I have push notifications enabled on the TED app and I get emails with a talk of the day. The other feature I love on the app is their "Surprise Me" category. If you hit surprise me you can choose a category plus how much time you have to watch. Then, they recommend a talk for you. I use this feature frequently as it has suggested many, many interesting talks that I wouldn't have normally chosen. Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

I have a list of things that I want to work on in the coming year. They fall into 2 trackable categories (health & education) and 1 untrackable miscellaneous category. I'm using a goal tracker app to keep track of my progress. -Health- *Take vitamins daily *Meditate daily *Resume my gratitude box *Keep a food journal *Drink 8 glasses of water daily *Exercise -Education- *Watch a TED talk daily *Watch world news at least 3 times a week *Watch Jeopardy every morning *Use vocabulary builder and Word of the day apps daily *Read Economist and/or Economist Espresso daily *Read 45 min daily *Practice djembe or didgeridoo daily - Misc.- *Get CPR certified *Take a shooting course *Choose a place to volunteer regularly Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Usually, DH would go to a friend's house for a couple of hours while DS and I get Chinese takeout and watch movies. Then, around 11pm DH would come home and we would watch the fireworks and ball drop on tv. This year, DH wants us all to go to a friend's house (different friend) for a bonfire. Uggh, I do NOT want to go. The very idea actually makes me kind of angry. DH knows I can't stand these people and that I've never liked the idea of going out for New Year's anyway. Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Audible Overdrive Calendar Economist/Espresso TED Vocabulary Builder Word of the Day Pinterest Twitter (for news) Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

We didn't have any disappointing gifts yesterday. Everything was really fantastic and well-received. Today we got the gifts from my dad and step-mom in the mail and they were underwhelming as usual. They sent DH and I a gift card for Applebees. Meh, neither of us like Applebees and I honestly can't even get a real meal there being that I'm vegan and they are AWFUL about customizing food. We'll either use it for apps and dessert or something or we'll just regift it to someone who enjoys their food. They sent ds16 a Game Stop giftcard, which isn't terrible. Gaming isn't really his thing, but he'll play occasionally with friends. But then they sent an iTunes gift card, too. We have told them the last THREE years that ds doesn't have any Apple products, so an iTunes gift card is useless to him. I've suggested a Visa, Amazon, or even Wal-Mart gift card in the past, but they just don't care enough to pay attention. They've always been too busy with my step-siblings and their kids needs to really be concerned with me or my brother or either of our kids. It's not really a big deal and we've come to expect it every year. DS takes it in stride and we usually just end up regifting the cards to people who can use them. Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

DS16's favorite gifts were his car and mandolin from us and banjo from the grandparents. My favorite gifts were the larger electric blanket and the digeridoos. I'm really not sure what DH's favorite gift was. He enjoyed everything, but he's not terribly expressive about anything in particular. Literally everything was fantastic this year. Not a single dud in the bunch.

Literally every single thing was a hit this year. DS16's favorite gift was his car, but he also got and loved a mandolin, banjo, looper pedal, and recording microphone. Even all of the little gifts were a big hit this year. Not a dud in the bunch.

DS16 got a car this morning. I hung the keys on the tree for him to find. He was ecstatic. I don't think any of us will forget this morning anytime soon. AS far as funny goes, a few weeks ago I was trying to add a didgeridoo to my Amazon wishlist when I accidentally ordered it instead. I quickly canceled the order and told DH about it. He misunderstood and went out and bought this travel didgeridoo as a joke only to come home and realize that a real full-size one was actually on my list. He went to return the travel one but lost the receipt. He then went ahead and ordered the full-size one that was on my list, too. It showed up in the mail a few days later... but then the next day ANOTHER ONE showed up. Amazon had shipped 2 full-size ones but only charged for one. They don't want the other one back, so I am now the proud owner of THREE didgeridoos. Even funnier is that I really only wanted to try the dang thing to see if it would help with my sleep apnea.

We got him an Oscar Schmidt OM10E in Tobacco Sunburst. It's relatively entry level since he hasn't played before. He plays guitar, bass, ukulele, drums, and a little dulcimer though. He wanted to give the mandoline and banjo a try next. We got him the mandoline and the in-laws got him a banjo.

Oooh. I love my Shakti Mat. I have the green one and the neck roll and they're fantastic. Glad your recipients liked them.

Our only is a teen and he LOVES Christmas. That child adores everything about the season from the hot chocolate, to baking cookies, wrapping gifts, the special meals, watching our favorite Christmas movies, and, of course, the anticipation of the gifts. And then after the day ends, he looks forward to going home with the grandparents for a week of relaxation. This year will likely be one of the most memorable as he is getting a car. He has absolutely no idea he's getting it either. In fact, until yesterday WE didn't even know we were getting it. I can't wait to see his face.

I love Pacific Beauty! I have the Mango Grapefruit roll on perfume and it smells heavenly. I've tried several other testers at the natural food store and I dint think there's a single one I don't like. Also, DS is getting a Mandoline this year. I think he's going to love it.

