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Loowit

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Everything posted by Loowit

  1. I don't think I ever take everything out, but we do go through it once a week before picking up groceries so everything will fit. It didn't get done this week and is a bit of a mess. However, I did just pull everything out of my pantry this morning to work on cleaning and organizing. It was a huge mess and hard to find things in. My kitchen is now a mess and we are ordering out pizza for dinner while I try to figure out how to organize everything in a neat and tidy easy to access way. I should do that with my refrigerator too, but my freezers need it more.
  2. Normally I would tip 15%. Right now I tip 20% because I want to support business/workers right now when I can. Most restaurants around here are still only doing curbside or delivery, so the workers are losing out on a lot of money.
  3. When I responded back when this was first posted, I had no idea what the plans might be. Now, we are a little more clear, at least for Thanksgiving. We decided to invite DH's parents over. They are being good about following the "rules" to stay safe. We will be meeting inside and not wearing masks, but our family does everything from home and curbside pickup so hopefully we are lower risk. We were invited to DH's sister's house for Christmas, but we are not going. It would be fun to see her and nephew, especially since she just got a new home, but they are in contact with the public too much for us to feel safe. I am not sure if we will try to do something with my family or not, it will not be like normal years. We may just invite my parents for Christmas Eve or Christmas day.
  4. It usually shows up around 2:30 to 3:30, but lately it has been a bit later. We have had some mail carriers who are having to cover extra routes, so they run behind.
  5. I got an 8 qt. instant pot as a gift a couple years ago. I wasn't sure what to do with it at first, but I use it about once or twice a week now. I wouldn't go buy one on my own most likely, but it can be useful. I would say my favorite things to make in it are risotto, brown rice, roasts, and corned beef. I don't think it saves me any money. I am sure I could find more things to use it for like making yogurt and such, but I never really have the desire to do that. The thing I dislike the most is the cleaning. It takes more work than my slow cooker.
  6. I do not belong to, nor have I ever belonged to a denomination. I used to consider myself evangelical and/or fundamentalist, now I just consider myself a Christian. I do not agree with the theology of any one group be it Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, or otherwise, however, I would say I am Protestant. The one co-op I was a part of for a few years would have let you in as a member, but you had to agree with their statement of faith to be a teacher. I think it was an unfortunate choice, unless the class was there to teach theology in some way. But there were a number of moms there that I wouldn't want teaching my children theology that were protestant also. I would be friends, and in fact am friends, with Catholics. I do not agree with them on several theological points, however, I do think that on the whole we agree more than disagree. I have no problem supporting justices that I feel will rule in a way that is unbiased, and constitutionally minded. It would not matter if they are Catholic, Muslim, LDS, or whatever. It is not a position that should be religious.
  7. For me it is considered a hit if the boys will actually do something without much, if any, complaining. So with that in mind. Hits: 10th & 12th graders combined: Marine Biology (Apologia), One Year Adventure Novel (more so for the 12th grader), and Understanding the Times (Summit Ministries) 12th grader: History - we are using tweaked MFW. I have added in a lot of documentaries this year and DS is really liking that. 10th grader: Teaching Textbooks Geometry Misses: 12th grader: Financial Literacy, he isn't enjoying it much at all, but I think it is something that he needs to finish anyway. 10th grader: History (biblioplan) namely the map section. He hates maps, but I make him at least look at them because I find Geography a very important thing to know about.
  8. We had trouble getting siding for our shed project. We thought we only needed to replace the front panels, but when we were cleaning to prep for painting we found more rot and needed to replace all the siding. We had already bought panels for the front, but they were out when we went to get the others. We ended up having to go out of town to get the last ones available in the area. Most of our building repair projects and gardening projects have been hard to find materials. We went to get a replacement sprinkler a few weeks ago and the whole section in the store was sold out.
  9. Ours are all different. Mine is one that my mom made for me when I was very young. She hand embroidered it including my name. She made matching ones for my sister and brother too, but each has unique embroidery. DH's is one he had since he was a kid that his parents bought him. It doesn't have his name, but he has a small one that he attached later which he got from a group of friends that has his nickname on it. We bought each of the kids one the year they were born. None of them match, but I did put their names on them. I have one for my kitty who died. I can't seem to want to get rid of it. We got one for our dog the year we got him.
