I have a $50 lands end gift card and I'm not sure what to purchase. I've never shopped there. Anyone have any recommendations?

I thought it was in my Robert Frost book, but I have searched and can't find it. The gist of it was about how summer is so great but the farmer can't sit back and enjoy it because all he can think about is how fall is coming and all the work he needs to do. Like, you can't be in the moment because you are thinking about the next thing. Does this ring a bell for anyone?

Wisconsin. 1.2 million will buy anything in Wisconsin!

This is fantastic!

@alisoncooks when you say you have 10 weeks of meals, do you mean you have complete weeks as a set and you have 10 of those? Or do you mean that you have 60 go to dishes that will fill 10 weeks?

Do you have a regular meal plan shell that simplifies the planning process? like meatless 1 day, crockpot 1 day, breakfast 1 day, etc? It's too hard to always think of new ideas.

I grew up in Kirkland, which is the Eastside (not seattle proper). A modest family home with a single mom as my parent. She sold her house 2 years ago for 1.2 million. There is nothing affordable in a 80 mile radius of Seattle.

I have a cellular apple watch and it is my only phone. I do not have a normal cell phone besides it. I use it for text, talk, and directions. I like it a lot and don't ever want a cell phone again.

dd likes making crochet animals with the fluffy "blanket" yarn. Most of the patterns we see online use regular acrylic yarn and when she uses her fluffier yarn they come out too big. Can we still use these patterns and just reduce then 25% or so? Or would that mess everything up? Thanks!

"Faith over Fear" DD14 went to a craft fair today and bought a sticker that says, "faith over fear." I really don't care, it isn't an issue. She like pithy inspirational sayings and I'm not going to crush her 14 year old positivity vibes bubble. I understand the deeper concept of trusting God and not fearing the "what if's" of life, but I only started seeing this saying during covid so I always associate it with anti-vaxing. Does it have that connotation for you?

I have had mine done several times. My lidocane has never worked and it hurts like crazy, but I have no brows and it's worth it to me. I've had microblading done 2 or 3 times and it always fade in a few months, so my esthetician suggested the powder brows and those have lasted about 18 months and I could use a touch up. I don't know why mine fade so fast, but I feel like I NEED them!

“It’s all so weird and complicated. First, raging. Then acting as if nothing has happened. (Except that I know she went to my cousin as the victim for comfort and to tell what “awful thing I did”.) Now, without having discussed anything or worked anything out, a birthday present.” This is my MIL to T. We haven’t spoken since August when she was staying at my house, went in to a rage, packed up and left 2 days before her flight home all in front of my kids. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago, I broke a toe. I come home the next day to a huge delivery of food with no name. I had to call delivery service to even find out who it was from. It was from her. No text, no note. We ate the food and dh sent her a simple “thank you for the food” text. On Mother’s Day we got a text from BIL saying “mom is crying because you haven’t called her.” Um… you refuse to talk about the original issue! The delivery of food doesn’t mean we’re all friends again! (Btw, we did mail her a card.) I just keep trying to do the right thing- someone sent food: say thank you. It’s Mother’s Day: mail a card. I can’t control her reactions, I can only do what I think is right.

These are very helpful, thank you.

After I posted this I thought, “Why don’t I just try level 4?” That makes sense. We do 30 min of quiet reading, but I never thought of making it easier books. That’s a great idea, especially for the summer. Thank you

Ds will be in 5th grade next fall and still struggle with reading a bit. We did All About Reading levels 1-3 1st through 3rd grade. This year he has been reading aloud to me for about 20 minutes a day. His reading has improved this year. At the beginning of the year I would say he could hardly read. Now, he just finished reading The Sign of the Beaver to me (took about 2 months of reading 3 pages per day). I could just keep him reading out loud for next year, but I wasn't sure if there were other options for more phonics lessons for upper elementary grades? Any suggestions?

Fantastic bakery in San Antonio is La Panderia! They have 2 locations and it was so good!

Depending on the type of food you like- Lulu's thai noodle shop Sohaila's kitchen (Pakistani food stall- the best butter chicken of your life) Joe's is good bbq. Jack Stack is bbq on white table cloths if you are looking for something fancy. FYI- Capital Grille is a fancy steak house that I have NOT been impressed with.

Is there a way to easily break it in to 3 sections? We are using it for a book club and since it is so long we want to meet 3 times to discuss.

It's funny that I've always thought of hardbacks are superior, but it turns out most people don't prefer holding them!

I use the library a lot, but this book is for a book club I am in and we are going to take 4 months to go through this book so I will need it for a long time. I am surprised so many use ereaders. I never even thought of that! I have to say, I just can't do it. I have an aversion to screens and I am terrible at charging things.

When reading a novel, do you prefer hardback or paperback? Does the length of the book play a factor? I usually prefer paperback and they are easier to hold. Hardback books are more cumbersome in my hand. But I am wanting to purchase The Count of Monte Cristo which is over 1000 pages and I'm wondering if hardback would be better.

@Janeway Have you used BJU? I like the look of the curriculum but reviews said there wasn't enough explanation.

Call it Courage Whale Rider Walking the Boundaries

It depends. Sometimes she doesn't want us there and we stay home. But sometimes she doesn't want me there but it is important to me and I still go. She didn't want me to go on her basketball tournament (even though 80% of parents did) and I didn't. She didn't want me to go to her choir festival and I didn't. This weekend was prom. She was getting ready at a friends house and I made it very clear that it was important to me to come take a picture of her and her date. She did not want me to. We told her it was non negotiable. I got a babysitter to watch younger kids to not have to bring them along. I went to the girlfriends house at the arranged time and they had already left and went to take pictures at a different location and she never texted to tell me so I missed out and didn't get to see her in her dress and didn't get to see her date. I have had a few discussions with her about how this happened and why it is unacceptable to me. But it is HARD to separate it from my hurt feelings.

The problem is it involves her riding in cars with people, so I have to know where she is and who she is riding with.