I am getting *a few beautiful hair barrettes made out of gourds *a regular didgeridoo *a small travel didgeridoo *a couple of coloring books *a few bottles of essential oils *twin size electric blanket *a DVD *3 moleskine notebooks *a rice pack (I love these things and burn through at least one every year) *chapstick *fuzzy socks *and a beautiful Labyrinth necklace made from disarmed and discarded nuclear weaponry by From War to Peace

Same here, RootAnn. DS16 is a junior this year. I hate to say it, but I no longer care. He's a good kid with lots of potential, but he's absent-minded and doesn't really try all that hard. I've told him how it is and he still hasn't improved. He just sort of expects tho float through life and have things fall in his lap. Of course, it doesn't really help that this has worked out pretty well for him thus far in non-school pursuits. I think some kids simply have to learn it for themselves. Unless he comes to me, I give up. It's his life.

Albeto, A "come to Jesus" talk doesn't necessarily involve a literal religious component. It's a euphemism for a frank discussion typically ending in an ultimatum. Some people would refer to it as an intervention of sorts.

This happened at my house. DH and DS were at a party and I've been sick for weeks, so I just plopped a bowl on the porch and put on a movie for myself. I could hear the kids and know exactly who did it. They are a family of about 6 or 7 bratty boys spanning every age group who wreak havoc wherever they go. As soon as I heard them dump the bucket I turned on the light so they knew I heard them and opened the door. They ran away through my flower beds and one of them lost their mask in the escape. I can't stand selfish punks who don't think about anyone but themselves.

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Having the same issue. Almost every thread pops up as a threat and shuts it down so that I'm unable to access anything. It is happening on the main board and many groups as well.

My son is really liking the Brave Writer classes right now. He has done Write at Home before and they were pretty simple and formulaic. He likes the interaction of the Brave Writer classes better.

That was my thought, too.

Below is DS16s original thesis statement that he turned in to Write at Home for his research paper. This is the "corrected" version sent back from the writing coach with the comment: "Fine start on your thesis. You've given this careful thought. Let's tighten as marked so we can make the sentence more manageable. It's a looong one." So essentially, what this coach is asking for is: I was always taught that if the sentence is grammatically correct, makes sense, and adequately states the purpose of your paper, then the length is irrelevant. What are your thoughts? To DS and I, it seems silly that the coach would really only comment on the length of the sentence and butcher it in order to simply make it shorter instead of taking note of important concepts like grammar and structure.

How cool! I would love to see some of her creations. Maybe have her study forensic science as one of her science credits and keep the artistic affects listed as a hobby. It seems that colleges like to see extended work and advancement in an area of interest. Maybe if there are no opportunities nearby for her, she could create all of her own pieces for a haunted house attraction. Let her set it up, advertise, and run it. Any admission charged goes back into her hobby and/or for a bigger and better display next year.

We're using Contemporary World History by Duiker this year. DS16 looked through it and it's really excited.

Mine naturally wakes up on his own at 8:30. However, he'll be starting a job in 2 weeks where he'll have to be up at 5:15am. Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk

My head is spinning! I always find English to be the hardest class to plan and carry out because there are so many choices and so many moving parts. DS16 is going into 11th grade this year and I feel like I need to teach all the things by next year and I'm getting completely overwhelmed. Here is what I know: We are focusing on 20th and 21st century history and literature this year at DS16s request. He is doing an Irish history/literature self-study He doesn't love English, but he doesn't hate it either He did IEW at a co-op in 8th grade and hated the formulaic nature of it. I felt that he got worse rather than better as a writer with all the stuff he was forced to shove into every paragraph. In 9th grade we did some Oak Meadow and Write at Home. Oak Meadow was too easy (before they switched to the new lit.) and he enjoyed the research paper class from Write at Home. In 10th grade he did a full year Write at Home course, which included The Lively Art of Writing. It was lite, the assignments were pretty cheesy, and it wasn't terribly challenging. The only thing he liked was the research paper component again. I would consider him to be on the low end of average in writing, but with very good comprehension He needs some focused instruction on literary analysis and meatier essay writing than he has gotten in the past I have a few curriculum options at home, specifically the Excellence in Writing Literary Analysis course, The Elegant Essay, and Movies as Literature. I'm also considering some Bravewriter classes: Boomerang Book Club - Just a couple of months to work on literary analysis with a group. Fall 2015 Movie Club - I think DS would LOVE this because this year is an Irish theme and will fit in well with his Irish history/lit. self-study. Am I right that this will also teach literary analysis? Expository Essay - To shore up some essay writing skills and give him a different format and perhaps some more structured feedback from Write at Home. Are the Boomerang Book Club and Movie Club sufficient to teach literary analysis? It doesn't seem like they ever do any kind of structured writing in either of the classes. Is that correct? And then we will likely add in the 6 week research paper class from Write at Home because this is the one WaH class that he has enjoyed. Literature, for the most part, we will simply read, discuss, and write. I'm also planning one or two of the Killgallon books. Sentence Composing for High School and Grammar for High School are the two I've purchased. I have a history of planning entirely too much for English. What are your thoughts on this? Does this seem like too much? Too piece meal? Am I neglecting anything important? If you have done any of these classes before, do they appear to be a good fit for our needs? :willy_nilly: :willy_nilly: :willy_nilly: