I just tried to click on the link and see that it's not linking because the http:// area in Astrid's link is a little off. So take out the extra characters so that only http://www. ... is left at the beginning (leave the rest after the www. alone) and it will work. YUMMY!

Someone posted that theirs are at least $3.00/lb. Zowie. I'm still finding $1.99/lb here in some places, but more like $2.29 and $2.79. The Big Apple store on the other end of town has typically had lower prices in the fall so we'll see. I'm wondering how likely it is that the organic seller who has sold boxes at the Farmer's Market each fall for .50/lb will be there this year at that price!! I have her card, I think I'll call her and reserve 20-30 boxes if she's anywhere up to $1.00/lb. I'll can and can and can some more. Not enough freezer space now that we have our 1/2 of a 1/2 of a beef cow in there! BTW, Azure has blueberries for $2.95/lb -- granted they're frozen and in 10# boxes, but I just thought I'd mention it.

I hadn't purchased any for awhile since the price seemed a tad higher than I was used to paying -- I figured I'd wait until fall when they were fresh and in season again. Well, I wanted to pack one in a lunch my ds needed to take to a concert this past weekend and just grabbed one. It rang up at $1.08 -- for just one apple! Have you seen this in your area as well? I commented (gasped is more like it) and the checker -- who was the asst. manager of the store -- said he doesn't see the prices dropping in the fall. Yikes! We can eat a LOT of apples. With six kids, that could be $180/month just for apples if we went back to one-a-day. Big bummer.

I think you would like the content, "differently Christian" or non-Christian. The theme of the book is about living above the expectations our society has for teens. In the last 100 years or so this "teen culture" has sprouted (they say partly as a result of child labor laws, which had a purpose to be sure but have evolved into a situation now where teens are not able to be as productive through those years as they once were) with the teen years being viewed as "play time" before "adult time". This is hard to break out of at 18-19-20 years old, so now we're seeing young people even into their 30s not being able to break away from this "play time" mentality. Anyway, the book talks about how to choose focus and "hard things" even in the teen years; being productive and learning and growing in powerful ways at this time of life.

We have this book and our 14yos and my dh went to a conference a couple of months ago. HIGHLY recommended! It's very inspiring and very well-written (keeps a 14yo's attention!). It doesn't have tons of Bible in it, but the principles are developed from their Christian convictions.

Isn't it funny how people are wired differently? My husband and I decided in the last year that we feel the opposite way -- that the benefits of living in town far outweigh the country life. We always thought we'd build a home in the country, but now we're looking for a good home in a good neighborhood to live in for years and years (one where we can walk to town, walk to church, keep the kids' paper routes, have students visit us from campus easily, be around people a lot more, and etc.). Glad you're happy in the country!

I'll have to check it out! I haven't used google for quite some time -- I switched to Goodsearch (powered by yahoo) when I found it that I can support my fave not-for-profit organization with every search I do.

Now you make me want to hear your worst wedding story! :)

I rarely pack activity bags for our kids either. They're pretty good at entertaining themselves or just sitting and watching. I prefer that to having to cart around stuff for them to do, personally. And if we're somewhere and another mom who feels differently pulls out toys and some of our (esp.) littler ones gravitate there I try to ask the mom if that's okay or encourage ours to just be busy with something else. It actually frustrates me in situations where things are set up with the assumption that kids can't be involved with what's going on and need distraction/occupation (this is different than what you describe). For example, if we have a special speaker at church say on a Friday evening -- we just show up with our kids to listen. Sometimes the very littlest will have small little things to do like one or two handheld toys. More often than not though our pastor will announce that there are paper and crayons and "stuff" in the back for kids and so bunches of kids go back there. It gets somewhat distracting (the parents don't always go too). I don't mind if that's what other parents want to do, but it *IS* distracting. I'm sorry it's frustrating for you and that it works out the way it does with other kids being allowed to pester you and your stuff!

I just did this recently -- Fred Meyer had almost-outdated gallons of milk for .50 each so I purchased eight and froze six of them. Worked fine! You don't need to pour any off the top; the plastic expands a bit (so it's not flat-bottomed when you take it out and set it on the counter but it doesn't fall over either). It takes longer than I thought it would to defrost. I personally would be a-ok with leaving it out on the counter for even 24 hours because it's still a bit frozen after that (will keep the other milk cold enough). We put some milk that had been frozen on a counter one night, into the fridge the next morning and then we didn't use it until two mornings later. It was STILL partially frozen. HTH~ Darla

You're going to have a baby in less than two weeks?? If I was in your situation, and was waking my kids to join me in my insomnia, I'd have them rubbing my feet, cleaning the house and bringing me [*insert favorite food choice of the day*], lol. But if you want to do school, I guess that's okay too!

