When dh and I were first married (before kids) we were up late one Saturday night and I had a craving for something sweet. Being the good guy he is, dh agreed to go to the convenience store and pick up some chocolate for me. He was gone a really long time. Turns out, he was stopped by a cop on his way home. He'd never been pulled before and was terrified. There was a dog barking (we're not sure if it was a canine officer or just a nearby pet -- it was a rural area and very dark). The officer approached with his flashlight and demanded to know what was in the brown bag, to which dh nervously replied, "Um, milk and candy bars?" After inspecting the bag, the officer let him go. Apparently that convenience store had been selling alcohol to minors and the cop had staked it out. My dh was a few months past his 21st birthday, so he would have been legal anyway, but I guess he was young enough to look suspicious. We still laugh about the time he got pulled for driving while (sugar) high.

You can use PayPal to transfer money to an individual. My sister and I do it all the time (e.g., paying each other back for a joint gift, etc.). They don't charge any fees for a person-to-person transfer.

Please, please, stop the madness!! It has been raining here for EONS! I don't remember what the sun even looks like! We are all depressed, sick of being stuck in the house, and all anybody wants to do is complain or eat. Including me. I've gained five pounds in the past week! Calgon, take me away!!!!! :willy_nilly:

Thanks! DD will love this!

A Crock-Pot? I have never enjoyed cooking but my Crock-Pot gets tons of use. Coming home to the smell of a hot meal waiting and ready to eat might help her appreciate simple and easy cooking.

There's hope for me yet! I'm a few weeks shy of 37! :lol:

I want to do it so hopefully I can find something that won't make me puke. That would be embarrassing! Might be a long shot, though! I know NOTHING about wine (I expect that's obvious, lol) so I literally would have been reduced to picking one at random from the grocery store. I appreciate all the help! I think we will try the watered-down Manishewitz first and see how it goes. Surely I can handle a sip. I hate feeling like a kid at the grown-ups' table!

Everyone makes mistakes. Thankfully no one was hurt so there's nothing to be upset about. Next time you'll be more aware when you're in that area. I know how you feel. This kind of thing can haunt me for DAYS. :grouphug:

Hahaha... mine either! I've never had a wine that I thought was actually sweet or fruity. It's all gross. I'm glad it's not just me. My sister rolls her eyes and says, "Nobody LIKES the taste of alcohol. That's why you get used to it in college when you're too stupid to know any better and susceptible to peer pressure." But I didn't drink in college either. My bad. I've never liked it, but when I was pregnant and super-sensitive to smells, I got sick at a restaurant off the smell of a bottle from another table. It's all been downhill from there!

I thought so as well, but according to my research, either white or red is acceptable. I think we will try a few of that have been mentioned and see if there is something we like. Thank you for the suggestions! A bottle will probably last us a month. Can we store it? Obviously, I know nothing about any of this! :blush:

The churches we've attended have always used juice as well. But we have a mix of Christian traditions and we want to use wine this time.

I don't care for any of it, really. I have nursed a mixed drink on occasion (amaretto sour or the like) but I don't really like them much. DH will drink a beer from time to time when we're out, or Jack & Coke. He is less picky about it than I am; he will probably be ok with whatever we end up with. The closer it tastes to juice, the better I will like it!

The small group that meets in our home would like to share Communion as part of our gathering, and I need to provide the wine. Neither dh nor I cares much for wine (even the smell sometimes makes me gag) but I'm hoping to find something we can enjoy, or at least tolerate, especially since we will only be taking a sip. Any suggestions?

DS5 is a penguin, and dd10 is a polar bear. We've got both poles covered. :)

Or Princess Consuela Banana Hammock? :p I also have had the experience of picking what I thought would be a less-common name, only to have it become wildly popular. And I do hate it. Although dd is 5-10 years older than most of the girls with her name, so that helps. But still, we chose her name because it meant something to us, and it suits her, and I would be sad if she wanted to change it. Once she's an adult, though, it's her name and her decision. I would have an even harder time with ds. He was named for my late sister (not actually the same name -- it's complicated, but his name was given to honor her), who died before he was born. It would be VERY difficult for me if he wanted to walk away from it.

Us, too. I don't recall ever seeing the showers in use. I certainly wasn't getting in one. Just changing in the open room was mortifying enough. I was a chubby preteen and horribly embarrassed of my body. I was also one of the first girls I knew to start her period. I perfected the art of changing clothes without ever actually getting undressed. I was in junior high in the '90's when longer basketball-style shorts were coming into style, but our school was stuck in the '80's short-shorts time warp. My uniform showed everything I spent the rest of my life trying to cover up. I wasn't un-athletic but junior high gym was one long three-year humiliation for me. The only saving grace was the week you got to be "locker room monitor" and study in the locker room instead of participating in class. Too bad that was only once a year or so.

The screenings don't bother me, but I would expect notice from the school, even if it was nothing more than a note in the handbook listing the screenings the school would do over the course of the year. I used to get VERY nervous over these types of things as a kid, and I'd want to be able to let my children know they were on the docket and not to worry about them.

I don't understand. Why does she think this will be a "hoot"? Free clothes? Just having someone giving her attention? I would be polite, but blunt. "I believe that charity exists to serve those who are unable to afford professional clothing. Since I don't fall into that category, I think it would be better if I purchased my own from a store." I believe some of the higher-end department stores provide personal shopping services, if she wants the attention. :glare:

I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue... :biggrinjester:

$20 for both, every six weeks. Dd has a blunt-cut bob and ds has a standard "little boy" haircut, so both are very simple. I tried to learn how to cut ds's hair when he was small but I was terrible at it. I can't even trim his bangs. I buzz dh's hair with the clippers every few weeks, but I just can't bring myself to cut that much off ds's hair yet. Their stylist only charges $7 each, but I usually bring a $20 and tell her to keep the change. It's a pretty big tip, but completely worth it to me. She's great with the kids (she can even get ds to sit still!), easy to schedule with, close by, and cheaper than just about anywhere else, even with the extra tip. And can I admit that for a VERY long time, I didn't know you were supposed to tip stylists? I'm lucky I'm not bald... :blushing:

I eat a scrambled egg and a slice of Canadian bacon every morning, no exceptions. If I'm extra hungry on the weekend, I splurge on a piece of toast. :p Lunch varies (usually leftovers from dinner) but my go-to veggie if I don't have anything to re-heat is roasted asparagus. It's quick and easy and I like it. I have it 2-3 times/week at least.

Sigh. Can I come to church with you? Yes, I'm serious. But all this guy does is talk about how great his family is (so we can all be amazed at what an incredible husband/father/head of household HE is). One of the many, many ways this church has gone downhill in the past five years.

Truth. Our (soon-to-be former) pastor does this in every. single. sermon. It always gets the applause too. Makes me want to puke. It's one of many reasons we're leaving the church.

You can borrow my method: make dh do it. :thumbup:

I'm all for good bloggers making money off their hard work. But more and more they seem to be overloaded with ads down both sides of the pages, embedded in the blog's photos, showing up between lines of copy... on and on and on. My browser inevitably crashes when I'm on one of those sites. It's so frustrating to just want to get some info and not be able to because of the sheer amount of junk added to the site! I would be far more likely to click on an Amazon link or whatever to support the site if I didn't have to close it out before I can even find what I'm looking for!