Oh my word, I thought I was the only one who did that! Well, until we stacked them and I started standing on it to reach the dryer controls. I love mine (LG) after 9 years of use, including three years of cloth diapered twins. No smell, but I leave the door open and do wipe out the gasket crevices now and then (and I'm a lousy housekeeper so when I say "now and then" we're talking semi-annually). The only disconcerting thing I've found is that, once in a blue moon, the door will start leaking. And it will leak because a single hair (mine) is laying over the gasket and out the bottom of the door. It's a small drip, but it freaks me out every.time. Until I remember The Hair and find it. Nobody's ever climbed into it, but it would be completely obvious if they did, and it has a child lock (no idea how it works or what it's meant to accomplish, just that it's there)

I think we must be seeing different threads. ;)

We watched the DVD. I hesitate to call it a movie or documentary because it was really more of an infomercial in the old-school MLM, selling seminars on how to get rich quickly and easily. Lots of method user testimonials about how they attracted wealth. When the credits rolled, my husband and I just sat there, feeling dirty for having watched it. :ack2: (Edited because I have not, in fact, become incoherent. Autocorrect has)

New quote for the fridge!

Old school bandits with new school technology. Unfortunate match, there.

Oh my. I'm glad everyone is ok and they have video of the guys.

Is that a euphemism? teA, organizatioN... So hard to keep up.

You are a naughty, naughty woman, madam! (Yes, I am totally enabling my children's inexplicable love of jello with this)

I certainly wasn't raised in an atmosphere of externally imposed modesty - we all would strip down to panties and swim in a lake or river when we happened upon one unplanned - but my childhood friends and extended family members all reached a point in adolescence where we naturally became more conscious of our bodies, and our comfort levels in "exposure" changed. The (I guess in liberal, 1970s circles) "she's going through a 'modest' phase" <eyeroll, wink> period. I dress much the way Jenna described as what she feels is modest for her. The difference - and I think it's the essence of the whole irritation with the modesty threads - is that "modesty" never, ever crosses my mind. Never. Colors, fabrics, fit, and context all come into play, but never whether my clothing would be considered modest or not. I once had a vagrant aggressively stop me on the street in front of a theater to tell me I have nice toes. I was wearing an above the knee, spaghetti strap dress at the time. Not once did it make me reconsider wearing strappy sandals. I've had men leer at me in a fire department uniform, which is not the most figure flattering attire and certainly keeps everything tucked and covered. There was also a vagrant who would stand on the median on NY Ave and scream complete gibberish at people while they sat in traffic, leaning into your car if you had the window or top down. I'm pretty sure he wasn't undressing any of us with his eyes, just crazy. Odd people do odd things. I try not to read into what I think their foundational motivations are. I find the threads irksome because of their sentiment: I need a bathing suit, but no, not THOSE standard, appropriate for active beach fun ones because I am not a ho like the rest of the world. Or: *I* am so far above those of you who obviously are seeking attention in your suits, I will be wearing a full-on track suit to our pool party. Because, you know what? Bathing suits are culturally appropriate at the beach and poolside, and there is a very wide range of suits that prevent spillage and mask "flaws" even. You are most definitely attracting attention in your track suit, and you know it. The difference is that you are drawing attention to your righteousness. Self-righteous isn't flattering (or modest) on anyone.

That's great news, Laura. So happy for your family!

We traded our Suburban for an Odyssey in 2005. It's much more comfortable and gets much better gas mileage. And, quite frankly, after a string of absolutely horrible GM vehicles, including the Suburban, we will never own another.

I've nursed my young all over, without hesitation or cover. And you know what? So have my conservative Christian friends. And we all dress in what we want, each according to her own taste and the context at hand. Perhaps it is because they are mature in their faith that they don't worry about trivial, superficial matters.

I asked. He said, no, not generally speaking. It's context dependent.

I use mason jars, too. Quarts for beans, dried fruit, grains. Half gallons for larger quantity things like flours. Squat little 4 oz jars for spices. I label them with a sharpie. It goes through the dishwasher fine, but rubbing alcohol takes it right off.

I was up at 4:45 this morning for the second day of a lacrosse tournament a little over an hour away (warm up was at 7:15, and you can never be sure when the beach traffic is going to start). Unless it's well over 2 hours away, playing exceedingly late or exceedingly early, we come home.

Gatsby... CGI... Why do these not go together in my mind? :D

Me! Me! Though I really never used it except to test IP updates. In the last century. :lol:

My thoughts, exactly.

This is me, though it wasn't my husband's schedule that switched me, it was sleep deprivation from having twins and being completely fried by the time evening hit. Now that they're almost 9, I still enjoy the quiet morning hours to plan the day, fold laundry, etc. before the whirlwind of activity starts. If I need a nap after lunch, I set the alarm so I don't sleep too long. Then I'm not up all night.

Yup. I'm a rule follower, with the exception of speeding on highways. I do not speed in towns, especially in neighborhoods, but on the highway I'm usually quite a bit over. However, I am also moving with the flow of traffic, so I'm observing the rule about not creating a hazard. (Which I have seen pulled over, too) True fact: TurboTax pisses me off because it rejects entering the interest earned on our savings account for being too little to bother the IRS with.

I do, too, though that seems to be the cultural norm here. Generally it falls out as: adults they don't know well are Mr/Mrs Last Name, friends' parents or coaches are Mr/Miss/Coach First Name, and adult friends and my coworkers (for whatever reason, probably because it's the Y and we're a first-name staff with members of all ages) are just First Name.

Are you hanging around with me at work, Jean? :D Yep, we have warm pool and cool pool, too. We have *gasp* designated times for free swim, lessons, swim team practices, aqua fitness and "tranquility hour" (adult swim). And you best believe that, if you and yours have not cleared the decks by noon on the dot, those little old ladies in their flowered bathing caps will grow FANGS and come after you. I'm not sure what "cold climate" has to do with it. We grew up swimming in spring fed lakes and rivers, in Maine. Our grownups dragged us out when we started turning blue. Our indoor pool decks are so hot (even the cool pool) that you break into a sweat when you walk in from the air conditioning. Nobody is shivering. (and children aren't allowed in the saunas or steam rooms, either). So, yeah, these are rules. And rules do not have to be in place only for health and safety purposes; sometimes, they're just enforced courtesy. We enforce the "no-one under 18 in the adult locker room" one, too. The "why am I discriminated against because I have kids" thing just doesn't fly. We have facilities for all ages, and private family changing rooms. The adults want to change and bathe child-free, and they have the right to do so every bit as much as women have the right to a women-only locker room and men to a men-only one.

Maple sausage. :ack2: I don't like lingering maple syrup smell anyway (though I like maple syrup) but with the meat smell? Oy! I don't like the smell of bourbon, either. No negative associations, just don't like the smell of it.

Me, too. Super-competitive sports dads bent on "training" and "bulking up" their 8 year olds are drawn to our free weight area like moths to a flame during the football pre-season.