LOL... D stands for done and Cs get degrees. :) I am truly ecstatic now when my girls navigate the engineering core curriculum and 'meet or beat the mean.' I guess I would call it a relaxation... really it was a learning curve (for me!). I had to figure out that when practically all the kids in your math class got an 800 on the math SAT II, being somewhere in the middle ain't so shabby. :)

Do you think you could watch some nutrition videos or information with DW and/or the kids? (Ex: my kids have been positively influenced by movies like Forks Over Knives, Supersize Me, Plant Pure Nation, Cowspiracy ... but your kids are younger, so YMMV. Maybe great for you and your wife, to start. Maybe there are some good and entertaining info videos out there for younger kids?) I like Mathnerd's ideas about getting those veggies in! Gonna have to steal some of those.

There was recently a great (and frightening!) Frontline about supplements, including vitamins. MANY of the supplements and vitamins tested contain nothing like what they are purported to contain. I think one brand recommended and independently verified as containing the proper ingredients was NatureMade....

1985 called. They want their jeans back.

My kids among them have taken and loved AP Eng Lang with Mrs. Walker, APCalcBC with Mrs. Gilleran, Chemistry with Mr. Moskaluk (exceptionally well run, IMHO), and Stats with Mrs. Matheny. They've done other APs and studied some at home as well, but these were the ones that would get two thumbs up... one from them and one from me. :) ETA, they also took Phys B with Mr. Lanctot... which was good and they liked, but doesn't exist anymore. Perhaps other Phys people can weigh in on the new class/test.

Unfortunately, I don't. We went with 9th Grade Chem, and then AP or Dual Enrollment for 10th-12th. There are some folks on the board that do integrated science, though. Maybe a quick search? PS... we like Miller and Levine too. Lots of stuff out there for tie ins.

I was surprised to find that the APBio courses my girls took were much more chemistry laden than any Bio course I ever took in high school - IOW, it was mostly chem. I wonder if it would be worth doing an integrated frosh course that includes Phys/chem/and bio, and then moving on to AP courses. Just something to consider....

Not to go straight to a 'worst case scenario', but have you been tested for TB?

So happy to read this wonderful news tonight. We'll keep sending positive thoughts and best wishes!!

((Jenny)) No real suggestions for you, because I am kind of in the soup with you at this point. But I am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.... just a little glimmer.... and it looks good. It looks really good. In my case, the only thing that got me out of the deep, black hole of a funk I got into when dd#1 went away to school two years ago was listening to Gil Fronsdal's Audio Dharma talks on my ipod while doing my part time office cleaning job. The job is extremely repetitive and boring, but those talks saved me from myself, so I have really learned to appreciate my time 'at the office.' Is there something you find uplifting to listen to that you could give yourself 15 minutes a day? Audio Dharma talks about accepting change and impermanence may not be your thing, but maybe there's something out there that could be a positive shot in the arm each day for you. I had a plan to go back to school last semester to start on an associate's degree in Optical Engineering Technologies, but the night classes filled up almost the second they opened, so my only option would have been trashing my ds's school day so I could take day classes. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead I decided to study Chemistry and Math with him and CLEP those.... because at least that is still working toward my goal. It has been a good choice so far. I am not sure exactly how it is all going to play out, but knowing that I am walking down a path is comforting. (And CLEP has the benefit of being a much cheaper option to get some core courses out of the way.) One good thing that has s l o w l y come about because I have more time in the evenings is the opportunity to play more trumpet. I started saying yes to things I never would have had time to do before, and doors have just started to crack open for actual paying pit jobs. This was highly unexpected, so a very nice surprise. I agree with pps that suggest volunteering. You just never know what will happen when you say yes. Maybe nothing but the satisfaction you get from volunteering, which is nice. But maybe something. (Last year I would have leaned toward the nothing... this year I am swaying toward the something.) I really appreciate the book suggestions you got in this thread - I have them all on hold at the library already - so thank you very much for articulating so well what i have been feeling. I really do understand - and I hope you find some peace soon. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray: So glad to hear your husband is doing well.

