Other than our own SWB being there :wub: , does anyone have any input on the school? Thanks so much.

Praying here, too!

I want to join! I'm going to try and *low spend* this month. I am proud that we did Christmas with cash that had been set aside, so we don't have a holiday hole to dig out of, but it was tight and that was frustrating. I need to do much better this year. Not quite sure how this works here, but I'll be reading and learning. I'll come daily and edit my tally: 1/1 $13.00 for nice face cleansing soap that should last 4 months (free ship plus free gift) 1/2. $0 today, stayed home. 1/3 $9.05 for honey to make tea (I'm sick and dh got it) 1/4 $0 even though it's payday, but I need to pay regular bills later 1/5 1/6 1/7

OK then. I'm sure we won't starve. Won't be back here today. Sorry for whining. Happy New Year.

Help! My Dh has been sick since Sunday and our plans for shopping were changed. We have a new year to celebrate today...I am exhausted and have no lunch plan at all. Does anybody have a simple idea or two for me to whip up? I have chicken breasts, pork chops, hamburger in the freezer. I am soaking our black eyed peas for that silly tradition, but none of us especially love them. I have enough energy to make a simple dessert if it doesn't take any special ingredients. I have some staples on the shelf. I'm just so tired since Dh needed lots of attention lol, and I can't think of putting a meal together that will seem at least a little more special than an everyday meal. Thank you!

I've skimmed this *scholarly* article, and from what I have seen, there are positive effects that have been observed. It is 'under review' and not for public distribution....but y'all are family so it's alright for sharing. ;) http://hersculaborat...publication.pdf

Wow ladies, many thanks. I had worried that white would make the room seem drab and sterile-looking, but it seems to be the winner of the tiny room nasty desk color fixer upper contest. And my color-phobic heart is now happy. :laugh: BTW...does this mean that the rest of the house should be white, too? I'll be painting most of it this spring, so it's possible. What happened to neutral shades of cream and light tan and all that jazz that some suggest for resale reasons? I am hopelessly behind the times, as usual. Tomorrow I will try to take a picture so you can see just what a mess it is. sigh

We have a very small room that has a long desk and bookshelves above it along one entire wall. It is such an ugly eyesore...I had tried antique staining it last year and made it look even worse! So now I need to paint it a nice color that will cover all the imperfections and make the room look more appealing. What color would you choose? Currently the walls are a neutral pale beige, but I could repaint them, too. We will also need to replace the carpet. Please help! I am terrible at picking colors. We hope to put this house on the market in the spring.

Thank you all. I appreciate your suggestions. I'm going to look it over this afternoon and try to set these parental controls. I don't really know much about the Fire, so if I can learn how to use it, I imagine I can encourage dd to use it with excitement. Right now I feel like I've just frozen her curiosity.

Julie, how are you doing today? Thinking of you and praying for your peace!

I scrimped and saved to buy dd13 a Kindle Fire, and when they had them on a gold box special, I got it. I was excited about their new Free Time setting for kids to use the Fire safely, but it has been a colossal flop. I loaded some free apps and transferred some books from my Kindle for PC, and then I discovered that while using the Free Time setting, she would not be able to use the internet at all. She loves to post little YouTube videos and things. I thought it would just add some sort of safety parameters, but it disables the internet altogether. Does anybody know if I am just doing it wrong? I want her to love it but be able to use it like a tiny computer, too. I guess I was expecting too much.

I agree that, if it were me, I would probably try to go somewhere, preferable where my extended family was. They could fill the gap a little at least. I am so very sorry, Julie. I know you've struggled for so long and I am brokenhearted for you. :grouphug:

Thanks. The UPS guy just delivered the 30 dose box of 'Oscillo' that I had ordered, just in case...so I think I will take some and pray for the best. Stay well everyone!

I am scared and probably just being paranoid.

Was it mentioned that the shooter's mother was a kindergarten teacher? Were these poor babies her students?

Funny...she didn't call back yesterday, which hurt my feelings, but 30 minutes ago she called to say hello. I asked her if everything was alright and she said she was just too busy. Yes, she regularly puts the busyness of things and other people above her family. So I really wasn't surprised, but the hanging up was over the top. Anyway, I blew it off and was nice. I don't want regrets in the future. But if she hangs up on me again, boy... :boxing_smiley: :D .

I guess I'll just blow it off. The spirit of Christmas and all. :)

..."I'll have to call YOU back later" and then she abruptly hung up the phone...what would you do? I realize that she is old and cranky, but still...'Merry Christmas dear Mom' doesn't want to spring from my lips. :glare:

Everyone's comments have been wonderful! Thank you so much. I have agonized over this all year. We're staying (for now) because of some dear people who love the Lord and their church and want to serve selflessly. In the mean time, the church will continue to move uncomfortably toward the pastor's dreams and goals, unless we can find a way to set it on a more balanced, healthy course. Thank you again.

Thank you for sharing. We're seeing the handwriting on the wall, so to speak. The lack of grace and the pridefulness disguised as strong leadership is heartbreaking. Not sure that there is anything that can be done...things are what they are. It should not be this way! Everyone should all be equally valuable to the body of believers, because they are to the Lord.

I am seeking opinions on this issue. Do you think that a church pastor should rightly (biblically) have authority over each and every thing concerning the church, where the final decisions come from him even when there is disagreement and causes discord among the other leaders? Or do you think that there should be a 'checks and balances' approach, where the pastor is accountable to other church leaders (and how could this respectful balance be achieved if the pastor does not believe this is proper)?

We had a bidet when we visited France when I was in high school. Very neat! Here are some that Amazon has: http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=686953011

I've got to get to bed, but I would like to see prices on all these. Thanks!

All the wonderful things my daughters don't seem to give a hoot about. :glare:

Thank you for the wise warning. We actually got these cool lights last year that don't get hot. Even then, we just plug them up for a few hours in the evening and then unplug. Well, it looks like I will be re-decorating the poor thing tomorrow. Maybe if I put leftover coffee in the tree stand it might perk right up! :laugh: Nah, the coffee is all mine!