Pull! :lol: Actually, that would be fitting for us. :001_huh: We're not required to have a name. I've been trying to come up with one for the past 6 years but everything has sounded contrived to me. Sigh. I need a mission statement.

Me, too. I grew up with "bars" but they were specific - date bars, walnut squares (which are evidently different than bars?), blondies, etc. Nobody was bringing random bars anywhere.

I was thinking the same. I generally don't answer things like that; they've already come to a <ill-informed> conclusion and it's not worth the aggravation to try to modify their perceptions.

When I say t-shirt, I mean this.

Well, that's mostly my cold (other than freaky deep winter) outerwear. I have a few cute blazers and a jean jacket that I wear when it cools off. Unless I'm wearing a skirt... then it's usually a wrap or cardigan of some sort. There is something disconcertingly mismatched suity feeling about a skirt with a non-matching blazer. (I do not do gradations of "business attire": you either wear a suit or you do not. And men's dress shirts are, I'm sorry, white. Period. And they may not wear a tie if they have no sleeves... Yes, I may be a bit psycho about this.)

Aw, thanks! It's the daily uniform of most of my social circle. Oddly, we all have very different styles, but that's the base. I should clarify: scarves are knit. Worn when it's cold. (I'm a knitter, though, so I'm compiling quite a variety, as well as berets and slouchy hats). Other than those, sleeve length and tights are pretty much the only difference in my seasonal wardrobe (though I do pile on the wool in the house when it's cold). And, yeah, most of my wardrobe is black. It's not fear of color (my house is like a Crayola box), it's that I spill coffee on myself pretty routinely.

Um, usually jeans or skirts and v-neck t-shirts. My favorite are from Old Navy and Gap. I find a neutral (black, charcoal, brown) t-shirt can be worn with holey jeans and harness boots, toile skirts from Talbot's or anything in between. Different jewelry, scarves and blazers change the feel of them. It's been my dress code for pretty much 20 years. Just the accessories change... sloooooooooowly, in my world.

I am consistently disappointed with the ratio of trash to literature in the book stores (local, private, as well as B&N) and I'm a liberal, non-censoring mom. (I do push off for age appropriateness) I just bought this Readers Guide and can't say enough about it. Well worth the nominal fee, even if it's just a jumping off point.

"Mother, the board's gone feral." :lol: That's what happens when our benevolent Overmind only has 685 posts. Lord of the Flies! (see how I brought that right back around to education? See?) Really, you can't leave Bill and Mrs Mungo in charge. They're the king and queen of the bad kids' table. :D

I dunno. Aime's post (133) has me laughing so hard I'm crying.

For me, it's more about being "unremarkable". If I'm in jammies or cruddy clothes all day, hair askew, no makeup, I feel "undone". In my mind, there shouldn't be an outstanding (as in out of place) feature of my appearance. I feel, in many ways, that the "me" comes through much more with clothes/hair/makeup/accessories commensurate with what I'm doing, not just from me, but because when I have a unified appearance, my appearance can be overlooked in favor of interacting with my person, if that makes sense. My appearance should fade into the background. For instance: When I worked in an IT consulting job, with mostly "inside the beltway" clients, I wore suits to work. In my mind, a suit also requires pantyhose, heels (if a skirt), and makeup, including lipstick. I would not carry my giant, bright red hobo bag. It would be out of place. So would bare legs. When I am working now with personal training clients or in membership services, I am usually wearing athletic shorts or pants and a staff t-shirt. My hair is pulled back. I wear eyeliner and mascara. Lipstick would be as out of place as hose and heels. Again, the "appearance" should fade into the background of the business at hand. When I went to Home Depot for lumber on Saturday, I wore paint-covered scrubs and a Ross Perot campaign t-shirt, ca. 1992. I had been priming stair risers before we left. It's the Home Depot. "Productively dirty" is the dress code. On regular, non-work, not-rebuilding-the-house days, my occupation is "professional homemaker and homeschooler". The uniform is more casual than suits, but never involves jammies or being unkempt. (I favor the full apron for baking as well, but go with a silver "tribal bead" necklace made by an artist friend instead of pearls) When I look in the mirror and my eyes look squinty or non-existent, it doesn't set an alert, productive tone for the day, whether I'm leaving the house or not. And if I'm looking dull and piqued, a little lipstick (a neutral red) goes a long way to lend a little color. Dead looking with no eyes isn't a particularly inspiring look for me, nor is a Bill the Cat out of sorts sort of look.

I am a Laminator. And a supply (school and office) junkie. There could very well be a correlation there. Hmmmmm.

At this point, I will point out that my friends range in age from nearly 20 years younger (one went to HS with my oldest daughter) to 20-odd years older. The peer-herd is not that important, and loses even more appeal when the peers are engaged in delinquent behaviour. All the more reason to re-evaluate the need for them. (As an adult, I've had to do this, too. Maybe 12 is a good age to start learning the skill.) Sigh. It is hard, though.

So far as I can tell, the sole purpose for a parent in the life of a 12 year old girl is to ruin it. So, good job! You're already ahead for the week. One of the top reasons we homeschool is that our family and friend-families remain the major influence group in our children's lives, particularly through the angst-filled adolescent years. When you're trying to define yourself as a person, other confused (or just plain feral) kids are not the best sounding boards or influence into adult character. Really, if you're just a wee bit concerned about a 12 y.o. taking a pregnancy test, you are a better woman than I. My head would fly around and the relationship would end there, uncharitable as that sounds.

We weren't that pleased with the performance of the Masonite board. There has been a lot of permanent clouding and some spots where writing was stay. A friend ofone took a picture frame with glass and just pit white paper in it. I'm planning to do that with a largish frame when we revamp our playroom into a school room this fall.

Gray body hairs (my friend was just wondering what on earth she was going to do with gray eyebrow hairs she found), granny specs and a snaggely "come hither" smile? Who could resist THAT?

Yup. My oldest daughter's orthodontist took one look at my formerly straight, now sort of crooked lower front teeth and said "that's age". I was... 30? at the time. This year (40), I got to start wearing granny specs to read.

Me too! I also use them to write on the (stainless) fridge. It's become the giant whiteboard in the kitchen.

I feel your pain. We had an across the street neighbor 10 years ago who would lay out in the front yard, wearing a flesh colored bikini. It was disturbing. Annapolis has Speedo Guy. For the past 15-20 years, in all weather, he's out running in a speedo. He has a Facebook page. OP, by our societal norms, socializing in public wearing only a towel is weird. It's not you. (eta: though, based on this and other threads, I have consciously chosen to wear paint covered scrubs and a Ross Perot campaign t-shirt, ca. 1992, instead of my nightgown to prime lumber at 7 am. heeheehee)

I didn't. (I usually do) I'm not sure I washed my face and can't remember brushing my teeth... And I think there are spiders in my hair. :glare: I DID, however, drink coffee until 7:30 before I started demolishing the decking on our front porch while I waited for my husband to get home and lend the brute force for ripping out rotten joists and putting in new ones. :D Now, to shower the spiders out and scrub the spray foam off my leg. Egads.

:iagree: The vast majority of my co-workers that teach group-ex classes expect that people will leave the class if they need to. And they do. The only concern I've ever heard is when someone leaves abruptly - in he middle of a segment, for instance - and looks unwell. But I would definitely offer feedback to the Program Director (or Wellness Director). Classes are offered based on numbers and they want a consistently positive experience. To that end, they can either work with the sub so the class remains fairly level challenge-wise, or find another sub.

That's what we ended up doing last year. Between the commitments (i.e. co-op, outside lessons) and biological imperatives (eating, sleeping), the thing that was falling through the cracks was schooling. :glare: We finally opened our eyes while on vacation last fall and realized education was our top priority and we needed to acknowledge that in the way we were approaching activities. Not to suggest anyone else is not doing that, just that we had to sit down and intentionally vet each activity. In the end we came to the conclusion that we had been doing a lot of them because "we had always done them" not because they were enhancing our education.

My skinny 6 year olds are in SafeGo soft back boosters. (you need tether for them) . They still use the harness system unless we're only driving in town. Based on my experience with both, I think these are more comfortable than the rigid high-back boosters. And we can slightly recline their seats on long trips so their heads don't pitch forward over their straps when they fall asleep. Eta: it's nice to see that other parents of "seat legal" kids continue to use carseats until they are actually outgrown. We have a couple friends who do, as well, but mostly the people I know are taking their kids out of them long before they can properly use a belt, often years before it's even legal.

Me too. I can't think of a situation where I would send a card and feel the need to be so formal as "Mr and Mrs". If it was something like a sympathy card for the family of a co-worker, it would likely be "Husband 'and family'". (My coworkers don't seem to pass away, but if they did I would obviously use my name "and family") I kept my name. It is and endless source of amusement when friends try to refer to us in the collective. :) It does throw signing "the ___ Family" out as an option, though.

That. Was. BRILLIANT! So glad to know I'm not the only one with days like that. (mostly in August and February)