Question for you: What does the word "Matcha" mean in smoothieland? I saw this word on the Starbucks menu board today in regard to their new smoothies and I didn't know what it meant. I wondered if it was some sort of "boost" option, but now your post makes me wonder.

Any other Jamba regulars out there? I don't know if I can call myself a regular anymore since our closest Jamba store is now 90 minutes away (*Sigh* when we lived in Colorado I had four within 10 minutes of my house). But I do love to pick up a Jamba smoothie whenever I can. My favorite used to be the Citrus Squeeze, but I tried the Mango-a-go-go recently on the recommendation of a friend and I have a new favorite. I also tried the all-fruit mango one recently and it was also VERY yummy. How do you Jamba?

I might be hosting a shower soon, so thanks for some new ideas! I like the baby bottle one. Our pastor's wife is preeeetttty competitive so this would be hilarious to watch.

Very cool! I'd say just pick up a smoothie (preferably Jamba Juice, recommending the Mango-a-go-go) and plopping down on a bench and saying "Come find me when you are done!" LOL ....

*Rending my garments* LOL! You say this so casually! Here in Washington state it's almost impossible to get raw milk unless you have your own cow. They have written it into law that dairies have to be certified to sell raw milk, and it's very expensive to be "certified" so basically small family dairies can't make it. They've also specifically said "no cow sharing programs" unless through a certified dairy. I LONG FOR RAW MILK! We can get raw colostrum from our co-op, but it's $9.45 for a HALF gallon. *SIGH*

SuperMoms have most of the basic vitamins and minerals, in a special formula for women, but also things like spirulina, barley grass, green tea extract, lycopene and more. I linked it if you want to check it out.

I would suggest listening to your body's hunger and full signals for awhile. Don't eat unless your body is calling for food (through a true physical signal like a growl in your tummy or a truly empty feeling), and stop eating once you feel satisfied (eat slowly so you can "hear" this). I learned these principles through Thin Within and have lost 30 lbs a couple of times following them (regained via pregnancy). I've just started doing it again since my little one is almost 4 mos old and have lost 7 lbs in two weeks. HTH!

My only weight loss book anymore is Thin Within. It is Christian based if that matters to you; TW principles are based on eating when you're physically hungry and stopping when physically satisfied. I've lost 30+ lbs twice applying these principles (regained with pregnancy) and am at the start of doing it yet again. In two weeks I lost 7 lbs. This is definitely a lifestyle change, not a diet.

Just as a side note: I have a friend who had her babies in the hospital (I'm not knocking hospital deliveries, just giving the context). When she found out we had unassisted births at home she asked me in perfect seriousness '' "How do you know when to push?" As if a monitor attached to the abdomen is the only sure fire way to know. LOL. I can usually tell you exactly when the contractions change from opening the cervix to pushing the baby out. It completely changes. My other favorite birth-related story is when our pediatrician was late for our then week-old son's circumcision (which he talked us out of actually). Anyway, when he finally showed up, he told us that he'd been over in the L&D dept. at the hospital and a lady who'd had something like five kids already was ready to push. The nurses were all telling her to stop -- "The doctor's on his way! He's not here yet!" Our pediatrician asked what was up and was told about the lady. He said, "Oh good grief," and went and stood by the lady and told her to push. Baby came out, story done. I can't imagine NOT pushing when that urge is there. I love flowing with the way my body is made at that point -- it's a hard part, but also totally victorious feeling when the whole baby is out.

My husband doesn't "get" my love of 80s pop music. I mean, he understands liking songs and having fun -- but like you the music is intertwined with (mostly) happy memories. Having grown up in a strict and fundamental Christian home, he didn't experience that as much. Like I said, most of my memories are happy ones. I was very social in high school and loved to be out and about with friends just doing stuff. The music is all "right there" with those memories. It is a part of it. I was a good student, I was involved in yearbook, cheerleading, tennis, keeping score at basketball games and lots more. I *am* kind of sad our kids won't experience those things ------ but I do think there are some great memories THEY will have that I never experience (tossing school books aside and heading to the lake for the day. Oh. Wait. I did that -- without mom's permission and involvement though, lol). I remember, yes, when MTV and VH-1 were new. We'd stay up into the wee hours of the morning watching video after video. My fave 80s song is C'mon Eileen -- I hate the lyrics but I love the music. Happy music. Sister Christian, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Footloose, Der Kommissar, 99 Red Balloons, blah blah blah. I still want to get an 80s compilation CD. Great post, Colleen.

