I will have a long recuperation, and need HELP finding book ideas please! I like fiction or nonfiction! I just don't like fiction that is lame or depressing/upsetting. I love Christian fiction but some of it is lame/poorly written, sadly. Some of my favorite fiction authors: John Grisham, Francine Rivers (Christian), Maeve Binchy, I don't like mystery or sci fi. I like nonfiction too-I loved all the Malcolm Gladwell books (The Tipping Point, etc.), missionary stories (modern or old-loved Kisses for Katie, etc.), biographies or autobiographies, etc. Books I have enjoyed lately: Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, the Francine Rivers Mark of the Lion series (re-reading it!)

Thanks, everyone-the labels sound great but out of my budget-will try the Sharpie!

Should I bother buying labels or just use a Sharpie laundry marker? Do labels have to be ironed in? Sounds like too much work! I want it to be as easy as possible and also cheap but not ruin things like sleeping bags or shoes (I don't care about the clothes.) And if it's easier to label, and you get good cheap labels somewhere, I'd love to know where, thanks!

Haven't had surgery in awhile-it's outpatient but I want to prep well. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone! I am going to look into the Badger and Permethrin, and also call the camp and ask their policy. My kids aren't going together so they can't check each other. After I find the policy, I'll know better how to advise them-maybe just check what they can on their own and then ???

Thanks, everyone-I am looking into these suggestions!

Yes, there is the risk/benefit question of Deet use vs. Lyme! Sigh. We wish would could have chickens but we're in a suburb. And yes, of course we would still do tick checks!

We have had a family member disabled by Lyme, so we know the damage ticks can do. While we've always used an organic tick spray (we're all organic here) and done vigilant tick checks, the ticks are SO bad this year, plus now we have deer in our backyard due to building in the area, so we're thinking about starting to use Deet judiciously. Does anyone have an tips on how to use it safely but effectively (ie-spray shoes only? spray on clothes only? Obviously we would have them shower at night after use.) On hikes or in woods, etc., we would just use it as directed and spray it liberally. I am specifically asking for ideas on how to use it safely but as sparingly as possible but still effectively on a day-to-day basis in our yard. Also, what would be the minimum percentage amount of Deet we could use that would still be effective? I'd love recommendations for tried-and-true brands too, please! Should we also spray the yard (we back up to a field)? If so, what would we use for that? (we tried Tick Tubes last year and they didn't help at ALL!) Any other tick tips? Thanks!

What do you do about tick checks when you send your kids to sleepaway summer camp? What has been the practice for this at the camps your kids have attended? I assume it would be weird to ask a bunkmate to help check, plus that's too much responsibility to put on another child. So I have no idea how this is handled at camps. This is our first year doing camp-our kids are 14 and 11 and we are vigilant about tick checking here at home. (we have had a family member disabled w/ Lyme for a year at one point) Also (and I am starting a separate thread about this), I am planning on just having them use Deet at all times while at camp (this is hard for me because we're all organic, etc). Any recommendations for brand that works well for ticks, and application tips?

I used to make kefir and haven't done it in years; need to start again! I want to get kefir grains from someone online who is known to be reputable, if you know of anyone-thanks! (not that you have to know them personally, just know that their grains are good quality.)

Thanks!

My kids are in grade 5 and above. Thanks!

Totally starting from scratch with researching leasing a car. We know leasing will be a good fit for us because I put low miles on a car, and we need a LOW monthly payment. Can we ever get a no-money down deal? What other tips to get the best deal? Thanks!

Thanks, everyone-I didn't realize that it was just math and language that count from 8th grade. I'm going to do the Binz webinar and get her book too-thank you!

OK, looks like we'll need some lit then-thanks! The lit she did this yr was a high school lit in co-op, so I will ask for sure if it would count but I assume it would. I love those stickies and they help a lot, thanks!

I'm new at this :) I thought we'd do a full-year of high school level grammar (a "wrap-up" year), Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop (level D or E) and half-year of writing. Do we need to add in lit the first semester too, or is this enough? Dd has a pretty full plate in other areas for next yr and has done quite a bit of lit already. She got a lit credit this yr in 8th grade, so I'm not sure if that's good that she already got that so we don't need to do it next yr, or bad because it would look like she's not stepping things up next yr.

