We belong to a CSA, so get our organic produce shares from May through October. I also purchase additional items from either our CSA farmer or others when I pick up my share, then put the produce up for wither use. There are other perks to our membership, like the 100+ lbs of tomatoes I just put up, that were free at the end of season gleaning party at the farm. We also support friends who own an orchard by picking summer fruit there and putting it up. We buy our milk directly from the family who owns the cows. It comes in repurposed gallon glass pickle jars, which I wash and return. I make my own yogurt and sour cream and am learning to make cheese. (In the meantime, cheese is purchased from a local source.) We buy our meat from a local(ish) butcher. We are also planning on splitting a beef from a local farm with another family, once I ascertain (by visiting the farm) that the animals are humanely raised. We order our pantry / personal / cleaning items through a natural foods buying club once a month. I make a great deal of what we eat (bread, stock, etc) from scratch and scrap. I would estimate that about 80% of our diet is certified organic, 15% is not certified, but I know the growers personally, and the other 5% is the rare occasion when we eat out or I order something ghastly like non-organic chocolate chips from the buying club. :001_huh: Rough estimate is our grocery (with cleaners, personal care, supplements, etc) is around $600/month for a family of five. We buy very limited "stuff". Clothing is often passed around our group of friends, I buy some used, and, sometimes, I buy something new, but with explicit knowledge of where it comes from. We never use disposable when we can use something that is reusable, and I try to repurpose something we already have before considering buying something, whether used or new. In my opinion, consuming is much like parenting: we do the best we can, but always look for ways to improve. Every change we make toward our ideal is a good one. :001_smile:

The NEA resolution against homeschooling has been in their annual minutes (or whatever) since the 1980s. Prior to that, the US Supreme Court has upheld parental rights to educate their own children for at least 6 decades. They're posturing. They have been posturing and they will continue to posture. That does not mean a law will be enacted. (meanwhile, look at me! I went to public school and can conjugate a verb that I think is dodgy, at best.) Also, the IAFF has backed Obama. I don't see him pushing through a federal ban on amateur-operated fire extinguishers or garden hoses in the name of job security for firefighters out of gratitude for their backing. I have read the education plan as it appears currently on his website. It addresses public education and improvements thereto. It does not address, in any way, private schools, charter schools or home school. In our country, public education is the norm. It makes sense that a legislator would feel strongly about reforming public education. Or, you know, homeschoolers can just quietly take over the world. ;)

YAY!!! :drool5: There's some drool for ya. Sorry, no eye-crusty smilie.

My third grader has about 3 1/2 hours blocked out. In reality, she could spend about 2 1/2 hours and sometimes spends 4 1/2 because she's feeling particularly slow that day. Her schedule includes piano practice, but not independent reading. The almost 4-year-olds spend about 30 minutes (in circle time with me) and then demand to "do school" for probably another 30-60 minutes of time at the table and white board.

Easy. You pour a bunch of salt (I usually measure with the jars I will be using to package) into a bowl and mix in oil (I use olive or sweet almond) until it's about the consistency of wet sand. Add a few drops of essential oils and package it up. It can be used for either purpose. You can also skip the oil and just add a couple drops of essential oil and dried herbs for bath salts. I like a mixture of coarse and fine sea salts. A "bath tea" made from dried herbs and flowers, with a reusable muslin tea bag, is nice, too.

:lurk5: I love finding fabulous new ideas for homemade gifts. I plan to give "spa" baskets to extended family, with a hand knit washcloth, homemade bath salts / shower scrub, maybe a candle or handmade soap.

Interesting. Our ink jet has a little message that tells us when one of the cartridges is getting low - never thought to replace them, though, until it affected the printing. Our laser has nothing but a single light that flashes red or green. I don't think it's ever tried to tell us anything regarding the toner being low... but, then, I don't speak blinking light. Neither refuses to print, though.

Um, are you in "full screen" mode? Try Alt-V and see if that activates the View menu you can't see. If Full Screen is checked, uncheck it.

Dress in all pink, walk around with a chair on her head. Gum.

Ok, what about randomly placed quotes? "Please" no bare feet. "No shirt" "No shoes" No service. Please turn off light when leaving the rest room. "Thank you" What, are these euphemisms I'm just too uncool to get?

I wonder why? Does PMS give us stuffy noses? Or are they trying to lull us to sleep to get rid of the associated personality disorder? :glare: Huh. Weird.

Yeah, I can imagine. I've never had anything fly out of the Dyson's "stick" (I am pretty sure that's the technical term). Ever. Good grief. I can't even imagine. (and the bottom dump cannister rocks for not having to stand in a cloud of dander and hair when you empty it)

Nope, there is nothing in there that will hurt you. Generally, the "rule" is culinary herbs are safe. (I actually can't think of an exception to that rule, outside of an allergy) If you throw a couple (decaf) black tea bags in the evening brew and add some milk (or, as I do, replace the water with vanilla almond breeze) you have essentially cooked chai. The ginger in the evening will aid digestion and cinnamon is good for treating heartburn, so there could be hidden benefit to that brew, too.

