I can only make descent pie crust if I use a recipe that calls for shortening. When I use butter it is never flaky unless I do all the cold this and cold that but unfortunately when I do the cold this and that it doesn't form right and cracks and falls apart before I even get it in the pan. I've tried butter recipes at least a dozen times without success. What am I to do? For health reasons I just don't like to use shortening and pie crust is the only thing I can't get around. This wouldn't be an issue except that my dh loves pie and feeding shortening to him even if just twice a month is too often in my book.

Big "No" in my book. All Catholics now dealing with children go through a fairly intensive training program and what you are describing has red flags all over it. Yes, even if it involves teens and no little kids. These things are not limited to just one denomination or youth organization and even if your youth director is fine, that he is doing any kind of isolation indicates a problem of some sort. I only read the first post, so perhaps this has already been addressed.

in photos and videos? They were cute, yes, but I have no desire to look at pictures or videos of them beyond the occasional glance a few times a year if someone shoves it in my face. Anyone else like this?

Nothing unique, but we developed an attitude as poor student newlyweds that we have never lost and that makes life much easier. If you can live without it (literally), don't buy it---wait 6 months and if you can't find it free or almost free and you still desperately think you need it then buy it on sale. The line between luxury and necessity has become blurred. I'm not saying that you have that problem, just on my soapbox. I'm always shocked when I walk into people's homes to drop off food from our church's food pantry to find cell phones on the table and big TVs playing shows that are obviously on cable. Usually there is a laptop too.

This is not limited to Christians at all. I was on a town committee and we did the same dance about a totally secular party unrelated to any holiday. I'm not on a committee that is building a health center and the same type of ridiculous discussions are taking place. Meetings are a time drain because everyone has an opinion that is absolutely right.

I went to a lovely wedding last summer that had a buffet (it is buffet, right?) set up on different round tables throughout the room. Each table had two proteins, a salad of different sorts, a vegetable and a starch. The proteins that I remember were swedish meatballs, orange dijon chicken, shrimp, etc. all which are things that could be prepared ahead. You could set up tables with different ethnic foods and even a dairy free table. I know you're tired of the preparing the same old meals, but if they are tried and true maybe you should work on presenting them in a different set-up instead and don't worry about pleasing the fussy people. If you offer a few different types of salads, they can just eat those.

:grouphug: Many prayers for you! What a blessing to have friends and family who care and that they were able to get you started on the road to recovery so quickly.

Our kids went door to door even though we didn't know most of our neighbors. People love the cookies and they usually sold a few dozen that way.

Cleaning out my bookmarks and saw these models which my kinesthetic child enjoyed. I miss that age http://www.geoblox.com/FreeModels.html

All set for tonight...thanks. Any last suggestions I'll use them later in the week. Always happy to try something new.

I'm looking for something that doesn't involve steaming or stir frying the veggies which is my usual method. The chicken is only very lightly seasoned with garlic, so almost anything would work. Going shopping at noon :) *I guess I should have mentioned that I'm looking for something specific and not a salad (which we often have) or just the name of a vegetable. I used the crockpot to avoid turning on the oven, so stovetop would be better. I'm being picky, I know.

It's fine. My middle kids used it all through high school and scored high on the Math section of the SAT; just as high as the kids who used Jacobs and Saxon. A friend who used it starting in 7th just reported that her daughter scored 740 on the math, so it's not just something we're seeing in our family. Now if your child wants to major in math it may not be the best program conceptually, but it doesn't sound like that is your situation.

:grouphug:

St. Rita. There is a lot on the net about her.

Those of you that life in OH, IN, MI etc, was your crop ruined by the early heat wave/frost as it was in the north east? We went picking this week and I was told 60% of the crop was lost. Very sad for this apple loving family.

Protein and a good carb, like- egg and fruit PB and whole wheat bread real yogurt with almonds and fresh fruit

Starting about a week ago we've been bombarded with at least 5 calls a day from telemarketers with middle-east or indian accents. I can barely understand them. I thought we were on the no-call list, but maybe there is a new one? What to do? Is this happening to anyone else? They come up on the caller id with residential names and I answer because we're involved in enough activities that I don't know all the names.

Wonderful! I need just a few more recipes to avoid repeats with what we were eating before. Drooling just thinking about next week, I've never heard of some of these dishes before!

Thanks, Teresa, that's just the kind of thing I need. I have a lot of recipe sites saved, but I want to try tried and true favorites even if I end up at allrecipe or the like eventually to find the exact ingredients. I guess I'm missing that neighborly recipe sharing that happened when I was young.

Dd likes Visual Link Spanish and it got good reviews here. She's only been doing it for two weeks. They have a free trail online. I tried to get some comparison with Galore, but no replies.

I'm committing to trying new meals every day for a month. We're tired of my 3 week rotation that's been going on for years and the next 5 weeks looks boring. Your same old is probably not mine, so please tell me your favorite meal or main dish/side dish and if you have a link that would be great otherwise I'll google the recipe. I'll post the plan when I pull it all together (unless everyone ignores my thread in which case my uncreative self will give up.)

Estonia. Someone who escaped as a child before it was swallowed up by the Soviet Union told me the language was almost completely lost because it's so small. Apparently it was kept alive overseas.

bump

I've been using the google reader on igoogle. I like that it is right on my home page, but lately I haven't been able to unsubscribe to blogs and igoogle will be going away soon.

After two years of Latin, dc wants to learn Spanish so that she is prepared to take it at the local college her senior year for credit.