This is probably the best bet to make sure it doesn’t happen again. The adults in charge of the teen program should be made aware that the teens are filming other patrons.

I love Elementary! It may not be British, but it has Jonny Lee Miller…and that’s enough for me.

Yes! to the state extension service. They have so many services for home gardeners and growers (free soil testing, etc). They’re sorely underutilized.

Yep. I’ll commiserate with you! We’ve had three appliances die (or near-dead, limping along) since Thanksgiving. And this year is the first year in decades that we’ve NOT gotten a taxrefund. Oof. And we owed money. Double-oof! 😉

My sibling lives 2 hours away. We like each other and get along… but we don’t hang out regularly. We see each other Easter and Christmas (at my parents’ house). We see each other at a couple of birthday meals for parents/grandparents, usually in his town. Sometimes he visits my town when my parents are here camping. 🤷‍♀️

I like themes in gifts, so if my friend was bookish, my go-to would be a journal, tea, local honey, fancy wafer cookies, pen set or bookmark, wax seal kit. Or a summery theme: beach towel, drink mix components, bbq spice rub, etc.

I always do this too, but it’s because I was born in a year that ends in ‘0. So it makes me mentally age up at the beginning of the year. (Born in ‘80, so in ‘23 I turn 43. And even though I don’t turn until September, I start thinking of myself as 43 from the start of the year.) 😂

I usually do the same thing every year, and every year my kids fall for it. (We’re not good at keeping up with dates, lol, so they never realize it’s April Fool’s.) I usually fill a drink pitcher up with jello, and then wait for them to pour their drink at dinner. 😁 A prank that we get to eat for dessert. Win.

Absolutely. They also know recipes can be found online. This past Christmas, my teens were gifted empty binders to begin collecting the family recipes that they love best.

We have personal connections (friends) to this organization: https://www.aaffwebuildhope.org One of their main focuses is building wells in that country.

Someone will have to pry my skinny jeans from my cold, dead hands. I’m not going back to wide leg. They can’t make me! I actually don’t mind a higher waist, as long as there’s no puffy bunching or pleats. Or tucking-in of shirts. 😉 (As an extreme pear-shape, to visually continue the width of my thighs down to my ankles via wide-leg pants….nope. That’s just a nope.)

I don’t know that I’d expect help or her presence, but I’d be hurt if she didn’t at least make contact and offer *something*. Like condolences and a “is there anything I can do/you need?”

Lol, I wouldn’t mind so much if she were actually productive during her waking hours. She’s so behind with her work. Maybe the two things are separate problems.

I’m sure she’s staying up too late, though she’s not *supposed* to have devices in her room at night. She’ll be 17 in a couple of months. She is more of a night owl than I am (and my other teen is like me). We’ve also tried shifting some responsibility to her but that didn’t improve things. In the fall, she’ll switch to taking her DE courses in person (with a 30+ min commute), so maybe it’ll work itself out when an outside force (not me) requires early rising.

My oldest is having a seriously hard time waking in the morning. It’s become enough of a problem that she’s behind in a lot of her schoolwork. We are chronically late going places because she takes so long. (I hate being late and it’s unfair to younger dd, who does wake more easily.) I wake her around 9:30 but it’s often noon or later before she is up for the day (this is with repeated wakings). I’m at my wit’s end. Could this be a medical issue? She’s probably due for a thyroid check. What else should I be looking for? I don’t think it’s related to mental health.

My oldest loveloveloves high waisted pants, lol. I was a teen in the 90s and we wore our pants looooow. 😉 I cannot comprehend the love of high waist. They look good on thin/tall people, imo. Those of us who are a bit…curvy…nope.

In the attic is crazy! I mean, one always sees them clustered around the battleship but still…!?

Chex mix-type baked snack mix? Or ranch seasoned pretzels and crackers (baked). This can be seasoned according to preference and baked in individual mini trays. Nachos? The dollar store has aluminum take out trays that make for good individual nachos. We just do chips, blobs of canned refried beans and cheese -then bake. They can then be personalized with salsa, sour cream, etc. My teens recently did this for a hangout/party, and it was a big hit. Pinwheel roll up things? Idk what they’re called. Cream cheese on a tortilla, plus other things (salsa and turkey or pepperoni and olives). Roll them up and slice.

This is my oldest DD’s flower bed. It’s her first year planting hyacinths. ❤️

Wow, that’s a huge loss! My condolences. My parents once lost a ton of plants when a crop duster sprayed in inappropriate wind conditions near their home. They definitely had to do some back and forth to get proper compensation.

Okay, that’s probably accurate for me as well. Maybe it’s dependent on context… Quick! Grab the milk! vs Ugh… we’re out of meee-ulk.

Third option: southern/NC, almost-2-syllable pronunciation of meee-ulk. 😂 (I rhyme it with silk, fyi.)

Following. My last tooth on the top has had issues for years (sensitivity after a filling). I’m leaning towards having it pulled (vs $3k for root canal and crown).

I start to get antsy after 5 days. Perhaps if I had limitless funds and all-inclusive amenities, I’d enjoy a much longer vacation.

Following. I haven’t taught in a school since 2006. I’m sure I will at some point, at least for a few years; retirement and college won’t pay for themselves. 😉 I didn’t like it when I stopped; I’m not sure how I’ll like it now. My tolerance for cr@p is way less than it was as a young 20-something. My certification has lapsed, but teachers are always needed. That part doesn’t worry me.