Good news! I mentioned last week how much we enjoyed the movie Coco and hated the Frozen short beforehand. It sounds like Disney will be removing it from the lineup after December 8th (warning: link to reddit because I can't find the news elsewhere). So go see it! I highly recommend the movie (but not the short).

For the Arctic reads, The Terror by Dan Simmons is aptly named, terrifying and engrossing. I also liked A Dream in Polar Fog, a story about an explorer left among the Chukchi people in northern Siberia.

I've had plenty of time to read this week since I've spent it on the couch or in bed. DS4 gave me his cold a few weeks ago (kids are generous that way) and since then, I'd been suffering from a cough and feeling pretty terrible, out of breath and tired all the time. Tuesday my chest started hurting, but I figured it was from the persistent coughing. Thursday I picked up DD3 and felt like I was stabbed in the heart. I figured it was time to see a medical professional. During the examination, he asks: "Are you hot?" "No, I'm comfortable. Thanks for asking." "You have a fever. Can you hear okay?" "Yes." "You have an ear infection. Head or face hurt?" "No." "You have a sinus infection. You also have crackling sounds in your lungs, indicating an infection there as well." "Ok, the last part isn't a surprise." I received a big bag of medicine to fight off everything. Of course, I return home to find my older two in a loud argument and my younger two had destroyed the house. DH came home in time to get everyone calmed down, cleaned up, and in bed. With a weekend of rest almost behind me, I'm feeling much better now. Books read last week: Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy. Steam locomotion comes to Discworld, but not everyone wants it. Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro. Short Stories. A collection of stories centered on music and memory. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro. Literature. A pianist prepares for a performance in a town where people and events aren't what they seem. I'm not sure what to call this genre as it seemed an attempt at magical realism - events are bizarre, timelines are uncertain, people come in and out of the narrative. I felt like I was almost in a dreamlike state reading it. Though Remains of the Day continues to be my favorite book, I can appreciate Ishiguro's attempts to write something different each time he releases a book. An Artist of the Floating World and Remains are similar, but set a world apart as two older men look back on their life, wondering if they've done the right thing. Never Let Me Go was a sci-fi utopia/dystopia, The Buried Giant an Arthurian fantasy, When We Were Orphans a Sherlock Holmes homage, but with an extremely unreliable narrator. I can't say all his books work for me, but it's clear Ishiguro isn't trying to write the same thing over and over. I think he has one last book I haven't read (A Village After Dark), but for now, it's my last Ishiguro read as part of his Nobel Price in Literature award. From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty. Sociology - Cultural Practices. A mortician travels the world to discover various practices towards the dead and mourning. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. History - World War II. A zookeeper and his wife hide Jews escaping from Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World by Alison Weir. History - Tudor England. A biography of the daughter of king, niece of a king, wife of a king, mother of Henry VIII, and grandmother to Elizabeth I. This may have worked better as historical fiction than a biography as there's not much insight into the personal life and experiences of the subject. There's plenty of detail about her spending and eating habits as that seems to be the basis for much of Weir's work. The author makes a few dubious statements such as Elizabeth had to economize like a poor peasant's wife. Yeah, I'm going to say that's a ridiculous assertion. Overall, an interesting read if you like extensive historical detail or plan to write a fiction book set in the time period. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okafor. Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy. A sorceress crosses the desert to fight her powerful father in East Africa. I plan on reading more from Okafor, but if you're sensitive to violence against women, be warned there's rape and mutilation in the story. The Secret Financial Life of Food by Kara Newman. History - Commodity Trading. A short book on the trading of food futures, like sugar, coffee, tea, corn, and wheat. I'm listening to The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond and Music as a Mirror of History. For reading, I have Red Famine by Anne Applebaum and the second book in Brian McClellan's Powder Mage series. Also, Pachinko came in so I'm looking forward to reading it.

Dec 1st - for something new, I went to a hot air balloon festival. It was so thrilling. I can see how people are enamored with them. Dec 2nd - My 2017 three word summary would be, "Finding good health." Haven't found it yet. Dec 3rd - My favorite memory was my two little ones performing in a talent show. Kid 4 kept climbing down from the stage to give me hugs and kisses, and Kid 3 looked like he was having the time of his life grooving to the music. I was laughing so hard tears ran down my face. These are my last babies so I'm enjoying every moment.