Adrianne, I am not medically trained -- maybe that's obvious, lol -- but I'm not sure about the deal with "pushing too early". I have no one telling me how dialated I am or that it's "time" to push. I can just tell as I relax during and coming out of "transition" that, well, it's TIME TO PUSH. Your body knows -- it just does it. I remember reading once that if we did NOTHING, if we just laid there during labor, that baby would still come out. Our bodies are designed to get that baby out. So pushing, in my experience, has just come naturally. For the last several births (since #3), the active parts of my labor (the parts where I know for sure I'm in labor and it starts getting harder) have been between one hour in length and two and a half hours in length. The pushing has been 2-4 pushes. The first vaginal delivery I had the pushing was a bit longer, but it was still natural and obvious to me. Read more testimonies -- cord wrapped around the neck, breech birth, those kinds of things have been dealt with successfully in unassisted deliveries at home. There's a board at ivillage.com for unassisted birth and there's also christianuc.com. I'm in no way saying "Go for it no matter what" -- you definitely have to do what you're comfortable with. I'm just saying there ARE ways to deal with many issues successfully at home. Bless you!

Are you wanting to cook for the Chinese student? We have a lot of international students over for dinner and they likely would enjoy an *American* meal. Or are you saying that the Chinese eat healthier and your dh wants you to copy that? The meals that the Chinese students we've had over have cooked for us have been pretty basic -- stir fried pork, vegies, rice and sauce. Or rice and eggs. These are the ones I can remember. I can put you in touch with a Chinese adult (female) if you want and you can email with her. Let me know if you're interested!

For us it is a personal faith thing. We believed and spoke out loud the Bible verses that say things like "You will prosper in all you put your hand to," that God "does all things well," that God brings to the point of birth and gives delivery, that His word is "like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces" and that He is "watching over His word to perform it." All that to say that the faith we had in the process said that nothing would go wrong and we didn't speak or act that way. For our first three unassisted births we had a friend with us, for the last three it was just dh and I. Once we had a midwife come and visit us because we thought maybe in that situation we wouldn't mind having her there, but when she asked if we knew the quickest way to the hospital we knew she wasn't the one for us. Another time a different friend was considered for one of the births and in a prayer meeting she prayed "And if something goes wrong, Lord ... " and we soon uninvited her. We weren't being harsh -- we just felt like we had to put the "unbelievers" outside like Jesus did when he went to bring the little girl back to life (not that they weren't Christian believers -- but they weren't believing for what we were believing for). I know that not everyone -- not even all Christians -- will agree with what I've written above. But it IS what the Lord has led us to. We've had six unassisted home births after my first birth which was a cesarean in the hospital. I really love it just being dh and I, welcoming our new little one. I will admit it WOULD be nice to have a third pair of hands right after the birth. Getting situated after the baby's out (I deliver on the floor leaning over an exercise ball) and waiting for the afterbirth -- another someone helping with the baby would be nice right then. But we make do and everything has gone well. Finally, I ask God for (and have gotten all but once) a middle-of-the-night delivery. That REALLY helps in that I don't have to worry about the other kids. They sleep through it all. The one time I didn't deliver over night was fun, too, so I'm not complaining. God knew what He was doing -- testing my faith (would dh make it in time?). It was cool how that all worked out. We've actually had numerous very cool answers to prayer over the years; someday I may put it all down in writing in book form. We'll see. HTH!

Lucinda, I've been there! I too served on a two-day trial jury once (about five years ago) that was so intense. I came out of the courtroom after the verdict was read and burst into tears. So I just want to give a hug (((Lucinda))) and say take it easy for a little while. I think it took be about a week to get back into my groove. I'm sorry for how you're feeling. In my case, we found the defendant not guilty on all counts but one (DUI being the one he was found guilty of). We didn't think he WAS "not guilty" necessarily, but the way a rule was written -- a rule by which we were supposed to form our decision -- we had to choose not guilty. I was glad he got off because the other guy was trying to fly free and HE wasn't "not guilty" either. But the defendant was a homeless drug addict and he DID need help -- I don't know how he did having gotten off. Did he go back to his old ways? I don't know. I looked for him after leaving the court room; wanted to talk to him. But I didn't find him. Anyway, just wanted to comment that the way you feel is NORMAL. Please do take it easy for a time.