We tried the borax versions and we weren't very happy with them. They left a film. I heard that vinegar in the rinse would help with the film. I never tried it. Lately, we have been using a scant 1/2 teaspoon of blue dawn in each cup and some baking soda just sprinkled on the door with vinegar in the rinse. It's been working very, very well. Surprisingly well! It doesn't handle really greasy pots and pans, but that's okay. We started off with a quarter teaspoon and worked up to what seems to clean well and yet not make a soapy mess.

Here in MN, over by Fargo, you just have to admit that it's cold and dress for it. Best decision I ever made was to buy proper, high quality winter gear for all of us. We can't afford the remote starters and they only work if your car is close to the building, and I can only dream of a car with heated seats, but both are amazing! Lots of soups and hot drinks. It is survivable! And SPRING is so glorious; it is almost an intoxicating experience when the first sunny 50 degree day hits. People pour out of house and everyone is smiling. And on the plus side, summer is NOT hideously hot. I'll take cold over hot any day. :-)

When asked what she liked best about homeschooling, my 8yo replied that her favorite part was watching I Love Lucy reruns over lunch! Yes, that was a proud moment for me!+"" My 14 yo once asked me what the "At" at the top of all of her work meant. (It was an A+). On the actual HS fail: I have one who won't get to algebra II. I've never gotten through an entire curriculum in a year. We are lousy spellers because I hate giving spelling tests.

"The Help" from audible.com was truly wonderful!! 29 hours of amazing narration with three different actors. Highly recommended. I purchased it (it was less than $1 per hour for entertainment so I thought it was worth the risk) and am I ever happy I did. My teen daughter is currently listening to and loving it.

Bake bread Prepare visuals for two church services Clean kitchen (what exploded in there??) Buy new DVD player All in all, not to bad of a load. Blessings on your Saturday!

It's in the 20's today and sunny. So, we are skiing. School starts again on Monday. I've got to deal with a large pot of beans that I cooked and forgot. Any suggestions? I may just dump the whole mess. Sigh!

I never thought about some folks not wanting to bake in the summer. We live.....well, practically in Canada and where it won't get above zero Fahrenheit today. I guess if I was down south, I'd prefer my breadmaker. Up here, we just say "bring on global warming" LOL

I bake all of my bread in the oven after doing the knead and first rise in the breadmaker. For that, any 2nd hand breadmaker will do just fine. I'd buy a couple of good bread pans for baking. Or, the suggestion someone else made about using a KitchenAid for the kneading is a good one! Depends on your cash flow, honestly.

I'd encourage him to go directly to grad school. He should expect to acquire very little new debt at all to get an MS or a PhD. No debt for degree plus higher salary and good employment opportunities for chemists is a win, win, win situation. We do NOT encourage our students to take a year or two off to work. It is rare to go back to grad school after several years out of school. The job market for chemists is excellent. There are NO where enough American scientists being produced and internationals are rarely employed in government or security jobs. Grad school can be a lot of fun. Getting through the PhD is hard, hard, hard work, but the job opportunities are huge (again, this is for chemists, not biologists). Seriously, we can play students with a solid B- average in chemistry in grad programs that are fully funded. Your son sounds like a great grad school candidate. He should go for it. P.S. I've taught Gen and Org Chem for 22 years at a private, four-year, liberal arts college....so you know where my comments are coming from. Good luck to him!!! Wish he was my student.!

My kids were at my office recently and the fire alarm went off. They had no clue what that sound was or what to do! Oooppsss....must have missed that unit on fire safety. My 14 yo had no clue was a busy signal was or how to use a phone book. And the best one: I'd written A+ on the top of a siblings paper and my 12 year old wanted to know what "At" meant at the top of the page. "At what, Mommy?"

Snow tomorrow here in Minnesota.....

Should I be worried? I'm only about 4 miles from North Dakota State U.....

Thanks, dear! I needed a good laugh today!

I cannot, cannot, cannot stand the feel of condensation on the outside of a glass or cup. If I touch it, I have to immediately dry my hands on a napkin. I wrap my cups in napkins because it is somehow okay to touch a wet napkin but not a wet glass. As a corollary, I cannot stand sticky fingers or food on my fingers. I have to wipe or wash my hands off if the fork handle gets a bit of gravy or potato on it, for example. Thus, I use a ton of napkins at every meal. I get nervous at McD's if I don't get 5-6 napkins for myself, plus one for each kid. And, in proof that God has a sense of humor, my darling MIL never uses napkins and so she never places them by the plates. Napkins, to her, are condiments like pepper or ketchup. I get nervous if I'm not sitting near the stack of napkins placed next to the pepper or ketchup. Finally, when you put your straw into the lid on a pop, the triangle points should be pointed DOWN only! Don't you people know you could stab your eyes out with those pointy things otherwise!! LOL

Still doing plans. We start tomorrow! YIKES!! Oh, and you'd think I'd be better at timing this since my oldest started college TODAY!!

