I don't think anybody answered this. Yes, it is a very bad place and a very bad movie. If you are tempted to watch it to satisfy your curiosity - don't. I saw the movie a couple of years ago and it was DISTURBING. I wish I could get some of those images out of my head.

We are having: Waldorf Brown Rice Salad (a Lorna Sass recipe, made last night in my PC) Organic red cabbage (haven't decided yet how to cook this) Grilled Amy's sausages Fruit salad for dessert, or maybe smoothies.

My children are homeschooled so my response doesn't exactly fit the criteria you mentioned (although the oldest now does most of her coursework outside, at the CC and a co-op program). But they do very few daily chores other than keeping their rooms clean and helping clean up after dinner. They are in 8th and 11th grade, and my teaching time with them is much less than it used to be. So about a year or so ago, I realized that I had more free time than they did. It just seemed fair for me to take on more of the daily chores. Honestly, I'd rather have them starting on math than washing the breakfast dishes or folding a load of clean towels. And ditto for the bathroom cleaning, vacuuming, etc. Do I want them to take a break from schoolwork, or does it make more sense for me to do it? That's the question I asked, and what I suggest you ask yourself. Over the years, we did have various daily chores assigned to them. So they know *how* to do them, and they understand that they have to be done. On weekends, it's a little different. My son helps out my husband with the pool and yard care. So I try to make sure my dd and I are busy with inside chores during that time.

Or you can show them the coupon on any electronic device. Love it when stores allow that!

I agree with your premise, but...it's not "just a bit more." We go through at least 3 dozen eggs a week in our house. (sometimes, when I buy eggs, the cashier will say, "What are you going to do with all these eggs?" "Umm...eat them??") So at $5/dozen, that would be $60 a month for eggs. I am already in a bit of shock thinking about paying the $3/dozen. We are really going to have to take this in steps.

Hi Karen! Thanks for sharing about the race. As Jennifer said, "It was like I was there!" You inspired me a while back to get the Couch25k program for my ipod. But I haven't gotten very far with it. The problem is that I am 42. And I have been doing moderate exercise for about 9 months. But the running part of the C25K is killing me. Even running for 2 minutes gets my heart rate up to 180 after about the 3rd cycle. That's too high!! So, I don't know what to do. When I work out at the gym, I can pace myself on the bike or elliptical so that my heart rate stays under 160, usually 140-145 is what I aim for. (I don't feel comfortable at all over 160). So, I will keep working out (headed for the gym this AM) but am not sure I will ever be able to run a 5k.

I stopped at a farmers' market, fully expecting to pay $3/dozen. They were charging $5/dozen, so I passed! I ended up buying cage-free vegetarian-diet eggs at Costco for a little over $3/dozen.

Sputterduck, where are you? Having organic stuff shipped "off to America" somehow seems not very environmentally friendly. :)

We are in Southern California. Lots of options here as far as specialty health-food markets, but it seems each one is more expensive than the last. A couple of the lower-priced options here are Trader Joes and Fresh & Easy. I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who buys her grass-fed beef for $3.15/pound. The place she gets it from only butchers twice a year, so I will have to decide if it's worth adding a chest freezer to the garage for a 1/2 cow next time that comes around.

Does anybody else get *really* discouraged when trying to buy organic food? Organic produce (whether at the grocery store or farmers' market) is about 50-100% higher than non-organic. I can typically buy tomatoes, apples, and a few other items for about the 50% higher range than non-organic, so I buy those whenever I see them for a decent price. But when I look at meat & dairy - oh my! I just.cannot.imagine paying that much on a regular basis. Milk is almost 3x higher, eggs are either 3x or 2x higher depending on whether they are free-range or simply have the dubious "cage free" distinction. Other meat & dairy products are similarly priced. I am afraid to try this experiment, but I think it would cost us $600/month more on groceries to go organic. I was reading another Food Inc thread where posters mentioned spending a "little" more for organic; how is that possible? Other than basil and a couple of heirloom tomato plants, I can't have a veggie garden. But even that wouldn't solve the problem of the meat/dairy. Help!