  10. We typically eat somewhere between 5 and 7. I prefer the earlier end myself, DH prefers the later. When he was having to commute I would plan for 6:30 because that was when he was supposed to be home. Things got a bit trickier when the kids had afternoon/evening activities, and I would plan around them, usually making something people could eat when they had time before or after activity. Growing up we always ate when dad got home at 5. DH grew up eating whenever his mom served dinner, or after she went back to work whenever they made themselves something.
  11. My mom would mask tuna casserole with tuna, cream of mushroom soup, frozen peas, and noodles. I remember liking it, but I would never make it now because none of my family would eat it. DH introduced me to his mom's tuna and rice recipe after we got married. You cook up 4 cups of white rice, add tuna and a jar of cheeze whiz then bake for a few minutes. I made it when we were first married for him, but we haven't had it in years.
  12. I got some fun blackout curtains for my bedroom bay window. They are navy blue with silver stars on them. I doubt they would be considered stylish at all, but I wanted to do something fun for me. I was very excited to see that they make bay window curtain rods. I am not a big fan of blinds, but I think you should go with what you want and will make you happy and comfortable.
  13. The church I grew up in (non-denominational) had no stance on it. I don't really remember it being discussed much except by one Sunday school teacher whose comment was basically, he didn't know how God did it, but He did and the details don't matter. Evolution was taught in school from elementary up. I pretty much believed evolution until high school when I went to hear a speaker with my dad about YEC. I had never really thought about it much at all before that. It was very interesting and I spent a lot of time looking into it. I later became a YEC. I do not like to talk about it with others because I don't like getting looked at like I am stupid. My kids use mainly apologia and some of the new stuff put out by Dr. Wile after he left apologia. We never hid the idea of evolution from the kids. They watched plenty of shows and documentaries that obviously would have an evolutionary stance. I let them make up their own minds on it. I do not see YEC as a salvation issue, and no one else I know does either. Almost every church I have attended has been very open to believing what you believe on the topic. Even my bible college I attended years ago which was very conservative, had no official stance. I even remember attending a debate between two of our professors on the topic.
  14. I don't think cart abandonment is a good thing. However there are exceptions. Baby/toddler sickness is one that makes it understandable. Or perhaps a wild bear is coming for you. Or if you catch a glimpse of Sasquatch and want to take his pic before he disappears.
  15. My MIL did DD's senior photos. They went to a couple of different locations and had a few changes of clothes. A few were done in her cosplay outfits. The ones she liked best were things that reflect her personality and hobbies. I would like to have MIL do some for DS this year, but it is more complicated with the distancing stuff. I would like to get a few done when the leaves are more fallish. He would like some with his cosplay, but I am not sure what else. I think we will try for some at the beach and some in the forest/trees. I would also like some of him in his eagle scout uniform. We took some when he earned it last fall, but I am not a great photographer.
  16. I know I will get each of them an ornament like I do every year. I usually get them a clothing item like a fun t-shirt or cozy lounge pants. Then I get them something that they have been wanting, but this year I am not sure what that is. I know youngest would like to get stuff for his computer. I miss the years they just wanted toys, now their toys are bigger and more expensive. I think I may just focus on having a fun time together making cookies, watching Christmas movies, hopefully get a u-cut tree, playing games, and so on, but especially focus on the religious side of Christmas that often gets lost in the busyness of the season.
  17. My mom was the one who does the budgeting and taking care of money. She didn't really talk to me much about it at all. I know she keeps a spiral notebook to track bills, and balances her checkbook by hand each month. She did talk about not taking out a lot of credit but that was about it. I think my mom is great with money, my dad wasn't when they first got married. He came into the marriage with a lot of debt and mom helped make a plan to pay it off. Dad is much better now as far as I can tell. I figured out when DD reached the age of getting a job, paying some of her own bills, and figuring out budgeting that I had totally missed teaching her about it. So we have done a number of sit down talks to help her, and I am here whenever she has questions. I have learned from this and am working on teaching my 17 year old about financial stuff. I plan to do the same with my youngest when he is a senior. I have always talked about making good financial decisions, but never sat down to show them the practical side. Although my boys did have the benefit of earning their Personal Management (which includes finances) merit badges, I think they need more reinforcement of the ideas.
