We watched the eclipse too. It was a lovely evening with little cloud cover. Plus the eclipse occurred at the most reasonable hour of 8 pm. In our apartment complex, several neighbors set out with us. It was fun. Just wish we have made it into a party. In case the anyone hasn't noticed, the world is still here! No end-time events occurred that I noticed.

In this area, both voter registration and driver's license lists are used to call potential jurors. I believe parents with children under 12 can ask for an exemption; or at least that's the way it was a few years ago. As a single mom, I requested that exemption several times. Now that my girls are teens, no exemptions for me even if it means losing money from my part-time jobs. The last time I was empaneled, it was for a child abuse case where the child died. When the defense attorney questioned me, I burst into tears and was excused. I know I could not have been impartial. I wouldn't mind serving for a short civil trial, but no longer know if I'm capable of being fair during a criminal proceeding; my reaction was so emotional.

Thanks for posting the information!

There was a cancellation at the school of dentistry this afternoon. It was a strange appointment. The professor spent about 5 minutes examining my daughter. He said she has a very slight underbite and recommended we talk with the oral surgeon at the school. According to this man, braces would be effective about 40% of the time. We're going to have a screening appointment next month with the oral surgeon, but I doubt we'll go forward with surgery. If for no other reason than I can't afford it even at a teaching facility. CHIP will not cover any of the expense. Not to mention the risks of surgery in her case outweighing the benefits. Honestly, I feeling confused and overwhelmed but will trudge on.

It's frustrating isn't it! I hope you get clear answers. I'm in a sharp learning curve and trying to assmilate all the information being thrown at me; at least that's how it feels.

We have another appointment, but at the local dental school soon. Since this school trained the ortho we saw today, I imagine the recommendation will be similar. This is really hard, harder than I thought it would be. Does anybody else agonize over these kinds of decisions?

My 15 yo daughter had her first appointment with an orthodontist today. She has a mild underbite. The orthodontist is recommending braces but with the extraction of 4 permanent teeth. Apparently, he feels this is the only way other than jaw surgery to correct her bite reliably. We're going to get at least one more opinion, but I'm hesitate to allow 4 healthy teeth to be extracted. The most significant concern if the underbite is not corrected is wear of the front upper and bottom teeth. Suggestions or advice would be very welcome.

Praying for him.

About an hour ago, I registered for the beta test with no problems using the code LEARNOUTLOUD that I had received from a free resource list.. I did have to use a credit card to "prove" I'm a real person. There's a limited number of videos, but there are some I wanted to watch and couldn't afford. All's good.

Praying for you!

Good advice! At least the initial consultations are free. I really don't want her to have surgery unless there's no other reasonable alternative. I'm also thinking of trying to find an orthodontist in a smaller town nearby. Maybe the costs would be less. At least as homeschoolers, we have a bit more flexiblity for appointments. I work, but usually I'm scheduled for weekends and evenings.

Our dentist told me that my 15 yo now needs braces because of changes he's seeing. He also mentioned briefly the possibility of jaw surgery. Last year, he felt that braces were not required unless she wanted to correct a couple of slightly crooked front teeth or at least that's what I thought we said. My budget is tight and I'm trying to find the most economical way since braces are expensive. We don't have any type of dental insurance. Although my daughter has health insurance through Texas CHIP, braces are not covered. The charity, Smiles Change Lives, has a minimum waiting time of 24 months in our area, not too encouraging. She has an appointment with an orthodontist early in September for a consultation. I'm also thinking of applying for treatment at a local dental college, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. It would be cheaper but would require a lot of flexibility on my part for appointments and the work would be done by students. I would appreciate any thoughts and suggestions on work done by dental students or how to afford braces in general.

We don't have any specific rules either, but we've also not had any problems.

I work part-time at a recreation center as well as some other jobs as they become available during the month. I've been at the rec. center for 4 years. During that time, we've had 3 supervisors and one acting supervisor. Now our current supervisor is being transfered. So by the 24th of this month, we will have a 5th supervisor if you include the one that was here for only a few months. It is so frustrating to continually change supervisors. Plus, the person that is being transfered to our center is inflexible with employees especially about scheduling issues. As a part-time employee, I get NO benefits other than a paycheck. Offsetting the lack of benefits has been the flexibility to request certain days off as needed. Losing that benefit is huge to me! Also, I was told today that a 4th part-time employee will be hired cutting into the hours the current 3 part-timers share. I know I have to look for more work but I so don't want to start a job search. It's exhausting. I'm an older single mom and it's getting harder and harder to find decent jobs. I would appreciate prayers for my job search and for my attitude. Lately, I'm been stressed about other issues and don't need anymore stress in my life.

You have been very fortunate indeed! My daughter is a dual credit student at our local CC. We've not found a single used text that included a valid online access code.

Based on what you've written, it seems to me that watching movies on Putlocker is participating in the probable theft of the movies. I thought it sounded too good to be true. We'll wait for movies to be shown at dollar theaters or are available on DVDs. Thanks so much.

Today is the first time I've heard about this website with "free" movies and no subscription fee. Is this site legal since there are new movies available such as Inside Out and San Andreas? Wouldn't showing these movies be a copyright infringement? We would love to watch newly released movies at no charge, but not if it means doing something wrong. Apparently, Putlocker has been around a long time.

I can't think of a reason why it would be an issue. I would list it however you like.

Our local community college says 0.5 for most 3 hour college classes and 1.0 for most classes with a lab.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I'm so sorry, but I'm so glad you're in a healthy place in your life now!

Contact made!

Well, we live in Texas so hot weather is the norm but I agree, A/C is wonderful! I'm also getting "softer" as I get older. There's no way I can tolerate the heat now as well as I could when I was a kid. Drink a lot of non-caffeinated fluids. Take one of those hand-held fans that spray water.

My DD recently finished his precalculus class. She enjoyed the class and felt the lessons were well done. Each lesson is short making it easy to go back to review specific topics.

I'm going to add that my DD has been taking online French classes through the Potter's School and loves them. She and I both thought the CC class would be equally as good. We were shocked at the low quality of the online class compared to the live classes on campus.

My daughter took her first CC French class as a dual credit student online. She ended with a very high grade, but the class was a miserable experience. The class consisted of working through a software program on her own. It was also not self-paced. The instructor was available to answer questions via email, but really didn't do anything to help. If she had been new to French, she would have had a very difficult time. The live classes are much much better.