I will tuck that in my pocket in case I ever run into either. :) Our possums are just possums, too. My spell-check didn't even try to add the o.

I'm usually in bed at 9, asleep by 11. ( I keep falling asleep during the Mentalist :glare:) Tonight, I'm headig up at 8, but thats because I've been mudding drywall all day and New Tricks is on PBS. ;) I use my iPhone and the Nightstand Central app. It lets you set the snooze interval and I don't think it ever gives up.

I love Kiss My Face. (I love all of their products, just about... except their deodorant)

Oatstraw infusion is great for balancing hormones and flattening PMS a bit. It also makes your skin fantastic! No surprise, oatstraw is high in magnesium, which is not only relaxing but necessary for the maintenance of connective tissue.

Ooh, yeah. I get up at 4 on the days I work the front desk... 4 comes veeeeery early. :glare: Fortunately, I only work when my husband's home, so the school day proceeds as usual. And I get a nap at lunch time! This is brilliant! Brilliant!!! I am totally doing that from now on. The dawdling during breakfast - or worse, the dawdling BEFORE breakfast - sets the omphaloskeptic tone for the whole day! (I wasn't an early riser before the boys. It was a self-preservation move as I was - and still am - f.r.i.e.d by the time they go to bed.)

Ooooh, yeah. I'm right there with you.

Well, we selectively vaccinate inasmuch as we politely decline what I consider to be economic vaccines (chicken pox), or ones that need a whole generation on the market before I can form an opinion on them one way or another (HPV). Otherwise, we're on schedule, though have simply delayed a shot by a couple weeks here or there so as not to inundate a wee person with them. But selection / schedule is a highly personal thing. What we feel is appropriate for our lifestyle - husband is a paramedic, family travels all over the world, etc - doesn't apply to others with different exposure risks, health status, etc.

Ayuh. Variable cuteness here, too, depending who is most likely to make my head spin around on any given day.

That's our house, too, though I sometimes beat my husband downstairs and start the coffee and stoke the fire (weather dependent). We spend the time reading, planning / prepping the day, moving laundry along...

Yeah, I was under the impression all broadcast stations were required to conduct a test on a regular basis ("this is a test... Beeeeeeeeeeeeeee... This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system. In the event of an actual emergency..." I may have heard it once or twice. ;) ) the same way radio stations are required to give their call sign hourly or something. I would assume cable stations aren't required to test because it's normally used for local emergencies? So they're leveraging an alert system already in place for federal emergencies and extending it to national (i.e. cable) stations? The only odd thing is that they're all doing it at once.

I've seen the commercials on Ion for at least the past week. Interestingly, it is the station (we get OTA from MD, DC, and NoVA) that routinely uses the alert for weather emergencies. I don't think I have ever (in my lifetime) seen the alert system activated otherwise. The first few times it completely freaked me out. Now, I pay attention, but it's usually flash flood warning in Loudoun County or something else I don't need to act on.

Skullcap tincture is very helpful for pain and specifically muscle relaxation. I take my calcium supplement at night because it has magnesium and I figure why not capitalize on the muscle relaxing properties if I'm taking it anyway. ;)

I wouldn't print them. If that is the consequence to continuing unacceptable behaviour and they want to up the ante by not only continuing but being belligerent, the consequence stands and new ones are added.

I agree. Totally a personal choice. And each coffee behaves differently by brewing method, water, etc. I really like the dark roasts; they're more flavorful and less acidic. I can buy cheaper coffee using a French press or our percolator than a drip machine, based on the different natures of their processes... There's a learning curve based on what you're looking for in your cup.

Good thoughts for a smooooooooth labor and delivery!

Us too. The dark purple ones are probably not as dark as they were new, but they get bleached occasionally. (they're still eggplant colored, but not as deep) Otherwise, there are no obvious signs of wear. Compare those to lower end towels purchased between our wedding (in March 2000) and now, and there is obvious thinning of the cheaper ones.

Other: it depends on the gathering. When it's just us, we can carve at the table. In the past, when we would go to the in-laws' extended family gathering, the turkies were carved in the kitchen and platters were passed. There would have to be multiple points of carving at the table for everyone to eat at relatively the same time at a huge gathering like that.

I am also not allowed to use my cell phone in the (federally funded) library... Or in a courtroom, for that matter. One may not take photographs in many state and federal buildings (not just secure facilities). I find it difficult to believe anyone has a constitutionally protected right to view what has been determined (by SCOTUS) to be "adults only" in mixed-age public place. It's not a personal rights issue, it's an acceptable use issue. These are NOT personal computers on a private network in a private space. They are owned by the library, which is "owned" by the community. If I sharpie one of my books, it is my prerogative; if I sharpie a library book, I am defacing public property. Really, it just peeves me that there has to be such high level debate over what should be a common sense issue.

We have a LaZBoy chair and a half that won't die... does that count? I hate it. It's hideous. It has gouged my plaster walls. It's hideous... Did I mention I hate it?

I am thankful for a Sunday evening of contentment, listening to The Big Broadcast (old radio shows) on WAMU and cutting adorable paper boxes from The Toymaker for an advent garland for my tween.

We have gotten big packs with colored hanging loops from Ikea. They're not fluffy, though. (I rather like scratchy wash cloths. :D )

Yes. We teach our children that they may not get up from the table and wander around, nor may they excuse themselves and take their plate to the kitchen while still chewing... But context aside, why would walking and eating together be rude? I'm thinking of the many cultures of "street food", much of which is designed / packed to be eaten on the go.

I was just looking at these in Lowes last night. $14.99 - 30 per panel. They also have roller blinds of varying weight that can be cut to size. Home Depot has them as well.

I was not actually equating public school to feral children, but "letting go". I see a lot of kids who have been "let go". I've gotten some advanced s3x Ed from the elementary school kids walking past me house from the bus stop. I've watched others throw the belongings of an unfortunate "non-group" kid into the street and the path of a car, just plain beat on others... Others (in other counties) have contacted me after pulling their 2nd grader out of school when their kid has sustained ANOTHER (as in multiple occasions) concussion in the classrom. So, yeah, Lord of the Flies fits, rules and "zero-tolerance" policies or not. And, for what it's worth, our school system has policy for making sure the school replaces family in importance for the students.

I agree that appreciation of different art forms and aesthetics is very personal. My quibble is that I fail to see any relation to the event in many of them, eg the stripes, or the "you inspire me".