I voted somewhat. While my dh's job hasn't been affected, My brother, father and step-mother have all been out of work for over a year. They just can't find a job.

Yes, small toys are sometimes lost. But most often they land just in the bend of the duct so you can reach in and get it. I think floor vents must just be the norm in colder climates and ceiling in the warmer ones. I had just never lived far enough south to see them until this year!

We must have gotten a faulty house then..:lol: we just moved to TX this past winter, and was the first time we've encountered ceiling vents. Our house FROZE during the colder than average winter. I figured it was due to the vents (hot air rising and all) I couldn't imagine it in a MN winter...brr!!! So there's hope that ALL ceiling systems aren't as heat poor as this one??

I would go with no. 2 as well. In MN I would avoid ceiling vents...because we have them in this house and it NEVER GOT WARM. (And we are in TX!!) Excellent for cooling...not so much for heat.

At our old house we had a combo room. I had a portion of the family room dedicated to school stuff, and the other half had typical family room stuff. It always worked out well and became the girls main hang out room. In fact I miss it now..lol.

Anything with a carb in it! lol. I have a weakness for toasted buttered bread, potatoes, pasta, cookies, etc.

Zucchini brushed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and garlic, then grilled..yum! Cabbage, one way not mentioned yet is chopped and sauted with salt and crushed red pepper. You can also grill it. Wrap a quartered head in foil with olive oil and salt drizzled over it.

DD13 likes +Anima, Happy Happy Clover, and Kyuma!

We really like ours, and I wish I had bought a thicker one. It's actually proabably time for a replacement...hmmm..

No, mine don't answer the door. Mostly because 99% of the time it isn't anyone we know. We have no family here, and haven't been here long enough to make friends that just drop by. The girls wouldn't be able to deal with pushy salesmen, or shady characters very well...so why chance it? Even when I answer it, I leave my dog right behind me barking like a mad dog, and I keep my body behind the door to block it if needed. It's all about the area we live in though. Now, back in TN where we had family, lots of friends and neighbors we knew well, they would check to see who it was, then answer it if they knew them. If not, they would just yell for me...lol.

They can too wash them ;) My girls were washing dishes at 10 and 7, by hand. It may take longer, but they will get faster. We divide the kitchen duty into tops, loading, wash by hand. Tops has to clear the table and wipe down the counters and table top. Loading has to unload and reload the dishwasher. Wash by hand has to do the dishes that can't go into the dishwasher (And there's always a sinkful of those to do) Then we rotate evenly throughout the week, with Sundays off. I have a chart on the fridge so there's no arguing about whose day it is. There's no differences at this point due to age either. (there hasn't been since the younger ones were tall enough to do the dishes) We also divy up laundry, bathroom and trash.

When I'm just browsing, I like to go to Blockbuster to look, especially for new releases. Then when I see something I like I go back to Netflix and search for it in the search box. I don't like how Netflix does their browsing for stuff. Seems like half the New Releases never show up. We don't have cable either, so we don't even know what's out most of the time.

Grrr...how frustrating when people (who are wrong) insist that they are right. No oversight in Texas. Period. She doesn't have a clue.

We aren't demanding it, but we are encouraging it. It just makes sense financially. And if they do not get married, then I hope they stay home long enough to be financially stable before moving out. FWIW, I never have lived on my own except for a very brief 2 month period of marriage trouble and even then I had kids. I don't really feel like I missed out on anything.

completely unsweetened? http://brands.kraftfoods.com/bakerschocolate http://www.bigoven.com/unsweetened+baking+chocolate_recipes If it's semi-sweet, I'd have to eat it...lol.

Those are two separate things to me. I can own my house out right, and have no other debt and still not be financially secure. Job loss, medical bills, etc. could cause a tax default on the property and you could still lose your home. (It actually happened here locally recently) Too many variables to include financial security into the debt free equation. Debt free to me means not being indebted to another person or entity over a period of time.

I started using the Tang, vinegar, detergent combo mentioned in the other thread last week, and it's like magic! All that nasty film washed right off, and my dishes are CLEAN again! ETA: I had tried just vinegar and it didn't help.

Ours is set at 75 right now, but with this 100+ heat the actual temp runs 78-80. In the winter, we had it set at 67.

I consider debt free to be owing NOTHING to anyone. Even being under a lease is a form of debt to me. If you are renting, but don't have a lease term...then it's not debt. We are currently 'debt free' with the exception of our house rent, which is a temporary situation for us until our house sells. We owe nothing else on anything: cars, credit card, medical, mortgage...nada. We plan on keeping it that way if at all possible. I don't consider it debt free if you still have a mortgage.

My dd and I are both this way. If there's a way to trip and fall, we do it. If there is a corner that's begging to be bumped or ran into, we find it. My lastest trick was to nearly knock myself unconscious by bending over to pick up a leash. It involved a fireplace mantle, and ended up with me across the room, crying in the floor with no real memory of how I got there other than the agonizing pain in my head. :lol: We call my dd Grace with much sarcasm. We just deal, and know that God must be looking out for us. I do try to remind dd to be careful and pay attention.

My 13 yr old just finished Jane Eyre. My 10 yr olds are finishing up Henry Reed Inc.

We are a book loving family, and it shows. We have four 6ft tall book cases in our school area, one shorter one in our entryway, four shorter ones in the girls room, and six 6ft ones in my dh's office. They are all full, and I could use a few more. That's not to mention the books scattered about in end tables, night stands, desks, etc. Oh, and I have a giant tub in a closet full of school books for future use. :lol:

suspend anything in jello. :tongue_smilie: Here's some more inspiration for you. :lol::lol:

I have a 750B, which is probably an older model. I can still find cartridges for it at Staples. I LOVE my label maker.

We just moved from a 3000sq ft house to a 1400sqft house. We got rid of a TON of stuff, and have realized how much of it was just stuff. Yes, we are a little cramped, and we have 3 girls sharing a room. But it's livable. We are possibly looking at moving again soon, and are looking at houses somewhere between the two sizes. I doubt we'll go back to 3000 though.