Also, if you search for anh co tran, that is the name of a stylist who has done a ton of wavy bob cuts. Pictures of his cuts are my favorite to take to stylists because you can usually find pics of different angles.

The wavy, blunt bob is in right now. Do a Google image search of blunt wavy bob for lots of pics. I think it would be a good look with your face shape and hair texture. Whatever you do, don't let your stylist cut it angled!

My kids don't actually have any social media accounts right now for a few reasons that I won't get into right now. They aren't interested in FB at all--but they have repeatedly asked for IG and SC (and mostly only want to have SC for the weird filters).

A lot of social media, especially Instagram and Snapchat, is meant to be aspirational. Based on talking to my teens, I think they are acclimated to this and see social media like how my generation sees magazines--aesthetically pleasing and maybe there are elements to work toward but not 100% real life 100% of the time. They see pictures and stories shared as individual moments in time rather than thinking that's how someone's whole life must be all the time. Even knowing that, though, I think they are still under the misconception that social media connects people, even though most of the time those connections are very shallow. We talk a lot about how someone can have a lot of followers/likes/comments, and yet feel very lonely and disconnected. I try to emphasize that many times the deepest connections are made in face-to-face interactions and that social media should be seen as a supplement to IRL relationships not a substitute.

We have the opposite dog problem. My IL's told us that if we got a dog, they'd never come to visit us. It didn't matter if the dog was well behaved, crated when they visited, etc. We actually hesitated getting a dog for a long time because of that. Now we are older and wiser, and have not one but two dogs.

I read through some of her back posts this past week. Kind of a slog getting to the older posts on tumblr, but here's a good place to start for those who want kind of a "primer" of sorts to what the blog author thinks defines McMansions: http://mcmansionhell.com/101 She also talks about mansion vs. McMansion here and here. I can see where the author's humor wouldn't be for everyone. If you can get past the snark, though, she has valid criticism of the nonsensical nature of modern ultra-consumerism and its impact on housing. Do people really need houses with 6+ living rooms? His and her vanities? Extensive draperies that are nailed to the moulding so therefore cannot close and are only decorative? Columns, keystones, and quoins that by design are meant to be supportive yet are now reduced to foam eyesores? Her only criticism that I take extreme issue with is her hatred of garden/jetted tubs. She can pry mine out of my pruney, waterlogged hands, lol. I like that she addresses issues from the standpoint of architectural standards and history. For many of her points she's not just some eye-rolling millennial--she shows how many of these McMansions that are sold under the guise of wealth and good taste are actually quite the opposite.

I'm afraid this might be an issue for us in the future. We don't allow any alcohol in our home (not even a beer or glass of wine), for various personal reasons. We want to start hosting a regular gathering/fellowship/meal time for people in our church and community, but I'm afraid that it will turn people off that we don't wish to allow any alcohol. I'm afraid they'll think we are being legalistic, when in reality our reasons are not religious or philosophical but instead based on personal background and feelings. Editing to say: I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I'm also afraid we'll get the reputation as the boring/uptight house where no one can kick back and relax.

Okra Leftovers eaten cold - my husband gets so grossed out by this!

This story about a dad bringing his kids into the family "business" is very memorable: http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/i-would-only-rob-banks-for-my-family/ The author, Skip Hollandsworth, is truly gifted at writing long form pieces. If you click on his name, it will bring up a list of all his posts on Texas Monthly. Or if you actually have things to do besides read articles for days on end, Longform has linked some of his highlights: https://longform.org/posts/the-longform-guide-to-skip-hollandsworth

Fascinating! The multimedia elements of this article really brought the story to life. A little too much, as I read this right before bed and that made for some wild dreams last night.

Praying for your grandfather and family :grouphug:

I read that article a couple months ago. It's definitely one of those stories where the further I read, the more I thought there's no way this can be true. It's crazy to think that real people behave like that, especially over something so minor. Kind of on a side note, I absolutely love long form articles. Texas Monthly has some great ones. I also really liked this one about twins separated at birth. It gave me lots to think about regarding nature vs. nurture and the concept of family. And this article about 3 women from Ohio traveling to Florida was wonderfully written yet absolutely chilling.

I definitely go through times of needing lighter books. Sometimes that means lighter in tone, so I'll look for books that I know will have a happy ending or that doesn't require deep thinking. Other times I need something I can race through, so things like children's books are perfect. I hadn't thought about revisiting Nancy Drew--that sounds fun!

I have a bag holder like this mounted on the cabinet door under the sink. The one I have uses regular size grocery bags, which is pretty small so we usually empty the bag at least once a day. It does stick a little bit into the cabinet space, so it may not work for you.

:iagree: 100%, especially with the melon Also, avocado and olives are pretty gross to me. I can only tolerate them in tiny amounts.

My family's favorite I make is Cobb salad. But it has bacon, turkey, cheese, and eggs plus homemade ranch dressing. That's great for my growing kids but definitely not low fat or low calorie! A lighter salad I want to try is this Grilled Vegetable Pasta salad: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/06/grilled-vegetable-pasta-salad-2/ In the recipe notes, the author says you can leave out the mayo. I think you could also serve it over greens (possibly spinach?) instead of pasta to lighten it up more.

And to make matters worse, now I definitely know I need to switch stylists and have no idea where to go. It's so hard to find someone who is good and understands what I'm looking for. Even when I bring pictures of what I like and don't like, it seems like stylists just do what they want or are familiar with. Just because I have kids and homeschool doesn't mean I want to look like a soccer mom or a frump.

Unfortunately, I can totally relate. I got a haircut this week. I almost cancelled because it was a stretch for our budget. But I have family visiting in a few weeks and wanted to look nice. I'd been to this stylist 2 previous times. The first time she did ok, not what I wanted but I excused it because I was a new client. The second time she got the basic cut how I wanted but layered it all wrong. This week she gave me the cut and style that I told her I absolutely hate--the dreaded "mom bob" also know as the "can I speak to the manager" haircut. :thumbdown: I don't have the money to get it fixed elsewhere, and even if I could it would mean going really short. I'm not opposed to that except that I wanted to grow my hair out for the fall. And because of the crazy layers I can't wear it up or back. So I just wait for it to grow...le sigh.

There are quite a few classics that we had either as two texts (one Spanish + one English), or had the bilingual text. Oso pardo, oso pardo, ¿qué ves ahí? (Brown Bear, Brown Bear) was a favorite for us. Others we liked: Pintura de ratón/Mouse Paint, La oruga muy hambrienta/The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Perro grande...perro pequeño/Big Dog...Little Dog, Stella Blackstone's Bear series in the bilingual version (Oso en un cuadrado/Bear in a Square was one the kids especially liked). I'm not a fluent speaker, but DH is and found all those translations to be fine. Some of them used language a little different than he would normally use, but we just used that as a teaching point for our kids (and me, too, most of the time, lol).

Congratulations! Those are beautiful pictures, made even lovelier by how happy you both look.

That looks great! Does it have an odor? (asking because it says it's infused with green tea extract and castor seed oil to prevent odor and bacteria)

Sorry, but I have to be a dissenter. We have Ikea mattresses on our kids' beds, and they *really* don't like them. Two of them are foam with toppers, and I think they're just too firm. The third child also had foam but when we had to replace the mattress due to a change in bed frame size, we went with a spring mattress. That one is okay. There are so many "mattress in a box" companies now that have good quality options at good prices that I would probably try one of those before buying another one from Ikea. Costco also has some good prices--that's where my mattress came from.

It depends on why I feel like abandoning it. Sometimes the content is too "icky" for my tastes. In that case I might skip to later chapters to see if it gets better or to see how the books ends. I did this with "Do Not Be Alarmed" by Maile Meloy this week. There was sexuality as well as violence involving children that I decided wasn't for me, so I skipped to the resolution at the end. Sometimes the book is too deep or heavy for me at the time when I'm reading it. Those books I will make a note of to come back to when my brain and emotions can handle the subject matter. I did this recently with "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi. It was a fabulous book but life got really busy and I just didn't have the brainpower to appreciate it at the time. I will definitely revisit it though. I don't belong to a book club (totally wish I did though!), but if I did I'd probably finish the book if it wasn't a huge time investment. I think great discussion can be had over books that people have opinions about--no matter whether those opinions are good, bad, or meh.

I have super flat feet with severe pronation and live in FL where we pretty much live in flip flops year round. I love Reef flip flops. My favorite model is the men's Smoothy. I've been able to walk for miles in those without my feet or back hurting.

I always thought it was supposed to be an outreach opportunity for visitors and fun for the kids in the church. When I was growing up the small church I went to had VBS. It was just a week to have fun, learn about Jesus and the Bible, and eat knock-off Oreos and drink Kool-aid. There weren't official themes and most everything was created by church members. They might have gotten skits/puppet show ideas from a book. It was free to go, as far as I remember. Now it seems that churches go way over the top with the themes and production. VBS seems like a way for churches to entertain and almost compete over which church can be the most exciting. My kids went to a VBS where the youth pastor repelled from the ceiling as part of the opening presentation, which was cool but I think it took away focus from the main message. They have themed snacks, "Jesus junk" trinkets, t-shirts, and so on. Only one of the churches we know of does emphasize (and count) how many kids accept Jesus at VBS. We went to a church when our kids were younger where VBS was $50 for each kid for an all-day program. I was shocked by how high that was, considering I had always thought of VBS as a ministry. I guess families who were used to paying for childcare in the summer might have considered that a good price, but we had a hard time affording it. Most other churches we know of charge $5 or $10 a week for a half day (or less).