Yes. I contemplated doing that (minus dogs), but the feels like is -8F, so, not feeling super inspired.

Our gas bill for November was significantly higher than at our previous place (which was a side by side duplex, not a top/bottom duplex, and which apparently also had better insulation/fewer drafty windows etc).

Ugh. Remembered to check the front door. The upstairs neighbors have either been leaving it open, or just not locked, and the wind blows it open. Went and locked it. That should help. Hopefully. Either way, grrrr. Since they're upstairs neighbors, they benefit from all our heat rising. They turned their heat on a month after we did, it seemed (not 100% sure, but we noticed them fiddling with the heater in the basement about a month after we turned ours on, and this is their first winter in this house as well, so, there's a decent chance they were just trying to figure it out and stuff).

Btw, I'm in the living room, not the kitchen... it's just that there's no way that the living room is remotely near the temp the thermostat is set to... at least I seem to finally have set it high enough that the heater doesn't stop, as it was still doing an hour or so ago. Downside: that means that the heater might not be able to keep up with the cold weather outside, and, it's not record cold outside.

Kitchen thermometer says 62. That's definitely not what our thermostat is set to.

I'm cold. I tried to put plastic insulation on a drafty window in the kitchen yesterday, but the tape in one corner kept coming loose. Probably should duct tape it, but that will leave residue on the walls. Anyway, that window is really drafty (hadn't realized how drafty before since it's next to the fridge), and the window next to it is also sorta drafty, and some other windows/doors are not great either, and it's 11F feels like -8F or something and I keep turning the thermostat up higher and higher but I'm still cold. I think I've turned it up 2 degrees in the past 24 hours. And then kids are harassing me about being bored, but I'm too cold to go fiddle with new stuff, and the stuff I suggested (games we could play, etc) was turned down as boring. Maybe we should do more school.

Why? There's a rule against dying, so you don't need a book.

I'd probably try for a second DE course on campus, but one that he's interested in. If it doesn't transfer, so what? In other words, maybe a Gen Ed, maybe not. At the very least, I would not sign him up for something that he's NOT interested in - it's okay if he's kind of neutral-ish, but interested would be better. FWIW, my first semester in the US I took some classes at the CC - 2 were Spring I courses, one was semester long, and 2 were Spring II courses. So, when I applied to a 4-year university in April, I had the grades from Spring I (an A in US Govt I and an F in US History I, and a W in the semester-long Art Appreciation course), and decided to take only one course in Spring II, for which I of course didn't have a grade yet. So, that was a 2.0 GPA, which was below the required 2.5 minimum GPA to transfer to said 4 year institution. I figured "what the hell" and sent in the application anyway - worst thing that could happen was that they'd say no and I'd spend more time at a CC. Not only did they admit me despite having a too-low GPA to meet admission requirements, they gave me their biggest scholarship (probably some combination of being a female applying to major in EE, having great SAT scores especially for being ESL, and a good essay, being a nice 'diversity' addition (not many Dutch people applying to state universities in the US, especially not with having spent a year as an exchange student in Thailand), etc). Anyway... sometimes a bad grade (even an F) isn't a big deal. Of course, sometimes it is. As you can see above, there are many reasons why they might have been willing to take a risk on me and give me that scholarship. So, YMMV. IOW, I wouldn't assume it's going to hurt admissions and scholarships... but I wouldn't assume that it won't either. Of course, you can't change the past, so, no point worrying about that. Mental health is complicated. Meds can make a difference (and therapy). Sometimes more work can temporarily be enough of a distraction to make things work better... but it can also be a bigger mess when everything comes tumbling down, as one thing spiraling out of control can drag everything else down with it. One of my best semesters (grade wise) was when I took 19 hours including Neuroanatomy, Neuroscience Lab Methods, Calc II, and Intro to Digital Systems while DW completely spiraled out of control with her bipolar and I had to see the counseling center for my own GAD and dysthymia... and another great semester (straight As) was the semester I asked the psych to prescribe me an antipsychotic and she did, which made my effective IQ drop about 2 standard deviations and made me super sleepy, but it enabled me to get the job done... but, I also have semesters with straight Fs or with As and Fs, or with As and Ws... it's so, so, hard to tell whether I'll knock a semester out of the ballpark or if it'll go up in flames... normal semesters are so long and things can change so much. But anyway, that's me, and not your son. So far, he's been doing a good job, and just goofed up in one class. Basically, what I meant to say, is that I'd probably keep his course load about the same, but just avoid classes he's not interested in (at least as far as DE is concerned). Realistically, more spare time is more time playing video games, unless you're taking some action to not let that happen. PS, I didn't get a driver's license until I was 23. Depending on where you go to college, it can be important, or not that big a deal. When I lived in Corpus & Dallas I walked or bicycled places. Of course, I also had my spouse to drive me places, but there wasn't a *need* - I would've gotten by just fine without that, though it's not super fun to bicycle in hot weather on multilane roads (we lived on campus during summer). I would absolutely want my kids to get their driver's licenses before they go off to college, because I don't see a benefit in waiting longer, but I don't think it's a necessity as far as living on campus is concerned (depending, of course, on the college), so, if there was a reason it couldn't happen before college, I'd just shrug my shoulders and say "oh well". I do think mastering life skills are a confidence boost, so, there's that.

