Just so others who are reading know, I work in a school and all the staff got their vaccines on the same day. At least 50% of them were quite sick for 24-48 hours. Healthy people, most with no health issues. That seems pretty normal for this, and many other vaccines. A robust reaction does not mean that something is wrong.

I hope, hope, hope that you contact a navigator to help you. We used one last year. Free to the user. Otherwise I would be on the phone every available moment. Getting free health insurance would be worth a LOT of time on the phone. Someone somewhere can do something. If there's one thing I'm proud of teaching my kids, it's how to be persistent in hounding bureaucracy until the job is done. A fun recent example. My daughter graduated from college in May. She received an email a few weeks later informing her that she was not eligible to graduate, she was 3 units short, she was missing this class from this block of requirements. This is from a California State University, a bureaucracy almost as unwieldy as the federal government. She knew she WAS eligible, she'd had it all signed off on by the appropriate 3 people, and she had it in writing. She sent a barrage of emails, she sat on the phone for hours, she talked to every secretary in the business, art, administration, honors program, and probably a few others. And she was right, she was eligible, and she received her diploma this week. If she had taken that email as truth, she would not be holding a diploma today. So I hope I encourage you to fight on!!

You have to attest that you have not had any symptoms of covid before you get on a plane. Even though you don’t think it’s covid, you HAVE had symptoms of covid in the 10 days before your flight. F

The photos on the hard drive aren’t on the cloud at all. Since I don’t have a Mac, I can’t plug the hard drive into anything that will read it. I wondered if anyone had found they could get this sort of thing done at a UPS store or office max or some such place?

Since we are heading into fire season I am doing a MAJOR organize of family photos. I spent a week scanning every picture. I have not recovered yet. We used to have a Mac and I saved photos from the Mac onto an external hard drive. We no longer have a Mac. Can anyone tell me how I get these pictures from the external hard drive onto the cloud? You can tell I’m not very tech savvy 🤣 Thank you for any help!!

Grilling at home. Some yard work. Sewing 2 sets of linen napkins for wedding gifts-fabric on sale. Signed up for reward card that gives 60,000 miles after you make a single purchase. We’re traveling cross country more to see new grand baby 😊 I perfected a new blouse that I sewed (fabric from thrift store) so I can see more of that pattern in my near future.

My husband wanted to be a PE teacher. A dear friend who had been a teacher for many years advised him against it. PE is one of first things to be cut when budgets are tight and so it doesn’t have great job security. He decided to teach math instead and over the last 16 years, he has said at least twice a year, “I’m so glad I didn’t become a PE teacher”. I know some PE teachers have been in one school for many years, but from what I’ve seen, for every one that’s had a steady job, there are 10 that haven’t. Just food for thought.

An observation that I have is that charging rent to young adults seems to be a good thing. Otherwise the young adult is not being treated like an adult. There are, of course, exceptions. Illness, disability, job loss, etc. The same circumstances in which I, as a middle aged adult, would still turn to my parents for help. And they would give it wholeheartedly. But under normal circumstances. charging rent to an adult in an adult-like manner, has worked for most of the families I have observed. Some parents save the rent that is paid and give it back to the young adult when they move out, to be used as a down payment to buy a house, or a security deposit on a rental. And some parents don't give the rent back, probably because they need it for day to day expenses. The lesson that I see being learned is how much adult life costs. I can say that my kids know, but if they are not paying rent, they know it in the same way that someone knows how to ride a bike in their head, but they have never actually ridden a bike. What a gift to our young adults to let them actually learn to ride the bike, in the safety of our own driveway. That's what paying rent at home does, in my opinion. On the other topic, investing, I think our young adults need to know more about that, and how to do that in a low-risk way. If they invest in low-cost index funds with a reputable company, starting at age 20, they will be amazed and thrilled at the results down the road.

If no one has mentioned it yet, there is a wonderful blog with TONS of money saving help. It's written by a mom who fed her family entirely from her food storage and garden for more than a year. She has a section with recipes and how to eat for 40 cents a day. If anyone is looking to save money, her blog is awesome. theprudenthomemaker.com/blog/

Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you are enjoying the napkins

The chicken fabric has been a great favorite. I did a poll in my newsletter when I got the fabric, and the consensus was that it should be an apron. I wear an apron every day. I've saved SO many clothes from ruin because of my apron. So I tell myself that an apron is actually a frugal item!

Thank you! It has been so good for me. I'm a bit more confident and I've learned so much. The sea turtle bag was made as a collaboration with a young woman who is a zoo keeper. She chose the fabric and I made a bag for her. She takes her utensils in it, for lunch at work. It seems fitting that it goes with her to a zoo!

I have an Etsy shop. I opened it a bit into Covid lockdown. I'm always telling my kids to "have a go, keep learning, do what you love, don't worry about making mistakes, just try" and they all knew I'd wanted to have a shop but was too nervous too. And then I decided I'd better gather my courage and do it. It makes me happy and I've met lovely people. I sew from mostly repurposed fabric and denim so is eco friendly. I also sell cloth napkins, to reduce waste, and I sell Happy Birthday banners which have been popular and really are a family treasure. So many memories when the same banner is put up for each birthday, year after year. Our own has been going for about 15 years and still looks like new. I'd love for you to visit my shop! etsy.com/shop/FabricSpeaks

If I remember rightly from my specialist GYN, LH are the numbers to look for. The other numbers can fluctuate even in menopause. So LH levels are the numbers that determine menopause status.

