My Grandma was quite wise. I loved her sense of humor and forthrightness. I miss her every day.

(Melbourne specifically) all the Aussies thought I was from Ireland. Go figure.

and I can't really add to it. I'm sending you hugs and prayers. My grandma had a great saying for times like this. She'd say "D** the outside world, it's time to circle the wagons." :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

I was born and raised in Georgia (rural, for the most part) and I can tell you that when I travel most people think I'm from the Midwest. Most are floored when I tell them I'm from Atlanta. They usually ask, "Yes, but where were you raised?" Southern accents on TV drive me crazy, not realistic AT ALL! Additionally, most actors portraying a Southerner on TV also act like, because they're Southern, they're also stupid. That is far from the norm.

with my kids I asked a local for directions. He used both "yonder" and "reckon" in the same sentence! I was floored. I live in the South and if I were to use either of those words, ever, I would be thought of as an uneducated redneck, but they sounded lovely with a British accent. Funny.

Her first "real" boyfriend was 18 (I expected this as there aren't many 16 yo men in college). Of course, we talked to dd about everything, but for kids I think actions speak louder than words. My dh took dd out one evening and not only did they talk about dating, but he showed her by example how a gentleman behaves (e.g. opening doors for a lady, seating her at the restaurant, etc.). He told her any man who doesn't treat her like a lady doesn't get a second date. I also told her to observe how the young man's father treats his mother. Behavior is learned through example and the father's behavior towards women is a big clue how she could expect to be treated in a longer relationship with the young man. Here's something I printed out for dd as a joke. She in turn, also jokingly, gave it to her boyfriend. Daddy's Rules for Dating (both the rules and the "application").

almost all of my friends were guys. I had exactly two female friends, the rest were guys. That didn't change as I became older. While I was in college I had a platonic male roommate with whom I shared an apartment. Of course, mom and dad were not paying anything towards college and/or living expenses, but they let me know strongly they didn't approve. They actually stopped speaking to me for a year. It irreputably damaged my relationship with my parents (and I'm speaking from a way down the road viewpoint). I was an adult, had never been in trouble of any kind, had made mostly sound decisions to that point (accepted responsibility and fixed things when I didn't) and, yet, they didn't trust my decision. After my male roommate moved out (he married his girlfriend) I had a female roommate. I have to say, I preferred the male roommate. I was very uncomfortable with her walking around nude or nearly nude. I bought her a robe for a Christmas present, hoping she would take the hint. At least with a guy roommate, him going around topless was okay and he NEVER paraded around in his underwear and neither did I. I didn't parade around in my underwear with a female roommate in the shared living space either. To each their own.

It's not as easy as deciding to apply to a program. When I applied to my Ph.D. program there were 250+ applicants and 5 slots. IOW, extremely competitive. I had research experience, had published with a professor as an undergraduate, had professional presentation experience, a 3.9 GPA, research experience, and decent GRE scores. I was still selected #5. The people selected above me had multiple publications/presentations under their belts and the undergraduate school and degree come into play as well. If you're going into sociology, you're probably going to have to go back and take a few of the major classes in that area. If the program you're applying to wants you to have undergraduate classes, they'll tell you to take them and then reapply to the program when you're done. Professors are evaluated by their bosses in terms of publications and presentations; IOW, how much prestige they bring to the university in their area of specialization (how much grant money they get, etc.). It's all about publications in professional journals and professional presentations. At least at the university I attended, the professors' student evaluations played very little role in their job evaluations. I don't know how research oriented sociology is (my graduate work is in psychology), but my program was very heavily into research and the stats required to do that work. I ended up with 10 graduate level courses in stats (in addition to all the other classes of course). (I hated stats when I started, but ended up teaching stats at a university when all was said and done. LOL) If you have little or no stats right now, I would highly suggest taking several undergraduate classes. The bottom line is you need to make yourself as competitive as possible. Retake the GRE if you have to (everyone in my program had scores above 750 in all the areas to give you an idea). Some universities only look at a specific score. Some of the ones I applied to only looked at the math score and ignored the rest. Call the university's sociology department. Ask them what they evaluate and how they evaluate applications. I know from my experience that they used an equation for each student. The equation involved numerical scores they assigned based on what they valued. It's been years for me, but as I recall it was GRE-Math, GPA, research experience, professional publications (e.g. Journal of Sociology and others in your case), and recommendations. (I'm sure I'm forgetting something here, but for each university the equation was slightly different.) The other really important factor is fit; IOW, how well your research interest matches with those of a professor. All professors have a research interest which is more narrowly defined than just "sociology." For example, my field of study was Industrial/Organizational Psychology, but within that broader classification, there were many sub-classifications (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, or, my chosen specialization - Work Teams - all of my professional publications and book is about Work Teams with the exception of one guest editorship I did). You will need to research each of the professors of sociology at the university(ies) that you apply to and in your essay make SURE you talk about your research interests and how they align with a certain professor's. It would be a good idea to schedule a meeting with that professor before hand, too, to talk about his/her research interests and whether he/she is taking on new students right now (this person would most likely end up being your graduate advisor). How well your research interests aligns with a professor will play a major role in whether you're accepted. In the program I applied to, several people had numerical scores (from the "equation") that were higher than mine, but their research interests didn't fit into the research interests of any of the professors. I loved graduate school and sometimes wish I were still there. I could be a professional student, I think. :)