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I had a similar situation arise last year. The teacher sent everyone to the counselor and all the girls talked it out. The girls aren’t friends but they do try to avoid one another.

But for some people, “knowing†means a super specific thing that a person wouldn’t remember unless they too liked that thing and had a good memory. I think it really comes down to acknowledging a SOs strengths and weaknesses and accommodating them. I will never be a good gift giver unless the recipient is a child - then I’m amazing. But for adults, I have a really tough time and I loathe spending hours shopping for presents. I’d rather spend time doing things with my relatives than buying things for my relatives, especially since almost all can and do buy things for themselves.

I prefer to concentrate on maintaining my weight during the holidays. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, it's a tough time, with all the stress, gatherings and parties, to stick to a weight-loss diet. But I can indulge a bit then return to my every-day eating habits. Removing that pressure helps me cope with everything else (plus I get to have a few cookies and cocktails). The first of January is a typical time where I reassess my goals for the year (like everyone else) so I prefer to concentrate my efforts after the holiday rush is over.

It’s not just women...

I tend to be the practical gift giver and DH the romantic, but I think what everyone has said is spot on. Tell him how you feel or buy what you want and thank him for the lovely gift.

I’ve only read the first book, but I agree. I liked the ideas and spent several hours imagining all the ways it could be used, but I wished there was more to the story. When the two main characters proclaimed their love for each other, I couldn’t help but wonder why?

For me, there’s a teensy bit of pleasure from having a large stack of unread books to choose from. It’s a bit like picking from a box of chocolates. What if you don’t like the first one? Well, set it aside and select another.

Well, not everyone gives a full lesson as a holiday bonus. Sometimes it’s just a card or small amount. Plus there’s usually no lessons during the two weeks around Christmas and New Years which means no money from teaching during that time. Giving money to music teachers during the holidays certainly isn’t expected by the teacher in my experience and I didn’t feel anything more or less towards my students for any or no gifts. The OP was talking about $25 per lesson. If it won’t hurt her financially, it’s a good amount to give. If it would hurt her, don’t give it. But the $65 per lesson comes to $62000 per year ($65 x 20 kids x 48 weeks). I don’t know many music teachers making that much from teaching.

I wrap my hair around my head, pin it in place, and sleep with a silk scarf tied around my head. A silk bonnet would work as well. Search youtube for short hair wrapping and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I was a dance teacher for a few years so this post is based on my experience as well as talking to other teachers. If you can afford it, I recommend the price of a lesson in cash or a cash-equivalent gift card included in a Christmas card. Teachers receive so many handmade treats, chocolates, mugs, tchotckies, etc over the years. Most of the treats end up uneaten and any knick knacks stored away until it's time to declutter. Store gift cards often end up lost or unused. But really, I was grateful for thanks and appreciation from my students during the holiday season. There are times where you feel like you're hitting your head against a brick wall, and some acknowledgement (it doesn't need to be anything other than a card) made me feel fantastic.

I'd recommend you post in the BAW thread for more eyeballs. The ladies there are a.m.a.z.i.n.g. at offering recommendations. If she liked Hitchhiker's, has she tried Terry Pratchett? Mort or The Wee Free Men would be my recommendations to start (not The Color of Magic which is the first book written). If she liked Cassandra Clare or Veronica Roth, has she tried Marissa Meyer? Cinder was a good book. I'm still working my way through the sequels.

Just from what I’ve read this year, they might like The Big Short by Michael Lewis (who also wrote Liars Poker) and The Quants. I especially enjoyed a story from The Quants where the quantitative analysts were tired of losing Liar’s Poker (originally a trader’s bluffing game for the serial numbers on $20 bills). The quantitative analysts (“Quantsâ€) were terrible at the game until one went home, figured out the various probabilities for the occurrence of numbers, and memorized them. The next time Liars Poker was played, the traders lost and with the sharing of the probabilities across the industry, the game disappeared from trading floors.

