Sorry but I don't believe this. My hubby worked for UPS 15 years ago and the teamsters made sure the workers were treated very well. I think it was shortly before their strike which got them even better working conditions. The union won that high-profile fight against management, and I'd be shocked if it has changed much. As far as delivering packages at 10PM - you bet the driver is making $$$ for any time he works after 8 hours a day, so I imagine management doesn't like long days any better than drivers do.

My heart is broken for her family. Her blog was so encouraging to me during my cancer treatment. :angelsad2:

This is only partially true. In the last year I have spent well over $3000 on repairs to a 10 year old van. That seems like a lot of money - $250/month - but I could not buy a late-model van for anywhere near $250/month. It would likely be twice that. So I am still better off with my old van.

I agree. Both families were very rude. But the one part I don't think is rude, is that she brought some of her own diet food. She probably thought it would be easier than for you to try to accommodate her diet.

I think I will take him in - it really does seem to be very painful unless he's totally faking it. Now the only problem is that since he's usually healthy as a horse and hasn't been to our family doctor in more than 3 years, he's not a "current" patient, so they won't see him today. We'll have to take him in to the urgent care hours at 5PM. :(

with some friends and shortly afterward he complained of ear pain. He didn't feel or hear any water in his ears. This morning it still hurts and he says he can't hear from that ear. I looked up "swimmer's ear" which is an infection which this doesn't sound like since it happened so quickly. Must we head to the doctor today?

My dh would totally agree with this. He wouldn't be caught dead going to a men's pancake breakfast. But he is more than happy to flip pancakes all morning with a bunch of men for a mission fundraiser.

Good for you! Lots of my clothes are from rummage sales or thrift stores, and I get SO DANG MANY compliments on them!

I almost never use my Keurig anymore and wish I hadn't bought it. I bought it in March last year, and could get k-cups through both Amazon and Costco at 37.5 cents each. In November the prices jumped about 10 cents each, which I thought was due to the approaching holidays. Now Amazon is charging 60 cents. I know coffee prices have gone up in the last year...but this is a 60% increase in the k-cup price in one year and I think it is bait & switch - now that we have the Keurig, they think we will pay whatever they want to charge for the k-cups. :(

Yes, my dd refused to read it.

I sometimes feel that way, too - like there's a moral superiority to living in a small house, and I wish I could achieve it. But when I am rational, I think we should be content in whatever circumstances, as a pp mentioned.

Thanks for posting this (esp. the part I bolded). I don't think my life would be simpler in a tiny house. I know my house is way more than we need for 4 people (and one kid leaving for college soon). BUT we just had a grad party for 60+ people - how could we have done that in a tiny house? We routinely entertain smaller groups and it's nice to have the adults downstairs and the teens in the open "bonus room" upstairs. Our guest room, which sometimes seems like useless space, is in use at least 8x/year. So I'm sure we could live in a smaller house - but I can't picture us being in 1000 sq ft and able to continue the hospitality.

Sometimes the quality is not as good. I have shopped at Asian and Mexican markets for really good deals on produce. But sometimes I have to pass on the "deals" because, for example, the cilantro has already started to turn black around the edges. Yeah, it's only 10 cents a bunch, but I'd rather pay 50 cents for something fresh.

I just did this. We spent way more than we thought we would. It came to almost $7/pound of usable meat. We had to pay $3.25/# hanging weight for 1/2 cow. Then a slaughter fee of $50, and a butcher fee of $.67/#(who knew there was a difference?). There was so much waste - bones & fat trim - just over 40%. I found out too late I should have asked for the liver - THAT would have reduced my per-pound rate (and I love liver). I was paying $6-$7/pound for chuck steaks and ground beef at the farmer's market. I know I got some nicer cuts included in this deal, but, those are cuts I probably wouldn't buy on a regular basis anyway. So it didn't turn out to be such a great deal. This was in central CA.

We are in the process of doing this, too. We are in a similar situation as the OP in that we have no ideal family for our 15yo to go to. As we discussed his preferences with him, 18yo dd asked why she couldn't be his guardian. We told her we didn't want to burden her with that. But later we came back to the conversation - where & how would they live - & both dc insisted they wouldn't want to be split up (the nearest relative is in another state). So that's how we're setting it up - with a trusted relative to handle the money until they are older. Of course, ds and I would both have to die in the next 3 years for this to matter.

This wouldn't be a problem for my teens - they are very good friends, and rarely bicker. But I'm with you on the "worry wart" part!

Of course, and pools at the resort. And I think Phoenix cools off at night?

I am so glad we don't have cable TV right now. I know I wouldn't be able to stop myself from watching every detail.

OK, it's unanimous...I'll go...but here's an even more important question: Would you go spend a couple of days at a resort in Phoenix when the temp is forecast at 100?

There's no specific legal age to be left home alone in CA - and from what I can tell, it would be OK even if a "responsible" 15yo was left in his home with food, etc. So I think adding an 18yo in charge should really make it OK legally. She drives and we'd also leave $$ for emergencies, etc.

Dh wants me to accompany him on a short (2-night) business trip. Our dd is 18. Yes, I know she can vote and join the military and buy cigarettes...but should we leave her in charge of 15yo ds? I'm honestly not worried about them getting into trouble - the worst is that they will spend more time on the computer than usual, or eat too much junk food. I'm just convinced there will be an earthquake or another disaster while we are gone. :001_huh: I guess our family should have a natural-disaster plan in place anyway. So, assuming we do that - would you leave the teens for 48 hours?

I am praying for you!

Yes, it's worth it; I haven't left the house in 3 years! :D Of course I'm joking - but I honestly think I save some money with it, because sometimes it's easier to order an item and get it in 2 days, rather than head to the store and spend time & gas money that way.

I will add another "it depends". My dd was accepted as a freshman, with a freshman scholarship, but she will be bringing 36 hours with her which is more than the limit for freshman students. However, some of the classes were taken before she turned 16, which according to the registrar's office won't transfer in and thus won't be counted against her. But before she applied I couldn't get anyone in admissions to answer the question for us as to whether dd should be a freshman or transfer applicant. So we just called her a freshman. We've since submitted her college transcript, so I *hope* the registrar's office was correct about the transferable hours, or that the two departments don't talk!

I just finished reading Elizabeth Wissner-Gross's 2 books, What High Schools Won't Tell You and What Colleges Won't Tell You. She says the 2 most important things are GPA and scores. All the rest (the "packaging" she recommends) is icing on the cake, but the colleges won't even look at you if you don't have their minimum SAT & GPA. She gives the example of colleges who say they are holistic in their evaluation of candidates, but they still use buckets to look at them. First they'll look at all the candidates with >1500, then they'll move down to >1400, etc. etc., reviewing the applications until the class is filled. So if your student has an 1190 - even if the college says they don't have a minimum cut-off - the class might be filled before the college gets to the 1100 bucket.