Good morning!

I suspect the percentage goes way up if you don't feed them anything else though. :leaving: (which was what Susan was hinting at, I thought)

Anyway, I guess this is where I'm going to take a deep breath and feel thankful for the good job DW has, and that she's had it for over 5 years now (got a plaque a few weeks ago), that she always gets great performance evals, etc. It's a vast, vast, vast improvement over unemployment and underemployment, and the stress of poorly timed overtime from home is much better than the stress of not being able to pay the bills or working 14 hour days (because of overtime) with a 2 hour commute in a job that pays less than half as much, etc.

Btw, it's not like there's a problem that needs to be fixed immediately or people won't have access to their emails. It's just that there's a deadline coming up soon. Which means DW has been working overtime on her vacation days, weekends, and xmas.

Because we all know that it's super necessary to work on email migrations on xmas. Yay capitalism.

(((Angi)))

So, so, so tired of DW working overtime.

Pray, do tell how to make that option work. :bigear: :lol:

Next place we live needs a driveway. Or at the very least no switching sides of street parking. Because I really can't handle the stress. I hate freaking out over it, and it's not like $40 would even be a big deal - it's just that I panic before I even realize it's not a big deal.

Also, why oh why do the firefighters here have a habit of going the wrong way on a one way street to get to wherever they're going? Is there a logic to that?

I just had a panic attack about moving the car. I didn't hear the alarm on my phone, because the kids and I were watching A Christmas Prince, and then at some point I thought I heard my phone... but apparently I only imagined it, but it was 50 min after car moving time. There were only 5 min left in the movie, but I dashed across the street to move the car - luckily I didn't have a ticket yet... the one time we did get a ticket they wrote it only like 50 min after car moving time... and moved it into a snow bank on the right side of the street. So, now I'm not sure if I can get the car out (why don't they plow just before car moving time? - they like haven't plowed the street all.day, and yes, I know it didn't snow today, but it's been super windy and when you have to move the car twice a week so they can plow it, it'd be nice if they'd actually plow it, and yes, I know it's xmas, but I'm sure the ticket writer doesn't care so I don't care either). Sigh. Anyway, crisis averted - glad I won't have to send the city a $40 xmas present.

Actually, my kids have been pretty good today, thus far. That said, it's not like we have a large family gathering or anything... today is pretty much like other days, except with presents.

Btw, I've been amazed that he's really been a believer this year, since we haven't really kept it a secret. I guess he really wants to believe.

My first winter in the US we had a white xmas in Corpus Christi. That was a bit of a miracle. ETA: even better was that a few days later it was warm enough again to have our outdoor wedding in a sleeveless dress.

Yes, not much, but some. Also, LOTS of wind.

DW is the dishwasher. I'm not supposed to load her though.

Hits and misses? Lucky for whomever/whatever was the intended target?