I have two women that I've been friends with since elementary school, so 30+ years. I wouldn't call them my best friends though. We used to be, but our lives just drifted apart. I don't really have a best friend. At times i wish I did. There isn't really anyone that I can just pick up the phone and vent to or chat with.

One of my children starts college in the fall to become an elementary school teacher...a job that is notoriously underpaid. However, it is what she really wants to do, we need good teachers, and if she's frugal, she can eke by. What I've done is show her the salary ranges and taught her how to live with a budget. We've also turned down acceptance and scholarships at a more expensive school because what she'd still have to pay is more than she'd have to pay at a state school. On a teacher's salary she cannot swing large student loan debt. She's aware that it isn't a lucrative career, and it is ultimately her choice to make.

Don't skip it. My husband's colon ruptured with no advance warning about 7 years ago. Emergency surgery, colostomy, and follow up surgeries resulted. Our pre-insurance bills were well over 300K. We rarely use our high deductible insurance, and it is horrible about covering meds, but it was a financial life-saver that year.

The high school we are zoned for is 7.2 miles away. There is another high school only 4.5 miles away, but it is in a different county.

When I don't watch it, I easily creep up to 4-5 12 oz cups a day. My heart can't really deal with that though, and my stomach isn't fond of it either. So I generally try to keep it down to two. Often is is a 12oz mug in the morning, and an iced coffee around lunch. I am, however, sitting here sipping an iced coffee right now..lol.

I helped them brainstorm for ideas a little. That was about it though.

This is why I've instructed my family to cremate me, put me in a cardboard box, and do with my ashes as they please. If they want a memorial, have a small party at home with close friends and family. I find funerals at funeral homes to be a form of horrific torture anyway.

High school was much lonelier on the homeschool side for my girls. Pretty much all of their friends from age 14 and up were from non-homeschool circles. (church, volunteering, etc). Around here groups were very hard to find because you have to be the "right" kind of Christian homeschooler. They had a great co-op they attended for a while, but junior and senior year the friends became sparse as kids moved on to community college and work.

That is NOT the average around here. Most people living in my area can barely afford to pay their bills, let alone fork over the equivalent of a nice new car on a wedding. Weddings are in my not so distant future, with three grown daughters. I certainly will not be spending that kind of money. They don't *have* that kind of money. We can throw a perfectly gorgeous rural wedding and reception for under 5K, and that is with good food, music and an nice dress. My wedding cost around $600. Granted, that was 25 years ago, but it can be done.

I think it would be fine. I make a similar "stroganoff" recipe that isn't terribly far from alfredo sauce. It is delicious. I might leave the green peppers out, but onion and garlic would definitely be good.

I tell my girls that I'm happy that I had my kids young, because now they are grown and I'm just 41. HOWEVER. I've also told them that I wish that I'd not gotten married so young, and that I'd finished college first. One of mine is 20, and has no intentions of getting married any time soon. One is intent on becoming a teacher before she has kids. One will probably marry young, and have kids fairly young, but will get her degree first. I mostly want them to be people. Not arm candy, not baby factories, not a trophy wife. I want them to use their gifts, and be in a mutually respectful relationship. I don't care what age those things happen, and have not emphasized an appropriate age for them. I probably would have told BIL to stuff it, as it is exactly zero of his business as far as your daughter is concerned.

My girls all have their own accounts with debit cards. Their money goes directly into their accounts, and I transfer money into them as needed. My oldest is the only one currently working. She makes enough to pay for her own gas, toiletries, clothes, and entertainment. I give her money occasionally to cover medical, car repairs, etc. She budgets her paycheck fairly well, and has been able to keep her checking account in order. The younger two have very sporadic jobs, but drive themselves to all their activities and such. I transfer a small amount into each of their accounts each week and they budget it for entertainment, gas, make up, etc.

I have no issues with the book itself, but if a student isn't good at self-teaching, or doesn't have a teacher working with them, this is not for them. The videos do not teach lessons, they only go over select areas. That said, my dd did manage to prepare herself for the College Algebra CLEP test using it, and passed the test. (With no outside help)

I just spent two days going through the orientation for my dd's college. It was required, and involved the parents. Most of the two days was spent convincing parents not to be helicopter parents. The level of involvement that parents are expecting, and the hand holding they are doing is rather astonishing. I am involved on the back end, in helping the kid through the financial quagmire. The rest is her ballgame. This is her life, not mine. But apparently the college is really having to deal with parents calling and being upset because little Susie doesn't like the food, or the professor wouldn't give an extension on a late paper. I actually felt a little bad because I wasn't nearly as concerned about my kids going away to college as these people were. (And because I'm not all rah rah school spirit...*I'm* not the one going to school there?!) On the upside, dd thanked me for being mean and making her do her own laundry since she was 10, and pretty much making her deal with her own life for the past couple of years.

I would pass on that one for one reason: Noxious and offensive are extremely vague. Our entire county has a restriction about mobile homes, so that one isn't a big deal to me.

If I didn't have to buy food, I think I'd be rich.

I'm SO not a helicopter parent. In fact, I have had other parents (IRL) question the freedoms I give my kids. However. Having recently going through the process of applying and attending schools, I know how easy it is to drop the ball on something that can affect the next four years in a very negative way. There is way too much at stake to throw them to the wolves. I've let them do the calling and emailing and applying without my help. They've been free to choose (and change) their majors and colleges. But we do go over accounts, schedules, and the tracks they are supposed to keep up with to graduate. I don't hover over grades, but I do expect to see them at the end of the semester, since I'm paying for a good chunk of the tuition/room/board. I didn't pay to have my house built and never check on the progress, and I'm not going to pay for an education without checking on the progress either. My oldest has some executive issues, and needed more direction than my younger two have. She's since thanked me for it. If I had stayed completely hands off, she would have floundered and dropped out. She also had some bad advising that she wouldn't have caught until it was too late and would have missed graduating on time because of it. It was caught because I kept up with what she was supposed to be doing. My kids DO give me access to their accounts. It is to give them some peace of mind that someone else is keeping an eye on the financial aid tangle. I don't hover socially. I won't go and clean dorm rooms. I won't go yell at professors for not giving little Susie a good grade. I wouldn't even go to the advising appointment with dd this week, although she asked. (I felt she needed to do that herself and she did just fine).

Woo hooo!!!!

My dh has had chronic pain for over 10 years. He's been loosely diagnosed with fibromyalgia because the doctors can't quite put their fingers on what it causing it. In the past 2-3 years he has been presenting more and more like MS. However, from the one non-contrast MRI they've done they have declared that he doesn't have enough lesions in his brain to diagnose MS yet. It is frustrating, both as the person suffering, and as the caregiver/loved one.

My girls and I have gone to our community college for the past 3 years. It varies widely by professor. (And student, I've found). Most professors will hand back graded tests and papers for the student to see and then take them back up. They keep them to reduce cheating. Only around half of our professors have posted grades online throughout the semester. This past semester was the first semester that they were required to post mid-term grades. One of my kids was very bad at keeping track of her grades, as she would never write down what she scored on a paper or test before they took it back. It was always a guessing game for her. If I didn't really know what my grade was during the semester, I'd talk to the professor.

I use floral wire and haven't had issues. And aluminum foil. I've used foil as props too. Make sure they cool before moving them off the pan/sheet you cure them on.

I haven't had genetic testing, but my extended family on my dad's side includes a mixed race great grandmother. It wasn't openly talked about when I was young, even though it was fairly obvious when looking at her. (I was told about it as a teen, after she'd already passed away so I couldn't talk to her about it) She was beautiful. We have facial features and body types that harken back to her ancestry, and my crazy, coarse, curly hair comes from her. My dad and uncle from that side, oddly, look hispanic. I didn't inherit her lovely complexion, unfortunately. I think if my twins didn't know their history, they'd be very surprised to hear it. They are blond, blue eyed, and have skin so white we joke that they are translucent. It's their Irish/English ancestry showing through. I think many families are surprised that their genetics don't match up to oral family history. Too many race issues through the years, and ugly cover ups. I have found that often in southern families mixed race ancestors were often said to be Native American rather than from the African decent that they actually were.

I generally think of Early American Folk Art when I see that style. (which actually encompasses a large range of styles and mediums)

Also, don't set the hot pyrex dish on anything wet. The temperature change will also cause explosions. Especially messy when it is a broccoli/rice casserole :glare: Also, don't leave a plastic cake carrier on the stove top and then turn on the wrong burner. You may not realize it is on fire until the lid blows off.

I won't lie to dh, but we are kind of private people. I don't look at his phone or computer and he doesn't look at mine. We don't know each other's passwords to everything, but would share if needed. We don't tell each other everything either. It would annoy me (and has with couple friends in the past) that a friend would tell her husband things we talked about.