Hi again, Okay I already gave you my top five list, but I just got my daughter's. Which was quite difficult because she wanted to list way more than five and I had to keep telling her, "No, no, just FIVE!" and she wanted to keep asking, "But why only FIVE?!" LOL. Eventually she narrowed it down to: 1. The Egypt Game 2. Stargirl 3. Skellig 4. The People in Pineapple Place 5. The Harry Potter Books (The Harry Potter books, of course, were in my top five, too, and so was Stargirl. While Skellig didn't quite make it, it came close, I did really enjoy that one. And I found the Pineapple Place books to be entertaining, too. The Egypt Game wasn't really one of my all-time favorites but I didn't hate it, at least).

I wouldn't let my 11 year old read it yet.

Well, I, for one, am thankful that I'm not the only mom who is giving her kids Thanksgiving breakfast out of a box. ;)

Does his shirt say Fashion Guide? lol. how do you know that's what it's a picture of, anyway?

I hear what you're saying. But, I don't know. My husband and I, like I said, are Jewish. I don't personally get offended if someone says "Merry Christmas" to me because I get that they're just trying to be nice, and I'll generally just say "thanks, you, too" and go about my day for the most part. I know they just mean to be friendly. I know they celebrate Christmas and that most people celebrate Christmas and that it genuinely probably doesn't occur to them that I don't, because everyone else they know probably does. My husband on the other hand...it's been getting on his nerves lately. When someone like a cashier or waitress wishes him a "Merry Christmas" he gets a little irritated. He just doesn't get how people can truly be so ignorant that it just doesn't occur to them that not everyone else on the planet celebrates the same holiday they do (or that they just couldn't care less if it does occur to them) and that common sense should tell them that if it's someone they don't know, there's a chance that person might not celebrate your holiday and that therefore you shouldn't just automatically assume they do and treat them as if they do, and that common sense and common courtesy should dictate that you give them a more generic friendly greeting. And while I get what you're saying, I get what he's saying, too. I do think that it makes good business sense that if you're in a setting like a store, place of business and so on, where you don't know what the various customers celebrate, it is better to keep it more generic just to be sure. And it really does irk me when people get up in arms about that and start saying "Too bad, I'm only going to say it one way to make a point"...to make one point? That no one matters but you? Really? That's what I can't stand, more so than the people who do it more out of well-intended ignorance. ETA: Of course, it doesn't help that we live in an area that is just sort of anti-Jewish to begin with. There used to be one temple around but they sold it to a church a few years ago because there weren't enough Jews in the area to warrant keeping it and the Rabbi moved two hours away, so no more temple, no more Rabbi, and I don't even know any other Jewish families. The town puts up a Nativity scene every year on public property...so much for separation of Church and State. One year the paper questioned the Rabbi about how she felt about it, back before she moved away, and she said she felt they should honor the whole Separation of Church and State thing, and she ended up getting a bunch of hate mail about how the Jews killed Jesus. My husband made friends with this cop through work (a customer) who, when he found out my husband was Jewish, said, "Really? I never met a Jewish person before." A grown man. Public schools have "Christmas parties" complete with Santa Claus- not holiday parties. When my daughter was in public school Kindergarten before I started homeschooling, she used to always be so upset that Santa Claus didn't come to our house, and I was so afraid to tell her he wasn't real, because I didn't want her to tell the other kids that and have them upset, or hating her. It is impossible to go into a store around here anywhere near Christmas time and not have a cashier say "Merry Christmas" or ask about "Is Santa coming?" "Did Santa come?" "What's Santa bringing you?" "What did Santa bring?" So, yeah, again, I always do wish for more inclusive, generic holiday greetings and don't understand why people feel like they have to make a Christmas specific greeting a hill to die on.

Yes, I'd bring both things! No "asking," just showing up with it! If she asked me to bring something specific, I'd graciously bring it. But I'd also just go ahead and bring the stuffing (or dressing, whatever you call it in your neck of the woods lol) as well, because I happen to LOVE stuffing, and I would HATE to have icky stuffing that I don't like on Thanksgiving, I'd want to have yummy stuffing that I DO like, especially on Thanksgiving, and so I'd just be like, "Oh, here, I brought this thing you asked for and I also brought this extra stuffing dish as well just because!" Smile, beam, crisis averted, meal enjoyed!