  18. Ruth - She just seems like she must have been a very strong woman William Tyndale - I find his passion facinating Dietrich Bonhoeffer - His writings have been very influential to me Corrie ten Boom - Her ability to forgive. I would love to talking to her about how she can forgive so much hatred My grandfather - He disappeared three and a half years ago, and has been declared dead. I just want to know what happened to him.
  19. In my county school have been given suggestions by the health department, based on state guidelines I believe. Schools can make their own decisions. A couple have opened, but one had to close again because two teachers got covid. My school district is virtual right now, but starting a hybrid next week for K-2 students where they will go a couple hours a week. I think their plan is to slowly open up doing hybrid to more age groups in the next few weeks. We have seen a rise in cases this week. The biggest jump since July. Only a few are from the schools though, some are connected to church services and nursing/retirement homes, but we aren't being given much information about where cases are coming from due to privacy issues. Regardless of the jump, our school district wants to move ahead with some in person learning. There is a lot of community pressure for all students to go back full time.
  20. I don't know if this will help or not, but I have put together a spreadsheet (sharable on google drive) with a tab for each day, plus a bonus tab for chores that earn rewards. Each of us, me and DH included, have column that lists daily tasks we have to complete. I can add on bonus things if there is a one time thing that needs to be done, but for the most part we have a weekly routine, including one day a week that each of us has off from chores.
  21. It has been a big adjustment every time DH has changes in how much he is home. When the kids were really small he got a job that required travel, so he was gone a lot. Then he got a job where he had to live away from home all week, only home on weekends. Then his next job was back to traveling. Now he is work from home full time even after the pandemic. I like having him around, but there are things that annoy me. He tries to take over things without asking and creates tension not just with me but with the kids. The kids and I have had a rhythm to how we do things for years, and he waltzes in and tries to "help". We have had to create a new way of doing things, and it took some fights talks to get him to see that he needs to discuss with me first, not just take over. But I also have figured out I tend to be a bit controlling (well a lot controlling sometimes). I have tried to direct him toward things that will be a help to me, because he really does just want to help. And also, I let him know when he is stepping on my toes with things.
  22. DD isn't furloughed but she had to take a medical leave because her work was unsafe for her. She didn't work enough hours to qualify for unemployment. Fortunately for her her other job is work from home and she can still do that, but it is only part time.
  23. It varies. Last year DD was doing college and work, so during the week she had minimal chores. She helped with dishes mainly. In the summer when she had more time, she would do some weeding, helping with meals, and running errands for me. On weekends year round she cleans two of the bathrooms and vacuums the stairs. This fall she is only doing one class but is working to save money to go away to college, so she is back to her minimal chores. But she is good to take things on, usually, if asked. We also offer what we call the quest board, where the kids can all pick a quest (chore) if they wish and there are rewards for it, usually money or a couple of Oreos. She will sometimes take on one of these, but usually that is the boys.
  24. I have had two kids on antidepressants one for OCD and one for anxiety. I would not ever do it again. It can be wonderful for some, but very bad for others. I had one child who attempted suicide twice while on one, it was very scary and not something I usually talk about. Child was not suicidal before going on medication. The first time we though was part of the anxiety, the second time we took child off meds and it improved things. The other child, after starting the meds, started having suicidal thoughts but let me know right away. We were able to get child off meds and child has not had anymore suicidal thoughts. I am not against the use of antidepressants, but I do urge caution and keeping a very close eye on teens and children when they are using them.
  25. I have said more than once in the last few months that it has made me even more want to move to an isolated area where I don't have to deal with people. I am not happy with the extreme responses on either side of the "mask debate". I am not happy with some of the way things have been handled state wide and locally. But I then realize that moving is not going to solve anything to run away, because wherever you go there are going so be people and governments and you will agree and disagree with a lot of their views, opinions, and decisions. As far as the house we live it, I am very happy about that. I love that it is big enough that each kid can have their own room. I love that I have a big backyard that I can make into my own little retreat, barring smoke keeping me inside. If we had stay at home orders in our old house it would have been much harder. It would have been too small to really be able to have DH and DD work from home and still be able to do homeschool. I am sure something could have been arranged, but a bigger house just makes it so much more comfortable.
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