This is our go-to recipe as well. It is delicious and very moist. I usually bake cakes in a 9x13" pan since my layers are always crooked in this oven. We don't use any other chocolate cake recipe. It's also good for a devil's food cake if you frost it with 7-minute boiled frosting. ETA: Okay, I see now that lots of people use this recipe. It really is so so good!

I don't know if they did something wrong, but when I checked on getting one at the Walmart pharmacy this morning, I was told that my insurance doesn't cover it (I'm in my early 60s). I was surprised, because we have really good insurance. She said it was $300 (and something--I didn't get the exact number). I told her I'd wait.

Congratulations! So happy for you!

We are both kind of like this--don't like being fussed over. When we were first married and then when we had little kids, I cooked breakfast and prepared lunch. Well, actually for quite a few years, lunch was our main meal, and we had a light supper due to the culture where we lived. Then we moved and had to move the main meal to the evenings. But anyway, as our kids grew and became more independent, and our schedules morphed, we gradually moved away from that to everybody mostly making their own breakfasts and lunches. I would ask (and still do occasionally), but he would usually say, "I'll get something in a little while." And everybody just seemed ready at different times and wanted different things. Generally, I cook dinner and he does the dishes. When we had more kids at home, on the chore charts, some helped with preparation, and some helped with cleanup. But now it is mostly just us. Sometimes he gathers the garbage, sometimes I do. He does most of the yard work, I do most of the housework. And so on. We've been at this for long enough that neither of us sees it as a big deal. I don't, because he is not a messy person, and he is not selfish or demanding.

No, he isn't a coffee drinker, and rarely a tea drinker (except for iced tea). Which is fine, because sometimes I make a whole pot, and sometimes I make a lot less. Sometimes I make tea, instead. Neither of us waits on the other a whole lot, but we do try to do kind and thoughtful things for each other. He is really easy to live with, and that pleases me a lot more than being handed a cup of coffee! I don't keep iced tea on hand very often, even though he likes it. We like it sweet (not Southern sweet), and we drink too much of it if it is made and in the fridge, so I just don't make it on a regular basis.

I wanted to be just Grandma. But dh had a specific grandpa name he wanted, and Grandma didn't really go with it, so I felt I needed to kind of "match" with his. I still prefer Grandma, but it's okay.

Yep. Why are the instructions on medications in such tiny fonts? I know they don't have a lot of space, but I can hardly ever read any of the instructions, even with the reading part of my progressives. It is quite frustrating!

What a lovely baby! She is just beautiful! Welcome, little Hazel.🥰

My mil was a widow for about 9 months before she died. They were both in their 90s and in ill health by then. My own father died about 15 years ago, and my mom is still living and in her 90s. When he was very ill and a few days before his death, he told her sadly, "I wanted to be the one to take care of you."😪 Dh and I are in our 60s, and he is a few months older than I, but not enough to make any considerable difference. He is in better health, is a runner, etc. For some reason, I expect that I will be the one widowed, in spite of that. But I know there is no way of knowing. I do think about it a good bit. I would like to have things more planned out than we do, but it is complicated by the fact that most of our family is far away, and we would prefer to be buried there rather than here. If we both live to our planned after-retirement move, then it will be much easier to go ahead and finalize plans.

I like the one you posted. It's lovely. I agree that I'd take out the blue and just give it a fresh look. If blue is a color you love, change the shade, maybe go lighter. I was a little off-base in the one I mentioned for our master ; I found our paint cards. It is Valspar's 6008-1B, Shoreline Haze. It is neutral enough to go with almost anything. The others on the card, Country Whitewash 1A, and Soft Stones, 1C, are also lovely. You need something light in a small bedroom so that it doesn't close in on you, and it will also feel more cheerful.

Congratulations! That's wonderful!❤️

I long to live close to my kids and grandkids. And my mom. But my kids are scattered, so I don't think it would ever be near more than 1 or 2 of them, and that makes me sad sometimes. We plan to move upon retirement, but my mom is 93, so she probably won't be here then, and who knows what other changes may have taken place by then.

Yeah, the surveys for everything bug me. I even got a request for a review on the bananas I bought in-person at Walmart the other day. Seriously?? I'm not sure why I recently started getting those emails, but I unsubscribed.

I don't remember what it is called, and am too lazy to go look it up. But when we moved into our house, we painted the master in the lightest sage in that set. It looks almost white (you'd never walk in and say, "Oh, this is sage") except in comparison to the white trim, so it's very subtle. It is such a lovely, restful room. Currently, I might would go with one shade darker, but I still love it as is.

