Yes, I know as my grandmother used that term when I was younger. I haven't heard it in years though, except when someone is talking about that city in eastern Iowa, LOL!! :)

Glad that mom and baby are both doing well, that's the important part! Congrats to you all on baby Charlotte!! :grouphug:

I've been wondering about that. Great idea to get titers checked if you would rather not vaccinate unnecessarily. I have to do annual bloodwork (cholesterol and thyroid and all that) in the next few weeks anyway, so I might ask if they can tack that on.

I looked at CC a while back. But for the price of the upper level programs, considering it's *one* day per week, you might as well send your kid to private school. So I did. :D Seriously though... I had a lot of questions they couldn't answer, and it seemed to be a LOT of hoop jumping. First, you need to come to a meeting or open house, then your child can come for a visit day, THEN maybe we'll let you in. Oh, and check please. And yes, based on a few of the e-mails I received, I don't want them teaching my child writing or grammar. Sigh.

So we're apparently now all telepathically tied together! By cheese, no less.... :LOL: I finally decided to start "The Fine Art of Pretending" by Rachel Harris. I've read a few of her other titles, they're always cute and fun!

After all the build up in my mind, I didn't have grilled cheese. I realized I had leftover pasta in the refrigerator, so I had that instead. It was pretty good, and after all I did get a grilled cheese last night. There's always lunch tomorrow. :) And I do think I'm bringing home an apple pie tonight. (No time to make one today.) Oooh, Jane's apple cobbler sounds good too. I make apple crisp sometimes. Happy birthday to Thomas Paine!! I have a couple of his writings on my list for this year.

I'm so sorry. No, it never gets easier, we've had to make that decision twice. I hope he passes peacefully. Many hugs to you. :grouphug:

Yes! Teannika, this is the thread that helped me so much. Regardless of faith or beliefs, I hope it helps you understand the science better, and understand what the theory does and doesn't say. :)

See, you get it. You're invited to join Stacia and me in our virtual apple pie party. The rest of you are all, of course, welcome also!! ;)

At Costco, they have these delicious apple pastries in the bakery... like apple pie inside a croissant. My son was *begging* for some when we were there on Monday. I told him no, we wouldn't probably have them until the weekend and they wouldn't be very good by then. Sigh. My little guy has foresight, eh?? :) What I wouldn't give for one of those right now... Stacia, I wish we were neighbors, and we would meet for grilled cheese and apple pie tomorrow!!

LOL... see, I was just being helpful!! :LOL: And I may have to go hunt down apple pie in the morning...

I probably would have latched onto that too, except that's exactly what I had for dinner tonight!! Grilled cheese on sourdough bread with swiss and monterrey jack cheese. :)

Strangely (or not), I'm now craving apple pie.... Yes, you did warn me. In fairness, I didn't *know* I was hungry!! :)

This lack of multi quote means I will forget many things on which I intended to comment! (What *did* happen to that anyway? I missed it in my absence, I'll have to poke around.) Captain Kangaroo: Yes, I definitely remember watching - in color - in the late 70's/early 80's. Red jacket, greyish blonde hair, green pants on the other guy! ;) Glad everyone out east is okay. Sounds like some areas ended up lighter than originally predicted. Regarding bad language... I don't usually even notice a smattering. Heavy usage makes me want to join Jane in donning gloves and pearls and offering more prudent alternatives. Constant F-bombs usually means the book/movie ends up being left unfinished. Still reading the Peter Enns book and haven't started my lighter reading yet... plan on that tonight!! ETA: Found the multiquote thread. It told me, essentially, that multiquote is gone... :LOL:

Yep, it does. I finally realized one day that if I'm going to argue against something, I wanted to be darn sure of what I was arguing against. This isn't entirely on topic but I think it applies to the discussion... I will be forever grateful to Ruth (Lewelma) for patiently explaining to us all what evolutionary theory really says, how it's different than it's often presented in popular culture and media, and that it's really separate from the discussion of origins. I didn't take biology in high school (no way I was dissecting a frog! :crying: ), so I don't know how the course addressed evolution topics. But I do know that at no point in school was evolutionary theory ever explained to me. And the way Ruth explained it was so helpful and made so much more sense than random things I'd read over the years. But that goes back to what we're talking about here... that there are whole spectrums of beliefs on various topics, and that sometimes what we *think* we believe about a topic ends up surprising us.... which means that Moxie has received over a hundred answers to a question that might not, in the end, really have one.

