I read non-fiction books a lot more than fiction. And the only fiction I read is children's and some YA (adult fiction is so...boring :tongue_smilie:). I enjoy reading about education/homeschooling, parenting, science, biographies, and religion/philosophy.

It sounds like one of the kids that was shot was seeing the ex-girlfriend of the shooter: http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=15834378 I wonder why the other kids were shot? Were they just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or maybe they were friends of the victim.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: So sorry you had to deal with that kind of doctor (I can definitely relate :glare:). I hope you're able to get a proper diagnosis and start feeling better very soon!

No advice, but I just wanted to say that we are in the same boat. We're expecting baby #4 in April and have NO idea what we are doing name-wise. We've bounced around a few boy names, but DH and I don't really agree on any. And we have zero ideas for girl names. (We don't know what we're having.) We might be naming this kid a few weeks after the birth. :lol:

:grouphug: I think you handled this perfectly. :iagree::iagree: You deserve the money! And she needs to learn that she can't just walk all over somebody to get what she wants.

But she wasn't charging a dying woman, she was charging her friend (and at a discount). Her friend was supposed to be the one giving the gift to the mom and the daughter, but the friend decided that the OP should be the one to bear the expenses of the gift. And she decided to inform the OP of this *after* the price was agreed upon and the work was complete.

:iagree: with all of this, especially the bolded. I don't think this lady deserves any more of the OP's time.

First of all, :grouphug::grouphug: Second of all, *don't* give her the CD!! She is trying to make your work seem worthless by saying she never really liked the photos. Don't believe her! If you really feel that bad about it *maybe* give it to the step-mom yourself, but I wouldn't give it to your friend, especially not after the conversation you had. No true friend (or even a decent acquaintance) would say the things she said to you. She sounds like a very bitter person. As for the business end of it...I'm so angry on your behalf. I've been self-employed for several years, and I know what it's like to get charity/discount/donation spiel again and again. "Oh, this is for a church/sick person/school, so we should get a discount or you should donate it." Why? Not to be insensitive, but if this were really true, funeral homes would have to give away *all* of their business. People just do not understand the time and money that is put in to being self employed, especially when you have a service business, and especially when your job is something that you enjoy. If you enjoy doing it, why not do it for free? Um, because you need to make a living! You have to pay for your equipment, taxes, utilities, etc, etc. You do not get a regular paycheck every week. Again, the fact that she is (just now) saying that she didn't like the photos leads me to believe that she is still trying to get you to give them to her for free, when she knew darn well from the beginning what your price was. If you give them to her for free, then it is *you* not *her* giving her SD and the SM a gift. *You* are the one that is out the money, time, not to mention stress. What has she done to contribute to this gift? She came up with the idea. That's it. More :grouphug:, and you are better off without this "friend."

That was really interesting! The guy made some great points about how the plots of the different movies relate to eachother. I'm definitely going to try the Machete order when youngest DD wants to watch them. I never was a big fan of the prequels, but Phantom Menace was definitely the worst! I loved the link to that YouTube video of the kids watching Episode IV...that was great! :lol:

:lol::lol::lol: Thanks for the laugh!

Wow. I've read a lot of anti-homeschooling articles, but like PP's have mentioned, this one especially hurts. I'm not sure why, exactly...I guess because it's extremely mean spirited, most of the comments are in agreement with the article. And they are no longer accepting comments...grrrr. How frustrating! When I read articles like this, I just don't understand why there is so much hostility toward homeschoolers. What the heck did we do??

Beautiful photos...she's so cute!!!

:lurk5:

Congratulations! :party:

Ooh, that reminds me of something else that happened at the wedding I mentioned earlier (the one with the money poem invitation and the paid bride dances). Later on during the reception, apparently they ran out of liquor. One of the groom's friends went around and tried to collect cash from all of the guests so they could go buy some more! I thought the 85 yr old lady at our table was going to pass out! She was so spitting mad that when DH started to reach for his wallet, she put her hand on his arm and said, "Don't you dare!" :lol: Needless to say, the guy didn't get any money from our table. :lol:

:iagree: and :lol: Once you give a gift it's up to the recipient what to do with it. If somebody wants their money to go to something specific, they should just buy that item for the couple instead. To go off on a tangent, in the past I've received a couple of free books from other homeschoolers on the condition that "You don't sell it." First of all, I was not going to sell it, and second of all, :001_huh:. What is an appropriate amount of time to keep the book? If my child outgrows it, is it ok to pass it along to someone else? When I give a gift, that's it, I don't care what you do with it. Hopefully you like it, but please don't tell me if you don't! :lol:

:iagree: And *technically* you're not supposed to bring gifts to the actual wedding, but send them after. Nobody does that anymore though.

