I work very near a Trader Joes and just last week I discovered their Turkey Jerky. It is pretty tasty. It tastes a little sweet but the carbs are very reasonable. I don't know about the others, but at least the turkey jerky isn't ... I don't know what the word is but eating most beef jerky feels like a jaw exercise routine, this turkey jerky isn't like that.

I adore my current house. I will adore it more when the addition doubles its size.

I'd be peeved at the school if they don't grant an exception. I get why they would set a close-the-door time. But your kid and the other one have a documented other activity that can be pre-approved ahead of time.

Have you looked into Sabago shoes before? They have wide shoes and even the Medium width shoes are more generous. I suspect because they are made in America. I remember them for cute boat shoes, penny loafers. I don't know about these other styles I see. They are $100 plus but not too much. Also, these puppies last forever. Really. I bought three pair 15 years ago. One pair eventually needed a respectful burial after almost daily wearing for several years. The other two still look pretty and they've had a lot of use.

Don't get me started on that! I start spitting tacks. Has anyone looked at the formula for figuring out your size? It starts with measuring around the widest area. Making the squishiest part the foundation of all the other measurements. It makes sense to have a number/letter combination, but how you arrive at the number should start with measuring where the bra band actually goes! And, the size of the bra band should be the same on a 38A and a 38F, but they aren't.

I get grumpy about it too. In fact, I love electronic gadgets but I've stayed away from smart phones because I'd use it all the time. Like I deliberately didn't get a deep fat dryer, I knew I'd use it too much. People texting often doesn't bug me. But, people being in each others presence while texting with other people seems rude. Just like talking on the phone for hours and hours is perfectly fine if you are alone. But, you don't go out to eat with one group and then call up someone else and then spend the evening talking to them. Even though DD doesn't see the glued_to_phone modeled by her parents, she does see it in general. We recently moved to a rural area and I've never lived outside a suburb, so I'd sometimes get lost. I bought a GPS for the car. DD (aged 5) asks to play with "my phone" when we are driving. She really wants to at a parent's "phone" like she sees others doing. One time we in the waiting area of DD's dance school, DD was playing on the floor with the toys that they have. There were three girls aged 6-7 sitting on the couch with their mother's phones. One of them was engrossed, the other two looked longingly at DD and the toys. But they seemed to feel they should stay on the couch with the phones. It was sad. They were too young to be too cool to play. But, I figure DD will be the one paying attention in that college lecture and to life in general.

Have you thought about suggesting to the parents that unless a set amount of work is completed in the morning, then she won't be going to dance that day?

We are really enjoying the StartWrite software. I loves that it has the font I choice since I like Italic. Also, DD can dictate a letter to Grandma, then that becomes a worksheet and then grandparents can get a letter. Price was worth just that.

That is true. I wish I'd realized it back then. I totally would have had a sham marriage back then. I was totally unable to get any financial aid at all because my parents refused to let me use their tax return. They also contributed nada to my college expenses.

I suspect that is true of several of the posters here that said it was negative. I think it is a descriptive term and when the definition of the term is seen as a bad thing to the hearer, then it will be seen as an insult.

I suspect that Silver Brook might live in the same general area as I do, because from what I've read there is an unusual number in my area. A private school started using the University Model, it was successful. Then families moved too far away to attend the school but in the same general area. Some missed the original schools so much they started new private schools using the same model. But, the University Model just boils down to a private school with buy-what-you-need and longer classes meeting every other day.

I don't think it is wages that haven't kept pace, it is take home pay that haven't kept pace with inflation. Taxes have skyrocketed.

I think absolutely not. It was a year-ish ago that I read about a son being forced to be responsible for his mother's nursing home bill because she'd frittered away what money she had. That really bothered me.

But, you assume that they HAVE to. Six months after he retired my grandfather was bagging groceries. They didn't need the money, but otherwise he'd have never left the recliner. Grandmother worked in a fabric store for the same reason. My other grandmother had plenty to do making people around her miserable, that Grandfather didn't work but he was one of the all time highest number of VA volunteer hours. He never said but we think it was so he had an excuse to get out of the house. So, I imagine that there are lots of other older people working just to get some time away from their spouse.

