Fritz, who here is saying that? I think it would be wonderful for immigrants to be tested for covid and offered the vaccine. The more who choose to vaccinate, the better for all of us.

Same!

So, the taxes are all done, right... Since it was a for 2017 and 2018? What does he want, to change them retroactively? I don't see how that would be allowed since he lost the appeal. Sorry, it stinks 😕

I grew up poor, and the only thing that made me feel self conscious was my wardrobe. I wish I could go back in time and give kid me some on trend clothes. I think you can do a lot with affordable stores like Old Navy these days. ThredUp has lots of very gently used clothes for less... There's probably a similar store for kids/boys.

I know. I wonder if he IS vaccinated but still spreading doubt.

If Tucker Carlson isn't vaccinated, shouldn't he be wearing a mask? I read that it's Fox News policy that unvaccinated people wear masks in the building.

It's not uncaring to say you're too busy. Why the angst?

You can buy chai concentrate at the grocery store, and add milk or almond milk or coconut milk. Delicious hot or iced.

Super "milkshake" : One banana, peanut/almond butter, coconut milk or other milk. I usually put in cocoa powder but I bet it's great without it. Vanilla or cinnamon would be good in there too!

When I was trying to feed DH up, I put butter in his instant oats 🙂 Is he OK with butter? Or ghee? Just put butter in everything. Shortbread is full of carbs and fat and is high cal 🙂 Chomps jerky sticks don't have anything weird in them. They're expensive but delicious. Not high calorie, though.

I think you should go and soak up as much enjoyment as you can 🙂 Your son will so appreciate you being there! Doing mostly outdoor things in Ireland will be wonderful!! So exciting for him to do such a cool adventure for college! What is he studying?

Same! I've mostly been sad up till now, but this week I suddenly started feeling ANGRY.

I give CBD oil to my elderly cat. Maybe I'll try some. I'm not having panic attacks, but I do feel an underlying nervousness that I never used to have. Like a tight feeling like n my chest. I'm so mad about it because I used to be the happy-go-lucky type. Too bad the cat's CBD oil is salmon flavored!

I hate things around my throat, too ... But I do love wearing scarves in all seasons. They don't get close enough to my throat to give me that choking feeling. I'm pretty casual too, so I usually just wear a plain colored top with a scarf, and I hope that gives the impression of fanciness/style. How about capri pants, a plain top, and light scarf? Or even just a fancier polo. That feels like a country club outfit to me 👍

I'm feeling increasingly nervous now that I have accepted an in-person teaching job. I was so excited to go back in person, but now cases are going up again.... I think the deal in Maine is that each school district can choose their mask policy. Mine is choosing masks for all, thankfully. My mom will not lock down again. She lives alone and was pretty depressed during lockdown. All I can do is hope that if we do get covid, it will be manageable because we are vaccinated.

This is on the expensive side for ThredUp, but I like it... maybe it would work with capris and sandals? Note: I'm NOT a fashionista! Or a 3/4 sleeve cardigan/kimono? You could put a t-shirt under it. Kenar open cardigan in black and white - put a white or black tank under, with pretty much any pants. More Kenar, lovely sleeveless blouse, pair with a solid colored kimono/cardigan I'm ready to join you! I've picked out my clothes! 🤩

I really like ThredUp for these situations. It's a used clothing store. They have so much stuff, it's like Amazon for used clothes. You can sort by size, brand, condition (new, like-new, gently used, etc). The prices are pretty darn good so you can get stuff and not feel bad if it doesn't work out.

My mom taught me to entertain myself by having me play alone for 5 minutes, then 10, and so on. It was a valuable skill to learn because I’m an only child, and my mom couldn’t always be entertaining me. Even if she had the time, it was important for me to learn to occupy myself. Maybe have a kid-friendly timer for quiet time - mom doing something quiet, DD doing something quiet? Perhaps small chunks of time a few times a day would work, and gradually make them longer as she is able...

I don’t think I could handle this. Hugs to all of you dealing with a narcissist!

Agreed that dairy covers up reflux problems temporarily, but it makes the problem worse. A close friend of mine had horrible heartburn for years, and it went away completely after eliminating gluten and dairy (ordered by doc). After a year or two I think he went back to eating anything, and the problem has not returned. Worth a try for a couple weeks.

I agree - more upbeat messaging would be good, about protecting the community or grandma or kids maybe... no more needles! I’m not needle phobic but even I turn away when it’s on TV. I also think focusing on a good %vaccinated goal... whatever that would be... would be good - “Look, 80% vaccination would be great protection for grandma and the kids, and we wouldn’t need masks anymore, but we’re currently at 65.3% so mask up!” A goal + update on where we are towards the goal would be good. Right now I don’t think people know what the goal is or how close we are to meeting it. “As many vaccinated as possible” is too vague. I watch SkyNews (British) sometimes because it comes free on my TV. I like it a lot because every hour or so, something comes on the screen saying what % of the population in each area is vaccinated. It’s very matter-of-fact. I would like to see, too, updates about new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, comparing vaccinated to unvaccinated people, on the TV/FB ads/whatever. Many people will think it’s made up I suppose, but hopefully some would take it to heart.

I have not... I'll check it out!

Cool!

Yes! It definitely is! And yes, I love that 100% vocabulary book. It is awesome! You probably turned me on to it in the first place. I swear I had the intermediate version somewhere, but I can’t find it... so I wonder if it was just my imagination. I’m not able to find it online anywhere... Do you have a source for buying it? Working on vocabulary at school is challenging. The classroom teachers are covering their material, so I want to support that, but at the same time, I have very little time to find out what they’re doing ahead of time, prep materials based on that, etc. Ideally, I would like to work on some general-purpose things to support vocabulary like prefixes/suffixes, root words, etc. and pull in some of their class materials for part of each lesson.

Yes, good reminder! I also agree with you about general vocab vs academic vocab.... The need is for both so it's challenging. The SLP seems great so hopefully she'll be a good resource.