As I did with my older offspring (who are now adults, out in the world, functioning on their own) I take it upon myself to make sure my 14yodd is awake on time (I open the door, say a cheerful good morning, and turn on the light). Everything beyond that is up to her (she goes to a b&m school). She is sometimes already awake when I go in. Other times, she is dead to the world, and she thanks me profusely because she slept through her alarm.

Thanks. It is pretty cool. Our mechanic runs a small shop, and does things the old fashioned way -- no credit cards. 14yodd said that her friends think we're rich because we have an airplane. I told her that we might be rich, if it weren't for the fact that we own an airplane. They're expensive to maintain. Dh has been "flying since before he was born", as his dad has always had a plane.

I still balance our checkbook regularly (several times a month). I go into the online bank site, and record all of our online payments into the checkbook, along with ATM withdrawals, transfers, etc. We still write about seven checks per month to music teacher, airplane mechanic, favorite restaurant that doesn't take credit cards, garbage pick-up, propane, etc. Since some of these checks are sizable, and not always cashed in a timely manner, I like to keep my checkbook register balanced so I know how much money we actually have. I also make sure each transaction is categorized correctly. As for an instant snapshot of our finances for budget purposes, I used to enter each transaction in Quicken, but I gave up on that when I realized that dh wasn't the least bit interested. I gave up trying to have that all in one place. The bank website will break down our spending by category, but we put almost everything on our Discover card. Discover will do the same thing, but they're not always correct in the categories (favorite restaurant always shows up as general merchandise, for instance). But, if I do the spending analysis on both the bank and the credit card, it gives a pretty good estimate of our major spending trends.

I had multi-colored stoneware, and I thought I'd love them. I was surprised that I just found the food less appetizing when the color of the food clashed with the color of the dishes. Is that weird? I also didn't like that they clashed with my Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations. Plus, I have a bright, multi-striped tablecloth the rest of the year, and the multi-colored dishes just disappeared in the sea of color. I found that I just wanted crisp, white dishes that didn't clash with the food, and that stood out on the colored table cloth. I love my white dishes. They're so versatile.

I have white porcelain dishes, which I bought from Pampered Chef. They've been discontinued, but fortunately, they are very high quality, so I haven't needed to replace anything, even after several years. If/when I do, I have discovered that it's quite similar to the white Luminous Porcelain dinnerware at Pier 1 Imports. I linked the open stock, but they also sell sets. They're so similar, I wonder if they're the same thing, and Pier 1 has just picked up the product from Pampered Chef. https://www.pier1.com/luminous-coupe-porcelain-white-dinnerware/PS1592.html?cgid=luminous-porcelain-dinnerware#nav=tile&icid=cat_dining_entertaining-subcat_dinnerware_collections-subcat_tile_luminous_porcelain_dinnerware&origin=gridswatch

They will have an official photographer. They may take special pictures of the retiree with his family and special guests (including your dh). I would think that his friend would share these pictures with you. I remember that my family couldn't come to dh's retirement, so we invited our close friends. Our friends expected to just sort of sit in the back of the room and watch, but they were given seats of honor, right in the front row. There were even signs with each of their names on their seats. They were treated like dignitaries. They were so surprised and delighted! Their daughters were rather awed by the whole thing. I hope the people planning your friend's retirement make it as special for his guests. Retiring as a military officer is definitely a big deal.

Yup, there was a news story locally a couple years ago. The investigative reporter followed the recycling trucks with a camera, all the way to the dump, where they lined up to dump their loads into the landfill with all the other garbage. I don't think it's gotten much better. OP, is there a Freecycle.org near you? They exist solely to help folks find new homes for their old stuff, to keep it out of landfills. People just give stuff to each other. That might work if your boxes are clean. Check also to see if there is a Nextdoor.com for your neighborhood. There might be a Facebook group for your local area as we'll. Any of these type places might help you find new homes for your stuff. If, after a short time looking (maybe 30 minutes?), I'd just throw it all away.

Let's see if can remember dh's retirement (it's been 15 years, so my memory might be fuzzy). Since your dh isn't in the Air Force, his name will be put on a list of friends and family, and he will likely have a seat reserved for him. When he arrives, he'll check in, and an airman will show him to his seat. There will be a color guard (bringing in the flags) and the National Anthem. The retiree can have someone sing it, or they'll play a recording. (I sang for my dh's retirement. We have a friend who sang for her dh's recently. I think they can invite anyone they wish.) There will be speeches and a small token gift (they're not allowed to spend very much on gifts, somewhere around $20, so the gift will have some meaning attached. There will likely be a funny or heartwarming story associated with each gift. Dh gave real silver dollars to several people, and he received a shadow box that contained a folded American flag, as well as his service medals and the commemorative coins from each of the divisions he'd worked in. Usually, the retiree will receive a medal. There will be lots of photographs and hand shaking. Afterward, there will be a reception. These are usually casual, I believe. Depending on the venue, it may be immediately following the ceremony, or it may be a short time later, at a different location.