I'm glad it's going well! I read all the blogs and you tube tutorials for hours and hours, etc. The application was no problem, and my chairs came out great and so did my side piece. BUT do NOT NOT NOT use it on a tabletop that gets a lot of use!!!!!!!!! Mine has lots of knicks and scratches in it, even though I have older kids and we are super careful with it. I'm really unhappy with the tabletop. It doesn't clean up well either, etc., so it's bad for a tabletop. I used and loved duck egg blue and old white (is that the name) and french linen. I loved how you can just put it on w/out sanding, but I will say that the waxing is a lot of work to get it right for two layers! It almost evens out w/ sanding, I think-with one, you have the work in the beginning (sanding) and the other you have it at the end (waxing).

I am just astounded at all this great information! It is saving us so much time that you all have been so generous in sharing your tips! Thank you again!

I've only ever used my Fire to read on (and not very often) but I've been wanting to get these apps for a long time. I have no technology other than the Kindle Fire (not even a cell phone!), so if you could please tell me: 1. If these apps can work on Kindle Fire and 2. if there is any trick to downloading/playing them-ie-where on the Fire would I access the games? And please speak s l o w l y :) I am horrible with this stuff! Thank you so much!

Oh, I'm SO grateful for all these wonderful and informative responses-it is exactly the type of thing we need to know! So we'll definitely stay away from LPN! And sounds like we should gear toward BSN. There is just so much here to help get us started, and we're so appreciative to you for taking the time to post. I will share these w/ dd tomorrow and we'll check back with any more questions. Feel free to keep posting though! BTW, dd did consider physical therapy (hasn't totally ruled it out) and shadowed with a friend who is a PT-dd didn't exactly like the type of thing this woman was doing, but thought she might like to work with children in PT. It's just that the schooling is SO long for it now too! We know one woman who is a nurse making $66000 after 2 yrs RN degree with no college debt (went to community college) and her sister is not even making that as a PT after 6 yrs of school and lots of college debt! So that made us kind of think twice!

Thanks for taking a minute! We're just at the beginning of trying to research and consider options. What is the current climate in the nursing world-do you feel is it a stable field to go into? I assume we don't know yet about the effects of Obamacare, etc.-has there been any talk about how this could affect things? Is it enough to get an RN? A friend said the RN is not a bachelor's degree though, is that right? Does that matter? To do well in the field, would it be better to go further, and if so, what is "further" in the nursing world? I know there is nurse practitioner-what else is there and what is your opinion of those options? (I realize she may figure out a more specific direction once she gets into clinical work and sees what types of nursing she likes best, but we're just generally at this point trying to see what schooling paths there are.) The community college here has a good reputation in the area for their RN program (there is a waiting list), so we thought maybe dd could start it in her senior year of college and have that count as both high school and college, and it would be very economical. Does a community college look bad though if she wants to go on in nursing education? How much math is required during college for RN (and beyond, if you know)? Dd is generally a stellar student, but math is NOT her strong suit. (the community college only requires completion of Algebra I, but we would still have her do more than that during the next couple years in case things change-she is 14) Please feel free to add any comments, tips, etc beyond what I have asked. We are interested in learning as much as we can about this!

Some of the Progeny Press guides are much better than others, I've noticed! Which ones have you used that you've liked and thought were well-written? Thanks!

I'm just starting on this elimination diet and no clue what products are good to check out! And on a limited budget, I'm hoping to see what other people have tried and actually LIKED and use a lot! One thing I really need is a yummy tortilla-I eat a wheat tortilla for lunch everyday and will need a substitute! Also, would appreciate any tips, etc. Thanks!

Thanks so much!

Everything I look at seems so overwhelming! I have what is thought to be an auto-immune related illness and want to try to eliminate whatever may be triggers for inflammation for me. (I tested negative for any allergies) I have no idea where to start, and everything I look at seems to make it so complicated! I guess I need something that says: eat only these things for this long to clear out your system, then add back in this thing only for this long and see how you feel, etc. (I assume that's how an elimination diet works?! Or do you take out one thing at a time?) I have already cut out a LOT of things-nearly never eat processed foods, preservatives/colorings, all organic, no nuts, very low sodium, etc. Something with recipes would be especially helpful! Thanks so much!