And where did you all get these $40 gift cards??!! Did I miss something????: :001_huh:

Don't think I'd be comfortable having my nails done. I've gone a few times while a companion got her nails done, but don't think it's for me. On little sidetrack, my sisters and I all went for a massage. They've gotten them for years, but it was my first. When we came out, I told them, "What were the odds I'd get a homeschooled woman to do mine?" They said in a horrified voice, "You TALKED to your masseuse?!" Umm... Yep.

That is amazing. I'd definitely be rethinking the previous decision!

You know, I've looked at Nutella but never bought it. I'll definitely have to try it now! lol I'd have to agree about reading People magazine. I never buy it, but given the chance, I'll snatch it up and read it. And truly, who really cares about all these people who don't seem to have real lives anyway? Along those lines, who were Nick and Jessica when they got married on television anyway?? I truly have no idea where they came from. And very guiltily, I'll admit I hope she doesn't make it in country music. :ack2: I was a big Bobby Sherman fan way back when. (Telling my age, now!) But the best part of that was, my dad would turn the radio way up when he got out of bed and a BS song was on, so I could hear it. Then I'd go right back to sleep. That was just so sweet of him. I eat far too many chocolate chips right from the bag. In fact, I no longer care for sweet chocolate like Hershey's bars! Good thing I'm in fine company here, or I'd probably have to be embarassed about liking to spend far too much time on my pc. :)

So glad to hear it!!

:lol: thanks!

My great aunt's fear was to end up in a nursing home. So we tried to avoid it when her dh died. She lived 500 miles from us, but we found her in-home care. We later found out they were probably abusing her and stealing from her. Her step-sister and her dh moved her to an apartment (she gave them control since they lived closer), and then finally to a nursing home. They were too old to take care of her. Things get out of your hands. My ex-mil lived with us for several years back when I was in my 20s. We did our best for her, but finally the doctor said she had to go in the nursing home, and her dh went in with her (for health and mental reasons). I felt so guilty that I was there every night for at least a week. It is NOT an easy thing to do to those you love! But--it becomes necessary. There were people later who asked why we didn't get help, but I felt it was supposed to be our job to take care of them; I would have felt guilty/bad for not doing 'my job'. It is definitely wearing. 28 years later, we have my mil in the nursing home. It is not easier, especially since she's also starting to imagine things/be fearful at night. She no longer wants to stay there, but since she's falling regularly from her wheelchair (they're fastening her in now), there's no way we could possibly take her in! I know your dh feels guilty, but it would have happened anyway. Probably a doctor said he needed the nursing home? It gets out of our hands. I am so sorry you are being forced to this. Guilt as the child is always great. We can always look back and wish we had done better. We just do the best we can at the time. All you can do is be there for fil, let him know you haven't forgotten him. :grouphug:

I've been heavily involved as a volunteer for years. I was in Women of Today, in leadership positions for most of the 10 years, and during this time my boys were born. The kids have seen me teach SS all their lives, run VBS for the last 3 years, I was their Scout leader 1-6th grades, and have had positions on various homeschool boards and a church board (8 yrs). Now that we are in high school, I feel I need more time to work with the boys than ever, plus I have to fit my dd's schooling in. This is the season of life I am choosing not to volunteer. I am still on one homeschool board, and I will lead Keepers of the Faith this year, but that's it. If I can get a replacement on the board, I'll be off that this year, too. I do think it's important to show our kids that volunteering is important, that we can all contribute in various ways in our communities and churches. I think leading by example is the best way to do this. BUT- I want them to know it's not ALL about serving others. There are times when we need to sit back and regroup. My oldest is on the youth board at church now, which is a great way to start making a difference. All the Scout volunteer projects help, too. ;) Just my two cents. :) P.S. They also see their dad on a board and head of another, leading by example.

I think you need to hide that menu in the cabinet, Jessica. :) Once in a while my dh does that, too... I've decided that this year the kids will do individual subjects right off the bat in the morning. Then since we're all in the kitchen, I'll get the bread machine going, start the crockpot or precook some parts of dinner. Figure this should make supper much easier. When I'm having mashed potatoes, why not peel and cook the spuds early, instead of ending up with dinner at 7 cause I waited til 5 to start?! I've been practicing with getting some stuff done early in the day now, before I add school. ;)

I made a huge list of all the meals I could think of that my family liked. They could be things I made without a recipe book or recipes I've just used a lot. That gave me a big list of things to start with. For example, spaghetti and chili are ones I use most weeks in the winter. :boxing_smiley: Then I picked a stack of recipes I'd wanted to try (from online) and one new cookbook with some things I've been wanting to try and added those to the list. After you rotate meals you make now, you can start adding in some new recipes, like I've been doing lately. I spent some time looking through the Monday Menu blogs for ideas I hadn't thought of, or just new things that sounded good last week. I try to rotate beef, chicken, ground beef, fish, pasta dishes, soups/stews/chili, and mexican/chinese meals. Some weeks I do better than others. You don't necessarily need to assign the meals to the particular night; just knowing you have the ingredients each night if you pick one meal for tomorrow is a big help. If you'd like a master list to start with, I'd be glad to share mine. I also saved my menus from last winter so I can pull them out again later to save time if I want. Then, if you want any recipes, I'd be glad to share those. I gave up convenience foods a while back on the whole foods journey. We pretty much use common items around here. Course that's probably a different shopping list from those down south. lol P.S. My dh said he didn't like green/red/yellow peppers. Over time, that's changed. My family will eat pepper steak with green peppers, and fajitas with red/yellow peppers. Sometimes you have to just try something that sounds good to you. (Tho with the cost of peppers now, if they didn't eat them, it wouldn't be a big loss. lol)

So glad to see this here! I don't have a blog, but have been back to doing menus for several weeks, so I'd love to share! I've gotten lots of new ideas from the trading. :) Sunday: meatloaf, baked potatoes, salad, corn Monday: sweet and sour chicken, basmati rice, eggrolls Tuesday: teriyaki marinated chicken, red potatoes, garlicky green beans JB Wednesday: hamburgers, broccoli salad, grilled potato/onion packets Thursday: unshished kabobs, corn on the cob, rice Friday: tacos, Spanish rice Saturday: pork ribs with bbq sauce, mashed potatoes, roasted green beans Ooh! Paula! Can I get that recipe for the sweet and sour green beans? Please??