I took three of my children to see the movie Coco last week. I highly, highly recommend it. It's gorgeous, the songs are lovely, and the story touching. Be warned that the "short" is 21 minutes long and absolutely terrible. I turned to my oldest son and said, "Are you kidding me?" He shook his head and said, "I know." I could hear other adults in the theater making similar statements. It made me so grumpy that I wasn't feeling very charitable towards Coco in the opening credits, but that quickly changed. Moviegoers in Mexico protested so much that the short was removed from circulation in that country so it really is that bad. Here's hoping Disney gets a clue and does the same for everyone else. Books read last week: Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman. Fantasy - Short Stories. Meh. I'd like to note that prose broken up by line breaks does not a poem make. The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin. Fantasy. In a world torn apart by tectonic forces, a girl with geological magic seeks the end of humanity while her mother strives to stop her. Broke, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc. - How the Working Poor Became Big Business by Gary Rivlin. Nonfiction - Business History. A look at the check-cashing, pawnshop, and payday lending businesses. There was a study done on payday lending and check-cashing fairly recently (I'm still trying to find it), showing that in many ways, it was actually cheaper than having a bank account for the working poor when low balance, ATM, overdraft, and other various banking fees were added in. J.D. Vance makes a similar point in Hillbilly Elegy. But there's a saying in finance: pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered. In this book, there's a whole series of hogs, one after another. When I read stories about borrowers who start out with a $150 loan and end up with $2000 in fees and the loan balance still outstanding - I can't help but fume. The home equity stripping stories are particularly egregious - essentially financial firms were lending money to people regardless of their ability to repay, leading to loan defaults and home foreclosures. The times Rivlin overstates his case detracts a bit from the his point. Just as an example, he points to the outrageous earnings of $220 million on $3 billion in revenue. That's a net income ratio (net income/revenues) of 7.3% - not an unusual rate for many firms and certainly lower than most financial firms with 2016 net income ratios ranging from 20.0%-25.8%. For comparison, Apple's 2016 net income ratio was 21.1%, Microsoft 23.6% and McDonald's 19.7%. So $220 million sounds high, until you make comparisons with similar firms. But overall, he makes a powerful case. I can see a need for these services, due to convenience and comparatively lower cost, but in my opinion, more should be done to limit the lending practices and fees charged. I do plan on looking into the Center for Responsible Lending. As someone who works in finance, financial education is extremely important to me, and once my littles don't need me so much, I want to do more to help people in this area. The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis. Nonfiction - Behavorial Economics. Two psychologists analyze human behavior and make a series of important discoveries. This was an excellent, approachable book though the narrative is a bit choppy. Lewis shows the NBA interview process for prospective players, but never returns to the story even though I wanted to know more. I found it particularly interesting when they discovered humans are risk averse when it comes to gains (preferring a certain gain of $500 to a 50% chance of $1000), but risk takers when it comes to loss (preferring a 50% chance of losing $1000 to a certain loss of $500). The last section was extremely moving, honestly the first time I was a little choked up by a Lewis book. Highly recommended. Now Wait for Last Year by Philp K. Dick. Science Fiction. A doctor discovers a drug that can move its users through time. The History of Money by Jack Weatherford. Nonfiction - Financial History. A history of money as a common medium of exchange and a small section speculating on its future. I'm listening to Music as a Mirror of History, which sounds like it's being narrated by the voice-over from A Christmas Story. I'm trying to finish up Raising Steam and a history on Elizabeth of York, wife to Henry VII. Plus, as usual, a stack of library books to finish.

With a fever, I'd go see the doctor. But if you are trying to wait until an office is open, I would continue with Tylenol and warm compresses. I also massaged the blocked duct by running a firmly pressed finger down the length, even when it was painful, which seemed to help clear things up.

Disposable dishes with a large sink of soapy dish water if people can't get the hint. Politics and who isn't willing "to do what isn't important" isn't worth my time or energy. Throw away the unimportant stuff and wash, rinse, dry, and take home the important items. I've spent many years cleaning up at other people's homes. It really doesn't take much time.

The second video is an echo of the first, with the roles reversed.

Double check this. Hospice was once a week for a certain time period for two of my relatives, but more frequent when the end grew near. It would only pay for a limited amount of 24-hour care before transfer to a hospital was required, but there were daily visits in the final weeks.

Ugh. John Lasseter (Cars, Toy Story, Up, Tangled, Moana... name that Pixar film) on leave of absence. Just... ugh. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-lasseter-taking-leave-absence-pixar-missteps-1057113?utm_source=twitter

If he's part of a hospital system, the records might be centralized. Our pediatricians' records are accessible by any provider in their hospital-affiliated network. If he's a standalone, it likely wouldn't be accessible.