I didn't get to the library before New Year's Day like I had planned, but while discussing this at my mom's that day I mentioned that I wanted to read My Antonia. She didn't have that, but she did have a Willa Cather collection with three other novels and some short stories. We were too busy yesterday for me to read at all, but I read three chapters of O, Pioneers this morning. This was another book I'd determined to read, and I'm already enjoying it so much.

When I was a little girl, we lived in both Roswell and Albuquerque. I remember very vividly the poverty I saw every day. My mom would agree that it was a very depressed area. When I traveled back through New Mexico in 2003, I noticed the same thing. I also saw it in Arizona, though we went through more Indian reservations and no large cities in that state. We lived in Meridian, Mississippi for three years and there was a lot of poverty there as well. Even so, I can't say I would never want to live in either of these places. They are both beautiful in their own way. I'd much rather be poor in a place like that than in a large city, particularly one where it gets very cold in winter. When I was very, very small, we lived in New York City. I was only three or four when we moved to New Jersey, but I have vivid memories from that time as well, and we went back to visit several times as I got older. I would not live in NYC unless God spoke to me directly and told me to go live there. We moved around a lot when I was growing up. I have lived in Texas, New Mexico, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Ohio. I do not like large cities. A rare visit is enough for me. Kansas City is not so bad, but the Missouri side is horrible to figure out and navigate. Wichita is even too big for me. I like my home in the country with a small but decent sized city nearby for when I need it. That said, we visited friends in Los Gatos, CA this year, and I would consider moving there. It is heavily populated and the traffic is a little much for me, but the weather is perfect and I would move there just to be close to these people.

If I was innocent, I would want someone like me as a juror. I think I'm pretty fair-minded and really do try to give others the benefit of the doubt, weigh evidence, etc. I quickly realize when I am reacting or responding with prejudice and try to correct it by looking at things with an open mind and with honesty. These things are very important to me. Justice is very important to me. I wouldn't want someone like me serving as a juror if I were guilty, but then, I wouldn't be guilty.;) I am a little distractable, but when something is important, I can lock in on it. I would be scribbling away writing notes and working very hard to banish all thoughts that did not pertain to the trial from my mind.

If I'm understanding what you're describing correctly, I don't have the hump either. Incidentally, my mom did not breastfeed me past 5 weeks because she got sick. I've never had any speech problems, unless you count the New Jersey schools wanting to put me in speech therapy for my Texas accent when I was 7.:D

Um, sausage in a casing works very well for ground meat. You are not ground meat. The sausage in a casing idea does NOT translate well for people. That is not a flattering look. As for the well-endowed thing, don't try to cover it too much. Play along with your curves and try to dress to flatter what you have rather than trying to squeeze into looking like you have a different body type. That rarely works. Remember that most of us have what we consider figure flaws. I used to wish for more in that area. Women are entirely too critical of their bodies. Wear clothes that fit well and flatter your shape instead of what flatters someone else's shape.

I concur.:D I love saying that. It reminds me of that scene from "Catch Me If You Can". But, really, LG is right about this.

I checked other. I once knew my blood type. We did the tests in anatomy in high school. I think I was A+, but I just can't remember for certain. Now, oldest ds was going to go give blood the other day just so they would tell him what his blood type is. His dog tags say A+, but some of his other paperwork says O-. He wants to know for sure and especially have his dog tags correct. I was shocked to hear about this. He said a lot of the paperwork gets fudged. I am no longer shocked. Now I'm pissed. That's a pretty danged important bit of information to "fudge" on! He also said the information about his thalassemia minor never got recorded by the recruiter. I sat in that man's office and told him about that and asked him to be sure it was put in ds' medical records. It should not have kept him out of the Marines, but it may make a difference if he is injured and needs a transfusion. (I don't know for sure, but neither does the recruiter.) He promised me he would put that in the paperwork. Of course they also screwed up some other paperwork twice which may or may not have cost ds a promotion to lance corporal upon graduating.:glare: Okay, rant over. Probably not the place for it. Sorry for the threadjack, but I felt the need to get it off my chest.

Um, wow. I was not prepared for that. That. Is. Unusual. Unique. One. Of. A. Kind. It definitely goes behind a picture frame. Or maybe on the edge of the counter as someone suggested. Does your dh have an odd sense of humor? Is it possible that it's supposed to make you laugh? I can see my dh doing that. If not, I just don't know what to say.:lol:

I would put the vase on a desk or something and use it for flowers, but put picture frames in front of it to camoflauge or entirely cover it. It can still serve its purpose. The flowers will be beautiful and the vase doesn't have to be seen. You don't have to say anything or lie. Win, win.

I made a retro style, reversible apron for my mom and a headwrap dealie to match. This was hard to do since I wasn't happy with any of the patterns I found and decided to make the pattern myself. I'm not an experienced enough seamstress to do this, and sizing it for my mom who is not my size was difficult. It came out very nice and I think she really liked it. Of course, she also liked the idea that it came with a year of monthly thorough housecleanings and help on six larger projects:D Not quite homemade, but a hit: I had a 16x20 print of one of dh's favorite photos I've taken printed up. Now to get it framed.

We have all electric. We do have a fireplace that isn't used right now (venting issues) and a small wood stove in the basement that has not been used very much at all this winter. We spend $150-$200 per month on electric in the winter time. During the hottest months of the summer, it can get up close to $300 per month. We keep the heat between 65 and 70 during the winter, the air conditioning between 72 and 75 during the summer. (I'd keep it warmer, but dh works construction and has trouble cooling off.) Our house is 2,100 sq. ft. not counting the basement, so I'd guess it's close to 4,000 sq. ft.

