I think this is a common way to solve problems in your head, especially with bigger numbers. I've always used this method myself although I don't think it was anything I was taught. However, I think it should really start with making the 9 into 10 rather than the 4 - it's way easier to add 1 to 9 and then subtract 1 from the 4 to get 10 + 3 = 13 than making the 4 into 10.

I vote counters. When we redid our counters a couple years ago, there were so many granites that we loved that just wouldn't go with the tile floor that we already had. I did finally find one that we loved that did go, but it would have been so much easier to pick out counters and then a floor that would go. There was no way we were dealing with the work and mess that removing tile would have entailed though, or I would have hardwood floors right now.

I'm always so intrigued by these meat truck posts. I have never seen one, but I would go running the other direction if I did. Are they more common in certain parts of the country?

We have UHC and I had 2 hospital stays including a surgery during one of them and I can't complain much. They were concerned that it was a preexisting condition so I had to send proof that we were insured prior to that (dh's company keeps switching plans on us). After that, they paid everything except for about $200 in charges where they didn't want to pay a provider directly because it was done in a facility setting. We have Healthcare Advocate so I just called them and they took care of it all for me. The amazing thing to me is that they paid the nurse anesthetist more than they paid the surgeon! And that was on top of what the anesthesiologist got. Anyway, I can't complain about UHC.

The Pasta Milano is my favorite! :tongue_smilie: I don't even think about ordering anything else. Could you pretty please post your recipe?

You can log into his College Board account to see them. We didn't even get dd's scores in the mail - I think that's an option that you have to check when you sign up for it. According to their website, the scores from Saturday will be available Feb. 16. Good luck to him. My dd will be taking the SAT II for Chemistry and Math 2 this weekend.

I melt it to measure it for recipes. I LOVE it in anything chocolate like cakes, cookies, and brownies. I substitute it for oil, but I've never tried it for butter.

Well back when I was in high school in the 80's, our school had 4 tracks you could choose from - vo-tech, business, general academic, and what we always called the smart kids classes. It worked great because the kids that had no intention of going to college could get the education they needed to get a job after high school. It also allowed the smarter kids to be in a class with others who were serious about their education. I actually was able to take classes like nuclear physics and 2 years of computer science which was unusual back then. And that wasn't even at a great school. I really don't understand why we think as a society that everyone has to go to college? I guess I got a bit off track from the original topic though, didn't I?

Well said.

:lol: The comments are often better than the original article. :lol:

My passion seems to be watching Netflix. :blink: I guess I need to work on finding something new. In the past, I seemed to find a passion that related to the kids in someway - scrapbooking to do baby albums, got certified to install carseats, took up taekwondo, and now I'm focused on student exchange and college. As I learn about it and/or the kids outgrow it, I lose my interest and need something else to move on to. I don't know that I have it in me to find a passion that will last. Except maybe for the Netflix thing.

I hate being called ma'am! I'm a northerner and when we first moved down here to LA, I was offended when I got called ma'am at the store. In my mind that's reserved for old people. I learned to deal with it though. But when my dd decided to go to high school, she started saying yes ma'am to me and it drives me nuts. I am her mom not ma'am. It's even an actual law here that the kids must say yes ma'am and yes sir to the teachers at school. :001_huh:

I wouldn't even consider throwing it out - we leave stuff like that sitting out often.

You might want to consider joining on-line - everything you need is on there. If not, you will need the calculator at a minimum. The books, complete food guide and dining out, are useful but you can find some of that info on various websites for free (either point values or nutritional info that you can enter into the calculator). You can buy those at meetings or I'm assuming if you join on-line. The only other option I know for buying them is on e-bay.

This poll reminded me of messages we used to get from my dh's uncle with LOL at the end when it wasn't even anything to LOL about. It might be a simple one like "Hope you have a good weekend. LOL" Eventually it came out that he thought it meant "lots of love." That made me LOL.

Is the old plan working for you? Are you choosing fruits and vegetables over other low point foods? If so, then go ahead and stick with it. I lost 30 lbs with WW about 10 years ago, worked for them for awhile, and kept the weight off until I stopped going to meetings. I finally started back last year at a new all time high and got back down to goal in about 4 months on points plus. I think it's an easier plan to follow with fruits and most veggies being 0 pts. I also eat healthier with it - when I'm hungry, I don't reach for some chemical filled bar for 2 or 3 points when I can have an apple for 0. Lean meats are also very low points. As for doing it at home by myself, that doesn't work for me. I need the meetings or it's too easy for me to permanently fall of the wagon. I haven't been to one since before Christmas because I gained a couple pounds, and I feel myself slipping more and more. I'm going to a meeting next week no matter what!

