I agree completely!!! And I thought Biden responded to that very well by pointing out that Dick Cheney's been doing that or trying to do that for the past 8 years.

Yes, no one is blocked from posting on any particular thread. But I, for one, think it's extremely rude.

Maybe because you keep jumping in on their thread? If they were looking to be converted, they would've asked for it. If they were looking for sympathy, they would've asked for it.

:grouphug:

Me either --- :cheers2: ;)

LOL!! Or to steal one from SNL's debate parody, go with "McCain's" suggestion of suspending the future debates in favor of pie-eating contests! "Obama" already said he would go for blueberry! :lol:

:iagree: I agree with you that this debate won't impact the election. Those who've decided to vote for McCain would be pleased with Palin, and those who've decided to vote for Obama would be pleased with Biden. I don't see this as having any impact on that for the already decided voter, and even for those undecided voters...I think they're going to put more weight on the presidential debates.

I was going to post this in the other thread and it was already deleted! Nothing inflammatory here, so I can cut and paste it :) I think Senator Biden was incredible! He did an awesome job! He clearly has the experience needed for the job both of VP and President, should he need to step into those shoes, which I hope he doesn't -- just as I hope Governor Palin wouldn't need to do either. On the other hand, at least to me, it was obvious that Governor Palin had memorized certain key points and that's what she spoke about. Numerous times, I would be listening to her speak, and looking at the question on the screen that had been proposed, and she wasn't answering it. So I give the win to Biden. A great debate all around and Governor Palin did a good job. But she didn't do anything to reassure me that she could step into the role of being President if she needed to do so and, to me, that's what I most look for in a VP candidate.

The only time I've made pasta w/o a pasta machine is if I'm using it for pierogies or ravioli or something like that where I can use flat pasta squares. The pasta machine is what turns it into spaghetti and the other fun shapes. And the kids love carrying the pasta around and placing it on the drying rack! They get a kick out of it (almost like playing with play-doh!)

Ahh...mixers! I haven't found a mixer that I like -- and I've been making bread for some 40 years now! I have a large stand-alone mixer, but it doesn't really do a good job, as far as I'm concerned. I much prefer using a handmixer, but not many handmixers can stand up to making bread. But it depends on the brand. So I use a mixer to get everything blended, but I don't try to use a mixer to do the job of kneading -- if that makes sense. Nothing kneads better than your own two hands. As long as you're planning on using a mixer just for blending the ingredients, and then you're willing to do your kneading by hand, then any regular $20 mixer from Wal-Mart will do just fine.

Are you interested in making just plain old white bread? Or something more creative? If you're interested in making regular white bread, then all you need are bread pans and alot of elbow grease! (I posted in another reply that the biggest mistake first-timers make is not kneading the bread dough long enough.)

My guess is that you didn't knead it effectively. You really have to knead bread dough for a long time. It should be very smooth with a glistening, almost "satin-like" finish to it. And it takes time to learn how to make bread from scratch, so don't give up!!! So try again!! :)

I make my own pasta (my kids LOVE making pasta!! It's a lot of fun!! Pasta machines can be found at any store that sells cooking gadgets) I make my own bread also, and not with a bread machine. Bread machines take all the fun out of it! I make all of my own desserts (brownies, cookies, cakes, pies, etc.) and from scratch. I make most of our food from scratch, actually. My parents owned, and ran, their own restaurant, so I learned how to do these things from childhood. (Funny story... when my husband and I were first married, I made mashed potatoes, and my husband was like, "What are these lumps in it?" And I looked and told him, "Those are potatoes." He had never had fresh mashed potatoes! His mother always made them from a box with dried flakes. :rolleyes:)

The only time I make two meals is if I'm cooking seafood for the main course, because my daughters are allergic to it. So I'll put a frozen pizza in the oven for them or something like that. But, as a rule, I make only one meal. They can choose to eat it or they can choose not to eat it. If they want to make something else (like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich) then that's their choice, but I'm only cooking once.