Benadryl isn't addictive. On the other hand, it can dry out your mucous membranes, especially in the winter. It makes me hyper and wiiiiiiiiide awake. Fun times. Melatonin and valerian aren't habit forming, either, and both can be used longterm. Valerian, in combination with lemon balm, has been studied to work as well for sleep as prescription medications in the Valium family (benzodiazepines). In combination with hops or St. John's wort, it has been found to be more helpful than Xanax for anxiety. Rather than getting to the end of the day and popping something, though, I would recommend a wind-down period, with either a valerian & lemon balm tea or adding some tincture of both to your favorite herbal tea, and soothing music, meditation, low lights. (I am, right now, enjoying a cup of a Tazo Calm and Yogi Bedtime mix, because I'm too lazy to go out and pick the lemon balm) (In the interest of full disclosure, I am studying to be an herbalist. I think allopathic medicine is great, just prefer to nourish our bodies to stave off problems rather than whip out the "big guns" at the first sign of trouble.)

SYMPTOM The menu bar with the "File", "Edit", "Insert", etc. is not displayed. Restarting the applications or rebooting, makes no difference. CAUSE The normal.dot file has been corrupted or changed in some way. SOLUTION Search for the file Normal.dot. From the Start menu select either the Find or Search function. Search all your local drives for the Normal.dot file. [*]Delete any Normal.dot not found in the Office folder. [*]Rename the Normal.dot file found in the Office folder. (example: normal.old) [*]Restart Word. NOTE: Recreating this file will cause all personal settings to be lost. (My personal vote is ditch Microsoft and download Open Office. It's free, you get more "toys" - like "powerpoint" and "access" programs - and it's open source.)

The prices here (MD) are 2.50 - 6.00. It depends on what stage the beef is weighed. On hoof weight prices tend to be lower than finished weight prices.

There are lots of things to make (or assemble) ahead and stash in the refrigerator / freezer. Lasagna or manicotti (regular noodles, not boiled). Spanikopita (tray freeze it before baking, pop it in ziplock bags, throw it in the oven when you need it). Cheese tortellini and pesto - toss in some fresh mozzarella balls and tomatoes, fresh spinach, whatever - it's great hot or cold. Salads can be made ahead, in the salad bowl, with the dressing on the bottom so all you have to do is toss. It doesn't get soggy. Make rice for the fridge, prep veggies, then turn it into fried rice in 15 minutes or less when you get home. I do fish (tilapia or something similar) on a bed of fresh spinach, in parchment paper. Once you assemble it, you can park it in the fridge. I top it with halved cherry tomatoes that have been macerating in olive oil and lemon (salt and pepper to taste). That can be left, covered, on the counter for hours. Throw it in a hot oven (450) for 10-15 minutes, depending on how thick the fish is. If you prep the veggies, you can make curry (Thai) in minutes to top already cooked rice. There are crock pot recipes for it, as well.

Nag champa. We even burn it in the car.

Yup, or valerian. Neither should drug you or dry you out. Also, please, I beg you, if you're going to take a "pm" to sleep, just take plain old Benadryl. The acetaminophen does nothing to help you sleep and can be very hard on your organs. The 'pm' component is diphenhydramine (Benadryl) - just take that.

A high protein breakfast will help stabilize blood sugar, especially with whole grains. When my blood sugar plummets, I usually grab a Lara bar (raw food, fruits & nuts). Lots of water is good. My SIL loves Metromint peppermint water; evidently, it's supposed to be very cooling because of the peppermint. No sugar. Are you saying he is diabetic, or you're just wondering?

There is this program. I don't think Mattie makes any assumptions. I haven't started yet, but now I'm writing down ideas from your lists!;)

My will probably look the same... unless there's a coup. :scared:

Yup, another white girl here. I don't even have a regional accent. Talk about bland! I'm going to have to grow a third arm or color my hair pink or something. (of course, my family is French Canadian - quebecoise - so I may be growing a big, bushy mustache in a few years... that'll add interest.)

I think she just is repulsed by ma'am. Somebody else mentioned that it as a contracted form of "madame", which is French for Mrs. (or, ironically, "ma'am" as it is used), but it is actually a contracted form of "madam", not madame. Meanwhile, on my hit list: definately. As far as I can tell, this is the single most misspelled word in the English language. It is so common, I actually looked it up, wondering if it was an alternate spelling. Tip of the day: it's not. Do the wavy red lines mean nothing to people?

Dh and I each lost about 40 lbs a few years ago just by controlling portions and extraneous calories. My favorite meals and snacks came from Cooking Light's recipe database. Lots of great muffins, scones, biscotti for breakfast or snack. We eat almost no packaged food, though dh liked the Slim Fast snack bars to take work with him. (Not the meal bars, the ones that come in candy bar type flavors) I kept track of calories on FitDay.com and found that there were evenings that I had to go have another snack and a glass of milk to hit 1200 calories, and I had been eating all day!