Just streaming costs me $8.63/month.

Mine are too small, but I'll allow it when they get older. We get only the more natural sodas in the house though... real sugar, minimal additives, etc. They taste better and aren't quite as bad for you. It definitely will be only a treat, though. Soda isn't a regular thing in this house - for any of us - as it is.

The YNAB book (free) may be an interesting read for you. It revolutionized how I look at money and you don't even need the program to get a lot out of it. http://www.youneedabudget.com/method/the-book

That reminds me of something else I've done when I'm just starting a language and feel the need for flashcards - word on one side, a picture of said word on the other side. For example, for the word APPLE there would be an picture of an apple on the opposite side. This is particularly useful for words with just one definition... and is probably easier for younger learners.

Yes, that's pretty much what I was getting at. The purpose is to eliminate the native language from your studying - having to switch in between languages always stalled me because I'd have to "switch my brain" to the other language, KWIM? You can start with really simple words/definitions (such as the definition being DINNER), and then make them more complex as your knowledge increases. The basic idea is for the definition to be made up of words that are already known, and then as your knowledge increases, these definitions can get more complicated. My goal was always to have the definitions be at the same level of a monolingual dictionary in the target language. The sentence is there to show how the word is used in a sentence. If you have a word such as BACK, there are several different definitions - as a body part, a direction of movement, etc - so the sentence clarifies how the word is used. You may have several flashcards for the same word, so the sentence would specify which use of that word you're studying. So, for example, if I was just starting out with English and learning the word APPLE: Front: APPLE Max ate an apple. Back: A fruit. If I had a bit more knowledge in the language, both my sentence and my definition may get more complicated, so I am further challenged. Front: APPLE Max grabbed an apple from the table. Back: A round fruit from a tree of the rose family, which typically has green or red skin and a crisp flesh. The idea being that I would know the words in the definition/sentence already. I don't make flashcards for every word I'm studying, just the ones I have more difficulty with. I also do it virtually, using a program called Anki, so it's extremely easy to change the flashcard to change my needs as I get more or less advanced. If a flashcard isn't helping me remember a particular word, I just change it! It's worked very well for me in the past (I speak Dutch, Russian, and Spanish), but most of my language studying was done in my later teens as well - I'm not sure quite how well this method would translate to younger children.

I always used a somewhat different method - a book (article, paragraph, etc) and a dictionary or word list. I'd read the passage, looking up words I couldn't remember, and then do it again. A couple days later, I'd return to that passage and do it again. It helped me get the words in context and it was much easier to learn how each word was used. The problem I've found with flashcards is that you can put only one or two definitions on them, when one word can be used in so many different ways. One way I've gotten them to work was to use the target language only. I'd have the word and maybe a sentence on one side, and a monolingual definition (in the target language) on the other side. It always helped me get much more into the language, rather than switching between languages as I studied.

Definitely take D3 in liquid form if you can, and remember to keep it refrigerated! Another added benefit is that it's easy to tell if it goes rancid, it's hard to tell with the tabs because you generally just swallow them whole (and those do go rancid as well). I recommend getting a smaller container to begin with, as the taste can vary and you may like one better than the other. I take 5000 mg two times a day.

I have a revolving list of books I'm always adding more and more books to. Here are some on my list: The Lean Startup The Well-Trained Mind Mastery Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie The Wealth of Nations War and Peace The Memoirs of General Ulysses S. Grant Treasure Island Tax Insight

I've noticed I retain more water when I eat certain inflammatory foods - things with gluten, sugar, some cooking oils (vegetable oils), dairy, artificial additives, and processed foods seem to be big offenders with me. If I avoid these foods, the 'swelling' goes away pretty quickly. Getting dehydrated is a pretty big offender for me as well... I need to drink more water!

Raising Musical Kids by Robert A. Cutietta Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner How Children Learn by John Holt

You can in both. In my experience, EN is a little easier to use though. I love Evernote and OneNote. OneNote is definitely prettier, and you can organize a little better. However, Evernote is much easier to use, in my opinion. Evernote is also free, OneNote sometimes comes with Office, but if not, you have to pay for it. Evernote is pretty much my external brain. If I see an article I like and want to remember, or read later, it goes in there. Gift ideas? Evernote them. Pretty much anything I see myself referencing again, I put in Evernote. It has the added benefit of being easy to use on my phone as well, so I can access everything (recipes are especially nice) on the move. I use it to store my shopping list, to do list, reminders, books to read/books I've read, important emails... pretty much everything.

