Stay home and spare everyone else from getting sick. It's ok, really. My dad was a firefighter and missed things all the time. It's a good life lesson for your kids. You do what you can, but you can't always make it to every single one of their performances. Get better soon.

This is what I find so fascinating about Ishiguro, he ability to write in completely different books. I loved Remains of the Day and I liked Never Let Me Go very much. I would eventually like to read all his books.

I had to read this in college, and I remember it was interesting, but just so darn long.

This week I finally finished The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. I had several false starts, I just wasn't ready to read it at those times. The book is about two brothers who grow up in India in the 50's, one brother decides to move to America during the Vietnam era, and the other one becomes part of a communist movement in India. It was a good story, I have found all her books engaging. Not thrilling, but more a stories of how people's lives are played out. I also finished Elizabeth The First Wife which was about a Shakespeare scholar who works with her ex-husband on a summer stock production of A Midsummer's Night Dream. It was fine. This week I started What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. The story is about a child who disappears, and all the aftermath. I'm about halfway and it just finally. got. interesting. I did learn a new vocabulary word, which I was convinced was a typo. The word was "juddering" which I thought was supposed to be "shuddering". Apparently it's like shuddering, but for things of a mechanical nature. Next time I bring my car in I can tell them it was "juddering, not shuddering" It just goes to show that even very old ladies who are far beyond school age can learn new words :lol: ! I also started A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. I have had it on hold for awhile. At some point it came available and I had to decline it because I had too many other books in the air. It seems interesting so far. I have a very loooooong list of books recommended on this thread for the past, I don't know how many, years. I seem to remember that this one was recommended by Negin. After all the build-up and waiting, I hope it's good :laugh: . I sat down this week and made a list of 30 books that have been sitting on my shelves that I really want to read this year. I'm not like other readers on here, I don't like collecting books. (I know, cover your eyes and close your jaws book lovers!) I want to get these books out of my small house. I have made lists like this in the past, and it never works. I don't know if I need to promise myself money or punishment to get myself to finally read these dusty books. I am starting to think I should just donate them somewhere and pretend I read them....

There are so many different reasons to be vegan or vegetarian. I don't even like telling people I am a vegetarian, because why I do it is complicated, and I don't want to get into it with people. I like to say, "We don't eat meat" because I am not sure I am a vegetarian when I start thinking about it. I do avoid all obvious meat.

You're right, but the fact remains that the vast majority of these cases are men harassing women.

FWIW I am not a Mike Pence fan, but I completely agree with you. Society needs to catch on to the fact that acting like a "prude" is preferable to the alternative. Being careful, keeping things out in the open, protects everyone.

You were clearly trying to be nice, but in a situation like that I can see where someone misinterpreted you. I really can't imagine ever offering to give someone change if they had it, but were just looking for it. It could be taken as, you were trying to give them change to hurry them along. Anyway, it sounds like you straightened it out with her.

I see what you're saying. Having to have a super fun over the top party party party all the time is excessive. My only is a teen, and I got accused of "having a party" every time dd's friends come over because I let them eat $3 frozen pizza and watch an entire movie on Netflix every time they are here for the whole day. So, that's where I am coming from.... :laugh: . I'm just used to excessive partying :leaving: .

Okay Quill, here's my honest opinion... I think it's one thing to have reasons for him to not go on the trip, because you're the parents. BUT, I do think it's a bit much for you to be upset because they made the offer. Assuming they will be cool with it when you decline. Maybe I missed something? I can't honestly say I wouldn't react the EXACT SAME WAY you did, but way up here on my high horse makes me realize I shouldn't react that way :lol: !

My dd loved this book, then I read it and loved it, and even had DH read it and he loved it. I was a huge Natalie Merchant fan back "in the day" and loved the song too. I'm really curious to see the movie.

I absolutely LOVE THIS!

This week I finished reading The Pretty One by Rosenfeld. It's a novel about 3 sisters, and they all had annoying nicknames. It was so wonderfully memorable, that one week later I can't remember what it was about :laugh: ! I'm not sure if that says more about my memory, or the quality of the book... I read 2 other books that I enjoyed this week. The first was Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel. I'm an Amy, so I'm always happy to read books written by other Amy's. This novel was about a woman who faced a setback, then gets her life together when she starts a job in admissions at a local private school. It was a little bit different, and interesting. The author had worked in admissions, which was clear. I also read You Will Know Me by Meg Abbott. It was supposed to be like The Girl On the Train, but it didn't quite reach that level for me. This book was about one family involved in the world of competitive gymnastics, and a crime that happened that happened and affected the whole community. I kind of figured out what happened at the beginning of the book. I don't know if my radar was on, or if I should consider become a detective. It was still a bit of a page turner. I also started 3 books this week. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, which I have started 2 other times and haven't been able to get through. I don't know why. I have enjoyed every other one of her books. I also started Ants Among Elephants An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India. I can't seem to get into this one, and made the mistake of looking at reviews of the book and they weren't positive. The third book I am reading is Elizabeth the First Wife by Lian Dolan, which is a book I picked up at the library because it had pretty flowers on the cover, and was next to something else I was looking at. (I use a very rigorous method to choose books, if your name is Amy or you put pretty flowers on the cover or your book is near another book I want, I will try reading your book.) This is the second book this month that I have randomly picked up that has some sort of Shakespeare theme to it. I don't like Shakespeare, but maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. A rose by any other name? All that glitters is not gold? Who let the dogs out? I'm sure it will come to me eventually, with the plot of that first book I finished. Happy reading, and happy holiday shopping insanity :hurray: !

I think it's drinking the "I'm ultimately responsible for my dc's education" kool-aid. A lot of people do not feel that their child's education is their problem. I've seen kids in public, private and homeschool with parents like this. Once you have the revelation that the child's education IS in fact your responsibility, even if you outsource subjects, pay for fancy curriculum or send them to public school, it is hard to ignore the negatives. There are a million different ways for things for a child to be educated properly, and you just have to find what is best for your situation. You said you needed a year off, so IMHO you should just take this year and regroup and then be ready to do something else for next year.

I'm sure you're right!

Well, it is a stalker-y when you think about it. He's watching you when you sleep, yikes! Maybe Santa was the one who gave Sting the idea...

We are vegetarians. I also usually make a lot from scratch all the time, and don't feel like doing a lot of work and having to clean it up on yet another day. Plus, I have an insanely dysfunctional family that I now have nothing to do with, so Thanksgiving is a low key quiet day for us. I have a great vegetarian stuffing recipe with beans and stuff that I make, it's really a meal by itself. Martha Stewart claims it's "dressing" if it's not put in a bird, but as a New Englander I can't accept that dressing is anything but what you drizzle on salad :laugh: ! I buy premade sides, and we have cheesecake instead of pie. A few years ago we had the stunning realization that we all hate pie. We also try to come up with some sort of "movie marathon" theme. This year we're going with Thor 1&2. I find Thanksgiving to be a really stupid holiday. It's not like we need another day where we pig out, watch TV, and have a stampede at Walmart. :leaving:

I think the song one person is being a bit pushy, but it's also a context thing about it being inappropriate at the time to sleep over. I also never thought for one minute he was drugging the drink. I think she's trying to blame the alcohol. It's a weird thing to sing about at Christmas, that's for sure. The song that makes me break out into a cold sweat is "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. I like Sting, and I like The Police, but that song is about about being a stalker.

We just did this a few years ago. We would head to one park, do that until we had enough, and then head back to the condo. We went in November, so I'm not sure if that has any impact on it. The parks were busy but not insane by any means. Parking and walking in wasn't that difficult. We made sure to get to the park a little before they opened, parked, walked in. For Magic Kingdom we had to take a boat over from the parking area, but that was as much fun as any of the rides. For the other parks we did have to walk a bit, but I didn't think it was a big deal at all. Disney Springs is fun. Honestly, I enjoy going to the Orlando or Kissimmee Target/Walmart and looking at their souvenir sections too :lol: ! I like doing Disney off-site with a car, but I am homebody who doesn't want to party at the parks all night. We also found that being able to eat a big breakfast at the condo, bring lots of snacks to eat during the day at the park (like trail mix, granola bars, fruit), then eat dinner at the condo saved a ton of time, money and aggravation in the parks. We would just eat one of our snacks while waiting in line. Waiting in line to get food in Disney is a real buzzkill usually.

I would much rather have a pizza.

I just have so many questions about this. Did someone see people running away with dumpster turkeys? Then they called the police? The area it happened in isn't exactly full of the less fortunate, so I can't even imagine who this was. Maine is cold enough so your dumpster turkey may be ok :lol: . Unlike, Florida. Plus, you would have to fight a crocodile or a snake for it in Florida. I don't know if any of you remember The Tightwad Gazette, but there is a whole section in that about dumpster diving...

Do not, I repeat, do not, eat turkey that came from a dumpster. "It’s not a good idea, it’s a very bad idea. These turkeys were discarded because they were a hazard to consume," police wrote on Facebook. Also, don't buy a turkey from someone you don't know, for example, off the the back of a truck on the highway. "If anyone had acquired a bird from some non-conventional manner from someone you don’t know, discard and replace it." The police didn't confirm this, but if you were to find a LIVE turkey in a dumpster, that would probably be okay to eat. Just not the already dead ones that the grocery store threw out. http://www.wmtw.com/article/maine-police-dont-eat-turkeys-from-the-dumpster/13812914

DD and I actually went to Orlando with DH on a business trip and didn't go to any of the parks. We are easily amused though. Disney Springs is pretty fun if you are happy poking around different stores. I'll second the idea to be ready to be on your own at night too. DH ended up having a lot of things at night he had to go to. Also, I would not call your in-laws unless you are really excited to see them and have a wonderful relationship. I would take the opportunity to just have a little of fun by myself, if I were you.

This week I finished Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler. It was a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, and was fine. I started (and read about 2/3rds of) The Guineveres by Sarah Domet. I kept wanting to stop this book, I just didn't like the direction it was going in. It was about 4 teenagers named Guinevere who were being raised in a convent school for various horrible reasons. They all had nicknames and I couldn't keep them straight. Beyond that, the book veered into too many topics that are too gross for me to want to read about. I am also reading The Pretty One by Lucinda Rosenfeld. On the jacket it introduces 3 sisters who have names, but go by X Y and Z nicknames. Just name your character the nickname people! Also, if your character is named "Benjamin" do not be cute and call him "Ja" because that is annoying and clumsy. I want to read a book, not write up a flow chart of who is what stupid nickname. I almost skipped the book entirely because of the nicknames, and so far it's not thrilling me.

I was a little dismayed to overhear someone in line the other day saying, "All these young women think menopause is over by 50, but it's more like your mid-fifties." I don't think I can take it. Although, I am not sure what my choices are :lol: . DD and I have been trying to walk together a few times a week. I used to make DD come, now she wants to come. I think because we actually get a chance to talk like friends. I don't have to be mom, or homeschool teacher or whatever for a little while. I try to make little bonding times more of a priority now that she's a teen. We can be friends, some. Which I know isn't possible for everyone but has seemed to tamp down the resentment that builds up on both sides. It isn't all ponies pooping rainbows, that's for sure. But anything that helps is good. I wish I had better advice for you OP. But the only thing that comes to mind is, if the teens years aren't like this you will never want your dd to move out and have her own life. Also now you won't have to cry and miss the homeschooling years... :laugh: !