Speaking just for myself - it's because I hate being the center of attention. I'd rather be behind the scenes. That being said, if a cake is presented to me [and thank you Disney for giving me this experience more than a few times], I do make sure I'm smiling at everyone. I'll be beet red, but I'll be smiling. It is really thoughtful.

There are people who love surprise parties. I'm not one of them. My Dad arranged a surprise party at my Mom's favorite restaurant for her 50th birthday. She loved it and especially loved that it wasn't at her house. My sis-in-law threw a surprise party for my brother's 40th. She is the ultimate party planner and everything went off like clockwork, right down to the surprise that I wasn't actually on the East Coast, but standing in their living room yelling "Surprise!" with the rest of the guests. Last month we threw a surprise gathering for my parent's 50th anniversary. This time the surprise was more because my parents health issues make them fret and worry over anything out of the norm. My brother told them he wanted to take them to their favorite restaurant for their anniversary and Mom and Dad didn't suspect a thing. One of my kids and I flew in, and 6 of my parents' closest friend were also there. It was a nice intimate gathering. Mom did say later that she was glad she didn't know all the plans, as she would have worried about everyone getting where they need to be and/or Dad's stomach acting up again due to stress [from listening to Mom worry] My middle daughter has talked about throwing me a surprise party. I've told her the surprise would be if anyone actually remembered my birthday. No need to have people at my house waiting to terrorize me. Tell me ahead of time that you're doing something and let me prepare for it. We'll see if that actually happens down the road. In the meantime, my mother-in-law is nagging me to have a surprise party for dh's 50th at the end of this year. I've thrown him more than a few parties, and I will do something for his 50th. But I am NOT throwing him a surprise party and all the "helpful" suggestions from MIL are making me less likely to do anything big. I know it's petty, but I am tempted to write back, "I've thrown many parties for your son. In the mean time, I've turned 25, 30, and 40. Have you ever suggested to him that it might be nice to do something for his wife??" As I said, it's petty. But this woman has the ability to stomp on my very last nerve and then grind it into the ground.

Oh I absolutely would. And then I'd drive away very quickly. :laugh:

In 2000 my kids and I spent a summer month at my parents home. My middle dd was given the gift of a puppy who had been born on her birthday [brother in law bred his dog and this was the runt of the litter]. But I had to figure out how to get this puppy back across the country. I called our airline who sent me the paperwork for the dog and assured me that she would be kept in a "safe environment" in the luggage area. Also switched our flight to a red-eye so we would be flying at night and not during the heat of the day. The day before we flew out, the airline changed their policy and decided not to allow animals in the luggage area. All animals had to fit in a carrier under the seat. The only way I found this out was because my Dad read the article in the L.A. Times and alerted me right away. I was able to get a smaller carrier and my parents' vet gave us doggy tranquilizers. But I was still on that red-eye to Washington D.C. and you can imagine the looks on everyone's faces as I came down the aisle, puppy carrier in one hand, baby in the other, followed by my 8yo and a toddler. Thankfully the tranquilizer worked on the dog, the kids all slept, and the only screaming child on the plane was 8 rows in front of us. But I am never NEVER traveling with an animal again. Too stressful for me. Others can do it, and do it well [the little old lady and her toy poodle who sat behind me last week are a good example of this], but I know my limitations. The only reason Rosie wasn't down in 'steerage' when I traveled with her, was because the airline wouldn't allow it.

I grew up in SoCal and I loved it. When I went away to college, then married and settled in a different area, I was terribly homesick. I missed the people, the wide variety of things to do, the ability to see plays or go to concerts any time I wanted to do so, the beach, the mountains.......pretty much everything about SoCal was missed. In 2008 I was called home to help with a family emergency. I moved in with the family member and lived there about a month, taking care of the family - basically taking over the "mom jobs" until she got better. *That* was quite the eye-opener! I discovered that I had really changed my way of looking at life, and I no longer wanted to be a part of this particular life-style. I had lived in various places in the US at that point and had forgotten how isolated and insulated Southern California tends to be. I no longer want to move back here [ironically, I'm typing this from my old bedroom as I'm out here visiting the family this week]. These past few days have just reaffirmed that L.A. County and I no longer jell. I miss my family, but my hometown has changed beyond recognition. In fact, I am spending this time trying to convince my parents that they need to sell this house and move up closer to my brother's family [northern L.A. County]. My parents complain all the time about this town to the point where they start to sound racist. And there is, unfortunately, a bit of truth [for them] to what they're saying. Which is why I think they'd be much happier moving away. It's not a small town anymore [the way it was in the 1970's-80s] It is a large city with a ton of traffic and not much friendliness. I miss the town that used to be, but I don't miss my hometown the way it is now.

Without going into detail of how I know this.... I absolutely would want to know. And if I found out that someone I considered a friend knew about it and was keeping it from me......Or, even worse, encouraging this behaviour because of what s/he thought s/he knew about our marriage. That person would be cut from my life with no questions and no second chances. ETA: Once everyone has all the information, then a decision can be made about the marriage. But to leave one spouse in the dark about a very very crucial part of their lives?? Not cool at all. Especially if that spouse feels that something is wrong, yet doesn't know what it is. Scarlett, you hit it on the head in the other thread when you used the word "Dignity". Each person in a relationship should have the dignity of knowing what's going on; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

GS isn't set up that way. If there's not enough room in a troop then a new troop needs to be formed. That means someone needs to step forward as a leader, which can be hard to find.