Facebook and FB marketplace are two separate things (connected, I know, but the pages appear separate and distinctly-they do not overlap). I sell my handmade items through my personal FB page. I sell used things, for example a used stroller or an outgrown bike, through FB marketplace. I have seen people selling handmade things on FB marketplace, but not so much in my area. It may vary by location. Think of FB marketplace as an online garage sale. Having a personal FB page is a good thing for a handmade business, since connecting with customers is an important aspect. On a personal or business FB page buyers reply to your post, or can send a private message through a DIFFERENT app, Messenger. Buyers on FB marketplace contact you only through Messenger, there isn't a way to comment or reply to a post right on FB marketplace. Does you son have a tech/social networking savvy friend that might help him browse through all of this? My go-to tech help are my 20-something kids! Best of luck

Hi! It's me again. I sell on FB marketplace. His items will not appear on your personal page. Having a personal FB page is just the way into the marketplace, but the marketplace is it's own thing. Buyers contact the seller through FB messenger. Messenger is an app you can get on your phone. Or it appears on the top of your FB page. Just do some clicking around at things others are selling on FB marketplace and you will see how his items would appear.

I'm so sorry for all of you who are experiencing sticker shock over the FAFSA changing. Just a few random thoughts, you all probably know them, but I'll put them out in case it helps someone. 1. Because students earning are counted so heavily against any aid, we encouraged our children to work less and take more units. Since full time tuition is the same whether they took 12 units or 22 units, they each took the 20-22 units every semester. This ensured they finished college in 4 years, which is a huge savings over a 5th year. Taking a lot of units means they pay less tuition overall, and they have less time to work so they earn less and they lose less aid. 2. If any student is going into a profession that has student loan forgiveness-I can think of teaching and military right off the top of my head-then they can work less (and get more aid through grants or loans) and the loans will be forgiven after they've worked x years in the profession. Make sure to look at the terms of the loan forgiveness so you stay within the amounts awarded. 3. I heard several of you mentioning community college. Of course max out what is available there, it is the cheapest education one can buy. Don't rule out private and out-of-state private colleges and small schools. Some offer more in-house aid than 'cheaper' state schools. Yes, the prices look scary on the face of it, but after all in-house aid is awarded, you will be surprised how affordable some of them are. 4. Look carefully at what scholarships are available from state schools. One state college here has a full tuition scholarship for 50 students a year. It is not publicized, you really have to do your research. 5. I have seen too many paying high prices for a 'name' school for very average students, and the students struggle all the way through, some dropping out. This happened to a friend. A good fit college is so important and pride is best checked at the door. I'd rather see a student complete their degree at an 'average' (and often more affordable) college, than have them struggle, amass extra debt and perhaps drop out of a prestigious school. I know family and social expectations can be tricky, There definitely are some professions that need a 'name' school, but they are few. Best of luck to you all!

Just bumping this up. I'm at my wits end with my HP laptop that has now started to spontaneously turn off. Any tech people out there who could give me a recommendation?

I would also sew any high split. I think the 3rd or 4th link in your original post are lovely. I prefer solid colors, for me they are more timeless. Mother of the Bride gets to choose first and set the tone. Mother of the groom fits in with you. Wear what makes you feel happy and good. If you love blue, wear blue. Our son got married almost 4 years ago. It was at anice outdoor venue, both MOB and I wore long dresses. Pictures turned out very well. I wore navy (groom and groomsmen in blue uniform) dad's wore gray suits. MOB wore a silvery color, so we didn't 'match', but the colors went together well. I had originally thought I should coordinate more with her, but she is 5 feet tall and a rounder build, and I'm 6 feet tall and angular. Since we don't look anything at all alike, I think dresses that worked well together but did not 'match' in any way actually helped us to look our best as individuals-and not try to make 2 very different people match. Good luck!

I am selling on etsy. I've done it for almost a year. I could try to answer some questions

Thank you all. I appreciate it. If anyone else has any other thoughts to add, please chime in!

We have a grandbaby on the way! They want to use cloth diapers. It's been a long time since we used them. What are the good brands now? Best inners? Best covers? Thank you!!

My HP spectre solid state hard drive laptop has been a dismal failure from Day 1. Buyers beware of that! The salesperson did a great job on my husband, convincing him to buy it. We have absolutely no need for such a thing. So now I want to replace it with something cheap, durable, long battery life. I just go on the internet, post pictures for my etsy business, watch netflix/hulu, zoom with kids. No gaming. I want something with enough processing speed that I can have multiple tabs open and it doesn't crawl to a standstill. I want a GREAT battery life (biggest complaint with HP spectre) and something that reliably charges (other complaint with HP, the charging cable has to be JUST SO for it to charge). I'd love to hear your recommendations, or experiences with laptops that you've used. I'd love someone to tell me how much processing speed I'd need, what else to look for/avoid. When you don't know what you don't know, it's hard to know what to ask. I'm sure someone here has all these facts on the tip of their tongue! Thank you!!

Oh my dear. I'm hoping you can be very compassionate with yourself today. Sending hugs and prayers.

I guess photos are a goal of mine. I have pulled 20+ years of photos out of 20+ albums when I had to evacuate for wildfires this year. They are now in photo safe envelopes in photo storage boxes, organized by year. My aunt bought me a scanner. I want to scan them all, give copies to each adult kid, make some photo books, and be DONE. I need to find consistent exercise. Moving, health issues, quarantine, wildfires, none of those are conducive to anything consistent. I'd like to grow my business. I'd like to make our 1,000 sq ft house work better for us (4 people).