I hope you don't mind if I chime in here. We love to try new cuisine, new foods, and new recipes. I get really, really uninspired with the same old, same old, and I HATE staring into my freezer at 5:30 trying to decide what to make, so menu planning services are great for me! The most economical way to use a pre-done menu is to buy the book for $10, rather than having to subscribe by the month, which is more expensive. I don't think you can go wrong having a menu plan and grocery list for your family for an entire year for $10! I like Saving Dinner Low Carb, as the meals are very restaurant style - almost gourmet. Plus, it's helping me trim down. Saving Dinner (regular) is a bit more family style - home cooking. There are also vegetarian books and very basic (for people who don't know how to cook at all) books. As I say, I don't hate to cook, I hate to scramble around trying to decide what to make and discovering I have missing ingredients for every recipe that comes to mind. Menu planning makes cooking a joy. Oh, and I don't wash dishes, my husband or daughter does that. I only wash dishes if I don't cook. Meal prep and clean up should be everyone's job, imo. Plus, it is a valuable skill to have for adult life.

I used to think I hated cooking, but I discovered that I actually hate trying to decide what to make with the ingredients I have on hand. I do enjoy cooking, as long as the menu planning and grocery shopping list is generated for me. I use products for that. :001_smile: My hubby and I often cook together, so it is a relaxing activity. I simply look at my menu to see what we are having and know that all the ingredients are safely in my kitchen! Lately, I have been using fresh herbs from an potted herb garden a friend gave me, and I love the fresh herbs in my cooking!

I am so sorry you are going through this type of pain! My best wishes as you go through the grieving process and decide how to proceed. One expert in the field of affair-proofing marriage and surviving an affair is Dr. Bill Harley. Take some time to check out his website, and I think it will help you work through your feelings and come up with a survival plan. His book, Surviving an Affair, would be a great resource for you. I'm sorry that your trust and relationship have been violated by others who made a stupid, selfish decision.

Melissa, Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It is the Hillsdale Academy curriculum guide. I love how it schedules middle school science, and wanted to print out more. You are the best!

Nope- it's the curriculum for a classical school - possibly Catholic? Not positive - I wish I could remember more details!

Long shot, but a number of months ago, someone posted a link to an online schedule from, I beleive, a classical school. I only downloaded the science, and would love to find the link again! Here is a sample of what I downloaded on pdf: Sixth Grade IV. Science WEEK SOURCE TOPIC 1 GEMS: Stories in Stone (supplemental) Delta Science Module: Rocks and Minerals Rock and Mineral Properties Making a Rock The Luster of Minerals 2 The Hardness of Minerals The Streak Test The Acid Test - Sessions I and II 3 Crystal Forms Growing Crystals - Session I Investigating the Rock Models - Session I and it goes on like this for 39 weeks. All subjects are laid out like this. Does this ring a bell to any online guide you know of? Crossing my fingers!

Here's my favorite: 1) In blender, liquefy a cup of fresh baby spinach in 16 oz of milk or unsweetened juice. 2) Add 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder and as many frozen strawberries as the liquid will take -- perhaps 1 1/2-2 cups and blend. Mmmm! You will never taste the spinach AT ALL. 3) For variety, use tropical juices, add banana or other fruit, add almonds or walnuts, or use chocolate protein powder.

My sixth grader has about 4 hours a work a day, and she is ad/hd, so it is really the "max" at this point. 4 days: History Bible or Devotional reading Math Language Arts (grammar, writing, conventions) Basket Reading - 60 minutes 1 day: Science Notebooking Art/Music Geography We tried Greek this year, and it was just too much; something needed to get ditched and Greek went on the chopping block. I am very content with the work load right now. One of my goals is that she spend approximately half of her day reading, so our schedule reflect that. Blessings!

We used KONOS our first few years of homeschooling, and it's not teacher intensive at all. It's very easy on mom, if you use it as designed with Discovery Learning. For every "bad" review, there are many happy KONOS users that you're not hearing from cuz they're happy, kwim?

I am using Ancient Civilizations and the Bible from Diana Waring next fall. It is a very hands-on, right-brained-friendly, adhd-friendly curriculum that is challenging enough for middle school and up. I love the looks of it! Blessings.

No more vain than shaving your armpits or legs. :) I got sick of plucking, and so I just use an electric razor. I do it once a week, and it stays smooth. I do the chin, and would-be moustache area. No, it does not grow in darker or coarser. It's merely a sign of maturing and our bodies changing. Just think - before long, no more periods!:D So, now my secret is out!

