Thank you so much. Those look fascinating. :) ETA: My library has the entire series. I just placed a hold on Red Mars. :) Thanks so much for the recommendation. Can this be read with a middle schooler or are they for adults only? We're doing Earth and Space for science this year so this series might be a nice supplement for fun reading. :)

We loved Singapore's Primary editions, but switched once we got to the secondary edition. I got NEM to work through with my dd, but we had to abandon ship by January because it was just too much of a struggle to keep up. There was quite a leap from 6A-B to NEM. I switched to CLE for the rest of 7th, but wish I had found something better because there were gaps in some things and a lot of redundancy in others. But in spite of a bit of a bumpy road for 7th she tested higher than ever at her year-end evaluation and we glided right into Algebra 1 this year for 8th. Singapore really prepared her well for it and she's not struggling at all with it. For high-school, I intend to use other sources other than Singapore.

I got ours from Home Science Tools and love it.http://www.hometrainingtools.com/student-microscopes/c/168/ It is very well made. It is better than the one I used in college in my Biology lab. The one I purchased came with free slides, but I don't know if that was a special offer or if it's all the time. But I would highly recommend their slide kits anyway. They are very affordable and high quality. Hope this helps you.:)

Oh this is so sad. :( Praying hard. :(

From wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_fuel Florida just had it's final rocket launch not too long ago. I was so sad. It's the end of an era for us. The space program has always been a source of tremendous pride for us and we were so happy to be a part of it, but they won't be launching anymore from Cape Canaveral. I don't know what is going to happen with it now. :(

I know the space program has experienced cuts here, but to be fair the article just said, "two scientists proposed" they didn't say whether they were from NASA or not. China has a budding space program and Russia we know has been in the space game for years so even if it's not through NASA, it's still plausible that someone else will do it. That's why I posted this up actually, to try to find out more information about it. :) I know we have some astronomy buffs here on the boards and I figured they might have some insights to add.

They keep saying that this is common and all that, but if it were common wouldn't people know about it? I mean dead fish, dead bees, dead birds. Something is going on! :confused:

5 years on an iron isn't bad. I'd take that and be happy. The Rowenta I had didn't last anywhere near that long. I think it died in like 5-6 months. I was really disappointed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110111/ap_on_re_us/us_mystery_bird_deaths :eek: What is up with all the birds?? :confused:

Thank you so much. May I ask how long you have had it?? I remember owning a Rowenta years ago, it wasn't that model though I don't think, but it was expensive and while it worked it was great, but it died really early on. Even faster than the cheapy ones. I wonder if I just got a dud or a not so great model. :confused:

I'm so glad you got there safe and sound and that the surgery went well. I'm glad you're able to be there with her all night. I think just know God will be there with you and give you comfort. I've been praying for you since I read your post yesterday and continue to lift you all up. God bless you hon. :grouphug: I hope your mom makes a speedy full recovery. :)

Oh Karyn. What a difficult day and a difficult time for your poor dd. Will keep on praying for you all. :grouphug::grouphug:

Okay I think everybody should post pics. I need to paint and do some re-decorating in my room, but I was born without the decorating gene and the gene that tells you which colors look good together and which don't. Pics would be most helpful for me anyway. :)

My Uncle Tony's. Oh man. That man was the best baker and cook I think I've ever met. yummmmm He was full Italian and married my Spanish/Cuban aunt. She taught him how to make our traditional Spanish and Cuban foods and he not only learned to make them, he made them better than anybody else in our family male or female. And his cakes and pastries... mama mia!!

:) Sweet kitty. :)

No worries. Will wait with anticipation for your thoughts. Have a good day. :)

Oh man, I make this pizza with a thin crust, a garlic and olive oil "sauce", red onion slices, red, green and yellow bell peppers and goat cheese. It's so good. I get such strong cravings for that stuff sometimes. Sun-dried tomatoes makes everything taste so good. :)

Oh Lara you are so sweet. Thank you for your efforts. I'll try to call them today and see what I can find out. :) If I find out I will update here for sure. :) I swear, I have the recipe for the Pasta Milano all figured out, but for the sundried tomatoes. grrrr

So you assume the can opening position then? hehe :) :tongue_smilie:

Yay Jean, I was hoping you would see this and add your insights. :) I'm so glad that you did. :) I agree. Going straight to Mars, even with a space station, would seem like trying go from crawling straight to running, but on the other hand, with people (at least in this country) being more and more willing to cut the space program I can understand the desire to rush ahead in order to "hopefully" revitalize the space program and the funding for it. I never thought of that. I'd love to hear some examples of things that have trickled down into our every day lives from the space program. :) My thoughts exactly. There was a time when people thought going to the moon would be impossible too. :) What do you think about the space program opening up for wealthy citizens for space flights? Do you think it's a good or bad thing. I'm kind of torn. I know that funding is always needed and God knows if I had that kind of money I would be tempted to take a ride like that myself, but if something goes wrong, I wonder about the knee jerk reactions and how they will affect the space program.

That thought has never occurred to me believe it or not. I guess I just assumed that restaurants don't give out their "secrets" :D Thanks for the suggestion. :)

Wow. I never imagined losing cursive writing as a skill. :eek: I went to all public schools growing up (in the 70's and 80's) and I remember being taught print first and then in 2nd grade they introduced cursive perfecting it in 3rd grade by the time I got to 7th grade teachers wouldn't accept work that wasn't in cursive. I taught my dd that way in homeschool too. I never imagined that the use of computers would impact the use of cursive writing. People still write even if they have a computer? Besides, how in the world will kids read Babar if they don't learn cursive?? :tongue_smilie:

:bigear: My local Macaroni Grill used to sell their sundried tomatoes but don't anymore and I can't find anything else like it. Does anyone know of another one similar or a really good one they can recommend? I have bought so many types of sundried tomatoes in jars, dried you name it and I can never find ones that taste like those ones that they have at the restaurant. Thanks to all who reply. :)

LOL Awwww cute. :tongue_smilie:

LOL Well obviously they would have to bring those things with them and be able to sustain themselves until reinforcements could come. It reminds me so much of that movie Red Planet. I know we have a few astronomers on these boards, I was hoping they would know something futher. It's intriguing to me, but our capabilities of actually accomplishing an undertaking like this seems to be light years away (I know bad pun but I couldn't help myself). I'd really love to hear more about this though and hear just how much support there is for this idea and what timetables they are talking. I find it fascinating. :)