FYI: I checked out the Honors Chemistry class through ChemAdvantage for my son next year and emailed them some questions. They responded very promptly. However, they will NOT be offering their Honors Chemistry class next year, only AP Chem. Both of my dc have/are doing the Literature classes through Scholar's Online (an online Christian school). My dd, who is a strong reader, jumped right into their Western Literature through Dante class in the 9th grade. I only recommend doing this if your dc is a very strong reader. There are 11 books total (including the Bible). Some of the books my dd read included The Illiad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, Memesis, Ten Greek Plays. Not light reading. My ds is doing this class as a 10th grader this year, but he started with World Literature last year (which uses a textbook). My dd progressed through English Literature and American Literature (this year). They even have an AP Literature class and I've heard through the grapevine that their Senior Literature class is tough indeed. The literature classes meet once per week with Dr. Bruce McMenomy. My dc also take Latin through SO. They use the Wheelock's textbook for Latin I and II. There are also higher level Latin classes. Latin I and II meet twice per week. I don't know about the higher level Latin classes, but you can find out on their webpage. SO will begin registering in April. As of today, there are no classes listed for the upcoming school year, but you can look at the subjects down the left side of the webpage and click on them to get an idea of what they offer.

Several years ago we were at Disney with our two children (aged 8 and 9 at the time). We went on one of the rides at MGM, but I don't remember the name (the haunted house where they drop you repeatedly). There's a bench seat for several people and a bar for everyone on that bench that comes down. We were seated with an obese person (just me and my two children and this person; she couldn't fit on the bench with the people she was with). The bar didn't come close to securing my kids, but I didn't notice until the ride was already moving. BOTH of my kids came out of their seats when the ride first plunged. If I had not grabbed them and pulled them back into the seat.....I had to use my knees against the bar to brace myself while holding on to both of my kids for the duration of the ride. The ride is supposed to be scary, but that was ridiculous. I still have the occasional nightmare about that. I wished one of the attendants had noticed this to begin with. Perhaps if they were more vigilant about seating arrangements..... I'm not saying your friend shouldn't be allowed to ride, but the park staff should be trained to look for and intercede in situations like these. I'm sure this person could have ridden in a row by herself or with other adults, but not EVER with children for whom the safety devices were rendered useless. The good news is there aren't many rides where there's just one safety device for the entire row like that. Like I said, just another perspective.

that explains the differences between the two tests (someone here, I don't remember who, posted it a while back). SAT vs ACT

in fact, I live completely on the other side of the continent. I will add my $.02 though. I can pretty much guarantee that the powers that be in my state are sending representatives to Oregon very soon to persuade the businesses there to relocate to our state. Our state offers all kinds of tax cuts/benefits to businesses that relocate because they bring jobs to the state when they relocate (my state has done this numerous times in the past). I'm willing to bet our state won't be the only one doing so. Oregon can raise the taxes on businesses all they want, but the businesses have the choice of moving (perhaps not all of them, but many), and have no doubt, many of them will move, especially in this economy. The so called "wealthy" also being taxed? Well, they're usually the ones that own the businesses, too, so they'll be moving as well. In the past year a Chinese manufacturer began building a massive manufacturing plant here, because with the tax cuts/benefits my state offered its actually cheaper for them to hire local people to build the parts here and ship them nationally than it is for them to import the product. Shocking, I know (especially with what they pay their workers in China), but this is just one example of our state luring businesses here. Bottom line: I think Oregon made a huge mistake. The old expression "cutting off your nose to spite your face" comes to mind.

Definitely party time. Tell P. I said congratulations and now he can exhale. :lol:

Pain meds make me violently ill, too. I found the key word to tell the doctor is "Phenergan" (not sure about spelling). It's anit-nausea medication. I always tell the doctor if he's giving me pain meds that he needs to follow it with phenergan unless he wants to see everything I've eaten for the past month.

:iagree: My ds just turned 15 last week and got his learner's permit. When he turns 16yo+3 days (dumb law, don't ask) he'll get his driver's license. My dd is now 16 (will turn 17 in a few months). She's had her license for 6 months now and drives herself to her college classes every day. In my state, a dc cannot get a driver's license at 16 *unless* he/she has had a defensive driver's course and 40 hours of supervised instruction. Otherwise, they have to wait until 17. Also, an attendance form must be signed by the school (in our case, the local department of education) showing no more than 10 days of absences from school. Before coming of age for learner's permits, both kids have driven cars/trucks/tractors/motorcycles/atv's/horses and such all over our property. Nothing like big pastures for learning to drive.

Just to clarify...we have a republic style of government, not a democratic one (from the Pledge of Allegiance: ....and to the republic for which it stands...). There is a difference.

and congratulations on the addition to your family. She's beautiful.

Congratulations to P. again, Jane! That's fantastic. Which school do you think he's leaning towards and how many has he yet to hear from?

Georgia Tech (for sure) and I believe Auburn also have architectural programs.

That's wonderful. Tell P. congratulations for me.

inspections, I have to present my "budget" and have it independently verified. (My banker looks over my excel spreadsheet with my receipts attached and then gives me a letter saying it all looks good to her. She doesn't charge me for this.) I don't consider this a big deal as I was keeping track anyway. It's never been a problem and my inspector has never questioned it (knocking of wood now).:001_smile:

"Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days." I don't allow my MIL to stay longer than that because I like my sanity.

Both of my kids are in their second year of Latin at Scholar's Online. (scholarsonline.org). SO uses Wheelock's Latin (the college level textbook) and its various supplements. They enjoy the classes (they take different classes with different teachers due to their own schedules).

Merry Christmas to all of my homeschooling friends at TWTM!

:iagree: Fantastic news!