You guys make, like, pancakes? And biscuits? And muffins? And sausage? And.... On Thanksgiving morning? I mean, everybody doesn't just give their kids a box of cereal and a bowl and a spoon and a carton of milk and tell them to hurry up and get out of the kitchen already? Huh. :lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Hungry Hungry Hippos

Of course! My top 5, in no particular order: 1. Any and all of the Harry Potter books...I love, love, love them all, even as an adult! I'm sure they need no further explanation or description. :D 2. Ronia, The Robber's Daughter. We just finished this one and it was a really fun read aloud by the same author as the Pippi Longstocking books. Ronia grows up with a band of robbers, idolizing her dad, the robber chieftain, and never really realizing that he's this big bad robber, or that the friend she made one day, a boy her age, is supposed to be her enemy because he's the son of her dad's arch enemy, the chieftain of the other robber band... 3. The Safe Zone, A Kid's Guide To Personal Safety- even though this wasn't fiction, I think it's a really important/useful book that is great for every parent and child to read together and have in their knowledge base, especially when kids are getting of an age to be wandering off on their own. 4. Surviving the Applewhites...I will say this one led to some, er, interesting conversation so you have to be prepared for that. Here's how it went for us, for example (Bold faced font is my daughter, italics is me). How do you grow marijuana in the basement? (You don't, it's illegal, but it's the same as growing a plant). Is marijuana like pot, or weed? (Yes, it's the same thing). Can it kill you? (Well, no, not in and of itself, but don't ever do it, it's illegal. And it can make you do stupid things. And some people who sell it COULD potentially put other things in it that COULD kill you). ("Like rat poison," Daddy interjects). What's a delinquent? (A troublemaker, a kid who does bad things. Like when Jake burns down his school and smokes cigarettes and stuff). What's a probation officer? (Someone who keeps track of you and makes sure you aren't getting in trouble once you've gotten out of jail, and who you have to check in with all the time. They might give you drug tests, check in with your boss and make sure you're working, and so on. Somebody might be on probation for a year or two, until a judge says they don't have to be anymore). I'm never going to smoke. And if my friends try to talk me into it, I'm still not going to. And if they were really my friends, they'd just say okay. (Good! That's right!) Still, it was a fun, quirky story about this "delinquent" teen who goes to live with an artistic, quirky, unschooling, crazy family who all pulls together for each other in the end (and we find that even the delinquent really wasn't so bad after all... 5. Hmm...this one might be a tossup between Maniac Magee and Stargirl. Apparently, I like Jerry Spinelli. :) I like his style of writing and I enjoy the personality he gives his characters (although some people might find that some of his content might be a little bit grown up for some kids). I will get back to you on my daughter's picks!

LOL! I appreciate that. Please don't! :lol:

I agree! That kind of thing makes me nuts every year, as a Jew who does not celebrate Christmas. I do not get offended if someone wishes me a "Merry Christmas" out of habit/ignorance/being in the majority and being used to saying it, whatever. If it's said kindly, I'll take it in the spirit it was intended and just say "Thanks, you too" if I know I'm never going to see them again (unless one of my kids is with me, and then they will say "We celebrate Hanukkah!" LOL) because it's the easiest thing to do. (If it's someone I will see again and I'm getting to know, I will let them know with a smile, "Thank you but we celebrate Hanukkah, actually.") But when it comes out of a spiteful, stubborn, obnoxious, bullying, attitude of "I KNOW you might not be Christian/might not celebrate Christmas but I don't give a crap, I'm going to wish you a Merry Christmas anyway because that's what I do and if you don't like it, too bad, because we are the majority here and you are less than dirt beneath our shoes!"...yeah, well, do me a favor and tell me to F off or something instead. Seriously, it'd be more real, so let's just skip the b.s. fakery, ok? ;) Good idea! I think you should do that. I would like a post like that. :) Yep! Exactly! :lol::lol::lol: Exactly. Really, why don't people get that? "Happy holidays" was ALWAYS about INCLUDING people, and making all feel welcome and equal, so why is it that some people have to act as if it's some big slap across their holier-than-thou faces? Really, it's not. :iagree:

