Impish, What a nice thing to come and read that the things you've tried are having some good effect. I have been feeling similarly - that God is laying on my heart to try harder to love my DH the way He would have me love him. I just hope it's not too obvious and doesn't come across as manipulative. After 20 years of marriage he has me pretty well figured out and would know if I was up to something. I'm encouraged that what you are trying is helping him see that you are trying and want this to work! I will continue to pray for you!!!:grouphug:

Here's mine: http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/members_books.php?m=dVJvQjVvMG85TG89 I have bought credits in the past because what I'm willing to get rid of no one seems to want!:tongue_smilie:

Yep, our dog has been a softie lover ever since we rescued her. She's about 75lbs, a border collie mix. She will sleep on ANYTHING soft: couches, chairs, pillows, beds, clean or dirty laundry:glare:, stuffed animals, people's laps, etc. She is very obedient though and knows her place, we just love to snuggle with her. She stays with her alpha male (DH) at night and sleeps on the floor in our room. I wouldn't mind sleeping with her, but she's too big. I often also wake up though with a dh, a small boy and a large dog in my bed.;) I just figure she's a part of our life and she's exceptionally clean, so who cares. No damage to our furniture either. Her favorite spot is the chair and a half in the formal living room. She can snooze but still open one eye to see who might approach the house.:tongue_smilie:

24 (we got soooooo hooked on seeing it on DVD that we skipped last season to wait for it!) The Tudors (sometimes raunchy, but so good - Showtime) Grey's Anatomy for comedy: New Adventures of Old Christine is very funny 30 Rock The Office

We're going to do Little Hands to Heaven from Heart of Dakota. Love it!

When We Were Gods - Colin Flaconer (about Cleopatra) The Good Men - Craig (abt 14th century France and the Inquisition) The Far Pavilions - MM Kaye The First Man in Rome - Colleen McCullough as mentioned already: The People of The Book, Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Ken Follet, Allison Weir, Sharon Kay Penman, The Source (on my shelf but not yet read - intimidating me!) :lurk5: Hist Fiction is my favorite genre so I will keep checking in for more suggestions I haven't read yet! One thing I did to get a good list going of books I want to read is to visit Amazon's genre list. Then you can read reviews and figure out it they are for you.

You all HAVE to try this. One of the yummiest things I have ever eaten!!!:tongue_smilie: Oven here too, but I also do mine (when plain, not br sugar) on my electric griddle. I can make almost the whole pkg at once, and then it leaves a little grease on the surface for when you make the pancakes. OH! :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie:

OUCH! These are expensive! I knew the good ones would be. DH and I were just talking today that a scope would be a good gift for dd for her 9th b.day next week, but I don't have anywhere near that kind of money to spend. We are also no where near needing something serious for high school level biology class either. I'm thinking I could upgrade in 5 years, but is there one that would be okay for now? Under $75? Or if I only have that kind of money, skip it? Off to do some research myself, but just wondering if you all had any input on cheaper ones. Not to hijack, so a PM is fine too.:D

Oh no, Scarlett, I am so sorry to hear about your marriage. You had been married a long time if I recall. I remember the thread about you wanting to homeschool and your husband did not - did that prompt this? Obviously there were other issues! Are you working, will you have to? How will that impact the homeschool situation? I'd say for the motivation you need is to get back here to the boards! Do you have a support group locally? Hanging out here and with my fellow HSers is helping me solidify a lot of ideas for the coming fall and getting me excited about organizing. Putting my plan together is making me want to get started. :grouphug:

I can tell you that yelling at your kids to "clean up this mess like I have shown you so many times how to do!!!!" ........doesn't work. And I only have 2 kids.:blink: I shall be watching for answers that will solve both our problems.:lurk5:

Gosh, I don't know... Are you saying the sets are mixed up and separated, or pieces are destroyed and so the sets are no longer complete? I think to get the best price you'd have to put all the sets back together to determine what's missing, then do some searches for what they are selling for. Or, sell them to me for a great price!;):D I am dying to start getting my son some sets (he's about to turn 5) but they are sooooooo expensive. I'm sure you have a goldmine there!

We used eHealthInsurance to find quotes for indiv coverage for me and the kids. We got Aetna. It's not perfect, but pretty good and all our doctors are on there. It'd be twice as much for dh to add us to his coverage, and not as good (he works for a small company). I had United when I had my son, preemie, and it was all covered nicely. I've had BC/BS too and that was good also. For Aetna the kids and I cost $430/mo.

:blushing::glare:<< Means I'm embarrassed and mad at myself. I headed into last weekend and didn't make it. Usually the 4th isn't a foodie holiday, but this one was. We wound up going out to lunch with the in-laws, then to a BBQ with friends where there was chips and burgers and dips and desserts. It was just too much. I also couldn't stand some of the choices I had made in the generator and knew that I could re-generate it. I just scrapped it all and decided to start fresh on Monday. So I started again yesterday. I did well and am down 2.8 this morning. Today is my fruit and sandwich day and I am planning on being super busy all day. That sandwich will taste mighty good this evening. I am just so weary of trying to lose weight. But, if I don't try, I never will. And I'll probably get even bigger, so I might as well give this as good a shot as I can. My grapefruit is calling...

I'm from CA originally and will always love those golden hills with the lone oak trees, the beautiful city of San Francisco (IMO the most beautiful city in the US), the smell of salt and fish down in Sausalito, the fog rolling into Bodega Bay - rolling over the hills like a smoky blanket. I miss the little record store and other shops of Marin. I miss our family ranch, long since sold with the creek where my brother and I used to find orange-bellied salamanders and climb trees all day. *sigh* Then I lived in TN and I loved it there! The seasons, the autumn color, the rolling hills and countryside was breathtaking. I've visited and could live in: New England, Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Hawaii, and many many other beautiful places. I now live in TEXAS and love it here. Where else can you live that it can take 8 hours of driving just to get out of your state! I love that on one side of Texas there are mountains and canyons to rival the Grand Canyon, in the middle there are vast prairies of grazing cattle, rolling hills of lush green and riots of wildflowers, and on the other side of the state there is tall tall pines and red clay. I've never before lived someplace where the natives to the state have such a pride and unique "culture" of their own. I agree with the pp, there is something to love about every place you live, you just have to find it!

If they had scans of their passports could all this be avoided? Before we traveled to Mexico last year I scanned all our passports into an email that I could access anywhere (Yahoo). But I am thinking this would be for identity purposes and not as a means of replacing them? Just curious.

This thread is making me *sigh*. I grew up on a 500 acre ranch in CA that had the BEST old barn with great stuff in it for exploring. DH has such sweet memories of his grandparents "almost" farm in Louisiana. And yet, here we are in suburbia. Again, *sigh*.

I'm so sorry. I will keep your family in my prayers.

Is it just me though or do you sometimes feel like the "homeschool community" wants us all to be this covered up? I have struggled and struggled to find my dd "appropriate" swimwear' date=' and she's only 8!!! Moms have commented to me that regular bottoms are too small and the girls should be in swim shorts and a rash guard shirt. Huh?:001_huh: My dd is terribly uncomfortable in that kind of garb and I don't think there's a reason she should have to be that covered up. If you think your teen boy can't keep his eyes to himself, then maybe he shouldn't go to the pool. I may have to cross that road when we get to it. Please tell me at that weight and height you aren't seriously saying you are too fat for a bathing suit? Seriously? I'd kill to be that small!! I'm a big gal too, and wouldn't be caught dead in a bikini, but us big girls are allowed to go to the pool too, no? I can't tell you the $$$$ I've spent trying to find a suit that is reasonably comfortable, covers and holds in as much as it can, and hold the books in place. Those books are a BIG problem area. Because if they are handsomely supported, then there's cleavage and *gasp* I had better put on a shirt! I love to sun and swim, but wish I had my own pool to do it. I am so self-consious of my hideous thighs and butt and arms and all of it that it makes a trip to the pool really hard for me. But it's my kids absolute favorite activity. All that to say though, we HAVE to go to the pool. What else is there to do in the summer in this oppressive heat?

Denise, I am so so sorry for your loss. We will be praying for your family. :grouphug:

I'm reading these responses with interest too. My dd is turning 9 next week and can't stand trying to ride her bike. She's scared to death she'll fall, and has created this fear monster out of it (like she does most things where there is a chance of getting hurt). BUT, she has mastered the scooter she got for Christmas beautifully, so I think it's time to get the bike out again. I had heard about taking off the training wheels and letting her coast around on her older smaller bike, but not about taking off the pedals. I'm off to tell DH and see if we can get her to try it! Thanks!:D

I think he definitely needs to tell her the truth. It's only delaying the inevitable. Is she near family that is helping her? She's clearly got some dementia and should be monitored to make sure she's okay and taking meds that she should etc. I'm sorry, it's so sad.:grouphug:

I'm reading The Other Boyelyn Girl right now and have waiting for me When We Were Gods (about Cleopatra) and Pillars of the Earth (that one is so big it's intimidating me with its hugeness). I'm also reading Keeping Our Children's Hearts. I started The Red Tent but it didn't grab me so I moved on. but will maybe try again. Michelle, you'll love Water for Elephants! I thought that was a really fun read!

We had a Rottweiler named Donut. My ILs have a Shih-zhu (sp?) male named Muffin and I get embarrassed every time I have to take him to the vet or groomer for them. Guess and Ask'em :lol: Those are GREAT!

I really like the way you put things Joanne! Pushing can lead to shaming and I don't want to do that. And I also try to enforce the "no contagious" bad moods thing. Otherwise she'd gladly spoil the whole thing for everyone. One great success story we had that I just thought of was our trip to Disney. I did the most coaching to myself : that it didn't matter if she rode a single ride, that i wasn't going to get angry and push her, that we'd all enjoy our time regardless of her actions. The we started small with the rides, in Fantasyland, and built up from there. She had immediate gratification when she successfully went on more and more adventurous rides. It also helped that her boy cousin was there and was just as nervous about roller coasters. They braved them together. Again, the peer pressure thing working to my advantage!

Both my dh and I have some awesome memories of those kinds of trips. Both spiritual and fun. They can make your friendships solidify easier than just about anything. For me it helped create a lot of independence. However, my friends and I were pretty boy crazy during that time (middle school and early high school), so sometimes the trip was all about trying to be around a particular boy.:tongue_smilie: But those "mountain top" experiences are some of my best childhood memories!