Nothing wrong with your brain. :grouphug: I think some people are predispositioned to have an easier time believing, some are naturally more skeptical. The three of us (DH, DS, and I) all have a bit of inherent skeptical bent to our brains. We are all believers in God and what you'd probably term "mainline" protestant Christians... but we don't take Genesis literally, and have many questions about standard beliefs and doctrines. And that's okay. Personally, I remember being much younger and reading the story of Noah and the ark and the rainbow, and I just couldn't mesh it in my brain. I thought it sounded like a really convenient explanation that the ancients thought up for rainbows. The problem was, for a long time I *tried* to keep meshing it. I finally realized that although I do have faith, it's a very reasoned, questioning faith that doesn't ever fit neatly into a box. I believe in God 'cause I do... I happen to look around and see beauty and think there must be a creator or higher power. Not everyone will reach the same conclusion. Furthermore, I know that belief isn't anything that can be empirically proven or accounted for within science. It just doesn't work that way. (It's possible I'm more Deist than traditional Christian at this point anyway.) Either way, know that there is a *whole* spectrum of how stories like that can be taken, from literal belief, to allegory, to considering it an ancient myth, to flat out disbelief. There's that pesky free will thing again, friends. :)

Glad he likes it!! My son subscribes to both Muse and Odyssey. He also used to read a lot of Cobblestone, which covers American history, from the library. And when he was much younger he was famous among the librarians for carefully sorting through the issues of Ask and Appleseeds to carefully select which ones he would check out, LOL. They're really great publications!!

:iagree: There's also the lack of eternal punishment. (Even though a whole weekend without electronics seemed like it to a 12 year old boy...)

I gotta say, most of those people don't strike me as that strategic. ;)

That's absolutely crazy. I will say that there seem to be small differences in culture and activities between Upward locations/leagues... we've participated in one that was a little *too* heavy on the religious focus for our liking (like, almost more than the basketball), and the one we're in now, we love. A short presentation at halftime, and as you said, a big focus on sportsmanship. However, NONE of the leagues I've ever witnessed would have had anything happen as rude as you describe, and I would have been very upset by it. If you have any further encounters, I would definitely report it to the league organizer... I cannot imagine they want people being treated in such a manner!!

I completely agree that one should read with multiple tabs open. I've already placed an order since I started the thread!! :blush: Since I missed the first few weeks, I have just purchased History of the Ancient World and History of the Medieval World... not sure if I will pick up where you are and read along with HotMW, or just start at the beginning and meander through at my own pace. Still reading The Evolution of Adam by Peter Enns. The book is really speaking to me... I'm at a point where I'm rethinking many of the details of my beliefs and trying to reconcile it all in my head. This text takes things that I've thought before and really fleshes them out and provides supporting evidence in many cases, so I've been reading with a highlighter in hand and making comments like "That's what I said!" and "I know, right?!?" :lol: I need to read something a bit lighter alongside it... I have an Anne Tyler novel here that I was thinking of starting, although Kathy's recommendation of The Rosie Project reminds me that I've been wanting to read that for a while as well. Perhaps both. ;) Best wishes to all of you that are feeling under the weather, I hope the tides turn for you soon! Thinking of any of you in the path of the upcoming storm, stay safe and warm!

Adding this piece... it sounds like you got a lot of mixed messages growing up, and that there are multiple issues going on. Keep telling yourself the following: 1. I am an attractive, confident woman. 2. It's not at all my fault when someone else notices that. 3. Just because my mother thinks something, it doesn't make it true! ;)

Much love to you, Rosie! :grouphug:

Moxie, it's the million dollar question. As a more mainline Christian who doesn't really hold the party line on a lot of things, I don't believe there's any specific revelations or people speaking for God in our time. I believe we know about God through the teachings of Jesus and through the wonder of creation, if that makes sense. Completely agree that it would be much easier if there were skywriting or announcements over the loudspeaker. But where's the fun in that?!? ;)

Never, ever feel guilty about someone finding you attractive while you're simply going about your day. Really. It's nothing you've done, simply the lovely woman that you are. And I truly hope you're able to make peace with that. :grouphug: