I do so enjoy the part where local governments need to put forth effort to make people understand just how important recycling is... :001_huh: I agree with LibertyH's assessment. I often wonder if people hear themselves when they speak (or type or whatever). Eta: I guess I should be glad for the hazmat disposal days... Here, the closest recycling is 90odd miles away and you have to be a resident of the county. (luckily, my ILs are, so we keep them in a box for when we go over there) Recycling them at hazmat collection days is explicitly prohibited. Eata: this is one of the reasons we are switching to LEDs, one $30-40 bulb at a time. Sigh.

You don't have to take off a day between training, though it is customary to alternate the focus of muscle groups, i.e. Upper body one day, lower body the next. That doesn't mean you don't use those muscles at all, just that they get secondary use. I've not seen a single running program that tells you to only work every other day. Depending on the level, you either run or cross-train every day. (so far as I can tell, the "rest" between runs has more to do with shoe recovery) Interval training is used in cardio (running, elliptical, etc) and strength training. Try looking for HIIT (high intensity interval training), tabata, plyometrics, etc and see where that leads you in your goals.

I completely get the skeeve factor. It's one thing to blog the highlights (and/or low places) of your life. The boring minutiae is, well, boring. And, yes, from those snippets, the blogger's life looks much different through a reader's eyes. Good or bad, we all make a picture from the information we have. Creating a work of fiction and pretending it's your real life is dishonest and, if you gain from it, fraudulent. It makes me crazy to see people rewarded for dishonesty. Here's a question: how do you know they've been approached by a magazine? I mean, if the events of the blog are fictional...

There is a 12 year gap between my eldest daughter (22) and my next daughter (10), and a 15 year span between #1 and #3-4. The whole birth order / age cohort thing is really screwed up in my house. The oldest is essentially an only, the second is (theoretically) an oldest, and the "middle" and "baby" are twins. Take THAT! developmental psychologists!

It's the evil gnomes. They steal things (and are particularly fond of stealing one of a pair) and hide them until you a) throw out the mate or b) replace the single. It doesn't matter how long you wait/search/pine, they can hold out longer. They probably posted about it on their Facebook page, but blocked you so you are the only one not in on the joke. (and can I just say how much larger and clearer you all look on the PC screen than my iphone? WOW!)

And, yes, that, too. Particularly the bolded parts. Maybe I'm a closet Australian. Maybe it's the Basque via Quebec heritage and I just come from a long line of disgruntled people looking to secede. I just don't get the rah-rah, go us, look at how awesome we are thing.

Yes, plus, with the funk flossed out, the bristles/toothpaste can get in there.

I just turned 40 and the only redness on my face is sunburn.... But now I'm going to be paranoid. :001_huh:

Yes, that.

I share that opinion. People around here seem completely taken aback when you smile and say hello... Which I assume is the proper thing to do when you encounter another person. And I'm a Yankee. We are not the warm fuzzy type.

That is the weird twist thing my husband has done every.single.time. he has loaded the car for a trip for the past 11 years. I had to fly him back from FL before our wedding and he was so wasted on pain killers, I wounded sometimes if we're actually married. Get thee to a chiropractor. Post haste. It's the one hong that has been consistently helpful when he does that. (other than wobbling around in pain and twisted like a pretzel for weeks, of course)

As far as I can tell, 9 is probably the earliest they start to observe the "destruction is not an activity" rule. And that's only because you say your 9yo can act normal. No advice, but we have an open ended date when I will no longer have to tell them (multiple times a day) they may not jump on the furniture. Until then, the dog is allowed on the couch, the children sit on the floor, and my curtain rods hang at a 45 degree angle. :glare:

I do yogurt or kefir, frozen berries, and chia seeds, usually. Sometimes, it's almond milk, berries & chia. We keep chia seeds around because they're lower maintenance than flax (no grinding, shelf stable, better nutritional profile). If you let it sit, the chia makes whatever drink nice and thick.

As the mother of boys over 5, I would simply have the staff sweep the locker room for random naked men, then escort my boys in to help with changing. (if dads are attending the lesson, I would give them a heads-up) I have no qualms about taking over a mens room, particularly when I am unlikely to be inconveniencing anyone.

I forced a Friday co-op for probably four of the six years we were involved, including a few that I was on the board. It was a good experience for the kids. They had some neat classes, we all met some wonderful (and less wonderful) people. It was great when we were first starting out, with a K-er and two toddlers. That said... We made the decision, after the first session last fall, to not return. I am also an introvert; it was physically and mentally exhausting to spend the morning with that many people. And really, with all we wanted to accomplish, losing an entire day each week, plus the energy it took for me to plan and prepare classes, was just not working. Our friends are still friends. We don't see them once a week, but we get tougether when it works in our schedules and I get to enjoy their company rather than trying to shove snippets of conversation in. Co-ops and people are all different, of course, but that was my experience.

That's what my eldest daughter did (in PS); half of her junior year classes were at the local CC, she didn't go to high school at all her senior year. I will have no problem graduating my kids whenever they're ready to move on to college. That seems less arbitrary than the class check off system employed by the public schools, IMO.

No, it only addresses bleeding. There's no hormonal component or support.

Um, yes, so did I.

:grouphug: I've been there. It's not easy. And, frankly, I don't know whether it was more traumatic to lose a friend or to discover I'd acted like a complete doormat to a demanding, hostile person.

I've found the same to be true. I have no accent and it tends to throw people into thinking I have some sort of very strong one. Leads to all sorts of interesting inquiries.

When we were considering our options in vaccinations, we faced the same philosophical problem; our only opt-out option (as pertains to institutional schooling) is for religious purposes which do not apply to us. We also feel uncomfortable making such a claim, though I know plenty of people who have exercised that. That said, I think the subject needs to be considered with lifestyle in mind. For our lifestyle, it made sense to vaccinate. With outbreaks of whooping cough, it would make sense (to me) to vaccinate or re-vaccinate a teen, barring any absolute contraindications. Just my two cents on one of those parenting decisions that takes a lot of reflection.

Canada or the UK, France(in a fantasy world where we would have work visas wherever we landed). I'm kind of dreadful with languages, so that would be a big contributor. I have nothing against other countries, just wouldn't be able to get along as well with linguistic challenges. And I know embarrassingly little about daily life in Australia and New Zealand.

Ooh! Thanks for sharing!

Yes. TVguide.com I think it's under the What's On header.

Rice topped with cream of chicken soup. With salted cucumbers on the side. I love plain pintos with rice and cheese, though. I could heat that and be happy any time.