I am making macaroni and cheese Deceptively Delicious style right now. Actually, I just used my regular mac n cheese recipe and added the pureed cauliflower like she did to hers. I did this last week, and no one noticed the difference. I have made the meatloaf and the chili, also, and my kids were none the wiser. I love this cookbook.

I figure that if I am going to put my time and creativity into something, I am going to use great quality fabric. I would rather make fewer things with great fabric than lots of things with not so great fabric. I love the feel of a good quality cotton.

Water is a political issue here in Georgia. We tried to take part of Tennessee recently. Apparently there is a dispute about where the line is drawn. The farmers downstream are fighting with the resorts and fishing people upstream about how much water should be let out of the lakes.

I wear it for sunscreen. As a pale redhead, I think going in the sun without sunscreen is as dangerous as smoking a cigarette. I have a huge fear of skin cancer. So I wear makeup with sunscreen in it all the time.

In the toilet. They had a goldfish that died, and his mom told him the goldfish was going to live with God. And then they had a nice ceremony and flushed him down the toilet. Later, my sister found my nephew in the bathroom talking to the toilet. She asked him what he was doing. He said, "Talking to God."

That combined with an evening at the Fox, a wonderful dinner out, maybe some room service? I think The Lion King is coming to town soon, if he would like that. Anyway, Congratulations to both you and your someone! I know that it takes a lot of support, too.

I was thinking about you today as I was advocating unschooling in my geometry class. (I am a public school teacher.) My students were saying they wished they had a shorter day and just took their core classes at school. They are tired of the school's "electives." So I asked them what they wanted to study. And then we talked about how they could pursue those things both during geometry (because I am one of those strange people who sees the math in everything) and outside of school. Anyway, I think of your kids often when I am teaching. I always try to do a better job of differentiating and engaging than it sounds like your kids are exposed to. (That is a horrible sentence, and I am just not going to fix it.)

I may have to get some. I was never allowed to have them growing up. Now I am excited!

I did not know you could get a degree in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Actually, I am sitting here now thinking I am not sure what that means. Do you care for pastors or are you a pastor caring for other people? I am actually curious and not in any way trying to be a smart-alek. Really I am not. Anyway, either way, I think it could be a very important degree.

Thank your honest response. I had a high school friend who attended SJC in Annapolis in the early 1990's. It is nice to "meet" someone else who went to school there. I have always thought it was an interesting place.

Thank you.

Actually, what I wrote does not support your statement. The crime is in the same place. Exactly the same place. Kennesaw just does not consider those places part of Kennesaw any more. It is a move that many cities around here have been making. Jettison your high crime areas and low standardized test scoring areas back into the county, and your crime statistics and schools look better. Also, the burglary rate did not change. That is what should change if every household has a gun. People should not want to break into homes. The fact that Kennesaw is a city and not a county means you don't have your facts straight. Perhaps your source is bad. I am sorry, but I personally knew someone who was brutally murdered in Kennesaw last year. She was murdered and her boyfriend was accused of the crime. You see, he was found dead at the scene, shot to death. And the wonderful Kennesaw Police decided, without further investigation, that it was a murder/suicide. A month later, her parents got her credit card statement. Her credit card was being used up and down the East Coast by the real killer. All of that is to say, I really doubt any crime statistic in Kennesaw because I don't trust their police.

Amen!

Kennesaw is a city, not a county. The law was passed to make a political statement about an anti-gun law passed in a town in Illinois. The law in Kennesaw carries no punishment and is not enforced. No one has ever been prosecuted under this law. I know plenty of people who live in Kennsesaw who own no weapons. The small reduction in the Kennesaw crime rate (although there has been no reduction in the burglary rate, while the one in the town in Illinois has dropped significantly) is because they jettisoned the higher crime areas back into Cobb County, so they are no longer part of Kennesaw. (I know there is a WSJ article calling Kennesaw a county, but it is not. It is part of Cobb County.)

I think local items are considered "green" because they didn't have to be shipped in, therefore using less gas. I think that is what Colleen has convinced me. (I consider Colleen my green guru.)

Baking soda and white vinegar reusable food storage cloth napkins wash cloths to use instead of paper towels or paper napkins reusable grocery sacks (I have a friend who gives these for Christmas presents, and she paints on them first. Very class looking) A book on composting

I have a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech with a major is MSE and a minor in EE. I am working on getting certified to teach 6-12 Math in Georgia.

in Materials Science and Engineering. I studied for comps for a semester. It was two years from them to finish my research and write my dissertation. I know people who did it faster. But, I had a kid and I worked off hours and had him in the lab with me a lot. My husband did it faster. His adviser was moving to another university halfway across the country, so DH had to finish before he left. He was working full time while I finished up, so money wasn't really an issue for us. I really did take my time. I will say, I think a lot depends on what your adviser needs from you. If he/she thinks he/she will need you to teach for them the next semester, he/she may be slow on the reading.

I think we do have special schools. We moved a couple of years ago so we could be in this school district. The emphesis is on critical thinking and application as opposed to computation. I also teach in the same county, so I get a lot of inside information. I think that helps us understand the curriculum better, and allows me to better serve my kids.

My kids go to schools that do not believe in busy work.:) They don't believe that a kid needs to do a bunch of long division problems for homework. Their teachers have the philosophy of, "We have them here for 6 and a half hours. We will do with them what we can. You are in charge of the rest. If you need help, we can provide materials." We do a lot of taking what they learn in school to a deeper level. Since my husband and I both have Ph.D's from Georgia Tech, we tend to do a lot of science/math/technology things at home. Our kids do computer programming, science experiments, data analysis, and things of that sort. I have learned a lot because my kids are interested in biology, which I haven't studied since 9th grade. We also take any school projects a step above and beyond. (In education-ese that is called differentiation. Since my children tend towards the gifted side, more is expected out of them.) My first grader had to study a symbol of our country, make a replica of it, and fill out a graphic organizer about it. Most kids did the Liberty Bell or the flag. My child did the "Don't Tread on Me" flag, also know as the Gadsden Flag. He made a flag using fabric and fusible web. (I did all of the ironing, but he did the designing, drawing, and cutting.) On the graphic organizer he discussed its original use with the Marines, its revival after 9/11 with Customs and harbor patrol boats, and the Nike advertising campaign with the US National Soccer Team. Was all of that necessary? No. But we did it because we take education a step further than public school. My first grader also did a project analyzing people's favorite color. His teachers thought it was such a fun project that they sent him to all of the other first grade classes to take data. And when he was done, they let him present it in class. I don't think education ends when they step out of the school. I think it goes on forever and always. We are continuously schooling. If I were a homeschooler, and there are days when I wish I was, we would be totally unschoolers. And that is what we are in many ways after school. My kids pursue their interests with reckless abandon. And I have learned so much with them. We take every opportunity to school our kids. They have been to inaugurations, PTA Day at the Capitol, campaign events, the 1996 Olympic Games, aquariums and museums all over the country, etc. I would like to do more history, just because I feel ignorant in that area. I think I am going to read SWB's latest book. I also want to do more writing with them because I have heard that our public schools are weak in that area. I am a fan of public schools. Are they for everyone? No. But they are working great for my kids. Wow, that is a lot longer than I planned for it to be. I didn't realize how passionate I was about this stuff. I am very passionate about educating my kids.

I knew Edward Norton (actor in American History X and Fight club) in high school. We took acting classes together. I had this big crush on him and used to attend his baseball games. Don't let the media fool you. He was the first base coach, not a player. However, he is a brilliant man. James Rouse, who was Edward's grandfather, and a city designer, builder, and philanthropist, went to my church growing up. (If you have ever been to Fanuiel Hall in Boston, the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Columbia, MD, or the Waterfront in VA Beach, he designed all of those. Well, the Faneuil Hall remodel, not the original.) A good friend of mine from grad school (she threw my first baby shower) is astronaut Sandy Magnus, and she is going to the space station this summer for a few months. Jesse Jackson spoke at my high school; and, as part of the SGA, I got to have breakfast with him. Caroline

Here is my list: Great scissors, I wouldn't want to be without my ginghers (I have three pairs and the kids know not to touch them, at all. Of course, DH sometimes forgets.) Rotary cutter and cutting mat Glass head pins, so you can iron over them Large cutting table Iron and large ironing board Lots of thread colors (and I like Aurofil thread) Lots of bobbins Lots of presser feet for my machine many different types of machine needles Freezer paper for making patterns and stencils Parchment paper to use when fusing for art quilts Wonder Under for art quilts and fabric postcards Ok, I could go on. But really, good scissors, my rotary cutter, threads, and machine needles are my biggies. Oh, and glass head pins so you can iron over them. And, I love a great fabric/quilt store. Hope this helps.

Well, I guess this isn't really different, but my 12 year old son likes to use the MIT Scratch program to design video games. He also likes to play with and program his NXT Bot, but that is Leog, so I guess that is out. (I am being very little help here, aren't I?) Another activity he enjoys is cooking and trying out a variety of ingredients. Did you see the photo books that Crissy was making? Perhaps he would like to explore that. I hope you get some good answers, because I would love to have some other options from my son.

I do this, too. I went through 12 colors before I decided on Cashmere from Porter this past summer. The guy at the paint store got a kick out of the kids and me coming in every day for three days. At $5 per sample, it really was a great idea. When my husband went in to buy the multiple gallons, the paint store guy asked if he was my husband.

I love this idea. I would never, in a million years, have thought of it. Thanks!