My dog had dog-directed potty breaks. ;) We had a little bell on the door in the back, and she'd ring it whenever she needed to go out. If you have a fenced backyard, this may be worth looking into.

I personally have $100/month. This includes clothes, makeup, books, food - pretty much anything just for me. It rolls over to next month so I can save up for more expensive items.

Last time I went to Walmart (about 2 weeks ago) there were a bunch of Lego in clearance... 40, 50% off. We definitely expanded our collection a bit.

I've learned to budget for those impulse purchases. I have a small monthly discretionary fund as well as a certain amount budgeted towards eating out, household supplies, etc. Once the money is gone, it's gone. Something else that has helped is inputting the purchases directly into my phone (I use YNAB, which comes with a free iPhone app). I'm much more aware of my spending now, which has cut down on impulse buys drastically.

I personally like Ace, but there are a lot of great names in there. What a beautiful horse! He's magnificent.

My swimsuit is blue!! I think. It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to wear it, sadly. The weekend, however, has been pretty good. Was able to get in some reading and quality time with my son and husband (who has been out in the field all week). I'm afraid I'm not a big fan of lentils, however. Something about the texture bothers me.... has since I've been a kid. Really don't mind the taste at all.

Congrats!!!

Keeping my fingers crossed! :grouphug:

Not healthy, but very delicious. ;) Growing up, it was a special treat only, which is what I plan to continue with my kids as they get older.

Thanks, you two! I've definitely been more of a lurker over the couple months I've been here, but I've learned a lot! And the diverse group of people makes it even better - I get to see so many viewpoints I wouldn't see otherwise. This is a very valuable message board. :)

There goes the rest of my free time. Thanks!!! :D

I've been here for a while, but neglected to introduce myself. So, I suppose it's time! I originally found this message board when learning about self education and lifelong learning. I've since gotten very interested in homeschooling my children (one year old DS and another little one due in April), so have really started to study up and figure out what I need to know to make this a reality. I figured this would be as good a place as any to start my homeschooling education, as well as peruse the self education forum as was originally my purpose. ;) I would like to homeschool for several reasons - first, to have more control over my children's' educations, and second, to provide continuity in their educations that they wouldn't have otherwise (we are a military family). I'm having fun exploring the different philosophies right now, and just discovered CiRCE Institute, which has definitely made me think about homeschooling in a totally different way. As far as self education goes, my current interests are Greek and Roman mythology, which I never had the opportunity to learn, as well as finance, specifically having to do with business. I also love foreign languages, and am working currently on Russian as well as Dutch (my first language, which is sadly been neglected since I moved to the US as a child). I'm looking forward to getting to know you all as I get started on this journey. :)

Started a bit late.... but better late than never. ;) I read The 4 Hour Chef for my first book this year. I... enjoyed it. Tim Ferriss has a very engaging way of writing, and I'm learning a lot of little things about both cooking and learning that I didn't know beforehand (I'm terrible at cooking). I haven't done many of the actual cooking exercises yet, but I'm hoping to be able to do some soon and get my confidence up. I will read two books next week, if possible, to catch up to all of you. :)

I love MC, and have learned a lot about architecture and engineering, specifically. There is also a lot of math involved and as you play more, you can look into modifications that can make the game harder or add different mobs (animals), objects or other features. Just have them play offline. ;) If each have their own username (pay separately), yes. You simply have one of them on the world, goto Settings and Open as LAN Server. The rest will be able to access it on their computers if they are all in the same home network. This is not legally possible if they are all playing on the same account. I would have them play on single player for a while all on one account (save files are local, so they'd have their own games on each computer), and then look into buying more copies later if they're all interested. If you do get it and have problems, feel free to ask me any questions. And definitely make sure the trial works on your computers before buying it. My game froze a lot and stopped working because I had the wrong version of Java, and I had to download the Optifine modification to get it working without lag (on a laptop), so you may have to play with it a bit.