I so appreciate you sharing this information. I have learned so many, many health related things from the wise contributors here over the years. This one is new to me entirely.

Newsies Bye Bye Birdie Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (All available on DVD)

Dd # 2 is graduating from undergrad this year, and someone just asked me the other day what I though our greatest benefit of homeschooling was. While the family relationship benefits have been enormous, I answered in the academic vein: all of my dd's have turned out to be problem solvers and thinkers. There are lots of well educated, smart young adults out there, but this one trait seems to set dd's apart in the eyes of their profs and bosses. I am proud of them all, and I love hanging out with them. Don't worry, the right path will present itself to all of you--even if it doesn't look so great at the outset. Your dc have accomplished something special through this homeschooling adventure.

Congratulations to both of you! It's a honor to be successful in performance auditions--there are soooo many talented, hard working people in the arts.

Terrific news! Congratulations to your ds (and momma!).

Woo! Hoo! I love swimming.

Vegsource. 1999.

For my golden retriever, the vet switched her to a prescription food. Hill's K/D. She never had another bladder infection.

Dd at DePaul does a lot of collaborating with friends who go to Columbia, especially in the indie performance scene. Chicago is a city with lots of opportunities.

Has she considered a non-university music program in a major city, like Columbia College in Chicago or Berklee in Boston? These types of programs might help her shore up some of her insecurities while providing direction.

I am one of those people who have chronic postural issues. I worked with a PT some years ago, which was really, really helpful, but not complete. I just started yesterday with a new PT who is going to help me very specifically fix some bio-mechanical problems underlying my postural issues. First, we're attacking the trigger points in my upper back so the stretching and strengthening will be effective. My goal is to function without constant pain in my upper back.

August Osage County. Meryl Streep is an amazing actress.

This was my mom, too. I'm trying to break some additional generational cycles with my own kids.

Now that my kids are adults, they will thoughtfully tell me my shortcomings as a mother. :huh: :huh: After the initial "ouch", I find that I'm really glad that my kids are not so intertwined with me that they don't see my flaws. They are reasonably healthy emotionally. I also find that they have a unique perspective, and if I can be open to what they say, I continue to grow--even at my advanced age. The honesty and growth also continues to strengthen our relationship. Nonetheless, it's hard to hear!

I just did a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA. The loan assistance is in two primary forms--1. forbearance of repayment until the service term is finished, and 2. A repayment amount that is around $5500 for each year of service (it gets adjusted a bit every so often). The loan assistance helps increase the meager stipend that the AmeriCorps receives during the service year (for a VISTA, it's around $5.00 per hour for 40 hours per week of work, for a 12 month period). Of course, there are many great reasons that people do these programs. I loved being a VISTA, and it opened the right doors for me. I want to raise one caveat about the loan forbearance and repayment--it only applies to certain federally backed loans. Make sure all of your loans qualify. Otherwise it's almost impossible to pay on the non-qualifying loans while you're in your service year. Mama's gotta eat.

The only thing I know for sure about financing my 3 dds' educations, is that everything I thought I knew and believed suddenly became muddy. I found my own experience to have been of a vastly different time. I was faced with 3 very different children with different dreams, different challenges, and different opportunities. Requiring loans in order to have skin in the game was never part of our strategy.

I think it is perfectly appropriate for your dd not to know answers to the school search questions yet. For my oldest, we started about this time in her sophomore year by doing a prospective student tour at a couple of different types of schools. We kept them convenient--no need to overwhelm with travel, etc. at this point. (My dd would have shut down if we had done a full-on search of multiple options at this point. YMMV). For us, this was the stage where we wanted to get her thinking. Early in her junior year, she knew that she did not want a rural setting. We went to a college fair (useful for displaying options, not so much for getting a feel of a school.) and did more touring during spring of her junior year. We saved the serious touring for her senior year. It was a high priority for us to keep this process manageable for our oldest. By the time #3 got to this stage, the process looked very different. She was a different kid with different life experience. In the end, #1 chose to start at the CC.

We just had something similar happen (different set of facts regarding payment), and we found out the license had been suspended when our insurance agent couldn't get the policy to renew. We started with a visit to the local BMV to find out what needed to be done to reinstate the license. I would begin there--save the 2 hour drive for when you know a) you absolutely have to go there in person, and B) it will actually solve your problem.

Since it's the new year and our resolve toward healthful habits is high, I wanted to link this source of quinoa recipes. (You can buy generic quinoa--the brand featured at the site is not required ;) ) Do you have any interesting healthful sites to share?

I would include Jacket/Sweater Jacket and pencil skirt/slacks in the definition of suit. Boots with a skirt are also fine. In my world, professional women tend to wear these types of separates more frequently than the "matchy matchy" suits of my youth.

We have both LE and NF, and have had them for multiple years. NF is the better down coat without question. That having been said, depending on the shell, a NF coat can almost be too warm in the 25+ degree range. A weatherproof shell will be warmer than a lightweight nylon covering.

Regardless of anyone's faith, your dd lives in a broken world. She needs to be able to survive in it.

For professional wear, I pared down my winter palatte to black, white and gray for pants and sweaters/jackets. I can add "color" by having pattern in the B/W/G colors or by adding an accessory. I also have a few shirts with color to go under the B/W/G seaters/jackets. It is a simple, mix and match, multi-wear approach. Getting dressed this winter has been much, much easier. Beth

Experiencing different cultures is so enriching! I've come to the conclusion many times that I like another culture's way of handling some life issue or other and chosen to incorporate it into my own life. Now I'm weird, too!

These issues will be lifelong, and you can only yourself and your responses. Learn. Make decisions. Act--set boundaries that you can live with consistently. I recommend reading the book Codependent No More, by Melodie Beatty. I found this book to be life changing and to help me make difficult relationship decisions and live with them.