My FIL gave my DH tickets for the Tony Bennett concert as an early birthday gift. So, we actually get to have a date night tonight. With no kids! Woo hoo what a concept! Tomorrow we're going to a local jazz and blues festival with friends. Should be fun. Sunday morning is church! Yay! Jeannie

I had to laugh at your question. I have a very clear memory of my high school American Lit teacher saying that she thought reading Moby Dick should be considered punishment. Apparently, she really, really didn't like that book! LOL I have never read it, but I think I will. I really prefer English Lit but I have found that I like some of the "hard" books better now as an adult than I did as a teenager. For what it's worth, I have only ever put down three books in my entire life that I just couldn't endure any longer. Good luck! Jeannie

Well, The stylist who was cutting my hair two weeks ago asked me to please please please (her words) let my children watch tv so they wouldn't be weird like the home schooled children she knew way back when she was a kid. LOL I kinda sputtered a bit because I was really flabbergasted. My kids watch tv, they just don't get to watch anything they want. Or as much as they want. But I don't think that will be a defining factor in their impending weirdness. LOL J

I had to laugh at this post. It reminded me of a conversation I overheard a couple of years ago while having lunch at Chick-fil-A. Two teenage boys and a teenage girl were talking and the girl says "I know who Pink Floyd is. I like her new song!" The boys, of course, began to laugh hysterically. I just shook my head and muttered something unintelligible about teenagers...... Jeannie

"I've never kissed a chipmunk and I'm not too good at ping pong and I've never painted daisies on a big red rubber ball.....and I've never been to Boston in the fall!" Sorry. Couldn't help it. I read the post and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything jumped into my brain and took over. I have seriously got to go to bed. jeannie:patriot:

Every chance I get! Jeannie

Ah, the power of money. Congrats on getting them folded. I finally managed to fold the basket of white socks (five people who own nothing but white socks is a whole lotta socks) that has been in my bedroom for four days. The dog is not happy, since she decided it's a great place to take a nap. Thank goodness she doesn't shed. Jeannie

I have to agree with Jill, OK. It sounded to me like a lot of "I used to be on top and now how the mighty has fallen!" How many people have built fortunes and lost them in the blink of an eye? And the end kind of makes me think that a lot of people might regret what they've done in the battle to stay on top. Could be anything. Regret turning their backs on their roots, doing things they never thought they'd do, plastic surgery...the list goes on! LOL I love analyzing song lyrics. Reminds me of my tenth grade "Poetry Booklet." We had to compose a certain number of original poems, but also list several poems along with our own "interpretations." Who would've thought an Ultra Conservative Southern Baptist English teacher would be so impressed with Rush lyrics??? Of course, she didn't know they were lyrics to.....(lowers voice dramatically......) rock music! Oh well, the A plus was nice. Jeannie

I ordered R&S 7th grade science for this year and ended up returning it. To be honest (please don't beat me, R&S lovers), but it was just not very "sciency" for lack of a better "word." (Cuz "sciency" is a word, right?) Half of the material had already been covered the year before in my daughter's 6th grade health course. All of the agricultural stuff had been covered in her 6th grade social studies course. I had already picked up the ABEKA 7th grade science book at a used curriculum fair for $4 (written in) and I let my dd look at both and choose which one appealed to her the most. To my surprise, she really took her time and explored both books. She chose the ABEKA (even though the R&S book was PINK!!!!!) so we returned the R&S. BTW, I was very impressed at how quickly I received a refund. Just wanted to throw that in. I am using R&S 2nd grade science this year for my youngest and she seems to like it. It's not exactly what you would call challenging, but I supplement it with books from the library and information from an old science text that I picked up at Goodwill. I feel that this combination is working very well for her. She is really retaining the lessons. She is enjoying her R&S phonics, spelling, health, and penmanship, too. Jeannie

Sitting with my friends M and T on M's patio watching all the kids play. Some of the best times of my life! Jeannie

I remembered a few others we enjoy. LOL "Operation Petticoat" is great. A bit lighter than the other movies mentioned, but entertaining. Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in the same movie.....what's not to like? Also, "Father Goose" and "Mr. Roberts" are great! "The Enemy Below" is a really great movie, too. Can you tell we like old movies? Jeannie

My son started enjoying war movies about that age. His two favorites were "To Hell and Back" with Audie Murphy and "Battleground" with Ricardo Montalban, Van Johnson, and tons of other people whose names I can't remember. "Battleground" is black and white. The nice thing about these old ones is the language is not bad, nothing like the more recent war movies that come out. Jeannie

We are using 2nd grade R&S phonics right now. I really like it and my daughter is learning so much. She is a very phonetic speller and I have seen a great deal of improvement this year. We are not using the R&S reading, though. I am using PLL for grammar and we are just reading, reading, reading lots of books. I am using R&S spelling, too, and I love it. I've seen a big improvement in her spelling since we started it. She hated spelling workout, didn't learn anything, and complained every time I took it out. But she likes the R&S. I have only looked through the ABEKA 2nd grade stuff at a materials display, and I honestly didn't think it was for us. I knew if it was too "fussy" we'd end up not doing it consistently. This is our first full year home schooling. Jeannie

