annabanana1992
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Posts posted by annabanana1992
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I use http://www.betterbidding.com to bid on PL. We used it for London two years ago and stayed at the Grosvenor House, JW Marriot for $65 + tax. WE LOVE PL!
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US Swimming.....If you want yourkid to do this say good bye to:
sleep....weekend meet warm-ups are at 7am....most meets are an hour away.
Normal bedtime routines for your younger kids (practice ends at 8...not home until 9.
Dinner as a family....every.night.of . the. week.
Family game night
church (meets on Sunday am's)
Wednesday evening Bible study
weekends
The cost:
US swim fee plus tuition for the year (at least 1500)
suits 60-200 bucks depending on the meet and suit
caps/ goggles...replaced pretty often...caps are about 10....goggles about 20
warm ups/ flip flops (don't ask!)
meet kitty (3-5 bucks every time your kid goes off the block in competition)
pool fees (cost to get into meets to see your own kid swim...can be up to 10 per session at at least 3 sessions per weekend)
hotel costs for meets further away than 2 hours drive
meals... or food for meet. meet sessions are at least 4 hours long...kids get hungry.
gasoline...30 minutes each way to pool....meets are all 1-2 hour drives away at least x 5-7 times each week.
We did this for 8 years....this year we are taking a break from swimming (all but 1 child who is just swimming a couple of nights a week to stay in some kind of shape...but definitely not in competition mode.
2 of my olders aged out and are now US Swim coaches and swim instructors in college which is how they earn their $$. BUT, no college NCAA money for them. Next ds wants D- 2 or 3...so he needs good grades ...not the fastest swim times plus.....
We, after all these years, are all burnt out!
Faithe
yep...
DH decided to track ALL swimming expenses this year on a separate credit card so we could see the real cost beyond the training fees paid to the team (like what Faithe detailed above). As it turns out, the actual expenses were double the training fees. Yikes!
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DS13 was thinking about starting a blog on teen health/nutrition/exercise. I wasn't sure if teens even read blogs, much less write them. So what say the hive? To blog or not to blog?
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LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my LG French Door....
We only have one drawer for the freezer and haven't missed the other.
I like the ice/water dispenser in the door... no problems with it....
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I sprinkle with granola and add fresh berries - yum!
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Dh works for Garmin if you have some specific questions...
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Thanks so much for the thought-provoking responses - you are wonderfully helpful, as always!
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I grew up in a home with 2 working professional parents who are pretty consumed with saving/not spending. Without going into the gory details, my memories of growing up in that environment are not pleasant, to say the least. Because of my experiences as a child, I am somewhat reluctant to go down the same path. DH and I have followed some of the smart money strategies (no debt other than mortgage, emergency savings, saving for retirement, etc.), but I am really struggling to go beyond that because of the impact on my kids. Am I alone in this struggle? Do any of the money books address this issue?
Thanks!
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We just tried the exercise on p.56-57. I modified it to just the first part with iambic pentameter. You would have thought I asked them to go single-handedly build the Taj Mahal.... perhaps we will stick to just learning the concepts and enjoying the poems for now....
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Each year I do DH's office party (50+ attending) and a Christmas Open House (80-120 attend) and have found keeping it simple is the way to go....messy foods - bad idea; sloppy foods - bad idea; easily spilled foods - bad idea; foods that stain - bad idea.
And honestly, before you plan the menu, you need to take an inventory of what you have to serve with.....chaffing dishes? platters? servers? utensils? toothpicks? paper inserts on platters? etc.
What are you going to use for people attending to eat their food - the more complicated the foods, the more complicated your plates, bowls, utensils, napkins, etc. need to be.
How are you going set things up to keep the flow of people moving and not congregating in one area? Where will your foods go? Where will desserts go? Where will beverages go? Will you have alcohol? How will you control access so minors can't make drinks?
Do you have garbage cans? Where will you set them up?
I don't know where you live, but if you're in a cold climate - do you have enough room if all these people show up inside?
For our open house this year I'm doing cold hors d'Å“uvres:
Artisan Cheese Platter - on an extra-large platter (36" x 24") six cheeses (identified with ceramic signs, each about 1/2 pound) partially cut, with appropriate cheese knives in place to continue cutting as needed. Leaf lettuce under the cheese and washed red-seedless grapes to adorn platter. On each side of the platter, a medium bowl filled with assorted crackers. (set out on dining room table)
Vegetable Crudite - I set out two of these, one in the family room, one on the dining room table....use a round crudite platter for each, with six outer bowls and one inner for dip....veggies include: cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, celery, baby carrots, broccoli & cauliflower florets, and button mushrooms. Dip is a spicy ranch.
Whole Smoked Salmon - set out on a large, rectangular platter, with small bowls that contain cream cheese, chopped red onions, capers, lemons and a small platter with toast points (set out on dining room table)
Proscuitto Wrapped Melon - bite size cuts of canteloupe and honeydew melon, wrapped with thinly sliced proscuitto ham, held with a toothpick, plated on large serving platters (one in family room, one by bar area)
Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes - these are time consuming to make, but a huge hit....cored cherry tomatoes, stuffed with a small piece of fresh basil and a piece of mozzarella that was soaked overnight in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Service on a large lipped platter with toothpicks. (set out in family room area)
Chips & Dip #1 - Multi-colored corn tortilla chips, in a large bowl.....smaller bowl with a spinch-queso dip (set out in rec room)
Chips & Dip #2 - Blue Corn tortilla chips, in a large bowl....smaller bowl with a spicy guacamole dip (set out in family room)
Finger Sandwiches - two extra-large platters of finger sandwiches on a variety of bread types (all small in size - a bite or two)....ham, turkey, roast beef, etc. and a small platter of PBJ for kids. Condiments set near platters to finish sandwiches before moving along.
None of the above items require more than small paper plates and cocktail napkins, so clean up is very easy.....no utensils other than what you set out for picking up the foods and/or condiments. Our house is pretty large, so we have a lot of rooms to work with and space for folks to spread out and mingle...it's taken me a few years to get it just right, but if you can keep it simple - simple goes a long way!
All of the above can also be plated in advance, stacked in your refrigerator and taken out and set up before you go to the services - all you need to do is cover each with plastic wrap so when you arrive back, you simply remove the plastic wrap....the only thing above I'd keep in the refrigerator until you get back is the salmon - but have it's place ready with the sides that go with it (if you do one).
Something like the above takes about 2-3 hours to prep time - I don't buy pre-cut vegetables due to the cost when making this much.....so that factors in to how much time it takes me to prep. Same with the cheese - I buy it freshly cut, off the wheel/block and will pre-slice/cut part of it to get the platter going, then leave out the various knives for each cheese type so guests can continue - if I pass by during the open house, I'll do some cutting if needed too.
Good luck - it's a lot of people, but can be done!
I really think a menu similar to yours will work for us too. I have ample serving platters, utensils, etc. and multiple rooms to set up food. We have a full basement for kiddos... We will not be serving alcohol so we eliminate the issues with minors.
Would you be willing to share your recipes for your dips, etc. Also what do you serve for beverages and desserts?
Thanks!
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Hargrave turned my dad and brother around... they used to offer post-graduate as well. Also take a look at Fork Union...
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Wow - I think we need a WTM catering business!
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We are hosting a post-Christmas-Eve-service gathering at our house for our church (probably about 100 people). After sending out the invitations, I figured that I should definitely think about the menu :lol:.
The service is from 6:00-7:00pm so I am not sure that people would have had time to have much for dinner before it. I am guessing they will arrive hungry!
Sooo... what do you think would make for a good (yet affordable) menu?
Thanks!
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Just got home from taking DS10 and DD9 - 3 thumbs up! We all loved it!
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We are in KC too, but I never thought of taking the train to Chicago... Would you mind sharing what you have discovered about train travel from here to there? What will you be using for transportation once you get there?
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I use this formula for my Alg II class:
20% class participation (quizzes and HW)
30% chapter tests
50% exams
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My son and I were both on it for about a month before I figured out that it caused anxiety in me and rage in him...
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Here's how we're doing it:
I seem to have collected a lot of poetry books that I haven't really used much up until now.
Would you mine sharing what other books you are discovering to be helpful in finding poems?
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For those of you doing a Poem of the Day...
How is it going? Where are you finding your poems? I want to get started as we have just started using Building Poems, but I am not sure where to start looking. I admit to feeling a bit daunted by the task!
Thanks!
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Go Garmin....
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Welcome to the world of teenage boys on hormones.... it does get better....
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Thank you for your help! DS13 has desired to pursue medicine since he was 9, although he is free to change his mind, of course!
We recently moved to the mid-west so we know nothing about nearby schools. His desire is to go back east because that is what he knows...
So at this point, we are trying to find pre-med schools, I suppose....
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Do you have any tips on how to go about developing a short list for colleges? I don't have a clue as to where to begin....
Thanks!
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That's so funny... I taught pre-calc using Larson and Foerester and thought the explanations in Larson were so much easier to understand.... :001_smile::001_smile:
Kids who like MCT
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
DS11 and DD9 love MCT. You can see what else we use below. My son is a math/science type who loves MCT. I would not say either have been passionate language arts fans in the past, but maybe they will be now!