Well, we are not "young girls", but my teen son and daughter and I are all using Dr. Bronner's tea tree oil bar soap on our faces. It's mild and not drying, yet it seems to keep zits at bay for all of us.

I love fossil bags b/c they are very well made and nice-looking. But that one looks too big for me. (I carry small bags). But if it's the right size for you - I'm sure you'll love it!

I have both. They are 2 years old - we haven't had an avocado yet, but we have a gajillion lemons out there. I have am going to juice a bunch of them this week (luckily I have an electric juicer) and I want to freeze it, but don't have any ice trays. Anybody have ideas on how to conveniently freeze the juice?

I'm glad you said that. I am only reading it for book club, and was hesitant b/c of the subject matter. (I even thought about skipping next month!) So I'll give it a go.

Another perspective: My dh is what I would call "set in his ways". We have very dear friends with whom we stay occasionally in another city. If it were up to dh, we'd stay at a hotel. He just likes his privacy, likes to set his own agenda, etc. He doesn't dislike our friends or begrudge our time with them. Nor is he abusive or overly controlling. Lucky for me & the kids: our dog is usually with us, and our friends love our pup! (Marriott doesn't love our dog). So we get to stay with our dear friends. :D

Yes, I started mine this morning. It's an audio-book so I decided I could start a day early, since I won't finish it for a week or two (depending on how much walking I do!). Frances McDormand reading Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - it's a special on Audible right now for <$10. So far (chapter 1), very cute! I also have a stack of library books waiting. The Devil in the White City, Pagan Christianity, The Blue Sweater, A Secret and Unlawful Killing, People of the Book, and Cleaving (by the author of Julie & Julia). How to decide?:tongue_smilie:

If you are on the page showing your wishlist, there should be a left sidebar menu which gives you a choice to "create a new wishlist". Also, whenever you click on the "add to wishlist" icon, one of the options should be to add to a new wishlist.

That's crazy talk. Don't you have North & South on DVD?

Yes, the cute cotton quilting-type fabrics work really well. (they do wrinkle - I only iron the Christmas ones).

We use cloth napkins almost exclusively. I don't have very many - Amy Dacyczyn, the Tightwad lady, points out that you don't need a new one for every meal. So unless we ate something really messy, we use them all day. It's on my list of things to do today to go through my stash of cotton fabric and hem some more. I am trying to switch to using cloth instead of paper towels for things like covering dishes in the microwave, wrapping muffins in the m/w, etc.

I'm in! I can't BELIEVE I didn't participate last year - I know I read at least 52 books! A question about Amazon wish lists. How can I search for other's lists? My list is public, and I'm assuming some of you also have public lists. But I am at a loss as to how to find wish lists on Amazon without knowing the owner's name. Is it possible to search for lists named "52 in 52"?

I got a letter from a charity last week, assuring me that my donation would be "tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law". Huh? My dh and I agree that we've only ever seen the phrase "to the fullest extent of the law" applied to prosecuting criminals! :D What they meant to say was "as allowed by law" or something similar...

I *adore* books, but wish I hadn't amassed so many. My kids didn't re-read any except their favorites. And lots of the history or science books I got in advance - for whenever we got around to doing that topic - didn't apply to what we wanted to do, so we ended up at the library anyway. We move a lot, too. Perhaps if we had stayed in the house we were in when I began our hs library I would feel differently. But we've moved 3 times in the last 5 years. I have sold, donated, or given to friends, well over 1000 books in the last 5 years. I finally feel we have a manageable number of books - I actually have empty space on my shelves. Yay.

My dh has been wearing Lands End shirts almost exclusively for 20 years. He is in banking and needs to look professional. Some of the Lands End shirts come in a trim fit. They list price for about $40, but we never pay that much - Lands End is ALWAYS having a sale or coupon offer. We tried the Costco shirts, but they are a thinner material and dh didn't like them as well. Keep in mind that with any shirt being laundered frequently, you are going to get the fraying you mentioned. But I think the Lands End shirts hold up well.

Oh my, I thought I was the only one. I have a relative who boxes stuff up and sends it to me by priority mail - $$$! I used to try to hold on to that stuff, but my hubby helped me realize it's OK to just take it to Goodwill anyway.

You have gotten so much good advice already. Here's are my rules: 1. Sort items for trash, thrift store, and re-sale. You're right; it's a pain to sell things, so I only do it for curriculum items or toys that have a high sale value. Everything else either goes to the library book sale (books) or Goodwill (everything else). You could just take them all to one place, but I like to support the library, and it's not an extra trip since I'm there all the time anyway. 2. Get it out of the house FAST. I try to put the boxes/bags in my car immediately, so that when I am out & about the next day I can drop them off. Otherwise, I end up going through the stuff again and deciding to keep some of it. (yeah, I have a few items right now that *should* have gone to Goodwill last month but I pulled them out!) Good luck. :)

If by "everyone" you mean everyone that participates in a thread like this - I think that we get participants on these threads who are more aware of the issues surrounding organic vs. conventional and GMO vs. non-GMO. There are plenty of tofu and other soy products on the shelves (not to mention the hidden soy products) that aren't marked organic, and lots of shoppers are buying those, which can easily make up the 90%. Leaving the 10% to those who care to buy non-GMO.

Thank you for sharing this. I have a couple of friends who refuse to eat any soy because they have read the alarmist websites. One of them told me that the Chinese & Japanese can eat soy products because they ONLY eat fermented soy. (No, she has never been out of North America). I believe that non-GMO, organically grown soybean products are fine for my family. Organic tofu & organic soy milk are both enjoyed around here.

I just asked my 14yo ds about this. He "jailbroke" 2 iPod touch devices which gave them a lot more features. But he says that doing it to the Wii doesn't really add that much. He reminded me that when we first got the Wii last year, he mentioned jailbreaking it and I warned him "Don't hack my Wii!" So unless your son can articulate something really great that this will do...don't let him!

"The Blue Sweater" looks really good. I downloaded a sample to my iPhone. But it's also available at my library, so I think I'll get it there. :)

It is about $3.35 here in SoCal now. :( At Costco I paid $3.11 a week ago, but, not all the Costcos here have gas, and sometimes it's way out of the way to get gas there. But I fill up anytime I am near a Costco, and have a half tank or less!

Do any of the grocers in your area sell ready-made pies? We've had the Costco pumpkin pie, and fruit pies from a local grocer. (I always bake my own pies; these were purchased by friends). But both both were very good alternatives to home-baked.

This wouldn't affect me, because I try to avoid processed foods whether organic or not. The "organic" label slapped on boxes of mac & cheese, or frozen entrees, just doesn't impress me. I am currently trying to buy mostly organic veggies & grains, and some organic dairy. I'm shocked at the ingredient lists on organic health & beauty products, and am wondering if they are any better than non-organic. :(

I'm glad you found it! Are bagel chips just too new-fangled for you? :) But I personally like a garlic/ranch variation I found on a Crispix box years ago. :)

Update: Dd got him a Starbucks card. Ds got him a pair of slacks. I got him a huge box of coffee K-cups. From my parents, I think I'll ask them to renew our museum membership that dh and I use for date nights. Thanks again for the ideas. :)