I wouldnt say that it's as bad as asking for money/gifts, because it's obvious that your intentions are good. I think it's just that a lot of people enjoy giving gifts, so you might be taking away some of the guests' fun. Sometimes people plan a fun gift ahead of time if they know that there is an anniversary or retirement coming up...tickets to an event, or something handmade. Also, there is just that slight hint that someone may have received a gift in the past that they didn't like and they don't want to do that again.

:iagree: Exactly. Okay, I had to dig out my Miss Manners book to find this quote. She's actually responding to a groom-to-be whose in-laws offered to pay for a big wedding, and the groom wanted a delicate way to ask for cash instead. She responded: "It's not a very delicate idea, is it? If Miss Manners were to invite you to dinner, would you ask her to send you the grocery money instead and then pride yourself on having saved her the trouble of preparation?" Okay, found a funny one I just have to share. (Miss Manners really has a wicked sense of humor.) A wedding guest received an interesting thank you note from a bride and sent it in:"Dear friends: Thank you so much for the beautiful vase. Unfortunately, it was the seventh one we received, so we did want you to know--and we hope you won't mind that we exchanged it in order to complete our china pattern. We send our love to you, etc." Miss Manners responded: "It isn't the bride's frankness that worries Miss Manners--it's her brain. If one has seven vases, it should not be difficult to figure out how to exchange six of them, while letting the seventh represent, to each of the seven donors, the one that was kept. Miss Manners hopes that this couple is not planning to have children." :lol:

:iagree: I'm with Miss Manners on this one. I read her Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior before DH and I got married. A wedding invitation is not supposed to be a request for gifts, and to mention it on the invite itself is rude. To include a list of places where you're registered is also rude. So is saying "no gifts." And to request money instead of a gift--no matter what the couple is going to spend it on--is completely tacky. The wedding guest gets to decide whether or not they want to give a gift. It is *not* an obligation. I don't care how common it is nowadays. I received an invitation to a wedding last year that had one of those "money instead of gift" poems, *and* they did the awkward "guests pay to dance with the bride" deals. Talk about uncomfortable. The DJ had to keep asking people in the crowd to give money. Don't get me started on money trees. :lol: Honestly, we received some very special handmade gifts for our wedding, including a beautiful blanket we still use. We didn't register for those items, but we loved them just the same. I think it's sad to take away a guest's joy of giving a unique gift.

Wow! Our power bill alone is more than $150. :glare:

I thought it was just me! I'm glad people are posting alternative financial experts...I'm jotting down all of your suggestions. Now I just need a substitute for Dr Oz...that guy rubs me the wrong way too.:lol:

Congratulations!!! And :lol: at this thread. I'm definitely coming back to this when it comes time to lose this baby weight.

I have mine sorted loosely by the Dewey Decimal system. I don't put labels on the spines (though some of our books have them because they are ex-library books). I have a lot of the DDS memorized because I've worked in a library off and on for years. Unfortunately, my kids don't know the system well, so they always have to ask me where books are. Printing out a DDS poster is a great idea!

:iagree: I read the first Hunger Games and had no interest in reading the rest. I forced myself to finish the Twilight series so I'd be able to point out specifically why I hated it. :tongue_smilie: As far as the classics go...don't throw anything, but I couldn't make it through Little Women. I liked it as a kid, but it turns out I read an abridged version. DD was supposed to read it this year, and kept whining about it, so I told her I'd read it along with her. Yikes. It was *so* saccharin and bland...I couldn't do it. I checked out an audiobook version for us instead, and the combination of the lady narrator's babyish voice and the sugar-coated dialogue was too much. We shut it off and read Treasure Island instead. :D