Hilarious that you bring up this topic. I thought maybe it was just me, but I wrote a newsletter article -- this morning -- that addresses this exact first world problem!! 🙃 8 Musings on Creating a Smart Holiday 1. Quick Q: Do you have Holiday-intolerance? What I mean is, we put a lot of holiday-pressure on ourselves. Happy people, we think, eat potato salad, have a picnic, go to the beach, and watch fireworks. But what I’ve noticed is that many of us use the holiday weekend to ditch smart eating habits and then are annoyed with ourselves on Monday morning. Are you able to celebrate in ways that have little to do with over-calorie-ing it? 2. Losing after 50 cannot be “a wish our heart makes.” We need to make the decision to lose/maintain. These are two completely different mindsets: wishing versus the power of deciding (for example, we don't "wish" for coffee in the morning, we didn’t "wish" our way to a college degree).

Right?! Now that you mention it, my fans all hug the ceiling too.

Here I am again (at the beginning of the Yellow Brick Road). I've got the food thing down, but the workout thing? Is a word I was taught not to use. My bil and sil and kids are visiting at the end of July. They don't care what shape I'm in, but I thought it would be a fun mini-challenge to get in shape for their visit. They want to do a lot of tourist things, so it wouldn't hurt if I was stronger. I have an indoor recumbent and weights. I also have a Gorilla Bow. I haven't tried it yet. I'm finding my time on the indoor recumbent to be so boring. Music doesn't do it for me anymore. Podcasts either. I'm thinking of getting the Peloton app -- not the whole set-up, just the app. Has anyone tried the Peloton app? Any idea for making indoor bike riding a little more fun? I should try to get WiFi in my bedroom so I can watch TV. I'm so glad this thread is staying up!! Thank you @Soror!! You started this thread, right?

Are there windows in the basement. If yes, put bird food outside to draw birds. I call it kitty-TV. When I petsat for a neighbor I'd drag a string around the house and the older kittens really had fun. Can anyone sleep w/ the kitties?

I think it's a super cool looking fan. Just have him raise it. Otherwise I love it. The beautiful fireplace does need something strong to off-set it. The pup is so cute!!

Sending positive thoughts! I'm so, so sorry. And I agree w/ everyone: better to find out now rather than later.

That's so sweet, thank you! I knew this group would love it. Really helping with my teens.

Excellent point.

Absolutely. Except I'm 56. I once had a 90-year-old say she still felt like she was 22. ❤️

Hi Everyone, My two are 18 now and, boy, did I need to read this today. If you've done something unique and cool w/ your teen, I hope you'll share. ♥ Dear Mom and Dad, Please Stick With Me by Helene Wingens | Dear Mom and Dad, Please stick with me. I can’t think clearly right now because there is a rather substantial section of my prefrontal cortex missing. It’s a fairly important chunk, something having to do with rational thought. You see, it won’t be fully developed until I’m about 25. And from where I sit, 25 seems a long way off. Here’s what I want my parents to know. My brain is not yet fully developed It doesn’t matter that I’m smart; even a perfect score on my math SAT doesn’t insulate me from the normal developmental stages that we all go through. Judgement and intelligence are two completely distinct things. And, the same thing that makes my brain wonderfully flexible, creative and sponge-like also makes me impulsive. Not necessarily reckless or negligent but more impulsive than I will be later in life. Please stick with me. So when you look at me like I have ten heads after I’ve done something “stupid” or failed to do something “smart,” you’re not really helping. You adults respond to situations with your prefrontal cortex (rationally) but I am more inclined to respond with my amygdala (emotionally). And when you ask, “What were you thinking?” the answer is I wasn’t, at least not in the way you are. You can blame me, or you can blame mother nature, but either way, it is what it is. At this point in my life, I get that you love me, but my friends are my everything. Please understand that. Right now I choose my friends, but, don’t be fooled, I am watching you. Carefully. Please stick with me. Here’s what you can do for me 1. Model adulting. I see all the behaviors that you are modeling and I hear all of the words you say. I may not listen but I do hear you. I seem impervious to your advice, like I’m wearing a Kevlar vest but your actions and words are penetrating. I promise. If you keep showing me the way, I will follow even if I detour many, many times before we reach our destination. 2. Let me figure things out for myself. If you allow me to experience the consequences of my own actions I will learn from them. Please give me a little bit of leash and let me know that I can figure things out for myself. The more I do, the more confidence and resilience I will develop. 3. Tell me about you. I want you to tell me all the stories of the crazy things you did as a teen, and what you learned from them. Then give me the space to do the same. 4. Help me with perspective. Keep reminding me of the big picture. I will roll my eyes at you and make all kinds of grunt-like sounds. I will let you know in no uncertain terms that you can’t possibly understand any of what I’m going through. But I’m listening. I really am. It’s hard for me to see anything beyond the weeds that I am currently mired in. Help me scan out and focus on the long view. Remind me that this moment will pass. 5. Keep me safe. Please remind me that drugs and driving don’t mix. Keep telling me that you will bail me out of any dangerous situation, no anger, no lectures, no questions asked. But also let me know over and over and over that you are there to listen, when I need you. 6. Be kind. I will learn kindness from you and if you are relentless in your kindness to me, someday I will imitate that behavior. Don’t ever mock me, please and don’t be cruel. Humor me-I think I know everything. You probably did as well at my age. Let it go. 7. Show interest in the things I enjoy. Some days I will choose to share my interests with you, and it will make me feel good if you validate those interests, by at least acting interested. One day when the haze of adolescence lifts, you will find a confident, strong, competent, kind adult where a surly teenager once stood. In the meantime, buckle in for the ride. Please stick with me. Love, Your Teenager

Thank you for sharing this. In December 2019 -- right before Covid, I had what I thought was E. Coli from the salads I ate for dinner every night. It was bad. Not the symptoms of Covid, but totally not fun. Friends have implied that maybe I had Covid, but I thought my symptoms matched E. Coli and they had a break-out in CA that very month. My spring mix was from AZ so who knows? But thank you again for sharing.

I have a friend with two huskie brothers and the hair is unreal! I can't imagine a third!!

What a great idea. My German shedder is ready to contribute!! I take full bunnies off of him every day. Your pun -- give it a whirl -- is the direction you want to head in for a clever name. I get so mad at myself b/c I'll name something, make it all official, and then think of something better. So take your time. Also, you can get media attention on a small business like this b/c it's unusual.

Because of this author, I'm so worried about the people of Afghanistan. 🙁 I'm praying for a miracle.

I emailed her. I have a feeling she didn't use it, but I'll let you know what she says.

With violins playing sadly in the background: the One Year Adventure Novel was a curriculum -- I don't know what else to call it -- that I heavily researched just as my two were moving on from homeschooling (they did Dual Enrollment w/ a local college). So we never got to do it. He (I forget his name) even teaches a program for adults and I seriously thought about taking it, but ended up going in a different direction w/ my writing. (I'm a non-fiction writer, but really wanted to attempt fiction with this guy). I emailed him about it and he emailed me back. Super nice. I've recommended his program to a friend. I don't know if they went forward or not. I'll ask and see what I hear back. I give two thumbs up! 🙂

I'm guessing you have the Millionaire Next Door? Boy, I read that book in the early 90's and I still think about it so much. Plus my parents had been friends for decades with a man who struck gold (he had a garage with nine cars at one point), but other than the cars you would never, ever know he had money. He was just like the Millionaires in the book: Wore flannel shirts. I only saw him drive an older truck. Lived in a very basic two-story house. Stay married to the same woman until he died.

Holy cow, when we first moved from a lifetime in CA to VA (11 years ago) and saw confederate flags, our jaws dropped. But I only saw the flags flying when I was out in the country, I never saw them in the city of Richmond or it's suburbs. Then to see the statues everywhere of military guys who fought for the South -- omg. Then we moved to Georgia and by then I was used to seeing confederate flags. I don't see them a lot here (suburb of Atlanta), but every now and then I do. Often on trucks. Complete culture shock for people born and raised in the San Francisco area. To me, it's abhorrent.

So funny! I was just reading a book where pimento cheese made an appearance. The guy who wrote the book and grew up in Georgia was all about the mayo!

This thread should be an ebook.

I LOVE this. Amazing price. I wish they'd had this when I was young. Awesome website. And the inflatables are adorable.

I just found these on Amazon. Holy Guacamole! If you've found a great place to get bathing suits, please share.

I love this. We need a hearty applause emoji! ((((I talk to trees)))) I've been thinking about you each day. I bet a lot of people on here are. Imagine a huge group of supporters standing behind you as you go forward. You've got this.

I'm a non-fiction lover. I wrote about my 12 all-time favorite non-fictions here w/ a tiny review on each. The fiction books are first, the non-fiction list is just down a bit. Great thread idea.

I wish I had this superpower, Regentrude!! I'm an introvert who likes to pretend that I'm an extrovert, but really I'm not. I envy people who are so good at having dinner parties and summer parties. It is an amazing skill.