They seem like sweet dogs, but I wouldn't. Everything is bigger, so the costs are as well. And...they drool.

My ddil had a very complicated pregnancy a couple of years ago. I went and stayed with the kids for a week when she and ds had to travel for her to have surgery, then went back to stay for the last part of the pregnancy (at their request). The week that I went early on, there were some things that really bothered me concerning cleaning up, clutter, etc.--and I am not a neat freak. It was very stressful to me, and caused a little friction between me and the grandchildren. When I went back longer term, I determined that I was not going to handle it the same way. We'd take a few minutes here and there to toss everything in its place and I wouldn't worry about having them help me; that was for ds and ddil to train them in, and my few months was not going to matter. It helped me relax and be able to enjoy them so much more. It also helped tremendously that ds had instigated the rule that scissors were out of reach 😂(dgd was "always" doing projects that involved cutting up pieces of paper so there were little paper scraps constantly all over the floor). I am conscientious and intentional about respecting that their parents are the parents, and try hard not to either undermine their parenting or take it on as my responsibility.

Another advantage of the Kindle, at least the Paperwhite, is that it eliminates the need for a flashlight and page turning under the covers.😂 Dh had to go to bed early because of an early thing the next morning. I, however, was deeply involved in my murder mystery and already cozy in bed. So I just put my book under the covers and read until midnight. Brought back childhood memories. ETA: It did get a little hot under there, though.😜

This is definitely true for me. I'm having trouble reading smaller fonts, and also many of my books have "aged" pages, and it makes it harder for me to distinguish the words. I still buy regular books, but for pleasure reading, I usually use my Kindle. In regular books, I mark them up, underline, etc., and I also flip back to check something said earlier on. I wish I could still do that with all my reading. (I know you can "underline" in the Kindle, but it doesn't have the same effect for me.) However, the Kindle does have the advantage that it is very easy to slip it into my purse to take anywhere.

That's just so sweet!!❤️❤️❤️ And true!

We lived either far away or overseas when our children were small, other than a year here and there. We didn't have the little photo albums, but it always amazed me at how our usually rather shy children immediately felt comfortable with our parents when we saw them again after several years. It was as though they just knew these people were different, were special, and there wasn't that awkwardness to have to get over, at least not more than a few hours maybe. Of course, it helped that our parents were good with them, too.

We are far away from our grandchildren. They are 7yo and younger, so not yet at a point where they could visit alone, nor do they have phones. When our kids have asked us if we could go stay with them at their house while the parents go on a trip, we say yes if we possibly can, and that has been good to build relationships. We FaceTime--not regularly because of scheduling on their end, but they always seem excited to talk. With the oldest two, they always wanted me to read to them, so I would turn the camera to face the book pages, and we'd do readalouds. They are both in school now, and are not as interested in doing that anymore, but we all enjoyed it when they did. When one family came last year for Christmas, my little 4yo grandson asked, "Nani, why do you have so many kids' books and toys?" I said, "Because I want you to feel welcome when you come to my house!" I could tell by his face that he was thinking that one over. We gave them craft items for most of their gifts, and they sat at the table for hours doing their crafts. In general, we respect our kids' rules and parenting decisions. If the child asks for something (food item or movie, etc.), I say, "Go ask your mom (or dad) if it's okay!" We ask the parents first privately before suggesting an outing or activity. We ask about gifts before we choose what to give. We let them know if we are heading to their part of the country for vacation or a holiday, but have always assured them that while we are happy to see them and spend time with them whenever they can, either here or there, we know they have to work things out with other family members as well, so that is for them to work out with their spouse. So far, I think it is working. Our grandchildren have expressed that they like to come to our house, and ask their parents when they can come. That's a win, in my book!

Those ads at the top of news sites. They are so big, and it's hard for me to read the page--it's so annoying. I mean, eventually it disappears as I scroll up, but it still feels in the way. The design in many textbooks and magazines, as well as some other books, where they have text boxes all over the place. It is so distracting, and disturbs the flow of my reading. I can't see how it doesn't cause problems for students when they are trying to focus on reading--it's right there on the page, not to mention outside distractions.

Same to the cloudy. We've got the glasses, but there is nothing to see. Once we saw a full eclipse where it became black as night. It was sooo awesome! Creepy, but awesome!

I don't think it is over the top either way. I don't think it is anything to avoid the girl over, or to think it's awful the mom dealt with it. I wouldn't get defensive with the mom. It's just part of learning social skills. What you (and your buddies) think is funny may not be, or may not be more than once or twice, even with your best buddies. Making him aware of that is part of teaching him to think about how what he says affects others, even if they laugh. Kindness is always a good way to lean.