Nope, not important. We've moved so many times just for the heck of it, starting over is easy. The idea of knowing "everyone" in a community would freak me out; I'm way too much of an introvert to ever feel comfortable with that.

We like canned pumpkin in enchiladas (if I don't have sweet potatoes) and in chili. DS eats it straight out of the can. Lol

I'm not sure I've ever actually followed a recipe without tweaking and changing it to better suit my tastes. I'm thrilled that DS is learning to cook that way too. My MIL is someone who needs to follow a recipe exactly, even if she makes the same thing every week. I feel bad when she asks me for my recipes and I honestly don't know what to tell her--just toss some of this and that together, add some of this if you have it, or whatever you like. Cook until done. See, easy peasy! :)

Athleta has high waisted leggings, and offers them in tall as well.

I agree, testing properly for Lyme positivity is tricky under the best circumstances because it is generally so misunderstood. In my state the turnaround for results of an infected tick is within the week, I've heard from friends who have sent them into our local service, and human results come back also within days. The trick is getting doctors who understand the timing and what they are looking for. But the OP isn't concerned about Lyme. She has different ticks.

X 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 This cannot be said enough. :grouphug: to the OP and her family.

Imagine if all the energy spent on tearing down was spent instead on lifting each other up. I'm exhausted.

No. What purpose would it serve? I would get tested for possible Lone Star tick diseases though, if applicable. And also :grouphug:

I had that side effect from a different antibiotic; it was terrifying. :( On doxy, I lost my sense of taste. That was disconcerting but not as bad as depression.

That doesn't seem sound to me at all. First get tested (immediately), then go from there. 6 weeks of doxy minimum if you have Lyme to kill the entire cycle; I have no idea about all the other tick borne diseases.

Yes! This! Grrrr...

Yeah, something like veganism is usually at least based on a belief system, even if it's experimental in the end for the individual. But I have family members and friends who get super passionate about all of a sudden eating no sugar or no carbs and preach endlessly about it, only to post pictures of breads and desserts and beer or whatever when they go on vacation or out with other people (or it's their birthday, or because it's Monday...). I do see that as different, because it's not an honest effort on their part (while making demands on others) and because IME they are so loud and needlessly defensive about their current diet. Thinking about it, I'm not sure I know any vegans, which probably means it just doesn't come up.

Oh, my point wasn't really about homework. I'd rather have kids do their work in class and have non- school hours be free to pursue other interests or you know, just be kids. My point was making a Big Deal about what percentage each thing is worth when I would think if it's worth teaching it ought to be worth learning. If most kids know in advance that doing a certain project isn't worth many points, why would they do it? I fully admit I am not going to make a good public school parent. ;)

My parents have them in their chimney. They love listening to them rustling about at night. :)

Oh yeah, the people who follow food fads are the hardest to deal with--paleo, low carb, no sugar/caffeine/etc. It's frustrating to go waaay out of my way to accomodate, only to have them change their habits without warning. Food trendiness seems to attract a binge and purge, all or nothing type of person, IME. I really want to respect their choices du jour, but it's hard when it's constantly changing and their diets reverse course with the wind. Especially because they tend to be so vocal and disrespectful of anyone not participating in their whims. It's exhausting. (My rant doesn't apply to true dietary restrictions or honest attempts at solving food related issues)

Yup. Big public high school in California, late 1980's. Actually the idea of telling kids their homework is only worth 10%, say, seems like just asking them to slack off. Who would bother if they knew it wouldn't make a difference? I think the whole idea of focussing on one arbitrary aspect or another for grading is disingenuous to actual learning. We used to get extra credit in biology for bringing our teacher scorpions in a jar. Why, I have no idea but I'm certain my grade improved as a result. And in history one year we got extra credit for bringing in bed springs--our teacher made chainmail for his outfits for Ren festivals.

Lucky you! Bats are the best to have--please, please don't hurt them. Seriously, bat populations are in such decline; consider yourself lucky to have free mosquito control.

No. I didn't know what they were until college. We didn't have course books or get to choose our classes, either, except electives. As far as I know, we we were just automatically slotted into whatever the "next" class was that was appropriate. There really wasn't any student input. My son's high school experience is totally different already, and he doesn't even start until fall. So far it's a huge advancement over what I experienced--students and faculty seem much more engaged. I hope that remains true.

Recently we heavily researched the CRV and the new Forester. I liked the "trucky" feel and simplicity of the CRV, but ultimately went with another Subaru for the AWD. It might not matter to you depending on your climate, but I just didn't want to take chances with the on-demand "AWD" of anything but a Subaru; after talking to CRV owners, I'm glad I made that decision. Plus, honestly, my heart belongs to Subaru, much as I really wanted to love the Honda (and its lower price tag).

PETA is a militant group that represents a very few. Nothing they stand for represents me as a vegetarian.

Guests in my home are welcome to keep meat in my fridge and cook it for themselves. It would be appreciated if they ask first instead of assuming we don't mind, and it would be VERY appreciated if they were respectful enough to clean their greasy pans instead of leaving them for me to scrub, but alas, I do not have those sorts of guests. And for the record, no, they do not go out of their way to make vegetarian food for us when we stay with them. Thankfully we know better and prefer to be self sufficient. I have always offered to buy and cook meat for DS if at any time he is interested in trying it.

Wow--I can't imagine going to the store only once or twice a week! It's closer to daily here, and that's with just one teen! I often figure I'm doing it wrong. Lol

This x1000. Also agreeing that there is a certain personality type who take offence at *anything* outside their own perceived norm.

Ha! My mother actually went to something like this fairly recently--she went on and on very insistently and angrily about how veganism is the ONLY way to go, how she was going vegan immediately and how stupid I am for not being and for not embracing her crazy...yeah, the same mom who spent so many years seething at my eating vegetarian. Of course she never attempted actually going vegan and I'm sure never thought about it again. Lol

I've never experienced that behaviour either, nor have I have been that way myself. I will say, however, that OTHER people can take huge offence to it, which I find truly baffling. My parents, for example, were downright angry when I went vegetarian after leaving home for college. I never said a word about it, but man...the anger on THEIR part lasted for years. Generally, I find others want to talk about it much more than I do (which is never). People are strange.