Sounds like Mennonites. Was their car a dark colour?

Our local schools start next Monday. They usually get out in mid-May. A lot of this is because of the various breaks they get during the year. There's a week off in the fall for hunting and another one in mid-February that is considered "Winter Break" [not to be confused with Christmas/Winter Break]. I'm friends with some of the teachers in the school and they've told me the real reason for the week off in February is to cut down on the illnesses passed around that time of year. The schools are always "sanitized" during that break. Where I grew up, we didn't start until a week after Labor Day and got out the third week of June. Now those same schools are starting in Mid-August and still getting out in mid-June......but it's a very diverse area and there are a LOT of holidays during the school year. Christmas/Winter Break can last up to four weeks because students are celebrating both Western and E.O. Christmas dates.

We did, too. I have one child overseas right now and another on the opposite coast from me. This was the best [and cheapest] way to ensure that everyone got to read it as soon as it came out.

I agree with the above. But wanted to tell you how very very sorry I am. :grouphug:

I did Girl Scouts for 6 years as a kid. As an adult I was a GS Leader for 10 years I did piano for 8 years as a kid. As soon as I was able to ditch those lessons, I did. I have played the piano a bit as an adult, but there are all sorts of emotional strings attached to that stupid instrument so I usually tend to avoid it. I was involved in church choir and youth handbells as a kid. As an adult, I'm involved in both choir and handbells......and very appreciative of my early training. I was on the swim team and water polo team in high school. As an adult I like to swim, but I have bad knee problems because of all the "eggbeating" I did in those sports. Every summer my mom would send us to the summer enrichment classes. I usually signed up for something in drama and something in writing. As an adult I still write a lot - for myself, only.

YES. :angry: :angry:

Saying a prayer, Katie. :grouphug:

The child who spent her teen years stating that she couldn't wait to get out of the house and be an ADULT because she would do it so much better than everyone else......is now complaining about how hard it is to be an adult. And no one understands. She has to pay BILLS, people! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

I'm keeping my eye on a lot of used books [trying to decide if I really want them in book form or Kindle form] I have noticed that when a used book has been purchased, and Amazon says they've "updated it to the best offer currently available", it is almost always AMAZON'S offer. So I've learned to go back to the book's page and check the used prices again.

Not enough. I'd like to blame this on my age and stage of life.....but it's been like this since I was a teenager. I'm guess I get between 5-6 hours of sleep a night. Your sleep pattern sounds a lot like mine, actually, Dawn. DH is full of suggestions of how I can actually sleep. This is a man who can lie down, close his eyes and be out in less than a minute. I have no idea how that works. He says I need to learn out to turn my brain off. Um.....HOW??? My brain never shuts off! Anyway, this is why I finally bought a Kindle Paperwhite. Because mindless reading at 4am is much better than lying in bed going over schedules for the day, or things I need to do but don't want to, or [my personal favourite] all the mistakes I've made in my life [seriously - thanks for that 4am-Brain!]

I have done this when I've bought a book that I thought I had borrowed from the library, only to find that I actually owned said book. Fortunately the majority of my books purchases are used and under $5. So I don't feel too bad about giving it away someplace [little library, local hospital waiting room, thrift stores] And yes - this has happened multiple times.

What kinds of people are running that camp? I've been a camper at both Scout & church camps. I've been a counselor at both Scout and Church camps. My kids have been to camps. I've never heard of anything like you're experiencing! I'm with alisoncooks on this - something else must be going on. A personality clash between your child and the camp leadership, perhaps? Because none of what they claim your dd did would ever make me think "Send this kid home!!"

Kindle Fire and memory card for the Kindle Fire. DD got a port-a-crib for a good price so she was pretty pleased.

In my area there a tons of shelter dogs and cats. So if you want a purebred, then yes - it is insanely expensive. And if you're going to do all the extras for it [day care, play dates, etc.] it can get pricey. I live in the country where many dogs are still expected to earn their keep and are never allowed inside the house. A much different mindset than the dog owners in my former hometown in SoCal. Of the 4 cats we currently own......we only paid for one of them, back in 2002. All the rest were either given to us, or we fostered as a 3-day-old kitten [we were volunteering at the local animal shelter] or showed up on our front porch one dark and stormy night obviously traumatized and in need of shelter. Even our beloved purebred beagle was a "freebie" because she was the runt of the litter. The other puppies in her pack were sold for over $500 each. We knew the owner of Roro's mom so she was a gift to my daughter. But, holy cow!! $500 for a puppy?!?!

From what I remember, Bree was originally into History because of Frank. She went into the STEM fields after Claire went back. I do remember not really being a fan of Bree in the books at first. She had to grow on me and her character had to develop [imho], so this Brianna seemed very much like the Brianna I first encountered in "Dragonfly". I really liked the episode!

Normally, no. You shouldn't have to go through customs unless you are spending time in that country outside the airport. I think I would probably check with the airline, though, to see if your connection in Vancouver will require a trip through customs. I've flown from LAX to Heathrow, with a connection in Toronto, but we weren't required to go through customs until we got to the UK [and on the return trip, back to L.A.]. DD is flying from Washington DC to Russia, with a stop in Paris. She won't have to go through customs in France on her way to Russia, but coming home she's planning on spending a few days in Paris so she'll go through French customs at that time.

I"m so sorry. That's such a hard decision to make, even when you know it's the right one. :grouphug:

I love to sing. I love to sing harmony. I do not sing at work. Yes, it would really bother me.