Yes, I love both casual and dressy dresses. For summer, I love the maxi dresses from New York and Company! The straps are thick enough to allow for a regular bra, and they are great with a camisole underneath if modesty is an issue. Wear a casual maxi dress with a cute pair of sandals or even flip flops. I'd wear a turquoise dress like the one shown with a brown, lace trimmed camisole underneath. Add a summery, tropical bracelet or a bangle and you are set! : ) Tami

I just think they are meant to be layered with a cute, lacy camisole. A cami covers cleavage and adds a touch of color at the same time! I have tons of them in every color. :001_smile:

I don't really understand an adult in their 30's interested in a teenager. The maturity levels, life experiences, and even the generation will be worlds apart. In my 30's, I couldn't have imagined cruising the high school for a potential husband. I see a grown man who is interested in a teenager as insecure and creepy. Perhaps he can't handle a woman his age who knows who she is, and can't handle a grown woman who won't take his crap. A teen is more likely to swoon. A teen's brain is not yet fully developed, and not yet able to understand the long term consequences of her actions. Teens are easy to manipulate. In short, a teen is a perfect match for an insecure older man who wants a subservient partner.:glare: Any older man interested in my teen would literally be looking at both barrels, as another poster said. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! :D

Yes - several smaller "meals" throughout the day are a healthy way to eat and maintain energy and focus. We eat at 10am snack of raw fruit or veggie and whole grain crackers or toast. Sometimes we have nuts or cheese instead of the whole grain. At 3pm we have tea, fruit smoothie, smoothie, yogurt, or juice. I think healthy snacks are a great!

Really. I have perfect confidence in God, but I have no confidence in my carnal side. Perhaps you are a better woman than me, though. If you have never told a lie, and never stolen anything, regardless of the value, and never lusted after a man, you are quite a woman, and should have every confidence in your abilities to resist all temptation with your moral character. Hats off to you, my dear.

In general, I'm not naive enough to believe that I could never have an affair because of my superior moral and ethical character. As a general principle, nobody is perfect, and we can all have weak moments where we do something really, really stupid. I doubt most spouses *intend* to have affairs, but over time, a friendship and rapport develops that leads to more. Neither my husband or I develops friendships with the opposite sex, or spends time alone with the oppposite sex. It's simply a safegaurd that we have to affair-proof our marriage. Probably unnecessary; we have a great relationship. However, all marriages can go through tough times, and seasons where a spouse may be more prone than normal to temptation. We don't police each other, or anything of the sort. We just guard our hearts, minds and bodies closely, and build a life together. I would never put my husband on any sort of leash. However, as his sister in the Lord, I would exhort him to flee from temptation, and to make no provision for the flesh, as Scripture teaches. He is responsible for his own behavior. I expect the same from myself. Women have just as many affairs as men do, after all. I'm no angel, and I'm not naive. :D

We had the yummiest chicken tonight. I'll post the recipe - it was delicious! Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleau INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 pound chicken tenders 1/2 tablespoon butter 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 4 ounces Canadian bacon slices, cut into thin strips 3 ounces low fat Swiss cheese slices, halved COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven broiler. In a large zipper-topped plastic bag, combine breadcrumbs, pepper and salt. Rinse chicken tenders in cool water and add to bag. Squeeze excess air out of bag, seal and shake to coat. Melt butter and oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat; add chicken and cook for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes per side or until done. Arrange Canadian bacon strips over chicken in skillet and top with cheese slices. Broil 5 1/2 inches from heat source for 2 minutes or until cheese has melted.

You can still get Free Standard Shipping when you spend $35.00 or more at Christianbook.com by Friday! Just enter promotion code 292467BLWCFW when you begin checkout. Hurry, this offer expires at 11:59 PM ET on Friday May 15, 2009!

I just wanted to point you to another option: Christian Cottage Units. It is very similiar to KONOS, but all planned out for you with day-by-day lessons. The units include the best of children's literature. You can download the free "Oceanography" unit at currclick.com, to give it a try. Another option might be Story of the World with Activity Guide. If you use the ideas for activities and literature in the SOTW Guide, you have something very similiar to KONOS. My hands-on dd just LOVED the program. It is really the best of hands-on, literature-based, and Classical. HTH!

Read-alouds, plus 3 literature guides a year that include vocabulary in context. Total Language Plus is fantastic for this.

If you want to look sexy and get rid of fat, LIFT HEAVY! :D Stay in the 8-12 rep range and use the correct amount of weight so that by 8-12 reps you are at absolute muscle failure. Start with 3 sets of the exercise, and work up to 4. Really, the best use of your time and energy is to lift heavy enough that you reach failure. In order to get that female body builder look, you have to get down to an unreasonable body fat percentage, eat VAST amounts of protein, and probably take many supplements and steroids. If you do not do those three things, you are not going to "bulk up." God has not given you enough testosterone for that, so please don't let that myth trip you up and cheat you out of the smokin' hot body you can have with weight training. Since I started weight training in August, my body has completely changed! I have gone from a complete bottom-heavy pear to a proportioned hour glass shape. I am getting smaller and smaller as I lift heavy, and the muscle melts the fat off by getting my metabolism in high gear. It is amazing! My 2-fold advice: concentrate on basic, compound exercises and lift heavy or go home. :D

Have you seen Jason Projects' Operation Resilient Planet? You have to sign up to go the the Mission Center (online curriculum), but it is free. Let me know what you think - we love "Jason Project."

If she is mature and a strong reader, she would love the Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker. These are some of my favorite books of all time! I believe the first is "Black."

I really, really like the Connecting With History program because all ages are taught together, and it integrates history, literature, geography, faith, and hands-on activities. Just add language arts and math, and she is good to go! Short overview, and longer overview. I'm not Catholic, but was impressed enough to order the literature guides. I think this is sort of like a Catholic "Tapestry of Grace." However, the guides are only $30 for the whole family for the whole year!!!