Ooo... tough call. But your post made me wonder.... has your daughter ever checked out the Inquiring Minds podcast? The host is an professional opera singing neuroscientist. (!)

I really like Regentrude and Luckymama's comments, here. I will admit to a very soft spot in my heart for Ithaca (the city), and a little bit of star-struck kind of wonder at Cornell left over from my younger days... having met my husband in Ithaca and graduated from what *some* Cornellians might consider the lesser of the two schools there, Ithaca College (Go Bombers!). It is just a beautiful campus, it has a long and storied history, and the academic energy produced and amount of influence Cornell has in our region is immense. That being said... both of my girls basically drew a radius around our house of about 5 hours, with the optimal drive time for all of us being under 3 hours. They just weren't interested in being a plane ride away right out of the gate. (I find myself in a state of astonishment regularly that my oldest decided to spend this entire year in Spain! She's done a lot of growing and changing since she left for freshman orientation!) So, taking all those things into consideration, Cornell made the short list for Engineering, which is what they both major in... although in totally different disciplines. When all things were considered, with finances getting a large share of the considering.... Cornell was the winner. University of Rochester was a very close second, but was in the radius that they eventually considered too close, I guess, lol. Had all things been equal and the name of the school been Georgia Tech, or Rose-Hulman, or some state school, the decision would have been the same.... Cornell just happens to be the name of the place they ended up. :)

This might leave Harvard and Yale out. You can probably guess where I would suggest.... :)

We eat a wide variety of rice because my dh is gluten free... and when we switched to plant based/whole foods we were looking for brown rice to replace the different kinds of white rice we were used to eating (Jasmine, Basmati, Sushi, etc). We found the 'Rice Select' Texmati or Jasmine rice from the grocery store to be amazing... and really expensive (2# for $8). Someone turned us on to the local asian market, and there we can buy a 20# bag of fantastic brown jasmine rice for $17 (FWIW it is B.C.N. Brand Thai Brown Jasmine). It is really delicious and we like it *so* much better than the standard brown rice sold in the grocery store. I am also amazed by the varieties available at that market! So, if you haven't found a brown rice you like yet, it doesn't mean there isn't one out there. :) We make burritos here with a diced onion, 1can each Goya black and small red beans, I can diced tomatoes, 1 1/2 C frozen corn, 2 TCumin, 1 T Chili Powder, many shakes of Tabasco, and a tablespoon or two of bulgur wheat (for thickening... a few oats would work, too.) We like it spicy - and cook it all down, adding water along the way, until everything looks soft and yummy. Throw it in a burrito with leftover brown rice. Yum - any time of day - perfect.

What is CF? (Got the gluten and dairy parts....)

Woot!!

We love, love, love this Tofu Keema.... just cut the tomato sauce to about 1/6th of what they say. (6 Cups?? No, not really. Otherwise, delish.) Also, this Potato Curry is outstanding - warm and satisfying - with chick peas for protein. We sub in spinach instead of kale because we always have it in the fridge. I also sub in whatever milk alternative I have around for the cashew milk because I am a lazy old lady. PS: OP, if your dh is concerned about controlling diabetes, he might want to jump on the veggie bandwagon with your dd! Applause, applause for you for supporting your daughter and her veggie choices. :)

I have learned a lot by listening to Gil Fronsdal on audiodharma.org. There are lots of speakers in the list, but his are the most helpful, calming, and informative for me. There is an 'Introduction to Meditation' tab there on the left that is great, too. This is a Buddhist website, but Buddhism is not necessarily incompatible with other religions, depending on where you are coming from. Meditation has been a great help to me. I wish you well on your journey!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

We do something similar... I work in an office that is constantly throwing away paper, including large sets of architectural plans. I nab enough to keep us supplied with white 'wrapping' paper all year. I also nab all the letter sized paper that they print giant reports on - one sided - and stick it in the printer and print the blank side with really light graph paper. It is awesome for notes and just .... paper. Recently I've started to think I should just print everything on the opposite side of their reports. :)

Woot! Go Big Red! Congratulations!

Two more days... two more days!!

California Guitar Trio Christmas Album Windham Hill Holiday Guitar Collection Winter's Solstice by Windham Hill These are all very meditative and restful.