I used to love my Eureka Envirosteamer. Well, I still like it, but I find it's just easier to use my Twist and Shout mop (it's like a salad spinner for the mop). I put just water in the mop bucket, and I have a spray bottle of Bona Stone, Tile, and Laminate. I mist any dirty areas with the sprayer and let it sit for a few seconds while I spin my mop, then go over the area with the mop. It's super quick and effective, and it dries really fast. (I have engineered wood floors and tile).

I always differentiate. A "stove" is a very different thing than an "oven", even though they're part of the same "range". ETA: I came back because it has occurred to me that I grew up with a stove top and a wall oven. That is probably why they are so very different beasts in my mind. Now that I'm grown, and I have a range, I do refer to the whole appliance as the stove, but I would never refer to just the oven as the stove.

That happened to us just last weekend. My niece (who has never paid us any mind, and actually showed great disrespect and disdain for us for many years) was getting married in another state, and she chose September 28th for her wedding day. With my eldest in college, my youngest just starting high school, and my dh just starting a new job, there was no way we could all go. I have one brother who is in the middle of an ugly custody battle, another who abhors all weddings (and has no love for this particular part of our family), and our mom is 89 years old, and hardly even leaves her apartment (there's no way she could travel and attend a wedding and a 5 hour reception). I can understand being disappointed that various circumstances would prevent my siblings from coming to my daughter's wedding, but I hope I would be understanding. We RSVP'd and got a phone call from my brother and his wife. She was crying and he was ticked. I heard, 'You've known about this for six months! All my (SIL's) family is coming. We really wanted all of you to be here..." My reply was, "I'm glad so many of your relatives are coming (they're coming home, incidentally), but I don't know what that has to do with me. And, yes, we've known for six months about the wedding, and that we wouldn't all be able to attend because (your daughter) chose a date when we can't get away. Why didn't they choose a date in the summer, so that more of us would be available to come? I am coming, but dh and dc aren't going to be able get away. By brother actually hung up on our mom when she finally said that she couldn't go (He had talked her into going, but she had been fretting, not sleeping, just constantly worrying about every tiny aspect of air travel and staying in their house with drop in guests, strange routines and unfamiliar food, etc). As it turned out, I went alone, and represented the family. I'm sad that my brother and SIL and niece had such unreasonable expectations, but we can't just drop everything for a niece who doesn't give a lick about us.

You could make an appointment with a dermatologist. It will likely take months to get in. By that time, if it's worse, you'll be glad you have an appointment. If it's gone, you can just cancel the appointment.

I don't know if you've considered other color laser printers, but I absolutely love my HP Color LaserJet Pro MPF M281fdw It's rather large, because it holds four separate toner cartridges, but it works beautifully. It just chugs out beautiful pages, one right after the other, quickly and quietly. It scans perfectly, has a document feeder for copying/scanning, and faxes as well. It's super easy to use with a color touch screen control pad. I've had it for about six months, and it's still running on the original (partially filled) cartridges. I've bought new cartridges because I get "Low toner" messages, I haven't changed them out yet. I'm waiting for the print quality to fade. I've been waiting for over a month. When the time comes to change them, it'll be a 10 second job to swap them out. I had a Brother, black-only laser multi-function before, and I liked it a lot, but I wanted color. I gave the Brother to my daughter (it's still working great), and got this HP. I was worried about getting HP because of my past experiences with HP ink jet printers (they're terrible). But, this color laser multi-function had great reviews, and a good price, so I tried it. I'm glad I did. It's a powerhouse. ETA: I forgot to mention, this HP has AirPrint, so it will print via Bluetooth directly from a phone or tablet, or a laptop, with no drivers installed. I have it hardwired to my iMac for big jobs (photos, large documents, etc).

