Frequent users here so, not old at all. We use about 4 bottles a yr.

Checking this out, thanks so much!

******hit my three mile goal today!!******* I'm ready for the race a week early, yeah! But my hips hurt so bad... I stretched twice as long so I'm hoping after resting that the soreness goes away. Nothing else is sore ...my legs feel great. Just my hips. :/

We use youtube almost exclusively for art. They have wanted to try pastels so I bought some and we have been following some lessons from people on there. People set up lessons of various kinds on there so we pick something we want to spend a few weeks on and do it systematically. We also have an active homeschool community locally and a few of the ladies arrange some classes through the local museums so we get in on that when possible. We are scheduled for a mixed media class in May and a few pottery classes in June. We just finished a few classes on drawing and using colored pencils. I just want them to relax and enjoy this subject and get exposed to as many different types of mediums as possible so we do a little of everything. Some of this might work for you guys? YT is full of ideas!

when hitting this age, I also made high school decisions that affected middle school decisions/preparations. Then I made decisions backwards from there. Realize the hormones start making a HUGE difference. Allow time, flexibility and sleep for that. Also allow the hormonal fog some room. DS will sit down with math and I can literally see the fog around his head...almost lol. Things he knows, he suddenly doesn't, words don't come easy, deer in headlights...mom, relax. LOL I focused a LOT on writing, too. A LOT. There are resources out there that make teaching the mid to higher maths easier! These are the years of self-organization and responsibility for their work. Mine are to keep their materials a certain way at all times. They are turn in their work a certain way with a certain amount of neatness, always. Some days, that's mostly what we work on...usually the days the mental fog rolls in. Math responsibility....when they are ready, somewhere in the middle years, start having them grade their math problems, re-do to find out where it went wrong, re-grade, etc. It very well might take a year's worth of math to take 1.5 to 2 yrs to firm up all concepts before the next higher math. Logic and rhetoric stages blur sometimes...you'll know what they 'lawyer routines' start over...everything. haha! It's not going to be as hard as it seems. Promise. ETA: regular exercise irons out loads of issues..make sure they get adequate amounts.

As each reached age 6, they earned allowance tied to family chores done well and willingly. This never includes their own messes or space, which is expected to stay neat and orderly for no pay at all. At that time we told them we wouldn't be buying them any more toys that were just impulse-purchases or whims. We continued to buy bigger things like game systems later on, computer stuff, planned toy occasions, etc. They were to divide what they earned into contributions where we worship, savings, then spending money. As they've gotten older, they've been allowed to adjust the %;s to their need/liking/heart. I watched my 6 yr old son save his money for a certain truck, then go to the store and compare what he had in his wallet and the price of the toy (MUCH more than he had in his wallet). He put it back on the shelf and went back home to continue to save. I never said anything. When he had enough, he returned to buy it, only to walk out empty handed because he thought it was overpriced compared to the hard work he did to earn his money. Oh what beauty there is in lessons learned on their own w/o my lectures. LOL Since then their responsibilities have increased, pay has too, age appropriately. They now pay for their recreation, video games, devices. They've never come to me to ask for a toy or goody, instead they just get an envelope and start sticking the spending portion of their $ away for that item. Sometimes they ask for an extra chore or two to earn more to get to the goal quicker. Evvvvery now and then I chip in, or grandma does, or whatever. It's fun to watch as even vacations approach, because they start saving for it on their own. As soon as DH gets paid, I figure what they get based on the chart I keep indicating the completed chores and then we head to the bank and they deposit money into their savings account on their own according to the %'s for now, and disperse the rest as they see fit. According to their chores tied to allowance here, they have the potential for $25 a piece per two week pay period. But they usually earn from $15 to $20 every two weeks because of forgetting to do them, short cutting, or doing sloppy work and they don't get paid for that type of work. THEN they have to redo the work for nothing. I don't step in much and allow them to make big mistakes with their money too. I do try to guide but they ultimately decide. That has been a great many lessons learned the hard way too. They are also responsible for using their own money to replace items they carelessly break or otherwise need to replace b/c of their choices. For instance, DD had a bad habit of throwing my car keys in the air. DH warned her several times, like..maybe..20!? that if they dropped and my key with a sensor in it broke, it would be very expensive to replace but it would HAVE to be replaced b/c I wouldn't be able to use my car without it. Welp, she didn't listen and one day she didn't catch the keys when she tossed them and yep, the plastic shattered. She was saving faithfully for a tablet, but $90 went to replace the key. Oh the pain, the tears, the lesson. ((shrug)) Real world, baby.... That's how we've always approached it. All this has really worked for us. The kids are not old enough for jobs, but they are fully ready for the handling of the paychecks that are to come, small as they will be at first. DD is even buying her own clothes sometimes now, voluntarily. There has also been some massive buyer's remorse at times...all a part of the lesson.

In 2008 we were in a unique position of being able to order a vehicle brand new, just how we wanted it. I'd only ever had used cars before that. It was pretty special and I got all I wanted in my fully loaded Nissan Pathfinder v8 4WD with a creamy off-white pearlized paint. I named her Sweet White Heat because she SO IS. LOL My license says SWHHT. Never named a car before her but she deserves it. :lol:

a day off of c25k so I did an hour long stretching session to try to loosen up whatever muscles in my hips and lower back are causing so much pain. I have some charts by Bob Anderson on stretching that works wonders and I'll try to do some yoga poses to loosen me up. Day 2 of Epsom salt soaks and loads of water too.

up to 2.75 miles with c25k app. But my back and hips are starting to hurt and cramp so unbelievably bad, even after my very extensive stretching before and after. Hoping this will work itself out before the race in 2 weeks. Gonna try to push through tho..

fermented cod liver oil from blue pastures. we are rarely sick but even still, the overall health of our family improved incredibly once we started using this. we also make elderberry syrup and take high doses of d3.

I used to rant about this until I realized how CRAPPY those cheap printers are that I was buying. Once my brother convinced me to get a HP Office Jet 8600 (series).. it was $150 on sale... I haven't looked back. I replace the black cartridge about once every year ($41) and the color cartridges ($50) about once every 1.5 yrs. I don't have ANY of the problems with this printer that I wrestled with when using the cheap printers. It is all more expensive in the long run, but there is NO aggravation, it's an 'everything' printer, and wireless. A real workhorse too. No more rants! Oh, except the Keurig thing....... got a super fancy high end one for an anniversary gift from my mom and suddenly my modest little habit got super pricey. I got the 'my cup' thingy where I can use my own grounds and things got better....but still........

Thanks souch ladies! I can use a lot of choices here!

2.5 miles no stopping (so huge for me). Week 7, day 3, C25k. On to my final week on Friday! That will give me a full week of running 3 miles before the race! Today was a huuuge struggle though. Muscles wouldn't loosen no matter the stretch, every step my body felt super heavy, stomach hurt... After the run, I've been super shaky and weak feeling. Glad its over!

I have a 3 mile race coming up and am not too excited about my current playlist for it. I like almost anything as music goes, so what can you suggest for upbeat music that will be great while running?

I have tried a lot of forms of stevia since around 2005 and it really varies as far as taste goes. I have finally found a great tasting liquid stevia with no after taste, no bitterness, etc: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019LTH3U/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A269N201SWOEB6 It lasts a surprisingly long time too.

week 7, day 1 of C25K. Running (or technically slow jogging?) 2.5 miles w/o stopping or even feeling winded. :hurray: Starting to feel some positive body changes!

I wear earrings every day, 3 holes each side. DD14 does too. It never occurred to me that some people don't. We are very jewelry/makeup/4 inch heels kinda girls LOL Well, DD is in 2 inch heels..me..4. So yeah, earrings are automatic.

Not sure what to do in this thread, so I'll just babble what's new and exciting. I just signed up for a local race ..my 12 yr old son and I are going to run the 3 mile portion (odd how they don't offer as 5K).. So anyway, we've been using the C25K app and are now into week 6. Yesterday I ran 2 miles without stopping. OMG. I used to run..or well, jog a few years back and loved the results and energy but my lower back pain forced me to stop. Just last year I found an awesome chiropractor who urged me to address my tight hamstrings and periformis muscle (in my rear) as a reason why running gets to be too painful. NOW I stretch both extensively before and after running and there has been NO BACK PAIN. I'm still in disbelief. I have tried to take up running 6 different times with the same painful results. yeah! So our race is the end of April. My state is in the far north.so I'm wondering if it will be snowing or sleeting or zero degrees the day of the race. But throwing all hesitancy to the wind, we are running a 3 mile that day. For now I run every other day according to the app. Today is my day off, but I usually walk on those days. I've also made many dietary changes (though we eat very clean anyway), including what I have about an hour before my run that keeps my energy level steady and high. I have been slacking on ANY exercise in recent years and have been pretty unhappy with the results so I'm thrilled at how quickly I have adapted and progressed to running again! Starting to see results around the waist too. WOOHOO

