[Best book you've read in the last month?]

I really enjoyed The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospel. This is non-fiction.

 

For fiction, I loved Joy in the Morning by Betty Smith.

[4H Gals, what do you know about Clover Buds?]

We have a large 4-H group, and we have a separate program for Cloverbuds. It's not quite as involved as the primary members, but we still do quite a lot. This year we have a Nature Crafts project, a Cooking project, a PE & Games project and a Gardening project. We also offer a couple of extra projects for Cloverbuds that come early or stay late because of having older siblings.

 

We have one Cloverbud club leader, and then we have one or two parents who volunteer to lead each project. Usually one parent will lead the project for the entire year, but some projects might have a rotating leader.

 

If you want more info, PM me and I'll be happy to help you out. This is my 4th (and last!) year of being a Cloverbud project leader.

[Best microscope for under $100?]

Hmmm...I'm thinking you might want to go with a Brock Magiscope, especially if your children are young. You can often find used ones fairly inexpensively on eBay. There are probably some good past threads on the Magiscope if you do a search here. I almost bought one earlier this year, but since my oldest is doing high school biology I ended up buying a compound microscope. I think I got a pretty good deal, but it was around $200.

 

Hopefully some other people with pop in here with ideas.

[He is found guilty!!!!!]

Hallelujah!

[Is this a good price for Legos?]

The minifig price is about average, I'd say. I'm not sure about the price per pound of Legos. When you buy bulk, though, I would try to find out the sizes of the pieces. Some of the bulk lots or tubs of generic Legos contain a lot of tiny pieces and aren't that great for building. Plus you want to make sure you aren't paying a fortune in shipping costs if you're buying online.

 

I had to buy a bunch of Legos recently for our 4-H club's Lego project. I bought one set at Border's using a 40% off coupon. I bought several more sets from Walmart.com - they have some specials, 2 sets for $15, 2 sets for $25, etc. I used the site-to-store to get free shipping.

[I am so furious I am shaking]

I'm sorry about your dd's experience. I'd be furious too. I think that girl should be suspended, at the very least. I went to a soccer game many years ago and one of the boys kicked another boy and broke his leg, no kidding. I couldn't believe how unconcerned most of the parents (and my stupid boyfriend at the time who was the coach) were. Ugh. I don't know what is wrong with some people.

[Are your boys circ'd?]

2 boys, both circ'd. I didn't have strong feelings one way or the other, but dh did. Since he's the guy, I let him decide :)

[Niece's baby is here and okay, but we almost lost her!]

Big :grouphug: to you, Faith. I know how concerned and frustrated you must be feeling. I'm so glad the baby made it here safely. Hoping your niece gets a big wake up call.

[I'm really worried about my son. (CC)]

:grouphug: Praying for you and hoping you get some answers soon.

[who has anxiety/OCD?]

I also have anxiety and hypochondria. I take Lexapro - it's been wonderful for me, and has let me lead a normal life.

 

A book I love that was really helpful for me in dealing with the hypochondria feelings is Phantom Illness by Carla Cantor.

 

Also, any books by Claire Weekes, such as Hope and Help for Your Nerves and Peace From Nervous Suffering.

 

I found I still really needed medication though, since I'm fairly certain I have a chemical imbalance. I have several close relatives with the same issues.

[I just about died of happiness]

What a sweet kid. Best mom, good Legos, what more do you need? :D

[does your 10-15yo have their 'own' computer?]

Yes, we have multiple computers. Main one in the living room that dh and I use (and the kids sometimes).

 

A laptop for me (only used occasionally)

 

Desktop for 13 & 14 yo's to share

 

Desktop for 7 & 10 yo's to share

 

And a couple extra computers that the older ones just got since they are taking a computer tech project. I'm not sure if they're hooked up or not.

[Does anyone have a promo code for Home Science Tools?]