As a former LLL Leader, I would say that my suggestion would depend on why the doctor wants you to stop nursing. If it's just because it's "different" or "not the norm", then I'd either find a new doctor, or just say, "I'll take it under consideration" and keep on nursing. Now, if there's a physical reason why you need to stop nursing (pre-term labor, for instance) then that's something to take into consideration in making your decision. And I'd also need to know how old the toddler / child is that's still nursing. Most will stop nursing on their own when the milk supply naturally decreases (around the 5th month of pregnancy). Some persistent ones will keep right on going, no matter how little milk there is. My oldest child stopped nursing at 2 1/2, when I reached my 5th month of pregnancy with #2. It was almost textbook! She even said something to the effect of, "It's not worth the effort," and she was done. Now my 3rd child nursed through my pregnancy with my 4th child, and kept on nursing for another 6 months after she was born! So I was tandem nursing two of them for awhile. Some moms are uncomfortable doing it, so that's something else to consider in your decision. I hope this helps!

Nope!! :D

LOL! I think I'll join you!!! :lol:

Let's see....I started homeschooling in 1995 ... and my youngest won't graduate from high school until 2020 ... so that's 25 years total!!! :)

I'll start from the bottom and go up! :) My 6yo -- homeschooled for all academics; receives speech and occupational therapy at the local school two mornings per week for an hour each; takes gymnastics class for special needs children once per week My 9yo -- homeschooled for all academics; takes an art class with our local homeschool group once per month; takes Tae Kwon Do lessons three nights per week for 2 hours My 14yo -- homeschooled for all academics; takes an art class with our local homeschool group once per month; plays baseball and basketball for local teams (seasonal activity) My 17yo -- homeschools 3 days per week; takes classes at the community college 2 days per week; takes Tae Kwon Do lessons three nights per week for 2 hours

I'm in a swing state and I'm really, really interested in seeing how well the 3rd party candidates do here!! We're thrilled to be a swing state! Most of the time, Virginia doesn't matter for squat. ;)

Maybe that's when it was! Because I'm sitting here, shouting out at my hubby, "Did I ever vote for Bill Clinton?" And he said, "Nope!" And I'm like, "Neither time?" And he said, "Nope!" So it must have been Perot instead of Dole or Clinton -- I remember there was a big stink because the GOP blamed Perot for taking votes away from Dole, allowing Clinton to win a 2nd term.

Oops! My bad .. I know I voted for Perot...so it must have been instead of re-electing Bush. Then I believe I voted for Clinton's 2nd term, because I didn't really care for Dole that much. I remember that! And...LOL! That's a funny story!!

Incredible!!!! I'll have to show it to my hubby! As for whether there was life once there...I have no idea. But I've often wondered, for years, if some form of alien life had made contact with a civilization here, or if they 'transplanted' humans here from somewhere else....I mean, why else would you find pyramids spread all over the globe before people really traveled globally? How were they able to make the pyramids as big as they were with what they had to work with? Why can you see pictures on the ground in South America that can only be viewed from the air, when they couldn't fly? Makes you stop and think .. hmmmm... ? ;)

I agree!! I've voted Democratic for the last two elections, but I voted for Republicans for just about every election prior to that .. in fact, just for fun, I looked it up! 1980 (1st time I was able to vote) - Carter vs Reagan - voted for Reagan 1984 - Reagan vs Mondale - vote for Reagan 1988 - Bush vs Dukakis - voted for Bush 1992 - Bush vs Clinton - voted for Bush 1996 - Clinton vs Dole - actually voted for Ross Perot in that one! ;) 2000 - Bush vs Gore - voted for Gore 2004 - Bush vs Kerry - voted for Kerry So...all that is to say that if McCain had picked anyone else (hear my voice ala Amy Poehler saying, "Anyone! Anyone! Anyone!"), I may have voted for him! I probably would've voted for him with Mitt Romney...Joe Lieberman...Bill Richardson (I like him!)...probably not Guiliani...not a big Guiliani fan. Probably not even Condi Rice, because of her involvement in the Iraq war. But Sarah Palin has become the absolute, ain't gonna go there, deal breaker for me. And it's not because she's a woman -- I voted for Hillary in the primaries -- it's because I really think she's terribly unqualified and in over her head.