OMG! I completely sympathize. I deal with a few people who seem to have no idea how to visually present text so that it easy to digest quickly. It drives me absolutely nuts. Sometimes, when I have access to an electronic version of a WALL of text, I reformat it in a logical and easy-to-read way just for my own use. It takes just a couple of minutes and is SO much easier to use. I find it bewildering that people can send out such unreadable mush. Instructions are the worst when poorly presented. I have done that "hunt for popcorn" procedure many times. :cursing:

Probably true. But that's part of the point of a student exchange program -- to experience another culture and become more aware of your own. When I was an exchange student in another country (a Muslim majority country, as it happens) I experienced a number of situations that would be unacceptable in modern American culture. And some of them made me uncomfortable. But it wasn't the responsibility of anyone in my host country to shield me from those experiences. It was my job to learn what things I might do that would be offensive in their culture. And to learn to adapt myself to new norms or, if I was truly uncomfortable, to speak up for myself and set boundaries. If it's normal for a coach to direct one student to help another, that student should do what's normal in the culture of that team/school/country.

I once vaguely thought this sounded like a nice tradition until I started working through the logistics. How do you cook a roast while you are at church? Do you just leave the oven on and hope it doesn't burn/dry out/burn the house down? A friend of mine once told me their family did the whole Sunday roast thing and I asked her just that. Turns out they had a maid who stayed home to cook it! I can't imagine cooking a turkey every week. How many people are they cooking for? At Thanksgiving, we eat turkey turkey turkey for several days and then freeze enough for several more meals over the next couple of months. We often do another turkey dinner in February to enjoy it all over again, but that's plenty for us. Even if it were once a month, we would have turkey coming out our ears.

Where do you live that doesn't have fireflies? Every place I've lived, north and south, has had them. I was so curious I went to look it up. According to this website, they aren't found west of Kansas. I had no idea! http://www.firefly.org/firefly-habitat.html

Do you like listening to podcasts or audiobooks? I listen while I exercise, and that helps tremendously with motivation. Right now I'm not super excited about going for my run, but I really want to hear what happens next in my book. So I'm going to go put on my shoes and get out there as soon as I post this. As for fitting it into your day, try starting with a small amount of time that you do religiously. Even just a ten-minute walk (or yoga or bike ride or whatever) would work for making it a habit. After that habit is established, increase to 15 minutes and so on. The chores will probably work themselves out. You may even find that regular exercise gives you more energy to do the chores more efficiently.

"This cake has a hole in it!" I love my bundt pan. As others have said, it's nice for quick breads like banana and pumpkin and makes a pretty cake with no fuss.

Has he gone through a growth spurt yet? My 17yo ds grew 5 inches between his 13th and 14th birthdays, but since then has grown a modest inch or so per year. If I were buying him expensive shoes now, I would probably buy them a half-size up if they were for fashion not athletics. If they were for athletics, I would buy them to fit now.

Though it's minor in the scheme of things, it bothered me that the second officer, the one who spoke to her while she was in the car, kept referring to her as a "young lady". "I need to figure out what to do with this young lady," as if she's a naughty child, rather than an adult woman, a nurse, and a hospital employee. It was just one more way he undermined her authority and credentials. Is there more than one video? I've seen the 19:22 video from the Deseret News (it was also linked earlier here), but I've seen some people referring to the "second video".

Really? That's not my experience. I agree they aren't as hot as habanero, but I think they are usually way spicier than a jalapeno. I would not use them in cooking for folks who don't like spicy food, like my MIL. This link says 50,000-100,000 scoville units. Of course it can vary a lot depending on the growing conditions. Thai peppers are some of our favorites for Thai and Indonesian dishes. We are growing our own this year, because the grocery stores here don't tend to carry them.

Why pizza? I mean, why not pizza? Pizza is always good. But I can't think why that specifically would be a good PLOP prep food. Good luck to all of you in the affected areas.

My dh takes in a tupperware full of raw veggies every day to eat for snacks and these are the veggies we use, though not broccoli so much. Also, we frequently use cabbage, cut into chunks. Not many people eat plain cabbage raw, but it's delicious and slightly sweet. Cabbage is one of his favorites and makes it in almost every day. (He doesn't take all of these every day, just a selection of 2-3 of them to fill the tupperware.)

Yogurt with caramelized figs and pistachios (or pine nuts) http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-yogurt-with-caramelized-155838

"Let me put it this way," which means, "Be sure to pay attention, because I have thought of an incredible witticism that will so blow you away, I wanted to make sure you were fully prepared for it."

It's only 2km, so it's just a short walk. Or presumably there's a bus. But why would he be driving a car for such a short commute in the first place?

I just applied for jobs recently and faced a similar situation. My last job was in 1999. I actually left the "previous employment" section blank. Instead I attached a letter explaining my situation (a stay-at-home parent returning to the workforce) and described activities of the last 15 years that were relevant to the position or showed community involvement. I briefly mentioned homeschooling and related activities but did not stress it. I used as references people I've worked with recently at church and volunteer activities who could attest that I am reliable, etc. Anyway, I was unsure if that was the right approach, but I literally had no idea how to find contact info for my previous employers. We have moved several times since then, so I have purged all the paperwork. And I couldn't even find the company on google. Luckily it worked. I was offered two jobs and am very happy in my new position. Good luck to you!

It will definitely be chilly for someone from Florida. Even if it's hot in the afternoon (and in late September that's not terribly likely), the evenings and mornings will be cold. Right now it's in the 50s at 10pm. To my Houston relatives, that is chilly, and I'm guessing Floridians feel the same way. Chances are you won't consider our "hot" very hot, so pack for a Florida winter. You won't need shorts. Jeans or equivalent will be fine and have a fleece and a waterproof jacket.

The point of mathematical language is to avoid ambiguity, not to create it. No mathematician would ever write an expression like that with the goal of "tricking" students. If the (2+1) is intended to be part of the numerator (i.e. multiplied), it would be better written as 6(2+1)/2 or (6/2)(2+1) If the (2+1) is intended to be part of the denominator (i.e. divided), it would be better written as 6/[2(2+1)] Also, math is not usually well-expressed in ordinary type-writing. Far better to use handwriting or software designed for mathematical expressions so that spacing and positioning can reinforce the meaning of the expression rather than obscuring it. That said, as written, the expression would best be interpreted as (6 / 2) * (2+1) which is 9. But I can't stand these types of problems. They seem to reinforce to the general public that math is just a collection of weird rules that some people "get" and some people don't.

ME TOO! I often feel so confused at the beginning of a movie, and I never know if it's intentional on the director's part, or if I've missed something. I'm not good at identifying faces, which makes it even worse. Dh knows the first twenty minutes of any movie will have lots of pauses with me asking questions like, "Are we supposed to know where this is? Is that the same guy as before? Are they trying to show that time has passed or is this something completely new? THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING! How am I supposed to know what is going on??" That's not to mention the frequent pauses to look up actors on imdb because "I know we've seen her in something before." Luckily dh is very patient.

Five Crowns

I haven't read every post in detail, but I don't think these have been posted yet. These are all 15 minutes of prep time, though the first one has a longer cook time. Roasted Potatoes and Sausage: Cut up potatoes, onions, and peppers and spread on a large baking sheet. Cut pre-cooked sausage into bite-sized pieces (we like Al Fresco Chicken Sausage and stock up when they are on sale). Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. We also add banana peppers. Roast at 400 for about 45 minutes, turning occasionally. Pasta with tuna: Cook a pound of pasta, adding in a bag of frozen peas near the end of cooking time. Drain into a colander and put the pot back on the stove. Pour in some olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Then add 2-3 cans of tuna fish. Add the pasta and peas in, toss together, and serve with parmesan cheese. Panzanella: My favorite in the summer. Takes less than 15 minutes. Cut up 1/2 pound of good crusty bread like ciabatta, 3 tomatoes, 1 small cucumber, red onion, handful of basil, 1/2 pound mozzarella, a few handfuls of good kalamata olives. Toss with a balsamic vinaigrette. Delicious! Mexican Tomato Lime Soup: Fills a junk food craving while not too terrible for you and super easy to make. Saute garlic (2-3 cloves) with 2 tsp cumin. Add a can of tomato juice, juice of one lime, and some tabasco. Add fresh cilantro if you've got it. Heat until piping hot. Then serve with some crushed tortilla chips and shredded monterey jack cheese. Avocado is good too.

Oh, there's plenty of regular old hiking. Miles and miles and miles of trails.

All these analogies are not helping me. I've never been to Branson or Gatlinburg or Las Vegas. But as others have said, what we do in the White Mountains is mostly hike and see outdoor stuff. Here are a couple others that I don't think have been mentioned yet. Lost River Gorge -- Boardwalks taking you through a labyrinth of boulder caves. Fantastic on a hot summer day as the temperature drops dramatically in the gorge. We took our French exchange student here last year and he loved it. Kancamagus Highway There are tons of "places of interest" to stop along many of the roads through the area, too many to name, including lots of geological features like potholes and waterfalls. Often there is a short hike to the sight. One great spot is Diana's Baths. Kids and adults love the beautiful waterfalls and climbing on the rocks (small children there would make me nervous, though).

Can't you weigh him? You can use a bathroom scale by stepping on holding the pet and then stepping on again by yourself. It would be a way to spot big changes, at least.

Is it one of those names that could be male but isn't usually anymore? Like Kelly, Beverly, Leslie, Ashley, etc.

FYI, this post is tagged with an email address. I'm guessing that may not be intentional. You may want to remove the tag to avoid spam. As for your dd's situation, I think starting with an evaluation is a great idea. After that, consider a private tutor who can work on an individualized plan for her. Remember that homeschooling doesn't mean you have to be the sole teacher -- it means you have the flexibility to choose the very best learning situations for your particular student. Good luck and keep us posted!