And taking an active part helps alleviate some anxiety. Plus such a great homeschool opportunity. My kids enjoyed rigging up rain water barrels for the garden and we all learned way more than we expected to with that project. Repurposing is an important activity too. We teach our kids to try to figure out how to repurpose old things rather than throwing them away and buying new. Of course that does mean that I have old trampoline parts and old pvc pipes as plant stakes - not the most attractive. But we are paining them with leftover paint to try to make them look a bit better.

Nor did I say it didn't. But pp responded that climate had changed through history and caused disasters. I agreed. No scientist that I am aware of has said that humans caused climate change before the 1700s. So bringing up things before that aren't pertinent to the discussion of manmade climate change didn't seem relevant. That is why I asked for clarification. I would argue that it is not proven that current climate change is caused solely by man as you state. Certainly it plays a part but so do many other factors. It is important to quantify, evaluate and reduce the negative impact humans have on the planet and I never said otherwise.

The climate has changed throughout history - ice age, medieval warming, little ice age, etc. and the effects of these changes have been drastic - but not in our control. No more than a cataclysmic volcanic eruption or a mega meteor strike. All can cause huge disasters (though in the case of the medieval warming it also led to some benefits too) I thought we were discussing the issue of manmade climate change.

Actually the 97% figure is in dispute. A Purdue study found the number to be closer to 53%. https://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/2014/prokopy-climatetable.pdf This wsj piece goes into deeper detail into why the 97% figure is disputed. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303480304579578462813553136 And not all people who disagree are crackpots. You may disagree with them but I don't think it is fair to call them that. http://www.livescience.com/19643-nasa-astronauts-letter-global-warming.html There is also a difference between saying that man made climate change is occurring and saying that is will cause horrible disasters.

I agree with those who say it is a reflection of our society. I rarely have political discussions anymore because they seem to devolve quickly into some calling someone who disagrees an -ist or hater or denier or fill in the blank. It is rare to find people who want to actually engage in thoughtful policy discussions in private. So it isn't surprising that those in public who are trying to get media and voter attention are doing the same thing. It's disappointing but not surprising.

My oldest was concerned so he decided to do a massive research project looking at data from all sorts of different sources. He really learned a lot about what we know and what we don't know, how temperatures are measured, accuracy of differnet models, etc. And then he focused on possibly solutions that have been offered up and how effective they might be. Finally he looked at where the money was going - who was funding which groups, how their pronouncements helped them, what incentives they had, etc. After all of this, he was much less anxious. Bright homeschool note: this project led to him now researching the effectiveness of different alternative energy sources.

Oh no. I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope you get to go another time. It really is worth the visit.

Ask around for reps in your area. Arbonne, Younique, Avon, etc. They will probably be very willing to give you or sell you samples at a very small fee.

Flexible job ideas: Fitness instructor. I do this and love it. You can easily get trained and most gyms are always looking for water aerobics instructors. That is a great class to get your feet wet- pun intended- in teaching. Personal training is another great flexible job. Teaching classes after school to kids - cooking, fitness, crafts, sewing, project based whatever. I made great money offering classes after school through the schools. Direct sales- I do this and love my job. There are lots of red flags to watch for (unscrupulous companies that only make money off their reps, etc but if you find a reputable one you can make money on your own time) Plant waterer/garden tender/ etc - especially in the summer months you can make good money garden sitting while people are on vacation. Or if you really like gardening some CSA farms will let you work in exchange for you veg box Pet sitter/ dog walker Mothers helper - a lot of SAHMs here will pickup other kids from school and watch them for a couple of hours after school or drive them to afternoon activities. This works really well if say your kid and the kid you are watching both do dance or sports together.

I don't rely on satisfaction surveys as satisfaction is not well defined. People all have different expectations, requirements, etc. They are like approval ratings. I may not approve of a certain politician because I think his/her policies are wacky or becasue I don't think he/she is pushing hard enough to implement the policies. You can't tell which just by my disapproval. There are some solid data points that we can use to compare health care systems. Wait times, quality of care, access to care, etc. One major problem though: universal healthcare is like a car. There are so many different models. Just because one works for one country doesn't mean it will be implemented in the same way or meet the demands of the people in other countries. And as a pp mentioned, our VA does a terrible job. After all the scandals and problems came to light very little was fixed. We still have terrible care for our veterans. Wikipedia has a good overview of the problem for those who havent heard of the VA scandals. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Health_Administration_scandal_of_2014

Yep that sounds like my experience with French schools too. And there was a lot of homework too. I would love to see our American schools be more like French schools in many ways.

It was a fast spreading cancer that had already killed one member of my family. I'm sorry you don't seem to believe me. I know that the official documents show that there shouldn't be long wait times but even current data shows there are still unacceptably long wait times. http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2015/11/12/unacceptable-cancer-waiting-times-are-testing-patients-patience/ "This is particularly a problem in some cancers and not others. And breaking these figures down by cancer type shows that only breast cancer and skin cancer patients met the 62 day target during financial year 2014-15. Patients with other cancer types – notably lung cancer, lower gastrointestinal cancers (such as bowel cancer) and urological cancers (such as bladder and prostate cancers) were failed." http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Aboutus/News/Latest_News/CONTINUOUSBREACHOFCANCERWAITINGTIMESRISKINGLIVES.aspx "Dr Fran Woodard, Director of Policy and Research at Macmillan Cancer Support, says: “Once again we see an unacceptable and recurring problem within our healthcare system as the cancer waiting times target has been breached for the fifth time in a row. People with cancer are having to wait too long for access to treatment and their lives are being put at risk - this simply cannot continue “Today’s figures are yet another warning sign that cancer in this country is not fixed. The NHS is under pressure and there is an urgent need for a coordinated effort across the system to address these delays.'" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2802344/condemned-die-waiting-list-shambles-day-3-mail-s-expose-welsh-nhs.html "Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: 'These figures are nothing short of a national disgrace. It is completely unacceptable that nearly 1,400 people are being forced to wait over a year before being treated." I'm glad some people are happy with their healthcare. My experience and the experiences of many others show that all systems have problems. I'm sorry your mother had that experience. That is not right. Was she able to challenge it? That seems horribly wrong. But your final statement is incorrect. Unfortunately in countries with universal healthcare some people are not getting care either. It is wrong in both systems.

