The only thing I can report that is close to this is spending my Grandma's last days with her 2 years ago. She woke up out of a very coma-like state and began pointing to the ceiling. After days of not speaking, she said, "I know, I know, I just want to spend a little more time with my family first." She was pointing to different spots and her eyes were lighting up as if she recognized someone she hadn't seen for so long. 2 days later she died in her sleep. Goose bumps. And very, very comforting. She loved the Lord.

Stir fry brown rice with some eggs and add cooked veggies.

I get similar sounding emails - about 30 per day! Drives me nuts, and I don't know how to block them. Do these scammers really have success? They sound so phony.

We ruled out kennel cough by treated her for that first. Then we ruled out valley fever by a lab test. Vet said he "didn't have any other advice." Took her to another vet, did 6-7 xrays which showed infection - he thought it probably started out as an allergy that progressed. We loaded her with antibiotics, cough suppressant, and some other things, I can't remember. I'm just trying to figure out what might have brought it back on, and the only thing I could think of was swimming and the trash. We have a doggie door in our laundry room, so when we leave she can be cool in the laundry room or go outside to wee or water herself. It's our bad when we forget. Sometimes she does her garbage raiding in the middle of the night and we wake up to the aftermath. She's such a good dog in most respects. Maybe she has a weakness and this is going to be chronic. In which case, we cannot afford her on my income.

It might be on the expensive side. I leave that to dh, so hopefully he wouldn't suggest it unless he'd looked into it. I'll definitely ask, though!

We cannot catch a break these days. Everything is going out on us: cars, house, dh's job, kids' health issues, and the dog. It. just. doesn't. stop. We've spent over $1000 in labwork, xrays, meds for this cough. Last round of meds (4 different ones) stopped the cough for about 2 months. Now it is BACK :confused: I'm the main breadwinner right now and as much as I love the dog, the thought of spending any more money is hard. Everytime we start to stash away a small amount in our emergency fund (intented for the humans of this family) the dog gets it. I'm so frustrated. The only thing I can think of is she's been swimming with the kids lately. And, about once every week or two someone forgets to close off the laundry door to the house while we're gone and she gets into the trash and has a big binge, eating through every piece of plastic or foil remnant :001_huh: I'm almost ready to say good bye to the dog but the kids would be devastated. I'm speaking from a state of pure exhaustion, not because I'm a cold mother or person. Any other thoughts on this cough? The two vets we've been to are simply cleaning us out.

We found a 2008 for $15,000 only 10K miles on it. Looks decent from the pictures, but wanted to see if anyone has one or knows much about it? Thanks! Love the hive.

I forgot all about the 20% BBB coupons. Thanks!

Giiirlllll! When two polar opposite families come together, three days is plenty of togetherness. A week is really pushing it. I can relate to what your sil is going through. I had three babies who didn't sleep a wink at night and cried all the time. There are many things that can cause a first-time mom to go into overwhelm mode. Take the hint (i.e. tickets) that they need some space and enjoy the free park admission. Make some good memories out of this trip. If it were me, I'd distance my family so that we weren't contributing to the emotional overwhelm (unintentionally, of course!). Those post-pregnancy-decline-of-progesterone hormones can be pretty miserable. I'd get as far away as you can, having been one of those women :D. You sound like a very caring, loving sil who wants to do the right thing. (You wanna come visit me?) Giving them space is clearly what they need right now, even though it wasn't what your dh had envisioned for this ever so well-intentioned trip.

There is so much debate on this, it's hard to know what is the truth. For example: http://www.prisonplanet.com/archives/peak_oil/index.htm

But we hear a lot about going green these days. In your opinion, are they heading in the right direction?

What a fascinating family dynamic :grouphug: There is probably not much you can say in terms of a one-liner to defend your lifestyle. They either appreciate it or they don't. In some respects, living simply as you are can eventually be very appealing to some who are over-achievers from a worldly view (I am a convert). I say don't defend, just let your light shine. Take the boys outside when they are loud so they don't wake the baby and enjoy the outdoors. Everyone's happy. Don't allow jobs/money/status/weight/school to define EITHER of you. You are both human beings doing the best you can for your families based on your personal value systems. And yes, you'll get through it. In times like these (I have interesting in-laws), I try to focus on my personal actions and attitudes and just let the other party be. I always try to just be who I am and be accepting and forgiving. Maybe you can even turn it into a novel :001_smile:

Reg, I SO wish I understood all this better! Such a huge learning curve.

Hmmm. Mixed opinions :glare: Never considered a steamer, though. Maybe I should save the $150 (or more)...

Evvvvery week. I vacuum the tile, then I mop the tile. The mop to some extent pushes dirt around and doesn't completely pick it up. It is a looong process because I have a lot of tile. I thought I'd get one of those scrubber vacs that washes and sucks up the liquid once clean, eliminating the vacuuming step altogether. Would love to hear from anyone with experience with these, and which machine you use. Thanks!

As usual, I love the hive's ideas. Now, I just need to decide :D

Sometimes I take it to be sincere, regardless of the way it is worded. You can just get a sense when they truly want forgiveness for hurting you. Other times, it is a way to close the subject without admitting fault or even exploring your viewpoint. This is also usually pretty obvious. Either way, I've learned to let a lot of things go.

Background: My coworker's husband is a paint & design expert. I don't really know my coworker that well, but she is a gracious person and offered her dh's advice for our home. He's met with us twice and doesn't charge us. He's insisted on coming over this week to show us how to glaze our cabinets to give them a custom look. I feel uncomfortable not doing something for him for his time and expertice. He's done this for many of his dw's coworkers and seems to enjoy it, but still... I'm drawing such a blank! They are in their late 60's, one of the nicest people I've ever met, but I don't know that much more about their interests. Besides a generic gift like lots of movie tickets, do you have any other ideas that might be appreciated, and well utilized? TIA!

oops, sorry, posted in the wrong spot!

Craigslist? We are going to try to sell our house unconventionally to save $ in fees since we've lost $ on the house.

Sounds so good. Do you simmer (the first part) in water or something else?

We enjoyed the beans cooked in garlic, oregano & liquid smoke. Drained, threw in some tomatoes, onions, more spices, and put over brown rice with guacamole. Looking forward to trying a bunch of your recipe ideas in the future. I haven't ever gotten into the dried bean routine, but definitely will do it more often, as it is a healthy, cheap dinner. The kids' tastebuds will need some adjusting, though.

Off to google "kombu" :lol:

There are carbs in there, but where's the protein? ;)

Any good ideas or recipes? We love red onions, brown rice, salsa, veggies, chicken. :bigear: