praying here for safe travels and speedy and complete recovery! so glad you were able to be there! ann

i ended up calling the congressperson's office, and asking how to do it. they were very helpful. it was just a week before we travelled (last minute opportunity to travel with dh), and they did it all over phone and email. in the end, we missed going because the day we were to go, the whole city - and the white house tours - shut down due to snow. but we did tour the capitol building, etc, etc, and it was a wonderful learning experience. hth, ann

how very hard. we've lived different places. home changes. we change. we have figured out that we can't actually go "back home" because back home isn't there any more. we have decided that home is wherever we are together. i say that because its hard enough to decide what to do without using such emotionally laden words as "home" and "back". i always miss parts of places i have left. in some ways, to live in other cultures is to be both at home many places, and never at home. when i drink good alsacian wine, i am back home in alsace. when i feel the mist on my face, i am back home in england. when i eat mussels, i am back home in belgium. when i drink tea, i am back home in canada. when i read about the middle ages, i am right back home in spain. when i get in my car with my soda and lunch, i am back home in the usa. i belong all those places.... and none of them, all at once. fwiw, when i brought my teens to the usa, they suffered major culture shock due primarily to lack of safety and consequent lack of freedom/independence. i reread your post.... and life where you are sounds wonderful. only you and your family can choose, but if you were able to do an extended visit, that might make the decision for you.... (and my hunch is that it might well not be in the direction you are thinking...) fwiw, ann

how come? what is there that they wouldn't like? could you add a side of tortilla shells or bread or ??? for them to have with what you are having? my kids love meat; i can't imagine them not eating it..... eg. i make a lot of homemade soups. kids love it with fresh bread. depending on where i am at, i pass on the bread. good luck! ann

flylady helped me when nothing else has. like so many others, i don't do all of it, and not all of it her way.... but it gets me going, helps me up when i fall, etc, etc. why not just start? start her baby steps, and keep your help for a month while you get the basics under your belt. then you'll have a better idea of whether it will work or not. a site called large family logistics helped me figure out how to have the kids be part of whatever system i was using. again, i didn't do it all her way, but it got me thinking in new ways. good luck! ann

dh asks evolution or atheism? his favourite is the selfish gene, followed by the Greatest Show on Earth. the greatest show lays out all the evidence for evolution, whereas the selfish gene is just one part of it. jerry coyne's "why evolution is true" is excellent. we haven't read any of the atheism books... hth, ann

a diagnosis is a good thing :). sleep well tonight! hugs, ann

just came back from camping and saw this. it sounds like he is getting good care. i am so glad you are there. fwiw, one of my friends twenty years ago picked up some unknown thing in south africa. they finally figured it out by calling the largest hospital in the area she had been staying, and her doctor talked to one of theirs and they figured out what it was. those doctors were way more familiar with their local illnesses. it was a long shot, but she was down to 90 pounds and they were desperate. my experience of indian doctors is that they are very helpful. if nothing else, it would give you something to do while you wait... fwiw, ann

i'm in. let me know how. this is part of what i cherish about this board, and the people on it! blessings, ann

we love our mazda 5! (so we haven't looked for anything else ;) we make it bigger by having a trailer hitch that lets us put a tray behind for when we camp, etc. hth, ann

you sound pretty frustrated by it. maybe the solution lies with you, rather than with her? (i think i saw she is only 9?) fwiw, i would turn it into a lovely mother-daughter ritual, brushing hair together and braiding it before bed, maybe even outside. (there is a lovely for better, for worse cartoon of ellie brushing her hair outside in the wind; that's what started that ritual for us.) fast forward ten years, and now my dd braid MY hair outside, because they like to :). and i wouldn't trade it for the world. hth, ann http://catalog.fborfw.com/strips/91/FB063091.GIF

i'm sorry; its lousy! here's hoping something wonderful happens soon! hugs, ann

we stayed on the north shore of PEI for a week last summer. it was amazing! we did swim every day; the water was Not Warm, but not colder than New England water. the beach sand was lovely. we also did lots of anne of green gables stuff, ate lots of sea food, went to a lobster supper, etc, etc. for us, it was just about the perfect holiday! there are lots of cottages on the north shore to rent, at reasonable prices. hth, ann