But a surprisingly high number - 21% - of American adults are still smokers. I don't think Americans would suddenly be thinner if more of us started smoking.

Our last house was very close to a business area. We could walk to church, library, post office, grocery store, etc. I miss those days. :) Anyway...one time my neighbor stopped and asked if I was having car trouble because I was walking home from the bank & library. "Umm...no...I'm just walking because it's only 1/2 mile!" The idea was completely foreign to her. Although, she was very fit, and I would run into her while she was jogging for exercise! It just didn't occur to her that she could walk to the store.

I'm not trying to defend fast food as healthy eating. But it's so obvious the reason the McDonald's french fries didn't decompose is because they are salty and also had very little moisture because of their shoestring cut. The "real" restaurant french fries were thick, steak-cut fries so had a a lot of moist potato in them. If you put potato chips in a jar for 8 weeks, they would not decompose. Shoestring french fries are closer to potato chips than to steak-cut fries.

Too bad my teens are a little old to believe that one. :)

I agree, too. And we were so excited when it came out that we bought very expensive IMAX tickets on opening day. We NEVER do that for a movie. What a disappointment. Not quite as disappointing as Pirates 2, but definitely up there...

I hate to say this. But, how do you know there's not something worse in the frozen pizza? :tongue_smilie:

I don't think it is a waste of money. Community colleges in California offer lots of remedial classes. Many of the students are adults (as in not teenagers straight out of high school). The adults who are in the remedial classes WANT to be there to further their educations. I personally know someone who didn't get much of a high school education and worked a physical job for about 20 years. Now he's trying to get a degree. I'm happy this affordable option is available to him and others like him.

No, we have never told our daughter that. But she knows that we are trying to protect her reputation as well as her physical safety. And now that she is 16, that it is also up to her to make wise choices for her own protection.

I agree. It's inappropriate and improper. We have some very dear friends whom I implicitly trust, but I would still feel weird about having my teen daughter stay with them if I knew the mom wasn't in the house at night. And THEY would feel weird, too...I don't know if they'd allow it. I wish that as a society we could say something is inappropriate without being accused of implying all men are molesters. My husband is not a molester. But we had a teen friend staying with us last summer for a couple of weeks. One night my dd had to attend a meeting and it was more convenient for me to take her than my hubby. It would have meant our teen friend would have been home all evening with my hubby. It just felt improper! So we re-arranged for that not to happen. I recommend Wendy Shalit's book on modesty for a great treatment of this topic.

I will be the only nay-sayer, I guess. In this market, I would do what the realtor suggests. She apparently thinks it looks bad enough to turn off buyers. I know I've looked at house pictures on-line that have acres of rose-colored carpet from '91...and I think, "yuk." It makes me not want to even look at the house. Just sayin'.

This might be the same or similar model to the one I have ...the full name of mine is Eureka 4870 Boss.

I needed a new vacuum about 5-6 years ago. At the time, everyone on the old boards was singing the praises of the Dysons, but I just couldn't see paying $500 for a vacuum. I bought a Eureka 4870 which wasn't my first choice because it is bagged. But I love it. It still works wonderfully and reliably after weekly use in a large house with a furry dog. I buy the bags in a 9-pack from Amazon for less than $1 each. Its only other drawback is that it's a little heavier than some vacuums. But I paid under $150 for it and consider it to be a great purchase. I'd buy it again today if it broke. Edited to emphasize its benefits: Works great; picks up everything Has lasted >5 years Is quieter than most vacuums - really has a pleasant hum :) Has a wide footpath so you go back & forth fewer times

Forever Young. I don't know how I missed this Mel Gibson movie when it was released in 1992. I saw it on DVD lately. What a sweet movie.

I think God is trying to tell you something. Do the tracks form letters? Maybe if you look at it from above (upstairs, the roof), you will see the message. :001_smile:

I love it, too. I have an alternative 80s station (typed in Flock of Seagulls, although I never hear a FoS song!), a contemporary country station (Keith Urban), and a motown station (the Temptations).