[Tough Mudder]

Has anyone here done this? I've seen some videos and still shots and everyone looks like they're in their twenties. Could a forty-something housewife train for something like this?

[Removing Bees]

My MIL has three hives near her garden, and she got stung yesterday (once). I hate to get rid of bees, but once I heard that if they're stinging people, they're probably Africanized. Does anyone here know bees?

Thanks,

Alexandra

[anyone watching House of Cards (netflix version)?]

I thought the show was great. Did anyone notice all the Biblical names? Peter, Paul, Francis, Christine, Rachel, Adam....

[Planning an intervention.]

Wow, thanks for all the information ladies. Joanne I'm sending a message.

[Planning an intervention.]

thanks to everyone. There were not charges filed. The couple has no children and the person is female. I have another question...is it possilbe for this to be handled medically - seems to me I've heard of medicine that helps curb cravings?

 

I have not yet PM'd Joanne, but plan to this afternoon.

[Planning an intervention.]

Someone I care about is abusing alchohol. This person becomes a rageful, combative person after drinking and has NO memory of it the next day. There has been one DWI (that Iknow of). A few days ago this person was out at a bar, slugged the bartender, had seven cop cars show up and was pepper sprayed.

This person is resistant to any advice. The spouse is desperate and needs support.

What can be done before this person kills someone or self?

Thank you.

[Has anyone taught/tutored community college GED classes?]

I taught GED last year and I liked the Steck-Vaughn material. It is my understanding that they are the publishers of the actual GED test and that gave me an added sense of confidence that the material was well thought out. You can buy it on Amazon. I also am not very strong in math. I did 1-2 hours of homework each night to prepare for the Algebra section. The regular math and Geometry stuff was fine - actually fun! GED is a tough gig, especially if you have little court ordered teenagers. It was an education for me too. Good luck to your husband.

[LCHF - cranky and craving]

For those who have done this WOE can you tell me how long the low energy lasts and if you continue to have problems with cravings. If so, when does it become easy? :)

Thanks!

[Pilonidal cyst]

A member of my family is going in for the third surgery on this problem. The surgeon suggested that we try a different healing method where they don't stitch it up but leave the wound open!

Anyone have any words of wisdom on this difficult and stressful problem?

Thanks!

Alexandra

[How can I help a young man deal with a Misdemeanor?]

His lawyer has spent all of five minutes with him. My student thinks that he will get one year probation when all is said and done but I wish that I could figure out a way to get the whole thing dismissed. I know it sounds unfair but this kid has been paying all his life. I just wish that I could help him get a break, kwim?

[How can I help a young man deal with a Misdemeanor?]

so it is difficult for him to get a job. He lives with mom and dad but they have no actual home. We live in TX btw. Do judges take extenuating circumstances into consideration?

[How can I help a young man deal with a Misdemeanor?]

A young man I teach with be going to court in a few weeks for a Misdemeanor theft charge. He is very bright and I am looking into college options for him. His family is basically homeless and I want to get him some scholarship help if he qualifies, but I worry about this charge. He is so bright! He knows he made a terrible mistake. Is there anyway that I could help him? I am writing a letter to say how he has made such gains in my class. He even helps/tutors other kids!

Any ideas on how I can help this wonderful but exasperating young man?

[If you write fiction, do you use an outline or seat of pants?]

I like to write and allow the story to unfold and a friend of mine says that she thinks that it would help my writing if I really planned it out. She's not a writer but she's read everything that I've written and I appreciate her responses.

I've tried using an outline and I think the writing seems stale when I do that.

Are you a planner of a seat of the pants writer?

[How can I get my protagonist defense atty disbarred or sanctioned?]

:iagree: If it is a hero protagonist, I would think something that the reader can identify with, have compassion for (like misguided, but good intentions.) If your protagonist is a bad guy, then any of the other serious infractions would do.

 

Yes! She is the heroine so she should be framed or set up or something. She can be accused of sleeping with the judge for example but she musn't be guilty of it. She's flawed but she's not a floozy or a criminal. She got into defense because her mother was a Gloria Allred type lawyer that defended floozies. And so she went the other direction to defend the common guy - or gal.

 

Thanks to everyone for their posts and thoughts on this.

[How can I get my protagonist defense atty disbarred or sanctioned?]

I am reading a great deal about law and disbarment but I am drawing a blank on how to get my character (a defense attorney) to face some sort of inquiry or some sort of major legal headaches.

Anyone want to help me with this small little writer's block?

