My dh and I saw an R-rated movie earlier this week. It had it all - s*x, violence, language, drugs. (I'm embarrassed to admit we went to see it - but it WAS HILARIOUS if you are a Will Ferrell fan). There were children in the theater. The youngest looked to be about 8. :confused:

found someone to pick up

We didn't bother as our EFC was higher than the cost of attending the college. Our dd has an academic scholarship, and I talked to the financial aid office last year before the deadline, to make sure her scholarship wasn't at risk. They said we didn't have to file if the only thing she had was the academic scholarship. I would check with your college to see if there are any other risks.

If I were in the market today, I would get a high-efficiency top loader. I got a front-loader 3 years ago, and although I haven't run into the repair or mold problems that others have, I agree with you that sometimes you need more water to get clothes clean! About the repair - I think you have gotten good use out of an 18yo washer. Around here, minimum appliance repair is about $100 - they won't even take a look for less than $70! So I'd get a new one.

My dermatologist recommended the Anthelios. My, it's expensive!

No. It's more important that you can see the doc when you need to. We've moved around a lot - when my kids were younger, they sometimes saw a ped & sometimes a family doctor. It just depended on the best "fit" in the community we were in at the time.

Ugh, stories like yours are why I would rather take a beating than shop for a car. Truly. We have 3 old cars - I would LOVE to replace them - but the thought of having to sell them, and having to buy new ones, is just too much. So we will keep paying repair bills until they fall apart and we have no choice...

I did this recently. I know someone at church, and I met a younger woman at church w/ the same last name. So I asked, "Are you so-and-so's daughter?" (IDIOT!) She laughed hysterically and said, "No, I'm her sister-in-law!" I then realized that she was probably only about 10 years younger. I was mortified because she thought it was so amusing that I'm guessing she reported it to the older s-i-l.

There is a genetic component to melanoma, too. My mom got it at about 40. I got it at 36. I try to limit my sun exposure, but I also wear sunscreen. Since it's pretty clear to me that I was genetically predisposed to melanoma, I'm not sure what difference it makes... :(

Fiddler on the Roof. When Tevye leaves Chava.

We are moving in 2 weeks to a house that is 40% smaller than our current house. I am very excited about it for some of the reasons you've mentioned: closer in (only 3 miles to dh' office instead of 23!), and no home maintenance, yard care or pool care (the landlord pays for all that). As far as downsizing stuff - we never really filled up this house. But I have still gotten rid of a ton of books, and am also unloading some kitchen stuff. The only thing I'll miss are the birds & bunnies. But I'm sure if we put out the bird feeders, they will come!

I was going to say that! It boggles the mind. :glare:

We don't spend that much. I think our pool is 30k gallons. I don't think the electricity and water attributed to our pool could be more than $75/month. (since our total water/electric runs between $200-$350 month). The only thing that kills us is the gas bill when we run the hot tub, or worse yet, heat the pool. I think it costs us about $10 each time we use the hot tub, and probably $50 to heat the pool.

:iagree: I thought they did a great job staying as faithful as they could to the book, within the confines of a 2 hour movie. Everything I thought of: "oh I wish they had done this, or that, or whatever..." just weren't possible b/c of time constraints.

For everyday snapshots, I like snapfish. They run specials pretty frequently for 1 cent prints - even though you have to pay shipping, I think the total can be as low as about 6 cents/print. I've never had any problems with the quality of their prints, although during one special I did receive a box of 100 of someone else's prints!

I voted "other" because I had an iPhone for 2 years...but when my contract expired a few months ago, I couldn't justify continuing to pay almost $80/mo. I went with a Motorola Droid on Virgin Mobile, and in less than 4 months my monthly savings had paid for the phone.

I could not believe this: The contractor who did our pool/landscape referred to it in his quote as "rod iron". Installing wrought iron gates is what his company does! :confused:

I'm a dog owner/lover. But I'm with a pp who said you should wait until you know for sure if/when/where you'll be moving in a year. How heartbreaking if you moved overseas and couldn't take your new family member!

I voted that yes, I color my hair and have some gray...BUT I started highlighting my hair about 7 years ago, before I had any visible gray hairs. I like the way the highlights look. So it's great that they also mask the grays that keep coming!

I agree. Taxes are ever-increasing, yet higher education in CA is turning into a train-wreck (and don't even get me started on the billions we are about to start spending on a train no one will ride). I'm in CA, and I wouldn't recommend anybody move here now. Unless they want to buy my house which is for sale. :D

Her story sounds very odd. However, as to whether it's OK to ask for help for funeral expenses: It's common for people in some cultures to get help from their community to pay for funerals. I see it here in SoCal. I think friends & family usually offer a service (such as a car wash), but sometimes they just ask for donations. That said...I don't think this applies in the case you described.

That was our experience as well. By the end of the first batch (which lasted maybe 3 months?) our clothes were noticeably dingier.

I can count on one hand the items that I've "de-cluttered" that I regret. I used to tell myself, "I'll use that again someday," or, "I would wear that," when what I meant was "I'll never use/wear that again!" Let's see...I gave away one book that then went out of print and went $$$ in value. :glare: We are getting ready to move now, and in cleaning out my pantry last week I tossed the last of my meringue powder. Then I promised ds we'd decorate shamrock cookies, so I was at the cake supply store this morning buying meringue powder! (the old one was probably too old anyway, I consoled myself). Anyway...offhand those are the only two things I can think of, although there might be a few more. There are a few cool clothing items that I wore in college that my 18 yo dd would *love* - but really, was I supposed to save every article of clothing I've owned for the last 25 years in the hopes that they would become "hipster" decades later?! Throw it, give it, sell it. You won't regret it! This is my favorite inspiration for de-cluttering: Miss Minimalist The blog & book are excellent.

I am the exact opposite. Growing up, I loved cats, and disliked and feared dogs. I would go out of my way to walk another route if there was a dog barking through a fence on the preferred route. Then I met my dh, who owned the SWEETEST dog. :001_wub: I fell in love with both of them. Now I don't get what I ever liked about cats...:confused:

Costco refunded my $.