Oh, sure, like battered fast food fish sandwiches slathered in tartar sauce, sure. Tuna fish from a can slathered in mayo, sure. Crunchy fish sticks drowned in ketchup, sure. Shellfish like shrimp and lobster tail, sure. But just...fish? Like trying to eat healthy? No. I never liked fish, and I've tried a few different varieties a few different times because I'd LIKE to like it, especially when I'm in a dieting/eating healthy phase and I want some variety and don't want to eat chicken every night of my life. So last night I decided to Google what kind of fish to try if you don't like fish (I don't know why I didn't come here lol) and I found a thread that suggested a few things, with tilapia high on the list. So just for the heck of it, we went to the supermarket, picked up some tilapia filets (I guess filets is the right term, right? haha) and my husband made them for us. He put some olive oil on a baking sheet, put the tilapia filets on it with lots of garlic, some lemon, salt and pepper, parsley flakes, topped them off with just a wee little bit of butter and believe it or not a small amount of shredded Colby Jack cheese (I thought cheese on fish sounded weird but my husband was like "Trust me, it will be good," and it WAS!) and broiled it and it came out so freakin good, I really, really enjoyed it! He also cooked some mushrooms and onions in a pan to go with it, and all three kids, who NEVER eat fish- weren't raised on it, and who we were not at all sure would like it, kept asking for seconds...and thirds. They loved it. We all loved it. I ate some brown rice with mine. No one else in my family will eat brown rice, so they ate yellow rice lol. But it was a hit and I know now at least one type of fish/fish recipe we can add to our family dinner menu! Yay!

And now I'll list the books I've read with my 11 y/o daughter, as she and I are doing this challenge together. :) 1. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster 2. Skellig, by David Almond 3. Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the World, by Katherine Hannigan 4. The Gawgon and The Boy, by Lloyd Alexander 5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling 6. The Girl With the Silver Eyes, by Willo Davis Roberts 7. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt 8. Sounder, by William H. Armstrong 9. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl 10. Treasure Island (Illustrated Classics Edition adapted by Deidre S. Laiken) 11. All-Of-A-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor 12. The Midwife's Apprentice, by Karen Cushman 13. Surviving The Applewhites, by Stephanie S. Tolan 14. The People in Pineapple Place, by Anne Lindbergh 15. The Prisoner of Pineapple Place, by Anne Lindbergh 16. By the Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder 17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling (audiobook) 18. The Safe Zone, A Kid's Guide To Personal Safety, by Donna Chaiet and Francine Russell (highly recommend for all kids!) 19. Harriet Tubman, Call to Freedom, by Judy Carlson 20. The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder 21. The Return of the Indian, by Lynne Reid Banks 22. The Secret of the Indian, by Lynne Reid Banks 23. Robinson Crusoe (Scholastic Books Edition, Retold by Edward W. Dolch etc.) 24. Ben and Me, by Robert Lawson 25. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson 26. Frindle, by Andrew Clements 27. James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl 28. In Search of A Homeland, the Story of the Aeneid, by Penelope Lively 29. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli 30. The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, Retold by John Yeoman 31. Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 32. Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater 33. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (Retold by Diane Flynn Grund) 34. Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder 35. These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder 36. Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli 37. The First Four Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder 38. The Inheritors, by William Golding (holy cow was this one hard to get through!!! :P) 39. The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker, by Cynthia DeFelice 40. Gilgamesh the Hero, by Geraldine McCaughrean 41. The Egypt Game, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder 42. The Secret School, by Avi 43. Escape from Egypt, by Sonia Levitin 44. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (audiobook) 45. Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell 46. Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, by Astrid Lindgren 47. The Witches, by Roald Dahl So, I can't believe that there's only five weeks left in this challenge after this week, and that my daughter and I have made it this far together! It has been a lot of fun and a great accomplishment for us, and it seems we will make it through to the end! With that said, we will not do it together again next (this?) year. Maybe I will do it on my own, but I won't do it again with her. We need a break! Reading aloud as you all know is rather time-consuming. And quite a few times over the course of this challenge, we'd fall behind and have to struggle to catch up, sometimes reading more than one book at a time/per week to not fall too far behind, or reading so many pages per day that we'd even fall a little behind on schoolwork at times lol. And there were some weeks where I'd have to count school reading instead of the "fun" reading we'd want to choose/count just so we wouldn't fall too behind. And there were many times we'd have to pass up longer books we really wanted to read together (like continuing the Harry Potter series, for example), just because we knew we'd NEVER be able to read them within a week and keep up with the challenge. And I'd find myself picking books out based solely on "is this long enough for the challenge but short enough that we can finish it in a week?" instead of "Would we LOVE to read this book?" So, this coming year, we are going to continue to read aloud together because we enjoy doing so. But we're going to pick longer books/ whichever books we feel like reading, and we're going to read them at our leisure rather than hurrying to finish them within a week. I know this challenge was really meant for adults, but thanks for letting my daughter and I play along together, we've had fun. :)

Really? And could he cite even one specific example showing WHY it was so non-scientific? Probably not, right?

