Ours only has lights and beaded garland. I’m glad I put it up even though that’s as far as I got and the kids haven’t been interested in putting up ornaments like usual.

The novel was inspired by a visit the author made to an ice cream shop with her sons, but Augie’s story is fictional. I saw the movie with DD12 recently and highly recommend it. Sweet and inspiring without being saccharine.

Here’s the Kids in Mind summary for The Imitation Game: http://www.kids-in-mind.com/i/imitationgame.htm It’s good, but I was bothered by some of the changes made to the real story. More here: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/nov/20/the-imitation-game-invents-new-slander-to-insult-alan-turing-reel-history

Lion

I’ve been thinking about the “fight well†advice, especially as it relates to comments above about not necessarily sharing everything you’re thinking while you process it. I agree completely that you need to choose your battles, then once you’ve had a battle, then it’s done and shouldn’t be used as ammunition in the future. I’m just not sure how much to include DH in my post-“fight†processing and healing. How do you leave a fight behind you if you’ve resolved the issue but haven’t yet moved past the hurt? Just musing, I guess. I don’t really want to share specifics.

I would focus on the arbitrary dress code and how it was mishandled and keep “predatory grooming behavior†out of the discussion when you bring it up. That’s a serious accusation, and I’m not seeing how it applies to this situation unless there’s a lot more you aren’t sharing.

I don't get wrapping things that go in a stocking. The whole point (IMHO, of course) is that the stocking is the wrapping!

I saw this article in a Best of 2017 roundup and I found it worth reading, especially since DH and I are facing some challenges in our relationship lately, which is unusual for us. Reminding myself of the basics and the seemingly obvious stuff we tend to take for granted after so many years together has been helpful. What would you add to the author’s compilation of marriage advice people shared with him as a newlywed? https://qz.com/884448/every-successful-relationship-is-successful-for-the-same-exact-reasons/ (A request: Please keep the discussion positive. If you don’t agree with something, share what works for you instead, rather than picking apart the advice or criticizing the author. Not that that ever happens when articles get shared here. ;))

This was years ago, but I still remember the experience. When I unloaded groceries, I realized a bag of potatoes had apparently not made it into my cart at the King Soopers (Kroger) checkout. I didn't want to drag two little kids back out into the cold to retrieve it, so I sent an email to corporate and requested a credit or coupon. I didn't expect any follow-up at all and made a mental note to pay closer attention next time. Later that day when I answered the doorbell, I was shocked to see a person holding out a bag of potatoes and apologizing for the inconvenience. I shopped for groceries at that store only from then on even though there was a Safeway closer to where we lived.

Yes, comma placement changes the meaning of the sentences I posted. The Oxford comma does not.

There's no difference between those two sentences. There's a difference between Eats, shoots, and leaves and Eats shoots and leaves (or Eats shoots, and leaves), though.

That’s purely a matter of style/preference. I figured this would be about the misuse of apostrophes when making last names plural and causing the needless deaths of kittens.

A T-shirt with a playable guitar on the front and a tiny amp that goes up to 11 (via ThinkGeek).

We had an older model that was bricked after only a couple of years (if that) because the charging port stopped working. I know multiple people who had the same problem. Hopefully the newest models are better designed, but I’d research first.

I miss the white elephant exchanges we used to do at my old job. It was so much fun!

It sounds like they can’t really afford a nanny or in-home babysitter and are trying to bypass the usual laws and expectations and manipulate a young adult who may not know any better so they can have one anyway.

Same here. I’m also not buying whatever is cheapest like I’ve done in the past.

Yes! Please have her read this thread.

This may be helpful: http://nanny.org/resources/nannies/employment-rights-of-nannies/

Same. This sounds like a bad arrangement for the girl.

I doubt you’re the only parent who’d think that was a terrible idea! Who does that?!?

I was about to post the same thing. If he wants to do this, then *he* should figure it out and make it happen.

I’d let DH drive and go unless it was a severe winter storm.

And some of us think false dichotomies and simplistic us-vs-them arguments are a distraction.

What is your issue with Reporters Without Borders NGO and its supporters?