One thing to consider, if several kids are being grade skipped, then there might not be the social problems. I really regret that I wasn't grade skipped. I was about ready to be skipped in the middle of 3rd grade and then we moved. I remember about a month into 3rd grade a new girl joined the class and we took to each other instantly. Looking back I wonder if there had been some teacher nudging. She'd been grade skipped but had no friends, so they dropped her into mine. I was the second smartest in the class, so they were going to move us up together. She was a really great person and I wasn't challenged in school until High School.

I enjoyed it until the end. I didn't mind the slavery part through most of the book because there was slavery and it happened. But, the boy being sold back into slavery at the end really bugged me. Robinson had been captured, made a slave. He didn't say. "Drat it, I'm a white guy I don't deserve this" which I can respect. Later he escaped in the master's ship with the boy who was a slave with him. Then they are rescued by another ship, and Robinson sells the boy to the captain. That really bugged me. I forget what his justification was. I'm not often offended by books but that bugged me. eta: what about boy classics? I'm sure there is a list somewhere of classics for boys. Some of the pirate ones are pretty good.

I've only been called the wrong name by one relative, my paternal grandmother. Note, grandma had one son (married once), one daughter (never married or dated), one sister (she disliked) and one grandchild, so it wasn't like there was a lot of names to choice from. She'd say, in order her only daughter's name her favorite dog's name even after the dog was dead. my mother's name, My name I strongly suspect that was in her order of preference. She disliked her sister and didn't use her name if she could help it, otherwise she probably would have been in there. My MIL called me the wrong name when I first met her, but we met on accident very soon after DH and I started to date and MIL loved the previous girl. She called me some random name, so no hurt, just something to tease her about.

Oh, no, only a vague "They said" with a "maybe" thrown in there. Vague enough that I am still intrigued by one.

Are you going to be pumping? I loved the rec. I got from someone else to buy a sports bra from Walmart that has front hook and eyes. You cut a small hole in the bra for the funnels. I didn't wear that generally, I was a nursing SAH. But there were certain time I needed to pump. Like after DD went to sleep because she needed milk to go to sleep then she slept hard, which meant that the next day if I wasn't pumping she didn't get enough to go to sleep. I also need to hands-free pump to relax.

Absolutely not! We both know our priorities and what is needed. For example, DH was working on the fridge ice maker on Sunday while DD went to the aquarium. We got back and DH said he figured out the problem, it was XYZ part. I asked how much they cost. He said $87 and it will be here Wednesday. I said OK, happy that he took care of buying it. $87 to get use again of the top freezer shelf is a bargain. I do the finances and when we are short on money I communicate that. We discuss when we will be probably have the money for expensive things.

Those University model schools make a great deal of sense to me. If we needed to send DD to a school for whatever reason that would be my first choice.

DD has a growth problem and DH had the same growth problem that was not diagnosed. There is a facebook group for people with kids with this problem. Several of them were discussing red-shirting their kids merely on the basis of height. We both think that is nuts. Particularly since the kids are being treated and will be within short-normal fairly shortly. DH was the very short kid in school and it was never a problem for him.

Very cool. I love my cobalt blue KA. Of course, I also have Cobalt Blue Fiesta, and a Deep Blue PT Cruiser. Good news about the flex edge. Although, don't they wear the motor down?

I'm in the early process of this myself. I've had DirectTV since it first came to my major metropolitan area, and I've had TIVO since it was first offered with DirectTV. So, I have a low tolerance for commercials, or watching TV on someone else's schedule. I was planning on cancelling Hulu plus after the trial period, but I wasn't feeling well, and DD and I watched about 13 episodes of Kung Fu Panda this weekend. That seriously rocked. I didn't even have to fast forward through the commercials. The screen just went black for second where a commercial would be. The remote kept getting lost in the couch, pillows, blankets, so DD would dance during the countdown to the next show.

What about an Akita? They come long-haired. They were originally bred for extended hunting trips, so they don't eat much at all for their weight. This isn't my dog, but looks exactly like mine. They have a double-coat, so they shed like crazy twice a year. They truly love hugs. Main thing is that they need lots of socialization as a puppy. They also have a tight mouth.