Jessica, this is very much where I am, as well. I'm an "evidence based" kind of girl, and no evidence is not the same as evidence against, so I am most comfortable with a "don't know, doesn't affect my daily life" sort of agnosticism, with Buddhist philosophical leanings. Last year (or was it the year before?) I felt called to return to the Church. That call just seemed to solidify why I walked away in the first place. For secular curricula, I actually haven't found it so difficult to find. We use MEP math, VIE for grammar, WWE for writing, SOTW and History of US as history spines. Science is experiment based, but we used Harcourt/Prentice Hall Science Explorer for Biology. Their OASIS ordering system is sort of a nightmare to navigate, since it's geared toward school districts with a regional rep, but I contacted them and they set up an account for me as a homeschooler with no trouble. Latin and Logic are my sticky wickets. I may need to order GP Latin, but if anyone has any ideas for Logic for the younger years... (We have been using Traditional Logic - not secular at all - and Gensler's Introduction to Logic with the almost 12 year old.)

Another who loves etsy here! I've had nothing but great experiences and have ordered from vendors all over the world. You don't need a PayPal account to use a credit card via PP. There is usually a split screen that comes up with one side to log in and the other to enter your payment info without an account.

In the current vernacular, I would think "processed" refers to packaged (or prepared) foods that do not contain items you would find in your pantry: stabilizers, artificial colors, added chemicals. In reality (as in the USDA definition), when I put up tomatoes, they're "processed" in a hot canner bath. That kind of processing, I think, is just fine.

Yes, I have one. No, I don't wear it. It's old and delicate and I do a lot with my hands, so it doesn't get worn often, lest it get all bent and the stones knocked out. I often don't wear my wedding band, either, for the same reason.

Yep. Unless he's at work, we sleep in the same bed. We both get too hot with someone touching us, though, so we're usually each half hanging off our respective side of the king sized bed. The dog sleeps in the middle.

That's ours. Well, when she's not napping. Mostly, she sleeps - on the couch, on a chair, on the floor, behind the couch on the kids' beanbags. Then she'll climb up on the back of the recliner to nap next to the window where she wakes periodically to bark at a tree. Or a leaf. Or a squirrel. And then lick the glass. This has been her daily schedule of events for 13+ years (other than going outside and doing the same in the fresh air).

I went to Disney when I was 10. Those are 4 days I'll never get back. I may feel more strongly about Keurig coffee than even Bill, if that's possible. I have a Facebook account I never use, and have no interest in any other social media, including Pintrest. (I do have a Ravelry account but they are the single best source of knitting patterns for just about anything, so...) eta: I own an iPhone. I own it because my Blackberry Storm (original) died and everything else was so freaking big, it wouldn't fit in my wristlet. That is why I bought an iPhone. (But I do actually like it quite a bit, nearly 2 years later) I'm sure the list of my "issues" and "shortcomings" could go on all day. I think we can all find plenty of common ground here, though. ;)

I wouldn't go. If your daughter has what's going around here, she'll be sharing not only with your family but with everyone on the plane. Feeling better (due to meds) and being better are two different things.

Gluten Free Goddess is vegan, I believe. (Irony: there are meatballs pictures at the very top of the recipe index. That was before she cut out animal products, obviously.) http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/p/site-index.html?m=1 Schar pastas are tasty and vegan, as are (at least) their sub rolls (which are insanely good). Other than breads and pasta, where are your stumbling blocks?

Mmmm. I think both of those would be lovely. But... Are you a color person or a neutral person? We have a red couch and chocolate accents. My living room is painted "pumpkin bread" (Behr). And I can sit on the couch in the orange living room and see the (slightly off in the direction of pea from grass) green foyer, brick red dining room and yellow kitchen. But I'm a color person and neutrals don't really appeal to me. (I imagine a neutrals person would feel like they would go blind in here, though) I think that would narrow the choices a bit.

This. I also don't let my kids eat jam on a spoon for breakfast, or do shots of maple syrup. They're condiments.

I think diet is a very individual thing, and you just need to find the eating pattern that works for you. If you're lifting heavy, I would suggest weighing in on your first exercise day each week, before exercise (your muscles board fluids for repair, so that can make you weigh heavy). I would also suggest using other metrics - measurements, body fat % - to track progress. Tracking with weight only can be frustrating when you're building muscle, since muscle is heavier than fat.

I always have sort of a bad reaction to questions of "finding" happiness. I'm sure it is because my mother has spent her life in pursuit of happiness in the form of what she finds amusing at the time, regardless of its effect on anyone around her. I also tend to think happiness is something within, not pursued or gotten. I wonder, too, if "finding happiness" is a "middle class problem" that stems from not enough challenge - and, following, not enough satisfaction from real success - in our lives. I can't imagine "finding happiness" is something that third-world people are having a discussion about, and I doubt you'll find very many truly poor people in developed countries whingeing on about trying to find happiness, either. And, yet, there seem to be plenty of people who work tremendously hard just to have something close to enough, who strike me as generally happy... And before anyone freaks out about my unwarranted attack, I mean that in a cultural sense, not in an individual one. I am in no way implying that if you are finding dissatisfaction with your, individual, life it is because you are too coddled and have too much time on your hands. Just saying that, as a social discussion, it seems to only happen in such areas.

Olive oil, coarse salt, herbs de provence, then roasted in a hot oven.

My husband has SpongeBob boxers. He's 42.

Me, too. And I answered first choice on each section but I think the reason I talk less since I've had a smart phone is because everyone else has them, too, and we can all text easily (as opposed to pecking out text from a numeric key pad) or send/answer emails on the fly. So, my husband texts me when he gets to work, before he goes running. He'll call later to chat briefly, and we'll talk again in the evening (24 hr shift), but we may text over the day. When my boss emails something for me to look at, she doesn't have to call to tell me, or she texts to see if I'll be in during the day if she wants to grab me for a conversation. Friends will text a link to a new recipe they just made... That sort of thing.

Just out of curiosity, are you sure they weren't tested at birth? The hospital where mine were born did it as a standard operating procedure, even on IVF b/g twins (???). Our OB was as shocked as we were to discover my boys, who are indistinguishable in practically every way, even at 8, are fraternal. Eta: Mine look as much alike as yours.

I prefer to talk to people face to face but not on the phone. Phone conversations interrupt what I'm doing, but face to face conversations ARE what I'm doing, if that makes sense. In cases where people want to contact me for a piece of information, just to say hi, etc, I prefer text. I think of it as a faster form of email; I can contact back when I have a moment, dry my hands, finish what I'm doing, etc.

Yes, to expand on what Farrar said: twins are not only born earlier typically, they also mature earlier. The higher order the multiple, typically the earlier their lungs, etc, mature. Mine were 6.5 # each, with fully mature lungs at 37 weeks. No vernix, as you would expect with a 37 week singleton, either.

Um... No. I'm pretty sure that falls into the category of something you never ask anyone. Or their mother.

Did anyone else just mentally add "knowwhatImean, Vern?" to the end of that?

:lol: snort laughing.

And it really is "hon" and not "hun".

You did something baaaaaaaaaaaad. ;) Actually, I think they've changed it and there's now a classifieds or something? At least, I seem to remember that from when the new format sprang forth.

Well, that's pretty much how I receive it, but I always assumed it was because I'm not Southern and don't really understand terms of endearment from strangers/acquaintances.