Well now I just had to look. I've placed 32 :leaving:

My name is Jenna & I'm addicted to Amazon. It's been 16 days since my last order (WOW!!!! Yay me!). I'm sure it's the longest I've gone without ordering since I've gotten Prime. Perhaps I need to reward myself......

[This gets rambly...and emotional...sorry!] You're absolutely right; where does it end? How much can you REALLY do? This has been discussed a lot on sewing forums. Honestly most of us sew, first and foremost because we love it. Because "sewing is cheaper than therapy" many say. :) I don't get really caught up in the problems of the world today. I'm highly sensitive & to dwell on them makes me depressed. But I will say that I buy most of my fabric from small businesses, rather than Joann Fabrics (who's quality is quite poor). I don't buy the over-dyed fabric from countries that don't regulate ocean dumping. But I also don't weave my own wool (gosh-not even sure of the terminology there) from my backyard raised sheep. I do what I can, and that's good enough for now. I'm surely not making a large impact, especially since I don't buy a lot of clothing anyway, when compared to my peer group, I'm sure. While I know me sewing a portion of my wardrobe isn't really helping get better conditions in the garment factories, it makes me feel like I'm doing SOMETHING; it eases my guilt a bit. There's a sort of imaginary camaraderie I feel when I think about all those women (and men-though they typically do the "pressing" rather than the sewing, I believe) who spend their days sewing. I pull on my jeans (not me-made) and wonder how many women's hands they passed through before they got to me. I admire their stitching. I wonder how many days it's been since she's seen her babies. Did one of her daughters sew my daughter's jeans? Does she know how much I PAID for these jeans? And some times my heart aches for them. I'm aware that they exist & of the conditions under which they work. Two years ago I had honestly never given it any thought at all. The reality is that all change starts with awareness.

Yep!! "Oh, just add a cardigan!" At $15-$20 a pop (for an oversized, pill-as-soon-as-you-wash-it sweater). And I think the vast majority of women WANT sleeves...even in summer...in the sewing circles at least, most women don't like their arms. Apparently this is one of my soap boxes. :blushing: Sorry for derailing your thread, OP. Also, I think a lot of things are "dry clean only" not because of the fabric content but because of the shoddy sewing. I've had tops (not dry clean only) literally fall apart at the seams.

I agree. The problem I've found, though, is that paying more money does not speak to the quality of the clothing. For example, Gap, Old Navy, Piperlime, Banana Republic....very different price points but I'll bet they use the same factories in their manufacturing & cut the same corners. We see a lot of cost cutting as "trends" too. Higher hemlines/shorter skirts (and not just in Juniors). A couple inches off thousands of dresses adds up to a lot of yardage. Cut on sleeves (kimono/dolman sleeves), color blocking, elastic waist dresses, lack of pockets/buttons, stripes that don't line up at the seams...SO much of it saves the manufacturer's tons of money. Same thing with fewer sizes offered. The majority of young women (and men) now don't even know what proper fit looks like.

It's a really hard balance to strike, I think. It's something I can't help but consider when I'm shopping. The fact of the matter is US manufacturing is nearly non-existent. There were some garment factory fires (last year?) and it has come out that the doors to the factory are locked so that the workers can't leave. There were no emergency exits. Hundreds of people died & the last I heard, Walmart had not paid any compensation to the workers' families. Granted, the factory jobs are considered GOOD jobs by those who live in the area. But that doesn't mean we can't do better. Their sewists often get paid less in a month than what we pay for a single pair of jeans (that they make!).

There's a book called "Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion" and it was really eye opening for. It's big among the seamstress circle right now, but it goes into the conditions of the factories, the cost to make clothing, and the economic cost. One thing I hadn't really thought about was that the lower quality means fewer clothes even make it to the thrift stores. Many of them end up in a landfill after only 2-3 seasons....and lots of people are ok with that. "Hey! This shirt only cost $10 and it lasted me 6 months!!" I picked a color scheme & now only buy/sew things that fit into it. That way I have somewhat of an instant "capsule" wardrobe. Regarding sewing, I really thought that I'd be able to save money sewing but that hasn't necessarily been the case since I shop pretty cheap; not to mention the amount of time factored in. BUT I have found that I can get better quality for what I do spend, and it feels good to say "Thanks! I made it." Not to mention I can customize the fit. [shameless brag alert!] Last year I made a lined coat that I just adore for $60.