Ketchup, although I'd know that if someone used the word "catsup" they meant the same thing (less commonly used, though). If someone said "tomato sauce," though, I'd assume they meant spaghetti sauce!

Thanks for posting these!

We are catching up on a few things we are behind on from last week lol. Other than that, we are taking off this week!

:iagree:

:001_wub::drool5: Ah, Jamie, my very, very, favorite fictional character ever....! :) Well, here's my personal list so far for the year, although my focus for the challenge has mainly been on doing this challenge with my daughter (which has been going well!), so I'm not quite at 47 books for the year yet in my own personal reading! COMPLETED 1. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (YA) 2. The Virgin's Lover, by Philipa Gregory 3. The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood 4. Mary, Bloody Mary, by Carolyn Meyer (YA historical fiction) 5. Beware, Princess Elizabeth, by Carolyn Meyer (YA historical fiction) 6. Doomed Queen Anne, by Carolyn Meyer (YA historical fiction) 7. Zipporah, Wife of Moses, by Marek Halter 8. At First Sight, by Nicholas Sparks 9. Patience, Princess Catherine, by Carolyn Meyer (YA historical fiction) 10. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman (YA, if you liked Hunger Games you'd prob like this!) 11. Lover Unleashed, by J.R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood series/vampire, love this series!) 12. Free-Range Kids, How To Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts With Worry), by Lenore Skenazy 13. The Fifth Sacred Thing, by Starhawk 14. The Law of Nines, by Terry Goodkind 15. Running With Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs (didn't like it) 16. A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin (These should count for like four books each! haha!) 17. A Clash of Kings, by George R.R. Martin 18. Hit List, by Laurel K. Hamilton (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series) 19. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett 20. Blessings, by Anna Quindlen 21. A Storm of Swords, by George R.R. Martin 22. A Feast For Crows, by George R.R. Martin 23. Darkfever, by Karen Marie Moning (paranormal urban fantasy, loved it!) 24. Bloodfever, by Karen Marie Moning 25. Faefever, by Karen Marie Moning 26. A Dance With Dragons, by George R.R. Martin 27. Dreamfever, by Karen Marie Moning 28. Shadowfever, by Karen Marie Moning 29. Dogs of Babel, by Carolyn Parkhurst (weird but interesting!) 30. 24 Hours, by Greg Iles 31. Tantalize, by Cynthia Leitich Smith (shouldn't even count, it was YA fiction that didn't even have the depth Twilight does lol) 32. The South Beach Diet, by Arthur Agatston, M.D. 33. The Map of Time, by Felix A. Palma (CURRENTLY READING) GAVE UP ON/INCOMPLETE Nights In Rodanthe, by Nicholas Sparks The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder Deconstructing Penguins by the Goldstones The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison NEXT ON THE LIST I have the first couple of books in Karen Marie Moning's "Highlander" series here ready to start after I finish "The Map of Time." I really enjoyed her "Fever" series and if you enjoyed the Anita Blake books, the Merry Gentry books, the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, the Sookie Stackhouse books, or the Twilight books, you will love the Fever books! The Highlander series sounds more like the "Outlander" books (although I am not expecting them to be on anywhere NEAR that level of depth/character) and I'm looking forward to checking them out!

It definitely counts! It counts more because you don't wait for a challenge like this to be a wonderful person lol. That is a nice thing to do for a neighbor you don't know well! It seems so often around here neighbors don't know each other well and just don't care to! That's really cool about the pizza place! I hope it cheers her up, too! Definitely nice of you to get out of bed hours before you had to to cover for somebody else! I am sure the fire department and the mail carrier will both appreciate it! They are on my eventual to get to list, too! Welcome, and looking forward to hearing what you come up with! :) Haha! Yeah! It's a really nice computer font though! LOL!

Baked, yes, mashed, no. (By the way, when my husband and I first got together and he first saw me eating the skin on a baked potato, he told me I was the first girl he'd ever met who did that lol).

This thread has really surprised me. I've never heard of ANYBODY leaving butter out all day, in my life, so I was so surprised to see that the vast majority do!

Butter, because margarine tastes icky.

Will respond to people more individually later, typing on my phone, but just wanted to say to AprilMay that is a computer font, not handwriting lol.