sometimes it helps me to de-polarize an issue when trying to find a way forward. so if you do decide to speak with your kids about it, it may help to bring them in part way thru your journey, rather than where it led you. eg. i believe questioning is a big part of faith. God means for us to ask questions and make our faith our own rather than just believing what the church or our parents tell us to believe. so last year i started this study/soul searching/questioning, and it has really opened my eyes and my heart. i can't believe how close minded i had become. i am going to keep questioning and learning, and i want you to know that its okay for you to do that, too. actually, its pretty important for you to do that. we are each on our own spiritual journey, and we need to go where God leads. and then a few weeks later you might talk about looking for a new church that is more open to questioning. and then you might actually change churches. are you in the usa? many united church of christ congregations have both the openness and are routed in scripture, (although interpreted differently than in the baptist traditions), and that might make it an easier switch than to unitarian universalists. in australia, the uniting church of australia, and in canada the united church of canada are that way, too. but it might be an amazing experience to visit different denominations and faiths as part of the learning about religions. (when i teach confirmation classes, i take everyone to at least two different denominations of the christian faith, and to worship with people of at least two different faiths. i really don't think people should commit themselves to something without having seen variations on the theme). hth, ann ps. for one of my baptist friends, she came to a whole different understanding of God and church and scripture when she did a bible study at a theological college and learned how the bible came to be. she didn't go as far as becoming wiccan, but found a way to remain in the baptist church for a few years. (her husband was a baptist minister). she sounded very much like your first post part way thru her journey.

your dh wants you to go. you want to go. go. it isn't so much about fun over responsibility as it is about relationship over drudgery. its a sign that you both want time together, and an adventure. i can't imagine a better way to spend money (once food and housing is covered ;) some of the best money we have ever spent has been spent enriching our relationship with one another. my two cents worth. fwiw, ann

of course, i wrote out my list, and then promptly did something not on it ;) so i cleared the area beside the garage, swept it with a magnet for nails, then moved the car in there. there is shade there for most of the day, so this might keep the interior of the car under 100F most days! it will save gas, as right now i run the car until it is cool enough inside to put kids in it! i did take out the garbage and recycling as part of that process, so, some things done! ann

its tuesday. done: dishes rebooted and run laundry in bed made bathroom swished and swiped breakfast done garbage out to do: hang up laundry put away laundry reboot dishwasher violin lesson for one school for all music practice for all clean kitchen tidy main area tidy nook tidy dining room tidy front hall (what are the odds?) pets: feed chick feed chickens walk dog (in progress) feed cat, dog scoop litter release squirrels (on way to violin?) coffee with a friend during violin lesson :) lunch dinner sort out dance classes for summer + carpooling for same on your mark.... ann

we've had success with this, too, except we kept the duct tape on 24/7. we reapplied each night with liquid wart remover. way easier than any other way we've tried! ann

so sad about your things :(. so glad about the company responding so quickly and so well. one of the things that has helped me with loss of things that matter to my heart is ebay. i have replaced more than a few things that way, and for most of them it has helped. the "new to me" replacements still remind me of the people who used the things that broke/were lost, and it turns out that it is the idea of the person rather than whether they actually used that specific thing that matters to me. hugs, ann

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: i am glad everyone got to spend time together. i am so sorry for your loss. blessings, ann

the next load of dishes and laundry just took 45 minutes to get started, so its going to be a looooong day. ann

its a day without dance class!!! one of the first in months.... (performance tomorrow) so: laundry - one load put away, one load washed and hung up. to go: dance things for tomorrow dishes - one load put away. to go: loading bed - made :) tidying.... sigh.... trying to decide between 5-15 minutes in each room, or a concerted push in one or two rooms.... feed baby chick and adult chickens clean out car clean out purse homeschooling summer school music lessons music practice finish enrolling on line classes for next year reply to emails from teachers for next year. PT for me and maybe a trader joe's run time will tell ;) ann

i turned double nickles this year. oldest (30 something) sent me chocolates that she and i used to enjoy together when she was little. second oldest (mid twenties and working minimum wage, which means hand to mouth on a good month) texted me a picture of a dandelion, and then pictures of roses, hydrangea and more.... she used to pick me dandelions as a little girl, and then took pictures of flowers she wished she could send. next oldest (still at home) cleaned the kitchen and made me my favourite breakfast. youngest did the laundry, and helped her dear dad pick gifts :). it was a good day. hth, ann ps. underlying themes were things we had enjoyed together, and gifts of service. (my love language is words of affirmation, but we have all been working to expand our repetoire!)

i bribe myself with chocolate on a regular basis ;). anyone else who wants to bribe me with chocolate is encouraged to do so but not for my kids..... fwiw, ann

glad you can see someone! i have used dr. wahl's diet, "eating for your mitochondria", with great success. i do not have a diagnosis. however, supplements of potassium and magnesium and vitamin D dealt with the dizziness and lethargy. eating her diet, esp. kale every day, has helped the pain a lot. and when i am doing it all, there is no tingling or itching, either :) let us know how it turns out! ann eta: however, nothing i have done so far has helped the tendency for my hip to send me off in a random direction at random times. (getting out of the car is the most exciting ;) i am working with strengthening muscles to see if that makes a difference.