I completely agree with Ravin. Yeah, I've had 3 no meds births, I've spend YEARS breastfeeding...but those were MY choices. DH has never pressured me to "go natural" with my births, breastfeed, or go on hormonal birth control. He's supported my choices. Even though it probably would have been easier on him if I had chosen to do various things differently. DH & I have been casually talking about it for a couple years now (since our third), but I feel strongly that he needs to be the one to pull the trigger :) We're both "done" but if something were to happen to me, I could see DH wanting more kids if he happened to find another wife ( I once asked him if he'd want more kids with someone else if I were to die and he jokingly said "I don't think that's any of your business" :lol: ). But I'm DONE, even if DH were to die & my hypothetical new guy wanted more kids. For that reason, I don't bring up a vasectomy...it makes more sense for ME to have a tubal because I feel done no matter what.

Have you read the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child? I love those. :)

Maybe check out the Kraft & Campbell's websites. I remember using those when I was first teaching myself how to cook. :)

"Education is the making of better humans."

Oh my gosh! I've actually toyed with the idea of buying them. I hope they're available long term.

Even so...I'm spending near twice that with my 3 young'ns. And not with grass fed beef (though our half cow should be arriving in the next week or so). I, too, would love to see some of your meal plans, hjffkj. :001_tt1:

I've read that "the wall" is around lesson 68/69.

Bump for the morning crowd. :)

I've been toying with this idea for a time now, but I just went ahead & started a social group (Seeking Scholé) for those who are interested in a support group of sorts in implementing the idea of restful learning within our home schools. I've been really inspired by the Scholé Sisters and I think this would be a great way to extend the idea of a community a little bit further :)

I highly recommend Project Life.

DH & DS just finished reading all 3 of the Mouse & the Motorcycle books for their before bedtime reading. I was hoping to do Mr. Popper's Penguins next, but it won't ship from amazon for 1-3 weeks. Any other recommendations? We've done Stewart Little & I was unimpressed...it doesn't need to be about animals...just something good.

Absolutely zero chance he got into the medicine. In all likelihood it was a toy or possibly a coin. He did bring me a pin (like a sewing pin) later and I said, "Is this what hurt your mouth?" And he said "Uh Huh." so then I asked if he swallowed a shoe and the answer was the same. The sewing pin would be the worst thing I can imagine. Whatever it was, it's in him now. He usually doesn't put things in his mouth.

My 2 year old came up to me a few minutes ago gagging & drooling. His nose was running, too. It seemed like he had something caught in his throat? He was breathing, but he kept sticking his hand down his throat to gag himself...after a minute everything seemed to clear up & he took a drink of water. He doesn't talk & I can't figure out what he might have gotten in to. He's perfectly fine right now but I'm not sure what to do.....

It never works for me in Firefox either. I click on it every single time anyway. Such a tease. :D

Thanks for the heads up! I've been needing something new to listen to while I do housework! In my cart is The Color Purple, First to Kill, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Elephant Whisperer.

I'm still loving my bullet journal, but I need to figure out a way to incorporate looking at it throughout the day. I think maybe I'll look it over every time I drink something caffeinated. That way once the caffeine kicks in, I know what to do with the extra push :)

I figured she'd just been testing too early to get the negative results. I can't imagine they'd call in a camera crew before they called a doc to confirm. But then again.....my priorities could very well be different from theirs. Clearly.

The video of them was very cute, they seem quite happy. Whatever happened to the oldest daughter? What was her name...Jana? She seemed to get less screen time than the others on the episodes I saw.