There were a few in the files section of Fulbright's yahoo group...

Dh is self-employed, so there wouldn't be time for him to work somewhere else part-time, if you kwim. He's way into overtime. lol I'm trying to talk him back to reasonable hours: i.e. 2 hours a day for the family. He said it sounds reasonable. :001_huh: Hmmm.... didn't put myself as employed at all, but I am his part-time business helper/partner/bookkeeper.

The squash casserole was my first thought, along with zucchini bread. I just keep it shredded in the freezer in small baggies for either. :)

Here's one I found searching through recipes I've saved... (There were just a couple pages worth...;) Dry Mix for Frozen Fudge Pops 4 cups nonfat dry milk powder 1 ½ cups sugar 1 cup flour ½ cup cocoa ½ cup butter Additional ingredients: 2 ½ cups water 1 tsp vanilla extract *In large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Freeze in airtight container for up to 6 months or refrigerate for up to 3 months. Yield: 3 batches (6 ½ cups total) *To prepare: Whisk 2 cups mix and water. Bring to boil. Reduce and simmer for 1-2 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Cool slightly. Fill 3-oz molds ¾ full; insert Popsicle sticks. Freeze for up to 3 months. I've also heard mixing some orange juice with yogurt... Haven't run across that one today.... :001_huh:

You've probably already seen these, but thought I'd post them anyway. There are some co-op manuals for botany and astronomy here: http://www.jeanniefulbright.com/science.html You might find some ideas there. Also, join her yahoo group (bottom of that link). There are some schedules in the files. Someone else might be working on that now, too! It's a great place to ask questions, too. There will be some notebook pages available for zoology 3 here: http://www.jeanniefulbright.com/notebookpages.html

We kind of are. We'll be going to the lake for a few days, visiting the big farmers' market and traipsing locally a bit. We always do the county and state fairs. Dd would like to do the zoo... I'll have to think a bit more. I am just so ready for a get away!!

Glad there are others who can back me up, 'cause I don't remember where I heard that! lol

I'm definitely going to have to save a bunch of these ideas! :) Okay. Cheese-Topped Vegetable Bake (from an old Pillsbury cookbooklet) 2 c sliced carrots 1 c cut green beans Cook both vegetables in boiling salted water til crisp-tender; drain well and put in 2 qt casserole dish. Heat oven to 350*. In skillet, melt 2 tbsp butter and saute the following: 2 med thinly sliced onions 1/2 tsp basil leaves 1/2 tsp garlic salt 1/8 tsp pepper 4 1/2 oz jar of sliced mushrooms Saute til onion is tender, then spoon over carrots and green beans. Top with 2 med tomatoes, peeled and cut in wedges. Sprinkle with 1 c cheddar, mozzarella or muenster cheese Bake at 350* for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through. Garlicky Green Beans from Jane Brody's Good Food Book 1 lb green beans steamed 5 minutes & quickly chilled in cold water. 1 small onion, chopped 2 tsp minced garlic (2 larg cloves) 2 tsp oil 1 tbsp flour 1 tsp paprika 1 16 oz can whole tomatoes, drained (save the juice) and chopped Saute the onion and garlic in oil for about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and paprika, cooking for a minute, then stir in the tomato juice. Cook, stirring, til slightly thickened. Add the tomatoes and green beans, mixing well. Cook, stirring, over medium heat about 2 minutes or til heated through. There's also a green bean potato salad that I'll post again if anyone wants it.

I also love them steamed and mixed with a bit of cooked bacon and butter, like they serve at Outback Steakhouse or Famous Dave's. There are several recipes I like from Jane Brody's Good Food Book Dilly Bean Salad 1 lb small green beans, steamed tender-crisp 2 tbsp snipped fresh dill 6 scallions sliced with some tops Combine above and then make dressing as follows. 2 tbsp olive or salad oil 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard salt, to taste pepper, fresh ground, to taste Whisk the dressing ingredients together, then add to the beans, mixing well. Serve at room temperature. Ahhhh. Just typed in 3 other recipes, but forgot to hit save. Grrrrr. Guess I'm too tired tonight, so I'll have to come back tomorrow or Monday. Everything starts with the steamed beans tho.... :)

If you're talking about the black, I believe they say the thin line Sharpie is what they recommend now.

Moved a few states away for college, and then, one by one, my family has all moved to within a few hours of each other in this state. :) No one's left in the IL.

My nephew was really big into basketball, so I gave him a book by John Wooden, a very old wise well-known basketball coach. :)

I'm so sorry. BTDT. I was there every night after work when my ex-mil (and fil) went into the nursing home. I felt so bad, but there was no other option. They had been living with us already. It is a very hard thing to do. Not really any easier 20 years later with current mil. :( :grouphug:

a couple cheese sticks and an apple or something?