I wasn't really thinking of teen drivers living at home, driving their parent's cars. I wouldn't even think about not insuring my teens if they are driving my car. I was thinking of adults, living in cities perhaps, walking or using public transportation, who are licensed to drive but don't even own a car. Perhaps they don't have one because they can't afford one. I can't wrap my head around them being required to have auto insurance. (I wouldn't call $12 a month to insure a non-existent car "cheap") So, I'm guessing to get out of that cost, you forfeit your DL, and get a state issued ID. Then, if you buy a car, you have to get your DL renewed (at added expense). Then, if you sell your car, you forfeit your DL and get an ID (more expense). Is that how it works? How do you buy auto insurance if you don't have a car? When we acquire a car, we call the insurance company and tell them all the information about the car and the drivers, and they plug all that into their formula and give us a quote. But the proof of insurance only includes the vehicle information, not the drivers. Besides that, the car is covered even if someone borrows our car. We're insuring the car, not on the drivers. I believe that if I borrow a car, and wreck it, the car owner's insurance pays, not mine. (I'm not sure about that. I should check). This is very interesting. I had no idea there were states where you insure the driver, not the car.

Yes, I did put a confused emoji, because I've never heard of this. I've lived in New Mexico, California, Texas, and Colorado. When we add our kids to our policy, we tell the ins. company which car they will be primarily be driving, but that doesn't mean they can't drive the other cars as well. But if we didn't have a car for them to drive, or we didn't want them driving for some reason (poor grades, or behavior), we could cancel their insurance. It is illegal to drive a car that isn't insured, but it's certainly not illegal to have a driver's license. We have "Uninsured Motorist" coverage on our auto insurance, to cover those who drive cars without insurance. I've never heard of being forced to buy insurance when you don't even own a car, or if you don't drive. So, in Oregon, if you don't want to buy auto insurance, you must forfeit your driver's license? That seems outrageous to me.

I'm there with two. I'd love to be invited.

The homeowners insurance company is going to go after the auto insurance, I'm guessing. Unless you're going to claim that the car drove itself into the house, you'll have to place the blame somewhere, either on your dd or on one of yourselves. Or, I suppose you could claim a hit and run. I don't think you must file a claim on the car damage, but your auto liability insurance will pay for the house, I believe. I don't see a way to not tell the auto insurance company.

I either fold or hang my clothes as I take them out of the dryer, and immediately put them away. The only exception to this is our socks/underwear, which dh folds. I clear my email inbox regularly. I try to only keep things out that need my attention. The rest either goes in the trash, or gets filed away. I make my bed everyday. Things I wish I did better: Paperwork needs to be filed or dealt with. (I'm much better with e-mail than real paper) Crafts are everywhere. I'm not as good about getting the dishes done every night as I used to be. I try to do too much before I need to leave to go somewhere. I'm always trying to do "just one more thing", which sometimes makes me late.

That is a very good question. Perhaps they need to take a good look at their entire policy. It makes no sense, from a safety standpoint, to ban all refrigerators. At my daughter's school, they had to be fairly new, of a certain size and energy rating. That makes sense. But to ban them for safety, while allowing coffee makers? I agree, that makes no sense.

I totally understand everything you are saying. Yes, we live in a warning-label-crazy society. The labels on ladders (for instance) are ridiculous, but that doesn't mean we should ignore the warning and climb up and stand on one foot on the top of a step ladder. We need to use common sense and use the ladder the way it was designed and intended to be used. The ladder makers are covering their butts with labels because people have shown that they will act stupid, get hurt, and then blame the ladder maker. The same is true with the cherry pit packagers. Apparently, people acted stupid and ate cherries in an unsafe manner, choked on them, then turned around and blamed the cherry people. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't teach our kids the safe way to eat a cherry. Electric blankets are designed to be used flat. They do, indeed, get extremely hot when folded or bunched. They carry warning labels to that effect, most likely because someone caught their bed on fire and sued the manufacturer. But the presence of the label that doesn't change the fact that the blanket gets hot when bunched up or folded. It doesn't mean that we should use the blanket in an unsafe manner. Electric blankets get hot when bunched or folded. I have experienced this in my own bed, accidentally, on numerous occasions. Fortunately, nothing bad has happened. If I had started a fire, it would have been my fault (I probably wouldn't win a lawsuit), but that doesn't mean I should purposely bunch up my blanket or fold it over on itself. I am an adult, and I need to act like one. If I'm going to give an electric blanket to my kid, I need to teach them how to use it, and monitor them to make sure they are using it properly. It would be irresponsible for me to give my kid an electric blanket, and then encourage them to use it in an unsafe way that could catch their bed on fire. We need to be careful with all electric devices. But we need to be all the more careful with heat producing devices. We need to use due diligence when operating them, and we need to use them they way they were designed to be used. For instance, toasters are meant to toast dry bread. Using a toaster as a clothes dryer might be effective, but that doesn't mean it's a smart thing to do. No, not all dorms ban heat producing devices, but many do, for a reason: they get hot. If used improperly, they catch things on fire. Even when they're not malfunctioning, they can easily catch things on fire. We're not talking about a cell phone charger that is malfunctioning. We're talking about heat producing devices that are, in fact, functioning properly, but are being used improperly. I'd love to hear more about chargeable dorm fridges.