:lurk5: Hmmm, Spy Car and tibbyl have some very interesting thoughts here. That's all I have to say about that. And I mean that as genuinely interesting and not at all in a snarky way. I'd never thought about it that way. Of course, I've never thought all that much about this issue anyway since we don't do the whole virginity pledge or courtship thing. Just very interesting, y'all! :lurk5:

Never have gotten the flu vaccine and never will unless I'm in a high risk category. I don't get the flu any more often than those I know who regularly get the vaccine (including family members in high risk categories). Possibly less often.

I'd give beef 4-5 days, less for chicken or fish.

Uh, yeah, what Abbey said. I read a lot of classics to oldest ds when he was a baby while he was being nursed, though. Seeing you read and enjoy a book, spending time together that way, that's always good for kids, but I think that's about all they'd get out of it at that age. You could really work at helping them understand the books, but I just don't think at that age they'd be mature enough to really grasp it.

Those who say you've used this before, how do you think it compares to doing Fly Lady or any other system? What is it you like about Motivated Moms? Does it work well for someone who is fairly neat, but, um, extremely absent-minded and highly distractable?

We're having a party for our fellowship at our house. Everyone's bringing something. So far I've decided to make 7 layer dip (refried beans mixed with taco seasoning, guacamole, diced tomatoes, green onions, sour cream, shredded cheese, and black olives) and what SIL calls "Hooters dip" (buffalo hot wing dip). I'm trying to decide what else I want to make so I can get my shopping done today. New Year's Day we have dinner with my family. My mom is making shrimp creole and I'm bringing turtle cake.

I'm so glad for you and for Emily, Janie! :party: I will keep her in my prayers. Please thank her for her service for me. And thank you for posting this. She has had some tough circumstances, but she has made it through. That is so encouraging to me to hear stories like that.

Not only have my kids had to share rooms for longer than a year, I had to share a room with my mom or brother until my senior year in high school. None of us is too damaged:D My kids each currently have their own room and they feel very blessed. They still pile together on a big mattress in the family room to watch movies and often end up sleeping through the night there, though.

I thought of another one! SmartWool socks. Wool right next to my skin often makes me break out in hives. Not SmartWool. And they keep my feet so toasty warm in winter. The lighter weight hiking socks have saved my feet from blisters on long hikes (up to 30 miles several times). I heart my SmartWool socks. $15-$20 for a pair of socks seems expensive, but it really isn't for these, and they last far longer than the cheap cotton socks I wear at other times.

What does the child eat? How can she have survived to 13 with no vegetables, fruit, or meat? I would think she'd be a very frail, sickly child. How does she get enough vitamins and protein? Is it all through supplements? Does she eat only grains? This sounds like neglect to me.

I feel it's neglecting your responsibilities as a parent and educator to have a child who, at 10yo, still cannot read when it is due only to lack of teaching and not some sort of disability or extraordinary circumstances. When I was in high school, we had a friend of the family who was divorced whose wife had custody of their two children and was claiming to homeschool them. When they came to visit their dad for the summer, he found that neither of them could read (4th and 5th grades) and that they typically did nothing for school. This was what the kids said. When confronted, the mom tried to defend what sounded purely like laziness on her part. The kids were upset by the circumstances. They wanted to be learning. The dad quickly got custody of the kids, put them in public school, and, being eager to learn, they caught up. The kids were so thankful to be with their dad and be in an environment where they were not only allowed but expected to learn. I find situations like that incredibly sad, no matter how rare they may be. As to how rare they are, I don't know. A homeschooling friend from Kentucky who also has a teaching degree and tutors and teaches at several homeschool co-ops in her area says that she is continually surprised by what some call "homeschooling". Sometimes the only instruction some kids in her classes or that she tutors are getting is once a week with her and the parents complain that the work is too hard when she has already brought it down several grade levels. I can't say I've seen any of that here, though there have been a few families I've wondered about. All that is not to say that I'm opposed to unschooling. Unschooling (and relaxed homeschooling) is, from what I understand, NOT the same as what these parents are doing, which is simply not schooling at all. I actually like a lot of the ideas and methods employed by the unschoolers I've heard about. Someone could call themselves a classical homeschooler and be entirely neglecting their children's educations as much as someone calling themselves a relaxed homeschooler or unschooler could.

Honestly, this just doesn't really happen at our house. I have dc that are very easy to please:D There was one time that I bought a few clothing items for oldest dd and she wasn't so sure about them. I told her we could return them and she could get something else. Clothing is a little different, IMO. She never did return them and only wore them a few times. I wish she had let me return them and gotten something else, but now she has outgrown them and youngest dd wears them, so it isn't a total loss. There was also one time when I bought jeans for ds and they were too short because he'd grown about 2 inches between the time I bought them and the time he got them (less than a month!). Of course we exchanged those out. The only time the kids get something they don't really care for or know what to do with is the ridiculous family gift exchanges where we have to buy a $15 gift that will work for anyone. That almost never works out. I sure wish we could just put all that money together to help a needy family at Christmas! Then there are the little things from dh's uncle on the other side of the family. They go to Dollar General and grab whatever 5 minutes before the party. That's always a little puzzling, but at least sometimes it's something somewhat useful like gloves. We just say it's the thought that counts, but we're not quite sure what the thought is. This brings out my rarely seen pessimistic side which says that the thought is, "Gee, I guess I have to get you something." Oh well. It's good practice in being gracious and thankful and we certainly never expect anything anyway. It would just be so much better to put all that money spent on junk toward something that would really help someone else.

I'm certainly no expert on things mechanical, but when our Suburban kept dying like that (and after replacing the battery), it was the alternator.