I'm still doing it. I lost 20 or so pounds in 3 months. Then I started a Whole 30 right after Easter. I'm still tracking because the habit is very good for me...but I am not concerned about going over my points due to fat, steak, etc. I'm not supposed to weigh myself on the W30 but I am still weighing once a week...while I am fine with the other W30 rules I prefer to continue my WW routine. Anyway, I've lost another 8 pounds this month. WW is great for me right now - and I hope I continue on it becasue the weight loss has been consistent and quite easy. I NEED to pay attention to what I eat and how much - otherwise I just eat mindlessly. Connect is very encouraging and counting points still feels fun. I started the W30 for health reasons (RA, suspected dairy allergy, etc). I will do the reintroduction and decide on what I will eat regularly over May but I expect to stay on WW for the foreseeable future.

We use King Arthur and Bob's Red Mill and like them both.

I'm 52, my youngest is almost 18 and graduating this spring so I am retiring from homeschooling and feel ready for all kinds of new stuff. My oldest is 27 and has been married for a year and I have just admitted to myself that I think it would be pretty sweet to be a grandma! She is not intending to have children quite yet, as they haven't been married that long. But she is looking for a new job that would offer maternity leave so they are definitely thinking ahead!

I have tried and failed to do this kind of thing a few times this year. Yet I have been on WW since January and lost 26 pounds - no trouble. I started a Whole30 10 days ago - no trouble. But the minute I make a list of things to do with a time frame, like Bible/exercise/water/shower before breakfast - nope. I might fit those things into the day but I can't get a routine going. Maybe it is just a personality thing. Like maybe I just work well with the flexible "rules" on WW. Even W30 is pretty flexible. I can't eat certain things but they don't tell me I have to have eggs today and chicken tomorrow - make sense? WW has the perfect amount of structure for me and it has been easy to incorporate W30 into that structure. Maybe I need a program for my days, not just my eating. But I think that would be too restrictive... Just thinking out loud.

I have a few comments on the TPS Pre-AP Chem class. First, I agree with everything Joyful said. But I wanted to mention a few other things. My son does not like this class. He dreads the lab reports and thinks Mrs. Selby expects too much. He thinks Chemistry is boring, so he is not thrilled with the text or the lectures. He doesn't like all the weekly resource videos and refuses to watch them because he's contrary. He complains about how much work it is. He moans about how much he has to think and study and plan ahead. The due dates for assignments are not staggered, so every few Mondays he has homework AND a test AND a lab report due. His current average is 95.64% (TPS is very precise!) because he actually does the work and is learning, even though he complains a LOT. I do believe that he will be well prepared for college chemistry, especially since he is interested in engineering (because he loves math and physics). I asked him if he would recommend this class to a friend and he said yes. "It's a fine class on the whole. I don't like parts of it but I've certainly learned a lot, even if I didn't want to." The formal lab reports are always a nightmare - for me! - with the last minute drama because he puts them off till the last minute, but he said this "If you say things properly and put some effort into it, you'll be fine." IOW - we recommend this class! ETA: One thing he does like is the math. He wishes there was more!

I loved Little Pilgrim's Progress and I read it aloud to my kids two different times. But I think the oldest child listening at the time was about 8. Dangerous Journey is much better as assigned reading for a 12yo than LPP.

The program itself is fairly teacher intensive if you want to use it all. But if you go through it and assign readings and writing and you have a solid student...well, you will still need to discuss the readings with her. Unless you want to give her the TM so she can read the answers and extra info on her own. If she did the dvds/online, I think it would be quite independent, except for grading the papers. The program does not assign any books, only what is in the text - essays, short stories, poems, some excerpts of longer works

Lol - I should have said that I though it was very good! I liked the selections and background information. It was a perfect complement to my read/discuss approach to lit and bumped up the difficulty from my more relaxed approach from the year before. He found that he really liked Poe and he found more stories/poems online. He liked Bartleby the Scrivener so much that we added Billy Budd and then planned for Moby Dick for senior year. It went really well - he thoroughly enjoyed it! In case it helps, he also read: Autobiographies: Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglass, Up from Slavery (Booker T. Washington), Malcolm X Novels: Huckleberry Finn, Captains Courageous (yes I know it's British but it fit!), Red Badge of Courage, Billy Budd, Shane, The Pearl, The Chosen, Fahrenheit 451, A Farewell to Arms, The Great Gatsby Plays: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (we'd read Hamlet the year before), Driving Miss Daisy, Julius Ceasar (I try to do at least 1 Shakespeare per year) Also. We didn't write about any of these, only read and discussed. His writing lags far behind his reading, so he did 3 Brave Writer Courses. But I think all the discussions really make a difference, because he is doing a Write At Home Literary Analysis class right now and is having no trouble with the analysis. He still hate writing but he gets the analysis, kwim? Anyway - hth!