:iagree: We have one in every room but the kitchen and dining room even though we have our a/c on. The fans really help reduce the electric bill.

10 years ago, before I quit to be a SAHM, I was making more as a computer programmer than my dh was making. I'm thinking about getting back into it as this is my last year of homeschooling, but I have to figure out what classes I need to take to update my skills. I'm afraid I won't make as much as I was.

I'm on my second child with Jacobs Algebra and we love it. My dd is a math queen, and it worked very well for her. We used Singapore, did Lial's Basic College Math, and then moved on to the Jacobs. We could have gone straight from Singapore to Jacobs, but she was only in 6th grade so we did the BCM as a nice review. When we signed her up to go to public high school, they made her take an algebra test to get credit for it and she did well on it. My ds is using Jacobs now. He does well in math, but isn't a natural at it like my dd is. He is doing very well with it too and I'm assuming he will have good results on the test when we sign him up to go to high school this summer. I think it teaches things very straight forward with good examples. Each lesson has 3 sets of questions - the first one is a review of previous topics, and then the other 2 are similar sets on that lesson. I don't make them do the 3rd set unless they need more practice after the 2nd set. There is also a review at the end of each chapter, a midterm review and test, and final review and test. I love this book! Having not used MM, I can't answer that part of your question.

Well this story happens to be from my area. I think it's stupid just like when they outlawed baggy pants. As long as people's parts are covered, who am I to say what they can or can't wear. I don't choose to dress like that, but I'm certainly not going to tell others how to dress. If individual establishments want to have a dress code though, I see no problem with that.

No, invisalign isn't an option as her teeth aren't crooked, she has an open bite on the sides that can only be fixed by wearing rubber bands attached to the top and bottom braces.

She would be getting these http://damonbraces.com/products/damon-clear/index.php which they said don't stain much and some Crest whitening toothpaste would keep them looking good. They also don't require rubber bands on each bracket so she wouldn't have to worry about them staining or putting in colored ones although they will put some colored ones on if she wants. I don't know about the roots thing, but since she has already had braces, I don't know that getting them again would make any difference? By no additional cost, I mean he is charging us nothing to put braces back on her and will do the clear ones. Her teeth aren't crooked, but the teeth from right behind the canines back to the last couple sets of molars have a fairly decent amount of space between the top and bottom teeth. It seems to be just on the one side for the most part. So, they aren't super noticeable, probably more so to me than anyone else. And the dentist too. But, that was one of the primary problems with her teeth initially which makes it bug me even more.

:iagree: You did complete 2 credits of it, regardless of the time it took to complete it.

My dd got braces on about 3 years ago. Everything went well with them and she got them off about a year and a half ago. Despite wearing the retainer as instructed, her teeth have moved. We went to the orthodontist yesterday and he said the only way they can fix it is by putting braces back on her. She is leaving to be an exchange student in about 7 months and he says he could have it done by then. He would use the clear braces and do it for no additional cost to us. The problem is, she is 16, goes to public school, and this will be her last year here of high school since she is going to Spain in the fall. She is a bit self-conscious of her appearance and said she was finally starting to feel like she was somewhat pretty and the braces would make her feel ugly again. She also thinks that people won't want to hang out with her because she is already the youngest one (by nearly 2 years) in her group and the braces will make her seem even younger. And, she doesn't want braces when she goes to prom or gets her senior pictures done. We could get the pictures done after she gets them off in August. It will also be a nuisance to have to deal with them with everything else we have going on in the next 7 months. I totally understand her viewpoint and where the teeth have moved is giving her an open bite more on the side, so it isn't super obvious, but at the same time, we paid $5k for her to have perfect teeth and it annoys me that they have moved so much. There is also no guarantee that if she does get them on, they won't move back again making it all be for nothing. He did say he would use a different type of retainer to try to prevent it, but still no guarantee. If she doesn't get it done now, she could get them on when she comes back from Spain next year, but then she will be heading off to college and I don't think she wants that either. My initial thought was that of course we would get them back on, but as I've thought about it, especially from her viewpoint, I'm not so sure. I have left the decision up to her, but I also know that she will take into consideration what I think. I don't know what to think now! We have until Tuesday to decide as that's when her first appt is for since she needs to get them on asap if that's what she's going to do. WWYD?

I'm kind of in the same predicament, except I used to sell it so I have a couple boxes full of stuff besides the albums. My goal is to get a couple of albums done this summer from vacations. I'm hoping to get my dd to do at least a couple to take to Spain with her - one with pictures of here to show people and one or more with some pre-done pages that she can put pictures in while there to give as gifts to her host families/friends/whoever. I might just part with whatever we have left over after that.