[My novella was rejected by Harlequin...]

So I sent in a 15 K story to harlequin and exactly two months later they send me an email saying they're not interested. No problem except I wonder if they really read it. One of their suggestions was that love scenes should not have crude or gratuitous s@x. The friends who have read my stuff say my love scenes are LAME!

So does anyone really think that they read all thos electronic submissions?

Do I need an agent?

Do I need to INCLUDE crude and gratuitous s@x scenes...:)

 

 

I loved my story btw. It's easy to love your own story isn't it? It's like loving your own children. Maybe I'll just self-publish the derned thing.

[transcendental meditation]

Has anyone gone through the course? It is a huge amount of money and I wonder if one can't just pick up a book on meditation and learn by doing!

Thanks

[Struggling Readers Never Catch Up? The Myth of "Late Bloomers"]

The director of the Special Education Dept. told me that my son was the worst reader she had ever come across. I took him out of school halfway through second grade and homeschooled him for six and a half years. Sometimes I would leave him be to wait to see what happened and other times I would get very enthusiastic about some program or another. What finally made a difference was Barton Reading. It wasn't a miracle but it helped him.

At twelve he still could not spell the word "the" or tie his shoelaces.

I have the feeling that going through puberty helped him but at the same time he also returned to public school in seventh grade so who knows.

Now he excells at school. The first month I had two teachers tell me that he needs to relax about grades a little. He walks around with his Honors Chemistry book and reads ahead.

I have a nephew who followed a similar path. His mother a ps teacher used to talk about him like he was a dumb kid until he went through puberty. Then he also started to excel. He got a full ride scholarship and is a Phd in Engineering, teaching at a major university in California now.

I don't think that the idea of late blooming is an "unschooling fantasy." I see it happen all the time. I think that the school system as it stands now is a hostile environment for elementary aged boys.

I thank God for homeschooling.

[Protecting the elderly against financial predators.]

I have a relative who has signed up for all sorts of things that have been offered to her over the phone. This eighty year old lady is getting ESPN Magazine as well as Ebony Magazine! (she isn't African American or a sports enthusiast btw). Now this month my dh discovered she has given out her banking information and there is a charge directly on her bank statement!

I am going to take her to the bank today to talk to them but neither dh nor I know much about this.

Has anyone been here been down this path and if so would you care to tell me what helped?

Thanks!

[Another publishing question...]

Well, I'm not suggesting that they are vanity ;), only that you need to be certain that they are not. I did a super quick google, and they do seem legit.

 

I wouldn't worry about a legit publisher stealing manuscripts. They wouldn't be in business if they were into stealing, right? Just go for it! And good luck!

 

Good point thanks!

[Another publishing question...]

The publisher that I am talking about is Avon Publishing btw.

Thanks for you thoughts.

[Another publishing question...]

One of the publishers has a page where you answer a few questions about your book and then upload your manuscript. Why does that feel sort of weird to me? Am I being paranoid? I'm just sure they are going to take my baby, by masterpeice and steal it and make millions....:lol:

I figure that is how some of those authors out there put out a novel every eight weeks.

[Can I query more than one publisher at once?]

Harlequin even though they have those covers that bother me - a lot. I am also thinking of submitting to Avon.

 

My goals for this afternoon is to write a decent query letter. I am nervous about it...

Alexandra

[Can I query more than one publisher at once?]

It's a catch 22. Yes, you can, unless, like Auntie M says, their submissions guidelines say differently.

 

 

IF they ask for an exclusive, tell them it's out with other publishers. If you accept the exclusive, put a timeline on it.

 

If you tell us what it is, than we can give you better advice.

 

What sort of timeline would you put on such a thing?

Thanks.

[Can I query more than one publisher at once?]

The publishers' guidelines for writers should mention whether or not they will accept multiple submissions (pieces that are being offered to more than one publisher at a time). In the past this seemed to be frowned upon, but I think the publishing world is changing.

 

Book or article?

Fiction or nonfiction?

Is it simply a query pitching something, or do you actually have a completed work with sample chapters to submit? If the latter, I think I'd for sure rank my publisher by my own preference and go after them one by one.

 

That's just my two cents. If you are talking about a novel you might want to track down Georgiana D.

 

This is a romance set in Middle Ages on an island in the North Atlantic. I am going through for final revisions over the next 3-4 weeks. It is about 70,000 words.

 

How would you rank a publisher?

 

Thanks for any thoughts on this.