We just started this series this year and on the weeks we do it, it's been smooth sailing, albeit a little slow as they digest the info. We hit lesson 10 and while I felt they were following the material pretty well, when we got to the Exercise portion, all 3 of us became very confused. In Exercise 10B you are to indicate which sentence is used *incorrectly*. We all feel as if in most of the questions, the answer key indicated which ones were used CORRECTLY. We are VERY confused as to why most of 10B we all got wrong and don't see how the answer key is correct. Also, the answer key has TEN answers in Exercise 10B and the student book only has 9 questions. So I'm wondering if lesson ten is just screwy and we should move on, or if we are just not getting a correct understanding and need to back up and try again. We have been trying to figure out lesson 10 for 2 weeks now (done 3 times a week). We've 'tried' again twice already! I know this is a very specific question but I'm hoping someone else noticed this and can help?

Bare Minerals Eye Rever Upper makes a huge difference to me (I'm 42). I have also been impressed with E.L.F's new skin care line. There is an under eye serum and an under eye illuminating cream that have been doing nice things for me. I also have 2 Lancome samples of some sort...a night cream for eyes and a serum.. that I will try when my ELF one is empty.

I think they are the bee's knees. LOL Last year, DD did all of the 11-13 and this year she is doing the 12-14 units. DS is doing 11-13 this year. They are literature based with lots of projects and other methods of learning the concept. Ten units in a school year, though is very, very hard to do because the work is pretty rigorous. Busy work is minimal I'd say. There might be some here and there but I don't think it's the norm. My kids have really done very well and become solid writers using this curriculum.. It's very individual as to how many you'd get done in a year, but I'd say between 6 and 8 are much more reasonable than the 10 they give per level. On the website you can check each unit for skills in that unit and decide from there.

After trying nearly everything, I have finally found something tha tworks for me. Mally's Dark Circle Corrector. I just looked adn didn't see it on her site, but it's on Amazon or ebay. Just the right consistency, doesn't settle in lines, and it's a color corrector. So no matter what 'off' color you have, it will brighten and correct. I stipple it on with a stipple brush to blend. Then I very lightly stipple just a little of my foundation around and on it, set it with under eye setting powder.

DD last year in 7th, and DS this year in 7th...both spend/spent 1.5 hrs a day. They were able to mostly get a full Saxon Alg 1/2 lesson and all problems done in that time..mostly. This year with DS, he doesn't do Saxon every day. When he does LOF and/or Khan, he spends about 40 min to an hour that day.

Here it means their eye balls shut off after they grazed through what is there and they didn't see their favorites. I used to say "guess you're not hungry enough because there's plenty of food in there'. After 1002 times, and now they are plenty old enough to figure it out, I just shrug and they know what it means. i have sort of trained it out of them and more often I find them rummaging and coming up with something, even if it's not as easy or a fav. I keep organic popcorn kernels around as a 'last resort' and when I hear them popping, I KNOW we are low on food. If DH says there's no food, it usually means we are nearly out of food! lol

This is DS12's first year homeschooling. Last year he was in 6th grade and they did pre-A. This year, as he adjusted to homeschooling, his math needing shoring up as well. So we are going pretty quickly through Saxon Alg 1/2 to try to close any gaps. I feel he is ALMOST ready for Alg 1 but not yet. So I ordered LOF Beginning Alg for him as a 'bridge' to start getting into the Alg 1 work. I just plan it where it seems to fit. He may do Saxon for a few days then he does a couple LOF days. He loves it b/c LOF seems to take him less time but when I check it, he's done a fair bit of work, so he feels more accomplished. Saxon is a lot of work too, but it's rote and much dryer. With LOF, he feels like he's done less (b/c he enjoys it more) yet I consider it enough math to make me happy. Once he finishes Saxon's Alg 1/2, I'll go ahead and pu thim in Saxon Alg 1 and he can use LOF on days where he has a hard time concentrating and needs a break. He considers LOF a break. lol