I used this book as part of an American Lit class for my son. I guesstimate that he read 1/3 to 1/2 of the selections in addition to several full length works. I got the 2nd ed used, including the TM, which I used occasionally, for a pretty good price. It does assume that you have done some previous literary analysis but not much.

would you pm me? I have a private question or 2. Not for my children, otherwise I would be upfront here. Thanks.

My son is also taking the TPS Pre-AP Chem class. Do you want some info or are you only looking at WHA?

I used American School for 9th-10th grade for one of my daughters. I thought it was solid academically and the price was great. But it does require the student to really take responsibility for her own work. And if you are looking for something with weekly feedback or a lot of teacher interaction, I would not recommend AS. We would have stayed with them but she asked if she could go back to regular homeschooling so we did. Have you looked at Calvert? Seton?

Butch!!! Oh my. Fun times. I didn't post much then - still don't - but I do prefer this style of board.

OH noooo....I finally have to admit that I am ready to be a grandmother. The sweetness on this thread is just forcing me to confront my feelings. Can't say anything to my daughters (oldest is married a year, next is engaged) as I don't want to be *that* mom but I can admit it here, right?? I am going to scroll through this thread repeatedly, I can tell. Such beautiful babies!!!

Twice a month a few women (3-5) from my church meet to share and pray and I started going regularly this fall. The youngest just had her first baby and I am the oldest. It's a beautiful time and I do feel supported and loved in a way I had forgotten even exists.

I had forgotten that Danny and Reuven went to different schools!

The boys in The Chosen seemed to get a superior secular education on top of the RE. Maybe standards used to be much higher...or maybe it was just fiction and was never really like that.

My daughter was just accepted to FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) for Fashion Design which has been her dream for many years. I posted this about my daughter 4 years ago - We've had some hoops to jump through - she didn't finish her HS work (basically dropped out of homeschooling 2 months before she would have finished in the spring of 2016), took the TASC (new GED) but got the results too late to apply for Fall 2017, and has spent the past school year part-time at community college. I'm actually grateful for the delay, even if she is not. She has really matured over the past 2 years. She's getting A's in her classes - even Statistics! - and an internship at one place led to an actual paying job at the company that owns DKNY. She is responsible, hard-working, determined. Amazing! She actually won't let me tell anyone about it as she hates it when our family/my friends are too much in her business. She didn't want any condolences or encouragement when she started at the CC and she doesn't want any excitement now...she makes me crazy but my husband is the same way. But - none of you actually know us so I can come here and be as excited as I like!!!

Thanks so much. Tsuga!!!

My husband didn't get my feelings when we graduated the first three, but he really gets it now that I'm actually going to be done homeschooling forever! He bought me roses a few days ago when we found that our son was accepted to the college he wanted. He says he is proud of me! Since I am big on words of affirmation/encouragement and he is not (like the 5 Love languages book describes) I am over the moon...even though I am getting quite sad. If that makes sense!

My son had all 4 out on a Friday and was fine to do schoolwork and regular stuff on Monday. But he wasn't up to physical activity - he skipped his Tuesday yoga class. He was just so swollen he could barely eat and he was a little weak.

My son was just accepted to Brooklyn College, his first-and-only choice. They have a 2 year Engineering program with transfer agreements to City College (Grove) and NYU. If he changes his mind about Engineering, he can major in almost anything else, like math or business or music, which are his other interests. We were concerned because NY colleges, especially SUNY/CUNY are not homeschool friendly but the application was less of a hassle than we anticipated. The letter we received from the school district did not at all say what the colleges said they wanted it to say (he's been "home instructed per NYS Regulations and is now beyond compulsory school age" vs he's "completed the equivalent of a New York State four-year high school program through home schooling"). But CUNY accepted it without any problem - we're so thrilled!! It is 20m by bus from our home and we can afford the tuition without loans (we're not eligible for FA, including the new Excelsior Scholarship). He is happy to stay home for a few more years. He'll graduate in June and then I'll be officially retired!! One done with her masters and working, one getting her masters and working, one in college and working, and now one starting college and soon to be looking for work. I'm feeling very accomplished today!

We also used the Life pac. Boring but checked the box....and actually had some useful info.

We went with Lowes when we put in our new kitchen a few years ago. Overall we were pleased. The appliances and cabinets were exactly what I wanted. We had considered IKEA but I liked the look of what I found at Lowes better. The contractor was good and very responsive. I wasn't happy with the counter but that was a different contractor - I still feel like the seam by the sink is too noticeable. The only thing we arranged ourselves was the floor and that went well also. And the timing was amazing - they tore down our kitchen on Monday morning, had the cabinets/floor in by Thursday, installed a temporary counter on Friday, and I was cooking that Saturday night - less than a week! I've heard of people being without a kitchen for several weeks. But I'm sure it depend on your local Lowes.

Can you define $$$?