mistery Of History? Thank you very much in advance for any advice you can offer! :seeya: