Hmmm...I tried this for the first time last year and it was not a hit. I threw away 3/4 of the jar in March. :confused:

My poll choice wasn't included. I was sure it was Francois Mitterrand. :001_huh: But I just checked and he's been dead for 16 years. And he was the president of FRANCE, not PM of Canada. Oops. I think the fact that I've heard of Francois Mitterrand should give me some extra credit, though. :)

In California, it's more expensive up front to get the ticket dismissed with defensive driving. :confused: Although it doesn't go on your record, so yes, you save on the insurance. My dh got a ticket last year when he made a left turn across a double yellow line. :( It would have been about $300 to just pay it. It was $20 higher to pay it with the defensive driving dismissal, plus the cost of the defensive driving class.

Pineapple is good, too. I've had salsa that had crushed pineapple mixed in - yum.

I just started at the CC. :) Money is not a problem here as the CC is super-cheap, so I can't answer your questions about that. But I am having a little trouble juggling everything. Now that oldest is in college, and youngest is a senior in high school (taking most of his classes at CC), I feel I should be cooking/cleaning at a higher level. None of that "I'm too busy homeschooling" stuff anymore. And it's just a different mindset than when I was having to teach dc every subject - now I have to stick to a school schedule for MYSELF! If you can swing it financially, I'd do it! Keep in mind that your youngest will still need your help, although I realize different kids have different maturity levels.

I don't get why it's any of their business who pays for the trip. Will they really ask?? I would mention - "oh, did we tell you we're going to Disney next month?" And if they're brash enough to ask about where the money's coming from, you could either say "Why do ask?" as somebody already mentioned, or, if you WANT to tell them, just say in passing "DH's parents are helping us out." Any hurt feelings are not your fault. I had two very different grandmothers. One of them had more money & would take me shopping. The other made cookies. I adored them both. They lived in the same city, and when I would visit, the cookie-baker was never jealous of the clothes & dinner the other one would take me out for.

No, my point in saying that was that I think it will be a futile gesture - inviting someone that you know will say no is not really an invitation! I am pretty decided that if we decide to go early, I'll invite everyone. But still trying to decide if I'll take that risk of hurting feelings.

What SimplyMe said - if you didn't like the heat & humidity, remember they haven't gone anywhere! My dh's whole family lives in Houston. Every time we visit, I *hate* not being able to go outside. Edited to say I love the people of Houston. Just not the heat, humidity, & mosquitoes. :)

I didn't say this in the OP, but if you didn't guess already, I'm the planner. Three of us were talking about getting away earlier, as a lark. I am guessing it won't be possible for most of the moms (for some, it's hard enough leaving the family responsibilities just for the original time). So even if we extend the invitation, I doubt anybody else would take us up on it. And I'm just very worried that someone might feel like they have missed half the party, as somebody put it. Since it's such a small retreat, there's not much planning or setup to be done. I could make everyone's bed. :) I want everyone to have a fun, relaxing time with no hurt feelings. But I also *really* want to get away earlier. :(

Let's say a mom plans a weekend retreat for the homeschool group moms - planned to be Friday morning to Sunday night. About 8 or so moms from the group can attend, so 2 cars are needed for the carpool. The planning mom decides to go up to the retreat on Wednesday, taking 2 of the other moms with her. So the other 5 will go up together on Friday as planned. Is that rude? Does it matter if the planning mom lets the group know a few days before, that there is a car going up early for anybody who can get away those extra 2 days?

I think this, too. Pigtails are either braids, or if you have short hair, those tiny little ponytails that stick out. I am well above 25 and I wear a ponytail every day when I run. I am not yet ready for my mom's "wash & wear" hairdo. My dh loves my long hair so I do what I have to to keep it manageable. It never occurred to me that others might judge my ponytail! I have also seen older, professional women with very elegant looking ponytails. And I'm not sure what to click on in the poll. I think any number of ponytails are fine at any age!

I would trust Wikipedia more. ;) I think of eHow the way I think of the about.com pages. Sort of lowest-common-denominator type stuff. For example, you can find a web page on Southern cooking at About.com. But I'd never use any of their recipes - I'd go straight to Southern Living instead. It would surprise me that somebody thinks you can get college-level writing instruction from eHow. But maybe our perception is wrong and they are a simply fantastic service!

We ditched cable about 4 years ago. Now we watch Netflix streaming. I'm afraid if we ever got cable again, the news networks would be on from the minute hubby got home every night, until we went to bed...! I really shouldn't just blame hubby. Remember Lacy Peterson and Natalee Holloway? Yes, I watched about 3 hours of TV EVERY night for months during those horrible events. So really neither of us can be trusted with cable. :tongue_smilie:

I just came here to ask about this. My ds was talking to me about the incidents in Egypt and Libya, so we went to a news site. The photo is on their front page! I was horrified. Usually they give a warning and you have to click to get to graphic content. (luckily my ds is 16 and not a very young impressionable child)

Jen, I am praying for you & dd. Say the word and I will make you a chocolate cheesecake. My fantabulous recipe has a bit of Kahlua in it; would that be OK?

Thanks for the encouragement. I probably won't drop the class. The problem is figuring out how to get more pool time in, to get up to 4 days a week or so. About using a kickboard - I feel like I need to work on my upper body more - so isn't that counter-intuitive?

I have been running for a little over a year. So I'm in moderately good aerobic health. I tried swimming freestyle laps this morning for the first time since Carter was president. I seriously thought I was going to drown. Some other swimmers seemed to be having the same problem. I was EXHAUSTED after every 50 meters, even though my arms weren't exhausted. I just felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen even though I gulped for air every other stroke. The coach told us this was normal. He called it something which I don't remember. Was it hard for you to start? How long until it gets better? I didn't get a chance to talk to the coach afterward. I'm sure he'll give more advice/encouragement next week but I'm thinking I need to drop by Sunday to get a refund, so I need answers now. :)

My dad went to a fair/festival event once. They made him throw away his pocket knife to enter. When he got inside, there were vendors selling REAL weapons - swords, knives, etc. If he wanted to commit mayhem he sure could have done it easier with that then his pocket knife. :confused:

I can't believe I just read a 9-page thread about poop. :001_huh:

She never replied to my comment. :tongue_smilie:

I think you could either "share" them, or put on a note on her wall telling her how great the photos turned out and does she mind if you put them on your wall for your family?

I just went through my friend list. I deleted 4 of them. I made another 10 or so "acquaintances" and then changed my settings so that acquaintances can't really see much. :) Everybody else is either family or real friends.

I don't have a lot of FB friends. But this woman is in a circle of friends I have IRL (even though we'd never met before). So when the hostess friend said we should be FB friends - it seemed harmless. And the hostess friend has already tagged us together for another event she's planning. Now I regret it, of course! Because I need to either "unfriend" her or deal with someone who doesn't share the same sense of boundaries.

It wasn't shared as my photo - it would have said that on FB. It's on her page as her photo - she had to have downloaded it from my account and then uploaded it back to hers. I looked at some of her other activity, and she does know how to "share" photos & give credit. Just not for me. :( I just posted a comment. :)

Yes, it's more expensive. No, it doesn't taste as good as brewed coffee. No, I'd never buy one again - everybody I've known who has one has had problems with it. Really it's too expensive an appliance to have that many mechanical problems. I have several friends & family who had to replace after a year.