I don't post here often, but I used to take 5-HTP and think I have an answer for you. In the book, The Mood Cure, the author states that as your serotonin reserves increase, your need for 5-HTP decreases. Many people find that they need less 5-HTP after a month or so, and if they continue to take it at their current dose, symptoms return. Try lowering your dose or stop taking it all together. Incidentally, I took 5-HTP for about 9 months, and haven't needed it for almost a year.

I'm usually just a lurker here, but I thought I'd share that I've lost hair due to weight loss twice, once with low calorie dieting and once with low carb. In both cases, I was eating a healthy level of protein and other nutrients. I've read that this can happen when the body perceives the weight loss as stress, and it usually begins two or three months into the weight loss, and stops several months after. This has been my experience as well, and my hair grew back both times without any special treatment.

I'm not arguing with you, but the op didn't ask if their advice was worthwhile or if she should follow it.

Mrs. Mungo- what you wrote in your last post may or may not be true- there have been many threads about that here already. What I'm saying, is that the Pearls teach neither withholding food nor leaving a child out in the cold as punishment. That is what the op asked about.

I'm usually just a lurker here, and I may regret posting this on this particular forum, but that article is wrong. The Pearls do not advocate withholding food as punishment. If a child complains about or refuses to eat their food, they suggest putting it away and taking it out at the next meal, or just waiting until the next meal to eat. They also do not teach parents to leave their children out in the cold. I don't follow the Pearls, but I have read their books and articles, and three-quarters of what people accuse them of is false. OP- if you want to know if the Pearls really teach what you ask, look for material quoted from their books, or read their books yourself rather than trusting the media.

I'm just a lurker passing through, but I'm in SC as well, and ds got a bullseye rash the first year we moved here (about three years ago) so I ended up doing a bit of research at the time. It seems that Lyme is pretty rare in our state- so y'all are probably okay. (And ds's rash appears to have been from a spider).

I don't post here often, but I wanted to let you know that after reading this yesterday, I went ahead and tried canned coconut milk in my usual pumpkin pie recipe. It was absolutely delicious, and there really was no coconut taste. I'm so excited to be able to partake of one of my favorite pies again! Thank you so much for sharing!

You know, that's not a bad idea. We could probably cover all of the Geometry topics left in the book by Christmas doing it that way.

Jen- good question. Ds did quite well with Singapore, and though he was more than ready to handle algebraic concepts last year, I felt he needed more practice with a few concepts that were either lightly covered in Singapore, or were just his weaker areas. I'd really love for him to finish Algebra this school year as he is taking Biology this year and will need to be solid in Algebra for Chemistry next year. Your post was very helpful. Ds has already had a lot of exposure to area, perimeter and angles and will be fine encountering those in an algebra course. I'd really love for him to play around with these concepts (and others) some more, but think preparing him for chemistry is probably more important. Thanks, Sarah

Well, I do think he's quite solid in all of those topics. The areas that would be new to him in the Dolciani book are volumes and areas of solids and applying algebra to right triangles.

Hello- I'm a lurker who doesn't post very often, but I'm hoping someone here can help me with a pre-algebra question. My 8th grade ds spent last year and the beginning of this year working through most of Dolciani pre-algrebra, but we skipped the geometry sections. We covered some of the same geometry topics in Singapore but not all, and I know that these topics will all be covered again in Geometry next year. Ideally, I'd love to go back and cover all of these chapters, but I'd also really like to start ds in Algebra. So, how important is it to cover the geometry topics in pre-algebra texbooks? Sarah

I'm usually just a lurker here, but couldn't resist posting to this thread. My family moved about 30 mi SE of Greenville two years ago from the Pittsburgh area. The culture shock was incredible at first. Everything is so different from up North- the climate, terrain, vegetation, people. It took us awhile to come around, but we really love it now, and Greenville is the best city we have ever lived near (we've moved around a bit). One of the hardest things for me to get used to as a Northerner was the insects. In our very nice neighborhood, the roaches and Palmetto bugs are just out of control. If you are used to going outside and sitting on the grass with the children for a picnic or a story, you will not be able to do that down here because of the fire ants. In and around our yard, we have seen about a dozen Black Widows since we moved (though admittedly that is unusually high). These critters caused me quite a bit of anxiety for the first year or so, but I'm pretty much over it now, and all of the great things that other posters have mentioned make it all worth living here. Sarah

I don't post here very often, but wanted to add my name to the list of those for whom dairy causes acne. The difference for me is quite remarkable. The acne is pretty serious when I eat dairy products once or twice a week, but when I stay away from them, my skin is porcelain clear. When I was a teen, before I knew about the dairy connection, the acne was cystic. It can take six weeks to see a real difference if you should try to test out a dairy sensitivity. My 14ds uses a mild topical antibiotic prescription for non-cystic acne around his hairline, and it works great, but I don't think he has any food sensitivities.