I am thinking about it a lot, obviously, since I'm still sitting here having this conversation. I don't agree that bunching up an electric blanket carries the same risk as charging a properly functioning phone. I grant you that there have been instances of faulty phones and chargers catching fire. But a normally operating phone, charging out in the open, doesn't get hot. If it does, there's something wrong with it. We shut it off and unplug it. We don't put it in our bed and sleep with it. I would say that using an electric blanket properly carries about the same risk as using a toaster properly. It would be irresponsible to place a towel over a toaster, and it's irresponsible to bunch up an oversized electric blanket. Electric blankets get warm. When folded or bunched up, they get hot. If we are asleep in them, or if they're bunched up next to us on the couch or bed, we may not notice how hot they are. They can burn out, or they can catch on fire. I'm really not sure why you arguing this like it's a risk analysis (what do phones and fruit have to do with any of this?). I have used electric blankets for many decades. I know they're better than they used to be. But they still get super hot when folded or bunched up. If you want to use one, then you need to act responsibly. If your kids likes to sleep in a nest of blankets, then you don't give them an electric blanket. If someone is impaired in some way (alcohol, drugs, dementia, or physically incapacitated), you don't give them an electric blanket. If you're going to give one to a teenager away at college, you can certainly do that, but you need to instruct them on how to use it properly. If they're going to wrap up in it, they should have a throw, not a blanket. Universities saying "No Electric Blankets" also forbid hot plates and electric frying pans. They don't ban cell phones. They're not the same thing at all.

Really, they're not the same risk at all. Bunching up an electric blanket (not a throw, but a blanket) is not at all like charging a phone. It's more like placing a towel next to stove, turning the burner on, and going to sleep. Electric blankets create heat. That's what they do. Using one properly is safe. Using it irresponsibly is, plainly, irresponsible, and possibly dangerous. I'm not talking about suing anyone, and I'm not an alarmist. I'm talking about giving a teenager a device that has the potential to hurt them if they don't use it properly, and then encouraging them to use it improperly. Same as a phone charger? Really? You're comparing a 5 watt transformer, plugged into a wall with free flowing air all around it to keep it cool, with a 200 watt insulated heating device, bunched up to assure that no heat is lost?

My electric blanket is only 1 year old. While it doesn't get warm to the touch, as my older one did, it still gets VERY hot when folded or bunched. I found the following article on the State Farm website. They say not to use a blanket older than ten years old (citing the changes in the heating wires and the heat sensing technology). But they also say not to bunch up an electric blanket, but to use it flat. https://www.statefarm.com/simple-insights/safety/are-electric-blankets-safe I believe the difference lies between a blanket and a throw. Of course, throws are meant to be wrapped and bunched. Blankets are meant to lie flat on a bed. I wouldn't recommend that anyone wrap up in an electric blanket. And I would recommend that a throw be used as flat as possible.

Actually, while this (bolded) may be true with some throws, it is not true of electric blankets. I just looked up the instruction manual for Sunbeam heated bedding. They only have one booklet for ALL their heated products, and this is the only manual listed (meaning that it is intended for the most modern blankets and throws). https://www.sunbeam.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-sunbeam-Library/default/dw6f73bc69/documents/instruction-manuals/Sunbeam HeatedBedding IB.pdf On the second page, you'll find the following warning: 11. Excessive heating may result from folding or bunching this heated product while in use. Furthermore, in the FAQ section, under "My heated mattress pad or heated throw does not heat properly", they recommend folding the blanket three times over, and turning it on for 5 to 7 minutes, then checking between the folds to see if it's getting warm. These instructions are followed by the warning, "Caution: DO NOT continue the test for more than 7 minutes." There may be some heated throws or blankets on the market that can be bunched and folded. I only checked Sunbeam because they are a leader in the heated bedding market. While it's true that modern electric blankets don't have thick wires running through them, like they did in the old days, they do get very hot when folded or bunched. One should use caution when using them. I love my electric blanket, so this isn't a statement against them. It's just a caution against bunching them up, especially if they're large. For wrapping up, I wouldn't get anything larger than a throw. If you need one on your back, and another on your legs, then use two throws. Don't get a huge blanket that is going to be bunched up on the bed around you (where you can't feel how hot it is getting). It is not worth the risk of a fire (or of burns if you fall asleep).

It is not recommended that you wrap up in any electric blanket. The instructions clearly state that the blanket not be folded or bunched up, but should be flat. Folding the blanket over on itself causes it to get very hot, and could cause damage to the blanket, or burn to the skin.