The experience in the UK was as a British citizen, not as an expat. France and Germany were as expat so I did not mention specifics about them. But as I said, my colleagues and friends who weren't expats had similar experiences.

And I wasn't arguing that more disposable income equals more happiness. Though we are veering way off topic, I also have to say that my family's experience with healthcare in those countries was not good. Super long waits - like over a year for care for cancer in the UK. Not acceptable and it certainly did not take a weight off my shoulders. We were blessed to be able to fly back to the U.S. to get the required care. My experience was not unusual based on what my friends and colleagues overseas shared. The U.S. system isn't perfect by a LONG shot. But neither were the systems that we dealt with overseas.

I've lived in France, Germany and the UK. I did not find that I had more disposable income at all. In fact I had much less. My income was lower than a comparable job in the US and the tax rate was higher. Costs were also much higher. Even taking into account the health insurance costs that I would have to pay in the U.S. I had much less at the end of the day living abroad. I didn't see people worshipping government. But there certainly was a feeling that government should take care of much more than I was used to. All that said, I loved living overseas and getting to experience the different cultures. All of the countries I lived in were wonderful in their own way. Please don't read my post as being negative against them. Just comparing this one area.

There is a learning curve definitely. My first few recipes were not great. I am more of a throw stuff in rather than measure kinda gal. Def follow some recipes carefully first to get the hang of it. I haven't made rice in it cause I just cook rice on the stove. It makes amazing tagines and soups. The texture of the meat and veggies is better than in my crock pot. With both I add herbs at the end to brighten the flavors.

Is demanding someone else pay for your stuff really kinder? Helping other people is kind. Demanding other people help others isn't. Organizing and donating is kind. Demanding others do so isn't. I went to college in a very poor rural part of the country. I saw all levels of poverty. Rather than demanding the college do something, my roommate and I started a chapter of a charity that helps people get low income housing. My other roommates were also highly involved in community service. All of us volunteer as adults and two of us have jobs in the non-profit sector. We saw needs and were moved to get involved by doing work ourselves NOT by whining that others do it. Our clinic had free sanitary products and condoms. If you needed them, they were there. The nurse was also present so pilfering was limited. That worked fine for us.

Another vote for the instant pot though I got the cuisinart version of it. Love it. So much more useful than my old crockpot.

I'm thinking there is a whole lot more backstory to this that we aren't getting, nor do I expect OP to provide it. The whole MiL calling DH an a-hole is more than enough to know that things are pretty toxic. Plus I think we are missing the tone of the interactions which can communicate a lot. (I have some issues/past history with some family members that color all of my dealings with them.) So OP, I agree with others that this particular issue doesn't seem like a big deal but I can totally see how something like this can be a big deal when lumped on to past history. Hugs. Family can be funny. Do what works for your immediate family and stay kind and polite if there are any repercussions.

JAWM:It does stink. It stinks for both sides. And there are ages when it is especially hard. My middle son had a really hard time with his third move. He was 8. I didn't think it would be a big deal but it was huge for him. His temperament also makes moving harder for him. Thank goodness for Skype and free long distance. That has made keeping in touch so much easier. I'm in the move all the time crowd also. And it really hard to be the one moving to a closed community- one where everyone has lived their whole lives in the same town with all their family and friends. We've moved to a couple places like that and it's hard to be the outsider coming in trying to find friends. Much easier to move to a transient place. In some ways I'm glad my kids have had to move a few times even when the moves were hard. It's helped give them a perspective on life that my family who never left our small town don't have. On the fip side, I'm sad that they don't have those lifelong deep roots or some of the larger family traditions- Wednesday dinner with the whole family, Sunday post-church brunch out at the lake, etc.

Lifting- try using a band or tube. You work the muscle on the way up and on the way down. More bang for your buck. Plus one tube can be used for upper body, lower body and incredible for core work. Small and light enough to throw in your suitcase on trips...just keep it in an easy to access place if you are going carry on. It must show up oddly on the security scanner so I offen get asked about it. I wouldn't think in terms of beginners burn. Get a sheet of paper and write down your reps, sets and weights for each exercise. Keep track of your workouts every time. I find that is much more motivating for me- looking to see how far I've come etc. I like to work to fatigue. If I can do three sets of 8 with a particular weight too easily then it's time to up the weights.

I miss non-achy joints. I miss being able to be incredible active and intense and not getting injured or sore. Sigh. I miss the intense imagination I had as a child- getting so lost in my imaginings that the real world really disappeared. Loved my childhood. Not saying that Id want to go back. I'm very thankful to be in a place where I don't care so much about what others think, don't have homework etc.

Auschwitz was ....there are no words. Definitely something that I wish everyone could see. I'm jealous. I loved Poland and wish we could go back this year. A beautiful land filled with beautiful people.

Not only that, the consultants can only pick size and style- not pattern. They are stuck with whatever LLR sends them. I had an online party to help a friend. I only saw two patterns I liked and they weren't in my size.

We were in Warsaw last Easter and lots of places were closed. Some restaurants were open but most everything else was closed. We were in Kraków afterwards and everything was open. Only had one day there but it was amazing. We really only had time for the Wawel and then just enjoying the square. Gorgeous. You will not be disappointed even if everything is closed. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.