Sadly, it is a completely true story!! Every last bit of it. But, when you are embroiled in the situation, you don't stop to think about selling it because you can't sell a partially installed garage door opener, garage door, driveway, sidewalk, fence, steps, door, storm door, entry way, kitchen floor. It was a tidal wave of repairs! Glad I could supply a giggle for everyone! Keep you cookie....it scare me. I always hated reading that book, btw:001_smile:

Grandpa gave us a garage door opener for Christmas one year. It's a very thoughtful gift since we live almost into Canada and hopping out of the car to open the door is NOT fun six months of the year! LOL You need to know that the house in question was built in 1932 and was sold as a fixer-upper. When we called the guy to install the garage door opener, he said he easily could do it, but the garage door was so old that it would shred as soon as we used it. So, we called the garage door company and they said they could replace the door, but asked if we were going to replace the driveway since it was pathetic, the garage door would never be aligned properly. So, we called the concrete people for a new driveway. Certainly, they said, the driveway could be replaced and so could the sidewalks. Great, we replied. We'd like to move the sidewalk a bit so it could go through the fence gate. What fence gate, they asked! We'd need to put the fence in before they could pour the concrete. So, we had the fence installed and made the concrete people happier. BUT, the concrete people pointed out that the steps into the house were collapsing (and indeed they were....). They recommended that we get the steps replaced so that they could put the concrete right up to the steps. So, we called a mason to replace the steps. The mason pointed out that the threshold of the front door was completely rotted and that it should be replaced so the steps could be properly fitted. The carpenter we called said that the door and the doorframe were beyond repair and that it would be cheaper to replace the entire unit. So, we purchased a new front door. Which meant that we needed a new STORM door to protect the main door (and up here, yes, you NEED storm doors!). So, we ordered a storm door and retro fit it to the house (because an OLD house is NOT a standard fit for anything!). The door installer pointed out that the entryway tile was breaking up and that we have amazing mahogany hardwood under the tiles. So, we pulled up the tiles and called the floor refinisher. The floor refinisher said that he wouldn't do such a small job, but, if we added in the kitchen floor, he would do it. So, we pulled up the old, asbestos-laden vinyl in the floor to expose gorgeous maple hardwood. SO....we refinished the kitchen floor to get the entry floor refinished, to get the door installed, to get the storm door installed, to get the step installed, to get the concrete installed to get the fence installed, to get the driveway poured, to get a new garage door installed, to get the garage door opener installed. $10,000 for it all. We should have returned the gift!! The next year, the chimney fell off the house, necessitating a new roof and heating system and chimney. The next year we sold this Money Pit and gave up on historical (or hysterical) houses. I'll take your two tickets in a flash!!!!

Would you like to hear the story of how the garage door opener that we got as a Christmas gift ended up costing us $10,000? It would make you feel better about your tickets! LOL

I'm addicted to Castleville. Definitely play it through zynga.com so you don't have to add strangers to your friends list!

Creepy~ I'm glad you are speaking to your pastor tomorrow!! Be brave and object to this. It is wrong!! Sorry, son! You are staying home. (He'll thank you in about 5 years when he is old enough to understand the implications of what this guy is doing).

Totally visual except for faces! I recognize voices long before I remember the face.

Have you gotten the one where they ask you to hold for a very important message and give you a "wait time"??? Yeah, right!! I'm going to sit on hold for a sales call!! We cancelled our land line two weeks ago to save money. Oh, the joy of not having telemarketers. I told me dh that if he gave out his cell number and started getting sales calls again, he's have to get a new number and go through the hassle of changing it with family/friends. He's the one who always gives a real number to political parties. GRRRrrr!!!!

We live in the NORTH. We get snow and more snow and even more snow for five months. And......on the first day of snow, we abandon school and go outside and play. Go, make memories! Enjoy!

It is SO much fun to be disconnected from the ps system!!

Do you have to use a dehydrator machine or can you do it in an oven or something else. I'd like to try this (a little) before investing. THANK!