I don't think there is a current code. I was looking a couple of weeks ago because I was ordering from them, and it looks like their most recent code expired mid-August. Did you check their Facebook page?

[Vet help! Mystery cat illness...]

How about mange? Probably not too likely, but a possibility?

[Porch Ceiling Color?]

Yes, that is a perfect blue! Ours is very similar. I've heard that the light blue color is supposed to reflect light, so it makes the indoors sunnier in the winter.

[Where to find jeans for long and lean boy...]

Yep, Levi 501s, like some of the others have mentioned. My ds wears a 29x34 - talk about a hard size to find.

 

I have also found Dickies jeans in his size, but they're hard to come by. And I did once find a pair of American Eagle. Mostly I have to shell out the big bucks for Levi's though.

[Where to buy a microscope????]

You might want to look here. They are having a sale right now. I just ordered the B100-MS model but it hasn't arrived yet.

[s/o: how books end]

I was just complaining about this very thing to my dh this morning. I finished reading Death in Lacquer Red by Jeanne Dams ***warning-spoilers***, and the ending was so inconsistent. The whole time during the book, the main character, Hilda Johansson, who is a housemaid in the early 1900's, is constantly terrified that the butler (her superior) will fire her over the tiniest little mistake or breach of conduct...then at the end of the book - she hides a fugitive in the basement of her employer's house, she breaks and enters a lawyer's office, steals a will, and sets an accidental fire which ends up killing the murder suspect. And the butler's like, "eh, whatever, your motives were good, so we'll overlook all these crazy antics" ??? The characterization drove me batty.

 

I will say that I like this author's other series, the Dorothy Martin books, a lot. But the Hilda Johannson ones leave something to be desired.

 

I like nice, satisfying endings, preferably happy, but at least ones that don't leave you hanging or wondering what the heck???

[Hey Peeps, a board member needs prayers]

Praying and sending warm hugs your way! Being a parent is so challenging at times, we can use all the help we can get, spiritual and temporal :grouphug:

[Orthodox Crafts]

Oh, how cool, I love those! Thanks for sharing the site!

[Don't post often, but I have a prayer request (cc)...long]

Penny, I'm glad you shared with us so that we can lift you up at this time. Praying for a smooth withdrawal from the medication, and only positive outcomes from the surgery. Keep us updated :grouphug:

[How Cool is Your Library?]

Ours is pretty terrific too. The librarians all know us. They will always renew our overdue books, and a lot of times they will waive our fees.

 

They have an awesome interlibrary loan system with no fees for use.

 

They have lots of fun children's and teen programs, including Wii games and Yu-gi-oh card tournaments (LOL) - which is right up my 13yo's alley.

 

The only thing I am sad about is that recently they decided to get rid of all their VHS videos, I guess because they figured everyone uses DVDs these days. But some series that we really liked were only available on VHS and now we can't get them any longer. Boo hoo! Other than that, I love our library.

[Great moments in collegiate marketing...]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100903/od_yblog_upshot/great-moments-in-collegiate-marketing-drake-universitys-d-campaign

:lol::lol::lol:

 

Too funny! :lol:

[Are there some things you are willing to pay high prices for?]

Shoes - not that I want to spend a lot of money, but I have really (really, really) wide feet and super high arches, so it's very hard to find shoes that fit, and when I do, they're usually quite expensive.

 

Skin and hair care - I prefer to get organic, good quality products.

 

Haircuts & color for me - this is one thing I won't touch at home!

 

Sheets & bath towels - I'd rather spend a bit more and have something that looks and feels nice and will last a long time.

[Anyone read aloud with highschoolers?]

I read all my oldest ds's history and literature aloud. This wasn't my original plan once he hit high school, but he was falling behind on reading it himself, so I took over. Actually, it's been pretty interesting. Some of the books I had read before and some I hadn't. Right now we are reading A Tale of Two Cities and Pride and Prejudice. I still read aloud to my younger ones as well - history, science, literature. They read to me too, and to themselves.