My husband and all his friends play WOW. It can be addicting, and my husband does occasionally play for several hours straight. But, he works, he does anything I ask him to do around the house, he's available for his children. Same with all his friends. These games can be addicting, but it's not the game, it's the people. There's no difference in this and those people who play online poker or bingo. Except maybe better graphics. LOL Seriously, people who get sucked into these games at the expense of their lives and families are people who are willing to be addicted. If it isn't WOW, it'll be something else. If it's not on the computer, they'll be at the casinos or bingo halls or betting on imaginary football teams. They want escapism. J

An off button! What a great idea! Or at the very least, a release valve so we can just get rid of all the gunk in one day and move on with our lives! I don't remember who mentioned B6, but it acts as a diuretic. Too much B6 is bad for you, even though it's water soluble. But it's pretty hard to overload. J

Strider, Just wanted to thank you for sharing that story. It really brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me so much of my nephew. I worry about him constantly. He is classic ADHD. His parents are trying to control it by diet right now, and it has helped, but not enough. They don't want to medicate him but I don't see that they'll have any choice. This child just cannot be still. He is constantly moving. As a baby, he was the lightest sleeper. I used to babysit him and it was really a nightmare. None of my children were like that so I was clueless and impatient. I have noticed when my nephew does something impulsive (which is often), he takes correction very well and is genuinely sorry for his action and truly wants to behave. He just has difficulty and needs a lot of help. I know how tempting it is to blame things on bad parenting but that's a cop out made by self-righteous people who don't experience it first hand and have no compassion for others. Prayers and good wishes for all parents out there struggling with challenging children! J

One of our guinea pigs keeps chewing stuff that causes her to cut the corner of her mouth. Then it gets a staph infection and looks horrible. But we just put a little ointment on it that we got from the vet and it clears right up. Otherwise, ours are very healthy. Guinea pigs are such charming pets! I love that little chirping sound they make, too! j

I keep remembering what my counselor told me about the ACT in high school (I took it in 1985). She told me that most kids only raise their score by maybe one point when they retake the test. She advised us to not waste money taking it over and over again trying to get a truly amazing score. My son took it 3 years ago and his counselor and teachers made it sound like you absolutely HAD to take it more than once. My son did not apply himself in high school so we took the 26 and ran with it. I didn't expect him to do that well. Happy surprise. Jeannie

No, I didn't really expect an answer, but thank you. I actually never did ask what they did. Of course, at the time, I was pretty hysterical. I just remember that the particular nurse who came in to find out what we wanted done was rather abrasive and short with us. I'm sure she was a fine nurse, but she showed zero sensitivity to our distress. I'm glad to know that the little ones are always treated with respect and dignity. That's a really comforting thought. J

It is my understanding that he went with his father when he was very young. I also seem to recall that he was there for something like thirty years. If that's true, it seems plausible to me that he could have done what he says he did. Who knows for sure? J

I'd never heard of them either until about six months ago when a friend showed them to me. Now I'm on the lookout for them. Of course, I'd rather buy them cheap if I can, so I have found any yet. LOL J

I always loved the "Doug and Wendy Whiner" skits, too. My son's favorite line is "If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP!" complete with the exaggerated rolling "r" sound. I think my all time favorite was John Lovitz doing the pathological liar. "My wife.......Morgan Fairchild......whom I've seen naked!" J

We also had a stillborn baby at 22 weeks. We were informed that in our state (LA), at 20 weeks, it's a baby and has to be buried. Of course, my thought was, what in the world do they do if it's 19 weeks? Throw it in the trash can? Sorry! What a horrible experience. I will say that it was at that time that I knew there is no way on earth I could ever even think of aborting a baby. That was 8 1/2 years ago and I still think of her every single day. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. J

Movie lines are very popular in our house. Forrest Gump is good for hours of entertainment. My son does a great Forrest Gump imitation. "That's a fine idea." "You ain't got no legs, Lt. Dan." "Life is like a box of chocolates......." "Mama said these are my magic shoes." "It's a household name." "And that's all I got to say about that." "Bubba was my best good friend." "I can run like the wind blows." The list is never-ending. "You look angry. Click your pen." Music and Lyrics My daughter loves the mashed potato line from While You Were Sleeping. Lots of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings quotes. My son also does a great Smeagol/Gollum. In high school, kids would pay him for that imitation. LOL "Even the wisest cannot tell." "Do or not do, there is no try." Where's your sister? "She has fallen into shadow." My daughters have an entire scene memorized from Flushed Away. Something about some mice who want a puppy. And now I have to endure references to "Harvey" since my DH and DD watched that movie the other day. J

Not a song lyric, but when Star Wars (the Phantom Menace) came out, my son was about ten or eleven. In the movie, Kwi Gon Jin (sp?) says to Obi Wan Kenobi "Don't center on your anxieties, Obi Wan." My son was quoting the movie one day and say "Down syndrome your anxieties, Obi Wan." We fell out. He really thought that was the line. Never mind that it didn't make any sense. One of my favorite song lyric misquotes: "Big old jet with a light on..." (Big old jet air liner)