Coming out from lurkdome to say that we are currently using using CPO with Rainbow labs. It doesn't match up perfectly, but I was able to find labs online for the few topics in CPO not covered in Rainbow and also use a few of the CPO labs that are online (and home-friendly). We chose the "standard" CPO version for the reason that it contains chapters on electricity, magnetism, and waves (the PS topics my son is most interested in). I was able to find a reasonably priced copy on ebay. Sarah

I'm usually just a lurker here, but am dropping in to say that we use the dry erase crayons, and they wash off with water perfectly. I keep a moistened rag with me when I use them, but have used a spray bottle of water with paper towels effectively as well. They are great for Sequential Spelling, because I don't have to worry about constantly putting caps back on. :)

I don't post here too often, but wanted to add that my dh watches ESPN online all the time. Your dh's don't have to suffer!

Thank you. I understand that a disk diaphragm also provides light control, only without infinite adjustability. I guess what I'm wondering is whether having 6 light levels is enough. How necessary is is the greater control of the iris diaphragm?

I don't post here very often, but I've been poking around old threads on microscopes, and am hoping someone here may be able to answer a question I have. I know folks usually recommend the Sonlight microscope, but I'd like to try to spend a little less. I've seen a few models on ebay that may work, but I'm going to have to sacrifice one or two desirable features to keep it affordable. So....I'm wondering just how important it is to have an iris diaphragm and abbe condenser (these to features seem to go together). I've decided that I'd rather not live without LED illumination and a mechanical stage, and am willing to give up coaxial focusing, but I can't figure out if an iris diaphragm is really necessary. What do you think? TIA, Sarah

Terry Jones's Barbarians is available for free on Google Video (though the quality isn't that great). Sarah, a lurker :)

I'm not sure about diluting tea tree oil. Since it is an oil, it is not soluble in water. The product that I mentioned has a lot of other herbs in it besides tea tree that are good for the skin (neem, lavender and witch hazel, for example), so I think that it is more than just the tea tree that makes it so effective for me.

I'm usually just a lurker here, but I have used acv (any vinegar, actually) as an acne treatment, and had success with it. I diluted it 1:3 with water (you can start at a weaker dilution if your skin is sensitive and work up to a stronger one). I found that it took a couple of weeks of using twice a day to really make a difference. I have recently switched over to using some tea trea oil /herbal pads that I picked up at Trader Joe's (I think the brand is Dessert Essence). Dh really didn't like the smell of vinegar on my face, lol, but I actually think the tea tree oil poduct works better. My skin is completely clear for the first time in years. I've seen it at other stores, such as Whole Foods, as well, but the price is much lower at TJ's. (One warning though, a couple of different studies have found that tea tree oil in products such as shampoos and lotions can cause estrogen levels in boys to rise enough to give them breast buds! So if my any of my boys stuggle with acne, we'll be going the acv route). HTH, Sarah

I'm usually just a lurker, but have had this problem as well and agree with whomever said it was your blood sugar. 3am is the time it often drops, especially if your adrenals are a little fatigued. Have you tried a protein snack before bed? If that doesn't work, you may want to try getting up and eating at 3am (keeping the lights low), and then going back to bed. You'll likely sleep several more hours. After trying this for several weeks and getting more rest, you may find that you stop waking so early (at least that is what happened to me). Also, adjusting your diet during the day to even out your blood sugar levels may help as well. Sarah

I'm usually a lurker here, but we have soy allergies in our family too (and my husband is asian!). It has been hard. I was in WholeFoods recently, and found a coconut based product that claimed to be a soy sauce substitute. IT TASTES JUST LIKE SOY SAUCE! The product was called Raw Coconut Aminos, and here is the product's website: http://www.coconutsecret.com/products2.html The stuff isn't cheap, so we just buy it once in awhile for a treat. Two of my children were able to have teryaki chicken for the first time. We are so happy, lol! Sarah

I took a mayterm class in college on Lewis/Tolkein/McDonald/Williams. We read Narnia. Sarah (long-time lurker)

I'm just a lurker here, but I do know a young man, homeschooled k-12, who used BJU for English for all four years of highschool. He recieved a full scholarship to a very competative liberal arts college, and was hired by the college president to write a book about famous alumni. Amazingly, the paper that he submitted to her as a sample of his writing prior to being hired was an argument for creationism. This was not a Christian college. Clearly, his writing must have been exemplary. Also, his brother, who also used BJU through highschool, and went to a different college to study nursing was praised by his professors for his excellent writing ability. Hope that helps. Sarah